THURSDAY ]une24, 1999 Volume 105 • Issue 158 • 6 Pages College Station, Texas aggielife • Bryan’s historic Carnegie Public Library is getting a face lift this summer. PAGE 3 today’s issue News 6 Battalion Radio Tune in to 90.9 KAMU-FM at 1:57 p.m. for details on how to volunteer for the Adopt-a-Highway program. opinion • Success of young millionaires downplays the importance of a college education. PAGES BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion Charles Self will take over the position of associate dean of the lege of Liberal Arts effective Sept. 1. Self takes liberal arts position BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion True to its mission of reflectively exploring arts and humanities, the College of Liberal Arts has found its Self — Dr. Charles Self, that is. The current head of the Journalism De partment will become the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts beginning Sept. 1. The current associate dean, Nancy Jo Dyer, is returning to teaching at Texas A&M. Although Self has spent most of his career involved with the field of journalism, he said he has always had a a strong interest in the arts and sciences. “I have one main objective for the stu dents,†he said. “I want all Aggies regardless of their major to appreciate the value of a lib eral arts education. This (liberal arts educa tion) lets Aggies reflect on why they do what they do.†Self received his Ph.D. in mass communi cations and journalism from the University of Iowa in 1974. He then took a teaching posi tion at the the University of Alabama where he later became head of the journalism de partment there for five years. Self said he has been involved in journal ism ever since his middle-school years. Along the way. Self has been a reporter and editor for United Press International, president-elect for the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and a past president for the Southwest Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Commu nication. Self said his main responsibilities in his new position of associate dean will be to work on development in the areas of fund raising and strategic planning, graduate edu cation, international programs and the hon ors programs. Dr. Lawrence Oliver, co-associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts, said Self was se lected for the position because he has had ex perience as a department head and because of his previous work as a director of graduate studies. “Dr. Self has a wealth of administrative ex perience and has made significant develop ments within the journalism departments in areas such as funding, which is going to be one of his main focuses as the new associate dean, “ Oliver said. “He knows a lot about networking and is a very likable and fair- minded guy.†IS b “Safety signals ^Program aims to improve efficiency of campus transportation BY CARRIE BENNETT The Battalion Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) — i—■$ fbeen researching methods to im- >ve efficiency and safety for trans- 'taiion systems affecting bus transit, / ways, pedestrians and car transit un- 'the Texas A&M University System. I Christopher Poe, director of the Trans k Research Center, a part of TTI, said goal of the program is to operate the asportation systems as one unit. He i the combination of more roadways I the rapid development of cities has ated a need for the “next generation†ransportation management. ?o!e said faculty and students repre- tiiig various A&M majors, including il Engineering, computer science, me- inical engineering and electrical engi- iripg, have been researching trans- tation problems during the last year 1 a half. de said four to five Global Positioning terns (GPS), which are satellite-linked ismitters, are being used on A&M ;es to develop the application of the ?arch. He said GPS transmitters also 1 being used on the railroad tracks C Ag the Wellborn Road corridor to de- nine the trains’ speed and when they l pass a certain point. The same device is being used at the intersection of the Highway 6 bypass and University Drive to count cars and assess speeds on freeway segments. The GPS devices currently send infor mation to the lab letting researchers know where buses and trains are and when they will arrive at a certain desti nation. “A&M and TTI are on the leading edge in terms of transportation research with respect to using advanced sensor technologies for real-time transportation applications/' — Larry Rilett Assistant professor of civil engineering He said knowing where the bus or train is and why it is stopped or delayed will help travelers make better decisions and help them to use their time more ef ficiently. Larry Rilett, assistant professor of civ il engineering, has a joint appointment with TTI and has been working on vari ous transportation research projects for four years. Rilett said his interest in train arrival predictions has developed from another research project on real-time routing of vehicles. Rilett said one potential application is to allow EMS, fire fighters and police of ficers to avoid delays due to trains at grade crossings. “The average travel time for trains to travel from FM 2818 to George Bush Dri ve is approximately four minutes and we can model train arrival times at George Bush Drive within 60 seconds, 90 percent of the time,†Rilett said. “This advanced warning time is adequate for most emer gency applications as the drivers typical ly require approximately 4 to 5 minutes notice of when a train will arrive at a giv en crossing.†Rilett also said the program hopes to apply their research to actual traffic situ ations before the end of the year. “While the project is in the research stage now, the next stage — which we hope to start in the next six months — will be to provide real-time train predic tion information to the Emergency Med ical Services dispatchers,†he said. “A&M and TTI are on the leading edge in terms of transportation research with re spect to using advanced sensor tech nologies for real-time transportation ap plications.†Fills to undergo summer repairs JP BEATO/The Battalion A mesh fence separates students from construction at Rudder Hall Wednesday. Texas A&M University is planning more than $2 million in resident hall improvements this summer. BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion Texas A&M University is planning more n $2 million in renovations to campus deuce halls this summer. Dan Mizer, assistant director of facil- s and operations for A&M, said this tie third of a 10-year plan to attain all ility needs outlined in a facility con- on analysis of A&M performed in '6 by advisory firms Vander Wiel, a ional facility advisory firm, and Halff iociates of Bryan. These facility needs include improve- nts such as new fire alarm systems, mbing improvements and improved iting in some halls. New roofs will be :alled on Underwood and Wells halls. Vlizer said one of the improvements this imer will be a main electrical service up- ie in Walton Hall. He said this upgrade / allow the University to offer air condi- iers in individual rooms for an addition- ?e as soon as Fall 2000. vlizer said the University will also in- tse handicapped accessibility in nents and Dunn halls by installing signs Iraille and lowering drinking fountains, bringing handicapped bathrooms up to Rations set by the Americans with Dis- ities Act. n accordance with a fire inspection con- ted after a fire in Whiteley Hall [Dorm Vlizer said the University will spend an additional $300,000 to install fire safety doors between floors and door closing de vices on all doors in Spence, Davis-Gary, Whiteley and Harrington [Dorm 11] halls. Mizer said improvements will continue after the University has filled all the facility needs outlined in the 1996 analysis. He said the University will have an additional $6 million to use towards renovations once it pays off debts already incurred in residence- hall construction; the debt should be paid by 2009. Space-age spuds ANTHONY DISALVO/The Battalion Kelly Marshall, a plant breeding graduate student, cuts up the stems of a group of cloned sweet potatoes at the Adriance Laboratory on West Campus Wednesday. Veggie tales Heirloom vegetables bring tastes of the past to life BY VERONICA SERRANO The Battalion Earlier this year the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville became the object of some media attention when thieves began stealing vegetables grown from heirloom seeds that are replicas of the kind that would have existed in Houston’s 19th century garden. Derrick Birdsall, curator of education at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, said he uses the heirloom seeds for two reasons. He said the first reason for using the heirloom seeds is because he is a historian and a purist who believes that the seeds add an air of authenticity to the museum. “It’s more realistic,†he said. The other reason for using heirloom seeds is because he said he believes in the seed sav ing concept. Birdsall uses seeds from the Texas Seed Exchange for some of the veg etables grown in the museum’s garden. Jack Rowe of the Seeds of Texas Seed Exchange located in College Station, a non profit program through which seed collec tors can purchase and trade seeds, said fewer than 15 percent of those vegetable varieties which were listed as commercial ly available by the United States Depart ment of Agriculture in 1903 remain. Rowe said heirloom seeds are gaining popularity because of they are hardy and disease resistant, and have a different taste than their modern-day counterparts and have other desirable culinary qualities. see Seeds on Page 2.