ONDAYFEBRUARY 25. 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 101
THE BATTALION
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
International
eek offers
iversity
Laund
Men'j &
Hy Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
up. O.VOI t
(1II) ■tj^J^Hntcmational Week festivities begin today and will include a
i p ra . ^^Hes of events sponsored by international students to celebrate
it HooEViilultural differences at A&M and promote unity and inclusiveness.
825-2:. I'ultura! displays will be available for viewing in the Memorial
■ ■mr (Student Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 4
Tuesday. 1 he displays will represent various cultures across
* mob jibe world through artifacts, pictures and music from approxi-
A ^ nately 32 different student organizations, said Ashish Chitale,
jpokesperson for the International Students Association and a
^^^^^^^■uate engineering student.
culture booklets containing interesting facts about many
countries will be distributed at the cultural displays.
K^Rroximately 3.000 copies were printed and will be distributed
MMOWEif^tso students.
♦ jacuzzs* ‘'] t j s a good place for students to go that are interested in other
SOfi (Vi :ultures and want to get informed,” Chitale said.
^*^Rlany students became interested in other cultures after the
77 . >ept. 11 terrorist attacks, he said, and that is one reason
^ niernational Week has greater importance this year.
$9flfY|lfBhe theme of this year’s event. “Unity and Diversity,” is
ntended to emphasize unity among the A&M community while
nibracing the diversity of its students, Chitale said.
| ‘iWe want to let students know that this is a University-wide
See I-Week on page 2
TERNATIONAL WEEK 2002
Lion dance
Patty Sun (right), of Dallas, assists 9-year-old Andrew White
with the motions of the Lion Dance, a Chinese celebration of
the new year, at an exhibition of Chinese culture at the MSC
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
Friday. Sun and other members of the Chin Woo professional
dance group were on campus to demonstrate their skill as
well as teach volunteers the art of Chinese dance.
Today 11 a.m., MSC Flagroom
Today 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., $10 admission fee
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International Talent Stiow
and Traditional Ores* Parade
mi ere cTi'f Rudder Auditorium Friday, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.,
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1718 Rock 01
Proirie Ceff
Friday, immediately following the talent show,
place to be announced
The International Students Association
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Senate deals with low turnout
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
By C.E. Walters
THE BATTALION
With 16 absences at the Feb.
20 meeting, the Student Senate
is facing larger numbers of
absences this semester than
normal, said Kimberly Schell,
senate speaker pro tempore and
a junior biomedical science
major. Schell said that at the
beginning of the semester,
many senators have busy
schedules or simply forget
about meetings. However, rep
resentation of the student body,
Schell said, is not hampered by
the high degree of absences.
“I think that all of our sena
tor’s take their constituency’s
concerns first,” Schell said.
Most absences come from
off-campus senators, who hold
20 positions in the senate.
The absence problem is
mainly with the older sena
tors, said Morgan Howard,
residency whip and a sopho
more political science major.
Newly elected senators are
more energetic, he said.
“Senators are ready to grad
uate,” said Lara Pringle, aca
demic affairs chair and a junior
finance major. “1 think that’s
true for any organization.”
Jack Long, senate speaker
and a senior political science
major, said senators are
allowed four unexcused
absences before they are
removed from their positions.
At senate meetings one half of
an absence is deducted for
missing the roll call vote at the
beginning of the meeting, and
an additional one half is
deducted for missing the
adjournment vote. Thirty-two
senators must be present to
constitute a quorum.
“We set up a system at the
beginning of the year to deter
mine whether or not an absence
is excusable,” Long said. “Most
of them relate to illness or
school related activities.”
\dvisory board allows student input at University system level
By Tanya Nading
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M University System
a sprawling entity comprised of nine
Tools and tens of thousands of stu-
;nts, but the Chancellor’s Student
dvisory Board (CSAB) enables stu-
mt leaders from each campus to voice
students’ concerns to System officials.
“We are a part of a large University
-system,” said Schuyler Houser, student
body president and CSAB representa
tive for Texas A&M. “Most student’s
don’t realize that. I think it’s important
to for them to know, learn and recog
nize the relationships we have with the
other universities in our system.”
2002 ELECTION
Comprised of student government
leaders in the different schools within
the Texas A&M System, A&M’s stu
dent representatives include the student
body president, another student repre
sentative and an alternate, who the stu
dent body president appoints.
“We come together to bridge com
munication through the University sys
tem to address common problems that
we all face,” Houser said. “We meet at
different campuses throughout the year
to discuss the problems the students are
facing there.”
The CSAB was created in 1982 by
Chancellor Arthur E. Hansen, in
response to student calls for representa
tion at the system level. At the time there
were only four universities represented
in the system; today there are 10.
Out of several different mission
goals, the main objective of the CSAB
is to advise the chancellor about
pressing student issues, said Brent
Burgess, chairman of CSAB and a
See CSAB on page 2
TTJr candidates vie for District 31 seat
An open congressional seat in an overwhelmingly Republican district is too good for local GOP politicians to
pass up, and seven candidates are vying for the Republican nomination. The district, which stretches from West
Houston to Round Rock, is one of two new congressional districts given to Texas following the 2000 Census. If
no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the March 12 primary, the top two finishers will compete in an
April 9 runoff. Early voting is underway. The winner will face Democrat David Bagley in November. As a service
to our readers, each candidate will be profiled this week. The Battalion will also endorse a candidate.
Closing ceremonies
onal
;st Price
5
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European
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n. - 7:00 p.m
11/02
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
Peter Wareing
JEd
WAREING
ers
, tulips)
Accepted-
6pm late the economy and generate more revenue for the
ffE See Wareing on page 2
Peter Wareing’s wealthy River
Oaks neighborhood in Houston is a
far cry from the rural and suburban
central Texas district he recently
moved to in order to run for
Congress, but Wareing said he shares
the values of the people he wants to
represent.
“These are conservative. God
fearing people and those are my
values,” Wareing said.
■ Wareing, a Houston businessman, rented an apart
ment in Bryan to campaign for the open congressional
seat, and said he will buy a home there if elected.
Allhough not required by law to live in the district he is
running in, Wareing said he chose to move to Bryan to
gei to know the people he could represent.
■ Wareing said his top priorities will be tax relief and
improving the district’s transportation infrastructure.
; Letting people keep more of what they earn will stimu-
WHITFIELD
Eric Whitfield
Like other Republican candi
dates, his mantra is tax cuts, but Eric
Whitfield said he is the only candi
date in the District 31 race who has
actually cut taxes.
During his two terms on the
Round Rock school board. Whitfield
said he was able to increase efficien
cy, improve school quality and give
tax payers a break.
“It’s one thing to talk about cutting taxes, it’s anoth
er to actually do it,” Whitfield said.
In addition to accelerating the implementation of
President Bush’s tax cuts, Whitfield said he wants to
permanently eliminate the estate tax and lower the cap
ital gains tax. Rather than ballooning the budget
deficit, Whitfield said tax cuts would increase govern
ment revenues by stimulating the economy.
Whitfield, 51, a Round Rock businessman, said he
would like to replace the federal income tax with a
national sales tax. This would encourage saving and
See Whitfield on page 2
Dancers perform during the closing
ceremonies in Rice-Eccles Olympic
KRT CAMPUS
Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. See
final medal count on page 7.
1NSID1E
Sports Pg. 7
Aggies earn second
at Big 12 meet
Battalion News Radio
Exhibit shows
science behind risk
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