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