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y, May 3,1993
1993
Opinion
Monday, May 3,1993
The Battalion
Page 7
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The Battalion Editorial Board
Steve O'Brien, editor in chief
Jason Loughman, managing editor
lodd Stone, dty editor
Julie Polston, opinion page editor
Susan Owen, lifestyles editor
Kyle Burnett, news editor
Dave Thomas, news editor
Don Norwood, sports editor
Darrin Hill, photo editor
Editorial
O
jr
ambling on election
Texans liked lottery more than ballots
What if they gave an election,
and nobody came?
That question could be rightfully
asked of Texas voters after the May
Ispedal election that winnowed 24
senatorial candidates to just two:
Krueger and Kay Bailey
Hutchison.
That less than 2 million of the 8.5
ion registered voters turned out
to try to elect a new. Senator on the
same day that more than 20 million
ottery tickets were sold says some-
Itiing about the commitment of Tex
ans to better government.
Krueger, a Democrat, is currently
serving as the state's junior Senator
after being named to the seat in
anuary by Gov. Ann Richards. The
seat became vacant when Lloyd
feitsen became Secretary of the
Treasury of the United States.
Hutchison, a Republican, seeks
o be the first woman to ever serve
is a Senator from Texas. She cur-
ently serves as Texas' State Trea
surer and was featured prominent-
fat the Republican National Con-
'ention last year in Houston. If
Hutchison is elected it will be the
time in the history of Texas
two Republicans serve as the
's two Senators. Phil Gramm
^currently the state's senior Sena
tor.
Hutchison edged out Krueger in
%day's special election and the
two will face off again when the
governor sets the date, probably
June 5. Any voter who did not
cast a ballot on May 1 will not be
allowed to vote in the runoff.
There were also three proposi
tions on the statewide ballot, all re
lated to school funding, including
the controversial "Robin Hood"
school finance plan that would
have had richer school districts
sharing revenue with poorer ones.
106 of the state's 1,048 school dis
tricts would have been expected to
lose some property tax revenue to
other districts under the proposal
laid out by the Legislature.
All three propositions were
soundly defeated, leaving state leg
islators less than four weeks to set
tle an issue that they have been un
able to solve in two years. If the is
sue is not resolved by June 1, the
Texas Supreme Court will force the
legislature to cut out most funding
for state schools, leaving schools
across the state with nothing to
spend on Summer programs.
That the voter turnout was con
sidered heavy for a special election
should be even more galling when
one considers the propositions on
the ballot and the power a Senator
can wield in Washington.
It has been said that in a democ
racy, you get the government you
deserve. Let us hope not.
And now for something different
Everything you never wanted to know ... and more
CHRIS
WHITLEY
Columnist
O nce again, it's time to do
some spring cleaning in my
opinion cupboard. It's the
semiannual compilation of random
vignettes that no one else would
mention. So, with apologies to
Blackie Sherrod, here's two cents
worth:
For a town only 10 miles away,
Snook is a very overlooked place.
It must surely be kolache heaven.
There are certain things in soci
ety that must be abolished. These
include reruns of any of the
umpteen Star Trek television
shows, any meal containing onions
and men wearing sandals.
What did Woody ever see in Mia?
It will be a sad, sad day when the Cow Hop leaves
the friendly confines of Northgate.
It might result in the destruction of the planet, but by
God, one day, the Chicago Cubs will win tne World Se
ries.
Favorite politician: Rep. Fred Grandy of Iowa, A.K.A.
"Gopher" on the Love Boat. On the other end of the
spectrum is the Honorable Mayor of Palm Springs, Son
ny Bono.
It is absurd to say that The Dallas Morning News is
"out to get" Texas A&M. Don't shoot the messenger
when the king is to blame.
Music, as a whole, still hasn't recovered from the Vil
lage People.
For 20 years, this campus has been privileged to have
Dr. John Koldus as one of its leaders. Two decades of
dealing with students should be enough for anyone, but
he actually seemed to enjoy what he was doing. His re
tirement will be a loss to this University, but hopefully, it
will be a gain for his golf game.
It's been 128 years since General Lee surrendered, yet
some still rally behind the Confederate flag. Hey, the
Civil War's over. Deal with it.
Isn't Tuna Helper a contradiction in terms?
Rush Limbaugh is definitely not the most agreeable
person in the world, but if I had a choice. I'd prefer him
to Howard Stern.
One burnt orange bumper sticker seen on a burnt or
ange car read: "Will Rogers never met an Aggie."
There's one way to cure the problem of getting to
West Campus on time: Let every student have access to
golf carts.
Yeah, I'll watch Letterman when he moves to CBS.
But something deep within me feels that it just won't be
the same.
Many members of the media have given President
Clinton a pretty rough critique of his nrst hundred days.
If I were to grade him. I'd give him the benefit of the
doubt: C-.
If this were a perfect world, movies would not be col
orized, baseball would be played on grass, and Seinfeld
would be on every day.
My least favorite building on this campus has to be
The Pavilion. Every time 1 walk into that place, there's a
line. And where there's not lines, there's forms. And
when you reach the end of a line, they tell you to stand
in another line. They should rename it the Bureaucracy
Building.
I'd vote for Bill Clinton in '96 if he could get the three
remaining Beatles back together.
Credit cards: Are they a helpful tool to purchase
items that you could not otherwise buy or are they a
constant hellish weight that burdens you until your dy
ing day?
Nine days ago, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally, the Uni
versity countered with a rally, and the Diversity and
Equality Coalition also had a rally. However, tne atten
dance at the A&M baseball game surpassed that of all
three rallies combined. What does that say about the
political nature of this campus?
So there's talk now that former president and library
namesake George Bush might be teaching a class or two
at A&M. Geez, can you imagine the waiting list for that
class? It's hard enough to get a good class as it is. Also,
will Secret Service agents have to frisk students' back
packs before they enter class?
May the Lord bless The Battalion this fall. Something
tells me we'll need it.
Whitley is a junior journalism major.
The robes are itchy,
the win^s are too heavy;
and who knows what *
toxic substances are
in these clouds!...
I
I knew there’d
be trouble if
Cesar Chavez
Showed up here:
tAA(Z6VLI£g
TH& RBSCFC?
e.
oncentrate ^
slant your judgment
! I would like to respond to the letter
totten by Tiffany Boyd that appeared in
e April 19 Mail Calf. Tiffany is a stu-
, nt who, after attending two years at
Sias A&M , decided she would be better
%d at the University of Texas. I both
Vd and empathize with her decision
•transfer, knowing the heartfelt consid-
;| a tion involved in making such a
'^nge. I spent two semesters at UT be-
lr e transferring to A&M as a sopho-
1o re. It has been crystal clear to me
the day I set foot on this campus
“frly three years ago that Aggieland is
fere I belong.
Having spent time as a student at UT I
^qualified to report that the social is-
Je s of concern at A&M are equally
; ev alent at UT. I attended school there
J r ing the spring of 1990 when an
fican-American lesbian woman was
^ted student body president. Her vic-
^ generated considerable controversy
throughout the campus community and
elicited the exchange of bitter racial in
sults. Also, that spring there was an inci
dent of a fraternity displaying a car in
front of its house depicting racially de
grading and offensive words and pic
tures. As far as A&M's "(dis) gracing" of
Texas Monthly, I seem to recall a lengthy
article in the same publication not all that
long ago painting a quite un-pretty pic
ture of fraternity life at UT.
I mention these acts of prejudice and
mistreatment of fellow human beings to
make a point. It is misleading of Tiffany
to represent UT as an institution having
achieved total equality and thus some
how superior to Texas A&M with regard
to race relations. That is simply not true.
The truth is that we both have a long way
to go on that road and we are not alone.
The race and gender issues that plague
Texas A&M and UT are the same that so
ciety at large is continually struggling to
overcome.
It is insulting to Aggies everywhere to
be judged on the basis of isolated re
marks by certain individuals whose
words and actions do not embody Aggie
ideals. It is tragic and unfair that such in
cidents occur. However, all Aggies don't
deserve to be held accountable for re
marks made by those individuals whose
beliefs and values are totally inconsistent
with our own.
The bottom line is that people can be
selective about the criteria upon which
they chose to base their judgments.
Tiffany has chosen to focus solely on
those aspects of life at A&M that have
caused conflict and disharmony. In do
ing so she has overlooked and discount
ed the facets of life at A&M that Aggies
hold so dear. Two weeks ago, one of the
most unifying and time-honored tradi
tions A&M is proud to call its own was
observed for the 110th time. Aggie
Muster is just one of the traditions that
does make us a world class University,
Tiffany. Thousands of Aggies, former and
current, gathered not only on the A&M
campus but wherever they were to honor
the legacy of those whose time came be
fore their own. You see, the Aggie Spirit
that will linger with all Aggies long past
April 21 makes no distinction between
race or gender.
You missed out. Tiffany. You had your
chance to be a part of a bright, diverse,
dynamic and fiercely loyal group that
continues to proudly make its mark on
this world. We are called AGGIES. Gig
'Em.
Jennifer L. Busch
Class of ‘93
Clean up campus, Ags,
A&M's a war zone
As I walked through the war zone be
tween Schumacher and Walton Hall a
few weeks ago on a Sunday morning, I
couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the
amount of debris scattered about. The
tree branches sported pizza boxes, beer
cases, a bicycle, even a shopping cart.
The trees and balconies had also been fes
tively draped with yards of toilet paper.
Various bottles, cans, and other trash, in
cluding an apparently used condom,
were also strewn about. As I continued
through the area between Crocker,
Moore, and Mclnnis I found newspapers,
the pages of a telephone book, and many
more beer cans.
Seeing these areas around the resi
dence halls so filthy each and every
weekend disgusts me for several reasons.
Aside from the obvious personal reason
that this is my home and I don't enjoy
living among such filth, it angers me to
think how hypocritical it is that Aggies
who label me as a "two-percenter for
not feeling especially compelled to go to
a yell practice could show such a basic
lack of respect for the very school they
claim to love so much.
To be quite honest, I am a two-per
center. I don't feel strongly one way or
the other about Bonfire or the Corps. I
don't feel that being a student here oblig
ates one to observe all the little traditions,
as I am here for primarily academic rea
sons.
Yet, who really cares more about this
University, the student who stands at all
the football games, or the one who makes
sure that all his or her trash makes it to a
trash can or dumpster instead of the
ground? Sure, the custodial staff will be
there Monday morning to clean it up just
like every other week. But during the pe
riod from Friday evening to Monday
morning the halls look like slums, even
during Parent's Weekend.
Rather than defacing the campus, I
find other ways to amuse myself, because
I have enough respect for this University
that trashing it is not my idea of fun.
David M. Hamada
Class of'95
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