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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1997)
997|iirsday •June 19, 1997 O The Battalion 'PINION tees can’t yfach ‘other ducation’ ieni U't Dan Cone Columnist, Sophomore economia major it of ll't: list llli'l’f lat hm fly dif- exasA&M University is an institution of higher edu cation and it offers many mlsofachievement. Before re- a degree, every student istfirst receive another kind Mucation if they want to be rassful in school and in life, leeducation students receive bmA&M is as varied as the stu- itntsthemselves. The first pur- poseforattending school is to iitainadegree which will make uindividual marketable. A false inception, however, is made by natty students when they first aiiveatA&M. Ute belief that a student can re- Kan education just by attend- agclassand simply learning what professors have to say alone is fe.There is a whole "other edu- aion" to be learned in addition to .t«s necessary for graduation. Hiis"other education” is as di ms the one taught in class- ms, but at times more impor- tilAsthe Class of 2001 prepares itiegin its collegiate career, new Lents need to know that in or- :to be successful in school, Lmust create a new self. As diasone can draw on past ex- liiences, college is a new and £(]ue environment. Many things common in the istwill change. Life never re- Baiasthe same, and the begin ning of college is a major huge in life. living on time for an eight hlorjclass after a night at the fcssomething most students feexperience until their first teof college. As many Tylenol t'it may take, it is still necessary [aniake classes if being at A&M re than one year is a goal. . ngon a Thursday night is skill which requires a little !. It is very easy to say “I tacatch up on the weekend,” %)out instead. ime management is another itormost incoming freshmen *13 hard time learning. Sud- *5freedom from parents and ilng around in a new envi- Bnent makes picking up a 'Okand doing extra reading a tefor students who don’t tp track of their schedules, try professor expects students keep up and know what is go- Hon in class. A professor may •twilling to do many things to a student, but if a student fesn’t know the information, it hard for them to be of any help, fills isn’t high school any more. Another important thing for tew freshmen to know is that they feuld join an organization as 'ton as possible. Whether a stu- dent pledges a fraternity or soron- T'joins a service organization, gets Solved with the community or "th a church, it is necessary to put roots in the community and meet as many people as possible. A&M is one of the friendliest campuses in the nation. Most are very considerate and iing to help out someone new; filone has to do is ask. -All of these instances lead to a fries of new experiences which ally adds to a student’s educa- bn. Seeds which are planted owwill grow for the remainder la student’s career and contin ue to grow throughout life. Learning to be independent and self-sufficient in this new envi- conment will help when entering % job market, where meeting and dealing with new and some times intimidating environments h part of everyday life. Students entering A&M need to malize that success in the class- fnomis the ultimate goal, but there am many factors outside the class that must be considered in addi tion to the normal class studies. The first year of college is one of •he most dramatic changes in •tost young students’ lives. Every- 'neat A&M was at the top of their -spective classes. Being successful •the next level, however, is harder md more rewarding than other accomplishments. Welcome J&M and always remember, this ^thigh school any more. The Surgeon General says ... American fascination with warning labels leads to paranoia Columnist A John Lemons Electrical engineering graduate student W arning—This column may be hazardous to your emotional health. Reading it may cause anger or elicit an irrational action like contributing to mail call. If every Opinion column were prefaced by this disclaimer, some Texas A&M stu dents would be saved considerable grief. Warnings exist to protect individ uals from harm. But in the litigation- happy 1990s, the public demand for warnings has migrated from being useful to being absurd. A growing movement in American society is clamoring for the government to protect citizens from all harm. Expecting the government to shield its people from all threats, however, robs individuals of the ability to protect themselves. Warning — Drinking milk may be hazardous to your health. Milk’s fat content can contribute to heart disease. If Norman Mayo, 61, has his way, this warning will join pictures of missing children on the panels of milk cartons across the country. Mayo recently filed suit against the Dairy Farmers ofWashington and the Safeway supermarket chain. Mayo has heart disease and suf fered a minor stroke which was pro voked by a lifetime of drinking milk. “I drank milk like some people drink beer or water,” Mayo said. “I’ve always loved a nice cold glass of milk, and I’ve drank a lot of it.” Mayo’s suit alleges that the Dairy Farmers ofWashington and Safeway are liable for his health condition and medical expense, because they failed to inform the public of the effects of milk fat. He also believes milk should come with a warning label, akin to the labels placed on cigarette packs. “It’s my opinion that the dairy in dustry’s to blame,” Mayo said. “They push their dairy products without warning you of the hazards.” If Mayo wins this case, it will cre ate an advertising coup. The milk industry will have to change its catch phrase from “Milk — it does a body good” to “Milk — its athero sclerosis in a carton.” Heart transplant pa tients with milk mus taches will replace the supermodels who cur rently appear in national milk advertisements. Despite the apparent absurdity of his suit, Mayo is obviously trying to capitalize on the mo mentum of similar, suc cessful lawsuits against tobacco companies. But solely blaming the suppli er of a product ignores the re sponsibility of the individual who has spent a lifetime of using the product voluntarily. Warning — Failing to study and attend class may be hazardous to a student’s grade-point ratio. Par tying too much may cause a stu dent to flunk out of Texas A&M. If the world needs to be equipped with warning labels, this message should be included on every acceptance letter from A&M. Each year, thousands of Ag gies fail to make the grades they desire because they do not study adequately. Perhaps if these stu dents were warned of the hazards of failing to study, they would be academically successful. Unfortunately, every hazard cannot be identified. Furthermore, expecting the government to iden tify and announce them is both naive and irresponsible. Individu als cannot expect to be coddled by the government; they must learn to think for themselves. Warning signs are everywhere, individuals just have to look for them. For smokers who claim they were never informed of the haz ards of smoking, the signs of a hacking cough and nicotine addic tion should have tipped them off to the danger. For students who are unaware of the academic hazards of col lege, the Center for Academic En hancement offers CAEN 101-Suc ceeding in College. Judy Priddy, a class instructor, said the class addresses skills stu dents need to succeed in college such as studying, time manage ment and note taking. “I feel confident that they [stu dents] leave the class knowing what they should be doing,” Priddy said. As for milk drinkers, food label ing began in 1974. The nutrition in formation they need to assess the risks of drinking milk is printed on the side of every carton of milk. It is ironic that the Ameri can public insists on making contradictory and impossi ble demands on its govern ment. While a whole seg ment of society is on a tirade to minimize govern ment, another begs it to protect them from all evil. But the best solution lies ^somewhere between these two extremes as individuals begin to watch out for themselves. Caveat emptor — let the buyer beware. Local businesses must cater to students’ needs T he recent controversy surrounding the Stu dent Rec Center and the avid pursuit of the student dollar by local business people has caused many students to realize what a large economic contribution they make to the local economy each year. Despite this tremendous influx of capital each year, students are not always treated properly in dealings with local merchants. One can not find or rationalize an acceptable or legitimate reason for this simple fact to exist, but it does. When one pays for a good or valuable service they should be treated in the best possible way, and the product should function as advertised. All too often, stu dents unwillingly become the victim of a horrible afflic tion called “Crappy Consumer Experience Syndrome.” After being afflicted by this syndrome, sometimes caused by less than stellar customer service, the victim is left feeling used and usually does not feel good about their purchase. The best way to avoid this painful affliction is to deal with businesses that have a solid reputation or which deal primarily or exclusively with students. Scott Eustace, director of leasing and marketing for University Tower, said “Because we have been in this Columnist Len Callaway Junior journalism major business for the past eight years and the fact that we deal exclusively with students, we as a team have been able to pinpoint the most com mon questions and concerns that students have about living away from home, and as a result have been able to provide a great service to the students as well as the parents.” Students must keep in mind that conducting business in College Station, from a merchants point of view, often is akin to conducting busi ness in a resort or vacation town. The academic year is the “on” season, and the summer would naturally be the “off” season. Many business owners prefer to establish solid and long-lasting relationships with with their clientele. How ever, because of the transient nature of the A&M student body, these relationships often do not have the opportu nity to develop. Students will find out when dealing with student ori ented businesses, the entire atmosphere is different— the air feels lighter, the stigma of seriousness often is not pre sent and one usually sees a smile before even having a chance to see the whole employee’s face. Chris Penn, manager of Marooned Records and local alternative music guru, said, “Without the students, our business would die. We have been around long enough to know what is sought after and if we don’t have it, we will order it and get it in as soon as possible. We’ll do almost anything to make the customer happy.” Many businesses in the area do not feel the way Penn and Eustace feel. Whether they are natural monopolies or proprietorships, some businesses do not value the money that students contribute to their businesses because they are the only source of whatever product they offer in the area. They did not have to fight for their share of the mar ket like some other businesses did, therefore they do not know what it is like to struggle for success. If one wants what they have, one has to get it from them. However, one thing remains constant about the free market system, even in a college town — if some entity can do it better or less expensive, the first provider is often out of luck and out of revenue. Students should let someone know if they are not receiv ing the appropriate type of service. Businesses which con duct themselves in this manner live by a hateful and non- appreciative sword, and they should die by the same blade. Certain businesses in this area have long-standing rela tionships with students, and students should make every effort to continue doing business with these organiza tions. They know how students feel, what they want, they look out for the student interest, and most importantly, they value the students’ contributions to their livelihood. Two sides of earning money prevail in America lifteen percent of the I world’s population holds Columnist 75 percent of the money. That’s just awful. They should take all of that money and distribute it equally,” “Joe Average” said. Kail Marx said, “The theory of Commu nism can be summed up in one sen tence: Abolish all private property.” These two statements are frighten ingly similar. This country’s econom ic system is based on capitalist prin- Chris Brooks Senior physic major ciples for a reason—the system allows people to do whatever they can with whatever they have. People who succeed in this country do so because they work very hard. In their search for fairness, egalitarians like Joe would be ex tremely unfair to those who have worked hard to achieve their successes. On a hot summer day, a young man took his sweetheart to a lake. He rowed her to the far side, and, when she wanted some ice cream, he rowed back. But the ice cream melted on the return trip, and the young man realized that people needed a better way to propel boats. So Ole Evinrude invented the outboard motor; he estab lished a lucrative company which still exists. Henry was born to a poor Texas family, but he won an ap pointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. Later, while working for IBM, he met his sales quota for the year in the first three weeks of January. Then, with only $ 1,000 in savings, he started a company for designing, in stalling and operating electronic data processing systems. Along the way, he attempted to deliver food, medicine, mail and clothing to U.S. pris oners of war in Vietnam and organized a commando rescue of prisoners in Iran. Later, Henry sold his company to General Motors for $2.5 billion. Henry is better known as Ross Perot. Andrew Carnegie did not have a formal education. He got a job with the Pennsyl vania Railroad and worked his way to su perintendent through promotions. After the Civil War, Carnegie started a steel mill and was one of the earliest users of the Bessemer process. By 1899, he controlled 25 percent of America’s iron and steel pro duction. He sold his U.S. Steel Corp. for $250 million, and across the course of his life, he gave away $350 million to institu tions of education, culture and peace. These men, as well as Henry Ford, Joe Kennedy and Bill Gates, are among many Americans who rose from humble, often re markably poor beginnings by blood, sweat, tears and innovation to achieve great wealth — in some cases, greatness. These are peo ple who looked at the world and saw a need they were able to fill. No one has the right to say these people, who made their fortunes out of literally nothing, should give them up. Certainly, there are people who have in herited their wealth, but at some point their fortunes started due to the hard work of someone with an idea. It would only dishonor the memories of those great Americans to' take the money away from their descendants. If the money of the world’s — or even the US’s — rich was distributed equally, the outcome would not be as beneficial as egalitarians would like to think. Many coastal cities have seen the rise of dolphin feeding excursions. Every city has also seen these activities outlawed. It was observed that the dolphins had stopped hunting for themselves after they became accustomed to being fed by humans, and they were no longer teaching their young to hunt for themselves. This effect has already been seen in the current welfare system — giving out checks to every American family could not be good for this society. But it really would not be much of a problem. One trillion dollars — more than the combined worth of the aforemen tioned men — divided among the popula tion of the U.S. is only $4,000 per person — a nice one-time bonus, but hardly worth the trouble. In the end, those who are rich now would probably take their share and turn it into another fortune. George Bernard Shaw once said, “A gov ernment which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” As long as people look around and see only what they do not have, there will always be support for “soaking” the rich. And as long as there are people who look around and see what opportunities the world holds, there will always be people who are rich.
