1
ielife
\pril |ij Bsday, April 19, 1994
The Battalion
Paiie 3
and-held
ticket writers
help PTTS
(help you
By Claudia Zavaleta
The Battalion
4
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e money to
Try to imagine a machine that allows the
Jr to access information about thousands of
fcple just by punching a few buttons. Is it
ne sort of high-tech spy gadget? No — it’s
S’ hand-held ticket writer, a device all too
niliar to some students.
Tom Williams, director of Parking, Traffic
Jd Transit, said in 1989, PTTS switched from
entering individual tickets manually to the
[nd-held ticket writer to increase efficiency
[d reliability.
'We are all
m§ed by the gov-
Qmor, by the state
of Texas and our
Bministration to
lake our depart-
fnts as efficient
■ we can,”
lilliams said.
Bne of the first
lings we did
lien parking was
■tablished was to
ly to get the
■rking system
■mputerized.”
I The ticket writ-
ers are hand-held
Epson EHP2 0
computers, he
lid. When an of-
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litor
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lames Benw
enny Magee,
The hand-held Epson
EHP20 has helped
PTTS process tickets
more efficiently since
1989.
leer enters the in-
Irmation into the
computer, the ma
chine stores it and
jSrints out a hard copy that is left on the car.
I "It's really not any faster to write a ticket
with the ticket writer as opposed to using a pa
per ticket,” Williams said. “The savings come
when you have to put that ticket into the com-
wasson [.litersystem. Now we don’t have to have data
Bir( l ) AfI | entry people entering the tickets manually. It
iasallmved us to reduce our cost.”
iilavatetM "Wm in the computer age,” he said, “and
idKrisiine ^ y ou tr y to stay manual, you are behind the
curve on an efficiency standpoint. Technology
is rapidly changing and we are waiting for the
next level of on-line hand-held computers.”
Officer Rodrick Cashaw has worked at PTTS
for six years, since the days of handwritten tick-
He said the hand-held ticket writers have
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ade it better for the student because less er
rs occur using a computer.
Before, a ticket was entered in a booklet
I’hich was basically a receipt and a carbon
py, Cashaw said. Depending on the day and
line of the year, officers would use three or
lur booklets a day, and sometimes they were
usplaced.
"The information from the ticket writers,”
said, “is three times more effective than us
ing the booklets. Sometimes when people
Would come in to try to find out about their ci
tations there would be no record on file.”
Williams said with the ticket writers, the in-
armation is stored in the machine and auto-
utically downloaded into the system at the
nd of the day. When it was done manually,
ere was a two- or three-month backlog. But
e computer now gives the PTTS the ability to
lanage the paperwork on a day-to-day basis.
Cashaw said for PTTS officers, the ticket
niter allows them more freedom to decide
whether to issue a citation or just a warning.
"One thing that I found was more effective,”
lashaw said, “is that the computer gives us in
formation on the vehicle which enables us to
hoose between writing a citation or a warning.
iMien we wrote them by hand it was basically a
(lone deal.”
Appealing a ticket, Cashaw said, is also easier
for students to do. The computer records the
jxact location of the citation and if there was a
troblem with the markings or the parking signs
lb the area, the ticket can be appealed.
Williams said that contrary to popular belief,
foe goal of PTTS officers is not to write as many
ickets as possible, but rather to protect the
Spaces for the people who pay to park in them.
Cashaw said giving out citations is a tough
Jb for the officers to do, but most times tickets
tan be avoided.
We get a lot of negative feedback because
f what we do — as expected,” he said. “But
lie process to upgrade parking is in effect. The
epartment is working toward trying to take
tare of everyone’s needs, but it’s hard when a
nt of students don’t know what the parking
egulations are.
"Parking is an important part of a student’s
ife, especially from a financial standpoint. If
key would take the time to know the regula-
ions and familiarize themselves with the areas,
would be a lot easier to get to class and to
’ark in the proper places.”
Williams said the PTTS appears to be strict
ecause there are a lot of students who don’t
fy to comply with the regulations; but the
’btnber of tickets being written is decreasing.
It’s a good trend, he said, and it shows the
’arking system is improving.
"The majority of students are trying to fol-
bw the rules,” Williams said. “I would be
oinpletely happy if we didn’t write any cita-
■ons”
The
Flying
Tigers
Film society to host
documentary viewing
Gen. Charles Bond, shown here
in a self-portrait taken while
flying with the Flying Tigers in
February 1942, will speak tonight
in Rudder before the showing of
the documentary "Fei Hu, The
Story of the Flying Tigers."
Photo Gourtesv of (Jen. (Jhurles Bond
By Paul Neale
The Battalion
66
r
Tinston Churchill
said we were the
most effective
technical, military outfit in the
histor) of warfare,” said Gen.
Charles Bond, Class of ‘49 and
former flying ace of the Flying
Tiger Squadron.
The MSC Film Society of
Texas A&M will present the Texas
premiere tonight of a 90-minute
documentary ‘Fei Hu, The Story
of the Flying Tigers” in Rudder
Auditorium. “Fei Hu” is the
name the Chinese gave to the
U.S. airplanes with shark teeth
painted on them.
Bond and Gen. “Tex” Hill,
Class of ‘36 and also a former pi
lot, and the documentary’s pro
ducers will speak before the film.
Known for their heroism and
flare, the Flying Tigers worked
with the Chinese to defend their
nation against Japan during
World War II. Alrhoueh the Fly
ing Tigers’ rich history was brief
— lasting frofh July'4, 1941 to
July 4, 1942 — its war record
remains unmatched.
“The main thing they (the
Flying Tigers) did was stop the
Japanese from slaughtering hun
dreds of thousands of Chinese
people,” said Frank Boring, co
producer of the documentary.
Boring said “Fei Hu” is
markedly different from tradi
tional WWII documentaries.
“Our intention was to have
them (the pilots) tell their story.
And we were very fortunate to
get a lot of film footage no one’s
even seen before.”
Boring’s father worked with
the founder of the Flying Tigers,
Claire Chennault, in China and
Taiwan. His own experiences
provided insight into the making
of the documentary.
“I grew up hearing these sto
ries of who these guys were, but
it wasn’t until much later in my
life that I really caught on to the
story,” Boring said. “It was the
people themselves that got me
interested in them.”
From the idea stage to its
completion, Boring said the doc
umentary took four years. He
admits, however, that the docu
mentary wouldn’t have flown
without the guidance and expe-.
rience of Frank Christopher,
who has been producing docu
mentaries for the Public Broad
casting Service (PBS) for more
than 1 0 years.
“1 have had an incredible oral
history,” Boring said, “but I
wouldn’t have a film.”
Frank Christopher wrote the
script and produced the story of
the Flying Tigers. An Academy
Award-nominated filmmaker
and three-time Emmy winner,
Christopher explained that he
felt challenged to set apart this
version from other Flying Tiger
documentaries.
“They kind of rehash the
same story with the same peo
ple, and we took that as a chal
lenge to go beyond that,”
Christopher said. “We inter
viewed the nurse, the doctor, the
clerks, the mechanics. . . . We
wanted ro broaden ir to the en
tire outfit, not just the aces.”
Christopher said information
and interviews from Chinese
sources enhanced the documen
tary, produced for United States
public television and worldwide
distribution.
“We were fortunate to have
the cooperation of the Chinese
because we’re able to bring back
facets of the story which really
aren’t told,” Christopher said.
He attributed the documen
tary’s success in part to Boring’s
rapport with the pilots. He said
the film — “driven by inter
views” — requires such a bond.
The first Flying Tiger pilot to
draw the trademark shark teeth
on the plane, Bond said the spir
it behind the squadron is “some
times even more important than
ammunition.”
“Shark teeth on the P-40
means an awful lot to the young
kids of this country,” Bond said.
“They know what the Flying
Tigers were.”
“Fei Hu, The Story of the Fly
ing Tigers,” will be shown
tonight at 7:30 in Rudder Audi
torium. Admission is $ 1.
Photo Gourtesv of (Jen. Ghurles Bond
(Above)
Gen. Charles Bond's No. 5 P-
40 plane was destroyed in
April 1942 when the Japanese
% raided Loiwing, China.
flight)
Gen. Charles Bond is pictured' ‘
here in his official U.S. Army
Air Corps picture taken in
April 1938.
Photo Courtesy of Gen. Charles Bond
Frank Boring (left),
and co-producer
Frank Christopher
(right), stand with
Gen. Charles
Bond, Class of '49.
All three men will
be speaking at
tonight's Texas
premiere of "Fei
Hu, The Story of
the Flying Tigers."
Kvle Bumett/T/ie Battalion
Late Night with the Class of ‘97
Students gather every weekend to clean area around Northgate churches
By Traci Travis
The Battalion
kvle Burnett/TTie Battalion
Jesse Czelusta (front left), Shannon Habgood (front
right) and other members of the Class of '97 meet
every Sunday morning at 1:30 to clean the area
around the churches on Northgate.
Ahhh Northgate. To some collegians, it is the ulti
mate late-night partying scene — a veritable beer-
guzzling paradise.
But after the bars close and the patrons stumble
home in a drunken stupor, the streets lie empty ex
cept for a few discarded beer bottles. . . and, oh yeah,
10 trash-collecting freshmen.
Members of the Class of ‘97 dedicate themselves
to cleaning up Northgate every Sunday morning at
exactly 1:30. It is a class project they like to call the
“Bottoms-Up Clean-Up.”
Shannon Habgood, service chair for the Class of
‘97, said the idea came from a representative from
the service organization Habitat for Humanity.
“We wanted to do something different to help out
the community,” Habgood said. “And this is defi
nitely different.”
Barton Bailey, secretary for A&M United Methodist
Church at Northgate, said Habgood contacted him at
the beginning of the semester to ask if the Class of
‘97 could help the church.
Bailey said he told Habgood he really needed help
cleaning up trash around the church on weekends
before Sunday worship services. But he said he never
thought they would be willing to sacrifice their late-
night fun to pick up other students’ trash.
“I was really surprised when Shannon agreed to
my suggestion,” Bailey said. “They’ve been a great
help to me. If it wasn’t them out there cleaning up,
it would have been me.”
The clean-up crew, ranging from eight to 10 peo
ple, fills approximately three to four garbage bags
each week they clean, Habgood said.
“Together, we can clean around five buildings and
four parking lots in only 20 minutes,” she said.
Despite the late hours, odoriferous atmosphere,
and odd looks from passersby, the group still finds
ways of making the most out of the situation.
“Sometimes we make up a point system for the
trash,” Habgood said. “For example, you get five
points if you pick up a beer can.”
Jesse Czelusta, a freshman animal science major
and organizer of the project, said the clean-up is
good bull for the Class of ‘97.
Since the fall, the Class of ‘97 has participated in
numerous service projects, but the Bottoms-Up
Clean-Up is the only project the class claims as its
own.
“We’d like to see the clean-up turn into a many
class thing,” she said. “Anyone is welcome to come
and participate.”
Czelusta said as far as support goes, there are plen
ty of freshmen’willing to help.
See Glass of ‘97/Page 6