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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2003)
Come join us for dinner! Meet new friends! Have fun learning about resources just for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people on the TAMU campus and in the community! O Camp & Students with Alternative Views! Come to Open Camp: September 21, 2003, 5-7pm Register: http://studcntlile.tamu.edii/gies (For Information call, 845-1107) Department of Student I.tie, Am Gender Issues Education Servicex-Sbisa-East Wing QUANTUM COW: 260-COWS In the Sparks Building, Northgate LAB SOLUTIONS MANUALS Chemistry/Physics/Biology/Orsanic and Blinn Chemistry 1401 quantumcow.com Are you Interested in Career Paths in ENGLISH Dr. Claude Gibson will discuss career paths in this exciting major. Henderson Hall, Room 114 Wednesday, September 17th 6:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m. Call (979) 845-4470 x 125 Sponsored by Student Counseling Service 7 STUDENT GOVERNMENT ! ASSOCIATION Ti:x|\S AtCVl I'NIVEKSITY Election Commission WflCOMF ro CUSS OF E ssmmui/ m/m /x T0PArt To run for a Class Council or Student Senate position, you M/57'first file with the Election Commission! Look for the Election Commission Filing table located in the MSC Foyer from September 15 th - 1T* 1 from 10AM to 3PM. If you have questions, call 862-2606 Tuesday Buy Regular or Large Sandwich Get 22oz. drink and chips FREE Dine-ln and take out only. Check out our new menu Sandwiches starting at $ 1.99! 110 College Main • 846-7000 Mon.-Sat. 10:30am-10:00pm Sun. I 1:00am-10pm This store not affiliated with Texas Avenue location. 6B Tuesday, September 16, 2003 NATH) THE BATTALij Seeking expressions of faitl Muslim youth get in touch with their faith, cultu By Geneive Abdo KRT CAMPUS Wajeeha Shuttari, 18, left, Lena Abuelroos, 18, center and Ifra Ali, 19, admire a scarf at oneor booths at the Islamic Society of North America's convention in Chicago on Aug. 31. CHICAGO — As an 18-year-old Palestinian, Lena Abuelroos appeared to have bought into all the trappings of American life: She was an aspiring model, a clotheshorse and top saleswoman at an Armani Exchange in Troy, Mich. So one July morning, when she showed up for work wearing hijab, her long, black curls out of sight beneath the folds of her veil, her co-workers were so alarmed they stopped speaking to her. For Abuelroos, putting on hijab, or mod est Islamic attire, was her way of getting in touch with the Muslim identity her family of Arab immigrants often downplayed. Her transformation mirrors that of many of the 2,000 young Muslim women and men who gathered recently for a weekend in Chicago as part of the 40th annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, which organizers say drew tens of thousands of lay activists. In the basement of McCormick Place, a Chicago convention center, away from the glitz of the adult convention upstairs, young Muslims from hundreds of universities vowed to create a more pronounced Islamic identity in the United States through their Muslim students associations. Not only do they plan to become more devout than their parents, whom they described as cultural — not religious — Muslims, but they also are on a mission to change the negative images of Islam in America. “The media say Muslims are this or that, and it’s not true,” Abuelroos said. “We have to show that we are not afraid to reveal our Muslim identity. Now I have convinced my father to go to the mosque, and my mother has also become more reli gious, though she will never wear hijab because she’s a beautician.” The Muslim students said they feel under siege since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, and want to take a stand. But even before Sept. 11, many attended Islamic youth camps and Islamic Sunday schools to learn more about their faith. “Our parents, who were immigrants to this country, were consumed with just mak ing a living,” said Atif Jaleel, 23, a Chicago native whose family came from Pakistan. “I am more religious than my father because I have the luxury of thinking about my faith. I discovered Islam when I became involved in the campus mosque at the University of Illinois in Champaign,” said Jaleel, who organized the weekend’s student conference. “Our new awareness is also a reaction to the treatment of Muslims in this country. After Sept. 11, the older generation who ran the show thought it was best to lie low. “As that happened, the younger genera tion was uncomfortable with this, especially at colleges and universities. We decided we must become active.” Muslim leaders say a revival is afoot in the United States, not only for youth but also for the entire Islamic community, esti mated at 6 million. Attendance is rising at the 1,300 mosques and 300 to 400 Islamic schools nationwide. The number of Friday prayer services has increased to accommodate the influx of worshipers, and plans are under way! build more Islamic schools. For Muslim students, the best straie: for establishing a future free of hatecriE and discrimination is to educate theirchl mates. Muslim student associations spocl Islamic Awareness Week each year, vt i teaches the principles of Islam. Stud® also encourage non-Muslims to fast them during the holy month of Ramadan By creating Islamic organizations a their campuses, many Muslim students^; they are developing a support networtl keep them from drifting into an Ameria lifestyle filled with temptations thatvid* their religious beliefs, such as dating,drill ing alcohol or wearing heavy makeup, “Let’s face it, everyone is attracted® ally,” said Abuelroos, her dark eyelaste touched with mascara. “But you can’ll* because it leads to sex. The first socialw| tact we have with boys is when we are re® to get engaged. You’re supposed to dll nicely, but not in a sexual way. And beiri model is definitely out because lsJ : ] revolves around modesty.” States differ on ordering divorced parents to pay college costs, tuition By David Crary THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MANCHESTER, N.H. — Alexander Duran was delighted when his daughter earned admis sion to two of New England’s top private colleges. He was furious when a judge ordered him to help pay tuition at the school offering far less financial aid. A married parent would never be subjected to such an order. But New Hampshire, where both Duran and his ex-wife live, is one of a growing minority of states allowing courts to force divorced parents to pay for their children’s college costs. “It’s not so much the money — it’s having no input in the deci sion,” said Duran, 48, whose daughter and ex-wife preferred Brown University despite a better aid offer from Brandeis. Duran said the court order means he must pay more than $6,000 per year for college expenses instead of $3,000. The issue is generating debate nationwide as lawyers, legislators and parents argue over whether the children of divorce — in an era of skyrock eting tuition — deserve legal protections different from the children of intact marriages. Last year, Connecticut — through a law passed by the Legislature — became the 17th state to allow such court orders, according to family law specialist Laura Morgan of Charlottesville, Va. This year, due partly to impas sioned lobbying by divorced, noncustodial fathers like Duran, New Hampshire lawmakers took a step in the opposite direction. The House of Representatives voted to prohibit courts from ordering a divorced parent to pay college expenses of a child 18 or older; the bill is expected to be considered by the state Senate next year. “States are all over the place on this issue,” said Sandra Morris, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “In many situations, it’s very tragic — the divorced par ents don’t do what they would have done if they had stayed together, and the children are pretty much cut off (from any support).” Kate Haakonsen, an attorney who helped draft Connecticut’s year-old law, said a majority of her state’s lawmakers felt it was appropriate to treat divorced par ents differently from married couples when it came to college support. “Children of divorced parents are less likely to go to college, less likely to go to prestigious schools, and generally are less economically successful than their parents,” she said. “As a matter of public policy, we have to decide if that’s what we want.” In the states with laws like Connecticut’s, courts have repeat edly upheld that rationale. The exception is Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that there is no basis for dis tinguishing between divorced and non-divorced parents in regard to paying for college. Jean-Claude Sakellarios, a New Hampshire attorney, believes a former client might still be alive if his state’s judges shared the view of Pennsylvania’s high court. The client, Luke Hovland, committed suicide June 3, eight months after spending 43 days in the Strafford County jail for failing to pay more than $16,000 to his ex- wife to cover half of their daughter’s tuition at Tufts University. Hovland — a forester-turned- salesman — made about $55,000 yearly and had struggled to keep up with child support payments while earning enough for his new wife and young daughter, Sakellarios said. The lawyer said the court-ordered tuition payment deepened the 50-year-old Hovland’s despair. “You get more and more con vinced they’re going to chase you forever,” Sakellarios said at his office in Manchester. “There was a sense of hopelessness.” The divorced parents don’t do what they would have done if they had stayed together, and the children are pretty much cutoff. n — Sandra Morris matrimony lawyer NEWS IN BRIEF White House nam< cybersecurity chief WASHINGTON (AP)-Ti White House on Moni selected Amit Yoran, a st ware executive from Symari Corp., as the nation’s pi cybersecurity chief for f Department of Homela f Security. Yoran, who is hardly household name but »f known within the cybersecuf community, will be the gover ment’s evangelist for person ing Americans to improve tin computer defenses agaifi hackers, disgruntled emplc ees, commercial rivals andfo eign governments. “He’s been one of the lead! in this area in the privates! tor,” said Howard Schmidt, fc mer deputy special assistant President Bush for cyberset rity issues. “He’ll do quite we Yoran, a Symantec vice pie ident, also will be respond for carrying out dozens of ie ommendations in the adn# tration’s “National Strategy Secure Cyberspace,” a set proposals to better prote computer networks. “There are a number of cM lenges, but I wouldn’t point 1 any one in particular ande it’s the most difficult to otf come,” Yoran said in an ir* view with The Associate Press. “There’s definitely a‘ : of work ahead of us.” The Department 1 Homeland Security annount* Yoran’s selection Monday 1 industry executives and otN government officials. Yore 1 who was not at the annou^ ment, said he expects to rape' for work within a few weeks AMERICAN BUSINESS WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION First Meeting Tonight!! 7:30 p.m. in Wehner Rm. 113 “From the Kitchen to Wall Street” - A progression of the woman - ^Featuring Dr. Sara Alpern from the Woman Studies Department Fall 2003 In-line Hockey League 8 Game Season, plus Double Elimination Tournament Games are scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday Nights Registration, Sept. 10-21, 2003 600 N. Randolph, Bryan Cost: $200. 00 per team For more info call the Neal Recreation Center at 209-5210 pm * Volume 11< Bla< By Laure THE BAT Computer scr and the lighting the power went C. Evans Librar buildings on ct power at 6:10 p. Other buildii Tuesday night’ Reed McDonak Biological East power in two C residence halls a Director of U said as of Tue Sayi Texas A&M I Grace Bible D. Graves, Graves passe Stud By Stc THE AS5 The default r college loans hi: the 2001 fisca Department saic The departm cent of college making paynn defaulted on the fiscal year, 5.9 { outstanding loai Tuesday’s ai something of a published repor debt is resulting problems for n Court THE WASHINGT panel offered fi permit the musii copyright subpi users who dowr The three-ju' Appeals for the questions at lav Please see r story on Page others to force names of suspe< The decision. Important conse unprecedented c; fears of expens iv The Recor America, the tn