Opinion
The Battalion
Page 11
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The Battalion Editorial Board
DOUGLAS PILS, Editor-in-Chief
BRIDGET HARROW, Managing Editor
BRIAN BONEY, Opinion Editor
JASON MORRIS, Night News Editor
MORGAN JUDAY, Night News Editor
MACK HARRISON, City Editor
KARL STOLLEIS, Photo Editor
SCOTT WUDEL, Sports Editor
ROB NEWBERRY, Lifestyles Editor
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The following opinions are a consensus of The Battalion opinion staff and senior editors.
Replant No. 1
SimpsonDji New tradition suffers from inexperience
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I Aggies turned out by
lie hundreds Saturday
to take part in the first
eplant. While the event
rent smoothly for some,
thers involved com-
rlained of the way the
ivent was managed.
The sponsors of
eplant had a wonderful
dea, and we commend
hem for starting a great
innualFijdi rew tradition. But they
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vere unprepared for the
imount of Aggie spirit
hat caused such a huge
umout.
Confusion surround-
d the event from the start. Initially,
rganizations were told the event
vould take place over three weekends
n February, giving them the flexibility
o sign up for the most convenient day
nd time. Later, the story changed. The
hree weekends in February had
urned into one, and the organizers
assigned the planting times. Finally,
plans changed once again. Instead of
using an entire weekend, the project
narrowed to one day only, last
Saturday.
Apparently, no one had taken the
time to lay out specific plans for the
vent until the last minute.
Organizers ordered only 10,000
eedlings. Participants went through
these in a matter of hours. Those arriv
ing to the planting site late were
turned away for lack of trees to plant.
In fact, some people reported that the
replant leaders told
them to slow down
their planting because
of the seedling scarcity.
While some of the
groups participating
had few problems
planting enough trees,
others found them
selves on foreign
ground. They had no
knowledge of how to
plant particular trees,
and there was no one
around to teach them
how.
Perhaps next year,
the bonfire pots can
give a brief on-site lesson to students
on exactly how to plant a tree and
whether different types of trees
require different methods.
The student government and the
bonfire pots did not prepare them
selves for the overwhelming number
of Aggies who chose to take part.
But while this year's Replant missed
the mark, there's always next year. We
feel confident that the sponsors of the
next replant, having had a year of
experience under their belts, will have
worked out the bugs in the tree-plant
ing system.
The fact that so many Aggies came
out for the event offers encouragement
to those in charge.
With a little forethought and a lot of
planning, A&M's newest tradition has
the potential to become one of its most
productive.
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Tilton's victory.
Support courts over TV charlatan
A federal judge
Friday issued a ruling
that will allow televi
sion evangelist Robert
Tilton, who is under
investigation by the
state attorney general,
o con more people out
af their money in the
name of Gocf.
U.S. District Judge
5am Sparks of Austin
issued a temporary
restraining order that
ceeps the attorney gen-
iral's office from check
ing the tilton ministry's financial
records. Attorney General Dan
Morales is investigating the ministry
to find out whether it has participated
in deceptive trade practices or violated
solicitation laws. Sparks set a hearing
for March 4 to decide if the state can
investigate the ministry's records.
News agencies have reported that
money sent to Tilton intended for
orphanages and other good causes
wound up in the minister's pockets.
The case could have
serious First
Amendment implica
tions. If Tilton is
allowed to keep his
records closed, the
precedent set would
give constitutional pro
tection to con artists to
practice their craft.
All these thieves
would have to do to
escape justice would be
to claim they were part
of a church. They could
amass the same mil
lions of dollars in wealth that Tilton
has.
Freedom of religion is one of the
most important foundations of a free
society. People have the right to wor
ship in any way they choose.
Government's power to control church
operations should have limits. In most
cases the limits are just.
But when charlatans like Tilton so
blatantly use people's devotion to rob
them, the courts must draw the line.
Red instead of black
Father's gift changes Valentine Day outlook, mood, clothes
Y es we've come to yet another
Feb. 14, a joyous day for some, a
day of living hell for others,
Valentine's Day. A pseudo-holiday
that most of us celebrate without
knowing an inkling about why we
celebrate it. We
either look at it as
a day to be with
that wonderful
significant other,
or we look at it as
a day to revel in
the misery of our
loneliness. Well,
I'm here to say,
"Snap out of it."
"Vie 14th of
February is a day
sacred to St.
Valentine! It was a
very odd notion, ... that on this day birds
began to couple; hence, perhaps, arose the
custom of sending on this day letters con
taining professions of love and affection,
- Noah Webster
St. Valentine's Day, named after
two martyred Roman priests that
lived during the Third Century, is
thought to be a day that we profess
our love for our boyfriend or girl
friend with gifts, chocolates and flow
ers. Second only to Christmas, it is
probably the most loved holiday by
merchants everywhere. We buy bil
lions of cards, spend obscene amounts
of money on flowers and buy enough
chocolate to make us gain all the
weight back that we said we'd lose for
Spring Break.
But those of us who receive none of
that feel totally left out. Valentine's
Day seems to be an endless day of
coupled, smiling people who smooch
and cuddle and sicken us with other
PDAs(Public Displays of Affection).
Well, I used to be one of those sick
ened persons dressed in black who
spent the day sulking around plan
ning "pity parties" for myself and
other lonely hearts.. But I learned to
change my attitude. Not because I
miraculously found a boyfriend, but
because 1 learned that Valentine's Day
is a day for all(not to mention red is
my favorite color, and that's the only
day I can wear it head to toe, legiti
mately. Why waste the day wearing
black?)
I remember a Valentine's Day
about three years ago during my
junior year in high school that assisted
me in changing my negative attitude.
I had planned my funeral-like
wardrobe and was prepared to face
all the couples at school and my sister
that afternoon, who always seemed to
come home with some flowers or
candy to match my empty arms. To
my surprise, that day I received a
beautiful bouquet of balloons. No, not
from my secret admirer or from the
particular guy I had a crush on that
week, but rather from my father.
When my father woke me up that day
and presented me with the balloons, I
realized I didn't need to have a signif
icant other to make it through Feb. 14
with a smile.
The only reason people persist to
be upset on Valentine's Day is
because they feel that they have no
one to love or to give them presents.
Valentine's Day is not about giving
gifts nor receiving them, it's about
showing our love. If we choose to
show love through gifts, that's fine.
But it's not the size, monetary value
nor the amount of gifts that measures
the love that we might have for anoth
er. What I'm trying to say is don't let
your lack of gifts, or the miniafure
size of the present, get you down.
Girls, lay off the guys if they don't get
you a dozen roses or a ring. They're
not rich(we're in college, remember),
plus that one rose and note probably
took more thought than buying a
material expression of love.
To get back to my Valentine's Day
that redeemed all others, my father's
balloons taught me that, though we
often overlook them, there are other
kinds of love in this world. Like I said
earlier, Valentine's Day is for love, in
general. It doesn't specify that that
love must be for a boyfriend or girl
friend, it just has to be love.
Valentine's Day is a chance for us
to show a special love for family,
friends and even pets. Though we
hopefully show genuine love to these
people throughout the year,
Valentine's Day is the day we can
express our love in different and orig
inal ways. Be it through gifts, calls, or
just simple expressions, use Feb. 14 as
a day to exhibit authentic and sincere
love to anyone that we care about,
whether it be that special someone or
not.
Another way that we can survive
Valentine's Day is if we realize that
it's a day that we take the time to love
ourselves.
"Our first love, and last love is self-
love." -Bovee
Take time today to do something
for yourself; if you don't love yourself ?
first, no one else will love you either.
Skip on the diet and buy some choco- *
lates or purchase yourself some flow-
ers- you deserve them. There's no
need to feel sorry for yourself because
you think you have no one. You have |
yourself and that's the second most
important someone to have.
The most important person, or
rather being, to have is God. Thoughts
of Flis love for us alone should put a
smile on our faces, not just on Feb. 14, |
but everyday.
"Love is an image of God, and not a
lifeless image, but the living essence of the
divine nature which beams full of good
ness."- Luther
Use today to contemplate God's
love for you and your love for Him. I
promise it will put a smile on your
face for sure. I wish you all a Happy
Valentine's Day filled with love.
Williams is a sophomore
journalism major
Prank fires
cause damage
Last Friday night, residents of Fowler Hall and
were treated to a special surprise. Someone was
kind enough to set fire to the trash receptacles in
the downstairs breezeways. What made it really
special was that it was right outside the only two
exits of Fowler Hall. Besides the fact that the two
fires were set at the same time, we would like to
thank this person or people for setting the fires at
3 a.m. and waking us up to the pleasant aroma of
burning plastic, brick and wood. Fortunately,
many of us were still awake and able to realize
the severity of the situation. Being on the third
floor and able to see the flames that had spread to
the ceiling had a certain sobering effect on even
the sleepiest person. When exiting the building
we all came within 10 feet to the flames that
spewed ash and noxious plastic fumes through
out the area. My reaction to the situation was an
attempt to put flames out with a fire extinguisher.
Although I was able to suppress half the flames, it
took three more fire extinguishers manned by
three other residents to completely put the flames
out. Being so close to the fire, I had the pleasure
of breathing in the wonderful fumes t-hat landed
me a visit to the Beutel Health Center for smoke
inhalation. My actions were stupid, yes, but nec
essary. I realize that trash receptacle fires don't
sound very serious, but all I can say is you had to
be there. Not only were the fires set outside the
only exits, but they were set right in front of the
air circulatory ducts.
I received a call from the North Area Office
thanking me for what I had done, as well as
checking to see if I was OK.
They told me that a rough estimate of the dam
age was between $9,000 and $10,000. If any of
you out there still have doubts on the severity of
the fires, we invite you to come down to our
breezeways and look at what is left of our walls.
We at Fowler hall would like to thank this per
son or people for the wonderful experiences that
they provided us. The loss of sleep, smoky
rooms, and the inability to breathe were some of
the most pleasant that I think we shall ever have,
and shall treasure for the rest of our lives. We
would like to show our appreciation by meeting
with you personally just to show you what we
really think of you. If the fire had spread more
quickly, you could have had to deal with more
than just damage to our building and our safety;
you might have had to deal with the fact that you
killed someone. If there is even one shred of
humanity in you, you should be feeling like total
crap right now. I don't think you'll ever know
the severity of your actions, but we could proba
bly convince you in less time than it took for you
to light those fires.
Mike Marketos
Class of ‘95
accompanied by 61 signatures
Worsham walkout
hurts credibility
I would like to say a few words about
Worsham's note on Stephen Ruth and the Corps
of Cadets. Worsham wants us to think that hav
ing a member of the Corps of Cadets speak in
favor of King's efforts for social change is an
obscene contradiction. I do not believe that it is
and Ruth did not think so either.
The Corps of Cadets is a military organization,
and it is difficult to see how the non-violence con
cept can exist within it. However, when a leader
within the organization tries to explain, we must
give that person our attention and willingness to
understand.
Worsham was so disgusted by Stephen Ruth's
appearance at a previous non-violence event that
he chose to leave. That is a real contradiction,
refusing to listen to Ruth's opinions by walking
out and then praising non-violence. This does not
help to establish communication, and comprise.
To achieve this we have to speak, listen and cer
tainly not walk out.
Ronald Lorenzo
Class of‘95
H9yggn.Qpini9ii?-E^prg?s-it?
The Battalion is interested in hearing from
its readers.
All letters are welcome.
Letters must be signed and must include
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The Battalion reserves the right to edit all
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no guarantee the letters will appear. Letters
may be brought to 013 Reed McDonald, sent
to Campus Mail Stop 1111 or can be faxed to
845-5408.