The Battalion
Vtonday *
Monday • September 1,1997 1
Library fines cause more trouble than needed
Editorial
R emember that nos
talgic, old-fangle
phrase, “Indian
giver,” where a good
friend would loan you a
pencil and then want it
returned within the next
15 seconds? Although
this might seem like a
childhood situation, the
terminology and circum
stance of the incident
closely resemble an oc
currence taking place on
the Texas A&M campus.
James
Francis
opinion editor
Starting today, individuals will be fined for
overdue materials taken from the Sterling C.
Evans Library, the West Campus Library and
the Evans Library at the George Bush School of
Government and Public Service. For everyday
an item is overdue, a minimum late fee of 25
cents will be appropriated to the student, fac
ulty member or community user in question.
Obviously, this is a good idea; other public
libraries charge fines for checking out materi
als. A&M’s facilities should be no different. But
there are a few drawbacks to this new policy.
. Students are forgetful and too busy to re
member to return materials to the facilities by
a specified due date. Many times and more
times to come, students borrow a great load of
materials for a class project, and by the time
they are finished using the materials, they are
too exhausted to remember that they have to
return the materials. This is not an excuse for
students to continually have overdue materi
als in their possession, but it offers them a lit
tle leeway in the department of memory loss.
The renewal policy for borrowing materials
also is a bit sketchy. Undergraduates must
bring their books and other materials back to
the library to renew them. In a typed adden
dum to circulation guidelines that has been is
sued to various departments on campus, it was
stated that “Faculty and graduate students
may call the renewal number (845-3807).”
Once again, undergraduates are left out in
the cold of new developments at the University.
Why make it harder on freshman, who already
will have enough trouble adjusting to college
life, to force them to physically go to the library
for renewal instead of simply calling a phone
number like faculty and graduate students?
Furthermore, if a student is not a math
ematics major, he or she might not fully un
derstand the grace period given to overdue
materials before a charge is denoted to the
student. The addendum said that the Library
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Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the
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Editorials Board
Helen Clancy
Editor in Chief
James Francis
Opinion Editor
Mandy Cater
Assistant Opinion Editor
Money Talks
Hopwood prompts minorities to explore
lime last
financial offerings of private universities;");™;"
Council, comprised of representatives of the
faculty and student body, “recommended a
fourteen-day grace period.”
With that in mind, this is how the adden
dum explains the system would work: “If a
regular circulating item is due Friday, Sep
tember 19, a library user may return it as late
as Friday, October 3 without owing a fine.
However, on Saturday, October 4, the user
would owe 25 cents per day overdue fine
retroactive to Saturday, September 20. The
fine would be $3.75.” Did everyone under
stand that? It might take a few minutes to
fully grasp the policy’s conditions, but these
rules have been typed up in black and white
for all library users to adhere to. And there
are still a couple of other notices which need
to be mentioned.
The addendum states, “When an item is 30
days overdue, a final notice is sent, and the
user’s circulation privileges are blocked. In
addition, users who accrue a $75 fine, or have
ten overdue books, will have their circulation
privileges suspended until the situation is re
solved. The fine limit per book is $10.”
Library fining is a good idea, but if a stu
dent’s fines reach $75, something is wrong
with both the system and the student. For
students who are worried about paying fines
when school starts, don’t worry too much just
ED GOODWIN/The Battalion
yet. Anything that has been deemed overdue
before September 1 will not incur a fine as
long as the materials are returned before
September 16. And even if students do not
return materials on time, think of all the good
the money collected from fining can help the
University accomplish.
The final statement from the addendum
states, “The monies collected as fines for
overdue material are used by the University
Libraries to purchase additional library
books and other material in high demand.”
This message should send a sigh of relief to
all students and faculty who utilize library
materials. But the “other material in high de
mand” might be something to question in
the future, somewhere down the road when
construction on library drive-thru check-out
becomes a reality.
With the idea of an after school special in
mind, if you wish to learn more about the
A&M library system and its policies, take a
look at the University Libraries Web site at
http://www.tamu.edu/library. But if you are a
student who knows that no matter what you
do, fines will be charged toward you this se
mester, enjoy the relief of knowing that you
won’t be the only one.
James Francis is a junior English major.
When the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals struck down
race-based admission policies, it
triggered a chain of repercussions
that may never be reversed.
Texas Attorney General Dan
Morales interpreted the decision
as applicable to any race-based
recruiting, enrollment and schol
arship policies at all state-run in
stitutions of higher education.
Universities such as Texas A&M
will have a tough time recruiting
top minority students, because
without the attraction of race-
based scholarships, these stu
dents won’t show interest.
And why should they? In the
wake of Hopwood, private univer
sities are taking the reins in mi
nority recruitment. Sadly, our uni
versity has no choice but to step
aside and watch minority enroll
ment figures plunge.
And the winners in this hard
ship are undoubtedly private uni
versities. A&M is at a competitive
disadvantage with private and
out-of-state universities, who are
empowered by scholarships and
grants aimed at minorities.
Even if the cost of attending
USC is three-times that of attend
ing A&M, when a student is
awarded $20,000 a year at USC,
the choice is obvious.
The bottom line is that, like
most students, minority students
will follow the money. Scholar
ships are the only bargaining tool
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universities possess when recruitjiamnowa
ing these students. lophomore.
Finances are foremost oiitaUtwas
their minds, since most minorilonlyby the grace o
ty students do not come fronfivedlast year to b
wealthy families. lerclassman I am
The typical minority student^ tribulations of
worked two jobs in high school far h ave teft meo
to save up for college, and will® nosrna llway, m
not sacrifice financial stabilitf^ an ^ was . asanev
just because a college offers l m ^ ut, * lvva ^ a *
state-of-the-art rec center ol 1 st '". v
unique traditions. Img those tenih
In recognizing the detrimental lS P amtl j% avvai
effects of Hopwood, the Universi* 1 ’ 111 uas < ‘.°
,y of Texas has begun « recrai CSn from"
ment plan to encourage diversity ^. , ^
within the.r student body. Luriendsfrom
UT students will visit hlgh;, ta> , odo | aun
schools to persuade them to re- nvn ioreembai
main in-state. While this mightj^ j-} ow {wj s Ii e
offset some of the dramatic delj^gradedvetei
dines, efforts to recruit are holLxjlyears wouk
low without the bargaining pow-l^teu'me the im|
er of scholarships. leeded to know. A
Hopwood will cause universi-wice to the little
ties such as Texas A&M to lose the itemized list of I
most talented minority students 1. White clothe
to private universities. Potential :;aced in hot wate
Aggies will find their niche at Mwater.
Pepperdine if the aftershocks of 2. Bleach socte
Hopwood persist. pnot bleach T-si
This is a tragedy, especially for 3. Get to know
an institution that prides itselpw'remore likel]
upon being a “world-class” uni#®!who they thir
versity. We can welcome minority! I You can sun, 1
students with diversity programs,'; 0111 a l arn ' 110 l' lve 1
and multicultural conferences,; 0 ®’hut your grai
but without the funds to back it! ™ m * ne c |‘ c ^'.
up, the effort is futile. ' 0 ^ * s ^
\ I/iej'seem to be e
Wnthing and the
Class of 1998
Welcomes the
Fightin’ Texas Aggie
Class of 2001
portunities to pc
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6. Get used tc
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«ople wearing;
I. Texas A&IV
iit’s a religion.
9. Learn the}
actice.
10. Take a da !
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II. Officially,
!A&M.
12. 1:30 a.m.
13. Offi
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Hurricane Harry’s
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