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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1999)
:atm deki suffer EDITH MIGHT ' Battalion Christian auti:, ■'ide a meanins .devised deba- nizations. take placeir elliteon lOOu: .t Texas A&Mk- o 8 p.m. ■vill represent ii: ; )r. Bernard Le' scientific natur; rofessor of pr Universitywi FRIDAY February 12, 1999 Volume 105 • Issue 91 • 12 Pages College Station, Texas opinion •Across campus signs are painfully signaling the obvious - they’re unnec essary. PAGE 12 today’s issue Toons 2 News 6 Monday’s issue After numerous weekend matchups, find out how Aggie sports teams performed on the road. aggielife • Native American Students Association hosts annual pow-wow in Bryan on Saturday. PAGES * City Council workshop develops Munson Avenue plan •ations incluflrf / JL A A. .ssociation,. lident Minis Student Ass BY CARRIE BENNETT The Battalion College Station City Council , ,, ... temliers are discussing the pos- ation and a biljty of widening Munson Av- eventisas. lue ’ a P* an t * iat cou *d imple- 3 en the difc' ien [ ei ^ voters elect to reopen te street in may. this eventto David Dickson, College Station e commtinii ia yo r pro tempore, said during a , “ he said. ": orkshop held by the City Coun- iow and whj: 1 yesterday the council members iscissed potential costs of ’mberoftheic idening Munson Avenue from imore businc i fei't to either 38, 48 or 56 feet, munity tordi: “We took into account the vol- tne of current cars and came up organizations - “This gives us j || irist and build' with an approximate cost based on a 48-foot-wide road,” Dickson said. “The cost was said to be $95,000, but 1 believe this to be very conservative.” Dickson said if Munson Av enue is expanded 10 feet, the city would probably have to buy hous es to provide space for the expan sion. Stephen Miller, a member of Citizens for Neighborhood In tegrity, which is an organization in favor of the barricades placed on the residential street, said Munson Avenue would probably be expanded to the size of South west Parkway in order to accom- 3 nizations students for Peace 10 million forll ponsor conflict forum ships in 1986. g Howe, a CO | BY PING-YA HSU uit who negoti; B The Battalion ntract, saidfelW have been givi A forum last night offered •ontract award, .'exa^ A&M students a broader President Lar'erspective about the situation be- edman didn’t ween the United States and Iraq, thathewasgiv Sponsored by Students for 1 two months a'eafie, an organization promoting npany was the rorld peace and non-violent con- ate the club, ictffesolution, the forum featured could have bi xperts on the Middle East from t the gift, Faull ie University of Texas. The speakers were Dr. Robert nsen, head of campaign for Jus- cepnd Peace for the Middle East Jan associate professor of jour- alrsm at UT; Zeynap Tufek, a urnalist from Radio Television lm UT, an Austin television sta- H and Rahul Mahajan, a grad ate student at UT involved with J Anti-War Committee in lUStin. llfrhe United States is considered great power and behaves accord- Jto this status,” Jensen said, nited States policy toward the iddle East does not have any- T* to do with international law.” Jensen said the government oes not behave in correlation ith international law by its stag- g of illegal bombing attacks on aq. “We are now standing by while ^ holocaust is happening in Iraq,” iensen said. “It is really important learn about the situation and nake a difference.” Jensen said the victims of these attacks most affected are the Iraqi population, not its leader, Saddam Hussein. Jensen said the destruction of maior food and health provision areas caused nearly one million people to die. “We need to collectively work responsibly,” Jensen said. “The real work is to make people un derstand that this is not a ques tion.” Jensen encouraged students to get involved with national organi zations that lobby in Washington toward changing U.S. foreign pol icy. He said the public needs to re ceive more education about this matter because the U.S. govern ment and the media do not pro vide alternative sides to the pub lic. Zeynap Tufet provided statisti cal information on the number of people dying because of U.S. sanctions. She said five people in Iraq die of malnutrition, starvation or dis ease every half hour. Most victims are children under age 5. “Kids are dying of the need of very simple things,” Tufet said. “The damage started mostly be cause of the bombings and sanc tions.” The forum was opened for dis cussion and questions from stu dents who attended the event. modate the resulting increase in traffic. “With expansion up to 38 feet, the city would definitely have to buy the houses at 1202 and 1204 Munson,” Miller said. “A six-foot wide sidewalk would also be built.” Miller said houses would have to be destroyed, unless the resi dents do not mind having 10,000 cars pass within five to six feet of their house every day. Mike McMichen, a member of Friends of Our Community, which is an organization in favor of opening Munson Avenue, said the discussion of expansion is prema ture since the decision is not def inite. He said he thinks city offi cials should collect more data be fore discussing the issue. “Traffic counts have not been taken on Munson since the con struction on Texas Avenue has been completed,” said McMichen. McMichen said the widening of Munson was first proposed by the City Council in the 1960s. “The expansion of Munson has been part of the city’s long-range plans, and I believe they should follow through,” McMichen said. “The plan is to expand the rest of Munson to equal the width of South Munson, which is the part in front of the sorority houses.” Miller said Citizens for Neigh borhood Integrity wants to find al ternatives other than the expan sion to allow for movement throughout the city and conserve neighborhoods. “Does progress mean the de struction of successful neighbor hoods?” Miller asked. Kayla Glover, head of Friends of Our Community, said expan sion will be necessary, but not im mediately after the election, should the outcome be to reopen Munson Avenue. see Munson on Page 2. Hussein hits home Carino Casas/The Battalion Elva Evans, of Saratoga, Wyo., reads information on Saddam Hussein and views his photo at the Desert Storm section of the Bush Museum. Museum hours are Mon. through Sat. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 12:30 p.m to 5 p.m. Teleconference brings forum for spiritual debate BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion Naturalist, Eastern and Christ ian were the three views presented at the Faith and Science Forum tele conference last, night to discuss whether or not there is meaning to evil and suffering. A topic discussed during the teleconference was the concept of moral law. Dr. Ravi Zacharias, a Christian author, began the conference by trying to get people to conceptual ize the reality of evil and suffering. “There are two distinct tracks when people think about how to approach evil and suffering,” he said. “These are the intellectual track and the emotional track.” Zacharias said God should be viewed as an author of the script of life. He said people should respond to life’s storyline with love. “Out of worship comes love of God and love of fellow human be ings,” Zacharias said. Dr. Jitendra Mohanty, professor of philosophy and Asian studies at Emory and Temple Universities, presented the Eastern viewpoint. Mohanty said pain and suffering . cannot be separated. “Faith may help you deal with pain and suffering,” Mohanty said, “but that does not help us under stand why,” Representing the naturalist point of view was Dr. Bernard Leikind, a plasma physicist and the senior editor of Skeptic magazine. Leikind said the purpose of peo ple’s lives are the things they cre ate, and the glory and tragedy of their lives belong to them. “The universe has no purpose,” Leikind said. “All ideas about cos mic universe are speculations with out credibility. The only moral law giver is you and me.” Leikind said God was a gambler and takes on propositions from Sa tan. “Isn’t it ironic how currently, any proposals for human testing are rejected, but in ancient times it was one big experiment,” he said. Dr. William L. Craig, a teacher at Talbot School of Theology told see Conference on Page 2. JDA UISE Brazos Valley adds twist I to Mardi Gras tomorrow BY APRIL YOUNG The Battalion The streets of historic down- 3wn Bryan will come to life to- torrow with a Mardi Gras cele- ration from noon to 6 p.m. | The celebration will incorpo- Q AT Jte , ^ ie s i§hts an d sounds of Mar- 0“ 1 i Gras with entertainment from ie Brazos Valley. The fifth annual “Mardi Gras >razos Style” will feature live en- ;rtainment at the Palace Theatre y the Red Brick Bunch, the Blue r alentines and John Wick and the n ull House Blues Band. )LLEGE 1,1; ’ 101.9 KZTR-FM, and 98.3 DRA-FM will broadcast live ^ ^rom the celebration from 11:30 a tl Ar- m to p.m., offering free A :ems. L Jpey Armstrong, program di- ,(1^3 ectbr of 101.9 KZTR-FM and norning show personality, said he 3 excited about the celebration !lf and wants to hear from the radio station’s listeners. “1 am really looking forward to meeting everyone,” Armstrong said. Contestants from throughout Texas will compete in an Interna tional Barbecue Cookers Associa tion-sanctioned cook-off, which will begin Friday and be judged Sat urday. Kali Wood, assistant coordina tor for the Bryan Main Street Pro ject, said the purpose of the event is to celebrate the spirit of Mardi Gras and to attract visitors to the historic area. “I think this is a good way to celebrate the spirit of Mardi Gras in downtown Bryan,” she said. “Our goal is to bring old and new visitors into the historic down town area to see what types of services and businesses are avail able to the public.” The Mardi Gras celebration LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: •John Wick •Blue Valentines •Red Brick Bunch •Full House Blue Band will be centered around the Palace Theatre, and visitors should park on Bryan Street or behind the Palace Theatre. Main Street will be closed. A&M students from Middle East mourn the death of King Hussein BY AMANDA SMITH I was in Jordan.” The Battalion Majed Azouqah, a native of Jordan, said King Hussein will be remembered as a king who reigned in the best interests of his people. Azouqah is one of 11 Jordanian students attend ing Texas A&M University, according to Internation al Student Services. Azouqah, the president of the Arabian Students Association and a a junior electrical engineering ma jor, said King Hussein’s death has left a void in Jor dan, where the country’s citizens will remember him as a leader who dramatically improved the state of the nation. “He always had the the best interests of the peo ple at heart,” Azouqah said. “He won their loyalty, and he won the hearts of the people.” Azouqah, whose family lives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said Hussein provided stability to the Jordanian government. While the Jordanian constitution allows for the practice of free speech, Azouqah said most Jordani ans supported Hussein’s leadership. “Jordan is one of the few Arabic countries where people can say what is on their minds,” Azouqah said. “I did not hear anything negative of him when Raad Al-nasser, a sophomore electrical engineer ing major who moved to the United States to attend college, said Jordanians were less critical of King Hussein than the criticism many Americans direct towards the U.S. president. Al-nasser was born in Jordan but grew up in the UAE, the country where his family lives. Al-nasser attributes Jordanians’ admiration of Hussein’s leadership to his works, including the organi zation of a military, a Parliament and a judicial system. “Jordan was kind of like a desert before [King Hussein],” Al-nasser said. “King Hussein made it a full country with a judicial system. He definitely set an example. He had a lot of love for his people.” In Hussein’s place, his son and successor, Abdul lah, will lead Jordan. Al-nasser said Abdullah is prepared to take over where his father left off. “He is going to have everything, but he is going to have to gain the respect of the people,” Al-nasser said. “The road lies ahead of him.” HUSSEIN