< The Battalion OPINION Thursday, November 16,1989 Opinion Page Editor Juliette Rizzo 845-33' Mail Call Vandalism morally wrong EDITOR: Last Saturday was Veterans Day. Veterans Day is a holiday set aside to recognize the veterans of the armed forces. On that day, we pay tribute to and remember those that have served in our nation’s armies, fought in our nation’s wars and died for their country. However, this letter is not written to educate the reader about our nation’s holidays but to demand an apology for acts of indignation by a group of ignorant bigots. On Saturday evening, this group towards which I am addressing this letter saw fit to vandalize another’s property. The property happened to be a Honda 600 Coupe with a rising sun on its sides. The car was overturned and obscenities were spray painted to its panels. These are acts of vandalism. And I feel, as many do, that it is morally wrong to destroy and deface memorials, whether they be statues, edifices or cars. David K. Yeung ’89 Kenneth A. Carothers ’90 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 make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. My next request — wait your turn! “THE CLASS YOU REQUESTED IS FULL. NO OTHER SECTIONS OF THIS CLASS ARE AVAILABLE. PLEASE ENTER YOUR NEXT RE QUEST, NOW.’’ I wish I had a penny for every time I have heard this statement whine through my receiver. Every time I reg ister, some class I just absolutely HAVE to have for some reason is full.And you know, when I was a freshman, I kind of expected a few of the classes or sections that I wanted to be full. After all, I had to wait until all of the seniors, juniors and sophomores had already regis tered to let my fingers do the walking. Now I am a senior. And on Novem ber 3, the second day of senior registra tion, I finally got my first chance at reg istering as a senior. I was really looking forward to getting the classes and sec tions I wanted.But lo and behold, the same whiney voice came through receiver. ^ •• • Damon Arhos Columnist my in the University Honors Program reg istered in person in the Honors Pro gram Office on October 31 and No vember 1. The only qualifications for this pre-preregistration are (1) that you have a cumulative GPR of a 3.25, (2) that you either be currently enrolled in at least one honors course or have at least six hours of previous honors coursework on your transcript and (3) that you must register for one or more spring honors courses. 100 How could this be? Surely that level philosophy course I wanted was not full? Did someone crack the system and preregister? After a little research, I found my answer. Yes, someone had preregis tered (even before preregistration be gan). And to my amazement, they were authorized to do so. And if you register under the hon ors program, you are not just limited to registering for honors classes. You can register for non-honors classes, too! It sounds like a pretty good incentive to have a 3.25 to me. Actually there are two culprits. First of all, those students who are enrolled Secondly, there are the numerous “student workers” who get to register before the rest of us. Any student worker who can get a letter from their boss confirming their employment can pre-preregister. And I do mean ANY. The term “student worker” doesn’t only apply to those students employed by the University. If you have a job off campus, you can pre-preregister too. The theory behind the “student wor ker” pre-preregistration plan is that those students who work need to plan their classes around their work sched ules. And this is a legitimate concern for those students who put themselves through school or have rigid work hours they must schedule their classes around. My objection is that many students take advantage of this privilege only to get a head start on everyone else. Many students are technically employed by the University but are employed solely on a “part-time basis.” For instance, I am technically a “stu dent worker.” I receive a University pay-check for the work I do on The Battalion. And I typically work a five hour week. Should I be entitled to pre preregistration? No, I shouldn’t. Or how about University tour guides? They make their own hours. Should they be able to pre-preregister? The singling out for pre-preregistra tion those students who are involved in the University Honors Program and those who work is a big mistake. As for the University Honors students and student workers, they should tough it out like the rest of us. Damon Arhos is a senior journa lism major and a columnist for The Battalion. Issues outside of A&M pertain to Aggies, too Once again Aggies have shown their ignorance towards anything that doesn’t directly affect them. Roland S. Martin Last week the Students Against Apartheid erected a shanty that resem bled similar living conditions for Afri cans in South Africa. (I did not use the word “black” because it was created for people of color here in the United States.) Guest Columnist We are more concerned about the removal of trees or the burning of use less trees than the beating, removal and burning of human beings from the face of this earth. We have yet to dissolve the theory of racism in the United States, but the Jim Crow signs are gone, African-Ameri cans can vote freely and even if I sit in the back of the bus, I know I can sit in the front. The purpose of this shanty was not to deface the University, provide an eyesore for our beautiful campus or destroy the integrity of Texas A&M. The shanty, in my mind, needs to be a permanent fixture on this campus. A&M needs the shanty because we need to open our eyes and see what is going on outside of Aggieland. As Aggies, we must put our collec tive feet down and our above average minds together to do our part in stop ping apartheid. Since we are a Top-10 university, let’s join the ivy league schools and many others who have di vested. The purpose was to awaken the stu dent body, faculty, staff and adminis tration to the moral injustices that are being inflicted on the people who are the majority in South Africa. If we have to look at that ugly, trashy eyesore every morning when we wake up, we may begin to realize that apart heid is an ugly, trashy eyesore to the world. My last point is a plea to the student body. We need to stop limiting our selves to issues that only concern A&M. Instead of allowing the shanty to re main standing or convincing the Board of Regents that divestment is crucial, we insist on writing letters to The Bat talion on how ugly the shanty is and how it doesn’t serve a purpose here. If you are one of those students who believes the shanty cannot make us aware of the problems in South Africa, then you need to rethink your position. When we get out of school, we will be associated with the University on an other level. We will be making deci sions that are socially valuable, and un less we learn and understand the crust of the problems that affect us we never will. We are no doubt showing our igno rance on a very critical issue to 21 mil lion Africans in South Africa and the rest of America. The problem at this University is that we don’t care about social issues. We are not really concerned about the drug problem, the people of China, the revolts in the Soviet Union, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall or apartheid. During the Civil Rights movement, America did not wake up and stand up until they saw the hoses being turned on a group of people who were op pressed (South Africa?), kids being blown up in church (South Africa?), human beings being attacked by dogs (South Africa?) and a Nobel Peace Prize winner constantly being arrested (South Africa?). X Apartheid doesn’t belong in South Africa, A&M needs to divest in South Africa and racism doesn’t belong on campus. Roland S. Martin is a junior journa lism major and a representative of the National Association of Black Jour nalists. Racial progress: we\ come a very long wai The returns from the recent plebis cite offer many snacks for thought, but let us begin with congratulations to the state of Virginia, cradle of the Confed eracy, for having elected a black gover nor. Perhaps we all deserve a thump on the back for this one, especially black Americans of course, for having helped create a country in which this is possible — we have come a long way, beloveds. And for all the ugliness, nas tiness and despair that still remains to be dealt with, we needn’t stint ourselves on the pleasure of thinking how far we have come. If you want to know how much things can change in this country and how fast things can change, you have only to study the civil rights movement. And that gives me another opportunity to plug Taylor Branch’s splendid book, “Parting the Waters,” which is so much more than a biography of Martin Lu ther King — such a wonderful portrait of this country trying to change itself — so messy and glorious. Should be must reading for all serious Christains. One of the oddest residues of racism in politics is that white people appar ently have a hard time telling others, notably pollsters, they will not vote for a black. Doug Wilder, the governor- elect of Virginia, and David Dinkins, the mayor-elect of New York City, both went into election day with the polls showing them between 10 and 20 points ahead. They both won in squeakers. Even exit polling, normally the most reliable kind —just a matter of record-keeping; “Who’d you vote for?” — was off by about five points in both places, a lot less than the pre-elec tion polls, but still bizarre. There had been much talk here in New York about “closet racists,’’those who won’t admit they oppose Dinkins because of his color. The smart money was betting the race would be close not because Dinkins is black, but because he didn’t pay his taxes 20 years ago. To be sure, it was 20 years ago; on the other hand, he didn’t cough up the money until it became an issue in the mayoral race. If there’s one thing most citizens truely loathe, it’s some arro gant jerk who thinks he’s too good to pay his share of taxes. That’s the main reason Leona Helmsley became the woman we love to hate. Fortunately for Dinkins, his opponent came across as the kind of guy who pulled the wings off butterflies as a child. Poor Rudolph Giuliani, a prosecutor to the bone, who would have been ter rific during the Spanish Inquisition. You can talk to the man about break fast and suddenly he’s grilling you about what you ate. The other high-profile issue in New York and Virginia, and New Jersey as well, was abortion. You know Lee At water is holed up trying to figure out how Republicans can crawfish on it right now. Nothing makes politicians pay attention more than an issue that loses political races. som Frid poi tme , ythm j-rr » u- . - JtaU mate ditterences over his vetooljSper bill that would have providedabo® for poor women who are thevicir- rape and incest. try. President Bush said the in his news conf erence there are ! Sion F v\ fi He also assured everyone that:; is room for those who are pro-ckj the Republican Party. But Busk;; threatened to veto economical: 1 lungary and Poland becausethej age includes support for a U.N.fa planning service that supportsalxi in China. You know, this argid “Not one penny of my nioneywiij support abortion” that is used sn sionately by right-to-lifers is fraB an< mi bid bal Un silly We are all part of large agglor tions that do things we don’tappi of. I think capital punishmentt<: der, but I pay the taxes that mii possible. 1 know the Cl A commits a der, but I still pay taxes. Their;' ment makes no sense. On the home front, we have again failed to reward theTexasl lature for its pitiful performance giving the members a raise. 1 knef seems logical — why pay this collet of geeks, dweebs and yobstd; money? It might encourage them: I predict that we will once againo to regret paying these folks a pitc to spend part time taking cared’ state’s bidness. $3, dia For example, when the schoolsF open next fall. I trust we will a; smart enough to blame themandu responsible, Dollar Bill Clements, only governor we’ve got, Biff the 1 Mr. No New Taxes, No MatterV; But it will be the Legislature oncer failing to act in time that we’ll see, I know it’s hard to believe pa< them more will help, especially? we’re just now finding out that* seems like half of them have beet ing very nicely off unused camp! contributions, thank you. Thelati seriousness in the Legislature is alt utable to the pathetic salaries, k we’ve got some splendid public 1 vants through the years with this tern — but not enough, not eno: Texans. This is the moment women have been waiting for — now they know it can beat them — although the pro- choice movement will have to continue to prove that in every state in the coun- Speaking of the ineffable Clemc here’s a classic Biff story foryou.M Rawlins, chairman of the Task F on Public Utilities Regulation, wee to report to the governor recently had prepared a detailed, thorougli haustive account of structural f lems at the PUC, and was 10 mi® into all this statistical analysis Clements, who had been gazing into a corner, said, “Moke,youmei tell me you have spent all this time.' all this money, and you still haven't?, ten rid of those two wimminT There are days when you can’ll' but like the Gov. Do you still believe it doesn’t make a difference? If it doesn’t have to do with bonfire, traditions or the MSC trees, we don’t give a damn. The student body needs to realize the problems of America are now the problems of South Africa. EXPRESS LANE lO FAMILY members OR LESS BERLIN YaLL : :: I 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. 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