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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2003)
H lember 23.2d Accielife: On skins and needles • Page 3 Opinion: Compromising education • Page 9 THE BATTALION A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 tiger rseus galia Volume 110 • Issue 19 • 10 pages CflMPUSlDIDE COMPUTER PROBLEMS Computer and UJeb sites across campus are hauing access problems. Uiruses from sources uiithin the [ fireman haue slomed computers. Optical cable to Dallas cut on Sept. 15. H router failed, cutting off open access labs, neo.tamu.edu and r UfebCT. I ] .The nemlu installed IDindoms HP y ^increased login times. B mm SETH FREEMAN • THE BATTALION SOURCE : CIS www.thebattaIion.net Wednesday, September 24, 2003 Bad router downs A&M network By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION A router in the Teague Building machine room went down Sunday night and caused open-access labs and major network sites such as neo.tamu.edu and webct.tamu.edu to be inaccessible on and off until around 5 p.m. Monday. Campus residents continued to experience internet outages as late as Tuesday night. Marc Mojica, a senior computer engineering major, said he faced problems getting his resume to the Career Center through its online registra tion Monday. "There was a deadline of 12 a.m., aid 1 was worried that I would not get it in on time,” he said. "I needed to get it in so I can get an interview with companies.” Mojica said he understands that everyone access-. ing the network at the same time can cause problems. “(The network) is never going to run perfectly,” he said. “The best you can hope for is that it works when you need it.” Mojica said he knew a lot of people who were having problems with the network. "Perhaps they should create a backup e-mail system,” he said. “Otherwise, you are going to have problems if you cannot get to neo.” Computing Information Services Director Tom Putnam said the equipment failure was an unfore seen problem. “The router stopped working correctly,” he said. "Basically, it was out of our control.” Putnam said the router first failed Sunday evening and was repaired. But, when the router failed again Monday morning, the CIS networking staff decided to replace the malfunctioning equipment. “We thought we had fixed it,” he said. “We had (the new router) installed in about two and a half hours once we decided to replace it.” CIS Associate Director of Networking Willis Marti said the whole system appeared to fail between 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Monday. Though it only took until around 12:30 p.m. to fix it, there were backup problems that made those Web sites and the labs inaccessible until around 5 p.m. “If you were up at 8 a.m. you may have been lucky enough to get access,” he said. See Router on page 2 UESY OF CHANDRA.HARVAIOD. eus' black hole (rightlm e human being conheu h through the gasses! [hese cavities thai coc ci magnetic fields. Is ig gasses in the cluss s aves to ripple throes ts have struggled w near the center of ts not cooled do#: in galaxy clusterstb should cool down ora h to an immense niir sts observed clusien :y found that this m e. Astronomen were after billions of years, e still hot. NASAindi- tie high-energy soimd ing from the centero! on Id be the answer if :d question, sound waves tras gasses in the gala* .Miergy spreads out. 1 transferred into heaj oduced by the soun be the agent that i asses in the cluster an s cooling, ind waves is extreme!) ig the high energy tin ould learn a great dea lore information aboK nt of galaxy cluster nown about how the ieorge Kattawaroftlt fessors have had told e process of evolutia own. Soon, however ered information, pm o explain how gall'; of objects in the it ’hysics faculty keeps: md is working on inif- nto the currictilifl <attawar said. “Ilf the things goingonf ng” s posts informationU tronomical discovene c e 19 8 Gates, Weis to speak at Student Senate By Sarah Walch THE BATTALION Director of Transportation Services Rodney Weis and Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates are slated to speak tonight at the second Student Senate meeting of the semester in the open gov ernance room of Koldus. Gates attends two Student Senate meetings every semester, and said his time will be strictly a question-and-answer session open to the senators. Weis, who was scheduled to speak at the first Senate meeting Sept. 10 but did not show, is first on the agenda. On Tuesday, Sept. 9, TS sent out an e-mail about changing the rules for permits in Southside Garage. At the Sept. 10 Senate meet ing, about 20 students signed up to express their concerns about the e-mail and changes to Weis directly. Due to his absence, they were turned away before the meeting began. Last Wednesday, Sept. 17, the Residence Hall Association unanimously passed a resolu tion against changing the allot ment of parking spaces in the Southside garage. Michael Vargo, a sophomore business major and president of Appelt Hall Council, introduced the RHA resolution and has organized a petition. He said he expects RHA members to make an appearance at the Senate meeting to show their unhappi ness with the proposed changes. “From going through the halls, I know a lot of people are going to be there,” Vargo said. After the RHA meeting last week, Vargo expanded the peti tion to allow time for it to circu late among members of the Corps of Cadets and Northside residents. Once more signatures have been collected, he intends to present the petition to Weis. “He can see how many people are opposed to it for himself,” he said. On Friday, Sept. 19, Weis sent a second e-mail to Southside permit holders assur ing students that any proposed changes would not go into effect until next fall when permits would be reissued. Student Senate will also con sider a resolution in support of the current system of assigned See Senate on page 2 Circle of life The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi perform the Serna ceremony represent ing the human being's spiritual journey in Rudder Theater at Texas A&M Tuesday evening. In the symbolism of the Serna ritual, ego is represent ed by the wide, white skirt. Whirling right to left with arms open, the right hand is directed toward the sky and the left hand is turned toward the earth, embracing all humanity with love. Electrical problem causes brief evacuation By Bart Shirley THE BATTALION The Chemistry Building was evacuated Tuesday around noon due to an electrical disturbance in the basement of the building. “Smoke was showing in the basement,” said Donny Ramirez, a firefighter for the College Station Fire Department. Fred Rapczyk, CSFD Battalion Chief, said that although there was smoke, there was no fire. “A compressor locked up, and the belt started burning,” Rapczyk said. “That caused the smoke.” Sarah Swineford, a sophomore biology major, was looking for a classroom in the building when she smelled a strong smoky odor. “I thought it was just someone smoking or an experiment, until it filled up the whole stairwell,” Swineford said. Les Swick, director of facilities for the Physical Plant, said the air compressor is used to provide con trolled air for experiments. The malfunctioning compressor had improper belts installed on it, which slipped off of the motors and began to burn from the friction. This is what generated the smoke, but the circuit breaker activated and shut the compressor down before a fire could begin, Swick said. The automatic fire alarm alert ed police and firemen to the scene. Bryan and College Station emer gency personnel were dispatched. He said Bryan and College Station have a reciprocal program in place for this sort of situation. College Station units were respond ing to a structure fire at the time of the incident, so Bryan units were the first to arrive. College Station units arrived shortly afterward. James Rainer, assistant finan cial manager for the department of Environmental Health and *T* aJm Chemistry Department of JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION Firemen outside the Chemistry Building Tuesday prepare to check out the build ing's basement where smoke was reportedly seen. Safety, said the Chemistry Building has an increased poten tial for fires and accidents because of the research and exposure to chemicals in the building. However, Rainer said, the risk is no greater than any other build ing on campus, and that this occur rence was no cause for alarm. “It was a non-event,” Rainer said. Mentorship focus of State of University address By Justin Smith THE BATTALION Democrats fight redistricting bill on Senate floor By Natalie Gott THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AUSTIN —The showdown has begun. After a 45-day boycott of the Texas Legislature this summer by Senate Democrats, the debate over congres sional redistricting was in high gear in the Texas Senate on Tuesday. Democrats pledged not to let the Republican-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional lines out of the chamber without a fight, even though they admit they do not have the numbers to block the bill. Republicans have a 19-12 advantage in the chamber and it takes a simple majority to get a bill approved. Democrats want to keep the existing districts. “We already have a legal plan in place,” said Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsviile. “There is no legal require ment to change plans again in 2003.” Without the strength to block the bill. Democrats tried to delay passage by giving lengthy speeches, peppering the map’s author, Republican Sen. Todd Staples of Palestine, with questions and trying parliamentary maneuvers to postpone debate. Republicans, for the most part, sat quietly and listened. Republicans, who rule the Texas House and Senate and occupy each statewide-elected office, say that the state should have more Republicans representing it in Washington. Democrats have a 17-15 advantage in the Texas congressional delegation. The map the Senate was debating was approved by the Senate Jurisprudence Committee last week. Republicans say that under it, the GOP could pick up between three and five seats. Staples presented the GOP plan to the full Senate as a “fair and balanced” proposal that protects minority rights under the federal Voting Rights Act. But Democrats were quick to criticize. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, told Staples that the See Democrats on page 2 Student Body President Matt Josefy will focus on mentorship, communication and stu dent empowerment in his State of the University address today at 5:30 p.m. in the Stark Galleries. “The State of the University address was started to give students, administration and fac ulty a chance to hear from the president where he can communicate future plans and current successes,” Josefy said. The No. 1 priority for student government this year will be to encourage mentorship across the University, Josefy said. Josefy said he will be encouraging three types of mentoring. He said he will promote mentoring between upperclassmen and fresh men, faculty and students, and matching former stu dents with current students to attempt to build networks students can use when they graduate. Josefy said he will address student empower ment through increased stu dent participation in University affairs. “We have placed dozens of students on dif ferent committees around the University to rep resent the students’ interests,” Josefy said. Josefy also said he will stress the impor tance of communication. The idea is to inform students about what is going on around campus so students can form opinions and participate, Josefy said. “The name of this is ‘Aggie Matters,’ and we are reaching out to the students in a variety of ways,” he said. Student government communicates with the students through e-mail, surveys and FAQ pages on its Web site. Josefy said everyone is welcome at the address, and it will be a good chance for stu dents to meet faculty and administration as well as A&M’s student leadership. The Student Senate and judicial court will also be in atten dance. Kerri Ward, speaker pro tempore of the Student Senate and a sophomore marketing major, said she will be introducing student sen ators to the student body.