jy$ Jdutfr ;en'9C .netz-jn vi% ushing unveils itself, treasures BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion shing Memorial Library’s ake booklet reads, “For ( the Cushing Memorial Li- sat quiet, concealing a mul- 1 of treasures most Aggies never even imagined.†Ves t’s rededication of the library that silence. [ter four years of renovations ig $7 million dollars, Cush- ortrays an altered look from it opened in 1930 as the first y on campus, according to ed M. Heath, library dean, ath said in his welcoming h there are three main pur- of a library: to be a place of ction, a place of research place of culture, ur mission is to maintain collections in a beautiful ntellectually stimulating en- iment,†he said, xas A&M University Presi- Dr. Ray M. Bowen said the rical restoration of the library s as a symbol of respect for Texas A&M’s history. “This library stands as a grand monument for both our history and future,†Bowen said. Sir Roger Elliott, a theoretical physicist from Oxford University who has worked with the Oxford Press and is executive director of B.H. Blackwell LTD, and John Lindsey, a member of the Board of Regents, were the rededication ceremony’s keynote speakers. Elliott said the core of any uni versity is the library. “Most noble scholars base their work on the past, thus it is imper ative that the libraries give a prop er home and properly preserve these rare collections,†he said. Lindsey said he is glad to see the building restored. “We may have helped save the building, but it was Col. Cushing who saved Texas A&M in times of financial distress,†Lindsey said. Lindsey said everyone should visit the library. “People should come here to pursue scholarly experience, but also come here for pure enjoy ment of its grandeur of an era past but not forgotten,†Lindsey said. Many former students attend ed the ceremony. David Moore, Class of ’74 and development coordinator, said some of the classes split their do nations between gift items and partial endowments to support ac quisitions. “The Class of ’47 designed the Gateway to the Kelsey reading room on the second floor, the Class of ’45 designed some book shelves and the Class of ’49 is helping put historical information on the World Wide Web,†Moore said. Cushing houses a diverse col lection of rare books. These range from collection from the history of the University to sports to military collections. There are also visual exhibits such as a baseball signed by Babe Ruth which was a gift from C.E. “Pat†Olsen, Class of ’23, and a hand-colored plate from History of the Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas Lor raine McKenney. Photos by ROBERT MCKAY RIGHT: Dr. Fred M. Heath, library dean, welcomes the audience to the rededication of the Cushing Library. BELOW: At the Cushing Library reded- ication, Marvis Kelsey, checks out a pair of spurs donated to the Universi ty. The spurs represent the time and dedication it took to develop the San ta Gertrudis breed of cattle. Enzyme could lessen weapons’ threat BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion Chemical weapons, which could potentially kill millions of people, could no longer be a threat as a result of a bacterial enzyme found by Texas A&M researchers. Fifteen years ago, a Texas A&M student discovered a nat ural bacteria that could break down pesticides to allow crops to grow faster, a technique known as Chemical Intensive Agriculture in which chemicals are used to improve the quali ty of agriculture. In 1993, the student applied this knowledge to chemical weapons because insecticides have the same chemical structure as warfare agents. Kirby C. Donnelly, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, said the bacteria completely elim inates toxicity within 24 hours. Dr. James R. Wild, head of the Biochemistry and Bio physics Department, said the bacteria is being used to combat chemical warfare. see Research on Page 2. Panel to discuss weapons of mass destruction BY MELISSA JORDAN The Battalion Wiley Lecture Series will host “Weapons of Mass Destruction,†a panel discussion tonight in 206 MSC. The discussion will pertain pri marily to chemical and biological weapons. The impact of these in struments on national security and foreign policy will be a major part of the evening’s discussion. Speakers in the panel discus sion will include: Dr. Ray Wilson, an expert on nuclear proliferation and disarmament and professor emeritus of physics at Illinois Wes leyan University; Col. Jim Davis, an expert on chemical and biolog ical weapons and a graduate of Texas A&M; and Dr. Charles Her mann, director of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, who will serve as moder ator of the discussion. News events, such as the Okla homa City bombing, concerning the impact of these weapons on U.S. national security will be dis cussed by the panel. Rahul Patel, chair of the Wiley Lecture Series and a senior bio medical science major, said with threats such as the Cold War be ing a thing of the past, the discus sion will focus on terrorism. Hermann said the lack of for eign threats has made the United States comfortable and not as aware of potential dangers. “The end of the Cold War has giv en all of us, I think, the idea that there are no threats to the U.S.,†he said. With the proliferation of weapons that cause massive loss of human life, Hermann said it is important to address these issues because terrorist groups, as well as states have access to these weapons. “The end of the Cold War has given all of us r I think, the idea that there are no threats to the U.S/' — Dr. Charles Hermann Director, George Bush School of Government and Public Service “It’s one of the most serious threats to this country,†Hermann said. Patel said by coming to the dis cussion students will gain a better understanding of weapons of mass destruction and the reality of their use in terrorism. “They will gain the knowledge of what’s going on in the world to day in the sense of terrorism,†Pa tel said. " Jorum examines campus race relations pifrom Northgate incidents to Racial inity Month, students meet to brainstorm wout improving A&M immunity. I BY MEGAN WRIGHT 1| The Battalion ■The Baha’i Club sponsored a racial H l ty forum to reco g n ize Racial Unity fgll ®nth and address concerns raised by ■recent Northgate incidents. ■■Topics discussed by the group in- 2^®ded minority recruiting techniques ■rrently employed by Texas A&M, tra ditions and the effectiveness of multi cultural organizations on campus. Matt Sherrill, a Baha’i Club member and a junior electrical engineering ma jor, said the purpose of the forum was to acquire potential ideas for improving campus race relations. “The purpose was to gather solu tions,†Sherrill said. “We want to even tually fix some of these racial and com munity problems, and tonight we got a good feedback.†Layla Aflatooni, a Baha’i member and a junior bioenvironmental science major, said the next step is to make tan gible changes. “It wound up, to a certain extent, to be a lot of concerns and issues,†Afla tooni said. “It’s now a matter of imple mentation. We’ve got a lot of names and e-mail addresses, and we’re going to go from here.†Leading the discussion were two rep resentatives from the University Aware ness for Cultural Togetherness (U-ACT) organization. U-ACT is an organization that participates in various cultural fo rums, discussions and events throughout the year on campus. Event facilitators spend one semester attending classes and seminars educating them about is sues facing different cultural groups. Christina Bloem, a facilitator at the forum and a senior biomedical engi neering major, said it is important to discuss race relations. “Any opportunity to have a discus sion about issues in general, especially diversity issues, is a positive venture,†Bloem said. Aflatooni said the forum went well and was pleased with the amount of participation. “I was really happy to see a lot of dif ferent people here with various input and opinions,†Aflatooni said. Rasheda Jones, a junior accounting major, leads a dis cussion at the Racial Unity Forum Tuesday night at the MSC. ROBERT MCKAY/Thk Battalion NEWS IN BRIEF Law School caravan makes MSC stop Students interested in attending law school can attend the law school caravan today in the MSC Flagroom from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The law school caravan is an open forum with 85 law school rep resentatives from academic insti tutions across the country. Dr. Anne Blum, director of the Of fice of Professional School Advis ing, said 85 of the 130 law schools in the country will will be . repre sented at the caravan. Yale, Duke, Washington and Lee, University of Texas, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Pepperdine, George town and all the Texas law schools will be represented. Approximately 1,000 students attended the caravan last year. The caravan is sponsored by the Student Law Council, Office of Pro fessional School Advising and South west Association of Pre-Law Advisors. Exxon contributes to A&M research Exxon continues to fuel research and academic programs at Texas A&M University, expecting to bring their total 1998 contributions to Texas A&M to $800,000. Exxon Chemical Company Presi dent Ray Nesbitt, Class of ’55, will present a $103,000 check to Texas A&M University President Ray M. Bowen at a luncheon today. The Exxon Corporation and the Exxon Education Foundation have donated $4.5 million to Texas A&M University since 1994. The money goes to 11 departments within the University that demonstrate contri butions to science and engineering. Muslim students to discuss Quran As part of Islam Awareness Week, the Muslim Students’ Asso ciation is sponsoring “Quran: The Final Testament.†Joban An, an Indonesian islam- ic scholar, will be the speaker for the program. The Quran is the holy book of the Muslim religion. An will discuss how the Quran offers details on living life according to Muslim tradition. “Quran: The Final Testament†will be in 301 Rudder at 6 p.m. Student life hosts leader luncheon As a part of National Colle giate Alcohol Awareness Week, the Department of Student Life will be holding a Student Leader luncheon. Representatives from the Corps of Cadets, Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council will be present to discuss alcohol and it’s role in the traditions of Texas A&M. Storms lead to drain investigation Texas A&M’s waste water plant experienced a heavy influx of water during the storms last weekend. The experience has led Physical Plant officials to believe that there are cross ties in the sanitary vs. storm drains system. To locate these areas, officials plan to smoke test the sanitary and storm drains starting with west campus. Officials do not expect to experi ence any problems within the build ings, but there may be reports of smoke coming from manholes. Smoke entering buildings should be reported by e-mail to Gene Stewart, superintendent, Facilities Mainte nance, atgstewart@ppfs4.tamu.edu.