1 SECTION • 12 PAGES
MONDAYDECEMBER 3. 2001
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WS IN BRIEF
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Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years
S E
R V 1 N G
THE
TEXAS
A&M COMM UN
1 T Y 5
5 1 N C E
18 9 3
Volume 108
• Issue 69
College Station, Texas
www.thebatt.com
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Anthrax found in
Connecticut
postal facility
HARTFORD (AP) - Trace
amounts of anthrax were
found at a postal facility that
sorts mail for the town
where a 94-year woman
mysteriously died of the dis
ease last month, officials
said Sunday.
Ottilie Lundgren, of Oxford,
was the fifth person in the
nation to die since the
anthrax scare began in
October. The source of her
exposure has baffled officials,
who are investigating whether
she could have come in con
tact with tainted mail.
The spores were found on
four sorting machines dur
ing tests at the Southern
Connecticut Processing &
Distribution Center in
Wallingford. The center
processes about 3 million
pieces of mail daily for
Oxford and other towns.
The trace amounts most
likely were left on the
machines when a letter sent
to Seymour, near Oxford,
passed through the facility on
Oct. 11, said Jon Steele, vice
president of the Postal
Service's Northeast Area
Operations. Officials
announced Friday they had
found a single spore of
anthrax on the Seymour letter.
PUBLIC EYE
Percentage of
infants'! 9-35
months old in
Texas with the
proper vaccines,
the lowest of
all 50 states
69.4
TODAY
Page 3
[nights in
shining
maroon
• Chivalry remains a
timeless and
appreciated practice
on campus
Teacher shortage sparks new program
TEACHERS NEEDED IN TEXAS
Percent of teachers needed but not hired
SUBJECT AREA! TEACHER SHORTFALL
ELEMENTARY ESL
SECONDARY MATH
SECONDARY FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
SECONDARY ESL
| SOURCE; AAM's Institute for School Unviverslty Partnership
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
By NONl SRIDHARA
THE BATTALION
Starting this spring, Texas
A&M will be the first universi
ty in the state to participate in
an alternative teacher-certifica
tion program partnership to
address teacher shortages in
areas like math, science and
bilingual eduOcation.
The U.S. Department of
Education funded a $ 1.4-million
“Transition to Teach” grant that
allows A&M to partner with the
Region IV Education Service
Center (ESC) in Houston.
The ESC has had an alterna
tive certification program in
place since 1991, allowing pro
fessionals to enter a condensed
certification program, said Dr.
Joe D. Crane, chief officer of the
Human Resources Services
Division of the ESC. The pro
gram began with Aggies seeking
to partner with the ESC, he said.
“A lot of students were reach
ing the end of their program and
looking for other options and
including teaching as one of
them,” Crane said.
Critical teacher shortages are
a nationwide phenomenon.
Crane said.
“It is kind of hard to pinpoint
what teacher shortages are attrib
uted to, but some of it is pay and
working conditions,” he said.
The A&M System’s
See Teacher on page 6.
Reindeer games
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
Senior psychology major Flyan Beard, dressed as Rudolph, Sigma Theta to provide free breakfast and toys, which were
greets children during Breakfast with Santa at the Lincoln donated by campus and community organizations for Bryan-
Recreation Center on Sunday. The event was organized by Delta College Station area children.
Brown wins mayoral runoff
A&M leads
in cloning
research
By Tanya Nading
THE BATTALION
With recent advancements in cloning
technology, Texas A&M continues to
lead the field in biotechnology and
cloning research.
A&M is the first institution in the
world to have cloned three different
species: a Brahman calf in 1999, an
Angus calf in November 2000, a boer
goat in March 2001, and nine piglets,
born Aug. 12,2001.
“The cloning research is important to
Texas A&M because we are leading in
the field of cloning,” said Dr. Jorge
Piedrahita, associate professor at the
College of Veterinary Medicine and
assistant director of the Center for
Animal Biotechnology and Genomics
(CABG). “It would be unwise to give up
the leadership and realize later that we
could have been the next Microsoft, for
example.”
Piedrahita’s research has two major
goals that he and his team set forth.
“The first goal is basic research on
understanding nuclear reprogramming,”
he said. “We look at what happens to the
nucleus and try to determine why some
clones are not as normal as others.”
The second goal is to create geneti
cally-modified animals, or transgenic
animals, that can be used for biological
and medical research.
“Cloning is so important because the
technology has a tremendous potential
for medical treatments as well as food
products in the future,” Piedrahita said.
The nine piglets were born at the
CABG and were the first of five expect-
See Cloning on page 2.
Secret
invention
revealed
Hyped as the new
alternative to cars
NEW YORK (AP) — After months of
hype, an inventor is set to unveil an elec
tric scooter being billed as an environ
mentally friendly alternative to cars.
Inventor Dean Kamen and his backers
said the scooter needs less energy and
creates less pollution than cars, and
could help people move about more effi
ciently in urban areas.
The Segway “will be to the car what
the car was to the horse and buggy,”
Kamen told Time magazine for
Monday’s edition. “Cars are great for
going long distances. But it makes no
sense at all for people in cities to use a
4,000-pound piece of metal” to get
around town.
Kamen holds roughly 100 U.S.
patents. His other inventions include the
heart stent used by Vice President Dick
See Invention on page 2.
HOUSTON (AP) — In the wake of a
ferocious and negative campaign, newly
re-elected Mayor Lee Brown on Sunday
asked the city to coalesce for his final two
years in office.
“I’m very pleased with the outcome,”
Brown said. “This is a city I love. I want
to make sure I do everything I can to see
it progress. I believe when we work
together as one city, we have a very
bright future.”
Saturday’s election was as close as
predicted, with results seesawing all night
NEW YORK (AP) — Culminating a
stunning six-week downfall, belea
guered energy company Enron Corp.
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protec
tion on Sunday and filed a $10 billion
lawsuit against Dynegy Inc. for scrap
ping a proposed buyout.
Houston-based Enron listed $24.7 bil
lion in assets — more than $38 billion
less than it had two months ago — and
$13.1 billion in liabilities, according to
the filing, making it one of the largest
U.S. corporate bankruptcies ever.
Enron accused Dynegy of wrongfully
terminating its $8.4 billion takeover bid
and said it would seek at least $10 billion
in damages. Enron said proceeds from
the lawsuit would benefit it creditors.
Both actions were filed in U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of New York.
Enron also said it is in “active discus
sions” with several financial institutions
to secure credit for the continued opera
tion of its wholesale energy trading busi
ness, as well as additional funding to
until Brown surged late. Brown had
165,865 votes, or 52 percent, to
Sanchez’s 155,164, or 48 percent.
Brown starts his third term in January.
He cannot run again because of a term
limits ordinance.
More Houstonians participated in the
runoff than the 288,000 who voted in the
Nov. 6 general election, which featured
hotly contested city charter amendments
in which voters barred same-sex benefits
for city workers and preserved a light rail
line already under construction.
keep the rest of the company operating.
A cash and credit crunch following
disclosures in mid-October of question
able financial partnerships has made it
difficult for the once-mighty energy trad
ing to continue doing business.
Enron tried to restore confidence by
raising more cash and promising to sell
its money-losing businesses to shore up
its once-profitable trading business. But
investors continued dumping shares and
several energy companies stopped mak
ing trades with Enron for fear they would
not be paid.
Enron chairman and chief executive
Kenneth Lay said Sunday’s filings will
help the company, which just months
ago was the country’s seventh largest in
terms of revenue, regain the confidence
it has lost.
“While uncertainty during the past few
weeks has severely impacted the market’s
confidence in Enron and its trading oper
ations, we are taking the steps announced
today to help preserve capital, stabilize
See Enron on page 6.
City council member Orlando
Sanchez, who often did not respond to
Brown’s attacks about his work record as
a probation officer, an anonymous donor
backing his daughter’s private-school
education or his conservative beliefs, said
he hoped his campaign would benefit the
nation’s fourth-largest city.
“I hope our message resonates that we
talked about: making public safety No. 1,
taking care of the city’s infrastructure.
See MAYOR on page 2.
A&M gradsy
students among
those affected
By Rolando Garcia
* THE BATTALION
The sudden collapse of Enron
Corp., a Houston-based energy con
glomerate, has forced the company’s
employees, including many Aggies, to
update their resumes.
Enron employs more than 20,000
workers worldwide, and layoffs at its
Houston headquarters are imminent.
“They’re going to layoff 3,000 peo
ple tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure I’m
going to lose my job,” said Mark
See Layoffs on page 6.
Enron files for bankruptcy, sues Dynegy