,ar .v 21,1)1
Opinion
j Monday, February 21,1994
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
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EDITORIAL
Playing politics
Earle stoops to shenanigans
8 With the abrupt ending of
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's
trial over alleged official miscon
duct and destruction of state
treasury documents, the only
tiling one can be fairly certain of
is that Ronnie Earle showed
very poor judgment. The Travis
County District Attorney may
have had a very good reason for
mie indictment of Hutchison, but
his decision making
skills were definite
ly lacking towards
the end of the
yvhole affair. Earle
Bropped the
Hutchison case af-
Ter he came to sus-
■ect that State
Budge John F.
lOnion Jr. would
rule the prosecution's key evi
dence inadmissible.
I The questionable evidence
was seized just days after
Hutchison assumed her office as
the second republican senator
from Texas. There was some
question concerning whether the
proper subpoena or search war
rant was issued at the time, and
Onion — in a highly question
able decision — refused to give
a pretrial ruling on the matter.
\ When Earle decided to pur
sue this case, he should have
made a commitment to himself
and, more importantly, the tax
payers. This court battle has
been a series of mishaps and
questionable decision making
by Earle, beginning when a
judge dropped the first indict
ment on the senator and ordered
Earle to refile the charges of offi
cial misconduct in more clear
and concise lan
guage.
Earle's actions
after the trial were
political in nature
and completely in
appropriate. After
giving up the case,
he invited the news
media to look over
seized records and
other evidence. He also wanted
to release secret testimony from
the grand jury's hearings. These
actions make it appear that the
whole trial was a political game
rather than a serious question of
ethics.
Earle's own Public Integrity
Unit would probably disap
prove of his actions. To maintain
his integrity, he should have fol
lowed his own professional code
of conduct and avoided political
games.
Unemployment: an occupational hazard
Job interview should get foot in door, not mouth
* «
itilP?!
N ot that I'm
counting... but,
did you know
there are only 48 days
of school left in this se
mester? My father in
formed me of that fact
this weekend. It seems
he stands to get a raise
when I get my big, uh,
"frame" out of school
and start earning a liv
ing. He gets to keep a
larger percentage of his
paycheck, and I'll be
stuck floundering in
the real world. Reality
bites.
With such a prospect looming inevitable on
the horizon, I have begun preparing for the
big nose-dive into the draining job pool. I got
firsthand look at the puddle tnis weekend
ROBERT
VASQUEZ
Columnist
j pu
when I attended a job fair for journalists.
"Don't expect too much," said the motiva
tional speaker. "The wages are low. The
stress is high, and the hours are long. But look
on the bright side — you're lucky if you have
a job. Thousands of others don't."
The swarm of guppies in the audience
gasped for water. I guess you could say she
motivated us. She moved us to tears.
Next, was the interview session, where en
thusiastic young idealists are placed in the
ring with seasoned (read: calloused, bitter,
cranky) professionals. It's a test to see just how
much the kids can squirm before tearing their
resumes into tiny pieces and breaking into a
roar of laughter while the applicant cringes,
retreating into the fetal position and then run
ning for the door.
/V What do you think you have to offer our
company?" asked one interviewer.
"Well, I have some experience with TV
news ..." I began.
"Yes, but, can you edit tane?"
"Uh ..."
"What about live shots? Have you done
any spot news?"
"Well, when I interned with ..."
"I don't care who you've been with before.
That's history. What can you do for me, huh?
For ME?"
What was this? A date? I'd seen lawyers
less greedy.
The resume critique session was much
more encouraging. The resume, they say, is
the one place you're allowed to toot your own
horn. You must put all false modesty aside
and puff out your breast like a Red-tailed
Wooperwopper. You must 1st all relevant ex
perience, putting yourself in the best possible
light so that the employer is sufficiently im
pressed and hires you on the spot.
I had to lie.
"So, how long did you serve as Student
Body President at Texas A&M, Mr. Vasquez?"
"Six years. Yes, six years. I took the last
year off so that I could concentrate on my po
sition as Editor-in-Chief at The Battalion. You
see, that's listed right down there...."
"Yes, I see. Just below the 'Publisher' entry.
Was your 'Independent Review' a success?"
"Oh, yes. Very successful. It's still going
strong, in fact."
Turns out half of the employers there
weren't even looking to hire. They were inter
viewing sort of as a practice session for the
nice, young students who had gone to the trou
ble of paying the $300 entry fee and driving all
the way to Amarillo for the convention.
I didn't know this, but the term "job fair"
comes from the Latin phrases takis dolaris
wastis temoris, which loosely translated
means, "steal your money and waste your
time."
I'm not bitter. This job-hunting stuff is just
getting to me. And I've only begun. But
there's hope. One friend I know was waiting
tables between interviews with advertising
agencies and public relations companies.
Three months after graduation, he was still
pounding the pavement and handing out re
sumes.
Finally, he found the perfect job. He got a
job at an advertising agency in Dallas, servic
ing a major account for Pepsi Cola. His hard
work, his perseverance, his education had all
paid off. He had proven his merit to the inter
viewer and got the job he deserved.
So, he left a note saying goodbye to his
friends at work and asking them to pick up his
last two shifts, since he would have to leave
for Dallas immediately.
"Please pick up my last to shifts," the note
read.
I couldn't believe it. He had a great job
with a great company. And he couldn't spell
the word "two." He's a great guy. And he'll
probably do a great job. But he couldn't even
spell the word "two."
That gave me hope. I thought, "If he can do
it, then so can I."
I mean, 1 have my share of faults. Don't get
me wrong. But at least I can spel.
Robert Vasquez is a senior jou rnalism major
^ \>i
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'V%
Editorials appearing in The
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Suggested MSC funding cuts impact all of student body
T he
Se
sk
LORRAINE
WHITEAKER
Guest columnist
e Student
Senate's deci-
Ine/rntSM JL sion to cut
e 2 of lii: MSC funding was
, |ce ov,l probably one of the
. q most important de-
lins ‘ dsions this year.
The finance com
mittee has suggest-
h ed a cut in the
y MSCs student ser-
' vices fees allocation
totaling approxi
mately $400,000. I
think it is impera
tive to address you,
the students of
jespetf Texas A&M, whom
.L win this action will ef
fect the most.
if Your student services fees cover a vari
ety of activities and services, including the
171-120 ’ health Center, the Fightin' Texas Aggie
*freeO' [ Band, Student Counseling Services, Stu-
a 1 dent Government, sports clubs and many
. u, J others. The largest portion of these fee al-
with tfj
d oi
locations goes to the Memorial Student
Center.
You are probably thinking, "So what?
The MSC gets a budget cut. It doesn't hurt
me. The MSC should just deal with it."
This makes sense. After all, just what
has the MSC ever done for you? How
could a budget cut for the MSC make your
life any different? And most importantly,
why should you possibly care?
Chances are that you have attended
MSC-sponsored programs.
When you went to the movies at Rud
der, you were participating in a Film Soci
ety Program. When you saw that really
good band over in DeWare, Town Hall
was the group that brought them to A&M.
Did you attend Pageant, All Night Fair or
Variety Show? If you didn't, your room
mate, your sweetheart or your best friend
probably did.
The MSC strives for diverse program
ming. Town Hall brings in musical guests
from Alabama to Belly. OP AS presents
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band and "Man
of La Mancha" this season. Nova spon
sors College Bowl and weekly open gam
ing. Cepheid Variable presents AggieCon,
the largest science-fiction convention in the
Southwest. Film Society screens block
buster movies and alternative "sleepers."
SCONA, MBA-Law, ALOT and the other
committees each provide a wide range of
programming for a university-wide audi
ence.
There is more to programming than just
presentation. Networking, communicating
and event planning are just a few of the
How does the Senate sug
gest the MSC take up the
slack? People simply will
not volunteer to take on the
intense workload that the
MSC staff is paid to do.
skills that the MSC strives to instill in its
students. MSC committees are open to all
students at A&M. As such they give you.
the student, the chance to work with some
of the most extraordinary people in the
world, from famous authors to U.S. presi
dents.
And now the Senate finance committee
suggests cutting the MSC student services
fees allocations. How do they suggest the
MSC take up the slack? For starters, they
suggest cutting student workers from the
Student Programs Office. They propose
cutting a graduate student Committee Ad
visor, removing secretaries and dismissing
support staff. The support staff, advisors
and student workers are integral to its abil
ity to function efficiently. To put it bluntly,
people simply will not volunteer to take on
the intense workload that the MSC staff is
paid to do.
Finally, the Senate finance committee
suggests the elimination or reduction of al
locations to several committees. This
seems sound at first glance because these
particular committees charge admission to
their events. Raising prices will make up
the difference, right? Probably not.
Most of the committees involved have
already "maxed" their ticket prices. Rais
ing them further would make the given
program non-competitive with similar
events in the surrounding area. Also, high
er prices tend to make students shy away
from events. Increasing prices is therefore
not a viable option.
So, what can be done? This is where
you come in. You can call your senators —
you have senators representing your class
as well as your college. Their phone num
bers are available in the Student Activities
area of the Koldus Building.
You can call Dr. Southerland, vice presi
dent of Student Affairs. You can attend
any open meetings of the MSC committees.
You can call the Student Programs Office
for more information. Or, you can just sit
and hope that someone else will do it for
you — and then gripe next year when your
ticket prices go up and the services provid
ed go down.
Lorraine Whiteaker is the chairman of MSC
Cepheid Variable
l7rebo 11 ;
, histoi'
time tb
ia da^
violate
it one.
ghl**
f the sej;
vitha
Race should play no
part in admission
I'm writing in reference to the story on
minority recruitment in The Battalion
~ onday, Feb. 14. I agree with old Ag,
James Courtney, Class of '67: "All we
need to do is take the best students" —
that is accept students that meet the Uni-
^Yersity's entrance requirements period,
no exceptions! Nothing more, nothing
less.
Paul Parrish, dean of the College of
Liberal Arts, was simply using rhetoric to
give the impression that he really wants
to do something about minority enroll
ment percentages.
All we really have to do is take the race
section out of all applications and forms,
and never ask about it. If all these politi
cally correct people really want to make a
change, why don't they stop talking
about color. After all, that's the problem
— Look Beyond Color! We are all created
equal; let us all start behaving that way!
joe G. Grace 11
Class of'95
Jesus didn't speak
against homosexuals
Jesus, believed to be the closest link be
tween God and man, spent three years
roaming about spreading the will of His
Father. In this time he said nothing about
homosexuality. Not one word! Jesus never
said that homosexuals were in danger of
facing the wrath of hellfire. He instead is
sued this warning to the religious bigots
and hate mongers. Jesus spent his life
demonstrating God's love for all people;
the oppressed and outcast were often the
recipients of His greatest miracles.
Jesus did say, "Judge not lest you be
judged."
We live in a society that is plagued
with problems far more severe than two
individuals of the same gender falling in
love with one another. One-third of all
teenage suicides are related to questions
and fear regarding sexual orientation.
These are children who, when looking for
love and support, come across the trash
that is spewed about in the name of God,
and choose death over his judgment. I
have lost my patience for people who pick
a few verses out of context from the Bible,
support them with a "Bubba" mentality,
and then design a God that will best suit
them. We are all sinners down here.
Yes, I am gay. Should I consider myself
lucky that my hands are not singed from
my body every time I pick up my Bible or
set foot in my church? No, because God
made me this way.
Mark Allen Martin
Class of '94
Ag aided by strangers
On the afternoon of Wednesday,
Feb. 16, I learned the definition of a
true Aggie. I fainted at the Northgate
post office, and I awoke to find several
people surrounding me, all concerned
for my health.
Robert (someone I had never met)
had propped my head up on his back
pack. He wiped my face down with
wet paper towels. Phil, another un
known face, sat beside me and reas
sured me that everything would be
fine. The post office employees called
the ambulance and provided me with
cold water to drink.
I just wanted to take this opportuni
ty to thank Robert, Phil, the employees,
the paramedics and everyone who took
the time and effort to help out a fellow
Aggie.
I will never forget you. I just hope
that one day I can do for someone else
what you did for me. Thank you once
again!
Jeanette Carter
Class of ‘96