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Taking sides:
Should fast food restaurants be
allowed to operate on campus?
by ROBERT VASQUEZ
Bringing fast food to Texas A&M is
a matter of good taste,
et some people seem to be
xmcerned over bringing restaurants
like Jack in the Box, Fuddruckers, and
Taco Bell onto campus.
What's to be concerned about?
Bringing fast food onto campus means
' er quality food will be offered at
ower prices.
Prices are most likely to go down, if
conomics professors know what
they're saying. They always say that
ompetition drives prices down and
uality levels up.
And tudents made a run for the
»rder.
It.tQok.a while,,,but, McDonalds
finally announced that they were selling
hamburgers for 59 cents.
Now you can walk across the street
and buy three hamburgers for the price
of one A&M Food Services burger. Jack
in the Box frequently offers hamburgers
for 99 cents. When was the last time
Food Services offered a burger for less
than $1.50? Ask for a 59-cent taco on
campus, and witness a blank stare from
the nice lady across the counter
The point is that when more
businesses are fighting for dollars, those
dollars can buy more. Imagine the
price incentives a few restaurants could
offer when crammed into the Sbisa
basement, competing for your Aggie
bucks.
ast food, better food
The quality of the food offered by
®i fast food restaurants will almost
iari assuredly be higher than what we
currently see on campus.
For instance, do you know what's in
the burgers served on campus? Neither
I. Sure, it's a brownish, meat-like
elsubstance. But what are all those little
grainy things boring into the deepest
frot crevices of its victim's teeth? At least
\t Fuddruckers is courteous enough to
hang the dead cows in the front
window before serving them up.
by DWAYNE C. PURVIS
The problem of student
dissatisfaction with Food Services' on-
campus restaurants lies not in the
quality or cost of their food. The
problem lies in the way students think
about the combination of the two.
Opening a fast food franchise on-
campus would only temporarily
ameliorate students' concerns and
would reduce the quality of on-campus
food.
Students lament Food Services
products because they do not fit their
paradigms. That is to say, students
oecome disgruntled when they expect
one thing but get something else.
Students expect a fast food
product —cheap, fast but predictable
food at cheap prices. Food Services, on
the other hana, tries to provide a fast
food setting and service with restaurant
quality food. The quality of the food
necessitates higher prices.
Students pay more than they expect,
but they also get better food. However,
students don't seem to notice that they
are getting better food, so they think
they are paying too much.
Weighing the options
On an ounce per ounce basis, the
Food Service products are actually a
better value than many fast food
products. For example. Food Services'
taco costs 14.5 cents per ounce while the
Taco Bell Taco Supreme costs 25 cents
{ ^er ounce. The Bevo Burger costs 20%
ess per ounce than McDonald's Texas
Burger.
Food Services also provides a better
product. Food Services buys and cooks
fresh ingredients instead of shipping
packaged food in from a centralized
processing plant.
Last week I had a very good taco
salad and a large slice of pie at
Hullabaloo. The food was really very
good. And of all the pizza rolls I have
tried, I like LiT Bernie's best.
Allowing a fast food restaurant on
campus will lead to other problems.
Opening a franchise means accepting
a bid from a contractor who will, in
turn, purchase the franchise. Food sales
will supply profits to the franchise, the
contractor, and to the University. Food
prices could rise above off-campus
franchise prices when sales decline, as
they inevitably will.
Good, old campus food
And what about those campus hot
igs? I'm not saying they're bad.
They're just fine if you catch them when
they first come out, before they have
had a chance to turn gray.
In all fairness, some of the food
served here isn't all bad. In fact, I even
enjoy eating breakfast at the little cafe
behind the engineering building. The
" eggs are good, the hashbrowns are
good, and the biscuits and gravy are
dare I say it) better than one can get at
the Kettle.
Even so, bringing fast food onto
campus is a good idea.
Until then, at least you can eat a
really good breakfast on campus — at
the eatery affectionately known as
Prices 'R' Squared."
Vascjuez is a senior journalism major and
a columnist for 77ie Battalion
Less food to choose from
Any franchise that comes on campus
would usurp space occupied by a Food
Services restaurant such as Bernie's or
the Common Denominator. Because
space is limited, the menu would be
limited.
For example, a pizza concept may
serve only personal pizzas, or a burger
place may serve only half of their
nearly forty regular menu items.
Students can presently order from the
full menu of most franchises within a
few minutes of campus.
As on other campuses, students will
tire of the cheap food ana limited
options. In the end, students will be no
more satisfied than they are now.
If the University decides to contract a
fast food joint, they should realize that
they may give students what they ask,
and they may make a little money for
the school. But they may not
necessarily give students what is best.
Purvis is a junior petroleum
engineering major and a columnist for
The Battalion
Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opinion page staff and editor in chief only, and do not
lepresent, in any way, the opinions of reporters, staff, or editors of other sections of the newspaper.
Columns, guest columns, and Mail Call Items express the opinions of the authors only.
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows in the Mail Call section. Letters
must be 300 words or less and include the author's name.
We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy.
letters should be addressed to: The Battalion - Mall Call
013 Reed McDonald /Campus mail stop 1111
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843
Boer War Three: Judgment Day
South Africa on the road to disastrous civil war
by ANTHONY C. LOBAIDO
An Open Letter to Dr. Andries Treurnict
Leader of the Conservative Party of South Africa
A
s you share this letter in Parliament, note that 23,000
copies have been printed.
The political Tower of Babel which the United States and
the United Nations are attempting to impose on the
Republic of South Africa through CODESA, (The
Convention for a "Democratic" South Africa) is an
abomination aimed at the destruction of the Afrikaner.
I speak for myself and many other Americans who have
no organized political voice, no official publication, and
nowhere else to turn.
By the year 1800, the United Kingdom, (including South
Africa) and the United States controlled three-fourths of all
the cultivated physical resources and wealth in the world.
Now, the Marxist-Leninist economic plans of those who
stand to inherit South Africa's vast wealth represent an
extension of the socialist ideals which threaten the very
foundations of Western civilization.
The Afrikaner fought alongside Americans in World War
II against the Nazis, this despite the fact that the British
killed 26,000 Afrikaner women and children in
concentration camps during the Boer Wars.
Together, the Afrikaners (likened to Nazis by the world
community) and Americans have stood by the nation of
Israel. South Africa was instrumental in building Israel's
(and America's) nuclear arsenal. Can there be anything
more anti-Nazi than standing behind the Jews and Israel
with steadfast loyalty?
The secret shame of NATO is that South Africa single-
handedly turned back the Cubans and the Soviets, (whose
soldiers would bring home AIDS acquired from prostitutes)
in Angola. This after the U.S. Congress had pledged help,
then cowardly backed down. Nevertheless, American
Green Berets covertly fought alongside the South African
Special Forces, (aka "Recces").
Together we unmask Nelson Mandela, the convicted
terrorist who cites Castro and Gadhafi as the men he
admires most. We cast out Winnie Mandela, convicted of
murdering a black youth. The International Freedom
Foundation identifies 39 of the 56 members of the African
National Congress' elite leadership as members of the
South African Communist Party.
Together we continue the Cold War, as the most
ambitious ANC militarists seek a revival of world
communism with the help of Cuba, and note that the ANC
plans to take prayer and Bible reading out of public schools
upon ascent to power.
Together, we tell the world that South African blacks are
not united. The Zulus are monarchists who consider the
Afrikaners to be an integral part of the land. Also, let the
world know that abortion and pornography is illegal in
South Africa.
While encouraging the Christian Afrikaners and the
South African Defense Force to victory in the Third Boer
War, know that our prayers are with you. In light of the
recent Los Angeles riots, it would seem that South Africa's
political problems are encroaching their way into the
American landscape too.
Let the horrendous lies spread about South Africa by the
liberal American media, Hollywood and politicians stand
refuted. Now the Afrikaner must fight for his own
homeland and culture — not for Apartheid. Each racial
group should rule itself. And surely two million
conservative white Afrikaners cannot rule 28 million blacks
and liberal whites.
What Mandela and his communist party friends like Joe
Siovo and Chris Hani should know is that even if they one
day gain political control of South Africa, they should never
feel totally welcome or secure in America. Their Marxist-
Leninist ideology remains an enemy of the Cross and all
that conservative Americans stand for.
I can't say that our common enemies will be hunted like
dogs on the street and that the Afrikaner will one day be
avenged, as that would be unrealistic and un-Christian.
The truth is, the ANC/SACP will probably be hunting us.
In the "career of God," all of the Earth's tribes must seek
their appointed roles. Acts 17:26 states; "From one blood,
God created all the races, that they might seek Him...God
determined the times set for them and the boundaries of
their habitation." In light of this, Zulus and Afrikaners vs.
Xhosas and "white-heathens," stands as an ideological war,
not a racial one. A microcosm of the biggest war of all —
mankind's rebellion against God.
The dispensation of Apartheid is dead. Yet black South
Africans will never find true prosperity and freedom with
the ANC. And if the blacks cannot be free, then neither can
the whites. I wonder if the Anglos ever truly were free. Let
us not confuse racism with the hopelessness of the human
condition.
Regardless, whether Afrikanerdom lasts only one more
year or a thousand, let it be said that the Third Boer War
was her finest hour.
LoBaido is a doctoral student and is assistant
opinion page editor for The Battalion
IM&VUSS
@im THE RSafcP
NEW JERSEY
Parking person
prods a nerve
A Battalion editorial has already
appeared regarding the Department of
Parking, Traffic and Transit, and the
editorial board has undoubtedly and
understandably received a room full of
complaint letters on the subject. There
are, however, a few severe problems
that can best be illustrated by the
following true situation.
On Thursday afternoon at
approximately 4:20 p.m., I went to the
new Student Services building to stand
in line to pick up my parking permit. I
was informed by the officer in charge
that the line was closed for the day, and
that the studerts already standing in
line were not even assured of being
served. Since I had attempted the wait
several times this week on breaks
between classes and work, and did not
anticipate any free hours the following
day, I was willing to take my chances
and see how fast the line would move.
When I started to explain this, I was cut
off in mid-sentence with "Yeah, yeah,
yeah," delivered with an idiotic smile
and several nods. I responded with a
brief period of stunned silence during
which the officer gestured me with his
hand to continue and repeated the
patronizing smile-nod routine. I
angrily asked him if I would be ticketed
if I parked in a student parking lot on
Friday the 4th. He told me that I would
not. I knew this to be untrue and
informed him that I had called the
parking office that day and found out
that there is no first week of school
grace period for parking tickets. He
said, "Oh, well, just park in the fish lot
— you'll be OK." I left the building
with a sarcastic comment about his
kindness.
Several conclusions can be drawn from
this story. First, the officer made it
obvious from his comments that I was
not the first student with this
complaint. Therefore this is not an
isolated incident.
The officer displayed extremely
unprofessional behavior that is
inexcusable from a university employee
in a position of authority.
Unprofessional behavior leads to lack
of respect. Thus the prevalent negative
attitude of the student body toward this
department can be partially explained.
This officer did not correctly
communicate important information
about student parking when
questioned. Therefore a
communication problem exists.
On any given day, if a person were to
ask me what I thought about Texas
A&M, I would tell them that it is a top
quality university with genuinely
friendly people everywhere you go. I
can no longer truthfully say this. Rude
behavior breeds rude behavior.
Students unhappy after standing in line
for several hours in the Student
"Services" building are very likely to
treat the next person they encounter
disrespectfully. A few bad apples can
ruin the barrel. A&M needs to get rid
of its bad apples quickly or it will lose
its valued reputation.
Jacqueline Flanders
Graduate student