Sciences Finding Fewer Interested Students FAF Delay

THE CHRONICLE MONDAY, APRIL 9, 1990 DUKE UNIVERSITY DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA CIRCULATION: 15,000 VOL. 85, NO. 132 Valvano leaves NCSU for $238,000 By MICHAEL HOBBS Mentioned as a possible suc Associated Press cessor was East Tennessee coach RALEIGH — Jim Valvano Les Robinson, a former N.C. cleaned his office Sunday, mark State basketball player. ing the end of his coaching Valvano had been under pres tenure with North Carolina sure to resign since reports in State and paving the way for the February that former players school to find a successor for the had accepted cash and shaved embattled basketball program. points. Valvano never was impli Supporters and officials echoed cated in the allegations. Former the optimism Valvano displayed player Charles Shackleford ad Saturday after he agreed to leave mitted accepting $60,000 while and not sue the school in ex playing for the Wolfpack, but change for $238,000. Valvano denied an ABC-TV report that he also stands to be paid $375,000 had shaved points. by the university's booster club, The program is under a two- one of Valvano's attorneys said. year probation imposed in "It's just the passing of a December by the NCAA. The baton," Charlie Bryant, executive NCAA found that players had director of the Wolfpack Club SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE sold sneakers and complimen booster organization, said Sun Jim Valvano tary tickets. day. Valvano was not available for "Losing Jim is a big loss. How Burns, co-vice chairman of the comment Sunday, said Woody ever, we have a lot of tradition N.C. State Board of Trustees. Webb, a Raleigh attorney who here. It might have a temporary "But I think the university is represented the coach in negotia setback, but... we will continue strong enough. I don't see any tions with the university. Webb to have a tremendous program." problem getting good people to said Valvano went to his office at The school faces not only the fill these positions." 7 a.m. to remove his belongings. task of hiring a new coach, but "I would hope that the new There was no sign of Valvano at must first choose an athletic di coach would be a man of high his office Sunday afternoon. rector — a position Valvano gave principle, one who believes in Webb said Valvano had given up in August after the program working with young men and en him no indication of his plans Patti knows hoops? first came under fire. couraging their development, other than what he revealed in Patti "Air" O'Reilly helped the high-flying Duke women's "This is a very critical and dif and at the same time winning his news conference Saturday. nis team soar past ACC foes. See SPORTSWRAP for more. ficult time for us," said William some games." See VALVANO on page 11 • Sciences finding fewer interested students FAF delay By CRAIG WHITLOCK improves soon nationwide, Uni mathematics has dropped by the trend. causes aid This is one in a series of arti versity professors say, America is nearly half, from 11.5 to 5.8 per Most academics blame science cles about undergraduate science in danger of becoming a scientif cent, according to an annual sur education at the grade-school anxieties vey conducted by UCLA's Coop level, where the number of teach education at the University. ically illiterate nation. BySONALTEJANI The number of University stu There is a "really pathetic level erative Institutional Research ers with science degrees are in dents learning the sciences has of science understanding in the Program (1988). excruciatingly short supply and Due to the College Board's dropped dramatically within the American public, but particu The interest in science at Duke student interest wanes corre delay in processing Financial past five years. Biology and larly in the people who are com has almost matched the nation spondingly. Aid Forms, University appli chemistry majors, among the ing along and going into college wide decline, but in a much "It's too late, really in some cants are waiting along with most popular at Duke, have and into the labor force," said Ed shorter span. The numbers of senses, to do this with freshmen hundreds of thousands of stu fallen by almost half within that ward Arnett, R.J. Reynolds In biology and chemistry majors and sophomores in college, to dents all over the country to time span. dustries Professor of Chemistry, have fallen by 44 and 48 percent, say, 'Hey, make science a ca hear how much financial aid they will get for the next The decline is symptomatic of and chair of the chemistry respectively, since the 1983-84 reer,' " said Richard Searles, school year. a national trend as fewer and department. school year. Although professors professor of botany and director fewer students and teachers Since 1966, the number of col agree that the decline is a serious of undergraduate studies for biol To compensate for appli receive a thorough science lege freshmen who say they plan problem, there does not appear to ogy majors. cants' uncertain financial sta education. Unless the situation to major in the sciences and be a consensus on how to reverse Arnett teaches "Chemistry and tus, the admissions office will Society," a course for non-majors. extend the deadline for Of those who took a recent class, responding to an offer of ad "Every one of them had science mission to students whose in high school," he said. "With forms were delayed, said virtually no exceptions, they said James Belvin, director of un they had been turned off by their dergraduate financial aid. high school teachers." "I fear that in cases in Although poor science back which students don't hear grounds have impacted students' about financial awards they disinterest in chemistry and will make a decision [on what biology, competition with more college to attend] based on financially rewarding fields has cost," Belvin said. "The whole also contributed to the decline in point of financial aid is to take the number of science majors, finances out ofthe equation." professors say. See AID on page 11 • Business and law careers, per haps the most lucrative of any job, are increasingly popular among undergraduates. Almost Weather one-quarter of freshmen nation wide expressed interest in busi Finally spring: April show ness majors and careers in 1988, ers might bring May flowers, as opposed to only 10.5 percent in but today's sunny, warm 1972, according to the UCLA weather will bring back the study. Business and law quad grass. Look for breezy JIM FLOWERS/THE CHRONICLE graduate education also only re- 70's tomorrow. David Genoe, a Trinity sophomore, performs his lab duties. See SCIENCE on page 5 • PAGE 2 THE CHRONICLE MONDAY, APRIL 9,1990 World & National Newsfile Defense lobbyists advance on Congress Associated Press Hungarians hit the polls: Voters By RICHARD BERKE choosing Hungary's first freely elected N.Y. Times News Service ficials working for contractors or public their lives, may be made for reasons hav government in 43 years gave an over WASHINGTON — Military contrac relations firms. ing little to do with military strategy. whelming victory Sunday to Hungary's tors, threatened as never before by While lobbying has always influenced The Pentagon and Congress have not main conservative party, according to shrinking Pentagon budgets, are respond decisions in Congress, it has grown more yet decided how much to pare the 1991 final unofficial results. ing with aggressive lobbying to protect intense now that there is less money to go military budget. weapons programs worth hundreds of bil around. The armed forces are not scheduled to AIDS Victim dies: Ryai White, 18, lions of dollars. Lawmakers and outside analysts say if submit their revisions to Congress on a who won a long court battle to attend Companies are turning to new tactics the Bush administration and Congress five-year military spending plan until public school and overcame prejudice and enlisting help at all levels, from chief had developed a military spending plan April 30. against himself and other AIDS vic executives to minor subcontractors. based on new strategic needs, it would Rep. Les Aspin, D-Wisc, chairman of tims, lost his 5V_-year struggle with Alliances are forming between corpora determine which programs would be the Armed Services Committee, warned the deadly disease on Sunday. tions and unions. saved. the longer the administration takes to set Lobbyists are even lashing out at their Without such a plan, decisions to sal priorities, the more the lobbyists will ad vance pet programs. Nepal's king backs down: King competitors' programs, long an unspoken vage programs, or at least stretch out Birendra of Nepal on Sunday caved in taboo. to demands by pro-democracy leaders, Some lawmakers and other critics say establishing a multiparty system and lobbyists are skewing the decision-mak Judge rules Mapplethorpe show lifting a 29-year-old ban on political ing process by seeking to save their own parties following the bloodiest day in programs at a time when the diminishing Nepal's modern history. Soviet threat makes it necessary to recon stitute the military structure. cannot be removed before trial Swedish ferry burns: Exhausted The industry's heightened sensitivity was illustrated last week after an analyst firefighters in Lysekil, Sweden, braved By ISABEL WILKERSON for the Heritage Foundation suggested N.Y. Times News Service metal-melting heat and poisonous The county's prosecuting attorney, Ar the Air Force re-evaluate two McDonnell smoke Sunday to begin removing the CINCINNATI — A U.S. district judge thur Ney, had said the museum could face Douglas aircraft programs.

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