Aggielife SOIf; tudent senate yle Field tobj nokeless toba Fhe Texas A&M Students ■ard the student boi 'nt candidates ednesday night an iced three bills, fhe Senate passed a )uld ask the facilities of Kyle Field and otheis^j 5 venues to ban lokeless tobacco essy nature, wo other bills on the ip ;re referred to coiniti ie would create rking along Coke ! Corps of Cadets resit Is in the area, he other would ip kiosks around campus ijunction with bus opera i the visitor's center, h uld also redesign the prrsi npus and bus route maps The mp ornadoes mtinued from page troved in Worth Coi npkins said damage wnl he millions of dollars. In Mitchell Count), ster carved a quarter- nh of damage soi nilla, knocking dowp I destroying buildings. This was the same area#! trnado struck on Valei 2()(K), killing 11 peo nilla. It was one of In dly twisters thal ripp iugh the region beforedai ng 20 people in all. ' It's a mess, but not pi as last time,” said Ca er department empht :ph Willingham, whoiJ ed that 25 homes were I and five destroyed. )ontressia Williams'I wilt after the 2000toiiisi and that had been to ire then — was one royed Thursday. Sheai ar-old daughter survive!' ng refuge in an n. By Shena Bausch THE BATTALION With a Disney flick hitting the small screen Friday, Erica Enders is one step closer to topping 330 mph and fulfilling her dream of becoming a Top Fuel dragster. Enders, a freshman business and marketing major at Texas A&M, began drag racing when she was 9 years old, winning 37 titles throughout her junior level career, including Driver of the Year in 1995. In 2000, Enders advanced to the Super Comp level when she was 16 to become the youngest national event finalist in National Hot Rod Association history, los ing to world champion Jimmy Lewis by only 0.003 of a second in the final round. Enders went on to win five races that year and NHRA named her Rookie of the Year. Tonight, The Disney Channel will air an original picture based on Enders’ junior drag racing career up to her rookie season. “Right on Track” will premiere at? p.m., followed by encore pre sentations of the two-hour movie during March and April. Enders said a few things were added to make the movie more interesting for younger viewers, but Just Singer Entertainment, Salty Pictures and Disney did a good job. Enders does the stunt work in the movie, and Beverly Mitchell of The WB’s “7th Heaven” plays her character. Enders met the actress last year while filming in Salt Lake City. “I got to hang out with her for three weeks while we shot the rac ing scenes,” Enders said. “She’s awesome. She’s not stuck on her self like you would think most actresses would be.” Enders and Mitchell have become good friends since then. Enders and her boyfriend visited need Mitchell during spring break, and Mitchell visited Enders’ hometown of Houston twice. Annette Mumolo, a media rela tions spokeswoman for ABC Cable Networks Group, said Disney did the movie because Enders is an ordinary teenager doing an extraor dinary thing. “She’s an inspiration for young women,” she said. “And young men, too.” Mumolo said Mitchell’s recog nition by young teen audiences and her personality is what landed her the role of Enders. “Mitchell has a certain inno cence, but exuberance that we thought would creatively portray Enders in an accurate and com pelling way,” Mumolo said. Other actors include Brie Larson (“Raising Dad”) as Courtney Enders, Erica’s younger sister and fellow drag racer. Jon Robert Lindstrom (“Port Charles”) plays their father Gregg Enders, and Jodi Russell (“Twice Today”) plays their mother Janet Enders. Marcos Toji (Disney Channel’s “Movie Surfers”) stars as Randy Jones, the Enders’ crew chief. Enders said seeing her life por trayed on screen was hard to adjust to. “It’s kind of surreal,” she said. “I see Disney’s advertisements for the movie and I hear my name, but I don’t know if it’s really hit me yet.” Enders said she hopes publicity from the movie will get her the $4 million sponsorship she needs to fulfill her dream of competing at the highest professional level. “I can’t wait to see what rolls after the movie,” she said. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Live with Regis & Kelly have already contacted Enders to appear on their shows. “I think the publicity is good for The Battalion Page 3 • Friday, March 21, 2003 for speed PHOTO COURTESY OF GREGG ENDERS Beverly Mitchell (right) will play Erika Enders in the Disney movie “Right on Track” tonight at 7p.m. on the Disney Channel. my dream,” she said, “and it’s good for the sport.” Now 19, Enders can go from 0 to 100 mph in one second in her Super Comp Dragster or Super Gas Corvette. She said she wants to be able to go faster. “It’s kind of addicting,” she said. “I just want to go faster and faster.” Super Comp and Super Gas competitors typically exceed 185 mph. Enders said she grew up around the racetrack and was inspired by her father’s love of cars. “I remember going to the race track with my dad when I was a little girl,” she said. “Racing is in my blood; I wouldn’t think about doing anything else.” Enders said her father has always supported her, but not all males have been supportive. “A lot of criticism comes from racers who are older,” she said. “Some competitors get mad that I’m a young girl in the sport who is halfway decent.” Enders said she’s heard com ments like, “You’re a girl, you don’t need to be racing,” or “Why don’t you do the sport a favor and quit?” The best advice Enders said she can give to other women and girls who want to pursue a male- dominated sport is: girls can do any thing guys can do. “If it’s a dream of yours, gender See Enders on page 10 Jars of Clay to perform Sunday By Lyndsey Sage THE BATTALION Ten years ago, four boys who lived in the same dorm at Greenville College came togeth er to share their appreciation for music by writing songs “for the fun of it.” Within the span of these 10 years, they have moved from their dorm rooms at the Illinois college to the center stage as the multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award winners Jars of Clay. “Literally, a lot of our friendship was born out of our appreciation for the same kind of music,” said Steve Mason, guitarist for the band. The band is also composed of Dan Haseltine, singing vocals. Matt Odmark on guitar and Charlie Lowell on the keyboard. Not only do they share similar musical inspi rations, they are also united by the faith in which their music is based. “We see our faith as an integral part of what we do, being followers of Christ and songwriters,” Mason said. “First, it shows the gospel has application and relevance to every thing in life. Second, it shows that anything is within the realm of writing.” Mason said Jars of Clay writes its own songs, which are usually developed from lyri cal ideas or a musical phrase. Describing the band’s style as “acoustically- driven alternative pop,” Mason said the music takes a different angle through the way they try to make it appear. “This show is a reflection from our most recent release, furthermore, in that it is inti mate,” he said. “It draws on the acoustic sound and relies heavily on the audience to accept the invitation to join in.” For the band, music is a means of expres sion, and even though they did not envision reaching the degree of success it has accom plished, music is something each of the mem bers planned to continue on some level had they not pursued it as a career. Recording its first song, “Fade to Gray,” for credit in a recording class, the band performed See Jars on page 8 I was scared,” she said.": as going into that rc® ;s were falling in, glass*, king.” nine of the victims M ile homes, ric Moore’s trailer n 100 yards away® : led into a brick house.I ved the tornado by tali er in his mother’s m? house across the street, know I can't run frouf . but I think we’ll bea! if we get out of that moli ■" Moore said, oout 50 people were tttal ■ Mitchell CountyHospil unilla for serious head® injuries, broken bones® said hospital spokes® Ivey. Others were taken! tals in Albany * lasville. iv. Sonny Perdue decte : j of emergency in Mitci /orth counties. He pla| fit Camilla on Thursd ig- e Georgia Emergen, gement Agency was cm 1 ig help efforts betweent the Red Cross, i ion Army, police and®’ \s, said GEMA spot n Lisa Ray. 'obably a disaster resont will be set up. so peo? > in and have a one-f to see where assistance rle,” Ray said. 'Thes Hy some injuries do" ve don’t know abouiye 1 Decatur County, soutli ii >rst damage, roads ^ I f :1 and power lines # \II0f) Thief Friday during trie fall and spring# Jniveraity holidays and exam peri# < 77840. POSTMASTER: Send# 3(1011,1X 77843-1111. t&IVI University in trie DmsionofStff' .4 Reed McDonald Building. fciK' e: http://www.tliebatt.coiii indorsement by Trie Battalion. Foifl*' I advertising, call 845-0569.A*tifS: Monday trirougri Friday. Fax: 8W6 ,! &M student to pick up a single#! 3re$60 per school year, $30 to*!! arge by Visa, MasterCaid^W 9 EACH DISC IS GUARANTEED FOR LIFE. OR UNTIL YOU TRADE IT FOR BEER. DIGITAL VINYL CD-R™ FROM VERBATIM! IT LOOKS LIKE A RECORD. But it sounds like one of the highest quality CD-Rs in the world. That’s why Verbatim offers a lifetime warranty. Other brands, really famous ones we can’t legally name here, only give you a one-year warranty. Besides, Digital Vinyl has a cool, retro look. So you may not even be willing to trade them for free beer. What other brand of CD-R can say that? For a list of retailers, visit www.digitalvinylcdr.com. Ji Verbatim ■ i "VKtctacf l '! as port ofAggieCon 34 F 9r ii m i ft.rg..ia,fQrmijitiQ.n.intact „8,45- Must Show A&M ID at Check-in locations around the MSC Friday Night March 21 In the MSC