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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1998)
Maid Texas A & M University "It " i , ifei 76 1 74 163 :.im J TODAY TOMORROW YEAR • ISSUE 103 • 12 PAGES COLLEGE STATION • TX THURSDAY • MARCH 5 • 1998 ,aw school affiliation undergoes review By Robert Smith City editor thenic [ofmisj; i Haste; [own fa flaking ‘Big 12. bi fron. nonoc- k S p 0 . cas A&M University is reviewing its af- L )U „I inwith the South Texas College of Law, [wasu nill ask state higher education officials < e He y f° r approval to add the law school, i&M Chancellor Barry Thompson. |iencec ^ on l: know (if the affiliation will be ap- •baske'h)’ hut I am very hopeful that it will da\ hompson said Wednesday. \ Do, ie University signed an affiliation with bleak lw school in January, giving A&M its ivetT aw school and South Texas College of s name recognition. nenc ider terms of the contract, no money xchanged and South Texas will remain enafo; ■ a private school in Houston. The agreement also stated that the law school would change its name to “Soutli Texas College of Law of Texas A&M University.” The signing soon came under fire by some state leaders. Several state higher education leaders, including University of Houston President and Chancellor Arthur K. Smith, said the af filiation should have been approved first by the Higher Education Board. Ray Grasshoss, a Higher Education Board spokesperson, said A&M did not ask permission to add a law school before sign ing the affiliation. “The commissioner of higher educa tion and the chairman of the board have indicated that they have some strong con cerns about some of the provisions of the affiliation,” he said. Don Btown, Commissioner of Higher Education, met with Thompson and Don Powell, Chairman of the A&M University System Board of Regents, on Monday to ad dress the board’s concerns. Brown was out of town Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. The Texas Higher Educations Board sets policies for state universities and commu nity colleges, and approves campus con struction and academic degrees. Thompson said A&M officials will present an affiliation proposal to the board in May. He said he anticipates the board will make its de cision in July at its quarterly meeting. Thompson did not comment on provi sions that may or may not be made to the South Texas affiliation, but he said the law school will probably drop the A&M name on its advertisements and facilities. Frank T. Read, president and dean of South Texas College of Law, said in a press re lease Wednesday that the affiliation is “solid.” “No request has been made of us by any member of the Texas A&M Board of Regents that any aspect of the affiliation agreement signed in January be changed,” he said. “The law school is not opposed to minor alterations of the contract if it is in the best interest of both institutions, and if both the law school board and the board of regents approve.” \V ^ Of ^ /C ter OF sker re/L ounty judge lies portion r hazing w invalid By Amanda Smith Staff writer Brazos County judge ruled yes- ty in a pretrial hearing involving brmerTexas A&M Fish Drill Team )r advisers that a portion of a haz- tatute was unconstitutional, idge Sarah Ryan ruled unconstitu- tl the portion of the hazing statute i||.*h stipulates that incidents of haz- " oe reported. Ryan was unavailable Igpinn lent yesterday after the hearing. lv ounty Attorney Jim Kuboviaksaid A: county will appeal the ruling on constitutionality of the hazing ite associated with the case nst former advisers, Javier Chapa Dustin Boyd. We|vill appeal the decision to so- ^ce y what is the constitutionality of hazing statute,” Kuboviak said, nporarily, the case is in limbo.” he appellate court may affirm or tt the; rulinguaf the county judge, iin James, the attorney represent- Chapa and Boyd, said he was ised with the ruling but said Texas A University needs to check into cases of other cadets involved in ing suits. fdflt’l amazing that the administra- , has not to my knowledge talked to ' ! sts ; involved (in hazing suits) kpj>se cases are already over,” James . “I think there’s a lot of posturing lag on at Texas A&M University.” he Fish Drill Team was disbanded August after freshman members iplained of alleged hazing practices. J.S. District Judge Sam Kent ruled ebruary to free four top A&M offi- |!» from liability in a separate $25 mil- suil filed in July by former Texas -•M Fish Drill Team member Travis c, n. Alton accused drill team junior isers of participating in hazing CSfctices. He said Texas A&M officials j knowledge of the hazing incidents, 'reviously, Chapa and Boyd made Aments indicating they discouraged ing activities in the Fish Drill Team. Heavy water Former students to give advice to Aggies By Kelly Hackworth Staff writer College of Liberal Arts students can meet former students and ask questions about job searching, interviewing, resumes and career options at the Student-Alumni Networking Forum today from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in 501 rudder. The forum is part of Liberal Arts Career Week being held March 2-6 sponsored by the Liberal Arts Student Council and the College of Liberal Arts. All students are welcome. The student-alumni forum will consist of a panel of nine individuals and will be in a question and answer format. The attire is business casual. Julie Caskey, director of the alumni forum and a sophomore psychology major, will serve as the mediator and will take questions from the audience. Matt Kimbrough, Liberal Arts Student Council president and a senior english major, said the forum is a good way for students to learn from the alumni. “The forum is a sharing of experiences and a passing on of knowledge from the alumni to the students,” he said. Joe Feist, panelist, Class of 75 and manag ing editor of the Bryan-College Station Eagle, said the goal of the forum is to acquaint liberal arts majors with available career opportunities. “We want to show them how people who went through the liberal arts program at Texas A&M have progressed in the work force,” he said. Wendy Blake, panelist, Class of ’89 and assistant director of the Lowry Mays MBA program, encourages students to pursue a graduate degree suited to their interests. Students should also try to obtain their de grees from universities in other regions of the country, she said. “This allows for exposure to different ways of thinking,” she said. “It made me a more at tractive candidate when applying for a job be cause I had exposure to different experiences.” MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion Brian Correll, a reactor operator and sophomore electrical engineering major, takes radioactive samples at the nuclear power plant on Wednesday. Puerto Rico to hold vote on becoming 51 st state WASHINGTON (AP) —A vote by Puerto Ri cans oh whether to become the 51st state moved a step closer Wednesday after the House rejected efforts by statehood opponents to make English the official U.S. language. Legislation supported by President Clinton and both GOP and Democratic House leaders would set up a three-way vote in Puerto Rico before the end of 1998, Puerto Rico’s 100th an niversary as U.S. territory. Voters would choose whether they want to remain a self- governing U.S. commonwealth, gain state hood or become an independent country. Final vote on the plebiscite bill was ex pected late in the evening as the House worked on other amendments. The House voted 265-153 for an amend ment that would subject Puerto Rico, if it be comes a state, to the same language require ments of any other state. That vote scuttled an amendment that would have declared English the official lan guage of the United States, imposing special requirement on Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico. Non-Puerto Rican House members op posed to statehood had led the English-only drive, which sparked a fiery debate. The House also rejected an effort by Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., to allow Puerto Ricans now living in the 50 states to vote in the spe cial referendum. Even if statehood wins the plebiscite, the bill allows for a 10-year transition period and requires several votes by Congress and Puer to Ricans before a change in status. A similar bill is pending in the Senate. Puerto Ricans themselves are split over the need for a plebiscite and the statehood is sue, although two-thirds of the common wealth’s elected officials support statehood, according to Puerto Rican Senate President Charles A. Rodriguez. Statehood trailed com monwealth status in a close 1993 vote, with less than 5 percent opting for independence. INSIDE o P'Z*t iY U 26 MSC OPAS readies for its 26th season of entertaining the A&M student body and B-CS. See Page 3 School presidents’ salaries out of line study concludes a<M blanks No. 20 Universi- )n ,of Michigan 12-0 in front Olsen fans. See Page 7 m te Mlett: Instant run-off Actions create a more lj Ficient selection process. jja See Page 11 mSBBZ 1 / / battalion, tamu.edu 3 >ok up with state and na- \unal news through The ire, AP’s 24-hour online jws service. AUSTIN (AP) — Pay raises for top uni versity executives are demoralizing to the schools’ faculty and staff members, a group representing those employees said Wednesday. The Texas Faculty Association released a salary survey based on data it obtained through the Texas Public Information Act. The group said the average salary for university presidents and chancellors is $170,621 — up $10,373, or 6.4 percent, from the previous year. For community college executives, the salary figure was $105,593, a raise of $4,536 or 4.5 percent. “The salary increases for presidents and chancellors should not be out of line with those for the faculty and staff. When they are, it is tremendously demoralizing,” said Jim Phaup, who chairs the faculty associa tion’s governmental relations committee. “Low morale undermines perfor mance. And that’s not good for our stu dents,” Phaup said. The group cited as an example Univer sity of Texas System Chancellor William Cunningham, whose salary rose $49,000, 16.3 percent, to $350,000. “There’s always money for top UT offi cials, but there’s never money for staff,” said Peg Kramer, a UT-Austin student adviser and president of the University Staff Association. She told the Austin American-Statesman her organization is exploring the possibili ty of unionizing to push for better wages for non-teaching university staff. Raises averaged 4.9 percent this fiscal year, according to UT budget office data. A consultant last year found that of 6,281 UT- Austin staffers surveyed, 94 percent were paid below the market average. “Our staff salaries are ridiculous throughout the system,” said Lowell Leber- mann of Austin, one of the nine UT re gents. “But I don’t see that as the same thing” as Cunningham’s salary. Cunningham is the chief executive of the state’s largest higher education system, with 150,000 students. Regents, who set salaries, hired a con sulting firm that reported the chancel lor’s pay was below par when compared with those of 14 public and 12 private schools nationwide, said regent Dub Rit ter of Tyler. “We think Dr. Cunningham’s salary is very fair,” said regent Patrick Oxford of Houston. Of Cunningham’s salary, $70,231 is paid with state appropriations; the remainder comes from private donations, Ritter said. He said Cunningham wasn’t involved in salary discussions. The Texas Faculty Association study said Texas Tech Chancellor John Mont- ford’s salary rose 7.5 percent, to $290,184, making him the second-highest paid Texas university administrator. Trees replaced on drill field By Lyndsay Nantz Staff writer Out with the old oaks and in with the new. Tlie live oak trees that circle O. R. Simpson Drill Field are dying and being replaced with healthy young oaks this week. The trees were planted 78 years ago on the Simpson Drill Field in front of the MSC as a memorial to the Aggies who died in World War I. Some of the trees are dying of oak decline, a dis ease caused by soil compaction and root damage. Mike Goldwater, assistant director of Facil ity Maintenance and Renovation, said the compaction probably started as early as 15 years ago when Old Main was renovated. “The trees slowly die over the years,” he said. “Oak decline covers a large range of prob lems in trees, but these trees most likely died of soil compaction that occurred years ago.” Charles Sippial, assistant vice president for the Physical Plant, said the trees were medicated be fore the decision was made to replace them. “What we did with the trees was treat them and cut back on them to keep them looking healthy,” Sippial said. “But we really can’t do that anymore.” The 20 new trees are being planted adjacent to the existing trees on the inside of the sidewalk. “Because the trees are a memorial,” Sippial said, “when we remove the dead trees we want and need their replacements already there.” Live oak is the most common tree on cam pus because of its heartiness and longevity. The trees can live over 100 years in optimal conditions and are the only trees on campus ■^2 BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion Angel Coronado, tends the newly planted oaks. that have leaves this time of year. “These trees can take abuse and still survive,” he said. “They do well with our water, even though it is high in sodium, but anything from storms to construction can shorten the longevity of a tree. ”