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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1998)
BBB The Battalion lesday • April 21, 1998 UDENT LIFE actice of throwing ‘Sbisa balls’ in cafeteria must be eradicated Adam Collett columnist Kp balls jcare- J y Wijp up pkin dw§ back jlforth by al residence IIgroups at ^{lining Mostly dinner. Although ; practice is irstpuring football/Bonfire sea- n,itdoes happen fairly regularly rfghc mt the rest of the year, fiolicy, the Department of [ervices doesn’t permit such avior at any time during the , but in practice they have debnly intermittent efforts to >it. Inllieir defense, they already jthe demanding job of serving Kfneals a day to several thou- Istudents and should not to be defied with babysitting duties, •should question whether the jjctk c i reeds to be stopped in the itpiace. Aftt m all, throwing napkins is, in S, harmless. But it is still an an- Hce to the many people who ftq eat there, and it often be- oes dangerous because it involves L AMPUS CONNECTION throwing much more than napkins. For those reasons, the Department of Food Services should take strong action to halt the practice entirely. To accomplish that, the Depart ment should attempt to under stand why some students do it in the first place. After talking with students, there seem to be two primary reasons: expressing one’s hall spirit and ex pressing one’s affection for a mem ber of the opposite sex. As for hall spirit, Stan Hudson , a resident ofWalton Hall, said, “That’s why I eat at Sbisa. That’s why I have a meal plan.” Another Walton resident said, “I come to eat with everyone else be cause of the Sbisa balls. We [Walton] have the biggest table out here.” Although none of the men ad mitted to using napkin throwing as a way to flirt with women, some women who were being thrown at that night had their own opinions. According to Jessica Miller, Class of 2000, “They love us but they’re too immature to come talk to us.” Paige Moore, also of the Class of 2000, said, “It’s definitely flirting.” Then, of course, there’s the tra dition argument. Numerous stu dents cited that they do it be cause it has always been done that way and it is “good fun” or “good bull.” It is in the name of tradition that the practice is tolerated by many students who don’t partic ipate themselves. Some cited that they didn’t mind as long as they weren’t hit, while others expressed they actual ly enjoyed watching. Despite this, Sbisa balls are bothersome to many customers and can be dangerous. One student said, “It’s kind of weird to have something hit you in the back of your head and not know where it came from.” Another customer said the an noying part was having a napkin land in your food. Sbisa ball supporters laugh at the suggestion that the practice is dangerous. But being hit with a tightly wadded piece of paper thrown at close range and high speed is not exactly a light tap. “I have big welts on my arm,” said Kimberly Koehler, a sopho more from the Woodlands. And un fortunately, it’s not just napkins that are being thrown. Deborah Rogers, the facility manager for Sbisa, has received complaints from students who have been hit with objects wrapped up in napkins. One student said they saw shrimp being wrapped up and thrown, while another said silver ware had actually been thrown on occasion. In the course of one meal, I was nearly hit twice with a whole baked potato loosely wrapped in napkins and thrown with a great deal of force. Silverware and whole potatoes being thrown should be a red flag that the situation is out of hand. Unfortunately, many of the stu dents who get wrapped up in the mini arms race that begins with nap kins simply cannot understand this is unsafe. Because there are even a few students out there who have no concept of the distinction between harmless horseplay and reckless rowdiness, all are at risk. And as if annoyed and endan gered customers weren’t reason enough, errant Sbisa balls often land on one of the food serving lines, contaminating the food and diverting staff attention from serving customers. “Between taking care of cus tomers and running the facility, it’s the last thing we need,” Rogers said. By virtue of tradition, many of the questionable and quirky priv ileges that A&M students enjoy go unchallenged. Students at other campuses night or to be allowed to build a 55 foot Bonfire. Every privilege has a corre sponding responsibility. Students would do best to monitor them selves by finding other ways to express their hall unity or to court members of the opposite sex, ways which do not involve inconveniencing others. it will be incumbent upon Food Services to do it for them. The right of a few to a tradition and a playpen for immature behav iors does not supercede others’ rights to an annoyance and injury-free meal. The practice simply has to go. Adam Collett is an educational administration graduate student. reating A&M arts program stands to benefit entire campus llor the most part, Texas T| A&M University is known I primarily for its technical ■s such as engineering, Jculture and business. Al- iHLigh these and many other I Bgrams are highly esteemed, 1|&M wishes to compete Brother top schools, the im- |vement of its liberal arts Jgram is vital. First, let’s dispel the notion it the liberal arts department pxas A&M is mediocre. Al- gh the liberal arts department may at times be shadowed by other departments, it still has sev- achievements worth mentioning. \vo doctoral programs, political science and eco- ics, both placed 34th nationally in a survey done |J.S. News and World Report. The doctoral pro- s in English, sociology and psychology also ed in the survey. .dditionally, our philosophy department has profes- )rs of national and international acclaim, and our jour- Ism department has been accredited for years and Joe Schumacher columnist continues to be. These are just a few of the achievements that the College of Liberal Arts department has earned. While these achievements show A&M is well on its way to improving its status in liberal arts, it is still lacking some of the necessary components. One of those is having an arts department. There have been some arguments against the de velopment of an art department at A&M. One con cern is that A&M is known for its technical fields, not its arts or social sciences. Another point of opposition is that there are schools in Texas that have strong arts programs, such as the University of Texas. So one can only wonder if it will be beneficial to the taxpayers to provide fund ing for an arts program when an excellent one al ready exists elsewhere. However the current program is seeking an en dowment that would remove the burden from the tax payers. The endowment could be established in as lit tle as two years. With the lack of an arts department at this institution, this university’s liberal arts program is not complete. According to Leanne South, the communications coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts, “The Col lege of Liberal Arts wants to enhance the arts academ ically to offer students a true liberal arts education.” An arts program will provide business and engi neering majors a chance to explore interests in other fields they currently do not have access to. South said an arts program will allow students of all majors to benefit from the “intellectual and artistic achievements of humankind.” There are many potential students who are at tracted to the uniqueness of this campus but are forced to go elsewhere to pursue their majors. An arts program would make A&M more mar ketable to these students as well as potential students from different areas of the country, other countries, different ethnic groups and different social back grounds. These students would contribute new and exciting ideas to this campus. Student Body President Laurie Nickel said by “improving programs that A&M is not known for, it can preserve its uniqueness while also achieving the benefits of a strong social science program, such as diversity.” Currently, plans are underway to combine the the ater arts and music departments to form one new de partment which, as of yet, is still unnamed. The department would not only focus on per PERSPECTIVES forming arts, but also on the technical aspects of mu sic. Other fields that would benefit would be business and psychology.With the addition of a music depart ment, A&M could develop a program in music pro duction and psychology, a music therapy program. There have been previous attempts to strengthen the arts program. In the ’60s the Century Council addressed this is sue. In the ’80s there was Target 2000, again with an emphasis on strengthening the arts. The Higher Education Coordinating board has granted planning authority. Many different facets, such as students and faculty, are behind the pro posed department. There is great interest by students in this project. A&M needs to take advantage of this momentum to move in the direction of making this a top 10 university. Strengthening of the liberal arts department is essen tial to improving A&M as a center of learning. A strong arts program is a characteristic of a top 10 school. Along with its academic benefits, an arts program would contribute to the “other education” upon which A&M prides itself. Joe Schumacher is a junior journalism major. v: DID VOO BKK Otfr cr THE 108NXQ setce lAHMT 30 YOU COULD KECP (WsRKE-nuys TO Kips ? „ T ABSOLUTELY not: Pedestrians, bicyclists cause unnecessary traffic dangers "WH/Sjpyi KxLJmh (UL?rrrum^ Manisha Parekh columnist MAIL CALL leligion must have sis in objective truth 'espouse to Manisha Parekh's fil 16 column: Parekh is touching on a very rele- tissue in today’s culture: How religion and science coexist? Never, she misses the very foun- ion upon which such a discus- , ?>n should be based, namely, truth. ’‘ j Religion cannot exist without a is in objective truth. Any reli- [)n that is completely subjective should be rejected as false. Christianity is solidly based on objective truth, on actual historical events and communiques that were recorded and continue to be supported by scientific evidence. Parekh states that “Creationism is an idea that is solely based upon the Bible.” Parekh may dismiss the incredible historical phenomenon of the Bible if she so chooses, but Creationism’s support is hardly limited to God’s written word. Ideally, science cannot exist with out a basis in objective truth either. But to those of you whose religion is science, let me point out two things. One, science is conducted by humans. You know that you are fal lible. Your friends know, even if you don’t, that your logical conclusions dance on the strings of your biases. Two, look at science throughout history. Every generation thinks it has got the world down cold. Finally, a generation without unscientific bias. People who are striving to in clude Creationism in public schools are not trying to push reli gion over science, but trying to pro tect their offspring from “indoctri nation and brainwashing.” There is no nonreligious, disinterested void wherein education may take place. That belief is a myth from the anti- religious Modernism. If creation accounts of all “religions” have to be taught, so be it, as long as they have a basis in objective truth. Joshua D. Hill Class of’99 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 I am the driver Aggie. I spend my days looking for parking spots which Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services claims exist. I find my morning drive to school frustrated by construc tion which never ends, traffic lights that are too short and trains that are 100 cars long. But my enemy is not the administration nor the De partment of Transportation. It is the non-driver Aggie. So maybe it is not that dramatic, but as a driver, I do find the walkers and bicyclists on campus to be a bit annoying at times. It is bad enough trying to get around campus without having a fear-no-Evel-Kneival-daredevil bicyclist calmly dart in front of my massive ma chine of mobile steel a.k.a. car. I hate to break it to all the pedestrians and bicy clists, but despite popular belief, cars are not able to stop on a dime, not even for a good Aggie. And it may come as quite a shock to many out there in Aggieland, but paved streets were actually created for cars. Humans are allowed to walk on streets at cer tain places called crosswalks. That is right, repeat after me crosswalks. And while the majority of Aggies out there under stand the purpose of crosswalks, they continue to ignore them and prefer to play chicken instead. So, here is a quick physics lesson for all the non science majors out there. According to Newton, all actions have an oppo site and equal reaction. What that means is when a car hits a person, the person hits the car with the same amount of force. The car just withstands the force better. I am not trying to crude or harsh, but after going through the pedestrian/bicyclists gauntlet day after day, someone has to say something ... think a little. I will admit it. I can play chicken with the best of them. I too, at times, have been known to cross the road where there is no crosswalk. But I also make sure to look both ways and check to see if there is a whizzing machine more than ten times my size hurtling at me before I step out onto the road. Call me crazy, but I prefer not to become road- kill. But, hey, that is just me. Apparently, I am in the minority. So, as a fed-up member of the driving popula tion, I decided to do a little digging and find out why normally law-abiding, polite, conscientious Aggies would act like they could withstand a colli sion from a car and come out without a scratch. And I have come up with two possible conclusions. My first theory is that these “Aggies” are actually planted by the Corps to test the mental agility of Corps and non-Corps alike. These testers hide behind bush es, trash cans, and statues, stalking their next subject. Then, without warning, they leap out (or ride out) into the road and see whether they manage to make safely across or whether they need to be scraped off of the concrete. Those drivers who are deemed men tally agile are allowed to go about their merry way. Drivers who are not agile are quickly recruited to run the bus system on campus in order to maintain maximum inefficiency and lack of service. My second theory is that people who walk or ride out into oncoming traffic simply do not care if they get hurt. They do not care if they give drivers heart attacks. They do not care if they are breaking the law or putting themselves and others in danger. After much consideration, it appears that my first theory has to be correct. After all, if the second theory was correct, it would mean that certain pedestrians and bicyclists are just plain dumb. And that could not possibly be true, right? Manisha Parekh is a sophomore journalism and psychology major.