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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2000)
committee drafts new registration policy l|the current proposal drafted by the Acade- cl)perations Committee's (AOC) Subcom- ttet on Early Registration is approved, all eur- itTexas A&M student workers will to be able iregister early. “With the new proposal, everyone who regis- as a student worker this semester will main- the privilege to register early until they grad- :e,’ said Leana Divine, vice president for idemic affairs in the Student Government As- biation (SGA) and a senior international stud ies and history major. “However, in order to con tinue to register as a student worker, the student must register each semester as a student worker. If the student fails to register as a student worker for just one semester, they will lose that privilege permanently.” The AOC subcommittee was established to re view the registration process at A&M as more stu dent groups demand early registration privileges. The subcommittee found that the system creates an unfairness, is abused by students and is not es sential to student workers in order for them to bal ance work and academic demands. With the new pro posal, everyone who registered as a stu dent worker this se mester will main tain the privilege ” — Leana Divine VP for academic affairs in the SGA “When the student worker registration sys tem was implemented six years ago, it did not put student workers at an advantage over other students, as it does now. It merely allowed stu dent workers to get the times they needed for work,” Divine said. The subcommittee originally planned to eliminate student worker early registration en tirely. After discussing the issue, the subcom mittee decided to grandfather current student workers into the plan. “The AOC decided that allowing current stu dent workers to maintain their early registration status would make the change less drastic,” said Brent Spencer, Student Senate chair of academic affairs and a senior microbiology major. “They hope that in phasing student worker registration out slowly |il| will create less problems.” The proposal of the AOC subcommittee will be considered by the AOC in their April 19 meeting. If approved, the Faculty Senate will consider the proposal and make a recommenda tion. Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen will make the final decision, which would affect the student worker registration process begin ning in Fall 2000. &M pay increase Turkey dinner BRIAN SMITH 'Ihi B tan psychology major, icilitate games sotfr h their counselors. ervice depts. to see hike this fall e4,00 rabia BY BROOKE HODGES The Battalion Texas A&M employees in the Custodi- Services, Landscape Maintenance and >od Service Departments can look for ward to a pay increase in September 2000. Tledical transcriptors can expect to re ive an average raise of $1.06 per hour, istodial workers will receive an average See related article on page 11 lise of 67 cents per hour and food service wkers will receive an average raise of 58 ents per hour, according to Texas A&M’s (unian Resource Web page. Despite this proposed pay increase. the region, have had discussions! c possibility of using a :risis for an air expedition that wecouldin lactte.a&M’scustodians, landscape and food ser- tfendtheareaintimesti: ice workers will still be paid less than it we have not talked;; workers doing the same jobs at the Univer- is in the region. Coher ity of Texas-Austin. )f thousands ol l.S.tr^®; roun( j s | <ee p ers ^ w j 10 are j n c ) iar g e 0 f niltinational force that w: udi Arabia forthe 19910 K k Igr U.S. troops were left betijll ■ to keep the pressmvfy i Saudi authonti&m a to allow their teitaj tacks on Iraq, fs discomfort about itsd lington started aftera| :k on a U.S. militarybi udi Arabia killed n. Anti-American Mi e believed to have ; his meeting with Sulm| msc minister, Cohenali > talk about cooperation® an that would ensurepi st mass destruction w« iposed defense initiative^ early warning system!) >ia, Kuwait and othernaM :ed U.S. intelligence ot a missile launch insl ceeping the University clean, will receive ps September 2000 Pay Inceases Medical Transcriptors: Medical Transcriptionists: $8.03 to $9.18 Senior Medical Transcriptionists: $8.58 to $9.81 Custodial Services: HR Custodial Worker!: $5.58 to $8.15 Custodial Worker II: $6.15 to $6.79 Custodial Worker III: $6.79 to $7.51 Asst. Custodial Leader: $6.36 to $7.02 Custodial Leader: $6.79 to $7.51 Food Services 1 Food Service Worker: $5.56 to $6.15 Lead Food Service Worker: $5.75 to $6.36 An average ot 58 cents is going to be added to most food service workers pay. STUART VILLANUEVA AND BRANDON HENDERSON/TTik Battalion ^todial worker Mittie Davis mops the stairs outside the Stu- : Recreation Center. Davis will be affected by the pay increase. $6.79 per hour at Texas A&M, while they receive $7.31 per hour at UT. The pay that groundskeepers receive at UT is not sufficient to meet the cost of liv ing in Austin, said Jerry Harrison, manag er of Landscape Services for UT. “The people that are making [$7.31 per hour] can’t even live on it,” Harrison said. “If they have a family, they have two or three jobs.” Texas A&M’s gardeners currently re ceive $7.26 per hour while UT’s gardeners receive $7.75 per hour. Irrigation operators, who maintain the sprinkler systems, are paid $8.58 at A&M and $8.76 at UT. The Landscape Maintenance Depart ment is not the only area where UT’s wages are higher than A&M’s. Food preparation workers who serve food in the cafeteria lines get paid $7.32 per hour at UT, while people who perform the same jobs at A&M — known as food ser vice workers — will receive $6.15 per hour. Cooks and bakers make $7.90 at UT, while A&M cooks will make $6.36. Food service workers at A&M who were asked to comment on the dif ference in pay refused to comment without first obtaining consent of their managers. Both universities provide a chance for workers to receive rais es throughout the year, but when the state of Texas issues a pay in crease, it usually be comes effective in the fall semester. Merit adjustments are looked at every six months and are tied to performance evalua tions, said Murray Sto- pherd, associate director for food services at UT. “Normally, raises are effective in September and the last few years [the raises] have been from 4 to 6 percent aver age,” Harrison said. “But, it isn’t a guaran teed thing.” STUART VILLANUEVAAI m Bai iauon Cain Cavett, a food science and technology graduate student, feeds turkeys at the Poultry Science Center Monday. Faculty Senate reduces KTNE hours BY BRANDIE LIFFICK The Battalion The Faculty Senate passed a proposition Monday to reduce the kinesiology and health and fitness re quirements from four to two credit hours. Originally, the Core Curriculum Review Com mittee (CCRC) proposed in their annual curriculum report that the kinesiology requirement be dropped from four credits to one credit of health and fitness. “These classes are the best way we have to in fluence our students to learn health and fitness now. To eliminate these [kinesiology] credits is the wrong thing to do. But two credits are better than one,” said Leonard Ponder, professor in the health and kinesiology department. “Overall, I am very disappointed in the vote.” Brian Minyard, speaker of the Student Senate and political science and microbiology major, spoke on behalf of the student body in opposition of the cut in kinesiology classes. “When this was addressed in the Student Senate, most of our members were confused as to why this was being brought up. Many didn’t even see why get ting rid of [kinesiology] credits was even an issue,” said Minyard. “According to surveys done at our re quest, students think the kinesiology credits should be left alone.” Students under the 2001 -2002 catalog will be re quired to take a health and fitness course and a KINE 199 course of their choice, for pass or fail only. “By requiring that the 199 course be pass or fail, we are making sure that the students’ academic standing is not being affected by a physical fitness class,” said Dr. Richard Stadelmann, a faculty sena tor and an associate professor of philosophy. In other business, the Faculty Senate passed a mo tion proposed by psychology department head Dr. Paul Wellman to award a posthumous degree to Je remy Frampton. Frampton, a senior psychology major, was killed in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse. “1 request that the case of Jeremy Frampton ... be submitted through University channels so that his parents might receive this posthumous B.A. degree in the summer graduation.” Frampton would have graduated in August. GA to create tudent group oversee fees BY JEANETTE SIMPSON The Battalion In Fall 2000, the Student Government Association (SGA) will eate an informal committee to serve as a liaison between stu- Bents and administrators concerning student fees. I “The purpose of the Student Fee Committee (SFC) is to for- nalize the acquisition of fee information and to structure the stu- !ent input process,” said Caton Brown, vice-president for student srvices and a senior civil engineering major. Brown said the committee will have four roles in serving Itudents. It will provide student-to-administrator input [and] student- to-student input. It will also take a holistic review of fees, and will ; in charge of maintaining records concerning fee issues.” The SFC, to be created within SGA, will provide a forum for dministrators and students to gather input from the student body |o that student concerns about fees can be heard before the Board of Regents considers a fee increase. Along with working to improve two-way communication be- veen administrators and students, the SFC will collect input from tudent organizations regarding fees in an organized manner. ■ “In collecting information this way, the SFC will ensure that all concerns of the entire student body are collected,” Brown said. See SGA on Page 2. Wood appointed head yell leader INSIDE BY MAUREEN KANE The Battalion Aggie fans will see two fa miliar faces leading the crowd next year. Bubba Moser and Ricky Wood will be returning to don - the white, starched uniforms for the 2000-2001 academic year, this time as senior yell leaders. Wood, a junior theater arts major, was named head yell leader Monday. “It is an absolute honor to be chosen for this position,” he said. “I’m pretty much speechless right now. “I love Texas A&M Univer sity. The position of yell leader is something that 1 believe in,” Wood said. “It’s an amazing honor, and one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do. It’s some thing I definitely wanted to do again this year.” The head yell leader is cho sen by the Head Yell Leader Se lection Board, composed of GUY ROGERS/The Battalion (Lto R): Ben Cholick, a junior construction science major, Ricky Wood, a ju nior theater arts major, and Bubba Moser, a junior agricultural economics major, are the new senior yell leaders. Wood was named head yell leader. eight students and eight faculty members. The board nominates the candidate and then sends it to Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. J. Malon Southerland. “Being a yell leader is im portant to me because I love Texas A&M University, and I want to give back some of what it’s given me and my family,” said Moser, a junior agricultural economics major. “Through the years, it’s been a part of my life. This is the best opportunity I’ve ever been given to serve, and I’m very thankful to have the opportuni ty again.” Both Wood and Moser served as ju nior yell leaders this year, and say that there was no ques tion about jumping at the chance to serve a second time. The returning yell leaders will be joined by senior yell leader elect, Ben Cholick, a junior construction science major. Cholick won the position after a hard-fought run-off election with John McFate, a junior biomedical engineering major. “Anyone in a run-off finds it more stressful. You have to find it within yourself to keep going. You go an extra week of cam paigning. You have to dig down deep to find the motivation to continue campaigning,” Cholick said. “This is something I’ve al ways dreamed of doing — it’s such an influential position.” For Moser, one of the advan tages of running for re-election was being familiar with the cam paign process. “I knew the routine, the schedule of days, speaking events. Last year was a blur, but this year I had time to think about what was going on,” he said. “This year I could breathe easier.” Wood expressed the same feeling about being re-elected. “Last year [campaigning] was about breaking through, get ting my name known. I was for tunate enough to have a little name recognition this year,” Wood said. “I could focus on more personal relationships, and be more focused on making a positive impact. Last year we did that too, but this year we didn’t have to start from ground zero See Leaders on Page 2. • Annie MSC OPAS brings Broadway classic to A&M Page 3 • Aggie football team preparing for final scrim mage of spring Page 1 3 • Block the vote Pro/Con dis cussing the 'Corps block' Page 1 7 •Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on debtor's rights. •Check out The Battalion online at battalion.tamu.edu