Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday September 4,1985
Parking 'experiment
at students' expense
Students parking spaces are hard enough to find without the
University playing now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t games with
campus lots. This week Lot 51, across from the Zachry Engi
neering Center, mysteriously transformed from a stuaent lot
into a faculty lot without warning.
Students who parked in the lot were ticketed, even though
the campus police were not ticketing violators in other student
lots during the first week of school. Technically Lot 51 was no
longer for students, but many Aggies were caught unaware.
The metamorphosis is part of an “experiment” to provide
more parking for faculty. Anyone who was ticketed in Lot 51
Monday or Tuesday can go to the University Police Station and
have the ticket dismissed.
But they shouldn’t have to wait in lines and go through the
necessary red tape to clear their names. The students shouldn’t
have to be shuffled around unannounced, especially during the
first week of school when many are still a little disoriented.
Obviously, the University Police failed to look before they
lept. Adjacent to Lot 51 is Lot 50, a designated faculty parking
area which is rarely full. The faculty should fill up their first lot
before they’re given a second.
Fortunately, the “experiment” is about to end. Bob Wiatt,
Director of Security and Traffic said if the lot didn’t fill up, it
would be redesignated as a student lot as of Monday.
Unfortunately, this is not the first semester that such an ex
periment has taken place in this lot. It should not happen again.
What a senseless kicking around of the student body. Mean
ingless ticket writing and mindless elimination of parking areas
will only infuriate already-frustrated, parking-deprived stu
dents.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Mail Call
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 wake every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must
be signed and must include the address and telephone number of the writer.
Rock not entirely evil
EDITOR:
This is in response to Karl Pallmey-
er’s editorial of August 16 entitled
“Rock ‘n’ roll: Satan’s Music or Christian
Rock Model?” In that editorial Karl
raises some very interesting and rele
vant questions, for which we’d like to
provide some answers. He asks: “Why,
if rock ‘n’ roll so evil, are Christian
bands trying to sound like rock bands?”
First, all Christians don’t believe that
rock is entirely evil. We affirm that rock
is an undeniable part of our culture. It
talks about issues that we all care about
— love, sex, peace, war, etc. This doesn’t
mean that all of it is acceptable, but nei
ther is all of it trash.
Second, Christian artists aren’t copy
ing or stealing from secular groups any
more than secular artists are copying
from each other. For example, can you
count on just one hand how many artists
have been influenced by the Beatles or
how many times a popular song has
been remade? We sure can’t.
Third, we have to admit that, techni
cally, some of the best rock music is put
out by secular artists. If Christians are
serious about reaching young people
they have to keep pace. Although the
quality of music is there in secular rock,
vital, effective answers to life’s tough
? [uestions are not. Christian artists af-
irm that one finds fulfillment of poten
tial and practical answers through the
love of Christ. And more importantly,
one sees this not only in their lifestyles.
U2 is an example. Christian groups
want young people to know this good
news, and the only way to communicate
it is through the musical styles that
young people can already relate to and
enjoy.
Dawn Wright
Lisa Glass
New game in town
EDITOR:
Once again, it’s the start of a fresh
year here at TexasA&M. Many things
have changed since this time last year:
women in the band (BQ-ettes?, Barbie-
Q’s?); fraternities and sororities are still
not recognized by the University, but
the Gay Students are; “Bum” Bright has
left the Board of Regents; Reveille IV
has left to make way for Revellie V. So it
is always comforting to come back to
some of the things that never change. I
missed the familiar sights and sounds of
building construction and was pleased
to find five major buildings under con
struction in the few acres of undevel
oped area in the northeast corner of
campus. But I was especially refreshed
by the further reduction of student
parking, both automobile and motorcy
cle, which accompanies each new aca
demic year. It renews my hopes for
maintaining Aggie traditions.
Not all that is new is bad, though.
There is one new challenge facing tnis
year’s students. There is a new sport in
town. It’s a new version of the popular
video game “Frogger” and is called “S-
pence Street.” The idea is to fence off all
the sidewalks and walking area, and
then park cars along the side of the
street. Next, pack the street with large
construction vehicles, motorists, motor
cyclists, mopeddlers, and the inevitable
bicyclists. Add construction workers
going to lunch and a new “RIGHT
TURN ONLY” blockade, make a thou
sand students rush up and down the
street, and you have a very interesting
game. The level of difficulty varies with
the time of day: novices should not try
this game during daylight hours, but the
most experienced players find the 12-1
lunch hour level to be a real workout.
The purpose of this game is to simu
late life in tne real world. The graduates
of Texas A&M in 1989, should they sur
vive, will be mentally and physically pre
pared to start demanding careers, and
will be able to say that they attended a
truly World Class University.
Mark David DeHart ’84
EDITOR’S NOTE: Two fraternities
have now been recognized by the Uni
versity
A lot to consider
EDITOR:
Thank you University Police Depart
ment for changing the blue day student
lot across from the Zachry Engineering
Center. I was so pleased on Monday at
7:38 a.m. when I drove up and found
that the large blue lot had been changed
to a staff lot number 51. How intelli
gent! I guess that it does make a lot of
sense when you really think about it,
since the original size of the staff lot was
more than adequate and never com
pletely full. “Since they have plenty of
space let’s take away some of the stu
dents’ valuable parking! Then, students
will probably have no choice but to park
in the staff lot, but that is no problem ei
ther since all students are extremely rich
and can easily afford $10 a day in order
to attend class.”
On Monday, the new lot was full and
the old staff lot still had places left in it. I
didn’t think this made much sense since
the new staff lot is farther from camp-
ous than the old one. Yes, you guessed
it, the lot was full of desperate students’
cars. One by one, a friendly police offi
cer placed a wonderful $10 yellow ticket
under each windshield wiper. It’s amaz
ing how a majority of fee-paying stu
dents can be the least considered for.
Maybe tomorrow there will be an extra
empty space at the Post Oak Mall.
E.M. Newchurch ’86
Fancher and Miles are back,
but Corps hasn’t stood trial
Karl
Pallmeyer
Does anyone re-
member Bruce
Goodrich? I fig
ured that most of
you would.
Everyone
should know that
Bruce Dean Good
rich was a sopho
more transfer stu-
dent from
Webster, N.Y.,
who came to Texas A&M last year.
Everyone should know that Goodrich
was a “frog,” a student who joins the
Corps after his freshman year.
Everyone should know that Goodrich
and his roommate were awakened
around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 30, 1984, by
three upperclassmen and were forced to
participate in “motivational exercises.”
Everyone should know that Goodrich
collapsed during the exercises.
Everyone should know that Goodrich
died 12 hours later.
But does everyone know that An
thony D’Alessandro, Louis Fancher III
and Jason Miles, the three upperclass
men who forced Goodrich to particpate
in the run, are back in school and that
Fancher and Miles are back in the
Corps?
After Goodrich’s death an investiga
tion was held. D’Alessandro, Fancher
and Miles pleaded guilty to misdemea
nor charges of hazing. Another cadet,
Gabriel Cuadra, was found guilty of
tampering with evidence in the case.
Cuadra destroyed a roster that listed
the exercises required during the exer
cise session that was held for Goodrich.
Cuadra said he destroyed the roster to
protect the Corps from any more bad
publicity. D’Alessandro, Fancher and
Miles were fined $50, performed 100
hours of community service and con
tributed $750 to the Bruce Goodrich
memorial scholarship fund. Cuadra was
fined $500 and received a probated sen
tence. Cuadra has filed for an appeal.
All four cadets stood trial and were
punished. But the Corps didn’t stand
trial. The Corps has not been punished.
With the readmission of Fancher and
Miles it is obvious that the Corps wants
to forget the whole story of Bruce
Goodrich. With the Goodrich memorial
scholarship and the Goodrich memorial
park — next to Olsen Field — it is ob
vious the Corps wants to remember
■Jictoiq in Japan,
fm
Goodrich as a young man who died for
the Corps. The Corps doesn’t want to
remember that Goodrich died because
of the Corps.
For 109 years the Corps of Cadets has
been an important part of Texas A&M.
For 109 years there has been hazing.
The Corps is structured to give the up
perclassmen power over their under
classmen. This power sometimes leads
to hazing. Because of 109 years of tradi
tion and fear of reprisal, most cases of
hazing are not reported. But sometimes
the cases of hazing are too severe not to
be reported.
With the Goodrich memorial
scholarship and the Goodrich
memorial park — next to Olsen
Field — it is obvious the Corps
wants to remember Goodrich as
*
a young man who died for the
Corps. The Corps doesn’t want
to remember that Goodrich
died because of the Corps.
During these cases those who were re
sponsible are tried as if they were merely stu
dents hazing other students for no apparent
reason. The idea that hazing is almost a tra
ditional Corps activity doesn’t ever come to
trial.
In May, 1984, several freshman cadets
were treated for injuries they received when
they were beaten with ax handles by their
upperclassmen. Eight cadets were dismissed
from the Corps and several others, including
Cuadra, were put on probation for their
involvement in the hazing incident.
Last August, Goodrich died because of
a hazing incident. The ones who commit
the actual hazing are sometimes pun
ished. Their punishment is rarely severe
and the Corps never takes any responsibi
lity for the incident.
At the University of Texas last year,
one of pledges of the Sigma Alpha Epsi
lon fraternity was hospitalized for injuries
received when he and several other
pledges were forced to participate in
“competitive exercises” for initiation. The
three upperclassmen who were in charge
of the initiation were suspended from the
university. The fraternity was suspended
for a year. Because the fraternity gave the
upperclassmen the power that led to the
hazing of their pledges, it was the frater
nity’s responsibility to see that power was
not misused. Why doesn’t the Corps take
Victory of «Japatv,
responsibility for seeing that the power its
upperclassmen have is not misused?
One cannot argue that the Corps and a
fraternity are different because of the mil
itary nature of the Corps. In the real mili
tary, power is given to those who earn it
through experience, work, dedication, in
telligence and respect. Those who prove
they are capable of leading others are pro
moted to a higher rank. In the Corps,
sophomores have power over a freshmen
simply because they have been in school
longer.
After Goodrich’s death the Corps an
nounced several changes in policy. These
changes are supposed to stop hazing. But
the new policies have to be enforced to ac
tually stop hazing.
With the readmission of Fancher and
Miles, it doesn’t seem as if the Corps is too
interested in enforcing those policies. The
Corps seems to be more interested in
maintaining an image as opposed to help
ing its members. The reason Cuadra gait
for destroying the exercise roster shows
the Corps’ protect-the-Corps-regardless-
of-the-effects-on-its-individual-members
attitude. The Corps didn’t stand by
Fancher and Miles during the trial but
now that the heat is off they are welcomed
back as if nothing had happened.
But something did happen. We should
remember Bruce Goodrich so that it
doesn’t happen again.
Karl Pallmeyer is a senior journalism
major and a columnist for The Battalion.
The Battalion
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The Battalion Editorial Board
Rhonda Snider, Editor
Michelle Powe, Managing Editor
Loren Steffy, Opinion Page Editor
Karen Bloch, City Editor
John Hallett, Kay Mallett, News Editors
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors Kirsten Dietz,
Jerry Oslin
Assistant News Editors
Cathie Anderson, Jan Perry
Assistant Sports Editor ....Charean Williams
Entertainment Editors
Cathy Reily, Walter Smith
Photo Editor Wayne Grabein
Make-up Editor Ed Cassavoy
Copy Editors Rebecca Adair,
Mike Davis, Wendy Johnson
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