Texas A & M University
35
54
33
YEAR • ISSUE 68 • 8 PAGES
COLLEGE STATION • TX
TODAY TOMORROW
See extended forecast. Page 2.
FRIDAY • DECEMBER 5 • 1997
lei recommends
>1 expense curb
HKWyAfeHINGTON (AP) — Conclud-
that tuition has grown faster
I tlfie cost of educating stu-
Is, panel recommended Thurs-
;COlleges curb expenses and
■more information available on
Aand student aid.
National Commission on the
It of Higher Education, agreeing
; eC( mmendations to Congress
■e White House after just four
fiths of work, also questioned
|iteed tenure for faculty and
la mandatory retirement policy.
The 11-member panel, chartered
H this year by Congress, held its
fjllublic meeting just two days af-
jmg cautioned by the chair of
|House Education Committee,
Bill Goodling, R-Pa., not to un-
3te the problem.
aharrfs condition
graded to stable
JJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The
JBilly Graham has pneumonia
|i|s responding well to treat-
mi his doctor said Thursday,
lie 79-year-old evangelist was
■italized Wednesday night for
Btiment of the respiratory infec-
|i| which he developed during a
lipbean vacation.
|‘He’s responding nicely. I don't
E^fiere will be any complica-
Dr. Charles Burger, pul-
-ary medicine specialist at Mayo
iC-Jacksonville, who is treating
[(ham, said.
1e is listed in fair condition at
jluke’s Hospital, which is affiliat-
ifith the Mayo-Clinic Jack-
liville, a satellite clinic of the
jied Rochester, Minn, clinic.
Physicians ran a series of tests
araham Thursday which indicate
infection in his right lung is
uring, his fever has subsided
his white blood count is back
normal.
|udy shows folic acid
luces birth defects
WASHINGTON (AP) — Adding folic
I to women’s diets during child-
^ering years can reduce brain and
lal-cord birth defects by almost
alt, says a study that reinforces fed-
pl plans to fortify bread and cereals
pth the vitamin.
|Dr. James L. Mills of the National
Ititute of Child Health and Human
i/elopment said the study shows
bingeven a small amount of folic
fid a day can have a strong effect on
1 number of babies born with neural
le defects such as spina bifida.
I “There has been a lot of debate if a
Jail amount of folic acid will do any-
|fling to prevent neural-tube defects,”
|d Mills. “Nobody knew what mini-
Im dosage was needed.”
[Now, he said, it is clear daily
sages as small as 100 micrograms
|folic acid can reduce the number of
ch defects by around 22 percent,
[sages of 400 micrograms cuts de
bts by about 47 percent, Mills said.
lifestyles
Mary Melodies:
Seven Mary
Three to perform
tomorrow night
at Dixie Theatre.
furton: Day of not spending
loney improves spirit of
Capitalistic America
See Page 7
Regents reject bids for Kyle project
By Colleen Kavanagh
Staff writer
The Texas A&M System Board of
Regents rejected all bids received for
the Kyle Field expansion project and
authorized a budget increase for the
project Thursday in Commerce.
The bids were all $10 million
more than the estimated budget.
The budget was increased from
$28.5 million to $37.8 million.
Terri Parker, director of communi
cations for the System, said the 12th
Man Student Foundation has agreed
to cover the increased budget costs.
“The project is being revised, so
that the cost will be within the scope
of the proposed budget,” she said.
In other business, the Board ap
proved proposals for Sbisa Dining
Center renovations, cooling tower
replacements, a geology bachelor of
arts program and a public health
masters program.
The public health, geology and
Kyle Field proposals have to be ap
proved by the Texas Higher Educa
tion Coordinating Board at their
meeting in January.
Sbisa renovations are estimated
to cost $6.6 million. The main en
trance will be re-established at its
original location facing Military
Walk, kitchen equipment will be
upgraded and kitchen areas will be
The spirit of giving
i
RONY ANGKRIWAN/The Battalion
Sheri Schmidt, coordinator of Diversity Education, buys Christmas gifts at the MSC bazaar Thursday afternoon.
Corps to march in San Antonio parade
By Rachel Dawley
Staff writer
As a prelude to the Big 12
Championship game Saturday,
the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets
will march in an early parade in
downtown San Antonio.
Chris Chase, inspector general of
the Corps and a senior history and
English major, planned this week’s
trip and parade.
“The Corps usually takes two
trips each fall, but this year it was
n’t feasible because there were no
schools close to A&M,” he said.
“Normally, we travel to Baylor
[University] and [University of]
Texas, but those games were at
home this year.”
The Corps marched in San Anto
nio before the 1994 Southwest Con
ference game between A&M and
Southern Methodist University.
“The Class of ’98 went to San
Antonio during their freshman
year,” Chase said. “The city is very
excited about us coming back be
cause there was such a large
turnout then.”
Chase said the trip is an oppor
tunity for cadets, especially fresh
man and sophomores, to get to
know others in their outfit and to
meet friends.
James Benham, a cadet in Com
pany C-2 and a freshman comput
er engineering major, said the pa
rade is an opportunity for cadets to
represent the University.
“Corps trips are a time for fish
to get to know their buddies bet
ter, as well as represent the Corps
and Texas A&M across the state,”
he said.
Cadets travel together with their
outfit, and normally stay at the
homes of fellow members.
Reagan O’Reilly, a cadet in
Squadron 17 and a freshman fi
nance major, said the cadets in his
outfit are traveling to the game and
midnight yell together.
“The trip provides us with a
chance to bond with our bud
dies outside the Corps environ
ment,” O’Reilly said. “It helps us
to get to know them on a more
personal level.”
The parade will begin at 11:30
a.m. near the corner of Dolorosa
“Don’t play up a dumb
quote just to make space.
Trust me, I’ll know.”
HELEN CLANCY
PROFESSIONAL BULLY
and San Saba streets. From there,
the Corps will march east along Do
lorosa to Market Street and contin
ue east on Market. The parade will
end at the intersection of Market
and Bowie streets.
Trey Herndon, a cadet in
Squadron 13 and a freshman me
chanical engineering major, said
the parade will allow the nation to
see the Corps and A&M.
“The Corps represents what
A&M was founded on,” Herndon
said. “Even if the rest of the country
only sees us for a few seconds, in a
high-profile game like the Big 12
Championship, it reflects well on
the University and the principles on
which it is based.”
The Aggie Band will lead the pa
rade and will stop and play near the
reviewing stand at Market and
Alamo streets as the remainder of
the Corps passes. Parson’s Mounted
Cavalry will ride as the parade’s fi
nal unit.
Gen. Lloyd W. Newton will be the
reviewing officer for the parade.
Newton is commander of the Air
Education and Training Command
headquartered at San Antonio’s
Randolph Air Force Base. The com
mand recruits, trains and educates
Air Force personnel and encom
passes 13 air bases nationwide.
renovated. The work will be done
during the next three summers.
Parker said the designers of Sbisa
Hall renovations want to maintain the
building’s historic architecture.
The cooling tower replacement
will complete a 15-year project to re
place the wooden cooling tower cells
with ceramic-filled concrete towers.
PITS
to close
red lot
By Amanda Smith
Staff writer
Construction will begin Dec. 10
in the red parking lot at the corner
ofWellborn Road and George Bush
Drive. Students who use this red lot
may use the blue-permit lots for the
remainder of the semester.
The red lot accommodates on-
campus students.
TomWilliams, the director of Park
ing, Traffic and Transportation Ser
vices (PTTS), said the construction
was delayed until after the last day of
classes to eliminate parking inconve
niences for students using the red lot.
Williams said students can start
using the blue lots Dec. 8 without
being ticketed.
“There should not be a problem
with parking,” he said. “We are ask
ing that students [using the lot]
move to the blue lots.”
Because demand for parking
spaces decreases during the spring
semester, Williams said the elimi
nation of the red lot should not pro
duce significant parking problems.
“The spring semester is lighter as
far as parking is concerned,”
Williams said. “There should not be
a parking crunch.”
The red lot under construction
has 300 spaces. Williams said blue
parking lots for the Reed Arena
should be completed by late spring.
The lot will have 1,500 spaces.
Williams said the red parking lot is
being eliminated for the develop
ment of practice fields in that area.
Guy Cook, the assistant manag
er of facilities construction, said the
practice fields should be completed
by the end of June 1998.
Wally Groff, athletic director of
Texas A&M, said the Athletic Depart
ment will have two grass practice
fields and one Astroturf field. He said
the decision to rebuild practice fields
accompanied the decision to change
Kyle Field from Astroturf to grass.
“It is the trend in college athlet
ics to play on grass,” Groff said. “If
you play on grass, then you need to
practice on grass.”
The construction will take out
some tennis courts and remove Mt.
Aggie, the simulated ski slope. Groff
said he expects Mt. Aggie to be moved
to West Campus near Reed Arena.
Student Senate works to bring
grade information to Internet
See Page 3
fmmmm
| Bex as A&M Football Team
prepares for Big 12 title game
vjersus Nebraska.
See Page 5
lttp://battalion.tamu.eclu
Jook up with state and na-
ponal news through The
fire, AP’s 24-hour online
jews service.
By Brandye Brown
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Student Senate
passed the Interaction Assurance
Bill Wednesday, which will make
grade distributions of classes acces
sible through the Student Govern
ment Association homepage.
The grade distributions are
scheduled to be on the homepage
next semester.
The bill also asks the classroom
communications form be put on
the Internet and the student’s name
be removed from the third and
fourth copies of the form.
Kaycie Swain, off-campus sena
tor and a junior political science
major, said the Senate felt the need
to take steps to improve the quality
of teaching because some of the
constituents were not satisfied with
classroom experiences.
“We have received a lot of com
plaints about the quality of teachers,”
she said, “and we have surveyed our
constituency on the issue, and many
students feel they do not receive the
quality teaching they deserve.”
The student’s name is removed
from the form so the professor,
the department head of the pro
fessor and the Provost’s office will
receive anonymous copies. The
SEN
student’s name will remain on the
copy submitted to the student’s
department head.
Swain said the classroom com
munication form is for students
to voice violations of University
policy by the professor. Swain
also said the form is not used of
ten because it can be a conflict of
interest if the student is enrolled
in the professor’s course.
“The forms help students deal
with situations where a student
would not want to confront the
teacher on their own,” she said.
“By removing the student’s
name, we are increasing the ef
fectiveness of the form and pro
tecting students who need to
voice their concerns.”
In other business:
•The Student Senate Transition
ing Procedures Bill and Senate Ab
sence Policy Reform Bill, which deal
with Senate rules and regulations,
were passed.
• The Q-Drop Period Extension
Bill, which would expand the time
to Q-drop until the last day of
class before dead week, was re
ferred to committee.
• A resolution was passed in sup
port of the Texas A&M Football Team
and Coach R.C. Slocum for capturing
the Big 12 South Championship. The
resolution also named the weekend
of Dec. 5-7 “The Fightin’ Texas Aggie
Football Weekend.”
RHA seeks solutions
to revenue problems
By Stacey Becks
Staff writer
The Residence Hall Association
tried Wednesday night to find ways
to offset revenue loss for the De
partment of Residence Life.
Mac Thomas, associate director
of housing assignments and con
ference services, said Residence
Life is losing money and is trying to
find the cause of the problem.
“Rather than spread the problem
out among everybody, we’re trying
to pinpoint the problem,” he said.
Thomas said the three main ideas
for halting revenue loss are to raise
deposits for housing by $ 100, charge
a $25 application fee and stop stu
dents from breaking contracts.
Peter Schulte, vice president for
administration and a sophomore
meteorology major, said losing the
current deposit of $200 does not stop
students from moving out mid-year.
“The $200 deposit is not a stiff
enough penalty to stop people
from moving out," he said. “The ex
tra $100 would help.”
Although some schools charge
an application fee, Texas A&M does
not. Thomas said the department
is losing money on processing ap
plicants who decide not to attend
A&M. It costs anywhere between
$25 and $31 to process one person
through housing, he said.
Nia Woods, hall director of
Mosher Hall and an educational
administration graduate student,
said students breaking contracts is
a problem in Mosher.
“In Mosher, lots of girls leave be
cause they pledge a sorority and
want to live in the house or with
friends,” she said. “Trying to keep
students in residence halls is hard.”