The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 14, 1993, Image 9

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Opinion
Wednesday, April 14,1993
The Battalion
Page 9
The Battalion Editorial Board
Steve O'Brien, editor in chief
Jason Loughman, managing editor Kyle Burnett, news editor
Todd Stone, city editor Dave Thomas, news editor
Stacy Feduda, opinion page editor Don Norwood, sports editor
Susan Owen, lifestyles editor Darrin Hill, photo editor
The Battalion
100 years at
Texas A&M
Editorial
Step in right direction
Enforcing Bosnian no-fly zone
NATO aircraft took to the skies
above the tortured nation of Bosnia
on Monday to enforce the United
Nations-imposed no-fly zone and
emphasize the U.N. desire to stop
the Bosnian civil war.
Serbian military aircraft have re
portedly violated
the zone about 500
times since its cre
ation in October.
The flights
marked the first
time the alliance has
either deployed
forces to a combat
area or deployed
forces outside
NATO territory
since its inception in
1949.
This cooperation
between NATO and
the United Nations
serves as a sign that
the world grows less
tolerant of the car
nage in Bosnia.
Daily reports of
atrocities such as mass executions,
gang rapes and concentration
camps have been a stark reminder
that old realities persist in the new
world order.
Such reports fueled some debate
among Americans as to just what
role the United States, as the
world's only remaining superpow
er, should have in policing such
brutality
The only conclusion America
seems to have come to is that our
role lies somewhere between that of
isolationist and global policeman.
Operation Deny Flight seems to
strike a good balance between these
views. We need nei
ther sit passively by,
nor send young
Americans to die in
the streets of Saraje
vo.
Additionally, it is
good to see other na
tions shouldering
their fair share of the
military burden;
French and Dutch
warplanes patrolled
Bosnian skies along
with U.S. aircraft.
However, we must
ensure that we have
not set ourselves up
to be dragged into
the war itself — a
war in which the
lines of battle, like the
array of ethnic boundaries, are most
confusing.
Public support for such an in
volvement would be questionable
at best.
President Clinton would do well
to remember what happens when
American soldiers go to war with
out the wholehearted support of
their nation.
Kudos to Koldus, a great 'Aggie'
Leader leaves mark on school he served for 20 years
DAVID
BROOKS
Columnist
I f you ever take the elevator to
the 10th floor of Rudder Tower,
you will immediately begin to
understand how the Department
of Student Services feels about
every student, from the student
body president to the most inse
cure fish.
As you step off the elevator on
the 10th floor, the room opens up
into a wide foyer that features a
comfortable couch, friendly fur
nishings and a beautiful Aggie tra
ditions blanket embroidered by a
Texas A&M Mother's Club.
If you visit other administrative
offices in the building, the differ
ence is striking. When you step off the elevator, you are
immediately confronted with a vast expanse of blank
wall, three feet from your nose. The message is clear:
"Important business is being conducted here, but you
don't need to know about it." Not so on the 10th floor.
This August, an era will end at Texas A&M. Dr. John
Koldus, who has been the Vice President for Student
Services since 1973, is retiring. It is through Dr. Koldus'
leadership that Student Services has become the heart of
the student experience at Texas A&M.
The stories about Dr. Koldus and his rapport with
students are legion. Almost everyone on campus has
heard about his legendary card file that holds the names
of every student he meets. Everyone who goes to Fish
Camp hears about the famous Koldus luncheons —
freshmen one week, upperclassmen the next. Freshmen
get invited just by walking up to Dr. Koldus and intro
ducing themselves.
Some of the stories about Dr. Koldus aren't quite as
well known. One can begin to understand how much
this man cares about students upon hearing that one
student asked Dr. Koldus to give her away at her wed
ding.
Another story involves a time when there was a terri
ble car accident at a railroad crossing near campus. Dr.
Koldus and his wife, Mary Dell, took one of the students
injured in the wreck into their home to live with them
for a semester. This girl was able to finish her degree at
A&M, undoubtedly because of the caring shown by Dr.
Koldus and his family.
In his time at Texas A&M, Dr. Koldus has often had to
walk a tightrope. His tenure has seen the creation of the
department of Multicultural Services, the explosive
growth of the Greek system, the rise of racial tensions
and hundreds of other controversial events. Through it
all. Dr. Koldus has been responsible for seeing that the
University treated everyone fairly.
As might be expected, someone always has some sort
of gripe about the way these situations have been re
solved. However, it seems that through the years Dr. K
has done his best to let the groups involved do as much
as they can toward solving their own problems. Maybe
that approach is just one more facet of his philosophy
that college is a place to learn from more than just
books.
As the story goes, none of Dr. Koldus' children were
happy back in 1973 when he announced that he was tak
ing a position at Texas A&M. All Dr. Koldus' degrees
were from Arkansas, and the kids had grown up died-
in-the-wool Razorback fans. However, within a year of
the move they had all started to bleed maroon, and I've
heard that now they don't even like to be reminded
about that Razorback connection.
In my four years at A&M, I've heard various groups
label themselves the "heart of Aggieland," the "pulse of
Aggieland," the "voice of Aggieland" and other self-ag
grandizing titles, but I'm not sure any of them were ac
curate. Everyday people embody the real pulse of Ag
gieland, and Dr. John Koldus represents the epitome of
what it really means to be an Aggie.
Brooks is a senior economics major.
>n
■4
Dispelling myths of NAFTA: Beneficial to U.S. economy
JOE
CANTERBURY
Guest Columnist
It is quite diffi
cult to pick up a
newspaper these
days without see
ing the acronym
"NAFTA." The
North American
Free Trade Agree
ment, up for ratifi
cation this sum
mer, has become a
very hot issue in
business, political,
and cocktail-party
discussions.
NAFTA is
viewed by some
as a rebuttal to the
European Economic Community and as
a natural development in an emerging
global economy that will open new
markets for American businesses and
entrepreneurs. Others view NAFTA as
a parasitic disease, capable of sucking
the jobs and life out of our state and na
tional economies.
Many people are quick to agree with
Ross Perot's interpretation of NAFTA
as a threat that will send jobs south.
However, many people do not know
the facts about the NAFTA document
and do not understand all the possible
implications. The truth is most people
1 could use a little education about NAF
TA, especially since very few people, if
any, will miss the effects of NAFTA.
NAFTA, the trade agreement negoti
ated between Canada, Mexico, and the
United States on December 17,1992,
will go into effect on January 1,1994, if
it is ratified by all three countries' legis
latures. NAFTA will provide for phased
elimination of tariff and most non-tariff
barriers on regional trade within 10
years for most products. It will create
the largest and richest market in the
world, with 360 million consumers and
$6 trillion in annual output.
NAFTA will provide access to Mexi
co for U.S. agricultural exports, provide
increased access for U.S. firms to Mexi
co's state-owned energy companies and
phase out restrictions in the North
American auto market.
Texas has a lot at stake in NAFTA,
because 30 percent of its current annual
exports are sent to Mexico, and these
figures are estimated to double by the
turn of the century if NAFTA goes into
effect.
Although Canada, the largest trad
ing partner of the United States, is a
very important factor in NAFTA dis
cussions, we will emphasize the impli
cations of free trade with Mexico be
cause of its juxtaposition with Texas
and the controversy surrounding open
trade borders between the United
States and Mexico.
Trade integration with Mexico can
support a more cost-competitive U.S.
manufacturing sector, making U.S. ex
ports more competitive in global mar
kets. Many of the jobs that people wor
ry about moving to Mexico are current
ly heading to Asia. A shift from Asia to
Mexico will help expand the Mexican
industrial base, giving the United States
a good chance to capture some of the
second and third round benefits of
higher Mexican incomes vis-a-vis Asia,
where we capture next to nothing.
Thus, the consumer and the export
industries will benefit from trade liber
alization. Currently U.S. exports to
Mexico and Canada support over two
million jobs. This number will drastical
ly increase with the ratification of NAF
TA. The Institute of International Eco
nomics predicted that NAFTA would
result in the creation of at least a half a
million new U.S. jobs, based on exports
to Mexico alone.
NAFTA reinforces the extensive mar
ket-oriented policies implemented in
Mexico in 1985. NAFTA can ensure a
continuation of rapid change in the
Mexican economy by extending the re
form process to key economic sectors.
Improved economic conditions in Mex
ico lead to higher purchasing powers
for Mexicans. A substantial amount of
of this income will be spent on U.S.
goods and services . In 1989, 70 percent
of Mexico's imports were from the
United States and the average Mexican
imported $380 of U.S. merchandise an
nually. Jobs that are "sucked" down
south will be recaptured in the form of
extra export income and increased
trade for the United States.
Critics claim that NAFTA will result
in a plethora of manufacturing opera
tions moving to Mexico, where labor is
cheaper, and environmental regulations
are much more lax. It is certain that
some jobs will go south, but this is bet
ter than these jobs being transported
across the globe to Asia, as they have
been in the past.
The environmental concerns can be
allayed by applying pressure on Mexico
to enact stricter environmental regula
tions.
Many critics argue that the immigra
tion problem will worsen after NAFTA
is ratified. The main reason for illegal
immigration from Mexico is related to
economics. However, the higher in
comes and better jobs available in Mexi
co resulting from NAFTA would reduce
illegal immigration and not increase it.
It has been estimated that for every 1
percent increase in Mexican capital
stock, migration of Mexican workers to
the United States falls by over 40,000
people.
It is incorrect to believe that Mexico's
gain is the United States' loss. It is in
the greater interests of the United States
to have a friendly and prosperous
neighbor. Mexico, the United States
and Canada can all benefit greatly from
NAFTA.
Thursday, April 15 in MSC room 201,
the Graduate International Business So
ciety is sponsoring a debate on NAFTA.
Speaking for NAFTA will be Richard
Fisher, a U.S. Senate candidate and Dal
las financier, who has written and spo
ken in favor of NAFTA on many occa
sions.
Speaking against NAFTA will be
Jaime Martinez of the AFL-CIO. Mar
tinez, who has spoken throughout the
U.S. and Mexico on NAFTA, will repre
sent the labor point of view.
The debate is open to the public and
all are encouraged to come and learn
more about this important issue.
Canterbury is a first-year MBA student.
He is the Vice President of the Graduate In
ternational Business Society.
Vikram Simha Torpunuri contributed to
this guest column. He is an associate at the
Texas Transportation Institute.