The Battalion
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Page 9
Wednesday • February 26, 1997
or the love of money
’xas A&M, American Airlines forsake all for cash
Out-dated traditions
in need of evaluat i o n
I here’s an old saying I’m
particularly fond of, one of
jlsj.-m those amorphous things
ns jia|t can be applied to one’s ex-
I eriences at any given moment
h.} (lime: “[Fill in the blank)
lakes the world go ’round."
uch a simple, beautiful senti-
■ lent, saying so much and so lit-
|iu r ie at the same time.
Tone can fill in the blank with
[tti e ny appropriate phrase. Music
I aakes the world go ’round, for
[alf. Bmple. Perhaps money, which
lc s the version I’ve heard most of-
jhaffl. From multi-billion dollar corporate
;o i : ppglomerates to public universities,
iiany people are too caught up with the
11 of money.
s cynical as it sounds, such an adage
juldn’t have survived in our collective
emory without a grain of truth at the cen-
UfSerof the pearl.
■Tom there, it’s a logical progression to
C next step: if money makes the world go
mind, a lack of money may
.. lake the world stop. The people
free* m erican Airlines can testify
;othat.
k^KBy now, the general outline of
jh^ impending strike by the pi-
ots of American is probably
eMffely known. It’s about filthy
money, of course. And without an
11 percent pay raise, pilots are
, [hreatening to make American
}vel grind to a halt.
f^jAirline pilots are, for the most
...'.part, highly skilled professionals.
^fyybe they do deserve more
, money. It seems the yearly going
rate of $130,000 might be just
^ely enough to scrape by on.
The pilots’ union at USAir re
cently voted in favor of a pay cut
for themselves because USAir ap-
San fparently was in serious financial
axdjeopardy. This selflessness goes
ouitlto show people are willing to co
in!!* operate and sacrifice, especially
olHring hard times.
gesBNevertheless, the hyper-
jdgilcharged capitalist zeal that has
efa. shaped America is also the cul-
Bilaf pritof many of our country’s
sirs problems. Leading citizens are
woutHsorting to strikes, lawsuits and
coi other drastic means in efforts to
nMapaim a bigger piece of the pie.
iscwfiftese actions shroud a basic
tenet of any functioning society:
I June r
1 (lie 1
_ . . ultimately, society’s success de-
L-OlumniSt pends on the efforts of all people
working toward a common end.
Introducing the human ele
ment into high-stakes finance
doesn’t really seem like such a
radical idea. But it’s one that both
the union and management sides
at American Airlines could stand
to consider. Actually, it’s a princi
ple students and A&M employees
should consider.
Money, rather than the Aggie
spirit, has been the recurring issue
at the core of University problems.
Every semester students complain about
the newly established tradition of fee in
creases, while professors continue to
scream for more cash. Recent allegations of
an A&M professor’s misuse of funds sure
don’t help. On top of it all, consider the
loopholes such as PTTS selling nonexistent
parking spaces and the MSC bookstore’s
absurdly high prices on “exclusive goods.”
Money is, indeed, one of many com
modities that make the world go ’round.
Travis Chow
Computer science
graduate student
But there is also love, spirit and coopera
tion. Without such insight, a crisis similar
to the one at American Airlines could occur
here on campus.
Professors, like pilots, are highly-
skilled professionals who have been ask
ing for a pay increase for years.
In addition, numerous positions in
Student Government held by unpaid vol
unteers are actually paid positions at oth
er universities. Under relentless criticism
from the student body, these individuals
just may snap.
The American Airlines conflict is still
not resolved. During the “cooling off peri
od,” maybe someone will have a moment
of revelation. Is it worth disrupting all
those lives for another $1,000 every
month? If only one person felt it was not
worth it, American might start flying again.
On the other hand, if students and uni
versity employees learn from the mis
takes of American Airlines and the coop
erative spirit of USAir, we just might
become a better University.
A6G |E
*MI& S
Id.,
Cr
mm,
..M
I any me back to
oldVirginny,
(where the grass
is green and the girls are
pretty. Oh won’t you
please take me howome.”
Wait, wrong song.
The state song ofVir-
ginia, “Carry Me back to
OldVirginny” has likely
heard its last refrain. Ear
lier this month, the Vir
ginia House of Delegates
unanimously voted to re
tire the song, which suf
fered from accusations of racism
and from a lack of airplay on MTV.
Written in 1875 by James Blank,
a black minstrel, the song glorified
slavery and used words like “dark
ey,” “massa” and “missis.” There
have been attempts to get rid of
this song for years, but they always
failed because it was seen as a
valuable tradition.
Too often, ideas and practices
exist not because they are useful
or worthwhile, but simply be
cause they are traditions.
Existing tomorrow only be
cause they existed yesterday.
But the Virginia state song is just
one recent example of common
sense finally prevailing over tradi
tion. Take the Citadel, for instance.
This South Carolina military col
lege fought hard to keep women
out, perhaps believing they were
“icky” and had “cooties.” But they
changed its policy in June of 1996
after the Supreme Court ruled it un
constitutional for the Virginia Mili
tary Institute to have a male-only
admissions policy.
Shannon Faulkner became the
first female to attend, but she last
ed less than a week. Last fall, four
females entered the Citadel. Two
of them quit a month ago amid ac
cusations of physical and mental
abuse, including their clothes be
ing set on fire.
Sad, but hardly surprising. It’s
difficult to change a long-standing
tradition overnight, especially
within an institution such as a mil
itary college, where there is a tradi
tion for everything from social
functions to bodily functions. But
the Citadel will integrate. West
Point did it, as did Texas A&M.
Unfortunately, there are many
useless traditions that either haven’t
Columnist
Mason Jackson
Senior
marketing major
been challenged, or
have been challenged
unsuccessfully. When
an establishment is ap
proached about chang
ing a tradition, it is of
ten unable to offer a
legitimate defense.
Instead, it relies on
the circular logic that
“a tradition should
stay a tradition be
cause it’s a tradition
and to change it
would be untradi-
tional.” It makes sense if you don’t
think about it.
No conversation on traditions
would be complete without con
sidering Texas A&M. Some of our
traditions are based on respect (no
headgear in the MSC, Silver Taps),
others are based on health con
cerns (not eating at Sbisa), and a
good many of our traditions ap
pear to be based on stupidity.
Regarding that last group, I
wish to address only one in partic
ular. At A&M there are some (my
self and possibly others) who think
that maybe it’s time to put an end
to the “Yell Leader Experiment.”
Our football program always re
cruits plenty of talented players,
yet the team is a perennial under
achiever that can’t win the big
game. If we pretend coaching isn’t
the problem, then there is only
one thing the contending teams
have that we don’t.
Cheerleaders. Perky, bouncy,
skirt-wearing, female cheerlead
ers. Imagine, the big game is on
the line and the football players
need one last boost of testosterone
to push them over the top. They
look to the sideline. They see guys
in overalls. Game over.
But it doesn’t have to be this
way. Traditions can be changed, as
demonstrated by the Common
wealth ofVirginia and the Citadel,
even thought those examples dealt
with the powerful issues of racism
and sexism.
But changing traditions re
quires people to constantly re
evaluate why things are done a
certain way. If the only reason
for continuing something is be
cause “that’s the way it’s always
been done,” then maybe it’s time
for a change.
Incompetent professors rob students of time, money
Ed 3!
t a world
renowned uni
versity such as
has A&M, accredited
rofessors should be a
jven. Webster’s Dic-
mary defines a pro-
[ssor as “a teacher;
Jecifically a college
teacher.” While most
irofessors at A&M
ive extensive knowl-
Ige of their fields,
lany lack the ability
to teach.
Maybe Webster
Columnist
David Boldt
Senior
marketing and
management major
1 te; Ivasn’t defining university profes-
its %irs, but only college professors.
Iniversity professors must only be
ha bere to research, considering the
Tt of teaching as a necessary evil.
1 The first time (and unfortu-
inst ^
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af
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fecti 1
iref 0
ilaf 1
han 1
the it
nately not the last) I ran
into this problem was in
a business analysis class.
My class was taught
by a professor who I as
sume had sufficient
knowledge of the cur
riculum. She had been
teaching this class, as
well as another BANA
class, for years. But, after
three weeks of watching
students correct her own
curriculum, I began to
get aggravated. I would
leave the class every day
feeling clueless and cheated out of
time and money.
After talking to other students
who had taken this professor’s
class, I realized this same mode of
scatter-brained teaching tech
niques had gone on for years.
There were even rumors of a peti
tion in past semesters to have the
professor removed. I wondered
why this professor was still teach
ing at A&M.
One might think I’m just a dis
gruntled student who is complain
ing because I received a bad grade.
On the contrary, in just a few hours
a funny man named Arf explained
the class curriculum in simple
enough terms for me to earn a B in
the class. Maybe he should hold
tutoring sessions during class and
save time for everyone.
This semester it’s back to
square one. This time I managed
to get an economics professor who
was capable of making even the
simple concept of supply and de
mand seem complicated. When
asked why she insisted on math
ematically proving every formula,
which thoroughly confused every
one, she stated my point perfectly.
“I’m an economist—that’s the way
I think,” she said.
Back to tutoring I go.
In the last three years at this
school, in casual conversations all
over campus I have heard varia
tions of this scenario over and over
again. It has to stop. Responsible
students shouldn’t have to pay ex
tra money to have a tutor do the
professors’ jobs.
One problem lies in the quali
fications evaluated during hiring
of professors.
Dr. William Perry, Dean of Fac
ulties, said three main criteria are
examined. “We usually look for a
doctorate degree as well as evi
dence of an ability to research and
teach,” he said.
I guess one out of three ain’t bad.
When asked whether the ability
to research is weighed over the abil
ity to teach, he said, “That decision
is left to the department level.”
There should be no such de
cision. The possibility of weigh
ing research ability over teach
ing ability shouldn’t be an
option.
Another problem lies in
teacher certification. It doesn’t
exist. Department heads have
nothing to go on, no proof these
people can actually communi
cate effectively what they know.
High school teachers must be
certified by the state to teach
what they know, but anyone
with a master’s degree (and
sometimes less than that) can
teach at A&M.
Student-professor evaluations of
fer no help either. Perry said the
evaluations are considered in pro
motions and tenure, but not neces
sarily reviewed by the department
heads each semester. They don’t
seem to care much what we think
about the average professor.
Obviously, many professors are
competent teachers. Most of the
professors I have had are pretty good
at effectively conveying the material.
But one professor with below aver
age teaching skills is one too many.
Students’ futures are at stake, and
they must be allowed to leam the
material from the people they pay to
teach it.
Too many incompetent profes
sors are slipping through the cracks.
PLEASE lAKfe A
SKSV*
With
pleasure-
ATLB6T tjjEVfe
LEAVIN1<S the
FENALE RECRUITS
ALONE...
f/ri
PTTS neglects
TV/T ATT student parking
1 M As if the parking situation at A&JV
Gays deserve
equality in military
In response to Steve May’s Feb. 21 column
There is no legitimate justification
for not allowing homosexuals in the
military. The claims that allowing ho
mosexuals in the military will disrupt
morale and discipline are the same big
oted remarks that were made when the
decision was made to integrate blacks
into previously all white units.
Homosexuals aren’t disrupting dis
cipline and order, prejudice and homo
phobia are.
Soldiers are supposed to obey or
ders and work with whomever they are
told to. The only reason for excluding
homosexuals is bigotry. Bigotry has no
place in the U.S. Armed Forces or any
where else.
As for May’s comments about
women not being able to serve in in
fantry units, wouldn’t the logical solu
tion be to set up what physical and
mental standards are required for serv
ing in the infantry and then let anyone
who meets those standards can serve?
There are definitely women who are
physically capable to serve, and they
should be allowed to.
Our armed forces should be run
strictly on the basis of ability to do the
job. If you can do it, no matter who you
are, you should be allowed to do it
Brendan Guy
Class of’99
As if the parking situation at A&M is
n’t bad enough, the students that park in
the Read lot next to Kyle Field have been
told they are not as important as a con
ference scheduled for March 2-6. After
continually denying that a parking prob
lem exists on our campus, Tom Williams,
Director of PTTS, only makes the prob
lem worse by allowing the parking
spaces students have paid for to be used
for a week by the conference attendees
I contacted the PTTS office to com
plain, only to be told to fill out a form
which would be processed in 2-3 weeks
(after the conference—how conve
nient). I would suggest to PTTS that
they refund the money for a week’s
worth of parking permits If a reason
able explanation exists for this situa
tion, I would invite Williams to address
it in a Mail Call letter to the students. I
encourage every student that will be af
fected by this situation to call Williams
and voice an opinion.
Brad Russell
Class of 97