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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1998)
• e Battalion pinion Page 11 • Thursday, November 12, 1998 New tuition law helps save state tax dollars re ofrfjew electronic cards carry ata, convenience, risk "i hat could possibly more damag- in the hands n irresponsi- ■ spender than I redit card? The I Drly-named Inart Card.” The small elec- CORR1E CAULEY ■ nic device, about the size of a I dit card, contains electronic memory that can be used to store dical records, track digital cash generate network identifica- . The card’s introduction calls consumer caution despite this convenience. Although many have been an- pating the Smart Card’s domi- ion of the market, according to alifornia-based market re- rch firm, Dataquest, in 1995 ly 2 percent of Smart Card pments went to the Americas. The card has experienced ■undant success in the Euro- Ian market, but Americans are and Town! not exact *y buying into it. In fact, ^ )K j ..p iseems everyone is waiting for ilsomeone else to drive the market. HE CORLEY THE E - ! rooked Patti Si ;omed a lot. scene is i ativr In a country where patience is e, Americans have displayed a art decision by waiting before [embracing a not-so-smart product. Banks are waiting because they prefer not to pay $200 to up grade their ATM machines. And the majority of Smart Cards in the os, vases, WUnited States are not owned by aid thejeweldbanks. According to the Mentis popular. Art JCorporation of North Carolina, olors, drawinuless than 5 percent of smart cards carvings andqglobally were produced by banks, ay and sale. Hi I Perhaps the success of the ting things fclnart Card in Europe is due to glasses shape Ithe convenience it provides in overcoming the issue of multiple Tere will be currencies. But, this is not a con- nday at 8 p t sideration in the United States. I called “Brinfi Consumers are not in any and will feJ'-hurry to trade in their cash ei- He said (heather. And they should not be. In nterestingp^mecent survey conducted by poetryiogetherlrst Manhattan Consulting oreciated. He'Group, 50 percent of the respon- ■nt where aii'faents said they are taking a r is interestrfwait a nd see” approach to r, a nationabm^art Cards. Only 11 percent ill be prest Considered it an important issue. But it is an issue of impor- nce. Because as more and more art Cards are accepted and ed, slowly but surely, they will come accepted by society. As the proverbial saying goes, o not put all your eggs in one )RS * Sm.i lee lecc 1 A basket,” so should one avoid keeping so much important per sonal information — such as identification numbers, account numbers, medical information — all on one card. There is another little saying that states, “If there is a will, there is a way, ” and no matter how secure a product such as the Smart Card might claim to be, there is always someone willing to disprove that claim and profit to themselves. Sure it might seem impossible to defy the technological security of voice print, fingerprint, signa ture or other information unique to the individual that can be used as verification, but there is always room for error. Smart Cards may seem conve nient, but they are far from being the solution. When someone mis places a wallet, they panic. If someone were to misplace a Smart Card, they would in fact, have misplaced all personal iden tification information, not to men tion money. Yes, it looks like Americans know better. Aside from the con sumers, merchants are not yet persuaded either. For them. Smart Cards are not better than cash be cause they still have to retrieve money from the bank. Merchants also have to pur chase the Smart Card reader and pay the transaction fees. And al though the risk of employee theft is decreased by the use of Smart Cards and there is less money to handle at the end of the day, mer chants will need much more con vincing before they are willing to invest millions of dollars in the technology necessary to accept Smart Card transactions. So, there will be no cashing in anytime soon on the next “smart” thing. Customers will not use Smart Cards until more merchants accept them, and merchants will not accept them until there is a demand from their customers. Without banks jumping in to invest in Smart Card technology, other organizations such as Mo torola and General Motors are an nouncing plans to join the Smart Card industry. Only time will tell how smart that is. nents kou ready to than one wetl Bsign ss it - see jrinting.ci uate !-drop proposal eeds explanation The Student Senate must clari- a few details about the 60-60- 1 Q-drop policy. The suggested plan to sepa- fBte four Q-drops into two 60- bour periods would apply to the Cass of 2003 and the following brance Displji asses — assuming the bill is ^proved by administration. No irrent students, unfortunately, ould benefit from this particu- r part of the measure. There is, however, still good ws for incumbent Aggies: the ng.com lege Statioi ) Corrie Cauley is a senior journalism major. proposed extension of the Q-drop deadline to the 60th day of class es (currently the 50th) would ap ply to all students. Aaron Bigbee Class of '00 Gaines does not deserve statue In response to Nov. 10 article: “His torically unclear": Building a statue to a Black man who had nothing to do with the founding of Texas A&M Univer sity (such as Matthew Gaines) can ©LpcK NEWT INPi ROOM WITH HUN6RY RATS. © STRETCH HtWT ON k rack 'til He's ten feet tall © Boil Him, stuff him, faint HIS HEAD blue. ANDREW BALEY M any ac tions of state government do not specifically affect Aggies, but one new piece of legislation from Austin can. While most students do not - accumulate more than 170 cred it hours, those who do must be informed about the new “slack er bill.” Student Body President Laurie Nickel has made strong efforts to raise awareness of this legisla tion during her Oct. 27 “You Ought to Know,” a state-of-the- University address. The slacker bill requires all in state college students who have acquired more than 170 credit hours without earning a degree to pay out-of-state tuition for all fu ture course work. The bill was passed by the 75th Legislative session of the Texas Congress. The bill does not affect double majors or those students prepar ing for professional school. The new bill is a reasonable and even positive measure. The slacker bill will persuade students to make definite college choices leading to a quicker grad uation. Excessive class hours waste state money. The average college student has no need to take 170 hours. It is better to take actions that limit the amount of a student’s educa tion that can be state subsidized. The bill does have an interest ing twist. In legislative terms, the accumulation of 170 hours in cludes those hours completed as well as hours attempted. Serious Q-droppers beware. Students who are close, but not at the 170-hour total, must under stand all classes, Q-dropped, com pleted, whatever, will be included in their total hours. Nickel and the Student Gov ernment Association is working . with the state legislature to change the bill so it does not in clude all attempted hours, but only those hours completed. This alteration would make the bill even more reasonable. Includ ing attempted hours in the 17Cr- hour limit only causes aggrava tion. Regardless, the state saves little money by including the small number of attempted hours. The Student Government Asso ciation is doing their job by ac knowledging the need for aware- ^^\y/s///////////////////\ \NV\s\\\WWW QUATRO OAKLEY/The Battalion ness of the slacker bill. Actions tak en include increased media cover age, a special Bonfire computer screen for those students ap proaching the 170-hour mark, let ters mailed to students when they reach 150 hours and public fo- MAIL CALL only be a radical concept formu lated in the minds of Yankee his torians to once again rewrite the history of our state and nation. Gaines was elected to office due to the suppression of white Texans during Reconstruction. Dale Baum’s description of the Reconstruction government as a “biracial democracy,” is Insulting and ignorant. The government that controlled Texas was a Yankee carpetbag government, and the black men in the legislatures were mere pup pets of the Republican Party and northern government. Matthew Gaines stood among them as un- mu A FPsinve Republican agenda! influential as the rest. The Texans who had fought for states’ rights and liberty were denied the rights to vote, and a military government ran Texas until the citizens once again seized their “inalienable” rights in the mid-1870s. A statue of Matthew Gaines would be no more than a slap in the face of Sullivan Ross and all Aggies who have truly made a dif ference in Texas and for our cher ished University. We should not build a statue of an uninfluential man from a puppet government that truly hurt Texas be fore we could run them out of of fice. It would be a disgrace. Micah Belden Class of '02 Visitor appreciates Aggie honesty On a recent trip to the Tech game to visit our son who is a freshman at Texas A&M, we were reminded of the honesty and in tegrity of Aggies. , After the game my son and I walked to get the car, while my wife and her folks rested on a bench in front of Mosher Hall. After picking them up and having a nice dinner at El Chico's, we real ized we had left our video camera and binoculars on the bench two and a half hours earlier. On our way to the University Po lice to report our loss, we went by the bench pnd were shocked to see the big black camera case and binoculars on top of the bench two and a half hours later. This really put the finishing touches on a perfect day in Ag- gieland. In a world where honesty is a rare commodity, it is nice to see that at Texas A&M University it is a norm. Gary Price Class of’71 rums. These measures will help students understand the bill and plan their education accordingly. The slacker bill should not be viewed as a harsh act by the legis lature. It is sound policy to consid er the monetary effects from all as- Speaker protected by Bill of Rights In response to Chris Huffines Nov. 6 column: Chris Huffines either has a lack of respect for our First Amendment or no understanding of these rights. Huffines said Tom Short has the right to speak under the First Amendment, but Huffines also said Texas A&M should rethink Short’s presence on campus. Which is it? Should we respect First Amendment rights or rethink the presence of speakers on cam pus who may disagree with our own personal beliefs? As an Aggie and a speech communication major, Huffines should understand the impor tance of our First Amendment right to free speech. Samuel Reese Class of '99 Music reviews often lack content Over the past three semesters, I have been extremely disappoint ed with the music reviews pub lished in The Battalion. I have found the reviews printed lack any true content and critical value. A music review should give the reader insight into the minds of the artists — their influences, growing maturity and motiva tions as well as changes in the artist's style, musically as well as lyrically. These reviews should supply the reader with an audible percep tion of what to expect. Merely supporting or rejecting a musi cian’s work based solely on their credentials is a grave letdown for all those who take the time to read the reviews. Riley LaGrone pects of education the state subsi dizes. It so happens it is now the student’s job to understand and ac cept the state government’s policy. Andrew Boiey is a junior political science major. and Kyle Whiteacre have-been the only two reviewers this semester who seem to have an understand ing of what I am describing. I just do not think every albbm really de serves an A. Do you? Jason Puckett Class of '01 Soccer team earns fan support For those of you who did not get to attend the Big 12 Soccer Tournament in San Antonio this past weekend, you missed two great games. After shutting out Iowa State University 6-0, the Aggies lost a tough game against Nebraska. The Lady Ags have made it into the NCAA tournament four years in a row. They obviously have a tremendous amount of talent on this team. I encourage all Aggies to sup port this team. I would especially like to extend an invitation to Reveille and the yell leaders to make an appearance and support the Lady Ags as well. I know it is not football, but they practice just as hard and deserve recognition too. So, wear your maroon and support the Lady Ags. Kristen McAleavy 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 rightto 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: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647