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