The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 16, 2003, Image 1

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Aggielife: Can't hardly wait • Page 3A Opinion: The naked truth • Page 5B
THE BATTALION
/olume 110 • Issue 13 • 14 pages
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
&M network faces more problems
tohelpsoluethe uirus problem
By Sarah Walch
THE BATTALION
Students in residence halls and open-access
[labs Monday might have noticed an Internet shut
out around 10 a.m., when an equipment operator
somewhere between College Station and Dallas
cut the optical cable that physically connects the
Texas A&M network to the rest of the world.
The problem, known as a Backdoor Fade, took
three hours to fix while technicians figured out
where the gap was and reconnected the cable line,
said Willis Marti, associate director of Computing
and Information Services.
. During that time, campus technicians rerouted
network lines through other sources so that stu
dents could access all but big commercial sites
like eBay, Marti said.
The disconnection came only three days after
CIS Director Tom Putnam sent out an e-mail alert
ing all students connected to the network that their
infected computers were slowing down the entire
network, whether located in residence halls or in
off-campus homes or apartments and connected
through A&M modems.
“A lot of people ignore (viruses) until it affects
them,” Marti said. “They forget about the fact that
their machine affects others. If you have an infect
ed machine, you're slowing other people down.”
Marti said he wants people to realize how
important it is to fix virus problems on their own,
otherwise CIS will have to start charging people
for having viruses, as other large universities have
already done.
“It would be like TS (Transportation Services)
giving you a little yellow ticket for having a
virus,” he said. “We don’t want to do that.”
To speed up services for students and faculty,
Putnam said, everybody who owns a PC should
click on Windows Update under the Start Menu
and install all of the critical updates listed.
The latest virus on that list, Randex, was
located by Microsoft on Sept. 10, and a patch
was created. Randex guesses easy passwords like
“password,” “computer” or “12345.” It is
“Version J” of a virus that has existed since
January, Putnam said.
The virus is similar to one that caused a
break-in into professors' voice mails on campus
in early January.
Putnam and Marti echoed Associate Director
of Communications Walt Magnussen’s warning in
January that students and faculty should create
unique passwords to ward off potential hackers
and viruses.
“Somebody gets infected with the virus, and
then takes the program that infected their comput
er, changes it slightly to make a new virus and
then virus scanners let it through,” Putnam said.
Some on campus have had passwords hacked
by Randex, Marti said. To avoid future problems,
students and faculty should change their pass
words to make their account and the entire A&M
network more secure.
Marti recommended people write down a pass-
Updateantl-ulms programs.
Chech Ulindoms Update through the
Start menu.
Choose unique passwords rather
than generic ones.
Know that one infected computer
can bring down the whole network.
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE • COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SERVICES
word and put it in their purse or wallet rather than
use a password that is too simplistic.
“There are a lot of viruses now that try to guess
passwords,” he said.
Beyond that, students should update their virus
software often, Putnam said. Symantec and
A&M researchers
propose routine
depression tests
By Lindsay Broomes
THE BATTALION
Texas A&M psychologist Mary Meagher is among a
group of researchers recommending the implementation
of depression screening at routine doctor’s visits, to help
diagnose mental disorders at an early stage.
The Mental Health Index-5 is a self-administered
screening tool that can help detect depression. The MHI-
5 can be scored and discussed in a time frame of 15 min
utes or less, Meagher said.
Meagher, family medicine physician Rachel Bramson
and col/eagues from • the University of California-San
Diego and the University of Southern Mississippi have
conducted a study of 591 patients ages 18 to 86. These
primary healthcare patients were tested for depression
using the MH1-5.
The short, five-question test is a compact version of the
larger Mental Health Inventory and was developed for use
in the general public.
The MH1-5 questionnaire asks questions such as: How
much of the time during the past four weeks have you felt
downhearted and blue? How much of the time during the
See Depression on page 2A
Treatment for Depression
About IN.N million Americans,
approximately 9.5 percent ol the
population, suffer from a depressive*
disorder each year. The following are
options available lor treatment.
-Psychotherapy
-Support groups
-Medication
-Natural remedies
-Hypnosis
-Meditation
-Exercise
iratnon ti
rpffrts.tM,
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE • WWW.SVMPTOMS-OF-DEPRESSION.COM
Take your best shot
Sophomore agriculture development major Tammy
Gebert aims down range at a target 50 feet away,
practicing before tryouts for the Texas A&M Pistol
Team. Tryouts for the team will be held through Sept.
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
26th at 7 p.m. in the basement of the Military
Science building and include a rapid fire test, a tar
get test and slow shot test. The pistol team welcomes
students of all skill levels to participate in tryouts.
See Network on page 2A
Third special
legislative
session
IIV&I
CJ
ins
By Kelley Shannon
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN —Ten Senate Democrats who
fled the state to thwart congressional redis
tricting by Republicans returned to the
Capitol to a thunder of cheers and applause
Monday as another special legislative ses
sion convened.
The presence of Sen. John Whitmire of
Houston, who defected from a group of quo
rum-busting Democrats holed up in
Albuquerque, N.M., gave Republicans the quo
rum they needed to conduct Senate business.
Ten fellow Democrats waited to enter the
Senate chamber until they were certain a quo
rum, or two-thirds, was present. But Whitmire
quickly asked that the Senate adjourn until
Tuesday, and Republican lawmakers exited
before the Democrats showed up.
When they arrived, a packed Senate
gallery erupted with loud, long cheers of
approval. The Democrats raised their joined
hands in a circle on the Senate floor.
“Thank you Texas!” Sen. Leticia Van de
Putte, D-San Antonio, shouted to the crowd.
Van de Putte, chairwoman of the Senate
Democratic Caucus, led 11 Senate
Democrats during their more than six-week
stay in New Mexico.
“It’s been six weeks since Senate
Democrats took a stand based on principle,
based on voting rights, based on our belief
that only in the rule of law can there be true
liberty,” she said.
The Democrats pledged to keep battling
redistricting — in the Senate and in court.
They said the Republicans are trying to shut
,off the representation of rural and minority
Texans in Congress.
“This fight is long from over. We have just
begun the fight,” said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.
See Session on page 2A
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U.S. troops skirmish
with Afghan guerrillas
WTO looks forward
after defeat in Cancun
Services for Howard D. Graves
By Stephen Graham
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
a
KABUL, Afghanistan -
American planes, aiding
ground troops, bombed posi
tions Monday in
southern
Afghanistan as
part of an opera-
* tion that has
killed at least 15
suspected Taliban
fighters, the U.S.
military said.
There were no
reported casualties
among U.S. or
Afghan troops in
the fighting that
began a day earlier
in Kandahar
province and has
been dubbed
Operation
Mountain Viper, said a statement
issued by the military from its
headquarters in Bagram.
Earlier, the military said
guerrillas fired mortars and
machines guns at U.S. soldiers
in eastern Afghanistan, an area
that has seen repeated clashes
in recent months.
Soldiers from the 1 Oth
Mountain
Division, based
in Fort Drum,
N.Y., came
under attack
Saturday as
they patrolled
near a U.S. base
in Paktika
province, a few
miles from the
border with
Pakistan, the
American mili-
tary said in a
statement.
The guerillas, believed to be
al-Qaida or remnants of the
See Guerrillas on page 2A
By Traci Carl
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
We should arrest,
neutralize all
terrorism... in the
bordering area of
Pakistan-
Afghanistan.
99
— Masood Khan
Pakistan Foreign Ministry
CANCUN, Mexico — World
Trade Organization leaders, crip
pled by two major defeats in four
years, are searching for a way to
win back the trust of poor nations
and cobble together a global trade
treaty that will shape the world’s
economy for years to come.
Developing countries say they
won’t take any more bullying from
the rich, and want a deal that will
help even the poorest.
The demands came amid the sur
prise collapse of cmcial trade negoti
ations in this Mexican resort. Just as
ministers were digging in for an extra
day of talks, the meeting’s chairman,
Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis
Ernesto Derbez, called off negotia
tions, saying there wasn’t enough
agreement to move forward.
Developing nations — some tri
umphantly — leaked the news to
journalists in the hallways of
Cancun’s convention center, even
as U.S. trade officials gave a news
conference explaining how negotia
tors were trying to move forward.
“Unless they listen to countries,
unless they listen to the problems we
have in meeting some of the demands
of the developing countries, this is
what will happen,” said Rafidah
Aziz, Malaysia’s minister for interna
tional trade and investment.
The failure of talks will be felt
around the world. Rice farmers in
Asia and wheat farmers in Kansas
were preparing for a decision in
Cancun that would have led to the
reduction of agricultural subsidies
and tariffs.
Some farmers could have been
forced out of business, while others —
from poor producers in Africa to large
multinationals in the United States —
would have found new markets.
Will be held at 3 p.m.,
today at Grace Bible
Church, 700 Anderson.
Shuttle buses will be
available in the Reed
Arena parking lot
beginning at 1:45 p.m.
The last bus will leave
at 2:45 p.m.
Howard D. Graves
1939 - 2003
Return shuttles will
begin after the service.
Aggie ice cream hits stores
In the last few weeks, Aggies have
demonstrated (heir fanaticism for all
things maroon—even when it comes to
ice cream. Aggie Blitz, a limited-edition
flavor of Dteyer’s ice cream, has been fly
ing olf the shelves of local grocety stores.
The vanilla-flavored, fudge-swirled
ice cream is mixed with maroon,
caramel-filled footballs and is packaged
in maroon and white containers.
Eddie Livingston, grocery
manager at Albertson’s on
Longmire Drive, said the store is
selling out of the popular flavor as
soon as it receives shipments,
according to the Bryan-College
Station Eagle. Livingston said cus
tomers have been clamoring for
more Aggie Blitz, and Albertson’s
is begging Dreyer’s for more.
Dreyer’s made only about 50,000
tubs of the flavor, but its public rela
tions director, Kim Goeller-Johnson,
said fans should look for the ice cream
next September when it may return to
Texas for a ‘sophomore season.’