Texas bill may require students to do 28 hours of volunteer work

Texas House Bill 791, which would require Texas college students to complete 28 hours of community service in the semester before graduating, has been voted out of the House Higher Education Committee and sent on to the next level of legislation, the Calendars Committee.

Texas State Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine), who proposed the bill, said he believes it will allow students to gain an understanding, appreciation and ability to relate to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Texas State Rep. Fred Brown (R-Bryan), who opposes the bill, said the idea of forcing students to complete volunteer work negates the meaning of the word "volunteer." Brown has proposed an amendment to the bill, which would allow students to use the volunteer hours for one elective credit. This would make the community service optional but give students the opportunity to help while meeting a graduation requirement.

Ed Harris film "A Beautiful Mind" begins filming at Princeton U.

Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe, Academy Award nominated actor Ed Harris and Academy Award nominated costume designer Rita Ryack have left the Oscars in Hollywood to begin shooting the new movie "A Beautiful Mind" at Princeton University.

Crowe plays the film"s protagonist, the real-life mathematical genius John Forbes Nash, and Harris plays Parcher, the haunting figure of Nash"s mind. The movie, which will be filmed on campus this week and then again after commencement in June, deals with Nash"s battle with academia and schizophrenia.

Casting director Bill Dance said scenes filmed this week will portray Nash"s graduate years at Princeton during the late 1940s. Dance added that university students will be used as extras in the movie but because of the period restrictions, this week"s filming will only require male extras. The university and Universal Pictures have also hired students to perform tasks necessary for the film"s shooting such as preparing rooms for sets.

Director Eric Hamblin said he could not disclose how much the University was receiving for the film because of terms of the contract.

Prof: Teaching should determine faculty salary

John Lachs, centennial professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University has proposed that students be permitted to allocate between 5 percent and 10 percent of their tuition to professors based on the quality of their teaching. This money would supplement a standard salary for all professors.

Lachs said giving students this authority will raise the teaching standards for professors which he worries is often not as high as it could be. Lachs also said his proposal would create good publicity for Vanderbilt, showing the university is serious about improving the quality of teaching.

Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Michael Schoenfeld praised the proposal for its purpose of improving teaching, but said the actual proposal is not feasible and could potentially create more problems than it solves. Lachs rebutted the criticism saying that if students make responsible allocations it will raise interest among professors in providing a higher-quality education.

Compiled from U-WIRE reports by Daily Staff Reporter Jane Krull.