The Battalion
OPINION
Wednesday, April 18,1990
Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845-33
I he Battalion
'll,
Charging for parking bikes: A Modest Proposal
Wednesday
Last week the Faculty Seriate
approved a proposal that would require
students to purchase permits to ride
bicycles on campus. Congratulations are
in order for this bold and courageous
There are many possible
justifications. First of all, bicycles are a
menace to normal students who walk or
drive on campus. Bicycles provide no
profit for either oil companies
or automobile manufacturers and are
therefore subversively opposed to
traditional capitalist values. Finally,
bicycles allow a large number of
students to avoid paying their fair share
to the Department of Parking, Transit
and Traffic Services; these people pay
neither parking tickets nor parking
fees.The new
proposal would
Q
Jeff
Farmer
Columnist
iSfr
importance of regulating these items
(and others) far outweighs any bleeding
heart concern for civil rights or privacy.
If bag-and-backpack permits are sold,
and all possible “carry-in” items are
registered, it will be much simpler for
the University Police to examine them
— purchase of a permit could be
considered “implied consent” to such a
search.
will be forced to carry an unfair portion
of the burden). The University could
sell combination “car-and-backpack,”
“bike-and-briefcase,” or “skateboard-
and-purse” permits. Each possible
combination should have a slightly
different price, in order to maximize
the program to bag regulations.
remedy this
serious
injustice.
There are
those who
might claim
that
enforcement of
this regulation
will be difficult;
it should be
pointed out
that enough
money will be
made from
sales of permits
and auctions of
impounded
bicycles to pay
the salary of the
army of bicycle
officers that will
be required.
One problem I see with the proposal,
however, is that it simply does not go far
e n o u g h . There are
still large numbers of students who will
be able to sneak onto campus without
paying anything more than regular
tuition and fees. 1 refer, of course, to
those on foot. Something needs to be
done about these people; sevexal
possibilities come to mind.
Perhaps the most effective way to
regulate and control walking on campus
would be to require all students, faculty
and staff to purchase permits for their
shoes. Shoes cause damage to plants and
grass; the University spends money
every year to repair it. Many students
would undoubtedly consider the
maroon stamp on their Nike’s a badge
to be worn proudly; for the more
fashion conscious (and those who might
own more than one pair) shoe
“hangtags” could be sold. While this
would be guaranteed to raise significant
revenue, enforcement would be
expensive and difficult; impounding
unregistered shoes would undoubtedly
cause a big stink.
I believe there is a better solution to
the problem of uncontrolled walking on
campus. Almost everyone who has any
serious business on campus will be
carrying either a briefcase, backpack,
shoulder bag or purse. These bags
potentially conceal drugs, weapons,
pornography, handbills announcing
meetings of Students Against
Apartheid, Medicine Tribe, Pro-Choice
Aggies, Gay and Lesbian Student
Services (or other organizations inimical
to traditional values), alcohol, tobacco,
condoms or atheist literature. The
Of course, t here must be some
modification of the fees for students
who drive or ride a bike (otherwise they
confusion about the rules and minimize
the possibility of successful appeal. The
Department of Parking, Transit and
Traffic Services has already achieved
this in the arena of parking regulations;
there should be no problem extending
This proposal has much to
recommend it: Its revenue-generatinj
ability, its undeniable fairness and its
potential to greatly increase
administration control over unruly
students, uncooperative faculty and
slothful staff. In short, its at tract ions ii;
irresistable. 1 suggest the Faculty
Senate consider it without delay.
Wit
no I
Jeff Farmer is a graduate student in
mathematics.
Bicycle permits just moneymakers
It seems it may have been decided
without warning or debate that the
University Parking, Transit and Traffic
Services could extract even more money
from us that we do not have, come next
fall semester. And for what? Parking
our bicycles on campus? Yes!
I wish 1 could be humored by this, but
it is too scary to laugh about. I don’t
know where this idea originated or the
I’htionale for it, but I would be very
interested in hearing an explanation.
Slipped into the Battalion front-page
article on proposed revisions for
parking citations Tuesday, April 10 was
a statement that the Faculty Senate
passed a revision that will make parking
permits mandatory for bicycles
beginning in the fall. (The price for
these permits, however, has not been
announced — even scarier!)
I don’t know about most students, but
l ride my bike because 1 cannot afford
to park my car on campus. Even if I
could swing it, it wouldn’t pay because I
would have to park when I got to
campus. I could just as well park at my
apartment and walk. I know that many
Lynn A.
Hanson
Reader’s Opinion
students do not even own automobiles,
and bicycles are their only means of
transportation. Other students may live
on campus and not have this problem,
but they may have to ride to make it on
time to classes that meet on opposite
sides of the campus.
As far as 1 have observed, the bicycle
racks on campus are quite low-
maintenance and there seems to be no
great shortage of parking spaces for
bicycles except in high-usage areas such
as the MSC. So, what is the reasoning
behind this great plan? Gould it be that
someone needs money, and upon
considering how many bikes are on
campus multiplied by so many dollars
per bike, someone figured it was an
excellent money-making scheme? Or
perhaps it’s because we are a captive
audience, and Traffic Services thinks we
have no choice but to comply, so they
can charge us for anything and
everything that strikes their fancy
don’t know the answer, butwhatldo
know is that students should not take
this sitting down — whether on their
bikes or off!
In addition, has it been addressed
exactly how this plan will he enforced:
Must the University now hireadditioiu of
personnel to monitor bike racks tobe
sure that all bikes locked therehavean
appropriate sticker? How muchistliis
going to cost? Is this really an
enforceable policy? Is this really fairto
students (those who are alreadvatthe
bottom of the economic totem pole,so
to speak) to bear such a ludicrous fee
when we already dish out quite enoug)
What is n really costing Texas A&M
University for me to park mybikeina
bike i at k on campus?
1 don’t know what to think except
that maybe permit stickers on ourste
will be next! Gome on. Aggies-
do vou have to say about this?
DALLAS (AP)
officer acc
oman on the
ever showed hi
unched the woi
ore the two ex
fitness testified r
Ida Lee Delar
work Oct. 31
ilex Gonzales ;
uty officers ch
narked car aftei
raffic.
She pulled ov<
nay department
ers pulled up al
The defense
ired first and ;
narked car duri
ray chase. Del
Gonzales acted i
Pablo Garci
worker with the
of Highways am
tion, and his co-
Interstate
stopped in from
her truck.
Garcia testifu
unmarked car a
iroached him,
ice officers and
for help. He ss
Lynn A. Hanson is a graduate stub
in plant pathology and microbiolog).
Mail Call
Participate in Earth Day
University needs to recycle
EDITOR:
Earth Day is April 22. Over 100 countries are participat
ing is the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, a celebration of envi
ronmental awareness. You can join in the fun and make a dif
ference. T exas A&M’s Earth Day Fair is Sunday, April 22,
from 1 1 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Research Park. And guess what?
It’s free!
T he fun includes live music, speakers, games, food, drink
and an Aggie Players production of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax.”
Also, start saving all your newspapers, computer paper, glass,
aluminum cans, rigid plastic and old clothing: There’s going
to be on-site recycling. So come on out, join the fun and help
the environment !
David Leftwich ’90
Snack bar practices wasteful
EDITOR:
1 am writing this in protest of the Texas A&M food serv
ice’s practice of rewrapping their burritos, specifically at the
Bus Stop Snack Bar, and probably at others also.
The burritos come pre-packaged, singly, and in beautiful
plastic wrappers. The food preparers unwrap them and re
wrap them in celophane and then cover that up with tissue. I
ask why? Why should they waste paper and produce more
trash?
The purpose of Earth Day, April 22, is to make people
aware of what they can do to protect our environment. One
way is to eliminate waste. 1 strongly urge the Texas A&M
Food Services Depaartment to consider their wasteful prac
tice of rewrapping burritos, and to make changes that will
eliminate this waste.
Bingo Barnes ’90
EDITOR
I am writing in reference to a problem that I believe de
serves immediate attention ... one that has been ignored or set
aside f or too long.
In the past few years it has become increasingly evident
that the state of our environment is quickly deteriorating.
This problem is one that threatens our very existence, and
certainly the existence of generations to come. It’s time we
join together and begin taking care of the Earth, Ags.
The choices we have for action are many, but the most ob
vious and simple one, as I see it, is recycling. Keeping in mind
the sobering fact that 80 percent of our landfills will be closed
in three years, l do not see that we should hesitate for even a
moment to instigate an intensive recycling program on our
campus ... one supported by the Texas A&M University Sys
tem.
What are we waiting for? T he amount of waste generated
by this University is phenomenal, even shameful, when most
of what is dumped is recycleable.
The benefits of a University recycling program would far
outweigh any initial inconvienieces that might be involved
with setting up the program.
Recycling is a profitable endeavor. Not only would money
flow back into the University from the recycling of such
materials as aluminum, paper and glass, but we would also
help conserve our natural resources while setting a positive
example for the surrounding community and other institu
tions within our state.
It’s no longer acceptable for us to turn our heads and ig
nore what’s going on in our own backyards, Ags. Earth Day
1990 will be celebrated on Sunday, April 22. Let’s all make an
Earth Day pledge today to begin recycling! And it may be up
to us to find out more about how' our University could adopt a
University-wide recycling program
For more information about Earth Day and recycling,
come to the Earth Day Fair on Sunday in the Research Park.
The future of the earth is in our hands. Recyclingjs only a
first step, but it’s one that will make a world of difference.
Lynette Clark ’91
Letter on ‘perversity’ misleading
AUSTIN
Alcoholic Be
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EDITOR:
As Mr. Gaither pointed out in the April 17 issue of the
Battalion, one should read Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire” since those who fail to learn from the past
are doomed to repeat it. From tins book, one would learn that
the truly perverse emperors occurred in the first century, and
that Christianity had been the official religion of Rome for
over a century before its fall in 476.
To quote Gibbon, “As the happiness of a f uture life is the
great object of religion, we may hear, without sin or scandal,
that the introduction, or at least the abuse of Christianity, had
some influence on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire."
Jim Lenoir
Graduate Student
tin Americai
Monday.
'The' rec<
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and Motm
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