Opinion
ember231^ e ^ nes< ^ a y/ September 23,1992
The Battalion
Page 9
Editorials
si Ethics in Texas?
Id more difl
' ’ Government has cleaning up to do
e issues, w
■ Two years ago, Ann Richards'
edearliersJpromise to restore ethics to state
® organ government encouraged many peo-
etherhe;;ipl e-
1 However, recent developments
donswMdicatc t ^ iat Texas government
■ill needs a lot of work in that area,
ipswm J In the last two weeks, the media
exposed the blatant lack of in
tegrity of Lena Guerrero, chair
woman of the Texas Railroad Com-
Mission.
G uerrero c l a i me d a bachelor's de-
.Xdu 0"ee from University of Texas when
ft fact she lacked 19 hours, includ
es h a government class that she
ftiled twice.
n i il ^ ne Guerrero's campaign
fishjA Jrochures falsely claimed that she
popular Iftas a member of the Phi Beta Kap-
Arkansifta honor society.
becausftOn the other hand, Guerrero's
"the rivejlepublican opponent for the posi-
ar, j tion, Barry Williamson, has worked
‘as an independent oilman, and his
theJd"ftther-in-law is an important figure
A. in the Texas oil business,
smattera;! Given the fact that the Texas Rail-
of Clintaftad Commission controls intrastate
the BE| ommerce w hich includes the trans-
port of oil resources, a Williamson
victory could present a conflict of
interest.
It seems that no candidate can
demonstrate the integrity that vot
ers deserve. And even after the
Guerrero revelations. Governor
Richards still endorses her ap
pointee, campaign promises
notwithstanding.
Government cannot operate effi
ciently and effectively when its bu
reaucrats behave unethically. Voters
must continue to demand the high
est levels of integrity from their rep
resentatives and leaders. They must
demand the same from leaders' ap
pointees.
When these elected and appoint
ed officials fail to exhibit ethical be
havior, voters must signal their in
tolerance of governmental inepti
tude and unprofessional behavior
with their votes and their voices.
And those leaders, eager to main
tain their authority and power, will
respond.
Until then, Texas voters will con
tinue to vote for the lesser of two
evils and will continue to be con
fronted with later revelations of im
propriety.
7 , said Bel
or the §e: j
sed Haisl
se their p|
irk andfel
dosed
Free trade
agreement
oth® J A step in the right direction
fhe Jobs! j| * G*
I Bryan-College Station businesses
and even Texas A&M students
istand to benefit from the free trade
proposal currently being debated
• before Congress should the United
[§ 10'States, Mexico and Canada become
fpartners in a joint trade market,
his sessio* Many Bryan-College Station mer
chants long ago recognized the posi-
imitteea tj ve economic aspects of the North
T ' / American Free Trade Agreement,
e bioloft a resu ^' great strides have al-
Teratioffip^y been made in introducing
Ineir products to Mexican business-
^.jes. Many self-promoting businesses
»ncesbetft ave already started the practice of
ilsonve: sen ding representatives to Mexico
uld the to establish relations with Mexican
te conferilbusiness interests.
The passage of the free trade pro
posal allows area businesses with
itiative to increase their trade and
y turn increase job opportunities
and capital flowing into the region,
Jhereby directly improving the lives
of all Brazos County residents.
1 Especially now that the future of
the European Community is on
-T
shaky ground, the Free Trade
Agreement stands to be the largest
trading bloc in the world. Business
opportunities abound for Texas as a
whole and Bryan-College Station in
specific.
Even our University is planning
ahead with a scheduled summer
1993 opening for a Texas A&M Uni
versity Center in Mexico City that
will include office space reserved
for conducting business in Mexico.
Among other things, the center
will serve as a liaison between Ag
gies here and those already in Mexi
co.
The numerous Bryan-College Sta
tion business efforts made in antici
pation of the passage of the trade
proposal stand as an example to all,
but much more stands to be gained
by those who are willing to focus on
the possibilities and work towards
them.
The North American Free Trade
Agreement is an opportunity for
progress not only across our coun
try, but in our own community.
Perot not yet a historical footnote
Candidacy may have big effect on presidential race
R oss Perot's name may still turn
some people's stomachs, but it
appears he will return to the
presidential race within a week. And
why not? The need is apparent; his
campaign is prepared; and the race is
ripe.
Since Perot's withdrawal, the race
has returned to politics as usual.
While Republicans bludgeon the
Democrat ticket. Democrats respond
with vague promises of prosperity
and greatness. The two camps can't
even agree on a debate format.
The purpose of Perot's spring
campaign, ostensibly, was to restore
common sense and decency to
presidential politics. Since Bush and Clinton appear to
have ignored the Perot ideals of common sense and
decency and have continued with the status quo
mudslinging and issue-dodging of presidential races past,
Perot can justifiably reintroduce himself as the solution to
the same old problems.
While both official candidates offer plans to spur the
economy, neither has produced a detailed and workable
outline to reduce the federal deficit and the federal debt,
two pillars of Perot's aborted campaign.
Being known as a man of his word, Perot seems bound
to re-enter the race after Friday's announcement that his
name will appear on ballots in all 50 states. If Perot does
decide to return, his campaign could be in full swing very
quickly.
Like a swimmer bent over the starting block, Perot's
campaign was poised to dive into the race when he
abruptly retracted in July. The campaign had printed signs
and bumper stickers. It had established a volunteer
infrastructure. It had even produced a television
commercial that was never aired. Perot had gained enough
experience on the campaign trail to have worked out many
of the bugs.
By the time he withdrew, voters were familiar enough
with Perot to feel like they knew him, but the "knight in
shining armor" dropped from the race as media attention
began to sour, and some said he would not be able to
return.
Today, however, the billionaire's paperback platform
continues to top best seller lists. With the release of this
plan, Perot gave voters a clear idea of his position,
unfettered by the trappings of partisan politicking and
vague abstraction. Opinion makers now know where
Citizen Perot stands and therefore can offer better coverage
of Candidate Perot.
Meanwhile, the other two campaigns have failed to
shore up the core support to resist a Perot challenge. Polls
show that among those supporting each candidate,
relatively few are firmly committed. The large portion of
fringe supporters offer possibilities to building a third
party campaign.
Conveniently spared three months of partisan attacks,
Perot seems to have an excellent foundation from which to
resurrect his campaign. When he does throw his name
back into the hat, almost anything could happen. I think he
will fare well but will fail to garner a majority of the votes.
While Clinton and Bush continue pummeling each
other, voter skepticism grows. A renewed Perot campaign
could draw the same enthusiastic response in October that
it drew in April and May.
A renewed campaign could take on the "knight in
shining armor" aura that it had in the early spring as Perot
emerges anew with a moral mission, an uncommon sense,
and an unselfish patriotism. (Not to mention bundles of
media attention.)
The other two campaigns will suffer as Perot's builds.
His traditionally defined conservatism coupled with his
commitment to change and his strong moral appearance
will draw away many moderates that had turned to Bush
for safety or to Clinton for hope.
By the time Nov. 3 rolls around, Perot will own a good
portion of the vote. No candidate will win a majority,
throwing the election into the House of Representatives
where members will vote strictly along party lines.
However, the strong showing of this maverick outsider
should shake things up enough to redefine the American
political landscape and help open the doorway for third
parties in future elections.
Purvis is a junior petroleum engineering major
DWAYNE
PURVIS
Columnist
TEIXAS GOVEIRM
SCIENCE FAIR
ifn ( '
-
g
ng
» are
i-ii
^our
Sportswriter should
back football team
Dear Mr. O'Brien —
Whose side are you on anyway? It
eems that in a time when Texas A&M
University is having a hard enough
ime keeping our students united, our
portswriter could write a positive col-
wm about our Aggie team, which hap-
'ens to be 4-0. Whether or not the Ag~
jies have the fifth best team in the na
tion is not for you nor I to decide, but
tiell, they've been working their rear
■nds off for months now to get to this
int, let's give them some credit. They
ave been challenged four times, three
' the four on the opponents' turf, and
talked away triumphant every time. I
ealize it is your job to report the facts,
md the facts aren't always as pleasing
severyone would like, but please, let's
>ot condemn a coach and his team for
finding" a way to a perfect record.
Trent Bishop
Class of'93
Battalion coverage
slights minorities
We feel that The Battalion's coverage
of the Hispanic Presidents Council
(HPC) "Unity Rally" was both incom
plete and inaccurate.
HPC does not only consist of the
Mexican American Engineers and Sci
entists (MAES), but it is also represent
ed by the Committee for the Awareness
of Mexican American Culture, Hispanic
Business Students' Association, Kappa
Delta Chi, El movimiento Estudiantil
Chicanos de Aztlan, and Omega Delta
Phi.
The Battalion's failure to recognize
each of the organizations comprising
HPC was unfair to those groups which
had invested time, energy, and effort
into the "Unity Rally".
Second, the quotes used by The Bat
talion in describing the rally failed to
reflect the spirit of the event. A reading
of the quotes in The Battalion's article
implies that HPC's concerns are inter
nal as opposed to external. On the con
trary, the "Unity Rally" was not intend
ed to insult or denounce an existing ap
athy of institutions. The "Unity Rally"
had hoped to convey 1) the importance
of Unifying A&M's Hispanic students
on campus into a collective voice, 2) the
numbers and demographics reflecting
the inadequate representation of Latino
students at Texas A&M, 3) the issues
(i.e. litigation, academic diversity, edu
cation policies based on free market as
opposed to social ideologies), 4) the
tribulations of a Chicano student at a
predominantly White institution and 5)
the resources which can be used and
improved so as to promote positive
change amongst the Latino students at
Texas A&M.
Our last concern deals with the fact
tha the news media continues to either
ignore or distort the realities of the Lati
no's political situation. The Battalion,
itself a microcosm of the news media,
has performed no differently in its cov
erage of Hispanic politics at Texas
A&M.
When the politics of the mainstream
leadership councils are an issue, such
inadequacies are not apparent. For in
stance, when the first student govern
ment meeting of the year was held. The
Battalion was both quick and efficient
concerning its coverage of the event.
The politics of the minority students,
however, do not seem to warrant the
same respect. This is particularly true
of Latinos, who are too frequently re
garded as invisible entities.
Again, we must reiterate the point
that this is what HPC's rally had in
tended to address; the fact that the Lati
nos at Texas A&M are united— not to
wake ourselves up from a political
lethargy but rather to inform the main
stream that we as a group will not toler
ate being ignored.
David P. Sanchez
Class of'94
President, Hispanic Presidents
Council
accompanied by 12 signatures
A&M suffers from
political intolerance
Since I am an English exchange stu-’
dent who is only going to be at Texas
A&M for one year, some people may
feel that I have no right to comment on
the nature of your presidential election
campaign.
However, what I was a witness to
while standing in line waiting to hear
Dan Quayle speak on Tuesday has
caused me to put pen to paper.
I was patiently waiting in line when
a man carrying a sign which was obvi
ously not in favor of the Bush/Quayle
campaign began to walk up and down
the opposite sidewalk. Admittedly, this
sign did not contain the most construc
tive criticism of Bush that has ever been
seen, but that is no excuse for what fol
lowed.
A police car had been cruising up
and down the road keeping an eye on
the crowd when two men who had
been standing in line flagged them
down and presumably complained
about the sign. The man was then in
structed to move on and to refrain from
displaying his sign.
Is this a one party campus where no
dissent is tolerated? A similar thing oc
curred inside the G. Rollie White Coli
seum. Some people who had managed
to evade the rules laid down by the
College Republicans had managed to
get a pro-Democrat sign in — however,
this too was quickly suppressed.
I thought, being a political science
major, that the First Amendment was
supposed to protect people's right to
free speech. In order to maintain a
healthy democracy, opposing views
must be heard.
It is to be hoped that Dan Quayle
does not think that the rest of the nation
will be as receptive to him as Texas
A&M.
David Stead
Exchange student
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, class, and phone
number.
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 77643