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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2004)
The Battalion Grieen K M S ami Ham “3 B^Pr.Sevxs Volume 110 • Issue 132 • 12 pages V Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 ENTERTAINMENT: The Houston Symphony Orchestra puts a new spin on Dr. Seuss. Page 3 \v way. thehatT.com PACE DESIGN BY: LAUREN ROUSE uster ceremonies to be held worldwide By Melissa Sullivan THE BATTALION More than 350 Muster ceremonies will be leld worldwide this week, including the Jiggest one on the A&M campus Wednesday, Said Scott Jarvis, coordinator of club programs Hnd Aggie Muster. I “As of today, the worldwide roll call has Approximately 1,197 names,” Jarvis said. “Of Bourse that could change tomorrow.” ■ I There will be about 170 ceremonies in Bexas, 140 nationally and 35 internationally, ^icluding three in Baghdad, Jarvis said. The ceremonies usually resemble the cam- ■us Muster with candles and a solemn and Bomber mood, Jarvis said. “Some (ceremonies) are simply a get-togeth- to eat barbecue and tell stories,” he said. On the A&M campus, Wednesday will begin with a flag-raising ceremony at 7:05 a.m in the Academic Plaza, said Alfredo Balderas, Muster roll call coordinator. Balderas said the Camaraderie Barbecue will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Academic Plaza. Sbisa Dining Hall will be closed for lunch, and each barbecue plate will cost $6.95. Aggie bucks, cash, credit cards and meal plans will be accepted. Vegetarian plates will be available at the bar becue, Balderas said. “Roll Call for the Absent” will take place in Reed Arena at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., Balderas said. Balderas said 139 names will be read, and a family member or friend representing each of them will light a candle and answer “Here.” John Hagler, Class of 1958, will be this year’s Muster speaker, Balderas said. Hagler was a member of the Corps of Cadets and served as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army. “Muster is the epitome of the Aggie Spirit,” Balderas said. “It is the perfect representation of what the Aggie spirit truly is. When people experience that, they truly understand what Texas A&M is all about; it’s the love we have for each other.” Mandy LaCombe, a sophomore general studies major and Muster host, said Aggie Muster is one of the most influential tradi tions at A&M. “I think of all traditions, (Muster) sets us apart from any other university in the world,” LaCombe said. “No matter what, you are always part of the Aggie family.” LaCombe said she likes the fact that one does not have to be in College Station to celebrate Muster. “It’s neat to be with fellow Aggies and be part of it forever,” she said. :ie Muster 2004 # 7:05 a.m.: Flag-raising ceremony, Academic Plaza I I a.m. to 3p.m.: Camaraderie Barbecue, Academic Plaza # 7 p.m.: Muster Ceremony, Reed Arena. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. GRAPHIC BY: ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION SOURCE : MUSTER.TAMU.EDU PHOTO : FILE PHOTO Fish Drill Team SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION d Mardi Gras Drill Meet at Tulane Univerisly in New Orleans, La. this February. The drill team finished with four trophies among 55 schools nationwide. ‘A bright idea’ Students create energy-saving logo, slogan By Natalie Younts THE BATTALION I Brady Creel, an information ■presentative for the Texas A&M gtology department, said he often enters graphics contests because he enjoys the personal challenge. I “When there is an ad in The Battalion for a logo contest or Imething, I usually send some- ling in, just because 1 like the Jallenge of trying to come up With an idea,” he said. His efforts paid off April 12 len the A&M Energy Conservation Committee select ed the logo he designed to use in its campaign. In addition to the logo, the ECC chose a mascot, designed by Norma Morales, a freshman environmental design major, and a slogan created by Francisco Bolado, a freshman chemical engineering major. The logo, mascot and slogan, which were selected from 65 entries, will be used in energy con servation marketing and outreach programs, said Jim Riley, director for utilities and ECC chairman. Riley said the campus communi ty can help conserve energy by turn ing off lights and equipment when possible and by setting thermostats on comfortable temperatures. If people feel cold, they should call the utilities office to request a temperature adjustment instead of using space heaters under their desks, Riley said. “Let’s not try to compensate for overly cool space by running a space heater,” Riley said. “That’s kind of like paying dou ble for utilities.” See Energy on page 2 ouston’s air pollution above standard By Amelia Williamson THE BATTALION Texas A&M associate professor of atmospheric [ciences at Texas A&M University found that air pollution in Houston is 67 percent to 150 percent ^bove the government's National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and could cause seri ous health problems for the millions of people who Jive in Houston and the surrounding areas. In his study funded by the Texas Air Research Center and NASA, Renyi Zhang used a chemical |ransport model to examine Houston’s air quality. Che chemical transport model evaluated emissions I'rom different sources and examined how the air chemistry and meteorological transport in Houston affects the air quality, Zhang said. Large amounts of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides are emitted into the air every day from cars and petrochemical plants and refineries in the Houston area. The air quality is the worst during the day because the sun causes these volatile organic compounds to react with the nitro gen oxides to produce high levels of ozone in the air, Zhang said. John Nielsen-Gammon, A&M professor of atmospheric sciences, said the pattern of air cur rents in Houston adds to the problem of concentrated See Air on page 2 A&M students urged to explore the world By Elizabeth Knapp THE BATTALION There is no such thing as institutional excellence with out diversity and globaliza tion, said James Anderson, vice president and associate provost for institutional assessment and diversity. “Students need to take more advantage of all inter national and social activi ties like this at Texas A&M to open and expose them selves to a lot more,” Anderson said. “Even if you don’t believe in it, just be open to exposure.” Anderson, who spoke Monday at the Faculty Club to kick off UniDiversity Week, stressed the impor tance of being open to diver sity to create a more diverse environment on campus. “All great movements have started with things very small,” Anderson said. “If stu dents simply watch the news more, they will see what is going on internationally.” There are about 4,000 international students at A&M, but diversity not only encompasses the differences in national origins; it also includes stereotypes of peo ple who are different from racial groups, said Roemer Visser, president of the International Graduate Student Association. If you think large, you can move in that di rection, and Uni diversity Week does just that. — James Anderson vice president and ■ associate provost for institutional assessment and diversity “We aren’t talking about race or gender, we are talk ing about all sorts of ways that prejudice will be encompassed,” Visser said. Marie Leonard, vice president for advocacy in 1GSA and IGSA’s represen tative for the Graduate Student Council, said mov ing toward a diverse campus is a process that people must be socialized into. “We are in the right place because this is a learning institution. It is important that we teach people about diversity because it is not natural and we have to build it,” Leonard said. “In the work place, you need that diverse experience because there are other cultures and dif ferent ways to do things.” People can learn from diversity while enriching their education the different experiences, Leonard said. Anderson said he hopes UniDiversity Week will become one of the tradi tions at A&M. “We are simply follow ing a pathway,” Anderson said. “If you think large, you can move in that direc tion, and Unidiversity Week does just that.” Recycling contest to collect plastic bottles for backpacks By Sonia Moghe THE BATTALION This fall, the University of Texas and Texas A&M University will compete against each other in a recycling drive to collect the most plastic bottles, which will later be used to make backpacks, duffel bags, sports bags, fanny packs and purses. “A friendly competition with UT is a good idea to motivate students,” said John David Blakley, a sophomore political science major and director of recycling for the student gov ernment association’s Environmental Issues Committee (EIC). “The mindset of A&M is not concentrated enough on recycling. Perhaps a program like this could provide an incentive to students to get them motivated.” Earthpak, a company based in Muenster, Texas, manufactures the recycled merchandise by melting plastic bottles and turning them into fiber, yam and cloth to create bags. Earthpak will oversee the competition, and has joined forces with Traditions bookstores, where the bottles will be collected in the fall. Students can turn in plastic bottles and be given discounts on Earthpak merchandise. Scott Figueiredo, owner of Earthpak, said colleges are the ideal place to start recy cling competitions because most college campuses do not have good recycling pro grams in place, and students are interested in helping out with environment. “The idea was to promote as much recy cling as possible,” Figueiredo said. “(We want students to know) they can actually make a difference the next time they drink a bottle of water.” The Texas Environmental Action Coalition (TEAC) at A&M is currently developing a plan to start recycling blue Dasani water bottles at football games. “Sporting events, especially at Kyle Field, generate tens of thousands of bottles gackpacks Bottles FROM Next fall, UT and A&M will have a bottle collecting competition to see who can collect the most plastic bottles that will be turned into backpacks. • SHRED: Two-liter plastic bottles are shredded into small pellets • FIBER: Pellets are processed into a fine fiber and then spun into yarn • SHRED: Yarn is woven into fabric which is dyed and made into bags RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION SOURCE : SCOTT FIGUEIREDO, OWNER OF EARTHPAK that are just thrown away,” said Brian Keaveny, a junior marketing major and pub lic relations officer for TEAC. “With contin ued cooperation from the university I think we could start getting this program imple mented soon. The game day recycling pro gram should be easier to implement (than other recycling programs).” See Bottles on page 2