The Battalion
OPINION
Thursday, April 19,1990
Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs
845-3:
LOTRAK project costs a lot more than it’s wort!
xt t r • i . i i . -jiI, ,,I tr-'j/ l-c 'I h^ ciiiMT/icTirl What is u/rriricr with thi> railrviari instrnrtrir tolH us not to rln the bli
Normally, I am fairly apathetic about
campus construction. I only think about
it when it inconveniences me. For
example, I have a helluva time driving
on campus because I am unsure about
which roads are one-way, two-way or
the other way. Anyway, I normally view
construction as a built-in evil with which
we students must continually cope.
With the new LOTRAK project,
though, Texas A&M has really gotten
off track.
LOTRAK is the catchy name given to
the not-so-catchy proposal detailing the
lowering of the train tracks that run
parallel to Wellborn Road. The project
Matt
McBumett
Columnist
is reported to cost $35 million, with
A&M footing $6.6 million of the bill.
The project proports to be a panacea
for all the woes associated with the
railroad tracks. The supposed
advantages of having the Wellborn
tracks underground include that the
train would not block vehicular or
pedestrian traffic, noise levels would be
reduced and the danger of a train/auto
accident would be diminished.
This is all well and good, but not for
the price, because:
• The train track situation is not that
bad. #
• There are numerous other areas in
which the $6.6 million could be used.
• This is but another example of
Texas A&M’s misappropriation of
funds.
What is wrong with the railroad
tracks? One of the reasons for the the
LOTRAK proposal is that traffic is
congested due to the trains.
This is ridiculous. Even on the rare
occasions on which a train has delayed
my crossing Wellborn, the train was
traveling at good rate, and my wait was
short. We should not forget that if we
are in a hurry, University Drive travels,
uninterrupted, directly under the
tracks.
instructor told us not to do the I
because “you might die!”
And they want to spend $6.6millior
to change something that works?
Our library could use a financial
boost, also. I know of no otherlibran
that uses its funds to establish a
bus service to another library, (asout'j
does to Austin) instead of spending!!:
money on aiding itself .
Examples of misguided money
One t’ Minnesota...
One t’ Georgia.
One V the Bahamas
One t’Alaska
Another complaint about the tracks is
that the noise level is too high. Well, I
lived on the Northside of campus for a
year and not once did a train make even
half as much noise as my dormitory
neighbors.
As for hazards, if one obeys the law,
there is no chance of having a problem
with a train. Trains are big and long.
Intersections are completely controlled
and clearly marked. To get hit by a
train, one must either be a complete
idiot, or have a deathwish.
I do not understand why A&M
supports the LOTRAK proposal. The
money could easily be spent elsewhere.
A good place to start would be with
undergraduate programs.
I he supposed advantages o
having the Wellborn tracks
underground include that thetfs
would not block vehicular or
pedestrian traffic, noise levels
would be reduced and thedangs
of a train/auto accident wouldbf
diminished.
This is all well and good, b
for the price. ... This is but
another example of Texas A&M;
misappropriation of funds.
-fhe Batt
Last year, I had my first true
electrical engineering lab. As with most
labs, it coincided with a class. For most
of the year, we did labs which resembled
our classwork, and the purpose of the
lab was served. When we got to the
section of class involving relatively high
voltage calculations, we were unable to
do a lab.
management abound. We at A&M
would rather give superfluous fundsio
our athletic department, or make
superficial changes to our campus (lilt
our corner markers and underground
railroads), than spend the moneywhetf
it is needed.
MARG^ISS
As usual, the equipment we needed
for the lab was set up for us at our lab
stations. Something was wrong, though.
The equipment was, to say the least, “old
army.” It was so archaic that our lab
Taking the past record into accounti
am not surprised at A&M’s willingness
to support ridiculous proposals suclu
this. It has become a tradition.
Matt McBumett is a junior electrid
engineering major.
Mail Call
Office hours should be observed
Hobbs’ opinion of Williams ‘sexist’
EDITOR:
Let me ask you a question. The last time you went to your
professor’s office during posted office hours was he or she
there? Chances are they were not. Chances are that they
hardly ever are there when they are supposed to be.
This is one thing that makes me very angry. Our time is
just as valuable and important as the professor’s, yet they
don’t seem to agree. It is the responsibility of the professor to
be in their office when they have told their students they will
be. Many times students such as myself have to take time from
work or skip a class to go talk to a professor, and when they
are not there it wastes our time.
To all the professors: Try to be more considerate of your
students. If you expect us to be in your class every day then
the least you can do is be in your office a mere three hours a
week. Without your students, where would you be? After all,
we essentially pay your salary.
Vanessa Parker ‘91
Cartoons should be taken lightly
EDITOR:
This letter concerns a recent column by Ellen Hobbs, your
Opinion Page Editor. While on the campus attending the Sul
Ross reunion (probably unheard of by Hobbs), I obtained a
copy of The Battalion. Reading her self-serving, sexist opin
ion of Clayton Williams was the low point of the visit. Like so
many other little reporters she breaks the trust, and for her
own ego reports words and happenings that were supposedly
off the record.
Mr. Williams is a highly successful businessman, a good
Aggie and has been most generous in his support of the
school. All of us, even Hobbs, are benefiting from his gifts. I
doubt that the accomplishments of a junior journalist match
those of Williams. And she has the audicity to call him stupid.
If on some dark night she uttered a cry for help, she would be
fortunate to have a Clayton Williams nearby. He would an
swer her call for aid.
Having learned so much by her junior year, perhaps her
senior year will be even more fruitful. Hopefully she may
gain a little more tolerance of stupid people, lessen her anti
male feelings and pick up a little Aggie loyalty.
dustry. We discard enough iron and steel to continuously
supply all the nation’s automakers. Houston alone uses about
300,000 tons of paper each year. It takes about five million
trees to make that much paper.
Do these facts disturb you? Well they should! There are
going to be seminars and special events throughout April, so
let’s get involved. Let’s face it, Ags, we only have one planet to
live on, so we better take care of it.
Mark A. Norwood ‘90
Diploma has sentimental value
EDITOR:
This letter is addressed to Pablo Pissanetzky and anyone
else who has a problem with comic strips in The Batt. I got a
little flash of reality for you. It’s a cartoonist’s job to make fun
of people. Who would want to read Doonesbury if it praised
our system of government?
For that matter, who would care to watch “Don the
Greek” being responsible with alcohol and respecting
women? Also, this may come as a shock to you, but there are
some people who don’t blindly believe everything they read in
comic strips.
I have been reading comic strips for a very long time my
self and I still have the ability to profess my belief that pen
guins can’t talk, mosquitoes don’t wear clothes and Clayton
Williams doesn’t dress like Ronald McDonald. So if you still
feel insulted, all I can say is lighten up, it’s only a joke.
Albert B. Watts ‘33
EDITOR’S NOTE: The quotes in Ellen Hobbs’ column were
reprinted from a Houston Chronicle story and were not off
the record.
EDITOR:
Sometime on April 11 or 12, someone entered my office
in Bizzell West and stole my framed Texas A&M diploma
from where it was hanging on the wall. Since a diploma is a
highly personalized document, I can only assume that the
thief was after the frame, which was a traditional “Aggie” wal
nut frame with a maroon velvet border. 1 f urther assume that
because of the special nature of the frame, the thief wanted it
for an A&M diploma.
If my assumptions are proven to be correct, then I will be
very saddened. I would hope that no Aggie would steal a
frame for themselves or woidd accept a frame that was used
by someone else. If by some chance, you, the thief, are read
ing this letter, please have the decency to at least give the di
ploma back. The paper worth is negligible. The sentimental
value is enormous.
John Norris, Ph.D. ’84
Earth Day is coming
Steve Harrison ‘92
EDITOR:
HOWDY AGS!!! EARTFI DAY IS COMING! EARTH-
DAY IS COMING! What, might you ask, is Earth Day? Well,
it is officially April 22. It is one day set aside out of the year to
promote awareness about the land, water and environment
that surrounds us. We as a nation throw away enough alumi
num to rebuild airplanes for the entire commercial airline in
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The Battalion Editorial Board
Scot Walker, Editor
Monique Threadgill,
Managing Editor
Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor
Melissa Naumann, City Editor
Cindy McMillian,
Lisa Robertson,
News Editors
Richard Tijerina,
Sports Editor
Fredrick D. Joe, Art Director
Mary-Lynne Rice,
Lifestyles Editor
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