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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2003)
NEWS THE BATTALION lCH • THE BATTALION i. The Rec Center to 8 p.m. vould ism f profit and at pain of ■ate predictions, /ould begin Frida) inning Oct. 1, Tlic tially be limited to creasing to at least 's government agencies to participate and will le identities or funds of "oject of a DARPAfc ■eMAP, or “Futures I to Prediction," g to develop programs Defense Department to > predict future events, site. m of markets to know!- r few participants may trning system to avoid ets must offer “com- lically and legally sat- ctors involved, while enough to ensure full icipation of individual 000 has been spent on d the Pentagon plans to 1149,000 this year. The ted $3 million for the r and $5 million for the ienate version of next ing bill would cutoff im, but the House ver- The two versions will &M bus route :hoice: >y the bedroom se an apt. mate matching iternet & with HBO Sports- Super conference may not be far off • Page 3 Opinion: Financial irresponsibility • Page 5 nruv P A TT A T TAM l tit oAl 1AJL1UJN Volume 109 • Issue 178 • 6 pages 109 Years Serving Texas A&M University www.thebatt.com Wednesday, July 30, 2003 TABS deputy director dies By Brandi Foster THE BATTALION Charles J. Scifres, associate dean for agriculture and life sciences and deputy director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, died at his home Monday of an apparent heart attack. He was 62 years old. Scifres’ colleagues remember him as a great leader, mentor and friend. “He was a lot of fun to work with,” said Mary Pletzer, an administrative assistant for the TABS. “He demanded efficient work, but he always made it a lot of fun.” Pletzer said one of her fondest memo ries of Scifres was from an office meeting. The discussion had become heated and Scifres went over to a computer, everyone thought, to look up some information. When he turned around, he was wearing a red clown nose. After that, the tension dis solved, she said. He always knew how to make a situa tion fun, Pletzer said. Frank Gilstrap, associate director of the TABS, said Scifres was easy to get along with. “He was an absolute delight to work for because you worked with him, not for him,” he said. “I have never been around a leader like he was and I don’t expect I ever will again. He was a great mentor, and those he mentored truly appreciated him.” Scifres held administrative positions at Oklahoma State University, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and the University See Death on page 2 Dr. Charles J. Scifres Deputy director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Received his master's and bachelor of science degrees from Oklahoma State University First Thomas M. O'Conner professor of range science RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE: • TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION New majors prepare for closed dept. By Jacquelyn Spruce THE BATTALION Incoming freshmen journalism majors should not face many problems while completing their degree plan, said Dr. Edward Walraven, coordinator of under graduate advising and student services for journalism. Charles Johnson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, sent a request to administrators two weeks ago, recommending the journal ism department be closed during the next three years because of budget issues. Walraven said many students will be laced with a decision of whether to stay in the journalism program. Some freshmen may opt to change majors. However, he said lie believes a journalism degree from Texas A&M will still be well-accredited, regard less of the department’s status. “Students will get very strong training rithin the journalism department,” he said. “I think they will be able to take the strengths of the degree and use it to their befit.” Walraven said it may still be possible for students to transfer into the department. Students who will be considered for transfer will be those with experience in journalism in high school or college, or those who have bn attempting to get into the department fora number of semesters, he said. “We’ll review some students on a case-by case basis, but ultimately, the college will decide if they would be qualified,” he said. “But that will only be a very small number.” Walraven said the department is trying to provide future students with the same quality of education that former students received, while some classes may be dis continued. “As of now, it doesn’t appear that we’ll still be able to offer broadcast classes in the kiture,” he said. “Nobody knows what the budget will be.” Sonia Moghe, an incoming freshman journalism major, said she believes the clo sure of the journalism department may force some students to disregard A&M as a poten- lial school. See Journalism on page 2 New American Talent Junior environmental design major Hollie Lawler brushes away dust and grime Tuesday from the pancake art “\ Say So Many Things" created by Krista Hoefle and on display until SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION Aug. 20 at the J. Wayne Stark Galleries. The art work is part of a New American Talent show case organized by the Texas Fine Arts Association. Dems continue quorum buster in New Mexico By Kelley Shannon THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN — Democratic and Republican sen ators dueled across the Texas-New Mexico state line Tuesday as each camp tried to score politi cal points in the intensifying battle over con gressional redistricting. Republicans urged their Democratic colleagues to end their boycott and return from Albuquerque, N.M., to work on a fair redistricting plan. “No Texas problem has ever been solved in New Mexico,” said Sen. Todd Staples of Palestine, chair man of the Senate Republican Caucus. But the 11 Senate Democrats who left the Capitol to break a quorum Monday just as Republican Gov. Rick Perry was about to call a sec ond special legislative session, gave no indication they would give in. The senators said they’re pre pared to remain out of state — beyond the reach of Texas law officers sent to arrest them — up to 30 days, the maximum length of a special session. “There’s nothing fair about a partisan redis tricting effort that turns a deaf ear to the over whelming majority of Texans and turns it back on the minority opportunity,” Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said Tuesday at a news con ference in New Mexico. The Senate walkout comes less than three months after a similar move by House Democrats, who broke a quorum in their chamber and killed a redistricting bill by fleeing to Ardmore, Okla. The Senate Democrats said they were paying for the trip themselves but did not give further details. GOP-backed redistricting proposals could cause more than 1.4 million minorities in Texas to lose effective representation in Congress, Van de Putte said. But Republicans denied that minority represen tation would be hurt under their plans. Staples, chief architect of the Senate’s Republican proposals, said the maps would protect minority voting rights. The Senate met briefly Tuesday, but without a quorum no business could be conducted. The Senate is to meet again Wednesday morning. Across the Capitol, the House struggled to achieve a quorum, which means the presence of two-thirds of its 150 members. Once enough legis lators showed up, the Republican-controlled House pushed through a redistricting bill, the same one the See Democrats on page 2 Iraq leaders chosen, tape discusses sons’ deaths By D'Arcy Doran THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TIKRIT, Iraq — In a new audio- tape attributed Tuesday to Saddam Hussein, a calm voice acknowl edged the deaths of the ousted dic tator’s two sons and called them martyrs. U.S. forces searched for clues to Saddam’s whereabouts in documents and photo albums seized in his hometown. If confirmed, the tape — the iliird attributed to Saddam this month — could put to rest any mmaining doubts among Iraqis that Odai and Qusai Hussein were idled in a firefight with U.S. sol diers in the northern city of Mosul on July 22. In Baghdad, meanwhile, Iraq’s U.S.-appointed Governing Council of 25 prominent Iraqis Appointed a nine-member presi dency, failing to agree on a single leader for the beginnings of a new Iraqi government. The audiotape was broadcast Tuesday on the Arab satellite sta- lionAl-Arabiya, five days after the U.S. military released grisly photos of their bloodied bodies in an effort to convince Iraqis that the sons were dead and to weaken support for an anti-American insurgency. U.S. forces on Tuesday interro gated 12 suspects arrested in Saddam’s hometown, Tikrit, and examined identity cards, bound notebooks, Baath Party records and other documents found in their homes to try to fill in the picture of his desperate flight. In the nine-minute audiotape, a voice resembling Saddam’s said he was glad Odai and Qusai Hussein were killed because such a death “is the hope of every fighter.” “Even if Saddam Hussein has 100 sons other than Odai and Qusai, Saddam Hussein would offer them the same path,” said the calm, even voice. “That is the hope of every fighter for God’s sake, as another group of noble souls of the martyrs has ascended to their creator.” The tape also referred to Mustafa, Qusai’s teenage son, who was killed in the gunfight in Mosul. “Odai, Qusai, and Mustafa died in Jihad field ... in a brave battle with See Iraq on page 2 Iraq’s Governing Council elects leadership The nine members named Tuesday to the presidential panel of Iraq’s Governing Council: 1. Ahmad Chalabi 5. Massoud Barzani Shiite Muslim: leader of Sunni; leader of the Iraqi National Congress Kurdistan Democratic Party 2. lyad Allawi 6. Jalal Talabani Shiite; secretary- Sunni; leader of the general of the Iraq Patriotic Union of Kurdistan National Accord 7. Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim 3. Adnan Pachachi Shiite; leader of the Sunni Muslim; foreign Supreme Council for the minister in government Islamic Revolution in Iraq ousted in 1968 Baath 8. Mohsen Abdel-Hamid Party coup Sunni; secretary-general of 4. Mohammed Bahr the Iraqi Islamic Party at-Uloum 9. Ibrahim at-Jaafari Shiite; highly Shiite; spokesman for the respected cleric Islamic Dawa Party Members of Iraq’s Governing Council pose following a meeting on July 13. Officials warn of further hijackings By Leslie Miller THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Federal officials are warning of the possibility that al-Qaida will attempt new sui cide hijackings but said Tuesday they have no plans to raise the nation’s terrorism threat alert level. The Department of Homeland Security sent a warning to airlines and law enforcement agencies on Saturday. Officials said the credibility of the threat is still being evaluated, and there was no precise infor mation on when or where such an attack could take place. A copy of the warning, obtained by The Associated Press, says terrorists may use five-man teams to take over airplanes just after takeoff or before landing and crash them into buildings, just like in the Sept. 11 attacks. It suggests an attack could take place by the end of the summer. “The hijackers may try to calm passengers and make them believe they were on a hostage, not sui cide, mission,” it says. “The hijackers may attempt to use common items carried by travelers, such as cam eras, modified as weapons.” It suggests cities on the east coast of the United States and in the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia See Warning on page 2