Page 2 • THE BATTALION
Tuesday • February 28,
Merger with ETSU
undergoes analysis
Q I A i t: & t ocal
W W JL—/
^ Health Tips *
Caffeine consumption effects cause need to evaluate intals
uesc
Monday, Texas A&M Board of
Regents authorized A&M’s .chancellor
to complete a comprehensive analysis
of a merger with East Texas State
University and make a
recommendation to the Board.
The ETSU Board of Regents
approved the merger Feb. 10.
Approval from the Texas
Legislature is required to complete
the agreement.
ETSU’s main campus, in
Commerce, enrolls 8,000 students. A
Texarkana-branch campus enrolls -
1,200 students. ETSU also has a
Metroplex Center in Mesquite which
offers graduate courses.
If the merger is approved, ETSU
will become the second largest
institution, behind Texas A&M
University, in the A&M system.
By Vanessa Park
A.P. Beutel Health Center
UT student removed
from campaign race
A University of Texas student who
admitted to stealing Reveille VI from
her keeper’s home in December 1993
as a stunt to help his campaign for
UT’s Student Association president,
has been removed from the race.
The university’s Election
Supervisory Board disqualified Neil
Sheffield from the election Friday
after another UT student
representative filed a complaint
against him.
The representative said Sheffield
told him and other representatives
that he planned to use the information,
about the theft as publicity for his
campaign.
But Sheffield said the board was
searching for a reason to remove him
from the race.
“They were trying to find some
way to kick me out, and that was the
best thing they could find,” he said.
"They’re doing this because they’re a
bunch of Aggies.”
The college student’s life is often filled with late-
night cram sessions for a test or a paper due the
next morning.
Also present are weekly trips to the grocery store
with triple coupons in hand for soft drinks, coffee and
tea, along with an occasional box of over-the-counter,
anti-fatigue medication, to help with the nights.
What do all these have in common? Caffeine.
Caffeine is the most frequently used habit-form
ing drug in the world, adding two million pounds to
the food in the United States annually.
Do you ever wonder what else this substance does,
other than maybe wake you up?
Caffeine has many effects on the body:
• It is absorbed immediately into the blood
stream and reaches its highest level within 15 to
45 minutes of consumption.
• It stimulates the release of insulin, which low
ers the blood sugar and produces hunger.
• It is a diuretic, which causes the body to excrete
not only more water, but also needed water-soluble nu
trients such as B-vitamins, vitamin C and magnesium.
• Consumption over a period of time has been
linked to high blood pressure, stomach irritation and
ulcers, insomnia and heart palpitations.
• It interferes with calcium absorption in the body.
• It may cause central nervous system malfunc
tions, including: nervousness, insomnia, irritability,
anxiety, headaches and muscle twitching.
• In pregnant women, it may interfere with nor
mal fetal development because it readily crosses
the placenta.
• It increases the adrenaline level in your blood
stream, putting added stress on your already stressed
system, including heart, hormone levels and nerves.
Since caffeine’s negative effects may impact your
body, it may be wise to reconsider your study habits.
Caffeine may help prevent fatigue, but it does not
improve performance affected by a lack of sleep and
extreme exhaustion.
As discussed, caffeine’s effects on the central ner
vous system can vary with the quantity ingested. If
your intake is 50 milligrams (equal to one cup of cof
fee) your reaction is alertness.
But if intake is more than 750 milligrams, entering
your body in a variety of forms — drinking several
cups of coffee or carbonated drinks, eating chocolate,
taking other medicine, etc., — you might experience
lightheadedness, breathlessness, dehydration and se
vere headaches. If intake is more than 1,000 mil
ligrams, caffeine may become toxic to the body.
The general guideline for a moderate caffeine
level is 200 milligrams or less a day, which may
vary for individuals based on body size, physical
health and tolerance.
If you have already made caffeine a daily part of
your intake through consistent consumption of cof
fee, tea or soft drinks, how can you reduce the effects
of this habit?
First, you can begin by carefully reading the la
bels on carbonated drinks and other products.
Gradually decreasing your intake by limiting your
number of soft drinks a day will help break the habit.
For coffee drinkers, try 1/4 decaffeinated and S/4 regu
lar, then slowly decrease the amount of regular coffee
every four or five days.
Waking up on a regular schedule, fixing a good
breakfast and exercising will also help you adjust
to life without caffeine.
Since caffeine is a habit-forming drug, common
withdrawal symptoms may be noticed. These in
clude: headaches, nervousness, depression, drowsi
ness and irritability.
Caffeine, caffeine,
and more caffeine....
Item
milligrams a serving
Coffee-6oz.
brewed, ground
instant
flavored-Cafe Francais,
Vienna, etc
decaffeniated
85
60
30
3
The Health Education Center at the A.P. Beutel
Health Center offers a variety of programs on health
topics and maintains a resource file of health infor
mation. Tours of the center are available.
Aggie Representatives Educating About College
Health is a volunteer student organization whose
members present programs to other college stu
dents. Please visit the Health Education Center,
016A Beutel Health Center. Or call 845-1341 if you
have any questions about your health, or you need
information for a class paper, speech or report.
Tea-6oz.
regular, bagged
instant
decaffeinated
45
30
0
Carbonated drinks-12oz.
Coca-Cola
Dr. Pepper and
Mountain Dew
Pepsi Cola
Root Beer
65
55
40
0
Nonprescription drugs
weight control aids
alertness tablets
cold remedies
166
150
27
Simpson housekeep
er faces camera
LOS ANGELES (AP) — O.J.
Simpson’s alibi witness kept her
promise and returned to court
Monday, but she testified before a
video camera rather than jurors
because of a last-minute plea by
prosecutors.
Superior Court Judge Lance Ito’s
decision to permit the taped testimony
left defense attorney Johnnie
Cochran Jr. sputtering that Ito had
been “snookered” by prosecutors
seeking to keep Rosa Lopez away
from the jury.
Complicating matters further,
disputes arose over a court
translator’s ability to interpret Lopez’
testimony in her Salvadoran dialect
and the defense’s failure to disclose a
second interview it conducted last
summer with Lopez, the housekeeper
who used to work next door
to Simpson.
Bush prepares to wage war to save
dying Air Force bases from ‘hit list’
Q The governor rallies to support
three Texas bases that face closure
or consolidation and refuses to yield
on his position.
GOP urges a balance
of health risks, costs
WASHINGTON (AP) — House
Republicans, having already muscled
through a temporary regulatory freeze,
turned Monday to a bill that would force
the government to balance health and
safety hazards against costs to
business when issuing new rules.
Critics, including President Clinton
and an influential Republican senator,
have said the bill would hamstring
virtually every government agency and
prevent the enforcement of 25 years
worth of health, safety and
environmental laws.
But Rep. Bob Walker, R-Pa.,
chairman of the House Science
Committee, argued that the “regulatory
system has become a nightmare and
we’ve got to do something” to correct
its shortcomings.
Democrats were expected to try to
narrow the sweep of the risk-
assessment requirement during a
scheduled 10 hours of debate before
a final vote is taken Tuesday.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gov. George W. Bush
toured two Air Force bases Monday and pledged to
use his ‘‘bully pulpit” to fight to save threatened
Texas military installations from closing.
The Pentagon is to release its list of bases tar
geted for closure or consolidation on Tuesday.
“The bully pulpit of the second most powerful
state in the union will be used to make sure that
these two bases, the merits of these two bases, are
proclaimed loudly,” Bush said.
Word leaked over the weekend that Brooks,
Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Red River Army
Depot in Texarkana and Corpus Christi Naval Air
Station would be on the list.
Kelly and four other Air Force maintenance de
pots nationwide reportedly won’t be listed for out
right closure but could experience cutbacks. In all,
14,135 civilians and 4,826 active military person
nel work at Kelly, the largest of San Antonio’s five
military bases.
“One of the reasons we’re here is to say, ‘We
care about you and we want to fight for you,’ re
gardless of whether one is a Democrat or one is a
Republican,” said Bush, a Republican, flanked by
several state legislators and local political leaders
of both parties.
As he toured the two San Antonio bases. Bush
chatted with workers about their jobs. Joe Men
doza, 42, a civilian machinist at Kelly working on
TF39 engines for C-5 aircraft, described his work
crew as “a brotherhood.”
“When I came to Kelly 13 years ago, I was hop
ing this would be the place I retired, and I hope it
stays this way. I love it here,” Mendoza said.
About 2,400 civilians work at Brooks, where
scientific research laboratories are located.
The governor said he also would be working
closely with other Texas cities faced with losing
military installations.
“There will be base hearings around the state. I
intend to show up and work with the different
communities, the different chambers of commerce,
to articulate the case for each and every base in
Texas that’s being looked at,” Bush said.
In Lubbock, Mayor David Langston pledged to
wage a fierce fight to save Reese and its 1,700
jobs. “Do not get discouraged,” Langston said.
“This is not the last word.”
For weeks reports have circulated that Corpus
Christi Naval Air Station will lose the Naval Air
Training Command and its personnel of 700 to
Pensacola, Fla. There is some hope the station
would gain some 1,500 personnel in helicopter
Educational Commissionc
departs, pleas for progress ^
"One of the reasons
we're here is to say
'We care about you
and we want to fight
for you....'"
— Gov. Bush
units to make up for the loss. The helicopters
would be assigned to the mine warfare mission of
nearby Naval Station Ingleside.
In Texarkana, the 4,000 employees at Red Riv
er also were paying close attention to reports that
the Amny depot was a Pentagon “hit list” target.
“We of course have heard the rumors and have
a degree of concern. But there’s still a lot of con
tradiction,” said depot spokesman Cecil Green.
Bush said he and U.S. senators Phil Gramm
and Kay Bailey Hutchinson have met with the
deputy defense secretary to lobby for Texas bases.
The governor emphasized until the release of
the Pentagon’s list Tuesday, nothing is official.
Even then, there will be months of wrangling as
the independent Base Realignment and Closure
Commission reviews the proposals and makes its
own recommendations.
“Until the decisions are made I will refuse to
yield,” Bush said.
Q "Skip" Meno r
whose term ends
Wednesday, leaves
office desiring more
reform and action.
among property-rich andpofl ’atty
lag of
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas Edu
cation Commissioner Lionel
“Skip” Meno said Monday that
he’s leaving plenty of work for
the man recommended as his
successor, Lubbock school Su
perintendent Mike Moses.
Meno, whose term ends
Wednesday, said that in the
nearly four years since he ar
rived, “There’s a lot more that
didn’t get done than got done,
I’m afraid.”
“We still have many too many
youngsters who are not getting
the education that they deserve,
and I think that’s
going to be an
school districts, Meno
state should invest in a
instructional year for studc
who need it, higher teacls
salaries and more staff develf
ment time for educators.
The state also should fflsfef
school safety its No. 1
funding priority and ensure
youngsters who commit criies
are put into alternative prt
grams, not back into the repiii’
classroom, he said.
“This Russian roulette wet
playing, where kids are involve:
in serious criminal behavioral:
then put back into reguli
schools by the courts, has
stop,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Bob Bulled
^ who presides over ft
Senate, said of Mens:
proposed $3 billft
By Ai
The B
education increase perfor
ongoing chal
lenge,” he said.
Progress
has been made
in increasing
student
achievement
and giving lo
cal school districts more con
trol, Meno said. Texas is poised
to lead in a national education
revolution to decentralize
schools, he said.
However, Meno added, the
state can’t do all it should un
less more money is put into ed
ucation — to the tune of about
$3 billion in new money over
the next two years.
Besides paying for a law de
signed to even out funding
D
Meno has
months and months and monft
to relay that to me, but hete
n’t. I’d like for him to comnuit
cate with me on that.”
Bullock had praise
Moses, who was recommem
with an 11-3 vote Sunday ft
the State Board of Education
“Mike is a really good
son, if that gives you a him
Bush told reporters. He
he plans to speak with bu
sometime next week.
ip
President Ray M. Bowen
cordially invites
all students of
Texas A&M University
to an open house
in the Office of the President
Wednesday, March f, 1995
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Rudder Tower
8th Floor
UK?
Italy Spring Semester 1996:
! It’:
5 Your Turn!
Students will select 15 hours:
ECON 489/:
Economics of the Eur. Comm.
n
BUAD 489
Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco
HtaLY
LEAR 332/:
Culture of Mgmt. in the Eur. Comm.
,1.
MGMT 489
Prof. Pier Luigi Sacco
Interested?
Attend any one of these
informational meetings in
ARTS 350:
Arts and Civilization*
Prof. Paolo Barrucchieri
I 25 1 Bizzell Hall West:
ANTH 201:
Introduction to Anthropology
Dr. Sylvia Grider
Mon., Feb. 27 2 - 2:45
ANTH 205:
Peoples and Cultures of the World
Wed., Mar. 1 2 - 2:45
Dr. Sylvia Grider
Wed., Mar. 1 3-3:45
PSYC 405:
Psychology of Religion
Dr. David Rosen
Wed., Mar. 1 4 - 4:45
PSYC 306:
Abnormal Psychology
Dr. David Rosen |
Study Abroad Programs
♦Mandatory for all students
161 Bizzell Hall West
845^0544
HHI8S Mm
I' I \ I
IV/vi r/s.i ioisi
,
MARK SMITH, Editor in chief
1AY ROBBINS, Senior managing editor
HEATHER WINCH, Managing editor
JODY HOLLEY, Night News editor
TIFFANY MOORE, Night News editor
AMANDA FOWLE, City editor
STERLING HAYMAN, Opinion editor
ROB CLARK, Aggielife editor
NICK GEORGANDIS, Sports editor
DAVE WINDER, Sports editor
STEWART MILNE, Photo editor
Staff Members
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Mitchell, Roger Hsieh and Rogge Heflin
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Knioum
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Opinion — Erin Hill, Drew Diener, Laura Frnka, Zack Hall, David Hill, Kyle Littlefield,
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