The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 15, 1997, Image 1
ober 14,: s A & M University to go totht • borrow $oi i right now; will pay tk Jars ago k ave there. 1|| 170 million hlCl4 TH YEAR • ISSUE 33 • 10 PACES dosen't wcf four level, ned it." ^XM 7S [ 75 a-" J 46 r x j ir? TODAY TOMORROW See extended forecast. Page 2. COLLEGE STATION • TX WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 15 • 1997 Manicure Pedicure >25.00 EFILL .12.00 ull Set !.00 OFF 'H COUPON ar price $25.00) itt-Putt tourney .nefits charity he Department of Student Life idlthe Department of Athletics will oonsor a miniature-golf game to 9nefit the State Employees’ Chari- ible Campaign. The tournament egins at 11 a.m. today at Putt-Putt ahnes in College Station, fifteen putters from each depart- lent will play a round of putt-putt golf iKommentary by Dave South, “The nice of the Texas Aggies.” Pledges can be made per stroke, sr par, per ace or as a one-time ledge for a team. practice to be n Kansas City ( Midnight yell practice will be Fri- ay at the Overland Park Marriot in ansas City, Kan. f|The football game between »xas A&M and Kansas State Uni- srsity will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (Manhattan, Kansas. historic cemetery vandalized Sunday MMACOGDOCHES (AP) — Police ire investigating the vandalism of .5 tombstones, some nearly 100 ears old, in the historic downtown Oak Grove Cemetery. Igpolice Sgt. Steve Cooper said a [roundskeeper discovered the dam- ige Monday morning, but police be- ieve it occurred Sunday night. ■The city-maintained cemetery is tot the oldest in Nacogdoches Jounty, but it contains the remains tifleveral noted Texans, including oir signers of the Texas Declara- ion of Independence: Thomas Jef- erson Rusk, Charles S. Taylor, .Villiam S. Clark and John S. Roberts. Rusk also was one of exas’ first two U.S. senators. ■ Laren trial to be ved to Alpine RT DAVIS (AP) — Republic of exas leader Richard McLaren will tried in Alpine on charges stem- Igfrom the separatist group’s rntain standoff with authorities. _e Kenneth DeHart said liesday he has entered a change >f venue order for the trial of Jrctieslfi" McLaren and fellow group member lobert Otto. The trial originally was .cheduled to take place 20 miles iprth in Fort Davis. BDeHart entered the motion re vesting the move but was forced oiflelay his ruling because McLaren had asked to have the Jdge removed from the case. ■Judge Karl Prohl of Kerrville de- lied McLaren’s motion following a earing Monday in Fort Davis, 175 niles southeast of El Paso. ■DeHart said either McLaren and )tto, who also goes by “White Ea- [le; or two other group members, r^gg and Karen Paulson, will go -npial Oct. 27. lifestyles Women and Bonfire: Female students prove they can do more than run the snack shack. See Page 3 sports “Yunter Shane Lechler has Sained recognition at a Josition often unnoticed. r. Lon ■ mm See Page 7 opinion -emons: Aggie phobia toward licks prevents students from ing to know each other. See Page 9 online ttp://bat-web.tamti.edu Hook up with state and lational news through The Mre, AP’s 24-hour online lews service. Professor stresses roots of atheism By Mandy Cater Staff writer A psychology professor from New York University said last night at a Veritas Forum lecture atheism is a result of personal psy chological barriers. Dr. Paul Vitz, author of Psychology is Re ligion: The Cult of Self-Worship, said true atheism is a direct display of psychologi cal conflict. Vitz, who calls himself a “reconvert to Chris tianity,” was an atheist for about 20 years. Vitz said like that of most skeptical athe ists, his atheism was a combination of gener al Western socialization, the need to fit into the secular academic community and simple personal convenience. “It is quite inconvenient to be a believer in today’s secular and neo-pagan world,” he said. “Because of social needs to assimilate, atheism was the best policy.” Vitz said academics, especially psycholo gy, sees a belief in God based upon irrational needs and desires. Vitz said understanding people’s belief in religion has been critical to psychology since its inception. But the same concepts apply to non-believers, he said. “Psychological concepts used to interpret religion are double-edged swords that can also be used to interpret atheism,” Vitz said. Vitz’s theory of atheism’s psychological roots is a theory he calls the “defective fa ther” hypothesis. Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanaly sis, wrote, “Youthful persons lose religious “Because of social needs to assimilate, atheism was the best policy.” DR. PAUL VITZ AUTHOR OF PSYCHOLOGY IS RELIGION beliefs as soon as the authority of the father breaks down.” Vitz expanded on Freud’s theory, and said Bird’s eye view having a weak, abusive or absent father can be a psychological explanation for intense atheism. He said when earthly fathers fail their children, this often influences a belief in a heavenly deity. Vitz said many people are “blessed with Christian upbringings and socioeconomic sit uations that lend easily to a belief in God.” Others, however, have more serious psy chological barriers to belief, Vitz said. , Despite these barriers, Vitz said, “Any per son can choose to move toward God at any time in his or her life.” The Veritas Forum was started at Harvard University in 1992 to search for truth. Tues day night’s lecture was the final installment of the 1997 Veritas Forum at Texas A&M. Journal showcases research DEREK DEMERE/The Battalion Todd Moore, a sports management graduate student, films the Texas A&M Football Team’s practice Tuesday. Moore films practices and games every day for the Athletic Department Video Lab. The tapes are prepared for the coordinators to view immediately following practices. FFA, 4-H prepare student leaders National agriculture groups give training in communication skills By Rachel Dawley Staff writer The National FFA Organization and 4-H, two agricultural youth organizations, have helped train Texas A&M st udent leaders before they arrive on campus. Twelve A&M student body presidents have held arda, state or national leadership positions in these groups, including Brooke Leslie, Toby Boenig, Board of Regents mem ber Fred McClure and Curtis Childers. Childers, the 1997-98 student body presi dent and a senior agricultural development major, served as national FFA president in 1993-94. “The FFA has a rich tradition of devel oping leadership by putting students in real positions of leadership,” Childers said. “You can’t compare the benefit of putting people in these roles — that’s what the FFA does so well.” Corey Rosenbusch, the 1996-97 national FFA president, is a member of the Class of ’00 and an agricultural development major. Rosenbusch will return to A&M in the spring after his term as president. Dr. Joe Townsend, associate dean for student development in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Class of ’67, said agriculture youth organizations also provide more than a million dollars each year for scholarships. He said scholarships give students time to pursue leadership positions at A&M because the students do not have to work during school. Townsend said the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has benefited from the lead ers the FFA and 4-H have produced. “The kids that come in to our program from the FFA and 4-H organizations already have a headstart over other students,” Townsend said. “A lot of these students have traveled around the U.S. and spoken to groups of 30,000 peo ple. We build upon progress and traits they have already developed through youth leader ship training programs.” Former members of the FFA and 4-H organi zations have leadership positions in the Corps of Cadets, the Student Government Association, MSC committees, Aggie Bonfire, Aggie athletic teams and other campus organizations. Jeremiah Williams, executive council vice president of student relations and a senior agricultural economics major, said the FFA helped him develop communication skills he uses as a campus leader. “The FFA organization made a remarkable difference in the way I interact with people by developing my interpersonal skills,” Williams said. “The leadership positions I had in this or ganization created an environment con ducive for building my communication skills.” Please see Leaders on Page 6. By Karie Fehler Staff writer The Texas A&M Undergraduate Jour nal of Science offers students the oppor tunity to publish their research and learn how to write about science. The first issue, which was published in May 1997, featured physical, social, bio logical and behavioral sciences and engi neering research. Different aspects of the history and philosophy of science are included in the journal, as are book reviews and scientif ic literature reviews. Jason Moore, senior advising editor for the journal and a journalism graduate student, said the journal wants to include as many students as possible. “The journal isresearch-oriented, but we offer other publishing opportunities,” he said. ‘Anybody can look up a topic they are interested in, review the scientific literature available for that topic, come up with a con sensus from the articles and publish it in the journal. We even publish poetry.” Moore, who created the journal, said A&M is one of the first universities in the na tion to showcase undergraduate research. “It is also a great recruiting tool for A&M,” he said. “The journal demon strates the great research we do here at Texas A&M.” Dr. Ed Funkhouser, associate director for the honors program and academic scholarships and a biochemistry profes sor, said the Undergraduate Journal of Science is a tremendous recruiting tool that extends the tradition of quality stu dent-run organizations at A&M. “This journal allows students to see that the research students do at Texas A&M is real and not done in a cookbook lab,” he said. “This research is a real con tribution and helps our reputation as a major research institution.” Rene Elms, editor in chief of the journal and a senior biochemistry and genetics major, said the journal is building its staff and expanding its goals for the future. “We currently have 18 staff members and have openings for editor and man agerial positions,” she said. “Down the road we are considering branching out to other colleges within the A&M sys tem and other universities in Texas and the U.S.” Elms said both science and non-sci ence students can benefit from writing for the journal and reading it. Please see Journal on Page 6. Bookstore opens with celebration of Texas authors By Joey Jeanette Schlueter Staff writer A celebration honored the Texas A&M University Press, ZA its authors and A&M faculty last night at a special J- Aopening of the Barnes & Noble bookstore. The event featured books from Texas A&M authors. Authors who read excerpts from their books included Leon Hale, author of Home Spun and a columnist for the Houston Chronicle; Sylvia Grider and Lou Rodenberger, editors of Texas Women Writers; Paul Ruffin, author of The Man Who Would be God; and Fran Vick, director of the University of North Texas Press, who read from her fa ther’s book Over There. The featured books were sold at the event. A portion of the proceeds from sales during the event will be donated to First Book, a national nonprofit organization commit ted to giving children the opportunity to read. Noel Parsons, editor in chief of University Press, said the event focuses on the consortium of the Press. He said the University Press will distribute books to Barnes & Noble. Gabe Briseno, operations manager for Barnes & Noble, said the bookstore will have a permanent section for Uni versity Press books from A&M. “When Barnes & Noble comes to a town, they tailor their store to the community,” Briseno said. “That in cludes the students, A&M faculty and staff and commu nity members.” College Station Mayor Lynn Mcllhaney attended the event to welcome Melissa Baker, the store manager for Barnes & Nobles. Briseno said he wants the bookstore to be a place where students and faculty can enjoy the cafe, study and read. Blake Clark, trade book manager for the MSC bookstore, said Barnes & Noble owns the MSC bookstore. He said the two stores offer a balance of books. “The new Barnes & Noble store offers a wide range [of books] for the community,” Clark said, “and we offer stuff that they cannot get such as specialty items.” RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion Leon Hale, a Houston Chronicle columnist signs his book, Home Spun, published by the Texas A&M University Press.