Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1998)
< OUBLE TEAM lexander, Sharpe re 27points each as \ggies beat Russian bn 67-55. PORTS, PAGE 7 MADLIB FEVER • Repititous news of the past months could be solved with new fill-in- the-blank plan. OPINION, PAGE 11 CHECK OUT THE BATTALION ONLINE http://battalion.tamu.edu TUESDAY November 10, 1998 Volume 105 • Issue 53 • 12 Pages 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY "ire department rules )orm 9 fire ‘suspicious’ ENTESTm Battaijo with Candace night. STAFF AND WIRE REPORT College Station Fire Department offi- ils have deemed circumstances sur- inding the Nov. 2 fire in Dorm 9 “sus- ious” and of “undetermined origin” d will now move their investigation to riminal mode. Fire and police officials use the fm “suspicious” to denote that acci- ntal causes have been ruled out, id the investigation has shifted to a iminal mode. Bob Wiatt, director of security and liversity Police, said investigators have led out accidental causes such as an ectncal fire or an appliance being left unattended. The College Station Fire Department and University Police Department will continue their investigation into the fire that caused the evacuation and dis placement of Dorm 9 residents. Much of the residence hall sus tained smoke and water damage be cause of the fire. Last Tbesday, officials decided to close the dorm to residents for the rest of the semester to begin work on repairs. The College Station Fire Depart ment’s six-page initial report included information about resources used at the scene of the fire, information about the perceived origin of the fire and mated- Cadets find new lodging Photo Courtesy of Aubrey Shepard III A charred door remains standing in Dorm 9 after a fire started in Room 309. als that were involved in the fire. Sup plemental information included specific tasks preformed by fire fighters and de scriptions of the scene. BY AARON MEIER The Battalion Because Dorm 9 has been closed for the rest of the semester due to last Monday’s early morning fire, 192 cadets have been forced to live elsewhere. Pat Spies, 1st Sargent of B Battalion and a junior kinesiology major, said former residents of Dorm 9 have now been assigned to live in Dorms 2, 5, 11 and 12. Many of the displaced students are now living three to a room. Following the fire. Spies said there were a few delays establishing the housing situation. “Last week, everybody was more or less in the moving process,” Spies said. “Last week end, we did a lot of shuffling and hopefully everybody is getting settled.” Craig Ilschner, a senior history major, who is sharing a room in Dorm 11 with two other cadets said only one word can be used to de scribe the living conditions. “Cramped is the only thing I can say,” Ilschner said. “We are all just trying to find room for all of our stuff.” Ilschner said during the first days of the displacement, some of the underclassmen had to sleep on floors, but accommodations have been made for them. Some bunk beds are triple stacked while others are sleeping on couches. “It is just something we all are going to have to get used to for the next six weeks,” Ilschner said. Four sophomore cadets have been invited to live in the home of Dr. J. Malon Souther land, vice president for Student Affairs. Southerland said the living arrangements are working out well with the cadets sharing two rooms in Southerland’s house. “The Aggie band has both reacted and ad justed extremely well,” Southerland said. “It is just a matter of the rest of us providing ser vices for them.” nse clas xas A&M studen onuhe seminar:' 1 to know wha situation, d the seminan itance rape, as ictimsareattadi >y know. Shes e clients thefc; rves annually cquaintance. Historically . » e §»- w sR mf Jgg jaf |§gs v mrgf am M**-#*^ jam agf mt * f Despite debate among scholars, role of black senator in A&M founding gains support among students BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion M atthew Gaines’ contribu tions to Texas A&M and higher education have been debated by scholars since he led the Black Republicans dur ing the 12th Texas Legislature, more than 120 years ago. Texas A&M University is con sidering erecting a statue to signi- fy the racial diver- RRRBMRi sity of the Texas A&M community. Some say Gaines’ impact on Texas A&M and higher edu cation makes him deserving of a statue on the Texas A&M cam- pus. Others dis- agree, saying Gaines did little or nothing for the University, estab lished in 1876. • Dale Baum, an associate pro fessor of history at Texas A&M, said Gaines’ leadership of Black Republicans in the 12th Legis lature, which met in 1871, and his support of land-grant col leges is the reason Texas A&M stands today. “TAMU is a federal land-grant university,” Baum said. “As the first state institution of higher learning in Texas, we who teach here have to have a commitment to telling the truth about the ori gins of our school. Unfortunate ly, we Texans sometimes pick and choose our history from a grab bag of popular misconceptions. Perhaps some are more comfort able with a white-washed or san itized u All Aggies are directly indebted to the record of black accomplishment during Reconstruction. ” — Dale Baum Associate professor of history version of our school’s history than with the truth.” Gaines emerged as the leader of the Black Republi cans of the 12th Legislature dur ing the era of Radical Recon- struction and supported the Land Grant College Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1862 as the Morrill Land Grant College Act. The act urged federal government to set aside millions of acres of federal land to support agricultural and industrial higher education. An 1871 act passed by the Re publican-controlled 12th Texas Legislature allowed Texas to es tablish the Agricultural and Me chanical College of Texas and provided for a federally-support ed land-grant school for blacks, which was established as Prairie View State Normal and Industri al College. Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M continue as higher-education institutions. Victor TTeat, a former profes sor of history at Texas A&M who retired in 1998 after 35 years of teaching South ern and Texas History, said lit tle is known of Gaines and his contributions to higher educa tion. “There is not much we know about him, ex- ■ ,BI,I,III,>B cept from the Texas State Legisla ture journals,” Treat said. “Gaines tended to fly off the handle and was [mainly] desirous of protect ing blacks. The other black lead ers in the 12th Legislature tended to cooperate with the white pow er structure. Gaines tended to be outspoken and didn’t get along with Gov. (Edmund) Davis.” Treat said Gaines’ contribu tions during the 12th Legislature were centered on improving pub lic education, particularly for blacks in Texas. “Gaines thought education should be integrated,” Treat said. “He was a spokesman for higher education in Texas, but his contributions to education in Texas were mainly in the public schools. I do not think Gaines had anything to do with TC X U S A&M.” “I do not think Gaines had anything to do with Texas A&M. — Victor Treat Former professor of history Baum said ignoring Gaines’ contri butions to high er education, and specifically to Texas A&M, is ignoring the origins of the University. ammmmmmmmmm “All Aggies are directly indebted to the record of black accomplishment during Reconstruction,” Baum said. “TAMU arid Prairie View A&M represent today two shining achievements of the biracial democracy that was briefly, but unfortunately for us all, brought to power in Texas by black polit ical activism after the Civil War.” see Gaines on Page 2. Provost addresses core curriculum bill BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion Ronald G. Douglas, executive vice president d provost of Texas A&M, spoke at the Facul- 1 ? Senate meeting Monday to respond to facul- questions and update the faculty on issues re nted to his position. Douglas said the goal of the core-curriculum 1, which is to raise the number of communi- l-college students who go to a four-year col- ? ge, is being debated in Austin along with the fa-hour cap and the South Texas Law school. He said his position as provost requires him to present A&M in Austin to discuss the legisla- “on pertaining to the University. Douglas answered faculty questions on top ics such as Vision 20/20, democratically elect ed department heads, monetary increases, and senior minority and senior women faculty. Douglas said he “wholeheartedly” supports Vision 20/20, but the program should highlight what makes A&M distinct now instead of “letting go of what we’ve got to reach for something else. ” Douglas said he does not support democrat ic elections of department heads because “ulti mately somebody has to make the decision.” In regard to monetary increases, some facul ty questioned if the faculty was overlooked when A&M received money. Douglas said the faculty received a salary increase in 1997 and a 3 percent raise in September. Douglas said A&M needs to maintain recruit ment of senior minority and women faculty members, but the University does not have the funding to attract a large number of women and minorities. Douglas said currently one-third of hires are women and 10 percent are minority. The Senate approved four of the nine pro posed academic courses presented by the Uni versity Curriculum Committee. The courses ap proved are: ELEN 480, RF and Microwave Wireless Systems; ENTC 463, Mechanical De sign Applications I; ENTC 463, Mechanical De- MCtlT* fetVIVTT CHHi 1* sign Applications II; and POSC 333, Instincts and Behavior. The faculty approved a degree-program change for the bachelor of science degree in en tomology for the College of Agriculture. The de gree change will “delete the Entomology Sci ence option and Pest Management option under the existing B.S. degree in Entomology.” see Senate on Page 2. Survey draws response from Southerland BY MEREDITH HIGHT The Battalion Results of the campus climate survey that will be released next week reveal 90 percent of all cam pus groups, undergraduate, gradu ate, faculty and staff, agreed with the statement “diversity is good for Texas A&M and should be actively promoted,” while 90 percent of fac ulty and staff agree “diversity of the student body is important to the educational process. ” The survey concludes that “76 percent of students indicate that di versity and multicultural aware ness programs are valuable in help ing prepare students to function in a diverse work environment.” Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for student affairs, said the numbers might not have been so high in the past. “It leads you to believe that there are programs available to as sist in understanding,” he said. “I don’t know that it would have been that high five years ago. “Based on other anecdotal in formation, people would have thought it was worse. That’s the reason we wanted to have more than anecdotal evidence to base fu ture programs and actions on.” According to the report, “over half of all undergraduates indicate that they would like more opportu nities to interact with students from racial/ethnic, groups other than their own.” Southerland said those numbers are encouraging. “It implies that students are open to information about other traditions and cultures and their student peers,” he said. “It’s that kind of understanding that has the ability to make a long- term impact, whether in the workplace or in the community. ” However, only 25 percent of fac ulty and 41 percent of undergradu ates feel that “Texas A&M students have a good understanding of the tra ditions and values of other cultures.” Southerland said those numbers are not surprising. “We have relatively small num bers of people from other cultures. We’re about Slpercent Caucasian. To have only 41 percent [of stu dents understand the traditions and values of other cultures] is pos sibly very good,” he said. see Diversity on Page 2. Campus climate survey taps Michigan professor BY MEREDITH HIGHT The Battalion The results of a campus climate survey, conducted by the Universi ty of Michigan’s Center for the Study of Postsecondary and High er Education which surveyed 3,300 members of the Texas A&M com munity, are set to be released next week in an executive summary. The summary is titled “Perspec tives on the Climate for Diversity: Findings and Recommendations for the Texas A&M University Cam pus Community.” Dr. Sylvia Hurtado, chief inves tigator for the survey, said it was one of the most comprehensive studies of the campus climate for racial/ethnic diversity. The survey included undergraduate and grad uate students, faculty and staff. The report stated that Texas A&M University President Dr. Ray Bowen ordered vice president for Student Affairs Dr. J. Malon Southerland to assess the climate because of “broad concerns about how programs and services were meeting the needs of the campus’ diverse student population as well as to identify and document issues related to the climate for racial/eth nic diversity.” Southerland then commissioned the survey. Felicia Scott, interim director of the Department of Multicultural Ser vices, was assistant to Southerland when the study was commissioned. “What I think is important is the report shows some very positive factors and also pinpoints areas of concerns,” she said. The survey was conducted through both focus groups and sur veys mailed to students. In the fall of 1997, 63 students were ques tioned about their general impres sions about the campus and their views of the climate for racial/eth nic diversity in seven different fo cus groups. The discussions lasted about 90 minutes. Eighteen cam pus administrators, staff, faculty and students were individually in terviewed by the research team. The bulk of the survey was con ducted during the spring semester of 1998. T\vo waves of surveys were sent out to 6,239 undergraduates, 1,000 graduate students, 777 faculty and 500 staff members whose job titles reflected direct contact with stu dents. Of all the surveys sent out, 3,361 responded. Of those, 2,205 were undergraduates, 391 were graduate students, 442 were facul ty and 332 were staff.