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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2002)
new] 'All se t beyorj foretfei t of tori / herst: he judj ayingiii| )ny. she sufl -'t woul was iii I i jlidg; I OUld iKil ed moi; .we tottl 'sloel tii;| JSt tW j oel «t: : I i blank; I .es Sports: Tiger dominates • Page 3 Opinion: Factions of abortion hurt each other • Page 5 THF RATTAT TO Iume 108 • Issue 153 • 6 pages 108 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Wednesday, June 19, 2002 Suicide bomber kills 19 bus passengers e ence Mk ie first al > >ersanc| ie Wes: li tow; I Saler ¥ ES’ A N K lot ned ans \e fenci ; up ft ok aw) aelto ire law) JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel rill seize and hold Palestinian lands until 'terror attacks ^gainst its civilians end, the gov- jrnment said early Wednesday, Jesponding to a suicide bombing |hat killed 19 bus passengers md wounded 55 others. Shortly after the new policy ras announced, large numbers bf Israeli tanks and troops :ntered the West Bank city of iablus from all directions, and mack helicopters flew overhead, dtnesses said. Israeli tanks had tarlier rolled into Jenin and its refugee camp. There were no immediate reports of casualties fn either action. Tuesday’s blast by a ’alestinian who exploded a nail- itudded bomb was the deadliest [in Jerusalem in six years and the fOth suicide attack since the current round of violence erupt ed nearly two years ago. The Israeli government answered with a policy state ment, saying it was changing its response to “murderous acts of terror.” The statement, announced after late-night consultations between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his top Cabinet ministers, said Israel will cap ture Palestinian Authority ter ritory. “These areas will be held by Israel as long as terror continues. ...Additional acts of terror will lead to taking of additional areas.” The White House said it had no immediate comment on Israel’s decision. And it wasn’t known what impact, if any, it would have on a planned major Mideast policy address later this week by President Bush. He was expected to propose establishing a “provisional” Palestinian state in part of the West Bank and Gaza without deciding on its final borders — and while nei ther side has embraced the idea, there is some hope that a renewed and forceful U.S. diplo matic drive might help end 21 months of carnage and despair. On March 29, following an earlier series of Palestinian sui cide bombings, Israel launched its largest military mission in two decades, taking control of Palestinian towns and refugee camps. Thousands of terror sus pects were arrested and quanti ties of explosives and weapons seized, but the six-week opera tion won Israel only a brief respite in the bombing attacks. Wednesday’s statement, unlike earlier comments on military actions, did not characterize its planned incursions as short-term. Hours after Tuesday’s blast, an angry Sharon strode past a row of victims in body bags and peered into the bombed-out bus, vowing to retaliate. Two students were among the dead and four were among dozens wounded in the attack. Sharon questioned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s ability to run such an independent state, saying, “It is interesting to know what kind of Palestinian state they mean.” Although Sharon has made clear he wants Arafat out of power, he apparently isn’t ready to drive him into exile. The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack. But the Palestinian leadership has not appeared ready to act decisively against radical groups, as Israel has demanded. In Ramallah, Palestinians anticipating an army invasion and extended curfew began hoarding food. “The Israeli response usually is against the Palestinian people, the Palestinian president and the Palestinian Authority,” said Labor Minister Ghassan Khatib. “It will not be any surprise if they decide to invade Ramallah again or impose a new siege on the president.” In Washington, the White House said Bush condemned the bombing “in the strongest possi ble terms,” but aides wouldn’t say if it would delay his policy state ment, expected Wednesday. Bush has been formulating his approach to Mideast peace for weeks, during which he has met with Sharon and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Tanks enter Jenin Israel launched an incursion into the West Bank town of Jenin, following a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem. SOURCES: Associated Press; ESRI Melon trouble BRIAN RUFF • THE BATTALION A Wiggins Produce watermelon truck traveling north on Harvey Mitchell Parkway collided with a car headed east- bound on Villa Maria on Tuesday. The weight of the water melons swung the truck around when it attempted to avoid a collision. The southbound lanes of Harvey Mitchell Parkway were closed and traffic was rerouted during clean up. with Till an Jo^l ian si on said il h teir: j Regents authorize salary increases By Jessi Watkins THE BATTALION Despite a structural deficit in its budget, the Texas A&M administration is planning for modest, merit-based salary increases for faculty and staff in the upcoming fiscal year, beginning Sept. 1. University officials said the A&M Board of Regents author ized merit increases to average up to three percent for faculty members and two and a-half per cent for staff members for the new fiscal year. Bill Krumm, vice president of finance, said a merit increase is an increase in salary for work performed beyond the basic expectations of the job. Assistant Provost Dan Parker said a portion of the funding for the salary increases will come from the Academic Enhancement Fee and the remainder will come from the tuition increase of four dollars per credit hour. The Academic Enhancement Fee will charge $30 more per semester credit hour starting with students who enroll next fall, requiring the average stu dent to pay $400 more in tuition each semester. The new enhancement fee and other additional tuition fees will provide some money for the salary increase, but not all of it, Krumm said. Part of the new enhancement fees went to cover last year’s deficit of more than six million dollars. “The new enhancement fees produced between eight and nine million dollars. We started with a deficit of over six million dollars. Enhancement fees went to deal with the deficit,” Krumm said. Another 10 percent of the enhancement fee was allocated to financial aid, he said. The two and a half percent merit-based staff salary increase for staff members comes on top of a mandatory state salary increase for all staff last year, Parker said. “The state required a manda tory four percent, or $100, salary increase for staff, but they only funded half of it. That is part of the reason for the struc tural deficit,” Parker said. Parker also said the mandato ry four percent increase was for staff only, not faculty. Dr. Karen Watson, dean of faculties, said the faculty have supported the merit-based salary increases. “The faculty have for a long time preferred merit salary increases and, in fact, the law in Texas is to use merit-based salary increases for faculty,” Watson said. University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen announced the plan for the salary increase but was unavailable for comments regarding the enhancement fees and the salary increases. ew education program produces Texas teachers Officials look for student input By Courtney McDonald THE BATTALION A new secondary certification pro gram offered by Texas A&M provides undergraduates and post-baccalaureates dth the opportunity to quickly receive ■caching certification. “A&M is trying to recruit students to Ipbe certified in math and science B>ecause (those teachers) are in high J demand across Texas,” said Jennifer T^rrott, an undergraduate academic iadviser and M.A.S.S. coordinator for |the College of Science. The Program for Accelerated certification of Teachers (PACT) was leveloped in response to the shortage math and science teachers. It is specifically geared towards math and ^science undergraduate seniors and Biegree holders that have chosen to pur sue secondary teaching positions. I The colleges of agriculture and life ■ciences, education, geosciences, sci- Mfnce, veterinary medicine and the Region IV Educational Service Center involved in a partnership to advance g the program. Discussions have also begun to include the math department in the Spring of 2003. “[PACT] is a program that builds healthy collaborations to address teacher shortages (especially in math and science) for Texas,” said Dr. Linda Glessner, director of Continuing Education, College of Education. “It gives A&M a good reputation around Texas that the College of Education is prepared and well qualified to produce great teachers.” Components of the new program include a TAMU-based academic semester composed of 15 hours, a teaching internship in a public school, and the TExES examinations. All classes must be completed before stu dents may begin their internship. In order to participate, students must be within a year of completion of a math or science degree or have already com pleted their degree. A GPR of at least 2.5 for undergraduate work is required to be admitted into the program. “(PACT) participants do not need prior education courses or teaching preparation skills to apply for the program. See Teachers on page 2 By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION Returning students and students attending New Student Conferences may anticipate more opportunities for student input in University decisions Zac Coventry, student body presi dent and a senior agricultural develop ment major said A&M provides a unique way of allowing student input from many aspects of the campus and surrounding community. There are many avenues for stu dents to choose from that may ade quately express their view, said Barry Hammond, Memorial Student Center (MSC) president and a senior economics major. Hammond oversees diverse organi zations such as MSC OPAS, MSC Wiley Lecture Series and MSC Academic League. He said that stu dents have the ability to give input and become actively involved on campus. However, he added that students do have to give their opinion in a correct or positive manner. “Students do have a say in design ing policy and reviewing the procedure of academic and administrative deci sions through student government committees,” Hammond said. “(Issues surrounding the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse) have definitely brought more attention to the risk management pro cedures that students are following. Students’ greatest freedom right now is in assisting administrative plan ning,” he said. University President Dr. Ray M. Bowen delivered his announcement concerning the future of Bonfire 2002 See Input on page 2 Saudi Arabia makes al-Qaida arrests JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia announced its first al- Qaida-related arrests since Sept. 11 and said Tuesday it was holding 11 Saudis, an Iraqi and a Sudanese man behind a plot to shoot down a U.S. military plane taking off from a Saudi air base. Meanwhile, U.S. officials announced another Saudi, described as an al-Qaida operative, was in custody in Morocco. They said Abu Zubair al-Haili helped evacuate al-Qaida members from Afghanistan after Sept. 11, officials said. The arrests in Saudi Arabia were made public through the official Saudi Press Agency, which linked the sus pects to Osama bin Laden’s terror net work and said they were planning to use explosives and missiles in other attacks in the kingdom. The agency provided only sketchy details on when or where the s,uspects were arrested. But it was the first time since the terrorist attacks on the United States — carried out by 15 Saudis and four other Arabs — that the U.S. ally has announced arrests linked to bin Laden, the Saudi exile whose first cause was the overthrow of this Muslim kingdom. The alleged plotters “were plan ning to carry out terrorist attacks against vital and important installa tions in the kingdom, by using explo sives and two (surface-to-air) SA-7 missiles, smuggled into the kingdom and hidden in different places around the country,” the agency said. Among those in custody was a Sudanese man identified by U.S. offi cials as Abu Huzifa, a suspected al- Qaida cell leader.