Battalion
PINION
Page 9 • Friday, November 12, 1999
\g 12 action this S
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I
Aggies
L-4 Big
in a
tie for
place
the
of Texas and
iversity. Nebraska
irst place,
ma holds an 8-1'
and is in 10th pla
l 12 Conference t
)8, the Sooners
)n at 10-22 and
16 conference
)lk'ge consists
vo teams squarpT^^^li^j
ihere are
too many
college stu-
?ms who think
his season, an;
feated the Soonei
15-5, at G.
: crazy, drug-in-
||ed visions in-
ead of the cool
wanic erup-
, lt . Uns created in chemistry lab
: i ie a 1 the teaching assistant is
the booners, lc ic li n g the other way. However, il-
3ies will re in actic ,g a j c hemical substances are the
l!e irgets of a new government initia-
vl passed a few weeks ago.
* 3 rn * i |i h e new nieasure bans federal
lipon loans or other financial aid
)r students convicted of drug of-
.‘m;es. This rule, which goes into
ffect next summer, is a hard-line
tance that some say goes too far.
feut since a 1995 University of
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hat will
r play-
?t some
)ks than
did
discov-
spite its
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11 with
tars.
tggies came bad:
y struggles to take
ne lead. That wot
needed to finish
f ree i ent of college students used ide
al drugs, this step needed to be
k aken to prevent drug abuse
(rrjong people who should be the
iture core of society.
Drug problems
| can affect the
rest of a person's
life. They must
be fixed early.
WAT!
I the game A&M
rd Bernard King I .College is a transitional time for
himse/fas a play/;; man y teen-agers, who find them-
VggiC' scori/g 1-1 /y se ! ves with more responsibility and
ibing four boards, ^supervised free time,
a sight to see pla 1 ! Some students take their new-
uor guard Jen\d BioPnd liberty to extremes by abus
e’s going to be a nj drugs and alcohol. These bad
i the future of A&M a l’its can carry over to the rest of
ler freshman guard arson’s life, so they must be cur-
gies’ outside gaapd early.
Gilchrist finished *bung people are prone to make
s, seven rebounds^kes; with that in mind, this
[ S ’ teasure is not absolute,
reshmen came thn : On the first possession convic-
and showed they IP’ a student will lose aid for only
d on to perforn 116 y ear - A seconc l possession con-
ie Aggies had five lCti011 W 1H remove aid for two
n the floor ar ars - If students are convicted for
a third possession, aid is removed
ias scary, but 1 |tn a nently.
” Watkins saidabc: Thls tiered system of pumsh-
n’s performance. tent ' s similar to the “three-strikes
Mien that ‘freshm w (if convicted of three felonies,
p. They showedr8 ardless of severity, a person will
1 tonight. For fresl
out and give tisl
ip out there, I _
?d.”
receive a life sentence) because of
fenders are given enough chances
to change themselves before an ab
solute punishment is meted out.
Students who stay away from
harmful substances about as well
as Robert Downey Jr. should be re
educated in drug rehabilitation —
not in college classrooms.
And in some cases, students
can restore aid earlier by entering
rehabilitation programs.
Habitual offenders must learn
how to stay off drugs before they
can learn anything else.
Jamie Pueschel, legislative di
rector of the U.S. Student Associa
tion in Washington, D.C., claimed
in a recent Associated Press article
that the measure is backward be
cause it deals with drug offenders
by denying them education.
Pueschel is right; abandoning
these troubled students without
means of education is like send
ing a hungry fisherman out to sea
sans bait.
But the education here is rehab
until students earn their federal-aid
money back.
Once they prove they are
straight and sober, they may re
enter college, complete their
degrees and hopefully be
come law-abiding, tax-
paying citizens.
But letting a third
of college students
sleepwalk for four
years, possibly en
tering the “real
world” with nag
ging drug habits,
is a hindrance to
say the least.
Ask presiden
tial hopeful
George W. Bush
how college drug
use can affect fu
ture scrutiny on the
job. His alleged in
discretion got him
the lead spot in Jay
Leno’s monologue
every night and may
have cost him a few
votes along the way.
The only problem with
the law is the self-policing
way in which the conviction
history is obtained. Students are
expected to report these drug con
victions on federal financial-aid
forms, including student loans and
Pell grants. If a student is found to
have lied on his or her appli
cation, the student would
have to repay all aid re
ceived and could face feder
al charges for lying to the
government.
These rules have a possi
bility of being counterpro
ductive, but the govern
ment has to take a chance
on what is best for the na
tion’s future.
This new regulation will
reduce waste in the federal
student-loan system by
weeding out students who
are abusing a government-
funded education, which
will be remembered as a
four-year bad trip at their
next reunion.
Jeff Webb is a senior
journalism major.
loan on drugs.
questions?)
Refusing federal student aid
to drug offenders bad policy
U
JESSICA
CRUTCHER
'nder a
law
which
goes into ef
fect next
summer, col
lege students
convicted of
drug offenses
will be barred 1
from receiving federal tu
ition aid for at least one year
from the date of conviction.
A student convicted of sell
ing drugs or of two posses
sion convictions will lose aid
for two years, while a second
conviction for selling drugs or
a third conviction for posses
sion will result in a perma
nent loss of federal aid.
The program is meant to
reduce “waste” in the stu
dent-loan system, but pass-
GUY
ROGERS
Tin Battalion
JEFF
SMITH
The Battalion
ing the law was a bad decision
for two reasons.
First, it denies badly needed
financial aid to students who
have no other means of paying
for college.
This drastic measure might be
logical when applied to felons,
but not when applied to the
freshman who got caught once
with half an ounce of marijuana.
Secondly, the law sets a dou
ble standard.
It sends the message that do
ing drugs is acceptable — as
long as the drug user has le
nient parents who will continue
paying the bills after he or she
gets caught.
One’s criminal record does
not determine whether one
needs money to attend college.
Financial aid is awarded based
on need.
Scholarships, on the other
hand, are awarded based on over
all academic merit, grades and ex
tracurricular activities.
That is the way it should stay.
Denying federal tuition aid to
poor students convicted of mi
nor drug charges defeats the
entire purpose of government
aid — to keep underprivi
leged young people from
ending up in dead-end
jobs by helping them get
an education.
Denying people an
education is not going
to solve the country’s
drug problems.
As an alternative,
drug-education
classes should be a
requirement for
first- or second-time
drug offenders to
continue receiving
financial aid.
Under the new
law, some students
will be able to keep
their eligibility for fed
eral financial aid by
completing drug-rehabili
tation programs.
But rehabilitation is not
what most of these students
will need.
Rehabilitation is meant for
drug addicts who are extremely
hooked, and the average college
student caught with illegal drugs
is probably not a drug addict.
Treating these students for an
addiction they do not have will
only worsen the problem by
causing students to think doing
drugs is acceptable as long as
they do not become addicted.
Instead, students should be re
quired to attend drug-education
classes, in the same way speed
ers attend defensive driving and
minors convicted of Minor In
Possession charges attend Alco
hol Awareness classes.
The double standard set by the
new regulations also is a danger
ous side effect. The rules only
make provisions to punish those
students receiving government aid.
Although most colleges do
have penalties for students
caught with illegal drugs, in the
end more underprivileged stu
dents will end up being more se
verely punished.
Chances are a first-time drug
offender will not be immediately
expelled from a university, pro
vided he or she is able to contin
ue paying tuition.
Denying loans
because of
minor mistakes
hurts those who
need help most.
Underprivileged students rely
ing on financial aid will obvious
ly not be able to pay the high
price of tuition. Immediately
denying students financial aid for
their first or second drug-related
conviction is a poor decision.
Although students should be
forced to attend drug-education
classes and in some cases reha
bilitation, the denial of financial
aid is too drastic a measure to be
immediately applied.
By denying students with no
other means of paying their tu
ition an education, the very pur
pose of financial aid is destroyed.
Denying badly needed money
to someone who has made one
small mistake is denying help to
those who need it most.
Jessica Cratcher is a sophomore
journalism major.
MAIL CALL
ien’s
tudents should honor,
aspect Veterans Day
tea fro,n Piigc ^'. || e p u ^|i C institutions across the
Aggies for their Jtion closed yesterday in honor of
edule. e men and women who fought
teams are good;tfc a vely and proudly for freedom
prepare for the H d fhe future, Texas A&M Univer-
aid. -y passed it by.
of the non-confe The reason is that several years
he Aggies will !d° a vote was cast to consolidate
University and F'H off into a longer, more conve-
st University, i - r f Christmas break, thereby forc-
re expected to student body into an “un-
“espective confereoffat'ican” form of ignorance and
Aggies will look ti= rat; ff ude -
g players to slept Where is the tradition we hold
After spending ml dear? The message I’m getting
r learning new siThpt a few more days of self-pam-
itegies under a iii :irin £ at Christmas is worth more
hose returning caf^ lemembering the patriots of
ne practicing and : 5 P ast -
, a me plan IT 1 ' 5 mindset, wouldn’t it be
ink we understand n f stent ( and less hypocritical) to
iaes want a ijttle: ns °li date the name Memorial Stu
nt Center to the Student Center?
l|
fT' Sean Murphy
Class of ’99
er said. “Wek
es of things
ask from us. I
r.”
I BO & Cable TV
Coffee & Local Calls
ywjmmALBw&wm
ROWAVES & RkFRIGF.RAI"
Tuesday evening, I left the chaos
my collegiate life to prepare for
a celebration on Nov. 10.
During the 90-mile trip to Elgin,
thoughts took me back to my
n-age years. I would come home
m school with petty problems and
es at the time, and my father and
uld have heart-to-hearts. He would re-
d me of the bottom line — I had
thes on my back, food in my stomach,
of over my head and no one was
ooting at me. This is advice I’ve grown
ppreciate.
Wednesday morning we were up at 5
a.m. Over coffee, my anticipation grew.
We gently laid the colors in the bed of
the pick-up and drove into town to meet
the others. One by one they came. They
were old and young — the current, the for
mer and the yet-to-be. Though some had
never met, they had known each other
for years, for they were cut of the
same cloth. They were the United
States Marine Corps.
I jumped in the truck and head
ed up to Main Street to select my
seat for the parade. As I waited, I
watched the morning traffic. Then,
out of the fog, they emerged. First
their voices, then their images —
American, Texan and Marine Corps
flags billowing. My body grew chills
and my eyes filled with tears. They
marched together as if they’d done
so for years, proudly calling cadence.
I stood to my feet and placed my
^ hand over my heart as they passed,
taking a moment to pay my respect.
When the parade concluded,
m, ▼ they retired to share tales over a
traditional breakfast and birthday
cake. I had been told Marines in
combat are fighting for the man on
their left and the man on their right.
Here were those men.
This Veterans Day Weekend, I
would like to remind you that our free
dom has been paid for with the blood
and lives of our servicemen. Happy
224th to the U.S. Marine Corps, and
a special thank you to ali veterans who
have granted me the privilege of being
appreciative that each night when my
head hits the pillow, for one more day, no
one was shooting at me.
Societies not meant for resume padding
W
Allison Reinbolt
Class of ’97
•hen going
through their
college years,
students repeatedly
hear about the impor
tance of a full and at
tractive resume.
By the time gradua
tion nears and job
hunting begins, stu
dents’ resumes take on
the status of the end-all, be-all represen
tation of their time at the University.
While one cannot underestimate the val
ue of having a remarkable resume when
looking for a job, many students over
look honesty and take sneaky steps to
bolster them.
At Texas A&M, it is practically a tradi
tion for students to sign up for extracur
ricular activities that would look good on
a resume without ever planning to really
participate. Most clubs have minimum
participation requirements to maintain
membership.
While this encourages many students
who are using the club as a resume-filler
to show up at least a couple times, there
is nothing to stop those who do not ful
fill the minimum requirements from
putting the club on their resume
nonetheless.
Although signing up and then drop
ping out of after-class programs is an
easy way to add lines to that all-impor
tant resume, the practice is dwarfed in
dishonesty next to the existence of na
tional honor societies such as Golden
Key and the National Society of Colle
giate Scholars.
While having the grades to get admit
ted to these organizations is an accom
plishment, the operations themselves are
little more than empty names to put on re
sumes. They usually require no minimum
participation, [other than the entrance fee,
of course) and are hardly heard of among
campus organizations.
When was the last time anybody
heard about the National Society of Col
legiate Scholars putting on a guest-
speaker forum or organizing a food drive
for local shelters? The purpose of these
honor societies is clear to all involved.
Give them some money, and a student
can officially add another meaningless
accolade to his or her resume.
However, there are several problems
with students trying to fake their way
through resumes.
First, when students who never par
ticipate in an organization can put that
club on their resume just as easily as
those who actually do participate, it di
minishes the efforts and accomplish
ments of the more deserving student.
The majority of students do take their
memberships seriously and go to meet
ings, organize events and actively partic
ipate. These are the students who de
serve the notation on their resumes.
Their resumes are cheapened by those
who only care about paying their mem
bership fees and putting the club’s name
on their own resumes.
Another drawback to this practice is its
effect on a student’s perception of work and
rewards in the academic environment.
If a student can put a club or honor-
society membership on his resume with
out having to work for the group itself,
what is to keep him or her from seeing
this practice as “how things are done.”
College is not supposed to be about
finding loopholes and easy ways out. It
is supposed to be a time of hard work
learning to succeed.
The rewards for those efforts are an
impressive resume and a degree that ac
tually means something.
Joining clubs and honor societies
without doing any real work for the
group only teaches college students lazi
ness and how to build a trophy shelf of
awards and memberships without ever
really trying.
Finally, when students list member
ships to clubs and honor societies they
did not do anything for, they are being
dishonest to themselves and to prospec
tive employers.
Graduating students’ resumes are the
sums of their accomplishments, not
thrown-together lists of loopholes found
and empty promises made.
It is incredibly simple to pay for mem
berships to organizations and then to
never participate. It is even easier to join
meaningless honor societies that almost
seem to exist only on paper.
But students have to resist the urge to
take these easy steps in resume building.
There are a huge number of on- and
off-campus activities, and practically all
students can find one or more that they
would want to actively participate in.
This is the most honest and, in the
long run, rewarding way to add achieve
ments to a resume.
If students do not want to put in the
time and effort that goes along with
these extracurricular activities, they
should be honest to themselves and
prospective employers by not joining
them in the first place.
A resume should be filled with hard-
earned awards and justified member
ships, not paid-for recognitions and emp
ty promises.
Eric Dickens is a junior
English major.