T-AMU
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TUESDAY
March 9, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 108 • 8 Pages
College Station, Texas
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
sports
• Texas A&M Baseball,
ranked No. 3 nationally,
travels to Houston to
face the Cougars.
PAGES
today’s issue
CD Reviews 4
DiMaggio remembered 5
Battalion Radio
Brazos Valley narcotics agents
and Texas Department of Public
Safety execute drug search.
opinion
• Boston College profes
sor takes a hypocritical
stance by not allowing
males in the classroom.
PAGE 7
ushes hold informal talk
r NCA-
be fighi
Tiship.
nuance
a the 12
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ips anc
BY EMILY R. SNOOKS
The Battalion
Former President George
■sh and former first lady
■rbara Bush gave a intimate
ini irview last night about
tht ir 53 years together thus
B at the George Bush Presi-
■ntial Conference Center as
Irt of the Distinguished Lec-
fte Series.
■ The Bushes, greeted with
a handing ovation, were ac-
cdmpanied by long-time
■end and former press
sdokesperson, Peter Roussel,
who served as an informal in-
tei 'iewer.
■ The Bushes chose a casu
al atmosphere for the discus
sion, including living room
furniture and their springer
spaniel Sadie.
They recalled events in
cluding their life in Midland in
the oil business and George
Bush’s 30 years in politics.
The Bushes advised stu
dents interested in politics to
first hold a job in the com
munity to gather background
in a field outside the political
arena.
George Bush said he hopes
current political conditions
and the intrusiveness of the
press do not discourage stu
dents from getting involved.
“Politics is still a noble
see Bush on Page 2.
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
George and Barbara Bush speak at an informal discussion
Monday night at the George Bush Presidential Library Complex.
tOUIMI
ointed s |
) runscj
d. "Wd
win th*-
it we j
Bush’s home focus of exhibit
'isplay features former president’s Kennebunkport domain
Sallie Turner/The Battalion
Holmes of Tomball tours the new exhibit at the
orge Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Ima
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
An exhibit featuring former
President George Bush’s summer
home in Kennebunkport, Maine,
opened yesterday at the George
Bush Presidential Library and Mu
seum.
The exhibit, assembled in con
junction with The Brick Store Mu
seum in Kennebunk, will be here
through August.
Brian Blake, public relations
representative for the Bush Presi
dential Library and Museum, said
the exhibit, “An Anchor to Wind
ward: The Maine Connection,”
profiles Kennebunkport’s history
and the Bush family’s vacation
history there.
“We wanted to show the vari
ety of activities that occurred at
Kennebunkport,” he said. “We
wanted to show things from state
visits to wrestling with the grand-
kids on the kitchen floor.”
The exhibit is divided into three
separate sections. The section in
the entry way of the exhibit focus
es on the artist community. It in
cludes works from Robert Payne,
see Exhibit on Page 2.
Faculty Senate OKs
60-60-60 Q-drop bill
BY AMANDA SMITH
The Battalion
Texas A&M students may be a step closer
to receiving an extension on the Q-drop dead
line and an additional Q-drop, after the Facul
ty Senate voted Monday to support the Stu
dent Senate’s 60-60-60 Bill.
The 60-60-60 Bill, approved in Fall 1998 by
Student Senate, would allow students to drop
two classes during their first 60 credit hours at
A&M and an additional two classes during
their second 60 hours at the University.
A second part of the proposal passed by the
Faculty Senate, with the support of the Stu
dent Senate, would move the Q-drop deadline
from the 50th class day to the 60th class day.
Aaron Bigbee, a student senator and a ju
nior mathematics major, said the 60-60-60 pol
icy would give students time to make thought
ful academic decisions. He said he hopes for
implementation following approval by the ad
ministration.
“It seems this would make the Q-drop de
cision a more informed one for students,” Big
bee said. “On the 50th class day, roughly half
of a student’s grade is calculated. On the 60th
class day, the majority is calculated. I think it’s
reasonable to allow students time to deter
mine the status of the course.”
Prior to the Faculty Senate’s vote to support
the 60-60-60 policy, Thomas Strganac, a sen
ator for College of Engineering, introduced an
amendment allowing one Q-drop during the
first 60 hours and another during the second
60 hours.
Strganac said reducing the number of al
lowed Q-drops from three to two would
prompt students to select courses more care
fully and take classes more seriously.
“It worries me we are allowing students to
Q-drop within their first semester,” Strganac
said. “The numbers I have seen suggest let’s
move these students through more quickly
and raise the academic standards for the stu
dents.”
Opponents of the 60-60-60 proposal argued
that increasing the number of Q-drops and ex
tending the deadline disadvantages students
who cannot afford to take the classes a sec
ond time, wastes seats in the classrooms and
enhances grade inflation for students repeat
ing the course.
“The grade replacement
policy of other schools is
more lenient than that
of Texas A&M University/'
— Aaron Bigbee
Student senator
Amy Magee, speaker of the Student Senate
and a senior psychology major, said students
must use grades to monitor performance in
the classroom, and a Q-drop extension could
enhance students’ academic performance.
“Grades do factor into how we are doing in
the classroom,” Magee said.
Bigbee said the 60-60-60 proposal gives stu
dents who change their majors or experiment
with classes increased flexibility.
“It’s not entirely uncommon for students
to change their majors,” Bigbee said.
“The policy is designed to protect students
when they get in over their heads. I think we
can remain a top university if we open up the
policy,” he said. “The grade replacement pol
icy of other schools is more lenient than that
of Texas A&M University. ”
see Faculty on Page 2.
ealth, nutrition
Imphasis of month
40
m
BY AMANDA SMITH
The Battalion
fhe benefits of a well-balanced
tet potential dangers of fad diet-
Pjg.iiid tips on exercise are among
pie lopics the Texas A&M health
JlF nJ fitness community will address
^Bng March, nationally recog-
izt 1 as Nutrition Month.
^)r. Jane Cohen, assistant health
iucation coordina-
Mjat A.P. Beutel
iellth Center, said
hopes students
.'atii ways to im-
fove eating and ex-
■se habits.
■It is important
) leat quickly as
patients, but you
ai| still eat tasty,”
en said. “It does
some plan-
but you can
ays stick an ap-
or a canned bev-
;e in your back-
[k.”
he Mideast
s Dietetic Asso-
lion and the
Student Dietetic Association
have information tables
nesday between 10 a.m. and 1
to answer nutrition questions
quiz students on nutrition
s. Cohen said the table will pro
information on nutrition tips,
icularly those applicable to
ty during spring break,
ohen said people can take
Ithier alternatives when eating
food, like choosing a grilled
ken sandwich instead of a
Wesebureer.
n addition to eating healthier,
en said it is important to exer-
regularly.
“We can lose weight without be
ing so restrictive and by being ac
tive,” Cohen said. “We can lose
weight gradually and enjoy it, and
we should enjoy exercise.”
Walk Across Texas, sponsored
by the Agricultural Extension Ser
vice and the Texas A&M School of
Rural Public Health, encourages
people to stay fit by walking, jog
ging or biking with friends and co
workers.
Participants
in Walk Across
Texas form
teams of eight
people who
record mileage
for an eight-
week period.
More than
1,000 partici
pants are signed
up for this
year’s event,
which will span
March and
April.
Cohen said
dieting, like ex
ercise, must be
jp beato/thk battalion done in moder
ation. She said people tend to abuse
dieting, losing weight in a short pe
riod of time thereby increasing the
chance they will gain the weight
back.
“If it’s fast weight loss, it’s more
likely to be water loss,” Cohen said.
“Water aids in digestion and is need
ed by the body to function. You may
be missing some of the food groups
when you lose weight quickly.”
Prescription diet drugs, accord
ing to the American Dietetic Asso
ciation, may suppress appetite for
as long as a year but provide no
long-term benefits like a balanced
diet and regular exercise do.
Walk the line
GUY ROGERS/The Battalion
Melanie Harwood, a junior marketing major, attempts to walk along
a line with night vision drunk goggles on with the assistance of Jes
sica Lundry, a senior biomedical sciences major, Monday in front of
Rudder Fountain. The interactive exhibit is part of Peer 1 Educators’
Safe Spring Break Campaign, which will have more exhibits set up
Wednesday at Rudder Fountain.
Feminist to address
changes in movement
BY MEREDITH HIGHT
The Battalion
Sheila Tobias, a renowned fem
inist author and speaker, will ad
dress the ignorance and indiffer
ence of the younger generation
toward the women’s movement in
her speech today from 3:30 to 5
p.m. in the MSC Forsyth Center.
“The Future of Feminism:
Lessons from our Past” will be
based on her 1997 book Faces of
Feminism: An Activist’s Reflec
tions on the Women’s Movement.
Tobias will spend this week at
Texas A&M lecturing and meeting
with faculty, and today’s speech
will be the major event of the se
ries.
“I’m a feminist from the ’60s,
and I’ve been concerned about
younger women not being willing
to identify themselves as femi
nists,” she said. “I tried to analyze
why that is.”
Tobias will outline four reasons
explaining the younger genera
tion’s indifference to the women’s
movement.
“First, they don’t know how
bad things used to be,” she said.
“They don’t know what it was
like when discrimination was le
gal and salaries were lower.”
She said the second is that
members of the generation do not
seem to be aware of women’s
movement achievements. Third,
she said they do not understand
the value of the women who have
led the women’s movement.
“The media depicted us as
weird, but we were attractive
women with a lot of choices,” she
said.
She said the fourth reason is
that the younger generation
does not realize how much re-
Sheila Tobias' speeches
open to the public:
Tuesday
• 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
301 Engineering/Physics
• 3:30-5 p.m. Forsyth Center
Wednesday
•10-11:30 a.m. 225 MSC
Thursday
•11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. 203 MSC
•3-5 p.m. 457 Blocker
mains unaccomplished.
“We’re not out of the woods
yet,” she said. “There are women
in poverty and women in other
countries being bought and sold.”
Tobias said the book is a lively
way to tell a story of the women’s
movement in a way that everyone
can understand. She included op
posing viewpoints in the book.
“I do not shrink from those
who are opposed to the move
ment,” she said. “It’s a balanced
story. ”
Tobias said if the Movement,
referring to the organized move
ment, does not attract the young
generation, it might not survive.
“But movement [generally
speaking] is unstoppable,” she
said.
“There are women governors,
a woman Secretary of State. I go
to bed at night smiling because all
of the FBI has to report to Janet
Reno.”
Tobias will sign and sell books
at a reception coordinated by the
Texas A&M University Bookstore
following her speech.