/
j The Battalion
Et Cetera
Wednesday •January21,
Signal placement
to cause delays
Motorists traveling through the in
tersection at Texas Avenue and
George Bush Drive can expect delays
early Thursday morning because of
construction.
Beginning midnight Thursday, the
permanent signal-mast arms at the
intersection will be placed in their fi
nal positions. A College Station po
lice officer will help direct traffic while
the mast arms are being placed.
The work should be completed by
6 a.m. Thursday.
“This work is being performed in off-
hours because of the severe disruption
it would cause during normal work
hours,” said Pat Williams, Texas De
partment of Transportation’s area en
gineer in Bryan. “Duringthe operation,
the contractor will be in the middle of
the intersection and affecting traffic
movement in all directions.”
Seats open for
senator positions
The University Student Senate
has five open seats and is taking ap
plications for the seats.
There are three off-campus sena
tor seats, one business senator seat
and one liberal arts seat open.
Applications are due on Jan. 30
and can be picked up in the Student
Government office by room 109 in
the Koldus building.
Oprah cracks up
Texas courtroom
AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — Oprah
Winfrey, facing a multimillion-dollar
lawsuit filed by Texas cattlemen,
broke up the courtroom Tuesday by
jokingly glaring at a potential juror
who said she didn’t always enjoy her
talk show.
U.S. District Judge Mary Lou
Robinson excused nine people during
the morning session of jury selection,
seven because of their connections
to the cattle industry and two be
cause they said they like Winfrey.
Winfrey was greeted with cheers
when she left the courthouse on a
lunch break.
Industry giants click to offer faster Internet servit
Cooperation quenches consumers’ continual need for speed with asymmetrical digital subscriber!:
NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the biggest
players in the computer and telephone in
dustries are teaming up to offer Internet ac
cess so blindingly fast that clicking through
Web pages could be as easy as flipping
through a book.
Some of the phone companies hope to of
fer the service, which would work over ordi
nary home telephone lines, early this year.
Computer users would have to get new
modems—for about $200 — but not new PCs.
Microsoft Corp., Compaq Computer and
Intel Corp., along with the nation’s five re
gional telephone companies, are developing
a single national standard for the service,
which is known as asymmetrical digital sub
scriber line, or ADSL.
ADSL currently is available in a few loca
tions around the country, but the equipment
used in one place is not necessarily compat
ible with the hardware used elsewhere.
ADSL would be cheaper and easier to in
stall than the two best-known means of get
ting high-speed data into the home — spe
cialized telephone lines and cable modems,
which use the heavy coaxial cable that con
nects to your TV set.
Also, ADSL would allow people to talk on
the phone while their computer is connected
to the Internet via the same line — something
that can’t be done now.
The agreement on technical standards is
to be announced next week at the ComNet
trade show in Washington.
With the use of these new modems, the
World Wide Wait would evaporate. ADSL
modems would let consumers browse the
Web at 1.5 million bits per second, or bps.
That’s 30 times faster than the fastest
modems now commonly available.
ADSL is also a continuous connection:
Your computer would be in constant touch
with the Internet. You wouldn’t have to use
your computer’s dialer program to call Amer
ica Online or some other Internet service.
The new standard is an “exciting develop
ment” for home Internet access, said Ann
Jansen, spokesperson for ADSL Forum, a group
of companies that make products for the vari
ous ADSL standards now in limited use.
“I’m the perfect person as to who they’re
after,” she said. She has a home business and
wanted faster access. Installing a specialized
high-speed line was too complicated, so she
decided to wait for ADSL.
“Now we’re seeing the demand for people
like me — small office, home office — who
need bandwidth. The cry for bandwidth is
huge,” she said.
Bandwidth is a measure of how much
data can be stuffed through the wires and
cables of the country’s telecommunications
networks. ADSL has a theoretical upper
limit of 8 million bps. enough to transmit
the complete works of Shakespeare in five
seconds.
Users could use the ADSL connection to
link to any Internet service provider they
choose. Currently, most charge about $20 a
month for unlimited access. ADSlI
would entail an additional charge®
phone bill: U SWest, for example, ck.:
a month for its ADSL service availablt|
in Phoenix.
ADSL looks like a ver\'strong cor
to cable modems because it doesncf
any complicated setup and onlyail
investment is needed by the telec.\
cations companies.
()able systems, in contrast, nee.
vestments for upgrades beforeb
are capable of carrying two-wayac
cations. So far, Internet accessvi;
available in only about 10 percei
country. In addition, cable moden
to $500.
Ameritech and GTE Comma
Corp. plan to offer the new stand
limited basis early this year,
peels to do so during the second
and SBC<'.ommunicationsisain
middle of the year.
Tomb of the Unknowns
DNA tests may solve 26-year-old question
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The Viet
nam veteran in the Tomb of the Un
knowns may be known after all.
Evidence that the Pentagon says it
is carefully examining suggests the
scant remains buried beneath a mar
ble slab at Arlington National Ceme
tery may belong to Air Force 1st Lt.
Michael J. Blassie of St. Louis, whose
A-37 attack plane was shot down over
South Vietnam in May 1972.
The military is faced with the un
pleasant prospect of digging up the
remains to conduct DNA testing —
and explaining why officials discard
ed records that may have linked the
remains to the downed pilot.
“The gravesite would have to be
disrupted if there were any action tak
en regarding this set of remains,”
Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday, a
Pentagon spokesperson, said Tues
day. “We certainly have an obligation
to family members of those individu-
presents
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Aggie 96 ‘Associated Publishing • College Station Conference Center
• Creative Planners • Lowes • Memoir Photography • The Castle Inn
• Vogue Hair Salon • Wenonah’s Pantry • WTAW
Tiffany Inbody, Editor in Chief
Helen Clancy, News Editor
Brad Graeber, Visual Arts Editor
Robert Smith, City Editor
Matt Weber, Night News Editor
Jeremy Furtick, Sports Editor
James Francis, Aggielife Editor
Mandy Cater, Opinion Editor
Ryan Rogers, Photo Editor
Chris Huffines, Radio Producer
Sarah Goldston, Radio Producer
Dusty Moer, Web Editor
Staff Members
City- Colleen Kavanagh, Amanda Smith, Rachel
Dawley, Stacey Becks, Stephanie Dosher, Jeremy
Magnum, Susan Atchison, Kelly Hackworth, Lyndsay
Nantz, Jennifer Wilson & Julietta Amanda Jordan.
Science - Jill Reed.
Sports - Assistant Editor: Jeff Webb; Michael
Ferguson, Chris Ferrell, Travis Harsch, Robert
Hollier, Al Lazarus, Colby Martin, Aaron Meier,
Katie Mish, Philip Peter, Jeff Schmidt & Michael
Taglienti.
Aggielife - Marium Mohiuddin, Rhonda Reinhart,
Chris Martin, Leah Templeton, Travis Hopper, April
Towery, Brandi Ballard, Travis Irby & Stephen Wells.
Opinion - Len Calloway, Adam Collette, Jesse
Czelusta, Donny Ferguson, Kendall Kelly, Caleb
McDaniel, Beverly Mireles, Manisha Parekh,
Stewart Patton, Mickey Saloma, Joe Schumacher,
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M Univeisity in the Division of Student Publications, a unit of the
Department of Journalism. News offices are in 013 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom phone: 845-3313; Fax: 845-2647; E-mail:
batt@unlx.tamu.edu; Website: http://battalion.tamu.edu
Advertising Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display adver
tising, call 845-2696. For classified advertising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2678.
Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entities each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. Mail subscriptions are
$60 per school year. $30 for the fall or spring semester and $17.50 for the summer. To charge by credit card, call 845-2611.
The Batiujoh (ISSN #1055-4726) Is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during
the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M Univeisity. Second dass postage paid at College Station.TX 77840.
Postmaster: Send address changes to The Battalion, 015 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M Univeisity, College Station.TX 77843-1111.
Michelle Voss, Frank Stanford & Jennifer Jones.
Night News - Joyce Bauer, Jaclynn Barker, Ali Belin,
Shane Elkins & Aaron Meier.
Photo - Assistant Epitor: Brandon Bollom; Robert
McKay, Greg McReynolds, Mike Fuentes, James
Francis & Jake Schrickling.
Graphics - James Palmer, Chad Mallam, Jared
Faulkner & J.P. Beato.
Cartoonists - Ed Goodwin, John Lemons, Dave
Hoffman, Gabriel Ruenes, Victor Vanscoit, Michael
Nordfelt and Quatro Oakley.
Copy Editors - Leslie Stebbins, Jennifer Jones,
David Johnston, Martha Gidney, Patrick Pavlik &
Veronica Serrano.
Radio - Andrew Bailey, Jodie Rae Sartin, Laura
Stuart & Karina Trevino.
Web - Anita Tong & Jeremy Brown
als who are still missing. ... We also
have an obligation to all of those who
have served in wars in the past and
who view this site as very hallowed
ground.”
“We certainly have an oblige
ation to family members of
those individuals who are
still missing. ,,
NAVY CAPT. MICHAEL DOUBLEDAY
PENTAGON SPOKESPERSON
Blassie’s family, including his
mother, three sisters and a younger
brother, say the available evidence
points to Arlington National Ceme
tery and the Tomb of the Unknowns
as their loved-one’s resting place. But
they said Tuesday they are willing to
wait while the government inquires
further.
“They are having to backtrack on
the document trail,” said Pat Blassie,
younger sister of the Air Force pilot.
“We don’t want them to do a quick
job. We trust that they are really being
serious about this issue.”
As far back as the original selection
of the remains to be buried with un
known veterans ofWorld War I, World
War II and the Korean War, some have
suspected that the Vietnam remains
belonged to Blassie. A South Viet
namese recovery team found the re
mains in late 1972 near a crash site out
side An Loc, 60 miles north of Saigon.
The problem now facing the Pen
tagon results in part from the increas
ing ability of forensic scientists to
identify remains from bare fragments
of bone.
Guatemala safe foj
tourists, official sai
f r
ST. MARY S Cl 1 Y. Md. (AP) — - Guatemala’s ambassadcl
l Jnited States visited St. Mary's College on Tuesday loop
country’s concern over the rape of five students who we;
study tour of the Central American nation.
“This is just one of those unfortunate happenings •
Lamport said.
A band of gunmen forced a tour bus into sugar canefe
tlay, robbing 16 St. Mary’s College students and tead®
raping five. Four suspects have been arrested.
Farlier Tuesday, Lamport told the NBC "Today"si:
tourists need not fear traveling to his country'.
“Guatemala is a safe country to go to,” he said.
The newspaper Prensa Libre reported Tuesday, howe,:
authorities don’t even learn about most attacks agair
eigners. It said fon ign diplomats reported thatlast °bs.
t iuatemala there were attacks on 16 it.ili.ms. 13Freni P-S(
and 35 Swiss travelers. I he U.S. Fmbassy said it doe- reei
such figures. y° !
The latest attack prompted Mi( higan State lInin - 3.
cel a similar pn > j,; m ,i i n I spi mg \i hor (Allege, also in Mi: c °i <
decided to < all 16 students and two faculty membersbomAd n
ood
thn
— 4.
St
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