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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1997)
The Battalion 1 ¥ IN ON Page 9 Tuesday • March 25, 1997 he Gimmick of Campaigning tudent body president candidates lack solutions to election process woes The onslaught is almost over. By Friday, many of t he campaign signs, brochures, flyers and other efor me” paraphernalia will be :ed where they belong—in some age shed or garbage dump on the ikirts of town. lesides dealing with all these flower- rees and their showers of pollen, ents also were assaulted by fliers, ap speeches, handshakes and com- ialized signs sitting in the back of up trucks. )f course, many students wisely dis- rdsuch propaganda. But on a cam- where it was recendy discovered that about 60 :ent of the students didn’t know the name of the lent body president, this trend of ignorance dstobe stopped. /oter apathy has been a top concern for the Sen- lately. hi fact, this was an issue the last time I at- ed a Senate meeting inl995.Andwiththe dthat the Senate passes legislation, they're bably still in conference. \t this time of year, the fact that ignorance is ated with hliss stems from the simple fact that Jents are jaded. And who can blame them when sidential candidates campaign on empty sym- ssuch as clothing labels, soft drink manufactur- and football emblems. Only one person can stop this senseless commer- ization—the student body president As defined he constitution, the president has the power to re- n campaign procedure, a power rarely invoked. Sadly, the majority of platforms don’t even [atch the surface of out-of-control advertising copyright infringement. Most of them concen- te on the need to increase parking availability, Columnist Stephen Llano Senior history major provide more Q-drops and reorganize the structure of Student Government. Realistically, these are pipe dreams at best. Student Government, in its lim ited constitutional powers can only re examine or advise policy action. What this means for student body president candidate platforms is “one out of three ain’t bad.” The result is students, who bother to vote, usually vote for names higher up on the ballot; or they vote based on per sonality combined with name recogni tion. For the most part, Texas A&M gets a lukewann, policy-making body. A simple platform is best. And even without an act of God, many of the ills of A&M life can be solved in a few short steps. For example, the most cost-effective way to in crease parking availability is to ban freshmen from bringing cars on campus. Other universities across the nation do not allow freshmen to bring vehicles to school with them, and this is a successful policy. Couple this with a residential life policy of giving freshmen first come first serve housing, and the University might increase participation in some of its now dying traditions. Many freshmen are forced to live off campus by the allocation policy which only gives 80 percent of them a room. The other 20 percent, even if they are in the first round of selection, are given over-assign ment notifications. As far as campaign reform, the senseless barrage of cute, little signs must stop. The new president must set regulations stating all campaign signs should not be above 4 feet tall. And the colors al lowed on the sandwich boards should only be ma roon and white. We need to get rid of the candidates who would rather be associated with the giants of corporate America than the university they wish to represent. A candidate’s full name and position sought also must appear on the sign, larger than any slogan gimmick or nickname. Of course, strict regulations must be backed up with strict enforcement. Any sign violating these rules should be removed by the Physical Plant, and the work hours should be billed to the appropriate candidates. The problem of ballot order can be fixed by providing a random order of names on ballots at every voter poll location. This way, voters would rely less on order and more on substance when they fill out ballots. In fact, such legislation was proposed in the Senate not too long ago. Unfortu nately, it was not undertaken. Moreover, the invasion of privacy by door- knocking and sliding campaign propaganda un der residence hall doors is unjustifiable. Door-to- door campaigning must be prohibited, and any corporate copyright infringement on flyers and handouts should not be allowed. When candidates use these materials, it infers that our Student Gov ernment is worth no more than a 30-second “please buy this” message. Campaigning at such a low level is not unique to A&M by any means. Our very own national government has traded in public discussion and debate on serious issues for fancy political com mercials, bumper stickers and celebrity endorse ments. But Aggies pride themselves by being a cut above the rest. The next student body president must hold true to this universal Aggie belief by focusing on campaign reform first, thereby giving classes of future Aggies a renewed and viable interest in Student Government. .ggies create arrogant outlook hile many Texas A&M students endure endless |gie jokes from home- ppwnMends and neigh- ^Brs, A&M has risen cfibm a laughingstock to a rationally ranked aca- ftnicinstitution over l § past decade, ja As current Aggies grad- pteand venture into tire [ •; (alworld of jobhunting, -found reputation lithe University can be o« sedas the needed edge to land ideal fc. However, if students and faculty tome too proud of A&M’s growth I nd achievements, an avalanche of l n ?gie arrogance will soon bury the hool in unchecked egotism and un- inied pride. Most often, Aggie arrogance is ten in August, when preseason 1 polls are released. In 1995, a \ * eseason poll by the Sporting tws put Texas A&M at no. 1, and in an Associated Press poll nked A&M no. 12. These early p ills often lead Fish Camp coun- lors, yell leaders and crew chiefs predict a New Year’s Day crown- ?of the National Champion Ag- |g«!#s. By mid-September, though, ost of this arrogance is humbled. However, Aggie sports are no rgerthe sole source of pride and ogance on campus. A1996 U.S. tws and World Report ranking of dversities placed Texas A&M in the r 50 for the first time. More recent- the April 1997 issue of Texas 1 onthly declared A&M the best Columnist Glenn janik Sophomore poiitical science major public university in Texas. The University’s enrollment of under graduate students is the highest in America, and President Ray Bowen claimed A&M’s faculty to be one of die finest in the nation. “We’ll judge our faculty against anyone,” Bowen said in Texas Monthly. Considering this in flux of promising acade mic news, it is not sur prising to see “On the Eighth Day God Created Aggielhnd” bumper stickers and “What do you call an Aggie Graduate? Boss!” T-shirts on campus every day. While these benign displays of Aggie pride are humorous to most students at A&M, those not familiar with the University could perceive Aggie pride as arrogance. The repu tation of Texas A&M is something each graduating Aggie will take to job interviews. If an employer learns of Aggieland’s stellar acade mic standards and the school’s commitment to creating leaders, all Aggies will have an inside track to landing a job. However, when Aggie pride causes students to boast about A&M being God’s gift to man, the notability of the school suffers, and the Aggie label can become a maroon letter of shame. This egotism is not limited to stu dents. Faculty and staff can also con tribute to campus arrogance. Though A&M’s agricultural research is second to none, the political sci ence department publishes more ar ticles than any other university, and A&M sciences are filled with award winning professors. However, this provides no excuse for being arro gant. Traditionally, the intellectual elite were limited to a handful of Ivy League schools. But as A&M contin ues to recruit esteemed professors, a standard of excellence must be up held. While professors have every right to be proud of their accom plishments, arrogance and self- righteousness give the University and its students a sullied reputation. Aggies have many reasons to be proud of A&M. No school in the state and few in a nation fos ter the sense of community like that of A&M. Not only do Aggies have this sense of community, but they also have access to the “other” education. The “other” education gives students a chance to build leadership and moral strength, but it also should teach a sense of humility. It has been said “Ego is the anes thesia that deadens the pain of stu pidity.” As A&M moves into the 21st century and attempts to fulfill its goal of becoming a “world class university,” Aggies must avoid the temptation of bragging about the University’s achievements. If Aggies quit boasting and stand by their accomplishments speak for themselves, the standing of A&M will continue to grow. But if stu dents degrade themselves to a level of petty arrogance, they risk be coming walking Aggie jokes. RHA proves unfair to residents I t is common on tire Texas A&M campus for students to pay money to attend this in stitution, be forced to make concessions and never be given the bene fit of the doubt when controversy arises. Students payout of their ears for barely ade quate facilities only to be chastised and mistreated by higher powers. The De partment of Residence life and Housing is no exception. An incident in Aston Hall last se mester serves as a wonderful example of the failure of due process. Not only were tire students involved treated unfairly compared to simUar experi ences in the past, but they also were used as an example to other students and given a harsh punishment as an overly harsh symbolic gesture. Each year at the Bonfire cut site, a group of freshmen from Aston are rec ognized by their crew chiefs for their hard work and dedication. It is a tradition for these recog nized freshmen to play a prank on their crew chiefs before Bonfire. The prank usually involves placing a vari ety of food products in the rooms of the crew chiefs. This tradition has occurred for many years, with the usual punish ment being the freshmen had to clean up the mess they had made. However, this year the admin istration went grossly above and beyond past actions. The freshmen played their Columnist Jon Apgar Junior journalism major prank, according to tradition, then cleaned up the mess, leaving the rooms in the con dition they were in be fore the prank. While these freshmen may have gone a little overboard with their prank, no harm was done to anyone and no lasting damage was in flicted on the rooms. Instead of merely be ing reprimanded (as had been done numerous times in the past), the freshmen were kicked off campus after a meeting with the South Area Coordinator — barred from Aston. A subsequent appeal resulted in two students being allowed on campus in different halls and one student, who had no part in the prank other than assisting in the clean-up, being placed on housing probation for two semesters. These freshmen were singled out and mistreated more than necessary. Although many other pranks oc curred in the same period of time in Aston by other organizations, none of the students involved in them were punished. In fact, some resi dent advisors condoned and even participated in these pranks. Moreover, no destruction of property actually occurred in the crew chiefs’ rooms, because once the proceedings were underway, the rooms were already back to their original conditions. The punishment handed down by Residence Life and Housing was unusually severe for the committed act. In 1994, a resident pulled a knife on a resident advisor in an on-campus hall, had received one semester of housing probation. Ap parently, threatening a staff mem ber with a knife is less severe than playing a traditional prank. This prank by the freshmen has been carried out by numerous peo ple in preceding years. Instead of kicking the students off campus (which solves nothing and teaches no responsibility), the students in the past were allowed to implement cleaning programs in the hall. Perhaps the greatest wrongdo ing of Residence Life and Flousing was the lack of care for the students in their appeal process. Students who tried to compro mise with the staff and adminis tration after the decision were told by the South Area Coordinator that it was not his problem anymore and to seek help elsewhere. The problem with this situation is that no third-party intervened to make an arbitrary decision. Only the administration’s one-sided, flawed theory of justice was used to repri mand the students. One conclusion can be drawn from this instance. Although the A&M administration constantly tells students to ask for help when it is needed, the reality is a plea for fairness falls on deaf ears, and students are turned away or given the runaround until confu sion and unfairness defeat any chance of due process. )jER cheW'U' wm. j 4 i — RAPS GOTTEN Tbo P^H&EROUS... MHMMMNM Mail Stum Pro-choice rally strays from issue Regarding the pro-choice rally Sat urday, March 22: The issue of abortion divides Americans between two foundations of American freedom: individual lib erty and sanctity of life. The choice of whether to abort a pregnancy should not be made lightly, but with sobriety and consideration. Regardless of whether one be lieves the fetus is “alive” or “hu man,” abortion stops a process which, left alone, results in the birth of a living, human being. Therefore, the decision of whether to have an abortion should be taken seriously. Ideally, it should be made with the sup port of family, friends, parents and a physician. It should not be like the pro-choice rally held at Rudder fountain on Saturday. I thought a pro-choice gathering would assemble people who had reached a reflective conclusion about an extremely difficult and anguishing decision. Saturday’s event was no different than a high- school pep-rally. It was a circus, complete with banners, chants, cheers and speakers whooping and joking with the crowd. Next time pro-choice support ers want to stage another carnival like the undignified gathering Sat urday, they should be a little more humble considering the grave na ture of what it is they choose. Todd Daniel Graduate Student Injured student assisted, ignored Because of an auto accident, I will be on crutches for two weeks. Most people have been nice to me. People have offered to carry my books and take me to and from school. I have not been so lucky with doors. There have been a few really nice people who have held doors open for me, but for the most part, people just walk by and let the door shut in my face. I have even had people stand in the Aca demic Building and watch me at tempt to push a door open with my back while trying to drag the rest of myself behind. This is not an easy feat. And in no way is it easy to be on crutches. I’m hurt by this behavior, especially at an institution like Texas A&M, where Ag gies pride themselves on courtesy. Thanks to those who have taken the time to hold open a door. To those who are too busy or just don’t care, I hope if you are ever on crutches, you are lucky enough to be surrounded by helpful people. Unfor tunately, I have not been so lucky. Lori Michele Hendrix Class of’97