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C(i|]i#"TH
)4 YEAR • ISSUE 168 • 6 PAGES
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TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
Tomorrow
Aggielife:
Students utilize
non-conventional
resources to locate
housing.
MONDAY • JULY 13 • 1998
ilver anniversary
\exfcm American culture committee members reflect on 25 years of ethnic awareness
By Chris Martin
Aggielife Editor
Hlvventy-five years ago a group of 15
concerned students came together to form
[ e f ai the Committee for the Awareness of Mex-
Val- American Culture (CAMAC), an or-
ivin gapization dedicated to the needs and
^^^■icerns of Hispanic students. The group
, set forth to create an environment of
n ,, b areness and appreciation for Mexican-
pnerican culture on campus, benefiting
th( lives of present members who were
not yet born.
H Saturday reunited past and present
members of CAMAC in celebration of the
Iwanization's silver anniversary.
1^Angie Castro, CAMAC faculty advisor,
" said this year's former-student reception
'tdl :'i s Jbeing held in special preparation for
19 g 9, the 25th anniversary of CAMAC.
:as(lH "Today we want to renew relationships
om; Bth our former students and bring them
utti' up to date with what's been going on in
ce CAMAC," Castro said.
'PfilniB Castro said the organization is built on
he f la network of su pport and encouragement
n ofiMrough the interpersonal relationships of
■ fltt members.
oidB "We are a support net for Mexican-
utfeBmerican students, but we are an open
■mm it tee for anyone interested," Castro
en-lsaid. "We host cultural events to celebrate
■h iiLir heritage, we encourage our members
re s: I
rwait
to take leadership positions, as well as be
role models for younger students to help
them adjust to life here."
Saturday's reunion was a way for pre
sent CAMAC members to show their ap
preciation for the legacy and assistance of
CAMAC's founders.
"Everyone struggles with the college
transition," Castro said. "A lot of us went
from predominately Mexican-American
high schools to being a minority on this
campus, so that adds to the struggle. [CA
MAC] helps get them through that, and
achieve not only academic but social suc
cess. Some students even get a stronger ap
preciation of their culture than they've ever
had from the cultural events we host."
Castro said she is very proud of the ac
complishments CAMAC has made over
the past 25 years.
"Next year will be our 12th annual
Southwest Student Conference on Latin
Affairs, which has grown from a one-day
lecture to a full two-day regional conven
tion," Castro said. "What has been con
sistent with CAMAC throughout the
years is support, helping our members
build a social network to help them adjust
to being a minority on campus."
DJ. Flores, CAMAC's conference di
rector and a senior accounting major, said
that although the times have changed since
the founding of CAMAC, many of the is
sues minority groups face are the same.
"Today is about pride and a celebration
of accomplishment," Flores said. "The
former students laid the foundations for
what we are still building on today. They
faced some of the same issues we are still
dealing with. They got the ball rolling."
We let them
[Hispanic students] know
there is a Hispanic presence
on campus. ... [We] get them
interested in Texas A&M, so
we do our part for the
University.”
— DJ. Flores
CAMAC conference director and
senior accounting major
Flores said he is proud of the work CA
MAC does to help Hispanic students feel
at home at the University.
"We let them know that there is a His
panic presence on campus," Flores said.
'We get students in here with the conference
and get them interested in Texas A&M, so we
do our part for the University. I hope to see
the conference expanding and growing
when I come back to this reunion."
Flores said creating relationships with for
mer students is an invaluable tool for stu
dents in school and for when they graduate.
"We want input from our alumni on
what we need to do — they've been here
before, so it's good to find out how they
addressed certain issues or raised mon
ey," Flores said. "We're trying to build an
alumni database. It's good to keep in con
tact with people who have some kind of
pull when you leave school. It's the same
sense of pride that we have as Aggies."
Olivia Cortez, CAMAC chair and a ju
nior psychology major, said the reunion
gives former CAMAC members an op
portunity to come back and catch up with
their old friends.
"The ones who were with CAMAC at
the beginning haven't seen how things
have progressed, so this is a chance for
them to see how we've changed and ex
panded," Cortez said. "They get to see the
effects of what they started."
Delinda Chapa, class of '92 and '92 CA
MAC chair, said she was interested in know
ing how the school's Hispanic organizations
have changed since her graduation.
"Now there are more specialized
Hispanic organizations, such as jour
nalism and engineering, not just gener
alized," Chapa said. "I hope CAMAC
is the center, with other organizations
branching out."
Chapa said being a minority on cam
pus never has been easy, but organiza
tions such as CAMAC make the college
transition smoother.
"I don't know if it would be harder or
easier to be a minority student now, but
the culture shock is the same," Chapa
said. "I'm glad [with CAMAC] I had a
place to go."
Chapa said her time at A&M revolved
around CAMAC.
"It's where I found roommates, usual
ly hanging around at the Student Pro
grams Office," Chapa said. "The upper
classmen always took care of us, taking us
to eat. If I didn't have it, I don't know
what I would have done."
Georgette Lodez-Aguado, class of '92 and
'91 CAMAC chair, agreed with Chapa.
"It was our total support system when
we were freshmen, and all I knew was
CAMAC," Lodez-Aguado said. "It was
everything to me. All my study buddies
came from CAMAC; it's who we all went
out with. It was a real feeling of family."
Chapa said she hopes all the present stu
dents give back to the organization and their
community the way CAMAC gave to them.
See CfiMfiC on Page 2.
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MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
Chris Dieckert, a 14-year-old resident of College Station, stands ready for action during a game of laser tag Sunday.
Coordinating Board
considers A&M,
South Texas affiliation
HOUSTON (AP) — State education offi
cials this week may try to quash Texas A&M
University's alliance with a private Houston
law school. The dispute could wind up in the
state Legislature.
The two schools show every indication
of fighting to the finish, the Houston Chron
icle reported.
The South Texas College of Law hired lob
byist A1 Luna to press its case with the Legis
lature, and he already has visited some law
makers in recent weeks.
Officials of both A&M and South Texas
also plan to carry out many terms of their af
filiation — with or without approval of state
higher-education regulators.
"We don't have anything to lose," law
school dean Tom Read said. "We have not yet
developed a legislati ve strategy, but we have
to look out for ourselves. If that means that
we ought to get some legislation sponsored
to protect the affiliation, we might do that."
This week, the Coordinating Board is
scheduled to consider A&M's request to add
legal studies to its curriculum. But some
board members already have indicated their
opposition. And A&M officials say the Coor
dinating Board is likely to reject the request.
If so, A&M officials plan to petition the board
again next year.
"We're not going to fold our tent,"
A&M President Ray Bowen told the
Houston Chronicle.
"This is still on our agenda long-term.
The Coordinating Board will eventually
do the right thing."
The squabble stems from an agreement
signed by A&M and law school officials ear
ly this year. The affiliation gave A&M a long-
desired law school without buying one. It left
the law school private and in downtown
Houston while giving it national recognition
with the A&M name.
Founded 75 years ago as part of a network
of YMCA law schools. South Texas now en
rolls about 1,200 students and charges
$14,700 a year in tuition. It gains national hon
ors in moot court contests. For years, A&M
has been one of its top feeder schools.
A&M officials have tried to add a law
school for years, contending that every top
flight university has one. But it never secured
public funding in a state that already has four
public and five private law schools, includ
ing South Texas.
Twice since the late 1960s, A&M officials
have asked the Coordinating Board to ap
prove a South Texas merger and been
thwarted because of worries about shrink
ing state appropriations.
The current affiliation was signed and an
nounced in January, prompting an immedi
ate protest from the University of Houston,
which has a law school a few miles from
South Texas.
South Texas has backed down slightly
from its earlier proclamations of being the
"Texas A&M Law Center." Its sign now
reads, "South Texas College of Law affiliated
with Texas A&M University."
I
Brazos Valley citizens given chance to voice opinions online
By James Francis
Editor in Chief
Members of the Brazos Valley now have a chance
:o voice their opinions, questions and concerns
||j hrough a new online service aimed at creating a
discussion forum for the betterment of communities
md individuals.
Officer Jerry Moore, a crime prevention officer for
the Bryan Police Department, is the list owner and on
line developer of Brazos-L.
Moore said the online forum came from the desire
Ffto see members of different communities unite and
hare thoughts on important issues.
"I hope for good community dialogue on issues,
current problems and incoming problems," he said.
What started out as an idea targeted for the Bryan
community has turned into a multiple-community are
na for networking.
In his specified area of law enforcement, Moore said
•t was important to include all members of the Brazos
Valley and not just single out the city of Bryan because
you may want the whole community to know some
thing about crime prevention."
Brazos-L (which operates from list server software)
To subscribe to Brazos-L, send an email to 'istserv@listserv.tamu.edu and
in the body of the message type SUBSCRIBE BRAZOS-L, First name, Last f
The listservet will send a subscriber a response in which he or she replies
ling OK" at the bottom of the respo
To post to Brazos-L. sene iisiserv.tamu.edu and the O
mail message will be distributed to the Brazos-L. membership,
To unsubscribe from Brazos-L, send an email to iistserv@iistserv.tamu.edu
and in the body of the message type UNSUB BRAZOS-L
works when a subscriber posts a message to the mem
bership list. The message then is sent to the listserver,
which delivers the e-mail to all subscribers of the list.
From this, parties can check their e-mail and respond
to the topic(s) of interest.
The Brazos-L Web site has been up and running
for two weeks, and officers of the College Station
Police Department and Texas A&M University al
ready have joined the membership list in order to
provide crime prevention information to their per
spective jurisdictions.
Although the forum is open to any topic that im
pacts the lives of Brazos Valley community members,
a press release for Brazos-L details certain rules and
regulations that apply to using the Web site correctly:
(1) Subscribers are limited to two posts a day, in an
attempt to manage the volume of e-mail and to ensure
no one person monopolizes the list.
(2) Public announcements such as job openings,
benefit garage sales, carnivals and new businesses
will be limited to once every two weeks per sub
scriber or organization.
(3) Political announcements, such as those for indi
viduals running for public offices, will be limited to
once every two weeks per subscriber or organization.
These announcements must be positive, outlining the
qualifications of the individual running for office, not
commenting on the faults of a competitor.
The Web site also gives explanations as to what
are considered unacceptable acts on Brazos-L, such
as the use of profanity, posting commercial adver
tisements and sending attached files to the mem
bership list that may carry viruses or cause other
such computer problems.
In this day and age, the use of computers for on
line discussions is ever-growing, but Moore said hav
ing the forum online only broadens the audience it
intends to reach.
"It's something we're going to see a lot of in the fu
ture," he said.
See Brazos-L on Page 2.