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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1996)
[TALION )m page 7 arone said with I art could devel- i more complete typical adjust- anior college,” [e’s played much ively than we r ould and he’s at intensity, it more difficult at this level, but ent, production r offensive pro- v Hart made a alf in junior col- i first-team, all- aors his sopho- veraging 23.5 ts and 3.1 steals. 140 three-point- in A&M made as on. M’s reluctance to id the arc in the issue in deciding liege Station, ted me to shoot lay defense, so 'ear coming in," lere’s really no i either, because rson) and Kyle ot well, too.” i originally from ^.&M’s location ve into the Big ■ were also key jcision. come back close iy parents and I emic reputation rt said. “Also, I ion and nearly Big 12 is nation- we can compete teams, then we publicity and •elatively smooth ivision I basket- 8-inch Hart said t different, lysical, and they ire pressure by bodies on you,” ie guards I face at this level." Hart has helped season in more ed him around retty solid in dif- s,” Barone said, e point, but he’s at off-guard He develop further hots and how to m.” seasoning and a ous luck, the fu- a bright one for remember, he’s h am page 7 c it’s just me that omentum going 1 said. “It’s just as a point guard Tense and create ntage of scoring I’m just doing sed to do.” 2 of her tremen- s and agility to eammate causes A&M opponents, first step and e beat most de- ig Branch to slice score or dish the senior center An- Branch’s ability rive into the mid- ng. defense as the Aggies’ offense, dangerous when 2 lane,” Spinks ! the shot she can •meone comes up 2 can pass off to / easy shot.” Iranch has been langerous. She Aggies in scor its per game. In s pouring in 7,9 ie and has even tonishing 4.5 re- ie. ce the first game i season, leader- nch brings to the . Spinks says this ing the Lady Ag- Jssure situations, lo look for Lisa a or the big basket it,” Spinks said, on this team be rd she works and ikes care of her off the court.” eves that what above anything nse desire to win ipetitive spirit, rompetitor — it's ething I can ex- said. “I’ve just al- petitive in what- I hate losing " ission.” The Battalion Thursday January 18, 1996 Opinion Page 9 A&M’s obsession with UT Slashing the government hurts the country earns it a dubious honor P ride is a popu lar word around these parts, People come to A&M from across the nation to take part in this intense emotion called the Spirit of Aggieland. Phrases like “world- class university” are thrown around almost as frequently as Corey Pullig interceptions. And, in most cases (emphasis on the word most) A&M is deserving of such titles. The University has made enormous strides to become a quality institution of higher learning. But as much as the Aggie brass spurts off about A&M’s latest national ranking in academia or athletics, it seems our beloved University some how gets stuck with a big cowboy boot in its mouth. In the latest issue of Texas Monthly, A&M was the proud recipient of sever al “Bum Steer” awards, the magazine’s annual bite on Texas-size blunders. Among the Aggie honors were the stunning fall of the football team and the A&M administration’s handling of the College Republicans’ fund-raising letter controversy. And no criticism would be complete without mentioning the mother of all disgustingly obsessive school spirit — the Aggie Casket. Goofs such as these suggest A&M has a long way to go to be a “world- class university,” especially since it’s not even considered tops in the state. Hardly a derogatory mention of UT was to be found in the “Bum Steer” awards, but hey, it was an honor just to be nominated. How ironic that cat tle serves as the award’s theme, since a major cause of A&M’s penchant for penalties come from an inferiority complex to the Longhorns. Aggieland has a chip on its shoulder the size of Austin. It’s everywhere. Where this infection starts is uncer tain, but students soon learn of A&M’s obsession with the Longhorns. For example, Bonfire is supposed to show our “burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u.” For almost an entire se mester, Aggie men and women com pletely alter their lifestyles — not to mention their class schedules — to kill trees and fuel their obsession. All that for a football game. It’s just game. And it’s just a fire. Sure, it’s a big and pretty fire, but that isn’t exactly a recent discovery. Praise of Bonfire seems almost manda tory for defining an Aggie. “The Aggie War Hymn” is the best example of this mindless madness, as we all lift our voices for a song basically dedicated to the Longhorns. “Goodbye to texas university ...” We can’t even sing three words with out talking about it. It even gets to the ridiculous point of Aggie Band members not calling the tuba a tuba. Tuba, you see, starts with the letters “tu.” The fate of music and even civi lization as we know it would be endan gered by such carelessness. The next step must be to ban the words tuck, turbulent and tuxedo. Rivalries are fine, but this is a ridiculous obsession. A&M students should be proud. We deserve credit for making it here and being a’part of A&M, no matter how involved we are. But UT’s accomplishments shouldn’t overshadow our own. No, a “Bum Steer” award is not going to inflict irrevocable damage on A&M. But if the horn fits ... Rob Clark is a senior journalism major T exans gave a whoop in December when President Clinton signed an appropriations bill that removed the na tional 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. Consumer advocates and safety hounds op posed the lifting of the re striction. Predictably, their opposition drew a counter-opposition from the pro ponents of muscular modem conser vatism, who believe that any regula tion, action or display of authority by the federal government is just another scary example of how it’s running our lives and squashing our rights. Unfortunately for their argument, the federal government is doing neither of these things. By its nature, the na tional government can do a lot of things to help us improve our way of life. Peo ple who flaunt “I love my country but hate my government” bumper stickers rarely stop to think about just how much the government really benefits them — a sizable national government can be a virtue as well as a stigma. Contrary to what they say, lawmak ers who oppose regulation aren’t saving us from tyranny; they’re failing to do their jobs. In their grim pessimism, they’ve failed to realize that some gov : emment regulation can be a good thing — the* government has a re sponsibility to protect the people, and regula tion is one important way of doing that. Regulation ensures that people don’t drive ridiculously fast and en danger the lives of others; it ensures that food is properly inspected and properly sanitized; and it ensures that one company cannot monopolize and bully its entire industry. By this process of beneficent regulation, our government protects us from every thing from salmonella to a biased elec toral process. Purposeless deregulation for its own sake — such as House Ma jority Whip Tom DeLay’s efforts to lift the ban on chlorofluorocarbons — only threatens this thankless protection. attempting to cut the federal gov ern. lent’s size and power, some of De- Lay’s ilk have pointed to the writings of our glorified founding fathers to call for a return to the kind of decentralized government they supposedly intended. They point to the writings of Thomas Jefferson and espouse his philosophy — “That government which governs least governs best.” But even Jefferson real ized during his presidency that the na tional government has the power, au thority and scope to perform large-scale operations to help everyone. He real ized that, with moderation, the govern ment can accomplish very constructive things. The enlightened executive would never have assumed the implied authority to buy Louisiana if he had not discovered positive possibilities for a stronger national government than he had previously favored. There is merit, of course, to the argu ment that states and communities can better identify their problems and better control and guide themselves. But a na tional bureaucracy, in its unpropagan dized form, is simply a step-by-step process for initiating change. It can help prevent temperamental upheavals of lo cal governments, and can help smooth temporary flares in local public opinion incited by local problems. Stark regional ism, which is conservatives’ goal, is dan gerous to the balding homogeneity of tills increasingly separated, inflamed and overopinionated country. A healthy, well-funded federal gov ernment can go a long way toward ad vancing America together in one direc tion. This is a big country with big problems. It needs a big government. Shannon Halbrook is a sophomore English and journalism major Shannon Halbrook Columnist THAT ClGAKETfe KMcfcf Hov *\WY Fond farewells to Barbara Jordan, one of Texas' brightest stars O ne of Texas’ brightest stars faded away yester day. After a long bout with multiple sclerosis and leukemia, Barbara Jordan passed away. And although her physical pres ence will be missed for genera tions to come, her legacy will live on indefinitely. I clearly remember seeing an interview with Jordan on television when I was younger. I was completely uninterested at the time and begged my father to change the channel. To my dismay, he pretended to ignore me and calmly said, “Sterling, you need to watch this. Barbara Jordan is like no one else.” As usual, I discovered he was right. The way she spoke, the words she used, the precision in which her sentences were structured -1 was captivated. The woman on the screen possessed style, class, grace, eloquence. She was, as my father had claimed, “like no one else.” Like many black families in the ’30s, the Jor dans were unable to boast of a large house or monetary fortunes. But what they lacked in physical possessions was more than made up for with hope and dreams. Racism was strong. Oppression was far-reaching. But Jordan was taught at an early age that all peo ple, regardless of color or gender, were equal and should be treated as such. And although she rarely was given such equal treatment, she kept that philosophy throughout her life. She attended Texas Southern University and became the first black woman ever to hold a posi tion on the university’s debate team. As the na tionally recognized team traveled around the country, it was refused service in many restau rants and could not lodge at many of the hotels, all because of Jordan’s presence. She finished college and entered Boston Uni versity Law School as only the second black woman to ever gain admission to the program. With law degree in hand, Jordan decided to enter the political arena. She started out licking stamps, mailing pam phlets and walking around precincts, educating vot ers on the Kennedy-Johnson platform. As a result of her efforts, there was an 80 percent turnout in Hous ton’s 40 predominately black districts— a record for the time. After two unsuccessful runs, Johnson was elected to serve in the Texas Legislature in 1966. Despite this accomplishment, many still viewed her as a joke. In fact, one Texas senator continually referred to her on the floor of the Senate as “that nigger bitch.” And a few others called her “the nigger mammy washerwoman.” In 1972, Jordan ran for the U.S. House of Rep resentatives,. and because of the service and ded ication she gave during her six years in the Texas Legislature, she easily won the election. Jordan’s most notable appearance was in 1974, when, before a national audience, she called for the U. S. House to invoke all five im peachment articles against Richard Nixon be cause of his involvement in the Watergate Scan dal. The nation stood at attention and eagerly listened as Jordan eloquently and gracefully ana lyzed the American presidency and the Constitu tion piece by piece. At last, the world took notice. During her service to our country she also ex tended the Voting Rights Act to include Spanish- heritage, American Indians, Alaskan Natives and Asian American language minorities. She fought grandfather clauses. She worked to ensure that Civil Rights legislation was passed and enforced. She worked with the Texas Commission for the Blind. She worked to fight sickle cell anemia. Barbara Jordan worked to make this country better for all of its peoples. For the past few years, she has taught at the LBJ School of Government in Austin, where she has been able to teach others her ways and wisdom. Barbara Jordan paved the way for millions of minorities and disadvantaged citizens. She was a role model who proved that physical, financial and societal obstacles could not stand in the way of a dream. She taught us all the definition of “greatness.” She was like no one else ... Barbara Jordan was a star. And yesterday, that star faded away. Thank you, Barbara Jordan, for giving us so much light. Sterling Hayman is a senior political science major Long-term budget plan would be short-sighted N ow that President Clin ton has delivered his promised counter-plan to balance the budget in seven years, the reluctance of Re publicans to compromise shows what some have known all along — the budget stand off continues because of ideo logical issues, not economic ones. This should come as no surprise, because although a balanced budget is certainly desir able, a seven-year timetable is neither accu rate nor enforceable. Consider first that the task of providing a seven-year balancing plan requires an impos sibly precise knowledge of the years ahead. No reasonable person would believe that collaborating meteorologists in all 50 states could accurately predict the nation's weather patterns for the next year. Are we supposed to believe that all the politicians (who generally don't collaborate) can accurately predict economic conditions for the next seven years? I'd place better odds on the Willard Scotts of America. Last week, Wall Street watchers found that Newt Gingrich's bleak forecast for compromise could make the Dow Jones industrial average take a dip. A massive economy that can be affected by the words of one person is a study in chaos. From changes in immigration policy to advances in the techni cal world, there Eire myriad fac tors that change the way the na tion taxes and spends. The projections of the Con gressional Budget Office can not correctly account for all of these stim uli. Thus, a seven-year plan based on these projections cannot be economically mean ingful. And then there is the problem of adher ence. Politicians probably won't be able to stick to the plan, and the electorate can't en force compliance. The yearly expenditures during Clinton's second term would almost certainly deviate from the plan. These changes in course, whether essential or whimsical, will be de cried as broken promises. The Republicans will be posturing for the election of 2000. If Clinton loses this fall, must the new pres ident's budgetary suggestions be guided by a Newt-Clinton map? Probably not. But a Re publican president could be confined also, es pecially if House Republicans have great au thorship of the budget scheme. The president would not want to circumvent the plan writ ten by his party. How curious that Sen. Robert Dole, the Re publican front-runner, seems to be the only Re publican working for discussion and compro mise. Perhaps he understands how dangerous this budget map will be to the election winner. There certainly are ideological issues to be addressed. And thank goodness for Republi cans who wage an honest war against govern ment inefficiency and bureaucracy. But the standoff that some Republicans are helping to perpetuate is more like a terrorist situation, where the federal workforce is held hostage. A seven-year plan doesn't equal seven bal anced budgets. Since it doesn’t, Republicans should continue the fight for a balanced bud get amendment. When politicians prognosticate they are neither objective nor visionary. Essential gov ernment workers need to be secure'in their jobs; the frustrating truth is that the trim ming of the bureaucracy must occur, but grad ually. For all these reasons, Washington must dissolve its fixation with a seven-year scheme. Heaven knows its inhabitants have bigger and better schemes in mind. Jeremy Valdez is a senior chemical engineering major Coach appreciates spirited fan support I want to personally thank all those students and faculty members who attended our t.u. game. Our players were genuinely excited when they came into the locker room after warming up. You cannot imagine the feeling a player has when he sees that kind of support. I know that we lost the game but you as fans were truly winners. I hope that you will contin ue to give us your support. We constantly talk about sup- Mail porting our teams and you certainly did. Tony Barone Men’s Basketball Head Coach The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space al lows. 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, and accuracy. Letters may be submittea in person at 013 Reed McDon ald. A valid student ID is required. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: BattOtamvml .tamu.edu
