The Battalion
OPINION
Monday, November 20, 1989
I
i
Opinion Page Editor Juliette Rizzo 845-331(|
Take time out to be thankful, remember those honored at Silver Taps
Silver Taps is one of the best tradi
tions at Texas A&M. To take time to
honor those fellow students who have
passed away is something that is unique
to us Aggies. Sometimes in our quest to
be unique we forget the purpose of this
tradition. It’s easy to forget the people
we’re trying to remember. It can
quickly become just a walk over to the
Academic Building on a Tuesday
night. When we stop to remember the
individuals, their goals and aspirations
and say a prayer for their family and
friends, we truly honor their memory.
Like the 33-year-old man who was
honored a few weeks ago. Maybe he
was coming back to school after a long
break from high school. Maybe he was
trying to get a better life for his family
or trying to start a new career. Maybe
his wife was working two jobs to help
get him through college. Maybe he
missed playing with his kids because he
was too busy with college and he was
Mathew
Ninan
Guest Columnist
looking forward to returning to nor
mal hours soon, but there’s no more
playground.
How about the freshmnan who was
killed in an auto accident earlier this
year. Maybe he was finally on his own,
ready to take the world by storm.
Maybe he was one of the many national
merit scholars we have here. Maybe his
parents were proud their son had
made it to college and was maturing
into an adult. Think of the dreams he
might have had. He was just starting to
get his feet wet in the oceans of life, but
there are no more playgrounds.
Remember the senior who was
within months of graduation. Starting
to see the light at the end of the aca
demic tunnel. Maybe he had a good job
lined up, marriage plans in the works
and enthusiasm for what lays ahead,
but there are no more playgrounds.
The student who was pursuing an
advanced degree. Maybe she was the
first member of her family to make it to
college much less get a post graduate
degree. Can you see her parents “brag
ging” about their daughter. The smile
that comes across their faces when they
think about her. Just imagine the spar
kle in her eyes as she thinks of the fu
ture, but there are no more play
grounds.
The freshman who was killed re
cently when she was driving back to
A&M. Maybe she decided to take a
break from studies and go home that
weekend. She was only seven miles
from campus when she had the fatal
accident. Only seven miles away from
maybe meeting with a study group for
an upcoming test. Seven miles away
from going to a dinner engagement,
committee meeting, a night on the
town. Maybe she had projects due the
following week, a speech to give, a date
finally with that cute guy in her history
class. But plans got changed, ambitions
are lost and dreams ended, for there
are no more playgrounds.
The days of innocence are gone.
Sandboxes and swings, hopscotch and
jumprope, chasing grasshoppers and
catching fireflies. Their all just mem
ories now of more carefree days. Our
grass-covered playgrounds have been
replaced by the cold concrete of the
real world. A world of deadlines, re
sponsibilities and obligations.
Let us take time out from our busy
lives and remember. Let us remember
the families of those students. Just as
their flames were beginning to glow
brightly they were snuffed out. Lei
remember their dreams and theirs;
bilious for they are very mudu
own.
As Thanksgiving draws near, lei
remember those carefree days. Lei
be thankful that we are the ones
are remembering at Silver Taps. Lei
be thankful for having our family a
friends. For the privilege of livingu
great country, attending a greatsck
and having so many of the thingsi
take for granted.
So, as the turkey is being carvedt;
the smell of pumpkin pie fills jq
house, take time to remember theplj
grounds of our younger days.theblj
sings of our present day and thdioj
we have for future days.
Pass the cranberry sauce.
Mathew Ninan is a senior mechti
cal engineering major and a guesut
umnist /'or The Battalion.
A Texas mandate
A particularly flavorful agglomera
tion of citizens greeted state lawmak
ers, returning for a third time to try to
straighten out the workers comp mess.
About 300 bikers wearing sleeveless
leather jackets, tattoos that said “Born
to Loose” and Nazi earrings came to
protest the new helmet law; anti-death
penalty activists demonstrated on be
half of Clarence Brandley, the citizen
on Death Row who is apparently inno
cent; and a bunch of high school rodeo
champions wandered about looking
improbably wholesome.
Elizabeth Iglesias, an environmental
activist, took up lobbying tactics
inspired by Bo Pilgrim, the chicken
magnate, and went about handing out
payee-blank checks to lawmakers — ex
cept hers were for 1 cent, instead of
$10,000. She wants the state to do
something about toxic chemicals.
Meantime, there’s apparently a done
deal on workers comp, and as you
might expect, the workers will get the
short end. The push in the Lege now is
just to get it done — it was supposed to
have been the Numero Uno item dur
ing the regular session, and they
flubbed then. It was the only item dur-
A supercomputer
meets its match
The human race is now in the debt
of the Soviet chessmaster Gary Kaspa
rov.
In case you might have missed the
news, it was Gary Kasparov, the world
chess champion, who went up against a
chess-playing computer named “Deep
Thought” and flogged the machine
with relative ease.
It took the human two-and-one-half
hours to win the first match. It took
him only two hours to win the second.
And “Deep Thought,” mind you,
was no ordinary computer. It was, in
fact, the World Computer Chess
Champion.
What if the match had come out the
other way? What if a computer had
taken on a human in the complicated
game of chess and had beaten him?
Wouldn’t this have been a horrible
blow to our self-esteem? If we couldn’t
beat a computer at chess, at what else
might this thing with wires be superior
to?
Look at what computers have al
ready proved they can do better than
human beings.
They must be better at flying air
planes, because computers do most of
the heavy work flying most new com
mercial jets.
Computers add, subtract, and divide
faster and more accurately than do hu
mans. Computers do most of the pro
duction work at newspapers today. Hu
mans used to do that.
But Gary Kasparov’s victory over
“Deep Thought” proves we can still
dominate computers in some areas,
and that should offer some peace of
mind to all of us.
I don’t want to awake on morning
and find out I’m working for a com
puter, instead of the other way around.
An editorial writer for the Daily
News in New York obviously has this
smae thought and was appreciative of
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Member of
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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
Lewis
Grizzard
Syndicated Columnist
the Kasparov victory. The writer listed
a number of things a computer still
can’t do.
My favorite was “purr.” Cats can
purr and I’ve known women who could
do something very similar, and who
wants to pet a computer or hold one in
his arms in front of a fireplace?
I was moved to make my own list of
abilities computers don’t have. The ef
fort brought me much satisfaction.
A computer can’t:
• Fry a chicken like my mother did,
crispy brown on the outside, tender on
the inside.
• Teach a small boy how to throw a
curve ball.
• Make a friend.
• Fix a flat tire.
• Deliver my newspaper to my front
yard at the crack of dawn, 365 days a
year without a single miss.
• Pat me on the back and say,
“Great putt, partner,” when I make an
occasional birdie to win a $2 Nassau.
• Call a square dance.
• Get up and get me a beer when
Southern Cal is threatening to score
late in the game against Notre Dame.
• Sing “Angels Flying Too Close to
the Ground,” like Willie Nelson.
• Drive a truckload of goods from
Spokane, Wash., to Nashville, Tenn.
• Win a tobacco-spitting contest.
• Write a funny novel, like Dan Jen
kins.
• Cry.
• Paint a masterpiece.
• Bake a cake.
• Have a baby.
• Save an earthquake victim.
Hooray for our side!
Copyright 1989, Cowles Syndicate, Inc.
Editorial Policy
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on workers compensation
il'
.'JL 'i.
Molly
Ivins
Syndicated Columnist
ing the special session this summer and
they flubbed again. Now they’re all sick
of the subject, they’re facing major em
barrassment if they whiff three times,
and none of the problems that made
reform urgent in the first place have
gotten any better in the meantime. So
the only focus now is on producing
something, anything; no one wants to
hear from anyone who isn’t helping
“move the ball forward.”
The pure parliamentary power of
Bill Hobby was on display as he sent
the two Senate bills — one he had writ
ten and one by Sens. Kent Caperton
and Carl Parker, to committee. Guess
which bill is going to come out of the
committee Hobby picked to handle
them? Hobby, who God knows de
serves credit for moving this ball for
ward, has written a bill that is, at last,
politically feasible. Caperton and Par
ker have written a good bill that can’t
pass.
The trouble with having the Lite
Guv, presiding officer of the Senate,
pushing his won bill is that it leaves no
chance for the maximum legislative
outcome — the compromise between
what should be done and what can be
done. There’s a famous legislative
phrase, “I have no pride of arthurship”
(arthurs, in the Texas Lege, are guys
who write things, like bills and books),
but of course all “arthurs” take pride in
what they’ve written.
The saddest thing about this whole
long, sorry debate about workers comp
is that no one ever proposed the ob
vious solution, which is a get-serious,
state-supported OSHA. A whole pack
age industrial-safety measure, long
overdue and much needed in this state,
could have taken care of the compensa
tion insurance problems, along with
being right and just.
You see, we wouldn’t be having all
these problems with comp insurance
going sky high if we didn’t have so
many injured workers in this state. The
Hobby bill has no provisions, for drug
or substance abuse programs in the
workplace; no safety training pro
grams; no legislative intent section that
specifically says the purpose is to pro
tect workers’ health and safety; no
criminal sanctions for employers who
knowingly fire, suspend or discrimi
nate against a worker for reporting un
safe conditions; does not mandate that
signs be hung from prominent places
to advise workers of their rights and
what .number to call under the whis
tleblower provisions; has relatively
weak penalties for unsafe workplaces;
and phases in over a three-year period,
rather than taking effect immediately.
The cynical and immoral practice
many large companies have of using
temporary workers, hired either
through “Kelly Girl” companies of just
a crew of illegals and winos picked up
for the purpose, and using them to do
incredibly dirty and dangerous tasks is
not addressed at all. True, illegals who
speak no English and derelicts who
have no credibility are far less likely to
complain about being made to wade
around in toxic chemicals than are full
time employees who know what the
stuff is. On the other hand, temporary
employees are even more likely to get
hurt doing dangerous jobs, since they
aren’t familiar with the equiptment and
can’t tell if it’s working properly.
Kent Caperton appears to ba about
to go down in flames on workerscou
not exactly his career on a high noi
but let us pause to salute a manri
has never been anything but a credit!
the state. Several legislators haven
nounced their retirements recem
and some are worth mourning o\i
Sen. Bob McFarland of Arlington,:
ten described by colleagues as “awfii
good — for a Republican" has been;
awfully good senator. Republicans
all, and will be missed. But Capene
was special from the beginning. He*
practically a child-legislator, oratlei
he seemed that way, straight up fra
Bryan in 1980, the 30-year-old kid id
finally beat Bill Moore, the Bullofi
Brazos, one of the last legendary,uni
pentant, amoral old pols who madeil
Legislature infamous.
Moore once defended a bill he«
carrying by explaining that he would:
make a whole lot rrhmoney on it—ji
a little bit. Caperton, the- clean-c
young lawyer who had been stud:
president at Texas A&M, took o
Moore in one of the great underd
campaigns ever waged. For that pub:
service alone, Caperton’s name shoiii
be legend, but he also turned out to!
a remarkably able and astute legislatf
Although he and Hobby are nt
crossways on workers comp, hebecac
Hobby’s pet and a committee chain
ways using his power wisely. Heb
been a consistent campaigner for mo:
open government, for any billthatgt
the process out of the back roomsai
into the sunshine where everyoneii
see. He has also worked hard !j
higher education, for reforms incriE
nal justice and for judicial reform, Ht
quitting because he needs to go mil J
some money so he can send his kids'
school — plus he’d like some time
see his kids. But perhaps he’ll be
sometime down the road—maybew *
get that lucky twice. ‘
Mail Call
Bonfire comments unfounded
EDITOR:
In response to Reverend Sellars’ comments about
bonfire, I feel that many of his statements are unfounded.
First of all, I did not know that college was only for
academics or book learning as he implies. I thought college
not only included academics but also extracurricular activities
to expand and enhance one’s learning experiences and
opportunities. Bonfire is one of those activities. The friends I
have made and good times I have experienced during the
past four years at cut and stack are infinitely better and more
beneficial to me than some courses I have taken at this
University.
Reverend Sellars also points out that students’ grades
suffer while working on bonfire. Do others’ grades not suffer
while attending football and baseball games, student
organization meetings, and jobs, all of which are
extracurricular activities? Most people working on bonfire
have a devotion to both their school work and bonfire. A case
in point is a former Aston Hall crew chief I know. He devoted
much time, energy and effort to building bonfire last fall
while making a 4.0 carrying 16 hours in aerospace
engineering. I could name many others, including myself,
who maintain above-average grades while working on
bonfire.
Next, Reverend Sellars states that the wood for bonfire
could be better used elsewhere, perhaps in constructing
homes for the homeless. Although this idea has its merits,
many of the Aggies I know would not devote their weekends
to building these homes. The homeless would also havelitik
or no financial means to pay for their house payments,
property taxes, utilities and other costs of owning a home.
Safety at bonfire depends, in part, on how smarter
ignorant one chooses to be. Every person who works on
bonfire knows the inherent risks of getting hurt while
working on it. That is why one signs a waiver at cuttingclass
During cut and stack, the. red pots and yellowpots repeated! 1
stress safety. Certainly bonfire is no more dangerous tous
than football is to its players.
Over the years, more people have died in car accidents
going to and from home for the weekend than have peoplf
for bonfire. Yet we hear no cry to do away with footballer
visits home for the weekend. So, please Rev. Sellars, expla lf
why those who do get hurt continue to work on bonfire,oft
times the same or next day after sustaining an injury?
Finally, not all area churches may be supportive of yon 1 1
statement. A local church billboard found on Texas Avenu|
and other places in the community, includes yell practicertl
bonfire in its message. Ags who sacrifice their academics, ||
resources, and safety for tradition, BUILD THE HELL I
OUTTA BONFIRE!!
Carrie Sundstrom ’90
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff ^
the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to moiflW*
author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, ^
and telephone number of the writer. 3