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Show Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008 Hurricane Gustav hits Freshman daze Haiti, drives up oil prices PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Hurricane Gustav dumped torrential rains across southern Haiti on Tuesday, killing at least one man and threatening crops amid protests over high food prices. Oil prices rose on fears the storm could batter oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Trees toppled as the storm lingered for hours over Haiti's poor, deforested southern peninsula, and water levels were rising in banana, bean and vegetable fields. One man was killed in a landslide in the mountain town of Benet, civil protection director Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste told Radio Metropole. "If the rain continues, we'll be flooded," U.N. food consultant Jean Gardy said from the southeastern town ofMarigot. Hundreds of people in coastal Les Cayes ignored government warnings to seek shelter, instead throwing rocks to protest the high cost of living in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Witnesses said U.N. peacekeepers used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Haiti is a tinderbox because of soaring food prices, which in April led to deadly protests and the ouster of the nation's prime minister. It was difficult to ascertain the extent of the damage from the Category 1 hurricane to the nation's crops on Tuesday because of Haiti's poor infrastructure and faulty communications. After Haiti, Gustav was projected to sideswipe Cuba's southern coastline all week and grow into a perilous Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph (190 kph) winds before entering the central gulf on Sunday. Forecasters were reluctant to predict the storm's path beyond the weekend, the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had been expecting a direct hit, but later forecasts suggested thefiercestwinds and rain will pass offshore. Base spokesman Bruce Lloyd said they were preparing for emergencies in any case. A powerful storm in the gulf could force shutdowns on the offshore rigs that account for a quarter of U.S. crude production and much of its natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it could begin evacuating workers as soon as Wednesday. The price of light, sweet crude for October delivery ended Tuesday up US$1.16 to settle at US$116.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the National Hurricane Center predicted Gustav could enter the gulf as a major hurricane this weekend. LI See HURRICANE, page 4 F R E S H M E N L A N D O N P O T T E R , undecided, and Kaitlyn Pond, elementary education, search a map to find their classes, Aug. 24. SETH HAWKINS photo Clinton salutes Obama; Democrats rip McCain DENVER (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton summoned millions of voters who supported her in the primaries to send Barack Obama to the White House Tuesday night, declaring in a Democratic National Convention speech that the man who defeated her "is my candidate and he must be our president." In a prime time address, the former first lady added, "we don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare." The packed convention floor became a sea of white "Hillary" signs as the New York senator strode to the podium, and thousands of Democrats cheered as she took a prespeech sip of water. While her prepared remarks included a full-throated endorsement of Obama, she did not indicate whether she would have her name placed in nomination or seek a formal roll call of the states when the nomination is awarded by delegates on Wednesday night. Calling herself a "proud supporter of Barack Obama, she dismissed Republican John McCain with a few choice words. "No way. No how. No McCain," she said as the hall erupted in cheers. "We don't need four more years ... of the last eight years," she added. Like other failed candidates at conventions past, Clinton recalled her own quest for the White House. "You taught me so much, you made me laugh and ... you even made me cry," she said to supporters in the Pepsi Center and millions more watching on nationwide television. "You allowed me to become part of your lives, and you became part of mine." "I want you to ask yourselves, 'Were you in this campaign just for me?'" she asked. Clinton was the featured speaker of the second night of the convention, and she followed a series of other Democrats to the podium who had ripped into Republican McCain as indifferent to the working class and cozy with big oil. If he's the answer, then the question must be ridiculous," New York Gov. David Patersoh said of the GOP presidential candidate. Said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, "Its time to bring our jobs back and bring our troops home." "Call the roll!" urged Ted Sorensen, a party elder eager to propel Obama toward the White House as the first black president. Not yet. Obama's formal nomination was set for Wednesday night. First came Clinton, his tenacious rival in a riveting battle for the nomination, closing out her own history-making quest. The convention hall was packed for her appearance, so much so that officials sealed the entrances. Despite lingering unhappiness among some delegates nursing grievances over Clinton's loss, party chairman Howard Dean declared the convention determined to make Obama the nations 44th president. "There Baffin' it up AGGIE BASKETBALL FORWARD, GARY WILKINSON, dribbles the ball during the annual Aggie Basketball with the special Olympics team members. DEBRA HAWKINS photo Page 3 StatesmanCampus News FORMER P R E S I D E N T I A L H O P E F U L Hillary Clinton was a key speaker at the Democratic Convention, Tuesday. AP photo is not a unity problem. If anyone doubts that, wait till you see Hillary Clinton's speech," he said. In the convention keynote address, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said Obama will "appeal to us not as Republicans or Democrats, but first and foremost as Americans." He added, "We need leaders who see our common ground as sacred ground." In contrast to many of speeches delivered earlier in the day, out of prime time, Warner's remarks were more a sketch of the "post-partisan" possibilities that Obama often speaks of, rather than criticism of McCain and President Bush. "I know we're at the Democratic National Convention, but if an idea works, it really doesn't matter if it has an 'R' or 'D' next to it," he said. As keynoter, Warner's task was the same one that Obama — then an Illinois state lawmaker running for the U.S. Senate — used four years ago to launch his astonishing ascent in national politics. Obama, 47 and in his first Senate term, campaigned in Missouri as he slowly made his way toward the convention city. Speaking to airline workers in a giant hangar, he accused the Bush administration of failing to enforce health and safety laws and said McCain "doesn't get it" when it comes to the concerns of blue collar workers. Emergencies: Student text alerts Di continued front page 1 "We encourage everyone to get their information in and be a part of that," he said, "and by using Banner (Access), students and employees will be able to edit their information as is necessary." During last years ASUSU elections, Grady Brimley, ASUSU president, said he had spoken with students concerning this matter. "Our campus is very similar to Virginia Tech," Brimley said. "Before Connect Ed we had no way of notifying students. We need a program like this at Utah State because of the recent phenomenon that we have seen in this country of active shooters." Mecham said active shooting situations are not the only emergency that would warrant utilizing this system. "There are several different scenarios I could think of that we would use this. If there is a major storm, or we are closing the campus as we did last year with the snow storm, we can get that information out to everyone. Some people weren't notified we had closed the campus and came anyway," he said. Mecham said some students have expressed worries about giving out their private information. "Some students have limited text messages and don't want to be receiving a lot of text messages. Your information is completely confidential. It's not going to be used for spam, it will onlv be for emergencies," he said. Mecham said the one exception to this will be a test each semester to make sure that the system is working properly, and to ensure that students have the proper information submitted. "It's a system we hope that we never have to use, but if there is a major incident, then we need to notify the masses as quickly as possible," he said. —Hndsay. anderson@aggiemail. usu. edu Briefs Campus & Community Volunteers needed to teach children Like getting wet and playing in the water? Want to gain experience working with children? Utah State University Water Quality Extension seeks volunteers to teach 4th graders about water quality and water bugs. Volunteers are needed to lead activities for Natural Resources Field Days Sept. 3-12 in Logan Canyon. Participants can sign up to volunteer in two-hour blocks from 9:45-11:45 a.m. or from 12:05-2:05 p.m. Lunch is provided. Volunteers will receive training to lead children in hands-on activities to learn about water quality and aquatic macroinvertebrates living in local waters. The training session is Tuesday, Sept. 2, at 4 p.m. in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Auditorium. Volunteer sign-up is in BiologyNatural Resources building, room 283 and the sign-up deadline is Friday, Aug. 29. For information, contact Susan Anderson at 7972580 or susan.anderson@usu. edu. Foxley donates to English department The Department of English is pleased to announce another generous donation from Dr. Cecelia Harrison Foxley The money will go toward building the Foxley Scholarship Endowment, which provides support for students intending to teach high school English. Dr. Foxley has dedicated her professional life to education both in Utah and the nation. She served for more than 10 years as Commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education and Chief Executive Officer of the State Board of Regents. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, she served as the Deputy Commissioner and as the Associate Commissioner for Academic Affairs for Utah. The English department thanks Dr. Foxley for her service and generosity. Family Weekend Sept. 1213 Parents and families of USU students are invited to reunite for a weekend of activities Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12-13 during USU's Parent and Family Weekend. The weekend is full of activities including a luncheon, Aggie Family Day On the Quad, a welcome reception with Aggie Ice Cream and an Aggie football game. The weekend will start off with a welcome reception with Aggie Ice Cream Friday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. at the David B. Haight Alumni Center. Many activities are on tap Saturday, Sept. 13, including the weekend's major event, a luncheon that requires advance registration. The Parent and Family luncheon begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Evan Stevenson Ballroom located in the Taggart Student Center. Registration is due by Sept. 5 and should be completed online. Following the luncheon, everyone is invited to Aggie Family Day on the Quad, held from 2-5 p.m. This event is free and no registration is required. Parents are also invited to watch the USU football team com-:;; pete against the University of Utah:; at 6 p.m. in the Romney Stadium:, 'A For a link to purchase tickets, visit > USU's Retention and First Year -jji experience web site at www.usu; •<','» edu/rfye. .- •; \. V^'£',v£ "Parents planning to attend '*.;?• the game should purchase tickets " early as the game will likely sell out quickly," said Andersen. Registration for the weekend is under way and ongoing. For complete information and to register for USU's Family and Parent weekend visit www.usu.edu/parents/weekend. Any questions may be directed to USU's office of Retention and First-Year Experience at 797-1132. TAYLOR WELLS, a freshman majoring in chemistry, texts will on campus. Students will now receive emergency information by emails, text messaging, and telephone. TYLER LARSON photo [•Compiled from staff and media reports |