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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1988)
Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, June 10, 1988 v A Opinion Just say uh oh The Reagan adminstration is now starting to bring out what it considers its big guns in its war on drugs via its new and im proved “zero tolerance” policy. The administration’s current policy allows law enforcement officials to seize cars and boats in which they Find any amount of drugs — any amount. Hence the name “zero tolerance.” Now, the administration is discussing expanding the pro gram to include loss of driver’s licenses, public housing and stu dent loans as punishment for convicted drug users. And the Na tional Drug Policy Board — chaired by that paragon of virtue, Attorney General Edwin Meese — is considering withholding federal funds to colleges that don’t abide by the “get tough” pol icy. m CRISIS HQTUNC HOW, 8>EHW0fc,'WE THINK KOU’VE CNmoSS> OH ELKTBH-W W* HY5T&RJA" BUT 'WE CAHT HEIPY00 UHVES5 VOU CALM WW! po VOU HEAfctAE, SEHNOKT Cultiva lakes th item worl iomic lei And that’s all Fine and good if we want to ignore the root of our drug problem. 3am Pro< lutgers and stud< lay. “Becau linds ca ^ a 5 Zero tolerance is just another method for the administration to flex its overdeveloped yet ineffective muscles. Punishing drug users and/or drug possessors might have a small effect on the drug problem — namely scaring some individuals into giving up their life of crime — but the overall problem remains. The drugs keep coming, and people keep taking them. Negative re inforcement, however shocking and seemingly potent, will not stop the drug problem in the United States. Focusing policy on college students, those who live in public housing or even those with driver’s licenses, will not make the problem go away. The Battalion Editorial Board ping thai |ne comn people fr \o keep ] lent, to looking ather sol and dign and to p tind to il Also st lian Bap jity, Proc about 80 ing the aart of th lercultun Proctoi )f what w educatior “What Sudden.e Job hunting in the summer can be a bummer ie asked, aoking? Vould al trar Woi longer? V to do? I, like many of my fellow college students, have re cently been placed in the unfortunate position of having to seek summer employment. I find this task to be not only tiring but also very taxing on one’s self-esteem. It can be very hard on one’s ego when, after 4 mall, frequent my favorite nightspot and spend money in every conceivable fashion. As they say “Idle hands are the devils workshop.” Then after a partic ularly financially disastrous month this spring, my parents radically changed their ways. high school — every teenager’s night mare. Having to wear stretch polyester at that very crucial stage of development can be harmful to even the most well ad justed of teenagers. Barbara Jones “We’re not mad at you, Barbie, we just think you are financially out-of-con- trol, and we think it would be a good idea for you to find a job.” long and hard years of college, a restaurant man ager can have the audacity to tell you he cannot hire you to carry plates of food to and from a kitchen. These words hit me pretty hard, but knowing fully the extent of the trouble I was in, I swallowed hard and simply re plied, “Right.” In the past my parents preferred that I not work during the school year in or der for me to fully focus my attention and time on my academics. Now this idea is great in theory, but free time only allowed me more hours to stalk the So off I embarked on the adventure of job-hunting. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those spoiled little brats who has never worked a day in her perfectly manicured life. I’m an old pro at this having done everything from retail to waiting tables. I even suf fered the humiliation of having to work at a local fast-food restaurant during So off I went to find a high paying job in the Bryan-College Station area that would only require 15-20 hours of my time per week. Easy, right? Wrong. There is nothing more depressing than dressing up for the potential interview: putting on makeup and doing your hair, only to get there and find that your hair has fallen and your makeup has completely melted off your face in the sweltering heat and is now running down the front of your shirt. job application; be sure and bring a writing utensil of some sort. I really don’t think it speaks well of you when you show up at a place to fill out an ap plication without the one essential item you would need to complete this rela tively simple task. Of course the applica tions themselves can be long and tedious and can lead to a pretty severe headache if you fill out too many in one day. So pace yourself. Look for jobs one day then take the next day off and relax by the pool. It works for me. “It sou My last suggestion is to beware»Bor an ed the person in charge says that hrffif™* oun ^ keep your application on tile aniM' -p 0 j|j u you if a position opens up. This id is just a nice way of saying “Hit thenMr Jack,” which is exactly what you sift promptly do. Chances are these kinds of thing!' happen to all of us, so my suggestio; all you fellow job-seekers is to forge young solders. Remember, they ait: one losing out if they do not hifeyof When you arrive at the place of po tential employment you try not to look too eager. Yet regardless of how cool you try to act these people can spot a job applicant 60 miles away. “You need an application?” they ask before you even have a chance to speak. One little piece of advice for when you go to fill out a Another suggestion for those of you that may find yourself in this most dreaded position is to make sure there is a job opening. I believe it is a law that places of employment must allow' you to fill out an application whether there is actually a job or not. So before you suf fer through the tedious application process, corner an unsuspecting em ployee and find out the “real scoop.” Af ter all, time is money and few college students I know can spare much of that. So far I have not found that peii: job. Perfect jobs, like perfect meiu very hard to come by but defrnt worth looking for. Oh, and bythew anyone knows or hears about a i paying, part-time, low physical li type job that doesn’t involve nudiit anything illegal or otherwise intro please contact me. I’ll be by the pool Barbara Jones is a senior joumi major and a columnist for The Bat ion. Ah, yes, the good old official-looking-letter trick When Jim Pell saw the envelope in his mailbox, he felt a flutter in his stomach. The en velope looked offi cial, like some thing from the government. And he knew that it could not be good news. It never is. It’s al- “The first thing I thought when I saw that was what did I do wrong, and how much is it going to cost me?” they would process the form and get his child the necessary ID number. vorced parents from claiming the same child. Then he looked at the letter that came with the form. Across the top were big black letters saying: “Federal Record Service Corp., Birth Records Division,” with a Washington, D.C., address. “Then I read it again slowly,” he said. “And I realized there was nothing offi cial about it. These were just some pri vate operators looking for somebody gullible.” But what the letter didn’t say is that you don’t have to pay something like the Federal Record Service Corp. to get you the number. But if enough people overlook buried disclaimer and are intimidJ by the letter’s official appearance, scam can be profitable. Mike Royko And beneath that it said, in equally big black letters: Exactly. It’s the old official-looking- letter trick, which has become popular among all kinds mail-order hustlers. ways something like, “You made a mis take in your tax return,” or “You are going to be audited’ or “You failed to fill out the proper form.” ‘Important Notice: When he opened the envelope, his fears w r ere realized. Out fluttered an of ficial-looking form with boxes to be filled in. “New federal legislation requires that all dependents reaching age 5 by the end of the tax year must be listed by So cial Security number on your 1987 in come tax return. They operate on the theory that if you send official-looking letters to enough people, a percentage of them will be dumb enough to send you money. A Social Security official said: “The problem people have with them is that unless they read the fine print, they’re liable to believe that they’re connected with the government or that you have to go through them to get a Social Security card. My guess is that it’s run by st meatball who used to sell used cars® he brought a personal computerli does desk-top publishing. So if you get a letter from thisoul don’t panic. But don’t throw it awa; ther. He looked at the top and it was even worse than he thought. It was going to cost him money. The form said, “Print Legibly. Enclose check or money order payable to Federal Record Service Corp.” “Records indicate that your newborn child may not have been registered with the Social Security Administration. It is important that your child be issued a So cial Security card.” In this case, the hustlers who call themselves the Federal Record Service Corp., in Washington, D.C., were being truthful. But only up to a point. “They don’t. All they have to do is call the local Social Security office and ask them to mail the forms, or they can go directly to the office. And it doesn’t cost them anything. The letter went on to say that if Mr. Pell filled out the form and sent $10, It is true that the tax laws require that a taxpayer who claims a child 5 years or older has to list the child’s Social Secu rity number. “These companies just act as middle men, using the authorization form they send people. Some of them charge as much as $40 for a service people can get free.” See, there’s an envelope that ctf with their material. And if you send envelope back, they have to pay postage. So throw away everything away, but seal the envelope and dn in a mailbox. At least you’ll cost thd cents. Among other reasons, it prevents di- Is it legal? Undoubtable, yes. And, if the mood strikes you, feel’ to enclose an obscene note. It would appropriate. Copyright 1988, Tribune Media Services,tt The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Richard Williams, Editor Sue Krenek, Managing Editor Mark Nair, Opinion Page Editor Curtis Culberson, City Editor Becky Weisenfels, Cindy Milton, News Editors Anthony Willson, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per 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, fac ulty 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 Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station TX 77843-4 111. BLOOM COUNTY by Berke Breath*