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
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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.