The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 21, 1998, Image 11

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    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.
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ABSOLUTELY
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Pedestrians, bicyclists cause
unnecessary traffic dangers
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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.