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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1996)
Ling. lair participants coni a marathons, usual; of well under tw )f Hancock 1- >ut four miles into tin on to win the woi' gs in 2:27:12. 3 Pippig got to Bojl e crowd was electric Jta, Uta!” low it at the time, k tied several illnesses e. She won it, a por- ither and son wheei' Dick and Rick Hoy.. iis son Rick's wheel- i of 2:45. Boston welcomed us and runners, to share che Kenyans are M un is to be human.' inals SWC tournament the 14th and final Conference wom an rnament. omen’s champ!- ch, Texas A&M’s s competitor Julie came a 5-2 deficit -d set to upenJ ena Rasolomalala 5 (4) to force the r ance to doubles t« inner. :hen teamed wit! co to outlast tie s’ Beahm-Vanessa f-6, 6-4 andcincl aphy for the 14 row 21-5. OUT IN LEFT FIELD Heather Hayden has finally found a home. SPORTS, PAGE 7 Nolen: Violence against two- percenters is the best way to keep the Aggie Spirit alive. OPINION, PAGE 11 A Family Legacy Chris Tom is the third head yell leader in his family. AGGIEUFE, PAGE 3 Vol, 102, No. 135 (12 pages) Battalion Serving Texas A&M University Since 1893 Tuesday • April 23, 1996 Redefining Reading Pays Officials clear up class schedules By Courtney Walker The Battalion As the end of the semester draws near, Texas A&M stu dents might be relieved to re member that administrators have scheduled an extra read ing day for students to prepare for their May 3-8 final exams. This is the second semester A&M students will have two reading days to prepare for fi nals instead of one. In addition, a dead day and a redefined day have also been scheduled. Next week begins with dead day on April 29, followed by a redefined day on April 30 and reading days on May 1 and 2. Don Carter, Admissions and Records registrar, defined dead days as regular class days dur ing which no examinations are allowed except in labs and one- hour courses. The redefined day has been scheduled to make up for Fri day classes that were missed on Good Friday, April 5, which was scheduled into the acade mic calendar as a reading day to avoid last-minute decisions from A&M System administra tors about whether to desig nate the day as a holiday. No classes will be held during the May 1 and 2 reading days. Establishment of an extra reading day was approved by Dr. Ray Bowen, A&M presi dent, in December 1994. Toby Boenig, 1995-96 stu dent body president, said that after researching peer institu tions where students have a week to study for exams, Stu dent Government recommend ed that Bowen approve the ex tra day of study. “The more time students have to study and comprehend, the better they’ll do,” Boenig said. “But if they only have a day, they have to cram.” For students looking for a quiet place to study, the Ster ling C. Evans Library will be open 24 hours from April 28 through May 7. On May 8, the library will close at 7 p.m. Although the library will be open 24 hours, the circula tion desk and services will close at midnight. The West Campus Library will have extended hours of 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. April 28 through May 1 and May 3. On May 4, it will be open 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. The West Campus Library will be open 24 hours May 2 and 5-7. Julia Rholes, head of the Evans Library reference de partment, said that students typically take advantage of the extended library hours. “We know there is an extra ordinary demand during finals for people who study all night and need a secluded place,” Rholes said. “You can definitely see an increase of students during finals.” MISSOURI |Tornado ] strikes downtown Arkansas tornadoes kill four, ruin homes At least 50 people were injured and more than 330 left homeless during Monday s storms FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — Firefighters went from house to demolished house Monday, searching for more victims of tornadoes that killed four peo ple, including two children, and smashed hundreds of homes. “I just started praying,” said Leisa Didway, who rode out the storm Sunday night in her closet with a friend and the friend’s 1-year-old son. “I held her and the baby. I was just praying to God because I didn’t know what else to do.” The twisters ripped through Fort Smith’s historic district and the suburb of Van Buren, sweeping some houses off their foundations, before roaring on to St. Paul, a rural community 50 miles away. At least 50 peo ple were injured and more than 330 left homeless. State troopers patrolled Fort Dave House, The Battalion THROWING FOR PAR Robert Prewitt, a fifth year senior bio-medical science major, "putts" for par at Research Park's new 1 8-hole par three Frisbee golf course. Frisbee golf is played the same as regular golf, only Frisbees are used instead of clubs. A&M upholds standards of admissions By Pamela Benson The Battalion Texas A&M administra tors said many students have a false perception that A&M admission standards are lowered for minorities and that students do not understand the admissions process in general. With the controversy surrounding the recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals de cision in Hopwood vs. State of Texas that made race as an admission criterion ille gal, and last week’s stay which allowed universities to resume admissions as usual, administrators said there is a need to clarify how the A&M admissions process works. Kevin Carreathers, direc tor of multicultural ser vices, said the Hopwood de cision affects A&M more than other state institu tions because this Universi ty has more students apply ing for each available space. “In order to create a di verse campus environment, one of the challenges that this institution has because it is such a popular place for many of our high school se niors, is what criteria should be used when we have 16,000 students applying for 6,100 spaces,” Carreathers said. Ruth Prescott, special assistant to the executive vice president and provost, said students who do not meet minimum requirements are admitted to the University only if they are a part of A&M’s provisional program or are recruited for athletics under NCAA guidelines. The provisional program allows a set number of stu dents who fall below minimum standards to take courses at the University each semester. If students do well in the program, they are then admitted to the University. See Admission, Page 12 Texas A&M's Basic Criteria for Admissions • Completed application • High school transcript • Top 10 percent ranking in high school class for non-residents, top 25 percent for residents • SAT scores Other Considerations • Completed honors, advance placement and baccalaureate courses • Texas residency • Leadership or exceptional talents • Major university academic and athletic scholarships • Under-represented minorities • University legacy • Interest in participation in Corps of Cadets • Letters of recommendation • Individual differences or adverse circumstances that reflect on the applicant's record • Other information the applicant highlights O Little Rock ARKANSAS LOUISIANA MISS. 50 miles 50 km New council promotes MSC bookstore’s services By Lisa Johnson The Battalion Smith to guard against looters after five people who police said were about to start looting were arrested and charged with prowling. The National Guard ordered 45 members to report for duty. The Red Cross said 636 houses, 30 apartment units and See Tornadoes, Page 6 The newly formed Texas A&M Bookstore Advisory Council is promoting little-known services provided by the MSC Bookstore and working to improve the store’s quality and accessibility. Formed in January, the council is com posed of students, administrators, faculty members and the bookstore general and re gional managers. It operates through the Faculty Senate, meeting once a month. Gary Spearow, an advisory council mem ber and general manager of the MSC Book store, said few people are aware of some of the services provided by the bookstore, partic ularly the scholarships it funds. The bookstore gives $125,000, in the form of four full scholarships, each year. Approxi mately $40,000 in additional scholarship money, obtained from a percentage of sales, is given out in book scholarships to 20 students each fall and spring semester. “There is a tremendous amount of money generated through the bookstore both by con tract and percentage of sales,” he said. “But nobody really knows much about how the money is given out. b Page The amount of the scholarships is subject to change as the bookstore’s revenue changes. Dr. David A. Bessler, a professor of agri cultural economics, said he was unaware of the scholarships given by the bookstore be fore he joined the advisory council. He said part of the council’s purpose is to increase campus awareness of the bookstore’s contri butions to students. “It’s important for the bookstore to tell its story to the campus,” he said, “and part of its story is these scholarships.” Besides promoting awareness, the adviso ry council is devising a way for students to re serve books on the Internet, a service that, Spearow said, should be available soon. The bookstore home page can be accessed at httpv7Bookstore.tamu.edq/. Ed Marotta, chairman of the advisory council and a mechanical engineering gradu ate student, said he is developing other means for students to interact with the book store via computer. “Hopefully, once the home page for the book store is completely operational, I would like to be able to have an interactive aspect where stu dents could leave their questions or comments and have someone from the bookstore get back See Bookstore, Page 12 A&M students aid hospital expansi By Eleanor Colvin The Battation Nineteen Texas A&M architecture students will present innovative de signs for the expansion of Texas Scot tish Rite Hospital for Children in Dal las today. The students will show nine pro jects that maximize space, minimize cost and emphasize advances in day care and health to the Scottish Rite Board of Directors and officials of HKS Architects Inc. Hospital administrators did not specify the type of building they want ed the students, members of George Mann’s ARCH 306, Architectural De sign III class, to design. Instead, they asked the students to design a variety of expansion options for the Scottish Rite facilities. The were asked to maximize space for a day-care center, counseling center, doctors’ offices, and research and development labs. Mann said he tries to make the eight-week project, which incorporates basic architectural and client-relation skills, real for the students by changing the project each semester. The projects are realistic in that they are completed for an actual client. “The key thing is training the way you fight — helping the students find out what architecture is all about,” he said. “After being here for over 30 years, I have former students all over the world. So it’s easy to find projects that do that.” This semester, the students worked with HKS, which is the fourth-largest architectural firm in the United States and the largest employer of A&M Col lege of Architecture graduates. HKS designed the original Scot tish Rite complex and will design the new addition. Alex Tacey, a senior environmental design major, said that working with HKS exposed him and his classmates to the world of architecture. “One of the most important lessons was learning how hard it is to actually work with firms and clients,” he said. “Most of our classes deal with ‘fantasy’ projects, but working through HKS, we had real clients, a real site and it gave us a real good experience.” Daniel Turner, a senior environ mental design major, agreed that working with HKS offered students invaluable experience. “I really enjoyed the project, and I hope that it’s indicative of the architec ture profession,” he said. “Interpreting clients’ wants and needs and balancing them in a cost-efficient way was an im portant lesson to be learned.” The students prepared for the pro ject by researching the designs of other health facilities, talking with hospital administrators and asking children what they would like to see in a chil dren’s facility. Erin Miller, a fourth-grade student at College Hills Elementary School in See Projects, Page 6 v s' tii •• . Gwendolyn Struve, The Battalion Senior Daniel Turner and junior Kristy Walvoord, environmental design majors, explain the design of their model of an addition to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas for their Architecture 306 class Monday.