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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 2003)
Sports: Aggies escape with win • Page 1 B Opinion: Ashcroft chooses life • Page 5B THE BATTALION olume 110 • Issue 7 • 16 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebattalion.net By Justin Smith THE BATTALION I The Texas Legislature approved Btion deregulation this summer, Bening the door for universities Bthin the state to exceed the previ- oi sly set state caps and raise tuition ■ fit their needs. With this in mind, Texas A&M is proposing to raise turnon an additional $9 per credit hour for the spring semester. I In a presentation he gave in July Bout the school’s financial situation. A&M President Robert M. Gates said it is unlikely that the recent trend in tuition increases will change. “Students will share an increasing portion of the burden of cost of their education as they have for the last decade,” he said. A nationwide economic downturn has forced Texas to reduce funding for public institutions, therefore requiring those institutions to raise tuition rates. This is not a problem that has been localized to Texas, however. Gates said. “Texas hasn’t taken as big a cut out of its education budget as many other states have,” he said last week. In 1992, state funding paid for nearly half of A&M’s expenditures but now does not even cover a third. Tuition and fees in 1992 only fund ed about a fifth of University expenditures, but are now responsi ble for more than a quarter of A&M expenses. Gates said even with recent increases, A&M is still one of the best bargains in the country com pared to similar institutions. With tuition costs at four-year universities rising across the state, many potential students who cannot afford to attend these schools are seeking out alternatives such as jun ior colleges and community col leges. Locally, Blinn College has seen an increase in enrollment over the past few years. “Enrollment has been rising exponentially over the last three years,” said Juan B. Garcia, director of admissions at Blinn. Garcia said that not all of the See Tuition on page 2A Monday, September 8, 2003 ates: Tuition may continue to rise . Tuition Increase Overview Tuition was raised $4 per credit hour this fall A&M is proposing to raise tuition $9 more in the spring The University has cut nearly $20.5 million from the budget to reduce the need for tuition increases RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE : TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY What are you looking at? JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION Senior environmental design majors Sophia Razzaque (left) and Maori formed hats out of 10,000 white paper sacks for their architecture, land- Chrastante compare hat designs from among 120 other students after a scape architecture and visualization science classes as a warm-up for parade in the Langford Architecture building Friday afternoon. Students the semester. USDA grant seeks fresher, safer food By Justin Smith THE BATTALION The United States Department of Agriculture awarded Texas A&M a grant to open a national research center for irradiation research to help combat the growing problem of unsafe food that claims more than 5,000 lives per year. The grant, given to A&M’s Institute of Food Science and Engineering, is worth $185,000 for the first year and is likely to be renewed in future years, said Andy Vestal, assistant director for the IFSE and extension specialist for the Texas Co-op Extension. The University’s IFSE was selected because it already has the largest non-commercial, research-only irradiation plant in the world. Also, A&M has been a forerunner in research of this tech nology for years. “In ’99, A&M food scientists got together to see what technolo gy could be used in the future, and irradiation was right at the top,” Vestal said. In 2000, A&M teamed up with SureBeam, a subsidiary of the Titan Corporation, for a 10-year, $ 10-million project on electron beam research. , - * - IFSE will use the USDA grant to hire a post-doctoral researcher and a communications specialist to promote the ongoing research. It will also cover the operating costs of the center. Irradiation affects the safety of food by using microwaves to speed up electrons to the speed of light so they can penetrate meat. They then smash into the DNA of harmful microbes and other bio logical contaminants and destroy them. “This technology has been around since 1903, but they used nuclear energy then,” Vestal said. “Now we can just use normal com mercial electricity.” In the past, electron beams have been used to sterilize products such as surgery equipment and feminine products. In 2000, it was See Research on page 2A Professor receives Golden honor By Rebekah Kratochvil THE BATTALION I As a professor for 300 students in an introductory biol- igy class, Susan Golden said it can be frustrating because of the difficulty that comes from teaching a subject that many students have trouble understanding. I “I like to continuously improve my ability to help thorn learn and appreciate biology,” Golden said. 1 Golden was named distinguished professor at Texas A&M on Sept. I. She is the 49th professor and second Woman at A&M to receive this honor. I She said students and professors should focus on important concepts and avoid getting bogged down in details, because students are overloaded with details as it is. J Golden said it is especially important to connect with those students who will not continue in biology, because they are the ones who will make decisions about science in political circles and determine the advancement of different areas of science based upon future fund allocations. ( In addition to her role as a professor at A&M, Golden managed a research program as part of a col laboration with many scientists, including a group in Japan. Their research confirmed the existence of a circadian (meaning “daily” in Latin) clock cycle in cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue- green algae. This pond scum is responsible for pro ducing approximately half of the oxygen on earth, Golden said. “Professors at the university level wear a lot of hats,” she said. They perform the roles of teacher, scientist and man ager of their research programs, she said. “Most of them do it because it is incredibly fun. It is also incredibly rewarding,” Golden said. Being an academic scientist is special in that it is more a lifestyle than a job. Golden said. The job cannot be done well in less than 40 hours a week, she said. Despite this, Golden still manages to take time out for recreation. She has been warm coral reef diving more than 110 times in different locations all over the world. Golden said that her job, while demanding, has many rewards, including creative freedom in run ning her own research programs and in seeing new scientists develop. “(She) is a role model for women in science and for the students at Texas A&M,” said Vincent Cassone, head of the Department of Biology. A&M received 16 letters of recommendation from Golden’s colleagues, both locally and internationally. “The best part (of my job) is that I never have to say in the morning T wish I didn’t have to go to work today,”’ Golden said. PHOTO COURTESY OF • SUSAN GOLDEN Texas A&M biology professor Susan Golden, recently named a distinguished professor, hugs a koala while on a trip to Australia in August of 2001. THE BATTALION The Battalion invites |p yon to submit personal || remembrances and s thoughts as the nation jj approaches the second ll anniversary of the §| Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Please submit your 250-word letters to mailcall@thebattalion.net or stop by 014 Heed McDonald. September 11, 2003 Bush seeks $87 billion to fight terrorism By Deb Riechmann THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Four days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush said Sunday night he will seek $87 billion to fight terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and “engage the enemy where he lives.” In an 18-minute address Bush said, “We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities.” Bush appealed for troops and money for BUSH security and reconstruction from other coun tries, even those who opposed the U.S.-led war. Bush, speaking from the Cabinet Room in a nationally broadcast speech, said the United States would not be intimidated into retreat by violence. “The terrorists have cited the examples of Beirut and Somalia, claiming that if you inflict harm on Americans we will run from a challenge,” Bush said, referring to U.S. withdrawals after the loss of American lives. “In this they are mistaken.” It was Bush’s first major speech on Iraq since May 1 See Bush on page 2A Library site adds feature By Joaquin Salcedo THE BATTALION Texas A&M Libraries have added a new feature to their Web site called MyPortal, which will allow students, faculty and staff to personalize their library work space and gain quick access to library materials. MyPortal will allow all Aggies with a Neo account to receive and request information from any of the five University libraries. Book checkouts, renewals and requests can be performed on the My Library Records option of MyPortal. MyPortal users will be able to use the My Journals and Database option to save library resources on a personalized list, allowing users to save time in their research. Users will also be able to type in basic personal information that will automatically be inserted into necessary forms. A MyPortal account can be obtained through the library’s Web site at http:// library.tamu.edu. GRACIE ARENAS • THE BATTALION SOURCE : TEXAS A&M LIBRARIES PHOTO COURTESY OF: WWW.TAMU.EDU