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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1990)
The Battalion OPINION Monday, October 1,1990 P Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs SsiiMor Maybe we’ll get Rev cable next EDITOR: Once upon a time Ol’ Army interred Reveille at the north end of Kyle Field for the expressed purpose ... “where she could always view the A&M scoreboard.” I don’t think the original intent for the gravesite was to be aligned to view a fla shy Dairy Queen, Coca-Cola, GTE or NCNB commercial from afar; however, why not expand the ad space rentals at Kyle to include the walls of the first, second and third deck, all football helmets and jersey sleeves. Student-use fees might be lowered due to the influx of revenue, plus the eventual ex humation of the Rev’s to the Vet School Cemetery would come as no surprise to us all. Robert Keathley ’61 Cox summed up media coverage EDITOR: I would like to commend Larry Cox for essentially sum marizing the governors race up to this point. In his Sept. 26th column he wrote, and I quote, “The early media focus on who Claytie was pokin’ and what Annie was tokin’ way back in the old days managed to keep voter attention focused, at least for a while, on the candidates personal lives without stumbling onto a real issue over which they could disagree.” I hope the media will begin to address the issues which will have rele vance to the citizens of Texas, rather than to the readers of tabloid journalism. Thank you for your eloquence, Mr. Cox. Clark Lovelady Graduate Student A&M’s smoking policy not effective EDITOR: I just read the article on Texas A&M’s “Smoking Policy” and would like to add a few more comments! I began attending A&M in Spring ’90 as a business major; as such, a majority of my classes are in the Blocker building. To my amazement somebody made the front entrance a smoking area. Let me explain: To enter the building you must enter one door, walk ten feet to another door and then enter the build ing. This area has benches that run the length of the entrance and has been designated as a smoking area. This area has no ventilation therefore the smoke accumu lates into clouds which we must wade through to enter Blocker. This irritates me both physically and mentally. Physically, I can cope with it by using another entrance, but why make the building and classrooms off limits to smoking and then turn around and make everyone walk through a cloud of smoke to go to class? I also checked the 1990-91 University Regulations for “Smoking Regulations” and found it lacking in content. Sec tion 69(1) states: “The use of tobacco is prohibited in the All Faiths Chapel, classrooms, laboratories and in all areas in which a notice prohibits smoking is posted.” I would suggest if this is A&M’s smoking policy, it needs to be revised. First, designated smoking areas should not be in or near public areas or at entrances to buildings. Second, smoking areas should have adequate and sepa rate ventilation as well as separation from non-smoking areas. I raise this point because of a situation that is familiar to any one who eats on campus. A prime example would be the MSC Cafeteria where half of the dining area is designated smoking and the other non smoking with the only thing separating the two being the signs. This results in the smoke collecting and drifting into the non-smoking area, which defeats the purpose of having non-smoking areas. The MSC Cafeteria is not the only dining area on campus where this situation prevails. In conclusion, I would like to say that Texas A&M is to be commended for addressing the smoking issue on campus, but needs to put more thought as to where designated smoking areas are placed. I also feel that smokers have the right to smoke and that non-smokers have the right to a smoke-free environment. Is there a solution as to whose rights are being violated by smoking policies? Probably not. Compromise is the only solu tion to this issue as well as being aware of your fellow persons’ rights. Tim W. Byrd ’93 Kudos to the yell leaders EDITOR: I had a chance to return to College Station this past week end on business and was fortunate to be able to come in on Friday for a trip to the Chicken and a visit to Kyle Field for yell practice. How great it was to be back in Aggieland and ex- Mail Call perience the spirit that so many take for granted while they’re here. You don’t realize how much it means to you until you leave. I had a speaking engagement on Sunday to 200 Catholic high school students from the surrounding area and was pleased to be preceded by the yell leaders who presented a program on Texas A&M and its traditions. These kids were fascinated by this presentation and were really pumped about A&M. I wonder how many people realize the yell leaders are constantly doing programs such as this where they promote Texas A&M to people all over the state. They are doing seve ral of these programs every month and they have brought the “spirit of Aggieland” to thousands and thousands. A yell lead er’s job doesn’t stop as the game ends on Saturday. They are always promoting the interests and welfare of Texas A&M. It’s great to know that some people put forth the extra ef fort to promote the school we all so much love. For those of you who can find nothing better to do than complain and whine about the jokes at yell practice, take a good look at what all these five guys do for Texas A&M, you’ll be amazed! To the ’90-’91 yell leaders, thanks for going far and above the call of duty. Your hard work is appreciated by many. And to Kevin, thanks for one of the best laughs I’ve had at yell practice. Gig ’em! Cliff Dugosh ’86 I.D. search finds good Ags, too EDITOR: It seems that every time I turn around, someone is telling me how unfriendly this school has become. People always tell me that the teachers and students are uncaring to other peo ple’s needs. Well, I finally have a few good words to say about the friendliest campus around. On September 20, 1990, I woke up in the morning only to discover that I had lost my I.D. card and shuttle bus pass. Needless to say, I was terribly upset. I went out to the bus stop and explained my situation to the driver. A gentleman whom I ride with on the bus every morning explained this to the driver, who allowed me to ride to school without having my pass. The driver and the gentleman both explained to me how to get to the bus operations building; they also sincerely hoped that I would find my lost items. After leaving the off-campus shuttle bus, I proceeded to an on-campus shuttle. I explained to the driver why my trip to bus operations was neccesary, and he was kind enough to take me there. He said, however, that the bus operations would not be open until 8:00, but told me that I could speak to whomever was there. He also explained what to do when I entered the building and expressed hope that I might find my things. I entered the bus operations building around 7:30. A se nior was there. She called to check to see if my items had been turned in over night. She then proceeded to find out which buses might have been the one on which I lost my items. She then gave me a new bus pass, and even offered me her ticket to the football game since she was not going. I was so im pressed. After leaving, I went to my friend’s room. She calmed me down and helped me find out the information on a replace ment I.D. card. I then proceeded to go to the Pavilion, and the people there were very kind and understanding. Af terwards, I made it to class fifteen minutes late. My T.A. said if I wanted to make-up the quiz we were taking later in the se mester, it would be alright with him. All the people in my Chemistry lab class were friendly and caring, and each one helped me calm down. I am so thankful to all the friends and strangers who aided me that awful day. I don’t think I could have survived the day if it hadn’t been for the love and friendship given to me by people I know and those I don’t. I love this school and the people. I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else. Rebecca Ernst ’94 Middle East’s problems complex EDITOR: I am responding to Mike Bryant’s letter published on Sep tember 13th titled “Middle East peace plan naive.” In my opinion, Mike is the one who’s naive. In his letter, Mike refers to Israel and the Palestinian problem by wrongly comparing the Jews’ right to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to his right to London because his ancestors lived there in the 1600’s. This statement implies that Israel claims these lands because of an cestral right. The fact is that Israel acquired these areas as a result of Arab attack, and had to keep the land for crucial mil itary reasons. As you may or may not know Israel gave back the Sinai for peace with Egypt in 1979. This in itself proves that Israel is willing to concede land and economic assets if it’s dealing with dependable leadership and has the security it needs living in a region with 22 Arab countries who would like to bring about it’s destruction. Israel has developed the West Bank and Gaza Strip by establishing a governing body to protect, the people and providing much needed social serv ices. This is Israel’s claim to the land! As someone who lived in Israel for six months, I was able to experience the problems first hand and study the politics in an Israeli University. Giving the land back “immediately” is not a feasible solution; if it was, this whole thing would have been settled many years ago. Mike obviously doesn’t have any of the facts which are very important when dealing with a sit uation as delicate as this one. Cori Cohen ’91 Taiwan has freedom to learn, too EDITOR: I am a graduate student from Taiwan. After reading “Foreign students adjust to freedom in U.S.” (Sept. 18), I have some words to say. As Miss Chieh Peng mentioned in her interview, there are a lot of cultural differences between the U.S. and Taiwan. The range of freedom is one of them. I disagree that students in Taiwan cannot ask questions in class or challenge the old way of doing things. Take myself as an example. How many questions did I ask whenever I did not understand or had missed some points in class? I don’t remember! That’s be cause it is so natural to ask questions whenever you have ques tions. Everybody takes it for granted. I remember when I was in high school, we asked our math teacher a question about a problem. He was unable to solve that problem. He turned around and told us “I am sorry, I cannot give you the answer right now. Please allow me to give you the answer in the next class.” The magic thing is one of our fellow students knew how to solve it. He came to the board, explained the problem to the class and the teacher. My point is Miss Peng’s situation is based on her personal experience. However, it is improper to state one’s personal experience as representative of the educational environment for the entire nation. I don’t want others to be misled through a careless or partial statement. Another point is not everybody has to put studying ahead of everything. That depends on the individual. You are re sponsible for every decision you make. I don’t think I was taught to put studying ahead of health, personal relationships, etc. As to not drinking soft drinks in class, 1 would say that’s a traditional way to show respect to the in structor. Is it freedom to drink soft drinks in class? Tai-Hsi Wu graduate student PTTS, just solve the problem EDITOR: Having read the article concerning the reallocation of parking spaces in Lot 74 in The Battalion on September 21,1 wish to address Mrs. Mathis of the Department of Parking, Transit, and Traffic Services. Mrs. Mathis, to say that the students do not understand the parking system on this campus is correct but shortsighted. The faculty and staff cannot understand your system either. As a student technician, I personally know of five staff mem bers in my office alone that had ridiculous, unexplainable problems with your department when registering to park for this year. Each of these persons has worked here for at least three years in the same building. We fail to understand the system because every time we turn around, we encounter yet another senseless and ineffective change. You claim that it takes time to solve the problems. How much time do you need? As long as I have been a student here, the overall situa tion has not changed despite the completion of two highly touted parking garages. In addition, your suggestion that “students need to realize they ... can come and go as they please” is disturbing. Faculty and staff are not the only ones limited to one lot. For all prac tical purposes, the students are limited as well. This follows from the fact that when we get into our upper-level or major- specific courses, we spend most of our time in just two or three buildings in one small area of the campus. Given this consideration, we cannot come and go as freely as you seem to think. Consequently, our situation does not appear to differ much from that of the faculty and staff. Mrs. Mathis, this is not a plea for convenience. Rather, 1 ask for a practical solution to the problem. Chris McNees ’91 Have an opinion? Express it! Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff resents the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain tht 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 numbtt of the writer. All letters may be brought to 216 Reed McDonald, or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111. E h a By Of A& |oe Sat cep Me 1 istl f A& Ref in 1 mit last 1 tal i Mei f nar birr the F cha Cor ciar Ad' Spe Cor \ Am catc Ass CUSl the I A can ion’ pro the 1 331 li feat files The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Cindy McMillian, Editor Timm Doolen, Managing Editor Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor Holly Becka, City Editor Kathy Cox, Kristin North, News Editors Nadja Sabawala, Sports Editor Eric Roalson, Art Director Lisa Ann Robertson, 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 Uryan- 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. 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