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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1996)
Page November 7, tac e provided by^ lift centerpole. and lifts the: or red pots p!; e to make sui(« The Battalion /olume 103 • Issue 50 • 10 Pages Friday, Novembers, 1996 The Batt Online: http://bat-web.tamu.edu [valuations may go on line II be used todfj ght. The tag|| he ground t swiu erect. Student Senate voted to put grade distributions on computer begins todajtJ r>w with the Senate to add professor evalua- 24 hours a dal By Erica Roy The Battalion irrsaid ft Student Senate gave its ap- ' i pi oval to the Professor Evaluation Im- 1 provement bill and other legislation at •j ’ u 1 it; meeting Wednesday night. ie nerimeterl The PEl bil1, if ado P ted b y the Uni ' uce halls an vl rsit >'’. wil1 P rovide students the op- , , portumty to view professor evaluations and grade distributions through the V” IU , Bonfire System during registration, it sic enc p rom t j ie student Senate, the bill niinac eraMBjjj p rocee( j as a recommendation to po e ropcstmjBj. j j^ a j on Southerland, vice presi- Ms l ' , di nt for Student Affairs and to the Fac- Bty Senate. The bill "strongly urges” professors fto discuss the importance of the evalu- at on forms and the academic appeals process on the first day of class. I Chris Williams, a senator for the Col- le of Liberal Arts and a senior political “ a ®* *H®^»ience major, said the Measurement ^and Research Department, which tabu- K tbe evaluations, is willing to work tions to the Bonfire system. "It’s taking what’s already in place and putting it on the Bonfire comput ers,” he said. Williams said professor evaluations “It lets the students speak for themselves on what kind of professors they want here at Texas A&M.” Chris Williams Senator for the College of Liberal Arts give students an opportunity to voice what types of professors they like. “It lets the students speak for them selves on what kind of professors they want here at Texas A&M,” Williams said. The evaluations and grade distribu tions could be available on the Bonfire system by Fall 1997 registration, he said. An additional component of the bill may establish a panel of 15 stu dents in the Center for Teaching Ex cellence. This panel would be a re source of student opinions and concerns to the Center. David Chumbley, a senator from the College of Agriculture and a junior agricultural development major, said the Center for Teaching Excellence has agreed to work with the Student Senate in creating the student panel. Williams said Dr. Steven Oberhel- man, the speaker of the Faculty Senate, is in support of the PEI bill. Williams said the computer access to teacher evaluations and grade distribu tions will be beneficial to students. “I believe it will result in better grades,” he said. “I believe it will give students a much stronger say.” See Evaluations, Page 6 Residency policy not equal for all students By Marika Cook The Battalion Children of military families who have been stationed around the world are re quired to pay out-of-state tuition at Texas A&M, sometimes even if they claim Texas residency. Krista Johnson, a freshman general studies major, graduated in New Jersey and is considered an out-of-state student by the University, even though her parents have legal Texas residency. “I still don’t know why I’m a non-resi dent,” Johnson said. “I was accepted in January, and since then my parents have been appealing the policy. They (A&M) say it all depends on the situation.” Krista’s father, Jay Johnson, a 26-year Army veteran, and his wife Pat, live in New Jersey, but they vote and hold driver’s li censes in Texas. This is common of mili tary servicepeople who must move fre quently. The. Johnsons have sent packets of in formation concerning their daughter’s res idency to Texas A&M President Ray Bowen, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents and politicians. “We haven’t heard anything from Bowen or the Board of Regents,” Pat John son said. “However, Congressman (Ronald) Coleman and Gov. Bush’s office have been very instrumental.” Krista’s sister, Kara, is considered an in state student by the University of North Texas, where she is a sophomore. “We just assumed it would be the same for me,” Krista Johnson said. “A&M said they have a higher standard.” See Policy, Page 6 Home-brewed beer takes cake Flying High Pat James, The Battalion K-l fish move logs away from centerpole as it is being raised Thursday afternoon. K-l earned centerpole and their outfit flag will fly until Bonfire burns. Ross grave to be rededicated in Waco By Melissa Nunnery The Battalion 1 Lawrence Sullivan Ross will be remembered Saturday when his Brave is rededicated in Waco. | Ross became president of A&M College in 1891 and died in 1898. He was subsequently buried in his ^family’s plot in Waco. I The Sons of Confederate Vet erans, an international heritage pirganization whose purpose is to preserve the memory of Confed erate soldiers, will sponsor the rededication. The group cleaned and restored grave markers, raised walls that had sunk into the ground, and planted grass on the Ross family plot. Charles Oliver, a member of the Waco Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the purpose of the grave rededication is to inform people about all the phases of Ross’ life. “We want the whole state to realize and remember who this guy was,” Oliver said. “Up in Waco, where he’s from, there’s a center and a street named after him. If you ask a hundred peo ple who he is, most of them don’t know.” Oliver said the rededication was planned to coincide with the day of the Baylor vs. Texas A&M football game. “It’s only been 98 years since he died, but we decided to do it (the rededication) now while we have the time, the money and the en thusiasm,” he said. Oliver said they hope Aggies who are in Waco for the football game will attend the rededication. There will be a Confederate reenactment at the grave site Saturday along with cannon fire and a rifle salute. See Ross, Page 6 By Wesley Poston The Battalion Beer made at home is making a comeback. Mike Lentz, an associate professor of biochemistry, has been brewing his own beer for about five and a half years and has won several awards in taste contests. Lentz said he began brewing with firiends in San Francisco and has now become a certified tasting judge. “The process of making it is fun,” he said. “The more you do it the better it gets.” The flavor-of the final product is better than commercial beers, Lentz said, and is well worth the trouble. “It’s certainly better for the price than anything you can get in the store,” he said. “It’s for people who re ally enjoy good, quality beer.” Lentz said he usually makes about five to six gallons at a time. “It takes a week or two to ferment, and then a week or two to mature in the bottle,” he said. “That’s for an ale. Lagers take longer, from one and a half to three months. Some of them will deteriorate and become stale like any food and some, like wine, get better with age.” Although he usually buys his in gredients, Lentz has also tried grow ing his own hops. “That was sort of as a novelty,” he said. “Texas doesn’t have a great cli mate for growing hops. I got enough this year for one batch of beer.” Gerald Smith, owner of Home Brewers Supply, has been brewing for about four years. Smith said the home brewing in dustry is growing partially because of the Home Brew law passed by Presi dent Carter in 1978 and the recent Brew Pub Act signed in Texas. Sgt. Leban Tescano of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said the laws concerning the home production of beer say “the head of a household or an unmarried adult may produce for his family or him self no more than 200 gallons of beer per year.” Tescano said the law allows for the prohibition of certain ingredients that may be detrimental to public health, but no such restrictions have been necessary. All laws for the consumption and possession of alcohol apply to the fi nal home brew product, he said. “The same rules apply,” Tescano said. “Just because it’s in your house doesn’t mean it’s legal.” There are also laws preventing home brewed alcohol from being sold, Tescano said. "You have to have permits in order to sell it,” he said. Tim Moog, The Battalion Michael Lentz, biochemistry assis tant professor, pours a mug of his Octoberfest home brew. It took two months to brew. he Battalion TODAY Making Music two student organi- jlations tune in to jhake B-CS a fertile nmsic scene. Aggie life, Page 3 Battle of Brazos Starting quarterback si ill a mystery as Aggie football team visits Baylor on Saturday. Sports, Page 7 e Afterlife palbrook: After a lolitical death, Dole fill have to change is itinerary. Opinion, Page 9 Northgate revitalization continues By JoAnne Whittemore The Battalion The sidewalk demolition pedestri ans pass when strolling along North- gate is part of the city of College Sta tions plan to revitalize the area. Andrew Pavlinski, a member of the Northgate Revitalization Board and a junior environmental design major, said the plan revolves around two main issues. “The first is to improve the infra structure by beautification, through better streets, sidewalks, lights and a promenade,” he said. “The second is trying to provide incentive — econom ically — so businesses can go there to make money, and to provide a place where the community will be able to spend quality time.” Andy Gillies, housing programs coor dinator for College Station, said the cur rent phase of revitalization includes the redevelopment of College Main, replace ment of sidewalks, facade improvements and the renovation of Patricia Street. The College Main redevelopment and facade renovations are complete. The sidewalk project and renovations to Patricia Street are still under way. Gillies said the College Main rede velopment included resurfacing streets, adding sidewalks and improv ing the infrastructure of buildings. Facade renovations included the re placement of old building canopies with more durable awnings and im provements to the University Book store and Campus Photo buildings. The sidewalk replacement project will remove the concrete sidewalks from Lodge Street to Boyett Street, replacing them with individual brick pavers. Pavlinski said vehicles will not be allowed on Patricia Street once reno vations are complete. The new street will be a brick-paved promenade lined with trees. Patricia street en trances will have gateways with “Northgate” etched on them. Pavlinski said a great deal of time is being invested in the revitalization. “It’s an open-ended time frame,” he said. “It depends on how quickly outside businesses and developers take interest in the area. There’s really no end to it.” Northgate was established in 1938 at the “north gate” of campus and now encompasses 145 square acres of land. Todd McDaniel, Northgate Projects coordinator, said streets establish Northgate boundaries. "Northgate is defined as the area be tween South College Avenue, the Col lege Station city limits, Wellborn Road, and University Drive,” he said. Businesses, churches, the University and the city own property in Northgate, but the majority is privately owned. McDaniel said he hopes the renova tions will increase business in Northgate, for both new and old establishments. “It’s a two-way street,” McDaniel said. “On the one hand, you want to make sure you preserve and protect the existing businesses and you want to make sure you enhance their ability to be successful. At the same time, in order to make Northgate more of a draw to people and to create a larger market, you have to enhance and di versify the businesses that are there.” A design charrette is planned for Nov. 14 and 15 at the A&M Methodist Family Center. The charrette will be open to students, faculty, and the public. “A charrette is a marathon design process where people get together and look at problems in a specific area,” Gillies said. “They come up with solu tions and apply those solutions to pa per. Students and faculty are encour aged to come and bring their input.” More information may be obtained by contacting Gillies at 764-3758. Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion Sidewalk improvements are just one part of North- gate's revitalization.