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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1976)
i - - - - Page 2 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1976 Attendance policy bad What about trees and grass? The new University regulation which allows professors to figure at tendance into a student’s final grade is a step backward. Encouraging class attendance is a worthy cause for the University to promote, but there are ways to do so other than instituting rules and regu lations governing attendance. For most students, class atten dance is a requirement for learning the material anyway. So why add a regulation which is unnecessary, in sulting to the student character and, above all, destructive of the princi ple of individual responsibility which is so stressed by the Univer sity. In order for Texas A&M Univer sity graduates to be truly educated and responsible, they must have freedom within which to make re sponsible decisions. A sense of responsiblility is ac quired only through individual ac tion and initiative and cannot be forced upon a student by the Univer sity. This reversion to a policy which allows professors to figure atten dance into the grade is another item to add to the list of direct and indi rect administrative pressures on students to conform to established procedures. This pressure to con form is not unique to Texas A&M but is prevalent throughout our society. True, the administration’s tra ditionally strict demands to conform to rules leads most Texas A&M graduates into jobs which demand this type of conformity. But training for jobs and setting a student into a mold in order to fit into a job is not the purpose of a university. The people of America must re kindle the ideals of the Revolution and fight back against unrealistic demands by established bureauc racies. Many may think this is a minor issue and not one in which to bring up talk of revolution, but bureau crats will eradicate all of our tra ditional American freedoms unless we start somewhere in trying to re gain them. There is some question whether last year’s policy did allow professors to figure attendance into grades, but the move by some members of Stu dent Government to get the regula tion changed should be supported. Since University rules and regu lations are revised only once a year, and the procedure is a long and drawn-out one, it will take a con certed year-long effort by the stu dents to follow through and actually get the regulation changed. — Jerry Needham Editor: I keep reading letters to you com plaining of the crowded parking on campus. Everyone keeps saying that we need more parking places closer to the heart of the campus. While I feel that this is a very legitimate gripe, I must also ask everyone if they have thought of the conse quences of this action. Adequately parking everyone on the central campus would require more concrete and parking lots. Trees and shrubbery would be a for gotten memory to say nothing of grass. Let’s face it—it would look just like the U.T. campus and what Aggie would want that to happen to dear of A&M. But, you say, there is still the problem of parking. A solution might be to buy a shuttle dingie (or about 7 or 8) and have a schedule course which it followed every 5 or 10 min utes from the parking lots to the campus and back. In case anyone doesn’t know what a shuttle dingie is, it looks like the train that runs from the parking lots at Six Flags Over Texas to the front of the park. This way, the school could build more parking lots farther away but yet everyone could be to his class in a matter of minutes. This could also be a good idea for the students who have to walk all the way across campus in the 10 minutes to get to their next class. Another solution might be to build two and three story parking towers over old parking facilities. Either way, the beauty of the A&M campus would be saved. Jana Thieme ’78 Pedestrians need crosswalks Editor: Why is this campus so devoid of well marked crosswalks? One espe cially bad spot is the corner where Joe Routt Boulevard (which runs in front of the Memorial Student Cen ter) meets Spence Street (which runs between the Military Science Build ing and the Corps Dorms). Any pedestrian who has had to cross the c (V\ GrOS. H IT'S <3ML^ £ I FELG L- VT A L.P»e:Aj>y BhiDal (hoppl “EVERYTHING FOR YOUR WEDDING . . . EXCEPT THE GROOM” 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL TUXEDO RENTALS (we have the latest styles) AND PARTY FORMALS (for all occasions) WITH A&M I.D. CARD •>Ki WHAT ? FOOT e> Au<- F£.V E-R_ , N\ANl- I au«.T CAM'T BAcdC. o / GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION SEPTEMBER 17, 1976 11:00-1:00 Refreshments Drawing For Free Gifts ,kU •l.l KAN A E- ^ -1—0 V E- G tE_T EL (V\ err l o N Ai-L-Y ( N V o L v E. / 10% OFF ALL WEDDING GOWNS SEPTEMBER 13-18 SILK FLOWERS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS OR FOR YOUR ENTIRE WEDDING 1103 Villa Maria Bryan 823-8405 Sun Theatres 333 University (Above Loupot’s) 846-9808 Super-Grody Movies Double-Feature Every Week Special Midnight Shows Friday & Saturday S2 per person No one under 18 Escorted Ladies Free $2 With This Ad BOOK STORE & 25c PEEP SHOWS On Tuesday, September 21 at 8 P.M. A Meeting Will Be Held At Ballroom D of The Ramada Inn For The Purpose of Organizing a Chapter of Kappa Alpha Fraternity at TAMU. All Men Students Who Are ^ Interested Are Cordially Invi e For Further Information, Contact. LIndsy Pack 693-4092 Steve Menzies 693-2411 road during the eight, noon, or five o’clock rush hours knows the danger in crossing the street at this point. Pedestrians must dodge impatient motorists rushing to beat the heavy traffic. This area is heavily travelled by pedestrians. It is the most direct route to the Memorial Student Cen ter for residents ipf the Kreuger, Dunn, Aston, Mosher complex and residence of the Corps Dorms. More than once I have seen near misses with pedestrians and motorists. I asked a campus policeman about the problem. He cited examples of near misses he had seen at the corner. Motorists often forget or don t think to make a conscious effort to yield to the pedestrian. It is ironical that such a dangerous situation could be easily remedied by creation of a crosswalk. To solve the problem, all that is needed is placement of a “Stop” sign on the corner of Joe Routt Boulevard and the senior parking row beside the Corps Dorms as well as a "Yield To Pedestrians ’ sign by the new crosswalks similar to the ones behind the Zachry Building on Bizzell Street. Such a crossing would be safe to pedestrians and fair to motorists as well, because they would not have to stop unless there were pedestrians in the crosswalk. The crosswalk would be especially helpful during football games and to old or hand icapped people. The answer seems so simple. Why haven’t the proper authorities taken care of this obvious problem? Robin Linn, ’78 Slouch by Jim Earle “Can you beat that? All that stuff he’s been talking about in class is all written down here in this textbook! Readers’ Guest viewpoints, in addition to Listen Up letters, are wel come. All pieces submitted to Aggie Forum should be: • Typed triple space • Limited to 60 characters per line Forum • Limited to 100 lines Submit articles to Reed McDonald 217, College St* tion, Texas, 77843. Authors phone number must accom pany all submissions. Te illn ain ear nic cho Re Ills Cbe Battalion 1,81 mro !U Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY ! Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran tee to publish any letter. 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CUSTOM PICTURE FRAMING complete selection of mats and moulding Original Art Paintings MARYMAC FRAMES 846-3623 MEMBER The Associated Press, Southwestern Journalism Conjia Editor J err y Managing Editor Richard ChamM Campus Editor Lisajs City Editor Jamie Mir Sports Editor Paul Am Photography Director Kevin Vein News Editor Lloydl* Asst. News Editor Debby Kro Reporters Carolyn Blosser, Lee , Paul McGrath, Martha Mugg, Le Ann Roby, b Rossi, Dan Sullins Photographers Carl Key, Cathy Ruedii Members of the Student Publications Board are: Bob C. R:« Chairman, Joe Arredondo, Tom Dawsey, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr./ch Hanna, Roger Miller, Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jerri Ward. Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper veterans must B£6IN THEIR £1 EDUCATION BENEFITS INI TIME TO FINISH fTO/vfoATE (MDINM OF DISCHARGE!! MSE ^ /WE MAKE \r ired lent Te =Ol fef Z7-* aS*. 30: Y/kVe, dot -the. 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