Tuesday* February 28, 1995
O pinion
The Battalion • Page 11
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The Battalion
Established in 1893
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. Contact the opinion editor
for information on submitting guest columns.
Mark Smith
Editor in chief
Jay Robbins
Senior Managing
editor
Heather Winch
Managing editor
for Business
Sterling Hayman
Opinion editor
Erin Hill
Asst, opinion editor
A needed Voice
The state legislature should pass a bill that
would allow for a student regent.
For the 22nd time, the Texas senate
will consider passing legislation this
year that would allow a student regent
on the governing board of the Texas
A&M University System. The legisla
tion, if passed, would provide much-
needed student rep
resentation.
Texas is one of
only seven states
that has not passed
legislation giving
students representa
tion on public uni
versity governing
boards.
The Texas legisla
tors may be tired of
hearing about the is
sue, but it is one that
will not easily go away, as can be seen
by the problem’s continued existence.
The Texas legislature and the
Texas A&M Board of Regents need not
lose sight of the students, the reason
for the existence of the the Texas A&M
University System. The students
should be the most important issue,
and who can better represent that
voice than a student.
State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, who filed
the legislation says, “A student liaison
to a board of regents would give univer
sity students the opportunity to be
heard where it counts — in the policy
making councils of their universities.”
While the student liaison would
not be allowed to vote before the
board or be included in executive ses
sions unless invited
by the chairman, he
or she would be able
to voice student opin
ions, make recom
mendations and par
ticipate in regular
board meetings.
Even though the
student liaiso n would
not be able to vote,
this legislation is a
step in the right direc
tion.
Once the board members witness
the benefits of a student liaison, they
might grant that student the right to
vote before the board.
Far too often, university officials
are unaware of the wants and needs
of the students they represent.
A student regent would help to
represent the A&M student popula
tion much more effectively and would
give students an official voice.
The Texas senate should finally
pass the legislation this session.
A&M traditions shouldn’t divide
New breed of Aggies often labeled by many as "two-percenters"
R ecently I was told I
was a two-percenter.
It was news to me.
I consider myself an
“Aggie.” Tpaid my tuition
fees, didn’t I?
It would seem like at
tending the University is
grounds for calling my
self an “Aggie.”
But to others this just isn’t enough.
True, I have never been inside The
Chicken, I don’t own a pair of Red Wings
and my whoop is a bit rusty.
OK, I admit it, some of those things
are a bit stereotypical, but I think
many students at A&M would agree:
the concept of being an “Aggie” in
cludes certain attributes.
It became clear to me that my “Aggie”
experience, although exciting, education
al and rewarding, does not resemble the
one depicted on the multimedia kiosk in
Rudder Tower. '
You may wonder why I am indiffer
ent to many of the Aggie traditions.
And, that is what it is — indifference —
not lack of respect.
There are many reasons.
Why should I feel like A&M is one
happy bundle of traditions? I look up
from that delusion and see that “A&M” is
actually a big business, with such assets
as the athletic department, the students
and the professors.
A&M makes so much money on the
merchandising of its name and trade
marks — in a way, exploiting the tradi
tions to make a buck.
Many think that A&M seems like a
small town — a community. I call this se
lective perception.
It is finally becoming clear to many stu
dents that the population
of the University is posi
tively related to the
amount of crime that
exists.
Ask anyone who has
had a car broken into or
a bike stolen, and you
will see that they have
little faith in the Aggie Code of Honor.
Ask those who walk across campus at
night if they sometimes feel scared that
the person approaching them could be an
attacker.
Another reason for my indifference to
Aggie traditions is that most of them,
while not explicit, do exclude by race. Go
to any A&M football game, and you will
be surprised by the lack of minority rep
resentation. Professional events are not
this way; there seems to be a general mix
of races at these events.
There are growing numbers of minori
ties coming to A&M, yet just a trickle go
through the gates of Kyle Field. Of
course, this could be that other cultures
just aren’t familiar with the excitement
of an A&M football game.
But there is an odd racial tension in
the air here at A&M. It takes incidents
such as the anti-affirmative action fly
ers or wearing hats in the MSC to ig
nite the campus.
I can’t blame many minorities for feel
ing like they are provided for inadequate
ly on campus. When a popular organiza
tion on campus wears shirts that boast “a
southern tradition” imposed upon a Dixie
flag, it is understandable that many mi
norities feel unwanted.
There is something about A&M which
makes it impossible to forget about races
and worry about people.
The truth is that A&M is as much
about married student lodging as it is
about Schumacher Hall.
It is as much about the Engineer
ing 109 class as it is about the Philos
ophy of Art class. It is as much about
the Corps of Cadets as it is about the
Gay and Lesbian Student Services.
For some reason, some students feel
this is a threatening idea. “The traditions
are what makes A&M so special, “they
will say.
“If they don’t like it, they can go to
t.u.,” is one we all hear frequently.
But should traditions affect our minds-
turning us against our fellow students?
A label such as “two-percenter” is ex
actly what all of this is about. It implies
that a student, if not consumed by tradi
tion, is less an Aggie. I disagree.
I think the only criteria for calling
oneself an “Aggie” is living by the Aggie
Code — Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal.
An Aggie should not discriminate by
race, sex, sexual and political orientation
or religion.
In this context, the word Aggie
comes to mean a “good citizen.” Some
thing that in the long-run will be more
valuable than how high we can build
Bonfire, or how much beer we can hold
at “The Chicken.”
A new breed of Aggie attends Texas
A&M.
There are many students who come to
A&M not for the traditions but for the ed
ucation. If they happen to adopt the tra
ditions, that’s great, but if not, they
shouldn’t be ostracized from the rest of
the student body.
Kyle Littlefield is a senior
journalism major
Find time to stop procrastination
T he diagnosis was in. I
had tested positive for
the disease that afflicts
so many students on campus.
It has affected everyone at
least once in their life, but for
others such as myself, it is a
chronic problem that knows
no bounds.
Let me relate a few of the symptoms, and you can see if
you too have the disease.
Symptom one: It’s early Tuesday morning. You are sit
ting in a booth at the Kettle, preparing to inhale your 21st
glass of Dr. Pepper.
You guess that it is around 2:30 a.m., but time is not a
factor for you. All that matters is that it is the morning of
your test, and you’re still two chapters behind on the ma
terial being tested.
Symptom two: It’s Sunday afternoon, your standing in
the middle of the Albertsons’ parking lot and you estimate
that you are #239 in the line waiting to purchase Mr. Bill
tickets.
You haven’t been to your chemistry class in four weeks.
Heck, all you can remember is the 53 you made on your
last test. You are also debating whether or not you should
join the group of people who are worshiping the life-size
poster of Mr. Bill.
Symptom three: You stumble into class just as your
English teacher is picking up the 12-page research paper
that was due at the beginning of class. You look like
Frankenstein because you haven’t slept a wink in 48
hours, and you have consumed an entire can of Folger’s
coffee.
No one seems to mind your looks; after all, your class
looks like a gathering of characters from The Night of the
Living Dead.
If you can relate to one or more of these symptoms or sim
ilar ones, then you too are a chronic procrastinator.
Procrastination — or the act of putting things off until
later — is a curious behavior that affects us all.
It is a bad habit that seems to develop and worsen as
we grow older.
Ironically, it is a bad habit that often prevents us from
correcting other bad habits.
How many times have you said to yourself — “after this
beer, I’m going to give up drinking,” or “after I finish this
slice of cake and two scoops of ice cream, I’m going to go
on a diet and never eat another fattening thing again?”
My favorite — and biggest personal problem — is pro
crastinating my efforts to stop procrastinating.
“When my tests are over this next week, I will never
again wait until the last minute to study for my next five
tests.”
While procrastination in itself is not often a life or death
problem, it can very well lead to life or death situations.
Many people could have avoided a heart attack or cancer
if they had not put off getting checked or had not “waited
until tomorrow to start exercising and eating healthily.”
It is for these reasons that procrastination can be seen as
a disease almost as dangerous as alcoholism.
However, in most cases, procrastination only causes
grief, stress, headaches or tension between family, friends
and employers.
What is it that causes us to procrastinate?
Is it laziness, contempt or simply the lack of initiative or
motivation?
Why do we continue to put things off when we know that
we will eventually get caught in last minute situations.
As a college student, I often feel like I have more time
than I do to accomplish something.
Like telling myself that I don’t want to start studying for
All of those things you have put off for the
last two weeks suddenly have to be done
over the next two days. Is there a simple
solution to stop procrastinating?
a test two weeks ahead of time because, “I’ll have plenty of
time later.”
However, it is funny how everything you procrastinate
always seems to culminate at the same time; all of those
things you have put off for the last two weeks suddenly
have to be done over the next two days.
Is there a simple solution to stop procrastinating?
Probably not, but maybe the best advice for quitting is to
“just do it.”
Stop reading this column right now and start studying
for your test.
Seriously though, don’t wait until tomorrow to stop pro
crastinating. Do it now while you have the time.
In an irony that is only fitting, I have waited until the
day after deadline to write this column.
Hopefully after printing this column, my editor will be
lieve me when I sincerely tell him that, “as of tomorrow, I
will never again wait until the last minute to start writing
another column”.
Zach Hall is a sophomore mechanical
engineering major
Mail
College Republicans
should avoid hypocrisy
Friday, Feb. 24 was supposed to be a
day to remember, but instead it turned
into an event which heightened my dis
respect for the Aggie Republicans.
It was an event to be shared be
tween Senator Phil Gramm, to an
nounce his Presidential candidacy,
and the community — both students
and residents — to see and hear the
Senator give his address.
This peaceful assembly in front of
the Administration Building was dis
rupted when several members of the
“esteemed” Aggie Republicans fol
lowed around several people, censor
ing what they had written on some
posterboards.
These unfortunate individuals were
attempting to voice their opinion about
some views they believe Phil Gramm
stands for.
They were completely stripped of
that right by the College Republicans.
I urge the College Republicans to
think before they act and to please
practice what they preach; nobody likes
a hypocrite.
Jamie Treinen
Class of ’96
Events at A&M not
liberal or conservative
I am writing in response to Zane An
derson's letter to the editor Feb. 22. He
argues that Aggies don't attend
the"high-caliber events" that A&M pre
pares because these events are liberal.
I think that Zane is missing the-
point. The editorial also mentions-
small crowds at football games, basket-1
ball games and concerts.
I guess that the Lady Aggies Bas-Z
' ketball team is full of liberals, be-Z
cause they don't get big crowds to}
their games.
I guess that either our football play-;
ers or some of the players of the*
schools we play against are liberals,*
because Kyle Field is not always full*
to capacity.
Maybe the Kandinsky Piano Quar-;
tet, which came on Feb. 13, is com-Z
posed of liberal musicians, or maybe;
Mozart is too liberal, because the at-t
tendance was composed mainly of lo--
cal residents of the Brazos Valley and-
A&M students forced to go by their;
music class professors. s
Maybe there was not a big crowd at£
Oliver Stone's speech because he "has^
made... far-leftist anti-Americarr
films."
I don't see in what way his films areZ
far-leftist or anti-American, but every-Z
body is entitled to their opinion.
However, Aggies, the fact is that:
we do not support our sports teams-
and that we don't attend to many-
kinds of "mainstream" cultural anc£
artistic events. Z
As members of a "world class" unLZ
versity, we should be open-minded an<±
willing to seek new experienced, ideas,;
and points of view.
I don't understand how so many peo
ple in this campus can separate every-Z
thing into the two narrow categories of
liberal and conservative.
Julio Tord
Class of ’9&
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