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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION Monday, October 16,1989 Things about A&M I wish mother would have warned me about Susan McAloon Guest Columnist While sitting here with my recently acquired parking ticket in front of me and wondering where I was going to get the $35 to pay for it, it dawned on me what was really going on at A&M. No, it’s not that I’m livid about receiv ing a ticket for being parked in a vir tually empty lot for five minutes while I ran to turn in an assignment in the Zachry Building, which is about 4,000 miles from my ill-placed bus stop. It is the one-fee-after-another that I pay to go to A&M that really gets me frus trated. Let’s briefly go over the fees that I, and many like me pay, just to at tend class here. 1. ) Since I am an out-of-state stu dent, I have to pay a ridiculous $122.00 per semester hour. I have 16 hours this semester (so I can graduate before I’m on social security). Because I am not made out of money, I need to pay it in installments. Add another $10 for the “convenience” of paying in instal lments. This totals a “down-payment” of $619.75 with payments of $554.75 for the next three months. By then, the semester is over and the cycle begins again. 2. ) Let’s talk fees. I know I’m not the only dissatisfied Aggie paying “fees of unknown origin,” like the General Use Fee of $96.00. Yeah, I know the school puts out explanations about what these fees are for, but if there’s a General Use Fee, what the heck do we pay the laboratory, health center, student serv ices, student center complex, computer access, student ID card and even grad uating senior fees for? I’ve never been to the Health Center, and even if I did go, it isn’t free. I am using my own computer, never have used one on campus. And student services? How many events are there on campus that are actually free? Things that cost “only a dollar” aren’t free. 3.) The Parking Permit Fee. This comes under the heading of “Optional Services,” which aren’t that optional for someone who lives off-campus and wants to get to class on time. When I first came here as a transfer student, a junior who was sick of living in dorms and wanted to live off-campus, no one warned me of the parking void. So I bought a sticker and drove to class, for the first week anyway. After that, the $55.00 I paid for a “day student per mit” bought me an ugly blue sticker I now have to try- to scrape off my win dow. I bought a bus pass. A $50.00 bus pass. Then they moved my bus stop to a ridiculous place by the Military Sci ence Building, where big, lumbering buses have no business trying to squeeze in. Then they changed the name of my bus and all the others. Now it’s a question of decoding the in tricate little maps, pictures and cutesy names they came up with to try to fig ure out which bus is actually the right one. By the way, buses do not run ever 15 minutes. More like every 30 min utes. Is A&M trying to say something to me? Am I missing a hidden message like: “We don’t like out-of-staters/off- campus people/seniors/poor people?” I am finally getting the hint. Gee, I can’t wait to pay another couple of hundred for an Aggie ring. Don’t get me wrong, I understand all the symbolism and pride you’re supoposed to have for the ring, but all I’m going to think about when I look at it (after I finish paying off the loan I took out to get in the first place) is how I survived A&M: all the money it cost me to go here, all the football games I couldn’t afford to bring my fiance to since he doesn’t go to A&M and a guest ticket costs $22 or so and using someone else’s ID is a crime, and soon. For all you Ags who will be offended and say “why did you come to A&M?” I say: who knows? Please understand my point. I like being an Aggie. I like other Aggies. I’m even getting used to Texas in general. It’s just that when I came here, no one told me about all these things. The parking situation really is just unbelievable (few I think will dispute that). I think the main problem is that A&M is getting too big for itself. Now they want to expand the MSG. I won der if they’ll add a “Student Genter Ex pansion” fee to our bills next semester? I cherish the thought of paying for it, and then graduating a century or two before it’s finished, judging by the past track record of construction here at A&M. All right, I feel better now. But, I still have to come up with $35 for this parking ticket within the next 10 days, or I’ll have to pay a $5 late charge. I could blow it off, but then I won’t be able to register for classes early, which means I’ll have to slant in line at the Pa- villion, which means... Gay rights not justifiable to I have attempted to rebut Mr. Ma- thieu’s arguments for gay rights in an analytical manner. Mr. Mathieu argued that homosex uals make up a large segment of the population, (either 10 or 3-5 percent, depending on gender), and therefore deserve rights merely because they de mand consideration. The fact that a segment of the population has in creased to a point where their com plaints are loud enough to be heard does not lend legitimacy to their cause. David Brooks Guest Columnist > J If the population of axe-murderers grew to a large number, would we con sider their desires legitimate? Mr. Mathieu also argued that homo sexuals do not choose their own sexual orientation. This is indeed correct according to research, but has no rele- The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of T exas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Scot Walker, Editor Wade See. Managing Editor Juliette Rizzo, Opinion Page Editor Fiona Soltes, City Editor Ellen Hobbs, Chuck Squatriglia, News Editors Tom Kehoe. Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director ^Dean^ueltenfussMJfest^le^Edko^ Editorial Policy The li.iiuilion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bi \ an-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Baunlion are those of the editorial board ot 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 pei iods. Mail subscriptions are SI7.4-1 per semester. $34.62 per school year and S36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University. College Station. TX 77843-1 111. Second class postage paid at College Station. TX 77843. POSTMAS 1 F.R: Send address changes to The Battal ion. 216 Reed McDonald. Texas A&M University. Col- - i- itii ■■■■— vance to the discussion. Homosexuality is a basic perversion of normal biologi cal behavior and can therefore be con sidered a type of illness. Although ho mosexuality may seem as normal to gays as heterosexuality does to straights, it is not biologically normal. Mr. Mathieu said the homosexual lifestyle is not harmful to anyone ex cept themselves. He said society has no right to interfere with a relationship. Two cases can be presented against these arguments. First, the homosexual lifestyle has inarguably harmed society by serving as a massive conduit for the spread of AIDS. I have no objection to following this point to its logical conclusion, which is the simultaneous condemna tion of bisexual, intravaneous drug us ing, and prostitute lifestyles, but in no sense can gay society be considered “not harmful to anyone,” especially in the context of the past several years. Second, society does take it upon it self to interfere with relationships. The distinction between a “loving” relationship and any other is immate ht 2 C Opinion Page Editor Juliette Rizzo 845-331lI Mo Politician or playboy: |- I want to know Sc A new book about the late Rev. Mar tin Luther King is already stirring up controversy. EDI I have not yet read “And The Walls Came Tumbling Down,” by the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, but according to the pre-pdblishing hype, it confirms some embarrassing rumors about King’s personal life. Scot Walker i lone 1 The Editor I lAusi | male rem ram It has been suggested to me that even if King is guilty of these alleged trans gressions, it is wrong for the author to come out and trash the reputation of a great man. The argument seems to be centered along two lines: First, that an individual’s personal life has no rele vance to his ability to be a leader, and therefore we don’t need to know about it. And second, he’s not only dead, but he’s been dead for a long time, so why don’t we just “let sleeping dogs he?” King is dead and gone, we should alb him to rest in peace. After all, isn’tthe only person who benefits fromdragginl the name of a great man through the mud the person who makes millionsolj dollars by writing the book? St lunch custi stabl akin “uni I strongly disagree on both counts. First of all, I Unci a very obvious and direct correlation between the personal lives and political philosophies of the men and women who want to hold posi tions of power in our country. Look, for example, at the experiences of Gary Hart and Joe Biden in the last presidential campaign. Hart was fol lowed, hounded and harassed by the media until, in the face of overwhelm ing evidence, he admitted to cheating on his wife. Biden gave an eloquent speech that the press revealed was a near-carbon copy of a speech made pre viously by a British politician. Wrong. We all benefit when wei available ay/the information concerning the man and his life. People have the right to know the truth about all public I figures, dead or alive. Many people think King is one of the greatest men who ever lived; he may be. But it requires an unbiased review of all the aspects of his life, good and bad, to decide what sort of man King was. We can determine King’s true natureonlif| we have all the correct facts abouthis life. T lexer Lest 20,0 Icoul the r | don' und< I this < to li\ Abernathy, who was King’s top aide and one of his best friends, writesaboii| King’s “weakness for women.” King “believed in the biblical prohibition against sex outside of marriage,” Abernathy writes. “It wasjustthathe had a particularly difficult time with that temptation.” Abernathy goesonlt discuss King’s extramarital relationship! with several women. In I seen acce] ! Gays jbeim misg W auth Con; thro’ [John may your absei med M T1 lany people think King is one of the greatest men who ever lived; he may be. But it requires an unbiased review of all the aspects of his life, good and bad, to decide what sort of man King was. achic polit //'these allegations are true—andwl might never know — then perhapsKr num is not as great as so many people have proclaimed him to be. A great visional probably. A great leader of people, definitely. A great orator, absolutely. But a good father, loyal husband,and great moral example for us to tell our children and grandchildren about? Well, let's just say all the evidenceisnt yet. After the revelations, both men dropped out of the race, as well they should have. After all, cheating on your wife and plagiarizing a speech are just forms of other moral defects. Reduced to their most basic level, we call it lying and stealing. I don’t want a leader who thinks that it is OK to lie or steal. If Gary Hart lied to his wife, how can I be assured that he won’t lie to his constituents? If Joe Biden would steal a speech, then he might steal from taxpayers, or at least be more inclined to tolerate subordinates who do. Since behavior in private life can reveal the tenets and morals upon w hich a person acts, they are relevant to the ability of that person to perfrom in office; therefore, I want and expect the media to tell me about such things. I reserve the right to decide for myself who to admire and who to respect. But in order to do that, Ihavf I to have all the information, and 1 have found that I didn’t get it in 1 Oth-gradtI American history, or even in Histon 106 at Texas A&M. It was through if J media that I learned that Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin wert| not exactly of impeccable moral character, and it is through the media I that 1 hear d the rumors about Kings alleged problems in resisting temptations of the flesh. I’m going to use my own mind to decide whether King is someone who should be a role model for me or ray children; I encourage everyonetodo the same. But first, let’s get all the information out in the open. Now 7 , back to Martin Luther King. Some people might say that since Scot Walker is a junior journalist major and editor of The Battalion. society: a rebuttal rial, because only the participants in such a relationship can make that dis tinction. To use Mr. Mathieu’s own example, society interferes in abusive relationships. The reason society inter feres in a situation where a husband beats his wife, however, is that it has been determined that the vast majority of society considers such behavior un acceptable. The same point is true with regard to the gay lifestyle. The law r s of this country have always been moti vated by the opinions of the majority of the population, expressed through de mocracy and popular election of our legislative representatives. The vast majority considers governmental inter ference with abusive spouses just, and the same point applies to governmental interference with the gay lifestyle. stitutes a justif ication for extension j gay rights is ludicrous. Misguided f pie can be courageous. No amount| courage will justify gay rights, asi as there’s a lack of evidence pro homosexuality is biologically normal In conclusion, homosexuals art a deserving of ail the rights of heteror uals.. If an individual so desires,siq should be taken (counseling, etc.) a young age to correct this bioloej abnormality (which would also rest ? the avoidance of many of the md* and emotional hardships that rep edly attend such orientation). Iftlit j dividual is secure in their orientasl then that person and others should! cept the laws of the U.S. as mand by the majority of the people, and more significant (in terms of pop tion) segment of society: heterosexit I admire the courage shown by those members of the Gay Student Services who posed for the Aggieland. I cannot respect what they stand for, but 1 ad mire anyone who stands up for what they believe in. However, the idea that these students’ willingness to pose con- As with all columns, opinions : pressed by guest columnists art necessarily those of The Batta' Persons interested in submitting! columns should contact the 0p fI Page Editor at 845-3314.