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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1999)
\ roup to defend Grozn, hechen rebel strongholds:j ighters (lock to itsdeta 106 YEARS AT ALIGN A&M UNIVERSITY tursday • December 2, 1999 College Station, Texas Volume 106 • Issue 66 • 14 Pages Russian-occupied Chechnya i Grozny^ Aigun HECHNYA VMsno • b host igil BY STASIA RAINES The Battalion iy phone with Rus lothers Against Drunk Driving vanov on Monday: DD) is hosting its 14th annual that the United St llelight vigil to remember those military solution;: i have lost their lives or have been tin said. She toldiiRed in alcohol-related accidents tsing humanitariidly at 6 p.m. at the Brazos Hall, ssia's internationt ig the achieveniet: nilitary campaign tat it does not inti ombings that kills ian cities in Septer. ussia remains stroc as caused massive: territory alreadyt in which Chechnvii he holidays are ird for those who in ns until the mi we i Qst / ove( / ones ussia also blames: alcohol [related] cidents ” Christianne Mendenhall MADD victim advocate se upn ate '80s when she attention, ors abound thatiil is been shaky for estinian leader oi:| is 1989 weddingtk to the Palestiniai ay believe his prei at really change; ; no as poplarasij :1 has endured critil ent lifestyle. Arafat painted a f her rehtmM Tiristianne Mendenhall, MADD m advocate, said the event will people affected by alcohol-re- kl accidents to heal. The holidays are hard for those have lost loved ones in alcohol ^ted] accidents— there is that nty place at the table,” Menden- said. “We hope to help everyone by bringing them together and embering the victims in a posi- way.” he event will include a reading ames of those who have died or ■n injured in drunken-driving ac- idents. IMADD recently modified its id Paris Match. “II we are not demons] magazine intern escribed a starkly p ceremony in without a whiles tinian lead;\ntoE’ s, ' on statement to include pre- the office uirtl 1 '' 011 of underage drinking. Sgt. the night Tuscano of the Texas Alco- liusband andBeverage Committee’s splay our sentime;§ BC ) Br y an office wiI1 s P eak at ie vigil to educate the community |he purpose of TABC. ^lliscano said he will introduce a I hotline created by TABC and IDD to help alleviate the problem Inderage drinking. reception. SheMost people don’t know all the ?n , s i le has neve: P^ons of TABC, and I want the y alone with AraWmunity to understand the dif- st make do witli* nt j°bs we do and roles we play,” hese constraints w akk very nice family* 6 ^ Schiefelbein, founder of Car- she said. | A g8> es ‘ R ’ Protecting Over Our s (CARPOOL) and a senior mar- ng major, said the the free taxi ice for students who are too tk to drive supports MADD and vigil. We are in strong support of DD in every way possible way, ” aid. “We all just want to make roads safe. ” chiefelbein said students have Conceptions about MADD and inction. MADD is not against drinking; gainst drinking and driving,” he . “Many people don’t under- d that.” endenhall said the vigil is open hyone who is interested. Not playing with a full seek of cards Donald Trump’s bid at presiden cy is not a good | idea. * Page 11 Batt Rat listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at 1:57 p.m. for details on Judge Davis’ 2 run for state district court judge. Preserving the past JP BEATO/Thh Battalion Matt Timmons, a member of the Traditions Council and a senior community health major, vol unteers his time cataloging and tagging memorabilia at Bonfire site. The MSC Council, Tradi tions Council, Department of Anthropology, Physical Plant and office of the Vice President for Stu dent Affairs have joined to create a program to preserve items placed at the site. Student Senate OKs legislation on garage issue BY ERIKA DOERR ^ ; ; ! ^ j The Southside Garage Bill will: The Student Senate approved sev eral bills last night relating to South- side Parking Garage issues. They discussed student and health- center fees for the 2001 fiscal year and honored Jeff Schiefelbein, founder of CARPOOL (Caring Aggie R Protecting Over Our Lives) and a senior market ing major. Mamta Patel, a student senator and a sophomore aerospace engineering major, said the bills dealing with the Southside Parking Garage — includ ing the assignment bill, the fall move- in bill and parking-identification bill, — were passed. Patel said the approval of the Park ing Garage Bill will allow Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) to cross-reference the South- side Parking Garage resident-user database with the Department of Res idence Life’s on-campus database to weed out nonresident garage users. Patel said the Southside Parking Garage Assignment Bill also calls for PTTS to develop a timeline for stu dents issued new permits. Lorenzo Gonzales, a Student Sena tor and a sophomore environmental de sign major, said the bills are concurrent with PTTS actions. “We are pleased with the profes sional and mutually respectable rela tionship Student Senate is engaged in with PTTS,” he said. Gonzales said PTTS will coordinate temporary public use of the Southside Garage during move-in week. • allow the Department of Park ing, Traffic and Transportation (PTTS) to coordinate the use of the garage during move-in week. • allow PTTS to cross-reference users of the garage in a database with the Department of Resi dence Life. • call for PTTS to create a time line for students issued new per mits. Patel said the bill concerning the garage’s parking-space identification system states the color-coding of lev els in the garage is ineffective. Old business discussed at the Stu dent Senate meeting included stu dent-service and health-center fees for fiscal year 2001. Chad Wagner, external affairs chair and a sophomore political science major, said the Student Service Fee Advisory Board recommends raising in the Student Service Fee from $10.92 per semester credit hour to $11.62 per semester credit hour. He said A.P. Beutel Health Center has requested an increase in the Health Center Fee, from $48 per se mester to $50 per semester. In other business Schiefelbein ac cepted a resolution on behalf of CAR- POOL commending.tb.e.gro.up.Xor es tablishing a safer commuting environment in the Bryan-College Sta tion area. ‘One campus, one vision* Student Body President Will Hurd works towards completing goals BY ERIKA DOERR The Battalion Texas A&M Student Body President Will Hurd has a motto, “One campus, one vision,” which has stood true recently. He said the unexpected occur rences this semester have re quired effective decisions. Hurd, a senior computer sci ence major, said he formulates decisions based on how they will effect academics, campus ser vices, student services and the community. “I have found the strongest aspect of my position this se mester is in professor account ability, transportation and fees,” he said. “My weakest is in offer ing academic resources to stu dents, the atmosphere of campus and campus lifestyle.” Hurd said this semester has provided a firm foundation for his visions and expects details will be summed up and tied to gether in the upcoming semester. Hurd said his committees have produced a Website offer ing comparative prices of per sonal and household items in surrounding communities, as well as information on A&M pro fessors and their courses, grade distributions and course syllabi. “Professors need to effec tively communicate their course material and expecta tions to the students, and I know the Faculty Senate and members of the Student Gov ernment [Association] have been discussing the operating philosophy on what is the prop er teaching and academic envi ronment for students,” he said. Transportation has been a strong point for his platform this semester, Hurd said. “Students’ options for trans portation to, from and around campus have been improving greatly through the transporta tion package I’ve initiated, which addresses biking, driving and busing, also known as campus access,” he said. Hurd began providing cam pus services by expanding pro rated parking rates, taking the see Hurd on Page 2. FILE PHOTO/The Battalion Star trek • A&M professor says he has found Bible’s Star of Bethlehem BY ANN LOISEL Special to The Battalion The “star of wonder, star of light” mentioned in Christmas carols is more than a lyric, one Texas A&M manage ment professor says. Frederick A. Larson says he believes he has identified the Star of Bethlehem described in the Gospel of St. Matthew as a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. “ [The star is] an age-old mystery, and I think we’ve solved it,” Larson said. Larson made his find using basic as tronomy software to calculate and dis play what the sky over Jerusalem looked like 2,000 years ago. Larson said he used the software and first-century history to define the time frame. “The Bible recounts unusual, or even impossible, astronomical events at Christ’s birth,” he said. He said finding a star matching bib lical accounts “challenges our beliefs about Christ and the Bible.” Larson will offer a free one-hour mul timedia demonstration of his findings at 7 p.m. in the Wehner College of Busi- ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion ness Building tomorrow and Wednesday and community presentations at the Brazos Center, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. “Those who attend will see what the Magi saw,” Larson said. “This presen tation should be interesting to anyone who enjoys a genuine mystery and its solution.” Dr. Ronald A. Schorn, an observa tional astronomer, has reviewed Lar son’s conclusions and said his research is logical. “He really did his homework,” Schorn, a retired acting program chief for planetary astronomy at NASA, said. “About 99.9 percent of the Star of Bethlehem stuff is nutty, but this isn’t that. It’s well-researched and reasonable.” BAG prepares for Kwanzaa holiday BY KENNETH MACDONALD The Battalion The MSC Black Awareness Committee (BAG) is closing out its 30th-anniversary year with its annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebra tion at 7 p.m. in MSC 201. Tammy Henry, BAG chair and a junior political science major, said Kwanzaa started in 1969 by college professor Miulana Karenga because he felt there was a need for African-American cultural reaffirmation. “During the Pre-Kwanzaa celebration, the organization will present the seven princi ples of Kwanzaa through enter taining ways, such as dance and spoken word,” Henry said. She said there are seven prin ciples celebrated during the sev en-day Kwanzaa celebration: Kujichagulia (self-determina tion), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (co operative economics), Nia (pur pose), Kuumba (creativity), Umoja (unity) and Imani (faith). The MSC Bookstore will sell Kwanzaa books and traditional kente cloth at the celebration. There also will be African jew elry, clothes and other Afro centric novelties for sale at the function, Henry said. “Kwanzaa is a time for fast ing, feasting and self-reflec tion,” she said. “It is a time to show pan-African solidarity.” Henry said the Kwanzaa family will gather around a cel ebration table and meditate on the principle of the day during each of the holiday’s seven evenings. The youngest person present will light the candles on the table, which symbolize the principles. “It is the fastest-growing hol iday in the world,” she said. “It is a family holiday — family from the nuclear family [to] the see Kwanzaa on Page 2. MSC Hospitality to hold craft fair BY JULIE ZUCKER The Battalion Sixty-three vendors will sell crafts ranging from Texas A&M apparel to candles and soaps to day and tomorrow at the 16th MSC Hospitality Craft Fair. Sanaz Khanbolooki, MSC Hospitality execu tive special-events chair, fair director and a se nior biochemistry major, said the event is aimed primarily at students. “This is a great time for students to get their holiday shopping done,” she said. “There are great prices and good stuff for sale.” 16th 4nnua/i MSC HOSPITALITY CRAFTS FAIR 63 Vendors today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. JEFF SIVIITH/The Battalion Vendors and Aggie Mom’s Clubs have set up tables on the first floor of the MSC to sell a vari ety of homemade gifts, including vests, wooden see Crafts on Page 2.