The Battalion
olume 103 • Issue 55 • 12 Pages
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;ers” (that'sa , Students, staff and administrators
you know)$§rn Texas A&M will join those from sur-
tem know ounding universities for the eighth an-
ge. Better biir lu al Drive In for Diversity Conference on
^^Bmpus today.
Becky Petitt, chair of the event and
toordinator of diversity education and
rrellAbramipsidence life, said the conference fo-
ClasH iuses on keeping administrators and
by 111 sign#gher education professionals abreast
)f current issues concerning diversity,
t also offers an opportunity to share
deas about creating more welcoming
van Ross did- 3 lU P uses -
lum culture ? is primary for the staff and ad-
i’s informal;■ njllistrators to have an opportunity to
i favor of tlie !ta y motivated and become rejuvenat-
3d about working with diversity,” she
is own pen 53 d- “It is an opportunity to talk with
rose to accc Jur colleagues and exchange ideas on
a ritiypnrTow we can make the climate better for
armSfctudents.”
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Friday, November 15, 1996
The Batt Online: http://bat-web.tamu.edu
onference confronts campus issues
By Laura Oliveira
The Battalion
he Plaid Hor
The conference is in Rudder Tower
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Department
of Student Affairs and the Department of
Residence Life and Housing are sponsor
ing the event.
Issues such as affirmative action, ad
ministrative involvement in diversity ini
tiatives, and the inclusion of gays and
lesbians in campus community efforts
will be addressed.
Petitt said the organizers of the event
wanted to address a broad range of top
ics dealing with diversity.
“We are not trying to focus on specific
individual cultures or groups,” she said.
“We are trying to include everyone.”
Sunny Nash, award-winning writer
and author of Bigmama Didn't Shop at
Woolworth’s, will be the keynote speaker
at the event.
Nash said diversity, the theme of the
conference, is an integral topic in to
day’s society.
“I think it is a well-planned event and
it is timely,” she said. “Diversity is an im
portant issue right now.”
Nash received a journalism degree
from A&M in 1977. She said the Universi
ty has changed since she attended.
“The school in general has changed
tremendously,” she said. “When I was at
A&M, the overall enrollment [of women]
was in the late teens. Women enrollment
was incredibly low.”
Women first attended A&M in 1968,
but Nash said the University was sluggish
in adjusting to the change.
“There were a few buildings that did
not even have women’s restrooms,” she
said. “This campus was just not designed
for women.”
Nash said A&M has culturally evolved
in recent years.
“Visiting other campuses and then
coming back to A&M, I believe there has
been an effort to become more inclu
sive,” she said. “And I think it has been a
good effort.”
Chris Christensen, co-chair of the
event and a graduate student of educa
tion, said if students would become in
volved in diverse activities, then stereo
typical barriers would be broken down.
“I would encourage people to try and
step out of their comfort zone and try
and experience something new to fur
ther their own education,” he said. “A lot
of times you put down someone, not
purposely, but because you’re ignorant.
“This can alleviate some of that igno
rance that goes on around campus.”
Emeli Santiago, assistant director for
multicultural services, said she encour
ages minority students to get involved in
groups with which they relate.
“It is important for students to con
nect with people of their own culture and
find a comfortable niche on campus,”
she said. “But once they feel comfortable,
it is important to branch out and experi
ence other groups.”
Nash said the conference’s focus on
creating a strategic plan to include di
verse groups will benefit society.
“We’ve got to stop excluding segments
of society because when we do, we are
excluding talent,” she said. "If we push
them away, then we will never know
what they had to offer.”
Conference Schedule
8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Registration and Re
freshments
9:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. Welcome
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Keynote Address
11:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Concurrent
Sessions
- Leadership and Change
- Diversity: With or Without Affirma
tive Action
- Administrative Involvement in a Diversity
Initiative
12:20 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Luncheon and
Entertainment
1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Concurrent
Sessions
- The Link Between Diversity and Strategic
Planning
- Including Gays and Lesbians in Campus
Community Efforts
- Finding Joy in the Struggle
2:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. Break
3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Afternoon Address
4:10 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closing Reception
Dave House, The Battalion
Tom Short, a national campus preacher whose visit is sponsored by the A&M Christian Fellowship, lectures in front of
the Academic Building Thursday. He preaches about controversial issues such as evolution versus creation.
Departments
receive Exxon
U.S.A. grants
>ongfest benefit hits stage tonight
By Kimber Huff
The Battalion
ngfest, the Chi Omega
ority’s fund-raiser, will be
leld in Rudder Auditorium to
la)' at 7:30 p.m.
■Traditionally, all proceeds from
ongfest go to the Brazos Valley
lhabilitation Center. Last year
ibout $9,000 was raised and do-
kated to the Center.
(Natalie Devenish, Songfest
publicity chair and a senior ac
counting major, said the dona
tion benefits the Center.
“We're one of their biggest con
tributors because they run purely
on donations,” Devenish said.
This will be the 19th year that
Songfest has been held at Texas
A&M.
“The first time they did it, it
was really small,” Devenish said.
“And then it just got bigger.”
Jennifer Cantwell, Songfest
chair in charge of acts and a ju
nior community health major,
said Chi Omega members spend
an extensive amount of time
working on Songfest.
“We started getting informa
tion and setting dates last se
mester,” Cantwell said. "At the
beginning of the year, we started
working on it hard-core.”
This year’s theme is “Solid
Gold.”
Songfest will consist of eight
acts where several hundred peo
ple will perform.
Devenish said Songfest is like
a variety show and participation
is open to all organizations. But
mostly fraternities and sorori
ties choose to participate, she
said.
“The groups that are in it
have been working on it for
months,” Devenish said.
See Songfest, Page 5
By Meussa Nunnery
The Battalion
Texas A&M is one of 90 col
leges and universities to receive a
portion of $1.6 million in unre
stricted departmental grants
from Exxon U.S.A.
The University will receive
$103,000. Eleven departments will
receive grants to be used for educa
tional purposes. Six of the depart
ments are in the College of Engi
neering, four are in
the College of Busi
ness Administration
and one is in the
College of Sciences.
Dr. Frank E Buffa,
head of the business
analysis and re
search department,
said Exxon grant
money can be used
to purchase many
items for the depart
ment, including
computer equip
ment and software.
“It is used in dif
ferent ways in differ
ent years,” he said.
“ [Grant money will]
enhance our pro
grams in ways we
can’t use state mon
ey. This department
has been a benefi
ciary in Exxon gen-
erosity for years.”
A&M has received more than
$4.4 million in the past five years
from Exxon Corp. through its affili
ates, employees, retirees and the
Exxon education fund.
Rose Ann Thomas, manager
“In addition to
our general sup
port of education,
these grants are
specifically direct
ed to University
departments
which are pro
ducing the type of
well-qualified
graduates which
Exxon needs.”
Truman Bell
Exxon college relations
coordinator
of communications for the A&M
Development Foundation, said
Exxon’s $103,000 gift is unre
stricted, meaning the company
does not dictate how the money
is spent.
Thomas said department heads
of each department that received a
grant will decide how to use the
grant money it received.
Patrick Williams, media com
munications specialist for Univer
sity Relations, said money Exxon
has granted to A&M
in the past has
been used for vari
ous improvements.
“It (grant mon
ey) has been used
for research and
to purchase
equipment in the
past,” he said. “It
doesn’t go to fund
any research fac
ulty members are
doing.”
Truman Bell,
Exxon college re
lations coordina
tor, said in a
press release that
the grants are
targeted at uni
versities with de
partments Exxon
looks to for re
cruiting future
employees.
“In addition to our general
support of education, these
grants are specifically directed to
University departments which
are producing the type of well-
qualified graduates which Exxon
needs,” he said.
he Battalion
TODAY
ident Rebecca Ew-
Peterson releases
ir quilting book,
reams ofAggieland.
Aggie life, Page 3
>o or Die
ie A&M Football Team
id Oklahoma face the
ime fate — win or
ive a long winter.
Sports, Page 7
Just Say No
Ejoldt: Women should
b honest when
turning down men
ftr dates.
Opinion, Page 11
Groups encourage
recycling in Texas
By JoAnne Whittemore
The Battalion
Stacks of old telephone
books will bury the Target
parking lot in College Sta
tion today at the third an
nual Texas Recycles Day.
Katie Gibson, recycling
coordinator for the city of
College Station, said the
city has taken full advan
tage of this event.
“In our local community,
we’ve used this opportunity
to raise awareness about
recycling as well as to col
lect phone books on cam
pus,” she said. “This is one
of those community events
where we get everyone
working together.”
Texas Recycles Day was
declared in 1994 by the
governor of Texas and the
Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission
(TNRCC) as a challenge
and commitment to recy
cling and waste reduction
across the state.
Gibson said the cities of
Bryan and College Station
and Clean Cities 2000
members are working to
gether this year with the
University, Brazos Valley
Solid Waste Management
Agency, Brazos Beautiful
and Texas Commercial
Waste to collect old phone
books.
From 10 a.m to 6 p.m.,
two drive-through areas
will be set up — one for
people to drop off their old
phone books and one
where people can pick up
new ones. A tent with back
yard composting and recy
cled content products dis
plays will also be set up.
Nicole Patschke, recycling
assistant chair for for the
University’s Environmental
Issues Committee and a se
nior agribusiness major,
said people will be able to
ask city officials about vari
ous recycling aspects.
“An information booth
will be set up with local ex
perts there to answer any
questions about recycling
people may have,” she said.
See Recycling, Page 5
Texas Tomorrow Fund
New rates set for tuition
By Melissa Nunnery
The Battalion
The Texas Tomorrow Fund board set new
college tuition contract rates for its next en
rollment period, which begins Monday.
The cost for the next enrollment period,
Nov. 18 to Feb. 18, 1997, will
be more than the cost for the
previous period. The in
creased cost covers more
credit hours than before.
However, the cost of tuition
and fees when a family en
rolls in the fund is locked and
does not increase.
Christi Freeman, a recep
tionist in the Texas Tomor
row Fund office, said the
price increased for this en
rollment period because of
changes in college tuition
and fees.
“Once you enroll, you pay the same
price until your child uses the funds,”
Freeman said.
The fund, approved by the Texas State
Legislature during the 1995 legislative ses
sion, allows parents to lock in the cost of
“Once you en
roll, you pay the
same price until
your child uses
the funds.”
Christi Freeman
Texas Tomorrow Fund
their children’s future college education.
Children of any age may be enrolled in
the program. The fund helps them avoid
future tuition and fee increases. Books,
lab fees and room and board costs are not
covered in the fund. Freeman said parents
can cancel the contract at any time if their
child decides not to attend
college.
Nicole Rich, a freshman
biomedical science major,
is one of the first people to
attend college on the Texas
Tomorrow Fund.
“I’m really glad my par
ents did it,” she said. “I
know there’s going to be
tuition and fee increases.
Since my parents have al
ready paid, I don’t have to
worry about it.”
Rich said the Texas To
morrow Fund allows families to pay for
credit hours totaling four years.
“It really motivates me to determine
my major so I don’t waste my credit
hours,” Rich said.
See Costs, Page 5