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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 1984)
MimminBHrf Opinion Page 2A'he Battalion/Friday, July 20, 1984 Electric program benefits students Every month, a day of reckoning comes for almost every student living off campus — the day when the elec tric bill appears in their mailboxes. Most students have grown accus tomed to monthly bills of $70 or more. The only real surprise is the rare occa sion when — the bill is lower for some warning students early, allowing us time to plan ahead and budget for the increase. reason. But come January, students return ing from Christmas vacation to homes and apartments in College Station will be greeted by a 30-50 percent increase in the kilowatt-hour cost of electricity — an increase that could cost many students as much as $40 per month. Such an increase will cause prob lems. Finding room in the budget for a $40-a-month increase in the electric bill — on top of other school expenses — will be difficult. So the City of College Station is Efforts to reduce the shock of in creased electricty bills is a commenda ble effort and an example of good ad ministration and planning on the part of city officials. The city’s energy programs proba bly will help to reduce the shock of that increase and may reduce the losses to students as well. An education program is now under way to teach electricity users how to cut consump tion and minimize costs all electric consumers must pay. It’s in your best interests to take ad vantage of these city programs and fa cilities in order to reduce your electric bills and conserve energy. The Battalion Editorial Board Slo °m 0RB30NIN4 aeA & MEPtA IT’S UNPRECEDENTED f IT S HISTORIC I IT’S EXCI TING/ 'yEAH... FINALLY, AN ITALIAN ON THE TICKET. “Let’; OK?’ Colleg nake a < f 1985 ■ Prairie View— more than a sign on U.S. 290 A distinctive, semi-circular brick sign marks the en trance to Prairie View A&M Uni versity. Gently rolling hills be yond the sign make the area pic turesque. The interior of the campus adds to the picturesque First glance. On my First and Prairie View A&M, Rebeca Zimmermann impression at second visits to I had appoint ments — the usual places to go and people to see. I noticed the construc tion and landscaping work and thought how similar the scene is to Texas A&M’s campus. A mall area complete with a fountain, a memorial and friendly students make the inner campus appear peaceful and similar to Rudder Fountain at Texas A&M. But on my third visit, I took a closer look at Prairie View A&M. What I saw appalled me. Ripped up tile in a gymnasium for student use. Huge bare spots on the gym floor. No fire extinguishers. No ventilation except open doors and windows. Holes in the walls. The gymnasium isn’t the only prob lem. A women’s dorm has lacked a properly functioning air conditioner most of the summer. Tell an Aggie she has to live in a dorm where the air conditioning doesn’t work properly and the wrath of a former student may descend. But at Prairie View A&M, women living in Drew Hall perspired through the first summer session because of a faulty air conditioner. It was hot — op pressive and stifling. And, again, no fire extinguishers. It’s an abomination. Prairie View A&M is a part of the Texas A&M System and has been for all of its 106 years. But few of Texas A&M’s students are aware of life at Prairie View A&M. Probably most Ag gies don’t really care. Aggies take things for granted that students at Prairie View A&M would probably be in awe of: bowling alleys in the Memorial Student Center, a swimming pool, a jogging track. The recreation room of the Prairie View A&M Memorial Student Center is a dimly lit, poorly ventilated room con taining a few pool tables and some vi deo games. Visiting Prairie View A&M gave me a new perspective on problems facing Texas A&M. Somehow, a special events center seating 17,000 doesn’t seem as important when I think about living in a dorm with faulty air condi tioning or sitting in a classroom with out air conditioning. A bell tower is an incredibly petty thing to have when the bricks could be used to fill holes in walls at Prairie View A&M. Originally established in 1878 as the only state institution of higher learn ing that blacks could attend, the uni versity was neglected for most of its history. A victim of the “separate but equal” ruling that allowed Texas to get away with segregated schools. Prairie View A&M needs millions of dollars for facilities and programming to be a competitive institution. The System and Prairie View A&M are pouring millions of dollars — $55 million for starters — into im provements. So the System isn’t ne glecting Prairie View A&M anymore. Perhaps the biggest crime — that of ignorance — is committed by Texas A&M students, who know Prairie View A&M only as a signpost on the way to Houston (on Highway 290). Students certainly wouldn’t know how many students Prairie View A&M has (about 4,500, 92 percent of whom are black). lectrica OK, an exchange program probalrBbr fuel is years away. But visits to the Prain View A&M campus aren’t. Located^ tween Hempstead and Waller, it'sotl ^ ^ an hour away — halfway home you’re from Houston. In one of my interviews, a System administrator asked if Aggies would be willing to participate in a student exchange program, similar to the fac ulty exchange program between Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M. I thought about that for a while. My conclusion? No way. The 198 )er kwh I know a few students who would be willing to do it for philosophical rea sons and a genuine desire to experi ence new things. But most students would say forget it until Prairie View A&M improves its programs and fa cilities — a reasonable objection. But it’s a good idea. In a b College :rs, a cc ilectricit A little more knowledge, a little savours fo sitivity, some crusading and some]* oneers to help Prairie View AH students aren’t out of line. One ways av ^ r<: help: vote for the proposed constir. tional amendment that will give PrF rie View A&M $60 million over years and access to the Available Uni versity Fund, a part of the Permand commui University Fund that Finances tk note er Texas A&M and University of Tea ; ™ nsurn ' systems The Texas A&M System no lonje ignores Prairie View A&M. It’s tin* ng the Texas A&M has become extremely conscious of the need for more mi nority students and ways to recruit them. What better way to understand minority students a little more than by actually being a minority student? Aggies look beyond whether senior take finals or whether the foodatSte is edible. We can’t ignore Prairie Vb A&M either. It’s as simple as black and white. nd city essen th On Jz or natu Jtilities sire. Go That’ In pr officials and rec load, tl ills. The I (Rebeca Zimmermann is a sem journalism major and editor of Tin Battalion.) when tl electrici Fees for ergy coi Lo city o Since student Cl Closed minds stifling learning, blocking freedom My first days at Texas A&M were uncomfortable. Aggies stared at me. I didn’t know why, I just knew these strange peo ple would follow my eyes as I passed on the street or sidewalk. At first, I nar rowed and stared Steve Thomas back; tried to put up a tough front. It took some time, but I Finally Figured out what was going on: These Aggies just wanted to say “howdy.” Aggie comradery, when I realized what it was, became magnetic to me; folks here consciously tried to be friendly, whether they wanted to or not. And only fools reject friendship. But I quickly noticed a problem. Be cause of this comradery, this will ingness to couch up to one another, Aggies sometimes rejected anything non-Aggie. Texas A&M was their mi crocosm, their white picket fence of se curity; not their home away from home, but their home. And that is a problem. Learning is a process where humans closely imitate vacuum cleaners: inhale everything, then filter. Only by objectively seeing as many sides to as many issues as pos sible do we stand a chance of finding a semblence of truth. Without an open mind there is no freedom, no understanding, no intelli gence. This might be a cosmic concept, but it affects everyone’s everyday life. I’m no exception. I took in two sets a few weeks ago at Dr. G’s. The band was the Big Boys, a punk rock group from Austin. I en tered wearing a Hunting Horn but ton-down, Wranglers and basic sneak ers; tossed my British cigarettes on the table and sat back to watch the “weir dos” gather before the band. I gawked incredulously as dancers threw each other to the ground, and was appalled by the band’s lewd, vul gar gestures. This was my first experi ence with punk rock and I felt like I had discovered a new tribe. Then I caught myself. This was probably the same way my parents reacted to rock ’n’ roll. I looked again at the people on the dance floor. They were just like me, but dressed differently. They were having a harm less, good time, they liked attention (like I do), they liked being with a group (like I do), they enjoyed the mu sic (though, as a musician, I don’t know how). Basically, they were just folks. The “slamming” routine bothered me at first (dancers throwing each other to the floor and into tables and purposely running into each other), and I thought the whole bit was too vi olent. Then I remembered that the gener ation just before mine listened to acid rock, ate heroin for breakfast and tore half the universities in the country apart before they graduated and be came corporate managers and school teachers. And the punk dancers bodily carried out a guy who was trying to hurt peo ple and held him until the cops ar rived. In 1970 they would have proba bly held the cops until their friends arrived. The lesson? I was wrong. My atti tude was negative; my mind w closed. When I woke up, I started enjoyin| the show (I even danced once). 1 be: gan seeing them in their true light in stead of comparing them to me. Comparing other people and placai to Texas A&M fits this same categon though it’s of more import. We havett analyze things more objectively more open to outside opinions. Other wise, our complacence will foster on: own ignorance, and ignorance is! deadly disease. So when you hear other Aggies re jecting dissimilar philosophies andcul tures, remind them that we can alwap learn from our peers, even from t.u. Almost as much as they can leart from us. (Steve Thomas is a senior jourtt lism major and a columnist for Tin Battalion.) yjohn /693-( The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Rebeca Zimmermann, Editor Bill Robinson, Editorial Page Editor Shelley Hoekstra, City Editor Kathleen Hart, News Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessarily rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Communications. United Press International is entided exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Assistant City Editor Robin Black Assistant News Editors Dena Brown, Brigid Brockman, Bonnie Langford Staff Writers Ed Alanis, Kari Fluegel.Bob McGlohon, Sarah Oates Copy Writers Karen Bloch, Cyndy Davis Copy Editor Tracie Holub Photographers Peter Rocha, Eric Evan Lee Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must in clude the address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday dur ing Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per se mester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on reouest. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. / O! to be a glove upon that hand By DICK WEST Columnist for United Press International WASHINGTON — The Jackson family “Victory Tour” thus far has been, from all accounts, a smashing success. But unless the street where you live is in one of the American cities blessed with a visitation, about all you can do is sit at home and mope. The last word on the subject probably belongs to Wil liam Shakespeare of Stratford-on- Avon, England, the country that gave us the Beatles, Boy George and other musical delights too numerous to mention. Q. Mr. Shakespeare, have you got ten your ticket yet? A. “Dead, for a ducat, dead! There’s but a shirt and a half in all my com pany. Will the line stretch out to the crack of doom? The cry is still, ‘They come!”’ Q. You suspect, then, that some body is making a bundle off this tour? A. “More water glideth by the mill than wots the miller of Saint-seducing gold. Seven hundred pounds and pos sibilities is goot gifts. Renumeration! That’s the Latin word for three farth- Q. Maybe its the costuming thatgeli them. mgs. Q. Hah! Three farthings wouldn’t get you a seat in the back row. Is it true that Michael Jackson is the star of the group? A. “O! that I were a glove upon that hand.” Q. What accounts for his popular ity? A. “Her voice was ever soft, gentle, and low, an excellent thing in woman.” Q. He isn’t a she, sir. But I under stand many of his fans are women. A. “Trust not your daughters’ minds by what you see them act. Dis eased nature oftentimes breaks forth A. “Two napkins tacked together and thrown over the shoulders like an herald’s coat without sleeves. Misbe gotten knaves in Kendal green.” Q. Pray describe Michael Jackson for us. A. “He wears the rose of youtb upon him. Toes unplagu’d with corns Seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth. Sighing like 2 furnace, with a woful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Makes a swan like end, fading in music. He has not so much brain as ear-wax.” in strange eruptions.” Q. The music itself isn’t all that great? A. “Season your admiration for a while. Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. Mirthful comic shows ” Q. And the rest of the family? A. “Almost as like as eggs. A plague of sighing and grief! I had rather bea kitten and cry mew, then one of these same metre ballad-mongers.” Q. What advice would you give any one who hasn’t bought tickets yet? A. “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late. Put money in thy purse.”