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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1997)
nber 15,195 lames - Texas A & M University mmm TODAY TOMORROW 04™ YEAR • ISSUE 12 • 14 PACES COLLEGE STATION • TX See extended forecast, Page 2. TUESDAY • SEPTEMBER 16 • 1997 Worteen ed the 1 sing. Tl. on College’s et re accepting t ideas becaust student body, 'enson said par iltural Semces; and Southwes t Cion Terence erse environrae THEl LOO] DAY ESDAY ISC hosts forum |n photojournalism A program on the legal and Ihical aspects of photojournal- jn will be presented by MSC hat Issues tonight at 7 p.m. in 02 MSC. Speaking at the program will Donnis Baggett, editor and jiblisher of the Bryan-College lation Eagle, Dr. Douglas Starr jthe Texas A&M Department of Jurnalism and Mary Helen Bow ls of University Relations. oderate quake attles Mexico MEXICO CITY (AP) — A moder- earthquake rattled Mexico’s uthwestern Pacific coast on jnday and set skyscrapers faying in the capital. No injuries damages were reported. The quake occurred at 10:38 and was located off the xican state of Guerrero, in abed approximately 150 miles uth-southeast of Acapulco, smologists said. Mexico’s seismology institute id the quake measured magni- e 5.2. lourt rules out Ided redistricting HOUSTON (AP) — A federal court s rejected a Republican voter up’s request for more court-or- ed congressional redistricting in Houston and Dallas areas. The group, led by Houston in- tment broker Edward Blum, bied for the original redesign the districts devised by a ee-member panel of federal ges last year, but asked for ire changes earlier this year. In the Monday ruling, the panel nd that voters would be con ed needlessly if districts were re- iwn so close to the 2000 census, r which the districts would be re- iwn anyway. 9 project lacks deral funding McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A pro- al to link the Rio Grande Valley Jh a free-trade superhighway has |en given priority status in federal ;hway legislation, but the bill com- s no money toward the project. That brought no discouraging rds from Valley officials, who are king for any progress toward in- porating the area into the na- h’s interstate highway system. 1-69, dubbed the “NAFTA Super bway,” currently stretches from the Jnadian border at Port Huron, |ch.,to Indianapolis. Because of fnmerce brought by the North erican Free Trade Agreement, fed- I legislators have recognized the id to extend it to Mexico, identify- U.S. 59, U.S. 281 and U.S. 77 as jssible corridors for an extension. U.S. 59 passes through Laredo, tiile U.S. 281 and U.S. 77 run tirough the Valley. The A&M In line Hockey Team heads to Las Vegas I search of a National lampionship. See Page 9 — opinion ater: Aggie tradition of Sying ‘Howdy’ deals with cline in its value. See Page 13 http://bat-web.tamu.edxi took up with state and na- lonal news through The ire, AP’s 24-hour online lews service. UT, A&M react to prof’s remarks Staff and Wire Reports AUSTIN — The comments of a University of Texas law school pro fessor about black and Hispanic students, which ignited a firestorm of controversy at a school strug gling to boost minority enrollment, were condemned Monday by the university’s top officials. “Personally, we find his com ment abhorrent,” three top offi cials said. “We reaffirm today that the University of Texas belongs to all the people of this state.” The response came in a writ ten statement distributed to newspaper editorial pages across the state. It was signed by Donald Evans, chair of the UT Board of Regents; William Cunningham, chancellor of the UT system; and Spreading the word Group aims to revive ‘Howdy’ By Daniel Thevis Staff ivriter An organization known as Howdy Ags was estab lished this semester to revive the use of “Howdy” at Texas A&M and to renew the Aggie spirit. Pat Moran, co-founder of the group and a senior industrial distribution major, said the organization was formed because each year fewer students par- See related column, Page 13 ticipate in A&M traditions than in past years. “Over the years, participation in the (“Howdy”] tradition went down,” Moran said. “The goal of Howdy Ags is to get people reinvolved with the tra dition and show people how friendly A&M is.” Moran said the group has several ways to en- ^ courage partic ipation in the “Howdy” tradi tion. The orga nization sells T- shirts with the word “Howdy” printed on the front and “Save the Word” printed on the back. Moran said the organization also wants to distrib ute signs reading “Say Howdy” for students to display in residence-hall windows as reminders to those walking on campus. Chris May, co-founder and a senior finance ma jor, said the “Howdy” tradition sets the University apart from other institutions. “One of the reasons I came to A&M was because the campus was so friendly,” May said. “We want to do whatever it takes to make A&M the friendliest campus in the world.” May said Howdy Ags received 120 applications for committee membership. Of those, 35 applicants will be asked to join. The committee will meet regu larly and participate in activities to revive the tradi tion on campus. Moran said the committee will work with the Tra ditions Council in some of its activities. The Traditions Council holds “Howdy Week” once a semester, during which stickers are passed out and students are reminded of the tradition. Moran said Howdy Ags hopes to make the event more exciting than ever. He said the committee will talk with other cam pus organizations, including the Corps of Cadets, fraternities and sororities, about becoming involved with saving the “Howdy” tradition. May said Howdy Ags hopes to see every student become a part of the revival. “Not everyone at A&M says ‘Howdy’,” May said, “but all Aggies do.” Peter Flawn, interim president of the flagship campus, UT-Austin. Their reaction followed remarks made by UT law professor Lino Graglia last week at the announce ment of a new student organiza tion supporting a federal court rul ing outlawing race-based admissions policies in Texas. Graglia is a faculty adviser for the group. “Blacks and Mexican-Ameri- cans are not academically com petitive with whites in selective institutions,” Graglia said then. “It is the result primarily of cultural effects. They have a culture that seems not to encourage achieve ment. Failure is not looked upon with disgrace.” Graglia said it was unfortunate he and his remarks would be la beled racist. But he said the facts regarding most minority students’ study habits and their educational “We’ve done a lot of talking about diversity. It’s time to go out and do something about it.” CURTIS CHILDERS A&M STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT background are clear and called af firmative-action programs at tempts to ignore those facts. Since then, students, state law makers and others have called for Graglia’s ouster. University offi cials have said they can’t remove Graglia, a tenured professor, sim ply for expressing his opinion. Curtis Childers, Texas A&M student body president and a se nior agricultural development major, said this incident should be a catalyst for change in Texas universities. “It’s time for leadership on the [diversity] issue,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of talking about diver sity. It’s time to go out and do something about it.” Childers also said he hopes public interest in the National Post-Hopwood Summit in October increases after Graglia’s comments. “There’s a mixed message [to the public] if students are coming together to support diversity and people who the public perceives as being associated with the Uni versity of Texas are saying things like this,” he said. Childers said the comments could cause some universities to act on the issue of diversity. “It’s unfortunate, but sometimes it’s this kind of controversy that al lows change to happen,” he said. In a news release, Randy Cooke, Student Government vice presi dent at UT, said although Graglia has the right to voice his opinion, his comments are not indicative of UT’s position on diversity. “It must be made absolutely clear that Professor Graglia does not speak on behalf [of] the Uni versity of Texas at Austin, nor do his comments reflect the Univer sity’s prevalent attitudes toward minorities,” Cooke said. Please see Law School on Page 5. “We want to do whatever it takes to make A&M the friendliest campus in the world.” CHRIS MAY CO-FOUNDER OF HOWDY AGS Pit stop DEREK DEMERE/The Battalion Rob Mahin, show car coordinator for Texaco racing, shows off their Formula One car (foreground) and Stock car outside the MSC Monday afternoon Chinese delegation visits campus for training in the business aspect of sports By Karie Fehler Staff writer The Chinese Delegation of University Sport School Principals visited Texas A&M Sunday and Monday to learn more about sport management programs in the Unit ed States. Texas A&M was the only southwestern U.S. university the delegation visited. Last week they visited the University of Wind sor in Canada and the University of Michigan. The delegation’s next stop will be San Jose State University in California. Frank Ashley, associate dean of the College of Education and coordinator of the Texas A&M sport management pro gram, said the group wants to learn more about administration, organization and business aspects of sport management. “Sports are big business,” he said. “Just look at Tiger Woods — he’s the perfect ex ample. He’s making $60 million whether he wins or loses. There’s also big money in contracts, advertising and marketing. This is part of what the Chinese delegation is interested in.” The Cliinese delegation visited the Ne- tum Steed Laboratory, where they learned about scientific research and training pro grams in high-performance sports. Karl Mooney, associate athletic direc tor of academic affairs, spoke to the dele gation about the combination of sports and academics during a tour of Cain Hall. “I gave the delegation a complete view of what we do in terms of academic ath letic support,” Mooney said. “They learned about housing, Cain Hall com puter support and tuition support.” Mooney said the delegation was inter ested in A&M’s sport-computer programs and screening processes. “They were intrigued at how we keep track of all of our athletes,” he said. “They were also amazed at how we screen ath letes — they begin watching for talent much younger than we do. If the Chinese see a young child proficient in gymnas tics, they will generally steer that child to ward that sport. We don’t do that, and this interested them.” Tim Cassidy, assistant athletic director for football operations, spoke with the delegation about the criteria A&M uses in selecting athletes and coaches. Cassidy said universities typically re view high-school coach recommenda tions, character references and academic recommendations when looking for po tential recruits. He said coaches also visit high-school games and watch video tapes to evaluate talent. These practices are not common in China, Cassidy said. Please see Delegation on Page 5. NASA manager promotes leadership AMY DUNLAP/The Battalion Lucy Yates, a manager from NASA speaks to graduate students Monday morning. By Courtney See Staff writer A manager from NASA told MBA stu dents Monday morning that a master’s de gree .along with leadership skills, would en able them to advance in their careers. Lucy Yates, manager of the Internation al Space Station business management of fice for NASA at the Johnson Space Center, spoke about the space program and how business skills are incorporated into its operations. “At NASA, a master’s [degree] is neces sary to advance,” she said. “Besides educa tion, it’s how you apply the skills you learn in academics that makes you successful.” Yates discussed the development of the International Space Center from a busi ness perspective and gave students in sight into the daily obstacles facing the small management team as they try to make NASA function in a more business like manner. “Even with education, you must develop personal leadership,” she said. “You have to apply those skills to solve problems effi ciently, in a positive manner. That’s how you set yourself apart from the others.” Shelley Walls, a second-year MBA stu dent, said she was impressed by the effort Yates said business managers put forth. “Government work seemed a lot more challenging and interesting after she ex plained the logistical challenges,” Walls said. “When she first said that there were only 60 people managing, I thought that was insane. And then when she explained the complications of working with the cur rent business environment and the internal sensitivities involved, I thought that it was just amazing that anything gets done.” Michael Trott, a second-year MBA stu dent, said he had a better understanding of the NASA program after Yates’ presentation. “It gave me more of an idea of the inter action between business and politics in volved in the NASA program,” Trott said. Patrick Buzzard, a director of A&M’s MBA program, said students become more encouraged to work on their master’s de grees after hearing former MBA students’ experiences. “My responsibility is to get speakers and alumni to come and speak with the stu dents,” he said. “People don’t see a direct relationship between education and their future. They’re (former MBA students) do ing a lot for the MBA program.” Yates, who graduated from Texas Tech University with a degree in political science, worked on her master’s degree at the Uni versity of Texas at San Antonio.