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rsday • March 5, 1998
The Battalion
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1PUS CONNECTION
and wire
sence, excuse
eat olicy stands as an
ndn ^
isult to students
A&M W
)St to lo
Man is ha
Parekh
columnist
ere let: T-1 he university views class atten-
lexander I dance as an individual student
jotingr J4 responsibility.”
She begi n s the University Attendance Policy
o ntj lined in the 1997-98 student rules
: eig! jook. A statement such as this leads to
1 Lindf inclusion if a student chooses not to at
ari Ag :lass for a personal reason, such as a
ward E in the family or illness, the student is
off th y alii >wed to do that,
itabiis many students can attest to, this is
eld a ue. In order to be “responsible,” a stu-
defea ‘ s required to go through feats of bu-
ored, ratio acrobatics.
,o p order to be officially excused from class, students must provide
sort of evidence to substantiate their excuse, whether it be a
>Ts note or a death announcement.
, s interesting to note in a world where college students are
ad to serve in the military, make public policy and balance the
inds of school and work, they are not trusted to know whether
t they should get a day off from school,
is nice to be trusted with only the “minor” things.
Il/ji 16 prevailing theory behind the need for verification of an ex-
1 ''''is some students lie in-order to get out of classes and tests.
m .At so do many workers in the “real world” who are not required
mstantiate every absence. This is in spite of the fact those ab-
3s actually cost the employer money.
5$ hen a student is absent, Texas A&M does not lose any money.
A udlnts are held to a higher burden of proof than most workers;
,e >ften leads to students attending class when they should not, for
C ake of themselves and others.
hen a loved one dies, the survivors often go through a period of
iing during which they are unable to deal with work and school,
lumber of Aggies who must deal with such a tragedy grows
/ time Silver Taps is held.
at according to the student handbook, unless the student is a
iber of the deceased person’s immediate family, the absence is
:cused. It would seem, according to the University, students do
veed to grieve for their close friends and colleagues.
4 bat must be the reason Silver Taps is held late at night; because
I es are not in session.
% order to excuse an absence, the student must provide “satis-
"iry evidence to the instructor to substantiate the reason for
ib sence.”
/hat constitutes satisfactory evidence when a family member
iiedIn some instances, copies of death certificates and obituar-
ave been required.
is nice to know the University is considerate of students during
;s of mourning.
he majority of absences, however, are due to illness. Joe Aggie
es up one morning and has a sore throat, a runny nose and a
lache. What should joe Aggie do? He could follow his mother’s
ce: get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. Too bad he can’t,
ccording to A&M, Joe Aggie needs to go see a private doctor or go to
- ;al Health Center and get an excuse. Apparently the administration
ks most doctors have nothing better to do than treat colds (for which
e is no quick-fix medicine) and write excuses for sick students.
,s most students and doctors know, that is simply not the case.
If student feels that they are ill, they should call or e-mail their
essor,” Dr. Ann Reed of Beutal Health Center said.
Big The primary job [of the physician] is not to provide a note but to
care of sick patients.”
ccording to Reed, policies such as the University’s have turned
me physician into a “policeman for the school.”
;e F Doctors can’t take care of the ill if they are seeing students who
ftr nly need excuses,” Reed said.
choc [ feel that it is your responsibility. I don’t think that you should
;a; b a school note.”
hs he administration apparently feels doctors should not just be
un cemen but judges too. Not only must the doctor verify die stu-
sctif’t is sick, but must also judge whether the illness is “too severe or
m c lagious for the student to attend class.”
low is poor Joe Aggie supposed to prove his cold is too severe for
to attend class? That is the doctor’s judgment call. So for all the
i Joe goes through in order to take his sick self to the doctor in or-
to get an excuse, like a good Aggie, he still may not get it.
iever mind the fact Joe Aggie probably infected countless others
3 1 his cold and probably was not in shape to be driving to the doc-
to The administration has laid down the law and students and doc-
both must bend to it.
fhat sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?
is ironic in a world where college students qualify as adults, they
still required to get notes from “real” adults to prove they were
lying about the reason for their absence,
io much for the Aggie Code of Honor.
Manisha Parekh is a sophomore psychology and
journalism major.
PERSPECTIVES
Easing the election
Instant run-offs make for more efficient, fair selection process
m
Adam
Collett
columnist
katriotical
"colored
cam
paign signs,
among the first
harbingers of
approaching
elections, have
begun to ap
pear in lawns
and along
roadsides
around town.
These signs for
local elections
also serve as a reminder campus
elections are just around the corner.
An election campaign, whether
on or off campus, is long, grueling,
emotionally exhausting and finan
cially draining. It is smaill wonder so
many candidates resort to mud-
slinging and other forms of nega
tive campaigning; they’re grouchy
and tired of the whole process. Sim
ilarly, when an election has to go
into Round 2 (a run-off), the nega
tive campaigning typically gets
worse, as evidenced by last year’s
Houston mayoral race.
Election dynamics show candi
dates aren’t the only people turned
off by this second-time-around sys
tem; lower voter turnout in run-offs
allows ballot counters to go home a
little earlier than the first election day.
In the 1997 Texas A&M Student
Government elections, turnout
dropped by nearly 25 percent for the
runoff, from 8,911 to 6,745 ballots. A
year earlier, turnout suffered a pre
cipitous 55 percent fall, from
10,100 to 4,500 votes cast.
Such turnout reduc
tions cast doubt on the
supposition that the
traditional single
vote plurality/run
off elections ensure
majority support for a
candidate. Current
Student Body President
Curtis Childers occu
pies his office on the
strength of 3,380 votes —
about 40 percent of the original
turnout and a mere eight percent
of the total student population.
However, as-yet unheeded policy
specialists, such as Rob Richie of the
Center for Voting and Democracy in
Washington, D.C., continue to ad
vocate for a better way: the instant
run-off election (IRO). Although the
IRO can be implemented along sev
eral models, the common thread is
voters each cast a one-time ballot
with multiple choices.
All variations of the
IRO are preferen
tial; that is,
voters vote for
multiple candi
dates, but the votes
are rank-ordered.
Preferential meth
ods include the
plurality method
(the most first-
place votes win)
and the Borda
Count method (each
vote receives a point
score commensurate
with its rank and the
highest point total
wins). The latter method is often
used in rankings sports teams and
colleges.
In whatever form, the IRO is
practical — it saves tire expense and
hassle of runoffs and can be imple
mented with only minor changes to
the current voting infrastructure.
The IRO also increases voter
turnout, gives voters more options,
helps select the strongest candidate,
gives minority candidates a fairer
shot, and helps candidates bet ter
understand the electorate.
And here’s the best part: instant
run-offs help prevent negative
campaigning because candidates
know winning is dependent upon
them being the second choice of
other candidates’ supporters. Sud
denly, candidates have the negative
campaigning crutch yanked away,
leaving them to stand or fall on the
strength of their issues, which is
how it’s supposed to work in the
first place.
Although city and state govern
ments may be too entrenched in
tlieir ways to effectively implement
such a system, a student governmen
tal system is malleable enough to
withstand the change. Texas A&M’s
student elections should be modified
to include an instant run-off system.
Adam Collett is an
educational administration
graduate student.
LONE STAR LOWDOWN
State best served by voting for Republicans
Donny
Ferguson
columnist
G iven that the Texas
Democratic Par
ty’s popularity is
sinking faster than Ross
Street, the real decision
as to who will lead Texas
into the 21st century will
be made Primary Tues
day. Buffeted by Ameri
ca’s rediscovery of its
conservative core values,
Texans are flocking to
the polls to elect Repub-
licans to lead the Lone
Star State.
We have elected only the second Republican
governor since the 1870s. For the first time in
over 120 years, Republicans control the State
Senate. In 1996, more Texans voted in the Re
publican primary than in the Democratic. Even
on the federal level, Texas is a GOP stronghold;
both U.S. Senators are Republicans and once
the dust has settled on the 1998 elections, many
expect a majority of Texas’ congressmen to be
from the party of Lincoln.
Pundits statewide expect Republicans to
sweep all state-wide executive offices, retain
control of the State Senate and take over the
House of Representatives. Therefore, it is vitally
important for Texas voters to participate in the
GOP primary to set an agenda for Texas’ future.
While some primary slots have only one
candidate (Carole Keeton Rylander for Comp
troller, former yell leader Rick Perry for Lieu
tenant Governor and State Senator Steve Og
den) most are contested races and deserve
close attention.
The candidates listed below comprise the
finest Texas has to offer, and if voters truly care
about pointing our state in the right direction
in the next century, they should go to the polls
today to vote for these competent and able
men and women.
• GOVERNOR — George W. Bush
Only the second Republican governor since
Reconstruction, Bush should cruise to easy vic
tories in the primary and general elections. He
delivered on his pledge of property-tax relief
and worked well with House Speaker Pete
Laney and Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock,
both Democrats. Expect greater things from
Bush when Republicans gain control of the
Capitol in November.
• ATTORNEY GENERAL — Tom Pauken
A committed, principled conservative,
Pauken will make the Attorney General’s office
a voice for the people of Texas. Tough on crime
and dedicated to common-sense conservative
principles, Pauken has earned the Republican
nomination for Texas Attorney General. A
skilled attorney, Pauken is an experienced legal
mediator and brings knowledge and compe
tence to the Attorney General’s offfice.
• RAILROAD COMMISSION — Steve Stock-
man
Common-sense deregulation and promo
tion of railway safety are Steve Stockman’s top
priorities. While in Congress, Stockman repre
sented Texas’ 9th District, covering the South
east Texas coast and served on the House Sci
ence Committee's Subcommittee on Energy
and the Environment.
There he introduced his own bill, The Regu
latory Relief and Job Preservation Act, which
provided for common-sense deregulation of
the oil and gas industry along with incentives
for domestic (Texas) production and expan
sion. He fought hard for The DeepWater Royal
ty Act which revitalized Texas’ offshore-oil in
dustry and created hundreds of jobs in his
congressional district. Stockman has been en
dorsed by hundreds of state leaders, including a
majority of the State Republican Executive
Committee, over 50 GOP county chairmen (in
cluding Brazos County Chair David Kent) talk-
radio host and President Reagan’s son Michael
Reagan, Texas GOP Vice-Chair David Barton,
Betty Lou Martin of Concerned Women for
America and the Young Conservatives of Texas.
The Texas Railroad Commission could use
someone with Stockman’s commitment to free
enterprise, job creation and his dedication to
our oil and gas industry, the heart and soul of
Texas’ economy.
• LAND COMMISSION — Jerry Patterson
A Texas A&M graduate, Vietnam veteran,
Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, dedicated
proponent of private property rights and a
friend of Texas veterans, State Senator Jerry Pat
terson also compiled an impressive record in
his six years serving the Houston area. Author
of the home-equity lending bill which passed
last fall, Patterson plans to trade natural gas to
power producers and sell the electricity to local
school districts at a lowered cost, saving taxpay
ers $70 million. Once elected to lead the Gener
al Land Office, Patterson will see it serves Tex
ans with honor and efficiency.
• AGRICULTURE COMMISSION - Hamp
Hodges
Hodges is a long-time rancher and busi
nessman from Paris (Texas, that is) and a deco
rated West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran.
Hodges’ business skills and rich agricultural
background make him a natural successor to
former Ag Commish Rick Peny. He plans to de
velop a state-wide fire ant eradication program
to deal with the damage fire ants do to crops
and livestock and unify the state’s boll-weevil
eradication program, helping our cotton indus
try. Texas farmers and ranchers need Hamp
Hodges’ experience, background and commit
ment representing them in Austin.
• STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, DIST. 9 —
Don McLeroy
McLeroy, from right here in Bryan, can sum
up his educational philosophy in four simple
words — back to the basics. If elected to the
State Board of Education, McLeroy will fight for
better textbooks, discipline and respect for
teacher in the schools and greater parental par
ticipation. Already recognized as a leader on
the Bryan school board and in the community,
McLeroy should rise to the head of the class on
the Texas State Board of Education.
• STALE REPRESENTATIVE, DIST. 14 — Fred
Brown
A self-made success story, Brown is endowed
with common-sense know-how and uncommon
backbone. Brown represents the best of people
of the 14th district and will do so successfully. A
caring family man and an active member of the
Bryan-College Station community, he will fight
for lower taxes, less government and more local
control. Brown’s common-sense ideals and de
votion to his community make him everything a
representative ought to be.
Donny Ferguson is a junior
political science major.
re si
\ *
V2
I SAY
eoMBm
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MAIL CALL
Homosexuality not a
contagious disease
I was in shock as I read Donny
Ferguson’s column on the repeal
of the Maine law prohibiting dis
crimination against homosexuals.
I am amazed he actually advo
cates a form of discrimination and
uses his religous beliefs to justify
that attitude. I, too, am a Christian,
and I fully embrace the tenet to
“love thy neighbor.” I am staunchly
against any form of discrimination.
While I may not choose to
follow a certain lifestyle or iden
tify with a certain belief, I realize
all people should be judged
solely on their abilities.
Sexual orientation has no bear
ing on a person’s ability to fulfill a
job, his ability to pay rent or even
his ability to be a good friend and
a wonderful person.
The Maine law did not put ho
mosexuality on a pedestal or give
gays rights over other citizens; in
stead, that law ensured that ho
mosexuals would be given the
same consideration, the same
rights, as everyone else.
Homosexuality is not conta
gious, and people should stop
treating gay people as if they have
a communicable disease.
Karen Cormier
Class of'00
Opinions about gays
disturb former student
As a former student 1 am appalled
by Donny Ferguson’s March 3 col
umn. I would have thought by 1998
even Texas A&M would be more ac
cepting and open to diversity.
Ferguson should be reminded
that the vote was not exactly a
landslide. At least there are 48
percent of the voters who believe
people should be treated fairly and
without discrimination.
I would like to inform Fergu
son that I am a healthy, success
ful individual who plans to live
far past 41, is not distructive to
anyone, not immoral and has no
plans for assaulting religion.
I would like to be able to as
sault the government’s tax codes
though. I also have no agenda for
forcing accepance upon anyone.
That does not mean I am not enti
tled to the same rights anyone
else has and enjoys.
Lastly, I would like to convey to
Ferguson that one’s sexuality is not a
choice. Why would anyone choose
something that brings discrimina
tion and hateful, assaulting people
such as yourself into their lives?
This column is personaly em
barrassing to me as a former stu
dent. It gives the impression that
Texas A&M is grossly out of touch
with the rest of the world. I
would like to think that a majori
ty of the current A&M students
do not share Ferguson’s opinions
about gays and lesbians.
Andrew Shell
Class of’85
3lf