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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION Wednesday, December 13,1989 Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs Mail Call Ags against bonfire still Aggies EDITOR: It’s been over a week now since the flames of Bonfire ’89 leaped into the night, but there’s one thing that still bothers me. During all the speeches and ramblings that certain important people gave, one of the yell leaders made the statement that Aggies who are against bonfire are not true Aggies. If it’s one thing I hate, it’s mindless generalizations. Just because someone doesn’t approve of one specific tra dition doesn’t mean they’re against the whole school. After all, traditions don’t make an Aggie, it’s the Aggie that makes the traditions. I’m not against bonfire, but I can see how some people could be. I think it’s important to try to understand how other people feel instead of just closing your mind to them. Besides, even if someday bonfire was discontinued, I’m sure the Aggie spirit would survive. Jeff Goodmark ’92 Regents, make room for MSC EDITOR: The regents have recently purchased a large, half-fin ished multi-story office building on Tarrow Street behind the Hilton. The new sign in front designates it “the future headquarters of the TAMU System.” Proposal: Move the regents, along with regency assis tants, secretaries, acolytes, et. al., to this newly acquired building and convert the Regent’s Annex for MSC pur poses. Dome over the fountain courtyard for year-around dining, lounging, gallery-ing, or whatever. against policy or too much work to do a quick check to find the complete address, I inquired as to why my phone num ber was not used to contact me. The explanation given was ‘because that’s not the way we do it’. Apparently, and un fortunately, a more personal form of contact, which would also conserve paper, does not make good policy sense to the parking and ticketing office. When I inquired, why then, are we asked to include our telephone number. I’m told, in essence, simply because it’s part of the form. What truly angers me, though, is automatically being charged a $5 late fee just for not having a full address. A late fee is only supposed to be charged after a person is given 10 days to pay (or appeal again) a ticket. This action is surely a breach of the parking and ticket ing office’s own rules. For all the trouble a missing city sup posedly caused, it certainly did not stop the denied appeal and bill from reaching me. Other Universities give special parking privileges to graduate students, who carry an oftentimes substantial part of the teaching load. Not only should Texas A&M adopt this policy, but graduate (and undergraduate) stu dents should be given better treatment than that described above. Michael E. Worsham Graduate Student Furthermore, will someone please explain to me what the nutritional habits if the average college student have to do with this? If we’re going to equate an abortion with the raising of cattle for human consumption (a ridiculous idea in the first place), then we must also realize that plants, too, are LIFE. I agree with Ram that “. . .education, not restriction's the solution to the abortion issue.” However, with his ir relevant “facts”, it is too easily disputed. Here is an exam ple of real substantiation: Since Sweden has adopted a sex education program starting at age five, it’s teenage birth and abortion rates have decreased by 65% and 25% respec tively, adding up to fewer pregnancies in the first place (“Family Planning in Sweden.” Fact Sheets on Sweden. Swedish Institute, 1986.). Cocky writers like Ram give a bad name to the Pro- choice movement. As a member of the California Abortion Rights Action League, the Bay Area Coalition Against Op eration Rescue, and Retain Our Reproductive Rights, I could give wonderful facts supporting a woman’s right to make her own decisions. But that is not the purpose of this letter. 1 am merely attempting to protect the integrity of a valid movement from senseless and unsubstantiated drivel. Karen J. Schraven, student University of California at Berkeley Maureen Reap, ’84 Graduate Student Parking appeal system unfair EDITOR: Does this story sound similar to one you might have ex perienced? I was told by TAMU parking appeals adjudicator Judy Nesmith that an incomplete address on an appeal form voids an appeal, because it is too much work to plug an I.D. number into the computer and get the missing city. A space less than three inches was available to write the com plete address on the appeal form I filled out. When I pointed out that the form did not specifically provide spaces for each part of a full address, I was told that a new appeals form has been drafted, leaving me penalized be cause of a questionably designed form. Since I had given an incomplete address, and it was Abortion column poor EDITOR: I am writing in response to a recent article concerning the abortion issue. Ram P. Bhojanala complained that pre vious columnists hadn’t substantiated their opinions. Granted, I did not read these as I was a visitor to Texas A&M. However, I remain to be unconvinced of Ram’s so- called substantiation. He states that “the education level of the 15-24 years age group is alarmingly low” because “88.1% (are) below college degree.” Personally, I don’t know many people un der the age of 21 with a college degree, and I don’t find it alarming in the least — it stands to reason. Ram goes on to make an unfounded correlation be tween the lack of a college education and the lack of sex ed ucation. Is that what we go to college for? How many of us have taken a formal sex education class at the University? No reasonable correlation can be derived from this “evi dence.” Another irrelevant fact is the “the United States has the largest percentage of abortions”. . .“among Western na tions”. For this statement to be relevant would require the assumption that Europeans are, in contrast with the U.S.. educated about sex. This is not the case in several western nations. Concentrate on good bull EDITOR: Almost every day there has been some complaint about A&M addressed in The Battalion. Fhey have dealt with problems concerning parking, the anti-apartheid shanty, bonfire, and other traditions. I understand that all of these issues are justified, but sometimes enough is enough. lam not writing this letter to gripe about anything, but to praise. This has been my first semester at A&M and 1 have thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot explain the excitement 1 felt at the first football game; it overwhelmed me to see how everyone took so much pride in A&M. It bothers me to see that only the imperfect details of our campus are concentrated on. All I am trying to say is that there are so many positive aspects about this school they far outweigh the negative. Sonja Skelly ’93 ki! the me 3 y :rs :it) ul ei to 1 atti tvb VIo Have an opinion? Express it! Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length The e/h/m uil staff re serves the right to edit letters for style and length, hut will make ex rry effort to min- tain the author’s intent. Each letter must he signed and must include the classifica tion, address and telephone number of the writer. All letters may he brought to2lb Reed McDonald, or sent to Campus Mail Slop 1111. he,! stei poi iu< f ig ! foi | tioi le Religion should play role in government Spe city It is nice to be a part of a pluralisitic state where all have the right to discuss their own private views of a philosoph ical and political nature. Yet to discuss one’s views through the twisting of facts and the manipulation of the truth does little to enhance the benefits which were meant to be gained by the free express ion of ideas. To debate issues of a con troversial nature is good for a demo cratic republic because through adversarial discussions, one gains a firmer understanding of the appropri ate route to take in all forms of policy. Warren K. Smith Guest Columnist Unfortunately, today there are those using falsehoods to delude many about the position religion has played in the intricate weave of our American heri tage. Groups like Students of Objectiv ism have misused their right of express ion to perpetuate lies concerning the so- called danger religion plays in the exis tence of our nation. So to the end of ex posing myths which have been ex pounded, let us take a brief look at the place religion has played in the found ing of this country. First and foremost, it is incredibly im portant to point out that the opinion that stated the Enlightenment philoso phy was the intricate foundation upon which this nation was laid, was a terrible mistake. Rather, it is important to point out that while the Enlightment philoso phy gripped Southern Europe’s view to life, Northern Europe was affected more by the effects of the Reformation. And, as any historian can state, the ma jority of the early colonists to America were from Great Britain and Northerrn Europe. can culture, for they established the first schools, seeing that the local preacher was usually the only truly educated member of that early society. Indeed ev ery institution of higher education (in cluding Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dart- mouth Columbia and Brown University) before the American Revo lution was founded by a Christian church. Then according to history books, an event known as the Great Awakening spread like wildfire across the American colonies in the 1740’s. In fact, in New England alone 25,000 to 50,000 people were added to the church out of a total population of only 300,000. year 1775, more copies of his “Com mentaries” had been sold in America than in all of England, and as any hon est attorney will observe, William Blackstone’s “Commentaries” became the foundation of our system of laws. There is a clear pivotal point, how ever, which must be added here. Many of the colonists were religious dissi dents. Indeed the Pilgrims and Puritans are clear examples but there are many more. It was these religious dissidents who actually wove the fabric of Ameri- Take also into consideration the Christian, Sir William Blackstone. This individual was a lecturer of law at Ox ford who molded from the tenets of J vi deo Christian theism, the “Commenta ries on the Laws of England.” By the Finally, I would like to end this col umn with a fact and a few quotes. Of the 55 men who attended the Constitution Convention, 52 were professed Chris tians while the remaining three claimed to be deists. The most famous of Ameri can deists, Thomas Jefferson, did not even attend the constitutional conven tion, being the ambassador to France at the time. As most will remember, he was the man who coined the phrase of “se paration of church and state”, which does not even appear in our Constitu tion. As George Washington clearly stated, “Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be main tained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of rcfel education on minds of peculiarstwl lure, reason and experience bothfc us to expect that national morality! prevail in exclusion of religious prii« pie.” We can also draw some wisdoj from one of Thomas Jefferson’s leittj dated in 1801 .“(The) Christian leligioi . . is a religion of all others mostfrieiil to liberty, science and the free exp! sions of the human mind.” Is religion a danger to America?! be thejudge. As with all columns, opinions fi pressed by Guest Columnists are if necessarily those of The Battalion, sons interested in submitting guest umns should contact the Opinion^ Editor at 845-3314. NOW HIRING * The Battalion is looking for two Texas A&M faculty members to write bi-weekly columns for The Battalion Opinion Page during the Spring '90 semester. Applications can be picked up in Room 216 Reed McDonald and are due in Room 230 Reed McDonald by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17. ! 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