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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1984)
Opinion/editorial Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, January 18, 1984 School should be liable for damages Students in six dormitories returned from Christmas break to find waterlog ged carpets, mildewed mattresses, warped furniture and personal posses sions damaged beyond repair. The severe cold spell in late Decem ber and early January caused frozen wa ter to burst pipes in at least 35 buildings on campus. University officials estimate that repair will cost between $60,000 and $80,000, but they are also saying the University is not liable for damage to personal belongings. State money, the Department explains, cannot be used to reimburse individuals for their losses. In other words, a ruined stereo is a ruined stereo — and replacing it is up to the individual, not the University. But students are seldom warned of the dangers of dorm living, and because of that, many leave valuables in their rooms over the holidays. A freeze hits, the pipes burst and students pay the damages. There is an alternative — take your belongings home. But the University needs to make a more conscious effort to educate and inform dorm residents of the dangers involved when they leave for Christmas, as well as spring break. Liability for damage done in such a situation as flooding from burst pipes or from fire must be explained clearly. It should be mandatory for resident advi sors to point out the fine print instruc tions for obtaining personal insurance to students when they sign up for housing. The University needs to remember that students can’t come back to school to check on their belongings over the Christmas break because dorm resi dents are required to turn in their room keys before leaving. The damage to personal possessions was all but impossible for residents to prepare for or prevent. The University therefore should accept at least limited liability. — The Editorial Board A Peace ThraiOh Bombs ...199t? YOU MEAN, LIKE OBSELL.? DON'T BE ABSURD.. ECONOMIC RECOVERY TUR0USH MASSIVE DEFICITS live News MedM fetit oiUOurSide THERE IS NO HUNGER IN AMERICA <£jUfl\eiAe^ mcm SKURIT/ THKXJGH UEPPOTR5 wk ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Aggies don’t live by their own honor code Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal, nor do they tolerate those who do. That’s what they told me at fish camp, anyway. At the time, fired up by the new ness of Aggie yells, Aggie songs, Aggie friends and general Aggie spirit, I be lieved it. Three years later, with a great deal of that freshman naive # te lost somewhere along the way, I’m not so sure that the Aggie Code of Honor still holds true. The most obvious example is Clarence “Buddy” Brown, the cadet who claimed he defended a female student by beating up three attackers. After a lie detector test, he finally admitted that he made the story up to save face after an embarras sing incident in the parking lot. Brown’s case was highly publicized. However, many violations of the honor code, many of them more serious than the cadet’s “little white lie,” occur on cam pus each semester. Most of them are largely ignored. Last year, several students broke into the creamery two nights in a row. They weren’t after money —just a little free ice cream. But a theft is a theft, and their act was a violation of the honor code. Secondly, those same students went back to their dormitories and bragged about it until the escapade was no secret to the other dorm residents. Look at the last half of the honor code: “...nor do they tolerate those who do.” Although they were finally turned in by on on their fel low students, everyone who knew of the theft and did nothing to bring the offense to light also broke the honor code. Yes, there’s a bit of a stigma attached to being a tattle-tale, but, hey — it’s part of the sacred and often-quoted code. During finals week a few semesters back, it was common knowledge that the final for one of the required business courses was available to anyone who wanted it. Not an old final, but the final that would be given that semester. Not many people knew how a copy of the final slipped out of the professor’s hands, but most students enrolled in the class were aware that the copy was float ing around. Not a single one did anything to change the situation, and as a result students were able to successfully pass the course by cheating — another honor violation. One of the major problems in claiming to have an honor code is that the code must be enforced. Texas A&M has no honor court and no clear-cut way of deal ing with honor violations. in line. Several campus honor societies also have judicial committees to enforce their regulations on members. Still, there is no method of deal with students who lie, or studenti tolerate those who break the honor Students violating University regula tions in any way are dealt with through several different channels. Those who break portions of the honor code go through these same channels, depending on their offenses. tc By! Ge tonier: tionm al ran access rep re' said T Th ihejai Amer Telegi Bell, a for th( vice, \ W; prior i tance: sive f< than f oppos which the cc GTE reven rates \ local i W AT&r'l seme local « Nc dve bi to hell distar Dole, Austii “1 else n kathy wiesepape A student caught cheating will be con fronted by his instructor. He may request a hearing before the department head, appeal to the dean and, finally, appeal to the University Disciplinary Appeals Panel. The panel consists of a chairman, four faculty members and three students. Last semester Student Governm formed a committee to study the code and how it is enforced at the Ita sity. Because of internal problems vli diverted its attention to other mans the committee somehow never around to completing the study. Mi ei Since no method for enforcing! rancisi mg te; There are almost as many judicial boards as there; are organizations on cam pus. Every dormitory has its own J-board to enforce housing regulations. Student Government has one to keep its members A student suspected of theft will be accused by the Department of Student Affairs and may also appeal to the Uni versity Disciplinary Appeals Panel. Both of these offenses may result in suspen sion from the university for a definite period of time, dismissal for an unde fined time period or permanent expul- honor code has been established, vii tions are common. How many Aggiesi '' _ honestly say they have never lied, chea! or stolen? How many can say theynp osta '. a heard of someone that did? It seemstli “ a as it stands now, the Aggie Code of Hi or is little more than a farce. Aggies do lie, cheat and steal. Wens (re^ to either find a practical way to enfoi hambe the honor code and do something aln ed for the lack of basic honesty among stude# irder o or else drop the honor code altogethti avoid the taint of hypocrisy. Editor’s Note: Freedom of the press is guaranteed by the First Amendment as one of the basic freedoms of a democratic society. That freedom was meant to be used by all the people, not just by a handful of journalists who control the content of newspapers and bend the opinion of the masses to their will. We want you to use that freedom. This page is meant to be an open forum for students, faculty, administra tors and all readers of The Battalion. It is your place to air a variety of views on any and all topics relevant to your lifes tyle. So the next time you have an opinion about an issue, a complaint about how the University is being run or just some thing that you want to scream about, drop a letter by The Battalion office in 216 Reed McDonald. Help us make the opinion page the people’s page. — The Editors Computers the real threat in 1984 been ci tolicies at of I ay the By ART BUCHWALD Columnist for die Los Angeles Times Syndicate Forget George Orwell in 1984, and keep your eye on the computer. The new computers, which are being installed in Washington by the bureauc racy to save money and make our govern ment more efficient, may chip away a little more at our rights to privacy. “Sure TRW, hold on a second. Here it is, $23,800. Is he in any kind of trouble?” “He might be. Call me in a few weeks and I’ll let you know.” “While I’ve got you on the line, can you tell me what Sam Knishe filed as his in come last year? He claims he’s dead broke and can’t pay his Lord & Taylor bill.” The new computers can now “talk” to each other and gather information from other computers without the average citizen knowing anything about it. For example, the IRS computer can call up a credit bureau computer and say, “Honeywell, can you give me some idea on how much money Charley Ogilvy spent last year on lunches, dinners, hotels, and transportation?” “Knishe made $150,000.” “Thanks for the data. I’ll talk to you soon.” \ Meanwhile over at the FBI, its master computer is tryng to locate a Fred Lum- bach, who bilked them on a sting opera tion. It calls up the U.S. Census Bureau. “Apple, what’s the last address you have for Fred Lumbach?” “Gosh, our census data is supposed to be confidential. “We know that but we have to find him.” “Okay, 122 Harding Road, Beesville 'Virginia, but you don’t know where you got it.” Next call: “Is this the Lethargic National Bank computer?” “Speaking.” “This is Hewlett Packard, the Social Security mainframe. A Mrs. G.L. Car- ruthers has been collecting health be nefits when she doesn’t deserve them. Would you transfer $800 from her bank account to ours?” “Sure, what are friendly computers for?” “Well, don’t give it to him. He hail listratr registered for the draft.’ “It’s done. You promised me in-i profiles on Ivan Monk, Donald Grui [,^ ee ^ wald, and George Dormer.” And on another line: “Hi Sperry, what’s new at Selective Ser vice?” “Did Frank Dolan ask for a student loan from your bank?” “If my memory serves me he did.” “I’ll call you tonight, pal.” And one final call: “This is the New York Welfare Depai ment computer. Am I talking to i the Co Health and Human Services compuiei .“That’s correct.” “We have a Mrs. L.L. Jones whost she hasn’t received her Medicare for the past five months.” “Mrs. Jones is dead.” “She’s in our office kicking a« screaming and seems to be very alive.” “I’ll send you a printout of herded certificate. If that doesn’t convince nothing will." Slouch by Jim Earle “The next change in policy will be back to exemptions from final exams for graduating seniors. Do you think professors will like grading a hundred exams over a weekend before graduation? 99 Letters: Disarmament protest naive Editor: This Saturday, A&M’s Student Peace Action will demonstrate against the West- inghouse Co. The members plan to un furl a banner reading “Beat Cruise Mis siles into Toasters.” I agree that this is a good-humored approach and I don’t doubt their sincer ity in fighting the arms race, but let’s face it — these folks haven’t left square one: understanding the issue at hand. One Peace Action member was asked if his position was for unilateral or bila teral disarmament, and he replied bila teral. Asked to explain, he said the U.S. would disarm itself, then ask the Soviets to do likewise. Semantics aside, these folks don’t seem to understand that there will be no similar demonstrations in the USSR (against the Soviet buildup) other than by those anxious for a long stay at the Gulag Archipelago. In fact, in East Germany the slogans “Frieden schaffen ohne Waf- fen” (achieve peace without weapons) and “Schwerter zu Pflugscharen” (Swords into plowshares) are banned. Unilateral disarmament is neither sen sible nor realistic. Protesting against U.S. involvement in the arms race without considering the Soviet’s active participa tion in it is closed-minded and naive. B. Mecum Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor Rebeca Zimmermann Managing Editor John Wagner City Editor Patrice Koranek Assistant City Editors Kathleen Hart, Stephanie Ross News Editor Tracey Taylor Assistant News Editors Susan Talbot, Wanda Winkler Editorial Page Editor Kathy Wiesepape Sports Editor Donn Friedman Assistant Sports Editor Bill Robinson Entertainment Editor Shelley Hoekstra Assistant Entertainment Editor Angel Stokes Photo Editor John Makely Staff Writers Robin Black, Brigid Brockman, Bob Caster, Ronnie Crocker, Bonnie Langford, Christine Mallon, Kay Mallett, Sarah Oates, Michelle Powe, Lauri Reese, Dave Scott, Kelley Smith, Karen Wallace Photographers Michael Davis, Bill Hughes, Katherine Hurt, Eric Lee, Dean Saito Cartoonists Paul Dirmeyer, Scott McCullar The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspapf for students in reporting, editing and photography city ses within the Department of Communications. 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