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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1999)
~y y «y y "*■■«»< )n» <» ■ Battalion A GGIELIFE i J^a^^jMVlonda^April26 ; l999 lkn pie Matrix still tops box office charts n to LOS ANGELES (AP) — The cyberspace ad- Gure The Matrix was No. 1 at the box office ring a weekend coming just before the re- tse of highly anticipated movies. The futuristic Keanu Reeves thriller grossed 2.9 million this weekend, after crossing the Pectotan 30 inillion mar k l ast week, guage k replaced the prison comedy Life, which 'refers- PP e(l 10 second place with $11.6 million af- -K n H v | ; losing 43 percent of its audience, industry iim^ites showed Sunday. “ 'll TWi comedies that opened in wide release g ra b a sizable audience and may have make en lushed to market to avoid upcoming ickbusters such as the Star Wars prequel, ‘noughtk Pushing Tin, the John Cusack-Billy Bob even tiler ornton comedy about a rivalry between two .ntil air traffic controllers, opened with $3.6 ersatiokoHiqn for fourth place. 1 ,111 Lo.sf cS Found, featuring David Spade as a ^^Ky dognapper who falls in love with a autliul neighbor, opened in sixth place with .1 million. || “This weekend is considered a dumping ground for films by the industry, their last chance to make something before summer re leases start coming out,” Robert Bucksbaum, a movie analyst with Reel Source Inc. said “Once the summer opens all the other films just fall like a ton of bricks.” Bucksbaum said studios have started open ing “summer-style” big-budget films in the spring — including Entrapment on Friday and Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace in May — to take advantage of a time when smaller movies are in the market. It worked for The Matrix, he said. The film about a hacker who battles cyber-overlords in a twisting world of virtual reality has taken in $117.3 million in four weeks. The high school satire Election, starring Reese Witherspoon as a compulsive do-good er and Matthew Broderick as a civics teacher, opened in only six theaters nationwide but av eraged $20,000 per screen. 1. The Matrix, $12.9 million. 2. Life, $11.6 million. 3. Never Been Kissed, $6.2 million. 4. Pushing Tin, $3.6 million. 5. Analyze This, $3.2 million. 6. Lost & Found, $3.1 million. 7. 10 Things I Hate About You, $2.8 million. 8. The Out-Of-Towners, $2.02 million. 9. Go, $2 million. 10. Forces of Nature, $1.7 million. FALL MATH COURSES ON THE WEB For motivated students who have the discipline to learn without lectures, the following web-math courses may be for you. • Math 131-508...(Math Concepts) instructor: Mike Stecher 845-3269, stecher@math.tamu.edu • Math 151-(525, 526)...(Engineering Math I) instructor: Don Allen 845-7950, dallen@math.tamu.edu VERSATION mtintu-d from Page 4 d teilious of conversations, tile improper body language a, hi fact, hinder the message ~ e is|trying to convey. II The eyes say just as much as 1| > mouth, and with twice the tcerity. So remember, pirates and peo- ■th one glass eye, never tell nn iii' Ivhat one does with and to fj|?ir hands while speaking is L o indicative of their true mes- eflllfe. fa speaker constantly fidgets — gestures repeatedly, it is a safe t they are an outsider and tst be dealt with in swift fash- i. Some may argue that by using hynecek ? hands appropriately, one can ■ther emphasize his or her ar- ent. However, that is what pie K and demographics are Instead of mindlessly waving d fidgeting while speaking, let ; hands do something con- uctive like washing a humor lumnist’s car or writing a mail 1 letter containing words of miration and $20. On second thought, skip the miration and cut right to the imey. How one stands while speak ing can reveal whether or not the speaker is either full of ten sion or relaxed. If the speaker spends much of his or her time shifting from foot to foot, they are probably un comfortable with their surround ings or audience. If a speaker is slumped to one side through most of the conversation, one can expect that they are either bored with the subject or are failing their DUI test. And if the speaker is running away screaming, it is a safe bet the listener forgot to put on pants. So, when the opportunity arises for an intelligent conversa tion, do four simple things: • Make sure pants are being worn. • Pretend the subject being discussed is not beyond one’s knowledge. If the question is of fered as to whether anyone en joys Plato, respond “I most cer tainly do. Its nontoxic, delicious, and makes great dinosaurs.” • Send a humor columnist $20. •Repeat step three. Jacob Huval is a freshman English major. Study reveals kids listen to parents about drug usage NEW YORK (AP) — Surprise, Mom and Dad: when it comes to frank talk on drug use, your kids are listening. A study released Sunday by the Partnership for a Drug Free Ameri ca found that teens who received strong anti-drug messages at home were 42 percent less likely to use drugs than teens whose parents ig nored the issue. “With parents, we can cut drug use dramatically. Without them, we cannot,” James E. Burke, chair person of the partnership said. One word of caution for parents: a single conversation probably will not get the job done. Although 98 percent of parents said they had spoken with their children about drugs, only 27 percent of teens said they learned a lot about drug risks at home, the survey found. “What’s truly complicated about this is that parents really be lieve they’re doing their job in this area, but the data suggest other wise,” Burke said. According to the study, there were significant differences in ex perimentation between teens who spoke regularly with their parents about drug use and those who did not. Among teens who learned a lot at home, marijuana use was 26 per cent. Among those who said they learned nothing at home, 45 per cent said they had used marijuana. For inhalants, the first group re ported 14 percent, while among the latter group 28 percent had used them. For LSD, the figures were 7 percent and 20 percent; for cocaine, 7 percent and 16 percent. One reason parents are not speaking with children about drugs: they underestimate the availability. Only 37 percent of par ents surveyed believed their teens had ever been offered marijuana. But 53 percent of the teens said they had been offered pot. One other finding of the survey: it is best for parents to reach their children at an early age. Among fourth-graders, 74 percent said they wanted more details from their par ents about drugs. Among eighth- graders, the figure fell to 19 percent. The Partnership is a private, nonprofit coalition of communica tions industry professionals, known for its anti-drug advertising campaign. This is its 11th annual poll. For student, staff, fam fly • Beginning* inter mediate, advanced • Small group lessons Classes begin May 10 707 Texas Ave Campus ENGL 210 The English Department is offering credit for English 210 : Scientific and Technical Writing based on a portfolio of documents you write over the course of the semester and an impromptu writing exam. Registration (Blocker 224): May 5 - 6; May 31 - June 2 Portfolio Development: May 31 - July 27 Impromptu Writing Exam: August 3-4 Students with work experience or who will be taking writing-intensive courses are especially encouraged to apply. Students graduating in August may not apply. See our web site or come by Blocker 224 for more infonnation. English Department - Writing Programs Office 845^9936 http://www.english.tamu.edu/wprograms/credit210.html 2S, 1998-99 University Undergraduate Research Fellows Symposium Presentations e University Undergraduate Research Fellows Program is the capstone of the Honors curriculum at Texas UVI This program is the most prestigious research opportunity available for undergraduates at the Univer- r featuring a close, master-apprentice relationship between student researcher and faculty advisor. only after Fellows submit their completed Senior Honors Theses, they are invited to make formal oral isentations of their completed research at the annual University Undergraduate Research Fellows Sympo- m. This year the Fellows have been divided into eight groups of students pursuing research in related areas, roup will conduct a separate Symposium session on the fifth floor of Rudder Tower according to the ing schedule: Jay, April 27th, 7:00 p.m. ilogy. Rudder 501 line Hayes ison Healy tthew McCurdy tul Patel ula Shawver tewart ALLSPACE SELF STORAGE Students Need a place to store your summer belongings? Give ALLSPACE SELF STORAGE a call! • M0 off first month’s rent w/this ad • Call about our early sign in specials that will save you a ton of money and worries before Finals!! 821-2129 • □* ♦ Tkxiu^HmII ALisrACi mr Villa Mo 1 0 5 ? UnhnrtJfy Dri*i ! ' {7bjrM4«W| li Ctmout 1] ,\ OJ*»n J A'0 1 ASM c Mum □72S No udes: ■1 a! Thursday, April 29th, 7:00 p.m. Chemistry, Rudder 502 John Bechert Tom Casserly Michelle Leach Thomas Miller meering I, Rudder 502 stin Cropper ristopher Jones -hard Todd |lie Zerangue fular Biology, Rudder 510 hie Arnold hlie Halbert on Grier ‘hjica McArthur ndsay Windham ^ology/Sociology, Rudder 504 ■fctte Beckner ijoda McDonald 'ristopher McFaul ha Parekh |Reyna Engineering II, Rudder 510 Joseph Dowd Juan Pablo Pontaza Adam Tate Breanna Weir Matthew Zeve Humanities, Rudder 501 Elizabeth Agnew A 11 \ / o rx r-» D ♦'cnoi/'* D Jesse Rester Political Science, Rudder 504 Monica Durham Matthew Flume Kelly Hartline Jennifer Reynolds ACCOUNTING CREATIVE SERVICES ENGINEERING INFORMATION TECHNICAL 1920 S. FM 2818 • Bryan, TX (1/2 mile north of Villa Maria) - SIZES TO MEET YOUR NEEDS - Works for me! You're working on your education, let Pro Staff work on your experience. We offer positions with top companies that wilt give you a competitive advantage in today's workforce. Call Pro Staff to earn top pay and gain top Ordering your 2000 Aggieland yearbook is as easy as 1-2-3!! Aeption honoring the 1998-99 Univeristy Undergraduate Research Fellows will be held in the lobby on the cond floor of Rudder Tower at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 27th. Faculty, students, and other members of the Rersity community are invited to attend the reception and any of the Symposium sessions to learn more xjiu what some of Texas A&M University’s most successful, confident, and motivated undergraduates have en able to achieve. Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Edward Funkhouser, Associate tor of the University Honors Program at 845-6774 or via email ed-funkhouser@tamu.edu.