EDNESDAYAPRIL 17, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 132
THE
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TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
ew INS policies will not affect A&M
By Sarah Szuminski
[ THE BATTALION
■ New immigration policies
iijitended to tighten restrictions
foreigners trying to come to
United States to attend
Ihool will not affect the approx-
liately 3,300 international stu-
fnts currently studying at
:M, federal authorities said.
The Immigration and
Naturalization Services (INS) is
continuing its efforts to increase
security in the United States by
recently implemented rule con
cerning international visitors
seeking student visas and pro
posed rules for governing the
length of time visitors are per
mitted to remain in the country.
INS Commissioner James
Ziglor announced the rule con
cerning visitors seeking student
status that is already in effect and
the proposed rules to tighten regu
lation of international visitors
have not yet been declared effec
tive and are currently open for
public commentary.
Effective immediately on its
publication in the Federal
Register, the new INS interim
rule prohibits any non-immi
grant visitors from pursuing
enrollment in a course of study
prior to their obtaining approval
of a change to student status.
This rule comes in an effort
by the INS to prevent interna
tional visitors from extending
their stay in the United States
by enrolling in a course and
later switching to student status,
and may alleviate concerns of
possible terrorists extending
their time here. The maximum
length of a visit to the country
for non-immigrants who do not
hold a student visa is currently
one year.
INS Policies on visitors
m—m—m
Currently - The maximum amount of time a foreigner can stay in the U.S.
without a student visa Is one year
Under the proposed rule - The time would be decreased to six months
Those with a student visa can stay for the duration of their education
“Previously, international
visitors could begin a course
with a type B (visitor’s) visa and
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By Elizabeth Kline
J THE BATTALION
I Rape is a social problem everyone will encounter
wither directly or indirectly. Dr. Carol Albrecht said
|Tuesday at a panel discussion hosted by the
jjMemorial Student Center’s Current Issues Awareness
ommittee.
Albrecht, a Texas A&M sociology professor, said in
American society, women are judged for their sexual
ippeal, while men are judged on their ability to conquer
nd win. She said this gender inequality contributes to
he high occurrences of rape in the United States.
The most important thing we can do is empower
vomen,” she said. “We need to teach women to directly
ommunicate what they want and don’t want.”
Sgt. Betty LeMay of the University Police
tepartment said most rape victims know their attack
ers and that the majority of rapes that occur on cam
pus involve alcohol. She said a man should get per-
jinission before having sexual contact with a woman.
“Oon’t assume that you have permission to have
sex,” she said. “If she has been drinking and is phys
ically incapable of saying no, you better stop. Make
sure she knows exactly what she is doing and
approves of it.”
Dr. Amanda Sampson of Student Counseling
ervices said there are enormous variations in the
way rape victims react after they are attacked. She
said this causes some people not to believe a woman
who says she has been raped.
“Only 2 percent of reported rapes are false
eports,” she said. “If a friend comes to you and says
she has been raped, don’t doubt it. Be supportive, and
let her decide who else she is going to tell.”
Albrecht said most rapes go unreported because
See Rape on page 4A
©
.Myths about sexual assault
MYTH
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Strangers commit rape
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Rape is only about sex
Men cannot be raped
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Approximately Ul,(
adult men are raped
America every year
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
Quilting 101
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
Senior education major Sylvia Wook puts the class Tuesday. Each student designed and sewed
finishing stitches in a quilt she and her class- one of the quilt's 48 squares,
mates created for their childhood education
African-American journal awarded grant
will
sr
of
;bert
By Jessica Watkins
THE BATTALION
Callaloo, an African and African-
^nierican literary journal centered at
•exas A&M, was awarded a $40,000
grant this month from the National
Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to sup
port the Callaloo Creative Writing
Workshops.
The NEA grant will allow Callaloo to
" lre experienced writers to teach the
Workshops.
“This is a national competition.
Students apply from all over the country.
These are new, developing writers. We
will pick them based on the manuscript
they send in,” said Charles H. Rowell,
editor of Callaloo and an English profes
sor at Texas A&M.
Ginger Thornton, managing editor of
Callaloo, said the NEA offers several
one-year grants for projects promoting
artistic excellence.
The summer workshops will last two
weeks and serve 7 to 9 poets and 4 to 6
fiction writers. NEA funding enables
Callaloo to provide for participants’
expenses so they are only responsible
for their travel to College Station,
Thornton said.
Callaloo moved to Texas A&M in
September 2001 from the University
of Virginia, where it had resided
since 1986.
“The journal has experienced here a
level of appreciation and support
unmatched at any previous university
home,” Thornton said.
Callaloo has sponsored a reading
series and a racial symposium since its
move to Texas.
“We try to promote the arts at Texas
A&M via creative writing. We have
arranged for graduate students and pro
fessors in the creative writing depart
ment to read before the Texas A&M
conference,” Rowell said. “One thing
I’m trying to do is to get Texas artists
and writers in the journal.”
Callaloo publishes the original works
and critical studies of black writers
worldwide and is published by John
Hopkins University Press.
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
See INS on page 2A
Bees pose
a threat
to B-CS
By Anna Chaloupka
THE BATTALION
As swarms of Africanized
honeybees, commonly known as
killer bees, increase in Texas
and the southern United States,
authorities say knowledge of the
bees and how to avoid them is
the best defense against poten
tially dangerous situations.
Kim Kaplan, spokesperson
for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, said people need
to be aware of the presence of
Africanized honeybees, but
also know that they do not
pose any more of a threat to the
general public than European
honeybees.
“For the general public,
they’re like rattlesnakes,”
Kaplan said. “They (the public)
need to learn to live with them
and be cautious about them.”
Kaplan said the physical dif
ference between Africanized
honeybees and other bees is not
distinguishable by the naked
eye. The difference, she said, is
seen in behavioral patterns.
Bill Baxter, an apiary
inspector with the Texas Apiary
Inspection Service, said
Africanized honeybees are
more aggressive, more likely to
sting in great numbers and
more likely to chase a person
farther distances.
While the threat of
Africanized honeybee is mini
mal to humans in general,
Baxter said, children and the
elderly are more susceptible to
potential danger.
“It is not that bad of a prob
lem except for the danger to
younger children and older peo
ple, who are not able to run
away quickly,” Baxter said.
If one comes in contact with
an Africanized honeybee, Baxter
said he or she should run away
from the swarm as fast as he or
she can in a straight line and
seek shelter in a house or vehi
cle. Also, the person should
report the incident to local
authorities immediately.
The Africanized honeybee
was found in Texas near
Brownsville in October 1990.
Since then, the bee has spread
through much of the state,
prompting authorities to quaran
tine 140 of the 254 counties in
Texas, including Brazos County.
The quarantine allows bee
keepers to move hives within.
See Bees on page 2A
Bonfire suits will stay in Brazos County
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By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
At least two of the lawsuits filed by
^lilies of students killed in the 1999
ggie Bonfire collapse will be tried in
r raz °s County, the Forth Worth Star-
e e gram reported Tuesday.
. A Tarrant County probate court
judge granted motions by defendants
in suits fded by the parents of Jerry
Self and Chad Powell to move the
cases to state district court in Brazos
County. Attorneys for the defendants,
who include top University adminis
trators, students and two construction
companies, argued that Brazos
County would be a more convenient
location for the parties involved and
accused the plaintiffs’ attorneys of
shopping for a friendly venue.
Powell and Self were among 12
Aggies killed and 27 injured in the col
lapse. Many other victims have sued
the University, and attorneys said
Tuesday’s decision likely will result in
the consolidation of all the claims into
one Brazos County court.
Attorneys of the Powells and Jacki
Self told the Star-Telegram that Brazos
jurors may be too loyal to Texas A&M
to provide a fair trial.
IKSIDIH
■
Sports Pg. 1 B
Ags bats come
alive in 9-2 win
Bearkats fall to A&M barrage
Opinion Pg. 5B
Freedom consumed
Female binge drinkers should
think twice about their actions
MifNHI
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