The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 11, 2004, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    IEN1
UO)
r Wednesday, February 11, 2004
The Battalion
volume 110 • Issue 89 • 22 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
Sports:
Aggie men
take on
Nebraska
Wednesday.
Page IB
wvvw.thebatt.com
J
brie View A&M University President George C. Wright
idiven his speech, "Is There Still a Need for Black History
tolhr to a capacity crowd Tuesday afternoon at Sterling
C. Evans Library. Wright's speech was sponsored by the
Texas A&M University Libraries and the Race and Ethnic
Studies Institute.
PACE DESIGN BY : LAUREN ROUSE
Black historian cites
struggle, progress
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
George C. Wright, president of Prairie View
A&M University, said Tuesday afternoon that
Black History Month is important not just for
blacks, but for all of American society.
Standing in the middle of a packed lec
ture room in Sterling C. Evans Library,
Wright told 140 students, faculty and staff
that Black History Month shows the contri
butions both whites and blacks have made in
the long struggle with race relations.
“Ultimately, I think Black History Month
says that we can do remarkable things
against incredible odds,” Wright said.
Audience members nodded their heads in
agreement as Wright gave his speech titled, “Is
There Still a Need for Black History Month?”
that critiqued the significance of Black History
Month and the 1954 Supreme Court decision
Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed
segregation in American public schools.
“The Brown decision would leave signifi
cant changes in American society,” Wright
said, “It launched the Civil Rights Movement
and led to us sitting in here together without
beating the hell out of each other.”
Black History Month, celebrated during
the month of February, began nearly 80
years ago and is celebrated nationwide.
Wright, who has written three books and
co-directed two television documentaries on
black history, said he began to question the
importance of Black History Month when he
noticed that people had become apathetic
about it.
“I began to worry that people take Black
History Month for granted,” he said.
Wright said he has celebrated Black
History Month since he was young, and it has
always been an important part of his life
because it has helped him understand the con
tributions that blacks have given to society.
. “1 learned how blacks made contributions
that aided America,” Wright said. “I came
away with a strong sense of black pride.”
Wright said to understand Black History
Month, that society must know the history.
He detailed several Supreme Court decisions
in the last 150 years that caused great
changes in race relations in America.
“You have to look into your background,”
he said. “Knowing your past will help you
put things in context and can in fact be a
road map for the future.”
Wright said Black History Month is vital
for blacks because it helps black people
understand their history as well as the histo
ries of others.
“1 think far too many black people are not
aware of the struggle of others, black, white
or whatever,” he said. “And it is important
for us to remember our long struggle.”
Rebecca Hankins, assistant professor in
Cushing Memorial Library, said she agreed
with Wright that blacks should understand
other cultures.
See Wright on page 7A
s
coin
Wohlgemuth sets out to defeat
Edwards in District 17 election
I0SHUA L. HOBSON • THE BATTALION
fclrid 17 Representative candidate for
ingress Arlene Wohlgemuth, talks to
(porters in the MSC Flag Room Tuesday
moon.
By Anthony Woolstrum
THE BATTALION
State Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth
said Tuesday she would look forward
to representing Texas A&M in
Congress if elected to represent
District 17 in the House
Representatives.
Wohlgemuth
is running in the
Republican pri
maries for the
newly-drawn
Congressional
District 17. The Republican candi
date who wins the primary will then
proceed to face the 14-year incum
bent, Democrat Chet Edwards.
Wohlgemuth said one of the key
issues in the Republican primaries
will be who can beat Edwards.
"I have proven leadership,” she
said. "1 have been widely recognized
as one of the most conservative mem
bers of the Texas House and I have a
proven voting record pro-business and
pro-family."
Wohlgemuth has served in the
Texas Legislature for the past five
terms, campaigning out of the same
geographical area that Edwards ran
from, which is
Waco. With
name recogni
tion in the dis
trict. she has an
advantage in
campaigning
that the other candidates do not neces-
sarily possess.
During the last 20
years.Wohlgemuth has made frequent
trips to Brazos County on official and
unofficial business. Recently, her
two daughters attended A&M.
See District 17 on page 2A
of
Second in a series on^N
candidates running in
District 17
eterinary medicine student inspires others
By Michael Player
j THE BATTALION
With a background in careers such
is a flight attendant, fashion model,
flagazine editor and a public relations
specialist for Neiman Marcus, third-
fear veterinary medicine student Pat
lyatiwants to add something more to
blist: a veterinarian.
Ryan, 56, will graduate next May
sndwill be the oldest student to grad-
latefrom Texas A&M University’s
School of Veterinary Medicine.
If there is one thing that I would
•antpeople to learn from my story it
Plat it is never too late to realize
ftiiirdreams,” Ryan said.
Ryan began her collegiate career at
Smith College in her home state of
Connecticut.
1 “1 was a theater major there and
bore!was 19, two plays that I had
“ritten were produced off-
feadway,” Ryan said.
Ryan said her desire to pursue a
tareer in veterinary medicine was
sparked when she began to volunteer in
tie emergency clinic at the University
of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary
Medicine. She began post baccalaure-
He pre-vet studies and then had her
blighters, Emily and Elizabeth.
In 1981, Ryan moved to Houston
'here her husband worked as an
Uchitect.
While living in Houston, Ryan
helped raise $200,000 for the Houston
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals .
Although Ryan's life has been var
ied, it has not always been an easy
road to follow. In 1983, Ryan was
diagnosed with cancer.
“That period provided me with
three positive gifts: patience, focus
and best of all. absolute (confidence)
about my choice of paths,” Ryan said.
Once accepted into A&M’s veteri
nary school, Ryan realized how many
things had changed since she was last
in college.
“The amount of change that tech
nology has brought to the study of
medicine is staggering,” Ryan said.
Ryan said she had to retake some
of her anatomy and physiology cours
es to catch up.
Ryan’s classmates said they admire
her dedication and learn from her.
“I have really learned a lot from
Pat,” said Angel Tapia, a third-year vet
student. “After we get our exams
back, we begin to beat ourselves up
over the things that we missed, and
Pat reminds us of how kicky we real
ly are just to be here.”
Debbie Kochevar, professor in the
veterinary school, said Ryan is excel
lent to have in class.
“Pat is a great student and she real
ly adds a lot to the classroom envi
ronment” Kochevar said. “(Pat) is the
perfect example of how diversity
enhances the educational experi-
JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION
Pat Ryan with Lucy, a Labrador mix, one
of the three dogs Ryan now lives with in
College Station while studying for a grad
uate degree in the DVM Program. Ryan, at
age 56, will be the oldest person ever to
receive a DVM degree at the College of
Veterinary Medicine.
ence.” Every year, the school hosts
the Barbecue Play, a show that the
second-year veterinary students per
form for the first-year students,
Kochevar said.
This year’s play, “Bow Wow
Luau,” was directed by Pat and is still
a topic of conversation around the
school, Kochevar said.
In her application letter to the vet
erinary school,, Ryan compared
See Vet on page 2A
Hispanic Studies offers
new doctoral program
By Jason Hanselka
THE BATTALION
Students interested in graduate study
focused on Hispanic culture will have
the opportunity to participate in a new
Hispanic studies doctorate program at
Texas A&M.
The new degree will be a Ph.D. in
Hispanic Studies that will be offered at
A&M and three other schools in the
A&M University System.
Larry Oliver, associate dean for the
College of Liberal Arts, said the degree
will be offered at A&M, Texas A&M-
Kingsville, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
and Texas A&M International
University in Laredo. All of the degrees
will be awarded from the College
Station campus instead of each specific
campus, he said.
“Step one is a cooperative degree,”
Oliver said. “In the future the other
schools may develop their own gradu
ate program.”
Oliver said classes will be taught at
the A&M main campus and students at
the other system schools can enroll in
them through distance education.
“There are no plans to hire any new
faculty for the program at any of the
schools,” he said. “It will be a model of
efficiency and cooperation.”
There are Ph.D. programs in Spanish
at the University of Texas, Texas Tech
University and the University of
Houston, Oliver said.
Craig Kallendorf, head of the
See Doctorate on page 2A
Undergrad spring enrollment
down, graduate numbers up
By Joaquin Salcedo
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M’s Spring 2004 enroll
ment dropped 1.3 percent compared to
the Spring 2003 numbers, but the number
of graduate students increased, according
to the University Registrar’s Office.
A&M’s undergraduate enrollment
stands at 41,654, a decrease of 530
from last year, while the number of
graduate students stands at 7,763, an
increase of 149.
The unofficial numbers are from the
12th class day. The official numbers will
be available on the 20th class day and
may change only slightly.
Frank B. Ashley, assistant provost for
enrollment, said it is a possibility that the
graduating Class of 2003, with 7,300
students, may be the reason for the sud
den drop in undergraduate enrollment.
“It’s not that we’re admitting fewer
students - it’s that one freshman class of
7,300 - we finally got them out, we
finally got them graduated,” Ashley said.
Ashley said the increase in tuition
could also be one of the catalysts for the
decrease.
“I believe that a lot of students who
would have normally transferred after a
year might be thinking that they can
save money by staying longer at the
community college before actually
transferring to A&M,” Ashley said.
Although the average number of
SPRING 2004
ENROLLMENT
These numbers were recorded
on the 12th class day.
Official tallies are taken on the
20th class day, so numbers
could change slightly.
TAMU
41,654
Down 1.3 percent
from Spring 2003
Blinn
10,246
t
Up 5 percent
from Spring 2003
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : TAMU REGISTRARS' OFFICE, BLINN
ADMISSIONS OFFICE
freshmen accepted into A&M has
remained the same, the transfer student
enrollment has decreased, Ashley said.
Blinn College in Bryan, which has
set a personal record in spring enroll
ment, supplies A&M with almost half of
the transfer students it has enrolled,
Blinn officials said.
See Enrollment on page 2A