Wednesday, Febniaijf
Wednesday, February 23,2(XX)
OPINION
THE BATTALION Page 13
Hiaire
BRIAN SMITHThkBai
School, throws a
/'s Money Gras event
tatting down on pollution and politician^
ne of the
first gov
ernment
acted environ-
lent protection ef
forts was the Fed-
il Water
'Dilution Control
,ct of 1972, com-
lonly known as
leClean Water Act. The Clean Water Act has
ometo the forefront in East Texas, w'here wa-
en\ays in the Lufkin area are the center of the
controversy. According to the Environmental
Xection Agency (EPA), timber companies
have been polluting the waterways for many
years. This belief is contrary to the numbers
jthatthe executive vice president of the Texas
Forestry Association, Ron Hufford has. Ac-
(cording to Hufford, forestry causes no more
3 percent of the pollution, making EPA
linvolvement unnecessary. Now in East Texas
there seems to be politicians and companies
who would believe money is better than a
dean environment.
The EPA is pushing to require permits for
timber companies to cut down w ood in the ar
eas where waterw ays are polluted. As of now,
this idea is just that — an idea. State agencies
still have time to correct the problem before
the EPA implements the plan.
The main controversy is not the water
ways but the impact this action will have on
the economy. According to U.S. Rep. Max
Sandlin, the plan is “ill-conceived” and he is
opposing the plan. This is the type of
thought one would have encountered in the
70s and ’80s — not in the year 2000. San-
isnot concerned with protecting the en-
Sandlin,
politicians
have no place
in EPA’s
business
vironment so the generations
to come have clean water, but
with money. Sandlin believes
this proposal will seriously
damage the East Texas econo
my.
Timber is the number one
agricultural project in the
Lufkin area. It employs nearly
91,000 people statewide. Yet, if
the water continues to be pol
luted and unable to be used for
irrigation of crops, including
trees, there will not be any
trees to be cut and sold by the
timber companies. This prob
lem will hurt the economy of
East Texas more than the EPA’s
plan will in the future. The shortsighted idea
Sandlin is promoting is that cleaning the water
is not important for an agriculturally based
economy.
The goal of the EPA is to protect and pre
serve the environment for generations to come.
Enforcement of the water protection acts is an
obvious step for the EPA. In 1997, Texas rivers
were on the endangered rivers list, including the
Rio Grande and San Jacinto river. These rivers
RICHARD HORNE/The Battalion
have been polluted and over-irrigated for many
years. After several years of enforcing pollution
laws and irrigation techniques, these rivers are
improving. Though not all the rivers are off of
that list, the future is promising.
An EPA spokesperson, Richard Hoppers,
said he believes there has been a miscommu-
nication among those involved. Many be
lieve this plan is set in concrete, but this is
not the case according to Hoppers. For the
EPA to implement the program, it has to
show that the timber industry significantly
pollutes the water and the state environmen
tal agency has not been able to fix the situa
tion. The EPA is just communicating with
those involved so that people can try to rem
edy the problem before they take control of
the situation.
The waterway pollution problem is not going
to fix itself and measures have to be taken to
solve the problem. To declare the EPA’s plan un
necessary is a rash judgment by all those in
volved. By immediately saying this action is not
needed is to portray the EPA as a power-hungry
agency looking for ways to control areas of in
terest. The EPA is not looking to control areas
beyond their interest but it is the job of the EPA
to protect, which includes preventing pollution
and the clean up of existing pollution. The EPA
is just following through with the job it is re
quired to do.
Citizens like Rep. Max Sandlin are the
ones who possess the belief that the environ
ment is expendable if there is a profit to be
made. Society should not follow these peo
ple’s lead and abuse the environment as
though it is replaceable. People cannot go out
and buy more water sources if all the rivers are
polluted. Americans need to take advantage of
the EPA’s warning and correct the pollution
problem before it is too late.
Briecmne Porter is a freshman chemical
engineering major.
help
rmeri
EDITORIAL
THE
BATTALION
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Editorials appearing in The Battalion
reflect the majority view of the editorial
board members. They do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of other Battalion
staff members, the Texas A&M student
body, regents, administration, faculty
or staff. Columns, guest columns,
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opinions of the authors.
Editorial Board
BEVERLY MIRELES
MANAGING EDITOR
STUART HUTSON
CAMPUS EDITOR
ERIC DICKENS
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KYLE WHITACRE
AGGIELIFE EDITOR
DOUG SHILLING
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JASON BENNYHOFF
RADIO PRODUCER
JEFF KEMPF
NIGHT NEWS EDITOR
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GRAPHICS EDITOR
BRANDON PAYTON
WEB MASTER
MARIUM MOHIUDDIN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MEREDITH MIGHT
COMMUNITY EDITOR
MARIANO CASTILLO
OPINION EDITOR
VERONICA SERRANO
AGGIELIFE EDITOR
DAVE AMBER
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITC
JASON LINCOLN
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
NONI SRIDHARA
ASST. RADIO PRODUCER
CRISTINA PADRON
ASST. NIGHT NEWS EDITOR
JP BEATO
PHOTO EDITOR
ROBERT HYNECEK
GRAPHICS EDITOR
BRENT BARKLEY
ASST. WEB MASTER
Taking a Step Back
Bonfire reports should be examined objectively
In the three months since the
1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse, in
ice to the mostly illitefl|formation has slowly become
available to the public. The 157
statements made by bonfire
e from borrowerswM workers released on Monday
stablished good credit tiave helped create a clear pic
ture of the activities that took
lone is no longer a la«iplace the morning of Nov. 18. Un-
,” said MehbubCho«< fortunately, the image does not
ads the marketing of 1 !speak very highly of several A&M
students working on stack.
Since the collapse, support
ers of bonfire have defended the
tradition very emotionally and
have consistently boasted of the
positive aspects of bonfire while
seemingly ignoring evidence of
neglect for the rules to make the
tspeare
The tragedy deeply affected the
campus community and the emo-
al reaction was appropriate. It
might be too painful to admit the re-
«-4sponsibility students hold in the
death of 12 Aggies.
However, enough time has
passed that Aggies need to col
lectively step back, take a deep
breath and examine the evidence
objectively.
Eyewitnesses told investiga
tors of brownpots and redpots
drinking beer on stack, obvious
unevenness of the stack and no
reaction to a few students con
cerned about excessive swaying.
In light of this evidence, it is
undeniable that students ne£d to
step up and take some respon
sibility off the back of the ad
ministration. Critics around the
nation have been harsh on the
administration for allowing stu
dents to run bonfire with few
strictly enforced regulations. Stu
dents were upset that much of
the coverage after the bonfire
collapse referred to them as
reckless teenagers. If A&M stu
dents want to prove they are re
sponsible adults, the proper ac
tion is to admit where rules were
ignored and mistakes were
made.
No matter what the Bonfire
Commission concludes, the fact
will remain that rules were bro
ken. According to engineers
studying the collapse the stack
was over the 55 foot limit, work
ers were drunk and leaders were
being careless about the un-,
evenness of bonfire. Even if the
leadership of bonfire is not ulti
mately to blame, Aggies still
should recognize the safety
guides that were overlooked.
Otherwise, these same mistakes
are likely to reoccur.
Bonfire will never be the same.
Regardless of the outcome of
the decision for the future of bon
fire, there will be strong changes.
These changes will be meaning
less in the future if students do
not show courage and admit
where they presently failed.
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Tax cuts for students can lead to
increased tuition in race for cash
R ecently, the United States Senate
came to a conclusion that the
rest of America made a very
long time ago — college is expensive.
Over two days filled with testi
monies and debates from university of
ficials from across the country, the
Senate Government Affairs Committee
took a look at the rising costs of higher
education and decided that increased
government funding for students is actually prompting uni
versities to hike up their tuition rates.
In doing so, the Senate has begun to realize the incred
ible difficulty with the federal government’s quest to
make higher education affordable for everyone. Hopeful
ly, the government will not shrink in the face of such a
daunting task.
Like any other business or firm
competing for dollars, colleges and
universities are under the gun to
provide better services and opportu
nities for their students. In order to
collect tuition dollars, the universi
ties must provide facilities and
classes which make them a prefer
able choice in the minds of prospec
tive ^tudents. To pay for those new
facilities and courses, universities
often have no choice but to raise tu
ition rates. Such is the vicious circle
which drives tuition rates higher
and higher.
The Senate’s look at tuition in
creases revealed an alarming statis
tic: over the past ten years, average
private university tuition rates have
increased by 34 percent while public
university rates have skyrocketed by
51 percent. In comparison, the medi
an family income has risen just 10
percent. Dollar for dollar, a college
education in the 21st century is a
much more expensive proposition
than it was in the ’90s.
An even more alarming statistic was revealed by Stan
ford business professor William Massy. In a recent inter
view with CNN, Massy, the former chief financial officer
at Stanford, estimated that a child born today could expect
to pay to up to $70,000 per year to attend the institution of
its dreams.
These tuition increases have frustrated the federal gov
ernment, which has just proposed spending $30 billion
over the next ten years to provide tax cuts for college stu
dents and those paying for their educations. Instead of ac
tually benefiting students, many on the Senate committee
feel these initiatives are just feeding colleges and universi
ties that are hiking tuition rates to snatch up the new mon
ey students are receiving. “It is incumbent on us to take a
serious look at the effect of this government spending on
tuition rates,” said Sen. Fred Thompson, chairperson of the
Senate Government Affair Committee.
Many senators are now afraid that states will raise their
public tuition caps, figuring that students will be able to af
ford increased tuition due to the larger federal aid grants
and tax breaks they will be receiving. With tuition growth
far outpacing aid increases, students will have to scramble
for tuition money even more than have to now. Debts
stemming from student loans are already a problem for "
many Americans. Increased tuition rates threaten only to
make that problem more severe.
All of these concerns have many senators asking an im
portant question: should the government abandon the fight
to make college a reality for millions of Americans?
Absolutely not.
As Senator Joseph Libermann noted, “If college be
comes a luxury that an increasing percentage of our popu
lation cannot afford, it will expand the economic divide
between the higher education haves and have-nots.”
In a country already too economically divided, govern
ment financial aid repre
sents a real chance for many
to level the playing field.
Students with the determi
nation and the knowledge to
make it into college should
not be turned away because
they cannot afford the ever-
rising costs of a degree.
Turning universities and
colleges into more of coun
try club than they already
are can only hinder society
and limit our children.
More importantly, a col
lege education represents
one of the last real manifes
tations of the American
Dream. No matter how poor
you are at birth or where
you come from, American
society says that children
can make it to college with
enough perseverance and
matt roy/The Battalion dedication to their academic
careers.
If the door to higher education and the subsequent op
portunities it creates is slammed shut in the faces of those
without six figure incomes, then the hope and unique
promise that America represents for so many will truly be
dead. In a world with so many other problems, American
parents need to be able to hope that their children will be
able to succeed. They do not need another disadvantage
thrust upon them.
For now, nothing has changed. Unable to come up with a
solution to the tuition issue, the Senate contented itself by
wagging its finger at the nation’s universities and admonish
ing them to cut back on their rate increases. The government
will continue to provide financial aid for deserving students.
Universities will continue to raise their tuition fees. Parents
and students will end up footing most of the increased bills.
Such is the vicious circle we have created for ourselves.
Nicholas Roznovsky is a junior
political science major.
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