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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1973)
THE BATTALION Page 2 College Station, Texas Tuesday, April 10, 1973 Listen Up TRY BATTALION CLASSIFY CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle STUDENT PKES/DENT Services Fee Hit, Praised ‘Now, about these campaign promises About Those Fees The Student Senate had a perfect chance to change its image Thursday night when considering student services fees for next year. Instead, it kept its track record intact by voting to effectively raise the amount students have to pay. With the administration wanting to charge students $15 a semester for the University Hospital and the Senate asking for an $18 Services Fee charge per semester, stu dents will now be able to get for $66 what they were get ting for $60 this year. One can fully understand the feelings expressed by an incoming senator for 1973-74, “I’m going to destroy the Student Senate!” We’re sure that the Senate, in its constant striving for equality and fairness of representation, never bothered to ask the student body (supposedly its constituency) wheth er it wanted a higher fee, lower one or middle-of-the-road. For some reason each year, the Senate comes to be lieve it owes its allegiance to the department which rarely pulls through in the final clutch, the Texas A&M Athletic Department. The Athletic Department, likewise, expresses its allegiance to the Senate at this time when allocations are being divided up — a complete reversal of its usual considerations. The Senate took the time to draw up at least six elab orate plans for dividing the Services Fee kitty — each cen tered around athletics — but it never took into considera tion that students might have wanted to put a student lawyer or intramurals on an optional or user fee funded program. A user fee or optional system would have been the most satisfactory for all concerned, since those not wish ing to take part in athletic programming would not have had to pay for its existence and be “forced’’ to enjoy it. We have no reason to think the Senate will lower the amount next year, with inflation the way it is. To the con trary, with $12 of the $30 per semester limit still unspoken for, the Senate in its true colors probably won’t be able to resist asking for students to spend it. But the Board of Directors has the final say in this matter, not the Senate. We urge the Board NOT to ap prove this proposal, but to take a lower fee plan. The 37- 29 Senate vote was not representative of the student body. Editor: It is with a heavy heart that I must report that in the matter of Student Service Fees, the Stu dent Senate has culminated a worthwhile year in an absolute acme of absurdity. The Battalion apparently did not feel that the arguments advanced to justify the final decision were worth the paper it would waste to print them, an opinion I would share did I not feel that it might be of more than trivial interest to everyone to know why they will be paying- $6 more in compulsory fees next year. Therefore, to drive home the full force of that fiasco, I present a somewhat ab breviated account of the discus sion. The plan recommended by the Services Fees Allocation Com mittee would leave the level of total fees the same and put a $2 per ticket charge on home football games. Then the people who benefit from athletics pay a larger share of its support. (It should be pointed out that a com promise proposal using a user fee and raising fees by $2 per years was also presented.) Ini tially, the major argument against these schemes was con sistency-user fees were not in cluded for other programs in the budget, so they should not be in cluded for athletics. Paul Turn er, however, quickly pointed out that, even though not included in the budget, user fees are utilized by virtually every program ex cept athletics. Strangely enough, consistency immediately ceased to be a major issue. Next, the argument arose that the user fee would only benefit the minority of students who do not attend games while penaliz ing those who do. To begin with, it is a sizable minority indeed who do not attend games (around 40 per cent per game). Second ly, since when is it considered a a penalty in a free market to make YOU pay for services that benefit you ? I don’t know, and apparently neither did anyone else at the meeting, since this issue was never answered. It was also argued by one of our resident economic whizzes that a fee would shift the de mand curve, so fewer people would go to games., Now that is a truly profound observation — that if you have to pay an incre mental cost for a service, fewer people will use it. From an eco nomic viewpoint, however, all this proves is that people prefer to do something else with their money. So what this REALLY says is “Since some people do not think it’s worth their money, we’ll raise the compulsory fee and make them pay anyway.” Furthermore, with questions be ing raised as to how much em phasis would be placed on ath- Students International Meditation Society presents Transcendental Meditation as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as part of the Science of Creative Intelligence Spring Conference at Texas A&M Te conference will consist of • Seminar discussion lectures on TM and the benefits it offers in the field of: ^ Mental Potential + Health 'jlf Social Behavior + World Peace • Color films of Maharish discussing the value of TM with educators, and scientists. Classes to learn and begin the technique and practice of TM. Lectures — April 10, 11, & 12 Tues., Wed., & Thurs. 7:00 p. m. — Assembly Room MSC For film times, call 846-5586 Cbe Battalion opinions expressed in The Battalion are those oj Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising the student writers only. The Battalion is a non-tax- Services, Inc, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. supported, noji-piofit, self-supporting educational enter- MEMBER prise edited and operated by students as a university and The Associated Press, Texas Press Association community newspaper. ^ Mail subscriptions are 53.50 per semester; S6 per school LETTERS POLICY year; $6.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% , ... ii . j sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address: LelteiJ to the editor must be typed, double-spaced, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station. and no more than 300 words in length. They must be Texas 77S43. signed, although the writer’s name will be withheld by arrangement with the editor. Address correspondence to The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for Listen up. The BolMion, Race 2,7. Sen.iee, Building, XSS&ZtgL'Z, o't College Station, Texas 7/S-t3. origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim Lindsey, chairman ; Dr. Tom Adair, Dr. R. A. Albanese, Dr. H. E. Hierth, W. C. Harrison, J. W. Griffith, L. E. Kruse and EDITOR Ml'KE RICE B U ' Seais News Editor Rod Speer , , Women’s Editor Janet Landers The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is Snortg THitnr Dill TTor^vi, published in College Station, Texas, daily except Saturday. i o Y rUiY - -- Hill Llenry Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods, September through -Assistant opoitS realtor iVevin Coffey May, and once a week during summer school. letics, a small charge per ticket would provide some indication of how students feel about the mat ter. It was on the basis of such logic(?) that fees were raised by $6. Consequently, I hope that everyone will look up his new senator now while the subject is still fresh and say what they think so that next year will not see a repeat performance. What ever fee plan does pass next year, I hope it will be by popular demand, not popular default. John Nash ★ ★ ★ Editor: We wish to clear up some mis conceptions brought on by Fri day’s article in The Battalion about the Thursday night Sen ate meeting. The cost of education was not raised solely by those Senate ac tions. The hospital fee was pre viously $12 out of the $30 maxi mum service fee as set by state law. The Senate in a previous meeting endorsed the state legis lature action that would take out the hospital fee from service fees and raise it to $15. This measure was designed to help pay for the new hospital facilities. In a friendly amendment, the Senate provided that the hospital could not in the future ask for any more money from Student Serv ices Fees. Thus was the Services Fee left at the previous level of $18, be ing the difference between the $30 and the $12 hospital part of the old fee. The level of this fee is to provide for the additional programming brought on by the addition of some 100 organiza tions to the new MSC complex, as well as paying for a student lawyer and the shuttle bus sys tem. It also provided for addi tional funding needed to im prove the intramural program and to increase the reserve fund, which finances programs to cover new needs which arise during the year. For those who complain that the present budget gives alto gether too much emphasis to athletics, the so-called “Miori” plan gives less money to that department than would the user fee proposal offered Thursday night. We also considered that the $18 plan as approved by the Senate allows all students to at tend football games free, while the other proposed plan would charge each student $2 per game. Thus, attendance at only two games would exceed the total cost of paying the all-inclusive $18 fee. And, it was noted that 9,000 out of 14,000 students who pay services fees go to at least one football game — a sizeable majority. Also, it is not fair to make the entire athletic program suffer because of football, since the seven other recognized sports depend almost entirely on income brought in by football. We also feel that the article did not fairly reflect the attitude of the Student Senate in its giv ing each proposal careful con sideration, including the car care center and the coed housing reso lution. Jackie Heyman Carol Moore Off-campus senators Come by and test drive JM4ZII4 a rotary engine, Just across from campus, We also service all Japanesi vehicles. Harry Dish man Mazda 603 Texas Ave. C.S.—8 4 6-331! 807 T»xas Art. GITANE & LAMBERT BICYCLES WE WILL BEAT ANYONE’S PRICES! ANDRE’S Biking & Hiking Center 213 University Dr. Open: Mon. - Sat. — 9:30 a. m. to 6:00 p. m. FOR QUALITY PRODUCTS & SERVICE WITH THE PERSONAL TOUCH, COME TO ANDRE’S. DAILY PLATE LUNCHES Choice of 3 Meats Plus 3 Vegetables Dessert and Coffee or Tea. SAVE UP TO 15% ON Jewelry at these two stores • Douglas Jewelry 212 N. Main 822-3119 • I’otts Credit Jewelry 207 N. Main 822-5921 $PP brings discounts to A&M Students Just Show Your A&M ID $159 BUSIER - JONES AGENC1 HOME MORTGAGES INSURANCE FARM & HOME SAVINGS ASSOCIATION Home Office: Nevada, Mo. 3523 Texas Ave. (in Ridgecrest) 846-3708 10D% new car financing. for graduating seniors. And defer the first payment for six months. Pick out the car you want, drive it this spring, then begin your payments after you go to work. The Bank of A&M can put you in a new set of wheels today. Terms include 100 per cent financing (including insurance); deferment of the first payment up to six months; loan repayment extended up to 42 months (including the deferred payment period); and credit life insurance. Bring your job commitment letter or your application for active duty month. We can work out a repayment program that fits your circumstances. See Stanley Sommers/Vice President or Lt Col. Glynn P Jones (USAF-Ret). The BANK of A&M /Vo bank is closer to Texas A&M or its students. member/fdic THE AUST coe stroi tive car day and cut the cies. Brisco< enactmer a matter clearing liamenta: “This tures of State In and star and is s consume] said at £ reception “It pi rates. It ance con will lowi rates in The 1 board to each yea PEANUTS By Charles M. Schulz PEANUTS 5*^ UJE (UONlWE WOH CHARLIE BROUN!! UJE WON OUR FIRST , SAME OF THE SEASON! UUE FINALLY WON'! WE WON'! WE WON'!! sr?-'