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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1999)
Representatives work on solutions for n pte hting >r km ! ages OB BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion ■ Legislators representing the Texas A&M com munity are in the process of filing and debating bills with the potential to impact budgetary ap propriations, the state’s educational system and the agricultural industry. Bsen. Steve Ogden of the 5th District serves on the Education, Finance and Veteran Affairs and Military Installations committees. ■ Ogden has authored and sponsored a num ber of bills in the 1999 legislative session. They include legislation relating to the contracts with ami completion of administration of state col leges and universities, the Department of Pub lic Safety’s complex crime unit and eligibility for charge dismissals on the completion of drivers’ education courses. v; ( In budgetary appropriation hearings, officials from Texas A&M University have made presen tations regarding the preservation of the revenue received through the Permanent University Fund (PDF), a fund earmarked for the Texas A&M and the University of Texas systems. ■ Rep. Fred Brown of the 14th District, repre senting part of Brazos County, serves on the Higher Education and the Land and Resource committees in the Texas House of Representa tives. He served on the College Station City Council for nine years. ■ Brown said higher education and land and resource management are both important to the Texas A&M University System. ■ Brown is working on legislation to increase the partnerships between industry and high schools in Texas through the expansion of vo cational programs modeled after high schools in Bryan-College Station and the Dallas Indepen dent School District (DISD). I “The equipment and the teaching would be the latest, greatest, neatest, newest stuff,” Brown said. B Under the curriculum design Brown sup ports, students in the vocational programs would attend core-curriculum classes during the morning and work in the industrial setting in the afternoon. I Brown said there is a demand in industry for employees educated in telecommunication, mi croelectronics, avionics and computers. ■ Brown said the Land and Resource Manage ment Committee will primarily consider bills cpncerning the land annexation in the extra-ter ritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) zone of the cities. I “Cities generally want to annex the sur rounding land in their ETJ,” Brown said. “But more and more we are hearing from people in the ETJs wanting to preserve their rights.” local problems Substitute bill proposes change in traffic laws A, A# JP Beato/The Battalion Texas legislators are currently working on legislation that will impact budgetary appropriation, the educational system and agricultural industry. Brazos Valley Rep. Fred Brown of the 14th District plans to expand vocational programs through out Texas high schools, similar to programs that exist in Bryan-College Station and Dallas schools districts. BY AMANDA PALM The Battalion Drivers who take advan tage of the 25 mph speeding allowance for driving-safety courses could lose the privi lege of having the ticket re moved from their record. Rep. Fred Brown filed a bill with the Texas Legislature that would cut the 25 mph speed allowance to 12 mph. Since being introduced in January, a committee substi tute to the bill is being drafted to include additional changes. When completed, the substi tute proposal will be present ed to the Texas House com mittee in place of the original proposal. The changes to the origi nal proposal divide the 25 mph speed window into two parts. The first change affects speeding tickets issued for up to 12 mph in a 70 mph speed zone. The ticket can be re moved from official record with the completion of a dri ving-safety course. The cur rent law states that drivers have 90 days from the date of the offense to take a driving- safety course provided they have not taken the course within one year prior to the ticket. The law would still ap ply to speeding offenses of up to 12 mph over the speed lim it. The second change to the bill affects speeding tickets is sued for offenses of more than 13 mph in a 70 mph speed zone. The offense would re sult in payment of the ticket and completion of a driving- safety course under current re quirements, but the ticket would not be removed from from official record. Brown said the existing law allows people to get away with driving too fast because people driving 95 mph in a 70 mph zone could take a dri ver-safety course and have the ticket removed from their records. “The number-one priority of this bill is to get people to slow down on Texas high ways,” Brown said. Phil Ward, president of USA Training Company, which is the largest provider of driving-safety courses in Texas, said his company serves 250 privately-owned schools in the state. Ward said he is not sure anything will be effective at slowing drivers down, but the bill may have a “dTiHing effect” on drivers if passed. “It may not be popular with college students or with people living in rural areas,” he said, “but if you are dri ving more than 12 miles over the speed limit, you should be prepared for what hap pens.” “This change could make a good effort to slow drivers down,” he said. Brown said safety is his main concern with drivers. “We want to save lives on Texas highways,” Brown said. Rep. Charles Jones of the 13th District, rep resenting parts of Brazos, Austin, Burleson, Lee, Milam and Washington counties, will serve on the Agriculture and Livestock Committee and the State, Federal and International Relations Committee in the House of Representatives. Jones said his work with the Texas Agricul ture and Livestock Committee concerns A&M System agencies, including the Agricultural Ex tension Service, the Agricultural Experiment Sta tion and the Board of Veterinary Medical Exam iners. Jones said he is primarily interested in re ducing the property tax, which is supported by Gov. George W. Bush. Jones worked in the public school system as a teacher and administrator for 28 years, and a job training administrator for 12 years. Driving-safety class qualifications Drivers who exceed the speed limit by: 25 mph 12 mph Old Law Possible Law • Driver-safety course is •Driver-safety course optional but must be taken required to be taken within within 90 days of the 90 days of the offense. offense. •The ticket will not be • The ticket is removed removed from official from official record. record. nce Architect submits tn odel for College Architecture Internationally recognized designer Promotes drastic change for campus coin BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion Philip Johnson, a world-renowned architect, presented his nodel for the design of a new building for the College of Archi- ecture Thursday. John H. Lindsey, a member of the Board of Regents, said the ac- ual construction of the building has yet to be approved. Lindsey said officials in the College of Architecture sought the dd of Johnson because of his reputation and because of the limit ’d space available for the construction of the new building. “In a way, we are building the carts for the horse,” Lindsey said, r Johnson said the A&M campus is in need of a new building. i ;: ; “This is the most monotone campus in this world, because it is i ill one color, but it does have an amazing amount of uniformi- (nf fP aru ^ clarity’” Johnson said. want to break this mold of the beige brick and the lime- itone trim.” Johnson said the new building will possess many unique fea- ures. WISE sponsors forum on career advancement Photo courtesy of the College of Architecture Philip Johnson, fourth from left, gazes at his design for the new building for the College of Architecture. The estimated cost of the structure is $12 million. Lindsey said if the construction of the building is approved, then they will come up with a time line, fit it into a budget and make any necessary changes. Lindsey said the estimated cost of the building is $12 million. Johnson said his main purpose is to emphasize the student use features in the building. “This building will be an epicenter for student circulation,” he said. The proposed site for the building is where it will be among the other architecture buildings facing Ross Street. Johnson said this building will be a symbolic piece of architec ture and the only one of its kind in the world. BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion Enhancing career advancement, avoiding workplace conflicts and projecting a positive self-image are among the workshop topics for the seventh annual Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) conference to be held Saturday in the MSC. Nancy Magnussen, director of WISE, and program coordinator for the College of Science, said WISE pri marily targets graduate students but the topics will be helpful to under graduate students, faculty and staff. Magnussen said there will be speakers from throughout the nation at the conference. The keynote speaker this year is Dr. Stephanie Bird, a special assistant to the provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Bird develops ed ucational programs concerning ethi cal issues and responsibilities in sci ence. Dr. Elena Castell-Perez, an assis tant professor in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, will be hosting a workshop called “Striking at Another: Avoiding Extremes.” Perez said she will present scenarios drawn from personal conflicts from work and school. “Women in the science apd engi neering fields is kind of a non-tradi- tional role so we sometimes have to face many ordeals,” she said. Castell-Perez said she wants her presentation to be interactive. After she shares her experiences she wants input from students who would have handled the situations differently. “I want people to know it is ok to be in a difficult situation, but once it is resolved, even though it might have been a painful experience, you always learn a valuable lesson out of it,” she said. Magnussen said they want to show the women how to have a pos itive job experience. “We want to help show these women how to have a positive mind set when they enter the workforce and help create a positive environ ment so they can go forward in their careers,” Magnussen said. iW