>er 5,1993
Opinion
[May, November 5,1993
The Battalion
Page 9
PRO
CON
Were A&hA officials ethical in
accepting trips to New York?
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ELIOT
JOHN
WILLIAMS
SCROGGS
Columnist
Columnist
IA Then Jim-
U\l my Carter
1 V took office
iPresident of the
nited States in
176, he insisted on
irrying his own
ijgage on all offi-
al trips — he was
man of the peo-
le.
Well, the people
ited it. Powerful
w should look
owerful, not fly
uch. Similarly,
•(two A&M offi-
als' acceptance of
ipsto New York was not unethical.
Texas A&M University System Board
[Regents Chairman Ross Margraves,
dA&M Vice President for Financ^and
Jministration Robert Smith acted ac
ting to generally accepted standards
professional conduct when they went
New York to complete the awarding of
contract for the Texas A&M Bookstore
Barnes and Noble. This is the definition
ethical conduct.
Allegations that Margraves personally
fflefited from this business deal have
me to light as information concerning
ipsMargraves and Smith made in 1990
is surfaced.
These allegations are ludicrous. To
lame Margraves for accepting a comple
mentary trip to New York is like blaming
epresident for receiving gifts from for-
ejndignitaries — it is part of his job.
eadership posts, especially ones as im-
trtant as Chairman of the Board, are tra-
itionally dignitary type positions. These
eople have a job to do, and that job is to
ssociate with other people and compa-
tes,
These men and women are treated
'ith great respect and dignity. It is al
most natural to expect them to be offered
buries, especially from a company with
liich the Board often deals.
Some claim Margraves acted in an in-
jpropriate manner by accepting the trip.
% say that this trip was a kickback in
Mm for giving the contract to Barnes
M Noble. Imagine for a moment what
Mr math professor would say if you
M him you would give him $20 at the
M of the year if he gave you an A in the
Margraves and Smith did
lothing illegal. They ac-
epted a trip once the con-
Tact had been decided, not
before. To say the trip was
inethical would be tremen-
iously hypocritical. Would
ou have refused the offer?
He'd either laugh hysterically or have
»u expelled.
This is almost the same argument crit-
3 make of the Chairman. To claim that
hrgraves would give away a multi-mil-
Mn dollar contract to the first company
J promise him a few Broadway shows is
idiculous. Miss Saigon isn't that good.
Margraves and Smith did nothing ille-
il. They accepted a trip once the contract
M been decided, not before. To say the
'ip was unethical would be tremendous-
hypocritical. Would you have refused
p offer? Why should we hold the Board
kmbers to standards which we are not
falling to meet.
Business in the '90s is done on the golf
Mrse, over dinner, at football games and
lake side retreats. It is understood that
businessman such as Margraves must
; ?end 40 hours a week in the office, and
Mother 10 at social activities. It's not a
■festyle that I would enjoy, but it's cer-
%ly not unethical.
hot Williams is a sophomore electrical
Sneering major
O nce again,
Texas A&M
University
has been spotlight
ed by the national
media. Once again,
the attention is fo
cused on what
many consider
scandalous deal
ings.
Ross Margraves,
TAMU Board of Re
gents Chairman, is
under investigation
by the Texas
Rangers for possible
business impropri
eties. The allegations include accepting
plane travel to New York, lodging at an ex
pensive hotel, limousine service and Broad
way show tickets, all courtesy of Barnes
and Noble Bookstores, Inc.
The Texas Rangers are conducting the
probe to determine whether Margraves
gained any personal profit from System
Either the University
should have paid for a bare-
bones trip to New York, or
Barnes and Nobles officials
should have financed their
own trip to A&M. These
two alternatives seem to be
both logical and ethical.
business. With all respect to the Rangers,
don't limousine service and Broadway
show tickets sound like personal profit?
To add to these suspicious dealings,
Barnes and Noble had, prior to these trips,
just won the contract to run the MSC Book
store, which is worth millions of dollars to
both the University and Barnes and Noble.
The decision by Margraves and A&M Vice
President for Finance and Administration
Robert Smith to accept these "gifts" reeks
of questionable conduct and ethics.
Of course, almost as quickly as the alle
gations were made, a loophole was found.
The Ethics Commission in Texas told the
AP that although there are laws forbidding
trips similar to these now, in 1990, when
the trips were made, no laws existed to re
strict such extravagances.
Yet, it is obvious that once a million dol
lar deal is made with a company, personal
interaction with that company should be
minimal and strictly on a business plat
form. Either the University should have
paid for a bare-bones trip to New York, or
Barnes and Nobles officials should have fi
nanced their own trip to A&M. These two
alternatives seem to be both logical and
ethical, qualities which some A&M admin
istrators appear to lack.
But even if no laws existed at the time to
prevent such improprieties, shouldn't a ba
sic knowledge of right and wrong have
alerted Margraves and Smith to the obvi
ous questionable behaviors?
Ethics are standards of moral values and
principles of which individuals in positions
such as Margraves and Smith should in
stinctively be aware.
Although there may not be laws stipu
lating exact business ethics, we expect our
administrators to be able to conduct them
selves as the extreme example of proper be
havior and conduct. Instead, we get official
representatives of the University who bare
ly keep above board by quoting legal tech
nicalities as their excuse.
As a University community, we should
be tired of excuses. We should demand bet
ter from those who represent and lead us.
It may be a long time before a judgment
is made on this issue, but as a University,
we must be ready to handle whatever deci
sion is made. Until that time, we have to
ensure that no more damage is done to the
A&M name. It is our responsibility to pre
vent any future scandalous disgraces.
John Scroggs is a senior English and
philosophy major
Setting a dangerous precedent
Hillary Clinton has power without accountability
JASON
SWEENEY
Columnist
F irst Lady
Hillary Rod
ham Clinton
is scheduled this
week to begin a
nationwide tour to
promote her
much-publicized
health care reform
plan. She has
gone on the offen
sive in recent
weeks promoting
what promises to
be one of the most
far-reaching social
initiatives ever.
Not long after
President Qinton was inaugurated in
January, he made it clear that one of the
defining objectives of his administration
would be to institute broad reform of the
health-care and insurance industries.
With this, the President then turned all
say and responsibility relative to this
matter over to his wife.
In effect. Bill Clinton relinquished part
of his own presidential power to an un
elected individual. While Mrs. Clinton's
intentions are not untenable, the fact that
she wields this much power, power that
belongs to the president, is neither ac
ceptable nor defensible.
The president of the United States is
allowed of course to make executive ap
pointments. In fact, he must make
dozens of them. However, these ap
pointees are subjected first to the scrutiny
of senate confirmation hearings. Nomi
nees must face an inquiry and ultimately
a binding yea or nay vote by those on the
committee. This process is designed to
allow the president his due appointment
powers, and in turn prevent appoint
ments that would otherwise prove objec
tionable.
The president is also allowed to hire
individuals to serve on his executive
staff. These persons serve in less than vi
tal role s, though, calling news confer
ences and similar tasks. As such, they are
not made to appear before any sort of
confirmation committees.
Hillary Rodham Clinton enjoys all the
powers, if not to a greater - degree, accord
ed high-level cabinet members, and yet
she has been able to escape the potential
ly damning litmus test of a Senate confir
mation committee. The first lady is
poised to usher through Congress what
she calls one of this country's most revo
lutionary social initiatives. This proposal
would effect each and every American,
and yet she has neither been elected by
the people nor even confirmed by the
people's representatives.
The beauty of our political system is
its accountability — no individual can
ever be a runaway train. In a democracy,
those laws under which the people must
live always have been created and passed
by those who would represent our inter
ests. As a result, in the United States poli
cies of this magnitude have always been
relegated to either the president or our
representatives in Congress. The First
Lady, however, appears now to have su
perceded these conventions.
The fact that the First Lady is spear
heading health-care reform, while per
haps a tribute to her intellect, is nonethe
less setting a troubling and dangerous
precedent. Bill Clinton has arbitrarily cre
ated a position, what amounts to a
health-care czar, whose recommenda
tions will ultimately effect us all.
The First Lady is actually no different
a citizen than you or I and therefore no
more qualified to act in this role. Howev
er, she has received the attention of Con
gress simply because of the power in
stilled in her by the President. The Presi
dent should feel at ease now in creating
whatever position he sees fit. The prece
dent is certainly there.
It bears noting that President Qinton
has again demonstrated his penchant for
less than dynamic leadership. It is the
president who is counted on to lead the
nation in matters of great importance.
We have to wonder then about a presi
dent who would betray the confidence of
his constituents by so casually abdicating
such a large segment of his social agenda.
In the matter of health care, who is
Hillary Rodham Clinton accountable to?
Certainly not a president who h is admit
tedly washed his hands of the matter.
I am not here to pass personal judge
ment on either of the Clintons; however.
Bill Clinton was elected President of the
United States. His wife was not As such,
it is he or perhaps one of his Democratic
colleagues in Congress who must lead
these efforts. One problem we are facing
is that many on Capitol Hill and in the
media seem to have been charmed by the
novelty of a First Lady who is in turn a
political activist. While perhaps a curios
ity, it is nevertheless an act not allowed
for either by the Constitution or statute.
If the First Lady had such grandiose no
tions about implementing policy perhaps
she should have run against her husband
in the Democratic primaries.
Jason Sweeney is a senior political
science major
Is A&M big brother?
• A university should be a place where
students and faculty alike can voluntarily
come together in order to explore ideas
and opinions. In the past we at Texas
A&M have been afforded opportunities
to express our opinions without censor
ship. Are the MSC and A&M now on
their way to becoming the mind police?
In the Nov. 3 Battalion Kevin Jackson
stated all student organizations were go
ing to have to gain approval for their pro
grams if the meeting would be open to
non-members. Why does the university
have such a policy to begin with? Is the
aim of the university to provide extracur
ricular activities for students or only to
provide opportunities for those deemed
"politically correct"?
Apparently First Amendment rights
are not going to be extended to students
and student organizations. It apparently
has not occurred to anyone at the uni
versity or the MSC that this sounds omi
nously like outright, blatant censorship.
Carolyn Hensarling '94
Vice President of Programs
Texas A&M College Republicans
• "If an organization is claiming to
have a speaker address only its mem
bers, yet reserves a large room or audi
torium the MSC will look into the nature
of the program."
Could you imagine the cries from the
campus elite if the College Republicans
had closed meetings?
Why are the campus liberals so wor
ried about clubs brining in speakers to
speak to non-members? I had a high
school teacher who told me to go to every
campus meeting on campus —whether it
is the Gay club, the KKK, the commu
nists, the reborn Christians, whatever.
Part of the purpose of college is that
is a marketplace for the free exchange of
ideas. Why should a student not be able
to attend a meeting or hear a speaker (or
an idea) just because they are not regu
lar members of a club?
Lynn Freels ‘94
• It looks as though the MSC council
is scared to death that the College Repub
licans might actually get Rush Limbaugh
to come to campus. Within a week of an
nouncing a foreseeable Limbaugh visit,
MSC president Heather Hartman says,
"If they're going to do a program that af
fects the whole campus, they have to get
approved by Student Services."
If the MSC council has to approve a
speaker, then what speaker would they
not approve? After all, if anyone can
speak (Has anyone heard of the First
Amendment?) then why should anyone
have to be approved? So who is it they
are trying to censor? Maybe we should
know more about these people on the
MSC council (since they seem to wield a
lot of power on restriction of speech).
By the way, as long as we're talking
about fairness, who gets to balance out
my liberal male-bashing professor, or
the political indoctrination classes about
to be passed at A&M?
Chad Walter '94
• Have you ever read about the rise
of the Nazi Party in Germany — how lit
tle by little they, a minority, were able to
whittle away at the basic human rights
of the majority and eventually silence all
their opposition? Ever thought about
how scary it would be to be in such a
land as the free and open expression of
ideas were daily vanishing? If you want
to know what it's like to live in such a
place, try living in Aggieland.
Robby Chamness ‘94
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