Opinion
Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, February 16, 1984
Chamber dispute
not good for B-CS
•Texas A&M students sometimes are
too wrapped up in their own worlds to
think about the community they live in,
and that’s understandable. After all,
Brazos Valley is just a part-time home
for many Aggies. But a major battle
has been going on between Bryan and
College Station, and perhaps we
should be aware of it.
What started out as a simple reloca
tion of the Chamber of Commerce
building has turned into a war. A vote
among the Chamber members Mon
day fell short of the two-thirds majority
needed to amend the Chamber’s char
ter to allow moving the main office to
College Station.
The College Station City Council al
ready had voted to contribute
$400,000 toward purchase of the pro
posed site for the new building. Now
that the Chamber office will not be
moved to College Station, some City
Council members are unwilling to put
up that much money unless Bryan con
tributes half of the costs.
Here’s the tricky part. College Sta
tion allocates $100,000 a year from ho
tel-motel tax revenues to the chamber.
Bryan allocates $30,000.
Travis Bryan Jr., a chamber mem
ber and Bryan resident who opposed
the move, said he didn’t fell his actions
have rekindled old rivalries.
Hogwash.
College Station Mayor Gary Halter
referred to College Station as “the mi
nority partner” in the chamber. He’s
right. College Station contributes more
money to the chamber — and based on
both cities’ growth patterns, will con
tinue to do so — but that didn’t seem to
matter in the final vote.
Not every Bryan official was against
the move. Mayor Ron Blatchley fa
vored the move, but now that the vote
is over he has expressed hope that ev
eryone can “go on from here.”
Unfortunately, it’s not going to be
that easy. Too many feelings have been
hurt and too many principles have
been violated.
The Battalion Editorial Board fer
vently hopes the two cities don’t tear
themselves apart forever over this is
sue, but it seems that may be unavoid
able.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
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Save the memorial
Editor:
Thanks to the Physical Plant the memo
rial at west gate no longer exists in its
original form at the west gate entrance;
thanks to a gift by a former student —
the “Albritton Bell Tower.” What is the
significance of the carillion tower? To
peal at Aggie victories? Not a bad idea,
but one which I believe does not have
■ the right to supercede the importance
of the memorial iTIsTeplacih^. The me
morial is to commemorate those brave
sons of Texas A&M who died in World
War I, a much nobler cause than an
nouncing Aggie victories.
It’s not the bell tower or its ideas I dis
like, again, I think it’s a marvelous idea.
It’s the lack of respect and thought
given to a gift of former students which
predates tljfe graduation date of the new
gift’s sponser by 17 years. There was —
as usual — no planning by the Planning
and Facilities construction department
as to the disposition of the monument.
These are the same people who are
allowing the destruction of A&M’s ar
chitectural Heritage:
1) the gutting of all terra cotta art
work of the Civil Engineering Building
to be replaced by gypsum board.
2) the soon to be started “renovation”
of the Halbouty and Animal Industries
Buildings. Again, both buildings to be
gutted and the artwork destroyed.
As of today there is no permanent site
for the monument that has been re
moved. It now lies in storage at the
Physical Plant until a new site can be de
cided upon.
project and not state tax payer funds for
the University.
1) Locate the monument in the circu
lar flower bed which is on the axis of
Old Main drive and the old military
walk (between the Coke Building and
the YMCA Building). The floral star
representing Texas could still be land
scaped as the size of the monument is
small. The is the first site proposed for
the carillion.
2) Put it back in its original space un
der the arches of the bell tower.
Don’t let the Physical Plant or Plan
ning and Faculty’s construction dictate
the outcome. Traditions such as those
deserve a better fate.
Jim Vandenberg
Class of 83
Memorial should stay
Editor:
“In recognition of the splendid partici
pation ...” For years there was a Memo
rial Day ceremony at this reminder of
man’s sacrifices in the Great War; a
holly wreath, desiring peace for the fu
ture generations of Texas Aggies.
are more pressing things — like a
Freudian monument to vanity. Argu
ments of “everyone else has one” (so
why not buy a chair and get a Nobel lau
reate to sit in it?) and “the bells will have
our university seal on them” (at 140 feet
who is tall enough to read them?) don’t
hold. You who fought for the Memorial
Student Center (that splendid memorial
to our “soldier dead” of the Second
World War) grass should start yelling
again; before it’s too late. Just think,
some day if the bucks are there, Law
rence Sullivan Ross could disappear and
some man with a big wallet be in his
place. The tower is one such praise of
the mighty buck, but this is not an issue
of vanity (“vanity of vanity, all is vanity”)
this is an issue of the memorial to 55
Americans. What do we tell them in
their Aggie Vahalla? “Sorry, but this
achievement in business is more impor
tant than your dying.” To all those in
volved in this abomination I have just
one thing to say: “Shame on you; shame
on the lot of you.”
Matthew E. Raney
Class of 1980
Fight for justice
In order to restore the monument to
a position of notoriety, may I suggest
two sites for its placement? It will then
no longer be in storage but again viewed
by the public. Funds for its placement
should come out of the Albritton tower
The Great War was the first mass
commitment of A&M Cadets to serve
their flag. The citizen-soldiers left Col
lege Station (the class of 1917 enlisted
en masse) and 55 did not come home.
After the Armistice the world made
many memorials; from the Arc de Tri-
umphe to Westminister Abbey to Ar
lington National Cemetary. In Texas
there are like memorials; from the
Texas Memorial Stadium of the Univer
sity of Texas to our 55 flags over Kyle
Field, the name plates on the oaks
around the Main Drill Field, and the
granite marker on what was then the
very front gate of the campus.
But now times have changed. Wars
are memories (usually bad), and there
Editor:
Although personal freedom and justice
were established as a basic part of this
society, there are always those willing to
abridge justice and fair treatment of
others. As a student in one of the largest
engineering colleges at this University,
I’ve become increasingly aware of this
reality and the fact that this institution is
no sanctuary from “real world” prob
lems.
After going through the official ranks
for the past 13 months on the matter of
a grade appeal, my feelings are bor
dering on contempt for those individu
als who privately admitted the existence
of an injustice, but publicly turned their
heads the other way. Without pointing
any fingers, this ordeal pertained to one
section of a sophomore engineering
course in the fall of 1982 in which 42
out of 59 students received failing
grades. These figures revealed a 71 per
cent failure rate as compared to 26 per
cent failure of all other sections of the
same course. Even though these figures
were way out of line, the responsible, or
may I say “irresponsible” department
officials chose to sweep the affair under
the rug. As a final resort, after many let
ters and conversations of appeal falling
on deaf ears, I brought my case before
the University Academic Appeals Panel.
At last, my appeal for a grade change
was upheld by a receptive panel of con
scientious, responsible individuals.
Now, it’s not healthy to have a bad at
titude, but being naive or eternally opti
mistic will not always feed the bulldog.
As a result of this episode I have been
educated on a few things which I would
like to pass on to others free 6f charge.
It seems that the larger the college or
department, the less accommodating
they tend to be, especially when they are
trying to shrink their swelling ranks.
When dealing with the masses, those
who make decisions do not always act
with a conscience. There are no student
advocates, per se, at this institution to
look out for the good will of each stu
dent. And finally, justice is neither free
nor an automatic process. As a result,
there is often no check exercised over
unfair circumstances unless you stand
up for yourself.
It would be nice if no one ever fell vic
tim to such injustice as encountered by
myself and many others, but in the
event that you do, I encourage you not
to be reluctant in opening your mouth
and pursuing fair treatment. We may
have to submit to higher authorities to
get an education here, but we need not
bow silently to their abuse and indigna
tion.
Alan Edwards
Class of ’84
decisions are too sensitive to
for debate in this election year. The
jor parties have determined that,
the issues are too volatile for formal
cussion, the political arena wouldki
better policy molder than taking (
position of being responsible in
representative roles. Congress is sit
once again upon the “lame duck
pression at our expense. This tii
strikes into our future.
In Congress’ decision to stand
from establishing substantial measi
for controlling the problems of the
get and its deficits, they fail to grasp
urgency of the situation. To take
stance of spectators instead of
makers, Congress assures that tl
rent economic recovery would be stil
by a potential recession which w
claim valuable election-year jobs
much longer period than the rece:
of 1981-82.
Current interest rates havebeenki
at alarmingly high levels by the fori
of increasing deficits without a consti
tive policy towards controlling the pi
lem through 1989. Against all advice
from government regulatory agem
as well as private industry and econoi
analysts — Congress and the Presidi
seem prepared to wait on the issue
after the elections. Meanwhile, the
interest rates keep the dollar ai
strongest level in decades, causing
foreign trade deficit to grow.
My intent is to inform you, theavi
age apathetic voter, of the need to
derstand the situation at hand. Take
initiative this election year and rest
to make an impression on your future
We are all here at Texas A&M in
der that we may be able to live in
manner in which we choose. To
and see what is offered would belt
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Congress ducks issues
Editor:
We are seeing the established system de
termine that important policy-making
on our part.
A postcard, phone call, telegramil 1
letter to your President, your congn
man, your senators, or your state
resentative would, today, involveyoi
determining the world in which you
live in. We no longer can afford to» !
and see what the government will do
us. Break away from the tradition o [
become involved.
Charles M. Stegemoell f
Class of'! :
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News Editor Tracey Taylor
Assistant News Editors Susan Talbot,
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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
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