Women’s basketball
thebattalion
Photos from the women’s return to campus are on Page 8 and on The Battalion Facebook page.
● thursday,
march 31, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Fighting to survive
Courtesy photos
Aggie detained in Syria Matt Woolbright
The Battalion Muhammad Radwan, class of 2001, snapped a couple photos of a Syrian protest at the wrong time. Demonstrations sparked across North Africa and the Middle East, and Muhammad hasn’t been far from the action. His recent act of citizen journalism, however, landed him in Syrian custody and his life in jeopardy. Muhammad was leaving a mosque after praying, stumbled into a protest and pulled out his camera. As he was taking pictures, police arrested Muhammad and took him away. The protests in Syria, which have
been largely overshadowed by the conflict in Libya, have been going on for weeks as citizens clamor for reform. As of Wednesday, humanitarian reports estimate Syrian security forces have killed 73 people and detained hundreds more. Syria’s Emergency Law has been in effect since 1963 because of the ongoing conflict with Israel. The Emergency Law eliminates most constitutional protections for Syrians, according to the U.S. Department of State. Since his arrest, three main allegations have been presented against Muhammad. The claims include that
Top: Muhammad Radwan, class of 2001 is shown after returning from interior ministry in January. Left: Protesters in Egypt pray in the midst of armed police forces. Radwan took photos of the Egyptian protests while in Cairo and participating.
Muhammad is an Israeli spy who took a secret trip to Israel, that he sold photographs from inside Syria to a Columbian woman and that he was covering the protests. Muhammad’s family and friends, however, say the allegations are false — despite a confession that the Syrian state-run TV station aired. “He was no more an activist in Syria than any other citizen journalist interested in potentially historic events that are happening around him,” said Tarek Radwan, Muhammad’s brother. “It’s not unusual that See Muhammad on page 7
Tsunami waves can travel upwards of 600 miles per hour, the speed of a Boeing 747. The waves slow down significantly as the water becomes more shallow.
Aggies petition for clean water to thirsty countries
Sendai coast
Subduction Zone Stress Point
North American Plate
Pacific Plate
Uppermost Mantle
Asthenosphere
Jake Ross — THE BATTALION
Japan tsunami A&M professor explains what happens underneath the surface Trevor Stevens
Special to The Battalion Deep in the ocean floor, a trench marks the division between two tectonic plates: the Pacific and the North American. Friction between these plates caused a buildup of energy at the epicenter that, when released, triggered a series of cataclysmic events in the water and sparked a massive, underwater earthquake. The March 11 quake and subsequent tsunami led to flood-induced damage to the Japanese mainland. One severe effect of the tsunami was
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the disturbance of safeguards that protected the surrounding environment from nuclear exposure from the coastal power plants. The origin of the recent earthquake off the coast of Japan is a subduction zone, or fault line, which buckled under the pressure of friction and released the energy that propelled the tsunami. Robert Weiss, assistant professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, said an earthquake deforms the seafloor, and in response, the water above is displaced by
the dislocation and energy is transferred upward. The energy then ripples outward in waves from the epicenter, the center source of disturbance, and moves throughout the ocean toward land. “This disturbance of the ocean water propagates outward … generating a tsunami. In the deep sea, a tsunami is hardly noticeable. When it approaches shallow coastal waters, friction by the sea floor slows the bottom of the waves, causing the waves to See Tsunami on page 4
The Battalion Every day 4,100 children die from a disease that could have been prevented with clean water and sanitation. Living in the U.S., we don’t think twice about getting a cup of tap water, while 1 billion people across the world live without access to safe water. TAMU-UNICEF is promoting the World for Water Act, which will work toward providing clean water around the world. “The goal of the Act is to provide 100 million people who are less fortunate with access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation,” said Joyce Go, a senior English major and president of TAMU-UNICEF. It will take multiple steps to provide clean water to areas in need. The bill will establish a senior adviser for water, who will instigate solutions that are country-specific. As a result of the bill, a coordinator will also be appointed within the state department to coordinate the diplomatic policy of the U.S. and to match global freshwater problems. In addition, it will give programs to countries that are in greatest need of aid. Funding the bill will amount to $315 million in order for 1 million people to have access to safe drinking water by 2015. “This may seem to be ‘too grand’ in scale because of the international emphasis of the act, but what we as students can do is a sign a letter [or] petition and get them sent to our state Rep. Bill Flores,” said Jerry de la Garza, a sophomore international studies major and chairman for the advocacy committee. TAMU-UNICEF locations around campus provided students the opportunity to sign petitions that were lobbying for The World for Water Act to pass. The goal of the organization is to have 2,000 petitions signed; results of the campaign are pending. “The petitions, signed by the students of Texas A&M who wish to show support, will be sent to our representative in the House
Tim Isaac — THE BATTALION
Joanna Raines
Interested? TAMU-UNICEF meets at 9 p.m. Mondays in Zachary 104A. to show that this is a bill the people support and our representatives to re-introduce and vote in favor for. Our goal is that by getting hundreds, if not thousands of signatures, that our representative will re-introduce the bill, vote in favor and encourage other representatives to support the bill as well,” said Alexander Constantine, a sophomore molecular and cell biology major and secretary of TAMU-UNICEF. “It is important to get involved in causes like the Water for the World Act because it helps us to become aware of the discrepancies between populations throughout the world. Students tend to become so caught up in their education and their personal goals that we forget that there are people dying in on account of preventable causes like dehydration because of drinking dirty water while we are here buying bottled water because we prefer it over tap water,” Go said.
3/30/11 9:04 PM