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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 1990)
The Battalion OPINION Wednesday, May 30,1990 Opinion Page Editor Damon Arhos ‘Debate’ with plastic cutout embarrassed Parker, legislaturt Not everyone took the Memorial Day holiday off. Senator Carl Parker, chairman of the Texas Senate Education Committee, spent the day talking to himself. Parker, a Democrat from Port Arthur, had challenged Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Clayton Williams to an education debate which he set for Memorial Day. And since Williams attended Congressman Steve Bartlett’s Memorial Day picnic in Dallas instead, Parker ended up debating a cutout of Williams riding a horse. Yes, a plastic cutout. Maybe, just maybe, Parker didn’t have anything better to do than to debate a plastic cutout. I mean, just because one is a Texas senator doesn’t mean that they have to spend the day remembering our veterans — you know: placing flags on graves, giving Damon Arhos • Opinion Page Editor jh J A " L m, — - Memorial Day speeches, attending parades or going to picnics. (It’s possible that he didn’t get invited to anything.) However, it is my guess that Carl Parker just wanted to stage an event that would both get him some press and make of Claytie look bad for not showing up. After all, it does seem rather strange that Parker picked a national holiday for the event. Is there a Mail Call B-CS landfill less than impressive EDITOR: What a wonderful reason for a celebration. Bryan-College Station is join ing in the spirit of cooperation to open a new landfill. Maybe we should all get together and congratulate ourselves for this impressive achievement. How can such an event take place at a time when people’s environmental consciousness should be at an all time high following Earth Day last April 22? It is insane for us to continue destroying large areas of land so that we can have disposable dipers and three copies of the same phone book every year. Recycling is such common sense; yet, we insist on opening more landfills and wasting natural resources. I would implore everyone who reads this to think about what you throw away, where it goes and how much of an impact recycling it would make. Michael Gillenwater ’93 Special events center should not be priority EDITOR: I read the interview with President Mobley (April 26 — The Battalion) and would like to comment on his remarks. President Mobley mentioned several times the lack of funding at A&M compared to our recent growth. Of this I have no doubt. Consequently, I was surprised to read that in these tight financial times, a $35 million special events center is apparently of such high priority. In fact, it appears that it is a higher priority thap hiripg.jnore good faculty, building more instructional facilities and better parking areas — all of which were cited by President Mobley as present needs. As for the funding of the special events center, I am a little confused. Pres ident Mobley says this money would not be spent on academic development in any case. Since he indicates that PUF money is involved, it is news to me that this money is not available for academic needs. Funding for this center will also come from fees and tickets — the bulk of which I suspect are actually paid by students. If it is true that money obtained from students can’t be used to improve the student environment at our school, then perhaps this rule needs chang ing. As for the use of the proposed facility, I again have my doubts. The Rud der complex is a fine facility that has hosted theater productions and aca demic conferences previously. Any conference requiring more space than Rudder Auditorium would likely go to a larger city. True, the special events center will provide a larger setting for graduation exercises. But I believe it is the work you do before you cross the stage at graduation that makes you worthy of the degree, regardless of how inspiring that short walk may be. Finally, the center will host basketball games and “major events of all kinds.” It is unclear how these last two activities will add anything to a degree ex cept perhaps basketball literacy. The question that sticks in my mind is whether it is better to meet the needs President Mobley has outlined or to build a special events center. To my way of thinking, I don’t agree with the choice that is being made. If you disagree with the choice, also, then make you views known to those who are determining the needs and priorities of our school. Kirk J. Strozewski ’88 Have an opinion? Express it! 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. There is no guarantee that letters submitted will be printed. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. All letters may be brought to 216 Reed McDonald, or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111. better time to catch a candidate for public office tied-up for the day? Parker’s antics are truly degrading to himself and to the legislative body that he represents. If Parker truly wanted to debate Williams on the education issue, he should have proposed a more opportune time for the event. Parker’s tactics of simply challenging the gubernatorial candidate to a debate and then expecting him to respond and participate on Parker’s own terms just won’t cut it. After Parker went on with the so- called “debate” with the Williams “stand-in” plastic cutout, the cutout itself became the news of the day. If Parker had a point to make with the debate, it was lost in the hype over his debating partner. The Associated Press news story that I read didn’t mention any specifics about the debate until the fourth paragraph. Obviously, Parker’s message that Williams “lacks even a superficial knowledge of where we are” with education reform was overshadowed by his use of the cutout. “I If Parker had a point to make with the debate, it was lost in the hype over his debating partner.” And even irParTerTiK^eTTus^ message across, how accurate is it? Is it true that Williams “lacks even a superficial knowledge of where we are” with public education? Or is Williams correct in dubbing Parker’s education legislation the “Parker-Richards Income Tax Bill,” indicating his belief that it will eventually lead us to a state income tax? Is Williams really out of touch with public education because he believes public education can be financed without new taxes? In the same Associated Pressatii Parker is quoted as saying, “Texas# truly going to be in sad shape witli public education and with our tax policies if we continue to relyonS second sound bites and slick TVadij rather than making candidates ans, hard questions.” I couldn’t agree with you more' Parker. So why don’t you do us all a 1 stop debating plastic figures; stopir to create news stories (and soundt about campaign issues that lack ret substance. Mr. Parker, the voters of Texas t for that matter, of Port Arthur) nee:; senator — not an actor. Damon Arhos is a senior jt major. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Associated Collegiate Press The Battalion Editorial Board Monique Threadgill, Editor Melissa Naumann, Managing Editor Damon Arhos, Opinion Page Editor Holly Becka, City Editor Meg Reagan, Lisa Ann Robertson, News Editors Clay Rasmussen, Sports Editor Eric Roalson, Art Director Todd Stone, Lifestyles Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup porting newspaper operated as a commu nity service to Texas A&M and Bryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the au thor, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is published Tuesday through Friday during Texas A&M sum mer semesters, except for holiday and ex amination periods. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semes ter, $40 per school year and $50 per full year: 845-2611. Advertising rates fur nished on request: 845-2696. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station, TX 77843-1111. Newsroom: 845-3313. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. Old China Hands MAftswes HCVSICN F«T Shrimpers must stop ‘raping’ ecosy: so that marine life escapes extinctioi The turtle issue gets the most publicity when shrimpers are in the news, but there is another side of the story that rarely sees media publicity. Shrimp trawling is essentially ecosystem harvesting. Anything and everything that gets in the path of a shrimp trawler will die. For every pound of shrimp caught, 10-22 pounds of fish die; that’s 2.5 billion pounds every year. Where does this “trash” fish go? It is dumped overboard to be consumed by the everpresent hordes of seagulls, terns and pelicans. Shrimpers are slowly chipping away at the ecosystems that provide most of us with the fish we eat. Logic can easily predict the future of trawling. Most of the fish caught are not considered “valuable” because they are either the wrong species or too small. In nature, everything eats everything; there is no such thing as a “trash” species. By killing these so-called “trash” species, shrimpers are slowly dissecting the marine food webs. In addition, the “valuable” species are often too small to keep; if shrimpers continually kill young fish, what will happen when all the old fish have finally Michael Smith Reader’s Opinion died? No young fish now means no old fish later. Some important species shrimpers often kill include red snapper, redfish, pompano, bluefish, king mackerel and Spanish mackerel. The wasteful practices of shrimp trawling must come to an end. Shrimpers can no longer be allowed to harvest ecosystems. This idea is not a new one, but one first observed by the British Parliament in 1367. It was here that a trawl is first described: “ ... by means of which instrument the fishermen aforesaid take so great abundance of fish that they know not what to do with them but feed and fatten the pigs with them to the great damage of the whole commons of the kingdom and the destruction of the fisheries in like places.” How can we end this waste? The solution is easy. First, we can boycott shrimp. Some say this is ineffective because only 25 percent of our shrimp comes from American shrimpers.! really doesn’t matter, though. Wasit waste no matter where it occurs. Second, we can write to our elected representatives, urging them to pas; more stringent legislation protectin; turtles. Finally we can all writealettfj Dr. John Knaves (NOAA, 14th and Constitution NW, Washington, DC, 20238). He is the undersecretary of commerc and needs to be urged toll judges impose stricter penalties on turtle-exclusion-deviceless shrimper and shrimpers who injure turtles purposely. In 1988, 42 percent of all strandec sea turtles had purposeful, human- inflicted mutilations; these rangedf: bludgeonings and smashed shells to shooting wounds and decapitations Some shrimpers appear to be seekinj revenge against turtles instead ofthe turtle-savers. Whatever action is taken, it mustl< aimed towards reducing both turtle fish bycatch to zero. Shrimpers have been raping our marine ecosystems enough. Michael Smith is a senior wildlifei fisheries sciences major. Fax T'Ve OoT 2.\ ldouR& ?f\LL IN AMA y FF/l y ?WS } 4?>fD. / 1)0 Vou. umr ft \A£oP^ HeY, IT'S UKB Fb&EBfKU—UJB 'file $f\Me X CjPulo po IT Fl&fV. E.Y&3FT 'THegg / GfZPCD<£ \ 3Y flT A*M Y^Bur Ad A &TUPEMT &VZR.Y To A Goop larMNAT/cr/. sruc&w < pcewj'rnflTK; OHItfad*# fbg n X just nke CEMfN Xo Obie CMf\L on
