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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1999)
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY • Political unfairness between non-reg Aggies, cadets is not a tradition that should continue. PAGE 7 today’s issue Toons 2 Opinion 7 Battalion Radio Tune into KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57p.m. for details on drastic increases in cellular phone use. sports • Aggie track teams come up big in A&M invitational meet on Saturday. PAGES of Colorado Jayhawks. 10 were swep lege Station. bldiers main ;aptives Air ball BY MEREDITH HIGH! The Battalion .S. Army Spc. Steven Gonzales, a former ■agueoffer?i-’islv&M student being held captive by Serbian lor anyone w that a team I ound guilty, ie fined millioi red, at least lei he players inv 'east two of: es,[spent his 22nd birthday with no immedi- fiope of being released after an attempt by riot envoy Spryos Kyprianou to free Gonza- ind two other U.S. soldiers failed, yprianou met with Serb president Slobodan isevic Friday. yprianou told CNN that the NATO airstrikes B-blame for the failure to reach an agreement Jined believes he soldiers’ release. ave hiddena® Under the circumstances created and the fact 'layers beca:* the message received by the Yugoslav lead- ve room to jp and people is that the relentless bom- I to keepotfed Iments will continue, [they] can’t proceed them. i a new peace gesture,” he said on CNN. fter peace-talk failure. White House press jetary Joe Lockhart said there was no basis for "ng the soldiers or holding them and the Unit- kates will hold President Milosevic personal- esponsible for their care. . .Jugoslav officials said the soldiers’ release is 4 pikely. lonzales and the two other soldiers. Staff Sgt. Irew A. Ramirez, of Los Angeles, and Staff Christopher J. Stone, of Michigan, were sent Macedonia on a peacekeeping mission and ;iH:aptured March 31 near the Yugoslavia- :edonia border. Human Servfciteven Gonzales’ parents, Rosie and Gilbert 7 Bes, live in Huntsville and spent his birth- with relatives. JreaterZion Baptist Church parishioners lit 22 /stems dies in honor of his birthday Saturday. ort Hood spokesperson James Wittmeyer told Associated Press that the family members are mistic about Gonzales’ return despite the p negotiations. .m. enter TERRY ROBERSON/The Battalion Misti Stewart, a sophomore accounting major, and Missy Crow, a sophomore elementary education ma jor, are demonstrating the human sphere race at Fish Olympics on Saturday at O.R. Simpson Drill Field. Fish Olympics expects close to 100 freshmen to participate in the several field day events. Dtps nter c. ■nt Office azme *HA Week promotes campus involvement BY NONI SRIDHARA The Battalion ss f/eA pie-throwing contest today from 11 iMo 1 p.m. in the MSG will feature stu- of Liber t leaders as the targets and will kick tire first Residence Hall Association 1A] Week. [aria Trevino, director of public rela- is for RHA and a junior marketing ma- said which started in the 1970s, its to revive its involvement on cam- “We really wanted to promote our selves,” she said. “Many people get us confused with the Resident Advisors and the Office of Residence Life.” RHA will distribute items every day this week in front of the MSG, at Sbisa Dining Hall and at the Commons Dining Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. including ra- men noodles, snow cones and candy. RHA will host a barbecue from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Law-Puryear Park next to All Faiths Chapel. Trevino said Thursday night will be designated as RHA Night at the Texas Hall of Fame. TYevino said the annual RHA Casino Night in conjunction with Parents’ Week end will conclude RHA Week. Tara Gray, president of the National Residence Hall Honorary, which RHA is a parent organization to, said Casino Night has been in existence for 50 years and was originally run by Law and Puryear Halls before RHA took over in the ‘70s. Gray said it is the largest student-run casino in the world and has earned itself a spot in the Guiness Book of World Records. This year’s casinos features will in clude roulette, craps, blackjack and pok er, and prizes will be donated by various businesses. Gray said Casino Night usu ally attracts 1,000 parents, and that they are hoping for 1,500 this year. Gray said RHA serves all on-campus residents, and many do not realize they are represented by the organization. “Our main goal of RHA Week is to make people aware,” Gray said. “Just like the student senators have their con stituents, we are kind of like the student government for on-campus residents.” MONDAY April 12,1999 Volume 105 • Issue 126 • 8 Pages College Station, Texas Ministry honors victims •Students plan ceremony in remembrance of holocaust tragedy BY LISA K. HILL The Battalion Campus Student Ministries will spon sor Yom HaShoah, which translates into Remembering the Holocaust, this week to honor Holocaust victims and educate students on its impact. A church ceremony will remember the victims Tuesday evening in the All Faiths Chapel on campus where several church organizations will read selec tions of their choice to remember the Holocaust. Lisa Foox, the first vice president of the Hillel Jewish Student Organization, said the ceremony is open to all stu dents. “Several church organizations will read two selections of their choice to re member the holocaust,” she said. “The selections will be linked by music and the ceremony lasts about an hour.” Today through Wednesday a display with pictures and videos of the Holo caust will be in the MSG. Rabbi Peter Tarlow, sponsor of the Hillel Jewish Student Organization, said this week’s events will teach a valuable lesson. “The real value of life is something the world still hasn’t learned,” he said. “When we remember the Holocaust, we not only honor those who have given their lives in the past but teach everyone to value life in the future.” Tarlow said 14 to 18 million people are estimated to have died during the Holocaust. Rudder Fountain will be shut down Tuesday, and a number of people will stand outside the fountain and read holocaust victims’ names. The event is a continuous reading which began 15 years ago. “We read about 5,000 names every year, and we’ve almost completed call ing the names of victims from France,” he said. “Next we will read victims’ names from Poland and our great-great- grandchildren will still be reading those names.” All students are encouraged to attend this week’s Holocaust events. Informa tion may be obtained through the Hillel Jewish Student Organization. nual Chilifest ittracts 13,000 larlie Daniels Band entertains audience BY SALLIE TURNER The Battalion ;^HN S Pi" rhe 9th annual Sigma Alpha Kin Chilifest drew a crowd Bre than 13,000 people for I B of live music and enter- I Rent at the Starlight Ball- tn and Rodeo Arena in >ok Saturday. ■ Bdy Durham, organizer Head chef of Chilifest and Ror industrial distribution (or, said 215 private and cor porate teams entered the chili cook-off. The Nacogdoches Mafia and the Good Ole Bas tards were the winners of the contest. “The purpose of Chilifest is to raise money for a good cause and for people to come out and have a good time,” he said. “Both goals were accomplished with this year’s event. ” He said the live music, which included the Charlie Daniels Band, Gary P. Nunn, Festival enables students to educate peers on India The 9th annual Chilifest was held Saturday at the Starlight Rodeo Arena in Snook. Over 13,000 people attended the event that raised money for the Burleson County Go Texan Foundation. Tommy Alverson and John Conlee, is what attracted the large crowd to the event. “The entertainment brought a wide variety of people,” he said. “1 remember looking out into the crowd and seeing peo ple from [age] 4 to 40 in the au dience. Never before have we had such a variety at Chilifest." Proceeds from Chilifest ben efit the Burleson County Go Texan Foundation which pro vides scholarships for students. Representatives from Go Texan and the local VFW helped at Chilifest by taking tickets and checking identification. see Chilifest on Page 2. BY MELISSA JORDAN The Battalion Indian students from six universities throughout Texas gathered this week end at Texas A&M to cele brate their heritage during the Indian Student Associ ation’s (ISA) annual Festi val of India. Students from Baylor University, Houston Baptist University, Southern Methodist University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas and Texas A&M participated in the festival. The festival in cluded a basketball tourna ment, talent show, bone marrow drive, exhibition of Indian foods, a banquet and cultural workshops. Lindsey Alexander, sec retary of ISA and a junior biomedical science major, said this is the second year A&M has had an official ISA chapter, and it has dou bled in size since last year. Alexander said it is an honor for the A&M chapter to host the Festival of India since the group is so young. Hetal Patel, vice presi dent of ISA and a junior biomedical science major, said 1,000 people attended the weekend’s events. A&M produced talent- show winners in the song and instrumental category. The first-place winner was Saira Philip, a sophomore animal science major, and the third-place winners were instrumental team see India on Page 2.