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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2002)
Sports: Texans ready to show their stuff • Page S . Slsi HE KMm SE^T VoTPRiioJ * Volume 108 • Issue 178 • 6 pages ini Opinion: United States needs to donate • Page 5 TOP i nn 108 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Monday, August 5, 2002 HAT.~ Students make online registration successful n By Molly McCullough THE BATTALION JH The number of students who 'Shave used the online registration ’[■system to register is higher than Bever according to Texas A&M’s r 1 ^ ^ Computing and Information ^^^Services (CIS). I Associate Director for CIS, iLarry Malota, reported 72 per- OOT KICKED OUT Cf~ *3 THAT ISMOUUICP- io«ssT»€Yrw« t>«R'hkxv«>i i ii5k:. cent of seniors, 82 percent of jun iors, 91 percent of sophomores, and 97 percent of freshmen have used online registration to sched ule classes for this fall. “The student body has been really good about believing in our system,” Malota said. Reasons students did not take advantage of the system include no access to a computer at the assigned time of registration or being more comfortable with the phone system that has been in place for years, Malota said However, starting in August 2004, the phone registration will lose its hardware and soft ware support by Intervoice/ Bright. The loss of telephone technology support will force A&M to make a decision about continuing the phone registra tion system. To make this decision, A&M will have to review issues sur rounding assigned online regis tration times and the availability of the Internet for students. “Students with special situa tions will always have their department to go to,” Malota said. “Arrangements will always be made to handle spe cial situations.” Incoming freshmen can now register for classes online instead of waiting in line to take care of this, and an overwhelm ing amount of freshman have already taken advantage of it, Malota said. “Online registration is so much easier than the phone sys tem,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, a senior economics major. “Getting in to the phone system was so frustrating and some times took hours.” Students can also take advan tage of services such as paying student fees, checking on hous ing on- and off-campus. See Registration on page 2 past investigs: y laundering: ed bank in; >r used battle’ explain why < away from- « ch has been c| i ■ because a fe: he former Tes: : Loan in Laie: * ■titution ofwrori milaterally dr going to loif * eferring to th negative taffi the gubernatm J try KRT CAMPUS Israeli police investigate a bus that was attacked by a suicide bomber Sunday in northern Israel. Suicide bomber lolls 9 in Israel JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a bus in northern Israel during the morning rush hour Sunday, killing himself and nine passengers on a day punctuated by violence from the rolling hills of the Galilee to Jerusalem’s Old City to the Mediterranean beach front. Hamas claimed responsibility for the bus bombing, which left charred remains — including a child’s draw- n fchai- . LX Idftailj f Hast®. Bomb blast orn bus killed nine and •rt > <Hind«d 37 *-4 ESSKjr LEBANON W»ron« .Hail* I for# ISMAEL mzsr BANK Ramwltaii 4tsf UMiaiewn© I z: I 8: AsaaciatiM! Pt ftusi, E AP ing of two hearts in crayon — across a highway. The attack, at the Meron Junction near the town of Tsfat, was the militant group’s second deadly bombing in five days. Altogether, two bombings and three shootings Sunday left 14 peo ple dead and dozens wounded. Among the dead were three Palestinian militants who died carry ing out — or preparing to carry out — the violence, Israeli officials said. The bloodshed continued after midnight. Palestinians opened fire on a car in the West Bank, killing an Israeli couple and wounding two of their children, the military said. The ambush took place on the main road through the West Bank, between Ramallah and Nablus. Israel’s military clampdown on the West Bank has kept many Palestinians confined to their homes for most of the past six weeks, but militants continue to elude the troops to carry out attacks. “People lucky enough not to face the ugly face of terror can have a much more relaxed opinion about it,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. “If you live through a day like today, in this country, you can understand our determination.” President Bush said he was “dis tressed” to learn of the bus bomb ing. “There are a few killers who want to stop the peace process,” Bush said as he began a daybreak golf game with his father in Kennebunkport, Maine. The Israeli government said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who turned 73 on Sunday, bore ulti mate responsibility for not reining in militants during the 22 months of Mideast fighting. “This Palestinian terror must be uprooted and Israel will not relent,” said David Baker, an official Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office. The Palestinian leadership con demned the bombing, but also accused Sharon of “war crimes” for the Israeli army’s mass detentions, home demolitions and curfews imposed on Palestinians. Israeli officials had said high- level talks between Sharon and Palestinian Cabinet ministers could be expected later this week, but it was unclear whether the meetings would go ahead as planned after Sunday’s attacks. Hamas said the bus bombing was the second retaliatory strike for Israel’s July 22 air strike that killed a senior Hamas leader, Salah Shehadeh, and 14 others in Gaza City. Hamas also carried out a Wednesday bombing at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University that killed seven, including five Americans. Utilities offer new payment system By Ruth Ihde THE BATTALION The College Station Utilities System has implemented a new online payment option, called e-pay, and an automated phone payment option for residents. Residents can access the online option by going to the city’s Web site and clicking on the “e-pay” link. From the Web site, residents can receive information about the College Station utility company, download their account history, their current bill, and remaining balance. Citizens of College Station will also be able to connect and disconnect utility services, and check dates their meters will be checked, all by using their account number to access the system. Bruce Albright, College Station Utilities office manager said when a person pays his or her bill with the e- pay system, the payment is posted 24 to 36 hours after the transaction and there is special software that does not allow the person to pay the amount on the bill twice with the same credit card. Albright said last session. Congress passed a bill enabling credit card pay ments to be made online, and the com pany chosen for the Web site’s credit card company is Payment Processing Incorporated. Visa, Mastercard, and Discover are the accepted credit cards right now and College Station Utilities is working on getting American Express on the site as well, said Kathy Stark, customer serv ice supervisor for College Station Utilities. Any check card with those logos will be accepted as well. Once a person See Utilities on page 2 A&M professor studies Lambert ice glacier By Lecia Baker THE BATTALION Modern technology is enabling a Texas A&M professor to study the Lambert glacier in Antarctica from his College Station office. Hongxing Liu, a geography profes sor in the college of geosciences at Texas A&M University, and Kenneth Jezek of Ohio State University, will be spending the next three years analyz ing, through computer programs, the thickness of the Lambert ice sheet and its speed and balance as it moves toward the sea. In addition, they will study possible effects the world climate might have on such glaciers. The Lambert glacier, the largest such ice mass in the world, is so cold and remote it will not support a scien tific outpost. Remote sensing satellites will provide researchers with informa tion allowing them to search for clues to help predict global climate change. “With the ability to fly unimpeded by the harsh climate, to peer through clouds and to observe day and night, satellite-borne microwave instruments can provide large scale coverage of the Antarctic ice sheet at very high resolution,” Liu said. Liu and Jezek will be analyzing computer data generated by three dif ferent satellite missions. Two mis sions, provided by the Canadian Radarsat satellite, offered complete coverage of the entire Antarctic conti nent for a 30-day period in 1997 and three months in 2000. The third mission was collected on the recently-launched NASA Terra satellite and yields clear topographic resolution. This data can be manipulat ed to produce maps composing geo graphical information. Liu and Jezek will use sophisticated data to create a digital elevation model and ice velocity maps of the area. They will also use data providing full coverage of the glacier to determine the speed and direction of the Lambert glacier’s movement. By combining findings from research on the glacier’s motion and land surface with readings from radar echo soundings of underlying bedrock, the thickness of any given point on the glacier can be more accurately estimated. Once all physical information of the glacier is analyzed, it can be integrated to address the glacier’s role in changing climates. See Glacier on page 2 Test preparation courses becoming popular among students By Melissa McKeon THE BATTALION Review courses like those offered by The rinceton Review are becoming increasingly Popular among college students to further Sec 'ure their admission into law school, med- •cal sc h o °i or graduate school. These test preparation programs allow flex- 1 'oty to accommodate busy schedules, guar- an tee results and attempt to help students ac hieve their best possible scores so they can 8 et into the schools of their choice, said onnifer Sloan, assistant director n nceton Review in College Station. Sloan said students can benefit r °rn such courses. ^ Ur average score increase is 8 points on e MCAT, 92 points on the GMAT, 212 LSA tS -° n the GRE ’ and 8 P oints on thC At, ’ Sloan said. “And if any students does ot get the score they want, they can re-take ,he class for free.” of The greatly Most courses offer a combination of class room instruction and online tools to help stu dents maximize test scores. Many students are drawn to review courses like these because of the small class sizes. They guarantee no more than eight stu dents in GRE. GMAT, or LSAT classes and no more than 12 in SAT or ACT classes, Sloan said. “Classes are small and oriented towards the student,” Sloan said. “There is also unlimited outside help from the instructors.” Classes are grouped by ability level, so course work will progress at a pace that is comfortable for each student. While prep courses for challenging tests like the MCAT can cost students $2,099, Sloan said payment plans are available. All instructors that teach review courses have met rigorous standards in screening, hiring and training. They are all experts on the courses they teach and have achieved scores in the top five percentile in the nation. They are also required to consistently earn high ratings on student evaluations. “You have to see how students evaluate you,” said Kate Barron, an instructor at The Princeton Review Test Prep. “You have to make exceptional marks in front of the classroom.” Among other strategies, the instructors teach students how to beat the tests based on how they are designed, Barron said. Review courses also frequently update course material to reflect any recent changes to the tests, so students have current and reli able material. Senior animal science major, Jennifer Jones, is currently attending an LSAT review course and said it has helped her prepare for the tests. “The class has been extremely beneficial to me,” Jones said. “I’m building confidence and learning skills I wouldn’t on my own. I would definitely recommend prep classes for anyone that wants to gain an edge.” ADVANTAGES TO REVIEW COURSES • Point Increase On average: 8 points on MCAT 92 points on GMAT 212 points on GRE 8 points on LSAT • Smalt Class Sizes No more than 8 people in GRE, GMAT, LSAT No more than 12 people in SAT or ACT MANDY ROUQUETTE • THE BATTALION
