The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 23, 1996, Image 1

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    Pag*
• September 20;
The Battalion
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tlume 103 • Issue 16 • 12 Pages
Monday, September 23, 1996
The Batt Online: http://bat-web.tamu.edu
ctivities.
ss said he belie
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buses.
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in the world,"Cal
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Student dies in accident
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
An accident involving 10 Texas A&M stu
dents on Highway 6 between Old Reliance
Road and Highway 21 killed one student and
injured nine others Sunday evening.
The students were returning to College
Station from the first Bonfire cut near Hearne.
Sgt. Choya Walling of the Bryan Police De
partment said the Ford Ranger pickup truck
the students were in veered to the left side of
the road and then came back across to the
right. The truck rolled over twice and hit a
large highway sign before it came to a rest up
side down.
Six students were taken to St. Joseph’s Hos
pital and four were admitted to Columbia
Medical Center.
Elizabeth Scott of St. Joseph’s said one
male student admitted to the hospital died at
8:50 p.m. and another is in critical condition.
Two males and two females are listed in seri
ous condition at St. Joseph’s.
Mary Jo Powell, associate director of public
information for the University, said the four
female students at Columbia are listed in sta
ble condition.
The students’ injuries include severe head
injuries and broken bones.
The accident occurred at 5:06 p.m. on
southbound Highway 6.
Walling said the cause of the accident has
not been determined.
Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president
for Student Affairs, said in a statement to the
press that the University is prepared to handle
the situation.
“The Division of Student Affairs Crisis Re
sponse Team has been activated and has
staff on scene at both hospitals and on cam
pus to help deal with the aftermath of this
incident,” Southerland said. “We are — and
will continue — to
communicate and
coordinate with the
parents, hospitals,
residence halls and
other concerned in
dividuals and groups
as the situation de
velops further.”
For updates on
this story visit
The Battalion
Online at HTTP://!
Cut season focuses on unity
the Coloradofoo;; oseCalcaneo, a senior aerospace engineering major, cleans the stands of Kyle Field Sunday morning. On Saturday
he Aggies beat North Texas 55-0: See related stories, Page 7.
too 10 list
Glamour magazine honors A&M student
n , ?j li
Tim Moog, The Battalion
nily Norman, a senior mechanical engineering
^jor, was selected out of 1,000 applicants based
I academic and personal achievements.
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
' A Texas A&M student was
chosen as one of Glamour Mag
azine's Top 10 College Women
for 1996.
Emily Norman, a senior me
chanical engineering major, was
chosen from over 1,000 appli
cants for her academic and per
sonal achievements.
Norman said winning the
competition was especially re
warding since she is a woman
in the male-dominated field of
engineering.
“It made me much more proud
to be a woman, in my major espe
cially,” Norman said. “It’s OK that
I’m in this field. I know that I can
make a difference.”
Norman is not letting her
gender hold her back in the en
gineering field.
As an intern at NASA in 1995,
Norman designed Traybot, a ro
bot that harvests wheat in bio
mass chambers. Wheat is grown
in biomass chambers to serve
as an air filter, not just a food
source. Traybot and the wheat
are being tested for possible use
in long-term space travel and
colonization.
Norman spent this summer
co-oping at NASA’s jet-propulsion
laboratories in Pasadena, Calif.
She designed RETT, a robot
that may investigate the sur
face of Mars.
Norman is a member of
Delta Zeta and she volunteers
for Habitat for Humanity and
participates in various walks
for charities.
Approximately 1,325 elemen
tary, junior high and high school
students in Austin and Houston
have heard Norman speak about
her experiences at NASA. She
aims her speeches mostly at
young girls.
“I want to encourage women
in the classes to pursue math
and science, especially at that
age,” Norman said. “It’s impor
tant for them to have an actual
female role model so they can
say T can do that, too.’”
In her speeches, Norman
challenges the stereotypes about
engineers by telling the students
about life in outer space.
“I want to show engineers are
fun and can have exciting lives,”
Norman said.
Norman applied for the
Glamour competition in January
1996 and found out she was se
lected in June.
Norman and the other nine
women visited New York City for
four days in August. They were
given a tour of the city, during
which they visited places like
the New York Stock Exchange
and Broadway.
The 10 women also met with
successful career women like
Madeleine Albright, the U.S. am
bassador to the United Nations.
See Norman, Page 12
By Erica Roy
The Battalion
Approximately 2,500
Texas A&M students set
out early Sunday morning
to display their “burning
desire to beat the hell out-
ta t.u.” at this year’s first
Bonfire cut.
At the cut site near
Hearne in Milam County,
students cut down trees
used to build Bonfire,
which will burn Tuesday,
Nov. 26.
R. E. Hopkins, head
stack and a senior agricul
ture development major,
said cut requires hard work
and dedication.
“You’re out there all day,”
he said. “You’re cutting
down trees, cleaning them
up, topping the trees off,
and carrying them to the
tractor paths.”
Workers representing
residence halls, Corps of
Cadets outfits, Off-Campus
Aggies and Women’s Bon
fire Committee show up at
the cut site to volunteer.
The workers are super
vised by yellow pots from
the residence halls or butt
pots from the Corps outfits,
and the crew chiefs. Hop
kins said it is their job to en
sure the workers remain safe
and motivated.
K2 freshmen remove a log from
Brown pots are “the
maintenance men of Aggie
Bonfire,” Hopkins said. They
handle the chain saws and
the ropes used at cut.
Next in the Bonfire hier
archy are the junior red
pots. They supervise the
entire cut site and help yel
low pots and butt pots
when needed.
“They are constantly
moving through the
woods,” Hopkins said.
“They don’t stop and
they’re always there.”
The senior red pots are at
Ryan Rogers, The Battalion
the woods at cut on Sunday.
the top of the hierarchy.
Hopkins said the red pots’
main concern is safety. If
there is a problem, the se
nior red pots are immediate
ly there to help.
The Women’s Bonfire
Committee provides food
and water to the workers at
the cut site. WBC is led by
two senior pink pots and
two junior pink pots.
Residence hall represen
tatives are next in the chain
of command.
See Cut, Page 12
Bonfire Cut and Stack Schedule
Sunday, Sept. 22
First Cut
Sunday, Nov. 3
Cut
Sunday, Sept. 29
Cut
Thursday, Nov. 7
Centerpole
Sunday, Oct. 6
Cut
Raised
Saturday, Oct. 12
Cut
Saturday, Nov. 9
Last Cut
.Sunday, Oct. 1 3
Cut
Sunday, Oct. 20
Father/Son
(Corps Trip); Stack Begins
Cut
Sunday, Nov. 10
Dorm Logs,
Sunday, Oct. 27
Cut
Last Load
Saturday, Nov. 2
Cut, Center-
Thursday, Nov. 14
Push Begins
pole Arrives
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Bonfire Burns
Battalion
TODAY
llant the Hell
|)lunteers in an Aggie
Japter of the Master
lardeners strive to
eautify the campus.
Aggielife, Page 3
till Perfect
le sixth-ranked A&M
Soccer Team extend-
iits record to 8-0
ith a win over Florida.
Sports, Page 9
Prophecy
feducia: A former
Columnist forte 11s the
ture for the Class of
Opinion, Page 11
Equipment helps students measure anxiety
By Brandon Hausenfluck
The Battalion
Some experts say relax
ation is perhaps the best tool
in preparing for an exam.
Texas A&M’s Student
Counseling Services houses
biofeedback equipment ca
pable of measuring the anxi
ety students may be experi
encing. Students may then be
able to learn how to control
their anxiety.
Dr. Nick Dobrovolsky, a
psychologist at Student
Counseling Services and di
rector of the Biofeedback
Center, said anxiety affects
student exam performance.
“Anxiety is like static on a
radio,” Dobrovolsky said.
“With all that static, it’s hard
to understand what you’re
trying to learn.
“One of the benefits (of re
ducing anxiety) is it helps you
to retain more information.”
Dobrovolsky said symp
toms of anxiety include
tense muscles and cold
hands. The center has ma
chines that use sensors to
gauge both ailments.
“Biofeedback is instru
mentation about what is go
ing on inside (the patient),”
Dobrovolsky said.
Students must complete a
one-and-a-half hour work
shop before using the
biofeedback equipment.
Once the workshop is com
plete, students have access to
the equipment on a first
come, first served basis.
Dobrovolsky said anxiety
is controlled by the mind.
“If you have test anxiety,
it’s pretty hard to relax,” he
said. “But if your imagina
tion has you on a tropical is
land, laying in the sand and
watching the palm trees
sway in the wind, you’re not
at Texas A&M worrying
about a test tomorrow.”
Biofeedback is used by
several health care profes
sionals including psychia
trists, psychologists, dentists
and internists.
A benefit of biofeedback,
experts say, is showing pa
tients how much control they
actually have over their body.
Biofeedback has been
used to rehabilitate stroke
victims as they regain move
ment of muscles paralyzed in
the stroke. It has helped alco
holics stop drinking. And it
can be used to increase brain
activity for people with At
tention Deficit Disorder.
Dobrovolsky encourages
students to visit Student
Counseling Services if they
are experiencing academic
difficulty.
“We have a lot of services,
and most people don't know
if they’re having problems,”
Dobrovolsky said.
“If in doubt, come by and
check,” he said. “Our job here
is to help you (students) fig
ure out what’s going on.”
Students interested in
biofeedback can call Student
Counseling Services at 845-
4427, or visit Henderson Hall.
Deadline threatens
immigration issues
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just two years ago, the prospects
for passage of substantive immigration reform in the 104th
Congress seemed particularly bright.
A presidential commission headed by former Texas Con
gresswoman Barbara Jordan offered a series of tough mea
sures designed to reduce illegal immigration and streamline
a cumbersome legal immigration apparatus.
The Clinton administration and congressional Republi
cans alike praised the Jordan commission’s findings and
pledged to craft bipartisan legislation.
That promise seemed realized last spring when the
House and Senate, with overwhelming support from
both Republicans and Democrats, endorsed bills crack
ing down on illegal immigration. All that remained was
reconciling differences between the House- and Senate-
passed bills.
And there, the trouble began.
Republican infighting, focused largely on a House-passed
amendment allowing states to deny free public schooling to
illegal immigrant children, for months has stalled the bill.
Now, with Congress just days away from adjournment,
immigration remains one of the major unresolved issues —
with the fight over the schooling amendment, named after
Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., occupying center stage.
Observers offer differing assessments when asked if any
bill is likely to pass Congress this year.
“They are running out of time,” said Frank Sharry, head
of the National Immigration Forum, which opposes many
aspects of the GOP-written bill. “I think the chances of a bill
being enacted this session are growing slim.”