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Beernuts by Rob Appling
Train derails in Wisconsin
ALLENTON, Wis. (AP) — A freight train derailed
Monday and at least three cars carrying lumber,
waxes and plastics caught fire, officials said.
One of the 34 cars that derailed was carrying
potash, a moderately hazardous chemical, said
Allenton Assistant Fire Chief Ron Naab. Crews
kept the chemical from spilling into a nearby
creek, he said.
No injuries were reported; only they conductor
and engineer were aboard the train.
The 107-car Canadian National freight derailed
in rural Washington County in eastern Wisconsin,
about 40 miles northwest of Milwaukee and at
least a half mile from any homes.
Online
Continued from page 1
“By offering the program online, we are able to
provide outreach to non-traditional students who
will benefit from the program, and also we are
able to enrich our certificate students’ experiences
by attracting a great variety of students through
the online option,” Small said.
The online certificate requirements are identi
cal to the traditionally offered certificate, and
online credits are transferable toward an appropri
ate master’s degree, she said. Students will be
awarded the certificate after completing four
courses, two in the fall and two in the spring.
“Our professors are noted experts in the fields
of international economics, international politics,
world culture and international affairs,” Small
said. “Allowing distance students access not only
to these outstanding faculty but also to a diverse
student population makes the certificate program a
rich learning experience.”
During the fall. Professor Jim Olson will teach
the “Role of Intelligence in Security Affairs,” and
Professor Kishore Gawande will teach
“Fundamentals of the Global Economy.”
In the spring, Professor Charles Hermann will
teach “International Politics in Theory and
Practice,” and Professor Peter Hugil will teach
“World Cultural Geography.”
In-state costs for the program is $1,300 and
out-of-state students pay $2,050, Small said.
Although the individual courses follow the
University’s semester timeline, distance education
students may take more than two semesters if
needed to accumulate the hours for certificate
completion, she said.
“This program will help any student enrich their
background with a global perspective,” Small said.
1 l ’'* . ■
MBA
Continued from page 1
question the cost of getting an
MBA.”
Since the MBA program
length has been changed to a 16
months, this shortens the length
of the program and also decreas
es total living expenses and
tuition.
“They will be gaining a half a
year’s salary,” Robertson said.
Robertson admits a decision
for a graduate education is an
investment of time and money.
The Lowry Mays College
and Graduate School of
Business costs students approxi
mately $10,000 for resident
tuition to $20,000 for out-of-
state tuition. At a top ranked
institution, like the example fea
tured in the Business 2.0 article,
paying six figures for an MBA is
not unrealistic, Robertson said.
“[Here at A&M] the return to
students on investing in an MBA
is outstanding,” Robertson said.
“Many people generalize from
articles; they may assume an
MBA will cost $100,000 wher
ever they go.”
Another main issue in the
article was the lack of communi
cation skills taught by business
schools.
“We (at the Lowry Mays
College and Graduate School of
Business) have a required busi
ness communication course that
stresses written and oral com
munication skills,” Robertson
said. “No student can waiver this
course. There is a tremendous
increase in reception in the mar
ket place after having taken this
course.”
During the students last
semester in the MBA program
they do hands-on consulting
with an accredited company.
“This is an actual business
problem and the decision
reached will be implemented,”
Robertson said.
Credit Cards
Continued from page 1
and students find the long term loans more con
venient to fund their education.
According to the study, credit card interest
rates vary around 13 percent, while student loan
interest rates are at historic lows.
In July 2002, interest rates on Federal Stafford
loans fell to an all-time low at 3.46 percent for stu
dents who will be enrolled during the upcoming
academic year.
Piwonka said credit cards are so easy to get for
students, it may be a factor in the high number of
students who apply for them.
“Credit cards and college seem to go hand in
hand. Nellie Mae’s goal in publishing this infor
mation is to underscore the importance of edu
cating college students about using their credit
cards effectively, weighing their spending deci
sions and considering their source of borrowing,”
Prikazsky said.
Piwonka said MBNA, Wells Fargo and
Aggieland Credit Union have been good partners,
and MBNA America Bank has started offering
debt management seminars at A&M.
The first seminar was last fall and A&M is
planning to have these seminars at least once each
semester to inform students about managing
finances and credit card debt and how it effects
future credit ratings.
Stroustrup explains hi
programming languag
By Mariano Castillo
THE BATTALION
Bjarne Stroustrup is as passionate about com
puter programming as a poet is about writing.
He admits it is a pain to explain C++, the pro
gramming language he is famous tor, to non
programmers, but he does not shy away from the
challenge.
“It’s so abstract and of course, invisible,
Stroustrup said. “And even if you succeed in con
veying the idea of software, how do you explain
software tools for building software? Worse yet,
how do you explain a language for expressing
software, such as C++? I have always been envi
ous of people who build things that you can see,
touch, play with, et cetera.”
It is very likely that most students use C++ pro
grams in their daily routine without being aware
of it. Internet Explorer and Adobe Photoshop are
C++ programs, as is Quicken, other financial soft
ware and most computer games.
According to Stroustrup’s personal website, all
Microsoft programs are built on variations of C++.
Even those who do not use a computer directly
are likely to use C++ programs, Stroustrup said.
Every 800 call served by AT&T is connected by a
C++ program.
Many cell phones are connected in the same
way. Telephone systems that use AT&T, Alcatel,
Siemens and Ericsson components all use
programming language.
“It is not a complete accident that my wort
been in the telecommunications indus:
Stroustrup said. “This is a field where the fieri
ity and efficiency of C++ can really be exploit
In addition, Stroustrup said he has foundC
programs in PDAs, cameras, and even in a
cooker.
“Another source of my pleasure may beh;
for non-programmers to appreciate,” he
“Code - the programs - can be beautiful. Writ
good code can be like writing poetry, except
the code can have an immediate impact
physical world.”
Stroustrup’s success definitely qualifies!
as a bard of code, and it is not surprising
students and faculty are excited about
accepting the Endowed Chair in Comp®
Science at Texas A&M.
His work with C++, Stroustrup said, isfocih
on expressing ideas more directly in code with:
losing efficiency.
“There are languages that allow youtom
€
Nev\
more elegant code than C++ does for some pn i been able
lems and there are languages that allow you
write code that matches C++’s efficiency for so
problems,” he said. “However, there isnol;
guage that can do both over the astonishing rai
of areas where C++ is used.”
Friends, fishing buddies grieve for
anglers killed in Alaska plane crasl 1
KENT, Wash. (AP) — It was
like many afternoons at the Kent
Senior Activity Center. A group
of men, some World War II vet
erans, sat at a small table talking
about fly fishing.
But the discussion this day
was somber — the men had just
learned three friends and fishing
buddies had been killed in a
plane crash in Alaska.
“They were all three jolly
good fellows and good fly fish-
ennen,” Don Green, 72, said
Monday. “We’re going to miss
bond
them. There’s a special
between fishermen.”
Melvin Daniel, 79, Daniel
Maret, 70, and Harold Mamey,
65, were pursuing sockeye
salmon on a trip organized by
the senior center when the plane
disappeared Friday.
Searchers discovered the
wreckage of the float plane, a
single-engine deHavilland,
Sunday night in the Chigmit
Mountains west of Anchorage.
The pilot, Matt Hipkiss, 35,
also died.
Crews were workic;
Monday to recover the t
The cause of the Crash h
been detennined.
Another plane carryingsw.'
members of the expeditionmaif
the trip safely from Anchor;
to Lake Iliamna in scuta
Alaska.
At the senior center
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Chair
Continued from page 1
correct.”
Computer science experts consider Stroustrup
one of the most influential people in the comput
ing industry. His book The C++ Programming
Language has become one of the most widely read
books in the computer science field and has been
translated into 14 languages.
Nancy Amato, chair of the search committee
for the College of Engineering Endowed Chair in
Computer Science, said Stroustrup is essentially
the perfect person for this position.
“He is well known inside the technical com
munity and outside,” she said. “We are extremely
excited to have him join our department.”
Stroustrup will visit College Station once a
month while he wraps up his work at AT&T Lab-
Research and plans on settling in permanently by
January.
Beyond the opportunities available to him at
the University, Stroustrup said he looks forward to
living in College Station.
“I’m familiar with some Aggie traditions and
know that there are many more that I’ll encounter
and hope to enjoy,” he said. “I have received email
messages from perfect strangers kindly offering to
introduce me to true Aggie ways.”
Stroustrup’s arrival is exciting news for the
computer science department and its students.
His research will be very student-centered.
One of his reasons for coming to A&M is his
desire to teach.
The computer science department inaugurated
a redesign of their web page to coincide with
Stroustrup’s naming.
Amato said A&M was competing
schools with higher ranked institutions and op
research centers.
“It’s wonderful for the computer sciein
department, for the College of Engineering®-
the entire University,” Amato said. “It’s increasif
the visibility of our department.”
Stroustrup said his research will direct
include graduate students and he expects
teach undergraduate classes some years
. In add
tion, he will have much collaboration with pi*,
lessors in the computer science department®,
other departments.
Stroustrup also will maintain strong ties vt|
the computer industry. Particularly, he will re
official ties with AT&T Lab-Research andvffl
the International Standards Organization
committee. 1
“Even those industrial contacts are rneanj
benefit students,” Stroustrup said. “I WI ^ ;
direct access to industrial problems and ideas,
maybe my colleagues in the industry will show,
interest in my students’ and our work.” J
In the long term, Stroustrup said he w0U ,
to help bring the discussion on programming 1
guages and programming techniques to a m j
objective basis. J
Stroustrup was born in Aarhus, Denmark,?
received a degree in mathematics and cornp,|
science in 1975 from the University of Aarhus-j
1979 he earned his doctorate in computer scie
from Cambridge University in England.
His honors include recognition as an
Bell Laboratories Fellow and an AT&T e
He is also an Association for Comp u
Machinery Fellow.
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1 STTOI^leI 1
' s yrasillf BOOKSTORES
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