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The Battalion
U. 102, No. 143 (6 pages) Serving Texas A&M University Since 1893 Wednesday • June 3, 1996
Regents reject proposed humanities center
Some faculty members are accusing the board of trying to restrict academic freedom
lyAmy Protas
[he Baitalion
Texas A&M liberal arts faculty mem-
:ers are accusing the Board of Regents
f infringing on academic freedom with
he board’s recent decision to kill a pro-
osed Center for Humanities Research.
Larry J. Reynolds, director of the In-
irdisciplinary Group for Historical Lit-
rary Study (IGHLS) and Thomas
: ranklin Mayo Professor in Liberal
jirts, said the center would have been
U expansion of the Interdisciplinary
[roup he directs.
“It was the humanities center and
wuld involve several departments,”
feynolds said, “It’s for people inter
ested in going beyond their own area
of specialization and talking about it
within a bigger context. The group I
direct is very interested in historical
literary study.”
Reynolds said the group was not asking
for additional funding from the regents.
“We just wanted a new designation,”
Reynolds said. “No funds were asked
for. We already have a budget we oper
ate from. We were asking to be desig
nated as a humanities center.”
This is not the first time the regents
have rejected the proposition. Last fall,
the regents also tabled the measure.
Fred McClure, a member of the
board, said the main reason the proposal
was not accepted was lack of necessity.
“It boiled down to the board not
feeling satisfied for the need for
changing the IGHLS into a center giv
en the fact the current study group
has received lots of positive comment,”
McClure said. “Part of the proposal in
dicated the study group has been do
ing outstanding work. The case hadn’t
been made enough for a need to make
it into a center. We felt it was doing
well the way it was.”
The IGHLS has been in the depart
ment of English for eight years.
Throughout this time, the group has
been locally and nationally commended.
Lynn Vallone, an assistant professor of
English, said the regents are punishing
them for what they have accomplished.
“It’s like being punished for being
good,” Vallone said. “We wanted them
to establish us as a more permanent en
tity. We would like accepted status. I’m
really disappointed it didn’t work out
after all the work.”
Another reason for the regents’ deci
sion was concern over the content of the
center’s research.
According to the Associated Press,
Don Powell, a Board of Regents mem
ber, said the board is concerned about
revisionism.
“There is a concern that there have
been some attempts by certain entities
at other universities to question some of
the events of history,” Powell said.
“That results in a rewriting of history.”
See Center, Page 6
"The statements they [Regents] have made indicate they wish to
proscribe a certain kind of research."
— LARRY J. REYNOLDS
director of the Interdisciplinary Group for Historical Literacy Study
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/
CS Lollapalooza date
remains unconfirmed
ivent permits have not been obtained
lyDavid Winder
he Battalion
The alternative music festival
ollapalooza may have found an
Iternative site to the Texas
Wd Speedway (TWS) south of
Allege Station.
The TWS date, the only one
theduled in Texas, was tenta-
ively set for July 25. But that
:ate is now unconfirmed, ac-
irding to a spokesman for the
aarketing department of Lolla-
alooza. A TWS spokesman
aid Lollapalooza has never
ontacted them about holding
iefestival there.
Since the announcement that
ollapalooza would be coming to
lollege Station, rumors have per
sisted that the festival would not
be held here. One such rumor was
that Brazos County officials were
preventing Lollapalooza from tak
ing place by not giving the show’s
producers the required permits.
Susan Gandy, the adminis
trative assistant to County
Judge A1 Jones, said no one
from Lollapalooza has even
contacted the county office.
“That rumor is really false,”
Gandy said. “We haven’t ap
proved it (the permit) because
they haven’t made a request.
That’s not to say we would
refuse it once we chd receive an
application for the permit — we
just haven’t heard at all from
See Lollapalooza, Page 6
tAc Crfr yi'iS vTietA
A&M Track
Coach captures
national award
By Philip Leone
The Battalion
arget what you have
-heard all your life —
good guys don’t al
ways finish last. In fact, they
even come in first from time to
time. Just ask Texas A&M
Head Track Coach Ted Nelson.
A prominent figure in colle
giate coaching since the late
1960s, this long-time Aggie
“track man” and all-around nice
guy was named National Wom
en’s Coach of the Year by the
U.S. Track Coaches Association
May 29 at the NCAA Track and
Field Championships in Eu
gene, Oregon.
The award is the first nation
al honor for Nelson, who was
named Southwest Conference
Coach of the Year in 1992.
A big deal, right? Not from
Nelson’s perspective. Like his
athletes, he prefers to take
everything in stride.
“Not for one moment do I
think this award is the crowning
achievement of my career,” Nel
son said. “I got into this business
for the kids and my love for the
sport. I’d give it back in a second
to win a Southwest Conference
championship.
“I don’t mean to sound un
grateful, though. It’s a big hon
or because it’s voted on by my
peers, and it’s also a tribute to
the assistant coaches and all
the people in the program.”
Photo courtesy of Texas A&M Sports Information
See Sports, Page 3
A&M’s head track coach Ted Nelson was named National Wom
en's Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track Coaches Association.
!
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7
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Pat James, The Battalion
LET ME CHECK MY CALENDAR ...
John Sykes, a senior zoology major, writes his exam dates on his calendar in front
ofthe Butler Building Tuesday afternoon.
Clinton proposes school tax credit plan
Under Clinton’s Plan:
□ Parents or students would get a $1,500 tax credit — rough
ly equal to the average community-college tuition — for the
first year of full-time education after high school. The credit
would be $750 for a part-time student. The credit also could
be used to help defray expenses at a four-year college.
□ The tax credit could be extended for a second year if the
student maintained a B average and stayed off drugs.
□ A family would have to choose between the tax credit
and the tax deduction. Either one would be available only
to households with annual incomes under $100,000. The
tax break would begin to be phased out at $80,000.
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) —
President Clinton, in a elec
tion-year bidding war with
Bob Dole over tax breaks, pro
posed a $l,500-a-student tax
credit Tuesday for the first
two years of college, saying to
Americans: “Go to college,
we’ll pay the tuition.”
Clinton’s proposal, to be
financed by higher taxes on
corporations and a $16-per-
passenger departure fee for
international flights,
brought immediate ridicule
from his Republican rival.
‘“There he goes again,”
said Dole, borrowing
Ronald Reagan’s 1980 put-
down of then-President
Carter. “Who knows what
taxes he’ll increase if he
should be re-elected.”
Campaigning in Chester,
Va., Dole said Clinton had
promised a middle-class tax
cut when he campaigned in
1992, only to increase taxes
after taking office. Dole, the
presumptive GOP nominee,
is crafting his own economic
plan, which is expected to
include a tax cut proposal.
Clinton unveiled his tax-
credit plan in a commence
ment address at Princeton
University, whose $21,000-
a-year tuition makes it one
of the most expensive col
leges in the country. His
proposal has no chance of
being approved by the GOP-
led Congress in this presi
dential election year.
The tax credit would
cost $7.9 billion over six
years. Combined with an
earlier Clinton proposal to
offer $10,000 tax deduc
tions for college expenses,
the total price tag would be
$42.9 billion, according to
the White House.
“Our goal must be noth
ing less than making the
13th and 14th grades of ed
ucation as universal to all
Americans as the first 12
grades are today,” Clinton,
wearing an academic robe,
told graduates and parents
on the green before Prince
ton’s historic Nassau Hall.
In proposing the tax cred
it, Clinton upped the stakes
in his tax-break bidding war
with Dole at the same time
that each candidate was
pledging his commitment to
balancing the federal budget.
Search begins
By Heather S. Rosenfeld
The Battalion
The search is on for Maj. Gen.
Thomas Darling’s replacement for
Commandant of the Corps of Cadets.
Darling, who became commandant
in 1987, announced his resignation
last Spring in order to head up a fund
raising campaign to permanently en
dow the Corps. Officials and students
are now looking for someone to fill the
supervisor’s shoes.
The Search Advisory Committee,
chaired by Dr. Malon Southerland,
vice president of student affairs, met
yesterday for the second time. The
committee, composed of seven faculty
members and two cadets, was estab
lished to review the prospective candi
dates, and prepare a short list for in
terviewing. According to Dr. Souther-
for new Corps
land, eight candidates are being con
sidered for the position.
Yesterday’s meeting was a learn
ing session where Darling addressed
the qualities he would like to see in
the new commandant. He said the
committee should look for someone to
lead by example using positive lead
ership, high ethical standards, and
commitment to building a team. Al
though this was not a total list. Dar
ling said the quality he would like to
see most is someone with “a genuine
respect, fondness, and love for Texas
A&M and the Corps of Cadets.”
The official minimum qualifications
for applicants, however, require the
candidate to be a retired general or
flag officer with at least twenty-five
years of active military service. The
new commandant must also be a grad
uate of Senior Service School, hold a
Commandant
master’s degree and possess command
experience at the colonel level.
In order to ensure that A&M re
ceived a wide range of quality appli
cants, a letter went out to every Aggie
general officer in the country who
graduated in 1960 and after. In addi
tion, advertisements were placed in
the Army Times , Navy Times and Air
Force Times . A small ad was also
purchased in the Texas Aggie.
However, according to Sandi Os-
ters, assistant to the vice president
for student affairs, word of mouth was
the biggest source for applicants.
“We have had only one applicant so
far that has told me they saw our ad in
a paper,” Osters said.
Once the Search Advisory Commit
tee selects the final candidates, the ac
tual interview process will begin.
See Darling, Page 6