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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2004)
The Battalion acliiiijj AU,S, - wei{ 'toluim 1 1 10 • Issnr 1 .M • 10 p.jj’cs rfxas Vc^iM Iraditioii since 1893 z Bresciani: Students need to be more involved By Brad Bennett THE BATTALION Dean L. Bresciani said he began working in tudent affairs in upper-level education after a ummer job as an orientation leader convinced im to, literally, stay in school. “I thought, this this is great, 1 get paid and I ;etto stay at college all summer,” Bresciani said. I told the dean of students, ‘This is really fun. (| Na; Vouldn’t it be great to do this for a job?’ She said, What do you think I do?”’ Bresciani, a candidate for the vice president for tudent affairs position, addressed a crowd of ipproximately 40 people as part of an open forum details J.S.ks, neU.$ 0 Sci/Tech: Aggies help s combat digital iMfli i ,irac > A til ^ :S> Page 3 wwu.thelMU.coiu PAGE DESIGN BY: ALICIA SVETLIK Tuesday morning. The forum gave the Texas A&M campus a chance to meet the candidate and ask questions. Bresciani said the most important thing he would like to bring to A&M from his current posi tion as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of North Carolina is including students in all campus decisions. He said students at North Carolina were involved in hiring the first faculty at the school, and have developed a tradition of involvement in administration. “I sometimes say that students are graduating with a degree as legislators,” Bresciani said. He said students are instrumental in creating change in universities, but if chosen he will do what the students want. “Sometimes students and administration will have different agendas,” Bresciani said. “I found that if (the administration) can’t defend (its) position to a student, then that is a sign we need to rethink it.” Angela Ross, a sophomore agriculture devel opment major in attendance at the forum, said she liked Bresciani’s idea of more student involve ment in the administration’s decisions. “I like the idea of having (the students and administration) work together because ultimately all students are affected by the administration's decisions,” Ross said. Bresciani said he wants to come to A&M because, unlike some schools that strive to be the best in the nation, A&M has the resources to achieve that goal. He said most schools excel in either academ ics or student activities, while A&M is strong in both with the added strength of support from for mer students. Student Body President Matt Josefy said the vice president for student affairs position is one of the most important positions on campus. Josefy said the position is the No. 1 advocate for students in administrative positions. “Where student leadership cycles through every one year or four years, this person is there See Candidate on page 2 Education for life Health education faces roadblocks By Kyle Ross THE BATTALION For the future of health education to be ffective, it needs to amount to more than ust a transfer of knowledge, said Noreen lark, dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Clark, the featured speaker for the 2(X)4 ’onder Lecture given Tuesday afternoon, ipoke to a crowd of Texas A&M students and professors about the various issues fac- ng public health practice and education. “Public health education is a turbulent Id to get into,” Clark said. “It never sits 11, and the challenge is to figure out tow to sway these turbulent forces in your direction.” Parallel to a growing world popula- n, these “turbulent forces,” such as national security threats, newfound dis eases, a deteriorating environment and overall poor lifestyles, are compounded by possibly the biggest challenge facing health educators—convincing societies to change their ways, Clark said. Leonard Ponder, the namesake of Tuesday’s lecture, served as head of the Department of Health and Kinesiology at A&M for 13 years and was awarded an Association of Former Students Distinguished Teaching Award. He said Clark was right on target with her views on the future of public health education. “It does no good to just educate people on health issues if you haven’t figured out a creative way to help them change their behaviors based on that education,” Ponder said. “What you will get might be really intelligent people, but those intelligent people will still be dying of heart attacks.” Clark said health educators need to develop partnerships with the people they wish to help. Through partnerships, edu cators can learn individual and social motivations and teach them to become their own health educators. “People are experts in their own lives,” Clark said. “Every person needs to become a health educator in their own right. It’s the only way we can truly see effects of a changed behavior. It’s (those in the med ical profession’s job to coach them.” Ponder said many undergraduate stu dents in attendance are presently study ing allied health and the lecture gave them plenty to think about as they pre pare for graduation. “It was good to hear about the differ- See Clark on page 2 Inside looking out Randal Ford • THE BATTALION During a downpour Tuesday morning, students walk to class rain lasted all morning before clearing up in the mid-afternoon near Sterling C. Evans Library and Evans Library Annex. The with patches of moderate sunshine. E-Z Ticket Payment |The city of Bryan began offering a | service that allows citizens to pay feitations online. 1 There will be no surcharge • The online ticket payment option not offered to juveniles or offenses that involve alcohol or tobacco 1 To pay a ticket online, log on to www.bryantx.gov/courts 1 Phone payments can be made by calling S09-5250 X9990 Bryan offers online ticket payments Gracie Arenas • Source THE BATTALION CITY OF BRYAN By Michael Player THE BATTALION The city of Bryan began offering an e-payment system, where people who have been issued citations in Bryan can pay them on the city’s Web site. The service is offered in a few cities in the state, and city officials said they hope people will take advantage of the new service. “This started as a directive from city managers to move closer to e-government,” said Hilda Phariss, municipal court administrator for Bryan. Phariss said the convenience of handling a ticket online should ease the congestion at the court office and save time for the people who receive tickets. “Many people who are issued tickets are from out of town, so this will be extremely beneficial for those people,” Phariss said. Bryan is one of only five cities in the state to implement this service. Seventeen months ago, the city of Irving began to offer the online ticket payment plan. Bill Maitland, court opera tions manager for Irving, said the service has been well- received, although it has not increased revenue for the city. “The city of Irving writes about 100,000 tickets per year and about 1,800 of those tickets were handled over the Internet,” Maitland said. Phariss said she cannot be sure that the new service will bring in revenue for Bryan. See Ticket on page 2 Fee supporters: Issues remain despite defeat of referendums By Aerin Toussaint THE BATTALION Supporters of the recently denied student [service fee referendum and the Memorial Student Center president referendum said these Issues will continue to aggravate students in the pure until they are passed. Jim Carlson, chair of the Student Service Fee Advisory Board, said he is disap pointed that the referendum to raise he cap on student service fees was voted down by students last week. “Students will be faced with this [issue again in the future until it is passed,” Carlson said. “We will con- [tinue to fight to find new solutions for [the betterment of student services.” Jack Hooper, a sophomore nechanical engineering major and |member of the SSFAB, said the pro posed fee increase was for the mini- Imum amount needed to maintain and (expand service levels. “No one wants to pay more fees, (but no one wants bad service (either,” Hooper said. “It’s frustrat ing being called financially irresponsible when we’re working to get a balance.” Carlson and Hooper cited bad timing as one of the possible reasons for the failure of the referendum. “It was unfortunate that all the tuition stuff Was going on all at the same time,” Hooper said. “I think it may have scared a lot of students into voting against the referendum.” Carlson said that student life studies, under the Department of Student Affairs, is currently conducting a study to find out why the referen dum did not pass. “We did our very best to educate as many stu dents as possible on what the student service fee is and how it affects students,” Carlson said. “I’m not sure if the tuition increase is the reason why it didn’t pass.” Andy Liddell, a sophomore mechanical engineering major and executive director of devel opment on the MSC Council, said he thinks people were uninformed as to how much the fee actually supports. “The student services fee supports many organizations that can’t support themselves without these fees,” Liddell said. Liddell said that in the future, the SSFAB should work harder at informing students. Some students protested loudly against the fee increase. Mark McCaig, a junior mar keting major, said he believes in the idea of financial responsibility. “(The SSFAB) needs to make sure that money that is already being spent is being spent well, instead of working on ways to extort more See Referendums on page 10 People will continue to call for a change and I anticipate it being on the ballot again next year. — Matthew Wilkins speaker of Student Senate MSC Hospitality to host auction of various lost and found items By Jason Hanselka THE BATTALION People wondering where their lost belongings ended up may need to look no further than the Memorial Student Center Flag Room today. MSC Hospitality will host a lost and found auction from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the MSC Flag Room. Molly Sullivan, financial development executive for Hospitality and a senior account ing major, said the auction is one of the biggest fund-raising events of the year for Hospitality. Sullivan said Hospitality raised about $1,500 at the last auction. The auctions are held once every semester. “The high-price items were TI-86 calculators and cell phones, and those only sold for about $15 or $20,” Sullivan said “The proceeds from the auction goes toward Hospitality pro grams and whatever is left over, that we don’t sell, we give to Twin City Mission.” Sullivan said the items slated for auction are collected from the MSC, the Student Recreation Center and various SOLD! MSC Hospitality is sponsoring a lost and found auction to give people a chance to buy back lost possessions. Wednesday MSC Flag Room 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION Source : MOLLY SULLIVAN, FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE FOfy MSC HOSPITALITY other places around campus. The MSC lost and found is located at the main desk on the northwest corner of the MSC and is the base lost and found for the entire campus. James Tisius, MSC main desk employee and a senior biology major, said the biggest issue with the lost and found is that most people are unaware it exists. “Umbrellas are the most com mon things turned in,” Tisius said. “When it rains, the next day we get about 30 of them.” Tisius said that if the items are not claimed after about three months, they are sent to a room at the MSC Hotel where they await sorting for the lost and found auction. See Auction on page 2