le Battalion
o
PINION
Page 9 • Friday, February 19, 1999
man Erica te:
1/2 inches of
lying for the
ing 11-01/4 in 1 :
iphornore Cki
the 60 meter In
ids while fe:
a ms captured!:
with a leap off:
>nior jumper ft
provisionally tpi
> jump threetiir,
her best leap :
it the Red Rail
?xas, which Is i
atest poll, will
homa, ranked
pr, ranked ni
• Big 12 schooi
5.
le outcome
ts will be a ir
Lowrance la
tie in the shot
last year's me
8-11 1/4. Ji
la and Jason J
;chool record:
/eight throw:
ike Hummel h:
is success afte
ries in the mt
is season-best
ar Invitational
thugga’ chugga’ choose choose
lesidents need to consider all
ides of railroad relocation issue
cfore making any decisions
Zach
HALL
ce
\ | any Texas
A&M student is
.well aware, a
Iroad track runs
ough the middle of
npus dividing it
o “west” and
iain” campuses.
However, if A&M
i some local inter-
s have their way,
neday this will not be the case. Instead
running through campus, the railroad
iy run along the Brazos River.
The issue is that the railroad track cre-
s an inconvenience to the students,
ulty and Bryan/College Station com-
inities, though safety is also an impor-
it concern. The trains often cause stu-
its to wait while they are going to
ss on West Campus and B/CS citizens
die they are going to work or home.
These are all valid arguments, but be-
e jumping on the relocation bandwag-
we Should understand what the com-
iw defeat
was an ujj
we were mi*
me player am
r close match,
HllSlnity potentially loses in future
momic, tourist and aesthetic terms,
the suppon Neither side of the railroad relocation
mage to ave: ^te doubts that there is a need to ad-
:ss certain current and future problems
:h the existing track layout running
ough Bryan-College Station. Traffic
igestion, too many grade crossings
i acjcess of emergency vehicles to cer-
r Eva Marcia n parts of the community are just
we're looking! ne of the concerns. A grade crossing is
ie Aggies area intersection of a road and railroad
that is show:: ck.
part of the There are no definite proposals for re-
i allows the Ag- ving the railroad issue. A&M commis-
nesses in oppc med a study that was concluded in
move down th iy 1998 that said it would be feasible to
-hraska has ar we the tracks to the Brazos River. The
of doubles pla imated cost of relocating the 30 miles
i the backcour existing track along the new route was
i there opp ejected at $75 million. One proposal,
od has had big :■
, being the mair
ns loss for AMI; J.
e match open urfl
n for both tear-
k Raymond L ffaib#* 1
The Banquet of E£|
from Psalm ft
ie moment in Your; -
Absolutizes til*
Satisfies rm hunt''
stills the strivings»'
/20 Original
c many more psalm itfc
v.amazon.com ,»rriif
der direct: 800-»WO#|
—a -T
which was voted down by citizens
within the past decade, was to
place the tracks underground, or
“low track”, for the stretch of
track running from FM 2818 to
just past Villa Maria Road.
Other proposals call for sepa
rate interchanges, like the one at
University and Wellborn Road, to
be built at certain intersections,
likely Villa Maria Road., George
Bush Drive and FM 2818. In fact,
according to Michael Parks, direc
tor of the Metropolitan Planning
Organization, there is a proposal
to build an underpass or overpass
at Villa Maria Rd. regardless of
whether or not the tracks are
moved.
However, the community sim
ply cannot be motivated in a deci
sion to relocate the tracks by the
promise of less inconvenience.
The railroad is the reason that
Texas A&M is located where it is
today. The name College Station
itself is a reminder of the railroad
that originated this community.
Residents cannot throw away
a heritage or tradition simply be
cause we want ever increasing
convenience. This issue only ex
ists because Bryan-College Station is
small enough for a railroad to be divert
ed around the cities. Talk of railroad re
location in towns the size of Houston,
San Antonio or Austin would be
laughed at; after all the B-CS communi
ty is always striving to be more like the
bigger cities.
In Dallas railroads are being used to
combat traffic congestion, much like in
the Northeast; and the cities of San Anto
nio and Austin are trying to devise a rail
corridor to allow passengers to travel be
tween the two cities; these could both be
possible uses for the railroad in Bryan-
College Station.
Apart from the nostalgic and aesthetic
appeal of a train running through town/
residents could utilize the railroad as a
tourist attraction. The B-CS community
could use the train in conjunction with
the Bush Library, much like it was used
during the dedication when dignitaries
and others were brought in on train, per
haps a rail-corridor with the LBJ Library
in Austin.
The relocation debate is also very
much a visionary issue. As the need for
more effective transportation arises, the
railroads will be called upon to help ad
dress those needs. If we remove and relo
cate the tracks now, we may face the
need someday to bring them back.
Regardless of the pro and cons of relo
cation, the answers to this debate need to
come from the Bryan-College Station
community. Multiple proposals need to
be drawn up for relocation as well as the
building of over/underpasses and then
submitted to the public for a vote.
The public needs to educate itself
about this issue. In fact, the Metropolitan
Planning Organization will be holding a
meeting March 3 at the Brazos Center to
ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion
discuss the relocation as well as a pro
posal by Union Pacific to lay down a sec
ond track alongside the existing one.
Union Pacific owns the track and has
about 24 trains running through the com
munity per day.
The B-CS community cannot lose this
railroad simply because it is more conve
nient or because it is what A&M wants;
multiple options must be submitted and
evaluated. The public must get involved
in this process and in the end be allowed
to make the final decision.
Zach Hall is a senior philosophy major.
Advances in fighting AIDS
not license for dangerous sex
T
Iffl OH A PRETTY
TIGHT SCHEDULE
HOW'BOUT
E-WWUH& IAE
THE REST OF
VOUR SINS ?
Christina
BARROWS
Hggielamll
68(1#
121 War
(Comer of Taras
Service Credit is available to; \
• a new PnmeCo phone durlnj ti ^
most rale plans SonwlNlrf^S
. Some Restrictions AaHy.
(MdTrtmcfei
JOB!
accepted I"
r Day
ongress must pay
ttention to voters
In response to Zach Hall’s Feb. 16
inion column.
Hall repeats an often-heard opinion
impeachment supporters when he
ys “Contrary to their (the American
ople) public opinion, they should
ive had no influence ... in this im-
lachment process.”
If Hall had paid more attention in
science classes or perhaps
ad the Constitution he refers to so
any times in his article, he would
iow who pays the salary of those
mgressmen and women.
To say that the American people
s (5-8) anil |9' ! ‘' ou,cl elect their representatives and
1 maters, pay their wages and then
;oect to have no influence over their
: ;tions is ludicrous.
1 Timber $fr* E Any of the House managers or any
-5480 her elected official who wants to go
)me to his district and tell the peo-
job tbis si
? Are you
ence
e Station 5i
il March 5,
f games, art,
MAIL CALL
pie that they deserve no voice in the
workings of their congress will be in
for a rude awakening in November.
Will Reinhart
Class of '02
Prostitution goes
against Biblical law
In response to Brendan Guy’s Feb. 15
opinion article.
Sometimes when people are trying
to justify something like legalized
prostitution, they attempt to “muddy
the waters.” They try to blur the defini
tion of profanity or sin. Prostitution is
old.
Sin is old. We all sin. Sin is our
choice. The definition of sin is not our
choice. If you do not accept my reli
gion (Christianity) or its definitions of
sin, that is your choice, but leave it at
that. God defines sin. According to
the Bible we can have sex with the
one person (of the opposite sex) we
are married to, but sex with anyone or
anything else is sin. In fact, the Bible
commands us to have sex with our
spouse!
It is OK if once in a while our laws
agree with God’s laws. That is not
what our founding fathers meant with
the concept of separation of church
and state.
Brian Park
Class of ’95
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 let
ters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be
submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald 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
E-mail: batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
1 here is a disease
that kills off the
cells necessary to
fight every infection,
leaving the immune sys
tem virtually defenseless.
Common viruses such
as the flu strain can kill
those infected. But do not
panic because there is a
solution.
This disease is completely preventable if
people avoid risky behavior.
How many times would someone have to
be told this before they started listening? In
the case of HIV, which can later become
AIDS, it seems no one is listening.
Instead, one would think with all of the
media coverage in the last 15 years unpro
tected sex would be non-existent.
Unfortunately, people seem to be content
with the new drugs that allow HIV-positive
people to live longer and relatively healthy
lives, but there is still no cure for this fatal
disease.
Rather than holding themselves ac
countable for their own actions, people are
engaging in unprotected sex and leaving it
to doctors and scientists to fix the prob
lem.
In 1997 the Joint United Nations Program
on AIDS (UNAIDS) reported 30 million peo
ple worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS
and 16,000 were infected everyday.
One out of every 100 adults ages 15-49
were thought to be infected with the virus
and only one out of every 10 knew of their
infection.
Many people argue things are getting bet
ter because of the dramatic decrease in
deaths due to AIDS.
Unfortunately, it is the researchers who
are getting smarter, while people are behav
ing more and more stupid.
In Oct. 1998, the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) reported death
rates of AIDS-infected persons declined an
unprecedented 47 percent from 1996 to 1997,
making AIDS the sixth leading killer in the
United States.
But HHS secretary Donna E. Shalala made
it clear the reason for the decrease was be
cause of new medications.
She stressed the necessity of working at
prevention.
“These figures mean that new treatments
have been very effective in extending the
lives of people who already have HIV infec
tion — but they do not mean that we have
significantly reduced HIV transmission,”
Shalala said.
According to the Centers for Disease Con
trol (CDC), the annual number of new HIV
infections is still increasing in the United
States, with 40,000 new infections each
year.
Blatantly taking sexual risks is not only
stupid but disrespectful, too.
First of all, it is disrespectful to all the
medical researchers who have worked so
hard to develop these new drugs, so irre
sponsibly infected people can have a longer
and more healthy life.
The last thing these amazingly selfless re
searchers need is to have people take advan
tage of the new drugs.
These doctors are working to save lives
from a horrible disease, not provide an easy
solution to careless action.
Researchers wish to wipe out this epidem
ic completely, and this requires prevention as
well as a cure.
While they are working diligently to find
this cure, thousands of people around the
world, despite the fact it is completely pre
ventable now, are working diligently to
spread the epidemic.
Carelessly becoming infected is also disre
spectful to those who have already suc
cumbed to the disease.
Many who, through their suffering, have
taught the nation to take every precaution
possible to avoid this tragedy.
How many people remember Ryan White?
White, who became infected with AIDS
through a contaminated blood transfusion
he received prior to 1985, used his life to
fight his infection and promote awareness.
Actress and AIDS prevention advocate Ju
dith Light said, “He was not able to choose
whether he got AIDS, or other hardships
which fell in his path.
But he chose to turn whatever happened
to him into a contribution to others.”
It is lazy and irresponsible to ignore the
risk of HIV and leave it to others to take care
of the problem.
HIV is not an outrageous infection that
can rapidly spread through the air, so try and
have respect for researchers, prevention ad
vocators and especially everyone else by
avoiding this disease.
Most people do not need to be told more
than once that jumping off a cliff without a
parachute will ultimately lead to death.
Christina Barrows is a sophomore
English major.