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Opinion: Rewriting history • Page 5B
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A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
www.thebattalion.net
Thursday, November 6, 2003
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Former Chinese Vice Premier
Qian Qichen suggested that the
United States lift trade restric-
er the Intern tions with China as a step toward
“-govern®! a better U.S.-China relationship
ries fail, ^ on Wednesday morning at
er moner Budder Auditorium.
Qichen, along with former
Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger, current Secretary of
State Colin Powell and former
President George Bush, dis
cussed how to improve rela
tions between the United
States and China. The presen
tation was delivered to a
packed auditorium and an
overflow of people who
watched from Rudder Theater
via closed-circuit television.
“(This conference) is a useful
endeavor,” Qichen said. “It
offers us a very valuable oppor
tunity to sum up historical expe
riences, analyze the present and
look toward the future of the
China-U.S. relationship.”
Trade volume between the
United States and China reached
$97.1 billion this past year, but
U.S. restrictions on technologi
cal exports still hinder the part
ners from being able to reach
their maximum trade potential.
The U.S.-China relationship
was built upon a mutual distrust
of the Soviet Union, Powell
said.
“In truth, at that time the
U.S.-China relationship could
not be very wide or deep
Leaders hope for improved
future China-U.S. relations
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
because of our ideological dif
ferences, and because of the then
very closed nature of China,”
Powell said.
Powell emphasized the need
for better communication
between leaders. He also shared
a story about a Saturday morn
ing chat with Foreign Minister
Lee Joung Binn of South Korea
being interrupted by a barking
dog and a ringing doorbell as an
example of how communication
has become less formal.
Despite the fact that common
interests between the United
States and China have increased,
Qichen called for more improve
ments, saying that the relation
ship may and can be better.
Kissinger warned against
exercising too much control over
Chinese affairs, claiming that the
U.S.-China relationship should
not be one of mutual suspicion.
“It is not in our power to pre
vent China from developing,”
Kissinger said. “China evolved
in the last 30 years, and it will
continue to grow.”
The topic of North Korea was
also discussed in light of the “six
party talk” that occurred in
August between North Korea,
South Korea, China, Japan,
Russia and the United States.
“(It was said) that President
George W. Bush should abandon
the desire for a multi-party
arrangement and just talk bilat
erally with North Koreans,”
Powell said. ’They said that
See China on page 8A
)P Beato III • THE BATTALION
Joshua L. Hobson • THE BATTALION
Above: Falun Dafa practitioner Feng Shen of Houston meditates during one of the many exercises that the discipline teaches next to the George Bush
Conference Center Wednesday afternoon. The group formed with about 30 practitioners to call Chinese government officials' attention to the persecu
tion of Falun Dafa followers in China. Left: Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks at the George Bush Conference Center on Wednesday. Lower left:
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger greets former Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen. * ^
Student bonfire to burn Nov. 22 despite discouragement
STUDENT BONFIRE
Student Bonfire, formerly known as the Unity
Project, will put on a bonfire for the second year
in a row.
■ The bonfire is scheduled for Nov. 22, 2003
■ The bonfire will be located on land off Dilly Shaw
Tap Road in North Bryan
■The organization is hoping for 10,000 students to
attend
Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Source : STUDENT BONFIRE
By Rhiannon Meyers
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M Bonfire was the main
reason Marcus Mojica chose to attend A&M.
He said he was especially attracted to the
campus atmosphere of friendliness and unity
fostered by Bonfire. After two years at A&M
with no Bonfire, Mojica noticed a big change
on campus.
“I looked around and saw everything was
slacking,” Mojica said. “The school and peo
ple just weren’t the same. Friendliness began
to disappear, and sometimes you would walk
down the hall and feel like a stranger.”
On Feb. 4, 2002, University President Ray
M. Bowen delivered a blow to Bonfire with
his decision not to return the fire to A&M in
2002.
“Bowen’s decision sparked things,”
Mojica said. “I was shocked and angered, and
I couldn’t believe there wouldn’t be another
Bonfire. From that day, I decided that we had
to have a Bonfire.”
Mojica’s sentiment was shared by others
and shortly after the decision was announced,
the Unity Project was formed — an organiza
tion committed to staging a new Bonfire.
Last year, Student Bonfire, formerly
known as the Unity Project, kept that promise
with an off-campus, student-run bonfire that
burned in November 2002. This year. Student
Bonfire continues the tradition with a bonfire
scheduled for Nov. 22. This year’s bonfire
will be located on land off of Dilly Shaw Tap
Road in North Bryan, 10 to 15 minutes from
the A&M campus.
“We are pretty confident in this year’s fire,
and hopefully it will be a success like last
year,” said Ramiro Lopez, a senior rangeland
ecology and management major and an
organizer of student bonfire.
Lopez said the 2003 bonfire will differ
from the original, A&M-affiliated bonfire as it
will be smaller, with a different design. Lopez
described this year’s bonfire as a primitive
teepee design, but heavily reinforced. All logs
will be touching the ground and the stack will
not exceed 40 feet.
“But it’s not about the size so much,
because Bonfire, itself is bigger than all of
us,” Lopez said. “It brings everyone together.
It is part of what keeps the Aggie network so
tight and the Aggie spirit so strong. It’s a tra
dition that has lasted so long on campus. Why
See Bonfire on page 8A
Police STEP up ticketing
By Jenna Jones
THE BATTALION
Charlie Otte will head to the College
Station Courthouse with two witnesses to
contest a traffic citation he received last month
for disregarding a red light at the intersection
of Texas Avenue and George Bush Drive.
“The light was yellow when we went
through the intersection but the motorcycle
cop down the street argued differently and
wrote me a ticket for disregarding the red
light,” Otte said. “Two friends and I were in
the car on our way to the Rec (Student
Recreation Center). They saw it as clearly as I
did that the light was not yet red.”
The major intersection of George Bush
and Texas is one of the locations monitored
by the Selective Traffic Enforcement
Program (STEP), which is managed by the
Texas Department of Transportation. STEP
is a grant-funded program designed to
reduce three types of violations that could
contribute to accidents: speed enforcement,
intersection enforcement and occupant safe
ty enforcement, said Sgt. James Woodward,
traffic supervisor for the College Station
Police Department.
Woodward said some people think this
type of program is linked to the common
myth that police officers have a certain
quota of citations to give out by the end of
the month.
“You can always tell where they’re out to
get people,” said Kelly Hicks, a senior sports
management major. “Sometimes no one is
there and then other times you will see six
Selective Traffic Enforcement Program
This grant-funded program is designed to reduce
three types of violations that can lead to accidents.
• The program focuses on the enforcement of:
speed
intersection safety
occupant safety
• The intersection of George Bush Drive and Texas
Avenue is one location monitored under the program.
Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Source : STEP
people pulled over, one right after another.”
Hicks said she has also received a ticket for
disobeying the red light at George Bush and
Texas. She said she saw the police officer
from across the intersection and would
See Ticketing on page 2A
Green River Killer pleads guilty to 48 murders
X- . GREEN RIVER KILLINGS
^'Seattle ‘Killed so many I have a
t Ll w I hard time keeping them
straight’
Gary Leon Ridgway confessed to killing 48 women
Wednesday - more murders fhan any serial killer
in Ihe nation's history. Most of the killings took
place in the Green River region of Washington and
the victims were between ages 15 and 38.
• •• • Confessed murder
» •• JJ Ridgway confessed to killing four other women between
{ £{ 1976 and 1993 who are only identified as Jane Doe
• ••
• ••
• ♦»
•••• •
••••• • • • m
'82 87 '92 '97 '02
SOURCE: Associated Press AP
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By Gene Johnson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — Gary Ridgway, the former
truck painter long suspected of being the Green
River Killer, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 48
murders. “I killed so many women I have a
hard time keeping them straight,” he said in a
confession read aloud by prosecutors.
“I wanted to kill as many women as I
thought were prostitutes as I possibly could,”
Ridgway said in the statement.
Some victims’ relatives wept quietly in the
courtroom as Ridgway, in a clear but subdued
voice, admitted killing each woman.
He then entered formal guilty pleas to the
48 counts of aggravated first-degree murder —
a process that took nearly 10 minutes. As Judge
Richard Jones read each count, Ridgway
replied, “Guilty.”
Ridgway, 54, made the pleas under a deal
that will spare him from execution in the King
County cases and result in a sentence of life in
prison without parole.
See Guilty on page 7A
Ag College’s Hiler
to retire Aug 2004
By Nicole M. Jones
THE BATTALION
The man who led the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences
for more than a decade
announced his plans to retire.
Edward A. Hiler, dean of the
College of Agriculture, will retire
effective Aug. 31,2004.
Hiler said he chose to
announce his
retirement
plans early so
the college
would have
sufficient
time to find a
replacement.
“There will
be a nation- HILER
wide search to
find a replacement for my posi
tion,” Hiler said. “It is important
to me to maintain a positive
momentum within the college,
and I will continue to push as
hard as I can until the day I leave
my office.”
Before the end of his term as
dean, Hiler hopes to incorporate
new departments of nutrition and
food sciences into the College of
Agriculture.
Since his inception as dean in
1992, Hiler has introduced
numerous initiatives, including
Agriculture Program 21 in 2000.
Goals of Agriculture Program 21
relate to water and the environ
ment, leadership development,
foods that can reduce diet-related
diseases, biotechnology and
advances in information technol
ogy, Hiler said.
Dick Creger, associate vice
chancellor and associate dean for
the College of Agriculture, said
Hiler has been an effective dean.
Creger, who has known Hiler
for more than 30 years, credits
Hiler with increasing the num
bers of women faculty and
minority graduate students in the
College of Agriculture, as well as
increasing agriculture faculty
numbers. Creger said Hiler
“brought the extension and teach
ing together,” creating a closer
connection between the College
of Agriculture, the agricultural
extension and the agricultural
experiment station.
Fuller Bazer, associate vice
chancellor and executive associ
ate dean of the College of
See Director on page 7A