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BATTALION
|VoIunie 109 • Issue 5 • IS pa^es
109 Years Serving Texas A&M University
vvww.thebatt.com
Thursday, September 5, 2002
Students rank A&M in
Princeton Review survey
The ^ I
Princeton j I
Review J J
mms'j
AMIRI
By Melissa McKeon
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M students are among the
least happy students in the nation and
are some of the most nostalgic for for
mer President Ronald Reagan, accord
ing to The Princeton Review.
In a survey conducted of 10(),0(X)
students at 345 colleges, A&M
appeared several times in categories
such as “Best academic bang for your
buck” (#12), “Students pack the stadi
ums” (#18) and “Least happy stu
dents" (#12).
“1 think A&M is one of the friend
liest campuses anywhere.” said senior
chemistry major Jeff Johnson. “The
traditions are great, the classes are
superior, and just living in the College
Station area in general is fun. Students
don’t have a reason to be unhappy."
But senior business major Sara
Adams said she understands how A&M
could make that list.
"A&M is very cliquish. If you’re
not in the corps, a frat, sorority or in
sports, you’re left out,” Adams said.
“Many students here are also close-
minded and not representative of a
large university in tenns of diversity.”
Lists of the top-20 ranking colleges
in these and 60 other categories appear
in the 2003 edition of The Princeton
Review’s annual college guidebook,
"The Best 345 Colleges.” The ranking
lists can be seen at
www.PrincetonReview.com.
A&M is also listed under the
Politics section as “Most nostalgic for
Reagan" (#7).
Sophomore chemical engineering
major Jill Hopson said the ranking
illustrates the political climate
at A&M.
“Everyone knows that
A&M is a very conservative
school,” Hopson said. "Seeing
us listed as ‘nostalgic for
Reagan’ shouldn’t be that
much of a surprise to anyone.”
Robert Franek, editorial
director at the Princeton
Review, said the survey is
valuable to students deciding
where to attend college and
also allows current students to
see where their college stands against
others.
"All of the colleges in this book are
outstanding academic institutions,"
Franek said. "We compile ranking lists
in many categories based on what stu
dents tell us about their campus experi-
v J 2 BEST ACADEMIC BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
#'J2 LEAST HAPPY STUDENTS
# J a STUDENTS PACK THE STADIUM
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES NOT AN ALTERNATIVE
DON'T INHALE
STUDENTS (ALMOST) NEVER STUDY
BASED ON A SURVEY OF 100.000 STUDENTS AT 345 COLLEGES
ences. We do this to help students and
their families decide which of these
colleges is best for them."
Other list categories include best
profs, students most satisfied with
financial aid, frat & sorority scene
biggest, happiest students, best campus
dorms and best campus food.
Mandy Rouquettk • THE BATTALION
The survey asks students 70 ques
tions about their school’s academics,
campus life and student body.
See Review on page 2A
Finger painting
Randal Ford • THE BATTALION
Three-year-old Ryan Adams of Bryan, top, laughs after
getting paint in his face as sisters three-year-old Brooke
and two-year-old Brielle Waite paint the Volkswagen
Beatle at the Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley
Wednesday. Among other activities at the museum, paint
ing is one of the most popular attractions.
Prairie View
A&M president
search suspended
By Brad Bennett
THE BATTALION
The 23-member search committee
assigned to find a new president for
Prairie View A&M has been off to a
slow start — they haven’t met yet.
The committee, named last month
by the Board of Regents to seek out a
replacement for embattled former
President Dr. Charles Hines, has run
into schedule problems and road
blocks in setting a meeting time.
The committee was supposed to
have met last Monday, but that meet
ing and two others were canceled
when certain committee members
couldn’t attend. But Prairie View
Student Body President and commit
tee member Hendrik Maison said
once the committee gets going, it will
meet its spring 2003 deadline with
time to spare.
Hines stepped down last month
after clashing with faculty on campus
and in the courtroom during two sepa
rate lawsuits. Dr. Willie Tempton, for
mer vice president for finance and
administration at Prairie View, has
been the interim president since May.
In a discrimination suit brought
against Hines last year, Dennis Judd, a
Prarie View A&M physics professor,
claimed Hines tried to have him fired
for criticizing the former president’s
leadership. Judd also blamed Hines for
his loss of a prestigious $673,000 grant.
Less than a month after the Judd
lawsuit was settled in March, a second
lawsuit was filed against Hines. Six
plaintiffs, all of whom were black,
claim to have been racially discriminat
ed against by Hines, who is also black.
That suit is still unsettled.
The search committee will address
the issues that Hines left behind when
choosing candidates, Maison said.
“Being willing to listen to the stu
dents and work with [students, adminis
tration and alumni j are the characteris
tics I am looking for,” Maison said.
Maison said race would be a minor
consideration for the new president of
Prairie View, a predominately black
university.
“I am not going to base my recom
mendation on race,” he said. “But it is
essential for the new president to be a
role model students can relate with.”
The search committee will make a
recommendation to System Chancellor
Dr. Howard, who will share his choice
with the Board of Regents.
Maison said a final candidate will be
chosen from the committee’s recom
mendations. The regents have final say
on who becomes the new president of
Prairie View.
Catholic Student Association
protests Playboy signing
By Sarah Darr
THE BATTALION
Catholic students gathered Wednesday out
side Hastings to protest the scheduled signing of
Playboy’s October issue by some of the students
who were featured in the article, “Women of the
Big 12.”
Members of the Catholic Student Association
protested in the parking lot for two hours, dis
tributing flyers and talking with Hastings
patrons. Inside the store, Texas A&M student
Mary Beth Decker and University of Texas stu
dents featured in Playboy signed autographs and
chatted with customers. The other A&M student
featured in the magazine, Kim Hiott, a junior
information and operations management major,
was not at the signing. Decker is a junior agri
cultural journalism major.
The protest was to demonstrate that pornog
raphy is harmful, said Michael Murray, a mem
ber of St. Mary’s Catholic Center.
“The pornography industry does harm to
women and men because it makes it difficult to
develop a healthy sexuality,” Murray said.
Students in line to buy a signed issue of
Playboy said both sides were exercising their
first amendment rights.
“Just as we have our constitutional right to
exercise free speech by being here, it is also
their right to protest,” said Justin Howell, a
freshman aerospace engineering major.
Senior Vince Kessler said the protest was not
neccesary.
“It’s not any different than athletes signing
autographs,” Kessler said.
Playboy publicist Jody Grimaldi said protests
have sprung up from time to time, but
Wednesday’s demonstration outside Hastings
didn’t deter Playboy fans. Everything is a
choice, both for those who buy the magazine and
those who pose in it, Grimaldi said.
“We don’t feel like it objectifies women,” he
said. “It makes them look and feel beautiful
about themselves. It is their choice and they are
proud.”
Some onlookers said they agreed with the
demonstrators. Pornography has a negative
effect on all aspects of society, said philosophy
graduate student Ginger Gruters.
“Pornography destroys respect and love
between men and women,” Grutes said. “More
than anything it is sad.”
Local businessman Adam Hughes observed
the demonstrators and the line of people waiting
to get their autographs.He said that both sides
had a right to be doing what they were doing.
“They are perfectly within their rights, just
like she is, and they both have an intelligent
argument,” Hughes said.
Experiments show diet drug
affects brain similar to cocaine
By Ruth Ihde
THE BATTALION
The active ingredient in the
weight-loss drug Metabolife has
the same effects on the brain as
cocaine, according to a study
conducted by Texas A&M behav
ioral pharmacologist Dr. Paul
Wellman.
Ephedrine and cocaine stimu
late the nervous system and alter
the level of dopamine in the
brain, which plays a significant
role in mental health. In
Wellman’s tests, lab rats on thep-
hedrine did show reduced
appetite but also alterted activity
as a result of the drug.
People who have too much
dopamine can suffer from schizo
phrenia, while too little dopamine
can contribute to degenerative
diseases like Parkinson’s disease.
The U.S. Justice Department
has brought charges against
Metabolife in light of reports to
the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) of adverse
health effects stemming from the
weight-loss product.
Although Metabolife has
denied any reports of harmful
effects from its product, the FDA
has received nearly 200 reports
nationwide of negative effects
from the stimulant ephedrine,
found in Metabolife
and other new
weight loss supple
ments.
Wellman testified
in 1999 in front of
the Texas
Department of
Health about the
effects of the herb on
the nervous system
and the similarities
between ephedrine
and cocaine
Wellman said both
drugs stimulate
increased locomo
tion in the rats.
“The point is,
cocaine and
ephedrine have the
same profile of
action,” Wellman
said.
Ephedrine is an herbal med
ication found in plants, which
allows little regulation of the
drug.
See Drug on page 2A
Ephedrine is one of the
most dangerous dietary
supplements
• Over 800 related injuries
have been reported
• More than 50 deaths
have been reported
• Can cause heart attacks
or high blood pressure
• May lead to bleeding in
the brain or stroke
soukv wvwvephedrine ephedra com
REUBEN DeLuna • THE BATTALION