The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 12, 1998, Image 11

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    • 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