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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2003)
< NEWS THE BATTALION lolics jed from page 1 Survivors Network of msed by Priests said» ;nt Tuesday that \ n there are still dozens | ided victims in tk e diocese who .remi i silence,” andenw i to come forward. Clohessy, tk ; Network nationa! said it is common fci i the same diocese lei outcome of someone I 'suit before filing out :s. ast thing they want is again. They say, Tm sit tight and see b s out,’” Clohessy said think these lawsuits a deluge. It’s just Ik state legislatures are ion that increases Ik for more litigation, would extend time r civil lawsuits art governors’ signatures and Missouri, ois, Rubino predicted of new claims will be rat state alone if tk changes become law. :se uncertainties pul n a precarious finan- an. It is nearly impos- icm to accurately esti- potential costs from uits. And, as in , many face claims o old their insurance over the payouts, lie’s is the latest ofai multimillion-dollar (tied by U.S. dioceses September. ntown Bryan (TRACASH- not an extra job? igicals can't pull it out of a hat! EED YOU! :: DONATE PLASMA tation: ( *,, \\y J aves Lives: Plasma e Lives ere a child whispers, "Thankyou.' iat's MAGIC E MAGIC 1 PLASMA cals DO Biological! lE 4223 Wellborn Rd Bryan 846-8855 # \FTERN00N! io News newsroom of TTALION community news i7 p.m. h rough Friday U-FM 90.9 ration / Bryan Sports: Archery coach leads Olympic team • Page 3 Opinion: Perry: Don't sign deregulation • Page 5 THE BATTALION 109 Years Serving Texas A&M University Volume 109 • Issue 152 • 6 pages www.thebatt.com Monday, June 16, 2003 A&M launches joint enrollment program By Karen Yancey THE BATTALION Texas A&M and Texas A&M- Kingsville recently launched a joint enrollment program between their agriculture colleges to provide edu cational opportunities for the expanding minority population in South Texas. The South Texas Joint Enrollment Program allows agriculture students to transfer to A&M after spending their freshman and sophomore years at A&M-Kingsville. Students must have a 3.0 grade point ratio to trans fer. After completing 75 class hours, they must leave the program and enroll at A&M. However, partici pants may not change majors outside the College of Agriculture. Fifty freshman will be admitted into the program this fall. Next year’s enrollment will increase to 100 freshmen and 300 should be accepted into the program in 2005. Dick Creger, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at A&M, said Ronald Rosati, the dean of college of Agriculture and Human Sciences at Kingsville, approached him with the idea. “1 think it’s great,” Creger said. “It gives kids access to A&M who want to come here but who may need more preparation.” Creger also said the program aims at increasing diversity at A&M. “We hope to do this with other A&M System universities or univer sities that aren’t part of the system,” he said. The University runs similar trans fer programs with Blinn College and San Antonio’s Palo Alto College. “From our University’s perspec tive this is a major new develop ment,” Rosati said. The college of agriculture has two other joint enrollment programs with A&M but neither are as encompass ing as the South Texas Joint Enrollment Program. Rosati, who came up with the idea a year ago, said both campuses were supportive and getting the pro gram started was not difficult. “We have a history of close coop eration among the agriculture pro grams in Texas A&M System univer sities,” Rosati said. A&M’s current Agriculture Program is an agreement between the Texas Cooperative Extension and agriculture colleges in the A&M University System to deliver pro gramming to the people of Texas. The Texas Cooperative Extension is a state agency that provides research information to the public. Allows agriculture students to transfer to A&M after two years at Kingsville Students cannot change majors outside College of Agriculture Students must have a 3.0 GPR Joint enrollment with Texas A&M-Kingsville 50 freshmen to be admitted in Fall 2003 RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE: AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES Egyptians work for Mideast cease-fire By Ravi Nessman THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Egyptian mediators asked Palestinian militants Sunday to halt attacks on Israel in an effort lo rescue a U.S.-backed peace plan that foundered after more than a week of violence. Israel’s prime minister suggested he might accept a limited truce. Palestinian officials said (here were expectations that the current cease-fire efforts might succeed where others had failed, despite militia leaders’ renewed assertions they will not lay down their amis. In Maine, President Bush said he was confident of eventu al peace between the longtime enemies, with a Palestinian state existing in peace beside Israel. After a weekend meeting between Israeli and Palestinian security officials, both sides said Israel was considering a gradual withdrawal from Bethlehem and parts of the Gaza Strip, leaving security to the forces of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and security chief Mohammed Dahlan. Addressing a Cabinet meet ing Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that if militants agree to a cease-fire, Israel would, for the most part, respect it. “If no one fires on us, we will not return fire, except in See Mideast on page 2 Junior industrial distribution major Brian Cole spins hobby is known as Poi and has become increasingly flaming balls of teflon connected to metal chains popular during the past five years, behind Easterwood Airport on Saturday night. Cole's Rochon vies for diversity By Justin Smith THE BATTALION Bringing together the surrounding communi ties, local schools and students of a university is the best way to encourage diversity at a place like Texas A&M, said Dr. Ronald Rochon. Rochon, the last of three candidates visiting A&M vying for the new position of vice president of diversity and associate provost for institutional diversity, made a presentation Friday describing how the University can become more diverse. “The first step for the University is to gain the trust of families in the community,” he said. “And then in connection with the University students and area (kindergarten through high school) teachers and students, they can create appropriate pro- rochon grams.” Rochon has put this theory to the test at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where he heads the Research Center for Cultural Diversity and Community Renewal. Rochon and the CDCR received the largest grant in the history of UW-La Crosse — $5 million. The center was able to edu cate many members of the Hmong community, a large Asian community in Wisconsin, many of whom have since gone on to teach among other things. Since its success at UW-La Crosse, the CDCR has worked with Hmong and others at many of the UW branches in the state. Rochon said another way to increase diversity is to work abroad. Rochon worked with schools and communi ties in Ghana while at UW-La Crosse. “Teacher exchange between countries can be a very useful tool,” he said. Rochon said that a goal of the University should be to provide equitable opportunities for all. “Diversity encompasses acceptance and respect for differences among all individuals,” he said. Rochon was formally educated at Tuskegee University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has since taught education at several See Rochon on page 2 Saudis raid Mecca, find al-Qaida links By Faiza Saleh Ambah THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MECCA, Saudi Arabia — Police fought overnight gun- battles with suspected al- Qaida militants who were planning an imminent terrorist attack, killing five and arrest ing others believed linked to last month’s suicide bombings in Riyadh, a Saudi officials said Sunday. One security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two police officers were killed in a shootout at a checkpoint short ly before a fierce gunbattle erupted during a raid on a bomb-filled, booby-trapped apartment late Saturday. The Saudi Interior Ministry released a statement saying the raid took place at an apartment building in the al-Khalidiya district, about three miles from the main Mecca mosque, at 9:30 p.m. The statement said police clashed with a “group of ter rorists...(who) were preparing an imminent terrorist act.” No details of the alleged plot were given. Five suspected militants died in the gunbattle initiated by the “terrorists,” the state ment said without giving their nationalities. Five security agents and four bystanders were slightly injured. The statement said the apartment was booby-trapped and ready to explode. Some 72 bombs of different sizes were found with numerous other weapons, including semiauto matic rifles and knifes, com munication devices, bomb making materials and masks. The Interior Ministry statement said two Chadians, an Egyptian and a Saudi were among at least five people arrested in the raid. The fifth was not identified. Numerous other suspects were arrested later in Mecca. It did not elaborate. Police raid apartment in Mecca Saudi security agents raided a bomb-filled, booby-trapped apartment in the holy city of Mecca Saturday night, where the Saudi goverment said “a group of terrorists ... were preparing an imminent terrorist attack.” ' 0 4 0 o m i <■ IRAQ l \ / ,f’0\ 400 km SAUDI ARABIA \ 1RAN ~ Riyadh 0 ESY. TZ l ~~ Mecca SUDANI * p' x.YEMEN> ' OMAN/ Police raid apartment, killing five terror suspects SOURCES: Associated Press; ESRI AP The official told The Associated Press that he believed the suspected mili tants were “members of al- Qaida cells” because of simi larities between weapons they used and how they “immedi ately shoot at the police when cornered.” He also believed those killed and arrested were See Mecca on page 2 Storms test campus lightning system By Megan Orton THE BATTALION As fierce storms swept through Brazos Valley this week end, reports of dangerous light ning and funnel clouds alarmed area residents. Patrons at the Memorial Student Center were ushered into the basement restaurant as the storm made its way through College Station Friday night. Texas A&M’s Deputy Director of University Relations Lane Stephenson said 200 to 300 peo ple were crowded in the basement for 20 minutes until the danger passed. No damage was reported. As summer storms become more frequent, a new lightning system implemented last year is being used to forewarn members of the A&M community when conditions are ripe for cloud-to- ground lightning strikes. The new system uses two ThorGuard systems on 11 loca tions around campus, including the Student Recreation Center and the A&M golf course, to ensure the safety of those out doors during storms. “Texas receives a fair amount of lightning across the state,” said Scott Steiger, head of A&M’s storm chasing team. Steiger was part of a 12-year study that led to the naming of Houston as the “lightning capital of Texas.” Houston experiences about four flashes of cloud-to-ground lightning per square kilometer per year, the highest rate of lightning in Texas, Steiger said. Nationally, Tampa Bay, Fla., has the highest rates, with 11 flashes of cloud-to-ground lightning per square kilometer per year. A&M isn’t the only school that has implemented the ThorGuard system. Texas Christian University, University of New Mexico and Clemson University, along with many municipalities, use the ThorGuard system to warn their residents of impending light ning danger. Steiger said certain areas on See Lightning on page 2 THOR6UARP: Lightning warning systei JOSHUA HOBSON & RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE: A&M STORM CHASING TEAM