TUESDAY
July 20, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 172 • 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
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• The Brazos Valley Museum
of Natural Science is bringing
Africa’s Serengeti to Texas.
PAGE 3
Battalion Radio
For details about the A.R Beutal
Health Center s program on the
benefits of smoothies, listen to
90.9 KAMU-FM at 1:57 p.m.
• Computerizing the GRE is a
step in the right direction of
standardized-test reform.
PAGES
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Graves welcomed to campus
University officials honor new System chancellor with reception
ANTHONY DISALVO/The Battalion
Av A&M chancellor Gen. Howard D. Graves greets Maj.
Brian Carlson of the Air Force ROIC in a procession
on put line Monday at the J. Wayne Stark Gallery.
1 made its
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tauseit
.n open
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M.
Bowen and his wife, Sally, welcomed the
new chancellor for the Texas A&M Uni
versity System, Gen. Howard Graves and
his wife. Grade, to A&M with a reception
held yesterday at the J. Wayne Stark Gal
leries in the MSG.
More than 100 A&M employees from
various departments attended the recep
tion, including Dr. J. Malon Southerland,
vice president for student affairs; Dr. Jerry
Gaston, vice president for administration;
and Student Body President Will Hurd.
Bowen introduced Graves and said
A&M has a great responsibility to support
the goals of the large system of universi
ties and of the new chancellor.
“I wanted [Graves] to have the op
portunity to meet some of the wonderful
people that make the University a unique
place for students,” Bowen said.
He said the culture found on the cam
pus at A&M is not an accident — it is cre
ated by the faculty, staff and students
who attend and work at the University.
Bowen said he hopes people will look
back in history to this time and ac
knowledge the chancellor’s critical role
at A&M.
Graves said it is significant that a re
lationship between himself and the Uni
versity begins with an event such as the
reception.
‘‘An event like this lets us appreciate
what [the employees] do,” Graves said.
“We want to thank [the employees] for
the job [they] do.”
Graves said he is looking forward to
getting to know the faculty and staff.
“We are looking forward to becoming
contributing members of the communi
ty,” Graves said.
He said all of the universities in the
A&M system are important, but A&M,
the flagship campus, has a special role.
Graves was officially appointed as
new System chancellor by the Board
of Regents in June.
His responsibilities will include
overseeing the nine universities in
the System, the eight agencies and
health sciences centers, which serve
over 88,00 students and reach more
than 3.5 million others through out
reach, and continuing education pro
grams.
Graves will officially assume the ti
tle of chancellor on Aug. 1 but will work
with the current chancellor, Barry
Thompson, until Thompson’s retire
ment on Aug. 31.
eace Corps
ooking for
g recruits
(Dallas recruiting of
WHAT: Peace Corps
Recruiting Fair
WHEN: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
WHERE: MSC Lobby
Gabriel Ruenes/Thl Bat talion
BY MEGAN E. WRIGHT
The Battalion
sit IWHi® Representatives from the Peace Corps’ regional recruiting of-
■ ^ , fice in Dallas will be on campus this week speaking with students
smartDt |Pa[ n( j ac j v isers as well as conducting interviews with individuals
i interested in joining the Peace Corps.
ndhis^M Peace Corps representatives will have a booth in the MSC to-
3n ' .my an d tomorrow from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. In addition, a video
main 0 presenting the benefits of a ca-
is therej n q ie p eace Corps will be
,rualA ' IfShown at 7 p.m. in MSC 138.
BritishPatrick Niemeyer, an on-
campus Peace Corps recruiter
' Rodlu an( j a so jj and crop sciences
her lorf "graduate student, said the
peace Corps is seeking individ-
ecanct- Jaig w jth a willingness to ad-
' his pPj just to any situations,
red He* 1 ■ “Currently we are experi-
rs were epcing a shortage of individu-
a|ls to work in the environ-
sacrili^ mental, business and
ilelife'- agriculture fields and people
who speak French,” Niemeyer said. “These skills aren’t re-
|iitred. We’re looking for an ability to adapt to different situa-
ans and a desire to go the distance to help others. Patience is
definite virtue we look for also.”
The Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by John F. Kennedy and
as established to fulfill three goals: to teach other nations about
ie people of the United States, to teach people of the United
Jtates about other countries’ cultures and transferring techno
logical knowledge to other countries. The Peace Corps focuses
p the areas of education, health, environment, business, agri-
lulture and community development. Currently, there are over
'6,000 volunteers serving in 80 countries worldwide.
see Recruit on Page 2.
ustice to speak
n court issues
Fowl play
GUY ROGERS/The Battalion
Jimmy Evans, tree maintenance specialist for Texas A&M University, oversees the firing of propane cannons on campus yesterday. The cannons
are being used to frighten troublesome birds away from campus.
Propane cannons fired to deter birds
BY NONI SRIDHARA
The Battalion
The deafening sound of propane cannons
blasting could be heard last night on Ross
Street, between Spence Street and Ireland
Street, as Texas A&M maintenance crews at
tempted to scare off birds that have infested the
area.
Jimmy Evans, tree maintenance specialist
for A&M, said they are trying to scare off the
birds because of health concerns.
“This was becoming a health hazard due to
the unsanitary conditions,” Evans said.
He said the use of the cannon was a last re
sort. Previously, workers hosed down the bird
droppings on the sidewalks, but this did not
help eliminate the odors.
There were some reports that classes were
canceled in the Chemistry Building due to the
odor.
Evans said they had also put balloons called
“owls” up in the trees to scare the birds, but the
balloons did not scare the birds away either.
He said one expert said the reason for the in
creased number of birds this year is because of
the increased feeding grounds they have.
“The increased number of mosquitoes and
other insects is attracting more birds,” Evans said.
Evans said the birds are not harmed by the
cannon blasts.
“There are no plans to try to get rid of the
birds,” he said. “Many of the birds are purple
martins, which are a protected species.”
The cannons will be fired every evening this
week from 7:30 until dark.
BY RYAN WEST
The Battalion
Texas Supreme Court Chief
Justice Thomas R. Phillips will
ipeak about judicial issues
lud the upcoming millennium
this evening at 5:30 in the
APidf' Oakwood Room at the College
Htljltfitation Hilton as part of the
v O^tlc Uth an d Abraham Clearfield
• .Millennium Series,
r hoP f|l B Tonight’s dinner and lec-
J .'Tture is sponsored by Larry
3 # *°lt, a local attorney, and is
e . n iiiTpart of a six-part series given
D to® y t ' ie Brazos Valley Arts
Ts - ounc ^ concerning issues the
jerse.
Brazos Valley may face at the
turn of the century.
P. David Romei, executive
director of the Brazos Valley
Arts Council, said the council is
trying to celebrate the millenni
um with a significant expres
sion of where the community
has been, where the communi
ty is and where it is going.
Romei said the Arts Coun
cil chose the chief justice be
cause he has been involved
with the way Texas judges are
chosen and the way Texas law
is interpreted.
see Justice on Page 2.
New vaccine offers alternative for flu shots
BY RYAN WEST
The Battalion
Recent medical advances in
nasal drops may offer a painless al
ternative to the all-too-familiar nee
dle prick to the arm for those hop
ing to avoid the flu virus during the
winter season.
Dr. John Quarles, professor of
microbiology at Texas A&M, said
the nasal vaccine grew out of a se
ries of nasal-drop flu studies con
ducted at the University over the
past 20 years.
Quarles said FluMist is an atten
uated live strain in the sense that it
can reproduce but cannot cause dis
ease. Through this weakened strain
of the virus, the person is actually
given a minor infection; the milder
strain then causes the body to re
spond by producing an antibody.
“Flu vaccines are a good level of
protection as long as the virus has
n’t changed much,” Quarles said.
“We aren’t anticipating any prob
lems with the [FluMist] spray —
we’ve been using the nose-drop
vaccine on students and faculty vol
unteers for years.”
Nancy Arden, research associate
at the Baylor College of Medicine,
has been involved in a multi-year
study at the National Institute of
Health with the Baylor Influenza
Research Center.
Arden said the study will look at
the benefit of immunizing children
with FluMist. She said children are
believed to be both the group most
likely to be infected and the group
most likely to spread the illness.
Arden said researchers will com
pare the number of doctor visits in
which patients are diagnosed with
the flu in the Bryan-College Station
area, which lacks a special vacci
nation program. The results will b
compared with another city, sue
as Temple, in which a high numbe
of child vaccinations will be ac
ministered.
Arden called the FluMist stud
an “ecological study” because
does not focus on the individual hr
rather on the impact of influenza o
the entire community.
“For Bryan-College Station, w
will study the number of ‘primary
influenza visits to Scott & Whit
clinic,” she said.
see Flu on Page 2