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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1996)
September The Battalion lume 103 • Issue 14*14 Pages Thursday, September 19, 1996 The Balt Online: http://bat-web.lcmHJ.edu Bosnii hut even if the I more thantd ree marked arc ing stationstoi d a dead-end r. ed voters nans 'rganizationfo: 'itical scm rch in Bosnii entry writta elections. Hispanic Heritage JVlonth estival promotes cultural awareness By Brandon Hausenfluck The Battalion Community and campus Hispanic 'anizations will continue their cru- pe to educate the population about p growing importance of their com- tnity at a festival today at Rudder untain from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Adele Duran, president of the His- nic Presidents’ Council and a junior d Cooperation! !Ct rical engineering major, said the ot on theOpi ;t * va * promote several facets of i lists, and bean s P anic culture. i thesmallerd 8 oa l ot ^ ie festival is to pro- iblika Srpska3te cultural awareness on campus,” h manvofthet lran sa '^- “Diversity of our culture al election obst sman y aspects to it and we want to ct ions were not owsome history and the different y and democn n mandates. Bi ?ds to take this ger picture, osnia’s first den in the histonb nediately afters r. Was there voi hit one needoi is the U.S. font lodel for young nations. Texas a ihnson’s elector >od example, lem, or bettetss not the election! were conducted d democraticfai postponed six n now. is standingupti lent after the res his is (he bifflii me. parts of the different cultures.” The festival is one of many func tions being held in recognition of His panic Heritage Month, which began Sept. 13 and runs through Oct. 15. The functions aim to present a different perspective to the public about His panic culture. Duran said she hopes after this month the Hispanic community will be able to take proactive stances on political issues. The Professional Hispanic Network is an organization of University and community Hispanic leaders who meet once a month to discuss issues con fronting the Hispanic community. Dr. Marco Portales, PHN president, English professor and executive assis tant to Texas A&M President Ray Bowen, said PHN meetings allow members to interact with other His panic leaders. “We will begin a series of dialogue to provide opportunities for all members to express their view points,” Portales said. “[The Hispan ic community] needs to be under stood by a wider population.” Portales said people do not realize Hispanics are a growing part of the population. “We pay taxes and support the Con stitution and all of American things,” he said. “Some people think we are linked together as immigrants and freeloaders. See Festival, Page 8 Forum strives to clarify affirmative action issues By Carla Renea Marsh The Battalion More than 500 students and community members attended a forum Wednesday night aimed at updating and educating peo ple on affirmative action in the wake of Cal ifornia’s Civil Rights Initiative proposal and the Hopwood decision. The forum was hosted by the Memorial Student Center Black Awareness Committee and the MSC Political Forum. Eric Curley, BAG director and a junior philosophy major, said most people do not fully understand affirmative action, and he said the BAG wants to clarify the misconceptions. See Forum, Page 8 m \\ Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion Dr. Marilyn Kern-Foxworth speaks at the affirmative action forum in Rudder Theater. lorps program nters 3rd year Shuttle arrives at Mir to bring astronaut home By Ann Marie Hauser The Battalion Ihe Texas A&M Corps of dets is furthering its mission train leaders of character for estate and nation,” as the rps Mentorship Program enters third year. The program brings former dets to the A&M campus jtau$\out the semester to speak to cadets about transforming |Ciirps experiences into skills for She workplace. I l.D. Williams, Corps leader- liip training officer and a senior I* Tsa really good reality check and provides them (students) with a head start/' Dr. J. Malon Southerland vice president, student affairs i fife ff tnd) niversiijj 6 ultry science major, said the IP is the Corps’ best tool for dership training. “ft really means something for se cadets to have successful lets come back and tell them iat they are doing will help min the future,” Williams said, ley give them valuable insight o the business world.” The CMP was created by the rps and Corps Development uncil to give the cadets role idels and prepare them for the t century. CMP speakers are arranged by nk Muller Jr., Class of ’65 stu- it body president and a corpo- executive. Danny Feather, Corps leader- p training sergeant and a ju- [br agricultural economics ma- said Muller gives selflessly to Corps and the Memorial Stu dent Center. “He spends hours making phone calls and mailing out in formation in order to make arrangements for the program,” Feather said. “He breathes fire into the CMP.” The program is designed for the' 65 percent of cadets who will not be commissioned into the armed services after graduation, but military-bound cadets attend regularly as well. David Rodriguez, Class of ’94 and former K-2 commanding offi cer, is now a business analyst for Koch Gateway Pipeline in Houston. Rodriguez said success comes from experience. “A title doesn’t grant leadership, experience does,” Rodriguez said. Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president for student affairs, said other programs exist at A&M that cadets, plus students not in the Corps benefit from. “The MSC has done this for a long time,” Southerland said. “It’s a really good reality check and provides them (students) with a head start.” The first CMP session was Tuesday night at Southerland’s house. The session, featuring the topic “Selling the Corps” drew 32 cadets to Southerland’s home. Advice was given on all aspects of communicating with prospec tive employers. Frank Muller III, a former stu dent body president and Class of ’88, said analyzing an audience contributes to successful inter views because it leads to effec tive communication. This is es pecially important in job interviews, he said. “Know your audience. The bet ter you do, the more your are go ing to be able to sell yourself,” Muller said. “Gauge your audi ence and take it (experience) out of military terms.” Future topics to be discussed include marketing, international business, law and politics. SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) — Space shuttle Atlantis arrived at Russia’s Mir station Wednesday night to pick up astronaut Shan non Lucid, thrilled to be going home after a record-breaking six months in orbit. The shuttle docked with the station, its lights flashing like a beacon, about 240 miles above the Carpathian Mountains of Eastern Europe. Faces were pressed tight against the windows of both spacecraft. The air waves crackled in Eng lish and Russian as the space trav elers — six on Atlantis, three on Mir — shouted out information. “Atlantis and Mir shaking hands,” shuttle commander William Readdy informed Mission Control. Lucid couldn’t wait for the hatches to open; she was like a child longing to go home after a summer away at camp. The last time she saw Ameri cans face-to-face was ' when Atlantis left her at Mir in March. While Lucid has said she en joyed the orbital getaway aboard Mir, she planned to waste no time moving out. All her bags were packed and, within a few hours of the docking, she was to swap ) J places with Atlantis astronaut John Blaha, who will stay for four months. “She’s ready to leave, but I’m ready to get there and get on to working with the Russians,” Bla ha said earlier. Lucid won’t actually leave for home until next week. Atlantis will undock from Mir on Mon day after five days of linked flight and will return to Earth the following Thursday. The shuttle-station is the largest space structure ever — more than 535,000 pounds of mostly metal hurtling around Earth. The Russian complex has more compartments now than the last time Atlantis showed up. The 11:13 EDT docking seemed to go smoothly. “I think we had a 10-point-oh on that one,” said Atlantis astronaut Carl Walz. Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion Rainv Da\/ I Susan Rabel, a sophomore psychology major, and Jill Herzik, a sophomore environmental design major, share lYOII \y | an um brella after the downpour Wednesday afternoon. See related story, Page 7. DNS uare yan E FREE rjf chips will 1 regular pric« sit. qjires 12/31/96' he Battalion TODAY oor Quality ancis: The Rich Man’s ife fails to live up to standards of previ- s mystery films. Aggie life, Page 3 THRU )'S kRCE ’.95 ’.75 ,.50 ,.75 1.75 oetic Justice ter suffering three ssesto SMU in 1995, Soccer Team gets ^enge with 5-0 win. Sports, Page 9 irter’s Rights >odyear: Both par 's agree on one thing don’t exercise the KNOT to vote. Opinion, Page 13 Red Cross blood drive strapped for donations Tim Moog, The Battalion Carrie Woodley, a freshman elementary edu cation major, prepares to give blood. By Melissa Nunnery The Battalion Donor turnout at the five American Red Cross Blood- mobile locations on campus this week has been small in comparison to past campus blood drives. Mindy Vrba, an American Red Cross consultant, said only 170 units (pints) of blood per day were donated on Monday and Tuesday. Their goal is to take in 350 units each day. The Red Cross uses an av erage of 120 pints of blood every day, Vrba said. Vrba encouraged Texas A&M students to put them selves in other people’s shoes and donate blood. “Ninety-five percent of people are going to need blood sometime,” Vrba said. “If one of their (students) family members was sick and needed blood ... think of all the Central Texas families that need blood.” Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and the Red Cross teamed up to bring Bloodmo- biles to the A&M campus. “If everyone who comes would bring a friend, it would help us reach our goal." Mindy Vrba American Red Cross consultant They are at Rudder Fountain, Sbisa, Kleberg, The Commons and Corps Lounge E, which is a new location this year. Michael Boggs, a blood dri ve supervisor and nurse, said the new location raised only 20 pints the first two days. “If they (donations) don’t pick up today, we’ll have to close it,” Boggs said. Lack of publicity, Boggs said, is probably one factor contributing to the poor donor turnout. People just do not know about it, he said. “We need to get the word out two weeks ahead,” Boggs said. “Maybe we could send a letter out to all the units (in the Corps) and get the seniors to encourage the underclass men to participate.” Vrba said it is important to get the word out about the blood drive to generate more donations. “If everyone who comes would bring a friend, it would help us reach our goal,” Vrba said. She said there needs to be at least 50 donations per day at each campus location to raise the amount of blood needed. Boggs said donating blood is a quick and easy process. “You only bleed for 20 min utes,” he said. “Most people are finished in five or 10 minutes. Then, you’ve saved three lives.” Boggs said many people are afraid to donate blood. “A lot of people are afraid of needles, some are just terri fied,” Boggs said. “If they come with a buddy they feel better. It’s the unknown that’s so scary. People leave saying it wasn’t as bad as they thought it would be.” Boggs said anyone thinking about giving blood should drink plenty of water before and after donating. Mark Shackleford, a senior applied mathematical science major, said he always gives blood at the blood drive. “There used to be a line,” Shackleford said. “I guess people just don’t make time for it.” Swaminathan Balamuru- gan, a computer science grad uate student, said when he saw the Bloodmobile on cam pus he decided to donate. “I saw it here and decided to come over, but I didn’t know about it until I saw the van,” he said. The Bloodmobiles will be on campus everyday until Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.