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Page 11
Thursday • December 5, 1996
Sink or Swim
xas A&M’s post-faculty tenure review should be re-evaluated
Indents Assotr n April of 1912 the Titanic set sail
Student’s Guilin jts maiden voyage from England
Mary’s StudeBo New York City. The creators of the
i, for dinner Vessel claimed that this fine luxury lin-
taurant. For f was unsinkable.
contact Bobs
I at 822-5248.:! Columnist
osse Club:P'
from 4-6 p.m,
ds. Everyone
no experiencf
I Todd Hendi
ir information.
ius Ministry: Stephen Llano
jdy at 5:30 P r Bn/or history major
terian Church.:
After ignoring
warnings regard
ing icebergs in the
area, the vessel
struck one and
went down as any
other ship would.
This disaster could
have been avoided
if the ship’s com
mander had heed
ed the warnings
and changed
course instead of
rusting reputation. Likewise, Texas
t 846-1221. an academic reputation that
■onsidered unsinkable. But recent
There will Wtoric regarding post tenure review of
6 p.m. to JiBuity ma y b e the iceberg that sinks
Rooms. Meir jj e University.
red. For inforBEarlier in the semester, the Board of
t 845-1515. Rents decided there was a significant
Riber of tenured faculty who, after
ndation (Meiichieving a permanent position in a
iter): There»prestigious university, decided to sit
/vith a guest i.jiund and do nothing.
m at the w^he regents, secure in their infinite
201 Tauber wga-corporate wis-
For more ^ oin ’ decided the best
5-4701 Bution would be to in-
ttitute a faculty review
program that elimi-
Battalioii!| ates incompetent fac-
n-profit stuc: |j|y at t hi s i a te stage of
nts and actliK g ai -ne.
d be submit#xhe regents’ decision
ree days in a:| a good business
d run date. Arfaove. The key word is
es and noticcijiisiness. In case they
nd will not be liaven’t read the full
If you hauttame of the institution,
ease call theit reads Texas A&M Uni-
3313. versity. The regents think they are still
in the corporate office or managing
Recent rhetoric
regarding post
tenure review
of faculty may
be the iceberg
that sinks the
University.
the ranch. Running a university is not
the same.
Tenure is usually defined as a con
tract between the university and a pro
fessor that prevents the professor from
being terminated. Some believe profes
sors slack off after gaining tenure and
enjoy the permanent income flowing in
from doing nothing.
But to professors, tenure is a part of
their income. In a society where edu
cators are not compensated adequate
ly for the time and effort spent teach
ing, many look at tenure as part of
their expected salary. Tenure grants
professors the ultimate intellectual
tool: academic freedom to pursue
knowledge wherever it may exist. Hav
ing to worry about potential perfor
mance reviews would seriously affect
the quality of a professor’s work.
And tenure is not just handed to
every new Ph.D. who receives his or her
diploma. According to the tenure re
view proposal the Faculty Senate ap
proved in October, new faculty mem
bers already undergo a seven-year
period in which their work is scruti
nized by peers and other academics. At
the end of this period the Provost and
the University President may recom
mend to the Regents that tenure be
granted. After the intense
work and study taken to
reach this point, faculty
members have to love
their field. What could
possibly make professors
slack off when new doors
are opened to them? The
argument just doesn’t
make sense.
Tenure review policy in
this proposed form is
unique to Texas A&M. The
other institutions we com
pete with for new faculty
offer tenure with no strings attached.
Which university will have the toughest
time attracting the best faculty? Sure,
our reputation is well known, but
changing this one little policy is just
like that one little iceberg.
It can be said that the Faculty Senate
has rolled over to the regents’ desire to
treat the University as a corporation —
hiring and firing to maximize profit po
tential instead of intellectual potential.
But perhaps the Faculty Senate is trying
to burn the village in order to save it.
Why would they do such a thing?
Considered to be disgruntled employ
ees by the regents, their complaints are
not regarded as very significant.
If they didn’t propose a review poli
cy, the regents would have created
one. The well-justified outcry by the
faculty was unceremoniously ignored
by the Board.
The people that the regents would
probably listen to — the students — are
not speaking up. Unfortunately, the Re
gents translate this apathy into support
for what they’re doing — “If they don’t
like it, they’ll let us know” mentality.
The students should take a vested in
terest in what happens regarding the intel
lectual climate for faculty members.
Whatever restriction is placed on their
academic freedom is a blow against the
world-class education we’re supposed to
be receiving.
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fell leaders embarrass Texas A&M
pRAC
plNAL
iTTA^ oN
potting the
bumper sticker
“Steers and Queers:
lily at t.u.” always pro-
ces a good laugh
fpm me. It amazes me
]at our world-class
iversity readily ad-
ts students with five-
lar-old intellects.
The ultimate insult
fours when these im-
ciles are elected to
idership positions.
At last Thursday’s Midnight Yell
actice in Austin, three yell lead-
s mouthed incredibly insulting
ithets toward gays and les-
ans. In their desire to “beat the
ill outta t.u.,” these yell leaders
anaged to work in the words
ags" and “queers.”
Since the student body is deal-
gwith five-year-olds, I’ve decid-
11 to “kindergartenize” my column
explain why the yell leaders’ re
marks are inexcusable.
Going back to kindergarten,
ire are some good rules to follow:
Rule 1: Treat people the way you
Tntto be treated. Some people
^ this the Golden Rule. It’s not a
tod idea to insult people for no
'ason, especially if the words at-
^ something no one can change,
suits that make fun of someone’s
!$e, walk, speech, race or sexual
Station are offensive because
^se are things the individual has
Columnist
H.L. Baxter
Senior geography major
to live with. You wouldn’t
like it if someone poked
fun at your insecurities,
so don’t do it to others.
This is Rule 1.
Rule 2: If you can’t say
anything nice about a
person, don’t say any
thing at all. This rule fol
lows from Rule 1 and is
often called respect.
Everyone has different
opinions about homo
sexuals and homosexual
ity, just as everyone has different
opinions about blacks, Jews or
women. Some people harbor
derogatory sentiments about het
erosexuality (heterosexuality adds
to the world’s population problem,
continues the cycle of poverty, etc.),
but only fools say it out loud. It just
seems better to keep your negative
comments to yourself. This is Rule 2.
Rule 3: Don’t pretend to be
something you are not; it is com
monly called hypocrisy. It’s not
nice when someone befriends a
person and then speaks negatively
about the new friend to someone
else. If one wants to be a friend, be
a friend. If one doesn’t be a friend,
Rules 1 and 2 still apply. The occur
rence of one of our pupils actively
soliciting the gay vote while cam
paigning is a good example of
hypocrisy. This is Rule 3.
Rule 4: Help those less fortunate
than you. This is called compas
sion. Compassion was shown to
ward black Americans by Jewish
Americans. With the help of Jews,
blacks acquired equal rights dur
ing the civil rights movement. Jews
were jailed for protesting Jim Crow
Laws and ostracized by those
friends and family who did not be
lieve blacks deserved equality. In
some cases, Jewish Americans died
so that blacks could have equal
protection under the law.
Gays and lesbians face a similar
peril. Parents sometimes ostracize
or abandon their gay children.
Some gays and lesbians even die
because others don’t believe they
deserve equal rights. Marching in a
gay and lesbian parade may not be
a comfortable way of helping their
plight (even most homosexuals
have problems with marching in
parades), but help would be a nice
gesture, if only to provide safety or
to remain a friend instead of turn
ing into an enemy. This is Rule 4.
The Golden Rule, respect, virtue
and compassion are elementary
concepts and fundamental for
good relations.
Real leaders should master
these concepts. Whether one
leads a political party, student
government or a yell, these four
basic concepts can never wane.
The ignorant, insensitive remarks
of three yell leaders tarnish not
only the image of this university,
but humanity.
Mail
Call
A&M’s club sports
deserve recognition
Regarding the Nov. 26 sports
brief concerning club soccer:
First, let me say I am pleased to
see a comment regarding one of
the many sport clubs at Texas
A&M in The Battalion.
However, the comment about
the women’s team bowing down
to Colorado St. does not give
these women the respect they de
serve. The Women finished sec
ond after being scored upon with
three minutes left in sudden
death overtime. Prior to the finals,
they scored 14 goals while allow
ing only one.
This is only an indicator of the
strong soccer that exists at Texas
A&M. Both the women and men’s
club soccer teams have excelled
at the local and national level.
During regular season play, the
women lost only one game and
the men were undefeated and
posted two ties. After regional
competition, pre-tournament
rankings had the women ranked
No. 1 and the men, 16. The men’s
club team only allowed one goal
in the tournament, led by goal
keeper Greg Axelson and a strong
defensive package.
However, the men were elimi
nated in the quarterfinal, after one
of the finest games played in the
tournament. The men lost in penal
ty kicks after a 1 -1 score in regula
tion and a scoreless overtime. This
marks the seventh year the men
have completed the season with a
top five national ranking.
So, let’s say congratulations to
these two fine teams, and to all
the players involved. And, to all
those students involved in sport
clubs, we are proud to represent
Texas A&M (even if we do it with
out the knowledge of the student
body or staff members).
Congratulations to both teams
and thank you for the years of
great play.
Michael T. Lee
Class of’97
New solutions could
improve parking
I am writing to offer a suggestion
" that might help solve the parking
problem. I live in north Bryan,
nowhere near a bus route, and have
no choice but to drive to campus.
Although I purchased a park
ing permit, I seldom park on
campus. Instead I park along the
streets of the empty lots located
on the north side of the Albert
son’s shopping center.
On my long hike to campus, I
notice many other Texas A&M
parking tags hanging in the nu
merous other cars that line these
streets. I also notice all the signs
that say that the empty lots are
Texas A&M property.
Is there a reason why this
land couldn’t been turned into
parking lots? An on-campus
shuttle bus stop could be added,
and students could park and
ride to class.
Tamie Glass
Class of’98
Easy target found
by pointing fingers
The purpose of this letter is
not to discuss George Bush’s in
volvement in cocaine importing.
I do not know all the facts, so I
won’t comment on it.
However, I do take objection to
one point that Donavan Wheatfall
makes. He claims that “this scan
dal” is directly responsible for
drug use in African-American
communities. To say that drug
use is so rampant simply because
the government may have helped
provide cocaine is a cop-out.
No one holds a gun to any
body’s head and forces them to
start using drugs. It’s like an alco
holic blaming Budweiser for their
problems. It’s like a cigarette
smoker blaming Marlboro for
their addiction.
Grow up, people. We can’t
blame others for problems we de
velop. True, drugs may not have
found their way into these com
munities without the govern
ment. But just because some
thing is there does not mean you
have to reach out and grab it.
Wheatfall wonders if “every
one has a fair chance in Ameri
ca.” The answer is yes. Everyone
has a fair chance to say yes, but
everyone also has a fair chance
to say no.
Mike Stancel
Class of’99
Aggie Band robbed
of Bonfire tradition
The redpots have attacked the
meaning of “Aggies.” We’ve read,
and seen, how the tradition of the
outhouse for Bonfire being sup
plied by the Aggie Band was end
ed, and that Parson’s Mounted
Cavalry, who builds an outhouse
anyway, took over the tradition. I
was in the Cavalry — it has never
built an outhouse.
Supposedly this action was re
taliation for the band cutting up
the redpot log. However, the fol
lowing facts were omitted. The red-
pots intentionally scheduled band
cuts when the BQs were unable to
participate. They tried to keep BQs
from participating in centerpole
wrap. They burglarized first floor
BQ rooms after shattering the win
dows. I even heard the redpots led
E-Walk across the Drill Field. The
nation saw that the redpots would
n’t allow the whole band to march
around stack Tuesday night. Bad
bull, Aggies are supposed to be as
true to each other as Aggies can be.
James E. Hudson, III
Class of’93
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
77843-3111
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.