Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1997)
in hopes ofjj charged $25| idents of ace on a si ^ers to a Volume 103 • Issue 111 *12 Pages The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu ASA director supports theory of life Dave House, The Battalion r, Gerald Soffen, program director for IASA, discusses evidence of life on Mars at lecture in Rudder Theatre Tuesday night. By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion New information about life on Mars was released last night at a lecture at Rud der Theatre given by Dr. Gerald Soffen, program director for NASA. Soffen discussed evidence found support ing his theory of Mars containing life forms. “I am so excited about this new infor mation,” Soffen said. “I changed my pro fession because of it.” Soffen has decided to devote his time to a new field called astrobiology for NASA. Pre viously, his focus was space missions. “This rock suddenly hit and my whole world has changed,” he said. Soffen discussed the controversial me teorite from Mars that hit Antarctica. De tailed pictures of rod-shaped bacteria on the rock were magnified and shown to the audience. He said new findings on temperature prove the substance found on and in the meteorite could be bacteria. Scientists at the Johnson Space Center determined yesterday that the rock was weathered in a temperature from zero to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Magnetic fields were also discovered in the rock, which is still be ing researched. Scientists have proven the rock is from Mars, Soffen said, because it contained trapped gasses in its core that duplicate the exact ratio of ones found in the atmosphere of Mars from the Viking expedition. Soffen took the audience on a trip back in time to the $1 billion Viking expedition in 1976. He worked on the mission and studied the results. “At that time, no life seemed to be pre sent,” he said. “The landscape was red with a pink sky.” Soffen said tests were run to determine if metabolism, growth and photosynthe sis were found, but all were inconclusive. Some images show ice, which Soffen said was significant because life forms are basically made of water, not just carbon. Soffen said approximately 42,000 me teorites have landed on Earth. Of them, only 12 are known to be from Mars. They are being studied for existing dead bacte ria at the space center in Houston. “Most come from the asteroid belt,” Soffen said. “A couple come from the moon, but these came from Mars.” Soffen said the meteorite they found bacteria on is about 4 billion years old. The Pathfinder mission, a recently launched probe headed for Mars to in vestigate these new findings, was also dis cussed. It is expected to land on Mars on July 4, 1997. A new feature on this probe is air bags Wednesday, March 19, 1997 on Mars r for landing. The bags will inflate and cause the probe to bounce a mile high, Soffen said, because of the planet’s low force of gravity. Scientists at NASA have decided to plan other missions to Mars in two years with a goal of obtaining rock samples. A human mission is not possible, Soffen said, because the amount of fuel to get home is impossible to carry. He said researchers are working with Texas A&M engineering students to study drilling through the permafrost ground on Mars. Dan Brooks, a wildlife and fisheries sci ences graduate student, said this new in formation deals with his field of study. “Biology is the study of life,” Brooks said, “and, being a biologist, I am interested in the possibility of life on other planets.” See Mars, Page 5 legents to consider application fee hike By Kathleen Strickland The Battalion Beginning next year, students vho wish to apply to Texas A&M may Part two in a series of four. ace an increased application fee. The proposal to ncrease the fee from 535 to $50 will go be- brethe Board of Re lents for approval Text week. Danny Parker, assistant provost for Academic Af- airs, attributes the increase to the opwood case. "Thenumber of utoniafic accep- ances has been ijuced,” he said. ’During the review Icess of the ap plications submitted to the Univer- Jitywe are going to have to go into anymore individual reviews.” As the number of individual re news increases, more staff mem- 'erswill be hired to assist in the re- iewprocess, he said. Gary Engelgau, executive direc- iorof admissions and records, said are factors will be considered to insure an adequate review. “The costs of the admission tocess will increase as we consid- tfactors beyond straight acade- ics," Engelgau said. “We will need give consideration to students’ igh school course work, their class ink and ACT and SAT scores.” The money obtained from the e goes directly to support ad- issions activities and is limited use in that department. Parker id funds provided by the state not adequately cover the costs “The costs of the admission process will increase as we consider factors beyond straight academics.” Gary Engelgau Executive director of admissions and records of the office. “The fee does produce a substan tial amount of money, but quite a bit goes into the actual salaries of people involved in the application process,” Parker said. “This is the main reason for the increase.” Last year, the admissions office received about | 20,000 undergradu ate applications. “We received ap- ■ proximately 16,000 freshman applica- j tions. Out of those, | about 13,000 to 14,000 showed cre dentials that would ! make them eligible I for acceptance,” En gelgau said. “We ac cepted 10,000 to 11,000 students, and the freshman class had a little over 6,300 students.” Laurent Therivel, vice president for finance in Student Government and a senior management and marketing major, said the fee was originally used as a “weed-out fee.” “The application fee started off strictly as a deterrent for high school students who wanted to apply to 60 different universities just to see which ones they would get accepted to,” Therivel said. “It has evolved into a source of in come for the people who review the applications.” Students may still apply to receive a waiver from the fee, if they can demonstrate financial need and have a specific request from their high school or financial aid office. This will be the second time the fee has been raised to increase revenue. If approved, the new rate will go into effect for applications submit ted for the spring of 1998. Magazine article applauds Texas A&M By Melissa Nunnery and Laura Oliveira The Battalion Texas Monthly’s April cover story named Texas A&M the best public university in the state be cause A&M “put education ahead of football, admitted more women than men and learned the difference between good tradi tions and bad ones.” The article noted changes at A&M over the years that have positively affected the Universi ty’s reputation. A&M President Ray Bowen said the reporter probably found A&M interesting. He said the Universi ty has gained attention for facul ty members’ accomplishments and success with programs such as the “Capturing the Spirit” en dowment campaign. “[They were] interested in the idea that A&M has turned itself into a great university,” Bowen said. Lane Stephenson, deputy direc tor of University Relations, escorted the Texas Monthly reporter, Paul Burka, around campus. He said Bur- ka became interested in A&M when the University was ranked one of the top 50 schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. “I tip my hat to Mr. Burka,” Stephenson said. “He did a mag nificent job researching and talked to a number of people.” Bowen also said the reporter did a good job observing and writing about A&M. “My impression is that he (Bur ka) was very impressed by the stu dents he met,” Bowen said. A&M has been featured in three magazines in the last year, and Stephenson said the publicity proves that the University is finally receiving the recognition it deserves. See Magazine, Page 5 c V W Vah'olT- Pg Help line offers counseling to students 24 hours a day Volunteers handle variety of situations over the phone JE-UF> c , *69 * Cyi. w . Ironic ignWon cars Jle speed, set tif'W rther key Ignition H* '69* L ng ot i adjust most cars 6 extra) WHEEL ALIGNMENT *39 9S most cars .Oft Set >8 only By Kevin Cummings The Battalion The student counseling help line offers an open ear and a helping hand to students in need. Trained volunteer counselors man phones 24 lours a day to help troubled students through the problems college life can sometimes present. Five isychologists on a rotating schedule are always avail able to help with more serious calls, such as suicide. The 43 student volunteers undergo 40 to 45 hours of intensive training to learn how to deal with the types of problems they will encounter. Susan Vavra, help line coordinator, said the counselors are trained extensively, because they must be prepared for a variety of issues. “We train our student helpers on anything a col lege student may need help with,” she said. Calls to the help line include questions about romantic relationships, academic problems, drug abuse and sexuality. “We never know what kind of call we are going to get,” Vavra said. “It could be anything from homesick freshmen to students contemplating suicide.” Volunteers receive, on average, two to five calls anight. The most common type of problem the help line deals with is romantic relationships, with loneliness and depression being the second-most frequent topic. Vavra said the help line provides an important service to the students of A&M, and can be helpful to young students who are adjusting to college life. “A university of this size needs a help line,” she said, “particularly for incoming freshmen who may be overwhelmed by their first time away from home.” A volunteer, who declined to be identified, said all it takes to work on the help line is a sympa thetic ear. “We (volunteers) are here to listen,” she said. “A lot of times it helps for a student to talk out their problems, and if they do need more help we can refer them to a psychologist.” She said working as a volunteer is a rewarding experience. “It just feels good to know that we might be re ally helping someone,” she said. “There are stu dents who feel that they have nobody else to talk to, and we can be there for them.” Another volunteer, who also chose to remain anonymous, is working the help line for the sec ond year. She said volunteering allows students to spend time helping others. “It’s so easy, especially in college, to get caught up in our own lives,” she said. “I think it’s good to take a step back and help others in any way we can.” White House seeks new CIA chief WASHINGTON (AP) — Reeling from Anthony Lake’s sudden with drawal, the White House consid ered a quick move Tuesday to name acting CIA Director George Tenet as a substitute nominee to head the nation’s spy agency. Senior White House officials, Re publican senators and even Lake himself advanced Tenet’s name as a non-controversial way to bring a new chief to a CIA that has been without a confirmed director since early December. Other names were on President Clinton’s short list, but Tenet was the only candidate un dergoing a final White House re view. Barring a snag, Tenet could be nominated as early as Wednesday. “I have a lot of respect for him. We believe he’s capable,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the man who orchestrated much of the criticism of Lake that led to his withdrawing his name Monday night. Shelby indicated the com mittee could move quickly on a Tenet nomination — in sharp con trast to the drawn-out considera tion of Lake’s nomination. White House press secretary Mike McCurry said Clinton wanted to move quickly but was not ready Tuesday to fill the vacancy left by the departure in last year’s post-election shuffle of John Deutch. Senior White House officials who spoke anony mously said Clinton’s staff was push ing Tenet’s candidacy in private meetings with the president. In an unsolicited appraisal, Mc Curry told reporters that the front running Tenet “does a spectacular job and has a great reputation in side the agency. I think he’s very well-liked on the Hill.” Without mentioning Tenet by name, Clinton suggested his list was down to one name. “I would ask you to respect the fact that we have to do some review of our own before we send a name up there,” Clinton told reporters. “It’s re ally not fair to put someone out on the line on this until we know that the president is in fact determined to nominate him or her.” Other Republicans echoed Shel by’s favorable comments toward Tenet. And after the ordeal experi enced by Lake, White House offi cials were listening carefully. “Barring something I don’t know about, he looks like he’d be a good choice,” said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. Tenet, unlike Lake, has been pre viously confirmed by the Senate. In 1995 the Senate confirmed him as deputy CIA director, the agency’s No. 2 post, after Tenet got a unani mous endorsement from the Intel ligence Committee. If Clinton chose Tenet, it would not be the first time he had selected a well-liked deputy after the failure of a controversial national security nomination. In 1994 after Adm. Bobby Inman dropped out of the running for defense secretary, Clin ton chose Deputy Defense Secre tary William Perry and the Senate quickly confirmed him. Tenet started out in Washing ton on the staff of the late Sen. John Heinz, R-Pa., and moved from there to the staff of the Intel ligence Committee where he served as staff director for four years. During Clinton’s first term, Tenet served on Lake’s National Security Council staff as principal intelligence adviser. The Battalion INSIDETODAY SH0HT ACAIN? The b Aggie Baseball Team lost to Lamar, 5-4, in 9 10 innings last night. I Sports, Page 7 1 What's Up Page 5 Toons Page 6 State Page 10