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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1996)
TALION ian- 1-Stai The Battalion Tuesday February 6, 1 996 Opinion Page 9 u're a basket^ t, everybody lij >ut Dermis Rat 'ic, outrageoiii rules,” forwais 'hicago Bulls, he is stirring'; fter finding o; ke the NBA A1 ‘rve last week, gue coaches e er David Step, would ruintkt I because ofh ild behavior, oadly snubbei t reason. * game is sup the best playn then there is man should®; s a reserve. > he lead till rebounds per ic has lead tin ut he has alsi bulls' success, e a 41-4 reed tunity to be the pue history to ark. >dman is often ;s the attention ig games, does annot back up ittle action, y be the first io •eat player, but punish himky All-Star tear ncerned, Ro: rtainment into ball. In fact,l ing what coloi ic next game, is colorful per care NBA offi then I think working for a ort like golf, action-packed, truly gr«( ( efore, during 1 e new basket- ling quiet and ■ather players cting the way ot how every- it he actually hen he plays'! icerned, Rod- , on the team ck Ewing and reat seasons, al injustice to dm out, at 1 am proud ed the news, his fans are the matter. 10 doesn't fol- ake sure they in said, commissioner le like a man eague doesn't i, better luck leads II of ass 11 coach i was is year. -lass. (AP)- avid Thomp- ierce scoring nday. They her — to the me. ctees were eles Lakers i, Olympic ^ieberman- ring George be Kresimir ersial Jerry ns the best among col- sed over, oetition be- Thompson on April 9, sping at the e with one n scored 73 ;o take the iurs later, , !an Antonio, lason. Reagan has always given of himself David Johnston Guest Columnist l , T oday we celebrate the birth of one of the most promi nent figures of our era. This is the birthday of that gpreat patriot and leader, Ronald Reagan. Many college students are old enough to vaguely recall Reagan’s warm speeches and quick wit. Reagan was a dedicated president who worked diligent ly to shape and improve this country. One of the most important gifts this nation received from “The Gipper” was the end of the Cold War. Students may recall the days of grade school when they feared a barrage of nuclear mis siles at any moment. Thankfully, our children will be spared from that nag ging fear — due almost entirely to the efforts of Reagan. Reagan’s strategy for defeating communism was unprece dented and heavily criti cized. However, after his proposal of Strategic De fense Initiative and his challenge to remove the Berlin Wall, the president’s strategy succeeded and even his critics praised his re sults. Reagan’s impact on our society extended far beyond his battle with the Evil Empire. When Reagan entered office, the na tion’s economy was in turmoil. The fed eral income tax rate was overwhelm ing , and inflation was skyrocketing. Reagan leapt into action by cutting tax rates for every American. The result was the longest peacetime rise in pros perity in the history of the United States. Investments increased, interest rates fell, and inflation was slashed. The booming economy created over 20 mil lion jobs, and even the president’s critics applauded him. However, the Great Communi cator’s most memorable con tributions to his country were from his heart. Rea gan was a gifted leader. His mere presence would lend support and reas surance to those around him. He comforted us in times of tragedy and cheered us on in moments of victory. Reagan was committed to Americans and to improving their way of life. Reagan insisted on wearing a coat and tie whenever he was in the Oval Of fice, because he felt his position de manded a certain level of respect. That’s how he viewed the presidency; it was not a job he went to each day, but rather a burden that he lifted in January of 1981 and boldly carried for eight years. Thirty years ago, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev stood before the United Nations, pounded his shoe on the lectern and announced, ‘We will bury you!” Decades later, Reagan gave a speech in Berlin and predicted, “This Wall will fall.” One of them was right. When Khrushchev paraded through the streets of New York, crowds gath ered in silence to catch a glimpse of this powerful man. However, when Reagan walked through the streets of Moscow, the crowds chanted, “USA! USA!” The world had changed drastically between the times of these two leaders, but Reagan was not a spectator of these changes; he created them. Reagan adopted a vision for this nation, donned a positive attitude, and made things happen. He made us proud of our coun try again. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever. Even legends like Reagan are merely mortal men. Recently, Reagan began showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s dis ease. But even in the face of such a frightening con dition, our leader has stood strong, offering us com fort. “I now begin - the journey that „ will lead me into the sunset of my life,” he wrote in a let ter to the na tion, making his condition public. “I know that for America there will always be a great dawn ahead.” I can almost picture Ronald Rea gan, just like all great cowboys, waving bravely as he rides off into the sunset. David Johnston is a sophomore mathematics major Minds at A&M remain slammed shut on race issues W h en someone asked me what I was writing about this week, I said, “Black History Month at A&M,” without hesitation. “Oh, you mean how we shouldn’t have it?” the typ ical ignorant Aggie said. “No,” I replied. “It’s about its effect at A&M.” “Well, at least February is the shortest month of the year, right?” he said, expect ing some sort of racist high-five. OK, so now I have a new topic. That comment pretty much made it 1,800 con secutive days of racist displays at A&M that I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing in my time here. The .vorst part of it is, I had no idea the prestigious university I was so excited about attending was Redneck U. Coming from a high school with a balanced racial mix, I just figured diversity was the norm, not the exception. 1 was wrong. Class after class at A&M, 1 only saw one or two, possibly three African Ameri cans in crowds of 300. When I ate in the campus dining facilities, the same result. I also noticed that in each case, the African Americans were sitting with each other. This brings about two reactions. First, the white reaction: “The black people don’t want to sit with us.” Now, the black reaction: “There’s 300 people here, 297 of whom are white. Kind of an uncomfortable situation, so I’ll just sit with someone I can identify with — an other African American. Besides, the white people don’t want to sit with us.” Meanwhile, no discussion, no question ing of why things are the way they are. And why should there be? A&M has a history chock full of racism. Take our beloved “soldier, statesman, knightly gentleman” himself, Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Once the governor of Texas, Ross, who served as the school’s president, is credited for rescuing the floundering A&M in the late 1800s. Ross was also very much in favor of slavery. Aha. Although Ross’ accomplishments make him an important part of A&M’s history, his support for the most detestable institu tion in American history should place him dead last in who we honor. But every semester we hear about the Corps of Cadets’ obsession with shining the statue to pay homage to the man. Even when statue experts scream that the polish is deteriorating Sully’s fea tures, the bizarre tradi tion continues. Let ’em polish it until it’s just a stump of brass pulp. Then, maybe those intelli gent enough to realize the paradox of hon oring Ross won’t have to be reminded of slavery every time they pass the statue. And the more things change, the more they stay the same. A&M just can’t seem to get on the right track when it comes to race relations. Just last semes ter, A&M President Ray Bowen rejected the Faculty Senate’s proposal for a cul tures class requirement. Way to perpetuate A&M’s racist image. But it wasn’t just Bowen’s reaction that was so disturbing. Those lovable College Republicans made it their primary goal to ensure the proposal didn’t pass. The pro posal would have only helped students adapt to an increasingly diverse society, and couldn’t possibly have hurt anyone. No one was upset that we have to take hu manities courses, but the word “cultures” scared enough people to scare Bowen. The ignorant powers-that-be ended what could have been a step forward in improving understanding and tolerance at A&M. Instead, the rejection forced stu dents to take two steps backward. It was also about a year ago when an African-American student was stopped in the Memorial Student Center because he had a hat on. The “fellow Aggies” in formed the tradition violator that he’d be better off at Prairie View A&M, a histori cally black school. These were people that called them selves Aggies. They were people who be lieved in A&M so much that they took it to the worst extreme possible — verbally as saulting another student with racist com ments, all because of his choice to not fol low an A&M tradition. Still feeling proud to be an Aggie? Still bleeding maroon? Had enough? I have. Rob Clark is a senior journalism major Rob Clark Columnist The Battalion Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials 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. Editorials Board Sterling Hayman Editor in Chief Stacy Stanton Managing Editor Michael Landauer Opinion Editor Jason Brown Assistant Opinion Editor Rock The Registration Students should pay attention to deadlines to vote. Sometime in 1997, the total national debt will reach $5 trillion. As all students learn in English classes, debt means something that must be paid back. And the students of today get to do the pay ing back, despite having benefitted very little from the spending. This payback will come from our future earnings and investments. Some might decry this by saying, “It’s not fair, but there’s nothing to be done about it.” They are only half right. It’s not fair that we pay for the excesses of others, but we can do something to change the state of affairs. We can vote. Unfortunately, very few of us take advantage of the opportunity. In fact, of all the demographic groups, people from ages 18 to 25 are the least likely to vote. Coincidentally, every time a new spending bill is passed or a new regulation enact ed that directly affects young adults, we are not consulted, but rather informed — for example, equal opportunity laws that affect hiring. This situation is not only unnecessary, but easily remedied. All we have to do is vote. For people not already registered to vote, it has never been simpler. The so-called “motor voter” act was de signed to make it eqsier for young people to register to vote. The act provides everyone with the chance to register whenever a driver license is renewed. For those who have cur rent licenses but are not registered to vote, about five minutes at the Voter Registrar’s of fice is all it takes. And when the time comes, students should take a few minutes to vote. Then maybe things can get done for us, in stead of being done to us. After all, MTV should not be our only advo cate on Capitol Hill. Gaining Awareness A&M should continue to increase accessibility. In addition to classes, work and finances, many students face other challenges while studying at Texas A&M. Disability Awareness Week and National Eating Disorder Week are intended to focus everyone’s attention on these challenges. The University has come a long way in the past few years to make the campus more ac cessible to the physically challenged. More Tamps, elevators and automatic doors have been the most noticeable changes. Still, the job is never done, and this week is meant to remind us all that there is much left to do. For example, the University should be sure to maintain the quality of the pavement around campus. Many sidewalks and streets are buckled and cracked, making passage over them difficult and dangerous for the disabled. As for Eating Disorder Week, the focus is on individual responsibility. Informing stu dents of warning signs of eating disorders and telling them how they can get help are the purposes of the publicity. Students should take advantage of the information and assis tance provided by the A.P. Beutel Health Cen ter and the Student Counseling Service if they or their friends are exhibiting symptoms of an eating disorder. Groups such as the health center, the Stu dent Counseling Service and Support Ser vices for Students with Disabilities deserve credit for bringing recognition of eating dis orders and disabilities to the A&M campus and community. However, those involved in planning the week’s events should not be the only ones who deal with these issues. During this week, all people should con sider new ways in which he or she can con tribute to the lives of those affected by dis abilities or disorders. Mail Call Battalion deserves funding cuts Battalion funding cut. It is about time! Instead of complaining, per haps The Battalion should re analyze its purpose and goals. Although I do no always agree with the decisions of the Student Government, it is obvi ous [the Student Service Fee Allocation Committee] believed the money usually budgeted to The Battalion had more pro ductive uses. Dr. Charles Self (head of the journalism department) stated that only 10 cents per student would be funding the Battal ion. In my opinion, it is not even worth that much. It is apparent that The Bat talion needs to look to their ad vertising staff for new answers. Week after week, the same ad vertisers and advertisements appear. If The Battalion cannot attract new business, it has reason to be worried. Perhaps someone should ask the students if we need a daily paper; maybe a weekly publica tion would be more substantial and realistic. There is no sense in printing a paper when there is no real news (there is real news — national and interna tional — however, The Battal ion chooses to use their space differently by not including most of these topics). Unfortu nately, for students who do not subscribe to an out-of-town pa per, there is the Beagle (yes, I know it is the Eagle) and the Batallion — what a choice. Monica Franke graduate student Allocation decisions have basis in fact The Student Service Fee (SSF) is paid by every student, and the money it generates is reviewed by the committee. The members spent more than 60 hours meeting with depart ment heads, asking questions, and scrutinizing budgets line- by-line to assess the destina tion of every dollar. Brown’s editorial calls the committee selection and busi ness process “arbitrary”, yield ing unqualified members. This “unqualified” committee voted against the full nine dollar in crease, but, instead, chose a six dollar increase, the least in crease possible. The $6 increase was alluded to in Brown’s editorial as “...correcting] an over alloca tion error made by the commit tee.” This statement adds to Brown’s own personal ‘comedy of errors’. The $500,000 deficit was not created by last year’s commit tee, but, rather, was inherited by this year’s committee from a miscalculation made by the ad ministration. Let’s set the record straight. 1. Friction — “Every year ... the administration radically al ters the committee’s recom mendation”— Fact — The dollar amount recommended has never been changed by the administration in the history of the committee. 2. Fiction — “...The student finance center budget was al ready removed last year” Fact — If this is true, why, upon repeated requests made by the committee, haven’t the num bers been produced by the MSC? 3. The Battalion did receive a 94% decrease of the SSF” por tion of their budget. This fee constitutes only 5% of the Bat talion’s total operating income. The Battalion has been making a profit since 1991. Battalion management said the paper could function easily without the SSF at all. 4. Brown, in his weak efforts at investigative journalism, ne glected to interview anyone in the majority of SSF”AC who supported its decision. Those who have real prob lems with the committee’s rec ommendation, please remem ber: SSFAC meetings are open and applications are accepted in the Fall. Faye Little Kristen Paris Class of ’98 Jennie Anderson Class of ’97 Student fees fund undeserving causes After reading the Jan 31st edition of The Battalion, a few questions came to mind: Why must Aggies, their par ents, and taxpayers be forced to pay for “services” that they do not freely choose to use in their “education” at Texas A&M, such as those provided by the Dept, of Multicultural Services, The Bat talion, the Aggie Band, the Vo cal Music Club, Student Govern ment, etc....? Why must students be forced to pay for groups with political agendas, such as the Commit tee for the Awareness of Mexi can American Culture (or, if you will, La Raza) the Black Awareness Committee (or NAACP) and the Dept of Multi cultural Services (or the Anti white machine.)? Why not instead have the students who participate in or use the services of the above mentioned groups pay for all funding of those groups them selves, through dues and private donations, just like many other organizations on this campus? Matt M. Murphy Class of ’96 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 submitted 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: Batt@tamvm1.tamu.edu
