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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1993)
Opinion SaTTALIOn dlop m Press Monday, December 6,1993 The Battalion Editorial Board CHRIS WHITLEY, editor in chief JULI 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 IP THg RgAULY poet t»TAMp> o* Hit* LCTiOtJif winded k funded ft eturnedit lay. He Iff: 'st visit | t reed out as 39, saw hi; ' six inter- 13-17 vi* -d the Oil- ; seventh ir longest overinga me to pm 'ith 25 sec- arter. the As tra deman ’ unglasses tenure in tickets for uded al player If that san I. The Fai- I the gam; | ir last sill ad to 14-61 rd scoring:' ith 7:10tot over from 1 hi threw i I ss to Weh [ the Oilers 1 Childress | ring play. idforcedil The Texas A&M administra- ncedonitltion has taken a step in the the Oilers right direction with its upcom ing review of the Department 1 on top 0 f Food Services. However, it including hasn't gone quite far enough. The audit will not be com- n , i n , plete unless it examines the con- " - 1 troversial reassignments this se- tion cams m ester of the department's top dsetupa three officials. A&M Interim 1 Del Gre- President E. Dean Gage, howev- er, said the review will not ad- ?rception, dress the unexplained removal ;turned2! of these well-regarded, award h h setifKwinning administrators, juchdow |i — nd putth si/t* ittj -I EDITORIAL Food Services udit must review reassignments itinted tlii ted enjoy- the fourili iting "Jfl- ad: Jerry ison tid ed when i the I The decision to omit person nel matters from the review seems even more .outrageous since it follows a Student Senate resolution calling for an inde pendent look at both the depart ment and the changes. The administration still has not given students and faculty a straight answer about the Food "Services shakeup. Accusations and implications of personal conflicts between the three em ployees and Robert Smith, vice president for finance and ad ministration, demand attention. Smith, whose office oversees the department, developed the proposal to privatize the opera tions of the Sbisa Underground I Food Court. The three Food Services officials — Lloyd Smith, former director; George Nedbalek, former business manager and Col. James Moore, assistant director now on indefinite sick leave — op posed the privatization plan. Students, alumni and profes sional groups have questioned the propriety of the reasoning behind the changes. Dr. Richard Floyd, interim director of Food Services, claims any investiga tion into the changes would be detrimental to the department. This charge seems rather ridiculous in light of the fact that management policies will form a major focus for the review. If the recent changeover at the top of the department does not reflect official policy, then exactly what determined the need for the per sonnel. reassignments? Only an impartial observer could produce reliable informa tion to dispel the concerns ex pressed about the recent devel opments. University administrators should support a review that not only looks at Food Services' strengths and weaknesses, but also addresses the personal poli tics affecting that department. The Battalion Page 5 Talkin' about my generation .. .of apathy y Who cares' mentality keeps college T he synchroniza tion of clocks in Zachry, the amount of fuel used on Bonfire or the decreas ing number of "Howdies" heard on campus. What will be the vital issue in the spring? Smart money is on the annoyance of bike riders on campus, but Tm still partial to the MSC hat policy. Sad as it is, these are the is sues we at Texas A&M find most pressing. Traditionally, students our age drive na tional politics. In the 1950s the baby boomers moved ever so slowly out of the prude tradi tions of the 30s and 40s. The 1960s was the decade of the hippies, who fought against a war in Vietnam, and of their friends who were sent to fight the war itself. The 60s also made racial integration a reality on campus. 1970 marked the continuation of the free love generation with an emphasis on rebellion. The 1980s can probably best be called a time of facing reality. Students were again in troduced to the work ethic of the 1950$. After seeing the free-lovers of the 60s and 70s forced to get a job to be successful, a genera tion of yuppies took the cultural-political spotlight. Then we came along. Although we are still in the early stages of the 1990s, it is clear that we have accom plished little. Perhaps our most noteworthy accomplishment is the recognition of AIDS as a disease to be avoided at all costs — but this feat is basically attributable to our desire to survive. What will we contribute to national poli tics? The way things are going, the 90s is the generation of apathy. What will they call us, the apples? Maybe the "Who cares?" genera tion. Regardless, the precedent we are setting is a dangerous one. Few of us pay much attention to politics or current events outside of the sports and fashion pages. Our turnout at elections is horrible. We seem to be content leaving poli tics to the politicians, which is probably the worst way to handle the nation. How many of us had heard of Bosnia or Somalia before this year, much less could find them on a map? How many could find them on a map today? It's sad that this is the legacy we are leaving to the nation — what's even sadder is how the politicians use our apathy. The reason college students have been im portant in the past is our ability to mobilize. We work closely packed in classrooms of 50 to 100. We see each other every day and have dub and organization meetings weekly. In short, we have the time and human resources to move national politics. With the growing popularity of the Inter net computer network, we have easy access to students at other universities in the nation — or world for that matter. It is unfortunate that we are failing to use these resources. The Aggie Democrats and College Repub licans will argue that they provide grass-roots support to their parties, but ail they do is blindly follow party doctrine. How's that for a world-class free-thinking university? The other politically active organization on cam pus has only one concern, the legalization of students inactive marijuana. We are wasting our abilities. The Constitution was written to create a government to protect Americans from for eign invasion. The Bill of Rights was written to protect Americans from that government. Today, 40 percent of every dollar earned in this country goes to the government, and we do nothing about it. Regardless of your polit ical affiliation, no one can possibly justify this kind of taxation. We sit idly by while that percentage is in creased. President Clinton has already raised taxes — and made them retroactive at that. He had said he will provide universal health care, which translates to an even higher tax burden and governmental regulations so immense it might as well be socialized medicine. Politicians know that they do not need our votes to win an election, mainly because we don't vote. They can raise our taxes to in crease social security benefits. They can safe ly raise their salaries because they know that we, traditionally the most influential age group, are apathetic. We must wake up and start paying atten tion to the world. The nation depends on our generation to protest when the government gets out of hand. We are failing in our duties as Americans and students. Worse, we will pay for our inaction. How long will it be before the government consumes 60 or 75 percent of our economy. If we continue to feed this growing monster to day, we will have no choice but to feed it lat er. We must overcome our apathy and fend off the attack on the nation's citizens. Eliot Williams is a sophomore electrical engineering major ELIOT WILLIAMS Columnist Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of otner Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters express the opinions of the authors. The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows, letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, style and accuracy. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns. Address letters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Fax: <409) 845-2647 ing ; 345 * 305 j\ 105 7I 320 302 : 302 rl 3.year colleg e benefits stamina first in ; Corps Are Americans ready to exchange I , like so many others who live under the um brella of suburban and rural security, used to oppose gun control because of my distance from our nation's firearm epidemic. Then a few things happened. Young men, ac quaintances of mine at my high school in San Anto nio, began adding semi-automatic pis tols to radar detectors and CD changers . on their list of automobile accessories. Parties became dangerous, even those thrown by affluent white suburban high- schoolers. I listened to one too many accounts of gas station attendants being murdered, including a clerk who was shot five times in the chest and screamed at to get up and ? open the register while his lifeblood poured onto the floor as he begged for an ambulance. Finally, my best friend and his girl friend had pistols put to their heads in front of her house for the five dollars they had between them. His girlfriend's only mistake was not fleeing town when the city ruined her neighborhood with a low income housing project (a similar one is scheduled to be built in my area next year). They are lucky to be alive. Where did these guns come from? Few are purchased from reputable deal ers, but instead from an enormous river of unregistered and stolen firearms which flows unhindered through our cities and and schools. The black market for guns is by no means a static entity, and herein lies the the reason no American gun control mea sures work. States, cities, and even devel opment projects have separate and vastly differing laws restricting or permitting the possession, sale or manufacture of guns which are useless against the illegal supply. If all firearms were banned in New York State, for example, an illegal gun dealer would simply visit a neighboring state with lax gun laws for his supplies. Measures of smaller scope, such as city wide bans, are even less effective. But what if no state in the Union could offer a gun dealer his wares? Unlike narcotics, which are compara tively simple and inexpensive to make, readily concealed, and can flow like water through our borders from foreign coun tries, guns require skilled labor and se lf every handgun manufac turer in the country were shut down , it is unlikely that assembly lines would pop up in people's garages to fill the ensuing demand. phisticated machinery to manufacture. If every handgun manufacturer in the country were shut down (which will nev er happen), it is unlikely that assembly lines would pop up in people's garages to fill the ensuing demand. Guns are traceable. Many hundreds are confiscated by every major metropoli tan police department in the country and jAMES ATKINSON GUEST COLUMNIST More food for thought on our Food Services As a member of Texas A&M Food Ser vices, I attended the Dec. 1 Student Senate meeting. I was appalled at their lack of foresight and the insensitivity displayed in their quest for the "truth." I have complete trust in the administra tion's informed and decisive actions to re place our former directorship. The Sen ate's unrelenting attention to all past de tails shows no respect for TAMU employ ees or administration. I am confident they will find that the reassignment of the three gentlemen in question was the kindest act to have come out of this situation. Margo Reese Supervisor IV, Food Services University of Texas fights privatization Here in Austin, our student union is being sold. On Oct. 29, the Union staff and the Student Assembly president an nounced that the Union Board would de cide upon dismantling the Union Dining Services for private food outlets on Dec. 3. Though the students have overwhelm gun rights for safety? usually destroyed. The size of the black market handgun pool would eventually dwindle to the point where their use in crimes would be significantly reduced. The theory that there will always be a supply of something if there is a demand may hold true for drugs, but the supply of guns can be curtailed in this country since the majority of firearms owned by Americans are made by Americans, and it is unlikely that any industrialized foreign nation (say, Germany) would allow its gun manufacturers or dealers to smuggle their products through U.S. customs, as suming they could and would want to. I can hide a million dollars in uncut co caine in a large suitcase. A million Uzis would be a bit trickier. As for demand, rockets and grenades would make handy tools for the arsenals of city gangs and drug offenders, and they are cheaper and easier to make than a handgun, which is, believe it or not, a precision instrument. Yet why are there no drive-by shoot ings committed with rocket launchers? Because you can't buy them legally any where, anytime, in the U.S. On the other hand, I can waltz into the TWC gun show n San Antonio and with enough cash, buy a .50 caliber Browning machine gun (a far deadlier weapon), or an Uzi, or a whole host of military copycat semi-autos which can be converted to full auto with the right know-how. I knew people in high school with the right know-how. Everyone is sick of comparisons be tween the U.S. and Canada, but gun con trol is one area in which they excel. Into their uniform criminal code, they enacted an extremely strict firearm policy in 1978. All automatic weapons were banned, handguns could only be purchased for use in shooting clubs, occupational pur poses and rare cases of personal protec tion, and hunting rifles and shotguns re quired a police permit and a background check. As a likely result, annual firearm homicides in Canada since 1978 have dropped 38 percent. Gun control will work if we really want it to, but do we? Would you be willing to sacrifice one of your current rights to achieve safety? It seems the an swer, at least at this school, is no. James Atkinson is a freshman mechanical engineering major ingly voted against privatization four times in recent years, the SA president said there would be no student vote, since "... (a referendum) would only give the opposition time to organize." Where is the student in our Union? The UDS was created by students when they were sick of the dorm food served by the University Food Services. Fran chising would create a Food Mall sup ported by student fees over which we would have no control. The Texas Tav ern, a traditional "watering hole" would be replaced by Chic-Fil-A. 450 workers will lose their jobs, at which some have spent 20 years and support families with. The administration has shown that student opinion is not their concern, so we have had to show them that they should be concerned. We have orga nized a group to fight this robbery: Stu dents and Workers Against Privatization (SWAP). Thus far, we have had two rallies and gathered 1,000 petition signatures in two weeks. Although we continue to argue logically against privatization, the issue is the democratic process being subverted. Student Unions are also being priva tized at UT Dallas, Prairie View A&M, and the University of Houston. If our two campuses could harness just a smidgen of the energy we both expend on Thanksgiving fighting this together, our unions will be Student Unions. John Hitzfelder Graduate student, University of Texas