When U. South Florida researchers aboard the research vessel R/V Weatherbird II announced that they had discovered an oil plume below the ocean surface, they thought that they had made a monumental discovery.

However, BP CEO Tony Hayward disputes their findings, denying that any such plumes exist.

According to the Associated Press, Hayward said the company’s samplings showed “no evidence” that oil was gathering underwater and that oil’s natural tendency is to rise to the surface. He did not elaborate on how this testing was completed.

“The oil is on the surface,” he said. “There aren’t any plumes.”

Members of the Oil Spill Academic Task Force (OSATF), a group of scientists and scholars from Florida investigating the effects of the oil spill, met Wednesday at the USF College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg to discuss the collaboration of research among state universities.

Ian MacDonald, professor of oceanography at Florida State U. and member of OSATF, said research shows that the oil plumes would have formed regardless of the use of chemicals to break them up.

“The oil undergoes a pressure drop as it jets out of the well, and at those depths and temperatures, it has a very close buoyancy to that of water,” MacDonald said. “So, unlike what the CEO of BP said, the oil will remain at depth, and some of the ships at sea are confirming this.”

He said that it is important “to believe in science” and speak up “when we think things are true.”

“As scientists, we are ready to be wrong, but at the same time, we’re ready to put the information out there,” MacDonald said.

William Hogarth, dean of the USF College of Marine Science, said the task force needs money to complete it’s research and that it would probably end up coming from a multitude of sources, possibly including BP.

“BP has no influence on how we do things,” Hogarth said. “If we do end up getting money from BP to do research, it will come with no strings attached. We will do science based on science.”

Hogarth said the biggest struggle for researchers is that there are so many “unknowns” — questions that they hope to answer with more research.

The research team, comprised of USF scientists and members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, discovered the plume while they were taking water samples in the DeSoto Canyon off the Florida Panhandle on May 25. The team estimates the plume to be 22 miles long and more than 1,000 feet below the ocean surface.

When the Deepwater Horizon petroleum well, owned by BP, exploded April 20, hundreds of gallons of oil began spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. George Maul, professor of oceanography at the Florida Institute of Oceanography, said the spill is now about 80,000 square kilometers, which is roughly the size of South Carolina.

Susan Bell, the chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at USF, agreed that the problems stemming from the oil spill are complex and that “there’s no telling how much damage will be done.”

One of her major concerns is that the spill spans such a large area that many organisms can’t move away from it.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen to the ecosystems in the gulf,” Bell said. “Certain parts of the gulf may recover more quickly than others. It’s definitely a challenge.”

According to Hogarth, Florida has the “best fishery — particularly recreational — in the gulf” — drawing in an estimated “$6-9 billion a year in revenue for the state.” An oil epidemic on our coast could have economic repercussions as well, he said.

“It’s absolutely devastating to realize the potential for large scale destruction. It’s the type of thing you don’t know how to react to,” Bell said. “In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve actually fully reacted yet. I’ll know once I’m out on the water.”

She said that if oil were to make its way onto Florida’s shores, we could expect to see much of what the residents of Louisiana are currently experiencing.

“I would imagine things like birds coated in oil and coastal plants smothered by it,” she said. “It would all depend on the amount of oil and if there were clean-up projects.

Before dawn Monday, Israeli commandos launched a brutal raid on a flotilla of aid vessels carrying supplies to the Gaza Strip. The violent attack occurred in international waters aboard a ferry carrying nearly 700 people and resulted in the deaths of nine pro-Palestinian activists.

Israel’s deputy U.N. ambassador Daniel Carmon has desperately defended his country and claimed that some of the activists had ties to terrorist organizations. Another Israeli official pointed to the discovery of two rifles aboard the ship as evidence of ill intent.

Edward Peck, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, was onboard one of the boats in the flotilla and told CNN what was really on the ferry.

“The purpose was humanitarian. We posed no threat to anybody. We were unarmed,” he said, listing prefabricated houses, water purification equipment and 180 motorized wheelchairs as some of the cargo.

Israel’s actions are hard to ignore. Peck accurately summed up the event when he said, “If this had taken place in Somalia, it would be called piracy.”

After seizing the ship in international waters, the commandos sailed it back to Israel, where the 670 surviving passengers were held prisoner under threat of prosecution.

Aside from needless deaths, the most serious repercussion of the botched raid could be the disintegration of relations between Israel and its close ally, Turkey. The ferry that the Israeli military attacked was sailing under a Turkish flag and carrying mostly Turkish nationals.

Launching such an aggressive operation against citizens of a key ally can only be characterized as boneheaded or worse. Criticism from the Turkish government has been swift and fierce. Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said to Fox News that the Israeli raid was “banditry and piracy” and “murder conducted by a state.”

In a country dominated by right-wing politics, Israeli politicians generally have resorted to heavy-handed military tactics. Last year, the Israeli Defense Forces launched a three-week offensive in Gaza that devastated the territory’s infrastructure. According to Israel’s own estimates, 1,166 Palestinians were killed in the conflict.

Ever since, Gaza has been under strict blockade, and the 1.5 million residents of the territory have slipped even further into poverty. Conditions have gotten so bad that civilians are seizing a rare opportunity to escape the besieged area by flocking to the Egyptian border crossings, where travel restrictions have been temporarily lifted because of the attack.

The effects of Israeli foreign policy are hard to ignore. Hardly devoted to a legitimate peace process, the Jewish state continues to oppress Palestinian civilians and thumb its nose at its staunchest allies. Israel should reconsider its key policies, as the country is quickly running out of friends around the globe.

– Vincent DeFrancesco is a U. South Florida junior majoring in mass communications.

At only 13 years old, Anastasia Megan has nearly completed her high school education.

A result of advanced home schooling by her two parents, who are both retired engineers, her academic achievement has raised her parents’ confidence in her potential, but has  also created controversy over age requirements for college admission.

Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC) in Leesburg was recently faced with the difficult task of having to reject Anastasia’s application.

Despite her parents’ wishful thinking and overzealous attempts to fast-forward their daughter’s life, a college campus is not an appropriate place for a child.

“Anyone basically can walk onto our campus,” LSCC President Charles Mojock said to the Orlando Sentinel. “So we’ve got a very different environment (than a high school) … And we have many adult students having adult conversations on adult topics, and that may or may not be suitable for some young students.”

Stated correctly by Mojock, a college campus is quite different from other places of learning like high school or one’s home, as in Anastasia’s case.

Not considering the college environment outside the classroom, which a younger student could possibly avoid, discussions that take place in a college classroom are often serious in nature, with graphic content and language in some instances.

A child could possibly be exposed to graphic adult content, but most problematic is that the other students in the class may not feel comfortable discussing certain topics and may censor themselves with a child in the room.

Anastasia’s parents filed an age-discrimination complaint against the school with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

“If she meets all the qualifications but for her age, then why not let her in?” Louise Racine, Anastasia’s mother, said to the Sentinel. “What’s the worst that can happen, honestly? If a child does pass these tests, don’t you think they should be allowed to continue their education to the next level and continue to let their minds grow?”

There is a reason why college application requirements are not based solely on memorization and the testing required to complete high school coursework, but on other important achievements as well.

The ability to interact socially with peers and authority figures, make friends, play sports, participate in clubs and other important accomplishments are developed while attending school in a traditional manner and should not be disregarded, but appreciated and required if a college is to be composed of well-rounded potential graduates.

While an exact age for one to enter college may be debatable, beginning early in adolescence is not appropriate.

Colleges shouldn’t be willing to compromise traditional students’ learning environments because some parents hold a distorted view of what constitutes an education.

The Texas A&M track and field teams received a welcome piece of news Tuesday, as both the men’s and women’s squad were moved to the No. 1 ranking in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) polls.

These rankings, which only include entries to the NCAA Championship meet, came out two days after the Aggies concluded the qualifying season with the NCAA West Regional at Mike A. Myers Track Stadium in Austin.

At the end of the meet Saturday, the Aggies had tickets to the NCAA Championship meet in Eugene, Oregon punched for 25 athletes.

Although U. Oregon is the home team, the Aggies carry some confidence coming into next week’s meet as not only the top-ranked team but also the defending team champions.

The only other Big 12 team in the top 10 for the men is Texas Tech, ranked fifth. Other Big 12 men’s teams in the Top 25 are Oklahoma at No. 11, Nebraska at No. 16, Kansas at No. 17, and Texas, Baylor and Missouri ranked at 21, 23, and 25, respectively.

By comparison, the Big 12 women are a little lighter in the rankings, with five teams other than the Aggies in the top 25. The highest rated team in this category is Oklahoma, which stands at No. 6.

Including alternates for relays, the Aggies will bring 28 athletes – 13 for the men and 15 for the women.

The A&M women have the most event entries in the women’s field with 21. The Oregon Ducks are tied with the LSU Tigers for second with 17. The next closest team, Penn State, only has 12 entries.

Senior Ashika Charan, sophomore Dominique Duncan, senior Porscha Lucas, junior Gabby Mayo and sophomore Jeneba Tarmoh are tied for the most events for Aggie women with three each.

The men’s grid, on the other hand, is more equally spread, with the Aggies and Ducks equal with 16 entries per team. LSU stands third with 15 entries, while Texas Tech and Oklahoma have 12 and 11 entries, respectively.

With four entries (100 meters, 200 meters and part of the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays), junior Curtis Mitchell leads the men’s side. Junior Melvin Echard will be competing in both the long jump and triple jump.

The Big 12 leads all conferences in entries with 87, with the SEC in second with 82 and the Pac-10 rounding out the top three with 67 events.

The NCAA Championships begin June 9 at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.

The Texas A&M U. Board of Regents announced a 2.8 percent tuition increase for the 2010-2011 academic school year. Of course, with any announcement that more of your money will be taken, come the inevitable moans and groans of the student body.

But before we get into whining mode, let’s remember that compared to the tuition increases of other universities, we are still far below average. Texas State U. increased their tuition by 5 percent, U. Texas 5.4 percent, and Baylor 6.5 percent. Even Texas A&M-Galveston, San Antonio and Prairie A&M U. will raise tuition by 3.95 percent.

We still attend the University which can boast the most bang for our buck. Before we open our mouths with complaints, we need to consider what is important: we are getting one of the best educations in the nation. I am willing to pay an extra $4.81 per credit hour to ensure the same quality education. Increases are a necessity as resources, staff and facilities all become more expensive with the coming years.

The state of our economy was eventually going to directly impact college students.  Gov. Rick Perry ordered at 5 percent budget cut for state agencies and public institutions of higher education this year, issuing a directive for universities to prepare for a 10 percent cut in 2012 and 2013. This will cost A&M $25 million this year, and the money has to be made up somewhere. Instead of complaining, students should be grateful A&M was able to save them more than the other universities in the state.

As part of a sales agreement between Texas A&M University and the city of College Station, grave sites at Luther Street and Marion Pugh Drive will be relocated to the Aggie Field of Honor.

“Several years ago the University sold some property to the city of College Station to allow the development of a new cemetery,” said David Morrison, manager of facilities information at Texas A&M. “The University required the city set aside an area to allow for the remains of those individuals to be replaced in the new cemetery.”

Among the bodies buried in the current obscure gravesite is former University President Lafayette Foster, who died in 1901.

“For many years, the current site of those graves have been fairly neglected and only in the last several years has it been looked at again,” Morrison said. “It is important to the University that we make sure that the graves of these people are taken care of properly instead of having them stuck in the corner of a horse pasture.”

The University has yet to hear any complaints from family members for moving the current gravesites to the Aggie Field of Honor, which is located in the center of the new cemetery at 3800 Raymond Stotzer Pkwy.

The family members that the University has been in contact with have had no issues in the moving of the graves, Morrison said. In fact, one family member recalls the first time the grave site was moved from the original location at Duncan Hall that the current location would be temporary.

There are no plans to do anything with the land that will be left behind.

“Just to reiterate there is no sort of mysterious under-the-table thing going on that is causing the cemetery to be moved It strictly has to do with putting these remains in a proper burial place,” Morrison said.

There is no budget that has been finalized which details what the move will cost the University, although there will be many variables to consider, such as the presence of an archeologist and the replacement of headstones.

These days, many people are making an effort to be environmentally friendly. As a part of this effort, the Texas A&M Utilities and Energy Management Department has introduced a combined heat and power project.

“Over the past two years, A&M embarked on an evaluation to look at equipment for power and steam and to identify the best options for energy around campus,” said Jim Riley, Utilities and Energy Management director.

Texas A&M has had on campus power generation since 1893. The project was $70.25 million.

“You’re generating electricity and taking the waste heat, and you produce steam,” Riley said. “Take the steam and run it to the steam generator, and take the exhaust steam from that. And that provides hot water for showers and food prep and heating water for the buildings.” The equipment A&M is replacing has been installed since the early 1970s.

The project generation equipment is built to last for 30 years, so new equipment was a necessity.

Design has been completed, and construction is under way. Riley said one of the major benefits of the project is that it will significantly reduce carbon footprints.

“We’re installing almost 2 miles of electrical duct bank — concrete encasement underground for conduit and electrical cable,” he said. “This will have a huge impact on traffic flow. It is a major impact, but there will be huge benefit for many, many decades.”

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.

On the evening of Apr. 13, after an 8-0 home loss to No. 3 University of Texas, the team’s sixth in a row, not a soul would have predicted that the remainder of their season would unfold as it did.

“[Good fortune] is going to come back to us, I truly believe that, and our players believe that,” A&M Head Coach Rob Childress said. “We’re going to continue to get out there and improve each and every day.”

Falling to 20-14-1 after that Apr. 13 loss, a 40-19-1 record and the No. 2 seed in an NCAA tournament regional seemed a long way from possible for a reeling team.
Presently, the Aggies enter the NCAA tournament on fire as the Big 12 champions after rolling their way to a win in the conference tournament final and earning the conference’s automatic bid.

Going 20-5 over the remainder of the season and 16-3 over the month of May, A&M fought back to become the 18th team in school history to win 40 games in a season and swept its way through the Big 12 Tournament.

Now they head to Coral Gables, Fl., to participate in their fourth straight NCAA tournament — the third time Aggie baseball has accomplished the feat — and 26th all time.

Miami, Florida International and Dartmouth round out the regional group.

“It’s always exciting to know that you have an opportunity to be one of the 64 teams that have a chance to move on in the NCAA Championships,” Childress said. “We’re really looking forward to the challenge that the tournament in Miami will present.”

Sophomore Garrett Wittels and his 54-game hit streak attract the majority of the attention surrounding FIU, winners of the Sun Belt Tournament and automatic bid.

“They have the opportunity to go to the University of Miami, which has such tradition, and to go there and play will be a challenge,” Childress said.

Oregon State U. engineers are exploring the possibility of helping the city of Cannon Beach design the nation’s first tsunami evacuation structure.

The plan is to rebuild Cannon Beach’s city hall and transform it into a municipal center and a potentially life-saving evacuation shelter, if the funds to finance the project are secured.

“Nothing quite like this has ever been done,” said Seth Thomas, a graduate student in structural engineering and head of the project.

Many residents of Cannon Beach support the project, arguing that the city hall is due to be replaced anyway. Others suggest that it would be beneficial to preserve the city government in the event of a tsunami, according to Patrick Corcoran, an OSU Sea Grant Extension hazards outreach specialist.

Why the tsunami hype? The region many Oregonians call home is resting on top of one of the largest natural hazards in the United States.

The Pacific Northwest lies off the coast of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The plate of the earth under the Pacific Ocean is slowly diving under the North American continent, causing friction when the oceanic and continental plates scrape against each other.

The plate formations that caused devastating tsunamis in Chile in 2010 and in Sumatra in 2004 were almost identical to the Cascadia Subduction Zone formation, Corcoran said.

He also noted there is a one-in-three chance a major earthquake and tsunami disaster will occur in the Cascadia Subduction Zone in our generation.

On the Oregon Coast, knowledge of the threat of tsunamis has only been available for the past 20 to 30 years. Before this information was known, countless houses and buildings were constructed in areas in danger of a tsunami, Corcoran said.

“So now we have to compensate for the fact that we have so many valuable things in vulnerable places,” Corcoran said.

Once constructed, the building will be the first “vertical evacuation” structure in the United States.

OSU engineers involved in the project have been working at OSU’s Hinsdale Wave Research Lab since April 1, meticulously testing their designs.

“Because it’s so important, we need to know it’s going to work,” Thomas said.

In a worst-case scenario, lives will depend on the expertly designed building to withhold the crushing forces of a tsunami.

The city doesn’t know when construction will begin for the new city hall, because as of now, there isn’t enough money to build it. The cost of rebuilding the Cannon Beach city hall is approximately $2 million. To construct the new city hall, including the evacuation components, it would cost about $4 million.

City officials are hoping for government grants and possible financial help from engineering firms.

“They need money to make it real now,” Corcoran said.