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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1997)
rofs share views on Spanish Civil War Dave House, The Bai iaijon t.Tom Mitchell, a modern Id classical languages professor, leusses Spanish women's orga- tations at a symposium on the lanish Civil War Wednesday. By Erica Roy The Battalion Two A&M professors said the Spanish Civil War helped start the women’s movement in Spain and pre vented a German Civil War in the 1930s at a symposium Wednesday night in the John Wayne Stark Univer sity Center Galleries. Posters on display in the gallery were brought by U.S. volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln American Brigade, one of the international brigades that fought during the Spanish Civil War against the Spanish dictator Francis co Franco. Dr. Tom Mitchell, a professor in the department of modern and classical languages, said liberal and modern Spanish citizens fought against the formal church teachings of negative sexual messages. “The projected divorce of the church and state was not going to go uncontested,” Mitchell said. “It would in lead to the worst civil war of all times.” Mitchell said Spanish women’s po litical organizations formed and quickly became aggressive following conflicts with the church. Mitchell said the women groups wanted equal rights for both sexes. During the Spanish Civil War, women known as “militianas” (mili tary women) became figures in Spain. Mitchell said posters depicting beautiful women holding guns were powerful recruitment tools of men, but the majority of women soldiers were in non-combat situations. Some of these posters are displayed in the exhibit. See Views, Page 5 Dave House, The Battalion Dr. Robert Shandley, a modern and classical languages professor, explains German influences in the Spanish Civil War at a symposium Wednesday night. I &M grads find success as legislators By Graham Harvey The Battalion Graduates of Texas A&M can be und in all walks of life — includ- g government. r According to the Association of irmer Students, 12 state legisla- Irsand two U.S. congressmen are j liM graduates. State Senator Jeff Wentworth, ass of’62 and a Republican from in Antonio, is one of the state leg- lators who graduated from A&M. Wentworth said he was most dive as a cadet major in the Ag- eBand. He also served as a se- lior class representative to the fMSC Council and chaired the I’ho’s Who selection committee olitf 1 !■ set i for the Corps of Cadets. "Being in the Corps and going out in the field in practical warfare taught me the value of persistence and overcoming obstacles,” Went worth said. After graduation, Wentworth worked for Army counterintelli gence, became a legislative assis tant for a U.S. congressman and lat er went to Texas Tech Law School. After serving as a Bexar County commissioner and a state repre sentative, Wentworth today prac tices law and legislates in the Texas Senate. “I’m just damn proud to be a graduate of Texas A&M,” Went worth said. Democratic U.S. Congressman Chet Edwards is another A&M suc cess story. A biographical memo from Edwards’Washington, D.C., of fice oudines his accomplishments. Edwards, who currently serves on the House Appropriations Com mittee forTexas’ 11th District, grad uated from A&M in 1974 with a de gree in economics. He has received several awards as a Congressman, including the National Security Leadership Akward, given by the American Security Council for pro defense voting in the 103rd Con gress, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce “Spirit of Enterprise” award, honoring his pro-business legislative record. Kyle Janek, Class of‘80, also is a member of the Texas legislature. A Republican from Galveston, he serves the 134th District in the Texas House of Representatives. Janek said he was a resident adviser for Aston Hall and an ac tive Bonfire participant while at A&M. He graduated with degrees in zoology and premed and even tually became a doctor, practicing in Houston. In Austin, Janek serves on the House Committee on Public Health and the House Committee on Busi ness and Industry. He said his time at A&M helped prepare him for these leadership positions. “The camaraderie and team work of Texas A&M taught me the spirit of getting things done,” Janek said. Mil—I ni %%%%%% Mi plan 11 lope 11 Cold Feet Ryan Rogers, The Battalion Nelson Bums, MSC president and a senior international studies major, waits to be dunked during a Traditions Awareness event organized by the Traditions Council. Proposed curriculum rewrite causes uproar qTexas Eagle Forum leaders contend that the state's plan will weaken academics. (etii'f e# i r n!l [ ofits AUSTIN (AP) — A proposed state curricu- jj tn rewrite is tainted by a national effort at wmbing down” schools that includes putting Udents to work early, a Texas Eagle Forum ader charged Wednesday. But Marc Tucker of the National Center on Ed ition and the Economy—described by the con- rvative Eagle Forum’s Stephanie Cecil as push- r . ga plan that would weaken academics — said sgroup actually is working to strengthen educa- m around the country. “We would have virtually all the kids in the Unit- States meet academic standards that are way ove (current) high school graduation standards any state,” Tucker said in a telephone interview, cusing the Eagle Forum of purposely misrepre- nting his group’s work. Whether standards advocated by the NCEE are opted around the United States is up to state and Jal officials, Tucker emphasized. Texas and Tucker’s group are linked through the w Standards Project, a joint effort of the Wash- Pon-based, non-profit NCEE and the Universi- ofPittsburgh’s Learning Research and Develop- en t Center. rod 111 :VV d 1 ' The state has spent $1.6 million on mem bership dues for the program over several years. Officials said payments were suspended recently after conservative board members backed by groups including the Eagle Forum raised questions about the project. The State Board of Education this week is con tinuing its consideration of the curriculum rewrite. Backers describe it as an effort to make academic standards more rigorous while giving schools lee way in how they achieve the standards. Ms. Cecil and others criticize a proposal by Tucker to give students a “certificate of initial mas tery,” although that idea has not been advocated by Texas education officials. Tucker said this proposal would identify the countries with the most stringent standards in var ious subjects, look at what their students are re quired to know by age 16, and require U.S. students to meet that standard by the time they graduate from high school. “That is an academic standard that is way above what is now expected by any state of their students as a high school leaving standard,” Tucker said. U.S. students could begin trying to pass an exam to prove they have met that standard at age 16, earn ing a certificate. They then could go into a rigorous college preparatory program or into technical or professional preparation program, he said. Ms. Cecil said the national center’s work would result in “dumbing down academics by replacing a strong emphasis on core academics with hun dreds of training courses...” “Under the Marc Tucker plan, four years of rig orous academics (in high school) have been squeezed into two. For the second two years, stu dents will focus on career programs which have in terpersonal skills, personal qualities and work in volved in them,” she said. Ms. Cecil said the agenda is reflected in a de crease in the number of math and science courses under the proposed curriculum, while she said the number of career and technology courses have increased. Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe, however, said the rewrite would cut the number of career and technology courses avail able to schools from about 400 to 263. She said some courses were combined, while some that were ex perimental or had low enrollment were dropped. Mrs. Ratcliffe said a couple of science cours es were eliminated either because of low en rollment or weak content. She said some other courses were combined, and some were placed in a different category. As part of an effort to stop any influence by the “Tucker agenda” and support board members who have spoken out against it, Ms. Cecil and her group are organizing a march on the Capitol. The march will begin following a board vote on the proposed career and technology course cur riculum scheduled for Thursday, Ms. Cecil said. ► MSC Great Issues Panelists debate church, science By Jackie Vratil The Battalion Science vs. Religion. Six pan elists representing various reli gious views explored the interac tion of scientific research and the church Wednesday night in the Memorial Student Center, spon sored by MSC Great Issues. Natalie Berger, programs coor dinator and a sophomore com puter engineering major, said the program was prompted by the Pope's recent declaration that evolution is in agreement with biblical beliefs. “The recent cloning argument was also one of the reasons we thought this presentation would be appropriate,” she said. “We just really wanted to bring in different outlooks so people would have a broader sense of the issue (the conflict of religion and science).” Dr. Jon Alston, program moder ator and a sociology professor, be gan the presentation with a brief introduction of each speaker. Al ston said the conflict between reli gion and science arises when each discipline begins to deal with each other’s subject matter. “They (religion and science) are not mutually destructive,” he said. “Rather, they can coexist.” Monica Ashour, campus min ister for St. Mary’s Catholic Church, began her presentation Amy Dunlap, The Battalion Monica Ashour, campus minister for St. Mary's Catholic Church, discusses the relationship between science and religion. with a quote from Albert Einstein. “Science without religion is lame,” Einstein said. “Religion without science is blind.” Ashour continued address ing the relationship between the two. “Religion ensures science is compatible with the natural law,” she said. “Once science crosses that line, religion steps in. Otherwise religion has no say in science.” Ashour used the analogy of two overlapping circles to illus trate her point. “One circle is faith and the oth er is reason,” she said. “They in teract only at certain points. Where they do not interact, they ought not.” See Panelists, Page 5 Record rain brings mosquito invasion DALLAS (AP) — They send kids running inside on warm Texas summer days, ruin poolside family reunions and hamper outdoor bar becues — and this year they are back with a vengeance. Researchers say record rains will mean thousands of bloodthirsty mosquitoes are poised to invade Texas cities. And while the little bugs are usu ally just an itchy nuisance, health officials say the pests can carry dis eases like encephalitis that make the population boom a serious health threat. “If you’re a mosquito you couldn’t ask for a better year than this one,” said Jim Olson, an ento mologist at Texas A&M University. “Heavy rains have left a lot of stagnant wa ter and that’s where many mosquitoes lay their eggs.” The larger threat, Olson said, comes from flood water mosquitoes, which lay eggs in or near depressions in the ground in anticipation that rain will flood the areas. Olson says that for two years, thousands of eggs from the flood water species have been dormant in Texans’ yards, drainage pipes and community parks — waiting for a spring like this one. “I call them instant mosquitoes ... just add water,” Olson said. “And the past few months have added plenty of water.” In Houston, R.P. Jones, an ento mologist working for the city’s Mos quito Control Department, is preparing to lead a public and pri vate war against the insect invasion. Every morning he walks out of his suburban home, swatting away mosquitoes before heading to work to direct 30 vehicles and 60 workers in the fight to control the pests. “We’re already getting swamped with citizen complaints and we know this summer is going to be worse,” he said. “It’s going to be a war — and unfortunately the ene my is designed for survival.” Usually, South Texas cities like Corpus Christi, Victoria and Laredo get hit hardest by mosquitoes. But this year, because of heavy rains, North Texas cities may be worse off. The sprays commonly used to fog neighborhoods require the tiny insecticide droplets to come into di rect contact with the insects and killing them. But this year, Texans will hold fate in their own hands. “Now is the time to start empty ing out dog bowls, cleaning drainage pipes and throwing out old plants,” Olson said. Although mosquitoes are lead ing the charge, the wet breeding grounds are resulting in a pre dictable parade of fire ants, black flies, fleas, outdoor cockroaches and termites. F. Bradleigh Vinson, a fire ant spe cialist at Texas A&M University, said Texans can expect the fight against the perennial picnic spoilers will be especially tough to fight this season. “Fire ants do well in wet conditions because the soil is easier for them to till, making produc tion of their mounds easier,” Vinson said. “The water also car ries ants to places where they should n’t be and they de velop new colonies.” Meanwhile, sev eral species of ter mites are taking advantage of the moisture to lay their claim. The voracious, rapidly rfiiiltiply- ing Formosan termites have been identified as a problem in all five Gulf Coast States. As they leave wooden walls to set up new colonies, their swarms look like a cloud of dust from a distance. The termite clouds already have led dozens of people to B&G Chemi cal in Dallas. “People are coming in to try to get rid of the flying ones without re alizing that the flying ones mean their walls must be infested,” said John Villareal, an employee of the insecticide business. The Battalion INSIDETODAY Cay Awareness: m The A&M campus must face gay issues head-on. Opinion, Page 9 1 Aggielife Page 3 Toons Page 5 Sports Page 7 “If you're a mosquito you couldn't ask for a better year than this one.” Jim Olson Entomologist, Texas A&M