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COLLEGE STATION • TX
75
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TODAY TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY •MARCH 4 *1998
Briefs
MSC Hotline off to smooth start
tlalii
leAgge-
the Agg :
rubber TiJ h library to host
igofTecr . . .
ichigansi nposium today
j'ssoun ,|e G eor g e Bush Presidential Li-
Kiayat: . anc j Museum will host a sym-
q im titled‘‘China-U.S. Higher Ed-
^P6(on: Sharing Experiences and
iiniiAi ons ” from 2 to 4 p.m. today in
anilOlonference center.
Confere 16 symposium is open to the
Vs baste c and wi| l b® telecast statewide
?Bigl2:' 3r tofthe Lockheed-Martin World
|ortswrite J, ar-in-Residence Program of the
e on a na tional Center,
n. Thre? " ,e keynote speaker will be Min
earns an 6’ executive vice president and
ard $' :;)s t of Peking University in China,
o the-i an 6 is here as the first partici-
verage; in the world scholar-in-residence
ids c. rarn ’ which brings academic lead-
j jes and experts in various fields to
g u3 .1. While visiting, these scholars
name- hteract with faculty and students
fterai u £h seminars, teaching and re
last f ch -
guardv’thei participants include sympo-
qAikv.i mdderator Kenneth Ashworth,
B g • in S professor of the George Bush
" ” aol of Government and Public Ser-
; Terrill Lautz, vice president of
Hehry Luce Foundation; Don
Vn, commissioner of the Texas
Q i ^jier Education Coordinating Board;
Bryan Cole, professor and head
■iked he Department of Educational Ad-
Tea^ istration at Texas A&M.
thNc:
raduate programs
rd * Jmed top in U.S.
eon Sr 1
ainec wo doctoral programs in Texas
e loss^'s College of Liberal Arts
Cocked in the top 35 nationally in
Ke snt U.S. News and World Report
T-ngs.
Hr 3oth the political science and
W(. momics Ph.D. programs ranked
w - ;h in the national survey,
go Charles A. Johnson, professor
j head of the Department of Po-
w ^al Science, says this is an es-
lially notable accomplishment
m - c his department.
rec Dennis Jansen, professor and
ss j s jd of the Department of Eco-
NoO nics, notes that U.S. News rank-
is consistent with other reputa-
j^vbased rankings of the
oartment, including the National
^ search Council rankings pub-
ve led in 1995.
^ .udent group web
te wins award
Students at Texas A&M Hillel re-
|itly received a “most creative"
ard for their web site.
Texas A&M Hillel, the Jewish club
[campus, competed against all
jer university Hillels in the nation
[the best web site.
lOther universities winning the
|ld” medal for the three best web
p categories were Overall, Har-
|d University; and Most Engaging,
prge Washington University,
[as A&M HilleRs web page can be
]nd on the Texas A&M web site
per Campus Life and Student Or-
liizations.
INSIDE
jxas A&M music programs
ovide students with diverse
terests to choose from.
See Page 3
mior center Larry Thomp-
tn prepares for life after
ixas A&M basketball.
See Page 7
ireles: NASA attempts to
rljf vive itself by sending John
IT enn back to outer space.
rrtf
See Page 9
ittp; / /battalion, tamu.edu
Took up with state and na-
jnal news through The
^ire, AP’s 24-hour online
3ws service.
By Kelly Hackworth
Staff writer
MSC program information can
now be as close as a phone call with
the introduction of the MSC hotline.
Dr. Stephen Biles, associate di
rector of the MSC, said the pur
pose of the hotline is to give easy
access to MSC programs.
“We hope the MSC hotline will
increase the awareness of the pro
grams, services, facilities and stu
dent development opportunities
available at the Memorial Student
14
Center,” he said.
The service can be accessed by
calling 847-LINE (847-5463.) The
hotline is updated weekly. MSC
program information is also avail
able at wwwmsc.tamu.edu.
The idea for the hotline began
two years ago, but is only now being
implemented because of the time
spent doing research, Biles said.
Ricky Allen, MSC technology
director and a junior business ad
ministration major, said the hot
line is run by MSC Computer Op
erations and uses Phone Maker by
Macintosh. The hotline will go
through future improvements, in
cluding increasing the speed of the
recording, Allen said.
“There is currently one phone
line,” Allen said. “Once we figure
out how many people are going to
use, it we may add more lines.”
Gina Miori, vice president of ex
ternal marketing and a junior speech
communications major, said the
MSC hotline can make the 26 MSC
organizations more accessible.
“I think that it has amazing po
tential and will be a great promo
tion tool since it is free to the stu
dent body,” she said.
The hotline menu contains
three options including programs
for the week, leadership opportu
nities and services.
Where's the beef?
■■l
U. S. troops to receive
anthrax inoculations
«*)
W
mm® 1 ',
JAMES FRANCIS/The Battalion
Amber Boucher, a junior animal science major, unwraps a meat sample in the
sensory kitchen in Kleberg. Boucher is participating in the National Beef Tender
ness Survey. Cities from across the United States are sending in beef samples to
be tested for tenderness.
Notorious El Nino
WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Clinton said Tues
day that Iraq “should be under
no illusion” about the mean
ing of a U.N. Security Council
resolution warning of the
“severest consqeuences” if
Baghdad fails to allow free in
spections. “It provides author
ity to act,” the president said.
Clinton issued his latest
warning as the Pentagon
stepped up plans to inoculate
troops in the Persian Gulf
against anthrax. The adminis
tration also said it views the
Security Council vote as a
“green light” to attack Iraq if it
fails to permit unlimited ac
cess to weapons inspectors.
“No promise of peace and
no policy of patience can be
without its limits,” Clinton
said during an East Room
ceremony about combating
drunken driving. He said
Monday’s vote sent a clear
message to Iraq that it must
allow inspections of suspect
ed weapons sites “without
obstruction or delay, any
place, any time, without any
conditions, deadlines or ex
cuses.”
“The government of Iraq
should be under no illusion,”
he said. “The meaning of
‘severest consequences’ is
clear. It provides authority to
act if Iraq does not turn the
commitment it has made into
compliance.”
State Department
spokesperson James R Rubin
said the Security Council res
olution adopted Monday that
warns Iraq of the “severest
consequences” was “the
clearest possible threat to use
Deadly bacteria
Anthrax is a naturally occurring disease in
plant-eating animals which can infect all
warmblooded animals. The disease is caused
by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.
A PREFERRED BIOLOGICAL WEAPON
Some facts
■ Highly lethal
■ Easy and cheap to
produce in large
quantities
Rod-shaped spore
found in soil
How humans
are infected
a Through cuts in
skin resulting
from contact
with infected
animals
B Breathing spores
FI Eating infected HR
meat
mis-f.
Source: DetenseLINK; AP research
force that the Security Coun
cil has taken since this crisis
began last year.”
Even the resolution
adopted before the war
against Iraq in 1991 did not
explicitly call for using force
to reverse the annexation of
Kuwait, Rubin said.
“The world is now sup
porting a strong, clear threat
that military force will ensue if
Iraq violates this agreement,
and that’s why we think this
resolution was so important,”
Rubin said.
Defense Secretary William
Cohen has decided that the
36,000 U.S. troops in the Gulf
should undergo anthrax vac
cinations starting this month
Symptoms begin one to
six days after exposure*
■ Fever } fatigue, cough
■ Breathing problems,
sweating
■ Bluish skin tone
‘Virtually always results
in death
i
Treatment jCf
■ Vaccination prior / [
to exposure
■ A ntihiotics immediately
after exposure
AP/S. Hoffmann, J. Kiafnzon
as a “prudent action.” An
thrax is a biological weapon
that can kill so quickly that
by the time any symptoms
show up, it may be too late to
treat victims.
Also today, Marine Corps.
Gen. Anthony Zinni, the U.S.
commander in the Persian
Gulf, told a Senate committee
that U.S. forces, their morale
high, remain ready to act if
necessary. “They understand
the mission and they are pre
pared to do what it takes.”
Saddam “will continue to
test us and the international
community,” Zinni told the
Senate Armed Services Com
mittee. “It is important to
keep the noose tight.”
Recent rains
cause havoc for
allergy sufferers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Califor
nia’s El Nino rains have brought a
bumper crop of allergy-producing
mold and pollen, and people are
suffering.
Doctors’ waiting rooms are
clogged with the sniffling, wheez
ing and itchy-eyed.
“I have patients who haven’t
had allergy attacks for 15 years
coming in with 10 days of horrible
allergic symptoms,” Dr. Bernard
Geller, a Santa Monica allergist,
said Tuesday. “They have moun
tains of tissues alongside their bed
and are being chased out of the
bedroom by their spouses because
they are sneezing all day long.”
Los Angeles had its wettest Feb
ruary on record with 13.68 inches
of rain, toppling the 1884 record
of 13.37.
The rain is stimulating the growth
of mold, trees and grass. More misery
lies ahead in the summer when
weeds and flowers blossom.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scien
tist to see the incredibly green hill
sides,” Geller said.
He thinks rye grass planted to
hold back mudslides in fire-
scorched areas is a major culprit.
He advises the allergy-afflicted
to keep their windows closed and
Mild winter
Unseasonably mild temperatures in parts of the northern United States
have hurt businesses dependent on cold and snow and given garden
centers, paint stores and movie houses unexpectedly strong winter
sales. A look at some of the topsy-turvy weather:
Fairbanks, Alaska
Temperatures are
close to normal, but
snowfall of 42 inches is
nearly 10 inches below
the median for this time
of year.
— Buffalo, N.Y. Snowfall is
50.3 inches so far this
winter, about 28 inches
below normal. February
temperatures are about nine
degrees above normal.
Fargo, N.D. Snowfall of 37
inches below normal. But
Wednesday, for example,
temperatures averaged 41 degrees
- 25 degrees above normal.
— Hartford, Conn.
The average low
temperature in
January was 26.4,
compared to the
normal 15.8. In
February, the
average low was
nine degrees above
the normal 18.6.
Green Ba)t Wis.
Snowfall about 33
inches, 16 inches below
normal. Statewide,
temperatures are eight to
10 degrees higher than
normal this winter.
Chicago In February, only a trace of
snow fell, compared to the norm of
8.4 inches for that month.
Noontime temperatures
last week were near 60 making it
one of the warmest Februaries ever.
Gates says monopoly
not his game at work
put high-efficiency particle air fil
ters in their bedrooms.
Among his new patients is Dar
lene Martin, 38, a registered nurse
from Santa Monica whose asthma
has spiraled out of control with the
rains.
“I’m having asthma attacks
every night. Something in the air is
making breathing more difficult,”
she said. “I can get short of breath
and I’m fit.”
A series of allergy tests revealed
she’s sensitive to several grasses and
molds, which thrive in moisture.
She is now taking five medications.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bill
Gates, with competitors at his side
and U.S. senators in his face, was
forced to make his case Tuesday
that Microsoft Corp. is not a mo
nopoly out to crush rivals in the In
ternet software market.
The exploding software industry,
he said during testimony on Capi
tol Hill, is “an open economic op
portunity for any entrepreneur in
America.” But he got plenty of argu
ment on that point.
“Some are concerned that
where there’s a lot of money to be
made, or where competition could
threaten Microsoft’s dominant po
sition, Microsoft exploits its mo
nopoly power — virtually guaran
teeing that no one entrant has a
realistic possibility of succeeding,”
said Senate Judiciary Chairman
Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Gates mounted a vigorous and
spirited defense during a Senate Ju
diciary hearing that stretched over
41/2 hours. The meeting was called
to investigate competitive issues in
the software industry, but it focused
almost entirely on Microsoft.
Besides fielding sharply word
ed questions from Hatch and oth
ers, Gates also was questioned by
his fellow witnesses, the CEOs of
rivals Sun Microsystems Inc. and
Netscape Communications Corp.
Netscape chief executive James
Barksdale enlisted the audience’s
help to challenge Gates’ view of
the industry.
He asked audience members to
raise their hands if they had a per
sonal computer at home or work.
Several dozen did. He then asked
them to keep their arms up if they
were among those without a Mi
crosoft Windows operating system.
Only a handful remained.
“Gentlemen,
that’s a monop
oly,” Barksdale
said.
Gates assert-
,>0*^ ^ ed that lower
^ prices and vastly
$11 improved fea
tures in com
puter software
^ ^ are evidence of
Gates an open and
thriving market,
not one beset by a monopoly.
“Anybody who is doing great
products in this business can do
very, very well,” Gates said.
Hatch quickly replied: “Well, Mr.
Gates, not if there’s predatory pric
ing. And not if there is improper,
monopolistic control.
“I point it out because, it isn’t just
the business of selling software. It’s
the business of selling it fairly,” the
senator said.
The appearance of Gates, the
world’s richest man, packed the
hearing room. Long lines of specta
tors stretched outside through
much of the proceedings.