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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