Tuesday, June 11,1991
Opinion
H [ The Battalion
5
Editorials
Editorials expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board and do not nec
essarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of
Regents. _ _
Legislature need not
play political games
In recent weeks. Congress and the president have feuded bitterly over proposed
dvil rights legislation. Unfortunately, our nation's leaders have tried to capitalize po
litically on this heated debate.
With such important legislation, now is not the time to play political games. The
issue of civil rights should go beyond party loyalty and serve the general welfare.
Representatives, Democrats or Republicans, should serve their constituents regard
less of sex, color or political persuasion.
It is a sad comment on our society that we must make laws to protect the basic
rights of individuals when every U.S. citizen should be accorded the same opportu
nities.
While we recognize the reality of differences between political parties, we believe
the practice of bullying the "other" party into political submission is detrimental to
the United States's domestic and international image.
We call on Congress and President Bush to set aside their political differences and
reach an agreement beneficial to all Americans.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Mail Call
The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers and welcomes all letters to the editor.
Please include name, classification, address and phone number on all letters. The editor reserves
the right to edit letters for style and length. Because of limited space, shorter letters have a better
chance of appearing. There is, however, no guarantee letters will appear. Letters may be brought
to 216 Reed McDonald or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111.
Flaws in financial aid office
EDITOR:
And I had hoped that I was the only one! Yet, somehow, it was a strange relief
to read Kurt Snyder's letter about the trouble he and his wife had with the
financial aid office.
I am not married, but my parents can't afford to pay for my education. I am
currently working two part-time jobs to pay for my share, and I am dependent
upon financial aid to make up for the rest.
Since I knew that I would have to fill out a new financial aid form for the
summer and the next year, I returned to the office in early March, which should
have given me plenty of time to make the April 15th filing date. I asked then, as I
had asked before, to see a counselor, since two members of my family had to have
surgery, and I wanted to see how much this would change my "needy" status, or
if there were any special programs I could qualify for. As before, I was denied
access to a personal counselor, and the person at the front desk attempted to
answer my questions. To this day, I have not been able to see a counselor because
the receptionists will not let me! As least Kurt HAS a personal counselor to set
him straight on the misinformation; I am left to my own resources.
The receptionist assured me that it was all on the form and I didn't need to see
a counselor. I then asked her how to apply for aid for summer classes. Again, I
was told it was all on the form. "Are there any extra papers to be filled out for
summer aid?" I asked. It is all on the one standard form, I was told. "Is there
anything at all special that I need to do for summer aid?" Once again, I was
assured that it was all on the financial aid form, and to send it in as normal.
I took the form, and when I sat down to fill it out, along with my taxes, I
noticed an extra sheet that the University had slipped into the instruction booklet,
which gave a February deadline for summer school! This had not been posted
anywhere in the office, nor was 1 told by the receptionist that I had missed the
date. When I hadn't heard anything by mid-April, I decided to go by the office to
check on my status. When the receptionist punched in my ID number, she told
me, "Well, we don't have you down as ever having applied for summer aid."
What?! The financial aid forms had been sent off in March! I told her this, and she
pointed out an extra form on one of the shelves, telling me that I was supposed to
nave filled out one of those in order to be considered for summer aid. All this,
when I had been told that it's all on the one form!
Trying to control my anger, I picked up the form to fill it out, only to see at the
top that its deadline was April 1st. The receptionist had told me to take it to the
ban office downstairs, but his sounded strange to me, so I asked the other one
what to do with it, when I had finished filling out the page, which incidentally
contained information that could have been easily collected from the standard
form. She told me to put it in a large box, which sure enough had a label on it that
indicated it was the right place.
By some miracle, I received a letter this week telling me that I had been
approved for a Pell this summer. It also says that "Summer Pell Grant is available
to students who are GRADUATING in August or December, 1991, or who will be
CO-OP STUDENTS during the fall 1991 or spring 1992 semesters." I am none of
these, so I wondered how I could qualify for this. I called the office to ask and
could not get a straight answer. I went by the office to ask, and got two different
answers from two different receptionists.
If the financial aid office continues refusing to let students like me see a
personal counselor for the help they need, they should at least MAKE SURE THE
RECEPTIONISTS KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! This is a very
important, even crucial factor for the students who have no other way to pay for
the education they need. Funny -before I came to college, I had thought tnat the
system was in place to HELP such students.
Tria Airheart '92
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Timm Doolen,
Editor
Todd Stone, Managing Editor
Krista Umscheid,
Opinion Page Editor
Sean Frerking, City Editor
Jennifer Jeffus,
Callie Wilcher,
News Editors
Jayme Blaschke, Sports Editor
Richard James, Art Director
Rob Newberry,
Lifestyles Editor
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and do not necessarily represent the opin
ions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty
or the Board of Regents.
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Phi Delta Theta gets slap on wrist
On June 7, this newspaper published a
story about the TAMU chapter of the Phi
Delta Theta fraternity being placed on
g robation for hazing. For the incoming
sh and the uninformed, hazing is illegal
and is a big time no-no in Aggieland.
Hazing is so important to the University
that hazing definitions and laws are
published in each semester's schedule of
classes. Texas law specifies allowable
penalties for hazing that range from
performance of community service to
$10,000 and two years in jail.
The Phi Delts were busted for taking
their pledges to a campout near La
Grange. At this campout, the 10-member
pledge class was subjected to sleep
deprivation and extensive calisthenics.
Many were forced to sleep outdoors
without camping gear. Some time during
the hazing incident, a pledge fell causing
a hairline fracture in his arm.
The Phi Delts' punishment for hazing:
Probation of the hat's charter through
next February, probation of TAMU
recognition through next spring, an
alcohol ban at the Phi Delta Theta house
and at all hatemity functions, required
sponsorship of a recognized speaker for a
positive pledge program, required
presentations to all fraternity members
about the liabilities associated with
hazing, required meetings with its
organization adviser, a rewriting of the
pledge program, and a required
community service project. As you might
interpret, the Phi Delts only got a slap on
the wrist.
Now, I don't want to pick on the Phi
Delts, because, almost every hat hazes
its pledges in one way or another. I know
of one A&M hat that forced its pledges to
stay awake in the same room for 72 hours
shaight. During that time, they were
required to eat foods that would gross
anyone out.
Another hat, one that a former
roommate pledged, chased him and his
"brothers" around the campus and took
them for "a ride." And just about
everyone knows what those paddles the
pledges carry around are used for. So, it
can, with some degree of certitude, be
concluded that TAMU haternities
continue to haze on this campus despite
it being highly illegal and against
University regulations.
But the Greeks at A&M are not alone in
their pursuit of hazing activities. That
secular school in Austin is renown for its
Trey Jacobson
Columnist
two pledge deaths since 1987. Earlier this
spring, Texas Monthly published a
lengthy story detailing the "anti-social"
exploits of University of Texas
fraternities. (Incidentally, if you want to
be enlightened about fraternities and
their members' mentality, I highly
recommend this article.)
The article points out that pledges of
different UT fraternities have been
beaten, shot at from a distance, forced to
have sex with prostitutes in front of
video equipment and locked inside a
room while being pelted with eggs. All of
these activities have occurred since 1987
and the passage of the anti-hazing laws.
Although I nave no empirical evidence
to back this claim, these incidents
suggest that the frequency and severity
of fraternity pledge nazing has not been
abated. And while hazing at the
University of Texas may be more severe
than it is here, under the present law
fraternities will most likely continue to
haze their pledges.
How can I make this claim? It is simple
if you understand that hazing is a rite of
passage, or if you like, a test of loyalty by
which the pledge proves himself. To do
away with hazing means doing away
with the only tool known and used by
fraternities to ensure conformance with
the actions of the group.
Nevertheless, the good people of this
state have spoken through their state
representatives that they want no more
hazing. If fraternity members are going
to choose to disobey the laws made by
the people of this land, we must find
new ways to punish them for their illegal
behavior.
We must also ask ourselves some very
important questions. Does the current
hazing law really work? Has it ever been
enforced? And, is this University really
committed to preventing hazing by
student organizations? Only one thing is
for certain: The regulations preventing
hazing are about as effective as the speed
limit signs lining our highways.
Until this University can find a way to
dedicate itself to combatting hazing, it
will continue in Aggieland.
What then, is the answer to preventing
hazing? First, regulations intended to
prevent hazing should not only punish
hats when they're caught, but they
should be able to deter other fraternities
from continuing similar activities. This
means that they should be extremely
severe by fraternity standards. Maybe
automatic expulsion of involved
members from the University would
work?
Much of the "punishment" inflicted on
the Phi Delts for their recent hazing
incident was set forth by the
Intrafratemity Council (IFC), a group of
fraternity members supposedly
regulating other fraternity members.
Wtrile this may not seem like an effective
means to punish the Greeks for breaking
the law, tne IFC did establish policies to
attack close to where the frats live:
alcohol.
However, if they really want to stop
them, they should go to the heart of
fraternity action and motivation: women.
That's right, ban women from all
fraternity functions. If you really want to
see "brotherhood," eliminate all
fraternity sisters, too.
Unfortunately, the biggest obstacle to
eliminating hazing is discovering when
violations occur. Not only is it difficult to
monitor the TAMU fraternities which are
w after
legations have
troublesome. And who should do the
investigating? And what investigatory
powers can they have? Although I spoke
of the conformity of frat members earlier,
I may be understating the typical cover-
up that takes place when Universities
and district attorneys investigate alleged
fraternity violations.
So there we have it. Fraternities haze;
in fact, they have always performed their
Masonic rituals. They naze their pledges
despite regulations against the activity
and most likely, they will continue to
haze in the future. If this University
really wants to make a dent in the hazing
that goes on under its nose, it should quit
giving slaps on the wrist in cases where it
knows hazing has occurred and go for
blood. Don't let the next violator off so
easy next time.
Trey Jacobson is a graduate student in
public administration.
<9WI THE pBCDpS?
NEW
Car owners have rights too
I would like to make A&M students
and faculty aware of an ongoing
practice in our community. It would be
easiest to describe what has happened
to me. On Saturday, March 9, my
husband and I hadf just finished
washing our cars and decided to go to
the Dixie Chicken for some lunch.
We each parked our car in the
private lot located behind the Dixie
Chicken. This lot is marked with a sign
stating that parking is for patrons of
the Dixie Chicken, Duddley's Draw,
and Sticky Chins only. We left the
parking lot to use the ATM machine
located in the 7-11 store two doors
down.
We were gone for approximately 3
minutes and as we were approaching
the back door to the Dixie Chicken we
noticed a wrecker truck had pulled up
behind my husband's car, preparing to
tow it. At this time we talked to the
Dixie Chicken employee authorizing
the towing and explained the situation.
He told us to talk to the owner, which
we did. The owner was unwilling to
discuss or negotiate the situation.
Because of the way my car was
parked, I was able to drive it away
Shannon and Geoffrey Pass
Reader’s Opinion
before it could be towed. The
employees of the wrecker company
behaved very unprofessionally by way
of cursing, insulting us and drinking
beer while driving. We were unable to
prevent my husband's car from being
towed and were also required to drive
to Bryan and pay $82.50 in cash to
retrieve it.
I have since spoken with the College
Station police, the College Station city
attorney, and the campus students'
attorney. They have informed me that
the owner of the Dixie Chicken has the
legal right to tow any vehicle parked in
his lot if the owner of that vehicle
leaves the property at any time for any
reason. The charges for towing
vehicles are set by law and in our case
we were overcharged approximately
$30.
In addition, wrecker companies
must be licensed to tow in tne city of
College Station. If enough complaints
are received by a particular company, it
could possibly endanger their license
to tow.
I urge all car owners to know their
legal rights and if in doubt in a towing
situation, call the police immediately.
It is not illegal to drive your car away
before they can hook it up. In addition,
if you feel you have been treated
unfairly or cheated, report your
complaints to the College Station city
attorney so that illicit companies will
lose their license to tow.
You can file a small claims court suit
to recover money overcharged,
however the cost to file is $45 and may
not be worth the effort. You can also
write a letter to the Better Business
Bureau reporting the event. In our
case, my husband and I have decided
to stop patronizing all of the
businesses sharing that parking lot and
have encouraged our friends to do so
also.
Shannon Pass is a graduate student
and Geoffrey Pass is a senior.
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