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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 14, 2000)
4 Wednesday, June M,| estifies ire plot idnesday. June 14, 2000 THE BATTALION id, Samuel Gonzales, 29, villing to do the job forStj 23, Gonzales' cousin, isaci friend after pleading guilt rder, Gonzales said Rocha >lan came from Blackthome ntenced to 19 years in aFlon; h school football starinUvj dean jail after fleeing acros< id last July 12 to face a first-t rasota. His trial is scheduled ucking the system ggie Bucks program valuable, but in need of security improvements k Ithough many students con sider the Aggie licks debit card system utors had Bellush family me the eighth wonder of cene. 0 He modern world, the 's husband and father of feHnvenience of electron- er heard of the murder om idcash does not come by police. Bithout pitfalls. he saw crime tapeacrosshiscl Last April, an incident occurred that e nearby. Then he asked ifasHould have alerted students to one of the ■istians. "1 asked fhem to Jost dangerous drawbacks of the Aggie testified. lard. Two employees of Applebee's Neigh- e of Blackthorne's children: Iffhood Bar and Grill were arrested for and home from school to find’# nfesseci to debit card abuse related to the bloody kitchen floor with# xasA&M A S8 ie Bucks system. Essentially, j^thi' two were caught double-swiping Aggie " a sobbing Stevie Bellush l J ardsand takin 8 the additional revenue out tape. She was 13 at the time, f the store ' s cash ' AU the while ' students about how Blackthornem| ere “"wittingly Seated out of their pre- , ,, , , ,, deposited money. Jellush and he said hewislKfl J ■ This fraud serves as a primary example of not only the inconsistencies that still exist Hithin the Aggie Buck system, but also the f Texas state schools were! f ced f° r students to be made aware of such iucational Opportunity's pi Jravvbacks by the University, eliminate all traces of a"sep| Unfortunately, students using their Ag- education sy stem gie Bucks at locations other than campus sal will help improve scho! Inding machines are still at risk of facing mchilecture, constructaa -]si™lar incidents. Under the current system, ., „ vendors accepting the Aggie Card are not 11 improve the overall camp* r o , ittquired to obtain a signed receipt of sale, new and 1SU. h 1 , .. Because of the lack of this regulation,-some ■esident of Prairie View, saict'B . , . , , ... Vendors do not even offer a receipt ot sale. S to nd the effectsofsewbcH s nizi a McDonak1 . s drive _ id his people have beenvr ,, , . , . 1 r Jhrough window are, at times, verbally in- iisit\ for t e past ’veyeanH^e^o^^ei!. new ^ggi e Bucks balance. ,P With an increasing number of local busi- oroposal is a step in the Aggie Card, A&M isity and he stands behiWlh should as part 0 f the debit sys- yes said it must be appopriaf- k'tn, the requirement of a signed receipt to rst - avoid further incidents. Students should be m of Multi-Culfura/ Servia required to sign a receipt that would enable funding is an opportunit; y of programs at historiai oposal is an "issue of choicf ! e choices," Scott said. 1 ; like Prairie View andTSLij to attend." h state legislatures next proposal, and then themont 1 ; them to check the amount of the sale de ducted from their account. Moving to increase the transaction security only addresses half of the problem. Aggie Bucks and their conve nience have become near and dear to many students. However, few students have developed a true concept of the amount of cash they allot for their Ag gie Bucks account, and even more have had to learn the hard way just how quickly that deposit can be spent. Because Aggie Bucks are a fee op tion, students can pawn off this ex pense on their parents during registra tion. Slipped in amidst tuition expenses and endless other fees, Ag gie Bucks fees are even passed off by some students as the cost of at tending college. Even students who pay their own tuition may fail to realize that Aggie Bucks can easily be come a substantial portion of a fee statement. A hypotheti cal student, enrolled in a class during the first summer session, might find 22 percent of the fee # statement absorbed by $150 in Aggie Bucks. Too many businesses accept the Aggie Card for students to resist the temptation of registering for more Aggie Bucks than nec essary. Even students who purposefully amass large sums of Aggie Bucks often have trouble restraining themselves from rapidly spending this electronic cash. Because these funds are intangible, many students find their deposits dwindling much faster than expected. Supersizing that Extra Value Meal seems-a trivial expense. Buying dinner for a friend is no problem, so long as the two go somewhere that accepts Aggie Bucks. Even spontaneously purchasing a few CDs does not seem so bad when "real" cash is not being spent. Aggie Bucks are the black hole of student spending. Just as the lure of swiping a credit card can be addictive, the swipe of a student ID in a vending machine can too. After open ing this Pandora's box of debit spending, A&M could, at the very least, offer an infor mation sheet on the hazards of a debit card. It is hardly understandable how the Aggie Card Website can tout the security of the card without mentioning ways for students KELSEY ROBERTS/The Battalion to prevent fraud. The same site lists all the vendors that accept the Aggie Card without so much as a footnote concerning responsi ble spending. Each semester, Aggie Bucks become more widely accepted in Bryan-College Sta tion. It should be the responsibility of A&M not only to enact more secure vendor regu lations, but to also inform students of possi ble Aggie Bucks drawbacks. Elizabeth Kohl is a senior accounting major. Ireenspan undermines investors financial stability duate said the administrate uld have more graduation®! nies over several days. "Maybe if they lump is by colleges and giveeacli n the investment world, the name Alan Greenspan — synonymous with interest-rate increases — is about as pular as the word bankruptcy. "You little piece of Greenspan," ivhy don't you take a long walk off a short Greenspan," and "you son of a [reenspan," are all phrases that could ve recently been created by investors find an outlet for the fury they hold for the not-so-popu- chair of the Federal Reserve. There should be no merciful tears shed for the harsh rep- e a different day. If it is f>’ u Lition Greenspan has acquired. His callous demeanor, cou- , I think they should trylokpkd with his poor judgment and seemingly indifferent atti- m up " Cobb said hde toward the financial stability of the individual Perry said it is important lot® 1 ) 6 ” 03 "' is to b ' arne - Greenspan has turned what was once iversity to preserve the nll an immortal econom y into a cowardl y and beaten do g- , , H ^ the past decade, the U.S. economy has grown at an un- of commencement. „ , T, ^ . , u \. ,,,. . n Jlecedented pace. The primary force behind this expansion ommencement is rea .Bskeg,-, tb e robust labor market, which has a shortage of ip\ timt and, as a fnculU Hj[ ec j workers needed to produce the goods and services , it is really great to swstu qjnsumers demand. Companies are spurred to hire as never ss the stage, see their hapf before. A direct result of this phenomenon has been an in- . m their accomplishrrv crease in the amount of legal tender in circulation. Spending ry said. has increased, which, in turn, has reinforced the need for |pre goods and services. The name of the game has been ac celeration. To many people this is an ideal trend, an economic utopia of sorts. However, as has been said before, all good Tings must come to an end. Enter inflation, an innate charac- :eristicof a booming economy. Simply stated, inflation is the ticrease in the price of goods and services. Inflation is a con- |n because it may increase more quickly than the economy. Greenspan, apparently very proficient in introductory economics, has labeled the threat of inflation his mortal en emy and has dedicated himself to correcting the situation at all costs. Normally, this diligence might be viewed as a good trait for someone of such high influence. Unfortu nately, in this circumstance, Greenspan's efforts to curb in flation have resulted in a greater evil — namely the drop off in the financial markets. With each of Greenspan's recent five interest-rate increas es, the stock market was brought to its knees to recover just in time for the next blow. To Greenspan's credit, however, he has been consistent in defending his position. The chair has reiterated many times that rising inflation will ultimately dri ve the economy into recession, which is much worse than the short-term damage incurred by the stock market. Greenspan, along with market analysts, has also given Americans reason to believe that, once evidence of slowing inflation is demon strated, the market will react by surging to previous highs. Even Greenspan's most implacable enemies have to con cede a little to his logic. However, lowering inflation while causing only short-term losses for the stock market is a tricky process, whicla has recently made a fool of Greenspan. The interest-rate increases must be positioned relatively far apart, and their magnitude must be calculated precisely. The goal is to slow the acceleration of the economy — not to re verse its direction. It is a brilliant theory, but as is evident by numbers from this past week, Greenspan has succeeded not only in slowing inflation, but also at halting the market's progress so abruptly that certain sectors of the economy are now struggling to make ends meet. Beginning on May 29 and continuing, the playing out of Greenspan's errors has been obvious, following the path of a pre-drawn graph. Only, for Greenspan, it is the wrong graph. After reports of rising unemployment came out this past week, indicating declining inflation, the markets surged, and, for the first time in what has seemed like an eternity, the bulls were back... bad as ever. A half-hour into the trad ing day, NASDAQ was up 200 points and the Dow was tag ging along. Time magazine senior economist reporter Bernard BaumohTs reaction reflected the upbeat sentiments of many analysts when he said, "This is the kind of news that could take some of the uncertainty out of the markets and get stocks going up again." That was then, this is now. After the frenzy that was Wall Street, the numbers are telling a different story. The automo bile, real estate, retail and technology sectors are down sharply because their respective players have reported that interest-rate increases are slowing business more than ex pected, resulting in low earnings. The finger of blame is im mediately pointed at the perch on the top of the financial food chain that houses the awkward figure of Greenspan. The logical answer to this illogical problem is, fortunate ly, quite simple. The rate increases were too much, too soon. And the worst might not even be over. The Fed is set to meet in late June to discuss the possibility of implementing yet another interest-rate increase this year. Due to the recent events, however, the topic of this meeting should be to make arrangements for Greenspan to enter the government's Wit ness Protection Program. Greenspan's misinterpretation of the economic pulse of the market as well as his overkill reaction to inflation have left Wall Street weakened. Luke McMahan is a senior industrial engineering major. Mail Call Highway flower vital to ecology, speeding not In response to Jessica Crutcher’s June 13 column. This is the 21st century and most people realize man is not alone on this planet — we share it with many other creatures. The many animals and plants on earth all contribute to each other’s If one looked at at the reason why this stretch of highway needs improvement it is because people drive too fast. If the people driving on that highway would not do so at upwards of 85 mph then I can al most guarantee you there would not be so many accidents. If they were not so stupid to think that by hurling themselves down the road at such speeds they will get where they are going with significant time savings, so many accidents would not occur. Then you would not need to “improve” that stretch of the highway, and then you could just leave the wildflowers alone. Charles Ake, ' Class of '93 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Let ters must be 300 words or less and include the au thor’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submit ted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid stu dent ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com Page 5 Viewpoints Wal-Mart gives logic to social isolationism F tom birth, people are taught not to be the kind of person who avoids social contact. In elementary school, those who ignore this instruction become book worms during recess and are called deroga tory names such as dorks and nerds. These “geeks” live in social isolation. Understandably, most people work dili gently to avoid being placed in these un flattering categories by family and friends. However, a place where everyone goes could easily turn all people into social iso lationists by choice — Wal-Mart. It is the place everyone goes to at some point because it sells everything and often has lower prices. But one problem with Wal- Mart is that, upon entering the store, a shop per is faced with practically every possible type of human being, each trying to hurry through a shopping list. Screaming, snotty-nosed kids abound, affirming one’s resolve never to procre ate. Their incessant screams add a touch of “nails on a chalkboard” effect to the Wal-Mart aisles. Then there are the elder ly, who, though very sweet, seem to slow down younger shoppers at every turn — literally. Add in the Britney Spears-imitating teens who yell down the aisle in their bub ble-gum chatter while customers try to com pare prices, and it is not surprising why peo ple pay psychiatrists more than $100 an hour for a little peace. The multitude of peo ple in Wal-Mart at any given moment would bewilder anyone. Most likely, however, it would just annoy them, which leads those who some call “dorks” to shop at Wal-Mart in the wee hours of the morning. In American culture, social isolation has become a serious concern, as people try to understand why some decide to live as hermits. Though hermitism may not be healthy, the Wal-Mart example can show that not all attempts at social isolation are caused by irregularity of the mind. Americans are increasingly reverting to shopping after hours or online instead of facing the craziness of stores such as Wal- mart. Instead of seeing such behavior as abnormal, society should look upon these shopping choices as not only sane, but probably beneficial. — Jill Riley Denny’s restaurants hinder family dinners D enny’s, a restaurant better known for its heart-dogging chili cheese dogs than for promoting traditional values, is making an effort to further the breakdown of the American family dinner. The practice that in the past graced Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers is now being taken for granted and wholly ignored at thou sands of green and yellow restaurants.. The Denny’s restaurants have started a program that offers children free Zoob toys to play with during dinner. The Lego like play pieces that come in a big ol’ bucket, like all the fat from a Moon Over My Hammy, are meant to serve the double purpose of entertaining kids while letting parents relax and enjoy a quiet dinner. The toys serve this purpose, but they also kill the opportunity for families to communicate in an old-fashioned, but im portant, way. Somewhere Norman Rock well just rolled over in his grave. The devolution of family dinners has been a slow occurrence. Over the past 50 years, the dynamics of family life have changed to the point where every one in the house has a different sched ule and different dinner plans. However, one last bastion of Rockwell-esque hap piness is, ironically enough, restaurant. While McDonald’s was meant for the q u i c k-sto p, ye I l-at-y o u r-ch i I d re n-wh i le-e at- ing style of supper, Denny’s, and restau rant like it, could be the last place where families are forced to sit together and be connected by a booth, if not by love. But no, the kids are way too loud, and parents’ headaches are way too large for families to eat, and more importantly, talk together. Zoob is a distraction for parents and kids —what they are dis tracted from is the chance to have real, face-to-face conversation. Even with today’s fast-paced and sometimes separated family, dinners are still opportunities for parents and chil dren to talk. Families that actually have the chance to see each other in person should take the opportunity the evening meal provides. Instead of distracting the children with colorful toy blocks, family members could sit down and ask each other about their days, about their lives or why Denny’s serves so many things in skillets. Denny’s did not start the fractur ing of the traditional family dinner, but by giving kids distracting toys, the restaurant is killing one of an ever-decreasing group of opportunities for families to get togeth er and talk to one another. Norman would not be pleased. — Eric Dickens