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Vol. 102, No. 169 (6 pages)
Serving Texas A&M University Since 1893 THE BATT ON-LINE: http://bat-web.tamu.edu
Tuesday • July 23, 1996
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ix MSC officers fail
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this, but on ai By Amy Protas
ifferent sticke The Battalion
ood program.’ ■
r\ an policeprtl Advisers of the MSC Council recently
ited a progra ( | )n< ^ uc ^ ec ^ a rou tine grade check of the
but when Msmbership and learned six of the offi-
v the stic# rs ^ n °f make the grade,
much to oJ MSC policy requires students to have
a grade-point-ratio of 2.25 and a 2.0 for
i state of Tec eac ^ P rev d° us semester,
iih a HEAT* Chris Williams, president of the
aid BSC and a senior political science
and speech communications major,
, ' . l said the Council was disappointed in
Be loss of the officers.
“I don’t want people to think we
lose all our members,” Williams said.
“But this is the largest number of of
ficers we’ve lost in a long time. It is a
coincidence, but we as an organiza
tion have the responsibility to make
sure members are focusing on
their grades.”
Williams said to encourage better
grades in the future, MSC officials will
use the Corps of Cadets as an example.
“The Corps is really good at focusing
on grades, and a lot of student orgardza-
tions could take note of that,” Williams
said. “Over the last couple of months, the
Corps has been really good at showing us
what they do. Hopefully in the fall we’ll
have support systems in place.”
Williams said the academic review
is standard procedure at the end of
each semester.
“They use the Student Information
Management System where the grades
are posted,” Williams said. “The senior
staff member has access to that and can
review the grades.”
Students not meeting the grade re
quirements can appeal the resulting
dismissal from the MSC.
Jamie Duke, executive vice president
to make grade
for programs for the MSC and a senior
business analysis major, said four exec
utive Council members, the MSC presi
dent and the Council executive advisers
review the appeal.
“The only way we find out (if they
haven’t made the grade) is if they de
cide to appeal their dismissal,” Duke
said. “They have to write a letter stat
ing what happened that caused this
problem with their grades and how they
intend to change it. We review that and
decide whether to grant the appeal.”
Stephen Biles, associate director of the
MSC, said the organization is unusual in
offering the chance for appeal.
“Everything is considered by the
committee and they make a recommen
dation to the director of the MSC,
James R. Reynolds,” Biles said. “The di
rector then makes a recommendation to
the vice president of Student Affairs,
Malon Southerland. The decision is ulti
mately made by the director.”
The MSC will be accepting applica
tions to fill the four available officer
positions. Prospective members can
fill out an application and participate
in an interview. Applications will be
available September 4.
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Pat James, The Battalion
Asbestos removal caused the de
struction of Law and Puryear resi
dence halls to be delayed.
By Brandon Hausenfluck
The Battalion
The destruction of Law and
Puryear residence halls has been
postponed because of a large
amount of asbestos still to be re
moved from the buildings.
Asbestos is a material once
used as an insulating agent for
water pipes, flooring and roofing,
but now known to cause lung
damage if inhaled.
Ron Sasse, director of the Depart
ment of Resident Life and Housing,
said the major problem for the de
struction contractor is eliminating
the large amount of asbestos.
“The main thing I know about
which is delaying the destruction
is it has taken longer than ex
pected to do the asbestos abate
ment,” he said.
Wesley Peel, vice chancellor for
facilities planning and construc
tion, said although the abatement
has taken longer than expected,
all asbestos must be removed from
the demolition sites.
“The abatement is a little slow
er that we hoped,” Peel said. “As
bestos does not pose a problem to
people until it gets stirred up. But
since demolition isn’t necessarily a
clean process, it’s very important
to get rid of all asbestos which
might be disturbed.”
Peel said the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) strictly
regulates asbestos removal be
cause of the known health threat.
“Asbestos is used to insulate
water pipes, in tile flooring and
also in roofing for insulation,” he
said. “When you start tearing out
pipes and walls and floorings dur
ing demolition, asbestos particles
are suspended in the air. So all
the asbestos which might be dis
turbed must be abated.”
Dan Mizer, assistant director
for the Department of Resident
Life and Housing, explained
the danger.
“When a person breathes in
these particles,” he said, “it’s like
steel wool getting caught in your
lungs, which causes irritation and
infection which can lead to more
serious ailments.”
See Asbestos, Page 6
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Gallery showcases floral exhibits
Pat James, The Battalion
Gretchen Eagle, a senior horticulture major, looks at a sculpture that
is part of the Benz Gallery of Floral Art in the HFSB building.
By Melissa Nunnery
The Battalion
S tudents with classes in
the Horticulture/Forest
Science Building (HFSB)
on West Campus have
the unique experience of
visiting an art gallery
every time they walk in
the building.
The lobby of the HFSB doubles
as the Benz Gallery of Floral Art.
The Benz Gallery opened in Sep
tember 1984 at the same time as
the HFSB.
Jim Johnson, director of the
Benz Gallery and the Benz
School of Floral Design, said the
gallery is for students to enjoy
when they go to class.
“It’s open the same hours as
the building, Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
we give special tours on week
ends,” Johnson said.
Johnson said they change the
displays and rotate objects in the
gallery from time to time.
Presently, the gallery features a
special exhibit titled “Thoroughly
American” sponsored by the Brazos
Valley Art League. The exhibit will
run through July 29. The gallery
will feature selections from the
Benz collection in September and
October and a Zen Aesthetic exhibit
in November and December.
“It (the Zen Aesthetic exhibit)
See Gallery, Page 6
Film Society to host Jaws screening
By Tauma Wiggins
The Battalion
Rudder Fountain is nor-
ttially free of aquatic life.
On Wednesday, however,
things will change — just
when you thought it was
safe to go back in the foun
tain, the MSC Film Society
may prove you wrong.
Not to worry, though;
the plastic shark floats
will be used in honor of the
Film Society’s last sum
mer movie show, Jaws.
Penny Ditton, adviser
to the Film Society, said
the event will be called
“Splash-o-Rama.” The or
ganization’s earlier plans
included showing the film
over a body of water to in
crease the scare effect.
“Originally we wanted
to show the movie by the
pool at DeWare, but
since they’re filling it in,
this is our second-best go
at it,” Ditton said.
Jamie Duke, a mem
ber of the Film Society
and senior business ad
ministration major, said
students enjoy films as a
way to escape summer’s
intense heat.
“The students really
get into the movies,”
Duke said. “It’s cool in
side, it’s free and every
body walks through the
Rudder area.”
Duke said an MSC
Activities survey com
pleted by students earli
er this summer indicat
ed students would enjoy
activities such as the
showing of Jaws.
Natalie Burke, a se
nior sociology major, said
she is anticipating
Wednesday’s film.
“The last movie I went
to at Rudder was when
Mystery Science Theater
3000 was showing,”
Burke said. “I want to go
to see Jaws because it re
minds me of my child
hood. I haven’t seen it in
such a long time.”
This Wednesday, plas
tic sharks, water games
and lemonade will be
available from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. in the Rudder area.
Jaws will be showing
at Rudder Theater at 8
p.m. and is free for Texas
A&M students.
Stew Milne, The Battalion
HOT POTATO
Gloria Obella, a cook at the Commons, peels potatoes for potato salad to get ready for
Monday's lunch.
Adanta ’96
U.S. swimmers capture two medals
ATLANTA (AP) — On a day when America almost could
n’t lose, gold medal favorite Janet Evans couldn’t win.
The superstar swimmer, who carried the torch in At
lanta’s opening ceremony, lost her first shot at a fifth gold
medal Monday after a controversial decision. But Evans was
in the minority; from the Dream Team to the diamond, from
the pool to the pitch, American teams were on a roll.
Evans’ swimming teammates, ignoring her defeat in a
400-meter qualifying heat, continued their unexpected
tear with two golds and three silvers added to an already
impressive Atlanta haul.
The Dream Team bounced back from its lackluster
opener to pound Angola, the wrong team in the wrong
place Monday night. The American millionaires’ club
rolled to an easy 87-54 victory over the African nation.
The men’s baseball team whipped South Korea 7-2 for
its second straight win. The women’s softball team, the fa
vorites for the gold medal, posted its second straight
shutout, 9-0 over the Netherlands. The U.S. boxers won
twice to run their mark to 6-0, while the American soccer,
water polo and women’s volleyball teams won, too.
The pool was again the site of the best news for U.S.
athletes, as they captured the only American medals of
the day. Monday’s stars were 15-year-old Beth Botsford,
who took gold in the women’s 100-meter backstroke, and
second-generation Olympian Gary Hall, who won silver in
a stirring 100-meter sprint against Russian world record-
holder Alexander Popov.
The U.S. men’s gymnastics team, like Evans, missed
the medal ceremony when it finished fifth in the team
competition. Perennial power Russia took the gold, fol
lowed by China and former Soviet republic Ukraine. The
Americans missed a bronze by less than one point — a
vast improvement on their Barcelona performance, but
still not enough.
“We were in the hunt for a medal today,” said U.S.
coach Peter Kormann, doing a little spin doctoring. “One
year ago, no one would have thought we would have been
See Olympics, Page 6
1996 OLYMPIC
TELEVISION
SCHEDULE
TUESDAY
JULY 23
09 a.m. - noon
Gymnastics-Women’s team
competition
Swimming-Qualifying heats
Rowing
6:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Gymnastics-Women’s team final
Swimming-Finals
-Men’s 400m freestyle
-Women’s 200m breaststroke
-Men’s 100m backstroke
-Women's 100m butterfly
-Men's 4x100m freestyle relay
Equestrian-Three-day cross
country, team
11:41 a.m.-1:11 a.m.
Volleyball-U.S. men's game
Boxing
Water polo-U.S. vs. Romania
Basketball-U.S. women vs. Ukraine
Wrestling-Greco-Roman finals
Weightlifting-Lightweight final