'
The Battalion
WEDNESDAY
July 31, 1996
OPINION
Page 5
WANTED: VOLUNTEERS
Diversity requires student commitment
O n July 1, the
U.S. Supreme
Court declined
to review a 5th Cir
cuit Court of Appeals
decision that barred
the University of
Texas Law School
from considering race
as a factor in admis
sions. This case is
better known by the
plaintiffs name. Hop-
wood, and the deci
sion affects all state schools in Texas,
Louisiana and Mississippi.
Race can no longer be used as a factor
for admissions and scholarships at Texas
A&M. Many students on this campus are
concerned that this will affect diversity
and inclusiveness in the admissions
process. But there are actions students
can take to help the situation.
In the state of Texas and around
the country, there is currently a large
number of qualified minority students
who meet the requirements to attend
A&M. A substantial number of minori
ty students apply to A&M. The stu
dents accepted from this pool are re
viewed under the same requirements
as all applicants. They are as qualified
as anyone else to become an Aggie and
enrich A&M in the process.
The problem lies in the catch rate
for minority students. Catch rate is
defined as the percentage of students
who apply, are accepted, and then
choose to attend Texas A&M. The
catch rate for minority students is
about half what the catch rate is for
white students.
I intend to find students who are
willing to recruit future Aggies. The
best spokespeople for A&M and the
best recruiters for students are fellow
Aggies. We need to get students in
volved in talking to potential Aggies
about the opportunities and excellence
found at Texas A&M. When this hap
pens, the results are impressive.
For example, a group of 50 minori
ty high school students came for a
visit during a home football game last
year. During the visit, they went to
midnight yell practice, stood up dur
ing the whole football game, and ex
perienced other great traditions of
Aggieland. Of those 50 students, 40 of
them are going to be fish this year.
Will 40 students make a difference?
Absolutely. And they will make an
even greater difference because they
have chosen A&M — after being giv
en the opportunity to experience
A&M for themselves.
To expand our efforts, we need
your help. Nikki Guerra, executive di
rector for Minority Student Affairs, is
creating a committee to inform stu
dents about the numerous opportuni
ties and unique qualities Texas A&M
offers. I am asking for your help in
recruiting all types of students for
Texas A&M.
A&M was built on hard work and
students’ ability to succeed beyond
what anyone expected from them. This
is a merit school that rewards hard
work. A court decision cannot take
that spirit away from us.
Our goal is to recruit Aggies —
those Aggies who love the traditions
and have a desire to maintain and
build the uniqueness of Aggie culture
above and beyond quality education. If
you would like to help us achieve this
goal, please call either me or Nikki
Guerra at 845-3053.
Student Body President
Carl Baggett is a Class of ’96
accounting major
Escort service needs help
KYLE
SPARKMAN
Guest Columnist
T he lack of an es
cort program
during the sum
mer poses a serious
danger to females
walking alone at night.
During the regular school year, the Corps
of Cadets takes care of this responsibility
by staffing the guardroom with cadets for
escort duties. However, during the sum
mer, there are not enough cadets to fully
staff an escort program.
To remedy this, the Corps is seeking
the participation of campus organizations.
We are proposing a pilot program from
Monday, Aug. 5, through Tuesday, Aug.
13, for a summer escort program to pre- ■
pare for summer school in 1997. During
this time, the guardroom will be open for
escort service from 9 p.m. until 1 am.
The guardroom will function the same
as it does during the rest of the year —
the only difference is other campus orga
nizations will share the responsibilities
with the cadets who are on campus dur
ing the summer. The four-hour time peri
od each night will be split into two shifts
of two hours. During each shift, one cadet
and two male organizational representa
tives will staff the guardroom.
Therefore, each organization partici
pating in the program will be asked to
provide four representatives on assigned
evenings on a rotational basis. For exam
ple, if 10 organizations participate, then
each organization would only have to
commit four representatives every tenth
day throughout the summer — a commit
ment of only seven evenings the whole
summer. This is a small commitment con
sidering all we will be accomplishing.
This program will be beneficial to all i
organizations involved because students
from all areas of A&M will be working to
gether to solve a serious problem on cam
pus. If this program is a success, who
knows what we can accomplish next?
Of course, there is no way of knowing i
how successful this program will be un- ,
less we try it out this summer. At the con
clusion of the pilot program, all partici
pants will assess the program to justify its :
implementation and make any possible
suggestions on improvements. Please con- !
tact me at 847-0468 to answer any ques- :
tions you may have and to let me know if
your organizations will be able to partici
pate in the pilot program.
—
Corps Staff Public Relations Sergeant 1
Kyle Sparkman is a Class of ’98
biomedical sciences major
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Restaurant chains shackle
cities to cultural abyss
A trip to the “big
ciVj” used Vo be
.a big deal. Not
only did it mean get
ting to see a town
that actually had
places worth visiting,
but it meant that we
were going to get to
eat out.
Sure, we often
went to local restau
rants and had our fair
share of the native
meatloaf, but the chance to eat at one
of the restaurants that could only be
found in big cities was rather exciting.
These chain restaurants, formally
the exclusive domain of large metro
politan cities, soon realized that peo
ple from small towns across the state
were willing to drive 100 miles just to
get a basket of complimentary bread
sticks. This resulted in a mass expan
sion of food chains throughout the
country that even Wal-Mart would be
proud of. Pretty soon, it seemed every
city with a population of over 5,000
had a main street decorated with a
Chili’s or an Applebee’s.
Unfortunately, this expansion comes
at the expense of the distinctive local
restaurants that are particular to each
town. Whether they are unique be
cause of the waitress who pinches
everyone’s cheeks, or because they
serve the best barbecuq/steak/lasagna
you can’t get anywhere else, these
small restaurants are what forge
America’s culinary identity. Yet as
soon as the newest corporate cookie-
cutter restaurant opens nearby, we
choose the generic plate special.
But why are chain restaurants so
popular? Some believe the main bene
fit lies in their consistency. Granted,
consistency can sometimes be benefi
cial, but it must be put into perspec
tive. As soon as one realizes that the
same chicken alfredo ordered from the
local Olive Garden is interchangeable
with the one being served in Beau
mont, consistency soon passes into
terrifying monotony.
Besides, consistency is something
that comes with mass production, so
unless people want their food to be
made on the assembly line, then vari
ance should be seen as a benefit.
Another common justification for
cham restaurants involves the worn
“at least I know what I’m getting” ex
cuse. But just because one already
knows that the food and atmosphere
are mere replicas of 50 other restau
rants, it doesn’t make it any more ex
citing. The whole point of dining out
is to gain a new experience, so why
delve into the same old rut? One of
the many benefits of eating at a one-
of-a-kind local restaurant lies in the
spectacular deviation from the norm.
Even though the salad may be just
three pieces of lettuce covered in or
ange dressing, the mashed potatoes or
the apple pie just might be the kind
that’s better than homemade.
Perhaps the main fault with these
massive chain restaurants lies in its
lack of authentic atmosphere. Though a
Mexican restaurant chain may design
their locations to look like some Disney
version of a Mexican adobe house, it
just cannot hide the fact that the burri-
to recipe comes straight from corporate
headquarters in Lincoln, Neb.
But the lack of authenticity and at
mosphere is evident in more than just
the food. A small neighborhood
restaurant relies on a unique and
memorable experience to keep cus
tomers returning. Therefore, the pro
prietors are going to make sure one’s
meal is a singular experience,
whether it be through the decor they
choose or the stories they relate while
talking to each patron.
Yet for a chain restaurant, relying
on its name to bring in people, the fo
cus is providing indistinguishable ser
vice with no complaints, leading to an
atmosphere that is both bland and im
minently forgettable.
Chain restaurants are fine if the
only goal in dining out is merely to
avoid starvation. But for something
unique, where deviation and experience
are just as essential as the food itself,
why not try eating at the local restau
rants that can provide it?
Even though road trips to the big
cities are still exciting, eating the local
outlet of some national restaurant
chain is something we can all outgrow
no matter how old we are.
Steven Gyeszly is a Class of ’99
finance and sociology major
STEVEN
GYESZLY
Columnist
Domino s falls to red-lining complaints
W e hold these truths to be self-evi
dent; that all men are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalien
able rights; among these are life, liberty
and pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less.
The San Francisco Board of Directors re
cently passed an ordinance barring business
from refusing to deliver to any part of their
normal service area.
The ordinance was passed after the grand
son of a board member was denied his Domi
no’s pizza because he lives in an area known
for its high crime rate. The area is also pre
dominantly minority, so charges of racism
were sure to follow.
This is an example of an overly activist government med
dling where it does not belong. A perceived act of racism was
turned into a restriction of the free market.
Domino’s had a legitimate occupational safety concern. Sev
eral of its drivers have been robbed and beaten while on duty.
In response, Domino’s identified high-risk areas to pro
tect their employees. The national chain provides a comput
er software package to color code addresses in their deliv
ery area as safe to deliver (green), curbside delivery only
(yellow), or no delivery (red).
These labels are based on crime rates, and areas are only
coded red if there is a “reasonable good-faith belief” that deliv
ery to that area poses an inordinate amount of risk.
Since the red areas are largely minority, members of the
Board of Directors played the race card to pass this ordinance.
While it makes a strong social statement against racism, its
makes no sense from a practical standpoint.
The free-market forces will cause Domino’s to deliver to the
most extensive area possible. Even if Domino’s managers were
all inveterate racists, they would have no reason to deny deliv
ery to any area that would increase profits.
So basically what has happened is that the Board of Direc
tors passed an ordinance mandating that Domino’s do what it
normally would to improve business.
This controversy does bring up a valid concern that should
be addressed, however. The practice of red-lining a zip code or
specific area is a generalization. Denying pizza delivery to a
specific area because of a few thugs results in an unfair incon
venience to law-abiding citizens who live in the same area.
While the red-lining does inconvenience some people, it is
not a violation of rights.
If public services like the police or fire department refused to
protect the area, that is a serious matter of discrimination. But
we’re only talking about pizza here.
A private company must base its business decisions on gen
eralizations. Their numbers showed that delivering to certain
areas was not profitable. So they did not deliver there.
The fact that the area was minority was not relevant to their
decision. Unfortunately, it provided the driving force for the
municipal government to jump on their backs.
Fortunately, this particular situation turned out well.
After the ordinance was passed, Domino’s re-evaluated its
designations and decided to expand delivery in the area by
nearly 33 percent.
While the ordinance ended up benefiting both Domino’s prof
its and the residents’ desires for pizza, such an ordinance is not
within the appropriate scope of municipal government.
Government should spend its time correcting true injustice
and let private companies solve their own problems.
•Jim Pawlikowski is a Class of ’96 chemical engineering major
JIM
PAWLIKOWSKI
Columnist
Graduation incentives
might hurt students
I am writing in regards to the arti
cle, “Regents discuss early graduation
incentives.” While reading the article.
Mail
I noticed the proposals Were not "in
centives” at all.
Demanding that students be re
quired to take 15 hours to be full-time
students and/or mandating summer
school are potentially harmful restric- -
tions that might be placed on the stu
dent body. These restrictions are some
what negligent of the time needed for
our students to get a quality education.
Better incentives would be scholar
ship money for students on track to
graduate early, financial aid dedicat
ed to students to enable them to take
a heavi«|r course load, etc. Dr. Bowen
states thsft'"Qualified students can’t
get in because there’s no room.” The
solution is not to place demands on
the “qualified” students who are al
ready here.
Plus, it is already incentive enough
to graduate as soon possible when we
see our fee statements every semester.
.-V •• A
Lanessa D. Bass
Class of ’98