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AIRE lolor Sfxx'ialist is Exf^rience :ialists : 77840 ion nil Off pen when calling. r appointment. 16 rge Bush East SR night Offer Expires )5/20/02 , MAY ER END. and again.’ kicks! -4pm THURSDAYMARCH 21, 2002 VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 114 THE BATTALION TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Candidates focus on preserving unity Question 1: “What are one or two priorities special projects you will focus on as a stu- ent body president?” Bringing back tradition to A&M students and uilding a community of respect are the two main lemes of student body president candidate Lara tingle’s campaign, which focuses on ^serving the past, promoting the present and irsuing the future.’ Pringle, a Student Senate committee chair and nior finance major, said it is essential to save adition, heritage and spirit on the A&M campus, id proposes educating students in these topics to evelop understanding. ‘We want people to understand what’s behind c\ naterials This is the first in a three part series that presents the positions of the student body president candidates on issues of interest to students. Part 2 will run Friday. By Sarah Szuminski THE BATTALION PRINGLE it [each tradition], so they can actually feel an ownership in the traditions,” she said. "We think that will bring about one spirit on the campus.” Respecting and accepting the differences of the diverse student population is the first step toward creating a welcome community for all students, Pringle said. She hopes to increase diversity education classes and ensure that student government organ izations receive diversity training that will enable them to effectively address issues of this kind. Pringle also plans to build academic adviser evaluation forms that would allow students to assess the effectiveness of their advisers and By Sarah Szuminski THE BATTALION COVENTRY Question 2: “How will you connect student government with the students to ensure their interests are reflected properly to the University administration?” See Priorities on page 6A Candidate Lara Pringle said it is imperative that students know and understand what the administration is doing, and would advocate administrators having an open-door policy toward students that would allow them to get student views and feedback. “I think that the role of the student body presi dent, just as much as it is to advocate the students’ position to the administration, it’s also to explain the administration to the students,” said Pringle, a senior finance major. She hopes to ensure students remain updated on important decisions by using the executive council to work directly with its counterparts in the administration. Pringle plans to put emphasis on getting student input to the administration. “We’re at such a crucial time in the University, when the students do need to have their voices heard,” she said. “The new administration will have no idea what role the students have played, and that gives us the chance to totally remake and remodel that role.” Combating the communication problem between students and administration will be a matter of working toward more two-way communication, said candidate senior agricultural development major Zac Coventry. He believes it is the role of the student body president to communicate students’ views to the administration. Coventry plans to use visibility as a key tool in his push for communication through letters to the student body with neo accounts and adding a link See Interests on page 6A ampaign hallenged By Rolando Garcia THE BATTALION candidates must submit lisir campaign materials to the Emission for approval, ion Dubberly, a sopho- political science major “tong tor Class of 2004 vice raident, said this practice is a ™ant violation of his free Ifch rights. Dubberly feng to take down flyers the ketion commission deemed "appropriate. Student government is sup- KKd to train future leaders, M they're not preparing stu- wts to take part in real civic "lairs when they’re conducting ‘censored election process,” werly said. Election commissioner ^aytie Sarandis, a senior recre- aon, parks and tourism major, she notified Dubberly ednesday that he had five “rs to remove the flyers or face disciplinary action. If a candidate refuses to remove unapproved campaign material, he will be fined up to $3 per violation and possibly disquali fied, Sarandis said. Election rules adopted by the Student Senate do not include any guidelines for cen soring campaign materials, leaving the election commis sioner with complete discretion to determine what is appropri ate. Sarandis said she informed all candidates at the outset of the campaign that she would not approve any campaign material containing curse words, sexual innuendo or trademark and copyright viola tions. Sarandis said Dubberly had not discussed the issue with her. “Not one of my candidates has approached me concerning See Challenge on page 4A Persian New Year Homayra Moghadasian, president of the Persian Students Association, shows three-year-old Farzam a traditional Persian New Year table during a celebration at the STUART VILLANUEVA ♦ THE BATTALION University Community Center on Wednesday night. The goldfish is a symbol of motion and activity. The Persian New Year, Nowrouz, is celebrated on the first day of spring ob market worries May grads Regents meet today By Melissa McKeon THE BATTALION Earnir knis a ^ e S ree a g r e at accomplishment, but stu- -on graduate college this May not just with degrees also Mth worries about their future, according to a survey by Gradschools.com. U\, J t IVJVZIO.V^WI II. fear f 1 flndin 8 a J 0 * 3 a fter graduation” was the biggest 0 ‘ new college graduates (30%), followed closely by “not getting into graduate school” (23%). Other concerns include being admitted to the graduate school of choice and having to pay off student loans. Texas A&M University Registrar Don Carter said 5,000 students have applied to graduate thi's spring. With an unpredictable economy and scarce job offers, many students are choosing to attend graduate school rather than enter a static job market. The root of many college graduate worries are directly related to the economy. “Many of their concerns, such as finding a job, getting into the program they want and being able to afford the tuition, having to work while attending grad school and being able to afford a place to live, are tied directly to the economy,” said Mark Shay, the president of Gradschools.com. Public hearing on tuition hike By Emily Peters THE BATTALION CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION See Job on page 2A Sci-fi descends on AfkM with AggieCon B y ^ ar ianne Hudson THE BATTALION p ^kenH 6 r reSt dle wee ^ ant l this from th ’ Knights and legions another 6 Cight one sabers j n Wlth red and green light ac hallv a ^ dax y far, far away— lernori^c/bf sec °nd floor of the But n S dent Center - ‘he 33 rd r ^ ardzer s sa Y AggieCon33, Ven tion a t n ^ Ua * sc ' en ce-fiction con- ^ 0r §eeks f exas A&M, is not just ' s Pan of i d tde S ame room that 11 boar. tle cost umed sci-fi fair fan S; conv m ° re than -' ust Star Wars See Star ■^ n V on 'S oer s can expect to re k uniforms. Dungeons and Dragons game players and cross-dressing Rocky Horror Picture Show fans. AggieCon33, which will take place March 21-24 in the MSC and Rudder Tower, will consist of an array of activities to satisfy differ- sci-fi tastes, said Kelly ent Sullivan, a sophomore chemical engineering major. Activities will include a dealer s room, a charity auction, a gaming room, an anime room, guest speakers, a masquerade ball and interactive showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. See Sci-fi on page 6A Former Singing Cadets director dies Bob Boone, the former director of Texas A&M's Singing Cadets who sang at every commence ment and Muster ceremony from 1965 to 1995, died Wednesday morning at St. Joseph Regional Rehabilitation Center in Bryan. During a career that spanned 35 years, Boone and his Singing Cadets held 722 in-town and 777 out-of-town performances. In addition to his efforts with the Singing Cadets, Boone served as a student adviser to numerous programs in A&M's Memorial Student Center and to the "Miss Texas A&M Pageant." Funeral services will be held Monday at Christ United Methodist Church in College Station. Students will have one last chance to address the Board of Regents on two pro posed tuition hikes at a public hearing at the Texas A&M System Board of Regents meeting at 9:30 a.m. in MSC 292. Immediately following the hearing, the Board will vote on a $2 per credit hour fee increase to raise faculty and staff salaries and the $30 per credit hour Enhancement Fee that would raise tuition for the average full-time student about $400 per semester. The floor will be open for questions and comments from students after a briefing by Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen. In other business, the regents may offer students injured in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse reimbursements for health expenses by approving an endowment for almost $500,000. Regents also will hear reports on progress of the proposed relocation of rail roads on campus. Earlier this month, the Bryan-College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization said the railroad will not be moved, but a series of under passes and overpasses will likely be installed at major street crossings. An envi ronmental assessment of the project will take contractors a year to complete before construction plans can begin. Contracting company Carter and Burgess has already received $1.1 million for the project. The concept of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security will be presented to the regents. If approved, the center will collaborate national efforts to develop new technology in the country’s security in areas including biohazard manage ment, emergency responses and sociopo litical issues. Regents may also approve the concept of the Center for Information Assurance and Security, which would educate profes sionals on security of computer systems and other communications infrastructures. IKSlOlr Opinion Pg. 5B Big Event or big deal Sci|Tech Pg. 7A GMOs could save the world Growing population causing need for more food HIGH \ 75° F A LOW 48° F HIGH % 60° F 4- LOW 44® F