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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
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^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
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