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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1998)
Battalion inion Page 9 • Monday, November 30, 1998 Modern society offers few chances to build vocabulary Registration S ince bettering one- self for the sake of srate appliesc 5 W knowledge alone is 315 daysatnoc'i.ut and packed degree iadditionalinseitillis are in, students banning to take tests uch as the Graduate ^Bord Exam should take lOMMATKjieasures to increase Rgment, expand, ag- randize) their vocabular- ■ sp'.-': as as soon as possible. here are many obstacles (impedi- BEVERLY MIRELES spring. 2Mnr Please call 764- xj for spring : aeuts, encumbrances) on the path to im- ’ ' fr^ssive verbosity, however. Culture, sensi- Tjan'&V' as always, teaches (instills, noker ptelefted S'i ndi n inates) that big words are bad, xj spnng m lAll words are good and the more trite, uie 822-4934 j better. Otherwise, would there not be ^ ST io many Kwikie or E-Z (also known as jenmierw |e, but rarely easy) marts? ki" own rcKr Brherefore, preparation must start ■ close to camwBikiy — sorry, quickly — to counteract he bad (nefarious) effects of convenience iblease 2bdrmfe s Fully ium ; lt01 es everywhere. BDne effective solution is to read copi- 2tx3nu2car )uf amounts of literature. But of course, commons Pr jylryone knows reading for pleasure is s P ni y is preposterous as wearing burnt orange 2bath at Hunb,. 696-6449 Of (97242® ■ Spring. The Aw; T ionfire. Another way to temporarily increase eded lor Dec 1 . 268-8029 iscale lumistied p. +l/3bills. 764fi‘| ®’s vocabulary in a timely fashion is to jse rarely-spoken words in sentences. This fforks best in highly public situations, • ^ where one’s intelligent (erudite) speech ■ild cause much celebration. One exam- ngi TT^T 3le is in the classroom. 247/mo Aaroni-Bstudent: “Professor, might 1 add that the ded tor 3bdrm>:-Btriculation of bellicose zealots almost washer sdtyer represents the nadir of individual- n 9 .'99. Fooipe,' ’-Stic thought on campus. ” opets Bus-rt teflJProfessor: “That’s outstanding. Walks jthe rest of the week.” Ilf that does not cause the whole class to Dffer up multiple standing ovations, noth- will. id lor Spring seme! n with own pmisBThis method not only cements the : avbrds into the mind, it makes one seem r 001 " 6 knowledgeable than say, the "Brage.touring funk band. This is a tried- , and-true technique used by professors and es. 778-qii4ar a d m i n i s trators alike. ig-'99. 2txwarBStudent: “Professor Heddy, I mean Med ley, could you please define discrete math in.simple terms?” Professor: “My mind is aglow with fling, transient nodes of thought, careen- through a cosmic vapor of invention. ” Student: “Ditto! But what in the world is Crete math? ” Professor: “Time for a quiz!” This way, contact with the words will have been made sometime before any ap titude test tries to grade on the knowl edge of them. But perhaps there are not any applicable uses for words with more than one syllable outside of the spectrum of aptitude tests and thesis statements. Given the choice between “desuetude” and “disuse,” most people will opt for “disuse.” Not surprisingly, since half the words on the GRE vocabulary list are not even included in most spell-checking soft ware. Being incorporated into spell checking programs is a serious distinction for words because using computer spell checkers is practically second nature for most people today. If spell checkers were not so prevalent, most Americans would have to admit mnemonic devices and grade-school spelling tests were not secured into memo ry enough to prevent misspellings now. And though some would be loath to admit it, regular contact with words, such as “capricious” and “ameliorate,” is necessary for thorough understanding. Exposure to those words will not be found on television or the Internet, but in the printed versions of fantasy, horror, mystery, nonfiction and a host of other types of books. So is it technology’s fault people have allowed themselves to become inept at the once ambitious language, which started with low grunts and evolved into high complex vocalizations? Possibly. If the American masses accessed the resources of a library nearly as much as they reach for the remote control, speak ing in sentences with complex word structure would not be such a tell-tale distinction between the educated and non-educated — those who never had the opportunity or inclination to compound their basic knowledge. Until literature is acknowledged to be as appealing as “Must See TV” or movies, the oversimplification of language can be ex pected to increase, making language apti tude tests that much more difficult. But what will hurt more than dropping test scores is the knowledge that a once enter prising culture is now too lazy to appreci ate its accomplishments. Beverly Mireles is a sophomore microbiology major. IBilllBlillP . y -I EDITORIAL €5> Battalion I Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials board members. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other attalion staff members, the Texas A&M student bdy, regents, administration, faculty or staff, plumns, guest columns, cartoons and letters ex- nternationai rales jress the opinions of the authors. (VICES long distance, 21 Editorials Board Mandy Cater Graeber Editor in Chief Aaron Meier Managing Editor Jennifer Jones City Editor Dave Johnston Opinion Editor AVEL AMBOAT- W0lt ! 6 NIGHTLIFE-C* 1 (88-SKI-THIS", runs h, Science, I d Spanish. onfire Anonymous Drop in Bonfire arrests, citations credits niversity efforts to clean up tradition IT LOSS apest around. Ut* 1 nteed. Trial sin-' As always, last week’s Bonfire s an event to remember. Aggies rked together and created an ent everyone could enjoy. In |act, in some aspects, this year’s ent was more enjoyable than st Bonfires. University Police Department nounced alcohol arrests and ci- tions at Tuesday’s Bonfire were jwerthan previous years’ totals. Ji It is unfortunate to see the Uni- " versity bragging about 90 com bined citations and arrests, but ionsidering the status of Bonfire only a few years ago, this year’s i lumbers are a sign things are 01 D6 Oil beaded in the right direction. T l In response to the increase in mailed 10 K behavior at Bonfire, UPD in- Itituted a zero-tolerance alcohol Tiailed StOp pcy, and not a moment to soon. 1 efore the department’s new pol- [y, Bonfire had become less a ymbol of the burning desire to leatt.u. and more a symbol of the egative aspects of alcohol. Many who attended past Bon fires viewed the event as an ex use for public inebriation, and leir behavior made it difficult for ober participants to enjoy the an- ual wood-burning. Community residents were Jesitant to bring their families to ionfire because many partici pants were rowdy, obnoxious and ometimes violent. Over the past few years, how- ver, several groups have worked o improve Bonfire. The Bonfire Al- :ohol Awareness Committee has to persuade students to 45-261 fling fee, Bpted <! forego alcohol during the celebra tion. The committee conducts a campaign shortly before Bonfire encouraging students to sign pledge cards agreeing not to drink at Bonfire. The Alcohol and Drug Educa tion Programs office of the De partment of Student Life has sim ilarly worked to convince students alcohol does not have to be part of this annual event. Throughout the year, the office conducts ef forts to remind students of the laws pertaining to alcohol use and the consequences of violating those laws. UPD has done a good job en forcing the law at Bonfire site. This year, 60 UPD officers were patrolling the site trying to keep things orderly. Fortunately, there was less for them to do than there has been in previous years. With an estimated crowd of 60 to 70,000 people, UPD only is sued 72 alcohol-related citations and made 18 arrests. These low er numbers are a great credit to the many groups who have in vested so much effort in making Bonfire a family event once again. Things are certainly looking up for Bonfire, although there is al ways room for improvement. Hopefully the tradition will contin ue to improve and the number of alcohol-related offenses will con tinue to decrease. It is unfortu nate UPD had to cite or arrest close to 100 people, but some times you have to take what you can get. General Simpson deserves honor Why is it when an Aggie of the stature of Lieutenant General Simpson, Class of ’36 passes away, hardly a ripple is felt through the Texas A&M commu nity? If there was ever a person who truly symbolized what it meant to be an Aggie, it was Simpson. A 37-year career Marine, dec orated veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam, assistant vice president of Student Affairs Emeritus and a Texas Aggie — these are notable accolades to be sure. However, I feel these merits are of greater impor tance: a devoted husband of 60 years, a loving father, a man dedicated to making the world better by bringing out the best within us. Simpson challenged each of MAIL CALL us to live our lives with integrity, by an uncompromising code of uprightness in character and moral strength, a challenge he met daily. Simpson’s life is a testimony of how life should be lived: with courage, fidelity, enthusiasm and love. It is a life that can provide inspiration and would improve us all with its examination. The fact such a life was scarcely reported in the newspa per of the alma mater he so dili gently served just adds dishonor to his absence. Afinju Oja McDowell Class of ’01 Students must follow traffic laws Many Texas A&M students need to go back to kindergarten and learn what the red traffic light means (it means “stop”). The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or less and include 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 McDonald with a valid student ID. Let ters 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 VlELCOlYt BACK', THINGS AfcE GONNA BE PlfFERENT TWS TINNE/ReAL Ra&NDCr. WHO'S UP R3R A OF etmhje a^^TirijriD w DAVE JOHNSTON TIM KANG/The Battalion If you do not care about your own safety, think about all the oth er Aggies on the road. I have been driving for many years, and I have never seen so many red lights run as I have this school year. Bailee Kirsch Class of ’99 brings stress F inals are still almost two weeks away, but many stu dents have al ready gone through the most traumatic time of the semester — registration. Class registra tion is almost over. Of course, the end of registration only means it is time to start filling out force slips. Course registration at Texas A&M is a serious ordeal. Students will use any means they can think of to make sure they find their dream schedule. The system is too complex and stressful. Students should be able to focus on term pa pers and finals without worrying about academic advising, force slips and the haunting voice of the University information system. Many students invest a signifi cant amount of time and effort into course registration — and it is un derstandable. This short phone conversation between an automat ed voice and a few dozen touch- tone pulses will control virtually every aspect of the student’s life. Depending on the outcome of these minutes of stress-, the student will be spending hundreds of hours studying for nuclear physics or coasting through four kinesiolo gies. A student’s schedule may de termine how early they get up, how stressed they are, how their grade point ratio changes or when they graduate. The difference be tween section 513 and 514 might be enormous, and a panicked Aggie may only have a few minutes to choose between the two. There are dozens of aspects to consider when choosing a sched ule, and students need more help than the small degree chart in the course catalog can provide. Stu dents must decide when to take their elective hours, what classes will help them most, what prder to take which classes and which pro fessors will best teach the material. Most departments offer their students extensive academic advis ing, but few students take advan tage of that offer. Instead, Aggies often base their course selection on the advise of other students and a few random guesses. Texas A&M’s method of regis tration only increases the stress of course selection. Students often compete against thousands of fel low Aggies for one of the 30 seats available in a specific class. The results are not always pretty. The University staggers regis tration, giving preference to hon ors students, student workers and upperclassmen. Hence, more stressful decisions. Student workers must decide whether their schedule allows them the time to dig up recent paycheck stubs, collect a signa ture from a supervisor and stand in line so they may qualify for .early student-worker registration. Students must weigh the advan tages of honors registration against the risk of losing future privileges if they drop an honors class. As 10 p.m. draws near on the given registration day, students race to the nearest touch-tone phone. For the next few hours, stu dents across campus will listen to the irritating tones of a busy signal as their hopes for getting their per fect schedule dwindle away. Under certain circumstances, some faculty and administrators will take pity on a slow-dialling student, allowing them to be forced into a filled class. Some classes are so popular that a force slip represents the only practical method to register for a section. This is often the case with technical writing, which every student must take in order to graduate. The result is a long line on one of the dead days as students wait to be forced into a class they need in order to earn their diploma. On this day with no classes, students begin collecting in the halls of the Blocker Building as early as 7 a.m. hoping to secure one of the hotly-contested seats. The whole system is stressful — too stressful for students to be messing with during finals. Stu dents should be encouraged to take advantage of the advising available to them, but steps should be taken to remove the traumatic aspects of registration. Dave Johnston is a senior mathematics major.