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Wednesday, September 15, 2004
The Battalion
olume III* Issue 14 • 12 pa^es
A l exas A& 1Y1 I radifion Since 1893
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OPINION:
For peace and
posterity?
page 11
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IS PANIC HERITAGE MONTH
-lispanic Heritage is beginning its month
ong celebration.
ept. 16: Mr. Lionel Sosa
“The Power of High Expectations"
MSC 201-7 p.m.
jept. 22: Ms. Anaka D. Rivera
"The Politics of Hispanic Education"
MSC 201 -7 p.m.
ept. 29: Dr. Rogelio Saenz
“Educational Patterns of Latinos"
MSC 201 -7 p.m.
3ct. 6: Ms. Cortney Warren
"Eating Disorders in Hispanic Women"
MSC 201-7 p.m.
Dct. 13: Dr. Edward Murguia
“On Fully Becoming an American, an
Aggie, and Latino/Hispanic”
MSC 201-7 p.m.
EMY HERNANOE
PAGE DESIGN BY: LAUREN ROUSE
A&M celebrates Hispanic heritage
By Pammy Ramji
THE BATTALION
The Hispanic Presidents’ Council (HPC) and
Professional Hispanic Network (PHN) are hosting
Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Wednes
day and ends Oct. 15.
Vice President for Hispanic Presidents’
Council Elsa Rivera is ready for Hispanic Her
itage Month.
“We are very excited because this year is
the first year that we have been able to help
in planning what will be going on over the
month,” Rivera said.
Sarah Pena, president of HPC said this is the
first time an event of this magnitude has been
put together.
“I strongly agree with President Gates and the
faculty and staff,” Pena said. “We need to diver
sify Texas A&M — all students need to be edu
cated about different cultures.”
HPC was founded in 1991 under the Depart
ment of Multicultural Services. It is a student-
run organization that provides a network for
Hispanic students and organizations to express
their opinions and offer their services at A&M,
serving as an umbrella support group for 14
Hispanic organizations. One of HPC’s goals is
to unite the Hispanic voice.
“One way we are going to do this is through
Hispanic Heritage Month,” Rivera said.
Pena said it’s important that people come to the
events to learn more about what being Hispanic
truly means.
“When (Hispanics) have to fill out surveys we
put ‘Hispanic,’ but that covers over 20 countries,”
Pena said. “We cover a large range of the world
under one title. People need to know that.”
Each week of Hispanic Heritage Month has a
different theme, such as politics, education, health
and culture. On Oct. 15, H.O.W.D.Y (Hispanic
Orientation Working on Developing Young Ags)
will be closing Hispanic Heritage Month.
Emy Hernandez, director of programs for HPC
and member of the Hispanic heritage planning
committee, has been planning Hispanic Heritage
Month since the summer.
“We have different programs and events
planned for each week as well as great speakers,”
Hernandez said.
Events include two movies from different His
panic countries each week and guest speakers,
such as the media consultant for the 2004 Bush
campaign, Lionel Sosa.
“This year is going to be bigger and better than
last year,” Rivera said. “We have everything peo
ple are looking for.”
“Our goal is for everyone to participate, not
only Hispanics, and come out and have a wonder
ful time,” Hernandez said.
i
A&M-Galveston
gitudent shot in mouth
I By Elizabeth Knapp
L I THE BATTALION
facing
jpeared I Texas A&M-Galveston
Iran, ludent Rob Carson was shot
aion, lorn the mouth in the parking
move,: i 0l of his apartment complex
ng tows« r j(i a y morning after he at-
tion as * n( je(l Midnight Yell on the
overnmi*aiveston campus to support
n uraniie Aggie football team. A
»gy ; Ionian who was accompany-
an is m j^g him was unharmed.
‘ rman fr|i “1 had a friend drop me off at
<a Fisc' jpy apartment around 2:45 a.m.,
mderstai: an d a guy came up to the door
end up Hi with a gun in his hand and asked
)n - Cv all of our money,” Carson, a
ot * w 1 p’ n i° r maritime administration
1 “^'inajor, said. “We complied, and
1 ran won j g ave hi m m y $40.”
landon i c ar son said the light of his
P ro F' [jell phone in his hand was
1 1 | enough to panic the robber,
ln ‘ 1 " jausing him to shoot.
ild be« -] tume[ j m y ] iea( j at ^ n gitt
arms .foment and the bullet went
m on Yfhroiigh m y upper left lip and
1 ^ in . lSl .«'rough my right cheek just graz-
^ eza ^fftgmygum line,” Carson said,
ild not Ml Q rson sa id he fell down,
f mood up bleeding and started
Id gu al ’ 2 fp run away with his friend
nuce »hile the robber tried to start
he Unit the standard transmission ve-
have d hide with difficulty.
“The girl, who wishes to
remain anonymous, was pret
ty shaken up because after I
was shot, the gun was pointed
at her,” Carson said.
In an e-mail sent to A&M-
Galveston students on Friday,
Anthony Martinez, chief of
police for the Galveston cam
pus, urged students to use
caution when out at night and
to report suspicious activity
to the police department or
the campus police.
Galveston students are still
surprised at the recent events.
“Rob and I are really good
friends, so I was the first to
know,” said Chris Pinkston,
a junior maritime administra
tion major. “Since I was the
first to hear, I got it in detail,
and didn’t just hear ‘Rob was
shot.’ The things that went
through my head were, ‘What
caliber could it have been to
not do great damage?”’
Mary Allen, a senior marine
biology major, said the shoot
ing made students really think
about their surroundings.
“I’ve never been in a town
where so much crime hap
pens,” Allen said. “It is a
scary place to live in, and you
See Shot on page 2
Question-and-answer
Graduate student Damian Medina talks to seniors Lindsay Tuesday afternoon. Anderson and Gonzales were also quizzing
Anderson and Rosie Gonzales about voter registration dur- students on trivia about women in college and were giving prizes
ing the Women’s Open House at the Memorial Student Center for correct answers.
R Custodial staff honored for work
ER
rd?
FNB
By Chelsea Sledge
THE BATTALION
I Mary Richardson, a custodian at Texas A&M, doesn’t
make plans in life. Although she and her husband travel fre
quently, they have never planned a trip before leaving.
1 “We just get up and do it,” Richardson said. “A lot of times
when you make a plan, something else comes up.”
Richardson received the surprise yesterday of being
lamed A&M Custodial Employee of the Year at a cer
emony held in Rudder Theater.
1 “Ms. Richardson is a shy, serious and kind person,” said
jloris Woods, custodial supervisor for Crew P. “1 nominated
her (for this award) for her professionalism and fairness. She is
a good worker and gets to work 30 minutes early every day.”
Richardson has been employed at the A&M Physical Plant
epartment as a custodial worker since February 1992. She
was chosen from four other candidates in different custodial
|rews all nominated by their supervisors.
I To receive the award, the employee must be working full-
lime for at least 12 months. Recipients are then chosen by
their supervisor based on a point system in which they arc
CUSTODIAL EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR
The 2004 Custodial Employees of the
Year were announced Tuesday
morning. The ceremony was a part of
International Housekeepers’ Week.
Custodian of the Year
Mary Richardson
15 other custodians were
recognized as the best
among their work crews:
Linda Shulz
Juana Noyola
Lucinda Sibrian
Elida Ledezma
Mary Morrow
Janice Austin
Louis C. Hartmann Jr.
Irene Gonzales
Heraclio Lopez
Maria G. Duque
Silveria De-Valadez
Magarita Carreno
Alejandra Lopez
Venancia Calvo
Maria D. Alvarado
ANDREW BURLESON • THE BATTALION
SOURCE : GINGER MELTON
awarded for qualities such as cooperation, adaptability, care
of equipment, appearance of area and self-motivation.
Richardson began cleaning the John B. Connally Building in
1992 and now oversees the cleaning of 30 buildings on campus.
See Custodial on page 2
»Pay?
r*
X
ie Rd.
lall
IN
ohlgemuth vows to follow Bush
By Jibran Najmi
THE BATTALION
? State Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth cam
paigned on campus Tuesday against her
opponent, Chet Edwards, a 13-year vet-
feran of the House of Representatives.
; Wohlgemuth touted her endorsements
by various pro-life groups as wel I as the
National Rifle Association (NRA). She
also attacked Edwards’ record as being
j liberal and “consistently in opposition
Bo President Bush’s policies.”
“1 don’t try to hide my vote. I don’t
try to vote one way in Washington and
then come home and try to explain it to
my district another way,” Wohlgemuth
said. “1 will stand by my votes because
my votes are a demonstration of the
philosophy that I hold.”
Wohlgemuth said Edwards was the
wrong choice for Texas A&M and Bra
zos County because he disagreed with
the president on numerous occasions.
Gina Hollenbeck, the communications
director for the Wohlgemuth campaign,
said Wohlgemuth would adhere to the
president’s policies and platforms.
“Sixty-five percent of the citizens in
this district support the president and
will vote for him,” Hollenbeck said.
“In being a good representative, Wohl
gemuth will vote with the president and
support (his) policies, as the president
shares the values and views of the peo
ple ... who elected him into office.”
Wohlgemuth said tuition deregula
tion was a painful vote for her. She
said she supported tuition deregulation
in order for universities to receive nec
essary resources.
“The alternative (to tuition deregula
tion) would have been to not allow the
See Wohlgemuth on page 10
Experimental hormone
helps Aggie grow
By Luke Jackson
THE BATTALION
Stephen Thompson, a senior
speech communication major at
Texas A&M, grew from 5 feet 1
inch to 5 feet 9 nine inches tall from
his junior year of high school to
his junior year of college by using
Human Growth Hormone (HGH),
a synthetic growth hormone that
causes muscles and bones to grow
and is almost identical to the natu
ral hormone produced by the pitu
itary gland in the brain.
“I would’ve never grown to
a normal height if I hadn’t used
(HGH),” Thompson said.
Standing at 5 feet 1 when he was 17
did not sit well with Thompson who,
despite having several friends in high
school, wanted to feel more normal.
“It wasn’t about vanity for me.
I just wanted to grow to my poten
tial height,” said Thompson, who
suffered from stunted growth.
Dr. Dana Hardin, an endocri
nology researcher at Southwest
Medical Center in Dallas, was
recommended to Thompson dur
ing high school, and she has been
experimenting with possible uses
of HGH for more than a decade.
Hardin’s studies of HGH have
been published since 1991.
HGH and its potential medical
uses are still under debate. Pos
sible short-term side effects in
clude increased blood pressure,
fluid retention, carpal tunnel syn
drome and joint pain. HGH is le
gally available by a prescription.
Regular treatments can cost up to
$20,000 a year, Thompson said.
“There are several different disorders
that HGH has shown progress at fight
ing,” Hardin said. “For example, HGH
is showing results when we treat pa
tients with cystic fibrosis and diabetes.
It’s very exciting.”
Ethical concerns regarding
abuse of the drug have been raised
as well.
“Some (people) say that HGH
might be misused by people who
simply want to be bigger or taller;
That it might get out of hand. I’m
totally against using HGH just to
be more athletic,” Thompson said.
Senior agricultural development
major Garret Brenner attended
high school with Thompson when
he began using HGH.
“I was concerned at first about
(Thompson) taking HGH because
to me, HGH was in that ‘gray
area,”’ Brenner said. “It was just a
risk he felt he had to take.”
Brenner said he doesn’t blame
Thompson for using HGH because his
height was affecting his daily life.
“After he got his driver license, Ste
phen would get pulled over by police
because they thought he was an un
derage driver,” Brenner said. “At res
taurants, he would sometimes get the
See Hormone on page 2