September 29, 1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 23 • 12 Pages
9 P-m.)
p.m.)
reshman
rote begins
BY STASIA RAINES
The Battalion
, Tht members of the Class of ’03 will have their first
ash t 0 make their opinions count by voting for five
an senate members and six class-council offi-
t( day and tomorrow in freshman fall elections.
Jten Starwalt, director of programs for the elec-
jDinmission for the Student Government Associ-
§ said the commission is trying to raise voter
it by making voting more convenient,
te of our main goals is to get as many freshmen
e as possible,” she said. “This is why we, the
l/ ^ ctiun Commission, have set up seven voting sites.”
Stldents can vote from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sbisa Din-
Wm Ball, Blocker Building, Sterling C. Evans Library,
UlouHit. ncjn Dining Center, Zachry Engineering Building,
BSC and the Commons Lobby.
Vk issa Tripp, Election Commission director of ad-
niltration, said the number of candidates has in-
aid from last year.
119 Freslum Elections
Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
at the following locations.
-Sbisa Dining Hall
-Blocker building
-Sterling C. Evans Library
-Duncan Dining Center
-Zachary Engineering building
-Memorial Student Center
-Commons Lobby
ROBERT HYNECEK/Thk Battalion
“Over 70 freshmen applied,” she said. “Hopefully this
is indicative of a high turnout of voters.”
Ashlea Jenkins, election commissioner, said she
hopes the turnout for this year’s freshman elections is as
good as last year’s.
“Last year about 3,000 freshmen voted out of about
7,000 [freshman] students, which is pretty good,” Jenk
ins said. “Fish normally come out and vote because they
are excited to get involved.”
She said she hopes the number of candidates will help
get the word out to the freshman student body.
“Since there are so many candidates, hopefully more
freshmen will be aware and get out and vote,” Jenkins said.
Former Beutel staffers:
Work conditions hostile
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
When Donald Freeman, M.D.,
started working at A.P. Beutel
Health Center in October 1986, he
thought there could be no job
more fun or fulfilling. Twelve
years later, he walked out of Beu
tel for the last time, not because
he was retiring, but because of
what he describes as Beutel’s
transformation into “one of the
most miserable places to work.”
Freeman is not alone. He and
10 other physicians formerly em
ployed by Beutel have issued let
ters of complaint, saying the cur
rent administration of the health
center, headed by director Lucille
Isdale, Ph.D., has created a “hos
tile work environment,” driving
away many qualified staff mem
bers and ultimately lowering the
level of care received by students.
Janet Krueger, M.D., a former
physician at Beutel, said the ad
ministration created this environ
ment by repeatedly refusing to
recognize staff concerns or by ap
plying “band-aid” solutions to
problems which resurfaced a
short time later.
“The health center tends to ig
nore the problems of the staff,
such as the overwhelming patient
load, which leaves many students
with shorter time slots and very
often leaves the doctors overly fa
tigued,” Krueger said. "The ad
ministration has an ‘open-door’
policy with a brick wall on the
other side.”
According to a survey of staff
satisfaction conducted by the Di
vision of Student Affairs in 1998,
the “Student Health Service had
a large response of dissatisfied to
very dissatisfied employees.”
The survey revealed a 74.1-
percent dissatisfaction rate with
how work-related problems were
solved and a 70.4-percent dissat
isfaction rate with overall work
place morale.
Comments in the report in
cluded there was very little job se
curity reported by employees and
an extreme lack of flexibility in of
fice hours.
Isdale said she wishes she
could please all her staff while at
the same time maintaining high-
quality care for students, but her
see Beutel on Page 2.
utedfligM^
BRADLEY ATCHISON/Tm-: Battalion
ike Gerecke, a sophomore sociology major, puts up a tent Tuesday afternoon outside
rt Hall as part of the first “Stoop Out ’99,” an effort to meet students who do not live
Hart, by relaxing and playing video games on the stoops of Hart Hall. “Hartland,” the
sidents of Hart’s third floor, are coordinating the event.
Board bans hall from Bonfire
BY CHRIS MENCZER
The Battalion
Upcoming Bonfire events
will proceed without the
help of Walton Hall, a resi
dence hall traditionally
known for its involvement in
the Texas A&M tradition.
Walton Hall is officially
banned from this fall’s Bon
fire due to hazing incidents
that occurred during and pri
or to last year’s Bonfire.
A student-organization
hearing concluded Walton
Hall was involved in forcing
new crew chiefs to hug trees,
and abused them with verbal
and physical harassment.
Alcohol also may have
been involved.
Ann Marie Morgan, de
partment of student activi
ties adviser, said Walton is
restricted from participation
in Bonfire because of its in
fraction of University hazing
policies.
Anthony Andenoro, Wal
ton Hall graduate hall direc
tor, said the measures taken
will have a positive effect on
reducing hazing.
“We’re doing an anti
hazing program in Walton
and one on Southside. ” he
said. “We’re trying to edu
cate people on how they
can have a fun and safe
Bonfire.”
Andenoro said although
Walton Hall residents as a
group cannot be involved in
Bonfire, individuals from the
residence hall are more than
welcome to participate in
Bonfire as individual.
Hannes Brueckner, a Wal
ton Hall resident and a
sophomore general studies
major and, said the discipli
nary measures were unjust
because they punish the
wrong people.
“It’s hurting the freshmen
more than its hurting any
one else.” Brueckner said.
Brueckner said the fresh
man are being limited in
their involvement in Bonfire
because of the actions of
others.
“Walton’s always been
really active and played a
big role in [Bonfire] because
Walton Hall has been banned
from participating in A&M’s
Bonfire, due to hazing incidents.
we were the only dorm that
did load,” he said.
University adds film studies minor
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
For students interested in the film in
dustry, this fall’s addition of an Inter
disciplinary Film Studies minor to the
College of Liberal Arts provides an op
portunity to explore the film industry
both analytically and professionally.
Logan Youree, coordinator for MSC
Film Society’s Network Event Theater
and a junior speech communication
major, said he is considering adding
the new minor to his degree plan.
Youree said he is interested in the
production and behind-the-scenes
work of film.
“I have a lot of interest in film,” he
said, “and it is important to take
courses to learn and understand the
culture of film,” he said.
Dr. Terrence Hoagwood, Interdisci
plinary Minor of Film Studies coordi
nator, said the idea for the minor
came in 1997 when College of Liberal
Arts’ dean. Dr. Woodrow Jones,
formed a committee to research the
desirability of a film-studies minor
among students and faculty.
Hoagwood said the minor could
benefit students interested in the intel
lectual aspect of film.
He said people need to have the op
portunity to understand and think crit
ically about film.
“We felt film is likely to be part of
one’s life regardless of their major or
career choice,” he said.
Hoagwood said there are two class
es being offered for the minor this fall:
English 251, Language of Film and
English 289, Introduction to Film
Analysis.
Dr. Robert Shandley, assistant pro
fessor of German, is teaching the
ENGL 289 class this semester.
Shandley said of the 18 required
credit hours, three are set classes and
three are electives which can be tak
en from various areas of the liberal-
arts college.
He said students participating in
the minor are pursuing careers in
everything from directing to the mar
keting and distributing of films.
Shandley said it was very interest
ing to find out how enthusiastic stu
dents were about the prospect of the
addition of the minor.
“I think we will find it a very pop
ular and sought-after minor,” he said.
TEAtf
f'oii
ed next
INSIDE
-1442
PM
Aggielife
•Cruising
through college
Some classes
1 can help boost
|grade point ratio.
Page 3
Sports
set for league play
football set to kick-off con-
2nce play against Texas Tech.
Page 7
pinion
laking cents
of tragedy
media
ould not
proach
jnger
nesses of tragedies.
Page 11^
Batt Radio
.ten to KAMU-FM 90.9 for in-
rmation on the housing in-
ase for veterans.
Black journalists group
makes return to campus
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
The National Association of Black
Journalists (NABJ) returns this fall
for students interested in all areas of
journalism.
The NABJ became obsolete after
members graduated in 1996.
Adrienne Ballare, NABJ president and
a senior journalism major, said the orga
nization began in January 1989 and
stopped functioning. Because of new
membership, however, the organization
is now up and running again.
Ballare said the NABJ helps to gear
students interested in advertising, mar
keting or engineering toward a career in
journalism.
She said the organization provides
scholarship and internship information
and hopes to strengthen connections
between African-American students
and African-American professionals in
the Bryan-College Station media.
Roshawnda Little, NABJ secretary
and a senior journalism major, said the
association is open to all students.
“[We] encourage all students to
come out and learn, not just African-
Americans or journalism majors,” she
said. “[This is a] gateway for students
to learn what careers and opportunities
there are for people who like to write. ”
Ballare said the organization is con
cerned with providing minority stu
dents information about opportunities
in the journalism field.
“ [We hope to improve] unity of black
journalists dedicated to excellence,” she
said. “We hope to encourage the TAMU
journalism department to appoint black
instructors and professors. ”
Ballare said the organization, which
consists of 10 upperclassmen, is still re
cruiting members and hopes to recruit
underclassmen. She said NABJ also
aims to increase the number of black
journalism students in the Department
of Journalism.
Apryl Reed, NABJ director of pro
grams and a junior journalism major,
said future programs will include
tours of radio and television stations
to help students become familiar with
the settings.
MSC committee’s Bio Data Sheet
eases process of joining programs
BY JEANETTE SIMPSON
The Battalion
Student applicants to any
of the 26 MSC committees will
be able to use a Bio Data
Sheet, a Scantron form on
which applicants indicate oth
er committees they are inter
ested in besides the commit
tee they would like to join.
The MSC human resources
department administers and
compiles the sheets, and if stu
dent users are not accepted to
the committee of their choice,
their information is put into a
database so other committees
can use it as a referral source.
Committees which previ
ously did not have as many
applicants as they would, have
liked to now have a tool to
reach out to students whose
first choice was not available.
Matt Hobson, executive
vice president of development
for the MSC Council and a ju
nior computer engineering
major, said he believes Bio
Data Sheets will be a useful
tool for committees and for the
human-resources department.
The human-resources de
partment will use the Bio Data
Sheets to compile biographical
data of those who applied,
which allows them to research
what kinds of students are ap
plying and gives them a tool to
learn who they need to focus
on to increase application in
that committee.
“ [These Bio Data Sheets] al
low the [Human Resources]
department to provide student
referrals to those committees
who need more members,”
Hobson said. “It [Bio Data
Sheets] allows us to see what
people are involved.”
Hobson said the MSC
Council received a much larg
er turnout of students utilizing
the sheets than expected.
Tish Shanley, chair of MSC
Hospitality and a senior bio
medical science major, said the
committees in the MSC are ex
cited about the implementation
of these Bio Data Sheets, be
cause through these sheets they
are able to recruit those who
they may have not been able to
recruit initially.
“This program is a great way
for the committees to get peo
ple involved, and it gives the
students a chance to be a part
of a committee they maybe did
not know about,” Shanley said.
Janiece McGuire, a sopho
more English major, said she
used the Bio Data sheet so she
would have a chance of be
coming a part of a committee.
She said the sheets work as an
advertisement for committees
students may not know about.