Page day • January29,| nent female members ol embers musti Corps ies of sit-ups I mum, 80 for perfect sm. minimum, 80 for perfect sen 10 time limit num. 20 tor maximum score ned wedonotfaci □ face one crisis: ■ad. Oneinfiveisfai] it number would :he test, annot succeed ify lust learn the ones! in their lives: I most profound goal each and everyett vel by the third grad ■vel or better througli ■er. reading initiatrad cademies -ittols ous instructiffliH- .This money wfai esults matter, stay ever it takes to tets! ss Texas. ictior ramatic change,” said vice president ofida Business & Chap supports Bush's}®' ges an uphill cliii vant to vote a$3t demise the business d and we haveabai In that sense, it'sgo 1 by the Legislature,' ts Sen. Teel of the Senate Educt a co-sponsor of tbi 1, said creating a nes t thing to do. i have an opportunir ictive for a change is to crises,” Bivins Former students look back on leadership roles, positions „ By Marissa Alanis The Battalion The common adage, “There’s a first time for everything,” was the case for two former A&M student leaders who broke new ground for leadership positions on campus. Brooke Leslie, the first female Student Body President, and Ronnie McDonald, the first African-American yell leader, held lead ership roles never carried out before by any one of their gender or race. Leslie, Class of ’95, feels lucky to have had the opportunity to be the 1994-1995 Stu dent Body President at the age of 21. “The whole year really reaffirmed my be lief that there is no greater blessing than having the chance to work for something you believe in,” Leslie said. Leslie, who is currently attending the University of Texas Law School at Austin, said her presidential tenure was an invalu able experience, especially because of the hard hours and sacrifice she made. “I wouldn’t trade that year for anything because of the professional skills that I will forever use in the business world as well as social [skills] in my community,” Leslie said. She said when she ran for office some of her friends told her she would not win because she was a female and it was not the appropriate time for A&M to have a female president. “I never felt it (being a woman) was a lim itation for me at all,” Leslie said. Leslie said the thought of being A&M’s first female student body president did hang over her head, but she never felt any discrimination or intimidation. McDonald, Class of ’93 and a former yell leader, said during his campaign for yell leader, he wanted students to vote for him as Ronnie McDonald, the person, and did not want his race to be a factor since the Ag gie Spirit can take many forms. McDonald said seeing a diverse audi ence in the Academic Plaza the night he was elected was an indication to him he had achieved his goal of motivating the masses. “When you see a rainbow, you just don’t see one color,” McDonald said. “You see an accumulation of colors coming together to enhance the beauty of that rainbow. See Leaders, Page 5 Green Thumb Ryan Rogers, The Battalion Erin Walker, a landscape maintenance east employee, cultivates the grounds around Albritton Tower Wednesday afternoon. Town Hall aims for musical diversity By Jackie Vratil The Battalion Bringing quality entertainment to Texas A&M and the surrounding community is the purpose of MSG Town Hall. A cooperative effort by each of five Town Hall branches helps reach the public by bringing everything from comedy shows to big-name artists like Sponge, Tori Amos and Harry Connick Jr. to the A&M campus. Town Hall programs include concerts, small clubs, comedies, special events and “Coffee House.” Rob Lewicki, chair ofTown Hall and a se nior psychology major, said Town Hall is concentrating on bringing new and up-and- coming artists to A&M. “I see our goal as developing a diverse lo cal music scene on campus and in the Col lege Station area,” he said. Town Hall’s main focus is the campus. However, they bring artists which appeal to the community as a whole as well. Lewicki said when Town Hall booked the Harlem Globe Trotters two years ago, the community and students benefited. “Our first goal is the students,” he said. “Then we try to bring shows that the com munity will like as well.” Jennifer Schmidt, vice chair of concerts and a junior political science and bio-envi ronmental science major, said working on in creasing programming within the communi ty has become a major goal ofTown Hall. “We have programmed artists to play in Rudder and G. Rollie White,” she said. “But we also got Sponge last year to come to Wolf Pen and we would like to work with the Third Floor or the Dixie Theater to bring somebody in there, too.” Town Hall puts on“Say Anything, Play Any thing,” which involves setting up a stage and bringing out instruments and microphones for students to sing, play, or just speak their minds. “Say Anything, Play Anything” lasts one hour and is held every other week at the MSG. The next one will be held Feb. 5. Liz Conejo, Town Hall’s vice chair of club shows and a senior biomedical science ma jor, said “Say Anything, Play Anything” is a fun break for students. See Town Hall, Page 5 Regent Wisenbaker ends term iOARD OF REGENT ’HANGING OF THE GU aa t. By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion Board of Regents member Royce E. Wisenbaker’s vice to the Texas A&M University System comes to end this year after three six-year terms. Wisenbaker’s term expires Feb. 1, 1997. Wisenbaker was appointed to the Board by Gov. Iph Briscoe in 1979. He was reappointed by Gov. irk White in 1981. In 1991, he was appointed to a rd term by Gov. Ann Richards. Wisenbaker, an oil and gas producer from Tyler, cas, got his bachelor’s degree in engineering from M in 1939. He completed his master’s degree in en- leering in 1940. He has endowed a chair in engineering and estab- led two permanently endowed graduate fellow- ps for the College of Engineering. In January 1987, the Board of Regents renamed an Sneering building the Royce E. Wisenbaker Engi- ring Research Center. Wisenbaker reflects on this 'Sn great honor. B'That is a great day for me and one which I will for- |er remember,” Wisenbaker said. Wisenbaker insist- V Wfiere! ^ including the names of those who were killed in „ j/^jUfrldWar II from his class of 1939 with the naming of OM-CAN-m ^ building. He had 62 classmates die in the war. TKlfW ^ arc * 1 1942, Wisenbaker entered the U.S. Army JJF M 1 JCi I V second lieutenant and served five years of active Wisenbaker '-DAA 77-9:30 University 1 Dr. (I Georqe Bu ;h Dr. ^ oi Culpopp® <0 CiCi’sj. $ Harvey Bj 1713 S. Texas Ave 694-6939 . He reached his highest rank of lieutenant colonel the time of his discharge. He married and began a |ctice of consulting engineering, a successful busi es which lasted 38 years. dsenbaker also was interested in land develop- |nt companies, waterworks systems and construc- i and farming. le and his wife, Clorinda (Petey), have been mar- l for 47 years and live in Tyler, Texas. They have four children and 11 grand children. In 1973, Wisenbaker received the Universi ty’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, one of A&M’s highest honors. Other awards he has received include Out standing Service Award from the National As sociation of Mental Health in 1974, Out standing Humanitari an award from the citi zens of Rusk, Texas, in 1975, and Engineer of the Year Award in 1981. He is the only Aggie to serve as both presi dent of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students and president of the 12th Man Foundation. In addition to his many accomplishments, Wisen baker also originated the President’s Scholarship pro gram and has endowed five $25,000 scholarships him self. The first was named in honor of Earl Rudder. He endowed a sixth President Scholarship of $40,000 in 1992. Today, more than 600 scholarships ex ist in the program. The program has been duplicated by many other colleges and universities. Wisenbaker’s son, Royce E. Wisenbaker Jr., said he is very proud of his father’s accomplishments. “The proudest day for me was when I received my diploma, but as far as my father, all of the many accomplishments, hard work and love for his uni versity, what impresses me most was in November 1987 when the Royce E. Wisenbaker Engineering Research Center was named in his honor,” Wisen baker, Jr. said. With his term on the Board of Regents ending, Wisenbaker said he will continue to support A&M and remain active in many organizations. SCS offers group, personal counseling By Erica Roy The Battalion Students who need to talk about subjects ranging from personal re lationships to learning skills can find someone to listen at Student Counseling Services. Personal and group counseling services are available to A&M stu dents along with HelpLine, a phone service taking calls 24 hours a day. Dr. Wade Birch, director of Student Counseling Services, said counseling benefits stu dents by speeding up the prob lem-solving process. “Most of the time in life, people tend to figure out solutions to their problems,” he said. “What counseling does, is you can reach a solution ... more quickly... and the quality level of the decision is a higher one.” Birch said more than 50 percent of students who come to the service need help with their academic life, such as learning skills or choosing a major. The service does not help stu dents find specific jobs, but does help them focus on their career choices. “We’re the initial process for a student that’s undecided,” Birch said. “We’re at the front end of the process.” The service offers help on read ing textbooks, taking tests, math anxiety and time management. Birch said career counseling coin cides with personal counseling when students are in a major they do not like, but feel pressure from family members to stay in that major. Personal relationship counseling focuses on issues concerning dif ferent students relationships. This includes roommate conflicts, boyfriend-girlfriend problems, pro fessor-student relationships and the parent-child relationship. Pre marital and marriage counseling are also available. Birch said these are typical prob lems encountered by all people. “That’s all the normal Mom, apple pie stuff we go through,” he said. Counseling on human sexuality concentrates on male and female gender roles in society rather than birth control and reproduction. The workshops and group counseling sessions provide stu dents with an opportunity to share their experiences with oth er group members. Dr. Laura Bettor, a Student Coun seling Service psychologist, said group counseling can validate a student’s feelings about a problem. They can talk with a group of students, who have the same feelings they have, rather than one professional. “Group counseling overall is re ally effective,” Bettor said, “because you have connections and get sup port from your peers.” Dr. Nick Dobrovolsky, a Student Counseling Service psychologist, said group counseling can improve a stu dent’s academic performance and im prove their relationships with other students and professors. “The way that it (group counsel ing) can help A&M students is that it will allow them to more effective ly deal with the stresses of academ ic life,” he said. Help is available for students after business hours through the HelpLine, which has received over 1,000 calls since it began two years ago. The HelpLine is staffed by 48 undergraduate and graduate stu dents who have been through 40 to 50 hours of training. They an swer students’ calls at night and during the weekend. “[There is] virtually never a time when you can’t get a hold of a person,” Birch said. Students can listen to self-help tapes through the CounseLine, which are three to four minutes long and offer advice on a problem students may have. See SCS, Page 5 The Battalion INSIDETODAY CARAVAN: The Astros came to Post Oak Mall yes terday to discuss the off season personnel changes. Sports, Page 7 Aggielife Opinion WhaLs Up Page3 Page 11 Page 12