Tuesday, February 29.ij
OPINION
bman
tides
[uesday, February 29, 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 1 i
The great debate
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6 miles south of Dallas,
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isoriented Corpus Chrisli
vas unable to tell dispatch
: she was on the dark, nit'
of Interstate 45. Instead
ed for the blaring of sirens
cted emergency crews
on.
r Dick Roth of the Wilmet
partment was first to locate,
ound 4 a.m. — about two
r the accident occurred,
scended into the creek, si
om recent storms, punched
window and plucked out the to
strapped in her child restraint
cas not hysterical at all. She
control of herself,” Rot
tafford, who was rescued
ater when ambulance
; arrived.
o real authority in University matters
wo administrative events
this semester have drawn
harsh criticism and a hos-
eaction from many students
Texas A&M. A proposed in-
ase in the Student Recreation
~ lenter usage fee and the closing
Wggie Alley to the general pub-
ichave both been criticized by
tudents.
e Battalion
Online
fers access to
news from
Associated Press
Furthermore, the effectiveness of Student Govem-
nentAssociation (SGA) has been brought into question.
IheSGA, who many feel should serve as a watch-dog
or the interests of the student body, has been seen as lax
ttlnot in touch with the wants of the students they rep-
csent. Unfortunately, this argument takes for granted
idea that SGA has any power in these matters at all.
SGA is the home of a variety of beneficial organiza-
ionsthat work to improve life at A&M. Groups like
duster, Replant and CAR-POOL are all shining stars of
iGA’s executive council. However, these programs do
lot lend any real credibility to student government at
l&M. After all, what do planting saplings and driving
lome lost or inebriated Aggies have to do with student
lovemment?
i, the trouble with SGA lies with the after-school
teehouse antics of Student Senate. This body stands out
savoiceless, powerless charade of a governing body
Sited with useless activities and dead-end bickering
Student Senators regularly work long hours, not be
cause they are hard at work for the student body, but be
cause they have wasted their time with endless, asinine
lebates. While the students are getting good practice at
iw to be a progress-slowing bureaucrat or a long-
winded Member of Parliament, they spend so much
lime arguing among themselves that they fail to realize
ith lone of their arguing really matters.
Texas A&M’s Student Senate is an annoying little
j, yipping at the pant leg of real authority. There is a
lierarchy of authority and sway at this University, and
j Student Senate is in the basement. For evidence of Stu
dent Senate’s lack of say-so in the academic affairs of
-]Texas A&M, one can look at the two previously men
tioned events.
The proposed increase in the Rec Center usage fee
mounts to $7.36 for each student per semester. Even
mall-time fee increases like this one need student input,
lutthat input does not need to come from the Student
ienate. The issue ft still in front of the senate who are
rating on whether it should be on the spring semester
election ballets as a referendum.
Basically, the Student Senate who are supposed to rep-
ssentthe student body are debating whether students
even get the chance to decide for themselves on
lefee increase.
This is bureaucracy at its worst. Following a true
iemocracy tactic of bringing the issues to the people, the
University should cut out the meddling middle man and
w propose the increase to the student body.
Student body underrates effectiveness,
necessity of student government bodies
An even more obvious example of the non
existent authority Student Senate has at
A&M is found with the closing of Aggie
Alley. The decision was proposed, de
bated, and carried out by the Athletic
Department. By not even opening it
self to student input, the Athletic De
partment and its director Wally Groff
have demonstrated the value they have for
student senate’s voice.
The decision angered several student
senators who proposed a resolu
tion — which is little more
than an empty commentary
typed on official station
ary — condemning the
Athletic Department for
not consulting students be
fore they made their decision.
While this pathetic little attempt at drawing
respect is quasi-noble, the decision was based on
Athletic Department issues and wants that Groff
and the department would cater to even if stu
dent response was negative. The yipping
dog has been brushed aside.
Student government at A&M is lit
tle more than a place holder in the
chain of authority. Critics of Student
Senate and SGA who say the bodies
do not effectively protect students
from the treacherous $7 fee increas
es of the administration should rea
ize they are pointing their lin
gers at the wrong culprits.
There are a few certainties
at A&M — fees and costs go
up, departments do what is
best for them and Student
Senate overrates its in
fluence as a mover and
shaker in the world
of academia.
Power and
authority at
A&M are
held by peo
ple like Uni
versity Presi
dent Dr. Ray M.
Bowen and Associate Provost Ron Douglas, not some
freshman poultry science major who stays up past mid
night debating minor details of resolution to tell the
Athletic Department it is not happy.
Student Senate is one dog with no real bark and very
little bite.
Eric Dickens is a
junior English major.
MELISSA
BEDSOLE
t their last bi
weekly meeting
on Feb. 16, Stu
dent Senate stayed af
ter midnight debat
ing important
legislative issues at
Texas A&M. Ironical
ly. that same day a
student’s mail call
was published in The Battalion that doubt
ed the role of the A&M Student Senate and
the job done by Student Body President
Will Hurd.
The Student Government Association
(SGA) is made up of many different
parts that each work extremely hard
at doing what is in the best interests
of the students on this campus.
Student Government is not made up of
just Will Hurd and the Student Senate. The Ex
ecutive Branch of SGA is composed of more
than 20 organizations that work toward the im
provement of the school.
Organizations such as Texas Aggies
Making Changes, CAR-POOL, the Aggie
Recruitment Committee, Traditions
Council, as well as Freshman Pro
grams work to implement positive
changes in the lives of Aggies.
Muster, Big Event, Parents’ Weekend
and Replant are all part of the
SGA. Student Government con
stantly makes efforts to get
others involved in their ac
tivities. Events such as
SGA Highway
Cleanups, Big Event
and Replant are
focused on get
ting Aggies
together to
work on the
improvement
of Texas
A&M. How
can anyone truly
believe that Stu-
ruben deluna/The Battalion dent Government is
not an essential element of this campus?
Recently there have been plans for an outreach pro
gram to promote the services and role of Student Gov
ernment on campus. Plans include a kickoff'at Rudder
Fountain to get people involved with the outreach and
understand the potentials for all students to get in
volved in this school. *
When students who are not a part of SGA hear
about issues such as fee increases, they usually disap
prove of the job being done by these organizations.
There are complaints made by people who are unin
formed of the issues and merely read the headlines
of topics that have been worked on and discussed
for months.
These people only hear what it is going to cost
them right here, right now and ignore the reasoning for
the action.
The latest complaint over the Student Recreation
Center Fee Increase is completely an uninformed opin
ion. If there is no fee increase for the Rec, there will
not be a Rec Center for very much longer. Maybe it
was budgeting; maybe the Recis much more popular
than first anticipated — either way it needs more mon
ey to continue.
Students are not necessarily expected to under
stand the legalities and importance of a fee increase
right now — that is why there are elected student
representatives.
It is the job of these representatives to make these
kinds of decisions based on their informed opinions,
and anyone that truly feels their opinion is informed
and not represented on this campus has the right to
run for elections.
Many students claim that the decisions made
through student government are not always representa
tive of the opinions of the student body. But, the stu
dent body does not always take the time to voice their
opinion to anyone other than the person sitting next to
them as they read the newspaper.
These students need to contact their senator or sim
ply walk into the Student Government office, where
there is always someone ready to answer questions or
hear an outside opinion.
Constituency Days, times designated for Student
Senators to meet with the people they represent, occur.
once a month. These events may be taken lightly by t
those passing by, but the results are analyzed and eval-r
uated by each individual senator. Thinking that one
opinion does not matter on this campus will never re- >
suit in anything.
A student on the Academic Operations Committee
(AOC) made the suggestion to move the application
and notification deadlines for new freshmen to earlier
dates, and this change was made. This difference puts
the A&M deadlines closer to those of other schools in
the Big 12, making this school competitive among its
peers. All it took was one student’s suggestion.
Whether or not everyone always agrees with or ap
proves of the decisions made by Student Government
representatives, no one can deny that they work very
hard at the jobs they do. They are not the students who
sit in classes complaining about the different changes
on this campus. They are the students who work and to'
change things to make a difference on this campus.
Melissa Bedsole is a sophomore*
general studies major'.
E provides continuous!)!
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battalion.tamu.e
Houston Rodeo has no right to ban displaying of Confederate flag
e S !
A s of today, flying the stars and
/\ bars of the Confederate flag
i JLover the state capital of South
'arolina is perfectly legal. Meanwhile,
lisplaying the same symbol at the
iouston Livestock Show and Rodeo is
lot, Go figure.
Beginning at this year’s show, par-
pants are forbidden from displaying
lie flag because it has been deemed a
‘divisive, politicized symbol” by show
Is. In previous years, the Confed-
tate flag had always been a common
leht at the show’s concerts and in the
Grbecue cook-off areas.
Granted, show organizers are mak-
'2a sincere effort to shield minority
'ent-goers from being offended. Oth-
tthanhaving negligible historical sig-
ificance, the Confederate flag has no
lace in today’s society. It is the endur-
ia symbol of backwater ideals and
tdneck ignorance.
Numerous stereotypes may come to
lind at one mere glance of the flag —
Inline note services go
igainst teachers’ wishes
'response to Julia Reelndus’ Feb. 23 article.
lie I realize there is disagreement on the
f os and cons of notes companies that pay
Uney for class notes without the permission
f the instructor, it is in any case less than use-
dto not be accurate about the intentions and
Wees of these businesses. Thus, the note-
% mentioned in your article who stated that
Majority of professors would like the notes
'Simply not telling the truth, but engaging in
^eptive advertising.
actuality teachers from across the coun-
ftiave overwhelmingly spoken out against un
loved notes posted against their wishes,
't'ongthe criticisms are most strongly the in-
dsion of commercial notes companies into
images of toothless white trash singing
Dixie, burning crosses, slavery — the
list goes on and on.
Naturally, the prospect of turning
off many of the show’s minority atten
dees is immense — to display the flag
in the presence of African-American
event-goers would be no different than
displaying the Nazi flag in the presence
of Jewish event-goers.
1 laving said all that, however, it is
perfectly obvious that the 1 louston
Livestock Show and Rodeo is sticking
its nose where it does not belong. As
ROBERT HYNECEK/Tm: Battalion
politically incorrect and insensitive as
it would be, event participants should
have the right to display the Confeder
ate flag in the open. If they want to
make fools of themselves in displaying
their “southern pride,” then let them.
The Houston Livestock Show and
Rodeo should do away with their act of
censorship immediately.
As reported by the Dallas Morning
News, the ban was instigated by an on
slaught of phone calls complaining
about the open display of the flag by
show contestants and vendors. Leroy
Shafer, assistant general manager of the
show, said the organization decided a
month ago to start enforcing their rule
concerning expression of political and
religious views — a rule that has been
ignored in previous years. As of last
week, barbecue cooking teams were
asked to take down any Confederate
flags outside their tents. Rodeo officials
pointed out 67 Confederate flags
among the 256 teams.
The show’s motivation for the ban
should also be called into question. Ob
viously, the decision to ban the flag is
extremely opportunistic — the
NAACP’s fight to have the states of
South Carolina and Mississippi remove
the stars and bars from their flags has
been all over the headlines for the
past year. An NAACP-led boycott
against South Carolina tourism is still
in place and drawing heated arguments
from both sides of the debate. It is very
possible that show organizers are play
ing off of this attention in order to
make the show seem more “minority
friendly.” While this is a somewhat
commendable gesture on the show’s
part, there are many other courses of
action that could be taken — options
that do not go as far as suppressing the
free expression of show participants.
“If it causes uneasiness or oftense, we
don’t want it in our show,” Shafer said.
“We pride ourselves as being a celebra
tion of heritage, culture and ethnicities.”
No oftense, but Shafer’s line of rea- ’
soiling is seriously flawed. A livestock
show and rodeo is hardly a place that is
brimming with heritage, culture and
ethnicities in the first place. Is it com
monplace for a livestock show or rodeo
to hold something along the lines of an
ethnic fair or a race unity rally? Yeah
right. NASCAR has more diversity.The
bottom line is that in eliminating a
small nuisance, the Houston Livestock
Show and Rodeo’s organizers may
have opened a bigger can of worms.
It should not be their place to limit
the speech of event participants. Grant
ed, only a total buffoon would take un
abashed pride in displaying a flag that
symbolizes the suffering and oppres
sion of an entire race of people. How
ever, it is their prerogative to do so and
no one should have the authority to tell
them not to. If they want to look stupid,
let them.
David Lee is a junior economics
and journalism major.
MAIL CALL
the dignity and respect that characterizes the
relationships between teachers and their stu
dents.
Unapproved notes do not just damage pro
fessors’ rights to teach, they also severely hurt
students’ rights to learn and the accountabil
ity and responsibility they may and should ex
pect from their qualified instructors.
Notes companies, after all, are run by peo
ple totally unqualified in matters of education
and have no academic expertise in the sub
jects they deal with.
Furthermore, while the private companies
posting notes to derive profit through Website
advertising say that the notes are a student’s
interpretation, the notes are neverthat. To be
useful for other students, the notes are
meant to be reflections of what a professor
said in class. Why else would anyone look
at them at all?
At the same time, the notes rarely are ac
curate, as research has revealed that many
of the notes contain numerous mistakes. Or
is it perhaps the students “interpretation” to
get money for posting bad notes?
Mathieu Deflem
Assistant professor of Sociology
Purdue University
fill
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