k>ml)er17 ' Vednesday • September 17, 1997
O The Battalion
'PINION
an I graduate ???
Squired social service to earn a diploma benefits students, communities
Mason
Jackson
columnist
:k demere/theBt:.
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id were removing'
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ng identification:
ire issued crimirj
I he worth of a
culture is de
termined by
|e worth of its citi-
pns. For far too long
|e United States
Jhool system has,
jith the aid of some
preless parents,
ten turning out
Jorthless citizens.
It has focused on
lading, writing and
rithmetic, ignoring
le other lessons necessary to create a
jell-rounded person: lessons teaching
[udents to appreciate beauty (art); to
Tvelop self-reliance and nurture their
jeativity; and to seek to improve them-
llves by improving the environment
lat surrounds them.
But on this last point some progress is
feing made. Beginning next year, high
pool students in Chicago will have to
Worm 60 hours of community service
[Tore they can receive their diploma.
This isn’t the first program of its kind,
Ihas already been instituted in several
Iher cities, and Maryland (official mot-
}: "We’re a state, not a city.”)
It has also been upheld by federal
[clges in Pennsylvania and New York.
What does this requirement mean for
Jiierica? A great deal if it spreads na-
mally, and if it’s done right.
But the perils are obvious. Everything
s a loophole, and this requirement
rely will, too.
Perhaps carpooling to school will be
nsidered community service, because
improves the air we breathe ... blah,
ah, blah.
Or maybe the requirement will be ai
red by people who completely miss the
tint, and credit will be awarded to
those who stay out of trouble — “Isn’t it
nice, the way Timmy didn’t maim or kill
anyone this semester. Let’s give him 25
community service credits.”
In order for this to achieve the desired
goals, it will have to be administered by
people who understand the spirit of the
requirement.
Credit fulfillment shouldn’t serve as a
bribe to achieve other purposes. No
other course would be compromised in
that way.
This community service requirement
should serve two purposes. The most
immediate and visible will be the better
ment of the community. The less tangi
ble, but perhaps more important, pur
pose is the betterment of the student.
It will instill respect, both for them
selves and others, along with an im
proved work ethic and discipline. And
for some, it will do something that can
be hard to come by in today’s world — it
will make them feel good.
Will all the students involved be af
fected in such a positive manner? No.
Will most? Maybe, but unlikely. Most
students will tick off the hours like it was
any other homework assignment.
But there will be a good number of
people who are affected, and changed,
for the better. They will see in themselves
an ability to help others, even when the
benefit to themselves isn’t blatantly ap
parent. And anyone who can help others
can no doubt help themselves.
And slowly, believe it or not, we may
become a more competent, self-reliant
people. Improving our worth as a cul
ture, and cleaning the garbage off the
highways at the same time — it just
might work.
Mason Jackson is a senior
marketing major.
r 11
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no
the entire length
•Student Senate must realize its job
o represent every Aggie on campus
ow that classes
are well under
way, books are
sort of purchased and
syllabi distributed, the
fall semester is starting
mmons DiningCfito get in gear.
'every of a lost si The first meeting of
cess the victim's the St udent Senate,
rization. which was last Wednes-
ig area 48. A sin day night, should have
been considered just as
important as the first
couple of days of school.
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Stephen
Llano
columnist
But Student Senate, constantly brow beat
en into the ground by just about every stu
dent on campus, has a hard time catching at
tention for even those two weeks in the
spring, when wooden signs the size of small
mobile homes make the campus look like
some sort of paramilitary training camp for
future politicians or Amway representatives.
Students need to seriously take a look at
Student Senate, as is often preached. This
year should be different. Senators should look
seriously at the student body, and at their po
sition as (gasp) a real job.
Not all student senators are irresponsible,
nor do they all have a disdain for their con
stituents. But students should not rest until
they can say all Senators respect, listen to and
act upon what student concerns are present
ed to them. This is not so far fetched an idea;
when the Tampa Bay Bugs are winning, any
thing is possible.
Student Senate should be treated as a
class. A very important class, much like an in
ternship, Senators learn all about the com
plex interaction needed in a political system
or bureaucracy to get things done. This is till
accomplished with many smiles and hand
shakes, and open ended questions to random
constituents, on occasion.
Students should not accept this as a “nec
essary evil,” as many political tomes are fond
of using. Readers should be able to name
their senators and what they stand for, and if
they can’t, it’s not really their fault.
In four years, I have never seen any one of
my Senators — Liberal Arts or Northside —
stand up in a class and introduce themselves.
This should be a requirement at the begin
ning of each semester for every Senator. Pro
fessors will not mind, just ask them before
class, as they will not really follow Robert’s
Rules of Order when they start lecturing.
Another thing Student Senate could do is
have constituency days more than once a
year. Once a month is fairly reasonable, espe
cially considering the size of some constituen
cies, such as Engineering or Off-Campus.
There is no way that two or three days a year
will allow Senate to have a good idea of what
the majority of constituents believe about the
campus and policies that should be enacted.
As with any class, there should be some re
quired reading for every Senator. The Texas
A&M Constitution and Student Rules and
Regulations should be familiar to every Sena
tor, just like basic formulas for an upper level
engineer, or the steps of mitosis for a biology
major. Furthermore, Senators should keep up
with evety publication A&M produces. Not
only The Battalion, but anything distributed
by the administration to the students or com
munity or the state. Vigilance is the only rule
for Senators who want to be effective.
One place Senators should all be familiar
with is the Web page run by the mysterious
“Specksynder” (http: / /www.geocities.com/Col-
legePark/Union/6116). Whether or not you
agree or disagree with his views, the benefits of
a “loyal opposition” in politics are essential.
Every Student Senator should read this page at
least as frequendy as they pass notes to each
other in meetings. Students can also inform
themselves of Senate news and views in a very
productive and mentally healthy way, instead of
just relying on what others say about their
friends who happen to be Senators.
Instead of considering what e-mail re
sponse will pacify a constituent who gets in
touch with his or her Senator, perhaps really
listening to their concerns might prove a
better investment of both the Senator’s and
student’s time.
As in any class, there will be those who
will ask specifics about how they are grad
ed, or what is going to be on the final. For
Senators, the only way to determine suc
cess in years past was whether their bill got
passed, whether fees went up or down or
whether they got reelected. Senators
should forget about that, and put at the
forefront the one important thing: They
were elected by people.
Fellow students put trust in them to repre
sent their views where they can make a differ
ence. Like any class, if the specific rules and
percentages of grading are pushed aside in fa
vor of actually trying to learn and grow, suc
cess will come naturally.
Hopefully, Student Senate will be able to
rise from the old mentality of representation
— we do what we want, then “educate” the
student body about what we did, to a new
system of honest, frequent communication
with constituents. It is high time for Student
Senate to prove the Senate represents the an
tithesis of a frequent advertising campaign:
“It’s not just an adventure, it’s a job.”
Stephen Llano is a senior history major.
19 7
IBlTCILlUimflllMI!
imsinsiiM
Call
’reventing accidents
equires student help
We are all saddened, whether
tbe this campus or another, to
lear of a student death, espe-
ially when it has some relation-
hip to alcohol and hazing. You,
ithout a doubt, have read
bout the death of a student at
-SU at the beginning of the se
mester with severe alcohol poi-
'Oning at .58 level (an individual
is legally intoxicated at .10 level).
There is almost always some
connection between alcohol
abuse and serious accidents on
our campus. The majority of
violations of Texas A&M rules
such as hazing, vandalism, as
sault and sexual assault in
volve alcohol. Alcohol abuse
also has a tremendous nega
tive impact on academic per
formance and preparation.
Rarely does an individual in
volved in a serious accident, be
it hazing, alcohol abuse or other
serious behavior, intend to
harm someone else or his or
herself. Tragedies, nonetheless,
do occur. It is very important to
learn and educate others
through these experiences.
More importantly, we are some
times in a position to take posi
tive steps to prevent an acci
dent, injury or tragedy. After the
fact, I am sure there are individ
uals who wish they had stepped
forward and had the ability to
influence a situation that later
turned sour or tragic.
We must be willing to act in a
leadership and proactive man
ner on behalf of our friends and
others. I am simply asking each
of you to report any kind of cir
cumstances where there is
abuse of alcohol or abuse of in
dividuals and/or any form of
hazing activity.
I ask that student leaders and
individual students work with
us to develop more proactive
ways in which the University
community can communicate
our desire for the most healthy
attitudes for our friends and fel
low students. Toward this end, I
am appointing a task force of
students, staff and faculty to
study alcohol abuse. The charge
and membership of the task
force will be announced shortly.
Thank you for your attention
to this information. I know we
all want to enjoy the many posi
tive aspects of Texas A&M and
Aggie spirit without these tragic
events that are avoidable.
/. Malon Southerland
vice president for student affairs
The Battalion encourages letters to the ed
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clude 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 Mc
Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also
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The Battalion - Mail Call
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Texas A&M University
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For more details on letter policy, please call
845-3313 and direct your question to the
opinion editor.
Lack of motivation
hinders success of
annual blood drive
I t’s blood
drive time
again,
and the bus
es are back.
You can
hardly walk
across cam
pus without
seeing one of
them, but
many A&M
students
don’t seem to
know they’re there.
One Friday afternoon last se
mester, I went to the BloodCare
bus on West Campus to give my
semiannual blood donation and
get my semiannual free T-shirt. I
climbed out of the heat into the
air-conditioned interior and sat
down to fill out my paperwork.
One of the people in scrubs
typed my information into the
computer and showed me to a
private screening booth for my
mini-physical. He introduced
himself as Jay, took my tempera
ture and blood pressure (both
good), and asked me the re
quired personal questions to de
termine if I had engaged in any
high-risk behaviors that would
prevent me from being a good
donation candidate. I hadn’t.
Then he did a finger prick to test
the iron count of my blood. Un
fortunately, it was too low and I
was deferred as a donor.
I left, feeling both a little hurt at
being rejected and upset that I had
to endure a finger prick—the
most painful part of the process —
for nothing. As I walked away, I
heard someone calling my name. I
turned around, and saw one of the
workers leaning out of the door of
the bus with a T-shirt. I was mo
mentarily confused, because I was
under the assumption of “no
blood, no shirt.” I was told,
though, that “the most important
thing is that you tried, most peo
ple don’t even do that.”
After asking a few questions, I
learned that the average donation
rate for the Brazos Valley is 3 per
cent, while the national average is
5 percent. According to Jennifer
Nixon, the field consultant for
BloodCare, A&M blood drives are
on a level with the other universi
ties they service, including the
University of North Texas and
SMU. What was immediately ap
parent to me, however, is that en
rollment at these universities is
nowhere near equal to ours, the
largest undergraduate student
body in the nation.
I also was told that the campus
donation rates for the past few
years have been dropping. The
five-day blood drive averages be
tween 1100-1200 units of blood,
down from 1500 units four to five
years ago. “A&M used to be com
petitive with UT,” Nixon said, “but
since thq two schools have
stopped actively competing, the
donation rates have dropped.”
Apparently, unless there is an
active threat to our title as “a world
class university,” A&M students
have a hard time being motivated.
I recommend that Alpha Phi
Omega, the service fraternity that
sponsors the blood drives on cam
pus, start a literal “blood feud”
with the t-sips in Austin to encour
age greater turnouts. There seems
to be no other way to create the
needed initiative for most of the
students in Aggieland.
Other reasons, besides lack of
motivation, for not giving blood
are either inability to donate or
fear of the process. Some people
are unable to donate for medical
reasons, such as being on certain
medications or passing out every
time they see blood. Such condi
tions necessarily exempt them
from donating, but simply being
afraid is not much of an excuse.
The donation process is com
pletely sterile, with everything
used only once and opened right
before the donor, and friendly,
trained “apheresis technicians” do
the entire procedure. The actual
donation is not painful —there is
only a slight sting when they first
start — and the entire process is
over in about 10 minutes.
After the donation, several dif
ferent tests are run on the blood to
check for infectious diseases such
as HIV and syphilis. Then the
blood is split into three different
components: red blood cells, plas
ma and platelets. One donation
can save up to three lives.
The entire blood donation
process takes less than an hour, it
makes the University look good
and it helps save someone’s life. In
addition to that, and just as im
portant, the best reason to donate
is obvious: a free T-shirt.
Anna Foster is a junior
journalism major.
Anna
Foster
columnist