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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1993)
Agency homes boded, nd rail- ay at 21 dslides ized the cyo Fri- r ed uc ast and, ed to a veered k Satur- er offi- inds of hour, ches of knock- of thou- ■nailing hard hit ) of peo- :ions on ,nd can- ausands :d along estrians vater at Opinion Monday, August 30,1993 The Battalion Editorial Board CHRIS WHITLEY, editor in chief |ULI PHILLIPS, managing editor MARK EVANS, city editor DAVE THOMAS, night news editor ANAS BEN-MUSA, Aggielife editor BELINDA BLANCARTE, night news editor MICHAEL PLUMER, sports editor MACK HARRISON, opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, sports editor KYLE BURNETT, photo editor The Battalion Page 11 .*0 IT Ti TKf OtCISJOVI or -nus town to (.nt -mt*€ TW tint OFfitEHS Two >C**4 AHb Fine'S ToTALXVtU.. 2.tRO! Battalion turns 100 Newspaper: An A&M tradition For most students, today is just another beginning of an other school year. But to all of us here at The Battalion, this is the beginning of something special. Today's publication marks the beginning of The Battal ion's 100th year of service to the students and faculty of Texas A&M. For a century, we have provided the University with news from around the campus and around the world. We have seen A&M grow from a fledgling college to the third largest university in the nation. We have wit nessed students of this universi- fight in two world wars >lus conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and the Persian alf. , , v We h avg -sfeen presidents, the GreaP De pression, the rise and fall of communism and the first man to walk on the moon. To commemorate its 100th birthday. The Battalion has commissioned and designed a that will become a perma nent fixture in the paper this Also, the nameplate on the front cover has been re designed to give the paper a more old-fashioned look. In the coming weeks, we will focus on some of the sto ried events of Texas A&M's past and how The Battalion covered those events. On September 30, we will publish a special 100th An niversary commemorative is sue of The Battalion, complete with photos and relics from old issues. This edition should be a keepsake for anyone who loves Texas A&M and anyone interested in its history. But some things don't change. We begin this year, as usual, with our special Back-to-School issue. With four sections dealing with campus events, entertainment news and foot ball previews, the Back-to- School edition is our biggest paper of the year. And, or course, we will con tinue throughout the semester to keep students abreast of events occurring around cam pus, just like we have for 100 years. The Battalion is a tradition older than Bonfire, Midnight Yell and the 12th Man. We hope we can continue to in form readers at Texas A&M University for another century. Local life and back-to-school blues Wrecked cars, crowded bars mark start of school year MACK HARRISON Opinion editor W ell, it's over The summer is dead, the streets are congested and school has started once again. It's even cooled off some — the temperature's back down to the low 90s. Summer sessions at Texas A&M are laid back. Traffic is not as bad compared to the fall and spring semes ters, the stores are not as crowded and you can actually find a de cent parking space. The break between semesters is even qui eter. The difference between the interim and the fall semester is astounding. The town seems to come to a standstill as it awaits the students' return. For most people still here, it represents the last bit of peace and relaxation before the onslaught of a new school year. The three weeks between sessions spoiled me. It was like I had the town all to myself. After graduation ceremonies, most stu dents leave town for a short vacation before the fall semester. This scholar, on the other hand — being cash-free and transportational- ly challengecf — stuck around to earn enough money to get his car out of the shop. Stranded afoot in College Station, I relied on the charity of friends and a borrowed bi cycle for transportation. Let me just say it's not too fun to pilot a bike down a partially repaved and totally jammed University Av enue at 5:15 in 100 degree heat and 110 per cent humidity, only to come home to a house with no air conditioning. Air conditioners are life support systems for Texans, but every summer its seems I end up living in a dwelling where the air condi tioner either breaks down or is nonexistent. This summer, our window unit went out at the end of July. The air conditioner repair man evidently didn't believe our slow cook ing was a major problem, because we didn't hear from him for nearly a month. He fixed the air conditioner, finally — right when the (relatively) cool weather came through last week. Next thing you know, our hot water heater will break down and weTl get it fixed — in April. Since a 14-inch fan is no substitute for fre on and an air compressor, I beat the heat by spending most of my free time at Duddley's. College Station bars are enjoyable in the summer — they're not as crowded, and there aren't as many students present. In the fall, however, there is a disproportionate influx of patrons to bars they don't normally frequent. A friend of mine came up with the reason for this phenomenon. Dave's Drinker Displacement Theory states that the normal increase in student population in the fall brings newer, underage students to clubs that admit minors. The younger students overwhelm these places, forcing students of legal drinking age to re treat to 21-and-over establishments, where they in turn crowd out the regulars and irri tate the hell out of Dave, who just wants to drink in peace. What s really irritating about the fall is all the traffic congestion brought about by bad drivers — and even worse, the parents who taught them inadequate road skills. A co-worker recently told me he saw three wrecks in one day at the comer of Texas Av enue and F.M. 2818. Driving down University one evening, I had to slam on the brakes three times because some blind or brain dead dri ver pulled onto the road right in front of me. Of course, it doesn't help that the City of College Station, in its infinite wisdom, decid ed to wait until all the students got back be fore it repaved University Avenue. Heaven forbid they should repave the street in the summer, when there's not as much traffic. But what should we expect from a town without the foresight to plan for more than one major north-south thoroughfare in the whole damn city? By the way, the University decided to fol low the city's example by repaving the park ing lots along Wellborn Road the week be fore school begins. Why does A&M wait un til school starts so it can inconvenience stu dents, but announce multicultural require ments, administrative shakeups and school name changes in the summer when there's no one around to take notice? The students, staff and faculty are back, however, crowding the streets, shops and bars. A friend heard me complaining about this and replied, "Mack, you've turned into a local." I suppose I have gone native. I've lived here for the past four years. I've learned all the back roads and shortcuts around town. I've discovered some hole-in-the wall restau rants and bars that are worth visiting. And I've made the pilgrimage to Shiner. Hell, I can even tolerate country music once in a while. Mack Harrison is a senior agricultural journal ism major. Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, adm mistration,. faculty or staff. ‘ Obfytws, gtiest columns and' :: letters express tho opinions of the authors. five g-atiafkvn eirct>urages letters to the editor and wiii pnnr as many os: spsce affow$> tetters mum feo 309 word* or less and include the audio*, v And phono RKftl C ontarf ific opt men rdrtor for lotinfri-atfon tin xUbrnltthp rofurnro LeUets rhould be uddrersed to-' The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald/Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Fax: (409) 845-2647 Remember: Only you can prevent more government growth S lowly, quietly and discretely our country has been defiled. On July 4,1776 the United States of America was founded. At that time we had no government, no es tablished preju dices, no welfare, no regulations on environmental pol lutants, no income tax, no Social Secu rity, no National Health Care, no en titlements, no PACs, no five mph bumper safety' tests, no USD A, no FDA, no FCC, no NEA, no honey subsidies, no foreign aid, no tobacco subsidies, no rent control and no EPA. For over 150 years — and particularly during the 60 years from the end of the ivil War until World War II — America ived almost completely in this pristine :ondition. The government knew its role ivas very simple: to protect, encourage fnd stay out of private enterprise. Dur ELIOT WILLIAMS Columnist ing this period, the United States was the freest, most prosperous society on earth. Living standards rose 5 percent a year, and the average American's income was six times higher at the end of that period than it was at the beginning. The government was primarily a po liceman, protecting the marketplace from force and fraud. Gradually, the govern ment began instituting monetary controls and protectionist policies. As these poli cies took hold, the Great Depression set in. The depression, blamed on free mar ket capitalism, was only worsened by Roosevelt's New Deal. The New Deal legitimized peacetime price controls, welfare, huge taxes, mas sive government employment and the bu reaucratic control of industry. Today, there is no service, no transaction and no enterprise that the government does not control. The state regulates what a farmer can grow in his field, how many office workers can be employed, what race they must be, how many hours a business's employees can work, and even what words can be used to describe a potato chip. Is it "new" or "improved"? What does "no salt" mean as opposed to "low salt"? The government has bureaucrats at work deciding such minutia — all at our expense. The government of 1993 controls our entire economy. Enterprises are being taxed and regulated to death. Social poli cies are consuming monstrous portions of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). One study by Robert Rector of the Heritage foundation found that since the onset of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, total welfare spending in 1990 dollars has amounted to $3.5 trillion. More impor tantly, these policies don't seem to be achieving any visible goal. Living stan dards are falling each year, violence is rampant, and mounting fear for one's safety is replacing hope and progress. Professor Peter Marcuse of Columbia University says that the homeless popula tion is increasing at a rate higher than any other time in postwar years. There is a lesson to be learned — the government cannot solve our problems. The obvious moral purpose of govern ment is to protect its citizens from domes tic and foreign aggressors who use coer cion. The government has not done its duty in protecting its citizens from its own domination. The problem we are ex periencing in America today is a failure of government, and more importantly, it is a failure of the people. In short, the outrageous growth of government in the last 60 years can be most directly attributed to our continual reliance on it to solve our social and eco nomic problems. Since the advent of the welfare state, we have slowly begun to view the government as the "Great Provider." We look to the government for moral guidance, for economic security and for social harmony. The government can provide none of these things. What we need is change. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, government spending as a per centage of the GDP would be 23.4 percent without President Clinton's new budget. With the new budget, government out lays will increase while taxes will ap proach 20 percent of the GDP — com pared to 18.8 percent without the plan. Is this the path to freedom and happiness? Clinton's plans emphasize more govern mental regulation, more taxes to fund the bureaucracy, and an expansion of welfare benefits. Is this the kind of change our sick economy needs? The answer is a resounding "No!" The kind of change we need can not be spoon-fed to us by a man who has spent almost his entire post-collegiate life on the government dole. The change we re quire is too complex to be settled at the polls in November every 4 years. We have already gone too far. Many of the liberties our forefathers cherished have al ready been revoked by the provider men tality. We must alter our attitude regard ing government and begin to rely on our selves, on private enterprise, and on our friends to solve any problems we may be experiencing. As college students, we have the abili ty to make this change. Our generation must fight against growing government and make the sacrifices necessary to re store the freedom and happiness that was once felt by citizens of the United States. No one ever claimed liberty was easy to achieve, but as freedom loving Ameri cans, it is our duty to stop falling victim to the ease of relying on the government to solve our problems. Eliot William is a sophomore electrical engi neering major Mailout puts being Greek over being Ag I am writing this letter in regard to the 1993-94 Fraternity Rush mailout. In this mailout, the editor for the Interfra ternity Council, Chris Cowan, states, "Yes, being an Aggie is an honor, but be ing Greek holds a longer line of pride and tradition than anything imaginable." You, Mr. Cowan, have put being Greek over being an Aggie. I have al ways been very supportive of the Greek system, but I, as are many other Aggies, am flatly offended by this statement. One of the things I hold dear to my heart is being an Aggie. Being an Aggie is the best possible thing, and it boasts more pride and tradition than imaginable. True, I may not be Greek, but I believe there is a saying that goes: "You are an Aggie before you are anything!" You have obviously forgotten this, but I am now here to remind you. At this time, I would like to comment that in all the organizations I have ever been involved, the advisor made it a re quirement that they proofread anything before it goes to print. I think it would be a wise decision for your advisor to be gin doing the same. As Interfraternity Council Editor and a representative of the Greek system, Mr. Cowan, I think you should take respon sibility for your actions and apologize to all Aggies in the A&M community and abroad. I surely hope that you will cor rect this statement that is so offensive to so many Aggies. Good luck with Rush. Brian Hicks Class of'95 Mailing financial aid checks makes sense In response to Seth Fuller's letter on financial aid checks (Aug. 5), "Quit com plaining!" While I agree that the finan cial aid department does have some problems, remember, they do have to contend with several thousand students. They have never gotten my check to me on time yet, either. I usually have to bor row money elsewhere to cover my fees. However, I think mailing the checks is a great idea and long overdue. Sure, it could get lost in the mail or perhaps worse. But, it seems to me that since I signed the loan papers and am responsi ble for its repayment, the check should come to me first anyway. That's a side comment. Besides, the government probably decides on the order of receiv ing funds. The reason I am writing is this: I have better things to do than wait in a line for three hours or more ... like wait for a parking space! Thank you Texas A&M; I'll check the mail. Scott Clanton Graduate Student