Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1999)
le Battalion O PINION Page 5 • Tuesday, July 13, 1999 o rest for the weary ummer session schedules show disrespect for national holidays, disregard for student welfare ^ ^Q/-• In1 /-»-n m r»T-m1~\ 1 i 1 /■ /-n r-\\ -n ummer school students had little time to stop and y the celebration le birth of our na- , for on the day af- the Fourth of July, -week classes had ir finals. [On what for most Jeff BECKER s a day of relaxation the ty'fl j recreation, Texas A&M students had of Wa;he pleasure of regurgitating all the infor- ||HHtion they have crammed down their Boat over the past five weeks. ■a&M is notorious for ignoring national hum n: iciidays, especially in the summer. While animals Ber students around the country are wa ll itarsaer skiing and eating watermelon, A&M this recBognizes Labor Day by making its stu- in faclents work. like BEven in the fall, while non-Aggies are it home relaxing waiting for the Thanks- he sonwing day football game to start. Aggies ing sot art 1 forced to drive home that day, or late rack, aiBThanksgiving eve after classes end. straneleB And to pour salt on an open wound, de, ther® are forced to make up the two days we uffer Ih ave off f° r Thanksgiving at the end of , | 0 ^ fle fall semester. Ifj I A&M should give more consideration foi the welfare of the students when the Jim Jaedule is made. Instead of raking stu- j^Bnts over the coals in an attempt to —^Bueeze a schedule into as little time as J^PBssible, A&M should allow students bp ^ some time to unwind during the semester. I Stress is a large factor in the academic ^ son l> performance of students, and when dead- ‘Step,’ lies and test dates seem to pile up like ntoiHSjBnd in the hourglass, some students are ythmic pushed to the breaking point from all the rest of pressure. School can sometimes be like digging a hole in the desert in 120-degree blazing heat, and no matter how much sand is shoveled out of the hole, that much more caves in from the sides. Students need a break from the insanity just to regain the perspective that it is not all in vain and that there is a reason for toiling so hard. For starters, students should have off the Fourth of July. Schedulers must be able to find a bet ter way than to give finals on or just after the birthday of our nation. And instead of starting another stress- filled, book-gorging five-week session the day after the first one just ended, give stu dents a day or so to recuperate. There are three weeks between the end of summer session and the start of fall, and many students would not mind going an extra day or two in exchange for hav ing off the Fourth. Students will not be sacrificing their academic futures to have off such days as Memorial Day and Labor Day, either. Oth er schools are able to afford students this “luxury,” so there is no reason why A&M could not find a way to bless students with a holiday every now and then. By giving students the holidays the ma jority of the nation enjoys, students would be less stressed and better able to handle the rigor of a full course load. Academic performance may increase, and the more important benefit will be the favorable psychological effects of giving students a break. Aggies should be given the same op portunity to observe the nation’s holidays that is given to every other American. Jeff Becker is a sophomore computer engineering major enjoy ei , Komii| Dark&i redeems i Including personal information on driver’s licenses too intrusive k ig Brother, ker, the fed- *eral gov- rnment, is try- ng to gain ul funcWunther control theyfe our lives. Section 656 ifcounsi if the Illegal Im- Marc: msultaK nigration Re- GRETHER ices, si orm and Immi- 'or anyt* ;rant Responsibility Act of 1996 with t tails for states to conform to federal itandards when issuing driver’s li- itialcoi tenses and other forms of identifica- to explcfion. and titt about his car, the driver’s license provides little opportunity for a criminal to make use of it. However, if Joe were to lose his driver’s license with his SSN on it, he could be in for all sorts of trou ble. Many businesses and govern mental agencies use SSNs as identi fiers. Because of this, an industrious criminal would have little trouble finding out all kinds of information about Joe, including his medical his tory, his income and his employment history. Specifically, the legislation re- [uires states to either verify the So- ial Security Numbers (SSN) of ach driver’s license applicant or ; ifotlii ilace the number on the applicant’s or iftl) ard. The law, scheduled to take ef- ect October 1, 2000, will essentially idicatft ([reate a de facto national ID. While it may sound innocuous, he creation of a national ID is a lorrible idea. Because it is extremely expen- ive and time consuming to verify SNs, it is expected that most states vould comply with the law by plac- usingi getting , and aid.' re pn udents lys j contf Qg individual’s number on >t havi | ie j r driver’s license. This would m is 3 iirther extend the use of SSNs. are in 1 But because SSNs are now com- you 11 fnonly used by businesses as identi- iers, they offer ready access to all (orts of personal information. This can lead to problems. For example, say Joe Aggie is alking down the street and drops ns driver’s license and it does not rave his SSN on it. While a hard vorking criminal might be able to ind out his address and information With this information, the crimi nal could steal Joe’s identity by tak ing out credit cards in Joe’s name, getting jobs with his name and gen erally ruining his life. Therefore, a national ID would further erode the privacy of Ameri ca’s citizens. In today’s world of tiny video cameras, super sensitive mi crophones, an intrusive press and the Internet, too little information remains private. However, the federal government COLLEGIATE ROUNDUP from U-Wire editorial reports does not need to make things worse. The requirements of Section 656 would also make providing drivers licenses more expensive. Fulfilling the requirements of this bill are esti mated to cost over $100 million. The federal government is invading not only our privacy but also our pock- etbooks with this legislation. In the states that do take the time to verify SSNs, this legislation will have another consequence. It will keep many Americans and resident aliens from receiving their driver’s licenses in a timely man ner because of problems with their SSN. The Social Security Adminis tration (SSA), the agency in charge of regulating SSNs, is riddled with problems. Many people would be forced to wait needlessly while the SSA works out problems with their SSNs. Thankfully, this legislation may never go into effect. A surprising coalition of groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Eagle Forum, National Council of La Raza, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Electronic Frontier Foun dation have been working to get this legislation repealed. To that end. Rep. Ron Paul (R- Texas) introduced H.R. 2337 on June 24. His bill would repeal the dastardly Section 656. This common-sense legislation deserves everyone’s support. Anything the liberal ACLU and conservative Eagle Forum agree on cannot be bad. Marc Grether is a mathematics graduate student. Clinton’s plan or poor debated rom the Kentucky Kernel it the University of Ken- ucky. LEXINGTON, Ky. — A/hat exactly does any- ine expect to be accom- ilished by President Clin- ;on’s recent speaking :our which made stops in mpoverished areas of Kentucky? We, in point of fact, have no idea. It seems altogether touching that the Presi dent of the United States would think about our great state when speak ing to the most destitute areas of the nation, but people in areas like Ap palachia need more than just a hyped visit from the nation’s leading man. Does anyone believe for a moment that an ap pearance by the presi dent will attract business es to an area? Does anyone believe that people waving flags and shaking hands with Clinton splashed across the covers of the state’s major newspapers will cause a major company to decide to open its next factory in Hazard? Highly unlikely. Thanks for the thought, Bill, but come back when you can make a difference. From the Michigan Daily at the University of Michi gan. ANN ARBOR, Mich. — ... Clinton’s tour of the nation’s poorest areas, which concluded last Fri day, reminded the nation that the economic progress it has achieved pales in comparison to what it still has left to ac complish. ... Beginning in Kentucky, Clinton’s tour took him through stops in Missis sippi, East St. Louis and a Native American reser vation. ... The statistics from these areas are grim. ... Clinton realizes that fed eral aid alone cannot cure these ailments, and instead he has devised an effective plan to pro mote private sector in vestment in poorer areas by offering incentives to participating companies. With significant incen tives from the govern ment, American compa nies will be encouraged to invest in the poorer ar eas of the country. It may be that more will need to be done. But Clinton’s plan is still a much-needed ad vancement for America’s poorest areas. ... Prison should hire competent guards ^l?c n oZ 0 n BeVerlymeles ' hon B est r |S« 0 ' 1 J Huntsvi "e.' can is reai' A ^ 1 don,t think there Prison sho B rtal d of t !! inkthereisa guards whi corn P e tent prison fob serious°y aCtUa " y take their ide! V of n as? Ugh 1 think Mirele s' would be cnrf!' gUnn ' n fence and cost S •’ 8 more P ract 'cal hiring guam^' 6 ^ IClea might be do their jo b wiM actua 'ly Jimmy Barnes Class of ’01 MAIL CALL A&M not lacking in cultural diversity In response to Jeff Becker’s July 8 column. The fact that the minority population of Texas A&M has fallen to less than 11 percent is not an indicator of A&M’s lack of diversity. My ancestry is European, but I do not call myself a German- American or an Irish- American. I am an American. The time has come for us to no longer be hyphenated Ameri cans. We should all take pride in being just American. As long as we use the words “white” and “black” or “hispan- ic,” there will always be stratifi cation. I disagree that A&M is not a diverse place. A&M and the rest of America are very diverse be cause of the many different cul tures they are built on. Peter Norris Class of ’00 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 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com Pie in your face illustrates evil propensities of time-honored tradition T he time for ac tion is upon us With the ro °ts of con servatism be ^Ply em bedded in A ggieland Rya ^ College sta- - GARCTA tion must ipaH take a step fn?, by 5 xa mple and Protect Amenv 8rd in the War to The aonte a S youth - banned PP e pie m ust be After this ^ bud get comedt S i Weekend ’ s low - ca me the ton , A \ neric an Pie be- ea ming $i o P , We . e kend movie [hat American 1 ™ ll0n ’ is cle ar have its child 8 SOciet y cannot Pies and aJi en Seei ng apple used fo r ^g what they are “fe Pip" chronicles the to lose their v^r VVho make a pact “■“'ng from iT? raty before grad- tensive fo?, = hl « h s chool. Thlin w n h deXCT emen ( ;", bo j ilys «re« 1 1 ons ^beri on t " is culminated 5 resh ly baked 1 ! 6 'I 0111115 us es a 0r ^ i ffig U, ,^ PieaS 3,001 against the S T enity cor nplaint in^'lye^T^ehainaf- aa Austin Pot d SOn Picked ud De'make 0 ^ doll ,Lt asked. Coilege statist horn y> baby,” the All-9 can surely gain ” hich 4Tn n h Ca City ” status aPPle Pie has long been a ia bane in the American existence, almost as much as Barbie, who with her unattainable waistline and curves gave generations of young girls inferiority complexes until she was recently modified after good-will crusaders com plained loudly enough. The 1970s saw the symbol of apple pie further tear a divided nation apart when legendary folk singer Joan Baez protested the hypocrisy of war and its forgotten accolades by singing, “Oh, where’s our apple pie? We’ve walked and wheeled from the battlefield, now where’s our ap ple pie?” To discover the true hellish evil of apple pie, one need look no further than its main ingredi ent, the apple. “The apple pie must be banned/' This forbidden fruit’s sordid past is more infamous than the new Tarzan action figure that many claim is equipped with a self-gratifying hand and arm mo tion that is activated by the push of a lever. Christian tradition recognizes the deciduously demonic delight as the fruit most responsible for the downfall of mankind, the centerpiece to a paradise lost. Prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union, the U.S.S.R. led the world in apple production, fol lowed by the United States then China. How appropriate that two of the top three apple producers touted communism as the cho sen form of government. The fact that the apple is red is no coinci dence, especially if your name happens to be Joseph McCarthy. Apple production can even be held responsible for the environ mental degradation of the United States. The high yields of apples produced in the Pacific North west are possible because of ex tensive artificial irrigation which causes various environmental problems. Therefore, the youth of Ameri ca cannot be subjugated to the voluptuous shape and seductive pheromones of such a sinful dessert with its warm, moist cen ter. Even its most basic ingredi ent, the apple will make it diffi cult for parents to walk through grocery stores across the nation. Prepubescent youths are simply not ready to handle hearing about the apple and the apple pie at such young ages. As responsible Aggies, it is time we donned our most con servative attire, walked arm in arm down Texas Avenue shout ing “howdy” to all those we en counter, sledgehammers and axe handles in hand, to bring our own sense of justice and morality to the grocery stores of College Station, leaving only sauce where apples once were. For in this age of oversensitivi ty to everything from well-en dowed dolls to the word “horny,” it’s not unlikely that extremist crusaders will attack the bakery business next. Ryan Garcia is a senior journalism major.
