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Texas A & M University
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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.”
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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. ”