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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 1998)
The Battalion 6- It nday • June 8,1998 PINION l-for-6) ; a vear tl slopp on ll Jed tb |uring; dowi andu Ideo ■ price, lat n p <CP % O0HT THINK vye M KANSAS f itAMlW [C3 l/onr le. ?■ nine pii: I a ran belli: |la/' hid® I r ; it Id o« niversity expansion should love upward, not outward :xasA&M University, despite its many faults, is a great place to gain a college education. :ver, of these strongly ladow niversity’s irygoal: ling edge haracter :sstu- Recent- sizeof ampus egnn to ctfrom Chris Huffines columnist iucational experience. The :rsity has gr own too big and olS{i dstop expanding outward. 15p if iere are tliree considerations to [n ^ ine when looking at this issue. rst consideration is where the I (10® irsity can expand. The second is Lrtl me between classes and the on- pii ms transportation. The final deration is the expected con ed growth of the University, ght now, main campus is boxed Texas Avenue, Wellborn Road Jniversity and George Bush Dri- poss the tracks, the campus pread across University and as far as the George Bush Li- r. At this point, the University pan expand North and West, jiese are the only directions to ad because all the rest of the aear campus is owned by busi es and residents. The University Id have to buy all the land it Bed, and although sometimes li donations make the Univer- eem like the richest college in f, it doesn’t have that much pet- i. \ ^ ^ V' %<« ’ VIAIL CALL fsponse to Richard Paddack’s may, June 2, column: Itiswith great pain that I found pur lines very poor knowledge lutthe situation of my country la great deal of disrespect. As a rnalism major you should have eked better for your sources, tideed “El Nino” is affecting not yLatin America but also the ited States. The evening news e in College Station have report- '°nie fires due to the dryness of fields around the county. The This means campus is going to get increasingly longer than it is wide, which will prolong travel time. Also, the farther it expands in those directions, the more major safety concerns arise, like Wellborn Road and the train tracks, for students try ing to get from one side of campus to the other. The University currently allots only 20 minutes or so between class es. Walking from the Wehner build ing to the Blocker building, this is plenty of time. However, if the Uni versity continues to expand, the en tire campus will be faced with the same predicament students in the Bush school are facing. The classes there finally surrendered the conflict in scheduling, and have been rescheduled so students have enough time to get to their other classes. Imagine the chaos if even one-third of main campus classes were placed on this timetable. All of a sudden, scheduling would be a nightmare, especially when the ad ministration would be forced to change a class’s scheduled time along with changing what classroom it meets in. Unfortunately, the cmient mass- transit buses cannot meet the needs of the student body now, much less in the future. It may help to replace the cunent fleet, at least, until those buses get old and mildly dysfunc tional, leading to the delays and missed classes students are faced with now. In addition, were the cam pus to grow outward, Bus Opera tions would require more buses, which would cost more money, es pecially since they would be hiring more drivers and juggling routes to accommodate all the students. Finally, the University is going to city of San Antonio is taking mea sures to preserve the water and avoid any future shortages. Regarding “trash,” please check some other sources regarding the new chemical dumpsite in New Mexico that it is being created along the border that is going to affect the health of the Mexican in habitants in that zone. Regarding Mexico City,... maybe the people are using cars because they want to die. I invite you to visit the city. I am sure you will then have a more accurate perspective of the situation, which is critical. Maybe your theories regarding fires provoked by the Mexican farm ers agree with the theories of that handful of persons burning the Mexican flag in Washington, and saying that we are invading the United States as part of a Complot. What I like about United States is the people, in particular the Aggies, as I have learned in this school, Aggies help each other. Please respect those American firemen who are helping encourages letters to the ust be 300 words or less author’s name, class and The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let ters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mall Call 013 Reed McDonald College Station, TX 778431111 Campus Mall: 1.11,1, Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: batt@unix.tamu.edu Northgate or Disney? The area may look unfamiliar, but bars remain the same Richard Paddack columnist W e all have celebrated there after a final or a game. Some people have stopped by for lunch and an early binge. It is a place where nobody knows your name and not many people care if you came. It is the home of many leg endary watering holes, one of which has been ranked in the top 25 college bars in the Unit ed States by several prestigious publications and another that strives to keep live music alive. It is probably the only place where one can get drunk and still get change back from a $10 bill. For people who have not guessed what I am talking about, they are probably already there, minus $10 dollars and anticipating the arrival of friends in about 10 to 12 hours. For those who follow the descriptions, the place being referred to is the infamous Northgate. Recently, Northgate has gone through some ex treme cosmetic alterations. These changes have appealed to some but apparently angered others. Now that the construction crews are adding the finishing touches and starting to pack up, this may seem like a moot point, but there are points to be made and minds to be opened. Those who are angered with the changes made to Northgate are the “old Ags” and alumni who like to re member things the way they were when they were ei ther students or beginning their careers here. This is understandable because Aggies thrive on tradition. It is what we are, it is what makes us proud. The banning of ring dunking last year broke a lot of hearts, but students rolled with it or found ways around it. This too shall pass. My last Northgate experience was different to say the least. Instead of struggling to find my way out of The Dixie Chicken, I had trouble finding The Chicken altogether. Instead of going home to cry about it, I swallowed my pride and sauntered up those unfamiliar steps in the back of the bar around the construction to join my friends and never looked back. Everyone has had to adjust to the changes, or progress, as a majority of us have learned to accept it as it is. Several people probably say, “Why change a good thing?” Well, in light of the city’s past reputation, they would do anything to deter further growth of this city. In fact, we could all benefit from these recent changes to Northgate. More parking is a definite plus, as well as no more potholes the size of private lakes. Other attributes include better lighting and removing the drive- thru street behind the bars, which should curtail the crime rate significantly and make everyone’s Northgate experience a little safer. The new facelift should be much more appealing to out-of-towners during game time and other events, bringing in ex tra revenue to all of the privately owned small businesses in the area. In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “The times, they are a changin’.” So instead of crying and drinking alone, come on back to the place where still no one knows your name or cares if you came, because although the outside may have changed, it is what is on the inside that counts. Richard Paddack is a junior journalism major. expand. It is inevitable. In its drive to become a top-10 university, A&M will have to add facilities, if for noth ing else than the new-and-improved College of Liberal Arts being assem bled. The University will be adding facilities, and they have to go some where to do so. The solution is simple. A&M needs to take some of the older, ex tremely unattractive buildings on campus, level them to the ground, and build bigger, better buildings in their place. TWo prime candidates are the Reed McDonald building and Scoates Hall. Reed McDonald is, quite simply, a building that could use a facelift. The building is located right next to Blocker, which will help concentrate classrooms within easy walking dis tance of each other. It makes good sense, especially since it will be a great excuse to finally get rid of the only burnt orange-trimmed struc- ture in the entirety of Bryan-College Station. Scoates Hall is even more ideally located than Reed McDonald. Right between the Bright building and the Grassy Knoll, Scoates is near to both Northside and Southside. The build ing itself, when compared to any of the more modern buildings near it, is an eyesore. Plus, it is only a three-sto- xy building. Valuable space is being inefficiently used. The University has nowhere else to turn. It can either expand out and make students’ lives more troubled than they already are, or the Univer sity can expand upward, replacing its own dead wood. It seems like an easy enough choice. V/ VJ do ioi) mu '>^P6EDDaf //, Hi & S*! pence nliY 1st Immigration requires assimilation Chris Hujjtnes is a sophomore speech communications major. the Mexican firemen by not writing without knowledge and research. Ricardo Thierry Ph. D. Student Editor’s Note: The headline- 1 Ameri cans take responsibilityfor fires in Mexico” may have been misleading. Paddack would summarize his col umn by saying a majority of the fires were started by political propaganda. M Alison Lackey columnist T he Ellis Island generation trav eled to America to become part of something. This was done not only to better their lives economi cally, socially or politically, but to pas sionately con tribute of themselves in an American setting. Traveling from Italy, my great-grandfa ther settled in New York, where he eventually ob tained an American business part ner. This partner would finance my great gr andfather’s grocery store and collect 50 percent. Once it was time to post store signs, great-granddad offered the family surname, Casmiri, as the name of their grocery. His business partner objected and urged him to “Americanize” his name and label the store Cashmer’s grocery. He reluctantly performed this “Americanization.” He did this with out losing his heritage and cultural value. His desire to become part of America pushed him from reluc tance to inclination. He carefully ab sorbed American principles and the English language. Words were not cause of a disintegration of his Ital ian heritage. Today is different—contribution to the American setting is different. Some people adamantly feel that their heritage and culture is lost in the mongrel abyss of America. Immigrants travel to the United States for numerous reasons; howev er, it is a known fact that many im migrants come here solely searching for employment and an improved economic status. Many times, for immigrants, collecting the benefits of health care, social services and ed ucation is an unattainable goal. Bilingual education stimulated much discussion. In states with high immigrant populations such as Texas and California. In California, 1.4 million students statewide have limited English profi ciency. Many newly-naturalized American citizens have ignored the hinge of English in our American public education systems and cru saded for bilingual education. The American setting is shadowed; the apple pie has spoiled. Bilingual education, the realm with which many American public schools have been operating to edu cate non-English speaking students, may very well have lost its wide spread appeal. Ron Unz, pioneer of Proposition 227, pleasanffy watched California voters authorize the proposal in last Tuesday’s primary. After all, we do speak English in this country. It is not established as the national language; however, the Constitution is written in English. In the Proposition 227 vote, it is undeniable to mention that a large portion of the 60 percent vic tory were Hispanic citizens. Extinguishing the fires of bilin gual education could set a blaze through many other states, such as Texas, New York and Florida that are swollen with immigrants. The surg ing of immigrants, the kaleidoscope of cultures, must assimilate to the task of learning English and benefit from an English education in our public school systems. However, it is understandable that the public primary and sec ondary education system is already lacking funds to teach classes in English. We do not have the re sources to hire several Croatian math teachers or Korean social stud ies teachers for numerous school districts in Texas. With the current vi olence in schools and piss poor salary offerings to match, some pub lic schools are steadily entering the crap zone. Attracting teachers has become a problem, especially to a specific set of teachers who speak various languages. We must focus on improving the watered-down education system in English and create a system that stimulates non-English speaking students to learn in English, so that it is the responsibility of every citizen to take advantage of and value a state provided education. Prosperity would increase. Indi viduals with mastery of more than one language are realizing increased value in the job market. These days the doors are opening up wide as for college grads. My Spanish and Ger man course work has been more than just fulfillment of a require ment. Culturally-enhanced classes have significantly contributed to my college education. But, it is not oppressive to learn the language of your country and re ceive education in that language. If an American were to seek a new life in another country, it would also be their responsibility to assimilate. They would be benefiting from their new country, culturally, socially and economically. Therefore, they must respect the country, and shift their lives around their new language. It would be their duty to do this, as well as it is immigrants’ duty to pursue American education in English. Allison Lackey is a senior English major.