Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1998)
Texas A & M University i™ YEAR • ISSUE 115 • 8 PAGES COLLEGE STATION • TX TODAY TOMORROW FRIDAY • MARCH 27 • 1998 EWS Briefs [key awarded for ✓ice, dedication p Texas A&M University System of Regents recognized Texas |faculty physician Dr. Nancy W. ’ for her service to medicine and university. K Boa'd approved a resolution 1 their meeting Thursday in Col- itation recognizing her “leader- ind vision in advancing the goals bjectives of medical education : achieving nationwide recognition | commitment to the medical pro- n.” :key is an associate professor in xas A&M University Health Sci- ^enter College of Medicine’s De- lent of Family and Community line. was elected to the American lal Association’s Board of |es in 1989 and became its chair )5. She was elected president- 3f the AMA in June 1997 and will ie president of the organization 1998. will be the first women presi- fn the 150-year history of the pember organization. [sidency, press >e discussed inst the backdrop of media surrounding President Clin- Fexas A&M’s Journalism De- jient will present an afternoon Tlitics, the Press and the Pres- |y” featuring reporters who jeen in the thick of it. program, which is open to the is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. day in Room 158 of the Blocker ng- DeFrank, who covers Washing- r the New York Daily News; Peter Ipel, a former press aid to Presi- t Bush: and George Edwards, di- of the Center for Presidential ?s at Texas A&M, will discuss cur- )ast and future relations between ress and the presidency at the ■table discussion. Jr more information, contact the halism Department online at J://www.journalism.tamu.edu> lessor to give Iress in Kowloon &orge J. Mann, the Ronald L. Sk- lEndpwed Professor of Health Fa- Design in the College of Archi- re, will present two slide bntations to the Hong Kong Hos- 'kUthority in Kowloon, ann’s first lecture, on Saturday, will fititled “Lessons From Abroad — fiopsis of Designs for Ambulatory, and Extended Care.” i Tuesday, Mann will speak to 250 taff members of the hospital au- at the Hong Kong Health Care |n Symposium 1998. tie theme of the symposium will be ^ting the Challenges of Creating a ^omoting Environment.” N S I D E uggielife torth SyjTpr^hgjite lie festival en- Iits two-day run ^ents, with -mic perfor- ices and ds at Northgate venues. See Page 2 £ie Baseball Team plays t of three weekend nes against KSU today. See Page 4 opinion rtin: Twenty-first century market demands ativity for success. See Page 7 tp: / / battalion.tamu.edu ok up with state and na- nal news through The re, AP’s 24-hour online »vs service. Senate proposes class-time change By Stacey Becks Staffwriter The Student Senate Wednesday night agreed to propose a revision of the class schedule at the Bush Aca demic Building to give students coming from the main campus more time to get to class. Rachel Ferguson, a senator and senior elementary education major, said this could help students who are having a hard time getting to class on time when they commute from main campus to Bush school. “I think it would be very benefi cial to students taking classes at the Poster pizazz Bush Complex to have staggered schedules,” she said. “It would pre vent students from being late to class and the professors won’t have student interruptions constantly.” The bill would allow for a 35 minute time-gap between classes at the Bush Library and classes at main and west campuses. The class es at Bush on Monday, Wednesday and Friday would start at 8:35 a.m. and Tuesday and Thursday classes would start at 8:45 a.m. Classes on all campuses start at 8:00 a.m. now. Peter Schulte, a senator and a sophomore meteorology major, said the time classes start could hurt some students with afternoon jobs. “For students who need classes to be over by noon for jobs, this is not a good idea,” he said. “I am not against the bill, but the proper weight wasn’t given to each idea. The main input was taken from stu dents who are currently taking classes at Bush.” Schulte said the downside of the bill is that students taking classes at the Bush Library will not be able to take the next class on the main cam pus because the classes will coin cide. It could put pressure on all of West Campus to make the time gap 35 minutes, he said. Carl Richard, academic business administrator for the political sci ence department, said not includ ing the entire West Campus would be a problem. “A small group of political sci ence faculty met with the depart ment head and all of the faculty members thought it would be better to have all of West Campus on the time zone and not just Bush.” In other business, the Student Senate: •Passed a bill that requires ap pointments made by the Executive Branch requiring Senate confirma tion to go before the Appointment Recommendations Board. •Passed a bill that requires adver tisements from all Student Govern ment Association groups to contain the SGA logo and slogan. •Passed a bill that changes the number of votes necessary to call a recall vote from ten percent of a sen ator’s constituency to 300 students in the constituency. •Passed a bill that allows the Stu dent Body President, the Speaker of the Senate and a petition of 1/3 of the Senate to call special sessions. •Passed a bill that defines an “abstain” vote as “present and not counting.” £ \y f. £> Wm Former South African president visits A&M \; r;, < ROBERT MCKAY/The Battalion Students answer questions about their research in Rudder Exhibit Hall Thursday after noon. The research poster competition was sponsored by Graduate Student Council. Texas A&M professor indicted by grand jury By Amanda Smith Staffwriter Nobel Peace Prize winner F.W. de Klerk will discuss the new Africa tonight at 8:00 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium. The former president of South Africa will join other panelists with ex pertise in areas related to Sub-Saharan Africa to discuss Africa’s future. Other panelists will include Alan Gelb, chief economist of Africa for the World Bank; Muna Ndulo, a former public prosecutor for the Zambian government and retired U.S. Air Force General; and Charles Boyd, a former deputy commander in chief of the U.S. Euro pean Command. Tony Bassham, a student director of the MSC Wiley Lecture Series and a senior inter national studies major, said the program will offer insight into the future of Africa. “As an important political figure and a for mer president of South Africa, de Klerk is an expert on South African economic, political and social issues,” Bassham said. “Students have in de Klerk the opportunity to hear both a living historical figure and a political expert talk about an exciting topic.” The panel discussion coincides with Pres ident Clinton’s travels to Africa. The president opened the 12-day tour on March 23 to rec ognize the changes in Africa’s government and open doors to a possible trade market. Bassham said President Clinton’s trip marks potential for changes in U. S. relations with Africa. “What I believe Clinton’s visit demonstrates is that American foreign policy is ready to con sider the economic and political potential of Sub-Saharan Africa as an important issue,” Bassham said. “The president’s trip paves the way for a new focus on opportunity in Africa, not just crisis management. Whether students are motivated by humanitarian concerns for their fellow man, economic opportunity or the intricacies of politics and history, Africa is a top ic of amazing potential.” Rahul Patel, the programming director of the MSC Wiley Lecture Series, said Africa of fers opportunity with abundant human and natural resources. "We are interested in looking at Africa and what it could mean to America in the future,” Patel said. “The resources are immense there. As we grow into a global economy, Clinton “As an important political figure and a former presi dent of South Africa, de Klerk is an expert on South African economic, political and social issues.” Tony Bassham MSC Wiley Lecture Series and others have realized that Africa is a glob al economy.” More than half of the 48 nations of Sub-Sa haran Africa have elected governments today. Patel said many of the countries in Africa need political, economic and social stability. “You have an emergence of democratic countries and governments,” Patel said. “This is a very important step on the road to stabil ity. We do not want to emphasize the past his tory of Africa but focus on the future.” Although de Klerk received the Nobel Peace Prize after ending the apartheid system in South Africa, Patel said he will focus on the development of today’s Africa. Tickets are on sale for $12 for students and $18 fq£ others at the box office in Rudder Au ditorium. By Amanda Smith Staffwriter A tenured Texas A&M University professor was indicted yesterday by a grand jury for theft by a public servant of property valued over $750 and under $20,000. Dhiraj Pradhan, formerly the high est-paid computer science professor at A&M, could face between two and 20 years in the state penitentiary, if con victed of the second-degree felony. Pradhan was indicted Feb. 26 on two felony counts that char ge him with mis appropriating state money for person al profit. Those counts could earn pun ishment of up to five years probation. In a fax to The Battalion, Pradhan said the law under which he has been indicted is continuously altered and could be challenged. “The law under which I have been indicted belies an ever-changing cli mate, born out in the DA’s office, one which not only is very vague but is a convenient catch-all,” Pradhan said. “This very recent law obviously could benefit from a court challenge to better define its parameters. It would be a dubious distinction should mine have to become its first test-case.” Pradhan did not testify in the grand jury hearing yesterday. District attorney Bill Turner con firmed yesterday’s grand jury indict ment, but was not available for com ment following the hearing. Pradhan filed a civil suit against Texas A&M on March 25 at the district clerk’s office in Austin after being sus pended without pay since Aug. 1997 and in response to the conclusion of mediation by the A&M tenure media tion committee. Guy Battle, the co-chair of the tenure mediation committee, said Pradhan was unable to reach an agreement with the University through the mediation. “It became clear than an agreement could not be reached,” Battle said. “We tried to get the two sides to reach an agreement and we were unsuccessful.” Gaines West and Charles Orsburn, two members of Pradhan’s defense team, represented Pradhan at the March 17 meeting of the tenure medi ation committee. West represented Pradhan at the March 23 meeting. Batde said the allegations concern ing Pradhan will move on to consider ation by President Dr. Ray Bowen. Mary Jo Powell, associate director of University Relations, declined to com ment on the status of Pradhan because of a University policy that prohibits of ficials from commenting. Pradhan said he accepted his posi tion as the College of Engineering En dowed Chair in Computer Science in 1991 with the understanding that he would have complete discretion over the spending of a University endowed fund for the department. Pradhan, a native of India, said Texas A&M University officials have discrim inated against him because of his race and his outspoken comments on the tenure mediation policy. Bush School graduate students to present 'Project Bookmark' By Katy Lineberger Staff writer The inaugural class of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service will host a day-long celebration of reading tomorrow. The festival, “Project Bookmark: Making Your Mark on Literacy,” will take place at the Bush School Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Laura Bush, the first lady of Texas, will kick off the event with a book reading. Jason Gray, Project Bookmark’s vice-chair and a graduate student in government and public service, “We want kids to recognize that reading outside of class ill can ■ii-liihAi Israel Hernandez Event chair said the festival is geared toward children in the Bryan-College Station area. Over 3,000 are expected to attend, he said. “Our goal is to celebrate the enjoyment of read ing and identify sources available in the Brazos Val ley about reading and literacy,” he said. “We want to heighten awareness of the positive aspects of read ing— entertainment, enjoyment and education.” Several children’s authors will read and auto graph their books, including Angela Shelf Medearis, Helen Ketteman, Diane Gonzales and Cynthia Ann Boettcher. Event chair Israel Hernandez, a graduate student in government and public service, said literary per formers will also act out books. “We want kids to recognize that reading outside of class can be fun,” he said. Hernandez said vendors, exhibitors and pub lishers will showcase different ways for parents and teachers to interest children in reading. In addition, 1,300 books will be given away. All the day’s events are free to the public. Gray said the festival was born out of the desire to “give something back” to the local community. He noted the “public service” half of the degree name for the 19-member Bush School class. “We want to practice what we’re preaching,” he said. Hernandez said the festival aims to comple ment what the community is already doing to promote literacy. “With the authors talking about why they wrote their books, and the theatrical sense,” Hernandez said, "hopefully we can strike an interest for kids to read more.” Dr. Don Seaman, director of the Texas Center for Adult Literacy, said there is a great need in Texas to promote literacy in children and adults. “Literacy is survival,” he said. “We’re moving into a more technological society, and literacy skills are going to be required more and at higher levels. It’s critical that we have an educated popu lation that can increase their standard of living and be better parents.” Seaman said a number of volunteer efforts have helped make progress in fighting illiteracy. “Anything people can do to promote literacy is a worthwhile endeavor,” he said. “We’re making good strides to meet the needs, but we’re a long way from complete. I’m encouraged by wliat I’ve seen with things like Project Bookmark.”