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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1988)
Monday, March 7, 1988/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local nternational Week yields cultural insights By Maria Elena Saade Reporter More people participated in this 'ear’s International Week than ever tefore, Tina Watkins, international tudents adviser, said as the event a ioo vound down this weekend. International Week concluded Saturday night with an awards cere- nony naming Mexico the club of the fear. Christine Stanley, president of he International Students Associa- ion from Jamaica, said Mexico was anted outstanding club of the year or holding the biggest conference |ver put on by any club at A&M. The International Students Asso- liation also gave an award to the out- tanding international student of the ear. Gabriel Carranza, the talent how chairman from Mexico, won he award. Carranza said a person as to have a minimum 3.7 grade- ioint ratio to compete. T he student ho wins also has to have partici- ated in many extracurricular activ- ties, he said. leocfB Carranza was the director of the rHj^lexico-U.S.A. Conference at A&M ast semester. This year’s events, under the theme of “We All are One,” included a cultural display, food fair, fashion and talent show. All the events, ex cept the fashion show, werejudged. Indonesia took the most prizes, to become the overall International Week winner. Carranza presented awards for winning countries in the talent show, in which 23 countries participated. “I give first place to everyone for all the work,” Carranza said. “Judges went through the painful task of se lecting first, second and third places because shows don’t compare.” Indonesia won first place with a mock traditional wedding ceremony. Carranza said the ceremony w as pre cisely coordinated. India won second place with the • “Soor Sangam Dancers,” while third place went to the Philippines for a song called “Balut-Penoy.” Ram Thiagarajan, a senior bio chemistry major from India, said their show was an Indian folk dance from the Indian state of Gujarat. “It is a very complex dance,” Thiagarajan said. “We had 20 peo ple in it and it took a lot of syn chronization.” Three countries were given hon orable mention — Panama, Brazil and Puerto Rico. The Panamanian and Puerto Rican clubs presented native dances. The Brazilians com peted with a song. Cultural Display Chairman Hamed Shahkshir presented the award to the wanner of the displays. Ireland took first place, Indonesia second and Malaysia won third. Honorable mentions went to Leb anon, Turkey and Mexico. Sandra Burke and Dr. John Tally from Ireland said their display was an Irish thatched cottage with white washed walls. They said they showed Irish beers including Guinness, wool displays and Irish family name maps. They also had demonstrations of Ireland’s national sport called “hurling,” which is the fastest field game in the world. Shahkshir said this year was the Experts of MS study frequency in panhandle AMARILLO (AP) — A chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is surveying former Pan handle residents with the disease as the group explores why the area has twice the national aver age number of multiple sclerosis victims. The national group estimates that MS, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system, strikes 50 of every 100,000 per sons in the South and Southwest, said Fredricka Gens, coordinator of the Panhandle chapter. “At 50 per 100,000, we should have about 200 cases,’’ Gens said. “We have twice that number be cause we have about 400 people with MS.” The 10-page survey, consisting of 36 questions, was sent last week to 400 people across the nation who once lived in the Texas Pan handle and registered at the local chapter as having multiple sclero sis. The confidential survey is aimed at the people with MS who want to remain anonymous — a revelation that could cost them their jobs and medical insurance as well as damage their personal lives, said JoAnn Holt, executive director of the Panhandle chap ter. Holt told the Amarillo Globe News that another 200 people may have MS in the Panhandle and not have told anyone. The only identifying informa tion the survey requests is a Pan handle zip code, Gens said, so of ficials can determine 1f any pattern exists from where MS vic tims lived in the area. “Researchers believe now that MS is caused by a virus in the first 14 years of life, which lies dor mant until a person is usually in his 20s or 30s,” Gens said. “So we want to know where they lived in their first 14 years of life.” The cause and the cure of MS has stumped researchers for de cades. The disease affects ap proximately 250,000 Americans. first time Ireland participated in In ternational Week. In addition to being able to com pete for prizes, each booth had a box to collect donations for UNICEF. The displays’ collections added up to $755 this year. This is the second time UNICEF has taken part in the cultural display contest. Competitors winning in the food fair were awarded their prizes by Bruno del Rio, Food Fair chairman from Mexico. “On the way up here,” del Rio said, “I kept thinking how we are all winners. I admire how students can get together, gather the efforts and put together International Week.” Students from each country had to make three different dishes at 300 servings each. People who attended the fair had 14 tickets apiece they could exchange for bite-sized food portions from the countries of their choice. Del Rio said winning the food fair contest depended on taste, hospital ity, appearance of the booth and how many tickets the country got. “Judges loved every bite they had,” del Rio said. Indonesia again won a first place with its presentation of chicken sate, yellow rice and corn cake, del Rio said. India carried second place. Thia garajan said the club made chicken curry with decorated rices. The rices included tomatoes, parsley and eggs, Thiagarajan said. Prem Ramamirtham, a graduate student from India, said the club also presented a tray of rice deco rated with the colors of the Indian flag — orange, white and green. He said they served a sweet called gulab jansun for dessert. France won third place with its of fering of croissants, disguised fruits with salmon paste, bread of fish and quiche lorraine. Honorable mentions in the food fair went to Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Brazil. Chemical acid leak at Amoco refinery quickly controlled TEXAS CITY (AP) — Residents received a scare Sunday when a chemical leak was reported at the Amoco refinery, bringing back memories of a similar problem at an other plant last October that forced the evacuation of 3,000 people. Sunday’s leak of isobutane, how ever, was quickly brought under con trol by workers, Amoco spokesman Ray Thompson said. “We immediately shut down the unit and isolated the line that was leaking,” Thompson said. “We sounded the alarm in the refinery and put water mist on the leak.” The leak of isobutane, which con tains 5 percent or less of hydroflu oric acid, was discovered by unit per sonnel at about 11:30 a.m., he said. Thompson said the plant’s emer gency response personnel handled the leak and did not require help from the Texas City fire or police departments. He also said that no in juries were reported. Thompson said there was no rea son to believe that any hydrofluoric acid left the refinery. stjUTwa-irfi' t.f* Panamanian says office will stay open HOUSTON (AP) — The con sul general of the Panamanian consulate in Houston says she will keep her office open, even though the U.S. State Depart ment no longer recognizes her as a representative of the crisis-torn nation. Dr. Carmen Crespo is among 17 consular officers across the na tion whose appointments were terminated last week at the re quest of Juan B. Sosa, the Pana manian ambassador to the United States under ousted President Eric Arturo Delvalle. But Crespo, 55, said Sosa does | not have the authority to termi nate the consular appointments. “To begin with, Mr. Sosa is not our ambassador in the United States,” Crespo said. Crespo, who remains loyal to Panama strongman and cle facto leader Gen. Manuel Antonio No riega, said a new Panamanian am bassador, Aquilino Boyd, was to arrive in Washington Sunday. Raul St. Malo, the deputy chief of missions at the Panamanian consulate in Washington, said that Crespo is one of the consular officers who was dismissed. “She will either have to leave the country or get some kind of permit,” said St. Malo. The United States recognizes Delvalle, who remains in hiding in Panama, and Sosa as legitimate representatives of Panama. “Delvalle is a stupid man,” Crespo said. “For many months, he was working with us, and now he has gone the other way. He is stupid, crazy and vulgar.” She said Jorge Abadia Arias, Panama’s minister of foreign af fairs, contacted her from Panama Friday afternoon and told her to continue operating the consulate as usual. She has not received for mal notification that her appoint ment has been terminated, site said. Aspring break offer that’s really making We’re kicking off your Spring Break early with an offer that’s bound to make a big splash! Just present the coupon below at the Whataburger w restaurant in College Station or Bryan, and we’ll give you a regular order of fries and a 16 oz. soft drink-absolutely free! But that’s not all. When you get down to Galveston, present the second coupon below at the Whataburger restaurant at 6327 Stewart Road, and get another order of fries and a soft dnvk-free! Get golden brown on the outside, then come inside for some golden brown fries and a soft drink. It’s hot. It’s cold. It’s free! And it’s only at Whataburger. I I I I I I I I I I I I L Free fries & soft drink. Present this coupon at the Whata burger. restaurant in College Station or Bryan, and receive a free regular order of fries and a 16 oz. soft drink. One coupon per customer per visit. May not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer expires March 20,1988. WHATABURGER HOT, FRESH AND MADE TO ORDER. I I I I I I I I I I I I I L. Free fries & soft drink. Present this coupon at the Whatabur ger. restaurant in Galveston at 6327 Stewart Road, and receive a free reg ular order of fries and a 16 oz. soft drink. One coupon per customer per visit. May not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer expires March 31, 1988. WHATABURGER HOT. FRESH AND MADE TO ORDER. Oh My God—IGLOO MADNESS ONE DAY ONLY 25<f Wednesday March 9 noon —10 p.m. V/ V 25<t 4501 Wellborn bewteen Texas Afifl'l & Villa Maria 846-1816 IGLOO MADNESS SALE FROZEN COOLERS Flavors Strawberry Daiquiri Peach Daiquiri Banana Daiquiri Raspberry Daiquiri Pineapple Daiquiri Spiced Apple Daiquiri Watermelon Daiquiri Grape Daiquiri Lemon Daiquiri Cherry Daiquiri Screwdriver Blue Hawaiian Mai Tai Hurricane Tropical Punch Margarita Pina Colada Strawberry Colada Banana Colada Raspberry Colada Peach Colada Pineapple Colada Grape Colada Peaches fif Creme Strawberry 6e Creme Bananas & Creme Raspberry 6e Creme All drinks are made with real fruit or fruit juices All creme flavors made with real Vanilla Ice Cream. Small $2.75 (12 oz.) 25<t Medium $3.75 (20 oz.) Large $5.50 (32 oz.) $1.75 $3.25 Limit one 254 drink per person per visit. Limit six people per vehicle. Enjoy in Moderation. Please Don't Drive While Intoxicated.