Parking problems
not particularly bad
Students should find own remedies
A couple of weeks
ago, two
friends of mine
who go to school in
the Northeast paid
me a visit. I wanted
them to leave with a
positive impression
and to take the Spirit
of Aggieland back to Harvard with
them, so 1 made sure they took in the
significant landmarks requisite for a
visit here including Kyle Field, the
Chicken, etc.
They expressed appropriate awe at
the football stadium and consumed
their fill at the most storied of College
Station bars. I thought I had im
pressed them with these things, but
something unexpected impressed them
just as much — the amount of on-cam
pus parking.
“Wow, so you guys can drive to
class,” one of them said.
That statement put into perspective
the parking woes about which we con
stantly complain.
We complain that there is not
enough parking on campus. But at
least we have parking on campus.
Many schools have no parking at all
for off-campus students, and some do
not allow freshman to park, — even if
they live on campus.
We constantly clamor for the Uni
versity to “do something” about park
ing. We demand more parking spaces
and more garages.
' We must face up to the fact that
only so many spaces can be construct
ed. Every day, over 50,000 students,
faculty and staff converge on a couple
of square miles. Unless we want to cut
down every tree, pave Simpson Drill
field and demolish old buildings to
make way for parking garages, alter
native means of transportation must
be established.
We already have an effective means
of mass transit in the bus system.
There is probably not any point in Col
lege Station more than a five-minute
walk from a bus stop. Add that to a
five-to 10-minute wait, 15-minute bus
ride and a 15- minute walk from the
bus stop to class, and you have your
standard 40- to 45-minute commute.
Compare that to driving yourself.
You get from your apartment to school
in 10 minutes, wait anywhere from
five to 30 minutes for a parking space
— depending on what lot and the time
of day — and make a 10- to 20-minute
trek across campus. Depending on
your personal situation, it can take
anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour
to drive to class. Therefore, the loca
tion of your classes and the regularity
of the bus service at your
stop are the important
variables which deter
mine which method of
transportation is best for
you.
No matter whether you
drive or ride the bus, you
probably need to allow
yourself 30-45 minutes to
get to class. This is a fact that we sim
ply must deal with. We cannot reason
ably expect to park right next to the
building where we need to be five min
utes before class starts. But this is of
ten what we demand.
While the above estimates do not
apply to everybody, they are a good
general example of the typical Aggie
commute. The times compare with the
average commute of someone working
in a large metropolitan area.
Yet, we persist in condemning
parking on campus as no less evil
than death and taxes. We blame the
University for not providing a space
for every car and make villains of
PTTS officers for enforcing parking
regulations.
Parking is one of those situations
were the institutions that govern us
have done everything they can do. It is
time for us to quit complaining and
deal with the problem ourselves.
At this point, I modestly offer sever
al proposals for your consideration to
alleviate the parking shortage that
plagues our campus.
Ride the bus. Every concentrated
metropolitan area must turn to public
transportation when too many people
need to go to too small an area at the
same time. While parking garages al
low more cars per area, an unintended
consequence of too much parking is
tremendous traffic jams. While Uni
versity Drive does not compare to
Houston freeways during rush hour, it
will if even more parking is added to
campus.
Carpool. Get together with room
mates to drive to school. Hook-up with
class mates to give or receive a ride
home. If your ride falls through, the
bus is always available.
Get to school early. There are
still entire rows of spaces left near
Zachry until 7:50 a.m. Good parking is
available at Kyle Field until past 9:00.
Like the old saying goes — the early
bird gets the worm.
Yes, parking is a problem. But it’s a
problem everywhere else there are
people. By comparison, we still have it
pretty good.
Jim Pawlikowski is a junior
chemical engineering major
Our diverse generation doesn’t need labels
Y ou are known.Yes,
everything about you
has already been quali
fied, quantified, organized, or
dained, ordered, defined and
designated. So it’s good news
for all of us.
We no longer have to spend
all that useless time trying to
figure out who we are and
what we are going to do tomorrow — not that we would actu- (
ally exert ourselves.
What, you may ask, brought this happy day upon us?
Simple — we are Generation X.
Yep, no more fashion choices for us. Just give us a flannel
outfit, and watch us go.
Don’t worry about a job because there aren’t any. If you
doubt it, just watch the latest MTV special and then go rent
Reality Bites. That pretty much represents the extent of our
daylight activities anyway.
Of course, we only watch MTV after we get up around
noon. Our nights are spent in the mosh pits, throwing our
selves into oblivion.
Our music is simple, too. All the artists have to do is put in
tonz o’ distortion and scream into the microphone — or be
from Seattle — the great slacker/ Generation X Mecca.
Politically, we Eire all budding members of Greenpeace,
Amnesty International, The Psychic Friends, General Foods
International Coffee of the Month Club, N.O.W., the Kurt
Cobain Fan Club — he, of course, being our spokesman —
I-read-Spin-more-than-the-Bible Anonymous and the
TimqdLafe Beavis and ButtHead Compilation Association.
Don’t bother wasting your breath protesting any of this. It
won’t matter, because you are Generation X, and you don’t
believe in anything anyway.
How, you ask, did all this happen right under our very noses?
Brief history lesson, our parents’ generation could probably
be called “The Label Dudes” if it weren’t for the fact that they
have pretty much used up every other label on themselves.
Let’s see, they are the Me Generation, the hippies. Later
they were the yuppies. They were also the flower children,
not to mention the free-love generation. It only follows that
we have to have a label.
I’m not overly fond of labels as a source of identification for
anyone else, but when one is applied to me, I become even
more wary.
We are the most diverse group in history. For most of us,
we just couldn’t care less if our boss is a man or a woman or
what color his or her face appears. Sure, we aren’t perfect.
But try saying something like that about our parents’ genera
tion. This diversity is paradoxical, meaning that the only real
generalization that can be made about us is that no real gen
eralization can be made about us.
Our generation has many problems. Probably the biggest
problem is that many just don’t think anything they do can
make a difference. In a way, it makes perfect sense. Those ide
alists from the ’60s came to power and did the same types of
things they railed against for all those years. They just did it to
us while using cooler words and listening to cooler music.
The result — our age group has the lowest average voting
turnout in every election. This means that, instead of decid
ing what we want to do, things are decided for us and then
done to us. For example, that cool budget deficit that Con
gress has run for years will be paid off by our generation. Re
member how some Democrats in the Senate thought it neces
sary to vote down the proposed Balanced Budget Amend
ment? Gee, it sure is neat how the Senate played political
games with our future by mortgaging it.
Am I the only person who has noticed that every new show on
TV looks like Melrose Place? Or that every commercial looks like
MTV Sports? The advertising executives have us pegged. I can’t
really blame them for trying to sell to us — it’s a free market. I
just resent being categorized as just one of “them.”
Now comes the “so what are we supposed to do about it?” part.
Here’s a thought — vote. It takes about 10 seconds. As
soon as we are recognized as someone’s constituency, we can
stop taking it and start making it.
Here’s the “but I just don’t care about politics” part.
Like I said, the fact that so many of us don’t care makes
sense in light of what is going on. The problem is that it won’t
stop until we take the time to care. It really doesn’t take long
to find out what someone believes on an issue or how that is
sue relates to you.
Until we put a little thought into our votes — the few we
make — we will just keep on electing people because they put
on sunglasses and play the sax on TV.
Until then. I’ll see ya’ll in the mosh pit at the Dixie Chick
en this Friday.
David Taylor is a senior management major
m
i M AI I
call
Christians should live
as Christ did, not judge
In response to Elizabeth Preston’s
article about Christianity, I would like
to make mention about exactly what a
Christian is.
I feel a Christian is a person who
loves Christ and is grateful for the sac
rificed he made. Out of this love and
respect, true Christians strive to fol
low his example and teachings.
Christ taught us to love God and
love our neighbors unconditionally.
I consider myself to be a true
Christian and the best way I can
show Christ my love is quietly follow
ing his example by acceptive others,
helping the needy and living his com
mandments.
Even though I am not perfect, this
is how I can best show my gratitude.
Therefore, I don’t need to wear a t-
shirt, point my finger or try to make a
show for others about my belief in
Christ once a year.
While many involved with Resur
rection Week have the best of inten
tions, I hope that all Christians can
analyze their beliefs and live as
Christ would.
Tim Matis
Class of ’9 7
Many questions around
A&M need answering
Well it’s about 2:45 a.m. as I sit and
reflect on my five-year tenure at A&M,
and I’ve got tons of homework I should
be doing, but I think we all know how
that goes.
So I figure I’d make the procrasti
nation worth it just this once by writ
ing to Mail Call, which is something
H 'V/; '' ' /' H IM—I Igfljjg
I’ve wanted to do for quite some time
anyway.
I’ve spent much time waiting for off
campus shuttles, and while choking to
death on my fair share of bus exhaust
(many can sympathize with this tor
ture), I’ve wondered about things.
Here’s a small slice of the “wonder pie”
that I built up all these years:
1. ) Why is the most sacred grass at
A&M, the MSC lawn, usually the most
brown and lifeless.
You’d think if anyone could fertilize
a lawn, A&M could.
2. ) Does the use of toilets go under
the Student Use Fee or General Use
Fee?
Either way, I think someone owes
me several rolls of that one-ply 1000
yard, “easy tear” tissue on campus.
Kind of an unused compensation.
3. ) This should get me a statue
next to the 12th man.
I notice most people doing a balanc
ing / sardine act while standing on the
benches at Kyle Field during games.
If everyone would stand on the con
crete floor directly in front of their
seats (as they do for the Aggie War
Hymn anyway), then they could spend
more time standing and less time try
ing to.
I know we’re Aggies but come on!
4. ) Does anyone ever sign up for the
Urinary Tract or Yeast Infection studies
advertised in The Batt?
5. ) Do women really talk to each oth
er like they do in the Massengill com
mercials?
6. ) Will this letter actually end with
out complaint?
7. ) How many students are really
sick when they miss a test?
8. ) Am I the only one who has a stack
of those little green Bibles that they give
out on campus every semester?
9. ) Ever write a check for less than
$1.00?
10. ) Did anyone else think the pic
ture showing a guy artificially fertiliz
ing a cow in the (92? or 93?) Aggieland
was a bit much? Ouch!
11. ) Does anyone still own a Vanilla
Ice or Yoko Ono CD or cassette?
12. ) Remember when ten-zipper
parachute pants were cool?
13. ) Have you ever seen a baby
squirrel? Where do squirrels hang out
when it rains?
14. ) Phantasmagoric: no real rea
son. I just wanted to use my thesaurus
for once in 5 years and this was the
coolest word next to logorrhea which
sounds much like the feeling after a bad
Calculus test.
15. ) I recently went to a Chinese
food buffet that offered tater tots,
fried chicken and German chocolate
cake in the selection. Interestingly
funny, yet scary.
16. ) Will O.J. get the juice? Who
cares anymore. I say call in Judge Wap-
ner and he’ll have it wrapped up within
the half-hour.
17. ) Think of how you feel after
leaving the bookstores every semester
or paying TCA cable $60 to do that
tricky “installation.”
You feel like that cow mentioned in
#10. We must unite!
Demand change! Well, at least cool
er freebies from the bookstores and an
adult movie channel from TCA so that
people may have the option of trying
to view it through the wavy lines. You
know who you are.
So why did I spend so much time
writing this?
“What’s his point?” you ask.
To help my fellow Ags?
To have some feeling of accomplish
ment? To impress with my savvy,
thought-provoking philosophy?
Hmmm ... I hope so.
John A. Guzman
Class of ’94
Column on religion
has flaws in logic
In the course of her column on
Christianity and Resurrection Week,
Elizabeth FYeston says, “If you believe
Christianity is The Truth, that’s fine —
maybe it is.”
She closes, however, by stating that
“Christianity is only a shade” among
“many religious hues.”
This is analogous to saying, “If you
t
believe two plus two equals four, that’s
fine, but it could just as well be eight,
95 or 600.”
Finding the right answer to both of
these questions is important, and not
all possible answer are valid. Knowing
the answer to the math problem can
affect you academically, but knowing
what the true religion is could have
far greater consequences.
I challenge everyone not to be satis
fied with a “maybe it is, maybe it isn’t”
answer to the claims of Jesus, but to
investigate this question earnestly for
yourself.
John Murdock
Class of ’95
accompanied hy nine signatures
Christ claimed divinity,
not just moral teacher
In response to Elizabeth Preston’s
April 12 column, Jesus taught more than
simply to love thy neighbor and not judge
others.
In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father, but by me.”
Note that this is a direct quotation
of Jesus, not made up by man.
Here Jesus sums up his two most
important claims.
His first is that he is God in the
flesh. Jesus doesn’t claim to know
truth. He claims to be truth.
This claim only holds water if in
deed he is God, the ultimate source of
truth. This leaves three possibilities:
he was lying and knew it, thus, histo
ry’s greatest fraud.
He was lying and didn’t know it,
thus crazy; he was telling the truth,
making him God in the flesh.
Simply a good moral teacher is not
an option he left open to us, as C.S.
Lewis observes.
His second claim is that the only way
to get to heaven is through faith in Je
sus Christ. You may not believe that
claim, but that doesn’t make it any less
true, if indeed it is true.
That may be “exclusive” or “close-
minded.” So be it. I’d rather believe
rightly.
Ryan R. Winter
Class of ’95
accompanied hy 10 signatures
Marijuana usage not
equal to violent crime
I know that Greg Williams is a grad
uate student, which allows me to de
duce that in his lifetime he has written
many compare and contrast essays. I
feel for him the grades he must have
gotten on those papers.
How can he compare marijuana
users — more specifically, “drug deal
ers,” which, by the way, aren’t even
the topic of this debate — to rapists
and murderers?
Rape and murder require a level of
violence and disrespect for others
which I have never seen among people
who were stoned.
The fact is that drug use and abuse
is against the law.
The fact is that marijuana smoking
is the least of our problems, and it is
the least harmful of drugs — including
alcohol. By the way, it is also legal in
some countries.
If this country legalized it, would he
still be crying out?
So, he should get a grip and relay his
opinions to the drunken, obnoxious peo
ple at Hurricane Harry’s and leave the
lethargic, hungry and “I’m about to go to
bed” marijuana users alone.
Dawn Kaiser
Class of ’98
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