Q:
thebattalionasks
Defintely not, with a high school degree you can slack off for it.
Jose Martinez, sophomore petroleum engineering major
news for you texas Lockout over for Cowboys
Is a bachelor’s degree the new high school diploma ? It’s true. It’s becoming easier for students to get a bachelor’s degree. William Nead, sophomore aerospace engineering major
It depends on what field you go in. In sociology it’s hard to get a job with just a bachelor’s.
More people are getting college degrees now—but it’s still harder than a high school degree.
Cassandra Oduola, senior physics major
Julianne Hamilton, freshman biology major
thebattalion ● tuesday,
july 26, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
tradition
IRVING— Rex Ryan can start spending quality time with DeMarcus Ware and the rest of his new defense. Starting Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys can finally get started on the business of preparing for the 2011 season. The lockout that’s put football on hold for four months was resolved Monday. Player representative Jason Witten was part of the process and says “it’s good to get it done.”
Twelfth Man still standing strong O’Dell Harmon Jr.
lowest gas price
$3.55 603 Harvey Road and Stallings Drive www.texasgasprices.com
nation &world Calif. living the dream SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a bill that will let students who entered the country illegally receive private financial aid at California’s public colleges, even as debate continues over a more contentious bill that would allow access to public funding. It is the first of a two-bill package referred to as the California Dream Act, which is aimed at getting financial aid for college students who entered the country illegally.
Scandal turns book deal NEW YORK — The newspaper reporter who spent years investigating phone hacking claims in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has won a book deal. The Guardian reporter Nick Davies has been signed to write an authoritative account of the News Corp. scandal for Faber and Faber Inc. Financial compensation wasn’t disclosed. The book, to be titled “Hack Attack: How the Truth Caught up with the World’s Most Powerful Man,” will be published in the fall of 2012. Davies previously wrote “Flat Earth News.” Associated Press
Osa Okundaye — THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL
Ready to bust High tuition, more students and few jobs leaves education bubble ready to pop Imagine a product where sky-rocketing prices outpace the growth of inflation and personal income. These prices are fueled by government subsidies, favorable taxation and cheap credit. The peddled product is highly priced and considered a signal and source of middle class prosperity. Those who have it are successful. Those who don’t have it are left in the dust and both political parties in Washington, D.C. push relentlessly to expand the products availability to all Americans. No, this is not about the housing bubble. This is the higher education bubble. According to the College Board, tuition and fees at public universities increased 130 percent from 1988 through 2008. Inflation adjusted median income over the same period actually declined slightly. This explosion in costs is disturbing in and of itself but more so when observed with other indicators. When you look at high school graduates in 1988, 87.1 percent of Americans ages 16 to 24 received a high school diploma or some equivalent according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That number rose to 92 percent by 2008, which, at face, value would seem like a good thing. In 1988 the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed 17-year-olds scored an average 290 in reading but by 2008 that score declined to 286. In 1990, average math scores were 305 (1988 scores not available) and 306 by 2008, virtually unchanged.
At the same time the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that in 1988, 58.9 percent of high school graduates went on to college. By 2008, that number had climbed to 68.6 percent. Over a period of 20 years of spending countless dollars and attempted reforms, academic achievement arguably declined while high school graduation rates increased five percent and college enrollment jumped almost ten percent. What about the quality of college students over this time period? Developmental education expenses, mostly remedial education for students not ready for college, have dramatically increased. The Texas Higher Education Board reports, “General revenue appropriations for developmental education increased from $38.6 million in the 1988-89 biennium to $172 million in the 1998-99 biennium.” Their latest numbers estimated total developmental education expenditures for the 2010-11 biennium to reach $392 million (this includes state appropriations, student tuition, fees and additional university expenditures). That’s right, high school graduation rates are up, high school educational attainment is at best flat, college enrollment is sky high and we are spending more money than ever on students who are in college but not prepared for it. Universities are digging deeper into a pool of See Education on page 4
The Battalion We all need something to stand up for and believe, in and in Aggieland it’s a sprit of a man, the Twelfth Man. The Twelfth Man represents the spirit of Texas A&M. It means always being ready for your team if they need you, which is why in honor of that spirit, students stand the entire duration of a football game. “The Twelfth Man spirit makes every game alive, from football to tennis. You can ask almost any A&M athlete how they feel about the Twelfth Man, and each one of them will tell you that we highly influence their dedication and work ethic,” said Ben Ford, a junior animal science major. The spirit of the Twelfth Man lets other Aggies know that there is always someone supporting them to lend a hand if they need one. “One of the greatest things that you can give others is encouragement and support, and that is exactly what the twelfth man provides for A&M student athletes and overall student body,” said Jhanne Hooker, a senior English major. The tradition of the Twelfth Man started on January 2, 1922 when the fightin’ Texas Aggie football team played the nationally ranked Centre College. As the game went on, See Twelfth on page 4
campus
Lifeguards earn award for rescue Natalee Blanchat The Battalion Commandant, Brigadier General Joe Ramirez, honored the three lifeguards who helped save Cadet Ryan Ochoa from drowning in the natatorium, Monday in the pool classroom at the Student Recreational Center. Ochoa, a junior food science and technology major with a focus in history, was conducting training exercises in the 50-meter indoor lap pool when life guards noticed he had gone unconscious. “That morning I felt perfectly fine,” Ochoa said. “I finished my normal work out — a 1,000 meter lap swim — and went to do my underwater exercises. I was going back and forth between 25 and 50 meters while holding my breath.” Ochoa said he had no recollection of blacking out or showing signs of tunnel vision. “The next thing I remember is grabbing onto the ledge and waking up in the hospital,” Ochoa said. “Their [the lifeguards and paramedics] timing and the way they have been trained is excellent. If they would have come in a minute later, who knows what would have happened, but they got there in plenty of time especially since I was able to get out of the hospital in two days.” Ramirez rewarded lifeguards Robert Worley, Melody Rulon and Rachel Munden with a personal letter of appreciation, commending them for their efforts, and also preSee Swimming on page 4
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