Wednesday, April 28, 2004
he Battalion
A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893
OPINION:
Considering threat of
terrorism, assassination
must be accepted as
political tool.
Page 9
www.thebatt.com
PAGE DESIGN BY: LAUREN ROUSE
exas A&M to head homeland security center
By Melissa Sullivan
THE BATTALION
i :Th Department of Homeland Security has
Texas A&M to lead one of two partner-
T ips for the National Center for Foreign Animal
f d Zoonotic Disease Defense.
A&M. along with The University of Texas
| edlal Branch, the University of California at
; ivis and the University of Southern California,
i the four primary partners for the new center.
Th : group of universities will have $18 million
oc ted to it over next few years. The amount
each institution receives will be based on research
elements and those people conducting the
research, and there is not a set amount for each
school, said Neville Clarke, head of the center.
“The money will be distributed to the scien
tists,” he said.
Research at the center will concentrate on
threats posed by diseases passed from animals to
humans and foreign animal diseases. Rift Valley
Fever, foot-and-mouth disease and avian influen
za are some examples, Clarke said.
Clarke said he wants to use the research on the
diseases as a tool to look at the overall problems
with homeland security so that they can do more
than study developments.
“We have to work to cover all different kinds of
threats and break the big picture,” Clarke said.
“We will be experienced and equipped to do that.”
Clarke said students will play a crucial role in
the center by being in the labs and traveling.
“Three major parts of the centers mandate deal
with education, and we have proposed to do a
couple of things including increasing opportuni
ties for undergraduates to get exposure to what we
are doing,” Clarke said.
Clarke said the center is interested in expand
ing the graduate training program to create the
next generation of scientists who will be involved
in the training for a new set of people to be emer
gency responders.
“To have a more informed general public in
Texas is an important part of the game plan,” he said.
Clarke said A&M’s selection into the partner
ship is rewarding and it encompasses an opportu
nity and responsibility for the part of homeland
security that affects the health and safety of live
stock across the United States.
See Security on page 2
mders races to
uni * f
ing ve- j •' -
B Michael Player
THE BATTALION
Few peo-
hes2*an say
iy have
■ dm ing
cc-soae* t | lcv
condor™^ years
iglcj
uc Hlwever.
'h.WBs sim-
ture il’il fact of
ENDERS
:e ar I for Erica Enders, a sopho-
luro >re marketing major from
iiiston, who has been inter-
;ed n drag racing since she
l .. itcled her dad race.
“One day 1 came to my dad
th a picture of a junior drag-
r and told him I wanted to
' ■ bland that started it all,”
" selv Her; said.
n ' irec Enders won the super gas
getlinfiss at the 2004 O’Reilly
werygrinu Nationals held in
IIMl
:actorik»
Houston last weekend. She is
one of only 35 females to ever
win a national racing event.
In the final race, Enders
competed against a fellow
Aggie and childhood friend,
Jonathan Johnson, a sopho
more architecture major.
“We grew up together, and 1
don’t mind losing to her
because I know she is talent
ed,” Johnson said.
Enders said there is more to
racing than just getting into a
car and driving.
“1 drive a machine with a
632 cubic engine that turns out
1,280 horse power, so you real
ly have to know what you are
doing behind the wheel,”
Enders said. “I have about
5,000 passes down the track
under my belt.”
Enders is a graduate of the
Hawley Racing School and is
licensed to race top-fuel
the top
Funny Cars.
“We, my family and I, put
tons of energy into racing, and
one day I hope that it will pay
off,“ Enders said. “I like com
peting, and all the racers out
there are like family to us.”
Her father, Greg, said he
knew things were serious when
Erica became a professional
racer at age 16.
Erica Enders said family is one
of the reasons she has fallen in
love with the Aggie spirit.
“I knew very little of
Aggieland before I came here,”
Enders said. “A&M was close
and they had a renowned busi
ness school. Now that I am
here, I feel really blessed to be
a part of (the University).”
To add to Enders’ surrealis
tic life, Disney made an origi
nal movie about the Enders
See Enders on page 2
%*i
ew life sciences building
ay advance leadership
Robo 1
By Aerin Toussaint
THE BATTALION
The proposed new life sciences research build-
11 be an asset to the campus because of its
;risciplinary focus, said Mary Miller, chair of
.lUIUCVmpus Master Plan Steering Committee and
elate vice president for administration.
A proposal for the building will be brought
fore the Texas A&M System Board of
gents in July.
A&M President Robert M. Gates said
earch in life sciences is one of the most
jBtant areas of research in the world today,
i^lthit a facility dedicated to this research will
^ /Hce A&M’s leadership in this area and
'IlBve the quality of education in this field,
■lie Council on the Built Environment has
iigrated this facility as having the highest pri-
^ tyln our campus,” Gates said.
Interdisciplinary research that involves differ-
sjientific and engineering principles is at the
B!!B!S! iipg edge of discovery, Gates said.
“While many interdisciplinary research proj-
s in this area have been developed by Texas
tM faculty, involving multiple departments
| 1 colleges, we have not had the facilities to
i e advantage of the opportunities offered by
I sting and future such projects,” Gates said.
^He complex will house teaching and
involving the colleges of agriculture and
P . y sciences, engineering, veterinary medicine
1 ttience, Gates said.
^He life sciences building is expected to be
issi e, perhaps as large as 300,000 square
it, and will cost around $100 million to con-
^■f Gates said.
miw*
EXPANDING THE FIELD
A formal proposal to the Texas
A&M System Board of Regents
for a new life sciences research
building will be ready for
approval in July.
The complex will house teaching
and research within the Colleges
of Agriculture and Life Sciences,
Engineering, Veterinary Medicine
and Science
Will cost $100 million
No tuition or fees will be used to
construct the facility
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : A&M PRESIDENT ROBERT M. GATES
The Texas A&M University System was instru
mental in helping A&M gain funding for construc
tion of the new facility, said Benton Cocanougher,
interim chancellor for the A&M System.
“Interdisciplinary research and teaching in the
life sciences has long been a high priority for
Texas A&M,” Cocanougher said. “I am confident
that this facility will be a critical element in the
See Life sciences on page 10
Schoolhouse rock
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
Texas A&M Professor Kevin Patton plays the The concert featured improvised guitar and bass,
electric guitar in an informal jazz concert Patton is a professor of jazz history, electronic
Tuesday evening held in the Academic Building. music and guitar.
Aggie baseball falls to Texas State
SHARON AESCHBACH • THE BATTALION
Sophomore first baseman Coby
Maroulis watches the Aggies (0-1)
defeat against Texas State at Olsen
Field Tuesday night.
By Kyle Davoust
THE BATTALION
Pitching was a question mark for the No. 14 Texas A&M
baseball team coming in, and pitching was undoubtedly the
story coming out Tuesday night, as the Aggies (33-14) dropped
a 1-0 game to Texas State University (26-19) at Olsen Field.
On most other nights the Aggie hitters would have cruised
behind a pitching staff that allowed only one run on six hits, but
not on this night. This time the Aggies ran into a Texas State
staff that was led by freshman starter Joey Gonzales.
A&M was on the other side of a 1 -0 game Friday night against
conference foe University of Missouri, but that didn’t make the
loss any easier to swallow. In fact, this was the first 1-0 loss for
the Aggies since 1993, which was coincidentally against Texas
State, known then as Southwest Texas State University.
“We obviously pitched real well, which started with our
starting pitcher Joey Gonzales,” said Texas State coach Ty
See Baseball on page 2
se-fire ends in Fallujah
liple explosions shook Fallujah afler dark
Jiesday and plumes of smoke rose into
i fighting erupted for a second straight
t. AC-130 gunship hammered targets
fly- The fighting broke out as a two-day
IRAQ
[. Baghdad}
Fallujah
U.S. aircraft hammers Fallujah; fighting near Najaf kills scores
By Jayson Keyser
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Multiple
explosions shook Fallujah after dark
Tuesday, and large plumes of smoke
billowed into the sky as fighting erupt
ed for the second straight night. An
American AC-130 gunship hammered
targets in the city.
Blasts and gunfire went on steadily
for more than half an hour in sustained
fighting, apparently in the northern Jolan
district, a poor neighborhood where
Sunni insurgents are concentrated.
Flames could be seen rising from
building, and mosque loudspeakers in
other parts of the city called for fire
fighters to mobilize.
The fighting erupted as a two-day
extension to a cease-fire ended. Earlier
in the day, U.S. aircraft dropped
leaflets in the city of 200,000 people,
calling on insurgents to surrender.
“Sunender, you are surrounded,” the
leaflets said. “If you are a terrorist,
beware, because your last day was yester
day. In order to spare your life end your
actions and surrender to coalition forces
now. We are coming to arrest you.”
Fighting in the same neighborhood
on Monday night killed one Marine
and eight insurgents, and tank fire
destroyed a mosque minaret that U.S.
commanders said insurgents were
using as sniper’s nest.
U.S. troops fought militiamen
overnight near Najaf, killing 64 gun
men and destroying an anti-aircraft
gun. An American soldier was killed
Tuesday in Baghdad, raising the U.S.
death toll for April to 115 — the same
number lost during the entire invasion
of Iraq last year.
The battle outside Najaf was one of
the heaviest with the militia as U.S.
troops try to increase the pressure on
gunmen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr. U.S. troops moved into a base
in Najaf that Spanish troops are aban
doning, but promised to stay away
from the sensitive Shiite shrines at the
heart of the southern city.
On Sunday, the U.S. military had
announced a two-day extension to the
fragile cease-fire in Fallujah to give
political efforts a chance — backing
down from threats to launch an all-out
assault on the city to root out insur
gents. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt had
said there was no ultimatum for a
launch of an .assault if political efforts
are not showing results.
“We don’t think deadlines are help
ful,” Kimmitt said Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Marines were
pushing ahead with training for a key
part of the political track, the introduc
tion of U.S.-Iraqi patrols into Fallujah.
As the United Nations prepared to
discuss the form of a caretaker govern
ment due to take power June 30, U.S.-
appointed Iraqi leaders complained
that the administration won’t have real
sovereignty as promised by American
administrators for months.