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105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
WEDNESDAY
June23 y 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 157 • 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
sports
• Aggies Shawn Schumacher,
John Scheschuk are preparing
for their pro baseball careers.
PAGE 3
today’s issue
News 6
Battalion Radio
Tune in to 90.9 KAMU-FM at
1:57 p.m. for information on
the upcoming hurricane season
and how it could affect Texas.
opinion
• The death of wrestler Owen
Hart sparks debate over the
sports' over-the-top antics.
PAGE 5
Industry demands create visa problems
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
The international services manager for
Jexas A&M University's human resources
department said a recent surge in the num
ber of foreign workers nationwide may
prevent the renewal of visas which allow
foreign workers in the United States to
work legally, affecting student workers at
A&M and other universities.
see Related Editorial on Page 5.
I Kathy Sands said for the last three years,
tne number of foreign nationals applying
for the visas has exceeded the allotted
number of Hl-B visas (U.S. work permits)
given to workers in the United States from
other countries who are not citizens and do
not have permanent residency.
She said the difference was so extreme
that Congress raised the cap on the num
ber of Hl-B visas from 65,000 in 1998 to
115,000 for 1999.
Sands said she attributes the increase
to the number of foreign students being
sought by American companies that
want to fill highly technical positions re
quiring doctoral degrees.
She said a large number of these posi
tions are at rapidly growing computer
companies such as Microsoft and Intel,
which require doctoral degrees for pro
gram and design positions.
“Most American college students feel
they only need a master’s degree to go out
in the work field and succeed,” she
said,"while students in other countries are
“Most American college
students feel they only
need a master's degree
to get out in the work
field and succeed."
— Kathy Sands
Department of Human Resources
more likely to go for a doctoral degree.”
Sands said the visas will expire in Au
gust and anyone whose visa application
is not approved will have to stop work
ing until the next renewal date of Oct. 1.
She said last year, workers who lost
work visas were forced to obtain a differ
ent kind of visa (such as a tourist visa) or
leave the country. This year. Congress has
allowed workers who are studying or con
ducting research to stay in the country as
long as they do not work.
Sands said 10 workers at A&M from
China, India, Korea and Taiwan are in
danger of losing their work visas. Most
of these are Ph.Ds who are doing re
search and will have to stop if they can
not continue to work.
Yong Zhang, a researcher in the bio
chemistry department, said if his visa is
not renewed he will be forced to stop his
research and will be left with no means
of making money until his visa is re
newed.
He said he will be forced to rely on his
savings and the help of friends to support
him while he waits for a new visa, espe
cially since his wife is due to have a baby
girl at the end of August.
Sands said the NASFA Association of
International Educators is currently trying
to bring about legislation in Congress that
would grant foreign workers, who are
studying or doing research for colleges
and universities, a special classification so
they would not have to compete for visas
with the vast number of foreign workers
who are employed by private industry.
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TERRY ROBERSON/Tmk Battalion
Architecture graduate student Joey Ottman works on a two-dimensional acrylic painting Tuesday.
The painting is meant to demonstrate human emotional reactions to depth, shadows and shades of
different colors.
Teaching multiculturalism
Workshops offer teachers an education in diversity
BY VERONICA SERRANO
The Battalion
Educators from 18 universities and colleges across
the nation will gather at Texas A&M to participate in
the Fifth Annual Diversity Institute from today through
Sunday in which they will learn how to train other ed
ucators by attending various diversity workshops.
These workshops include: working with adminis
trators to gain support of diversity education, facili
tating group discussion and setting up a diversity ed
ucation department.
Becky Petitt, coordinator of diversity education and
primary coordinator of the Diversity Institute, said some
of the people participating are university presidents and
professors who are interested in continuing their in
struction on the subject of diversity education.
“Many of the professors are professors of social jus
tice,” she said. “Other participants include represen
tatives of universities and colleges who see the insti
tute as an opportunity for continued growth and a
chance to network.”
Petitt said some who attend the program are seek
ing to establish a multicultural services department or
diversity education program.
“A majority of the participants go back and start
their own diversity education program," she said.
Felicia Scott, director of multicultural services at
A&M, has facilitated the past workshop on estab
lishing a diversity education department. She said
her experience at A&M has prepared her for the
workshop, but she has also looked at other institu
tions’ methods and said discussion is an important
part of the workshop.
Scott said this year’s group is smaller than in the
past, but it will allow for better conversation and
analysis so people can learn from each other as well
as from the faculty.
“It’s a working institution,” Scott said. “Participants
are actively involved in the discussion. It’s not just a
lecture. Debate is a positive learning experience.”
The Department of Multicultural Services is spon
soring the event, which will be conducted by the de
partment’s Office of Diversity Education. Participants in
the conference include representatives from Miami Uni
versity, Purdue University and the University of Iowa.
Nutrition specialist cautions
against insufficient calcium
Slocum agrees to seven-year deal
7-22'
STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
B Texas A&M Football Coach R.C. Slocum has agreed
to a new seven-year contract that will pay him $1 mil
lion over the next 12 months.
i In addition to a base salary of $300,000 per year,
up from $185,000, Slocum will re
ceive money from television and ra
dio appearances, a housing al
lowance and a shoe contract. He also
will receive cars and a country club
membership as part of the new deal,
i Slocum said he will do his best to
continue the Aggies’ winning ways.
| “Texas A&M is a very special place
to me,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate
to have outstanding players and as
sistant coaches. We will continue to work hard to
bring success to the football program.”
i Slocum’s 94-28-2 record ranks as the winningest
SLOCUM
coach in A&M football history and the fifth-winningest
among all active Division I coaches. The Aggies have
won three Southwest Conference and two Big 12 Con
ference titles in Slocum’s 10-year tenure. Nine of those
seasons, the team finished the year ranked among the
nation’s Top 20, and eight times, it went on to com
pete in a postseason bowl game.
This past season, the Aggies defeated Kansas State
University to capture the Big 12 Championship and
faced Ohio State University in the Nokia Sugar Bowl.
Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen praised
Slocum’s sportsmanship in leading the Aggies.
“R.C. Slocum has done a tremendous job repre
senting Texas A&M University,” he said. “On and
off the playing field, he has handled himself with
class and dignity. He has kept the Aggie football
program among the national leaders and has done
so with integrity.”
see Slocum on Page 2.
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
The health educator and nu
trition specialist at A.P. Beutel
Health Center said students often
lack the calcium they need due
to time constraints and erratic
schedules. To combat this, the
health center is launching a cal
cium campaign in cooperation
with Food Services Thursday in
the Commons Dining Hall from
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dr. Jane Cohen said Student
Health Services conducted a
health behavior survey a few
years ago which showed that less
than half of the students in the
survey were eating products en
riched with calcium.
“It is important for students to
get more calcium in their diet be
cause they can continue to build
strong bones up until age 30,”
Cohen said.
Valerie Henry, a nutrition stu
dent assistant and a senior nutri
tional science major, said a defi
ciency in calcium cannot be
detected by a blood test.
“Most people won’t find out
they have osteoporosis until a
hip breaks,” Henry said. “By
eating more products high in cal
cium students can prevent osteo
porosis.
Osteoporosis bone disorder
characterized by a reduction in
bone density accompanied by in
creasing porosity and brittleness.
WHO? — A.P. Beutel Health
Center and Food Services
WHAT? — Ice Cream Social
and Calcium Campaign
WHEN? — Thursday from
11 A.M. to 1 P.M.
WHERE?— Commons Dining Hall
MARK MCPHERSON, l
She said when the body is de
ficient in calcium, the blood
takes calcium away from the
bones to compensate for the loss.
The recommended daily in
take of calcium for a typical col
lege student,18-22 years old, is
between 1,000 and 1,200 mil
ligrams, which is equivalent of
four cups of milk. Food such as
cheese, broccoli, yogurt and ce
real bars are good sources of cal
cium.
Activities Thursday will in
clude an ice-cream social, in
which students can build their
own sundae; a bean-bag toss in
which participants can enter a
drawing for a baseball auto
graphed by the Texas A&M Base
ball Team; and “Rate Your Plate,”
which allows students to assess
how much calcium is in their
lunch. v
Cohen said students who are
unable to attend the event at the
Commons Dining Hall can go to
the health center for more infor
mation about diet and nutrition
or to receive a free diet analysis.