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iday • October 19, 1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 37 • 12 Pages
)epartment head aims to limit
:ngineering students’ Q-drops
BY STUART HUTSON
The Battalion
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\department head’s efforts to save money and
e by curbing Q-drops has left some students
rried about their grades and their futures.
Rayford Anthony, Department of Chemical
ineering head, announced via email that he
meet with a student committee to institute a
i, stricter Q-drop policy to limit the number of
rops students may use for undergraduate
mical engineering classes.
Anthony said he would like to institute as soon
next semester a policy under which students
y Q-drop one chemical engineering class after
nonstrating to the department head and dean
it he or she has encountered a hardship im-
ring his or her ability to perform in the class.
Under current University guidelines, students
yQ-drop two courses during their first 60 class
urs and two courses in the following 60 class
urs without demonstrating a hardship, such as
illness or death in the family.
Anthony said the new policy would decrease
number of Q-drops within chemical engi-
'ring, saving his department up to $10,000 a
mester and saving students the $400 they
iuld pay to retake the course.
"[Q-dropping] makes my faculty work hard-
it makes the state and student pay more; and
□
D
O
-Students may only drop a
class after proving that a
hardship has impaired their
ability to work in a class.
ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion
it allows a student who should have already fin
ished the course to take a seat away from anoth
er student who may be trying to get into the class
for the first time,” he said.
Johnathan Weatherly, a senior chemical engi
neering major, said the general response from
chemical engineering majors is one of fear for
their grade point ratios and their future.
“Most of us [students] feel that this is taking
away our right to make a mistake,” he said. “Stu
dents may now be stuck with bad grades, and
bad grades mean less money down the line.”
Andy Schaafs, a senior chemical engineer
ing major, said the attempt to pose stricter reg
ulations follows an incident last semester in
which 50 percent of two sections of a heat-
transfer class Q-dropped after receiving their
first two test grades.
“The professor basically gave the impression
that students on the lower end of the scale did
n’t have much of a chance to pass,” he said.
“This really isn’t a situation that is all that rare.”
Anthony said that if students have problems
with professors, they should contact the depart
ment head or dean to resolve the issue.
“We try to work with students as much as we
possibly can to resolve any problems that may come
up,” he said. “Our professors are usually rated high
ly by the students who complete their courses.”
Thomas Owens, a senior chemical engineer
ing major, said the policy, if implemented, should
be accompanied by an enforced minimum grade
distribution under which no more than 10 per
cent of the class may receive a “D” or an “F.”
“Grades are highly dependent upon faculty,” he
said. “When grade distributions are irrational, the
student needs some recourse [such as a Q-drop].”
Mary Broussard, coordinator for special func
tions in the office of the associate provost for un
dergraduate programs and academic services, said
any new restrictions imposed by Anthony must
first be approved by the Academic Operations Com
mittee, which consists of 25 academic representa
tives, including academic deans and representa
tives from the Student Government Association.
Rain-slicked streets cause accidents
PATRIC SCHNEIDERM hi Battalion
A two-car accident occurred on Highway 6 last night, approximately one mile from Old San Antonio Road, involving a truck (shown above
being towed) and a van. It was one of many wrecks that took place yesterday as a result of the constant rain.
Center: Expo ’99
not associated
with University
BY MATT LOFTIS
The Battalion
The Texas A&M University
Career Center has raised con
cerns about the impact the Ca
reer Expo ’99 program could
have on student organizations
and groups associated with par
ticular fields of study because of
the Career Expo’s misrepresen
tation as affiliated with A&M.
Since hearing of the event,
officials have attempted to in
form students the program is
completely unaffiliated with
the Career Center.
Confusion about the fair’s re
lation to A&M became apparent
after Glen Payne, associate di
rector for placement at the Ca
reer Center, received a fax from
Northwestern Mutual, a regular
patron of A&M career fairs.
Northwestern had received
correspondence from the Ca
reer Expo notifying them fair
organizers had received their
phone and fax numbers from
the Career Center and that they
were invited to represent them
selves at the fair.
According to Career Center
officials, the Career Expo never
made an official attempt to con
tact the Career Center and had
Career fair draws
150 companies
The Association of Career
Development will host a career
fair in Reed Arena today through
Friday. The job fair is today and
tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m., and the interview ses
sions are Thursday and Friday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Career Expo ’99 is an all
purpose job fair, emphasizing
technical and general careers
in the business, management,
marketing, sales, health and
education fields.
One hundred fifty employ
ers will be recruiting at the Ca
reer Expo including American
Express, Kroger, Hewlett-
Packard, the San Antonio In
dependent School District and
Sonic Restaurants.
no official relation of any kind
to the center.
Danny Bower, Capitalizing
on Engineering Opportunities
Career Fair co-chair and a senior
mechanical engineering major,
said that although a fair like the
see Center on Page 2.
Professor to lecture
on religion’s past
BY KENNETH MACDONALD
The Battalion
Dr. Daniel Bornstein, director of
religious-studies program in the
College of Liberal Arts and a a his
tory professor, will discuss teaching
the history of Christianity tonight at
7 in the Banquet Room of the Clay
ton Williams Alumni Center. The
lecture is part of the 1999 Fallon-
Marshall Lecture series presented
by the College of Liberal Arts.
Bornstein, whose history class
covers the 1,500 years of history
from Jesus to the reformation will
discuss the problems associated
in teaching a class about sensi
tive issues.
“The talk is about the intellec
tual and pedagogical theories in
teaching Christianity in a secular,
public university in the Bible Belt,”
he said.
Bornstein said the second part
of the lecture will discuss the han
dling of sensitive subjects in teach
ing Christianity and how it can
sometimes conflict with broader is
sues, such as academic freedom
and responsibility.
“It is a reflection on classroom
experiences when teaching and
scholarship intersect,” he said.
Bornstein received his under
graduate degree in religious stud
ies from Oberlin College and his
Ph.D. from the Interdisciplinary
Committee on Social Thought at
the University of Chicago.
Adam Mikeal, a sophomore his
tory major who is taking Born-
stein’s class, said Bornstein is a re
spectful professor.
“A lot of what is covered in class
causes problems with other stu
dent’s belief systems, but [Born
stein] always respects the views of
others,” he said.
The Fallon-Marshall Lecture se
ries, established in 1994 by philan
thropist Marry Marshall, is an an
nual forum for the discussion of
issues in humanities and social sci
ences. Bornstein was selected by
the Academic Standards Commit
tee from proposals by the College
of Liberal Arts.
r
Sports
• Born leader
1 Mandy Davidson, a
senior and Aggie
soccer team captain
shows leadership skills
on the field.
Page 7
Aggielife
^ • Removing the wool
"Students, share stories
^about falling victim to scams.
Page 3
Opinion
I ’Crowded Planet
The world's popu
lation has reached
6 billion, and policy
niakers need to
r espond to the
(situation.
Page 11
Batt Radio
I listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57
P.m. for details on the theft of a
I Police cruiser by teens.
Historian to
speak about
World War II
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
A United States Defense Department historian
will discuss the involvement of the United States
and Japan in World War II in two lectures today.
Edward J. Drea’s first lecture, “The Atomic
Bomb and Japan’s Response: The Continuing
Controversy,” dealing with America’s aware
ness of Japan’s defense against its invasion dur
ing World War II, will be presented at 10 a.m.
in the Sam Houston Sanders Corps Center in the
Deshiell Conference Room.
Drea said the lecture will focus on both the
American and Japanese views of the subject.
“You get both sides of the story,” he said. “I
use actual documents in both languages to il
lustrate the discussion.”
Drea’s second lecture, “Emperor Hirohito’s
Role in Japan’s Strategy During World War II,”
is based on his recently published book, In the
Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial
Japanese Army.
The lecture begins at 4 p.m. in the Eller Oceanog
raphy and Meteorology Building 210.
"The Atomic Bomb and
Japan's Response:
The Continuing Controversy”
Today at 10 a.m. in the Sanders
Corps of Cadets Center
"Emperor Hirohito’s Role
in Japan's Strategy
During WWII"
Today at 4 p.m. in the Eller
Oceanography and
Iffeteorology Built
JEFF SMITH/The Battalion
Drea said the second lecture will focus on the
Japanese emperor’s role during the Pacific War
and World War II.
“I will discuss if [Emperor Hirohito] was a
pacifist, a warmonger or a dupe,” he said.
Joseph Dawson, director of the Military Stud
ies Institute, said the Institute presents two
speakers each semester and invited Drea be
cause of his familiarity with Japanese culture
and history.
Drea said he always has been interested in
see Historian on Page 2.
Sterling C. Evan Library
to build new coffee shop
BY KENNETH MACDONALD
The Battalion
Starbuck’s Coffee fans at Texas A&M
University will be happy to know that plans
are in the works for a coffee shop to be built
on the first floor of Sterling C. Evans Library.
Dr. Frank Heath, dean and director of
Evans Library, said the coffee shop will of
fer Starbuck’s brand coffee as well as oth
er drinks, snacks and cold sandwiches.
The project should be finished in June
or August, depending on present renova
tions, he said.
Heath said the only products allowed in
the library will still be drinks in resealable
bottles. He said the shop’s proximity to the
facility and extended hours of operation are
designed to meet the needs of students.
“We wanted something in the library be
cause of the long hours that students spend
working in the library and because the
[Pavilion’s snack bar] closes relatively ear
ly,” he said.
The coffee shop will be under the over
hang on the east side of the building, near
the revolving doors, and will have the same
hours of operation as the library.
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion
A Starbuck’s coffee shop will be avail
able on the first floor of Evans Library in
June or August of 2000.
Heath said this project is a collaborative
effort between the library, the Department of
Food Services and the A&M administration.
“This is [former vice president for ad
ministration] Dr. Jerry Gaston’s last hoorah
for the students,” he said. “The student ad
visory group to the library has always been
keen to more services in the library. I think
that this is a good compromise. ”
Ron Beard, director of Food Services,
said plans for the shop should be finalized
by April or May.