Thursday, September 23, 2004
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Jniversity compensates apartment residents
By Sonia Moghe
THE BATTALION
I While Saquib Ejaz's wife and father recuperate in Galveston, oth
er University Apartment residents who were affected by the July 31
explosion hope to find out what the University’s actions will be at a
■inference between administrators and residents Thursday.
■ “(The residents) were keeping mum until the State Fire Marshal’s
Bport (was released),” said Srinivasan Rajaraman, a resident of Uni-
prsity Apartments. “Since that has come out ,we want to know what
:administration’s) reactions are going to be and how are they go-
[g to deal with this matter. 1 think it would have been naive on (the
jlministration’s) part if they thought the State 1 ire Marshal’s report
lould have come out differently.”
J Several University Apartments residents were forced to relocate
Bala Quinta Inn while gas lines were being checked and replaced
Bras long as 10 days in August, said John Sodolak, assistant direc-
Bratthe University Apartments.
Affected residents additionally received compensation of S25 in
Bggie Bucks if they were unmarried and S50 if they had families.
The University is also paying for the Ejaz family’s apartment in
Galveston while his wife recuperates.
“The residents were too worried to think about the money,” said
Alireza Shapoury, resident and vice president of the University
Apartments Community Council. “I believe (giving money) was
one of the provisions of (the University’s) critical responses. 1 don’t
think the amount of money is of much concern to residents ... it was
a good move.”
Rajaraman said discrimination might have been involved in the
handling of the maintenance of the apartments.
“There is discrimination, and I can’t define on a scale how much
it is,” Rajaraman said. “I come from a country where there is (also)
discrimination against foreigners. When it comes to concerns of
safety and health, discrimination shouldn’t happen at any level.”
Executive Director of University Relations Cynthia Lawson said
the condition of gas lines is not restricted to University Apartments.
“Some of the same problems that existed (at the University Apart
ments) perhaps have existed (on campus),” Lawson said.
Chuck Sippial, vice president for administration, said gas lines
at University Apartments have been checked and replaced, and that
TXU is inspecting lines on campus.
“From what 1 know and what 1 think, there is no case to say that
the lines in (the University Apartments) received less attention than
those throughout the campus —there is no evidence of that whatso
ever,” Sippial said.
Shapoury said that perhaps a language barrier between resi
dents and maintenance staff could have contributed to ineffec
tive maintenance.
“1 have heard of some incidents where the maintenance could not
pinpoint the cause of (a problem) because of the language problem
— it’s just my guess,” Shapoury said.
Rajaraman said he has heard a few residents talking about filing
lawsuits, but that no one has taken action yet. He said action will
be taken based on University responses at the conference today,
which starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center and is open to
the public.
“I don’t think (the University is) dealing with the issue in a fair
manner,” he said. “Whenever any such instance happens, the Uni
versity always defends itself and the system. I’ve never been aware
of what the system is here and how it works.”
eporters stress value of
ewspapers for election
By Liang Liang
THE BATTALION
William M. Welch, a reporter for USA
today, Carl Hulse, a reporter for The New
fork Times and Billy Dan Wood, a Texas
l&M political science professor, encour-
ged students to read newspapers as much
possible to get information about the up-
oming presidential election at a panel dis
cussion Wednesday at the Stark Gallery in
heMSC.
I “Newspapers will give you the analyses
fat help to make up your mind (for the com
ing election),” Welch said.
During the discussion, Welch and Hulse re
trained from taking a specific stance on the
oming election.
Hulse said newspapers are better resources
forelection information than television news.
‘You may disagree with the newspapers,
it) they will give you a lot more. It takes a
longer time (to read), but it helps you to under
and a lot of issues. TV news is comparatively
iefon the issues,” Hulse said.
| Wood agreed with Hulse and Welch that
ading newspapers will help students decide
In the election.
I “Unfortunately, democracy is not only
something people take from. It is also some
thing that people ought to give to. The demo
cratic values and a lot of functions of democ
racy depend on if they can make up their own
minds not just follow what mum or dad told
me,” Wood said.
When asked if the election will affect the
A&M Corps of Cadets in a way that decides
if they will be going to war with Iraq, Welch
said young people in the military should be
careful with the current situation in the elec
tion and look at the war in Iraq.
“This is something you should think about.
But it also depends on what you believe,”
Welch said.
In talking about public education issues,
Wood said that in the past three years, tuition
in the public universities has increased 35
percent, but that no campaign in the election
has addressed the issue. Wood said it seems
that the issue is not getting attention from
Democrats or Republicans.
Both reporters said that although the two
parties agreed to cooperate to work on the
improvement of public education, the Demo
crats have been blaming the Bush administra
tion for not backing the No Child Left Behind
See Election on page 2A
IfCT joins pro-life campaign
By Stacy Thompson
THE BATTALION
The Young Conservatives of Texas an-
lounced its backing for the 40 Days for Life
[ampaign with a table Wednesday at Rudder
seked out with anti-abortion posters and
[rmbands at Rudder on Wednesday.
Wednesday marked the halfway point in
ie40 Days for Life campaign geared toward
losing the Planned Parenthood of Bryan,
■exas, which provides health services and
■bortions for all of the Brazos County area.
B The YCT started its abortion protest
■y placing 2,214 hearts around campus
■t midnight on Tuesday to indicate the
approximate number of fetuses aborted
Bt the Planned Parenthood facility on
■9th Street.
■ “These hearts are really to bring the visual
See Abortion on page 6B
on i oc
vhm
0 T 1 4
Evan O'Connell - THE BATTALION
Junior electrical engineering major Josh Pearce, left,
sophomore communications major Patrick Leon and
junior industrial engineering major John Barnett,
right, protest abortion outside the MSC Wednesday.
camping
Evan O'Connell - THE BATTALION
Senior biomedical science major Reqan Lyon waits at the front of the line outside the Clayton Williams
Alumni Center for a ticket to pick up her Aggie ring Wednesday evening. Lyon has been in line since 10 a.m.
Wednesday morning. Aggie rings are being distributed Thursday, starting at 3 p.m.
British hostage pleads for his life
By Kim Housegho
THE ASSOCIATD PRESS
■ A British hostage appeared on a video
jiosted on an Islamic Web site Wednesday
weeping and pleading for his life as Iraq’s
leader and U.S. officials crushed reports
that a high-profile female Iraqi weapons
scientist could be released from jail soon
H-as demanded by the kidnappers.
1 The captive, Kenneth Bigley, appealed
to British Prime Minister Tony Blair to
intervene. “I think this is possibly my last
■hance,” he said. “I don’t want to die.”
B Later Wednesday, an Internet statement
Purportedly by a group which claimed to
Have kidnapped two Italian aid workers in
Iraq said it had killed the women.
The Web site posting could not be immedi-
tely verified. Simona Pari and Simona Tor-
tea worked for “Un Ponte Per...” (“A Bridge
to...”) when they were seized Sept. 7.
I Bigley was being held by a militant group
led by Jordanian-born terror mastermind
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The group has al
ready beheaded Americans Eugene Arm
strong and Jack Hensley, whom it abducted
along with Bigley from the Westerners’
Baghdad home last week.
On Wednesday, the group also posted a
video of Hensley’s killing on the Internet,
as it had two days earlier of Armstrong’s
beheading. Hensley’s decapitated body was
found Wednesday in Baghdad.
The gruesome hostage drama played out
as fighting raged on in Iraq, killing three
U.S. soldiers and wounding four others.
Suicide attackers struck key diplomatic
and commercial centers of the capital, and
American tanks and troops searching for
weapons stormed into the Sadr City slum, a
stronghold of Shiite militants, only to come
under a barrage of mortar and automatic
weapons fire. The violence across Baghdad
left at least 17 Iraqis dead and 100 injured
and underscored the inability of U.S. and
Iraqi forces to bring security to even the
See Plea on page 9A
Integrity important to academics
Aggie Honor System Office hosts ‘Digger’
By Shawn Millender
THE BATTALION
Legendary Notre Dame
men’s basketball coach Rich
ard “Digger” Phelps brought
his experience in athletics and
social work to the Memorial
Student Center Wednesday,
as part of A&M’s Academic
Integrity Week, hosted by the
Aggie Honor System Office.
Phelps addressed a crowd
of about 130 people about the
value of academics early in a
child’s life and keeping urban
youths off the streets and out
of trouble with after-school
programs.
He said declining academic
standards and increased em
phasis on athletic performance
are a major problem.
“If you invest in them from
six to 16, you can save them,”
Phelps said. “We in college
sports are a reflection of soci
ety. You can’t put a Band-Aid
on a gunshot wound, you have
to take away the gun.”
Phelps coached at Notre Dame
from 1972-91, setting the all-
time university record for wins.
In 1993, he resigned and went on
to serve as a men’s college bas
ketball analyst for ESPN.
Phelps said that when he
was coaching, his focus was
always on the players’ fu
ture success after their days at
Notre Dame.
“It was always student first,
athlete second,” Phelps said. “In
the late 60s, where Woodstock
Whitney Martin - THE BATTALION
Richard "Digger" Phelps ad-
dressess issues of character at the
MSC on Wednesday afternoon.
Phelps coached Notre Dame for
two decades.
See Integrity on page 6B