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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1992)
ptemberl?, Opinion the highest t llion in FebJlhursday, September 17,1992 in six monthL ss sales rosf — ■vel of $558.: in all majorc olesale and earlier this ick 0.5 perce; hether a buil involuntary, ean a lacktfi ailing prodiic The Battalion ell 0.3 percer. increase a nij aking usualj 'able goods s| nchanged ii nt a month '00 FIT THE BLOCK »N,TH£ SPACE -A dAflt; FOP ALL AOSs! Crime on campus Safety attributed to students Texas A&M deserves favorable cognition for its showing in a Jus- sale room, but 11 f school." | done to prs re my daugl aid Donna! laughter Qv is also forced »m. Chuck Hi n for the Et lent SchoolII rves the ino: i stake, regrettable at is not sos- - ,scribe tor |ce Department survey on campus itions ofp:i r * rne - Among all Southwest Con- gsaid.'Tniference schools, A&M ranks fifth ery remoi'iiafest in the number of violent she wouklrimes reported during the 1991 Ichool year. However, when the lumber of enrolled students is tak- li into consideration, A&M's rank- bg rises to third. I On a campus of over 41,000 stu dents, only seven violent crimes i [.were reported last year. With stu- ) Sklent enrollment figured in, the cam- lus crime rate is 0.17 violent crimes per 1,000 students. This number not to conuT*)] aces a&m above Rice, Houston, ■ome ^ - 11 and UT - i^heDeenil ^ ur cam P us is not isolated from not heard fh e P ro bl ems that plague any town d not to blr city in the country, and yet with liousands of students and faculty mbers toldjihembers, as well as hundreds of James El»j S j tors w p 10 fi ow j n anc j 0 ut every Dev W day, only seven violent crimes were estate accfi” ' , / ,n,oHe, ( ifP“; te d. . . f . $817,40211 Ttus low per capita violent crime late is no accident. Both the efforts 11 to Mart [of campus police and preventive ac- ie Associai«j on taken by students has helped to ered Wedi« ee p i eve p () j: cj-jme relatively ffiaalssayjw r above mail oberts, a mt ion's devck Editorials In six months, the number of se curity officers has been increased from 36 to 42. The police depart ment continues to improve the lighting on campus and even has a number specifically designed for re porting lights that have malfunc tioned. Free phones are scattered conveniently across the campus. Shuttle buses are available until 2 am, and the Corps provides a ser vice by walking students to wherev er they need to go after dark. However, it is the students who are largely to credit for the low vio lent crime rate. Bob Wiatt, director of the University Police Depart ment, admits that outside of rob beries, the police have done very lit tle to actually prevent the violent crimes. It is the campus community that has made the greatest difference by becoming more aware of how to prevent crime and avoid becoming the victim. At a time when this University seems to be inundated by com plaints, it should be noted that ef forts are successfully being made to secure the safety of faculty, staff and students. This is most definitely the mark of a world class university. ties Supercollider survives Facility will benefit A&M, nation tinenta I Construction on the world's largest science laboratory, being |)uilt in northern Texas, continues, a ^ O’ | near ' v ^ ct i m °f cuts in government pp endin g- 1 The superconducting super col lider being built near Dallas sur- [Vived one more year as Congress al- e will located $517 million to continue its a strong®' instruction. dwidean 1 surv j va j $g 3 billion ch has be® ttega-project is good news for U.S. ntcy reorgf '^searchers who are looking to the iber 19^ l* lew collider as the best hope for ad- lentsand" dancing the understanding of atom termineil® 11 jarticles. Research made possible ing bid,/ )y the giant atom-smasher is ex- ^ lected to bring the U.S. back into r os he forefront of sub-atomic research, ^ ^ ere J a P an is the current leader, ^uston-ba" Texas A&M will benefit from the acility, where graduate students 3 ton finaf and professors are planning experi- exkan^ jj Hents for when the project is finally j rnilli 011 ! ;anadaan ofFortWoi* essingsaiA in in Ji from a completed. The superconductor would allow researchers to study the properties of atoms accelerated to previously- unattainable speeds using more than 10,000 magnets. Each year brings another hurdle for the project as Congress looks for new ways to cut spending. So far the project has survived. But next year will bring a new challenge as newly elected members in the House and Senate must be persuad ed that the billion dollar project will be worth the investment. The completion date for the su perconductor is set for 1999. When complete, the project promises to provide thousands of jobs for scien tists, and research facilities for stu dents from A&M and other schools around the world. But the project can return on the investment, only when — and if — completed. uy‘<, \ccUi* Zi fli Editor’s Note Due to the volume of mail received regarding the events at last Friday's midnight yell practice, The Battalion can accept no more such letters for publication in Mail Call or as guest columns. Letters on that topic appearing in today's Mail Call will be the last to run. The Battalion thanks its readers for their response. Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opinion page staff and editor in chief only. They do not represent, 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 * Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald /Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Page 13 Women should take safety precautions Since I have been back at A&M this semester, I have seen several times something that disturbs me — girls walking alone on campus after dark. Some may ask, why do 1 care? I have two older sisters who mean the world to me and their safety has always con cerned me. I was also fortunate enough to meet and get to know a wonderful girl this summer who unfor tunately had been raped. I know the event traumatized her severely and only recently was she able to talk to me about it. I can't comprehend the pain she must have dealt with and the pain she is still dealing with. The point I'm trying to make is, if you are on campus or anywhere where you will be walk ing, running, etc. ask another girl friend, a guy you know or call the guard room and have someone go with you. I'm sure most guy friends would be more than happy to contribute to your safety. Safety comes in numbers and I hope you'll be careful. Brian Stokes Class of '95 Kindness of faculty, students, appreciated To everyone at the Math Depart ment, the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty, the College of Liberal Arts and Office of the Dean, the De partment of Modern and Classical Lan guages and to all my colleagues and students 1 would like to extend my deepest gratitude for all your kindness, caring and help in being there for my son Alexander and myself after the tragic death of my husband. Professor Ilya J. Bakelman of the Math Depart ment. Thank you and God Bless you all. Irene R. Bakelman LoBaido on the Batt causes reader nausea I would like to thank Kenneth W. El- well for the excellent exposure of An thony LoBaido's sinister rhetoric in the September 11th issue of The Battalion. Too many people seem to stay high up in the clouds missing the essential turning point in LoBaido's columns such as "enemy of the cross" in his last column, or "liberal anti-Christ" some Batts ago. The context in which these words are used reflect the mind set of a sick man, or shall I say an extremist of the worst kind? LoBaido's columns are not like com mercials where you can miss half of it and still understand the message. That is his "trick" and it is the trap. I won der if LoBaido understands the impli cations of his writing. LoBaido managed to rise to the posi tion of an assistant opinion page editor of the Battalion. What a good choice. It makes me feel like throwing up! Frank Schnorrenberg Graduate student LoBaido criticism filled with errors In reading Kenneth Elwell's guest column (September 11), I was shocked by his unsupported accusations, histor ical misinterpretations, and illogical conclusions. First, he states that Anthony LoBai do has a "twisted...un-American phi losophy." What about LoBaido's phi losophy is un-American? Elwell claims theism, but although theism is not pa triotic and cannot be labeled "Ameri can," Christianity has been a part of America for almost four hundred years. Elwell's comparison of medieval serfs to black Americans today is com pletely irrelevant and inaccurate. Indi viduals in America have political and economic freedom, unlike those in feu dal kingdoms, so blacks are certainly not "economically imprisoned." And perhaps mentally ill people were killed during the middle ages oe- cause people did not then know of or understand mental illness. As Elwell's history continues to the coming of the Calvinists and Puritans to America, historical myths abound. These people did not build a free and tolerant nation. They had no tolerance for political beliefs other than their own. Well-known examples of this are the expulsions of Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams from their commu nities for practicing religion differently than the Puritans. Mr. Elwell concludes his column by citing Nazi Germany as an example of family values. How can a system that took youth away from their families to be indoctrinated with Nazi beliefs and taught to turn in family members be an example of family values? Then Thomas Jefferson is exemplified as a model proponent of freedom. Need I remind Mr. Elwell that Jefferson was a slave owner? I suggest that Mr. Elwell review his history before misleading his readers with his own fallacies. Cynthia Finley Class of‘95 Canadian health care system not that bad In the Battalion of September 11, in an article on health care reform. Penny Workman is Quoted as saying "if some one (in Canada) needs emergency care, they can't get it because they must go on a waiting list..." This statement is at best misleading, and at worst, simply not true. In the vast majority of cases, the Canadian health care system pro vides the care that is needed promptly and efficiently. My personal experience in Canada bears this out. Wnen I required pre ventative surgery, there was no prob lem in scheduling it promptly when I explained that I would soon be leaving the country. Furthermore, it was possi ble to work around my own schedule, which included writing and defending a Masters' Thesis. More recently I have had three grandparents, an aunt, and an uncle all promptly receive the emer- f ency care they needed. I personally ave never seen anyone's health jeop ardized by having to wait for medical care or an urgent surgical procedure. Of course no system is perfect and there is the occasional horror story. These stories attract attention precisely because they are rare exceptions, and therefore newsworthy. Contrary to Workman's statement, they are not the rule. Heather Donsig Graduate student Author claims book was misrepresented In the September 4, 1992 edition of your newspaper, guest columnist Tim Thornton makes false statements about my book, "Churches That Abuse". He claims that my discussion of the Great Commission Churches is based solely on information provided by a single in dividual, Jerry MacDonald, and that I have taken the "alleged" experiences of this person and projected them onto the entire network of churches. This is inaccurate. As a sociologist, I am concerned about regularities and patterns of be havior rather than idiosyncratic or unique factors. The patterns which I identify in the book are based on data representing a broad spectrum of ex members, not just those from a single congregation, as Thornton alleges. The reason I quote MacDonald extensively relates to the fact that he is the only so ciologist who, until recently, has con ducted scholarly research on this rela tively obscure religious group. It hap pens that he is also an ex-member of the controversial church. The leader ship of the organization has engaged in a campaign of misinformation about my book in what I can only conclude is a nighly defensive exercise in damage control. Ronald Enroth, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology Westmont College More midnight yell comments, advice Following Sept, llth's yell practice, one thing is apparent: the threat of a beating is not an effective deterrent for keeping persons off exalted Kyle Field. The way I see it we have two means at our disposal for deterring these tres passers of tradition. Our choices are 1) capital punishment or 2) indifference. Although capital punishment would be effective, hopefully, we can all agree that it is immoral and extreme. We are therefore left with the sec ond deterrent: indifference. I under stand that for those who are proud and respectful of Aggie tradition, it is diffi cult to be indifferent towards obvious ly disrespectful behavior. Ignore the insurgents! They do it for entertain ment, attention, and challenge. If no cadet is in chase, there is no entertain ment, attention, or challenge. I believe this will put an end to Kyle Field cross ings entirely. Harold Miller Graduate student In the past four years that I have been here, I have never seen anything like what happened at yell on Friday. I can't believe that so many people have so little respect. For those of you out there who have no Aggie spirit or respect for Texas A&M traditions, that is your business, but stay away from our yell practice. How anyone can knowingly & in tentionally go out there and trounce all over Kyle Field is beyond me. I was embarrassed that A&M actually had people within the student body with so little respect. To the class of 1996, you are the keepers of the spirit -- don't let it die. I don't want to come back here in five years and see what I saw Friday night again. Kara Clements Class of '92