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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1998)
DECLAWED 'Aggies pull off close call mith 17-14 victory mer University oj Missouri Tigers. SPORTS, PAGE 7 WAR GAMES • Threats of military action in Iraq show signs of boastful attitudes, underestimation of Saddam. OPINION, PAGE 9 CHECK OUT THE BATTALION ONLINE http://battalion, tamu.edu MONDAY November 16, 1998 Volume 105 • Issue 57 • 10 Pages 105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Lama discusses Buddhist tenets BY VERONICA SERRANO The Battalion I The Lama K. T. Shedrup Gyatso laid the life of the Buddha Sid- Ihartha Gautama, the three vehi- ■es of Buddhism and other facets If the Buddhist religion are key to ■aching enlightenment. I The Lama, whose name means lOcean-like teacher of the Bud- Ihist Dharma of the three jewels,” ||aid Buddhism began with the ilirth of Siddhartha Gautama. I After religious leaders foresaw liddhartha would become a reli- lious leader of the world, Sid- Ihartha’s father attempted to keep liddhartha from his destiny by ■Welding him from the four expe- ■ences that, once encountered, would seal Siddhartha’s fate. Ihese were monasticism, death, lid age and sickness. The sick, el- lerly, dead and monks in Sid- ■hartha’s kingdom were hidden ’ from him. I However, one day Siddhartha encountered these four things. I “At that point, his fate was sealed,” the Lama said. I Siddhartha left the kingdom to dedicate his life to alleviating the |uffering of others. After wander ing for years with a small group of followers, he attempted to find the way to end the suffering of others through speaking with other teach ers and self-mortification. When these methods did not work, Sid dhartha ended the wandering and self-mortification. “[Here] he began his final jour ney,” the Lama said. While meditating for several days, he looked into himself and defeated his ego with compassion. He had reached enlightenment. The Lama said there are three vehicles in Buddhism: Hinayana, Mayhayana and Vajrayana. “Hinayana is the path to per sonal liberation,” he said, “not en lightenment.” Hinayana is the foundation ve hicle, upon which the others are built, but each school depends on the other. One cannot practice one with-' out knowledge of the other. How ever, one does not have to reach the highest level of one path to go on to the next. The goal of the Mahayana path leads to the Bodhisattva Vow. “Those who have taken the Vow return lifetime after lifetime until all beings are enlightened,” the Lama said. The goal of Vajrayana is to reach ERIC NEWNAM/The Battalion Lama K.T. Shedrup Gyasto speaks about Buddhism in Rud der Tower Sunday night. enlightenment. Translated, Va jrayana means lightening or dia mond-like, which demonstrates that reaching enlightenment can be immediate. “One can achieve Buddahood in one lifetime,” the Lama said. • He said one of the most impor tant aspects of Buddhism is to have , compassion for others, i “[One must understand] I am you, and if 1 hurt you, 1 hurt me,” the Lama said. Ceremony honors CPR care BY MEGAN WRIGHT The Battalion A ceremony honored people in volved in administering CPR to a man who collapsed outside of Kyle Field on Oct. 24 last night in A.P. Beutel Health Center. University Police officer Kary Shaffer and Whitney Deike, a freshman business analysis major and Corps of Cadets Squadron 2 member, initiated the CPR respon sible for saving the life of William Steele, a former student. Following the march in for the Texas A&M-Texas Tech football game, Deike passed a crowd hud dled around an elderly gentleman. After a bystander asked for anyone who could administer CPR, Deike began CPR procedures. Shaffer ad ministered chest compressions while Deike regulated breathing until a University Emergency Med ical Services team arrived. “I really wasn’t nervous while I was doing the CPR,” Deike said. JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion Whitney Deike, a freshman busi ness analysis major, receives hon ors last night at A.P Beutel Health Center for administering CPR. “It was when the ambulance drove away that it hit me. I was worried through the whole game whether or not Mr. Steele was going to be all right. After the game, they said he was fine and would recover. ” Anna Steele, William Steele’s wife, said the combined efforts of the by standers and of the EMS staff made the difference in saving her husband’s life. “He doesn’t remember it,” Anna Steele said. “The whole scene looked so orchestrated that you would have thought you were watching an episode of ‘ER.’” see CPR on Page 2. Shelters experience population growth BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion I The Bridge, a homeless shel ter for men, women and children, perved 1,700 permanent and tran sient homeless people in the Bra- kos Valley last year; that number Bias doubled this year. I November is National Home less Awareness Month, and T\vin lity Missions, which runs The fridge, is requesting the Bryan Ind College Station city councils [o proclaim homeless awareness in issue in the community. t Theresa Strope, director of he Bridge, said the councils de flated homelessness a problem la st year. I “We want people to be aware |>f the problem,” Strope said. “It ft a human problem, not a prej- ftdice problem. (Homelessness) Ian be caused by a multitude of lircumstances like work prob lems or family death.” I Strope said Dec. 21 is Na- ■onal Homeless Persons Memo- lial Day to honor homeless peo- lle who died due to weather londitions, lack of nutrition, loneliness or mental illness. I “People are homeless for var ious reasons,” Strope said. “They are not all drunks, drug gies or mentally ill.” To combat homelessness in the Brazos Valley, 17 communi ty service events will be held to collect food, clothes and shoes this month. At TWin City Missions, 10 to 30 people will help throughout the month with various projects such as kitchen help, work in the re sale shops and beautification pro jects around the property. The Student Government As sociation will host a Winter Dri ve to collect canned food, cloth ing and blankets. The 24-hour event will be at Reed Arena, Sbisa Dining Hall, Commons Lobby, Wehner Buidling and the MSC today and will benefit the Brazos Food Bank and Twin City Missions. Monetary donations are also accepted. The Texas A&M Chapter of the NAACP will have a Shoe Bank to collect shoes for the Bra zos Valley. Students are asked to donate shoes Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Commons and MSC. see Donations on Page 2. Signing off JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion Benjamin Knox, of Benjamin Knox Galleries, signs a copy of his new print honoring Aggie basketball for Kin Heinemann, a junior biochemistry major, Friday night after the A&M Men’s Basketball Team’s 80-59 victory over the University of North Texas. t I APO sponsors campus blood drive BY BETH MILLER The Battalion This year’s fall semester blood drive, “Peace of Mind. Donate Blood,” sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega and the Carter BloodCare center of Dallas, will be held on campus Nov. 16 to 20. Donation sites on campus are the MSC, Sbisa Dining Hall, Commons Lobby, the Quadrangle and the Bio chemistry/Biophysics Building. Beth Piwonka, project co-chair and a junior applied math major, said the blood drives each semes ter usually collect 1,000 to 1,500 units of blood, which is 3 percent of Texas A&M students. She said she hopes to see a larger turnout this semester. “We can’t save lives with just the awareness,” she said. “We need the blood.” "We can't save lives with just the awareness/' — Beth Piwonka Blood drive co-chair Christy Ecton, a consultant for Carter BloodCare in Dallas, said blood centers around the state form alliances so people in need of blood can benefit from the supply of statewide centers, not just the center in their communities. She said the alliance makes A&M a good place to hold the blood drive each semester because the stu dents are from a variety of areas within the state. Ecton said people do not realize the how high the demand for blood is. “In terms of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, our blood center has a need for 700 pints a day,” she said. “That is just this area.” Piwonka said the holiday season and summer see increases in the amount of blood needed. “Blood is only good for a certain amount of time, so they are always in need,” she said. Piwonka said two A&M students needed blood last year, but said it is important to contribute regard less of whether they know the re cipients and regardless of whether the recipients are A&M students. “The biggest benefit is that you’re helping people,” she said. ADD kicks off campaign i BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion I Mothers Against Drunk Driving will kick [ff “Tie One On For Safety,” a campaign to Hcrease awareness of the hazards of drink- ng and driving, at noon at the Brazos Coun- y Courthouse. Yolanda Raymond, administrator for the Irazos Valley chapter of MADD, said the 4ADD ribbons symbolize motorists’ com- nitment to drive safe and sober during the thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and emind others to avoid drinking and driving. Raymond said she hopes to see an in lease in participation from the schools, the Hiblic officials and the residents of Bryan md College Station. “Participation in the community has been ninimal,” Raymond said. “The more we can let the community involved, the more we get them the information they need on he hazards of drinking and driving. Unfor tunately, a lot of people do not get involved until a tragedy happens in their families.” In 1997, there were 173 alcohol-related car accidents in Brazos County, with 23 per cent involving fatalities, according to a re port from the Department of Public Safety. Raymond said the week’s activities will not stop drinking and driving but may in crease awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated. “We know that we can’t conquer this prob lem in a day or a week,” Raymond said. “But we hope more people realize there is a problem, and MADD -is here to help. MADD is not just mothers — it’s fathers and children and rela tives against drunk driving, fighting for tougher penalties against those who drink and drive.” The counties participating in the aware ness campaign include Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Washington and Robertson. SEE MADD on Page 2. B-CS LOCATIONS DISTRIBUTING MADD RIBBONS: • Brazos County Courthouse • Sheriff's Office • City of Bryan Municipal building • Bryan Police Department • Department of Public Safety • Allstate • Kroger Video • Hastings • Target • Nations Bank • Chick-Fil-A Hindu students celebrate holiday BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion The Indian holiday celebration, Dandiya Nite, sponsored by the Hindu Student Council and the India Associa tion, attracted students and community members to the Archery Room in the Stu dent Recreation Center Saturday night for native dancing and food. The Clay Oven, an Indian food restau rant in College Station, sold food to the participants. Santhi Thotakura, secretary of HSC and a sophomore biology and premed major, said one participant bought the re mainder of the food from the Clay Oven near the end of the night and allowed everyone to eat the Indian cuisine. Traditional dances such as Garba, a cir cular dance; Raas, a dance with sticks; and 12 step, a stick dance with 12 steps for each part of the dance, were demonstrated from 8:30 p.m. to midnight. The dances cele brate the Indian holiday Navratri, which means nine nights. Navratri is an Indian re ligious ceremony to celebrate the persever ance of good over evil. Thotakura said the event was exciting for members of HSC. “We had tons of fun and the band was good,” Thotakura said. “People ran to get the sticks when they were put out.” Thotakura said 250 people attended the event. She said Rec Center staff mem bers also learned the dances. “The staff wanted to learn,” Thotaku ra said. “It was fun teaching them the dances.” Attendants wore traditional Indian clothes, which are ornate and colorful. Thotakura said non-Indian people went to the event and also dressed in Indian clothes. She said many people learned the dances, but some people just went to watch the activities.
