Wednesday, June 7,2W
:neral
:e site
d he could get divorcesinas
ee days from the day hert-
paperwork and payments
o one had to appear in comt
?ver, according to thelawso:
lican Republic, non-resideni
i are not eligible for imitate
s in the Dominican Republic
consumer wants a muhii
ivorce, one of the divorciii!
las to make a personal ap
in the Dominican Court
facts Hill does not disclose,
ey general's petition said,
customers never receiveddi
ers or other verification ofllt>
id no evidence exists toshoi
attempted to end the mar
cording to court documents
es not matter if frauduler
?s use the phone, mailortlii
for their scams. Those wli
exas consumers will be pur
ornyn said.
)ver
imorial
;tatue, created by sculpt,'
uyen, would depict an Ame
lier and a South Vietnam^!
is friends and honor
jring the war. It wouldii
in Little Saigon, which h
3,000 Vietnamese,
is the ideal place for a u
I. This is the overseas capital
said Mayor Frank Fn
"Everybody's for th
statue. Nobody'sgoiEj
to say they aren't fori:
It's a good thing."
The problems h
gan earlier thinet
Wednesday, June 7,2000
-A.
THE BATTALION
Page 5
Private eyes.
T he right to privacy,
one of the biggest
issues of the "hu
man race" is currently be
ing tested by officials in
Denver, Colo., where city
officials plan to use a
satellite tracking system to
monitor city employees'.
This is a clear violation of
employees rights.
Employers will be able
to monitor their workers
with a system referred to .
as the Global Positioning
System (GPS). This sys
tem, with the use of satel
lites, can monitor employ
ees everywhere, from
their cars to employee
bathrooms. Currently, the
GPS trend is catching on
with car manufacturers
and now other types of
companies are imple
menting the GPS system
to monitor their employ
ees. You might not know
it, but your employer could be watching you
read this paper at this very moment. Who
knows what else they are watching you do.
Many companies are installing the GPS
system for many reasons, including its low
cost. Though the GPS system costs the gov
ernment $12 billion to develop, GPS does not
charge companies for access to the data. One
has to wonder where the money to develop
this system came from. It may very well have
Denver
company
violates
citizens'
rights by
installing
satellite
tracking
system
come from taxpayers, and if the money does
come out of their pockets, then is it not ironic
that Americans are paying for what many
consider a violation of constitutional rights?
Currently, there is no law prohibiting a
private employer from monitoring an em
ployee. But what happens when employer
rights infringe on the rights of employees?
Todd Spencer, executive Vice President of the
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Asso
ciation, said his group believes the Denver
plan "tramples, smashes, obliterates the pri
vacy rights of individuals involved."
The GPS is not only a violation of workers'
rights, it is a potential danger for Americans.
Amanda McCarthy, an analyst with Forrester
Research Inc., said, "A lot of these applications
have the potential for misuse." Although
many applications have the potential for mis
use, this particular system has a much greater
chance for misuse. Many employers in other
cities have been caught using this type of
system to monitor employee bathrooms,
locker rooms, lounge areas and in some
cases, employee living areas.
Trust is a major issue that has come
up with monitoring systems like this.
How can employees trust their bosses
not to misuse the GPS? The GPS moni
toring system should be illegal when it
is used in a improper way such as moni
toring employee bathrooms. There are many
other ways that employers can monitor their
workers without violating any rights. If prob
lems keep occurring with workers and em
ployers cannot trust their employees, then
they should tire of them.
"1 don't like this whole trend of employers
monitoring the behavior of
everything employees
do," said Paul Tobias,
chair of the National Em
ployee Rights Institute.
work my best
when I like and ^
trust my em- jr
ployer and ^ ^
like my
work."
Statistics have proven that employees
work better when they have a sense of free
dom with their job. The GPS severely limits
that freedom. If employers are constantly
monitoring their employees, then the whole
freedom aspect of the job disappears. Ameri
cans should not spend more than half their life
working under pressure. If systems like this
are implemented, then the work environment
will be more like a prison than an occupation.
It is almost certain that Denver will install
the GPS system. This puts pressure on the
rest of the country to implement systems like
the GPS. This cannot happen. Tracking sys
tems are not only a threat to American rights.
)r
i-
e
h al
Texas top 10 disregards preset collegiate standards
after the artist!
; Fry
ister
veiled a model oh
sculpture, and
group wanted
changed to betterd?
pict the fighting.
The artist refuse
saying it was meant!
represent friendshij
i soldiers.
was followed by the resign
mmer South Vietnameseanr;
Nguyen from the VietnamW
al executive committee. Hu
panel with three Vietnames
non-Vietnamese members,
and community activist
me out against the commit
If, saying it did not reprf
groups in the communit)
mtional fire
to parole office
USTON (API
igators are trying to
rho started a fire (
ay morning at a Texas
tment of Criminal Justice
1 office that destroyed files
ad officials scrambling tc
sure parolees were
ing to authorities,
e fire, which started
d 1:20 a.m. and was
an hour later, cause!
$100,000 in damage
: west Houston office,
estigators with tlie
son Fire Department salt
alaze was intentional!!
Mo suspects have beef
ted.
me parolees’ files were
ayed, said Linda Bosbyl
sswoman for the Parole
on of TDCJ. She did no
diately know how many.
Tuesday, staff membefs
sd outside the office t (
parolees who W
ntments and redirectef
to other offices,
e office is in charge 0 :
t 3,700 offenders are
a I hundred of them vis
day, Bosby said.
’s too early to speculate,
e fire was started t ;
oy the files,” she sale
he end of week we w
everyone rerouted 1
offices. This does (i (
t their reporting to o l
i. In no way is pubi
y compromised."
T he University of Texas-Austin (UT)
is flooded with students and, as a
result, has frozen admissions for
Spring 2001. Enrollment options will not
resume until the summer and fall of 2001.
This event raises the question: Could
Texas A&M be next?
In an admirable attempt to eliminate
discrimination in public schools, the 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the Hopwood vs. Texas 1996
case, "... race and ethnicity will no longer be considered in
admission decisions at Texas public higher education insti
tutions." This ruling influenced the 75th Texas Legislature
to counter with House Bill 588 which became law in 1997.
The law states that high school students will be automatical
ly admitted into a public university in Texas if they are
ranked in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. In an
effort to prevent minorities from losing the chance to enter
college, the state took a step backwards by creating another
frivolous law.
UT is now a victim of this reactionary legislation. For Fall
2000 enrollment, there was a 15-percent increase in admis
sions— the University of Texas' numbers have moved from
adequate to overcrowded.
For two years, the effects of this law had little impact, but
now, as the high school class of 2000 crosses the stage, the
college admission floodgates have opened. UT has taken a
cowardly approach and followed in the typical "quick-fix"
pattern. Other public universities have had the same admis
sion problems, and eventually all public universities in Texas
will feel the effects of this drastic enrollment increase.
The number "10" holds true relevance in public educa
tion. Although there is a standard curriculum across the
state, the interpretation is as varied as the landscape of
Texas. There is no way to control the level of learning that
takes place in each school district, yet this varied academic
competency becomes the standard measurement for the top
10 percent. This 10-percent law stands regardless of size or
emphasis within the local curriculum. It is like comparing
“Ranking in the top 10
percent of a high school class
does not totally reveal a
student's potential”
apples to oranges. Advanced Placement to honors and the
SAT to TAAS.
Obviously, the Texas Legislature did not expect this bill to
backfire. As laws are passed, they never fall short of affecting
entire systems. The 10-percent admissions law was passed in
an attempt to give all Texans a chance, but its potential back
fire was not realized until UT closed its doors and, once
again, options for Texans are limited.
Universities had set certain standards using nationally ac
cepted entrance exams. Lawmakers overlooked the fact that
these entrance tests were designed to measure college poten
tial. Everyone takes the same test, and the scores reflect col
lege potential and are used for admission. With the 10-per
cent rule, lawmakers completely disregarded equality and
enforced a law that had little bearing on college potential.
Surviving in college is not something that can be mea
sured by any one factor.
Ranking in the top 10 percent of a high school class does
not totally reveal a student's potential. It simply states that
they worked hard in high school and rose fo a satisfactory
level, but satisfactory only to what may have been unsatis
factory competition. Competition is not standard over the
entire state of Texas, therefore some students will survive,
others will lag behind and many will never get the opportu
nity to try.
Public university admission should not limit opportunity,
but instead expand it based on a variety of factors.
Admissions should examine the entire water supply of
incoming students and alleviate the admissions dam using a
more natural filter as a means of ^election. Focus should be
less on rank and more on the overall person. Entrance scores,
extracurricular activities and character will, in the long run,
show the true potential of college success.
Cayla Carr is a junior speech communication major.
View Point
Do drivers in College Station not under
stand the concept of a four-way stop?
Everyone who lives in College Station
has dealt with the strange, uncompatible
mix of metropolitan and redneckville drivers
that come together in the not-very-well-en-
gineered town of College Station.
And the longer people live here, the eas
ier it is to spot those who might slow down
traffic — the out-of-towners that are clue
less as to the lane changes on Texas Ave.
or the truck in front of you that will soon
slam on the brakes to turn into Sonic.
There are many who just do not un
derstand the rules of College Station dri
ving. It would probably surprise them that
what they are missing are mostly rules
learned in driver’s ed:
• Turn your blinker on before turning.
• When the light turns green, GO.
• Watch others at four way stops. Who
ever stops first, goes first.
• Do not speed around someone only to
cut them off five seconds later.
• Yellow and green lights are the same.
• A cop standing on the side of the road
giving someone else a ticket cannot simul
taneously pull you over, too. Do not slow
down, especially to a speed under the limit.
• If you need to change lanes but can
not, turn your blinker on. People are much
more likely to let you in if you are courteous
enough to let them know you are doing.
College Station would be a much more
pleasing place to drive if everyone would
just take a few steps toward being more
courteous on the road. This driver, for one,
would be much less likely to use her horn
— or her middle finger.
Court case solved by common sense
Y et again, Americans can sneer at their court
system, roll their eyes and think, "Not
again."
Alexis Greier sued American Honda Motor Co.
for the damages she received in her 1987 Honda
Accord because the car was not equipped with an
airbag. The case, which began in 1992, went all the
way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1987, when Greier's car was manufactured,
air bags were a very new technology, and only expensive luxury cars,
like BMWs, had them. Car makers were given a choice between in
stalling air bags or automatic seat belts during this period. The seat belts
were less expensive to produce, so most vehicles were equipped with
the belts instead of air bags.
This is an understandable choice for car makers, since
adding expensive new technology hikes up sticker
prices, causing sales to plummet. In a car marketed to
be less expensive, like Greier's Accord, it seems obvious
the car makers would have made that choice.
After years of litigation in lower courts,
the Supreme Court agreed to make the fi
nal judgement call on Greier's case last
September.
Last week, the court decided car makers are
not responsible for injuries that could have been
avoided with an air bag if the car was manufac
tured before air bags were required in new cars
— 1997.
A 5-year-old could have reached that conclu
sion. New technology is, well, new. And new
usually means extremely expensive, as any
one who bought a high-definition television
set in the last year will attest to.
For the court to decide otherwise would be saying that car manufac
turers that do not install new technology the moment it becomes physi
cally possible are guilty of negligence.
There would be no such thing as a lower-priced car if auto makers were
required to adopt all the newest safety inventions each year. Cars would be
much more expensive and fewer people could purchase new ones.
Besides economic costs, another reason to delay installing new fea
tures is that new technology needs a period of testing and adaptation be
fore it is ready for mass production.
Even air bags needed improvements before they were safe — even •
now they can still harm children.
The Supreme Court is only able to hear a certain number of cases in
their limited schedule, and the Greier case was a complete waste of time.
For the high court to suffer through such an elementary case, it had to
turn down another — potentially one of more importance with more far-
reaching effects.
After all, the Supreme Court has the power to interpret the Constitu
tion, and the Greier case does not seem to affect Americans' basic Con
stitutional rights.
Americans (especially car makers) should be pleased
with the verdict, since it will send a message to the rash
of folks clogging the courts, trying to score mil
lions off big business. As it is, this case is just an
other example of citizens misusing the system.
If Greier really wanted an air bag so bad
ly, she should have shelled out the extra cash
to get one.
Her problem does not stem from Honda's
'negligent" actions, but rather in misusing
the court system to score cash from someone
who is not to blame.
also pose a frightening potential for misuse
by employers. Employees should not stand
for outrageous privacy violations like this.
The city of Denver should put a stop to the
GPS and systems like it before it is too late.
Sunnye Owens is a junior journalism major.
MAIL CALL
Readers sound off
on Adan Carranza
In reference to Amber Rasco’s Junej
6 column.
Rasco’s argument that Carranza’^.'
gifts would be better used in Mexicojs;
fallacious to the point of disturbance^'
Rasco seems pleased to ship CgiK
ranza back across the border on her
hyperbolic slippery slope as if
were the second coming of Emiliano*
Zapata. For Carranza to bring abolrt!
the changes Rasco suggests, an at
mosphere receptive to change would
be required.
The Institutional Revolutionary'.
Party has ruled Mexico for five'
decades, control passing from the
leader to his chosen heir with but
only the slightest pretense of democ
racy. This thinly veiled totalitarianisfn
rejects reform as a general rule. If
one wished to become enlightened
about the existing situation in Mexi
co, one shouid seek out the nearest
Zapatistas. I am sure they would take
great pleasure in expressing their
satisfaction with the opportunities for
advancement they have been pre
sented with.
We have a system in place in this
country for those who wish to pursue
their dreams. I know because I am
benefiting from the current system.
The vast majority of students at
American universities are American
citizens. We do our best to take care
of our own, but we also extend aid to
those less fortunate than ourselvefe.
This is the only morally correct path,
James Bates
Class of ’Ol
Did I read correctly that A&M is mak
ing an extra effort to award a scholar
ship to an illegal alien? Illegal aliens,
should be removed by the INS, not re
warded by state run institutions. - '
Steve Kutz
Class of ’93
RUBEN DELUNA/Thk Battalion
jill Riley is a senior journalism major.
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