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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION Friday, November 10,1989 Opinion Page Editor Juliette Rizzo 845-i p New financial aid plan does not make any centf I should be ecstatic. I just found out that I only need 32 more hours to graduate. Two more semesters and I’ll walk off that stage, into the “real world,” and I’ll... have to immediately start saving money to pay back my loans. So much for the sudden burst of happiness. In order to be the proud owner of a degree from this University, I’ve found out it takes a lot of money, especially if the of parentals aren’t the ones footing the bill. And speaking of bills, I was doing fine as far as money was con cerned until this semester when in the mail I found a statement from the Fis cal Department informing me of my combined four-year debt. I’ve accumu lated a grand total somewhere in the thousands (I can’t even count that high). Now I’m not worried about the money I’ll have to pay when I grad uate. That’s all taken care of, right? Isn’t it true what I heard somewhere down the line that an Aggie diploma is almost as good as gold? I’m sure I’ll have to turn away many a company begging to employee me. Juliette ; 111 Rizzo SU. J*i Opinion Page Editor It’s my present situation that worries me. I haven’t even Finished paying my fall tuition, and spring tuition is almost due thanks to a new law passed by the Texas legislature. Those of us who pay our fees on in stallments got our holiday surprise a little early this year. The new statute, which will affect a good number of stu dents, has significantly increased the amount of the first installment pay ment some students (depending on registration date) have to pay before they leave for winter break. Effective this spring, the law re places two- and four-payment instal lment plans with a three-payment in stallment. The first payment, which must be paid before the first day of classes, includes parking fees (nonde- ferrable fees), one-half of deferrable fees, miscellaneous University fees and tuition. This is what confuses me. How can the University and the legislature claim to be acting in the students’ best inter ests, financially, if in fact I, as a stu dent, am inconvenienced and cannot benefit by the implementation of the law? The new law makes it impossible for a student like myself, who hasn’t fin ished paying for the current semester, to pre-register for the following semes ter until the last payment is paid. This may benefit the University and the administration as far as limiting pre-registration and collecting fees go and state collections will increase, but it definitely won’t help me. Supposedly, the new law was en acted to d* crease the number of stu dents in the state who are delinquent in paying their installments on time (even though A&M has one of the lowest payment delinquency rates). Well, that rate may increase, at least by one any way. Even though the law lessens the number of payments I have to make throughout the semester, unless money starts falling from the sky, I don’t know how I am supposed to come up with a final payment and the “up front” money in such a short pe- FINANCIAL riod of time. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of the installment plan? (Not to mention it’s already contradictory enough that a student who cannot afford to pay his fees must pay a fee to put his fees on B) installment^) This whole financial situatior Of a game of Monopoly. I finallyiJf" all the way around the board • ter), but 1 can’t pass GO untillplgjg fees and I definitely can’t collet wc I feel cheated. no Now 1 know I should be thanbjll the installment option, whidi|g| lessen my immediate financialU but I do not like the other optiort have to take to make an initial so close to the holidays (To i friends, make note: gifts will bee 1 will have to take out a loan back my emergency loan thar standing for this semester, a err De pr po th< sex pa\ nn first installment, a Ioann a .b that loan and a loan to payforr|p nior ring. But I can’t takeouta . > pay for my senior ring becaus. * I hough I ( ould place theordt:! ding on the completion of myhoap the end of the semester, theli: quires ha\ ing completed thosekl j 1'his whole financial aid just doesn’t make cents. Juliette Rizzo is a seniorjounBy major and opinion page editor!: — Battalion. Of MLK’s reputation tumbled by Abernathy’s bool bra bra Toni Morrison wrote, “a man ain’t nothing but a man.” This line has haunted me since I read Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Beloved, because I felt those words were profound in their simplic ity. And now in light of all the contro versy surrounding a man I greatly ad mire, third only to Jesus Christ and my father, Morrison’s words give me com fort. The man, of course, is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The controversy is that produced by Rev. Ralph Abernathy’s book And die Walls Came Tumbling Down. The book claims Dr. King was an ad- Ronda Shepherd Guest Columnist dieted womanizer who, according to Abernathy, spent his last night with two women. Immediately after the book’s release, a panel of nationally known “friends and beneficiaries” of the King Dream issued a statement denouncing the “gross inaccuracies and the painful dis tortions.” The panel includes Rev. Jesse Jack- son, Mayor Andrew Young, Benjamin Hooks and Bernard Lee. Each of these men was present on the King’s last night and hotly dispute Abernathy’s al legations. I can’t help but be reminded of the Fortunately, the media won’t find what some have penned King’s “second assassination” interesting for very long. Something else will soon have the limelight. story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Joseph’s brothers plotted to kill him because of his dreams: “Behold the dreamer...let us slay him and see what will become of his dreams.” Like Joseph’s brothers, Abernathy was a good man who grew tired of living in his brother’s shadow. Since Dr. King has been dead for over 20 years, Abernathy decided to slay his character. Fortunately, the media won’t find what some have penned King’s “second assassination” interesting for very long. Something else will soon have the limelight. Abernathy knows this as well, so he’s enjoying royalty checks at King’s expense. But long after the dust has settled, the hurt will continue. Little black children have been robbed of a role model, and Kinj^call been robbed of his rightful placer hie history. sa ’ ( to s A national holiday hasbeenturi: into a national disgrace. ijlia Because actions speak loudertk tos words, the legacy of King’s work#. ^ live on despite rumors. ggL Kiim was a man of action. An 6 , . $]( 1 le spent his life trying to make Z. America live out the* true meaning < its creed,” but he wasn’t perfect, cor Af ter all, “a man ain’t nothingk “ lr man.” Ronda Shepherd is a senior jo: lism major and a guest column: * 1 The Battalion. The reality of abortion: it kills the innocent I certainly agree with Scot Walker’s column on abortion. To use his termi nology, abortion does “suck.” In fact, it sucks thousands of children to pieces every year! I respect his boldness in presenting his personal opinions con cerning abortion and pro-lifers. But, I would like to ask a few questions: First of all, I would like to ask what his definition of viability is? Does he really know' what the term means, or is he just copying the terminology used by other pro-abortionists to make it sound like he does? Secondly, how does he know pro lifers do not put forth money, time and effort to save children from starving in the streets? Where is his evidence showing we do not? Also, let me ask him this: If he is so concerned as to the welfare of starving and homeless peo ple, what is he doing about it? Michele Stanfield Guest Columnist I would also like to ask Mr. Walker where his proof is of pro-lifers bomb ing clinics? If he is going to make such statements, he needs to provide factual evidence instead of just subjective bi ases. CpC’s and other pro-life agencies do offer women medical assistance. They allow women to acquaint themselves with what is “actually” happening in their bodies. Notice I said “in” and not “to” their bodies; a life is developing as a totally separate entity. On behalf of people in poverty and homeless situations, I would like to charge him for insulting such individu als. How can he insinuate that just be cause they are poor, uneducated or un loved, they will inevitably become a perpetrator of a violent crime. I can think of a lot of crimes com mitted by rich people. By the way, I am so glad he wasn’t around when I was conceived. He might have tried to talk my parents into having an abortion be cause they were poor. Is he aware that no one has ever been killed or even injured in the bombing of an abortuary? No matter who planted the bomb, as long as no one was inside, I couldn’t blame any one for blowing up an abortuary. As a Christian, I believe we are to storm the gates of hell. I resent Mr. Walker’s accusations of misleading women and enticing them into crisis pregnancy centers under the pretense of receiving medical heln. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Scot O.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 Sueltenfuss, Lifestyles Editor 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 77843-1 111. 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 77843-4111. CPC’s and other pro-life agencies do offer women medical assistance. They allow women to acquaint themselves with what is “actually” happening in their bodies. Notice I said “in” and not “to” their bodies; a life is developing as a totally separate entity. If it were not, then how come almost 50 percent of the time th'’ fetus is male? Our so called “bloody horror films” are not used to scare anyone or hurt them while in a crisis pregnancy situation, but to point out the realities of abortion. Excuse me, CHILDKILLING,let’s call it that for what it is instead of hiding behind euphemisms or masks. That’s what Hitler and the Nazis did to the Jews. We look at gross pictures now pertaining to thejewish Holocaust and think how terribly those people must have suffered. As far as birth control goes, does Mr. Walker know that condoms have been around since at least WWII, and since then, “unwanted” pregnancies have increased due to the “no-ties” casual sex promoted nowadays, not to mention the staggering epidemic of AIDS. If people are going to play adult games, they have to pay adult prices. I know, I know, what about rape and incest, right? I am so tired of people using those two examples to justify having abortions out of convenience. I’m not saying we should ignore those situations, but I’m concerned about the other 98 percent of abortions being done just because two people are irresponsible. I am also tired of people making claims that pro-lifers just want to take away woman’s rights. I can’t think of anyone else but a pro-lifer who would come close to risking all they hadaii go to jail to prevent a child frorad|i Yes, Mr. Walker, I am going to jail for saving babies. Not because hat deny women their rights, butbeaul love women and their babies. I want protect all sanctity of life; physicals emotional for all parties concerned In conclusion, feminists do not appreciate when a man decidesa woman’s value based on whetherlii| wants her or not. But at thesametic, women can decide the value of abal ; life based upon whether she vvantsi' child or not. So you see Mr. Walker, it is nota • question of pro-lifers imposing thed morals and beliefs on others, but rather w'hat women (pro-choicers)al imposing on the babies. Michele Stanfield is a senior fl ern languages major and a guest ( umnist for The Battalion. &I9&I HOU4TCH FWf VLADIMIR HOROWITZ 1904 1989