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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1996)
Pagt November 25,11 Brie Aggies were sirf The Battalion p ivi n k 11" i 1 Page 9 Monday • November 25, 1996 reds the next isas State. The the Lady Aggies held A&M to on ed to their 76. or the Lady Agj ty of Colorado, Ming to G. RollieU- day at 7 p.m. tggie Gol op prospet Women’s Golf : Sutherland annoui Austin Westlake Friday. is a two-time def< )ion, is in her tition. look forward tote our team," Sutfiei even ‘-gates’ of Hell plague Clinton llchael Heinroth Teaching tification student fter a long day of golf — and taking pictures with important people in Aus tralia — the Clintons climbed aboard dree One. The president was ex hausted: “Hillary, I’m go ing to get some shut-eye before we land back in Washington. Why don’t you come on to bed?” But the First Lady mumbled something about villages and health care, so the re-elected Democrat walked alone to the Air Force One presidential suite, crawled in bed, and drift- ;r has the opportM ed off to a land where : golfer as she ’eryone is a liberal... well, almost everyone. ; to work on herb Suddenly, Air Force One jolted. Then there it athlete and a J an explosion which scattered the presi- Itial plane over the Pacific. |And no, Salinger, it wasn’t caused by a mis- ack and Fis* |fired from a U.S. Navy vessel. The 747 was e out of a bazillion parts, and one of the n things just gave out, caught on fire and ght the whole bird down, foments later, Clinton found himself hold- gii ticket and waiting in a long line.’This ain’t e," Bill whimpered as a tortured soul lamed from behind the iron gates. It was Tricky Dick Nixon’s turn to take the , om ^ an ’ 1 tbits that day. And with the spin of his pok- 1 T/i ' S 6 i e y elled * "Who’s the whiner at the end of >ey Meyer. ie line? Show yourself!” d about the Pdjhe flames of Hell roared, and Clinton ner- , Nelson said.’ nted ix recrui :M Track and h Ted Nelson te signing of day. th A&M were La; The Battalion Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials board members. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Bat talion 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 Michael Landauer Editor in Chief Amy Collier Executive Editor Gretchen Perrenot Executive Editor Heather Pace Opinion Editor Speaking Out Students should voice their opinions at today’s GUF forum ftly answered, “It’s just little ol’ me.” athletes “Well, I’ll be damned.” us immediately] it of room to “1 think there’s some kinda mistake here,” Clinton. » r “No, I don’t think so.” Nixon pointed the rS UGTBlliitchfork at Clinton’s feet and a fireball sent n nilflJj um P in S- * W e ’ ve got a special place for )ii next to Senator McCarthy. The two of you (AP) The Ca |0ll * d get along just fine.” Nixon began mse didn’t wail ulhing hysterically and sarcastically added, ilf this time, feah, he just loved that socialized health care is been finishinjWg you were promoting a few years ago.” is season. Bu Through the glowing red gates, Clinton saw anse shut dowiiBure perpetually swimming laps in the lake on Oilers early fire. He nervously wiped the sweat from his iteve Beuerleirrehead and stuttered, “I... I... sw... sw ... with two torfvear. ft was all Hill... Hill... Hillary’s idea.” 11-6 victonirndm lird straight —— : Tlie “And what about all these cabinet resig nations? And scaring the elderly? And the scandals—Whitewater, foreign campaign contributions, Vince Foster’s death, Travel- gate, Filegate ... ?” Bill pulled himself together and shot back, “Oh, you’re one to talk, Dick.” Nixon’s eyes became red with anger, “Si lence, you imbecile!” The flames of Hell roared again from be hind the gates and Clinton ran for cover. “Come here, Bill. I need to know one thing before I take your ticket: Just tell me that A1 was on the plane, too.” “Nope.” “Oh, you’re a lucky one today. Not even the Devil wants the veep in the Oval Office. Just follow that staircase; it’s a straight-shot to the Rose Garden.” Bill jumped up, clicked his heels and raced to the steps. The Devil was returning to his well-heat ed home after another day of prowling about the earth and was nearly knocked senseless by the hillbilly’s joyous departure. He stormed up to the gates and confront ed Nixon. “What in Hell is going on?” “Well, sir, we had Clinton in the line, but I had to let him go.” The Devil looked pleased. “Good work, Dick. He’s worth more to me in the White House. Besides, I have an appointment scheduled with him later this afternoon con cerning troop deployments in Zaire.” Suddenly, the Devil felt the cool breeze of an oscillating fan Nixon had smuggled out of Hell’s attic. “I’ve been lookin’ for that thing. Put it in my office.” With that, the Devil twirled his pitchfork, danced a jig, and be gan the long journey up the spiral staircase, which led directly to the White House. As Nixon picked up the fan, he muttered, “I sure hope Bill remembers what happened in Somalia ... ” Suddenly, the landing gear of the presiden tial airplane met the runway at Andrews Air Force Base; it had all been a terrible night mare. The president got dressed, and the First Couple stepped off the plane and into the lim ousine that would take them down Pennsylva nia Avenue to the White House. The chief of staff met them at the front door. “Welcome back Mr. President. Don’t forget, you’ve got an important meeting in a few minutes ... ” Bill straightened his tie; Hillary just grinned. Whether students are in sup port of the proposed GUF increase or not, they should take steps to educate themselves as to both the reasons and the ramifications be hind the proposed increase. Otherwise, students will have absolutely no room for com plaints if the proposed GUF be comes a reality. Tonight, Texas A&M President Dr. Ray Bowen will provide stu dents with an opportunity to learn more about the GUF. It would be easy to write off the proposed fee increase as just another addition to the seem ingly endless list of fee increases. It would be even easier to stay home and leave others to ask the questions, but students should take steps to learn about the proposed fee increase. Whether the proposed fee in crease actually carries merit, though, can only be judged if students educate themselves. Students should not just see the obvious drawbacks of the pro posed fee increase, but should take the time to learn more about possi ble benefits of an increase, such as continued academic excellence. The forum will provide students with opportunities to learn more about the proposed fee and Bowen to gauge student reaction. Armed with information, Bowen will explain why the pro posed fee increase is so crucial for continued academic excel lence at Texas A&M. Armed with questions, stu dents can educate Bowen more fully about student concerns and feelings about the proposed fee increase. Few students take the time to understand where their money is going, yet are often quick to com plain about what they see as wasteful spending by the Univer sity. When the University de mands more money, some stu dents wonder how a University can afford to install grass on Kyle Field but can’t even give profes sors a well-deserved pay raise. The forum will give students the opportunity to better understand the difficult situation the Texas Leg islature has created for the Universi ty. Moreover, students can learn ex actly how the University is funded. Students agonize for hours over how to pay for other pur chases — shouldn’t they take an hour to learn about the thou sands they spend each year on education? hile the Oilers (W le in five games. Ht[ scond-year Pantte )r a playoff spot, rs, who have# rter points this : Oilers under i in the third qu! )wed the teas e talent from s. Iso said that des earn is losingtr ew recruits and ers are bound es stronger, r this program rides people I e,” Guerrieris e we drawing ;, but to be rani s that the teal ie right direco ^e will try to steps so we ete for the i^poMicsuri MAR&uuesr THis F&ccpp vwwv.btfnjf#. cor* I muryuUei' Comes Foil Circle Students should provide input T p next year.” tudent Vest Campus requires services V Fi iduating se* ind student ing 1997 to o reserve entiy on ollow the if lined in ($100) ($50) □me to the: 258 52-3122 stward expansion seems to be the latest trend at Texas A&M. First, the College of Business, the Rec Center, and shortly the rge Bush Library and Reed Arena will West Campus addresses, xas A&M now has to complete the de to make West Campus a more use- nd jubilant place. As it stands, there pieces missing, including a sufficient ng system, adequate parking, addi- al dorms and better food, here is an obvious problem with ac- ibility to the off-campus busing sys- Though it works great for main campus, it is in- /enient for West Campus. or those of us who call West Campus home, rid- he bus to campus to then catch another bus to o West Campus is a little ridiculous. It takes e people 20 to 30 minutes to be picked up and ped off on campus. It then takes another 10 to ilnutes to walk to the other side of campus or i the bus to West Campus. nd unless people have a spare two hours to make ound trip, they can forget going home. But there imple solution: Two drop off points — one at the ent stop and one at some central location on West ipus. Once empty, the bus could swing back md and make two separate pick-ups. hose who forgo the inconvenience of the busing m should be all too familiar with the lack of con- ent parking. There are currently zero parking ges on West Campus for faculty or students. As it luch of the current “Fish Lot” is already used for ampus students, limiting commuter parking, ven Olsen Field’s “park-and-ride” system is fre- ntly overcrowded, leaving people waiting for ts, again relying on the timing of bus routes, before, the Rec Center lot is often used by students iblue tags, not to exercise, but to go to class. What e space is left after all of this is faculty parking. 't Campus also lacks sufficient 30 minute parking ifisfor quick stops. Another simple solution: Add fang garages. Assuming there are no further delays, Columnist Sean McAlister Senior accounting and finance major a two-thousand car Fish Lot parking garage will be completed in two years. On the flip side, for the next two years, expect con struction to congest parking even worse. Business, ag, or bio-med students who live on the south side of campus may have a better chance of sprouting wings than making it across campus in 20 minutes. Crossing Wellborn reminds me of Russ ian roulette, only using cars and trains in stead of bullets. Couple this with the re cent demolition of Law and Puryear residence halls, and there is a perfect op portunity to kill two birds with one stone. Building a dorm complex on West Campus would offset the loss in housing capacity brought about by the demolition of the halls. It would also put students in close proximity to their West Campus classes and help them avoid the Wellborn death trap. No one will argue a lack of real estate. Future public service students could even reside in the vicinity of the George Bush Presidential Library complex. New West Campus dorms would also pro vide added convenience to the Rec Center for fit ness-minded Aggies. And what a place to hang out — after all, where else is there a pool on campus? This presents yet another problem: lack of food. Besides the snack bar in the Rec Center, the over crowded Ag Cafe presents the only opportunity to grab a quick meal between classes. Additionally, the short hours of the Ag Cafe are a big problem at dinner time. The steady increase in the number of students on West Campus warrants the de velopment of another food establishment, possibly something like the Underground. An even better solu tion would be to include a cafeteria or food court in the dorm complex previously proposed. West Campus is the future of the University, a fact established by the projects under way. To ensure the University maintains its convenience with an ever- expanding student body, problems like these need to be addressed. Though some may never see these projects become realities, future generations will benefit from the plans made today. lonight at 7 p.m. in Rudder The ater, University President Ray Bowen will discuss the proposed General Use Fee Increase. The proposed GUF increase for 1996- 97 is an additional $10 per credit hour, raising the fee from $24 to $34. For students, this is a substantial amount of money. No student is ever overjoyed by fee increases, especially when it appears they are an annual event, as it seems on this campus. Two points need to be addressed to ful ly understand the issue: Why the adminis tration feels Texas A&M needs this fee increase, and what students can do to address their concerns over the continued rise in scholastic costs. Students at Texas A&M want to continue the ex cellent education they currently receive. To continue this academic excellence, Texas A&M needs appropriate financial resources. Texas A&M is below peer institutions in pro fessor salaries, paying only 92 percent of the av erage salary. If the University does not receive the appropri ate funding, the quality of education at Texas A&M will decline. Hesitant as I am to support another increase Guest Columnist Carl Baggett Student body president and senior accounting major in student fees, I believe it is necessary to continue the quality of education we enjoy at Texas A&M. What has caused the need for con tinual increases in student fees in re cent years? The Texas Legislature has decided it wants students and their families to pay a higher share of educational costs, which has resulted in a 110 per cent increase in student fees over the last five years. Unfortunately, until the University receives more funding from the state, fees will continue to climb. Students should talk to their hometown state representatives and senators and voice any con cerns they have about the need for funding high er education. Although Texas A&M is a “bargain institution” (cheaper than all but 8 of our 32 peer institutions), I am afraid we are going to out-price many potential Aggies if fees continue to increase. I strongly urge all students who have questions or opinions on the proposed GUF increase to come to the forum tonight. This will be the only time students will be able to share with Bowen and other administrators their views on the GUF increase. Mail Races should be equally represented Regarding Jon Apgar’s Nov. 19 column, “Equality hindered by race-based treatment”: In a perfect world, everyone would have the same educational opportunities: Racism and dis crimination would not exist, racial slurs and jokes would not be uttered, and African-Ameri can, Hispanic, and Anglo men and women would be paid equal ly for the same job performance. Unfortunately, most of us live in the real world, and those who be lieve that the above “perfect world” exists are sadly mistaken. Racism and discrimination do exist, and racial slurs and jokes are uttered and do hurt. There is a vast difference in the educational opportunities given by rich school districts and poor school districts. Apgar was correct in stating that “minorities are at a disadvan tage in terms of precollege educa tional opportunities.” This leads to a lower number of minorities who aspire to at tend universities. Subsequently, the number of minority college graduates is low. This is a concern since educa tion means more earning power, and more earning power means more political power ... power to make politicians listen to your concerns and needs, and to have them appropriate money and re sources to address these con cerns and needs. However, things might never change on their own with the present college graduation levels of minorities. Affirmative action programs and minority scholarships may help minorities get into college, but contrary to myth, minorities don’t get a “free ride” through college. Once here, they have to work just as hard as anyone else to graduate. No department at A&M lowers its graduation stan dards for anyone. If things were truly equal and affirmative action had run its course, then one would see a fair ly equal representation of a state’s population in one of that state’s leading public universities. Last time I checked, Texas was far from being only 3 per cent African-American and 8 percent Hispanic. Jairo Santanilla Class of ’96 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and include the author’s name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let ters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1.111. Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor.