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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 2000)
Wednesday, Octobe ers for ential rat le had waited until thelasij ;gister for the Nov. 26i which will include nine eats and one in the Hob mbly. rislide’s victory is an :one conclusion with the i boycott, which leave other little-known can ; race. The opposition :e May-July legisiativ were rigged to favor i allied to Aristide, wk is plotting to return Hi orship. THURSDAY October 12, 2000 Volume 107 ~ Issue 34 12 pages AY l ^Wx\ * 1CilOk'l k’i 4; WIIY ay cadet quits Corps after hostile reactions Marc Wade a/lcca(ri)tamu.edu Jess Wade Vocal Music Memorial Student Center jess@stuact.tamu.edu K Nicole Walker Student Life 312 YMCA 845-5826 nicole\v@srudcntlifc.tamu.«ti | Carol Walther Women’s Studies 306 Academic Building 845-7994 csw0366@acs.tamu.edu Valory Wangler valoryw@hotmail.com Scott Ward Residence Life Appelt Hall 845-1249 bignasty@tamu.edu !y Brady Creel & Marium Mohiuddin Tie Battalion Unlike the sunny beaches of California, [exas A&M and the Coips of Cadets are not welcoming haven for all. That was the ex- jrierice of one student who entered A&M id the Corps as a sophomore in August and ild his outfit he was gay. S I The cadet, who witl be called John in the picle, is a four-year veteran of the military iom southern California. About three weeks | ago, he informed members of his Corps out- pi that he is gay. But, problems did riot arise 1 for John until Monday, when fellow mem- ■ersofthe Corps w alked past the Memorial ■tudent Center (MSC) brec/cw ay and saw liiin sitting at an information table for the Jeremy Wasser Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology 1261 VMA 162-4655 wasser@cvm.tamu.edu tobert D. Wells Iducational Psychology dw 1479@unix.tamu.edu lethany Whetstone bw58l4@labs.tamu.edu renda White terling C. Evans Library 52-49 4 7 vhitc@tamu.edu incy J. White jmputer Science 15-0994 white@tai.tamu.edu :nevieve Wilcox tsidence Life ieve@tamu.edu arcus Wilkerson 2-2241 t@pnx.com ronica Y. Williams sidencc Life onica@tamu.edu talie R. Wilson Fadden Hall .'7418@Iabs.tartui.edu ira A. Wimberley dent Life Orientation YMCA Building -5826 nbcrley@tamu.edu ;ela Winkler lent Activities Koldus 7514 nkler@tamu.edu vVinniford ;eofthe VP for Student Alfa® Floor Rudder Tower 4728 @tamu.edu ifer M. Witkowski ess2000@tamu.edu fer Woodson i-Gary ie@tamu.edu m Wright it@tamu.edu ida Wu da_wu@yahoo.com / L. Yeager istry Chemistry 136 -@mail.chem.tanui.edu Yendell :nce Life y@tamu.edu Youree lue@tamu.edu 'u u@hotmail.com . Zdziarski : Life Idus 11 itudentlife.tamu.edu ’. Zionts onal Psychology ton 704F 7 itamu.edu ehlke of Business hner 2 otmail.com ing sessions are iay, 29 October :30-9pm. TO nui.edu or call 7. [nternships each Aggies ie ropes in Washington hiblic Policy among tew A&M programs fiv Brady Creel the Battalion The old adage “get your foot in the loor” might change to'“get your whole :g in the door” at Texas A&M as the ublic Policy Internship Program PP1P) officially lifts off. “We need more Aggies in Washing- bn, D.C.,” said Manda Rosser, PP1P oordinator and,a student development oordinator for the office of Honors programs & Academic Scholarships. 1 She said needing more Aggies in AVushington was the consensus among officials in Washington, D.C., and administrators when the pro gram began its development phase bout 18 months ago after A&M Pres ident Dr. Ray M. Bowen took a trip to Vashington, D.C. Rosser said Bowen set aside an en- lowment of $2 million to start sending iggies to Washington D.C. Rosser said the PPIP is designed to nd the best fit for the students in the iternship program, find them intern- hips, give them academic credit and ive them a stipend to help them pay or expenses. In addition, she said, most agen- ies employing interns probably will iay them. “If we are going to send good-qual- ty students, they should be willing to ompensate for that,” she said. Rosser said a selling point of the irogram is the chance for students to ;et hands-on experience. “These internships are less than 20 fercent clerical,” she said. “You’re not ’oing to be just answering the phone or loing the mail. You’re going to be in ommittee meetings, doing research, aking notes, helping make decisions tnd really seeing the workings of pub ic policy.” Students from all majors are wel- ome to apply for the PPIP. Students iced not be in the honors program, but nust be at least a junior with 60 credit lours when the internship happens and lave a GPR of 3.0 or higher. The PPIP was in its trial phase for he 2000 spring and summer semesters ut is beginning “full force” this fall, dosser, said the five interns who par- icipated in the pilot program were re- illy successful. One intern chose to extend her in- emship and is still in Washington, D.C. “A lot of times that happens,” See Intern on Page 2. my SHIP PROGRAM 1HATURHS: • FULL- TIME INTERNSHIPS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. • () HOURS OT ACADEMIC CREDIT AWARDED AT 'TEXAS AtVM UNIVERSITY Students must have at least a fumor IIP. classification Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Aggies (GLBTA). As of Wednesday, John is no longer a cadet, a decision he made of his own volition. “I got absolutely ripped by my buddies,” John said of the outfit’s response to his pres ence at the GLBTA table. “I was called an embarrassment and disgrace to my outfit and the Corps. I have never been made to feel worse and more ashamed of who and what I am than I did [Tuesday].” The dissension did not come from his up perclassmen, outfit commanders or Corps staff. It came from his “buddies” and forced John to make the decision to leave the Corps. Yet he still advocates participation in the Corps. “As much as I love the Corps, it is not my Pulling strings “/ was called an em- barrassment and dis grace to my outfit and the Corps. I have never been made to feel worse and more ashamed of who and what I am...." — "John" a former Corps member who requested anonymity right to create a situation where there is ani mosity. I am not bitter toward the Corps or my outfit. I did it for them, not for me,” said John, explaining his decision to leave the Corps. He said the response of some of his outfit members was “very hostile — bordering on vi olent.” John said one of his female buddies said he “disgraced her” and “made her look bad.” John said he does not want the Corps nor his outfit to look bad, but he wishes that peo ple would understand him and others like him. “What happened to me was a result of mis understandings and fear,” he said. “People should have told me how they felt a long time ago and not waited for something to happen.” John said his openness with his sexual ori entation was an understanding with the rest of his outfit: He wanted to be in control of what people knew about him and that it was not his outfit’s place to tell people about it. “They can’t understand it because they don’t get it up here,” he said, pointing to his head. “A lot of times, they refuse to believe that it is not a choice and that we are made this way.” ^ Major Doc Mills, media relations coordi nator for the Corps of Cadets, said the Corps and its administration are part of the Univer sity and the Corps is bound to the same poli cies of the University, but could not comment specifically about the case. “I am not going to speculate on this case because I do not have knowledge about it,” See Corps on Page 12. Gore criticizes Bush’s record Candidates call on Yasser Arafat to end Middle Eastern violence STUART VILLANUEVA/Tm Battalion Andrzej Grabiec, a member of the Western Arts Trio chamber music group, rehearses on the violin before a performance at the Presidential Conference Center. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A1 Gore criticized Gov. George W. Bush’s record in Texas in debate Wednesday night, saying he blocked hate crimes legislation and presides over a state that ranks last in health insurance for families. “We care about our people in Texas,” Bush shot back, and said the state spends $4.7 billion a year on the uninsured alone. In the waning moments of their sec ond 90-minute clash, Bush said Gore had misrepresented several facts in their first debate, and that prompted an un usual apology from the vice president. “I got some of the details wrong,” the vice president responded softly. “I’m sorry about that, and I’m going to try to do better” in the future. The two men met on a stage at Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University with less than four weeks remaining in their close, volatile race for the White House. The atmosphere seemed more congenial than when they debated last week in Boston, and when it ended, Bush mouthed the words “good job” to his ri val as they shook hands. The calendar calls for one more pre-election debate, next Tuesday in St. Louis. It was a debate in two parts: the first half a polite conversation about for eign policy, the second half a more pointed series of disagreements over domestic issues. Gore and Bush both called on Pales tinian leader Yasser Arafat to restrain the violence rocking Israel. The vice presi dent also called on Syria to “release three Israeli soldiers that have been cap tured” by Hezbollah militia forces dur ing more than 10 days of violence. Both men stressed support for Israel. When asked by moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS about the Middle East, Gore said, “We need to insist that Arafat send out in structions to halt some of the provocative acts of violence that have been going on.” Bush, given a chance to answer the same question, began by saying that in times of tension overseas, “We ought to be speaking with one voice. I appreciate the way the administration has been working to calm the tensions.” He also said the United States ought to call on Arafat “to have his people pulled back.” ' Gore defended the administration’s handling of Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Bush, whose father was president dur ing the Persian Gulf War, declared that the “coalition against Saddam is unrav eling ... sanctions are being violated.” If Saddam is developing weapons of mass destruction, he said, “There are going to be consequences if I’m president.” Gore, who has been buffeted by alle gations that he embellishes the facts, readily offered a mea culpa after Lehrer raised the issue in a question to Bush, and the governor read from a 1988 staff memo to then-Sen. Gore to be careful about getting facts right. “I can’t promise I will never get an other detail wrong. I can promise you I will do my best if I’m elected president, I will work by heart out to get it right for the American people,” Gore said. Asked if he was satisfied with the ex planation, Bush said, “That’s up to the American people, isn’t it.’’ October named for fire prevention By Maureen Kane The Battalion On Oct. 1, five College Station residents faced the reality that their house had burned, destroying everything they had. However, the question remains: How prepared are students for a fire? The Bryan and College Station fire departments, as well as the Brazos County Precinct Fire De partment, are posing this question as part of Fire Prevention Month this October. In its 60th year, national Fire Pre vention Month commemorates the Oct. 9, 1871, Great Chicago Fire, which left 100,000 people home less, 17,400 structures burned and more than 250 people dead. Bart Humphreys, public infor mation officer for the College Sta tion Fire Department (CSFD), said this year’s theme is “The Great Es cape,” which stresses the impor tance of home exit drills. “The majority of fire deaths occur in the home because people aren’t prepared to escape,” Humphreys said. “We give them information to help them plan in advance for this type of emergency. Hopefully, we can prevent it, but if it does happen, hopefully, they can get out alive.” Because a large percentage of Bryan-College Station residents are students and, many live in apart ments, Bryan Fire Department (BFD) and CSFD will hold a mock apartment fire on Tuesday to edu cate residents about the importance of preparing a fire escape plan for their homek. Apartment #413 in the Plantation Oaks complex on Harvey Road will be the site for the mock fire. The atrical smoke will be used to simu late a fire in the apartment. After a simulated emergency call to the 911 dispatcher, the fire departments will demonstrate their emergency re sponse and rescue methods. , • “When we do these simula tions, we do them really safely us ing a smoke machine,” said Cindy Giedraitis, public information of ficer for CSFD. “It’s purely the atrical smoke.” The purpose of the mock fire is to demonstrate how easily a fire can start in an apartment and to give res idents information on how to pre vent fires. Other activities associated with Fire Prevention Month are the World’s Largest Fire Drill and the Fire Safety Expo on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. The World’s Largest Fire Drill, STUART VILLANUEVA/The Battalion Dustin Melting, an employee at the with participation of local radio and Brayton Fjre School/ refi || s fire e xtin- See Fire on Page 6. guishers for use in training drills Students, administrators share, eat at bug banquet COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Steamed crickets and baked mealworms provided a juicy feast Wednesday for a group of sur prised Texas A&M administrators who could not recall approving Bug Tasting 101 as a course offering. The Aggie officials thought they were at tending a science class to improve interac tion with students, but instead found a bug banquet prepared by entomology professor Roger Gold. “I think they’re very tasty,” said William Krumm, controller and vice president for fi nance. “I think the worms are my favorite. They have that nice chewy taste.” Charles Sippial, vice president for admin istration, seemed to prefer crickets. “If it came down to it, I guess I could sur vive on insects out in the wilderness,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ll ask my wife to have a plate of these ready tonight.” Gold offers the bug tasting once each se mester, to point out how tasty, vitamin-rich and full of protein insects are. Like it or not, they are a steady part most Americans’ diets, he said. /guess I could sur vive on insects out in the wilderness. But I don't think III ask my wife to have a plate of these ready tonight" — Charles Sippial vice president for administration “A box of raisins you buy at the store is full of insect parts,” Gold said. “On average, there are 10 or more insect parts for every 8 ounces of raisins.” The average peanut butter and jelly sand wich has about 56 insect parts in it, he said. “The point is, just about every piece of food we eat has insect parts, and the govern ment knows this,” Gold said. “The Food and Drug Administration realizes it’s impossible to eliminate all insect parts from food, so they have set down maximum standards allowed for food products.”