he Battalion
O PINION
Page 7 • Tuesday, July 6, 1999
topping the exodus
Hploma recipients should be dissuaded from rudely leaving commencement exercises early
I he temptation is
understandable.
Faced with the
|dious prospect of
liting for hundreds
[gowns to swish
[ross the commence-
lent stage, many
duates take the
sy way out.
After accepting
Caleb
MCDANIEL
'LUMBIA
upping,
eir own diplomas, increasing numbers
Texas A&M students are flocking to the
its at Reed Arena long before com-
i .■ encement exercises have ended.
The scene is becoming all too familiar.
U.U.UDroves of Andersons and Benjamins
t V; Burry from the ceremony quicker than
hrppEew York Knicks fans fled the Garden at
’ '''’Be end of Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
?’veevJ Meanwhile, the Ysletas and Wilsons of
' maiteM e c ^ ass are ^ to s h a ke President
ne seen» )wen ’ s hand in front of the few dozen
ie audierB 1 ^ 61100 mem hers remaining by the time
notinsB e ’ r names are called.
> s are rf[ B How rude. The growing exodus of
thev Baddies from graduation exercises
N 0 stands in stark contrast to so many re-
rnoviesfrlring Aggie traditions.
andthisB ^ or hastance, only a month before
dely paBP^ omas are distributed, graduating se-
/hich LB
niors participate in that strange show of
solidarity — Elephant Walk.
While marching across the campus of
their soon-to-be alma mater, seniors glad
ly link arms with their alphabetically-
challenged classmates.
But only weeks later, dead elephants
unlucky enough to have a name some
where after Smith will find themselves
curiously alone as they sweep across the
commencement stage. Bad bull, if ever
there was such a thing.
Who would ever think of leaving
Muster as soon as the name of their
loved one has been solemnly intoned?
Audience members barely stir at the oc
casion, perhaps out of respect for the
dead.
But at the graduation roll call, respect
for the living is harder to find.
One can even find Aggies being better
behaved at football games. Fans who
slink away from the field before the final
cannon sounds will find themselves sad
dled with the scorn of their peers. But
graduates who escape the doldrums of
commencement exercises also escape the
disapproval of their fellows.
Such a blatant breach of etiquette can
not be allowed to continue.
Perhaps the fleeing graduates think ac
cepting their diplomas means repudiating
everything they have learned as Aggies.
One hopes they would think again.
If there is anything special at all about
“the.other education,” it is the conviction
that it does not stop at graduation. There
is nothing special about being polite for
four (or five) years only to embrace
rudeness at the end of the academic
road.
To abandon graduates in the
lower registers of the alphabet is
an embarrassment to everything
being an Aggie is supposed to
mean. Therefore, it is especially
sad that at graduation, the
event at which many visiting
relatives and friends get their
only impression of the school,
some graduates hasten to give
Aggies a bad name by starting
their post-graduation celebrations
an hour or two early.
However, because so many stu
dents find the temptation so hard to re
sist, it would be best for commencement
officials to restructure the exercises.
Admittedly, the long hours of listening
to mispronounced names are taxing on
any attention span.
This problem could be corrected if in
dividual ceremonies were held for each
college, instead of making, for instance,
liberal arts majors wait through the engi-
Gabriel Ruenes/The Battalion
neering ceremony. The long hours Eng
lish majors spend in front of their word
processors does not necessarily make
their backsides more amenable to many
hours in stiff folding chairs.
But even if this needed change is im
plemented, it will not by itself solve the
problem of exiting Aggies.
Ultimately, the only way to keep grad
uates for the entire ceremony is to ap
peal to their sense of fairness.
Those who do not want to wait
through hundreds of names have
the option not to attend their
graduation.
But by their presence, those
who choose to attend are admit
ting the ceremony is important
to them.
For them, standing in front
of friends, family and class
mates to accept their honors is
worthwhile.
And if it is worthwhile for
those who accept their diplomas
first, it is worthwhile for those who
accept them last.
Consequently, true Aggies will not ig
nore a proper courtesy for their personal
convenience. They will stay until the last
Zwingler is called.
Caleb McDaniel is a
junior history major.
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rojected budget surplus should be used to
Tom
OWENS
ince Presi
dent Clin
ton took
Iffice in 1993,
The national
lebt has in-
reased at the
|stonishing
fate of
7,051.27 per
econd.
Last week, however, following
rosy estimates of giant budget
surpluses. President Clinton an
nounced his plan to save
Medicare, prevent the imminent
icollapse of Social Security and
ay off the entire federal debt
'ithin 15 years.
Though he has been a tax-
ind-spend Democrat for his en-
ire career, Clinton now seeks to
reate a “legacy” for himself by
embracing conservative fiscal
policy.
However, he can only do this
half-heartedly because viewing
the enormous liabilities of caring
for the poor through the lens of
economic prudence would reveal
cruel realities the liberal mind
cannot accept.
No entity — and especially
not a government of inefficient
bureaucrats — is capable of elim
inating poverty and suffering.
The best that can be done is to
buffer the extremities, so human
ity itself is not degraded.
The problem with Medicare
and Social Security is their uni
versal guarantee of financial se
curity and medical care for poor
Americans.
Until these tremendous and
unpredictable liabilities are trans
formed into a fixed-cost system
of charity, the national debt can
not be truly paid off.
Even if America pays off every
last cent of the $5 trillion debt,
millions of poor are still “enti
tled” by government decree to
possibly hundreds of thousands
of dollars when they become sick
or disabled.
It is fine to speak of compas
sion and social justice, but doc
tors, nurses, farmers and drug
companies demand and deserve
payment for their products and
services.'
When the recipient of a ser
vice is unable to pay, his or her
poverty becomes Americans’ col
lective responsibility. The federal
system of handouts must be cur
tailed.
First, Medicare must be
scrapped. An alternative system
that could work efficiently is a
chain of federal charity hospitals
that would provide medical care
to those who cannot afford it at
other hospitals.
All hospitals would be re
quired to give emergency service
to anyone free of charge, but as
soon as patients’ conditions are
stabilized, they would be sent ei
ther to a charity or standard hos
pital based on their ability to pay.
Charity hospitals represent a
relatively fixed cost when com
pared to the current system,
while still providing a moral min
imum of health care to those
who are less fortunate.
Secondly, Social Security, the
great pyramid scheme hatched
by FDR, should be phased out.
Those who have retired, and
pay off national debt
those who are about to retire
should still be compensated, but
the vast majority of Americans
should be moved to a privatized
system.
By replacing fluctuating liabili
ties with predictable fixed-cost
expenses, America can guarantee
a solid fiscal policy for years to
come and destroy the insidious
philosophy of the entitlement
system.
The only guaranteed handout
the government should provide
to the poor is effective, non
abortive birth control.
Finally, the coming surpluses
in the federal budget should be
allocated to paying off the na
tional debt.
Even Republicans, sadly, are
exploiting the good news of sur
pluses by promising tax cuts in
stead of fiscal responsibility.
Reagan’s supply-side policies
in the 1980s did demonstrate that
moderate tax cuts for upper in
come brackets can actually in
crease revenue, so perhaps Re
publican proposals are not as
destructive as those of spend
thrift Democrats.
However, the motives of both
camps in the budget surplus bat
tle stem more from election-year
politics than from a true desire to
free America of debt.
This is unfortunate because
the good fortune of the current
economy may be the last oppor
tunity to pay off the national
debt before it becomes complete
ly uncontrollable.
Tom Owens is a senior
chemical engineering major.
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thletics funding
bot inequitable
e g U j Z dn response to Beverly Mireles’
“ ^fy 5 column.
What R.C. Slocum earns for provid-
this school with great football
ores is well-deserved.
Mireles stated that educators “will
fever make millions,” and that we
jerely “throw money at athletics.”
Money isn’t being thrown at athlet-
. It is being earned. If A&M were hor-
J)le at athletics, the funding for the de-
jjgnii pertinent would not be as high,
arm^ 1 However, our athletic coaches work
Will 1 |ercl to provide this school with great
t/ieBhletes who accomplish many great
jlros, Bings, and I believe that is why we fund
3 R0 them.
You forget to mention the athletes.
MAIL CALL
They come to A&M in hopes of perform
ing well for this University athletically
and academically.
As far as A&M’s having only 10 art
classes, most people come to A&M for
its science, engineering and agricultural
programs.
Don’t you think that if you are at
tending a university where you are not
getting the funding or education you re
quire from an art class, then you need
to be attending school elsewhere?
Jennifer Bales
Class of ’02
The column’s argument is based on
equity, not efficiency. Texas A&M is bet
ter off financially with a football team,
but how A&M chooses to distribute the
money is a question of equity.
However, the only department that
has a legitimate claim to athletic rev
enue is the athletic department. Liberal
arts should be funded through potential
athletic dollars.
Luke Bolton
Class of ’99
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ters must be 300 words or less and include the au
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The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters
for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be sub
mitted 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: battletters@hotmail.com
COLLEGIATE ROUNDUP
from U-Wire editorial reports
Congress should not
prohibit flag burning
From The Post at Ohio University.
ATHENS, Ohio — Last week in a 305-124
vote, the House passed an amendment pro
posal that would ban desecration of the
American flag. Congress and state legisla
tures previously have made laws prohibiting
flag burning. ...
Aside from infringing on First Amend
ment rights, the flag amendment is too
vague. The 28th Amendment would read, as
proposed in the House, “The Congress shall
have power to prohibit the physical desecra
tion of the flag of the United States.”
But Congress has not defined the word
“desecration.”
Would desecration not only include flag
burning, but ripping up the flag as well? ...
What if someone cut up a book of stamps,
which carries the picture of the flag? ...
Though the goal of the amendment isn’t to
stop activities like this, the amendment’s
ambiguity gives the government too much
authority to punish people who act out
against it. ...
Thie, the American flag deserves respect,
as it always has been viewed as the purest
sign of patriotism. ... But the flag is a symbol
of just how much freedom we have in the
United States.
If we are truly as free as the Bill of Rights
proclaims, this amendment reduces freedom
rather than protecting it. ...
From The Parthenon at Marshall University.
HUNTINGTON, WV. — Even if there still
are some anti-Americans out there who en
joy burning the flag, they have the right to
do it. ... Like it or not, our flag stands for the
freedom to be able to burn it. ...
We believe there are probably better and
smarter ways to express yourself, but as
journalists, we also strongly believe in the
First Amendment.
Our lives are centered around freedom of
speech and expression. ... If we aren’t al
lowed to burn the flag, then maybe our right
to choose a religion or a life partner could be
next. And that cannot happen.
Freedom of expression is sacred and must
remain in its current form.
Television decency law
should be overturned
From the Daily Collegian at Pennsylvania
State University.
STATE COLLEGE, Penn. — The federal
government is currently appealing a 1996
ruling by a federal judge that struck down
part of the Communications Decency Act.
The proposed legislation requires cable
operators that don’t fully scramble sex-ori
ented programming to show those programs
only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. ...
Limiting the hours programs are available
won’t achieve the effect the law intends —
to prevent children from viewing explicit
programs. ...
The real problem is not the scrambled
pornography on pay-per-view cable, but that
parents are not monitoring what their chil
dren watch.
In the name of morality, the federal gov
ernment shouldn’t limit what some people
want to see.
In the meantime, if they are determined
to limit children’s access to pornography, the
government should concentrate on helping
cable companies improve scrambling tech
nology instead of editing content.
Insurance policy reveals
sex discrimination
From The Oracle at the University of South
Florida.
TAMPA, Fla. — For decades, women have
been trying to convince health insurance
providers to pay for prescription contracep
tive devices such as Depo-Provera, di
aphragms and birth control pills.
But with the advent of Viagra, a pill that
helps counteract impotence in men, women
have an added incentive to push for contra
ceptive coverage.
Viagra appeared on the market last year
and was quickly included in many insurance
plans. Many insurers now cover Viagra but
not birth control. This amounts to sex dis
crimination. ...
If insurance companies pay to help men
improve their sex lives, they must show the
same consideration toward women. ...