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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2003)
I Let us be the first to give you FREE! FREE! FREE! Chili Con Queso Limited time only. 8 WORLD Friday, March 28, 2003 THE BATTALION 7,000 expected to help at Big Event By Melissa McKeon THE BATTALION 1912 South Texas Avenue 979-693-6684 www.elchico.com MARDI GRAS PARTY Crawfish Boil Starts at 5:00 $ 1.50 bar drinks, long necks, domestic pints, frozen drinks ALL NIGHT LONG BEADS TOSSED ALL NIGHT Shot Specials 25% off all menu items Tuesday, March 4th FAT TUESDAY w/The Dave Matthews Cover Band 696-5570 for details Party Safe and Designate a Driver More than 7,000 Texas A&M students are expected to gather on O.R. Simpson Drill Field Saturday morning for the start of the 2003 Big Event, the largest one-day student- run service project that allows students to give back to the community. This year students are expected to com plete more than 660 jobs in the Bryan-College Station area. This year also marks Big Event’s 21st year as the largest community service project in the nation. The Big Event originated in 1982 when six Aggies, led by Joe Nussbaum, cleaned a local cemetery. The day will begin with music by Feeding 5000, as well as food and drinks. Lori McLain, director of Big Event, said people are touched by Aggies who give their time just to change the look of a house by painting or gardening. “Some people have recently lost a loved one and just want to talk to young people in order to re-energize them,” McLain said. “Students reap huge rewards by helping someone and making a connection with peo ple. They also get to see the results of their hard work.” McLain said the Big Event team targets needy areas but is not limited to those com munities. “Big Event is not need-based she said. “We accept the first 700 people that come in before our deadline, which was Feb. 26.” Kappa Delta Chi sorority is one of the many organizations participating in Big Event.The sorority will paint two houses, as well as break down a fence and clear out a yard. “We have always participated because we feel it unifies the A&M community and its organizations,” said Arycelis Segura, president of Kappa Delta Chi. “We are also helping out the community that supports A&M. We are giving our time, which is sometimes the best thing people need.” Students and organizations are assigned randomly using a computer program, but there are special assignments for some proj ects. “Some people only speak Spanish, so we try to make some special matches,” McLain said. Michelle Rivera, community interest s»N chair for Big Event and a junior psyc major, said Big Event staffers look for dona tions year-round. “Big Event costs $50,000 to put on, sow gather donations to buy supplies, v small amount of supplies are donated,” Riven said. “We ask businesses in the comraunilj for donations and we also had an auction fea turing signed football memorabilia that raised $4,(XX).” Rivera also said there are a few cotporaie sponsors, such as Bank of America and ie 12th Man Foundation. “We’re also working on becoming a non profit organization so in future years businesses can get a tax deduction,” slie said. “That will definitely help us get donations.” Currently, 30 schools across the i host The Big Event, and the number is expect ed to increase in the upcoming year. “Our goals in the upcoming year are establish an endowment fund, include mi service projects and students on the day of The Big Event, and expand nationally to othei universities,” McLain said. Bush and Blair assess progress in Iraq By Scott Lindlaw THE ASSOCIATED PRESS « «*?•«» WASHINGTON President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are assessing the progress of the war in Iraq after a week of fierce combat, meeting amid growing signs Saddam Hussein has dug in for a prolonged fight. The American and British leaders were getting together at the Camp David presidential retreat while grappling with how to prepare their citizens for a longer war than many had . Iraqi forces have frustrated U.S. officials hopes that they would defect or surrender en masse, and there have been few celebratory welcomes for U.S. and British troops. The coali tion march on Baghdad has been slowed by weather and unex pectedly strong Iraqi resistance. In their talks Thursday, Blair and Bush also were looking beyond the conflict to a rebuild ing phase, both for Iraq and for U.S.-Europe relations. And they were discussing how best to move humanitarian supplies such as food into war-torn regions of Iraq. Blair, under fire at home for supporting the invasion of Iraq, is pressing for a strong U.N. role in rebuilding. He says the United States and its allies must broaden their agenda beyond Iraq to help build peace in the Middle East and across the globe. “I will see President Bush at Camp David to discuss not just the military campaign but also the diplomatic implications of recent events for the future — in particular, how we get America and Europe working again together as partners and not as rivals,” he said before leaving for the United States. Bush arrived at Camp David in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains on Wednesday after noon in a driving rain, following a quick trip to Florida. He sought to rally the troops and the American people behind the Iraq war at a time when U.S. forces are suffering casualties. “I can assure you there will be a day of reckoning for Iraq, and that day is drawing near,” the president told hundreds of cheering American troops and their families in a packed hangar at MacDill Air Force Base, the headquarters of Central Command, which is overseeing the war. “Our military is making good progress in Iraq, yet this war is far from over,” he said, making a last-minute change of wording that dropped a refer ence to the U.S. military being “ahead of schedule.” White House spokesman Ari Flescher, briefing reporters on Coalition losses There have been 27 U.S. casualties and 22 British casualties since the beginning of war in Iraq. • American ■ British Combal Non-combat March 21 •• 22 24 • • 25 • NOTE. The dale of one American non combat casualty was not released. SOURCE: Associated Press the way to Florida aboard Air Force One, said Bush would tell his audience: “Our progress is ahead of schedule, yet this war is far from over," Student Car loan Snecialists Israel fears Iraqi attack Qi IrregUi T hough curt nation now one being of Texas. The bru deal with is not tl imposed by the it listics and DNA 1 Department’s crir facilities across tl worth of illegitim tests conducted b Houston Chronic! accuracy of ballis specifically when ness of the Iraqi ( cent civilian lives In a scathing i crime lab. The Hi ent audit reveal in and a leaky roof' evidence. In the r lab mistakes still lion the informati DNA evidence al By Pisley Dodds THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IF LAWRENCE MARSHAll GET YOU INTO A CAR OR TRUCK TORKY! Bad Credit... No Credit... Foreign Students If you’ve been told you don’t qualify for a car loan, call the student loan specialists at Lawrence Marshall. We’ve been putting students on the road for more than 30 years. Let us get you into a car, truck or SUV with no hype and no hassle. Call Bob Griffey, Toll Free 1-866-540-3600 Even if you’ve been turned down by another “Special Finance” Lender. Hwy 290 at Bryan/Hwy 6 Exit Buy in Hempstead Pay in Hempstead JERUSALEM — Israel is staying on high alert against an Iraqi strike despite a British assertion that coalition forces have disabled Saddam Hussein’s ability to launch missiles from western Iraq, an Israeli govern ment official said Thursday. Thousands country closest to Israel launching point of the fired in the previous war. But an Israeli government official who declined to be iden titled said Israel still could come under attack from elsewhere Iraq and will remain under higli alert until the theat ofmissilesor “other attacks” is removed com pletely. a of Palestinians demonstrated in the West Bank, pleading with Saddam Hussein to strike Israel with missiles and chemical weapons. In the 1991 Gulf War, the Jewish state was hit with 39 conventional Scud missiles, which caused heavy damage and hundreds of injuries but few deaths. “We have disabled Iraq’s ability to launch external aggression from the west,” British Prime Minister Tony We have disabled Iraq’s ability to launch external aggression from the west. —Tony Blair British Prime Minister Israelis been told to keep gas with them anil to prepare sealed rooms in case of a cal or attack The war in Iraq, began a weet ago, has ft anger in Gaza Strip and Blair said Thursday in a joint news conference with President Bush. Western Iraq is the part of the West Bank, where Saddam doled out $35 million to Palestinian families with rela tives killed during the against Israel. “Strike, strike Tel Aviv \ chemicals!” more than 4,i people chanted in the West Batik towns of Tulkarem andTubason Thursday. “Bush, the little one. you are a coward! The Iraq is not for you!” NEWS IN BRIEF Universities warn students abroad As anti-war sentiment rises in other countries, U.S. colleges warning their students studying abroad to avoid demonstrate street corner debates on U.S. foreign policy and clothes that identi fy them as Americans. But just to be on the safe side, some students are passing them selves off as Canadian. In interviews over the past week, students and faculty overseas said the anti-American sentiment they've encountered has directed at the Bush administration — not at U.S. citizens. U.S. Navy plays important role in war Floating fortresses on Saddam Hussein's doorstep, the Navy war ships that opened Operation Iraqi Freedom with a thunderous strike of Tomahawk cruise missiles are now launching planes that can protect ground troops by picking off a single tank or mortal emplacement. 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