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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1998)
Texas A & M University TODAY 65 45 TOMORROW 14 th YEAR • ISSUE 91 • 10 PACES COLLEGE STATION • TX MONDAY • FEBRUARY 16 • 1998 Residents protest new clinic roposed abortion clinic draws strong reaction from both sides of the issue Af' By Rachel Dawley Staff writer dore than 80 Texas A&M students nt the weekend protesting on petty where Planned Parenthood ;heduled to build a new abortion ic this fall. oined by Bryan-College Station res its, the students were at the future ofthe clinic on E. 29th Street next to i Cable holding signs reading, nkfor Life" and “Smile—Your Mom iselife.” ’he clinic will be the first facility « lryan-College Station to offer rtion services. “truly Lopata, a junior biology ma- said the clinic would haveaharm- ffect on the community, m protesting because I believe each person can make a pro- nd difference in stopping the ef- of Planned Parenthood putting ibortion clinic in the area,” Lopa- aid. "There has never been an rtion clinic here in the past. There plenty of hospitals in the area that 1 with women’s issues.” arah Suniga, president of the A&M pter of the National Organization for Women, said the clinic will upset people in the community, but it will provide more access to women need ing abortions. “Abortion is not an easy choice,” Suniga said. “While abortion is legal, it is not always available. This area is in need of a clinic. There have even been efforts for women to carpool to Hous ton to get abortions. This area has been needing this service for a while.” She said women seeking abor tions now must travel to Houston, San Marcos or Waco. Brian Eschbach, a senior history major, said the clinic would make abortions more convenient for peo ple in the community. “The college and teen population in the area would be affected the worst,” Eschbach said. "It would be a lot easier to have a quick abortion. As it is now, women have to travel a long distance and that gives the time to think about their decision.” Other A&M students said they feel that the area would benefit from an abortion clinic. Michael Schaub, president of Ag gie Democrats and a junior English major, said the clinic would give women other options in dealing with pregnancy issues. “We need a clinic here,” Schaub said. “It is ridiculous that women have to drive so far. It is terrible that people are protesting.” Schaub said the pro-life lobby is very active in the area and many peo ple who support the clinic are not com ing forward. “The loudest voice is always heard and the pro-life lobby is loud,” Schaub said. “People are afraid to speak up and women are afraid to get abor tions. I think the majority of people in this county are pro-choice. Even if not, most people believe we need this service.” Protesters said they hope people will see their effort and voice their concerns about the clinic plans. Al though a few people reacted nega tively with obscene gestures and lan guage, protesters said most of the community is responding positively to their efforts. Jennifer Junker, a junior market ing major, said she joined the protest to show her feelings about the abor tion issue. “The number of abortions that happen each year parallel the number of people waiting for adoptions,” Junker said. “We don’t want the clinic here. But if it does come, we want to help women who are dealing with the issue. We need to love both the child and mother. Many women come here scared and confused and we need to help them.” Drew Pilkington, Class of ’97, came from his home in Houston to join the protest. Pilkington is a former presi dent of Aggies for Life, a student group that aims to protect life from conception to natural death through talks, speakers and discussion groups. “When a clinic opens up, the preg nancy rate rises because people feel it is an easy solution,” Pilkington said. “By protesting, we are trying to edu cate the citizens that may not know the effects of Planned Parenthood on women and the community.” St. Mary’s Catholic Church has planned a meeting Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. to discuss possible ways to ex press opinions on the plans. Father David Konderla of St. Mary’s joined the protesters this weekend. Please see Protest on Page 6. Ii A&OdTlQtsj K. I LL^- CttiLDZEAl ANO HARMS WOM] E A/ JAMES FRANCIS/THE Battalion Monique Reed and her husband David Reed stand with others in a Pro-Life demonstration. The demonstration was held in opposition to a proposed Planned Parenthood Clinic which would perform abor tions. The clinic would be only facility in the Bryan-College Station area to offer the procedure. iollin’ Av W Wk ■■■ -I: . -■ , §§IP illlfa 4* ||$§§|i WJ> uz w' 1 . ' JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion Irandi Castilla, an employee of The Marble Slab Creamery, rolls waffle cones at work Sunday. This is Castilla’s first month as an employee. Greek Week unifies through competition By Amanda Smith Staff writer Today marks the beginning of a week- long war between Greek organizations at Texas A&M University. Greek Week, which will wrap up with award ceremonies on Feb. 21, is coordi nated by Order of Omega and includes competitive events among fraternities and sororities designed to raise money for the construction of a girls’ addition to the Still Creek Boys Ranch in Bryan. Rachel Kinman, Order of Omega pres : ident, said she expects the event to raise $9,000 to $12,000. “We are hoping to raise at least $9,000 that will help to build additions to the ranch,” Kinman said. “ We want to let oth er students know that Greeks do not just party. We raise thousands and thousands of dollars for charitable organizations.” Kinman said most of the money raised will come from ticket sales from the Pat Green concert Feb. 19 at the Texas Hall of Fame. Elvis T. Busboy and Blues Butchers, a blues band from Dallas, will open the show at 8:30 p.m. Eric Appel, a Greek Week director and a senior business major, said this year’s Greek Week is different from the past. “It’s a totally new Greek Week,” Appel said. “We are hoping to generate more en thusiasm and excitement to raise money for the Still Creek Boys Ranch.” This year, PanHellenic will participate in Greek Week with the traditional Greek participants, Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council. Michael Stewart, the PanHellenic pres ident and a senior mechanical engineer ing major, said he hopes to build unity among all Greek organizations. “We want to promote unity in the Greek system,” Stewart said. “If we can play together, then we can work together and do anything that we want to do for the University. Giving to charities is a blessing in itself.” Shannon Knuckley, a junior manage ment major, said Greek Week is a friendly but important competition. “We are out there to promote Greek unity and to have fun,” Knuckley said. “Greek Week is a competition based main ly on points.” These points may be earned through participation in events sponsored by Or der of Omega. Greeks will challenge the Corps of Cadets in a basketball game Feb. 17 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in G. Rollie White Colise um. Admission is $2. Penny wars among Greek organiza tions will take place on Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tables will be set up outside the MSC for members of the various organizations to contribute pennies to add points and silver coins to take away points. On Feb. 19, intramural competition be gins between Greek organizations. Com petitions will be on Feb. 19 and 20 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Duncan Field. Please see Greek on Page 6. Testing company praises \&]VPs new MCAT policy AUSTIN (AP) — A company that pre- ares students for standardized tests is jplauding a Texas A&M program that oesnot require the Medical College Ad- 'issions Test for some incoming med al students. Paul Cohen, a spokesperson for the lew York-based company Princeton Re- iew, said the MCAT and similar tests re poor indicators of a student’s ability 3 perform. “They are also tremendously biased long racial lines,” Cohen told the Austin merican-Statesman. The program at Texas A&M recruits tudents from areas with large minority opulations and offers them guaran- eed admission into the university’s ledical school if they maintain a cer- ain grade-point average in a science- ntensive curriculum during their un- lergraduate years. The program resulted from declining minority enrollments in the university’s ledical school after a federal court end- d affirmative action programs at Texas olleges in 1996. “If these tests really measured how v ell you were going to do in medical chool and law school, you couldn’t take test-preparation course and go up 6 'oints,” Cohen said. “We don’t make our students better doctors or lawyers, we make them better test takers.” Assistant Director of the Princeton Re view’s Austin office, Jennifer Lynn, said the company was formed because it wanted to give students a better chance at passing the tests. Lynn and Cohen both agreed Texas A&M deserved praise for eliminat ing the tests, they say are unfair. Others, however, disagree. Maria Lofftus, director of academic services for Kaplan Educational Centers’ health sciences division, said the MCAT is a valuable tool in predicting a student’s success in medical school. She said the test is also a good indica tor of how a student will perform on his medical licensing exam. Standardized testing has come under more scrutiny as states such as Texas and California have eliminated affirmative action in higher education. Both states have seen declines in mi nority enrollment in their medical and law schools. The decline has also caused the Uni versity of Texas’ medical school to take a second look at its policies. The school re cently announced that it will look at a fac tors beyond grades and test scores in hopes of recruiting a more diverse group of students. El Nino brings random weather for area farmers SIDE By Amanda Smith Staff writer Southeast Texas farmer Dan Copeland depends on the cycle of the seasons to pro duce fruit and to earn his livelihood. Copeland, who manages King’s Orchard in Plantersville, said the abundant rain in late December and early January made his strawberries ready for picking three weeks ahead of schedule. "Long steady rains can help the crop,” Copeland said. “If we get a lot more rain, then we could lose a lot of strawberries.” Copeland, like other Southeast Texas farmers, stands to lose other spring crops if the heavy rains of the El Nino/Southern Os cillation (ESNO) continue as expected. El Nino has brought more rain and vari able temperatures to the residents of Bryan- College Station, according to a report by the National Weather Service. ENSO is a cycle that meteorologists have studied for decades, but this El Nino is com parable to the strongest cycle of the 20th century — the 1982 to 1983 El Nino. Brian Belcher, a Texas A&M graduate as sistant in the Office of the Texas State Cli matologist, said Southeast Texas expects cooler temperatures and greater precipita tion during the winter months. The average temperature was about sev en degrees higher than expected for Janu ary and about three degrees higher than ex pected for the first part of February in Col lege Station, according to a report from the Office of the State Climatologist. “This is a prime example which shows that what happens during an average El Nino warm episode does not occur every time that there is an El Nino event,” Belch er said. “There is some variability.” Bob French, chief meteorologist of KBTX-TV, said he expects El Nino to contin ue to affect the weather in Bryan-College Station in March. “The unusual aspect of the weather this year so far is the fact that we have had four to five heavy rainstorms since Jan. 1,” French said. “I think we are still going to see the effects of El Nino this spring. I would think that we would have more severe weather than usual.” Texas farmers welcome the abundant rainfall early in the season, French said. Actual ocean temperatures play the most critical role in the cycle of El Nino because they impact tropical rainfall patterns, ac cording to the National Weather Service. Timing, location and magnitude of ocean warming varies from one El Nino to the next and triggers variations in the amounts of tropical rainfall. Please see El Nino on Page 6. Mainstream Rock ’n’ Roll steps aside to let indie-rock shine through. See Page 3 sports Women’s basketball team falls to the seventh-ranked Red Raiders. See Page 7 opinion Saloma: Dining on campus proves an unsatisfactory culinary experience. See Page 9 online http:/ / batttdion.tamu.edu Hook up with state and na tional news through The Wire, AP’s 24-hour online news service.