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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2000)
in the mountainousrsi! Saturday constmctiol \ ioi^ Ja_\ \ violence,ij based ()ccidental ho| I'lie eompany could n sters lined theedgeofi picket of riot police, not moving. This is >dy is taking it frotnin >ta, who said hisfou liter died after riotpol otest. said, nunieation with the es diHicult because Tt speak Spanish. Bn , 9-year-old Kesiowi reporters through ai it she had lost Pastor ile trying to cross I the man or the bah) d groups Amazon \L iotisK told reportersi’. sh. r Col. Raul C'epeda.^ ated. hut U’wa leade \ hut it‘s their fault Tie risto Coharia.lhetnh: riher tribe againsttk: 0 million peoplenk port oil within the nev inority enrollment increased in ’80s IERT HYNECEK & GUY ROGERS/1 m Hoi w ion BY JULIE ZUCKER The Battalion “It feels good to be finished. It has been a long, hard struggle. I am proud to be the first one, but it is rather sad that it took 20 years for one black x woman to graduate with an MBA,” said Melva Robinson Pratt to The Battalion in 1983 after she became the first African- American woman to graduate from Texas A&M University with an MBA. It u'as the focus of A&M in the ’80s to have more gradu ates like Pratt. According to University archives, A&M started a task force in the early '80s to attract more African-American students and “alleviate minority discrimination in higher education.” The Lowry Mays College of Business recruited African- American high school students with a three-day seminar for which 137 applicants and 50 students were accepted. In September of 1983, Kevin R. Carreathers became A&M’s first minority adviser, and implemented an “I Care” program on campus. “Minorities make up less than one percent of total enroll ment at A&M,” Carreathers said in 1983. "1 think they would enjoy their college experience a little more if I can help main stream them onto campus.” More African-American organizations were accepted on campus in the ’80s, such as the African Student Association, started by Jacob Teboh, who came to Texas from Cameroon, Africa in 1983, and two service sororities. Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha. The efforts seemed to quickly affect the veterinarian and medical schools. In August of 1983, four out of 48 students were African-American in the vet school which boasted none the year before. In 1984, scholarships specifically for African-Americans and women began to be sponsored at A&M. Over $4 million was distributed to attract at least 525 African-American un dergraduates, $1.65 million for 34 African-American graduate students and $700,000 in salary supplements for African- American faculty members. In 1986, A&M had the best retention rate in the state for African-American students. Alter being enrolled for the 1983- 1984 school year, 81.5 percent of the African-American un dergraduates at A&M returned for the fall semester of 1984. See History on Page 2. Car accidents ikOK, Thailand cut officials argue:’ arc bed and a dentes ie at the chief oft® Monetary Fund fiV' uring a trade simwivj touted is a peaceful tiw| i and poomms apterofthecmatecoi ame to an end as M s, the IM1 \ managing a final speech to the : on Trade and Develop ctirement Monday id economic globafe rcaten poor nations b« vestment will help is altli. lization can now best light." he said, “astbs mproving the human ughout the world.” ny developing counl re being left behind as economic globalizaW qually among the ^ itingbigger divides belt [ nd the have-nots, veloping countries con wed to rich nations art ability to grow, and rade barriers keeping it of some markets atf| rly. )f IMF bailout STUART VILLANUEVA/1 Ml BaITAUON Ninety-three-year-old Donald Foster of Bryan was killed Monday morning when he drove southbound in the northbound lane of Earl Rudder Freeway and collided with a Plymouth Voyager. Foster at the scene and the driver of the Voyager, Catherine Lester of College Statibn, was taken to St. Joseph Regional FHealth Center where she remains in critical condition. A second collision occurred less than one hour later and IOC yards away when a pickup driven by Jane Wilcox of North Zulch rear-end ed another pickup. Wilcox died at the scene and the other driver, who was unharmed, was given a ticket for making an unsafe lane change. It is suspected that a traffic build-up round the previous accident contributed. NOW holds mock wedding enate opposes grade distribution BRANDIE LIFFICK The Battalion I Texas A&M professors’ grade distributions may no longer be available ifthe Fac- ilf\ Senate has its way. I The Faculty Senate passed a resolution 30 to 17 to bring an end to the practice of Impiling grade distributions. J The grade distributions include course and section numbers, professors’ names Id the average Grade Point Ratio (GPR) for each course. While grade distributions fere initially made available so advisers could use them when advising students on tries during the receii® ur ' se selections, the Faculty Senate argues that students often use them to compare is claim the ftuKl'i ^ ct jP^ 0 f' 0ne P r °f e ssor’s class to another, gh interest rates lor* ibility deepened reces 1 reavy job losses. Board works on better relations “These lists are appearing to be misused by students in their considering for course registration,” said Dr. Ken E. Harding, speaker for the academic affairs committee and chemistry professor. Before making the recommendation to the Faculty Senate, the academic affairs committee met w ith the Student Senate to hear their proposed ideas for the grade dis tributions. “Our proposal was for a comprehensive Website with professor information in cluding a course syllabus for their classes, awards and achievements and, above all, the GPA of the classes,” said Brent Spencer, senior microbiology major and academic af fairs chairman of Student Senate. “Now that this resolution bad been passed for the list to no longer be assembled, the student body will no longer have access to this resource.” See Faculty Senate on Page 2. BY BROOKE HODGES The Battalion “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate love in its many forms. It is wonderful to see so many happy couples celebrating their love for each other, but there are other cou ples who are unable to fully express their affections because of society’s fears of seeing love in a less-tradition al form.” These were the words with which Rev. Jason Bennett began the mock wed dings of gay and lesbian couples in front of Rudder Fountain Monday. The Texas A&M University branch of the National Organization for Women sponsored the mock weddings where Jason Patton, a sophomore bio medical science major, and J.FT Langston, a junior computer science major, joined hands in pretend matri mony along with Natalie R. Wilson, a sophomore zoology major, and Amy Hinze, a junior political science major. The ceremony was held in honor of National Freedom to Marry Day to cre ate awareness that members of the gay and lesbian community are denied the le gal right to marry said Bennett, a rev erend of the Universal Light Church and a freshman engineering major. Bennett said the ceremony, which at tracted a large crowd of onlookers, had less interruptions than anticipated “Overall, [the ceremony] went about as expected, it got a.few cat calls,” Ben nett said. “[But] the crowd seemed more accepting of the lesbian marriage instead of the gay ceremony.” Some bystanders had mixed emo tions about the ceremony, like Jami Evans, a freshman exercise science ma jor. “If they are in a loving relationship, that’s fine, as long as it’s not impressed on me,” Evans said. “I believe God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” The ceremony was performed with a bridal party and a sermon that infonned listeners of the problems same-sex mar riages face. Lesbian and gay couples are not able to live in marital bliss under the current state law, but the recent idea of domes- The Texas A&M University chapter of the National Organization for Women sponsored a mock wed ding where Jason Patton, a sopho more biomedical science major, and J.B. Langston -a junior com puter science major, joined hands in pretend matrimony along with Natalie R. Wilson, a sophomore zoology major, and Amy Hinze, a ju nior political science major. EATO/Thi tic partnership has been presented as a possible solution. “Some people have proposed domes tic partnership arrangements as an alter native to same-sex marriage,” Bennett said. “Although this is a step in the right direction, domestic partnership plans do not offer the same comprehensive array of benefits, nor have the same legal or so cial significance as simple marriages.” “Over 100 rights that married couples receive are not available to non-married couples, such as hospital visitation,” Pat ton said. Bennett said the gay and lesbian See Wedding on Page 2 S' % e </i TAMU) BY RICHARD BRAY The Battalion Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) and the pent Government Association (SGA) of Texas A&M may iem like strange bedfellows, but the two are working to change at reputation. Rachel Howe, director of student services for Student Govern- lent is working with Sherryl Wine, a graduate student in educa- pi administration, to fonn an evaluating and advising board made up of employees from PTTS and students. The new board was created to increase communication between je two groups. J “The students will have a greater understanding of what PTTS’s role is on campus and how they relate to students,” ITowe said, i A sophomore student, who wishes to be known only as Nick Park, said the primary reason he dislikes PTTS is because they Rem to randomly enforce the laws. S “They enforce some rules but don’t enforce others. PTTS should locus more on people parking in the street than people parking in the wrong spot,” he said. “If you’re going to ticket people, ticket everyone who deserves it.” 1 Tom Williams, director of PTTS, said most people who have problems with PTTS are students who have been given a citation b} a PTTS officer. 1 don’t know that everyone considers us the bad guys,” he said. Tiose who choose to violate the system and cheat their classmates PATRIC SCHNEIDER/Tm: Battalion PTTS officer Donna Petri writes a ticket at Mosher Circle. out of a park ing space and receive a citation don’t think we’re doing our job, but our job is to en force [parking regulations].” Howe said the job of PTTS is to govern the parking and traffic on campus. “They are a necessary service on campus, and unfortunately, that necessary service is enforcing the rules and regulations,” she said. “It’s a necessary evil.” Williams said the primary reason students see PTTS in a negative light is because they do not realize that PTTS performs a variety of services around campus besides issuing citations. “Most students view us as the parking enforcement group out to get into their pocket book — but that’s really not the case,” he said. “We manage the parking and transportation system, the bus ing system, traffic at special events, the University fleet of vehicles and the permit system.” Williams said increased communication would help to improve PTTS’ image with the student body, but he is not willing to go out of his way to appease the student body. “I’m not out to make any special efforts,” he said. “1 think See PTTS on Page 2. Institute assists students abroad BY BRANDIE LIFFICK The Battalion Cory Ramsey will pack her bags for Turkey. Cassady Yoder is headed for Denmark. Neither is going on vacation, though. Through the MSC Jordan Institute for International Awareness, seven Texas A&M students, including Ramsey and Yoder, will study abroad with considerable financial backing as Jordan Institute Fellows. “Part of our mission is to not only send students abroad, but to have them come back and share with the rest of the student body what they did,” said James Glueck, director of the Fellows program and sophomore agricultural development major. The Jordan Institute is funded through an endowment set up by Jessie W. Jordan in honor of her husband, Leiand Jordan. “The Jordans did a lot of traveling with his work, especially in the Mid dle East,” Glueck said. “They never had any children of their own, and when Leiand died, Jessie endowed their money to the children of A&M. It was their way of giving back to the University.” Glueck said the interviewing process for the fellowships is very compet itive. Each applicant is responsible for making a proposal to the Jordan In stitute including extensive details about their trip, from a time range to daily expenses. “The applicant’s proposals are totally individualized,” said Glueck. “They all come in with different ideas; some of their projects may take two weeks to complete, while others may take six months.” Ramsey, an anthropology graduate student, is one of the Fellows being sponsored by the Jordan Institute this semester. Ramsey’s proposal will take See Institute on Page 2. INSIDE •Festival gears up for 7th year. Page 3. •Selling the recipe for death. Page 1 3. •Baseball heat to Southwest Texas. Page 9. Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on the new CISD head coach. •Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tamu.edu.