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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1999)
lexicology report reveals high BAG BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion ■Texas A&M freshman Barry loseph Vail II was heavily intoxi- :at( tl when he fell to his death, ac- :ording to toxicology reports re leased Monday. ■The 18-year-old Vail died Satur day after falling three stories in the southwest stairwell of the South- side Parking Garage. ■lob Wiatt, director of Universi ty rolice Department, said the tox icology report showed Vail’s blood alcohol content was 0.223, more than twice the legal limit of 0.100. ■fail and two friends were leav ing the Southside garage at 3 a.m. Saturday after parking on the ie turner i fourth floor of the garage when Vail . , straddled the handrail between the s ( e \Yvkd and fourth floors in the stair- o ernoc we ^ accorc tj n g to witness reports -jtaken by UPD. , w ^.^BVail lost his balance and fell to -^th| first floor of the garage, where de .'offered massive head injuries. |f. ■Viatt said Vail was taken off life sulport at 6:30 p.m. after 12 hours it St. Joseph’s Regional Health Sen ter. ■Wiatt said the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) Hy further investigate Vail’s case olfind the source of the alcohol /ail consumed before his death. | We are in the process of trying o[locate where a [private] party was held in College Station,” Wiatt said. “If any of the [providers] were 21 or over, then we are referring the matter to the TABC. Unless you are 21, you know you are not supposed to be drinking. Minors are told this over and over. ” Wiatt said UPD issued 216 mi nor in possession (MIP) citations in 1998, compared to 219 MIP cita tions in 1997 and 246 MIP citations in 1996. Wiatt said the decrease in the number of MIP citations given on the A&M campus does not neces sarily denote the numbers violating the law. “Those are the ones we catch,” Wiatt said. “I would hope this trag ic accident would show that this experience was almost certainly in duced by alcohol. We feel that al cohol was certainly a contributing factor [in Vail’s case].” Any individual of 17 years of age or older may be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and up to a $2,000 fine, according to the TABC. Dennis Reardon, director of Stu dent Life, said it is unfortunate events like Vail’s accident occur. “What we need to do is take a look at this,” Reardon said. “It is an example of what can happen when people overdrink. It destroys one’s sense of judgment, inhibition and balance.” Planned Parenthood to lobby for women’s rights in Austin BY MEREDITH HIGHT The Battalion Parenthood are heading to Austin Representatives from Planned cards an r Student today to discuss women’s issues, particularly women’s health care, with state legislators. ■ Dyann Santos, director of the Bryan-College Station Planned Par enthood clinic, said she will meet with legislators representing the Brvan-College Station area. ■ “We are meeting with State Rep resentatives Fred Brown and Charles B. Jones and State Senator Steve Ogden,” she said. “It’s a statewide effort to improve the funds available for women who don’t have access to health care.” Santos said Planned Parenthood will focus on three main issues, with women’s health care as the priority. “There are 1.7 million women without health insurance in Texas,” she said. “We want them (state legisla tors) to fund the Texas Campaign for Women’s Health, a new line item in the Texas Department of Health budget, to help this.” see Planned on Page 7. Serving students University officials dish up dinner, conversation ERIC NEWNAM/The Battalion University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen serves dinner at Commons Dining Hall Monday night. Bowen and several other University officials served dinner to students then toured Southside residence halls. BY MELISSA JORDAN The Battalion University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen and the vice presidents of the University spent yesterday evening meeting and serv ing students and staff in the Commons Din ing Hall. The University administrators worked from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Commons serving lines and then sat down to dinner with students. Students eating in the dining hall were surprised to learn they were being served enchiladas and Acapulco chicken by the top University officials, who used the opportu nity to talk and joke with the students they served. Dr. Jerry Gaston, vice president for ad ministration, said serving in the dining halls is always a chance to meet students. “It’s been great fun,” Gaston said. “We enjoy it every time we do this.” Bowen recruited students to get their dinner from his line, while Gaston tried to convince unknowing students that Presi dent Bowen was really A&M football coach R.C. Slocum. Bowen said serving dinner in the Com mons gave students the opportunity to in teract with University officials and gain a friendlier view of them. “It lets people meet us and understand we can have fun, too,” Bowen said. Dr. J. Malon Southerland, vice president of student affairs, said the evening was an opportunity to show their appreciation for Food Services staff on campus. Bowen and the vice presidents toured many of the Southside residence halls oc cupied by Resident Hall Association and Resident Life leaders after dinner. see Dinner on Page 7. Festivities mark start of International Awareness Month BY AMANDA STIRPE The Battalion Dressed in traditional apparel, members of the International Student Association gathered with city officials Monday at the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce to proclaim February as In ternational Awareness Month. Bryan Mayor Lonnie Stabler and College Station Mayor Pro Tern David Hickson attended the event, which included international food dishes for at tendees to taste. Tatsuki Ohashi, president of International Stu dent Association and a senior international studies major, said International Week will be following In ternational Awareness Month on March 1-5 and will celebrate diversity at Texas A&M. “The two goals of the month is to bring interna tional students together and to bring international awareness to the community and A&M,” Ohashi said. Ohashi said International Week will host cultur al displays Monday and Tbesday. Wednesday, a buf fet will exhibit an array of cultural food. To round out the week, a talent show with a traditional dress parade will be open to the public Friday. “There are about 30 to 40 international groups on campus,” Ohashi said. “We would like to invite the community to show that international students are like everybody. ” Ohashi said fall semester’s Northgate incidents, where international students were targets of as sault, has helped raise awareness in the communi ty. “Northgate businesses reacted and support us tremendously with ideas and support,” Ohashi said. Window displays on Northgate and displays at Bryan Independent School District and College Sta tion Independent School District will highlight in ternational cultures. Celia Goode-Haddock, chair of the Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber gathered businesses and students together to eliminate the negative per ception of international cultures in the Bryan-Col lege Station area. “We felt like the international students were do ing an outstanding program at A&M, but we want ed citizens to get involved and appreciate differ ences,” Goode-Haddock said. Alisara Menakanit, president of the Thai Student Association, said last year’s International Week helped promote the Thai culture. Menakanit said people would call and ask for recipes and inquire about the culture. Ranjith Jayaram, representative of the India Business and Technological Consortium and a computer science graduate student, said his group will use International Week to promote India as an industrial nation. see ISA on Page 12. Side effects of sweetener may outweigh benefits BY ANDREA BROCKMAN The Battalion dit Card /OU Cd Aspartame, a low-calorie sweetener, has IK6 Dig || en a source of controversy because of its rapid formation acceptance and widespread use in more than 90 ett countries around the world. An article by Nancy Markle, a lecturer for the you g — and ;ars ncial jporld Environmental Conference, is one source of disagreement between health experts. The ar ticle, circulating the Internet, claims aspartame is linked to multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosis and Alzheimer’s disease. B Markle also said aspartame may cause birth defects, blindness, weight gain and is deadly for diabetics. ■ Marketed as NutraSweet and Equal, aspar tame is made by joining two protein compo nents, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis tration in 1996 for use in all foods and beverages. JEric Myers, a Nutrasweet product adviser, said the article is false and the symptoms Markle attributed to aspartame have no scien tific basis. Jp “It is the number-one tested item in the food industry, and in 200 studies, there have never Guv Rogers/The Battalion been any side effects or diseases,” he said. Markles said in her article aspartame keeps di abetics from being able to control their blood sug ar levels, possibly resulting in coma and death. Myers said aspartame is not only 100-percent safe for diabetics but also beneficial. “It allows them to enjoy sweet foods and still comply with a balanced diet,” he said. Markles said consuming aspartame at the time of conception can cause birth defects be cause the phenylalanine concentrates in the placenta causing mental retardation. Myers said aspartame is safe for pregnant women, and aspartic acid and phenylalanine are naturally occurring amino acids found in most foods including milk, meat and vegetables. Markles said the methanol in aspartame con verts to formaldehyde in the retina of the eye and may cause blindness. According to information provided by Dr. Jane Cohen, health educator and nutrition spe cialist at A.P. Beutel Health Center, scientists say only huge quantities of methanol affect vision, and the amount people consume in aspartame is well within safe levels and is less than that found in many fruit and vegetable juices. Finally, Markle said aspartame causes weight gain. “The formaldehyde stores in the fat cells, par ticularly in the hips and thighs,” she said. According to Cohen’s information, while it does not stimulate weight loss, studies have shown that foods and beverages sweetened with aspartame can be an effective part of a weight management program. Cohen said the controversy over aspartame is interesting, but much of it is sensationalism. ‘We may not know everything about how in dividuals react to certain products, so therefore va riety and moderation is important,” Cohen said. “It is always good to read labels.” Silver Taps will be held tonight in front of the Acade mic Building, honoring the memory of: • Jacob Ryan Rebeck, a fresh man industrial distribution major 'Joseph Ryan Parkey, a junior journalism major • Keith Evan Remme, a fresh man general studies major. The lights on campus will be darkened at 10:20 p.m. After marching across cam pus to the Academic Building plaza, the Ross Volunteer Hon or Corps will fire a volley salute. Buglers from the Aggie Band will play an arrangement of “Taps.” At the end of the ceremony, the Albritton Tower bells will toll. Rebeck, Parkey and Remme will also have their names called at Muster on April 21. 1
