The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 05, 1999, Image 1

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    FRIDAY
March 5, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 106 • 8 Pages
College Station, Texas
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
opinion
• Professors who rely too
heavily on textbooks
harm both themselves
and their students.
PAGE 7
today’s issue
Toons 2
Movie Reviews 4
Monday’s issue
Aggielife focuses on Women's
Week and influential women in
the history of A&M.
sports
• Iowa State Cyclones travel
to Olsen Field for weekend
series against the Aggies.
PAGES
hack-a-Thon
Charity event raises hundreds of dollars
Xi
r 7 :
SALLIE TURNER/The Battalion
transi; Ricky McGee, a senior wildlife and fisheries sci-
f Team.^pces major, builds the frame of the Alpha Phi
■Mo’ - nOmega Shack Wednesday. The Aggie Habitat for
Humanity’s Shack-a-Thon raised $600.
BY AMANDA PALM
The Battalion
Aggie Habitat for Hu
manity raised over $600
during the two-day Shack-a-
Thon March 3-5 at Rudder
Fountain.
The organizations that
participated in Shack-a-
Thon built shacks out of
cardboard, boards and plas
tic tarps to serve as their
temporary homes. Students
who spent the night in the
shacks slept on the ground
in sleeping bags and used
light from lanterns and
flashlights.
Stephen Fisher, Shack-a-
Thon chair and a junior
management information
systems major, said the
money raised will con
tribute to Aggie Habitat for
Humanity’s goal of $15,000.
“We want to build a
home on campus and then
move it to a lot in Bryan,”
he said. “That way visitors
and students on campus
can see what we are doing
to help the community. But
$15,000 is a lot of money,
and we still have a long way
to go.”
Chris Lavery, a member
of the Conference On Fresh
man Leadership Organiza
tions (COFLO) and a junior
history major, spent both
nights in COFLO’s shack.
“It was really neat to be
outside and work together
to build the shack,” he said.
“It gave me a small sense of
the reality of not having a
house or an apartment or a
dorm to live in.”
Shannon Soechting, a
member of Alpha Phi
Omega and a sophomore
sociology major, said there
were so many members
who wanted to participate
in Shack-a-Thon that peo
ple had to sign up for
shifts.
“There were different
blocks you could sign up
for, so that gave more mem
bers a chance to partici
pate,” she said.
Students stopped by
Rudder Fountain to ques
tion the students participat
ing in Shack-a-Thon.
“A lot of people came up
to talk to us,” Soechting
said. “Some people had no
idea what Habitat for Hu
manity was and that really
surprised me.”
Fisher said the purpose
of Shack-a-Thon was to
help people recognize Aggie
Habitat for Humanity is
working to help the com
munity.
“This wasn’t so much
about experiencing home
lessness; it was about
awareness,” he said. “Liv
ing in the shacks may have
been a little cushy, but it
still got the point across to
students.”
ne, bu'
[Other
3,” Jodi
mei
(Talent show to end I-Week
BY AMANDA STIRPE
The Battalion
at .me ■ After a week-long international
nde awareness campaign to increase
pinec« n sciousness in the community,
^ Te\a‘B e 20th annual talent show and
- ; ’ uj pcg parade in Rudder Auditorium
or TAv tonight will round out the events.
dersW® The talent show and parade be-
a at 7:30 p.m. and will be fol-
ed by an awards ceremony and
rty at the Ramada Inn from 10:30
a. to 2 a.m.
International Week, a celebra-
n including cultural displays, an
ternational buffet and tonight’s
fonts, concluded International
areness Month, which was Feb
ary. Cultural displays were in the
ndows of Northgate businesses
d at elementary schools during
,e month.
Sombra Davis, international
ident adviser and International
udent Association (ISA) sec-
pjidary adviser, said ISA made a
conscious effort to make Interna-
Ipnal Awareness Month and In
ternational Week commu
nity events.
“This year, ISA
coordinated a lot
with local ele
mentary
schools and
sponsored
Neale Ele
mentary
School,”
Davis said.
“Elemen
tary chil
dren’s art
work was on
display at the
[international]
buffet, and some will
be displayed at the talent
show. ”
Davis said between 50 and 60
international cultures and every re
gion of the world have been repre
sented during the week. The talent
show will host 16 acts, and the
dress parade will feature 18 cul
tures.
“Participants bring back to the
United States items and
costumes or have
their families
send special
music and
costumes
to dis
play,”
Davis
said.
Mu
sic,
dancing
and dra
matic in
terpretation
will be the
major elements
of the talent show.
Each group will have six
minutes to demonstrate their tal
ents and display their dress in the
parade. Davis said some students
have trained as dancers or musi
cians in their native countries.
Davis said groups will portray
significant aspects of their cultures
and cultural history in their pre
sentations.
“ [The presentations] appeal vi
sually with the colors and textures
of the costumes,” Davis said. “The
music is very authentic, live or
taped. It is neat to see how differ
ent cultures celebrate. ”
The awards ceremony and par
ty will reward the top five clubs
based on participation, products
for the buffet, entries in cultural
displays, performances at the talent
show and performances in the
dress parade.
Davis said judging the groups is
difficult because of differences in
music and dances.
“The clubs will be judged on
how motivated they are along with
excitement and participation,”
Davis said. “It’s more willingness
than how many participate.”
Davis said the international
clubs not only represent their cul
tures, but many represent facets of
their country, such as art or busi
ness.
“They take a proactive effort to
let the community know about
their cultures,” Davis said.
K-2 TKO
CARING CASAS/The Battalion
Erik Reynolds, a freshman aerospace engineering major, lands a hit
on the face of Leon Mitchell, a junior kinesiology major, on the Quad.
Both Mitchell and Reynolds are members of outfit K-2.
Symposium to address
math, science topics
BY SAMEH FAHMY
The Battalion
The history of science, the Y2K
bug, ocean engineering and genetic
cloning are among the topics to be
discussed Saturday at the MSC.
The Texas Alliance for Science,
Technology, and Mathematics Edu
cation will be sponsoring a youth
symposium to encourage high school
students to continue their studies of
math and science.
The 12th annual symposium will
be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is
expected to draw 1,200 to 1,500 high-
school students as well as science
and math teachers.
Meena Balgopal, project coordi
nator for the Texas Alliance, a
statewide consortium of businesses
and educational institutions that
works to improve science, technolo
gy and mathematics education, said
the symposium will promote greater
interest in science and math among
students.
Dr. Robert James, professor of sci
ence education in the Department of
Educational Curriculum and In-
SEE symposium on Page 2.
orpS of Cadets to host Traditions Council to present
ilitary Weekend, Ball program on history of a&m
AVAILS
Military institutes
om across the
hited States will
ttend discussions
nd other events.
BY CARRIE BENNETT
Tire Battalion
Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets will
host the annual Military Weekend
Horn Thursday until Sunday. Forty-
si.' cadets and three visiting officers
■om different military institutes
»ross the country will attend Mili-
■ry Weekend.
f " The visitors will represent The
itadel, Virginia Military Institute and
irginia Tech Also, representatives
om Prairie View A&M, Texas A&M
niversity at Galveston and Virginia
Women’s Institute for Leadership will
attend the event.
Roundtable discussions will ad
dress gender integration, honor and
ethics, and cadet vs. military training.
Kathryn Jones, vice chair of Mili
tary Weekend and a junior history
major, said the issues and situations
pertain to cadets attending military
institutions.
“We will be discussing these is
sues and sharing ways to improve
certain situations,” Jones said. “The
weekend is also about camaraderie
between the cadets at the military in
stitutions.”
Gordon Harwell, chair of Military
Weekend and a senior history major,
said weekend highlights will include
a Military Review Friday at 5:30 p.m.
at O.R. Simpson Drill Field and the
Military Ball Thursday night at Peb
ble Creek Country Club.
Major Doc Mills, Class of ’72, said
Military Weekend has grown and
evolved since he was a cadet at A&M.
“The character of Military Week
end has changed since the early
’70s,” Mills said. “Back then it was
centered more towards social
events. ”
He said the program lasted two
days when he was a cadet.
“We had a separate bash on Fri
day night for the Army and Air Force
divisions. On Saturday we had the
federal inspection, which no longer
takes place, and the review that still
is a main event for the weekend,”
Mills said. “Saturday night we had
the Military Ball, which everyone at
tended, and it is still held today.”
Mills said cadets from other mili
tary institutions were not invited
when he was a cadet.
“The original features remain,
such as the review and the Military
Ball, but other events have been
added, such as the roundtable dis
cussions,” Mills said. “The weekend
has improved a great deal over the
years.”
BY MEREDITH HIGHT
The Battalion
The Texas A&M students will get
a fresh perspective of the Universi
ty’s history this Saturday night in
Rudder Auditorium when Tradi
tions Council holds its first annual
Spring Traditions Helping Ignite
New Generations (T.H.I.N.G.).
Spring T.H.I.N.G. will be in Rudder
Auditorium from 7-9 p.m. this Sat
urday. Admission is $2.
The program, designed to attract
students who are not necessarily
aware of the traditions and history
of A&M, is in a storyline format.
Events in A&M history will be re-en
acted with the help of Freudian Slip,
Alpha Phi Alpha, Aggie Wranglers,
Ballet Folklorico, the Aggie Players
and other performers. Between per
formances, Traditions Council will
give background and factual infor
mation of the history of A&M.
Dr. Ben Welch, director of Stu
dent Activities, will emcee the
event.
September Smith, public rela
tions chair for Traditions Council,
said there are a lot of people who
do not know much about the tradi
tions.
“We really want everyone to
come,” she said. “Our purpose as a
student government committee is
to increase awareness about the tra
ditions. ”
All proceeds from Spring
T.H.I.N.G. will go towards the
Cushing Memorial Library, where
A&M archives are kept. The event
has the potential to raise $4,000 to
$5,000 for the Library.
Dr. David Chapman, University
archivist, said he is grateful to Tra
ditions Council for donating all of
the proceeds to the library.
“It goes to help us preserve a lot
of archival material in Cushing,” he
said. “Cushing houses all of the
archives, which is manuscripts and
photos and books that contain the
history of the school.
“The processing and preserving
of these materials is expensive. It
will allow us to have a certain
amount of money on hand to help
with that.”
Chapman said this is the first
time a student organization has
held an event expressly for Cush
ing.
“I think it’s pretty incredible,” he
said. “I don’t think anyone could ar
gue that it is not important to pre
serve A&M history. ”
The Association of Former Stu
dents is co-sponsoring Spring
T.H.I.N.G. Patrick Williams, direc
tor of campus programs for the As
sociation of Former Students, said
the event is a great opportunity for
the Association of Former Students
to build relationships with students.
see T.H.I.N.G on Page 2.