s
Tti
)ltimc 110 • Issue 171 • 6 pages
stronaut
By Chelsea Sledge
THE BATTALION
(Astronaut Peggy Whitson spoke in front of a
:liwd of 150 people on Thursday evening at the
George Bush Presidential Library. To commem-
Dflite the Bush Library Issues Forum’s “Year of
the Woman,” Dr. Peggy Whitson spoke about
\lmen in aviation and space. She also spoke
al>ut her experiences living on the International
Sp ice Station for six months.
Astronaut is one of the rarest titles in all
of humanity,” said Douglas Menarchik, li-
bliry director. “It is one of the most blessed
t[t es in history, and we are fortunate to have
iTitson) here.”
Battalion
A Texas A&IW Tradition Since 1893
OPINION:
Steps toward
Democracy
Page 5
www.thebatt.com
PACE DESIGN BY: RACHEL SMITH
seeks return to space
Whitson is one of seven women in the world
who has walked in space. She was a member of
the Expedition-5 crew that launched on June 5,
2002. Whitson returned to Earth Dec. 7, 2002
— logging almost 185 days in space.
For six months, Whitson lived in the Interna
tional Space Station with two Russian cosmo
nauts. They performed experiments on pulmo
nary functions, such as lung capacity, and effects
of zero gravity on the cardiovascular system.
Also, Whitson grew soy beans in space while
her father was growing them on Earth simulta
neously. The three astronauts were so happy to
see green life in space that Whitson had to hide
the soy beans from one of the cosmonauts so he
wouldn’t eat them, Whitson said.
“The (cosmonauts) cut me a lot of slack even
though they have many prejudices against wom
en,” Whitson said. “I was an American woman
and they said, ‘She’s smart. She can do this.’ I
became good friends with them during that time,
and we still interact today on a very personal and
regular basis.”
Whitson had the opportunity to go on a space
walk during her time on the space station. Held
only by a mechanical arm, she was 40 feet away
from anything.
“It was the most incredible sensation,” Whit
son said. “It was dark and then the sun came up.
I will always remember seeing the station light
up (at sunrise).”
Whitson said she didn’t get tired of her two
See Astronaut on page 2
Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION
Astronaut Peggy Witson (right) answers questions about space
flight Friday night at the George Bush Presidential Library.
Giddy ‘up cowgirl
Citelena Cowgirls, Jessica from Houston (right) and Jennifer J. from Conroe, County Rodeo Arena on Tabor Road. Hundreds were entertained by bullriders,
Iwiit with their horses before their performance this weekend at the opening of the bucking broncos and rodeo clowns during the rodeo, sponsored by the Bryan
■rd Annual Bryan Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association Rodeo at the Brazos Breakfast Lions Club.
Controversy
escalates over
offensive T-shirts
By Shawn C. Millender
THE BATTALION
When Aggie Democrats former president Nick An-
this went to New York Sub to investigate rumors about
an offensive T-shirt being sold there, he had no idea
what to think.
“It was much worse than I expected,” Anthis said.
“They were very rude and unapologetic about it.”
The controversy centers around a T-shirt the res
taurant is selling for $9. It features an image of an el
ephant mounting a donkey on the breast pocket with
the phrase “F#(a)k John Kerry” on the back.
“The front of the shirt insinuates rape when taken in
context with the back of the shirt,” Anthis said. “The
owner claimed it wasn’t, but that’s what I saw. New
York Sub has hurt the community by alienating (Dem
ocrats). It’s inexcusable.”
Senior construction science major Seth Stewart
started working at New York Sub in September. He
said Anthis’ allegations are groundless.
“That’s ridiculous, for someone to even say that.
Nothing is funny about rape. At all,” Stewart said.
New York Sub owner Austin Harkness said the
idea for the shirt started with some employees who
wanted to display their political affiliation at work.
He said the original designs weren’t up to the offi
cial dress code because the curse word on the back
wasn’t blanked out.
“We have liberal employees who are invited to make
up any pro-Kerry or anti-Bush shirt as long as it’s up to
dress code,” Harkness said.
See T-shirt on page 2
ew version of LoveGate
Ipreads through networks
its
By Lacy Ledford
THE BATTALION
m
I GOT NORMS!
New versions of the 2003 LoveGate
jorm have been discovered. LoveGate,
wl ich spreads through e-mail and network
aring, also contains a backdoor program
it enables hackers to access infected com-
jters and replace application files with cop-
of the worm.
Computing Information Services Help
sk student worker Justin Carter said stu-
jnts may avoid getting such worms by not
^ding e-mail from unknown senders.
“They should also use a Windows firewall
|d keep virus protection software on their
puter,” Carter said.
Another worm prevention measure
itching Internet browsers.
Blocker Computer Lab associate Jonathan
illips said, “A lot of worms are written
Ith Internet Explorer in mind. Using a dif-
Vl feient browser like Mozilla or Netscape can
■uce your chances of getting a worm.”
■However, if your computer does become
■ected with a worm, A&M provides soft-
OS »ie to assist students in removing it from
Jir computers.
“You can go to any open access lab and
y a TAMU scan and remove disk,” Phil
's said.
Carter said the. scan and remove disk
tects against almost every virus, al-
--- though it may not be updated to the most
'litecent versions.
|•J■“We also advise students to download
linger anti-virus tools,” Carter said.
Interim Associate Provost for Information
Jchnology Pierce Cantrell recommends
forming Microsoft Windows updates to
ect critical threats.
In response to past problems with infect-
computers, A&M personnel have taken
ventative measures to protect computers
Several new versions of the "LoveGate"
computer worm have been discovered.
Students should take these steps to
keep their computers worm and virus-
free.
Do not read e-mails from
unknown senders
Use a Windows firewall
and virus protection
software
Change browser to
Mozilla or Netscape
If infected, Texas A&M
provides software to
assist students in
removing worms
Ruben DeLuna • THE BATTALION
Source: JONATHAN PHILLIPS, BLOCKER COMPUTER LAB
from similar encounters.
“In residence halls last fall, a lot of stu
dents brought in brand new computers that
weren’t security patched, hooked them up to
the network, and the computers got infected
within about thirty seconds,” Cantrell said.
To combat this, boxes that contain sig
natures for certain types of viruses were in
stalled in front of each residence hall. The
signatures can be continually updated to pre
pare for new worms and viruses.
“If a signature for one of these infections
See LoveGate on page 2
A&M professor earns 'Rip Rapp’ award
By Joanna M. Jemison
THE BATTALION
Avid archaeologist and Texas
A&M anthropology professor Dr.
Michael Waters received a nod from
the Geological Society of America.
The organization awarded Waters
with the “Rip Rapp Archaeological
Geology Award” which recognizes
Waters’ outstanding continued con
tribution to the interdisciplinary field WATERS
of archaeological geology.
The award is named for archaeological geology pio
neer George “Rip” Rapp. Rapp was the primary in
dividual responsible for bringing the Archaeological
Geology Division to the GSA.
Waters is also the associate director for the Center for
the Study of the First Americans and author of the av
idly used geoarchaeology text “The Principles of Geo
archaeology: A North American Perspective,” which
he wrote in 1992. Waters has traveled across the globe
to participate in several archaeological field projects in
Yemen, Jamaica, Russia and Mexico.
For the layman, Waters describes the field of geo
archaeology as the field for applying geosciences
and archaeological research questions. Waters’
research involves investigating late prehistoric ar
chaeological sites and relating them to the chang
es in landscape to discover the origins of the first
Americans.
After receiving his doctorate in geosciences from
the University of Arizona, Waters received several
endowments from the National Science Foundation
and the National Geographic Society to fund his re
search in geoarchaeology, the field in which he is
known for his expertise.
“Because of the accumulated contributions to the
See Award on page 2
Palestinians burn office in protest
By Lara Sukhtian
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAMALLAH, West Bank —
Militants sacked and burned Pales
tinian government offices Sunday,
the latest sign of growing anger over
Yasser Arafat’s decision to reach
into his old guard and choose a loyal
ist relative as his new security chief.
A confrontation was brewing
between Arafat — reluctant to
yield significant power — and Pal
estinian militants, including some
of Arafat’s own officers. They are
demanding deep reforms and new
faces, Palestinian analysts said.
The divide between the two
sides centered on the appointment
of Moussa Arafat, Arafat’s cousin,
as the new head of Palestinian se
curity. Many Palestinians rejected
him as a symbol of corruption and
cronyism, propelling long-held
dissatisfaction into the open.
Dozens of masked gunmen
marched through the Nusseirat
refugee camp in central Gaza after
sundown Sunday, chanting, “No to
Moussa Arafat, yes to reform.”
In the Rafah refugee camp, gun
men exchanged fire with guards at
preventive security headquarters and
attempted to break into the complex
with a bulldozer. The guards wound
ed three attackers, but there were no
casualties to the security forces, per
sonnel at the building said.
A Palestinian freelance re
porter on assignment for Reuters
was shot in the leg during the
Rafah firefight and was in stable
condition at a hospital, a Reuters
staffer said.
The internal Palestinian unrest
was the most serious in more than a
year. In 2003, protests against cor
ruption forced Arafat to promise
reforms and appoint a new govern
ment, led by Mahmoud Abbas. He
resigned after only four months.
The turmoil came as Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
planned to withdraw from Gaza
next year, intensifying a struggle
for power and influence among the
various Palestinian factions.