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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2003)
bat™ ig about| oops.’ Accielife: An elephant never forgets • Page 3 Opinion: A drug plan for none • Page 9 speared tol er 1993 sc s B oodles of d nHT XT' i nr, . inst:a Mume 110 • Issue 63 • 10 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebattalion.net Tuesday, November 25, 2003 •S' . ' one soldi# y said, k Kiramiii; refused t«: was unust s story in fiolence set: ;st Stayin’ strong »gn() newSSif rxxilhsre!!!' 1/2price! Ci j es oeede: | all Julie 76i-: f needed S:- ,'3utilfeCt +1/3bills. iase neg. smoking W- 4l . Call Rossril aaser wai#t low will) Mf v 1/3bills. for spring*! ite S400 Mi3T di 3/2 "i 4-6165 leeded 3tf 3 ). +1/3111®* 696-2119. JOSHUA HOBSON • THE BATTALION Members of A Company (from left) freshman aerospace engineer ing major Reid Zevenbergen, freshman general studies major Paxton Miller and junior BIMS major Sarah Calberg, enjoy free time to exercise at Spence Park Monday afternoon. Last weekend, fish participated in corps Brass Weekend and have received favor among the upperclassmen as their symbolic journey into the Corps. The fish get to take part in fun activities such as flag football and foot races because the past few days are considered "good bull." ided. Sprig* o +1/3uti!« 0-7302, ftorSpri^ aed intern*! ,400/ro +K 48. I/F. 3Mffl® 485-8119, if* jrn)+ : College Station is bicycle friendly By Pammy Ramji THE BATTALION College Station was recently named among 26 other com- iownhouse ^unities as a bicycle-friendly community by the League of merican Bicyclists. In May 2003, 14 communities were given the Bicycle nendly Community designation. The League honored anoth- 13 communities, including College Station, in October. “This award is a way to recognize communities around lie country that have done the extra work and that have built Jupport to become bicycle friendly,” said Patrick MBrianS McCormick, communications director for the League of American Bicyclists. The League of American Bicyclists is an awards program Icknowledging cities that actively support bicycling. A bicy cle-friendly community provides secure accommodations for cycling and encourages its residents to bike for transporta tion and recreation. Cherie Norman, a junior marketing major who trained in town for a triathlon, said she believes College Station is a good city for bikers. “I’ve noticed from traveling to different towns that this is one of the only places that has bike lanes,” Norman said. Jason Ballard, a junior vertebrae zoology major and triathlete, said motorists elsewhere do not always give cour tesy to bikers because the sport is relatively uncommon in the United States. College Station, however, is more biker friendly, he said. “In town is great because there are a lot of bike lanes and people are used to seeing a lot of bikers,” Ballard said. “Out of town is great, too, because it isn’t very populated and the roads have big shoulders.” See Bicycle on page 2 FDA debates over-the-counter Emergency contraception Preventing pregnancy in an emergency Driving, ; et dismiss* •Tiepm-r f it.- Fri(6f Sat(8arv^ you 20yrs Kiva Inn. ’s). uest By Lauran Neergaard THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Federal health Officials are debating if it’s time to put imergency contraception — also called 6-6117.9>'^ e morn j n g-after pill — on pharmacy helves right next to the aspirin, avail- $59# Me without a prescription. 1 Peered Proponents say such a move would reatly increase women’s ability to get k pills in time to prevent pregnancy: referably within 24 hours but no more ian 72 hours after rape, contraceptive [ailure or just forgetting birth control. The Food and Drug Administration ays emergency contraception is very afe to use, but the question is whether vomen will understand exactly how a < 2004. f f ;' lovie. W 5 jups. jOO-426-'' jplu, ounts M its.com and when to take it without any profes sional advice. Indeed, the morning-after pill marks the first in a series of ever more com plex over-the-counter switch decisions facing FDA. Next year, the agency will be asked to allow nonprescription Mevacor, one of the popular choles terol-fighting statins; it expects to even tually consider over-the-counter blood pressure medicine, too. And as OTC drugs evolve from quick symptom relief to more complex therapy, the FDA is mulling whether it’s also time to change how some of them are sold — perhaps beginning “behind- the-counter” sales for certain nonpre scription drugs, where the pharmacist hands over the pills after giving health The ‘■morning after pill" boosts hormone levels that can prevent pregnancy. Scientists say the drug may work in different ways. The drug First dose is taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Second dose is taken 12 hours later. Availability ► Planned Parenthood clinics ► Several Web sites will for ward a prescription to a nearby pharmacy after a doctor reviews a medical questionnaire the woman has filled out ► Pharmacists in Alaska, California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington have authority to dispense prescription medication The ovary can delay an egg’s release Fertilization may be prevented in the fallopian tube May block a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus Mucus around cervix may become thicker and trap sperm Cervix from traveling to the fallopian tube SOURCES: Food and Drug Administration; Women’s Capital Corp. AP advice or, say, a cholesterol check. Already, five states allow women to buy the morning-after pill directly from certain pharmacists without a doctor’s prescription. The state programs — in See Contraception on page 2 Journalism closure is one step closer By Sonia Moghe THE BATTALION Texas A&M Executive Vice President and Provost David B. Prior announced in a news release Monday his acceptance, in principle, of a pro- ppsal regarding alternate journalism education options. This signifies a step toward closing the A&M journalism department. “Students currently enrolled in the program will be finishing their degree as they planned,” said Charles A. Johnson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “This includes students that got into the program this year.” A plan proposed to Johnson by the Committee to Recommend New Initiatives in Journalism Education suggested that the University offer a new journalism minor and certificate program and an interdisciplinary pro gram that emphasizes journalism studies and studies in another specific field. This will affect students not already in the journalism program who wish to study journalism. “(The proposed plan is) quite flexi ble,” said Barbara Gastel, a committee member and associate professor of the Department of Journalism. “To me, good preparation to be a journalist includes preparation in journalism and concentra tion in some other field of study.” The committee was made up of six faculty members from journalism, the Department of English and the Department of Communication, a stu dent, three professional journalists and an associate dean who served as an ex- officio member. Its purpose was to take into account that the current Department of Journalism cannot cur rently offer an adequate journalism pro gram, that funding needed to improve the program is not available and that a journalism degree is not a necessary component of journalism education in devising an alternate degree plan. “Our charge was simply to suggest what would be a new plan for new path ways for journalism education,” said Richard Street, a committee member and head of the communication department. Aside from the proposed minor and certificate program and the interdisci plinary program, the committee pro posed the addition of a journalist-in- residence fellows program, as well as a Journalism Update a Dean of Liberal Johnson endorsed a plan to provide students with a eduation: Create a minor and a certificate program in journalism Form a journalism-in- residence program Develop internships Create an advisory organization of journalists rij Create an interdisciplinary journalism major ■ Close the journalism department and move the master's program ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION SOURCE : COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS journalism advising committee. Individual advising to current journal ism students will continue throughout the course of their education. “They’ll start the process of closing the department at the same time they start the process of implementing the interdisciplinary program,” Street said. The official-closure of the depart ment will happen only after official approval from the Board of Regents, which will simultaneously be processed as the implementing of the interdisciplinary program- gets approval. It may take two years to develop a degree plan for the interdisci plinary plan and to earn approval from University officials and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In the meantime, Prior might allow for a journalism minor to be an option to students, Street said. “I think this plan is a tremendous change because it affords students more See Prior on page 2 UT proposes inclusion of race as entrance factor AUSTIN (AP) — The University of Texas at Austin has submitted a propos al to begin considering race and ethnici ty among the many factors to determine acceptance in undergraduate, graduate and law school applications. The UT System, which in August approved a policy allowing individual campuses to decide whether to adopt affirmative-action criteria in admis sions, must review the proposal before new guidelines can be implemented. State law requires changes in admis sions policy to be posted a year in advance, so race and ethnicity probably would be used as a consideration of the 2005 entering class. In the freshman admissions process, the proposal is to include the use of race and ethnicity among about 15 factors in addition to academic factors. “In the individual review we are looking for qualified students who can benefit the most from or contribute the most to the diverse and challenging educational experience at The University of Texas at Austin,” UT Vice Provost Bruce Walker said. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that colleges and universities could use race as a consideration in admissions, overturning the 1996 Hopwood decision, which barred the use of race in college admissions, scholarships and financial aid. Cheryl Hopwood was one of four white applicants who were turned away by the UT law school and sued in 1992. !ew SpiW i all ii#': ior free' 0-255# intemate ri 5 ur airptf!;, only $19^ founds/" jrOpe# o, BaW* ,mpusrep' ormato* Car sales irritate consumers most A recent survey asked consumer protection agencies to list the categories that generated the most complaints in 2002. Buying a car was the most frequent complaint because of false sales promotions, misleading advertising, financing problems, undisclosed damage and title and registration issues. COMPLAINT % OF AGENCIES CATEGORY LISTING CATEGORY Auto sales 70% Home repairs 67% Auto repairs 63% Credit 60% Advertising/ telemarketing 42% Collections/ billing practices 26% Household goods 23% Internet/e-commerce 23% Telecommunications/ cable/satellite 23% Real estate/landlord-tenant 23% SOURCES: National Association of Consumer Agency AP administrators; Consumer Federation of America Automotive sales top list of consumer complaints By Jonathan D. Salant THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Suzanne Tejeda needed transportation to college so she bought her first car last February. But since then she says she’s spent more time driving to the repair shop than to her classes. The car’s transmission has been replaced. So have the windshield and switches for the power windows. She com plained to the Contra Costa County, Calif., consumer protection bureau and now is preparing to go to court. “I thought I was going to be able to have my car and drive it and not take into the shop every week,” said Tejeda, 20, a student at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif., about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. Tejeda has lots of company when it comes to car problems. Hassles related to buying new or used vehicles top the 2002 list of most frequent consumer complaints. That’s according to a survey released Monday by the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators, which represents government agencies that protect consumers, and the Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy group. The annual list reflects categories of complaints most often made to state and local consumer protection agencies. The 43 agencies responding to the survey reported 309,227 complaints in 2002, up 23 percent from 2001, and helped consumers get $130 million in refunds last year, an 18 percent increase over the previous year. Complaints about automobile purchases moved up from the No. 2 spot on the 2001 list. It replaced home repairs, which fell to second place. Those categories have occu pied the top two spots for the last five years. Among the most frequent complaints about buying autos were false sales promo tions, misleading advertising, financing problems, undisclosed damage and title and registration problems. See Consumer on page 2