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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2000)
I 14 w m i ^ ft u ?\Vi ^w i vmmmmmmm rades iping Special! itz Big Print m Developing i art any Bry«VCo(i*9# Staton rra Canttf arttart (frccwnj of! Sit i C-4t davatourtoniy. Nottoh tal of Frequant Wo tenafits. ode load pamiiti. Otfer good & Spa 77840 B • Freeh Manicure i ■ La * American Manicurei ■ ■■ *Air Brush Design | i more rhan MO purchase J iicures maged skin make-up artist Expires: May 31, ■ he experiment Balance Rotation ei alignment 693-8575 students have access to marks on Bonfire 3y Brian Ruff The Battalion With midterm grades currently in [he mail, students are finding it easier jo warn their parents about their Inidterms before the scores arrive. As of January 2000, midterm and fi lial grades have been posted on the fonfire system, an interactive com- liuter program presented by Computer Information Services (CIS) and the Of- ftce of the Registrar. ‘The Bonfire system is a great way i check my [grade-point ratio],” said )eeAnn Borrer, a freshman kinesiolo gy major, who found out about the sys- jem while at Fish Camp. Prior to the addition of the system, Students had access to their grades only da telephone. “The system provides an accurate find easily accessible way of display- a student’s grades,” said Larry loiota, associate director of CIS. “The system pro vides an accurate and easily accessi ble way of display ing a student's grades” — Larry Molota Associate director of CIS The new system has some added onuses, such as allowing students to tint the screen and not limiting the ime the system can be used. However, with the sensitive issue of rades come worries about grade tam- ering within the system. “Logs are maintained on grade hanges before and after the changes re made, so if anything comes up, e have records of the change,” olota said. The Bonfire system is for students nd advisers only, and most of the creens on the Bonfire system are for iewing only and cannot be changed. “The professors aren’t using the onfire screen,” Molota said. “If they ust have information on a student, here are particular steps that they [must go through to get access to the [information.” Molota said a professor must have a valid reason for requesting the infor mation. An authorization starts at the department level, and is then routed to the student whose grades are being checked. Another feature available on the Bonfire screen is the degree audit func tion, which allows students to view which requirements they need to meet degree requirements. Many advisers use the program when consulting stu dents about degree requirements. r ople.. Installation .94 in TOWN! i your PART! I Harvey R<! Muster memorial Auto repairmen’s work in question Body shops talk about practices KEVIN BURNS/The Battalion Taryn Elliott, a senior psychology major, looks at the new Muster statue located in front of the Academic Building. The statue is the gift of the Class of '95 and will be dedicated on Saturday, immediately following the football game. ByArati Bhattacharya The Battalion For Renee Edmiston, nothing is more frustrating than paying exorbitant amounts of money for car parts and re placement jobs that are unnecessary. “Mechanics in this town are screw ing over college kids,” said Edmiston, a junior environmental design major. “Just because we’re away from home and re ally need our cars — but have no guid ance — they’re taking advantage of us.” The auto repair industry is often criticized for overcharg ing customers and high lighting trivial details for profitable reasons. Marvin Taylor, a me chanic at Radiators & More of Bryan-College Station, said some auto shops cheat people. “They’re Hat-out crooks,” Taylor said. “They know they’re rip ping the kids off. I’ve seen more rip-off shops [in B- CS] than ever, and they do it in unimaginable ways. Houston wouldn’t even do that, and they’re known nationwide for being scammers.” Edmiston said her first encounter with an overpriced mechanic was in March when she needed her brakes serviced. She said Just Brakes in Bryan quoted a price of $800. “They said it was necessary to do it all now, and it couldn’t be done for cheaper anywhere else,” she said. “They wanted me to replace parts that needed to be changed after 100,000 miles, when my car only had 50,000 miles on it and didn’t need the re placement yet.” Edmiston said she later got the entire brake job done at C&L Tires for $ 100. Lee Stroud, manager at Just Brakes, said the industry sets the prices, and the auto shop charges based on the na ture of the repair job. “If the job was done for $ 100, they may have patched up the symptom, but the problem is definitely not fixed,” he said. Stroud said Just Brakes has the best warranty in the business. The Better Business Bureau of Bra zos Valley (BBB) lists Just Brakes in Bryan with an unsatisfactory record of unresolved complaints. To have a sat isfactory record, a company must promptly address complaints, stay within proper regulations and have no questionable activity. “Vve seen more rip-off shops [in B-CS] than ever, and they do it in unimaginable 5. n —- Marvin Taylor Mechanic, Radiators & More Taylor said local auto shops over charge their customers because college students have to get the problem fixed, and it is easy to take advantage of the situation. “I know of three to four shops that bring cars to me for a diagnostic test and take them back to their shops to over price the customer,” Taylor said. “That’s plain old wrong. You can make an honest living fixing them right.” Just Brakes was not the end of Ed- miston’s car saga. When her air condi tioner went out this summer, she took the car to B&B Automotive Services, which she said quoted a price of $ 1,200. She refused to pay and instead bought the parts herself in Houston at whole sale. “They were marking the prices up at least 50 percent, beyond means of prof- See Auto on Page 2. Beutel raising HIV awareness for women By Rolando Garcia The Battalion Jennifer was only 16 years old and preg nant with her second daughter when she found out she was HIV-positive. “I was worried, but more than that I thought, ‘why did it have to happen to my baby?’ and that’s what hurt me the most,” she said. Jennifer, who only gave her first name, spoke to students at a forum sponsored by the A.P. Beutel Health Center to give students a woman’s perspective on living with HIV. Margaret Griffith, health education coor dinator at Beutel, said there is a common misconception that AIDS is a men’s disease. “It’s also a women’s disease, and women sometimes have to deal with different issues — like children,” $he said. Jennifer, now 24, and her 6-year-old daughter take a battery of medications to treat the disease. Jennifer takes 12 pills daily, and her daughter takes three liquid medicines. “My day is medicine and kids,” she said. “In the morning we take our medicine, and I get them ready for school.” The need to be there for her children helped' keep at bay the feelings of depression that often can accompany news that one is HIV-positive, Jennifer said. “I can’t let it get to me,” she said. “There is depression, but then I think, T have all this to live for. If I’m not there to take care of my kids, who will?’ ” i Although her daughter is generally healthy and energetic like the other students in her kindergarten class, Jennifer said, typical child hood colds can be especially harmful because of her weakened immune system. She recounted an incident when her daugh ter was in the Head Start program and acci dentally scraped her head and required stitch es. She said that when word got out that the little girl was HIV-positive, some parents re moved their children from the program. . “It’s really sad how dumb people can be,” Jennifer said. Kristen Jay, a senior community health major who attended the presentation, said Jen nifer’s story added an important human ele ment to AIDS education programs. “It was kind of heartbreaking to hear their stories, especially the children, but I think it’s just amazing how brave they are,” Jay said. HIV awareness is still low among many college students, Griffith said. “They can get pretty complacent about HIV and think it can’t happen to them,” Griffith said. Free HIV testing will be available today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in 141 Memorial Student Cen ter (MSG) as part of the Health Fair. Beutel of fers free testing Thursday afternoons from 12:30 until 3:45. Griffith said anyone who has engaged in unprotected sex or other risky behavior such as intravenous drug use, should get tested. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 40,000 Americans are infected with HIV each year, and half are under 25. Not enough rain The year’s drought too great to be fully alleviated by storms DALLAS (AP) — Heavy rains in some parts of Texas have not been enough to erase this year’s drought, but the recent soakings could lessen the chances of a similar drought next year. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” Skip Ely, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said Tuesday. Recent rains have started to saturate the soil, and with the decreased water demand of winter months, reservoirs should start to fill, he said. But according to government ex perts, the central part of the state needs as much as a foot of rain to begin emerg ing from the drought. It would take 10-12 inches of rain in North Texas in the next several days to begin alleviating this year’s drought, Ely said. Travis Miller, a drought researcher with the Texas Agriculture Extension Service, said recent rains have not come close to ending this year’s statewide drought. “We’ve got a ways to go as far as fill ing soil (moisture) profiles,” Miller said. The good news is that most reservoir levels already have stopped falling, said Leonard Olson, a spokesman for the Texas Water Development Board. “It has been sufficient to stop the de cline but it is still the second lowest we’ve been in 23 years of collecting data,” he said. Since July, reservoirs statewide have lost 4.5 million acre feet of water, said Ruben Solis, also of the Texas Water De velopment Board. “I'm cautiously optimistic.” — Skip Ely meteorologist for National Weather Service in Fort Worth The recent storms appear to be re versing the trend. In San Antonio, the Edwards Aquifer has risen 12 feet to 655 feet in the last 30 days, said Geary Schindel, chief technical officer for the Edwards Aquifer Authority. The aquifer still is 7.5 feet below nor mal for this time of year, he said. The relief comes as thunderstorms moving across the state spawned torna does, flooded roads and stranded mo torists and students. On Monday, the storms brought pingpong ball-sized hail and at least two tornadoes to the Panhandle and one in the Concho Valley. Five counties northwest of San An tonio were flooded with as much as 6 1/2 inches of rain Sunday and Monday. While rain is easing the drought, it is not welcomed by all, especially by cot ton farmers in West Texas. Cotton farmer Tommy Fondren of Lorenzo said the hard rain knocks cotton bolls to the ground and renders them worthless. The moisture also can discolor the cotton with unsightly spots. “It’s not a good thing for harvest,” he said. This year’s drought has wrought $1.1 billion in damage on state agriculture, hitting West Texas cotton especially hard, the state Agricultural Extension Service reported last week. Economists at Texas A&M Universi ty estimate that cotton losses alone have reached $485 million as fields, particu larly those without irrigation systems, withered under the summer’s record spell of heat and lack of rain. Bryan City Council OKs patrol increase Water supply increase needed ByArati Bhattacharya The Battalion The Bryan City Council on Tuesday granted police officers permission to in crease patrolling and at tempted to increase the city’s water supply and standards. Under the Safe and Sober Selective Traffic En forcement Program (S&S STEP) the council adopted, Bryan Mayor Lonnie Sta bler will sign a “Texas Traf fic Safety Program Grant Agreement” in conjunction with the Texas Department of Transportation (Tx- DOT). The program will be authorized from October until Sept. 30,2001. A sim ilar program recently ap proved by the College Sta tion Council allows city patrols to further regulate reckless driving behavior at selected busy intersections. A 50-foot street between Dale and Chigger streets was also motioned to be abandoned and vacated. Stabler was further autho rized to perform quit claim deeds to the neighboring adjacent property owners, which will compensate res idents for the street closure. The council gave con siderable attention to the city’s water philosophy. Jeannie Wigginton, a mem ber of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) and AWAA National Microbial Disinfection Advisory Group, said Bryan has su perior water but further steps can be taken. See Bryan on Page 5. -el