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lume 103 • Issue 135 • 10 Pages
The Batt Online: http:// bat-web.tamu.edu
Wednesday, April 23, 1997
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Spanning Generations
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Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
Paige Schroeder, a sixth-grader at Willow Branch Intermediate School, cleans away excess glue used in constructing the 25-foot-long bridge be
fore the dedication ceremony. Texas A&M's Department of Geology and Geophysics worked with the students to complete the project.
iixth graders build 6,000-straw bridge
COfll'
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
The Battalion
o bridge the gap between Texas A&M
and the surrounding community, 16 lo
cal sixth-graders have literally built a 25-
foot, 4-inch bridge — out of drinking straws.
TheGluin Stros Causeway, made of approxi-
tately 6,000 straws, was dedicated last night
luring a ceremony at Willow
'ranch Intermediate School
hCollege Station.
In September, A&M’s De
partment of Geology and
eophysics began working
ithWillow Branch students
:o complete the project.
At that time, Willow
ranch’s Structure Club
brmed a mock company
ailed We Build Big Struc-
ures Inc.
Guided by Willow
branch’s enrichment coordinator, Lisa Burns,
ind A&M’s geology department, the students
3uilt a truss bridge out of drinking straws held
together with glue and poster board.
Burns, the project manager for WBBS Inc.
said the students worked hard on the project.
“We’re all excited that the students had the
opportunity to combine their special inter
ests with a mentor and turn it into a 25-foot-
long truss bridge,” Burns said.
Bums works with students in the enrichment
program to help them (discover their special inter
ests and goals.
“Part of enrichment is
pairing students with
mentors to expand on
their special interests,”
she said.
Lloyd Morris, chief of field
operations for the Depart
ment of Geology and Geo
physics and project superin
tendent, guided the students
through the constmction
and certified the final design.
“We have extrapolated
this into a symbolic bridging of the gap between
A&M and community schools,” Morris said.
Morris stressed the importance of contribut-
“ We have extrapolated
this into a symbolic
bridging of the gap
between A&M and
community schools.”
Lloyd Morris
Project superintendent
ing to the next generation.
“I think it’s important that students who
graduate and get into careers find a way to
get to the schools and pass (knowledge) on
to the students — this gets them excited and
[they want to] do the same thing,” he said.
The bridge stands 16 feet above the school’s
atrium at the intersection of the school’s four
main hallways.
The students of WBBS Inc. have worked
about 460 hours since October, with each stu
dent working for about 30 hours.
One of the student engineers on the project
was Stephanie McCasland. She said teamwork
was the key to success in the project.
“We all had to jig things together,” McCasland
said. “We all had separate pieces of the bridge to
build, and then we had to put them together."
Phil Rabinowitz, head of the Department
of Geology and Geophysics, attended Tues
day’s ceremony.
“It is important to our department to help ed
ucate Texans of all ages about geology and geo
physics,” he said. “We want to show everyone
that we are committed to ‘bridging the gap’ be
tween the community and the University.”
ity evaluates Northgate hotel proposal
By Benjamin Cheng
The Battalion
"or two years, the City of College
ion has been in the process of re
ping proposals for a full-service ho
ld convention center, with the
igate area as a possible location.
>n April 4, the College Station City
mcil rejected six proposals and
led for new proposals to be sub
led by May 16. A city council res-
Jtion said the reasons for starting
process again were to gather
>re information and to allow more
ieto evaluate proposals.
Tom Brymer, College Station as
sistant manager, said John Q. Ham
mons Hotels initiated the proposal
process two years ago when they
identified College Station as a market
for a new hotel.
Hammons Hotels’ proposal,
which was rejected by the city coun
cil, called for construction of a hotel
in the Northgate mud lot.
Skip Noe, College Station city man
ager, said the new hotel, which is part
of the Northgate Revitalization Plan,
would be a valuable asset to the city.
“It would help anchor down the
east end of Northgate,” he said.
Noe said Texas A&M’s convention
facilities do not fully meet the needs
of the community. He said the city is
studying the possibility of creating
additional parking spaces in North-
gate to alleviate the possibility of a
parking problem stemming from the
construction of a new hotel.
Emilia Wright, manager of sched
uling and services at the University
Center Complex, said the new hotel
will not affect the Memorial Student
Center hotel because the complex’s
facilities are not advertised and the
prices are moderate.
“One of the things over there (at
Northgate), is that there’s no room for
expansion,” Wright said.
Steven Hodge, director of spe
cial events facilities for A&M, said
there is enough demand to pro
vide the new hotel, the MSC, the
new Reed Arena and the Bush
Conference Center with business.
Hodge said Reed Arena will host
large events such as concerts and
ice shows and the Bush Confer
ence Center will host primarily
academic functions.
Reed Arena will open in Spring
1998 and the Bush Conference Cen
ter will open this fall.
eruvian soldiers storm mansion, rescue hostages
LIMA, Peru (AP) — In a bloody, lightning as-
ilt, Peruvian troops stormed the Japanese am-
sador’s mansion Tuesday, rescued 71
tages and ended a four-month standoff with
ist guerrillas.
One captive, Supreme Court Justice Carlos
sti, and two soldiers were killed, along with
|14 rebels, including leader Nestor Cerpa, Pres
et Alberto Fujimori said.
He said 25 other captives were injured in the
fire and explosions that rocked the com-
nd, only two seriously—Peru’s foreign min-
r, Francisco Tudela, and another Supreme
jurt justice, both suffering gunshot wounds,
f I didn’t waver for a single minute in giving the
er for this rescue operation,” said the presi-
t, who throughout the crisis adamantly re
ted the guerrillas’ demand that jailed com-
les be freed in exchange for the captive
Pflomats and businessmen.
■The operation ended an international ordeal
Bt had transfixed two nations and focused
S|bal attention on a little-known leftist rebel
up, Tupac Amaru, which has waged guerrilla
i here since 1984.
In Tokyo, Japan’s prime minister called it a
plendid rescue,” but also said it was “regret-
pie" that Peru had not forewarned his govern-
rpcrM IP P eruvian soldiers stormed the rebel-held Japanese ambassador’s residence Tuesday,
ICoLrUU releasing the 72 hostages held by the Tupac Amaru rebels since Dec. 17.
1. Peruvian ■ 2. Several
troops enter ■ explosions
through the ■ follow
front door I
GARAGE
3. Soldiers begin
pulling hostages
from the
compound roof
Tent
[
10-FOOT-HIGH ELECTRICAL
FENCE ATOP A 15-FOOT-HIGH
CONCRETE WALL
I
Dining room
living
ROOM
Drawing is schematic
Japanese
AMBASSADOR’S
RESIDENCE
ment of the surprise, broad-daylight attack.
Fujimori told reporters late Tuesday that
intelligence information convinced him it was
an ideal time to end the impasse by force. He
gave no details.
The 140-man military-police assault team
struck at about 3:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. EDT),
pouring through the compound’s front gate,
then blasting open the mansion’s front door.
Others attacked from the rear, and a third unit
climbed to the rooftop and shepherded
hostages down.
See Hostages, Page 10
A&M team chosen to
fly on NASA aircraft
Nuclear engineering
students took part in
a project involving
reduced gravity.
By Kathleen Strickland
The Battalion
A team of six senior nuclear en
gineering students from Texas
A&M and a CNN news anchor
were selected to fly on NASA’s KC-
135 reduced gravity aircraft.
The KC-135 aircraft climbs
steeply into the atmosphere and
then dives to create about 25 sec
onds of zero-gravity. This process
is repeated 40 times during a
three-hour flight.
The A&M group was one of 23
teams chosen to be a part of the
1997 NASA Reduced Gravity Stu
dent Flight Opportunities Pro
gram, a NASA-funded project di
rected by the Texas Space Grant
Consortium. The team conducted
experiments involving a two-
phase flow separator designed for
use in microgravity.
Burke Fort, director of the Texas
Space Grant Consortium, said he
hopes the program will become an
annual event.
“This is the first time that we have
done this program on a national
scale,” Fort said. “This was like a pilot
program for future years.”
The program was entirely stu
dent-generated. Students were re
sponsible for the proposals, ex
periments and funds.
Dr. Frederick Best, associate
professor of nuclear engineering
and director of the Center for
Space Power in the Texas Engi
neering Experiment Station, was
chosen by the group to serve as its
faculty adviser.
“This is a very exciting opportuni
ty for the students,” Best said. “They
had to write the proposal to become
involved and find the funding to
build the experiment. They raised
about $10,000 for the design, fabri
cation and construction of the ex
periment as well as the cost of living
and traveling to the Johnson Space
Center in Houston.”
Jimmy Fuller, one of the group
members, said the feeling of being
at zero gravity was indescribable
and sometimes nauseating.
“It was like the world’s biggest
roller coaster,” Fuller said. “Actual
ly, saying it was like a roller coast
er doesn’t even come close.”
He said he also was excited about
the results the group achieved.
“Overall, we were pretty success
ful,” Fuller said. “We want to try to
change [things] up a little and submit
a new proposal next year.”
Although the flight experiences
ended for the team last week, the
program will continue with' edu
cational outreach to local grade
schools and high schools.
“The principal goal of the pro
gram was to create outstanding
educational experiences for stu
dents,” Fort said. “They are also re
quired to translate what they have
learned into outreach materials
that will encourage young chil
dren to become interested in sci
ence, engineering, and possibly
the space program.”
Group members included leader
Shannon Bragg, Daniel Dorsey,
Michael Ellis, Jimmy Fuller, Elizabeth
King and DeLeah Lockridge. The
journalist the group chose to accom
pany them was CNN anchor Miles
O’Brien, host of “Science and Tech-
nologyWeek.” t
The team will appear on CNN’s
“Science and Technology Week”
Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sunday at
3 p.m. and will be on CNN’s “Sat
urday Morning” this weekend at 6
and 9.
Rec Center's hours will
accommodate students
By Joey Jeanette Schlueter
The Battalion
Students will be allowed to use
the Student Recreation Center
over the break between the spring
and summer semesters.
Beginning the day after gradu
ation, May 9, students enrolled for
Spring 1997 can use the Rec Cen
ter until May 30. Students prereg
istered for the summer can begin
using it May 8th.
Mike Waldron, student devel
opment specialist for Recreation
al Sports, said there are a number
of students who want to work out
during the break.
“We’re here, we’re open, and the
Rec Center is for the students,”
Waldron said.
He said there are advantages for
students who want to work out
over the break and the summer.
“The facilities are not over
crowded, and there is more equip
ment available, especially in the
weight room,” he said.
The Rec Center is a great place to
socialize, Waldron added, and people
meet others there all the time.
The Read Building and G. Rollie
White will be closed over the
break. They will reopen when
classes resume in the summer.
Justin Paloza, a senior health
and kinesiology major, said he
plans to spend much of his time
over the break at the Rec Center.
“I am glad to have something to
do until summer school starts,”
Paloza said.
“There is a lot at the Rec Center
that will entertain me. I can also
work on my abs.”
Kara Miller, a freshman microbi-
Dpf* CVriter
Summer Hours
May 9th through June 1
Monday - Friday 6 a.m. • 9 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
June 2 through August 14
Monday - Friday 6 a.m. - Midnight
Saturday 8 a.m. Midnight
Sunday 10 a.m. - Midnight
July 4th
8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Stew Milne, The Battalion
ology major, said she was worried the
Rec Center would not be open.
“I don’t know what I would do if
the Rec Center closed,” Miller said.
“This is the perfect time for me to
get my figure back.”
The Rec Center offers a snack
bar and quiet area for students
who want to study or relax after a
hard workout.
Hours for the break between
the spring and summer semesters
are Monday - Friday 6 a.m. to 9
p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 11
a.m. to 9 p.m.
Summer school begins June 2
and ends August 14, and the Rec
Center will be open from 6 a.m. to
midnight Monday through Friday,
from 8 a.m. to midnight on Satur
day and from 10 a.m. to midnight
on Sunday.
The Rec Center also will be
open during Spring 1997 finals.
The Battalion
GEARING UP: Five L
members of Pi Kappa 1
Phi fraternity will trek 1
across Florida on
bikes to raise money
for disabilities.
Aggielife, Page 3 1
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