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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1994)
i 'riday, April 29,1 :es flood protest -owding J Press friday, April 29, 1994 E — Inmates unhapp; ed conditions cloggei drains, flooding tlit Jail, Sheriff Francts e-third of the fadlitj ded by the late-niglt on Tuesday, she saii. io injuries andnosij- age. double the amount of should have in id. About 90 in oused in the 6 ist two weeks, rates identified as It rs will be placed ive segregation, uy Judge hat he saw a list of ievances by inmates, lemand for more visr quicker trials and It :e inside the jail, vas banned at the jail hs ago under the di- e Texas Jail Standards mission, which has ounty a waiver albs- lation to reach 67 in- rare of the crowded and was notified of idem, the sheriff said re said to keep them er said jails are crowded the state, the c< le to farm out nates to other < i Most of those ate yell County Jail ia em are still looking the Julie Dalton cast iraging any one mation in the case to 1. to stalking laws io exas, stalking on le is a Class B misde- ,t happens on mort tsion, the charge be- ; A misdemeanor, is into assault, the idered a third-degree AL )EI 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 FRERKING, Sports editor TONI GARRARD CLAY, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Photo editor JENNIFER SMITH, City editor Wt (tt ft® MW Vtaw is Out mm EDITORIAL Excuses, excuses Margraves tries to blame media When Board of Regents Chair- nan Ross Margraves resigned -Vednesday, he was trying to lift the urden of scandal off the shoulders if the school he loves. We should ill appreciate such a sacrifice. Such tdedsion shows the amount of re- ipect and love Margraves has for he school from which he graduat- in 1963. However, blaming the nedia for his demise is a sad and oo-convenient excuse. Margraves’ name became at- ached to negative headlines last fall vhen an anonymous letter sent to Jov. Ann Richards accused Mar- iraves and other top Texas A&M ifficials of profiting illegally from lusiness deals made by the Univer- ity. Richards then gave the letter to le Texas Rangers, who have been nvestigating Margraves with the since then. The media did not leate these events. Margraves told the press last week, “I hope you members of the nedia will step back, take a breath, ind reexamine the issues.” To this we say Margraves should isten to his own advice. The media will continue to cov er any story where the chairman of the Board of Regents of a major ;av R1 state-funded school is being inves tigated. It does not require much reflection on behalf of the press to decide to take this course of action. But Margraves needs to ‘‘reexamine the issues” himself. Margraves did good things while he was the chairman of the Board of Regents, but he created the appearance of impro priety at the highest levels of the administration. We appreciate his resignation as a gesture to try and help cleanse the University’s image, but the problem was there before the media got in volved. The Texas Rangers, the FBI and the governor would all agree it was an anonymous tip, not the media, that prompted this investigation. Blaming his resignation on the media makes Margraves appear to be paranoid and looking for ex cuses. We appreciate the work he has done. All we want is a future for this school without further embarrassments. We should hope for a future without resignations, questionable deals or headlines covering both. We should also hope for a future without excuses. Opinion The Battalion Page 11 Discover one man’s sea of tranquility Friends, family, M any people view success as some thing equaling money and power. In our society, we are taught from childhood to “do our best” in everything, from sports to school to the ultimate career path we choose. Those who choose a career that doesn’t pay well are often scorned. Peo ple have lost sight of what is truly impor tant in life. I know a man named Herb who has spent his life interested in the kinds of things money can’t buy. He loves history, and often reads books on World War II or the Civil War late into the night. He has traced his family genealogy back hundreds of years, journeying to libraries all over the South, interviewing relatives across the country, and subscribing to vari ous historical magazines. He has even writ ten a book. In his spare time, Herb remod els his house and sometimes works with Habitat for Humanity. In addition to every thing else he does, Herb has a full-time job. Why, then, does he get social pressure to be more “successful?” Because some people don’t think he’s living up to his potential — doing his best. Webster defines success as “a favorable or satisfactory outcome or result.” That’s pretty ambiguous. Someone once said no man is unsuccess ful if he has friends. I like that definition. Why are we on this earth if not to make a difference in other peoples’ lives and make everyone’s existence more bearable? Anyone who has true friends would agree they are worth far more than any amount of money. Herb has many friends. He has made a difference in many people’s contentment key LYNN BOOMER Columnist lives. Perhaps more important than his friend ships is his deep commitment to his family. Herb has been married for 23 years and has two children. It is obvious to everyone who meets him that he cares about his family very much. From the time his daughters were babies, he took care never to make them feel like lesser people because they were not sons. He played with them, read to them, taught them how to play sports and how to drive a stick shift, and he was always patient, even when driving one of them all over town in search of some necessary part for a junior high project due the next day. He is a dedicated scholar, someone who I’d wager knows more about certain wars than many history professors. But he never feels compelled to enter the rat race and “use his brains” to make a lot of money. Why is this a problem? His family isn’t having to stretch every dollar to pay the bills. Why is it no one seems to think he’s using his brain now, doing what he loves — learning and teaching things to others through his writing and his stories? Would life be better if Herb were work- to success in life ing late nights at the office, maybe even weekends, with business deals and making money his top priority? I wonder what would happen to his family life and all the things that get taken for granted, like just having him there to share, listen, console — all of the things he does so well. If Herb were transformed into an aggres sive businessman, the kind, sensitive, dreamy part of his personality so loved by everyone who knows him would be sup pressed. The Herb we know and care about would be replaced by someone totally for eign, and probably not as nice. I often wonder if my family will see me as a failure if I don’t make a certain income. It puts a lot of stress in my life. I’m even start ing to think their way. As a child, I wanted to become an artist, but my mother always in sisted art would have to be a pastime and that I’d have to have a real job to support myself. In retrospect, I appreciate how she never let me think I would have to spend my life completely dependent on someone else, be it my parents as a child or my husband as an adult. But I have to wonder if her version of success is what’s right for me. Perhaps I’ll have the courage, as Herb does, to defy the society that says, iou may be a good person, but if you’re not earning your full potential income, you’re a failure. He keeps living and loving, no matter what they say. Herb is a man I love and re spect immensely. He is also my father. Lynn Booher is a sophomore English and psychology 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: Mail Call Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Fax: {409} 845-2647 Lite, e 2-Oz. Cans "arieties >si or Pepsi ?5 Deli Fresh moked In-Store Slab of BBQ Ribs B 80 in-Dixie stores. Dixie Texas, Inc. Gainer Hall gets no respect As most of you are aware by now, Gainer Hall has been returned to the Corps of Cadets for the 1994-95 school year. What most of Texas A&M students do not bow, though, is the manner in which the situation was handled. Residents of Gainer Hall are in NO WAY anti-Corps. We feel that it is a vital part of Texas A&M. Our anger does not lie here with the Corps of Cadets, but instead with the bureaucracy and the politics that played in making this very last-minute decision. Up until Wednesday, the residents of Gainer Hall were led to believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that Gainer would be a female residence hall next year. From the beginning of fall semester members of the A&M hierarchy and the Trigon, told us that it was go ing to be EXTREMELY optimistic to even think that there was a possibility that Gainer would be returned to the Corps of Cadets this year. Even when residents filled out their housing contract renewals they were given no warning as to the impending situation; there fore, residents were unable to make other living arrangements, either on or off campus. So the decision on Wednesday to move the residents of Gainer to FCiest for next year came as a shock, especially since no one on staff hall council, or the residents were contacted so they could present their views. Common courtesy and understanding should have dictated that we at least be notified before the school year came to a close. We are thankful the hierarchy is trying to preserve the Gainer community by moving it into Kiest. What they failed to consider though are safety issues (since males are occupying the first floor it will be very diffi cult to determine which males really belong in Kiest). They just established the first co-ed, non-reg, Corps corridor (which will have different policies governing first floor from second, third, and fourth), and the fact that many Gainer residents or their parents will have a problem with this new living arrangement and, there fore, residents that would like to continue to be part of the community can no longer do so. It was as if the hi erarchy didn’t consider Gainer’s opinion at all before they acted. It has not ended here though - the possibil ity remains that after a July 20 review, Gainer may yet again be reverted back to a female residence hall, and the Corps will take Kiest. We at Gainer are glad to be treated as numbers, not Aggies. Our main goal is not necessarily to keep Gainer, the building, because it is instead the spirit, the motivation, and the friendships formed be tween the residents here that really matters. Our goal is to make known the manner in which the situation was handled. We blame not the Corps, but the bu reaucracy for its lack of foresight and common courtesy. How would you feel if your outfit was disbanded and you were split up from some of your bud dies, or if they decided just now to take your residence hall and split up the com munity you worked so hard to establish? To top it all off, Wednesday night, approximately two hours after the decision to take back Gainer, Gainer Hall Council attended the RHA banquet. Gainer re ceived seven honors in all, more than any other hall, and the ultimate irony is that Gainer was named the 1993-94 Residence Hall of the Year, which means Gainer had the very best living environment offered at Texas A&M. We guess that wasn’t good enough. Lisa Chaszar Gainer Hall President, Class of ‘96 Kimberly Hicks Gainer Hal] Secretary, Class of ‘97 Accompanied by 40 signatures Enforce current laws first It is already a felony to carry any kind of gun on any school grounds. If students willingly violate the law, what makes anyone think they won t violate the 1,000 foot gun-free zone law? Many schools have residential housing within 1,000 feet of them. Is it right to pre vent these homeowners from owning a sporting or home-defense firearm just to enact a basically redun dant law? To deter future violations, start prosecuting offend ers of the existing law both as adults and to the fullest extent of the law instead of letting them off with a slap on the wrist. Maybe then they won’t see our criminal justice system as the joke it currently is. In most cases laws already exist for a given offense. Passing more laws will not solve a thing. Enforcing existing laws will. David R. Webb Class of ‘93 Up to hair with feminism I am writing this letter in response to Erin Hill’s col umn entided, ‘Is that your hair or is there a ferret on your head?” It seems Hill only takes time off her femi nist soap box to educate the reader on the history of her hair. When she is not discussing important topics like hair coloring and headband fashion, she is deliver ing fire and brimstone sermons on the horrible plight of women everywhere. Normally, I try to find the strength to overlook these columns, but I knew this one was too good to pass up. Now I realize these are opinion columns which are supposed to be entertaining, but certainly there must be guidelines in the journalist handbook on topic se lection. Hill should do her childhood reminiscing in her diary and save us the agony of reading another pointless article. Chris Cravey Class of ‘95 Donate to Food Roundup We all read and hear about people starving in far away places on a daily basis. So often, we simply think of how tragic this is and then go on about our daily business. Sadly, there are many people within our own community here in Bryan and College Station, that of ten wonder where their next meal is coming from. However, during these last weeks of school, Aggies will have the chance to help out these local residents by do nating food items to the Aggie Food Roundup. • Food items may be placed in any of the appropriate ly marked boxes located within the dorms or may be dropped off at the Ryder truck parked near Rudder Fountain. All items will be donated to the two local food banks located in Bryan and College Station. So, as you clean out your dorm or apartment, please remem ber those who are less fortunate and donate any extra food items you might have to the Aggie Food Roundup. To simply have pity on the hungry is not enough. It is only by giving that we are able to stop their hunger. Cody Rodgers Class of V 96 Criticism needs revision This is a letter to the couple who sat in my section on the evening of April 26. I like to call myself a wait- person, although in most cases I only bring my patrons drinks. The couple in my section ordered two waters, never once looking at me or acknowledging my pres ence. Sensing that these two particular customers were not exactly in the mood for any chit-chat, I didn’t bother them with any frivolous conversation about the weather or the temperature of the soup. Twice I re turned to refill their waters, and once I altered their ticket because they had decided on more food. As they prepared to depart, I told them to have a good evening, yet I received neither a reply nor an ac knowledgement. From their aloof demeanor, I was not expecting a tip, but I was not expecting what I found either. A napkin, scribbled with “No tip for you, fi tch,” was left prominendy displayed on top of potato residue. Anyone in the food service industry knows you cannot please all the people all the time. And while I am sure this couple had my best interest at heart, their constructive criticism of my wait techniques missed the mark. If you did not like some aspect of your meal and it was some fault of mine, then perhaps a more specific example of how I could improve would be better. Scribbling a nasty note on a napkin is a waste of time and such a vague reference to me is of little practical use. Perhaps you should review your approach to cri tiquing the service industry, employing both more elaboration and a more dignified use of the English language. By the way, why do you have the audacity to leave a nasty note, but omit the letter “i” from your profanity? I suppose you are too proper to write that five-letter word fully. Thanks, that means a lot that you held back on my account. Christie Tate Class of ‘95 Planning makes no sense The Department of Planning and Construction needs a student in charge. They’ve destroyed the Acad emic Building, and they are preparing to do the same on Southside. The windows did need to be replaced; they were old and in poor condition. The deterioration was in large part due to poor maintenance. Wonder who planned that one? According to the construction crew, the original contract called for replacement windows that would contain the smoked glass prevalent on campus, but would maintain the same appearance as the old win dows. These windows were not any more difficult to install. Wonder what genius canceled that idea? Apparently, they don’t intend to stop with the de struction of this piece of Aggieland history, either. They plan to put a building on the two lane street between Heldenfels and Peterson and put a faculty parking lost where the Pavihon parking is. That ought to decrease traffic. NOT! Students park on the outskirts of campus or ride the bus now. Is our esteemed faculty too good to ride the shuttle bus from a faculty parking garage on West Side? Or maybe they can ride the off-campus buses like the rest of us? Why can’t Planning and Construction think of these obvious solutions? Jim Hudson III Class of ‘93