The Battalion
2, 1997
Thursday • October 2, 1997
School zone
College students ignore rules of respect and value of education in classes
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Anna
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rt included 1!endin 8 classes -
of evidence like what to
)f the com-^ en f° r i n class, what notes to take,
ises.” ihat kinds of questions to ask and how
, on Capi- fen to go are things most students fig-
3 and Sen. reout fairly quickly. Supposedly by the
s agreedtoJne students reach college, they are
e Army’s^odels of classroom efficiency,
imand in Pictures of college classrooms full of
ex scandal ndents doing things such as these are
a training ten presented to high school students
deenProv- iinspire them to attend college. Im-
ges of students writing furiously in
otebooks while simultaneously looking
trigued and intelligent lead unknow-
Igteenagers to believe in the apparent
lophistication and maturity of those
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college students.
The reality is quite different. College
students barely pay attention in class,
much less look intrigued or intelligent.
Especially in large lecture classes,
there is a tendency among college stu
dents to project an attitude of utter in
difference to their surroundings, includ
ing the learning environment.
Students sleep, eat entire meals, read
the paper and even have conversations
while their professors are talking.
Along with making participating in
class difficult for other students, the
greatest injustice is to the professor.
These behaviors are not only distracting
for a lecturer, they are just plain rude.
Students often forget to consider that
their professors are people, and do not
think twice about exhibiting behavior while
their professor is talking that they would
never do while listening to someone else.
It is acknowledged that for some
students, class is the only time during
the day that they are sitting down long
enough to eat anything, and many
professors do not mind students eat
ing in class. Discreetly eating a pop-
tart is unlikely to disturb the professor
or surrounding students.
Getting up during the middle of a lec
ture, crawling over all the people in the
row, and leaving the room only to return
three minutes later, soft drink and bag of
chips in hand, is a different matter entirely.
Not only is the disturbance of the au
dience rearranging itself distracting, the
opening and closing of doors disrupts
the concentration of every person in the
room. The subsequent noises of opening
bottles and tearing into bags, as well as
the noise from putting the trash away are
only added distractions to an already
disrupted class.
There are other ways students are
rude to their professors. Although read
ing the Battalion is highly recommend
ed, reading it during the middle of class
in full view of the prof is a little extreme.
Only a few professors will actually ask
students to put away their newspapers;
most tolerate the insults in silence. Students
should at least pretend to pay attention to
the lecture, otherwise, attending class is a
waste of students’ time and money.
Anna Foster is a junior
journalism major.
Population increases demand
education, proactive programs
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3.
very
time
your
heart
beats,
three
more ba
bies are
added to
the
world’s
popula
tion. This
means that by tomorrow,
about 242,000 more people
will share the earth’s resources
with us.
The population of the
United States has grown from
about four million in 1800 to
over 263 million today. In
1995, our population in
crease was more than double
the rate of other industrial
ized nations (no, Pat Bucha
nan, this does not include
immigration).
According to Bureau of
Census projections, the Unit
ed States population will in
crease from 263 million in
1995 to 345 million in 2030,
with no stabilization in the
near future.
Other institutions (the gov
ernment is not always right,
as you know) predict a popu
lation of 507 million by 2050
-almost double the current
population.
Imagine the challenge of
finding a parking space at
A&M in 50 years.
On a global scope, the
United Nations projects
worldwide population will
double from the current five
billion to 10 billion in 2050.
This exponential growth
will result in 694 billion peo
ple on our planet by the year
2150, which makes me won
der why the family values po
lice do not address this issue
which will affect our grand
children.
Currently, students at A&M
are educating themselves for
this future dilemma. Most de
partments, from agronomy to
zoology, realize the need for
proactive population pro
grams.
Courses in bioenvironmen-
tal science, geography, renew
able resources and agricultur
al economics empower
students to face the problems
that loom ahead.
Of course, even students in
other majors realize that peo
ple need food to survive.
Daniel Huckaby, a senior
meteorology major, said, “In
nature, growth is a temporary
thing. Sustainable growth
sounds neat, but we don’t
have the resources to grow
forever.”
Dr. Jane Magill, professor of
genetics and biochemistry,
said educating the world’s cit
izens is important.
“Improving literacy almost
always leads to decreased
birthrates."
She said that new tech
niques in satellite television
allow low-cost education to
people in developing nations.
Some people — bless their
hearts — say that a popula
tion problem is “alarmist.”
They claim that more peo
ple result in more specialists for
solving the problems we face.
This trickle-down theory
just won’t work.
Currently, one out of five
people on the planet do not
have basic survival necessi
ties, and a doubling of the
population will not help.
For those who cry “we can
have as many kids as we want
to,” I offer you this: limiting
individuals from doing what
ever they want — in order to
protect the freedom of others
— is the basis of most laws in
modern societies.
The most obvious solution
to over-population is family
planning programs.
Contraceptive techniques
that are safer, less expensive
and easier to use in poor
health conditions should be
developed. Ideologies that
discourage better family
planning indirectly result in
suffering and death of many
women and children. An in
teresting irony is that ideo
logues who claim family
planning programs are im
moral often see no moral
conflict in building more
fighter bombers.
The population explosion is
no longer a distant threat. In
our lifetime, we shall see dra
matic changes in population
policies and personal lifestyles.
As future leaders, we must
acknowledge the long-term
effect of everything we do.
Concern for creation as a
whole, rather than the arro
gant human-centered outlook
should be of great importance
in secular — as well as reli
gious — ideals.
Those who refuse to accept
this challenge in the name of
ideology should check into
the Home for the Terminally
Literal-Minded.
John Burton is a
sophomore bioenvironmental
science major.
tOcfeilicIl utm
Mail Call
Public schools
deserve support
In response to Donny Ferguson’s
"Public education ...’’Sept. 22
column:
I guess anything goes on the
opinion page of The Battalion
these days. Having read Fergu
son’s recent attack on public
school education, it is evident that
there is no need to worry about
getting the facts straight.
There were so many unwar
ranted conclusions in the column
that I won’t try to list them all. I
don’t know what his credentials
are, but I graduated from Texas
public schools, and all four of my
children have attended them.
(One has just graduated as a Na
tional Merit Scholar). I have
served on the school board for
over eight years. Ours is a diverse
district in terms of ethnic and so
cioeconomic make-up.
My experience has been that
the vast majority of Texas public
school teachers and administra
tors work extremely hard for rela
tively low pay with admirable ded
ication to the students.
His cost figures of comparing
public and private schools ignore
bilingual education, special educa
tion programs, free bus transporta
tion, free and reduced lunch pro
grams and many other programs
which add greatly to the per-pupil
average cost in the public sector.
Our district and many others
focus extra dollars on prekinder
garten programs, mentoring pro
grams (in which many Aggie stu
dents volunteer their time), and
additional technology for schools
with a high number of at risk stu
dents. Many children who would
not even be admitted to a private
school are finding success.
The more I learn about public
schools (and I am still learning),
the more I am convinced that they
deserve our support. They are not
perfect; some have serious prob
lems; but they remain our best
hope for the future.
I don’t know where Mr. Fergu
son went to school before college. I
can only hope that he soon learns
somewhere that his freedom to ex
press himself, especially in news
paper columns, carries with it a re
sponsibility to be accurate and fair.
C. David Stasny
Class of’74
President, Bryan School Board
Column unfairly
blasts Democrats
In response to Donny Ferguson’s
"Democratic bumblings ...’’Sept. 24
column:
As if this country, or this cam
pus for that matter, needed more
coverups or secrets, Ferguson’s
column is typical of the majority
of Aggies on this campus.
Ferguson’s column depicted
several examples of inept, im
moral and illegal politicians, all
of which just happened to be De
mocrats. Convenient, isn’t it?
The truth is, these kinds of
politicians can be found in either
party. For example, let’s look at
the king of illegality, former pres
ident Richard M. Nixon, or even
Speaker of the House Newt Gin
grich.
Both of these people lied and
covered up their indiscrepancies.
Gingrich also tops the list of im
morality as he delivered divorce
papers on his soon-to-be ex-
wife’s death bed.
Or, need I remind you of the
Texas politician out of Carthage
who was found with a prostitute?
Perhaps Republican presidential
candidate Bob Dole can tell us all
a little about campaign finance
reform. After all, he has received
the two largest fines for viola
tions in political history. But, we
always have a way of forgetting
about stuff like that, don’t we?
As citizens, we are critical of
all our leaders. We have the right
to be; but what if they were to be
critical of us? I mean, we are the
ones who elect these people.
And, we are the ones who are too
busy to vote or too lazy to get in
volved in the grass roots and do
something about the real prob
lems facing this country.
We are our own worst ene
mies, and as long as we tolerate
ineptness, immorality and ille
gality from ourselves and our
leaders (of either political party),
we deserve what we get.
On another issue, to read Fer
guson’s column, one would think
that the Democratic party is in to
tal disarray, which is far from the
truth. The Democrats, while suf
fering losses in the 1994 midterm
elections, came together in 1996
to re-elect President Clinton and
gain some seats back in Congress.
The Republicans are the party
of ethically inadequate candi
dates who suffered splintering
following the 1992 convention in
Houston and the 1996 freefall to
ward the presidency by Dole. Fer
guson’s column simply typifies
the rhetoric and media attacks of
a party lacking conviction,
courage and common sense.
Misty A. Hataway
Class of ’98
Speech misses
student experience
The remarks made by Mrs.
Scardino, the British CEO, quoted in
The Battalion apply just as much to
any U.S. citizen as they do to the
U.S. government.
As the only self-proclaimed su
per power left in the world, you have
a responsibility towards the other
members of the world community
and have to exercise it with knowl
edge and wisdom. May I suggest a
way that can help TAMU’s leaders
not be “inward looking” as Mrs.
Scardino outlines.
TAMU must have many gradu
ates working overseas — I met one in
the computer lab the other day who
will shortly be leaving for an over
seas posting.
The Battalion encourages letters to the ed
itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in
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
be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: H IT
Rax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
i5
4
97
Why not invite one of those al
ready established to write short ar
ticles about their experiences? How
they cope with foreign customs,
manners and lifestyles - the diffi
culties they encounter, they laughs
they share.
I am sure the Alumni Association
would have contacts with overseas
graduates. Thus, you would widen
the horizons of current students.
David Speary
Post graduate student
Football program
generates revenue
In response to Michelle Voss’ "Pass
ing the pigskin” Sept. 26 column:
The headline to Voss’ column
suggests that “football scores big
with ridiculous amounts of fund
ing and fanatical support.”
We thought that Voss and the
rest of the student body might get
a kick out of understanding why
Texas Aggie football is so big. Al
most all of the money used to
support all of A&M’s athletic
teams comes from football.
Each sport raises meager
amounts of its own money from
ticket sales, concessions, etc. But
the fact remains that the bulk of
each athletic team’s budget
comes from revenue donated to
these teams from revenue in
duced by the football program.
The revenue induced during
the 96-97 season, solely from the
sale of football tickets, amounted
to approximately $9.3 million.
The football program was also
able to raise an additional $11.5
million from other miscellaneous
sources, such as radio and televi
sion rights, the 12th Man, suites,
promotions, concessions and
media guides, just to name a few.
That’s right, the athletic depart
ment (mostly football) was able
to raise approximately $20.2 mil
lion during the 96-97 season.
Voss should realize that al
though she does not possess the
cognitive ability or the desire for
thoroughness to properly research
her opinions, it is nonetheless
true that the football program is
almost solely responsible for the
survival of athletics at Texas A&M.
Voss should be aware that col
lege football is big business in
every aspect of its being, and that
art and music programs simply are
not. Until music and art programs
can induce a comparable amount
of support, revenue and exposure
for A&M, they will always take a
backseat, as they should.
Jason R. Fort
Class of ’98
Loren Leblanc
Class of ’00
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