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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.”
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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-
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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.