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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 1997)
Texas A Sc M University 1 Today Tomorrow See extended forecast, Page 2. lume 103 • Issue 145 • 6 Pages College Station, TX Monday, June 9, 1997 lEWS Briefs till 1 iyan man threatens icide in hotel room Bryan man, distraught over his I aration from his wife, locked him- hinahotel room and threatened tide before surrendering Sunday, an Police said. jSobert G. Rodriguez, 38, j edhis estranged wife at about pSunday morning and threat- Ntokill himself, BPD patrol I jeant Harvey Branch said. His .Jathen called the BPD, which ^Latched SWAT negotiation histothe Brazos Inn at 3313 ^"l highway 21 in Bryan. Wriguez emerged from the ., |mat4:30 p.m. and discard- r a Ills gun and ammunition, IP e "j-icti said. He was taken into itody for psychiatric evalua- Land was later charged with Hating a protective order for pacting his wife. Iloonewas injured in the incident. xal Red Cross isksfor donations lltieBrazos County Red Cross is Ineed of money because i in aid given to victims of but disasters in the area has Wed its budget. 1 :|!«o apartment fires in College ! lion this spring left 44 people out homes. Red Cross exhaust- tsresources helping victims of : accidents. 8ilThomas, Red Cross execu- sdirector, said the fund now sr-fads replenishing. nas said money contributions ire needed than clothes and ■on iw terns. |be| Iwantto make sure that peo- L.piiare made homeless have | fe fttlter, clothing and medical ex- L taken care of, and then are ’ penough to get back on their Ihe T"'fbomas said. n . jtaey vouchers for such items 0 {Wento disaster victims. ygj^eRed Cross receives much fits funding from United Way ^gi.'mail solicitation. Fund rais- I jJarealways a big help, Thomas i, pas are volunteers to help ‘ ■mrelief operations. ^iptroller Sharp % campaign papers has State Comptroller John irp began his campaign for -tenant governor June 7 by fil- paperwork with the Texas '«s Commission. Itough Sharp has not officially ounced his campaign plans yet, Ramsey, a Sharp spokesmen, he announcement would come ty shortly.” Sharp wants to succeed current tenant Governor Bob Bullock, •has said he will not seek re-elec- 'oext year. SPORTS ^Texas A&M 4xl00-meter by team brought home the lional crown this weekend. See Page 3. OPINION Piety’s treatment of elderly, fieless citizens displays 9 ttietic attitudes. See Page 5. ONLINE Wbat-web.tamu.edu out look ^e Batt’s Page. Rec Center cancels pass sales to appease local competitors ByJenaraKocks The Battalion Disagreement over the definition of a “stu dent” between the Student Recreation Center and local gyms prompted the Rec Center to stop selling “continuing passes” to students en rolled for fall but not summer classes. See Column, Page 5 Dennis Corrington, director of the Depart ment of Recreational Sports, said that before the cancellation, such “continuing students” were considered students. But a “good neighbor policy” between the Rec Center and the gyms capped the number of non-student passes the Rec Center could sell, and the gyms complained that continuing The Weight of the Cap Non-Student Membership Cap Estimated Number of Students Affected by Pass Cancellation Estimated .oss of Revenue students are non-students and should not be allowed to buy summer passes. Corrington has since redefined a “student” as one who is en rolled in the semester he or she wishes to use the Rec Center. Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. J. Mal- on Southerland, who concurred with Corring- ton’s decision to discontinue the passes, said lo cal businesses always thought continuing students were defined as non-students. “He (Corrington) made a decision in sup port of their (local businesses) perception,” Southerland said. Southerland said the businesses did not threaten legal action on the issue, but were “ag gressive in their request.” Steve Lumpee, manager of Gold’s Gym, said selling continuing passes violated the good neighbor policy. “They (the Rec Center) said they would try not to drastically affect the private sec tor,” he said. Lumpee said the center has affected local businesses because only two gyms remain open in the Bryan-College Station area since the Rec Center began operation. Corrington said the Rec Center and local gyms agreed on a 1,150 cap on the number of non-students, such as faculty and staff and families, who could buy a membership to the Center. But Corrington said this agreement did not define what constitutes a student. Corrington said some students are excep tions to the new policy, and these students will be added to the cap. Graduate assistants and student workers for the Rec Center can buy an employee pass for the summer. Students in the veterinary and medical colleges also can buy a Rec Center pass during the summer because their enrollment is defined on an annual basis. Corrington said that as of 10:30 a.m. June 4, the Rec Center was only 30 memberships away from the cap. Lumpee said he believed other student ser vices on the A&M campus cannot be used if a mm. * * m 1 m if.;*:?;., S'/ - ipgi = Money requested for '97-98 fiscally ear | = Proposed allocation for '97 '98 fiscal year Ainount in Millions Source: Bill Kibler , « student is not enrolled in classes. But at least two such services are available to continuing students. Charlene Clark, public relations officer for Sterling C. Evans Libraries, said “students continuing their studies in the summer or fall are still listed in the library’s pa tron database and retain their circulating or check out privileges, as well as their use of the online databases.” Kirk Cole, assistant to the director of A.R Beutel Health Center, said students who at tended in the spring but are not enrolled for the summer can pay the $44 health fee and use health services for the entire summer. At least two services are either not available to continuing students or are limited. Ted Sta- chowiak, associate director of Student Coun seling Services, said the services available to students enrolled in the fall but not the sum mer are limited to counseling on the student’s fall schedule. Director of Computing and In formation Services Thomas M. Putnam said computing resources are not available to stu dents who are not registered for classes. Graphics: Brad Graeber, Tim Moog and Stew Milne The Rec Center now also falls under the cat egory of services unavailable to students if en rolled in the fall but not the summer term. Corrington said the Rec Center will make up for the estimated $42,000 loss in continuing pass revenue through “salary saving and other savings methods.” Southerland said how the Rec Center will make up funds is under evaluation. He said the Rec Center receives no state funds and has to pay for itself through membership and student fees. However, Southerland said it is not an op tion to raise student fees because the fees are set by the legislature. “This is a direct hit on the Recreation Cen ter’s budget,” Southerland said. Southerland said he is uncomfortable with any long-term reduction in services to students. For the moment, he said, Corrington has agreed with the businesses, but Southerland said this matter is “definitely open to discussion.” “We will be working to get the needs for stu dents met while trying to understand the needs of local businesses,” he said. A&M System could get 11 percent boost in funds Budget bill allocates over $1 billion of state money CC By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion Need-based scholarships, non faculty pay raises, merit-based rais es and building improvements are among the higher-education alloca tions featured in the state budget bill approved by the Texas legislature. The bill awaits Governor George W. Bush’s approval or veto. Texas A&M University System Chancellor Dr. Barry Thompson said the bill would provide a boost to higher education in the A&M sys tem, including the College Sta tion campus. “With my 26 years of working with the Texas Legislature, I can say that this group of lawmakers put their hearts into ensuring that college students and their families, as well as the eco nomic future of our state, were among the top priorities this ses sion,” Thompson said. Approximately $1 billion in state support would be given to the A&M system for the next two years, bring ing the general revenue appropria tion up 11 percent from the previous fiscal period. Kathy L. Harris, A&M System communications specialist, said the extra money is necessary and will I, MBm ym. Bush benefit A&M in many ways. “We are really excited,” Harris said. “This is a real home run for higher education if the governor signs the bill.” Harris said improvement of high er education is the No. 1 goal of the bill. Its goal is to increase the num ber of college graduates in the state of Texas by concentrating on under graduate students. The bill calls for across-the-board pay raises for non-faculty, budgeted employees. The $100-per-month raise, the first such increase in four years, would go into effect Septem ber 1, 1997. A&M employs a fraction of the 220,000 state employees eligible for this raise. Employees on hourly wages will not be affected by the pay raise. Dr. Ray M. Bowen, Texas A&M president, would decide whether to give pay raises to faculty members based on a merit system and would make his decision at a later date. The A&M Financial Aid Depart ment would be granted an unspeci fied amount of money to go toward need-based scholarship recipients. Plans include a new scholarship, ti tled “New Horizons”, directed to ward minority students in need of fi nancial assistance. George Parker, A&M assistant provost, said students would benefit in three main ways from the increase in funds. “The budget affects salaries, de- This is a real homeruxi for higher education if the gov ernor signs the bill.” Kathy L. Harris Communications specialist, A&M System partmental operating expenses and a lot of other things that have to do with the resources that we have to carry out our mission in undergrad uate and graduate education,” Park er said. Students would benefit from funds allocated for scholarships, building and campus improve ments and more teacher-staff devo tion, he said. However, Parker said the faculty is already committed to serving un dergraduate students. Merit-awarded pay raises would allow professors and teachers more time to focus on classroom activi ties rather than financial situations elsewhere. “The faculty here work hard,” he said. “They work hard with the un dergraduates. They work hard with the graduate students.” Legislature TAGs over $9 million onto scholarship fund By Erica Roy The Battalion The Texas Legislature increased funding for the Texas Tuition Assistance Grant program from $98,000 to $10 million as part of the 1998-1999 appropriations bill. Texas high-school students from middle- to low-income families who hold a B average are eligible for the program, which would pay for college tuition and fees to a state uni versity. Students who receive tuition assistance must maintain a B average in college or lose eligibility. Nickie Obenhaus, the 1996-1997 Legislative Relations Com mittee chair and a senior chemical engineering major, said the $10 million will help more financially challenged high-school students to attend college. “It ( jjag) makes college so much more accessible to stu dents,” Obenhaus said. Chris Reed, the 1996-1997 Student Senate speaker and a se nior finance major, said TTAG will help relieve the burden of tu ition and fee increases for more students. “As we see fee increases and tuition rising, by having the state provide financial aid based on merit will really benefit A&M stu dents,” Reed said. Texas A&M along with the University of Texas, Texas Tech University and the University of Houston organized press con ferences and lobbied to legislators about TTAG. Mandy Gomez, external affairs chair for Student Senate and a junior political science major, said at least one A&M student was at the state Capitol every week during last semester talking to legislators. Gomez said the support from the universities showed stu dents care about their educations and futures. “When we went into the offices [of legislators] with so many voices, it was really hard for them not to listen to us,” she said. Gomez also said the Legislature is in support of higher edu cation, so it is important to have a student presence in Austin to push the increased scholarship funding through. Please see TTAG on Page 6.