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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1995)
Tuesday • March 7, 1995 The Battalion • Page 9 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 EDITORIAL Home Improvement Texas A&M should focus on enhancing its current programs, not implementing others. Before approving proposals to en dorse the expansion of fine arts and humanities curricula, the University Faculty and Student Senates should consider the current state of estab lished A&M programs. Though Texas A&M would benefit from more diverse educational oppor tunities, the idea of creating new fields for formal study is not realistic and should not receive top priority at present time. It is a great idea that the Univer sity wants to incorporate a humani ties and fine arts major into the in stitution. Many talented and creative stu dents pass up the opportunity to come to A&M because of its lack in humanities. But, at the current time, such a program is simply not feasible. One reason the idea is not plausi ble is because of the potential cut backs of the state budget. Predicted cuts in the state budget can make University attempts to extend re sources impossible. Also, Texas A&M does not have the infrastructure necessary to ade quately implement or expand the program. Texas A&M already offers a diverse choice of educational opportunities from* which students can choose from. How ever, these areas of study need improve ment, and it is here that funding should be concentrated. The development and expansion of humanities and fine arts programs would be welcomed in the future, but at the present time, attention should be focused elsewhere. The Faculty and Student Senates should not reject this idea, but for now, put it away for safe-keeping. i n——um mniiri mwm't vMft ro TM iW ££4VlCKOS Ao'<tL\\U C\ dycne Integrity — a special kind of happiness We need to evaluate ourselves in terms of own desires, ambitions Kyle Littlefield Columnist Mhf&oues £>[<?15TU£ RECCW wav Y ou have a plush office job. You have worked for the same company for more than 20 years. You have a spouse and three chil dren, one of whom you are putting through college. You feel secure in life — until you are told that your company will not be needing you anymore. They are “streamlining,” and unfortunately it is at your expense. But wait, they aren’t going to leave you out in the cold. They are offering you some nice parting gifts, like a benefits package that might get you a few free trips to the dentist. Now relax, you are back in your desk reading the paper be fore your class begins. Your future is still ahead of you. You are still in your cozy, college world. But one day, perhaps soon, you will be entering the job market — interviewing, waiting for the callback. Stop. So often in college, this seems like the only option. What are we always told? It’s our marketability that lands the job. Some of us even choose what classes we take and what organizations we join by how they will look on a resume. These days, more college graduates are getting jobs that aren’t related to their majors. Many get jobs simply because they have a degree. Employers look for signs of commitment from their employees, and this is what a degree translates into in the business world. Some of us may be wasting our time and money. Let’s face it, not everyone is cut out for college. While I don’t think it is wise to downplay the importance of a college education, most people see it only as a step before getting a job. I know many brilliant people who make poor grades in col lege, and many who have never enrolled in a single college class. Why do we overlook the possibility of doing something on our own? For some reason, college — a place for free-thought and self-improvement — often stifles the view that individu als can go out and do something for themselves. Sometimes we take for granted all of the previous initia tive put forth by founders of large conglomerate businesses. Some businesses have existed for so long it seems like they have always been here. But, we know this is not the case. Take, for example. Time magazine — it had to begin . * ^ somewhere. Time magazine started as an idea in the head of Henry Luce in 1922. The idea, combined with some drive and a little luck, has blossomed into a multi-million dollar conglomerate. It sounds cliched but if he can do it, why can’t we? D.I.Y. that means do it yourself, don’t sit around waiting for someone’s help/ don’t sit hack and say good enough/ keep on striving, reinventing hut keeping it off the cuff —Michael Diamond “Do it yourself.” Be an entrepreneur, the CEO of your own company. For the longest time, I couldn’t even spell the word “entre preneur,” and I thought that students majored in business because they really wanted to go to A&M and stillhave time to party. I guess I was wrong. It’s probably too late for a lot of us to change our majors to business, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing some thing on our own. Take a chance. If you have an idea that you feel merits some developing, don’t hesitate. The pain you experience by ignoring the idea may surpass the pain if the idea doesn’t work out. Leave no stone unturned. Explore every possibility; don’t live life regretting an uncultivated idea. Everyone has an equal chance to succeed financially in this world, and it is at least worth it to recognize this, even if we do nothing else with the revelation. But it isn’t just finan cial happiness you may gain. You may get the satisfaction of creating something for yourself. I don’t want to sound like Tony Robbins, or any of those other motivational speakers, but it is the truth. Ever heard the saying, “Men and women were created creative?” Sometimes we need to evaluate ourselves in terms of our own desires and ambitions, and not in terms of the agendas of others. * > While this may not always result in financial success, it can result in a special kind of happiness that society some times ignores — the happiness attained by adhering to our personal integrity and the happiness that the results of our creativity can provide. T’; Kyle Littlefield is a senior journalism major./ States should raise speed limit from 55 to 70 T here I was, cruising down High way 77 on my way to Corpus Christi. It was pretty late, after dark — the time when most of the Texas Highway Patrol have gone home or at least have quit patrolling the stretch of road between here and Corpus. I was wide awake and relaxed, and I had the ra dio blaring to the tunes of Sammy Hagar. “I can’t drive ... 55,” was echoing through the car. I was in a driving groove. Speeding along at 72 miles per hour on a long, car-less stretch of road, I sure as heck couldn’t drive 55. I wasn’t in a hurry to get home, so I wasn’t speeding just to get away with it and spite the law. I was exceeding the speed limit because I knew that I was safe enough and that I was capable of driving that fast. Sure, I risked the chance of getting a ticket. But like many others, I took that chance because I was fully competent in my ability to drive a few miles per hour over the speed limit. I’m a firm supporter of raising the speed limit on all state and interstate highways back to 70 miles per hour. I know that the government says that driving 55 saves fuel and lives, but the government tells us a lot of things that aren’t quite true. Maybe this was the case back in 1974 when the federal government forced states to lower their speed limits from 70 to 55, or face cuts in federal highway funds. However, cars and roads today are much safer than they were 20 years ago. I do realize that one of the main rea sons the speed limits are so low is be cause there are too many idiot drivers on the road today. I would be willing to bet that most mo tor vehicle accidents are caused by people who have absolutely no business driving a shopping cart, much less a car. However, this should not be an argu ment against raising the speed limit back to 70 miles per hour. Let us instead strengthen the tests and raise the requirements for getting a drivers license. We could then reinstate the 70 mile per hour speed limit — allowing those of us who are qualified enough to drive 70. ^ For those of you who are thoroughly convinced I’m nuts, just wait. Legislation was recently introduced in Wash ington by Rep. Larry Combest, of Midland, to re peal the federally-mandated speed limit and to al low states to decide how high to set their highway speed limits. Combest argues that cars and roadways are much safer than before. He claims that they are built to safely travel above 55 miles per hour. In a related piece of legislation. State Represen tative Tom Craddick has filed a bill to prevent in surance companies from finding out about speeding tickets of up to 70 miles per hour. He contends that Texans should not have to pay twice for a speeding ticket. Craddick’s bill would still mean viola tors would face a fine for exceeding the speed limit, but insurance companies would not be allowed to increase insur ance rates because of that ticket. It is this increase in insurance rates cou pled with the speeding ticket that Craddick argues is causing drivers to pay double. Both Combest’s and Craddick’s bills would be good steps toward raising the speed limit back to 70, as well as allowing the states to get the federal gov ernment off their backs. You might argue that if we reinstate the 70 mile per hour speed limit, drivers would only be tempted to drive faster — up to 85 or 90. However, I don’t think this would be the case. Most drivers realize that 70 to 75 miles per hour is as safe and comfortable as they ought to drive. But maybe in another 20 years or so, with ad- i vancements in cars and roads, we will be able to drive 90 miles per hour safely. As it stands, we -1 are behind the times with our 55-mile-per-hour ; - * speed limit. ; / As-1 was driving, I was struck with a great • I * idea. Somehow, somebody should convince old ; - Sure, I risked the chance of getting a > ticket. I took that chance because I was competent to drive a few miles ci per hour over the speed limit. Sammy Hagar to run for president. He wouldn’t need a platform — he could win, ; I - hands down, with the single issue of raising the -1 - national speed limit. - - I can see it now: campaign signs, posters, slo gans ... “Vote Hagar President: He can’t drive 55, and neither should you!” Zach Hall is a sophomore mechanical engineering major ^SpeecT^ Limit V . J mail CALL Gramm supporters paid too much money for too little I understand that Phil Gramm raised $4 million at his Dallas Health Insurance Lobby, er... excuse me, fund raiser. With apologies to Winston Churchill, all I can say is: Never in the course of hu man history, have so few paid so much for so little. Freddie A. Medina Class of ’95 Those who claim to be open- minded should think again Many people have been recently accused of be ing “close-minded.” This label must come from people who are “open-minded.” It seems these “open-minded” individuals want to be heard at every event; and if they are not, they claim abuse. By my definition, a “close-minded” person is one who will not listen to an opposing view. However, it seems to me that an open-minded individual who denounces everyone else is the most close-minded of all. For instance, when Sen. Phil Gramm was trying to speak last month, there were people shouting at him and displaying anti-Gramm signs. These “open-minded” people didn’t want to lis ten to him speak. This also happened at the Walter Williams lec ture. A gentleman stood up during the question and answer period to make a statement. Wbile this would have been normal in an open forum, it was not acceptable in this case. The people were there to listen to Williams — not an open forum. If these people want to spread their message — which they are perfectly within their rights to do — they should have their own lectures, write an article or hold a press conference. I imagine their audience would be upset if someone tried to take over their lecture. We “close-minded” people don’t mind listening to the other side of the story, we just want to be able to choose when. Jeremy Thompson Class of ’9 7 Hostility, insensitivity of A&M 7; students explain Aggie jokes The longer I am exposed to “Aggie” culture, or the absence thereof — the constant hostility and insensitivity to certain students, mean spirited ness at games and overall pettiness — the more I understand the continued existence of Aggie jokes. Andrew Andrews 1 _ Graduate student ; 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 for ' length, style, clarity and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 01 3 Reed McDonald. A valid student I.D. is required. Letters may also be | mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call Fax: (409) 845-2647 _ _ • 013 Reed McDonald E-mail: Batt@tamvm1.tamu.edu Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 . j* '