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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2000)
Monday, June 26,2000 varese fight i stoppage of Julius an. 29 at Manchester, cated he does not want .1 with Tyson again, e reports that Tyson ai red Warren in a dispute old pay for some jewel- rchased in London in on denied the reports, a would not comment. ?nt from Glasgow for eek, attended the fight, pea red to be a redness ghteye. aid 40,000 tickets were or the fight, but 20,000 ed. There had been ;ht would happen right of the match, ere questions about tal and physical condi- ;on said he had trained eeks. His training had ated for several days so nd the funeral of Darryl d who was murderedin V., two weeks ago. nox Lewis, fight me idy yet. I m rusty." — Mike Tyson heavyweight boxer 241 1/4 pounds, strug- e count of five, obvious- n was on him in a flash ; our or five shots to the ■ee John Coyle then ad halted the fight, n moved around the ref- ded two more punches, he was elbowed aside, ot up and pushed Tyson nermen rushed into the >wd booed, not because ictions but because the er - terrifying/' Larkin said, ying display of pow^u lentlessness." , who will turn 35jul)' three of his six previous re still was expectedto a better fight than Fran- never had a chanceto and went to a hospital it for treatment of a left y, probably sustained two quickest victories ed in 30 seconds against ier in 1986 and in 37sec- : Robert Colay in 1985. imbledon 1 dre t 1 8- SAMPRAS * the Williams sis- t will attract plenty Wimbledon begins ed to previous Tty special memories if added pressure." pionship in the past er bid for consecu- ich Open champion and Serena, vith the London i tournament, but aer game is well int Sunday by ao threatened to at among the 16 the top 15. t does not follow' deserve to be seed- don title and a ning Monday when he felt a s about whether it ither. ay, hit for an hour nt. cold, damp weather , my stretching and > beat. He's 46-1 at a record Davenport THE BATTALION Get on the bus Page 5 Much-needed improvements give commuting students list of reasons to use new shuttle buses I n 1982, the first per sonal computers were introduced, Steven Spielberg's E.T. made au diences dream of aliens, and over half of the buses currently driving around Texas A&M rolled off the assembly line. Almost 20 years later, computers have become house hold staples, NASA is studying water and bacterial life forms on Mars, and A&M's shut tle buses are horribly outdated. Last week. Bus Operations unveiled plans to replace the 59 buses that ser vice A&M by Spring or Fall 2001. The new buses will be more com fortable, with spacious seating and, in answer to the prayers of thousands of commuting Aggies, air conditioning. Besides increasing passenger comfort, the replace ment buses will be more environmentally responsible. Most of the buses A&M currently employs were built before the Envi ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) established stan dards on automobile ex haust. As a result, A&M's shuttles are notorious for emitting black, choking smoke from their tailpipes. Needless to say. Bus Operation's introduction of new buses is a much-needed improvement to the A&M campus, the sur rounding community and the environment. When the new shuttle buses debut on cam pus, commuting Aggies should adopt them as a viable way to get to class. A&M's buses have become an eyesore on and off campus. Their dark trails of bil lowing exhaust are not only an ugly sight and a health hazard, but also a disgrace to the University's image. The lack of air conditioning on most of the buses keeps the shuttles from being embraced by commuting students. These students instead drive their own cars to cam pus, creating more air pollution. The buses, meant to be an alternative to driving to cam- , pus, actually motivate students to use their own vehicles. But as Bus Operations has made the effort to improve bus condi tions, students need to respond by pur chasing bus passes and using the new shuttles. Students cur rently disdain and ridicule the idea of riding the bus to school. Taking the bus to class may not sound as attractive as driving one's own car, but ask students who take the bus how they feel about the blue-lot park ing situation, and the ad- vantages be come quite clear. Opting for the bus rather than their cars saves commut ing students from hours of waiting like a vulture for somebody, anybody, to leave a park ing space. In the mean time, the blue-lot parking fiasco will be im proved if more students ride the bus to their campus classes. In addition to saving one's sanity, taking the bus can also help save the ozone. While ecology is not a main concern for Aggies, there are certain intrinsic rewards a student reaps from knowing he or she is do ing something to protect the health of the en vironment. Most students are earth-conscious enough to realize the exhaust from A&M's older bus-" es, combined with that of thousands of com muting automobiles, harms the environment. These same students should see that realiza tion as motivation to get on the bus. The improvement of Bus Operations and future shuttle buses is another benefit of more Aggies taking the new busses to class. Too of ten, A&M's current buses go out of service or break down in the middle of their routes. With new buses, maintenance costs will certainly decrease. Not only that, but if there is an increase in bus pass purchases, the extra revenue will most likely go to keeping these new buses up to par and to replacing them when the time comes. Bus Operations may not be underfunded, but the increased revenues will help ensure that, 20 years from now, future Aggies will not be looking at the same buses showcased last week and scoffing at them. The University's Bus Operations has done its part by investing in the future and unveil ing the next generation of A&M shuttle buses. Commuting students should return the favor and, by using the new buses, improve A&M's parking, their own sanity and the earth's frag ile environment. JEFF SMITH/The Baitaiii Eric Dickens is a senior English major. School board forsakes students, future teachers A reasonable person would think that after hiring and firing three superin tendents in four years, the Dallas Independent School District's (DISD) school board would have gotten its act together. Apparently not. Two weeks ago, board mem bers confirmed that they are considering firing Super intendent Bill Rojas. Hired last year after a long-winded selection process, Rojas was billed by many on the school board as the magic pill for the DISD's many ail ments. Such an endorsement was ex pected because the district was re covering from the scandal and incompetence that dogged Rojas' predecessors — including former Superintendent Yvonne Gonza les, who was convicted last year of pocketing $16,000 in district money. Media coverage of these high-profile wrongdoings has made the DISD a laughingstock. It is impossible for the DISD to expect this negative attention not to dissuade graduates from Texas A&M and oth er universities from coming aboard as teachers. In the seven years that Rojas was the superin tendent in San Fran cisco, he was known for his forceful and authoritarian style of leadership. When he was hired by the DISD, board mem bers were attracted to his leadership. "We need a leader, someone who has a vi sion. We sure would like to see [RojasJ come ASAP," DISD board member Kathleen Leos said last August. The honeymoon quickly ended, however. Labeled by many on the board as uncoopera tive and single-minded, Rojas has managed to isolate himself with his autocratic ways. The lack of patience and overall incompetence the school board is displaying is pathetic. Charged with providing an adequate education for the DISD's 158,000 students, the school board is unable to grasp the complications of firing another superin tendent. Not only are the needs of the students being put on the back burner yet again, but the quality and worth of a DISD education is being compromised. The corruption and chaos in the DISD could easily persuade a Texas A&M graduate with a teaching cer tificate to teach elsewhere. Ultimately, the board should get off Rojas' back and let him do his job. Despite having questionable communication skills, he has done exactly what He was expected to do to get the district back on track. For example, the DISD recently passed a district audit given by the FBI and the accounting firm KPMG. This was the district's first acceptable audit in three years. In previous years, criminal charges of mismanagement, fraud and conflicts of interest were brought against people in the district's adminis tration. During Rojas' first year, the DISD was issued a clean bill of health, said George Williams, a DISD board member. In addition, Rojas has been instru mental in establishing charter school contracts with Edison Schools, Inc., a New York-based school privatisation firm. Ini tially hired to encourage privati zation, Rojas has found that many of his supporters on the board have made a sudden about-face. Now, embroiled in law suits with groups repre senting teachers and juve nile finger-pointing, the Edison plan is floundering, and the school board is un fairly diverting the criticism toward Rojas. Meanwhile, one-fourth of the district's students are taught in portable buildings, and many other buildings are approaching 100 years of age. These and other problems are being pushed to the side. Sooner or later, the school board has to regain its sanity. It must understand that, while this political struggle is going on, the students are suffer ing and potential teachers are going elsewhere. David Lee is a senior economics and journalism major. JEFF SMITH/The Battalion NYPD has right to boycott Springsteen In response to Amber Rasco’s June 22 column. Amadou Diallo was a man who died because of a mistake under stressful circumstances, not be cause he was an African-American. Rasco ridiculous says that the NYPD is ignoring the voice of the American people. First of all, boy cotts are routinely used by organi zations to voice their stand on a specific issue. Jesse Jackson regu larly calls for boycotts on anything that does not coincide with his po litical view. Did he deny Texaco its constitutional right to speak its mind when he called for a boycott of its gas because of racial is sues? Of course not. jt The NYPD is exercising its com stitutional right to speak out | against Springsteen's message, just like any other organization has the right to do. Second of all, Bruce Springsteen is one man —' not the voice of the American peo^ pie. 1 would venture to say that the majority of his listeners do not even know the subject of his song “American Skin.” . If you look at the circumstances surrounding Diallo’s death, you would see that it is the NYPD that is being “shunned” and “dis graced,” not music. A jury of seven men and four women (of which Mail Call eight were white and four were African-American) acquitted the four officers involved, but Spring steen seems to think the incident was racially motivated, and goes on to stereotype the entire depart ment. I applaud the NYPD’s consti tutional right to ask for a boycott, and I plan to do so myself. Dustin Stewart Class of '03 Police deserving of praise, not criticism In response to Amber Rasco’s June 22 column. I do not believe that Rasco un derstands where her and Bruce Springsteen's freedoms are coming from. They are the result of heroes fighting against those who would in fringe upon such freedoms. Rasco can not possibly know the fear of standing in the dark, facing the unknown, and having to make split second decisions in or der to save your life or the life of another. She should thank the law enforcement community. Springsteen on the other hand has some answering to do. Where is his controversial song detailing the life of the underpaid police offi cer who died protecting the public that ridicules him? What about the verse that talks about the spouse he left behind or the child that will grow up without him? You will not hear such a song when there should be a whole box set of such ; memorable tunes. No, Springsteen has found a i way to get his name in the lime- ; light again by taking sides against ■ the law enforcement community. J Police officers are just people as are rock and roll stars and column ! writers. Who deserves more re- _ • spect: those who criticize and hide behind their "freedom of speech" ► in order to judge and tear down or the heroes who remain unsung, underpaid and unwanted until they are desperately needed? With that said, who would you rather be? Not very, fair is it? Joshua Balay Class of ’03 The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student 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