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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1998)
ly • April!! nstlll Texas A & M University I Jfwm I ... I By Colleen Kavanagh Staffwriter ;onfidence level Sri|4 TH YEAR • ISSUE 125* 10 PAGES I we’ll neakatlhf-Bfe ■ssa Rooks saidshti ugh, but shetltilil keep theirdete® ood team, andtlel aid. "Butwehavej . we can do it. Las r me confidence-: mfidence level up' Eva Marcialsaidl® the Aggies willr&B 161 '' 11 ^ 65 percent ol the runoff votes, Laurie Nickel, a senior nit there witha l ft sana *y sis ma i or - became the sec- t it ’ attitude'M fe ina * e student body president in to it that it’seoiiB &M history last Thursday, ke any othermM ra y Van Eman - tEe student elec- ^■jmmissioner and a senior animal st TCUstartsat’’K rnajor, announced the results . rd Tennisfpr ^ ’ n * r()nl cf the I.aiwrence Sullivan Watue. Voter turnout for the runoff Kin increased by 379 people from last Van Eman said. ty lOr mm Eirst * enia * e student body presi- Mas Brooke Leslie, who served from olleges, college;.jf9:i. Nickel said 1 .eslie has had a huge ns and a few of thence in her life, i schools. k was student body president Tigers finished?® started school here,” she said, mior collegetoi; 'only hope is to do half the job she did irg, N.G,ahdthe.\H ilament inMaditR in New York. B . f—g « msas, Young scouM i his first threeyct’ ranking himfomij gut's careerscoriia t ransferred to Hit rginia school top players tot to avoid thelimcid COLLEGE STATION • TX TODAY TOMORROW MONDAY • APRIL 13 • 1998 in student body elections and live up to the standards she set.” Nickel said that administrators and faculty warned her that because she is a woman, it might be difficult to be elected. “It’s a humbling feeling to have students’ trust by virtue of their vote. 5 Laurie Nickel SBP elect "The thing that I was proud of,” she said, “is not a single student said anything about it. To me, that shows that A&M is growing out of stereotypes. “One day, when I was giving a campus tour, a mother asked me if things would be harder here for her daughter. I could n’t believe she asked that. I’ve been blessed with so much since I have been here. I truly believe that if you work hard, you can accomplish many things.” Nickel said when she heard her name announced, the greatest part of the expe rience was seeing her friends’ faces. “I want to make people proud,” she said. “It’s a humbling feeling to have stu dents’ trust by virtue of their vote. I was also relieved to know what I’d be doing for the next year.” Fifty staff members organized the campaign at night and campaigned the next day. In addition, Nickel had a data base of 600 students who supported her efforts but didn’t have the time to meet every night, she said. “My biggest goal was not to win a pop ularity contest,” she said. “I wanted peo ple to know who I was. Campaigning took a lot of time because I sat down with peo ple and listened to their ideas and con cerns for this university.” The first thing Nickel will do is pick her Executive Council and then she will plan a time line for her platform. “Right now Curtis (Childers) and I are in a transition period,” she said. “We are meeting with administrators and all of the committees that he sits on.” Yell leader election results were also announced Thursday night. Pat Patillo, a junior business adminis tration major, will be joining incumbent yell leaders Sam Bluntzer and Brandon Neff as 1998-99 senior yell leaders, and Jeff Bailey and John Bloss will be the ju nior yell leaders. BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion Julie Johnson congratulates her roommate, Laurie Nickel, on winning the SBP runoff Thursday night. r imui lore rfl of us are boi! 'lium, you llfi ole in Semiconcj-I it strategies into nory devices wif i in new viewpotiil ope" in the m$»1 se, diverse prc4t' Dr product moiket ost-growing miertj is at Samsung Ais Dplier in the world | er esign. Requireso / with dynamic r able. m JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion Hpp Lewis, Class of ’96, plays fetch with Hagen, a chocolate labrador retriever, at Research Park Sunday. ieed microproces- ,/sis, timing analyij sks. Requires a BS MIX environment Holidazed and confused United Nations marks numerous calendar dates ti-tobacco plan on task, officials say jlVSHINGTON (AP) — Brushing off an ■stry boycott and threats of lawsuits, ■Clinton administration officials and testing andveC h ers ° f c ° n g res * are confi- quires a BS orlif “tT 1 pass ant '-tobacco legts- >cess for hiah-scef n b y the end of thls Y ear - ® ^ We will get bipartisan legislation this Ir, 1 ’ Health and Human Services Secre- ■Donna Shalala declared on Sunday. Bre’s no question about it because it’s •out public health.” ajor tobacco companies last week an- ced they would not go along with to- snefits. AUSTIN DESIGN CENTER bacco legislation being debated in Con gress, saying the original goal of reducing teen smoking had been subverted into a money grab that would drive the industry into bankruptcy. Industry leaders stressed Sunday that they would unleash their huge lobbying power to stop the legislation and would go to court to challenge provisions that limit advertising of tobacco products and re quire companies to pay billions in penal ties if teen smoking reduction goals are not met. “The first thing we would do, if the pre sent legislation passes, is go to court and have it declared unconstitutional,” tobac co industry attorney J. Philip Carlton said on “Fox News Sunday.” Carlton and other industry spokesper sons raised the specter of organized crime and drug dealers running black market sales to teen-agers if Congress forces cig arette prices up and the possibility that the industry would move jobs overseas. “You’re talking about approximately 2 mil lion American jobs,” Carlton said. GENEVA (AP) —The United Nations is celebrating the International Year of the Ocean, the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, the Second U.N. Transport and Communications Decade in Africa, the Third Disarmament Decade and the Fourth U.N. Develop ment Decade. And don’t forget these special U.N. occa sions: World Book and Copyright Day, the In ternational Day of Tolerance, World Televi sion Day and International Civil Aviation Day. That’s just a sample of the 44 dates ear marked for observances this year. At a time when the United Nations is try ing to become leaner, cheaper and more rel evant, the number of special commemora tions declared by the General Assembly is spiraling upward. Nobody can put an overall price on the events because the vast U.N. secretariat ab sorbs the cost of some, while others are split among various U.N. agencies. For this year’s Worl d Health Day, marked April 7, the World Health Organization dis tributed tens of thousands of posters and ed ucational kits on safe motherhood to high light the risks of pregnancy and illegal abortions in developing countries. The central budget was $100,000, and supporters say it was worth every cent. “We can sit in Geneva and make stan dards and norms, but getting information out into the field can be very difficult,” said Christopher Powell ofWHO. “Some thing like a poster gets the message across and lasts for years.” But in some target countries there was limited enthusiasm. “Millions of mpees are spent each year on World Health Day, government departments release expensive advertisements in news papers, but the readers do not care,” said Alok Mukhopadhyaya at the Voluntary Health Association of India. “If this enthusiasm of policymakers and U.N. officials comes to an end with a cocktail and dinner and some ritual meetings, then it has no meaning,” said Mukhopadhyaya. In Thailand, 300 medical officials took part in a government program on safe moth erhood, but the campaign didn’t filter through to the average Thai. “The idea is good, but I don’t see any publicity,” said Simit Ngamcote, who dri ves a motorized rickshaw. For him, last year’s World Health Day — with the theme Healthy Cities — had no practical impact on the stinking pollution he breathes 12 hours a day. Other Days with a health theme include World TB Day and World No-Tobacco Day, meant to encourage people to quit smoking. The best-known is World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, which has helped increase understanding of the problems faced by people living and dy ing with die virus. The Rio Earth Summit in 1992 prompted the General Assembly to push through a whole series of days with environmental themes, such as on deserts and on drought, without much planning. Thus, World Day for Water falls oh March 22 and World Meteorological Day “We can sit In Geneva and make standards and norms, but getting information out into the field can be very difficult. 55 Christopher Powell World Health Organization comes on March 23. The latter’s theme this year was ... water. Some events are motivated by politics. For nearly 20 years, Nov. 29 has been the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. June 4 is the Internation al Day of Innocent Child Victims of Aggres sion in condemnation of what the General Assembly calls Israeli “acts of aggression” to ward Palestinian and Lebanese children. Many special days are marked by low-key speeches and diplomatic discussions at U.N. headquarters. For instance, selected “poor” Swiss peo ple were invited to the U.N. European head quarters in Geneva on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Oct. 17, to read out human rights declarations. N S I D E I country artist looks to ke guitar strumming and vriting a dream come true. Jones to decide on possible appeal See Page 3 sports |ie Softball Team loses b to Texas over week- See Page fines: Classes at 8 o- sk in the morning do not prove knowledge. See Page 9 wm p: / / battalion, tamu. edu k up with state and na- al news through The lie, AP’s 24-hour online s service. WASHINGTON (AP) — Paula Jones, who’s been in seclusion since a federal judge dismissed her sexu al harassment lawsuit against Pres ident Clinton on April 1, is planning to emerge this week to announce whether she will appeal the deci sion. Jones will likely reveal her deci sion on Thursday, spokesperson Susan Carpenter McMillan said Sunday, calling the timing “99 per cent sure.” Carpenter McMillan declined to say whether she would appeal. Jones was expected to announce the decision herself, either in the Los Angeles area, where she lives, or in Dallas, where her attorneys are located. This would be Jones’ first public comments on the case since Judge Susan Webber Wright threw out all three sexual harassment charges against Clinton. Jones, 31, claimed that Clinton propositioned her in a Arkansas ho tel room in 1991 when she was a state worker. Clinton maintains he doesn’t recall ever meeting her and has firmly denied anything im proper happened. In her ruling, Wright said that whatever went on in the Arkansas hotel room between Mrs. Jones and Clinton, who was then governor, she had failed to prove she was harmed emotionally or in her ca reer as she contended. Jones’ legal team and advisers described her as disappointed, shocked and tearful after the dis missal, which halted the lawsuit she set in motion four years ago and which prompted similar allegations against Clinton from other women. But Jones has remained silent, pent up in the Long Beach, Calif., apartment she shares with her hus band, Stephen, and their two preschool children. Several days after the ruling, Jones’ husband, who provides the family’s only income, was fired from his job as a ticket agent for North west Airlines. Committee to get ready for event in Reed Arena on April 21 By Amanda Smith Staffwriter Today marks the beginning of a week designed to reflect upon the past celebrations of Muster and to look ahead to its first appearance in Reed Arena. Muster Awareness Week, which runs April 13 to 18, was designed by the Muster committee to add mean ing to the tradition. “Reed Arena is a beautiful facility. We are happy to increase the seat ing for die number of students. 55 Angela Wallace Sub chair of programs committee Muster is scheduled April 21 at 7 p.m. in Reed Arena. Angela Wallace, a sub chair of the programs com mittee and a senior psychology major, said the Muster committee members are excited about holding the event in Reed Arena. “We are responsible for everything that happens in Reed Arena,” Wallace said. “Reed Arena is a beautiful fa cility. We are happy to increase the seating for the num ber of students.” Muster is organized by a 40-member committee of the Student Government Association. Awareness, pro grams, speaker selection, roll call and families, special events and endowment committees work together to organize Muster. Lisa Eubanks, a Muster committee member and a sophomore English major, said the Muster committee has grown since its beginning at Texas A&M. “It is one of the most amazing things to see the com mittee members work so diligently,” Eubanks said. “I have looked back as far as the 1940s. Then, the Muster committees consisted of about five or six people.” Reed Arena seats 12,500 people, 5,000 more than G. Rollie White Coliseum. “We are elated about being able to have Muster in Reed Arena because there is a greater opportunity for students to see and watch,” Eubanks said. Wallace said the meaning of Muster will not change in its new location. “Although Muster is going to a different place, the core feelings and the traditions will be the same,” Wallace said.