Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1985)
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 26, 1985 CXTII Is SG forgetting very group ifs meant to represenfi at p Funny how some things in life follow you around like a bad penny. One subject that refuses to fade into the back- ground of my life is Student Govern- trying to get past all the ridiculous rules and regulations. Apparently somewhere along the line they had a purpose. Why, in the name of efficency or con venience, are there so many rules made to control the flow of information and ideas from one group to another? ate meetings, and for how long, is one legislative gem. You have to reserve a time slot to speak for a whole three minutes. Fortu nately Thomas Jefferson never had to suffer such time restrictions. lasting about our world are those tire some quirks and bothersome snags in the bureaucratic fiber. By HOI ment. In the past few months I have Ed Cassavoy I thought, foolish me, that politics was the business of being tossed into the rough and tumble world of public scru tiny. seen both the good and bad in Student Government. Lately, I have seen only the dumb, foolish side to it. The student elections have been an enlightening experience to me. Unplea sant surprises keep popping up from the direction of the Pavilion with con fusing regularity. Again and again I have been unable to concentrate on the substance of Stu dent Government, because I am forever One student body president candi date made an insightful observation when he was being interviewed by The Battalion. Roughly, his statement went like this. “If The Battalion has trouble getting information from Student Gov ernment, what are the chances of the or dinary student getting information?” Well said brother. Foolish restrictions on who is allowed to voice his opinion during Student Sen- Be eloquent, quickly. Why not, horror of horrors, let the public speak? Or maybe Student Gov ernment is afraid of the one inherent flaw in this idea. Anarchy, confusion, conflict. That’s the problem when we humans get together—we usually don’t fit into any neat spaces, or time slots. As it is now, Student Government gives the general appearance of a smooth running operation. I submit to you there must be some thing wrong. Who evei said a concept so tightly-woven with all that is good and bad about democracy should be effi cient? And what really burns my student I.D. card is the fact that everyone I talk to in S.G. acts like every rule came down from the heavens. Carved on a giant stone brief case. Never to be touched or altered by mere human minds and hands. I always thought the true sign of lead ership is the ability to break down bar riers and carve out new paths. Student Government, for whatever reasons, has wrapped itself up in layer upon layer of commissions, committees, councils, rules, regulations, restrictions, laws and constitutions. The true test of what is good, just and Along the way they pushed the com mon man right out the door with the rest of last week’s budget reports. And now they have the gall to whine that there’s student apathy, that Student LETTERS: Government’s main goal is to oped munication up with the students. And stuck right under their ; noses is the answer to these probleirf .. forget about reterendums,poll!;j n fl Jenc i n g ai questionnaires. Forget those sit views debatec rules on restricting student complsBnunar on Pie If Student Government truly hasiMk xt * nct ‘ on ( sire to hear the voice of the people, can J )ec ' es oa not just take their own flabbyfe: ■ Q out of their ears? M n averag I am not paying part of my Unisc roughly 300,0 fees to watch them flushed down a conies extinct regulated toilet. Where are thosepe l * nct ' on UH> | ; in Student Government who have ^ a l s ’ sai( , ! guts to stop this theoretical treadmi: “You have I say to Student Government,,that was not t not relax a little, gain a little morestfeli° r exi ‘, nc(a °f humor and open up to die that seems to have been iorgottenirf^L j nterven , paper shuffle — the students. Kj) r . Vance r , r* . iii’ professor at . Ed Cassavoy ms a weekly columnisiJT. « The m( the city editor for The Battalion. / 0 (j t h e extinct climate chang Hrhedimat’ Election spending controversy goes on was not in favor of changing the policy, especially if it adversely affected stu dents then enrolled in the University. By DARY EDITOR: This letter is in regard to the Friday, March 22 editorial about the enforce ment of the Election Regulations. We would like to clarify a few points regard ing the Election Commission’s role. As the proposed change came from the Faculty Senate (84 percent of whom voted for it) to the Rules and Regual- tions Committee seniors would not have been exempted from final examinations beginning with the December 1985 graduation. A complaint was registered regarding the campaign expenditures of a candi date for Student Body President. The case was presented to the Election Com mission at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 21. After reviewing the allegations, the Election Commission ruled that there was insufficient evidence provided to warrant a disqualification. A person is innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent. A number of the members of the committee, especially Sean Royall and other students, spoke against dropping the exemption, but recognizing the pol icy would be changed supported a pro posal to delay the implementation of re- quiring seniors to take final examinations until the Spring of 1988. ■KAN M's lirids for its Gls tonight Bsed at the com of broad ■Chris Do Binager, sai ■n was plai casiing to hr bui is still a frequency f The change in the date of implemen tation was accepted by the Faculty Sen ate. Following the hearing, a formal re quest was made ta the candidate to pro vide a list of expenditures. The candi date willingly offered this information. The Election Commission ruling may be appealed to the Student Government ^Judicial Board if those registering the complaint are not satisfied with the re sults. However, no appeal has been made at this time. Why this letter? It is my understand ing that the part played by Sean Royall, a candidate for President of the Student Body, in changing the policy on final ex aminations in being used against him in the campaign. The Election Commission does not ignore any “serious breach of ethics” by any How sad — Sean represented the in terest of the student body well. Politics is sometimes the art of the possible. Garland Bayliss, Chairman Rules & Regulations Committee As an Afv provide pc >ave lives ir ng vaiuat uture. Sta summer. and in political campaigns, and perhaps in pseudo-religious diatribes candidate. The Election Commis sion can and has removed candidates from races for violations of the Election Regulations. Some candidates have re ceived warnings, and others have had signs removed. ‘S.B.’ should be included in Inrol EDITOR: “Realistically,” a candidate cannot “do what he pleased and still be elected.” Disqualification can result even after the elections are over. Dear Trent Leopold, In answer to your question, “What is an S.B.?” — an S.B. is .. . Also, God, in his theistic gnosis, (which is possible, as “atheistic agnosti cism” is at best unlikely) caused our be ing in its manifold diversity — we were not made to be clones —and any being, human or otherwise, that attempts, by hate, ignorance, and volume to pervert God’s love, knowledge, and beauty de serves to have their motives, as well as their messages, questioned. Frat challenges ‘no-frat’ frat of D.G. EDITOR: The Battalion CISPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The President of the MSG John 3:16 Richard V. McLamore The Battalion staff usually does a good job of getting the news to the stu dents of A&M. However, in some in stances the writers do not do their homework and misrepresent the facts. We would hope that The Battalion staff would care enough about becom ing competent journalists to get the facts (including correct quotes) straight be fore they go to print. This would pre vent the “correction box” in many a day’s Battalion. Laura Madia Jim Collins Election Co-Commissioners The Chairman of Parents Weekend The Chairman of Town Hall The Chairman of SCONA Lost Texas A&M book found in Florida The Chairman of Muster EDITOR: The Chairman of MSG Arts In addition, more than one fourth of the girls who received the honor of Cap and Gown are “S.B.s.” I just got back from a sunny Spring Break ’85 in Key West, Florida and I thought I’d let y’all know what an inter esting thing occurred down there. Also, one fourth of the girls on Stu dent ‘Y’ Fish Camp staff are “S.B.s”. EDITOR’S NOTE: The Election Co commissioners say Sean Royall will ingly offered a list of his expenditures. Actually, the commission took Royall’s word that he did not exceed his spend ing limit. Royall did not present an ac tual list of his expenditures or actual receipts, but instead an approximate estimate of his spending. We’ve lost count of the number of “S.B.s” who have been selected for the Buck Weirus Spirit Award and Who’s Who. I was out about a mile east of the Keys on a little coral shoal about the size of an (alleged) parking space (I mean, we’re talkin’ the middle of no where), just snorkling around the reef, mindin’ my own business, and what do I spy half buried in the sand? A book! Yes, Trent, the accurate definition of S.B. should be included in the Inrol. “S.B.s” are an integral part of the Spirit of Aggieland. Amy Lister, Chi Omega Annalizabeth Glasscock, Delta Delta Delta Tami Frances Word, Zeta Tau Alpha Now we’re not just talkin’ ANY book. This was a waterproof-stainless-steel- staples-printed-with-special-inks-color— plate-FISHWATCHERS-GUIDE book. Exams policy used against candidate Threats in name of God questioned Big deal!? YES!! WHY? Well, right there on the cover, in itty-bitty blue let ters on a small white sticker in the cor ner it was embellished: TEXAS A&M BOOKSTORE. EDITOR. EDITOR: There are times when a policy, long established, must be changed to con form with contemporary practices. Such was the case when the question of exempting graduating seniors from fi nal examinations came before the Uni versity Rules and Regulations Commit tee in the Spring of 1984. The peace-loving Christians with the large P.A. systems are by Rudder again — it must be Lent. I confess that hearing ignorance and hate from one who claims to represent Christ (the one who knew and loved, both in spite of and because of that knowledge) is disturbing. Yet I refuse to add hate. Now, being the honest Ag that I am, I rinsed all the sand off of it and com menced to search for the owner of this fine piece of literature.. He was no where in sight. He did, however, take the time to write his name in the book: Ya Shengjuau (Jaun?). It has come to my attention that the Fraternity system has reached a point in which they now are beginning to realize the importance of working together rather than pulling apart. We do have problems now and then but most are be ing settled in an orderly manner. There is one fraternity at Texas A&M that continually gives the rest of us problems. This fraternity is better known as D.G., the “no-frat” Frat. They consistently cause disturbances directed toward the other greek and non-greek fraternities. Their disorderly conduct and lack of respect for others is continually causing problems through out our system. The most recent event dealt with my fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. We put a sign up in regard to a large party, “Paddy Murphy,” in front of Sbisa din ing hall. (This party is open to the cam pus and helps raise money for the Bryan Boys Club.) Rather than just re porting the signs to the proper authori ties they decided it was their duty to de stroy the sign with their motto: “no- frat.” What purpose did this serve? Is there no justice? This dorm has also been suspected of destroying private property and other property of local fraternities. Let me make this challenge to the “no-frat” frat of d.g. Because of the radical behavior that your fraternity puts forth upon the hard work of 'Others, myself and the members of the other fraternities would like to see if you could have a party or a fund raiser in which your dorm could work together for the good of a charity. Sigma Alpha Epsilon gives money to the Bryan Boys Club at “Paddy Mur phy,” the Aggie Cowboys give money to a children’s home at the “Bourban The Battalion Editorial Board Brigid Brockman, Editor ngii Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor ley l Ed igmg J Cassavoy, City Editor C-tty I Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor czy* Michelle Powe, Editorial Page Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor AN OF El The Battalion Staff So, if any of y’all out there know this man’s whereabouts, or whether or not the sharks got him, please give me a call, I’ll see that he (or his next of kin) gets his book. Being something of a traditionalist I I would, however, name-calling belongs point out that on playgrounds Erich Friend, ’85 693-0873 Street Bash” and Sigma Phi Epsilon gives money to a boy’s home at “Fight Night”. Come on, d.g., what constructive thing can you come up with, and what right do you have to take away possible dollars from our philanthropies? Please reply! Gregg Langford Assistant City Editors Kari Fluegel, Rhonda Snider Assistant News Editors Cami Brown, John Hallett, KayMalleii Assistant Sports Editor Charean Williams Entertainment Editors Shawn Behlen, Leigh-Ellen Clark Staff Writers Rebecca Adair, Cathie Anderson, MarcyBasile, Tamara Bell, Brandon Berry, Jeff Brady, Dainah Bullard, Ann Cervenka, Michael Crawford, Mary Cox, Kirsten Dietz, Cindy Gay, Pete Herndon, Trent Leopold, Sarah Oates, Jerry Oslin, June Pang, Tricia Parker, Cathy Riely, Marybeth Rohsner, Walter Smith Copy Editors Jan Perry, Kelley Smith Make-up Editors Karen Bloch, Karla Marlin Columnists Ed Cassavoy, Kevin Inda, Loren Steffy Editorial Cartoonist Mike Lane Sports Cartoonist , Dale Smith Copy Writer Cathy Bennett Photo Editor Katherine Hurl Photographers Anthony Casper, Wayne Grabein, Bill Hughes, Frank Irwin, John Makely, Peter Rocha, Dean Salto 201 IUT gA The Pi 9 Str Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas AScM 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, tacull)' 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. £ 5 Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit ten for style and length but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must be signed anti must include the address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through fridi) during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holidif and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are per semester, $3 3.25 per school year and (35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Editorial staff phone number: (409) 845-2630. Ad vertising: (409) 845-2611. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77SI3, POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843