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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
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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