iTUESDAYAPRIL 30, 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 141
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TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
&M protesters condemn Abercrombie
By Emily Peters
THE BATTALION
^sian students at Texas A&M will join protests
at Tollege campuses nationwide in a culminated
effort to condemn retailer Abercrombie & Fitch
forj F-shirts said to depict racial stereotypes of
Aslans.
many as 60 students will march today in
front of Rudder Fountain from l l a.m. to 2 p.m.
with picket signs and flyers, said James Tran,
protest coordinator and a junior industrial distri
bution major. Protesters will then take the mes
sage to the Abercrombie store in Post Oak Mall.
B‘The Asian culture has been silent and raised to
avoid conflict” said Tran, who is a Vietnamese
refugee. “Historically and culturally, silence has
Asian students participate in nationwide
protest against A&F racial stereotypes
killed us. Abercrombie & Fitch went way across
the line with these shirts, and now we feel it's time
to speak out.”
The $25 controversial shirts depict slant-eyed
Asian caricatures in conical hats with ethnic puns
like “Pizza Dojo — Eat in or wok out — You love
long time” and “Wong Brothers Laundry Service
- Two Wongs can make it white.” Another shirt
features a chubby Buddha figure advertising
“Buddha Bash — Get your Buddha on the floor.”
“We need to make an effort to educate this
campus,” Tran said.
He said his work with the A&M Asian Cultural
Education Committee has shown him that A&M is
out of touch with Asian tradition and history.
“One of our biggest problems is to get people
to open their minds to different cultures,” he said.
“This protest is not to shock traditional culture at
A&M, but simply to raise awareness and show
that there is an Asian population on campus that
cares about being part of A&M and its traditions.”
Students from more than 50 campuses nation
wide, including Brown University, Stanford
University and Harvard University, have been
picketing Abercrombie stores since April 18 in
efforts coordinated through fully-developed
protest Websites created by college students,
Abercrombie’s target demographic.
A&M’s rally is one of the last in the “relay
protest” that swept from the East and West Coasts
inward throughout the week, Tran said.
Each protest, including A&M’s, encompasses a
unified list of demands for the corporation to
recall the shirts, publish apologies, train employ
ees in diversity issues, launch an educational
diversity campaign and more.
See Protest on page 2A
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JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION
J. Wayne Stark Gallery Curator Catherine Hastedt unrolls a
quilt piece for the exhibit "Expanding Boundaries: Art Quilts."
The exhibit by the Art Quilt Foundation will host 38 various
handmade quilts from the foundation's 60 members. The
exhibit is expected to open Thursday, May 2, and be on dis
play until June 16.
Student loans
plague grads
eterinarians defend U.S. overseas
By Sarah Szuminski
THE BATTALION
Many students will graduate
this May with a degree, a debt of
student loans and worries about
a limited job market.
Approximately 1,600 of the
4,500 to 5,000 Texas A&M stu
dents scheduled to walk the stage
next month have taken out a stu
dent loan, said Rachel McDonald
of the loan department.
The average amount of
money borrowed by students
taking out a loan to pay for
their college education was
$15,500 in 2000, the most
recent year for these statistics,
said Associate Director of
Financial Aid Jim Lane.
After the six-month
grace period following
graduation has passed,
monthly payments on stu
dent loans begin.
Regardless of the amount
borrowed, a minimum
payment per month is set
at $50, and loans must be
paid off within a 10-year
period. Lane said.
According to the Texas
Guaranteed Student Loan
Corporation Website, a
$15,500 loan with an
annual interest rate of 5.99
percent — the current
repayment rate for a
Stafford loan —will have a
monthly payment of $172 if
paid off in a 10-year term.
Students facing similar pay
ments beginning in the upcom
ing year may struggle if they
are unable to secure a job by
that time. Although the number
of graduates who have found
employment will not be known
until surveys are completed
after graduation, national and
local statistics show that the job
market is in a slump.
The national unemploy
ment rate in March 2002 was
5.7 percent, an increase from
Se@ Debt on page 2A
1,600 students are
graduating with student
loans this May
The average graduate
will owe sis,500
Payments over 10
years - $172 month
Sourer: Department of Financial Aid
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
By Elizabeth Kline
THE BATTALION
I Operation Enduring Freedom, the reaction of the U.S. military
k> the Sept. 1 1 terrorist attacks, has sent thousands of U.S. soldiers
overseas to defend their country, including Lt. Col. Craig Carter,
gpxas A&M Class of 1980.
I Carter earned four degrees at Texas A&M, including doctorates in
COURTESY OF LT. COL. CRAIG CARTER
[Military dog searches a vehicle at a checkpoint in Southwest
^sia. The animals are cared for by the army veterinary corps.
Veterinary Medicine and Public Health. Before Sept. 11, he was the
head of epidemiology and informatics at the Texas Veterinary
Medical Diagnostic Laboratories at Texas A&M.
He now is serving as commander of a 25-member Army veteri
nary corps unit that includes three other Aggies. The unit cares for
military working dogs that inspect food sent to the U.S. armed
forces in the Southwest Asia theater.
“The military working dogs save untold lives, and we are proud
to be their medical and surgical caretakers,” he said. “Our food
safety mission also gives us great pride in being able to prevent
food-borne illnesses in the soldiers.”
Carter said the dogs search for bombs and mines as well as per
form security checks and sniff food sent overseas.
“Our dogs search vehicles at checkpoints for explosives and
work to demine areas in the combat zones,” he said. “They also
do combat and security patrols. When Vice President Cheney
came through, they cleared the stage and his compound for pos
sible explosives.”
Carter said the food safety part of his mission is designed to
prevent non-battle diseases and injuries. His unit and dogs
inspect and monitor all food consumed by the U.S. armed
forces.
“Historically, food-borne illness has caused more deaths and
injuries in war than all the bombs and bullets combined,” Carter said.
“We are proud to be able to provide this service that protects the well
being of our fellow soldiers.”
Carter said his unit received special training in food safety, mili
tary tactics and combat arms on its annual training missions.
See Veterinarians on page 2A
University begins
talks with Microsoft
By C. E. Walters
THE BATTALION
University lawyers are
working with Microsoft
lawyers on a licensing agree
ment that would give students
Microsoft products at dis
counted prices. Students would
be charged $1 per semester
credit hour to pay for the
licensing fee and pay a
reduced price for software.
Currently, the cost is unknown.
The price would be deter
mined by University negotiations
with several manufacturing com
panies, which are contracted by
Microsoft to produce its software.
The negotiations with several
companies would provide for
competitive prices, said
Computing and Information
Services Director Thomas
Putnam.
While the types of software
that will be provided are still
unknown, Putnam said students
will be receiving discounted
software soon.
“We’re going to have very
attractive pricing of software
from Microsoft by the end of
this summer,” he said.
Because of Dead Week, The Battalion will not publish
Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Final issue for
^v, seriiesterf i«5
orms change with student needs
By Araceli Garcia
THE BATTALION
Over the next few years, on-campus
^sklents w iH see everything from laun
facilities in every residence hall to
lichens in hall gathering rooms and
f^style individual bedrooms.
| The residence halls will undergo
^novations this summer and through-
■ ut f* 16 next two years to meet the
changing needs • of students.
Department of Residence Life officials
said.
Surveys in the past have expiessed
students’ need for gathering areas
where they can cook, study and hold
meetings, private baths, private rooms
and most importantly, laundry facili
ties, in each residence hall, said
Residence Life Director Ron Sasse.
“Residence Life has taken this infor
mation and has, and will continue, to
renovate each residence hall to meet the
demands of the students,” he said.
The renovation process has been
slow, with steady progress with trial
programs in many of the residence
halls.
Crocker Hall reopened for students
in Fall 2001 with a new “ideal” study
See Dorms on page 2A
IKSIOIE
Sports Pg. 1 B
Women’s tennis team
has world flavor
Opinion Pg. 7B
No room to panic
Homebuilders should not add
panic room
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