(
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 27, 1984
Opinion
Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, March 26, 1984
Forth© best deal,
mark ballots for 1(b)
The University Center needs
money.
Since 1973, the fee to raise revenue
for upkeep of the complex has stayed
at just $10 per student. For that
amount, each one of Texas A&M’s
36,000 students gets a share in the Me
morial Student Center and the Univer
sity Center Complex — a place to eat,
meet, be entertained or just hang out.
But that $10 doesn’t even begin to
cover the expenses of maintaining the
facilities needed to serve the student
body. In the last ten years, expenses
have escalated due to the rapid growth
of enrollment, rising costs of mainte
nance, legislature-mandated salary in
creases, and the impact of inflation.
Item 1(b) on the ballot in the student
elections would give the center the
money it needs by doubling the
amount of student financial support it
currently receives. The proposal would
up the fee to $20 over the next three
years. Of the added $10, $6 would go
to the University Center and $4 would
be put in a reserve fund.
The reserve fund will theoretically
provide for more student input into
the University Center services by pro
viding a source of money for student
priorities. The Student Senate and stu
dent leaders from the MSC Council,
Off-Campus Aggies, Residence Hall
Association, International Students As
sociation and the Corps of Cadets have
voiced their support of the proposal.
The referendum may provide for
greater student input into the adminis
tration of the University Center. Then
again, it may not.
Students have never had much of an
opportunity to participate in the man
agement of the University Center. This
proposal may not be strong enough to
turn that around.
But even though student leaders
may be overly optimistic about the ad
ministrative effects the proposal will
have, students at Texas A&M should at
least make the gesture of supporting
Item 1(b). Student input or not, the
University Center needs funds.
If it’s a choice between a $20 fee to
support a top-notch facility with a min
imum of student input and a $10 fee
for the current overcrowded, under
budgeted facility, the $20 fee would
still be the most logical pick.
With Item 1(b), students will get
their money’s worth.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
Demand more;
you'll get more
do
“Student Covernment is a farce.”
“Student Government doesn’t
anything.”
That’s been a common phrase among
students in the past few years, and it has
provided a convenient excuse for stu
dents who didn’t vote in student elec
tions.
Student government is a farce — if
we let it be.
But at a school with about 36,000 stu
dents, it doesn’t have to be.
This year’s student elections are vital
— and we as students need to realize it.
Only about 4,600 students voted in
rebeca
zimmermann
last year’s election. But if you didn’t
vote, you have no room to criticize Stu
dent Government. Unless we let our
leaders know that we expect things from
them, life will go on as it has.
We as students must put aside our ap
athy. We need to tell our leaders that we
care about what happens to this Univer
sity. We need to help set Texas A&M on
the right track for its growing up proc
ess.
Texas A&M is having some growing
pains: student fee increases, parking
crises, the emergence of the Faculty
Senate and talk about a core curriculum
for all students. These issues and others
— such as the statewide referendum on
the Permanent University Fund in No
vember — are of vital importance to the
University.
Because these issues will be so impor
tant in the coming year, we have to be
alert and concerned about our student
leadership. We need to elect informed
leaders who are willing to take stands.
In the past, we’ve seen the Student
Senate pass bills on such issues as eating
during meetings and spend hours de
bating whether to debate a resolution.
These types of behavior have contrib-
' uted to a poor image of Student Gov
ernment.
Slow response to the senior final
exemptions issue this year and a poten
tial misunderstanding of the Faculty
Senate have hampered Student Govern
ment’s effectiveness. Because the Stu
dent Senate is merely an advisory board,
some people feel the administration
doesn’t take the group seriously.
But to some extent, the fault lies as
much with the student body as with the
leaders. We seem to have a misguided
view of representation. We elect student
leaders to take stands. But when they
don’t take a stand, we don’t pitch a fit
because they’re not representing us.
And that’s our fault.
They can’t always run back and take
polls to find out what students think —
even if students know about the issue in
question. We need to let our leaders
know that we expect action from them
even if we aren’t completely aware of ev
erything involved in a situation.
After we elect them to represent us,
- they should be able to stand up and say,
“We have 36,000 students with us.” You
can’t tell me that won’t get some sort of
response.
The first step is simply to vote.
But it doesn’t stop there. We have to
continually let our leaders know that we
_ expect more from them than debate
about debate.
Rebeca Zimmermann is editor of The
Battalion and a senior journalism major.
The Battalion
CJSPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
Editor Rebeca Zimmermann Letters Policy
Managing Editor John Wagner
City Editor Patrice Koranek Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300
Assistant City Editors Kathleen Hart, words in length. The editorial staff reserves the
Stephanie Ross right to edit letters for style and length but will
News Editor Tracey Taylor make every effort to maintain the author’s in-
Assistant News Editors Susan Talbot, tent. Each letter must be signed and must in-
Brigid Brockman, Michelle Powe, Kelley Smith elude the address and telephone number of the
Editorial Page Editor Kathy Wiesepape . writer.
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Entertainment Editor Shelley Hoekstra itorial Page Editor.
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Photo Editor John Makely
Editorial Policy Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed Mc-
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-support- Donald Building, Texas A&M University, Col-
ing newspaper operated as a community service ^ e S e Station, TX 77843.
to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. United Press International is entitled exclu-
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those sively to the use for reproduction of all news dis-
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necessarily represent the opinions of Texas other matter herein reserved.
A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Re- Second class postage paid at College Station,
gents. TX 77843.
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By SALLY
Letters
15-hour rule unfair
Editor:
The Battalion is a source of news for
students, and in a sense a forum for dis
cussion of ideas and topics related to
students’ life.
Therefore, I would like to bring up
an issue of interest to at least a few of
the top-notch students here: the rule re
quiring a minimum of 15 credit hours
for students eligible for the Dean’s
Honor List and other honors.
This requirment probably originated
because the majority of students were
taking 15 credit hours each semester.
According to University regulations a
fulltime student must take at least 12
credit hours per semester. Yet this is not
enough to qualify a straight-A student
for the Dean’s Honor List.
Some students make all A’s and still
are not eligible for honors. It appears to
me this rule adds unnecessary pressure
on those who like to do excellent work
and learn more.
It would interest me to know how
many other universities have similar re
quirements.
One of the reasons so many students
do not perform well is because of un
necessary hardships imposed on them,
such as short time schedules or too
many credit hours each semester.
When advising students, I have al
ways encouraged them to take fewer
courses per semester, enjoy these beau
tiful years in their life and do better as
far as grades are concerned.
The 15-credit hours minimum rule is
contrary to my philosophy.
George Raczkowski
Associate Professor,
Mechanical Engineering
this publication to read like the
Morning News, but it would be ini
ing to see a staff writer take on
tablishment.
It wouldn’t have taken that mi
search to find out how long its
since the lethargic Board of Ri
have reviewed a solution tothiseiii
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What price victory?
Editor:
This statement is addressed to Texas
A&M Board of Regents Chairman H.R.
“Bum” Bright: Well, “Bum”, we had a
losing football team, so you bought a
coach; we still have a losing football
team (their record last season was not all
that good).
Is that why you bought the Dallas
Cowboys - to replace the Aggie football
team?
Matthew Simpson
Class of ’84
Investigate parking
Editor:
Well, Ms. Oates, you hit the nail on
the head. We definitely have a towing
alert.
Instead of rambling a repeat of Cam
pus Cop idealogy and the University
Motor Vehicle Regulations, why not
kick up some journalistic dust about this
less than new problem? I don’t expect
firic Conn
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ini coord ii
(which isn’t correcting itself and slr^
ing the register over at the stationip
ing in the profit.)
Here’s the kicker: 250 cars towel
month alone. We have to bandit
They’re doing their job chargind
college students a minimum tent]
for driving across campus (andyeil
do keep wreckers on campus i
times).
Frank Kalimec (owner of Aj
you’re reading this, I’ve come incoj
with one of your ten-dollar leechf
and as an Aggie I can’t say whatll
happens to your business.
I can say to the KK that you’tt
hurting either, at ten dollars a pop
talizing on the situation furtherbys
ing out your fleet of ticket totersio
everything standing still (drivingb
new Bronco ITs, no less). On-can ^
law enforcement must be highlyi
lenging.
Ms. Oates, if you think you’re)
nalist enough to tackle it, I’d say)®
found your calling. Remeberthepf
of the pen.
Ken Hoo
Class oil
Failure of prayer amendment
upholds Constitutional freedoms
The first amendment begins by stating,
“Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion or prohibit
ing the free exercise thereof.”
Apparently the majority of Senators
feel this portion of the constitution
needs amending, however, for 56 voted
in favor of an amendment authorizing
“voluntary” prayer in public schools.
This was shy of the necessary two-thirds
needed, no thanks to our Senators
Tower and Bentsen who voted for it.
There are several reasons that the
amendment failed. For one thing, orga
nized prayer in front of a captive audi
ence is not considered by everyone to be
purely voluntary. The alternative to
captivity, letting the children who of
fended leave the room, would cause
stigmatization and divisiveness. More
over, such a practice that so obviously
caters to only a portion of the students
has no place in the curriculum of a pub
lic school.
room activities. It seems to me that these
proponents want something more.
They want to spread their religion to
children who would otherwise not be
exposed to it.
My claim is supported by some of the
statements these people use in defense
of their view. They regularly associate
everything from increasing juvenile
reader’s
forum
writing the prayers, but that would]
resulted in no real difference.
Something else which isoftenS
that a little prayer never hurt anl
Jerry Falwell says he participate
prayers while in school and thatitj|
hurt him. I will let the readert
that for himself, but seriously, I
ingly insignificant aspects of a rtf
can lead to divisiveness. Just looW
continued fighting between Cadj
and Protestants in Northern Irelai
between different Islamic sects!
Middle East.
Furthermore, I question the motives
of those who are so fervently calling for
such an amendment. Although they
claim that all they want to do is allow
children the right to pray, the fact is that
the children have always been able to do
so as long as they didn’t disrupt class-
crime to widespread pre-marital sex on
the absence of prayer in public schools.
Thus these proponents implicitly ad
mit that they aim not only at children
who are already active enough in their
religion to pray on their own initiative,
but they intend to make society as a
whole more moral by the imposition of
their religion.
Any prayer that is likely to be®
ingful would certainly lead to di' 1 ]
ness, while one that would be accep
to all would have to be so blancN
would be essentially meaningless.
Of course, they had carefully worded
the proposal to leave out any mention of
a particular religion and to forbid the
national or state governments from
I have to agree with Dr. Maples
tor of the First Baptist Church ofBrj
who wrote that a far better answer]
let religious groups have access tosj
facilities before or after school jusl
any other group. Anything morej
involve the school in “establishnif 1 !
religion,” while anything less is to!
hibit the free expression thereof."
Brian Stet|
Class®!