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THURSDAY
March 30, 2000
Volume 106 ~ Issue 118
16 pages
* Vim W * i IIJCI Vi 1 rwI * 4
Committee to review early registration
s Unite
Administration questions necessity of early registration
EDITORIAL
CZECH 1
REPUB& '
f
Viennii
Editorials appearing in The Bat
talion reflect the majority view
of the editorial board members.
They do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of other Battalion
staff members, the Texas A&M
student body, regents, adminis
tration, faculty or staff.
Columns, guest columns, car
toons and letters express the
opinions of the authors.
The Academic Operation Com
mittee’s (AOC) proposal to end the
early registration process for student
workers is exemplary of the admin
istration’s inability to solve problems.
The AOC is justifying its propos
al to take away 6,000 students’
privilege by citing abuse of the sys
tem and billing it as a move to
make A&M more similar to top na
tional universities.
If it is true that some students
are abusing the system by working
for the minimum two weeks and
quitting, the logical solution should
be to implement a system of ac-
Editorial Board
MARIUM MOHIUDDIN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
BEVERLY MIRELES
STUART HUTSON
BRENT BARKLEY
MANAGING EDITOR
CAMPUS EDITOR
ASST. WEB MASTER
ERIC DICKENS
MARIANO CASTILLO
MEREDITH HIGH!
OPINION EDITOR
COMMUNITY EDITOR
KYLE WHITACRE
VERONICA SERRANO
AGGIELIFE EDITOR
DOUG SHILLING
AGGIELIFE EDITOR
JASON BENNYHOFF
SPORTS EDITOR
JASON LINCOLN
RADIO PRODUCER
NONI SRIDHARA
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
JEFF KEMPF
ASST. RADIO PRODUCER
DAVE AMBER
NIGHT NEWS EDITOR
ROBERT HYNECEK
CRISTINA PADRON
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
RUBEN DELUNA
GRAPHICS EDITOR
ASST. NIGHT NEWS EDITOR
GRAPHICS EDITOR
BRANDON PAYTON
GUY ROGERS
JP BEATO
WEB MASTER
PHOTO EDITOR
PHOTO EDITOR
BY JEANETTE SIMPSON
The Battalion
If the Academic Operations Com
mittee [AOC] follows its present course
and approves the proposal to end student
worker early registration, the registra
tion process for the next Summer and
Fall semesters will be the last time stu
dent workers will,have the opportunity
to register early.
See page 15 for related information.
The AOC Subcommittee on Early
Registration was established to review the
registration process at Texas A&M be
cause more student groups were demand
ing early registration privileges. The com
mittee began its research by examining the
registration procedure of 35 top schools in
the nation, none of which allow student
workers to register before other students.
Early registration was implemented
six years ago at A&M. In the Fall 1999
registration process, 6,000 students reg
istered as student workers.
In examining the registration process,
the committee concluded the system is
unfair, is abused by students and is not
essential to student workers in order for
them to carry out their jobs, said Will
Hurd, student body president and a com
puter science major.
“I think it is very important for stu
dents to register their courses in blocks,
so they can maximize their time at work
if they need to,” Hurd said. “I think it
also important for the AOC to realize
that in some student worker positions it
is not possible for students to tell their
employers when they are available.”
“It is also imperative that depart
ments which employ large amounts of
students workers are asked about the im
pact [by AOC] early registration has on
their workers,” he said.
The committee concluded as more
classes are becoming limited-enrollment
classes and major-specific classes, al
lowing student workers to register early
leaves other students at a disadvantage.
“If the AOC is arguing to end early
registration based on unfairness then
they must realize that allowing honors to
early register puts other students at a dis
advantage as well,” Hurd said.
“The majority of administrators are
in favor of ending student worker early
registration because of the inequity it cre
ates for the other 35,000 students,” said
a source within the Student Government
Association.
The committee also concluded that
early registration is sometimes abused by
students. For example, students may reg
ister as a student worker during the
Spring 2000 registration process, yet
there is not a system that checks to be
sure that the student remains a student
worker for the Fall 2000 semester, and
there are not funds available to create
such a system, Hurd said.
“My question is what evidence is
there to show that the system is being
abused,” Hurd said. “In my experience,
employers require that student workers
be registered for hours at that position for
the next semester before they sign the
student worker forms.”
Hurd said many members of the AOC
remember a time before the implementa
tion of student worker early registration,
when professors were more likely to
work with student workers in getting
them forced into classes that met their
schedules. Another argument the board
has presented is that student workers are
not told when they have to work, they tell
their employers when they are available.
“I have been a professor at Texas A&M
for 18 years and never have I had a student
worker ask me when we need them to
work, they tell me what hours they are not
in class and that is when they work,” said
See Registration on Page 2.
countability to penalize them. By
doing away with the entire system,
the AOC is hurting thousands of
student workers who depend on
early registration to maximize their
work and study time.
The AOC’s second argument is that
since the top-ranked universities do
not offer early registration, it should
not be a necessity at A&M either. The
fact that A&M offers a service to its
student workers that other colleges
do not is an advantage it holds.
If the adminstration’s vision for
A&M is “copy-catting” other univer
sities, it will never get ahead.
A&M encourages its students to
participate in the ‘Other Education,’
which includes working. Why is the
AOC trying to limit student oppor
tunities to learn through experi
ences outside the classroom?
The student body, especially the
student workers would, who be af
fected by this proposal need to
make their opmioris heard."
There are many reasons why
students work, including necessi
ty, service and educational experi
ence. Students need to defend this
privilege before the AOC proposal
is passed.
* 6,000 students registered as student
workers in Fall 1999
• The Academic Operations Subcommittee
on Early Registration will vote Friday,
March 31 on the future status of student
worker early registration in Koidus 217
at 1:00 p.m.
> Questions? Contact the student
government office at 845-3051 or
email Student Body President Will
Hurd at sbp@stuact.tamu.edu
PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS BY GUY ROGERS &JEFF SMITH/The Battalion
Two twisters wreak havoc in Ft. Worth, killing 4
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The center of
Fort Worth looked like a ghost town Wednesday,
the day after a tornado tore a path through down
town and caused an estimated $157 million in
damage. Four people died and a fifth person was
presumed drowned.
Fort Worth City Manager Bob Terrell said a
preliminary survey showed as many as eight com
mercial buildings were destroyed, and 52 busi
nesses and high-rises received either major or mi
nor damage.
Officials had no dollar estimate on the dam
age to homes.
“You will have one building that looks almost
unscathed, and next door to that you have a build
ing that looks like it’s downtown Beirut. It is obvi
ously a disaster of the first class,” said Ft. Gov. Rick
Perry, acting governor while Gov. George W. Bush
is on the presidential campaign in New Jersey.
Deputy Fire Chief Jim Tidwell said it’s likely
one building will be demolished.
Workers in the city’s central business district
were told to stay home until large pieces of glass
hanging from window frames in high-rise build
ings could be knocked down.
The National Weather Service said the torna
do reached the intensity of an F-2. On a scale
ranging from F-0 to F-5, an F-2 includes signifi
cant damage and wind speeds of 113-157 mph.
An F-5 is the most damaging.
“You will have one
building will that
looks almost un
scathed, and next
door ...a building
that looks like down
town Beirut.”
— Rick Perry
Texas It. Governor
A second tornado struck Arlington and then
moved to Grand Prairie, but as of Wednesday after
noon officials had not detennined its strength, said
National Weather Service meteorologist Skip Ely.
Police in downtown Fort Worth patrolled a
tightly secured area where contractors and city
workers tried to safeguard the damaged struc
tures. Glass glimmered in the sunlight as it show
ered 30 stories to the streets from the Bank One
building.
The downtown twister was a hit-and-miss af
fair, although it stayed on the ground for about 10
minutes.
In Fort Worth, 83 people went to hospitals.
Eight were admitted, mostly with minor injuries.
“It’s somewhat of a miracle that there aren’t
more injuries than we’ve found out about so far,”
said Fort Worth Mayor Kenneth Barr.
Several buildings were riddled with gaping
holes where windows had been ripped out.
Draperies and blinds flapped through the gaps.
Other buildings appeared untouched.
The first twister touched down at 6:15 p.m.
and moved eastward into Fort Worth, hitting an
area just west of downtown where two people
were crushed to death — one by a falling wall and
the other by a truck trailer that flipped on him.
Several businesses and homes were destroyed.
Much of a five-story church tower, where two
women were praying, was blown away.
Student Publications Board nominates editors
Mireles, Miller approved for chief Battalion positions
Niven chosen to head Aggieland
BY BROOKE HODGES
The Battalion
Jon Niven has been nominated to take
the helm of the 2001 Aggieland, Texas
A&M’s yearbook, as Editor in Chief.
The Aggieland, one of the largest
yearbooks in the nation, has a circulation
of more than 10,000 and includes about
800 pages.
One of Niven’s aims is to recruit
more freshmen to work on the Ag
gieland.
“We want to try and let everyone have
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion
Jon Niven, a sophomore journalism
major is Aggieland ’01 Editor-in-Chief.
the opportunity to be on staff,” he said.
Niven said he hopes to encourage or
ganizations to be featured in the yearbook.
“We want to get more student orga
nizations involved,” he said. “The Ag
gie/and is a big part of the University.
It serves as a reminder and is a glimpse
of the past.”
The Aggieland staff consists of 30
employees who serve as writers, pho
tographers and section editors. Niven’s
responsibilities for the upcoming year in
clude developing a theme for the year
book, designing the cover and hiring a
staff. Niven will also manage a budget of
about $350,000.
Niven, a sophomore journalism ma
jor, is a native of Jacksonville, Ark., and
was on the yearbook staff at Jacksonville
High School for two years.
He began working for the Aggieland
in 1999 as a designer. He was responsi
ble for helping his section editor lay out
pages for the upcoming yearbook.
Niven served as the housing section
editor for the 2000 Aggieland. His job
was putting sections together and de
signing pages.
Niven said he saw the opportunity to
apply for editor in chief and took it.
Niven said the new job and its re
sponsibilities will be a challenge.
Niven will remain a nominee until he
is approved by University Executive Vice
President and Provost Ronald Douglas.
BY ANNA BISHOP
The Battalion
As fall editor-in-chief nominee of The Battalion, senior
journalism major Beth Miller hopes to continue the tradition
of informing the student body through the circulation of a stu
dent newspaper.
“I believe The Battalion serves a number of purposes — a
public forum for anyone in the community, a creative outlet for
the staff, as well as a news source for the readers,” Miller said.
JP BEATO/The Battalion
Beverly Mireles, a junior sociology major, and Beth Miller, a senior
.... .. for the Sum-
journalism major will be Editors-in-Chief for The Battalion
mer ’OO and Fall ’00 semesters respectively.
Miller said The Battalion needs to be a responsible and up-
to-date source of news for the student body.
“The Battalion needs dedicated leaders and a strong staff
for this newspaper serves, for many students, [as] the only news
source they come in contact with.”
The presidential election, rerouting of the campus buses and
the future of Aggie Bonfire will be covered by The Battalion
this fall.
Miller said she has been preparing for the position of edi
tor-in-chief of The Battalion for a year.
Miller has served as city editor and
copy editor at The Battalion, but cur
rently works for The Bryan-College Sta
tion Eagle.
“Working away from The Battalion
has made me more objective towards it. It
has helped me analyze things from an out
side point of view,” Miller said.
Junior sociology major Beverly Mire
les has been nominated to serve as editor-
in-chief of The Battalion for Summer
2000.
The Battalion is published on a small
er scale in the summer, printing only four
days a week instead of five.
Mireles said though The Battalion will
be smaller during the summer, its content
will not necessarily be less important.
“The Battalion will continue to
serve the student body in two ways —
providing them with source of news and
by allowing students to have a voice
See Editors on Page 2.
INSir*^
Gremming
Twins personify the
A&M vs. Kansas
match-up. 5
Page 7
• Student workers speak
out about early registra
tion issues.
Page 1 3
• Beyond Birth
Women should consider thera
py risks and benefits.
V
Page 11
•Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9
at 1:57 p.m. for details on
CSISD possible budget cut.
"■mKKm
• Check out The Battalion
online at
battalion.tamu.edu