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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1998)
SAVE ON LONG DISTANCE (Available in Austin, Beaumont, Bryan/College Station, Conroe, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Houston, Lubbock, San Antonio, San Marcos, and Waco) Dorms, Residences, and Businesses 7 ^ Per M inute Anytime, Anywhere US (No Monthly Minimum, Surcharges or Fees) Synergy Long-Distance Service Authorized Rep. Twister Communications Austin (512) 345-6497 (800) 460-1847 Frontiers Monday • Apru Twisting the night away Scientists try to guess El Nino’s impact on tornado activity Science onday • A] Student Counseling Volunteers Heeded etp£in ALL MAJORS WELCOME INTERVIEWING NOW to begin service in the Summer or Fall. Summer Training Class will be May 25-30, 1998. For more information call Susan Vavra at 845-4-427 ext. 133. AGGIE WRANGLERS AN AGGIE TRADITION FOR THIRTEEN YEARS c4iVGL^d Do you love country & western dance? Would you like to perforin for others? Would you like to represent Texas A&M in Texas, across the nation, as well as internationally? Then we’ll see you at... TRYOUTS!! Mandatory Informational Meetings: (You must attend one of these meetings to be eligible to tryout) When: Wednesday, April 15 MSC 292B 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, April 16 MSC 292B 6:30-8 p.m. Who: Anyone interested (come even if .vouVe just thinking about Irving out) Applications will be distributed at the meeting, and will he due by 5 p.m., April 28 in the Aggie Wrangler cubicle in the Koldus Building. Tryouts will be Sunday, May 3 EMI: http://www.tamu.edu/aggie wranglers FORDLAND, Mo. (AP) — Each spring, with every ugly dark green cloud, Jamey Wright's father would usher the family into a cellar, out of storms’ way. Wright professes no fear today, but he learned early to respect the weather. That may be good, because since 1950 the geographical center of tornado activity in the conti nental United States is Fordland, about 175 miles southeast of Kansas City — and, more precise ly, on Wright’s 136 acres. Nearly five decades of data av eraging twister latitudes and lon gitudes place Wright’s property in the middle of the action although, to his knowledge, no tornado has ever hit his farm. Perhaps one never will. With tor nadoes, die past offers no clue to the future. And statisticians attach little significance to such a finding. But Joe Eagleman, a meteorol ogy professor at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, has plotted a similar “center of activity” on graphs for individual years. Such a spot, he says, is usually in central or southern Missouri. Weather is a favorite topic for farmers here, and April, the start of tornado season, keeps the conver sation flowing. The big talk this year is El Nino, already blamed for rain and storms in the West and Southeast. Though Wright insists “you can’t outguess the weather,” tor nado experts are already watching for the funneling winds and guess ing about El Nino’s impact. “The atmosphere is chaotic,” says Howard Bluestein, meteorol ogy professor at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. “It’s very, very slight changes in what happens at the beginning — slight changes in what happens right now — that will affect what happens a week from now tremendously.” ‘The atmosphere is chaotic.” Howard Bluestein University of Oklahoma A factor or not, El Nino faces tough precedents. The planet’s fiercest tornadoes touch down most often in the United States. On average, 836 sightings are re ported each year. From its Storm Prediction Cen ter in Norman, Okla., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin istration recorded more than 38,000 segments — twisters that stay on a straight path — between 1950 and 1995. Those storms caused nearly 71,000 injuries and more than 4,100 deaths. That’s an average of two injuries per twister, according to data compiled from newspaper accounts and National Weather Service reports. An Associated Press analysis of that data shows that 75 percent of the tornadoes touched down in 17 states — in the Plains, Midwest and Southeast. These include Al abama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illi nois, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Geor gia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Just this past week, tornadoes swept through Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, leaving dozens of deaths in their wake. Meteorologists do agree that El Nino — the intense warming of the Pacific Ocean off South Amer ica— has intensified in the United States and shifted south the jet stream’s winter winds, bringing floods to southern California and heavy rains and winds to Florida. Will El Nino add kick to this sea son’s tornadoes? Many side with farmer Wright, claiming flat-out that no one can make a sound prediction. KU’s Ea gleman and Joe Schaefer, director of Norman’s center, say their stud ies show no definite correlation. Adds colleague Louis Wicker, a professor at Texas A&M Universi ty: "I’ve chased storms, and I’ve been doing that for 18 springs. I can say with some confidence 1 have no clue.” With expertise rooted in local lore, some of Fordland’s 530 resi dents offer their own ideas, theo ries and memories of “the big ones.” Baby boomd of touch will NEW YORK (AP more kids are tryingm earlier age, babybot are convinced thatdt to their children, accc tional study by the Par Drug-Free America. “Boomers —many o : ‘been there, donethai prisingly and ironies , with the reality of drug dren's lives,” Partner Richard D. Bonnettess Past Partnerships:.: that 60 percent of thet* tried marijuana at leas: The group's 10th po Sunday, showed that a derestimated the avails ijuana, their childrens risks and whether thei friends were smoking. “Few sincerely belie dren are exposed to drugs are widely avai schools their children nette said. The current study s* among children ages number who had tried was up from 334,000 571.000 last year-? from 3 percent to Spec age group. Marijuana use amorgij 16 remained stable,butj a significant increase:] and 18-year-olds—frr-j in 1996 to 48 perc m ■ Asa By Stepi Staff ANNOUNCING Physician Assistant Workshops Interested in applying to a Physician Assistant Program for 1999 Admission? If YES, then you need to attend one of the following PA Workshops to learn the ins and outs about the application process. April 13 @ 10 a.m. April 14 @ 2 p.m. April 22 @ 2 p.m. To register, call 847-8938 or go by the Office of Professional School Advising in Room 205 Academic Building. OPSA is partially funded by the Former Students Association. Need a Job For The 1998 Fall Semester? Are you a fun person? Do you enjoy working with kids? Looking for valuable work experience? Are you available Mon.-Fri., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we may have a job for you. Applications are now being accepted for the Kids Klub After School Program at Central Park Office until April 14 For more information call: 764-3486 ita' nl993, the Ku 1 hold a rally in C emit new mem inity. Several stuc :idea of the KKK Tiffany Inbody, Edil I Md 0131 Fax: 845-2647; E tc Advertising Publication and national display advert) Tied advertising, call 845-C 015 Reed McDonald, ando Monday through Fiiday. Fax: Subscriptions: A part of (lie Stifew- eaeh Texas A&M student to piotr?? Battalion. Mall subscriptions are Si.*® for the fall or spring semester and I® To charge by Visa, MasteiCaid, D* Express, call 845-2611. The Battaijon (ISSN #10554?26| s- Monday through Friday during the Ms® Monday through Thursday during He a (except University holidays andean: re® University. Second class postage patmOf 77840. Postmaster: Send address 1 Battalion, 015 Reed McDonald Wf University, College Station,TX 77843-1111 cided to hold an ■ing cultural di idents to what tl offer on the san isheld. Thus, the first V\ Texas A&M. Whoopstock is n ild on the O.R. Sir stival includes allr Ts.ioods and disp tral groups who ca Christina Wrigh iration for the Wh Bribed the prerr "It’s basically a H “We have al Ijips coming in hire people can okatart, concess going on throi Please s In a recent national survey of med school students 1 , 78% of Kaplan MCAT students got into their first-choice med school. Translation...nearly six times more Kaplan MCAT students got into their first-choice med school than did their classmates who took The Princeton Review. With results like this, it’s no wonder Kaplan’s the #1 choice for MCAT prep. Get started today. Call now! KAPLAN ■IE* 1 -800-KAP-TEST www.kaplan.com *MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges. t1998 Survey of medical students by Bruskin-Goldring Research. For more details of the findings, see our website at www.laplan.com/mcat. There is no second opinion " Quantxx Univ. I Need a little free time? Try 102 Revievi Lab Fin; Organ Question: L Pacl Who invented toilet? Acct 229 Test Reviews Cassidy Sun Aprl2 9pnt-]2am Deere Joiner Mon April 6pm-9pm fit : : T 'T vi Acct 229 Shomuker Parti Tue Apr 14 6pm-9pm Part U Wed Apr 15 6pm-9pm Part 111 Thu Apr 16 6pm~8pra . Acct 230 Test Review Mon Apr13 3pm«6pm Ca Test Review Mon Aprt3 1 9pm-12am : Biol 113 Part I Sun Apr 12 6pnt-9pm Part II Mon Apr 13 6pm-9pm Partlll Tue Apr 14 dpm-fipra P-j Math 141 Part I Mon Apr 13 6pm-9pm Part II Tue Apr 14 6pm-9pm Partlll Wed Apr 15 fipm-9pm Math 142 Parti Mon Apr 13 9pm-12pni Part U Tue Apr 14 9pra-12pm Part III Wed Apr 15 9pm-12pm j Fine 341 Parti Sun Apr 12 7pm-10pm Part II Mon Apr 13 7pm-I0pm Part III Tue Apr 14 7pm-9pm Tickets go on sale Sunday 5:30 p.m. 4.0 & Go is located om the comer of SW Pkwy and Tx Ave, behind KFC next to Lack’s (First 5 to coll with answer get free review!) Bi PsycIi HELP PAP Answer appears Ihursdai Last week's answer: Walter Citf was never able to succeed after he dropped outoft.u, 696-TUTOR (f St I I Look for cur e: in the Baft on Mondays (^Thursdays StL $i.r