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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1997)
olume 10 5 • Issue* 76 • 10 Pages The Batt Online: Bill weh.lamu.eclu Wedneschiy, jiiniitiry 22, 1997 i the Flagio wore alibi; jection to ive action; andidates address voters at forum /oice, :o fight for; :o fight fob ation/'WIn ivenessofi oittheNAlf By Jackie Vratil The Battalion Candidates for a Jan. 28 special election rticipated in a political forum Monday at rolling the^MU-TV station. The purpose of the forum, sponsored the League of Women Voters of Bra- County, the Bryan-College Station gle and The Battalion, was to inform ters of the issues pertaining to the ie said,aiK|coming election, analsoalit The candidates running for the Texas State Senate are Republican Steve Ogden and Democrat Mary Moore. Running for the vacant seat in the House of Repre sentatives are Republicans Richard Smith and Dr. William Roman. Senate candidate Moore was the only candidate not in attendance. Each candidate stated his views on is sues involving both the community and the Texas A&M campus. Ogden said costs to attend higher learning institutions continue to in crease, but he will try to ensure educa- “ ...wewillbe proud of the returns we get when we put money into education.^ Steve Ogden State Senate candidate tion remains affordable. “The state does not have a huge pot of money,” he said, “but we will be proud of the returns we get when we put money into education.” When confronted with the question of rising costs in education, Smith said he would, with the cooperation of others, de centralize funding. “Handling the rising costs will take a cooperative effort by the faculty, the stu dents and the administration,” Smith said. “The legislators will look out for any prob lems that may occur.” Smith said he would offer college stu dents in the Bryan-College Station area his experience of living in the area and attend ing the University. "I can empathize with their (students’) problems,” he said, “and I have worked with the Student Government.” Roman held a medical practice in Col lege Station for 40 years, and at one time taught at the University. He thinks, there fore, that his background of working with students gives him experience in knowing what students want. “They want somebody to talk to,” Ro man said. “I will listen.” ingly... :e traditkffi ► Pan-Hellenic i, he said, lisplayoiii ireabouthij i in traditio: ber, the in Texas u: is to meres 1. "Onevoi; elybehearc f the reap dignified 0! AS. iroups emphasize lose relationships noted KiE Id treat "ai! Tore theta md of i tist By Marissa Alanis The Battalion The eight historically black fraternities and jrorities that make up the Texas A&M Pan- ellenic Council strive to represent brother- ftfriccin-fimerkan nted to bet ood and sisterhood. ipond. i n the 1930’s, the National Pan-Hellenic duncil was established, and four fraternities ress so t:||nd four sororities were introduced. Jason Brewer, the A&M Pan-Hellenic advi- irers of tiit|or, said the National Pan-Hellenic Council was devised so black Greeks could share in of tlieho!Teas and aim to better their own communities. “Alot of issues weren’t being addressed that oncerned the well-being of their specific or- [anization, i.e. rush,” Brewer said. The Pan-Hellenic rush procedures differ ur Amenta from other Greek organizations in that po- build om ential applicants must undergo a selective eview process. Grades, good standing with he University and extracurricular activities tre taken into consideration. If a student performed neets these requirements, they may fill out he a membership application, ate Mk First-semester freshmen are not allowed to naJ poe rush Pan-Hellenic organizations because they The poeflo not have a grade point average: - past an After the national and regional headquar ters of a chapter review an application, a vote is taken by the Pan-Hellenic organization the applicant wants to join. One of the characteristics of Pan-Hellenic organizations is close-knit relationships among members because of the small mem bership classes each one holds. Marcus Gardner, Alpha Phi Alpha vice- president and a senior civil engineering ma jor, said he observed other non Pan-Hellenic fraternities with large membership classes did not seem to know their own brothers, even when they were wearing the same shirts. See Pan-Hellenic, Page 5 Pat james, The Battalion Grin and Bear It Randall Walton, a senior zoology major, grimaces while Mimi Sicilio, a physical therapist at A.P. Beutel Health Center, stretches his hamstring. Scams may cost callers big bucks ylor deli ^ ylor deli and sing : Resum; ; ceremoi Banner. C 0017 | By Jackie Vratil The Battalion At one time dialing outside the United ates was a hassle. However it is now as easy dialing outside the state of Texas, and many w telemarketing scams are capitalizing on e improvement. Ward Tisdale at the Attorney General’s ess Office said the telemarketers’ ploy starts en they leave a message on an answering achine explaining to the listener that a oblem may exist or a prize of some sort eds to be claimed. “Oftentimes a message is left on an answer- g machine making the point clear that you ust call back for a prize or some great oppor- nity,” Tisdale said. The telemarketers emphasize the fact that re- ing the phone call at the number given is a cessity; this is where the scam is pulled. The lemarketers may tell the listener everything out the problem or the prize, but neglect to ex- ain the returning phone call may cost the lis- nerup to $100. The scam is pulled by giving the listener phone number beginning with the area de 809. When dialed, this area code can nnect the listener with most of the ribbean nations. “Because those numbers lead to off-shore ams international laws are in effect and that is hat makes it so hard to follow-up and catch the scams,” Tisdale said. By dialing the 809 area code, U.S. telephone regulations are bypassed and prices for the long distance calls can be as high as $25 a minute. U.S. telephone regulations en sure the caller knows exactly how much each minute will cost and ap proximately how long a caller can ex pect to spend on the line. In a news release sent to Texas papers, Attorney General Dan Morales said phone scams have innovated other ways of attracting victims. “The answering machine is not the only source of these phone num bers,” Morales said. “All too often, people looking for jobs are targeted.” The ads encourage the reader to call a lo cal number for more information. Once on the line, a recording comes on explaining the legitimacy of the company and tells the lis tener to call another number to speak with someone who can give more details about the job. The other number begins with the area code 809. The listener is told he will have to pay for the call, but not how much or how long he will be on hold or listen to a long recording. Another way the scam works is by tying up a beeper. A number comes up on the “Please deposit $3.99 for the next three minutes TT screen of the beeper with the area code 809. A return phone call is made and the scam triumphs again. Other area codes used for the scams are 268, 242, 246, 345, 441, 664, 670, 767, 758, 787, 868, 869, and 876. Tisdale said protecting oneself by knowing who and where one is calling is the best way to avoid being a victim. Morales’ advice is to take an additional minute to find out exactly where the area code is from, and why the call needs to be made. “Don’t know anyone from a Caribbean na tion? Don’t call back,” he said. “And beware of ads touting ‘mystery shopper’ jobs or unknown over seas opportunities.” j| Man in sketch no help [in Cosby investigation LOS ANGELES (AP) —The goateed man depicted in ipolice sketch as another possible witness to the En- iis Cosby slaying was candid and cooperative, police said Tuesday, but unable to give them any help in [finding the killer. I “He did not have any additional information of substance [to offer,” said police Cmdr. Tim McBride. Meanwhile, CBS reported Tuesday night that it had received a threatening fax, purportedly from the same voman police arrested in New York over the weekend jfor allegedly trying to extort $40 million from the vic- ftim's father. Authorities said she claimed to be entertainer Bill |Cosby’s illegitimate daughter. The elder Cosby has denied being related to the Jwoman, identified as Autumn Jackson. Police say jthey don’t believe the extortion case is connected to {the killing. CBS said the fax it received threatened the network with (extortion if a woman identified as Autumn Jackson Cosby “doesn’t receive a fair settlement.” The network carries the [entertainer’s show Cosby. See Cosby, Page 5 Blinn continues expansion Kevin Cummings The Battalion The new Blinn campus on Villa Maria may seem like a huge parking lot and a small building, but the current building is just phase one of a four-phase con struction plan. The plan will accommo - date Blinn’s expected future enrollment of almost 15,000 students within the next 15 years. Currently, 7,000 students are enrolled at Blinn. That figure is expected to in crease to 9,000 within the next year. The increased enrollment has brought an increase in traffic and a subsequent need for more parking. Parking for Blinn has been expanded from 700 spaces at the old campus to 2,500 at the new location. The increased congestion around the new campus is causing the city of Bryan to make some changes on Villa Maria. The city reached a settlement with a neighborhood organization, Cit izens United for a Responsible Bryan, to expand Villa Maria to four lanes and monitor near-by intersections to de termine if traffic lights are needed. With 8,000 more cars expected on Villa Maria daily, commercial develop ers have already begun moving into the area. Dan Wilkerson, director of utili ties in Bryan, said the campus is ex pected to increase local revenue. “That was one of the main reasons for building the college — to stimulate com mercial development,” Wilkerson said. Plans for the area include a Col lege Park Center, a strip shopping center to be built west of Shulman 6 Theaters, a major grocery store and dorm-style living and retail shops on the south side of campus. To service the considerable per centage of Blinn students co-en- rolled at Texas A&M, bus operations currently runs the Reveille route past the new campus with three buses on a 36-minute loop. The bus route is capable of shuttling about 60 stu dents to and from the Blinn campus every 12 minutes, and is not yet be ing used to capacity. Muslim students observe Ramadan By Benjamin Cheng The Battalion Muslims at Texas A&M and around the world continue to ob serve the Islamic month of fasting known as Ramadan, which began Jan. 10 an runs through Feb. 8. Muslims refrain from food, drink and sexual relations with their spouse from sunrise until sunset throughout the period. Fasting was prescribed by the prophet Mo hammed in the Quran, the Islamic holy book, and is one of the five pil lars of Islam. Zillur Rahim, president of the Is lamic Community of Bryan-College Station, describes the objective of fasting as an attempt to be more sub missive to the commands of God. “It is one way to prove that we are following the commands of God,” Rahim said. Younoos Latheef, president of the Muslim Student Association and a senior computer science ma jor, describes fasting as an attempt to attain God-consciousness. “During this month, you in crease your devotion to God through prayers and sacrificing your desires,” Latheef said. “At the end of the month, you should re new the devotion to your Creator.” The Muslim Student Association is the lone campus organization for Muslims at Texas A&M. MSA has about 100 members, Latheef said. Brad Neal, a graduate environ mental engineering major, said Ra madan is not only about fasting. “Someone can observe all of the tenants of Ramadan,” Neal said, “yet if they don’t increase their rela tionship with God, they’ve wasted a good opportunity.” Rahim said fasting could be dif ficult for new Muslims. “It’s a matter of practice,” Rahim said. “But the faith overcomes all of that. If you know that you are doing it for God, if you know that this is something that has been made an obligation upon you, then it be comes a source of pleasure.” Exemptions from fasting are made for the sick, the elderly, chil dren, pregnant women and nursing mothers, Rahim said. The fasting can be made up by fasting at a later date or providing charity for the poor, he said. When non-Muslims learn of his fasting, Latheef said their re action is often to consider it im possible to accomplish. “When people ask of Ramadan, they’re kind of amazed and awed that I can go throughout the day without food and drink,” Latheef said. Rahim finds his colleagues respect his faith and his practice of fasting. “In general, the people whom I work with are understanding be cause College Station is a commu nity of knowledge and education,” Rahim said. Neal said many non-Muslims are unaware of his fasting. "It’s a transparent thing,” Neal said. “People are not really obser vant of it.” Ramadan, an Arabic word, is the ninth month of the lunar calendar. Ramadan changes from year to year when measured against the Christian calendar used by Western civilization. Last year, Ramadan be gan Jan. 21 and ended Feb. 18. The Battalion INSIDETODAY The Pressure: The Texas A8M Men’s Basketball Team travels to Lawrence to battle the nation’s top-ranked team. 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