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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2004)
"'MJl Itlf 1 ^ II Monday, March 1, 2004 J The Battalion ^ Sports: Aggies close season without a conference win. Page 6 PACE DESIGN BY : LAUREN ROUSE Lord of the Rings’ crowned with 11 Oscars BATTaijoi 3 n. 19, he seaso; have bef. or colleg le cessari ch tou^ the road’ '.utsa ome pni tamtoiii! 1 carry i and 1 y leoftlt’ in a while on'tamit. velsoffe lohammal you win Ming categories mract first-time winners in 2004 By David Germain THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES — “The Lord of the Rings: leRetum of the King” won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards on Sunday, including best pic- trc and director and becoming the first fantasy to ihithe top Oscar. Inthe acting categories, all the winners took Ime their first Oscars: Charlize Theron won best Ktiess for her transformative performance as strialkiller Aileen Wuornos in “Monster.” and Penn was named best actor for playing a fulex-hoodlum who falls back on his crim- malwaysin “Mystic River.” i Robbins won the supporting-actor prize > performance as an emotionally crippled uder suspect in “Mystic River.” and Renee Zellweger took supporting actress as a hardy Wederate survivor in “Cold Mountain.” Afterthe first two installments of the “Lord of bRings" trilogy were shut out of major awards, tarn of the King” swept all 11 categories in ilich it was nominated. It matched the record 1 I lias of "Titanic” and “Ben-Hur” and became ooly the third movie to sweep every nominated category, following “Gigi” and “The Last Emperor,"which both went nirte-for-nine. 'lespecially just lastly want to thank our won- (kifulcast who just got their tongues around this tailierawkward text and made it come to life with devotion and passion and heart.” said “Lord See Winners on page 5 Members of the MSC Film Society gathered for the group's first Oscar Gala held on the second floor of the Memorial Student Center Sunday night. The JOSHUA L. HOBSON • THE BATTALION society provided snacks and refreshments for the public and its members. MSC Film Society hosts gala for students By Sonia Moghe THE BATTALION Charlize Theron, Sean Penn and “The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” were the big winners at last night’s Academy Awards. The 76th annual Academy Awards were presented by Billy Crystal, who has hosted the program for eight years. “(Crystal) did an OK job,” said Vincent Prendergast, a sen ior marketing major and a member of the Memorial Student Center Film Society. “I preferred Steve Martin (as a host).” Prendergast said this was the first time he had seen the Oscars all the way through. He was in attendance at the Oscar Gala, sponsored by the MSC Film Society, which provided members with the opportunity to watch the awards on a big screen with snacks and beverages. During commercial breaks(,) the students had opportunities to answer trivia questions and win prizes, as well as present impersonations of memo rable acceptance speeches. One flaw Jodi Whitaker, director of administration for the MSC Film society, sees with the Oscars is that many honorees’ acceptance speeches are cut short, while Hallie Gardiner, a senior political science major, doesn’t like the fact that award winners voice their political opinions during acceptance speeches. “I get extremely annoyed when people make political statements at award shows,” Gardiner said. “If I want that I can just go to class — Fm watching for the entertainment.” Students such as Pendergast disagree, saying celebrities have the right to say what they want to say. Jessica Sahm, a senior at A&M Consolidated High School, said seeing what stars are wearing on the red carpet beforehand is an integral part of the Oscars. See Gala on page 5 or ale xxi way," e’ve had ip 25 this earns t!»! ip having :ords tta : the tel is one of ISA Mars rover '• : f leam member lectures at A&M By Amelia Williamson THE BATTALION weeks, r) has a ; about fe nsas Stfi ah out fa They caa il espite Id lor'sreceit is team® h victoriti ;ame 1 “Oned ke to hoi ow whai members who attended the NASA Mars Rover iveries presentation given by Mark Lemmon Saturday may have been sitting in their seats in Rudder Auditorium with 3D glasses on, but felt as if they were actual ly looking around on the Mars’ surface. Eveiy martian morning, Lemmon goes to the Jet Propulsion lioratory (JPL) in Pasadena. Calif., along with other NASA sRoverTeam members, to explore Mars’ surface using the rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. He works on Mars time use the rovers are solar-powered and can only be driven id during the martian day. In the building (where the NASA Mars Rover Team members ill), we cut out all sunlight and all signs of Earth, and in that lug, we’re on Mars,” Lemmon said. “We see the environment idus through the eyes of the rovers, and we sense the envi- mentaround us through the instruments on the rovers.” Hie main goal of the Mars Rover Mission is to search for iignsofpast or present water on Mars, Lemmon said. DieroVers were launched from Earth in summer 2003 and Weir way to Mars on a seven-month journey through ifacelhatended in January 2004. liter the first bounce, we still had a signal, (and the Spirit )was alive on Mars,” Lemmon said. “Then the signal went iay,andall of us knew full well that it didn’t just have to sur- onebounce, it had to survive every single bounce.” The lander bounced about 25 times and finally rolled to a )ut nine minutes after impact, and the signal was Lemmon said. rover carefully drove off of the lander and rolled onto iemartian surface. we have gotten off the lander and once we start moving See Rover on page 2 „ "he Battalion 1 mast Week's Results: toSTopP* 1 ? '11.99 Online Weekly Poll Doyou think gay marriages should be legal?" 08% Q No, marriage is meant to be between a man and woman. 28% 4% Yes, people are free to choose whom they marry. It doesn't really bother me. fois Week's Poll: "Should the administration make decisions r ctlng students without consulting thsm, such Ml « closing rssldsncs hallsT’ jjJ Take this poll at: www.thebatt.com RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION Week celebrates cultural differences By Jason Hanselka THE BATTALION Julio Jana, a senior agricultural economics major from Brazil, said by age 17 that most high school graduates in Brazil know what they want to do with the rest of their lives. “They usually go to law school or med ical school,” he said. “There isn’t really any undergraduate study.” Jana, president of the International Student Association, said after coming to Texas as a high school exchange student, that his host family convinced him to return and go to col lege in the United States. “I visited many colleges in Texas,” he said. “When I came to Texas A&M, I fell in love with it.” Jana and many other international Aggies will come together to display their different cultures this week during International Week 2004. Suzanne Droleskey, executive director of international programs for students, said International Week is a celebration of culture. “This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the more than 3,600 students attend ing Texas A&M from 120 countries,” she said. “It’s a nice way to sample the world without leaving Texas.” Droleskey said the theme of International Week 2004 is “Beyond Borders.” “When most people think of borders. they think of lines that separate nations,” Droleskey said. “We hope that people will go beyond the literal meaning of borders that exist between people whether cultural, religious or social.” Jana said the main focus of International Week is to promote international awareness. “We are fortunate to be a university that is able to reach out to other people and show off the differences in cultures,” he said. International Week 2004 will include a cultural display Monday and Tuesday in the Memorial Student Center, an international buffet Wednesday on the second floor of the MSC and a talent show and dress parade Friday at Rudder Auditorium. Taka Kanaya, a geolo gy graduate student from Japan and director of the talent show, said the purpose of International Week is to educate people. “I believe people don’t know a lot about foreign people,” he said. “Unless we show people here what we have in common it is hard to communicate well.” Kanaya said the transition from Japan to College Station was exciting. “Lifestyle in Japan and the U.S. is not much different except for the car lifestyle,” he said. “I love being here. The people are nice and very friendly.” See Cultural on page 2 International Week 2004 “Beyond Borders” Opening ceremony 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. MSC Flagroom Cultural displays by international student organizations 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. MSC Tuesday Cultural displays by international student organizations 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. International buffet 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. MSC *_ Friday International talent show and traditional dress parade 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Rudder Auditorium RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE : INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION ‘Monologues’ meets with little controversy By Carrie Pierce THE BATTALION Although met with controversy in its first two years, this year’s running of “The Vagina Monologues” went smoothly, with out taking out any of the shock value, Texas A&M officials said. On Feb. 26-28, a cast of 24 A&M stu dents performed Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” at Rudder Theater. Ensler first produced the monologues in 1998 on Broadway as a one-woman show, said Rose Robards-Forbes, a junior journal ism major and play director. “On Broadway, it has a rotating cast of celebrities,” Robards-Forbes said. “I saw this touring campaign in 2001 and wanted to bring it here.” The performance was put on by TAMU V-Day, a student organization that raises money and awareness to stop violence against women, said Brenda Bethman, director of the Women’s Center. Bethman said that in 2002 and 2003, several people did not want the show to be performed at A&M’s campus because of its racy content. “This year we have enjoyed more sup port than we once did,” Robards-Forbes said. “The Memorial Student Center and Rudder have helped us out a lot, and we have more student recognition.” Robards-Forbes said the first few years were met with so much argument because of the shocking context of the monologues, like the full range of the female experience including menstruation, birth, good experi ences with men, bad experiences with men, rape, domestic violence, sexuality and the everyday headaches of being a woman. “It is about a women’s sexual adult hood,” Robards-Forbes said. V-Day enjoys the freedom to perform the play free of royalties, Robards-Forbes said. “The money we raise goes to the TAMU Women’s Center and the programs in vio lence education/’ Robards-Forbes said. Senior psychology major Jennifer Cowart performed in “The Vagina Monologues” for her second year in a row. She said after seeing it and loving it during its first year running, that she went and tried out for the 2003 performance. “It is important to get the message out that rape happens,” Cowart said. “It hap pens here.” The show was met with laughs and gasps from the audience, with monologues ranging from “My Angry Vagina” to “The Smell List” to “The Woman Who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy.” Sophomore business major Derek Harris said it was his second year to attend the performance. “I’m kind of a feminist,” Harris said. “This is very empowering to women. It is something I have a lot of respect for.” Harris said he does not think that a group of men could put on a similar set of monologues about their sexuality and be as sophisticated. Sophomore meteorology major Andy See Monologues on page 2