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The Battalion
fed. 102, No. 179 (6 pages)
Serving Texas AdrM University Since 1893
THE BATT ON-LINE: http://bat-web.tamu.edu
Thursday • August 8, 1996
&M changes admissions process for ’97
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Yesterday, Executive Vice President
nald G. Douglas announced changes in
e Idmissions process for 1997.
■though the basic admissions process
s not changed, the provisional program
11 he expanded and parental educational
ckground will now be considered.
See related EDITORIAL, Page 5
“We do regular admissions in two ways,
rly notification and review,” Douglas said.
Ie ; re going to make sure at least half the
idents are admitted through review.”
Hie review category includes such fac
es as work experience, connections with
kM and parental educational history.
Douglas said these characteristics will
Hnsidered more now than in the past.
iHi the review process, we will give greater
tight to other characteristics,” Douglas said.
u| goals in admissions are that we want an
Memically capable class with lots of leader-
ip ; i 'tential and a wide variety of students,
s’rv concerned with diversity issues.”
Douglass said despite the Hopwood ruling,
A&M is still committed to diversity. Hopwood
vs. the State of Texas outlawed race and eth
nicity as factors in admissions decisions.
“We remain committed to having a student
body which better reflects the population of the
state of Texas,” Douglas said. ‘We had a process
in place that we thought was accomplishing
that. We’ve been forced to change it by the court
decision, but our goals remain the same.”
Douglas said A&M is developing alterna
tive ways to promote minority enrollment.
“There will be increased efforts in re
cruiting and encouraging minority students
we offer admission to,” Douglas said. “One
of the intentions is to try to use students at
Texas A&M (as ambassadors).”
The provisional program will be en
larged for Fall 1997 admissions. The pro
gram admits students who meet the mini
mum requirements but may be less quali
fied than others to have the opportunity to
prove themselves at Texas A&M.
In an internal memo, Douglas said stu
dents will benefit from the summer acade
mic program provided for them.
“I have decided to modify and enlarge the
FYovisional Admission Program for 1997 and
to experiment more with it,” Douglas said.
“All students in the top quarter of their high
school class who have SAT scores of at least
820 will be eligible for the program. Emphasis
will be placed on selecting educationally dis
advantaged students for this program, thus
further extending the opportunity for admis
sion to all citizens of Texas.”
Douglas did not accept all of the recom
mendations made by the Admissions Adviso
ry Committee for the 1997-98 school year.
“What I have done, in many cases, is ac
cepted the recommendations,” Douglas said.
“In some, I used the recommendations to fur
ther study the situation. We’re making modi
fications for 1997, and I’m assuming we’ll
make further ones for 1998. The admissions
process is in transition.”
Douglas did not approve the recommen
dation to cut off the criteria for early notifi
cation. He said he would like to study this
further before making any changes.
A standing University Admissions Poli
cy Committee that will report to the
Provost will be established at the start of
the fall semester. Douglas will work with
the committee to follow up on the Admis
sions Advisory Committee report.
Students react to
criteria changes
By Pamela Benson
The Battalion
In the past many have held a per
ception that A&M admission stan
dards are lowered for minorities.
Unlike other universities,
A&M considers a variety of indi
vidual characteristics beyond aca
demic standards.
The recent 5th Circuit Court of
Appeals decision in Hopwood vs.
State of Texas makes illegal the use
of race as an admission criterion.
Yesterday Executive Vice
President and Provost Ronald G.
Douglas released a proposal out
lining changes in the admissions
process for 1997.
Although the basic criteria for
admissions will remain the
same, three changes will be im
plemented by 1997.
Two of those changes are effec
tive immediately.
The provisional program,
which allows students not meet
ing minimum requirements to at
tend A&M, will be expanded to
include more applicants.
In addition, the education of
the applicant’s parents will also
See Admissions, Page 6
Pat James, The Battalion
i nice
GET BENT
Yasuhiro Yoshioka practices a position called "the bow" in a Yoga class in the MSC Wednesday.
Dole says he’s ‘very
close’ to VP decision
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Bob Dole narrowed his list
of vice presidential prospects to three Wednesday
and told top aides he was “very near a final deci
sion” in a search he has described as critical to re
viving his campaign.
Campaign officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity, refused to name the finalists, although
one said there was a strong possibility the Repub
lican nominee would turn to someone who has not
factored in public speculation.
Previously, campaign and other Republican
sources have suggested Dole had focused on four
or five contenders, including former South Caroli
na Gov. Carroll Campbell, Gov. John Engler of
Michigan, and Sens. John McCain of Arizona and
Connie Mack of Florida.
While declining to rank the finalists, one source con
firmed that Dole’s search team had been in contact
with McCain and Mack as recently as Wednesday.
Mack said he was flattered to be considered and
said of a national campaign, “there obviously are
some very rewarding things ... expressing your be
liefs, your ideas, your commitments.” But he also said
he found the prospects of a national campaign “scary.”
Asked if he was among the finalists, Campbell
said: “I don’t know and I’m not going to say any
thing about it.”
Dole plans to announce his pick Saturday in his
hometown of Russell, Kan., and then fly Sunday to
San Diego, the GOPs convention city.
Elizabeth Dole wouldn’t drop any hints about
her husband’s choice.
“I can’t. It’s his decision. It’s his announce
ment,” she told AP. “Let me put it this way: we
have a continuing dialogue on that subject.” She
added: “I can say that it is not Elizabeth Dole.”
Over the course of the past few weeks, Dole’s
search team has contacted as least nine Republi
cans. But even as their names became known,
there has been speculation among top aides about
a mystery candidate known only to Dole.
Within the Dole campaign, some aides are advo
cating former Secretary of State James A. Baker;
others note the emergence of former congressman
and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a
prominent Dole policy adviser. Former HUD Sec
retary Jack Kemp was on the grapevine, too.
There also was talk in GOP circles this week
about Lynne Cheney, the wife of former Defense
Secretary Dick Cheney, who served as head of the
National Endowment for the Humanities during
the Reagan and Bush administrations.
Others contacted by the Dole search team in
clude Govs. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, Jim
Edgar of Illinois, George Voinovich of Ohio and
Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania.
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Fish Camp ’96
.eaders, students
nticipate event
Heather R. Rosenfeld
e Battalion
V;
Allen expected to sign with Minnesota
Jome University buses will not be heading to the
C or even the Rec Center tomorrow. This time,
ir destination is Palestine, for Fish Camp ’96.
)n Friday, Session A, the first of six Fish
tup sessions, takes the first load of future Ag-
i to Palestine.
The thought of arriving freshmen has many
Camp leaders pleased.
luzanna Henderson, head director of Fish
lip and a senior English major, said the entire
tff is ready for camp to begin.
|Ve have been working all year, and the time to
lly get to see the freshman is here. ... The antici-
|on level is really high around here,” Henderson
| “The most rewarding thing will be seeing them
lived and seeing them get excited (about A&M).”
pdam Landrum, co-chair for Camp Fowler and a
|or marketing major, said the freshmen have a
[to look forward to during their stay in Palestine.
|I’m expecting an awesome time,” Landrum
|- “I’m excited for the freshmen to find what
ll is all about and to make some new friends.”
Itaff members are not the only ones excited about
Part of the four-day orientation programs,
feronica Hernandez, an incoming freshman in
pion C, said she expects Fish Camp to intro-
J 6 her to the Aggie spirit.
I’m thrilled about camp because I want to get a
k of what Texas A&M is all about,” Hernandez
1 “I really want to meet more people and learn
Ut tradition, but most importantly I want to
'ebeing an Aggie.”
lenderson said the Fish Camp office has re-
'ed positive responses from the future students.
We have already had some contact with our
l ,” Henderson said. “We have been getting sev-
1little notes in the mail. We’ve also had confer
ee calls about what kind of clothes to wear at
’80s mixer and things like that.”
Mong with mixers and other activities, Fish
Up incorporates several programs to encourage
freshmen’s emotional development when mak-
the transition from high school to college.
Henderson said this year the staff is bringing
; k a program called ‘Who’s Who A New U’ to fo-
i on the importance of accepting yourself and
See Fish Camp, Page 6
By Tom Day
The Battalion
Battalion File Photo
Chad Allen
last April.
hits a ball against the University of Houston
In what has been a summer chock-full of
surprise departures of coaches and players
in the Texas A&M Athletic Program, fans
can expect another development to occur.
Aggie Baseball outfielder Chad Allen is
expected to forgo his final year of eligibility
at A&M and sign a contract with the Min
nesota Twins.
Following a stellar performance during the
U.S.A. Baseball Olympic Trials in June and
early-July, and at the Centennial Olympic
Games in Atlanta, Allen has engaged in con
tract negotiations with the Twins.
Although Minnesota Media Relations
Manager Sean Harlin could not confirm
Wednesday evening that any contract had
been finalized, Aggie coach Mark Johnson
said Allen has had contact with the Twins.
“This has been an on-going deal,” Johnson
said. “(Allen) put things on the backbumer for
a while and went to the Trials to give that a
shot and things really panned out for him.”
Allen, who could not be reached for com
ment, was fourth on the U.S. team with a
.403 batting average, 6 home runs, 29 runs-
batted-in and a .702 slugging percentage.
Allen, who was drafted in the fourth
round of the 1996 Amateur Draft, contact
ed Johnson when negotiations with the
Twins heated up.
“I just talked to him two days ago and he
said he thought they were going to up the
deal,” Johnson said. “We talked about what
he ought to look for in terms of a contract.”
Johnson, who received another call from Allen
Wednesday, said terms were reached sometime
Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
Allen’s solid hitting for the U.S.A. Team
over the summer apparently turned several
heads in the Twins’ front office.
“I think he showed he can play with the
20 elite amateurs in the country,” Johnson
said. “They’re the professionals of the future
See Allen, Page 6
Of' Army Qentfemen ’s Society
Ol' AGS gives male leaders chance to serve
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
r #Army Gentlemen’s Society (OF AGS) is a
f ^ M ' male student organization formed by a group
# M K of student leaders whose motto is “Aggies
I J t First.” They want to contribute money, talent
w''' and time to Texas A&M University.
T.J. Williams, president of Ol’ AGS and a junior market
ing major, said the group was organized for social and ser
vice purposes.
“We want to build friendships, give back to A&M and have
fun doing it,” Williams said. “It’s not all service or all social;
it’s a mixture of both.”
In the spring of 1995, Williams and a few of his friends
went to lunch, and senior Chris Cochran suggested the orga
nization of the group. The students were busy with school
and extracurricular activities, and it was difficult to find
time to go out together.
“All the guys were real involved in school, and we wanted a
reason to get together because we hardly ever saw each other,”
See AGS, Page 6
Todd Keel, Special To The Battauon
Todd Keel, Chris Miller, T. J. Miller, Jimbo Cross and Wes Burnes are members of Ol' AGS.