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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1994)
24,1994 Wm rfif Bathlm original- ; ability : close- several ie art of ing the {A/ d Hlll-L- roPRA^ DUKf j be on u swim s just a the end at the t was a ie SWC ■gy Opinion Monday, January 24,1994 The Battalion Editorial Board JULI PHILLIPS, Editor in chief MICHAEL PLUMER, Managing editor KYLE BURNETT, Aggielife editor BELINDA BLANCARTE, Night news editor DENA DIZDAR, Aggielife editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor SEAN FRERKINC, Sports editor TONI GARRARD CLAY, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Photo editor JENNIFER SMITH, City editor The Battalion Page 11 EDITORIAL Treating symptoms Mall dress codes are misguided The next time you go shop ping, what you wear may be more important than what you buy. Heightened gang violence has led officials in several Texas malls to issue codes of dress and conduct that mall patrons must follow in order to remain on mall property. While such dress codes may be well intentioned, they are misguided. The problem of gang violence in malls is not due to the fact that different people are wearing a particular style of clothing. And attempting to place a ban on various clothes is : akin to covering a gaping | wound with a Band-Aid. Advocates of the new pro gram do not believe that adopt ing uniform measures of re stricted clothing will discrimi nate against one particular j group of patrons over another. Mall officials believe that by in- i stituting these bans on dress, I they are providing a safer shop- I ping environment for everyone. Civil rights activists counter I that the new rules are a viola- I tion of civil rights, because most [ of the gang members are from I ethnic minorities. The activists I believe that the malls must look at possible perpetrators of t crimes instead of what clothing \ customers wear. The discussion over possible mall dress codes came about af ter a Dec. 27 shooting in an Irv ing mall where a man was shot and killed, caught in the cross fire of two rival gangs. Since then, malls across the state have instituted several pro posals. A mall in Corpus Christi banned baseball caps worn backwards. Colored bandannas may no longer be worn at sever al malls, including one in Port Arthur. Mall dwellers can no longer wear clothes with gang-related symbols on them. Anyone caught wearing these items has the choice of turning the gar ment inside-out or leaving the mall. Ironically, mall merchants ac tually sell many of the disal lowed items. Athletic apparel, colored t-shirts and baseball caps are all available to anyone who has the money to buy them. What course of action do mall officials plan to take against a patron who is obviously not in volved in a gang and just hap pens to be wearing a banned item? No one is condoning the vio lence brought about by these gangs, but to solve a problem, one must understand and deal with the problem's origin. After all, clothes don't kill people, people kill people. Let's hear it for A&M's 'silent staff' Many crucial university employees go unacknowledged MEUSSA MEG LI OLA Columnist A t one time, I no ticed A&M em ployees only when I tried to leave campus at five p.m. At exactly five o'clock, cars start to swarm out of the employee park ing lots — the ones that always seem emp ty at 9:58 when I am late to a 10:00 class. I cursed them and their little yellow hang-tags as it took me 15 min utes to get from Zachry to Texas Ave. "What freeloaders," 1 would think. "I pay for my parking spot and still have to leave for class 30 minutes early in order to find a spot" I almost look forward to an otherwise dreaded nine-to-five job simply to avoid the parking horrors of our fine university. I have learned, however, that the employees here at Texas A&M pay $100 a year just to park at work. Suddenly, I feel badly about all the nasty things I have said about them while caught in traffic. We, the students at Texas A&M, have many misconceptions about the over 10,000 people that work on our campus. Most im portantly, we forget they exist. These people, who literally run our campus, jokingly refer to themselves as the "silent staff," said Re becca Downey, a communications specialist in the Human Resources Department. She was quick to point out that this is not all bad. "I recently told a group of physical plant workers that the fact they go unnoticed sim ply means they are doing their job," she said. Ms. Downey did admit to being discour aged when a group of graduate students in a human resources class could only name four non-faculty positions on campus. "They named physical plant workers, sec retaries, custodians and food services em ployees," she said. "Those people are very important to Texas A&M but certainly aren't the only ones here." A&M employs people in hundreds of dif ferent positions. Because A&M is more like a small city than a school, the University em ploys people as diverse as doctors, lawyers, computer technicians, glass blowers, police, engineers, librarians and accountants. Most of the university employees never attended A&M as students, but many are benefits, many university employees still at tend all types of campus athletic events. Some go to Bonfire; others attend Silver Taps. Just as those who work in corporate America develop company pride, many A&M employees are very proud of this uni versity. They also display Aggie Spirit through an employee sick leave pool. If em ployees experience a catastrophic illness or injur)' that is expected to last more than 30 days, they can draw on sick days donated by coworkers. For this fiscal year alone, em ployees have donated 6,768 hours. Employees try not only to help one anoth er, but many are also willing to help stu dents. As volunteers for The First-Time Ag gie Contact Team (FACT), several staff mem bers give their time to telephone new Aggies. The callers try to help new students with problems and make them feel welcome at Texas A&M. "I thought it was a great opportunity to reach out to students and say that we at Texas A&M, staff included, really care about the students," said Barbara Burrus, director of medical records at the Veterinary Teach ing Hospital. Gary Scott, a fire- and life-safety inspector with the Department of Safety and Health, got involved after his five student workers helped him to appreciate the needs of stu dents. "We all depend on each other and want to make the school a better place," said Scott. The department of Human Resources is also working to change the New Employee Orientation Network (NEON) to resemble Fish Camp more closely where students re ceive an excellent orientation to Texas A&M. In December, 250 Texas A&M employees were honored for up to 45 years of service. The average student is here for four or five years. Employees can use their knowledge of A&M for a lifetime. Today is the first day of Howdy Week, a week that reminds us about the integrity and pride it takes to be an Aggie. As you are say ing "Howdy" to fellow classmates and facul ty members while walking around campus, say "Howdy" to the university employees. Maybe you could even say "Thanks." Melissa Megliola is a senior industrial engineering 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, 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 Mai! stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77B43 Fax: (409) 845-2647 Taking a broader view often puts problems into perspective and Each t's more When eryone ing ex- han the :ts a lot season. iur team g ■ forward / outmim We did ij ut insid‘ nd." tv Baron* tad goo £ j peri®*; on't thim .eperinj; They the pin! T housands of people waited in line for hours. Phone lines jammed, and traffic came to a crashing halt as frustration levels peaked and finally exploded. All progress seemed to come to a standstill last week when the regular modes of operation were severed by a terrible phenome non which sent shock waves through the community: Add/Drop chaos and Parking Hell. It took A&M by storm last week, leav ing thousands of innocent students dazed and bewildered in its wake. Students scrambled throughout the campus seeking forced entry into classes already bulging at the seams. Then they made their way to the ROBERT VASQUEZ Columnist Pavilion, where a large percentage of the student body was struggling for oxygen and a modicum of personal space. And these were the lucky ones, the fortunate few who had survived the Parking Experi ence and were able to walk away relatively unscathed, their cars safely deposited amidst the hordes of buzzards circling in wait for the next little spot to open. Welcome back to college. I guess the most frustrating thing about The Parking Situation in front of the Zachary building is looking beyond the sea of economy cars and two-ton trucks only to see vast acres of freshly mowed lawn space, which looks awfully pretty but might serve better as ... oh, I don't know ... maybe a parking lot? I'm not suggesting that we cover the en tire lawn with asphalt and white paint. But with so many acres available for trees and birdies and worms and stuff, perhaps a re quest for just a little more parking space might be in order. You know, for the stu dents. That's what universities are for, I think. TAMU stands for Texas A&M Uni versity. That's "University," not "green lawn" or "zoological gardens." I think, therefore I am. But I must park before I can go to class. I think Descartes said that. No, the gripe against parking and regis tration problems is not a new one. But the fervor of these complaints seems to recur with new zeal at the onslaught of each new Instead of waiting for classes, people in Califor nia were waiting for a drink of water. And I com plain because I can't wear shorts yet. semester. Like the steam which rises from an old pile of cow dung after a fresh sum mer rain. No one was stirring up old com plaints more than 1.1 grumbled and moaned about the obstacles and challenges students must negotiate. Then I picked up a newspaper. And I saw stories about the millions of people across the country who are struggling with crises of their own. Only, instead of wait ing for classes, these people were waiting for a drink of water. Water lines were bro ken miles away by an earthquake that rocked much of southern California and killed more than 56 people. Many of those who survived could only watch as random fires consumed the remnants of what had been their homes only hours before. Hospitals struggled to keep up with the thousands of injured who came in bleed ing, many with broken arms and legs. Two injured women had to deliver their babies early through Caesarean section to save the infants, who had suffered their first earth quake before they had taken their first breath. Meanwhile, further east, still more peo ple fought for survival as they braved the freezing temperatures which trapped them in their own homes, closing down schools, offices and even utilities. One woman was trapped outside after her door lock had frozen solid. Seeking help at her neighbors' home, she found them afraid to open the door, unsure who was knocking. The next morning, the neighbors found the woman's body frozen on the porch. At least 101 people have died because of the freeze. And I complain because I can't wear shorts yet. It's nearly February, and I still have to wear my jacket. Everything is rela tive. And the complaints about parking and registration suddenly seemed relative ly stupid. Insignificant. Granted, the needs are real and must be addressed. But we're complaining about school. It's like the end of the world if we have to wait in line. All we want is a decent parking space. I guess I should be grateful for such problems. There are those who only want their homes back. Or for the temperature to rise above zero. Or to see their son or wife or mother again. Robert Vasquez is a senior journalism major •estsf; than a ir d for* * 1 ' Barof 1 doming 1 play er Bonfire wake-up bill gives students a voice I want to clarify what RHA bill R93F-05 (regulating Bonfire wake-up procedures) entails. First of all, there has been a lot of outcry this year about Bonfire wake-up and the policies of this university. The staff in each hall has not enforced the poli cy that is considered official. They are caught in a situation where they must chose between strictly enforcing this poli cy or letting the Bonfire crews continue the tradition of "wake-up." To this point they have been lenient and ignored this policy by letting the Bonfire crews pro ceed with "wake-up." With all the complaints that occurred this past fall, the administration has decid ed to begin making staff strictly enforce this policy because THEY feel that the people who are against Bonfire wake-up are afraid to speak out. It seems to be the general thought within the administration that there are more people who are against "wake-up" than for it. I disagreed with this assessment, and at last fall's Residence Life meeting I asked that we let the residents vote for or against Bonfire wake-up. When this request was brushed aside, I decided to present this legislation to the Residence Hall Associa tion's General Assembly. If the General Assembly passes this, then it will force Residence Life to take this request more seriously. It does not become law, it sim ply places a request in the administra tion's lap to deal with. They can choose to ignore it, to implement it or try and find an even better solution. Rusty Thompson, the Coordinator for Residence Life on Northside, is putting to gether a committee to try and come up with a plan for next fall. This legislation is meant to be a catalyst to get moving on a solution that will benefit all. By presenting this bill, the voice of students living on campus will be heard. If you have an opinion that you wish to voice on the subject, contact me in the RHA office (Koldus 134 or call 845-0689) or you are more than welcome to attend the next General Assembly at 8:30 p.m., Feb. 2, in 144 Koldus Building. I will also leave copies of this bill in the RHA office for anyone who wishes to view it. Tim McGinty Class of'94 To tip or not to tip? Jenny Magee writes on Jan. 19 about the tragedy of waiting as a job. She says "... people who can't afford to tip shouldn't eat out." Well, who made her the financial queen of the food industry? First of all, if someone can't afford a tip, but might have enough for a meal, they shouldn't feel any guilt. "Gratuity" in the dictionary means a gift, usually in the form of money, in re turn for service. I can't speak for every body, but if the service stinks, I wouldn't pay them one red cent more than the price of the food. I have been a waiter, and I knew before I took the job that tips were a majority of my salary. I'm sure Jenny Magee did too! If she couldn't handle her method of pay ment, she shouldn't have taken the job. Let's ask Jenny Magee one final ques tion: When her tips and salary figure to be substantially higher than minimum wage, does she give the extra money back? Roy Valdez Class of'96
