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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 1989)
♦ The Battalion OPINION — — 2 Thursday, July 20,1989 Save the whales MSC expansion to students Construction is prevalent at Texas A&M. as anyone who spends any time on this campus knows. Expansion has begun and construction will soon begin on the University Center, including the Memorial Student Center and Rudder Complex. The plans call for thirteen trees to be moved and thirteen to be killed. Many students and alumni have ex pressed their concern and disapproval about the planned removal of the trees due to the construction. But what we need to keep in mind is that the expansion of the University Center is for the students, present and past. The Mefnorial Student Center is just what the name implies — a memo rial for those former students who have died in battle, and a student center that is designed for us. the students of Texas A&M Many students are unaware that A&M’s Memorial Student Center is the largest college union in the United States and probablv the best college union in the world. The MSC contains a hotel, post office, lounge, bookstore, art galleries — just about everything one could expect from a student center and much more. Students at other universi ties are envious of A&M because of our student center. When visitors come to our campus, the MSC is shown to them with pride. Unfortunately, what the MSC has to offer to our 40,000 students as well as faculty, staff and alumni is being overta ken by the physical space restraints of the MSC'. The MSC. is presentlv too small for the overwhelming needs of our campus, and it has been for several years. Timm Doolen Opinion Pap* Editor Any of you who eat in the MSC Cafe teria during lunch hour know this is true, as well as anyone involved in the Student Programs Office. Our Student Programs is one of the best run large- scale student organizations of any uni versity in the nation, but its growth has exceeded its means. There are roughly 40 organizations in the Student Pro grams Office, a space the size of an aver age-sized classroom. And cramped on the second fioor of the Pavilion is Student Activities, which includes the offices for the Residence Hall Association, Off Campus Aggies, Student Government. Interfraternity Council. Fish ('.amp, RANM Student Radio and a host of other organizations. When the new additions are completed. Student Activities will move over to of fices in University Center, thus helping to bring Student Activities and Student Programs closer together in mam wavs. The space that Student Activities va cates will be filled by other departments within the Pavilion that are sorely in need of the space, and the Pavilion will then become the focal point of the ad ministrative departments. These are just a few of the examples of the manv departments on campus that will be gaining much needed space at University Center and elsewhere. Yes. trees will die because of the ex pansion. But anytime a building is ex panded. or a new building is built, some trees or foliage have to go. I sincerely hope that all those involved in the plan ning try to formulate a creative wav to avoid destroying as many trees as possi ble. But short of calliryg off the expan sion. it is virtually inevitable that most of the 26 trees will not be spared. Some people, including our own edi tor, have brought up the point that our campus is becoming ugly because of the nse of new buildings and the fall of old trees. I sav to them, go to one of the higher floors of Rudder l ower, a build ing that surely caused the demise of some trees when it was built, and look out across our campus. One can barelv see the buildings for all the trees. The point is that there are hundreds, mavbe thousands, of trees here on our main campus. So although we will lose a few trees during the expansion, we are far from losing the beauty of our campus. It's ironic, yet sad. that the same oak tree that General Rudder fought to pre serve when the Memorial Student Cen ter was onginallv built will have to be moved. Yet, men like F.arl Rudder and Wayne Stark, the man who originated the idea for the MSC. were men who wanted what was best for A&M and its students. In the long run, the benefits of the expansion of the University Center will greatly outweigh the cost of losing the trees. Timm Doolen is a junior computer science major and assisUmt opinion page editor for The Battalion. Tomatoes, true love go together I have a thing for tomatoes. Not the kind you ordinarily find at your grocery store that have been grown in some con trived environment and shipped in from mile aways. I am speaking of the kind of tomato somebody grows in a garden, the “home-grown” tomato, hallowed be its name. Home-grown tomatoes are so deli cious they once inspired a songwriter to pen this line: “Ain't but two things in the world worth havin’ and that's true love and home-grow n tomatoes.” 1 think the absence of home-grown tomatoes in people's lives has been re sponsible for a number of the world's problems. If somebody had regularly come around with home-grown tomatoes for Hitler, he probably wouldn't have at tempted to take over the world. It's sim ply difficult to think anything but pleas ant thoughts while eating a home-grwn tomato The last time I did anything remotely connected with agriculuture was when 1 was 12. and I concluded anything in volving dirt was not for me. But as the years passed, and my feel ing for home-grown tomatoes in creased. I began to have second thoughts about my pledge to avoid any personal involvement with agriculture. Lord willing. I soon will have my own personal home-grown tomatoes. As a bov, I dreamed of Kathy Sue Loudermilk, the eighth-grade sex ob ject. As a middle-aged man. I dream of home-grown tomatoes. To tell you the truth, mellowing hasn't been that bad an experience after air Copyright 1989, Cowl** Syndicate Populations of whale species throughout the world are declining to critically low levels, and commercial whaling operations are primarily to blame for the decline. At the an^ti^l meeting of the International Whklmg Committee (IWC) held June 12. the re sults of eight vean of research on whale populations in the southern hemisphere were made public. The results of the re port were very grim. The statistics for the blue whale, the Earth's largest animal, were the most alarming. Before the advent of wide spread commercial whaling, there were an estimated 250,000 blue whales in Antarctic waters. Recent estimates had put their numbers at 6,000 to P.OOO. The new study estimates the new figure to be 453. but possibly as low as 200. Roger Pavne. a research scientist for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). said ' W here we are is far, far worse than any of us had forseen. I now think that the question of whether the blue whales will actually survive . • has suddenly come open again." Statistics like this should cause any one to be repulsed by the notion of slaughtering these and otfier depleted whale species for economic gain. Unbe lievably, Iceland. Japan and Norway are doing just that Iceland is hunting fin back whales as vou read this. The fin whale population was estimated at 500,000 before widespread whaling bv the WWF. and in recent years had been thought to number about tOO.CKK). The new report estimates that there are 2.096 to 4,000 fin whales left. Iceland plans to “take” 68 whales during their current hunt. The IWC has repeatedly asked Iceland to call off their whale hunts. Icelandic whalers have tried to pass off their w haling as researc h, but in reality the whale meat and byproducts are sold to Japan for profit. Japan has been killing smaller mmkc whales under the guise of research, and there is now fear that this species may flttf survive. The larger minke whales are now off-limits even for research be cause their populations have been so de pleted. This has been the pattern for whaling nations. Whalers have progres sively gone from larger to smaller spe cies. depleting each species along the way. Japan has also begun to kill por poises as a substitute. In the last two years, the Japanese have caught about 50,000 of a species of porpoise that numbers 105,000. Roger Pavne says “it’s plain and simply a disgrace.” Norway kills a small number of minke whales under its "research” whaling program. Recently the WWF has been successful in encouraging Norwegian whalers to use their vessels for whale watching tours, rather than for whaling. The IWC has no enforcement powers to stop the whaling. The United States could do something to stop this sense less annihilation of these beautiful and graceful creatures, but has thus far failed to take any action. According to the Pelly Amendment to the Fisher man’s Protective Act, the United States can ban the fish imports of any country that acts to diminish the effectiveness of an international fisheries agreement. The United States has failed to ban fish Michael Worsham WhaMng Campaign Coordinator The Battalion (USPS 045 500) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Ellen Hobbs. Editor Juliette Rizzo. Opinion Page Editor Fiona Soltes. City Editor Drew Leder, Chuck Squatriglia. News Editors Steven Merritt. Snorts Editor Kathy Haveman, Art Director Hal Hammons. Makeup Editor PPoct.n* > Texas AlrM and Editorial Policy' The Batlmbtfn u a non-profit. sHf-su| per oprraird as a < omtmimo srrore to Brvan-College Station Opinions expressed in The SatiMbon are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necetsanh rep resent the opinions of Texas AAM administrators, fat uhv or the Board of Regenu The Batuthon also serves as a Isbaratory newspapsr for studenu in reporting, editing and photographi classes within the Department of Joumahmi The Banahon n pablishrd Monday throngh Friday during Texas A AM regular semeMers. except for hobdas and examination periods Mail sab si ii|iliiins are $17 44 per semester. $54 62 per school year and $56 44 per hill rear Advertising rates furnished on request Our addreaa The Battakon 250 Reed McDonald. Texas ARM L'niversitv. CoBegr Station. TX 77845-1111. Second class postage paid at Coliege Station. TX 77845 POSTMASTf-R Send address changes to The Banal am. 216 Reed McDonald. Texas ARM L'i lege Station TX 77845-4111. UniversMv. Ctd- imports from anv of the whaling na tions. and in the case of Iceland, the rea son is very clear. Ilie United States has an airbase in Keflavik. Iceland, and the Icelandic government has exerted pres sure on the United States not to impose sanctions. The decision by the U.S. State and Commerce Departments not to inv pose sanctions may have violated U.S. laws, w hie h prohibits foreign poliev con siderations to lie taken into account in an ecological issue. The United States did use the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment in 1988 to denv Japan's re quest to catch 3.000 metric tons of sea snails and 5.000 metric tons of Pacific whiting in U.S. waters. However, the Japanese had already decided to limit fishing in U.S. waters, and due to the enormous profits from the whaling in dustry. the sanctions had little impact, evidenced by Japan's continued whal- mg Frustrated bv U.S. government inac tion. the environmental organizatKin Greenpeace decided that grass roots economic pressure would lie an effec tive way of reac lung the Ic elandic whal ing mdustrv. Iceland makes at least $7 million annually for ex|>orting whale meat to Japan, but the c ountry's fish ex ports to the United States are worth about $4(M) million annually. Green peace has organized a “People’s Pellv Amendment” campaign, asking con sumers to pressure schools and restau rant chains into ceasing purchases of Icelandic seafood until Iceland stops whaling. As a result of cancelled con tracts to U.S. and West (>erman mar kets. Icelandic companies have so far lost about $50 million. The campaign has been successful in convincing Ice land to call off its planned hunt this summer for sei whales, another endan gered species, but not the finback whales. Iceland's current finback whale hunt is a last attempt to squeeze eco nomic gain from poor defenseless whales before the boycotts and cancelled contracts become too large to ignore any fun her. People can help hall the whaling by w riting the U S Secretary of Commerce and asking him to immediately cerufv Iceland undei U.S. laws until Iceland stops whaling. Also. Greenpeace can furnish a list of U.S. companies that purchase seafood from Iceland. People can also write to President Bush and a^k - that he invoke the Pellv Amendment and ban a large portion of Japan's fish expons to the United States until Japan stops its whaling. Japan has already been certified by the Secretary of Com merce under the Pellv Amendment. Manv environmental groups across the country include whaling issues in their work, and concerned people should contact their local group to become in volved. As with all columns, opinions ex pressed by Guest Columnists are not necessarily thoae of The Battalion. Per sons interested in submitting guest col umns should contact the Opinion Page Editor at 845-3314. MM&VU&S - MCDRTCN POfT