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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1999)
The S L tican teai :1 to a visit by Vatican Iraq by Pope John Pat said yesterday, t) Iraqi Christians, L 20. [ for the visit, wh dia published ascai 106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Vednesday • November 3, 1999 College Station, Texas Volume 106 * Issue 48 • 10 Pages fficials share ‘lessons earned’ from Littleton [esponse-team members say preparation key ; q M BY STUART HUTSON The Battalion On April 20, 1999, Capt. Dave i/alcher of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department responded to radio call regarding a distur- )ance at Columbine High School |n Littleton, Colo. Two gunmen had entered the kchool and opened fire on students ^nd teachers. “When I got there, the only tuestions on my mind were JWhat’s going on here?’ and ‘What po we have to do to stop it?’” richer said. “Afterwards, the only question was ‘Why?’” The gunmen’s attack left 15 dead 5nd a nation in shock. Walcher was one of four incident bommanders from the Columbine fhootings who spoke at a seminar yesterday hosted by the Texas Engi- jieering Extension Service (TEEX) to fielp spread awareness to prevent an other such tragedy from happening. Rick lye, head of the TEEX fire- protection training division, said more than 500 representatives from police and fire departments and school districts from around the nation attended the seminar in hopes of learning how to prevent or react to situations like the Columbine shootings. “It is important to realize that this can happen absolutely anywhere,” he said. “What we want to do here is get together and talk about what worked and what didn’t.” Walcher said the most important lesson to be learned from the shoot ings is the need for cooperation be tween all agencies responding. “I think the excellent cooperation between all the commanders is what saved a lot of lives,” he said. Mike Wisby, program manager of the TEEX fire-protection training division, said one of the vital steps in preventing disasters is for com munity leaders to join together and communicate openly. “Even if it starts off with just a few people getting together and having coffee, plans need to be made so that if a disaster happens, response teams will be prepared,” he said. “Even if the disaster is just an overturned tanker truck, com munities need to be prepared.” Wisby said preparation has be come even more necessary as the situations encountered become more unpredictable. “Events like this just didn’t hap pen ten years ago,” he said. “Be fore it was just simple law enforce ment, but now we have to deal with more complicated issues, like terrorist attacks.” No matter how complicated situ ations may get, Walcher said, com munities should do whatever is nec essary to prevent another incident like the Columbine shooting. “Most of the students were just sitting and eating lunch, just being high-school students,” he said. “How can someone not be devas tated by something like this?” El Dia de los Muertos KIMBER HUFF/Thh Battalion Mito Espinoza (left), a senior history and sociology major, and Gabriel Rendon (right), senior bi ology major, dress up as skeletons for a procession in honor of El Dia de los Muertos, “The Day of the Dead,” a holiday celebrating the intertwining of death and life. ■'.! mm nents eceive $100 your deposit! *88-222-5108 toll free Bill on profs go before A&M senate BY ERIKA DOERR The Battalion The Texas A&M Student Senate will discuss five bills at a meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the John J. Koldus Building, Governance Room. Brian Minyard, Senate speaker and a senior biochemistry and political science major, said the tudent Ratings Reform Bill will post class evalu- tions of professors on the Internet. “The joint committee of the Faculty Senate and the Student Senate has recommended five evalu- tion questions, along with a disclaimer of nonymity,” he said. Minyard said the College of Business Bill, vhich would allow business students to declare a ainor, will be discussed. “The discussion of the minors in the College of siness bill will voice the [College of Business] |tudents feelings of being allowed to have a mi nor along with their major,” he said. I Minyard said the Freshman and Transfer Stu dent Mid-Term Academic Advising Bill, which Would offer students with a 2.0 midterm grade- point ratio formal advising, is new business on the Senate’s agenda. I The Senate will also discuss a bill that would Change spring student election dates. I Paul Jackman, Student Senate rules and regu- lations chair and a junior aerospace engineer, said the Election Dates Revisions Bill will, if passed, permanently set election dates from before spring break to after spring break. >_ Justin Toal, Senate speaker pro tempore and a ^ -senior agronomy and business major, said the Islamic convert to discuss faith, misconceptions, current issues ency RelationsD JP BEATO/Thk Battalion Constituency Relations Bill is critical to determine the Senate’s success for the future by making sen ators accountable to their constituency. “This internal bill will make it mandatory for student senators to be more accountable through forming constituency reports and reach out to our constituents, whom elected us,” he said. Minyard said the final discussion of old business will be about creating a voting site at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. “When elections come around in the spring, we would like students who are out at the George Bush School to have easier access to the. voting sites without the inconvenience of voting on cam pus,” he said. Minyard said Alpha Phi Omega, a national coed service fraternity, will be honored for their con tributions to the Brazos County Girls Club. “One resolution which will be discussed is the Alpha Phi Omega, Xi Delta Chapter Recognition Resolution,” he said. “Alpha Phi Omega has of fered their surplus fund raising to the Brazos County Girls Club to help keep the club running. Student Government [Association] feels we should work to publicize the extraordinary work of other student organizations.” BY MATT LOFTIS The Battalion Dr. David Zwink, a convert to the Islamic religion, will present a perspective on the Muslim belief system and its response to current issues in “Islamic: Hu manity’s Quest for Peace” as part of Islam Awareness Week, tonight at 7:15 in Rudder 301. Mohamed Mostafa, president of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and an electrical engineering grad uate student, said many Americans are not properly informed about the Islamic religion, and this lecture will aid in comprehension. “By understanding Islam and how it deals with so cietal problems and other issues, Americans may find new ideas to solve their own problems,” he said. Iqbal Latheef, a MSA member and a lecturer with the chemical engineering department, said Zwink has been involved with the Islamic Society of North America and works with the Somali Relief Fund. Latheef said Zwink is the best speaker for this sub ject because he was raised in the American culture. Islamic Awareness Week Speaker: Dr. David Zwink Topics: -presentation on Muslim beliefs -discussion of Islamic responses to current events Time/Place: 7:15 p.m. Rudder 301 ROBERT HYNECEK/Thk Battalion “We view Islam not as a religion in the traditional sense but more as a way of life,” Latheef said. “We will talk about society today, the problems it faces, what Islam does see Islamic on Page 2. Health Science Center names executive head INSIDE Starting At: 49.95 ■n»-Bp ms Inspection Aggielife •Housework 101 Discover the dos and don’ts of domesticity. Wul'/T} Pa g e 3 Sports A&M heads to Big 12 tourney ie soccer team begins single elimination tournament action today in San Antonio. Page 7 •Model children? ^Columnists debate the ethics , of the sale of ^models’ eggs on an Internet site. Page 9 Batt Radio Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on a car-crash simulation. Administration considers readopting requirements BY AMANDA SMITH The Battalion Texas A&M administration is considering readopting the pre vious requirements for comput er-science and foreign-language credits, which were dropped for the Class of 2003. Freshmen entering school this semester are recommend ed, but not required, to com plete two full years of high- school coursework in a foreign language or demonstrate profi ciency in a foreign language by examination. Also, students may be required to complete one full year of computer-sci ence coursework in high school or demonstrate proficiency on an examination provided by the Texas A&M University Office of Measurement and Research Services. Two weeks ago, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution which would again make the computer science and the for eign language classes require ments. The requirements will be noted in the 2000-2001 cata log if A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen approves the resolution. Dr. Tom Wehrly, Faculty Sen ate speaker and a statistics pro fessor, said most students have already fulfilled the require ments during their high-school education. “For most Texas students, it can be satisfied by a high school education,” he said. “Properly speaking, then, it is not a course requirement, because it can be satisfied in high school. If you go back to the catalog about two years ago, those are the require ments we are recommending be implemented.” Mark Weichold, associate provost for undergraduate pro gramming, said A&M students should be required to complete some computer-science and for eign-language instruction. “I think it’s a good thing to have in place,” he said. “I think see Curriculum on Page 2. BY KENNETH MACDONALD The Battalion Elvin E. Smith has been named ex ecutive vice president of the new Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, which opened in Jan uary, by Dr. Jay Noren, future presi dent of the health and science center. The former Health Science Center consisted of the College of Medicine and School of Rural Public Health and was part of the University only. The new System Health Science Center will include three more institutions, the Baylor College of Dentistry in Dal las, the Graduate School of Biomed ical Sciences and the Institute for Bio sciences and Technology in Houston. Smith, who has worked for A&M for 24 years, has been involved in al most every aspect of health science in the Texas A&M System. “This is a very rewarding experi ence to work with the creation of the School of Rural [Public] Health and now the creation of the System Health Science Center,” he said. “It is a great opportunity for leadership.” Smith was hired in 1975 to head the Department of Medical Physiolo gy and served as associate dean, in terim and acting dean and associate vice president for the the former A&M Health Science Center. Smith said the Health Science Cen ter is a way to carry on the tradition of A&M’s land-grant university status. A PATR1C SCHNEIDER/The Battalion Elvin E. Smith has been named ex ecutive vice president for the Health Science Center, land-grant university is a school to grant money is allocated for agricul tural and mechanical studies. “A land-grant university is a coop- see Smith on Page 2. ‘Lone Star Tourist’: medical science originates from ancient Greek treatise BY ROLANDO GARCIA The Battalion The origins of what is known today as medical science can be traced to ancient Greece, Dr. John Cooper said yes terday to the Texas A&M Department of Philosophy. Cooper, Stuart professor of philosophy at Princeton Uni versity, read and discussed his paper “Method and Science in On Ancient Medicine,” an analysis of the Greek medical treatise attributed to the Greek physician Hippocrates. “Hippocrates argued a physician’s success is not based on chance but on knowledge and solid reason ing,” he said. “It’s in this ancient medical tradition that something we recognize as truly scientific was devel oped and pursued.” In particular, Hippocrates rejected the ideas of the pre- Socratic philosophers of his time, who insisted diseases were caused by simple elements like hot and cold and wet and dry. Instead of relying on abstract principles, Hip pocrates advocated understanding the specific causes of diseases and why they afflicted certain people, Cooper said. “In these early medical writings we see very refined ideas about how to combine scientific observation with theoret ical ideas of phenomena involved with diseases,” he said. For example. Cooper said, Hippocrates noted cheese caused flatulence and constipation among some people, while it had no effect on others. Hippocrates also is known as the author of the Hippo cratic Oath, the oath all doctors must take, pledging not to use their skills to do harm to their patients. Cooper said these early writings on medical ethics still affect the cur rent debate over euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. “The oath was probably a self-protective move on the part of Hippocrates,” he said. “It’s a simple prescription, not backed up with any moral reasoning.” Cooper, the 1999 Lone Star Tourist, also will speak at see Lone on Page 2.
