Death from Above? II I• T'j ;I I 'TT's NOT a MATTER II L ~ of "IF" but IT's a II \I MATTER of "WHEN
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---- ~-~~- -~--~ - -~- ---------~-~- ~ - -- -------- --~-- --~~-- 04.. ""711~? <>f !4i • The College of En _ _ _ named a new dean for '98~'99. pg. 9 p. 13 p.22 Friday, March 27, 1998 • Vol. XXXI No . .114 THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING NOTRE DAME AND SAINT MARY'S !,'I ,,'• 1!., :... !! li Death From Above? II I• t'J ;i I 'TT's NOT A MATTER II l ~ OF "IF" BUT IT'S A II \I MATTER OF "WHEN. '" ,I II JAMES SCOTTI ,, II SPACEWATCII AsTRONOMER II,, ii II LEFT: ARTIST DON DAVIS REPRE SENTS HIS IMAGE OF THE DESTRUCTION OF EARTH BY AN ASTEROID. IMAGE COURTESY OF NASA BELOW: ARTISTIC DEPICTION OF THE CREACTION OF THE WORLD. IMAGE COURTESY OF TERRENCE REITIG Space watch program studies and catalogs potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids By ANNE MARIE MATTINGLY ter existed only in small, widely dispersed parti Assistant News Editor cles. It was collisions between these particles that caused the formation of Earth and the other In early March, scientists of the Spacewatch planets in the solar system, Rettig explained. program at the University of Arizona made "Collisions like these formed 'planetesimals,' headlines as they announced that a near-Earth which developed into the larger modern planets asteroid, termed "1997XF11 ,'' would cross the as the colliding particles stuck together," he said. Earth's orbit and come within 30,000 miles of Near-earth asteroids - those that travel with the planet, with a collision possible but unlikely. in 1.3 AU (one AU, or astronomical unit, is equiv Later. more accurate calculations by scientists alent to 93 million miles, according to Rettig) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab revealed that the are the type of asteroids studied by Spacewatch, destruction of Earth by collision with an asteroid which observes the skies in the hopes of cata would not occur any time soon, though such a loging all projectiles that may collide with the collision would hardly be a rare astronomical Earth. At present 473, NEAs have been discov occurrence. ered, fewer than one-tenth of the projected total "Things like this happen all the time, just not that exist. this 'big,"' explained Terrence Rettig, professor "Spacewatch is the name of a group at the of astronomy. University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Prior to the existence of the solar system, mat- see ASTEROIDS I page 4 ·' ii •',.•' _·1 Former NO football player indicted in point-shaving The Associated Press Northwestern campus. "You wouldn't even know about football champions three seasons Dame sports information direc It was the latest in a string of it until it happened." ago, they rarely have produced tor John Heisler. CHICAGO gambling cases involving college Other point shaving-scandles winning basketball teams. The Pendergast and Irving, who On the eve of college basket basketball players since the hit Arizona State and Tulane. 1993-94 club that went to the both now live in California, were ball's showcase event, the sport point-shaving ~-----. Two years ago, 13 Boston NIT is the school's last basketball accused of betting on was rocked by another point scandal of College football players were team with a winning record, 15- Northwestern's opponents and shaving scandal Thursday, this 1951, which suspended for betting on college 14. persuading others to follow suit time at Northwestern - a school involved and pro football and major Under the indictments at casinos in Reno, Nev., Las known for brains more than bet schools such as league baseball games. announced at a news conference, Vegas and elsewhere, according ting lines. Kentucky, "We should not be surprised Lee and Williams were charged to the U.S. attorney. Federal indictments charged CCNY and NYU. this is occuring," caid Cedric with point-shaving, while Kevin The Wildcats lost each game former Wildcat starters Kenneth And it came Dempsey, executive director of Pendergast and Brian Irving by at least 14 points and failed to Dion Lee and Dewey Williams when the spot- ..__.__L-..11 the NCAA. "Gambling is as big an were charged with conspiring to cover the point spread against and two others with fixing the light on college Pendergast addiction on our campuses as fix the outcome of three games the Badgers and Nittany Lions. outcome of three basketball basketball was alcohol, and it reflects what is - at home against Wisconsin Northwestern finished the sea games during the 1994-95 sea brightest - two days before the going on in our society." and Penn State, and on the road son 5-22 under coach Ricky son. A former Wildcat football Final Four in San Antonio. But Northwestern is known against Michigan. Byrdsong. player was accused in a separate "It's a bomb ready to explode. more for academic success than Pendergast is a former kicker "We have no idea if its true or indictment of running a book It can happen to anybody," Duke sports. Although the Wildcats at Notre Dame who led the Irish making operation on the coach Mike Krzyzewski said. made the Rose Bown as Big Ten in scoring in 1993, said Notre see GAMBLING I page 6 --- ---------- ~---- ---- page 2 The Observer· INSIDE Friday, March 27, 1998 • INSIDE COLUMN 1 The titne for c--~,,« /0utside the Dome ----\.. ~.$·--~,\ . \/ • Comp1/ed from U-Wtre reports help is now Columbia focuses on counseling in wake of brutal slaying NEW YORK amalgamation of eoncerns," Erichler This week President Bill ""':'!"!!!!!!'!!"!!!!!!'!!"!!!!!!'!!"!!!!!!'!!"!!!!!!'!!"!!!!!!'!~ Following Edmund Ko's arrest said. "They may not have known the Clinton is doing something Saturday for the murder of law student person who was killed, but it may that the leaders of the Lynda Hong, Columbia has focused on reawaken old wounds." United States should have minimizing the killing's eiTect on stu Students are primarily facing feelings done ynars ago. lie is tour dents. of grief. which am harder to oven~ome ing Africa and promising Virgil Henzulli, Associate Vice than feelings of fear, Eriehler said. greater futurn support to President for Public Affairs, said "Bereavement cannot be eased," those countrins. Columbia has set up several ~services to Erichler said, "it has to be gone Tlw richest nation in help students deal with the tragedy, through. Diil'erent people handle diiTer the world helping the Matt Loughran including counseling services and an ent cases over time. !Counseling snr poornst nations; that is News Editor information hotline. vices] can listen and facilitate so a stu the way that the concept University Counseling and dent can do it on his own." "Students have eorne in because they of international relations is supposed to work. Psyehologieal Services has set up The University has also focused on knew Lynda Hong, or the event has The Senate's IMF bill (see story on page 5) is extended office hours. The service was security eoneerns which have arisen resonated with their own lives," another good step toward helping tho govern open on the Saturday and Sunday since Friday's incident. Erichler said. "l have seen a lot of ments of third world countries provide for the immediately following Hong's murder, Jimmy Agriantonis lives next door undergraduates and graduates looking wclfam of thnir people. Granted, the aceording to Hiehard Erichler. director from where Hong was killed, and he for a place to grieve." International Monetary Fund is not an automat of the counseling service. said he is not eoncernnd about his sali~ Erichler could not specify exaetly ic relief fund for poorer countries. but it is one Erichler has worked as counseling ty. how many students he has seen, but he way that those countries can get the monetary services director sinee 1986 and said "1 always know there is some kind of said the number of students corning in assistam~e they need he could not say if the effect of Hong's security threat, but I !iJel really safe in to talk has increased. His office usually Perhaps Clinton should focus on the more murder was any more severe on stu the area," Agriantonis said. "I don't sees 100 students per day. substantive issues in the countries that he visits. dents than similar past tragedies. feel like my life is in any danger at all." lie should not go to the war-torn area around "Students are coming in with an Lake Victoria (Kenya, Uganda, and Hwanda) and talk about putting computers in schools. A • COLORADO UNIVERSITY • PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY large number of the people in these countries are subsistence farmers and are more worried Students seek more ethics awareness 4 indicted in marijuana protest trial about the success of their crops than if the local school gel<; a computer. Many live without elec BOULDER, Colo. STATE COLLEGE, Penn. tricity or rurming water. All of these are issues CU student lawmakers want the university to be more Four of the five smokers charged along with retired pro that can be solved by a stable government that discriminating when it comes to selecting its bedfellows. fessor Julian Heicklen in his marijuana protest Feb. 12 cares about its people, which should be the real Spurred by reports of alleged human-rights violations by went before District Justice Allen Sindair Wednesday in goal of U.S. monetary intervention. Nike manufacturers overseas, the CU Student Union is their attempt to reverse current marijuana laws. That is not to say that the U.S. should go into calling for administrators to scrutinize companies for University students Jennifer Corbett and Andy Burke and these situations and try to fiwce the government human-rights violations before signing contracts with State College residents Jleicklen and Kenneth Keltner out if it will not cooperate. But money is a very them.