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Opinion
Tuesday, November 17,1992
The Battalion
Page 9
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Editorials
Blowing smoke
Rep. Wilson out of bounds
Texas State Rep. Ron Wilson of
Houston, in a recent letter to the
Texas A&M Board of Regents,
voiced reasonable concerns about
racist overtones at an Oct. 3 Sigma
Alpha Epsilon party.
That was as much of the letter as
could be considered reasonable.
Wilson, who is not affiliated with
Texas A&M, presumes to dictate to
this University the "proper" punish
ment for the fraternity.
His letter states, "Any actions
that fall short of complete censure
and banishment (of SAE) only serve
to encourage this type of behavior
in the future."
We find it hard to believe that any
fraternity, or other student organiza
tion, for that matter, could reel en
couraged to repeat the Sigma Alpha
Epsilon mistake considering the
fines and restrictions leveled at the
offenders, not to mention heaps of
negative media coverage.
Wilson goes even farther out of
bounds, nowever, by saying,
"Should those actions (further sanc
tions against SAE) fall short of what
I and others in the minority commu
nity think appropriate in dealing
with this offensive behavior, I will
not hesitate to use every means at
my disposal as a member of the
Texas House of Representatives to
ensure that Texas A&M is not re
warded for this type of behavior."
Texas A&M President William
Mobley and the Board of Regents
are more than capable of running
this University without the repre
sentative's help.
Ron Wilson should tend to his
district, leave university administra
tion to administrators, and save his
hot air for those who deserve it.
Celebration sense
Don't let ring dunking turn tragic
Drinking and driving is no way
for seniors to celebrate. As thou
sands of Aggies get their senior
rings on Wednesday, doubtless
many will cram themselves into
Dudaley's, the Dixie Chicken and
other Aggieland nightspots to ring
in the last year of their academic ca
reers.
While nobody expects to stop
these students from observing a
time-honored tradition of ring
christening, perhaps a little good
judgment could be suggested.
There's no sense in turning a cele
bration into a tragedy.
Students who plan to christen
their new rings by immersing them
in pitchers of beer or other alcoholic
beverages should be careful to
avoid one thing: getting arrested.
This can be done by following
three easy steps:
Remember "moderation." A
word commonly associated with
adult behavior, moderation also rep
resents responsibility. You know
your limit better than anyone.
Keep it down. This suggestion
refers to your voice as well as your
ring-christening solution. As the
spirit of celebration rises, make sure
your spirits stay down.
Don't drive drunk. Take a friend
along as a designated driver. Call a
friend. Call a cab. Walk. Do what
you have to do to avoid driving
while intoxicated.
Getting your Aggie senior ring
should be a highlight of your col
lege career. Be sure the memories
you make are ones worth remem
bering and not the kind you hope to
forget.
I'll leave the game
whenever I want to
I cannot believe that in a period of
time in which Texas A&M is fighting to
uphold its reputation as a world-class
university, despite charges of racism
and sexual harassment, that Tammy
Brown and the Traditions Council
would have the nerve to whine about
something as insignificant as Aggies
leaving football games early.I fully sup
port Aggie traditions, mind you. I say
'Howdy" to everyone I meet, I support
bonfire, and I am never seated while
the Aggies are on the field.
However, I will leave the football
g ames whenever I damn well please. If
rown and the Traditions Council don't
like it, well, they will just have to suck
it up and find a real crisis to voice their
opinions on.
fay Knioum
Class of '95
accompanied by two signatures
PTTS explanation
explained nothing
I was appalled after reading Thomas
G. Williams' contradictory response in
the Battalion article, "PTTS Responds to
Allegations of Mischarging Parking
Tickets." In one breath, Williams says,
"we do not bill tickets to a student's
roommate unless it's an error. Why
would we do that? We have no rea
son." Later in the article, Williams con
tradicts his statement by saying, "If a
car without a parking permit receives a
ticket, PTTS traces or 'connects' the car
by license plate and registration. If
anyone at the address to which the car
is registered is affiliated with A&M, the
department charges the fine to that stu
dent's fees." Maybe I have clearly mis
understood this weak explanation, but
billing "anyone at the address" certain
ly does not assure me that PTTS fees
will be charged to the appropriate per
son who incurred those fees.
My sister, Alexis Pastorek, was vic
tim to one of these "errors." She was
charged $90 for a roommate's parking
tickets. In the article Williams denied
that his employees have told some stu
dents that it is "perfectly legal" to be
charged for a roommate's tickets. An
employee, Mark, not only told Alexis
this, but also the roommate involved
and myself. I was the first to hear this,
and very surprised. I was told that it
was "perfectly legal" and there was
nothing that Alexis could do.
I find it hard to believe that this em
ployee would fabricate the legality of
Reflecting on life's best moments
Greatest, worst of times all worth remembering
ANTHONY C.
LOBAIDO
Columnist
"Alas! how swift the moments fly!
How flash the years along!
Scarce here, yet gone already by, the
burden of a song.
See childhood, youth and manhood
pass,
And age with furrowed brow.
Time was — Time shall be — drain the
glass,
But where in time is now?" — John
Quincy Adams, The Hour Glass.
They say that life comes down to
a few great moments. Often the key
points of our lives pass by with
stealth, leaving to chase at shadows.
We are left to question and evalu
ate the ebb and flow, the surges and
phases of our existence. The times we felt lost. Times of
love, sorrow, rebirth and injury. Events which made time
stand on end. Events which made a minute seem like an
hour and an hour seem like a week.
There are moments which impact us directly, voyeuris
tic moments we observe while they are acted out by others,
and moments which we only deem as significant years af
ter the fact.
1 often reflect upon the moments of my life which have
come together brick by brick to shape the pyramid of my
character.
There was a crippled girl in my second grade class
named Laura Jakes. Laura couldn't control her bladder.
Every week or so, she'd urinate all over herself in front of
everyone — helpless and blameless like a baby. Sometimes
I remember wiping up her urine with brown paper towels
while the other kids laughed and chanted, "Anthony and
Laura sittin' in a tree." I often wonder if that was my very
best moment.
Other moments are more fleeting. The good ones are
like the shade of a giant oak tree on a scorching summer
day. The bad ones hot and bitter like a dry prairie wind.
Just yesterday, an 11-year-old boy stood on the pitching
mound during a Little League championship game. Bases
loaded, two outs, his team leading 3-2. He strikes the hitter
out to preserve the win, his teammates then swarm and
mob him on the mound in a wild celebration.
In the midst of that joy, that ecstasy, I remember think
ing, "There will be lots of days like this." But through the
Sandy Koufax League, high school and college, there was
never another baseball day that ever quite equaled that one.
Is it any wonder so many major league players still refer to
their Little League accomplishments as their best of all
baseball memories?
Perhaps the most emotionally charged moments come
when the seeds of love are sown, only to vanish like the
morning dew into that most magical of all places — the
heart.
There was the most perfect day when I sat on a gazebo
swing, sipping Cokes'with the most perfect girl in the
world. It was a moment which I wished would never find
an end. A dream from which I sought no liberation. There
was last New Years Eve, when I stood in Johannesburg's
Jan Smuts Airport, my dream girl asking, "I wonder if I
will ever see you again?" With each passing day, I still
wonder. *
The most important of moments are when wisdom
takes root. We return to them seeking purified water to fill
our empty glass. You might remember the time your
mother told you, "Never be ashamed of your station if life;
only be ashamed if you hurt other people," and "Give me
the flowers now so I can enjoy them. Don't wait for my fu
neral."
There are moments of relief, when impending disaster
passes by like the angel of death over the doorposts
marked with lamb's blood. The negative pregnancy test.
The passing grade. Your plane touching down after a tur
bulent flight.
Since time will eventually grind the sum total of our
lives to dust, it's important that we identify and cherish the
moments that define our personal existence. Like a detec
tive, we must comb through the mundane and rudimentary
elements of our daily routines to unearth such hidden jew
els. You can start today — this very moment.
LoBaido is a doctoral student in educational technology
this situation on his own.
As long as this haphazard billing
practice is a PTTS policy, these "errors^
will continue to occur. This practice is
both outrageous and unlawful.
Frankly, I do not want to be held ac
countable for any roommate's bills, and
if this practice has been condoned by
Texas A&M, it's a sad day in Ag
gieland.
Gretchen Pastorek
Class of'91
Kappa Alphas got off
with slap on wrist
There's a feeling of nausea deep in
my stomach, and I don't think that Pep-
to-Bismol is going to cure it. No, I think
the only cure for this would be a re-
evaluation of the penalty given to the
Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Doesn't anybody find it ironic that
the KAs were given the same penalty
for grand larceny as the SAEs were giv
en for a questionable case of uninten
tional "racial insensitivity"?
Come on, people, they stole equip
ment from a church playground! Com
paratively, this doesn't even count as a
slap on the wrist.
Last time I looked, there was some
thing called the A^gie Honor Code, but
I guess that doesn t apply to the Greek
system.
Had this been a unit in the Corps of
Cadets, it would have been instantly
disbanded.
But of course, we must look at who's
running the show: the IFC. Is it just
me, or does this seem a lot like allowing
the fox to guard the hen house?
Does anyone honestly think that the
IFC will do anything that might dam
age the Greek system? Plain and sim
ply put. Kappa Alpha should be re
moved from recognition by Texas A&M
University.
Joshua A. Covey
Class of '94
Anti-tradition column
itself narrow-minded
In eight days here at Aggieland, we
will have a ceremony that symbolizes
much more than a "tree sacrifice and
drunken disorderliness party." Ken
Fontenot, apparently you have never
dedicated yourself to an ideal higher
than yourself. I feel sorry that you nave
a dim view of bonfire, and I am offend
ed that you label something you do not
understand as a blind following of
things that have gone before.
As you lay asleep last night I and
many others stayed up and worked
through the night building bonfire.
This action was not blind obedience. If
someone tried to order me to be out
there from midnight to 6 a.m., I would
have told them where to go, and to do
so quickly. Yet we were out there.
How do you explain this? It is not
merely to follow, but to prove to our
selves that it can be done.
You call yourself a free-thinker, yet
you close your eyes to the opportunities
bonfire provides. Bonfire goes beyond
a party, as apparently you don't under
stand. The friends I make out at site do
not care how I look or think, or how
much money my parents have. They
judge me according to me and my ac
tions.
Do not call me "narrow-minded," a
"sheep," or "un-American" because I
have a different view than yourself.
Perhaps, Fontenot, if you had had the
courage or the faith in yourself to^dedi-
cate your time to an ideal you would
see and understand why we stay out
there and return year after year for this
thing they call bonfire. Until then, take
the blinders off and look around you.
There is more offered at this University
than what is acceptable in your narrow
view.
Clinton Findley
Class of '95
Editorials appearing fn The Battalion reflect the views of
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represent, fn any way, the opinions of reporters, staff, or
editors of other sections of the newspaper.
Coiumns, guest columns, and Mail Call items express the
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The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print
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We reserve the fight lo edit letters for length, style, and
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Letters should be addressed to:
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