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Wednesday, Febmar.
THE
THURSDAY
February 24, 2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 98
14 pages
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I * i Vi 1 rW i U
Distance
learning
increases
BY STUART HUTSON
Tire Battalion
Why should Texas college students order just books and class
notes online — when they can get the entire class?
This question was answered by Texas Lieutenant Governor
Rick Perry' Wednesday in a letter to the press concerning the fu
ture of online college courses in Texas.
In tire letter. Perry noted that an estimated 2.2 million U.S.
college students will be taking distance learning courses by the
year 2002, three times as many as in 1998.'
“Online, Internet-based classrooms can offer real solu
tions to overcrowded schools and the shortages of teach
ers, engineers and technology workers the new Texas econ
omy needs," Perry said. “Technology is breaking down
barriers to college. Vast distances can be overcome with the
click of a mouse. And classes can be made available 24
hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
Pierce Cantrell, associ-
RHA meets with bonfire adviser
Association also discusses new cable channel, residence hall
RISE IN ON-LINE
DISTANCE LEARNING
IN US. -
E»llmateti 2.2 million studwnts
(15 p«reem of all college etudents)
will be laklng on-line distance
learning courses by 2002
720,000 student* took on-line
distance learning In 1998.
ty D«u Corporation
JEFF SMITH/Thk Battamon
A
1 def
wxyz
! es
x>ot
ate provost for academic
use of computers at Texas
A&M, said A&M is play
ing an active part in break
ing down these barriers.
“We have been work
ing on these technologies
for quite a few years
now, and we keep trying
to increase the number of
options available,” he
said. “This is something
that can be extremely
beneficial to a great
number of people, like
those who are trying to
get another degree to
help them in their work.”
Cantrell said the uni
versity provost provided
| $500,000 last semester to increase the number of degrees that
| may be obtained by means of online education.
“Masterdegrees in mathematics and technology educations
1 have already been set up by this, along with pilot programs for
masters in construction science, petroleum engineering, and en-
gi'neeqngsystem management,” he said.
Cantrell said these programs are only the newest additions to
A&M’sdistance education program.
Tie program includes computer-assisted services, such as a
program which offers over 180 courses to more than one hun
dred locations across Texas and Mexico via a two-way, digital
video conferencing network.
The network allows a professor at A&M to interact with mul
tiple classes in other Texas cities by means of a video and audio
feed that is digitally transferred by a serving computer.
Kevin P. Jackson, director of student activities and distance
learning consultant to the vice president of student affairs, said
this form of distance learning is constantly being improved by
Web-based interactive tools.
“We are trying to introduce more tools with which students
can interact with the professor via the Internet,” Jackson said.
“Students can have classroom discussions by means of chat
rooms, they can get notes and assignments from Websites, and
professors even can have virtual otlice hours during which stu
dents can talk with the professor.”
He said these classes arc confined primarily to graduate lev
el courses because graduate students often are attempting to pur-
sueamasters or doctoral degree while working full-time or rais
ing a family.
“We really want to focus on the on-campus experience for
undergraduate students, but these classes show a great deal of
promise for the graduate programs,” Jackson said.
BY RICHARD BRAY
The Battalion
Bonfire adviser Rusty
Thompson said no bon
fire leadership positions
will officially exist until
the investigation into the
1999 Aggie Bdnfire col
lapse has concluded and
decisions have been
made about the future of bonfire.
At the Residence Hall Association [RHA] meeting
Wednesday night, Thompson said the University is doing
everything it can to help the investigation.
“It is very important to the University and [the Vice Pres
ident of Student Affairs. Dr. J. Malon] Southerland that we
go about this investigation the right way,” he said. “The
right way to do this is to wait for the investigation and let
the committee do their work. The University is going to do
whatever it can to make sure that they can do their job.”
Thompson said that residence halls may elect leaders if
a bonfire is approved for next year, but they may not use
bonfire terminology in their title until the investigation is
completed.
“The University is asking that since we don’t have [a]
bonfire planned, we shouldn’t have any bonfire positions,”
he said. “We’re basically asking you not to use the titles.”
“The only positions that we have right now are the se
nior red pots and those students are finishing up some things
from 1999,” he said.
Red pots are the leaders ultimately responsible for the
planning and construction of
bonfire.
RHA also passed a bill to
approve University consider
ation of bringing the College
Television Network [CTN] to
campus. CTN provides free
broadcasting to colleges and
universities and is currently
in use at over 700 colleges
and universities.
Cameron Cushman, RHA
director of public relations
and sophomore political sci
ence major, said “CTN will
only be in fifty percent of the
dining halls.”
Cushman said CTN can
also be broadcast on one of the currently unused channels
available for student programming in the residence halls.
The University will be offered the option of channels fo
cusing on news or music.
Cushman said the project could potentially be profitable.
“If we set up the contract the right way, from rev-
“The University is asking
that since we don't have
[a] bon fire planned, we
shouldn't have any bon
fire positions. We're basi
cally asking you not to use
the titles."
— Rusty Thompson
Texas A&M bonfire adviser
enue-sharing we can actually make money from this,”
Cushman said.
CTN must be approved by Southerland before it can be
brought to campus.
The former Law and
Puryear location is the pro
posed site for the new resi
dence hall, said Ron Sassej^t*
rector of the DepartmenCfvjf
Residence Life. The donu-aj
estimated to cost $12 million-:
The new residence hall is stilD
in planning stages, but it is
proposed to be roughly t£ie
size of Lechner Hall and inf S
modular style. The residence
hall, built to replace the rooms
lost when Law and Puryear
halls were torn down because
of structural damage, is esti
mated to provide 200 beds!
When Law and Puryear wer^
torn down, 400 beds were lost.
Sasse said everyone on campus would face fee increast
es to pay for the new residence hall because it is the only
way Residence Life knows to pay for new projects.
“Historically, charging everyone [living on campus) is
the only way we can do it financially," he said.
Aloha baby
CODY WAGES/Tm: Batiauon
Darrie Durham, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, and Deanna Scrimpshire, a freshman general studies major, talk to bikini clad
Eastmark Apartment sales persons, Ghana Overland, Elaine Wigginton and Amy Schwanntes at the MSC Housing Fair Wednesday. Students
were able to speak with many representatives from B-CS housing communities.
Widnall gives speech
to help new student
BY DANA JAMUS
The Battalion
Sheila Widnall visited Texas A&M
for the second time Wednesday night
Mhis time, with no strings attached.
Widnall gave the May 1997 com
mencement address as a deal struck
with Dr. Ray Bowen. She had received
a letter from the mother of a young air
man who wanted to attend A&M and
was having difficulties with admission.
Bowen agreed to allow this young
man’s admission, but only if Widnall gave
one of the commencement addresses.
“So, Smith, wherever you are, I’m
tack!” Widnall said jokingly Wednesday.
Widnall is the only woman to be the
U.S. Air Force Secretary.
Widnall spoke as part of the Distin
guished Lecture Series.
Widnall discussed her recipe for an
organization’s success: a strong and
positive culture.
This atmosphere makes people
proud to be associated with that orga
nization and proud of any accomplish
ments they make. Strong, positive cul
ture is cultivated at A&M, she said, and
“not only because when you search the
Web for Aggie jokes you get more than
2,000 hits.”
As head of the Air Force, Widnall
decided that she would focus on the
“people element” in the organization
and let the technology and organiza
tional part take care of itself.
Widnall defined leadership as
“steering, not rowing.” She said she
trusted the people at the Air Force to
complete the tasks that needed do
ing, so she concentrated on taking
care of those people.
In her role as leader of the Air
Force, she stepped out of her office
and displayed what “management
by walking around” means. She en
joyed flying every airplane in the Air
Force’s inventory, a joy which she
said was a big factor in accepting the
position.
Widnall said this experience made
her feel like “one of the luckiest people
in the world.”
She said it was hard for her to identify
her favorite plane, but the F-16 was near
the top of the list. She was the first woman
and only the third civilian to fly a B-2, an
“incredible experience,” she said.
Widnall said emphasizing and artic
ulating core values help set an institu
tion’s ideals and have a psychological
reward for the people of the organiza
tion by reflecting their worth, who they
UT, A&M show jump
in enrollment figures
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion,
Sheila Widnall, first female secretary
of U.S. Airforce spoke at the Bush
Presidential Conference Center.
are and what they do.
“The best leader is a teacher,” she
said. Widnall said the same is true in the
Air Force. Recruitment must occur
from within and, so if “We want a
colonel, we must grow a lieutenant.”
Widnall said her background as an
educator was the most useful experi
ence she took with her to Washington.
Widnall was also the first female
president of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, one of
many other government and academic
See Widnall on Page 2.
AUSTIN (AP) — Freshman applica
tions at the University of Texas - Austin
have hit an all-time high with more mi
nority students tiying to get in.
More than 20,800 applications have
come in for just slightly more than 7,000
spots for the new freshman class, the
Austin American-
Statesman report
ed Wednesday.
Texas A&M offi
cials also say ap
plications are
nearing record
levels.
“We’re excit
ed about this,”
said UT Admis
sions Director
Bruce Walker.
“If [the enrollment
figures aren't] a
record, it's pretty
close to one."
— Joe Estrada
A&M Admissions Director
“The next part will be the hard part, mak
ing oiir enrollment decisions and dealing
with the students who don’t get an offer
— and their parents.”
â– Last year, UT received about 18,200
applications and Walker said he expects
this year’s figures to surpass 21,000. The
application deadline was Feb. 1 and of
ficials are still counting.
A&M, has tallied 18,069 applica
tions for its 6,300-seat freshman class.
The application deadline at A&M was
Feb.15.
“If it isn’t a record, it’s pretty close
to one,” said A&M Admissions Direc
tor Joe Estrada.
As for minority students, UT Austin
had 3,013 applications from Hispanics,
compared with 2,688 in 1999.
African-Americans submitted 1,121
applications
compared with
976 last year. Mi
nority application
figures at A&M
were not avail
able Wednesday,
said spokesper
son Lane
Stephenson.
A 1996 feder-
al court ruling,
known as the
Hopwood decision, led to a dismantling
of affirmative action programs in Texas
higher education and declines in black
and Hispanic student enrollment.
UT rebounded last fall, and credit
ed the new scholarships and a state law
that grants automatic admission to stu
dents in the top 10 percent of their high
school class. Officials at UT and A&M
also said their schools are benefitting
See Enrollment on Page 2.
Check out The Battalion
online at
battalion.tamu.edu