The Battalion
)lume 103 • Issue 101 • 10 Pages
The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu
Wednesday, February 26, 1997
Students meet with A&M colleges
enate passes bill
or tenure review
AUSTIN (AP) — State universi-
es would have to review tenured
rofessors’ performance at least
once every six years under a bill
passed by the Texas Senate.
The bill by Senate Education
lommittee Chairman Teel
jivins, R-Amarillo, passed Tues-
lay and goes to the House for
gjonsideration.
Under the measure, universi-
|es would be required to establish
system for reviewing tenured
Irofessors, whose jobs tradition-
]lly have been secure.
An unsatisfactory review could
^ad to disciplinary action, includ-
ig dismissal.
The University of Texas System
loard of Regents already has an
nounced review guidelines. The
Texas A&M University Board of
legents has passed a resolution
[equiring a review process.
The idea has raised concern
linong those who say tenure has
Irotected professors who express
Inpopular ideas, and thus acade
mic freedom. They cite policies
(hat have allowed even tenured
brofessors to be dismissed for
fause, such as incompetence.
Supporters of review, however,
■ay they've heard from parents,
/'Students and even professors con-
ierned that some faculty slack off
I after being granted tenure.
“Academic freedom is one of
the most important concepts that
we have ... but so is accountabili
ty to taxpayers,” who pick up the
bulk of the tab for public higher
education, said Bivins. He said his
bill would provide a good balance.
Sen. Steve Ogden, whose district
includes Texas A&M, opposed the
bill and expressed concern about
the potential for harmful effects.
“How do we keep this bill from
having the very real, unintended
consequence of this being used as
a political weapon?” asked Ogden,
R-Bryan.
Under Bivins’ bill, tenured
faculty members would face
evaluation at least once every six
years on how well they are carry
ing out their professional re
sponsibilities, such as teaching,
research and administration.
The review would be directed
at professional development, but
faculty members would be subject
to disciplinary measures for such
reasons as incompetence or un
satisfactory performance.
Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-
Austin, added provisions to the
bill that he said would give pro
tection to faculty. They include re
quiring faculty input when de
signing the review system and
recognizing professors’ due
process rights.
Black Awareness Committee
estival celebrates
nified community
By Laura Oliveira
The Battalion
H/V unified African-American com-
gnunity will celebrate the successes
ofBlack Histoiy Month today at the
third annual Harambee festival.
■Eric Curley, chair of the Memorial
Student Center Black Awareness
kjmmittee and a junior biochem-
major, said this year’s theme,
■pliftment and Enrichment: The
Td to a better black
lOjnorrow,” empha-
es unity within the
lican-American
lommunity.
■“In order for us to
ichieve anything we
must be unified first,”
he said.
■The event., spon-
lorcd by the commit
tee and the Pan-Hel
lenic council, will
iegin at 7 p.m. in
Rudder Theatre and
pll showcase 23 African-American
pBjanizations.
^MlaSondra Carroll, director of
"•grams for the committee and a
sophomore journalism major, said
pie event will allow organizations to
plow students what they are about.
■ “We want to show students how
they can be an asset to the Univer-
fity and how they can play a role in
[ Ihe things that go on,” she said.
Carroll said the organizations
“In order for us to
achieve anything,
we must be
unified first.”
Eric Curley
Chair, MSC Black
Awareness Committee
wm
onfire crane operator
dies in San Antonio at 72
Thomas E. “Preacher” Thornton died Monday night at
Southeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. Thornton, 72,
had worked with Aggie Bonfire for over 20 years. Thorn
ton operated the crane at stack site and was a longtime
employee of the H. B. Zachary engineering company.
The Battalion
INSIDETODAY
La Salle: The 17th-century
explorer’s sunken ship and
abandoned fort are yielding
clues to history.
Aggielife, Page 11
World
Page 6
Sports
Page 7
Opinion
Page 9
► Representatives
from nine colleges
provided information
on degree plans at
ExCel Plus College
Night '97.
By Graham Harvey
The Battalion
Freshman and sophomore stu
dents met with representatives of
Texas A&M’s nine colleges last night
at ExCel Plus College Night ’97 in
Rudder Tower.
George Castorena, co-adviser for
ExCel Plus and a student affairs and
higher education graduate student,
said the event was held primarily
for freshman and sophomore mi
nority students.
“This program'provides infor
mation concerning the different
majors at A&M,” Castorena said.
About 10 students attended Col
lege Night ’97 looking for informa
tion about degree programs.
Among the representatives, were
those from the General Academics
and Honors Programs.
This is the second College Night
held at A&M.
Anitra Johnson, director of pro
grams for ExCel and a junior bio
medical science major, said the suc
cess of the first event, held last fall,
prompted a second one.
Before the event began, Johnson
said she expected about 50 students
to show up.
Castorena said he was disap
pointed to see only 10 students at
the event. He said the rainy weath
er may have kept them away.
Tamara Allen, a freshman busi
ness major, said the representatives
from the College of Business helped
her with specific decisions about
her major.
“They were very friendly and ac
commodating,” Allen said. “A lot of
questions were answered about infor
mation I didn’t even think to ask for.”
Allen said the representatives
she spoke with were encouraging.
“I was congratulated for my
freshman success and wished the
best for the future,” she said.
Allen said she especially appreciat
ed the presence of student represen
tatives from the College of Business.
She said the student representatives
helped her to see the College of Busi
ness from a student’s perspective as
well as an administrator’s.
Johnson said ExCel began 10
years ago as a support organization
for incoming minority students.
In addition to College Night, Ex
Cel hosts an annual weekend con
ference before the fall semester and
provides year-round academic
counseling.
The organization has also initi
ated a class within the Department
of Management that teaches study
skills and time management.
Johnson said ExCel’s purpose is
to offer support and guidance to
underclassmen.
“ExCel is a program aimed at re
taining minority freshmen and
sophomores at Texas A&M Univer
sity,” Johnson said.
also serve as support groups for
African-American students who
feel isolated.
“Students may come to A&M
and be the only minority in their
class,” she said. “You see no one that
looks like you.”
Carroll said low minority enroll
ment at A&M did not discourage
her from attending the University.
“I wanted to go beyond my com
fort zone,” she said. “I do not want
to miss out or miss
the opportunity to
do something be
cause I put myself
in a box.”
Stephenie
Rhodes, BAG advis
er, said this year’s
festival includes
more of the sur
rounding commu
nity in the festivities.
“This festival is
one way we can
reach out to the
community,” she said.
Shiloh Baptist Church Bell
Choir will perform and Fade to
Black will dance at today’s festival.
Curley said he enjoys seeing the
community get involved with
Harambee.
“When you see the little kids
come and sing and dance it is really
great,” he said. “I like to see that we
are keeping it opened to the com
munity and not just the campus.”
Simple Treasures
Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
Cheng-Non Hsu, president of the Taiwan Student Association and civil engineering graduate student,
explains Oriental ornaments to Rajan Visanathan, a civil engineering graduate student, and his wife
Susheela Rajan during International Week at the MSC.
GOP one vote short of balanced budget amendment
- WASHINGTON (AP) — The balanced budget
amendment to the Constitution teetered on the
brink on Tuesday as a pivotal Democratic fresh
man endorsed the measure and one final uncom
mitted senator weighed a make-or-break decision.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Sen. Mary Landrieu,
D-La., said in announcing she would vote for the
Republican-crafted measure despite reservations.
Barring any last-minute switches, Landrieu’s de
cision appeared to leave the fate of the amendment
in the hands of Sen. Bob Torricelli, D-N.J., who
pledged to disclose his decision on Wednesday.
Torricelli supported the measure two years ago
in the House. He has been uncommitted since his
election to the Senate in November, even as the
White House and Democratic leaders have lob
bied him to oppose the measure now.
And at day’s end, the White House addressed
one of Torricelli’s concerns when it quietly an
nounced creation of a presidential commission to
study capital budgeting.
“I understand the enormity of the moment,”
Torricelli said as he pondered his decision.
With a final vote expected by early next
week, the party’s leaders seemed locked in a
war of nerves.
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, lead
ing the opposition, conceded, “our momentum
has lost a couple of wheels” with Landrieu’s an
nouncement. He added, though, “I think it is en
tirely possible we could win this.”
Majority Leader Trent Lott told reporters he
could count “about 66” votes for the measure, one
shy of the two-thirds needed to prevail, but sug
gested there may be a surprise or two.
“There’s more than one senator who is still con
sidering how to vote on final passage,” he said with
an air of mystery.
Privately, though, GOP aides said Republicans
were prepared to let the measure fail rather than
bow to Democratic demands for changes. These
aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted
that all 55 Senate Republicans are lined up to vote
for the measure, but thus far, only 11 of 45 De
mocrats have done so — a breakdown that would
make it relatively easy to make an issue of the mea
sure’s defeat at the next election.
The measure, a cornerstone of the Republican
legislative agenda, would require a balanced bud
get by 2002 and require a three-fifths vote of Con
gress to run a deficit any year thereafter.
Morning-after pill wins FDA approval
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ameri
can women who are raped, whose
birth control fails or who just for
get in the heat of the moment can
use high doses of ordinary birth
control pills to prevent pregnancy,
the government said Monday.
The Food and Drug Adminis
tration said six brands of birth
control are safe and effective
“morning-after pills,” the first fed
eral acknowledgement of the
emergency contraception that Eu
ropean women have been pre
scribed for years.
“The best-kept contraceptive se
cret is no longer a secret,” said FDA
Commissioner David Kessler.
“Women should have the informa
tion that this regimen is available.”
The decision opens the door for
companies to specially package
birth control pills for women to
have on hand in case of an emer
gency, just as the pills are routine
ly sold overseas.
Contraceptive manufacturers
so far have refused to sell what the
government terms emergency
contraception here, citing litiga
tion and political fears.
So while it is legal for doctors to
prescribe emergency birth control
— and the American College of
Obstetrics and Gynecology in De
cember endorsed it — few physi
cians know the proper doses and
few women even know to seek it.
The FDA’s decision could
change that. One small company,
New Jersey-based Gynetics, is de
veloping a specially packaged ver
sion of birth control it hopes to sell
for emergency use next year.
And the FDA’s instructions were
purposefully detailed enough to
tell family-planning clinics and
private doctors the right dose to
hand to women today.
“This should be in everyone’s
medicine cabinet,” said Janet Ben-
shoof of the Center for Reproduc
tive Law and Policy.
The FDA announced Monday
that high doses of six popular
birth-control brands, when taken
within three days of unprotected
sex, are 75 percent effective at pre
venting pregnancy.
For every 100 women who
have unprotected sex during the
second or third week of their
menstrual cycle, eight would nor
mally become pregnant — but
Morning-after pill
The Food and Drug Administration has published guidelines for “morning-after”
contraception, in which high doses of birth-control pills are taken after unprotected sex.
The method prevents pregnancy 75 percent of the time.
Manufacturer
Wyeth-Ayerst
Wyeth-Ayerst
Wyeth-Ayerst
Wyeth-Ayerst
Berlex Laboratories
Berlex Laboratories
Dosage
Two up to 72 hours after sex;
two 12 hours later
Four up to 72 hours after sex;
four 12 hours later Light i
Four up to 72 hours after sex;
four 12 hours later
Four up to 72 hours after sex;
four 12 hours later
Four up to 72 hours after sex;
four 12 hours later Light i
Four up to 72 hours after sex;
four 12 hours later
'Drugs must be prescribed by a physician. The second dosage must be taken exactly 12
hours after the first.
Source: Food and Drug Administration
only two would if the women took
emergency contraception, ex
plained Dr. James Trussell of
Princeton University.
His research convinced the
FDA that emergency contracep
tion could prevent up to 2.3 mil
lion unplanned pregnancies a
year, 1 million of which now end
in abortion.
AP
“We’re going to see a really big
change here,” said Trussell, who
helped set up a hot line and Inter
net service that offers women in
formation about emergency con
traception and addresses of
nearby doctors who already pre
scribe it.
See Pill, Page 5