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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2004)
■w- ^ Monday, June 28, 2004 he Battalion olume 110 • Issue 159 • 6 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 OPINION: Running Limbaugh off the air Page 5 www.thebatt.com PAGE DESIGN BY: RACHEL VALENCIA ID Photo Courtesy of Cindy Cohen • TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT GALVESTON (Ijeft to right) Lilianna Wolf of West University, Texas, Samantha Fundling of Galveston, Texas, and Alisha Windham of Nacogdoches, Texas, study a dune plant while attending Sea Camp at Texas A&M at Galveston this summer. Sea Camp From coastal ecology to forensics, kids explore marine life By Natalie Younts THE BATTALION In July, 16-year-old Loucindy Tidwell of Conroe, Texas, will be learning how to solve crimes using science in a marine environment. "I thought it would be pretty interesting to see how science relates to forensics,” she said. Tidwell is one of the children who will be attending Sea Camp, a program at Texas A&M at Galveston where children learn about the things in their own backyard. Some local children refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Atlantic Ocean or some other name, said Judy Wern, Sea Camp director. “There are some kids in Galveston who have never been to the beach, much less know what a salt marsh is,” Wern said. A salt marsh is an area along a bay where salt water washes over the roots of plants, Wern said. There are miles of it along the shore of Galveston Bay. Sea Camp is often a life-changing expe rience, even for some children who have had behavior problems or school problems, Wern said. “It’s like getting religion,” she said. “They get involved with the marine environ ment and they decide they want to be marine biologists and they straighten up.” Sea Camp has 12 subtopics, each last ing for one week, which range from Coastal Ecology Camp to Coastal Photography Camp. Tidwell attended Forensics Sea Camp for ages 15 to 18. In Marine Mammal Camp, for ages 15 to 18, campers learn how to determine a dol phin’s age, record dolphin vocalizations and track marine mammal movement. Children in Marine Biology Camp, for ages 10 to 18, may find themselves dredging for oysters on a commercial oyster boat or learning how to set up a saltwater aquarium. Jesse Rogers, a 10-year-old from Clear Lake, Texas, said his favorite part of Sea Camp was visiting the salt marsh, where it was so muddy that one of his friends lost his shoes. See Sea Camp on page 2 theft in B-CS causes ice to take action dress, 1 lo fijli: and lo' feciedr ndAI By Chelsea L. Sledge THE BATTALION Kate Patter’s Ford Explorer sat rked outside of her friend’s use one night in March. Fatter ipanit didn’t think to lock her car doors deal)!.a she ran into the house for less audat than 30 minutes on her way to a •fibs, local pub with a friend, alrela; J “I didn't notice anything dif- msse ferent when I got back in the car, irdWo Sid then my friend couldn’t find ohnk'Jffr wallet which (she had) left on rebiflly seat ” sa 'd Fatter, a senior rheto, marketing major. , lt ■' Fatter also realized that the le oft.: contents of her glove compartment mlljjid console had been ransacked ■id scattered around her car. Her ^■Bend’s wallet and her CD player had been stolen. I “They were obviously looking , for something of value, of which I had none,” Fatter said. 1 A recent surge in car and resi- dential burglaries in Bryan and " ^ College Station has led to the for mation of Bryan Police Bepartment’s Crime Prevention program. The program is designed to make citizens aware of the problem of burglaries in the community and to stop them from becoming a victim. There are lots of times when to the iserve. m to er-tun: we (re | will have four or five calls porting thefts) in an hour,” said Sgt. Donnie Manry of BPD. | The Crime Prevention program ■as created after police respond ed to seven vehicle burglaries on BRYAN BURGLARIES RISE Since Friday, five homes and 13 cars have been burglarized in Bryan. The following are tips to prevent burglary. csEscns • Keep a log of the make, model and serial numbers of electronics, guns, bicycles, etc. Photograph valuable jewelry Install deadbolt locks • Remove valuables from vehicle • Lock all doors and windows • Remove detachable stereo faces Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION Source: WALT MELNYK, BRYAN POLICE DEPT. June 11. “Probably 75 percent of our vehicle burglaries are because people leave their vehicles unlocked and stuff sitting in the seat,” Manry said. “If people would just lock their vehicles this would reduce the statistics by at least 50 percent citywide.” Manry said that despite warn ings, many people don’t see the need to lock their cars consistently. “There are lots of times on campus or wherever I will just leave my truck unlocked,” said See Theft on page 2 ity Council looks at ossible parking plans By Natalie Younts THE BATTALION Matthew Bubela, a sophomore construction science major, night be required to park on the side of the street opposite his louse if the College Station City Council approves a recommenda- ion to limit parking in certain residential areas. If 60 percent of a street’s residents agreed, the plan would limit parking to one side, ipposite the side with fire hydrants. “I like (parking) the way it is. That would make me angry,” said Bubela, who lives with his roommates in a four-bedroom house in bllege Station. Bubela said because his driveway only accommodates two vehicles, residents of the house and their visitors frequently park )n the street. The City Council discussed possible ways to implement four Darking recommendations from the College Station Neighborhood \d-Hoc Task Force at the council workshop meeting Thursday iftemoon at City Hall. One recommendation, which would implement an on-street larking permit system, was found to be not in compliance with state law and therefore will not be considered by the council, said Slenn Brown, assistant city manager. Parking on one side of the street, which would require one park- ng space per bedroom, and limiting on-street parking hours, will ie considered as possible solutions. Having cars parked on both sides of a street can be dangerous, aid Ron Lightsey, one of the 28 citizens on the task force. “You’ve got more people crossing the street, a little bit tighter pace to drive in, and cars meeting each other that can’t pass each ither,” Lightsey said. Limiting parking to one side of the street would also allow easier See Parking on page 2 Ready, aim, fire EVAN O'CONNELL • THE BATTALION Senior wildlife and fisheries science major Richard Kotzur Jr. practices inter- Kotzur is the 2004-2005 Texas A&M Trap and Skeet Club president. The national skeet at the 4-H shooting range in Snook, Texas, Sunday afternoon. Trap and Skeet Club members meet regularly to hone their shooting skills. A&M professors head defense research By Shawn C. Millender THE BATTALION The U.S. Department of Defense granted $5 million to a team of researchers led by three Texas A&M professors. Sharath Girimaji and Rodney Bowersox, associate pro fessors of aerospace engineering, will team up with associ ate professor of chemistry Simon North to lead the effort to study the effects of hypersonic flight on aircrafts. The study will help to clear a major hurdle on the path to hypersonic flight. “The air up there doesn’t behave as we know it to behave down here,” Girimaji said. Bowersox said the program is a part of the Department of Defense’s Multidisciplinary University Research RESEARCHING HYPERSONIC FLIGHT The Department of Defense has granted Texas A&M $5 million to study the effects of hypersonic flight on aircraft. A collaboration between departments of aerospace engineering and chemistry Part of the Department of Defense's MURI Program Brings a new wind tunnel research facility to A&M Funding for graduate studies and new avenues of research in aerospace engineering See Research on page 2 Will Lloyd • THE BATTALION Source: RODNEY BOWERSOX, ASSOC. PROF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING Life Science Center takes hits from faculty By Joanna M. Jemison THE BATTALION Faculty members from various depart ments spoke out at two open forums last week to urge the administration to go back to the drawing board with the pend ing interdisciplinary Life Science Center and its $100 million price tag. The forums followed a presentation by Vice Provost Bill Perry that described the scope and function of the center as well as individuals who put together the program and preliminary designs for the building. Controversy between faculty and admin istration about the project began in April when the availability of the $100 million from the Pemranent University Fund was announced and its use was slated to the Life Science Center project. Perry noted that the project was pro posed by University President Robert M. Gates as the number one priority for con struction within the Campus Master Plan. Perry said that if Gates thinks planning is premature or sees a problem with the proj ect, it will go back to the drawing board. The Life Science Center Advisory Group, which is composed of invested fac ulty members within A&M from a diverse group of departments, has advised the administration and the programming board on issues concerning the scope and funding of the project. The theme of the project is complex biological systems, and the research gen erated from the facility is intended by the organizers to benefit the entire campus. See Center on page 2