Monday, July 10,®
Permits
ontinued from Pagi
lid he knew nothings
ed with the permit
ider and junior zook
in Graves said he thoiii!
:o spend money on
rs is absurd,
often do we need to ref;
ines?" Graves said. "Mi
ride mountain bikes
/way. Mountain bikess
withstand a few bumps
/Vhy not spend the
thing worthwhile, 1
; the football program!'
arking lots are so faravj
almost impossible towil
becoming a necessitj
1a DeHoyos, a junior psl
lajor.
:imes students throwtfel
mday.July 10.2000
.A-
THE BATTALION
Page 5
Ticket to ride
Bicycle parking permits would ease congestion, benefiting all students
A
ggieland is infested with
parked bicycles. Bikes are
parked everywhere, frustrating
id annoying both bikers and non-bik-
Blocking doorways, hugging trees
d tripping students, parked bikes
eate a nuisance on campus. Cyclists
idure a daily inconvenience as they
to find an open parking spot in
U aC f Car liidiculously overcrowded bike racks. The Texas A&M cam-
campus, e oyos Mugig p 0 n u ted by hideous piles of tangled steel. To meet
.lu ad\ paid or a P ar ^ : B e neec j s 0 f bikers and non-bikers, the problem needs to be
,d now to ride fromtk ldressed an d dealt with.
npus, they 11 havetopii i n 193^ the University Police Department (UPD) and
r bike permit. 1 don th | e p ar ki n g ( Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) sep-
Id have to pay twice, at ed after a long, efficient union. As a team, the two de
finance major John Daiil jrtments required bikes to have permits, registering them
I the system will bert > their Aggie owners. Upon the breakup of the depart-
vho ride bikes to campis tents, PITS continued to enforce the bike permit regula-
;h many students arer,: onsuntil four years ago when the supply of permits ran
agree with the system jut. Because bike parking was not a problem then, the de-
a way, it is a good iduBartment decided to discontinue the permits. Since then,
"This way, bike ridersarMie bike situation on campus has become out of control,
protected. If bikes are:-: ikersare leaving their beloved transportation outside
uilding doors, locking them up to trees, rails, benches and
nything else that does not move.
Many students complain about the overcrowded racks,
ut cyclists have few options. The shortage of bike racks
arces bikers to park their bikes in alternative places. While
he biker population may annoy the walking and driving
tudentbody at times, it is entitled to equal consideration
ind attention. A&M is continually striving to better meet
he needs of drivers and bus riders alike. The recent re-
rrangement of parking and the coming of air-conditioned
uses indicates a concern for the needs of those students,
ut it does nothing for those who ride and leave their bikes
t school. The on-campus bike-parking situation deserves
ittentionand renovation. Accordingly, PTTS has respond-
id, working to better the environment for bikers but, as
isual, nothing is free. So, just like those behind the wheel,
yclists will have to hand over some cash.
The department has proposed returning to the bike
th PTTS, then PTTSwl
ck the bike down fasterii:
r left on campus."
astern is currently beii
by SGA and PTTSti
■ what the terms of tk
auld be, such as fines
POPS
.0ntinued from Page
e projects required to si-
mericans with Disabilife
.) and other safety precai
rpletion of these stopsb
cipated to take between permit policy that requires all Aggie cyclists to buy per
mits, registering their bikes with A&M. PTTS already en-
rourag'esstudents to put seri-
alnumbers and driver's 1
18 months.
• currently awaitinp/w/
from the House-S®®
itions committee whidiis
l in Washington," McBet
? will receive our budget
in mid-August and begin
sometime in October. Jk
projects will resemble tk
ont of the Bush Library”
English major Kevi
lid a covered bus stof
ake waiting outside
n bad weather.
have been times whet
l the decision of waitiif
e of a thunderstorm or gt
ed bus stops would, ion
:ase, improve attendance
iERS
o
license numbers on their bikes; however, the purchasing
of bike permits would give each bike an additional iden
tification number connecting the bike with its owner.
PTTS plans to present the proposal to the Student Gov
ernment Association in the fall.
While some may speculate that the proposal is another
PTTS scheme to rip off Aggies, Doug Williams, associate di
rector of PTTS, explained the revenue would be dedicated
to bikers and improving "bike life." The proposal is not an
injustice to bikers, but a way to gather revenue from this
type of transportation, just as PTTS does with bus pass fees
and automobile parking tickets. It seems bikers have taken
advantage of the fact that they do not have to pay to park,
leaving the financial burden to all students. The new policy
would not only clear the walkways for pedestrians, but also
provide better facilities for bikers.
Requiring bikers to buy permits is a wise idea and a
long-needed improvement. The UPD supports and encour
ages the idea because it would significantly contribute to
law enforcement and crime prevention. Being able to asso
ciate a bike to an individual A&M student would help po
lice identify clear leads for stolen bikes.
Although the idea of permits (and their price) may not
appeal to those riding bikes, the policy would undoubtedly
benefit cyclists and non-cyclists in the long run. Bikers are as
much a part of the University as those with cars and bus
passes, and they should have ample
opportunity to commute.
Just as drivers are con
tinually "blessed" with
those sweet, little yel
low envelopes, bike
riders will also rightful
ly reap the conse
quences of disobeying
PTTS . In response to per
mit fees, bikers may try to
beat the system by not buying the
permits, simply believing that if they are not registered,
ticketing is impossible. Those taking this gamble must real
ize they run the risk of having their property confiscated.
PTTS never fails to enforce its rules; it has the ability and
authority to break locks, leaving bikers stranded.
While PTTS has a tendency to irritate everybody, the
i /r <rjPr \A '
v
department actually has the students' best interests at
heart. Imagine on-campus life without car parking per
mits. Although finding a parking space is nearly impossi
ble now, think about the potential chaos of a free-for-all, no
permit-required parking frenzy. It may seem harsh, but just
as drivers are in need of PTTS regulation, so are bikers.
PTTS is just stuck with the dirty work. Students always
look upon its workers as if they have no compassion, when
most of the time they are just doing a necessary job.
If the bike-permit proposal passes, the parking situa
tion will be more agreeable and comfortable for all. As
Williams said, the idea of bike permits is not meant to dis
courage the use of bikes, but to correct the oversights of
the biking population. Bike permits will create a more or
ganized, less hectic campus atmosphere, benefiting all
A&M students on the go.
Amber Rasco is a junior journalism major.
S.
<>
-eg?
KELSEY ROBERTS/Thk Battalion
Boy Scouts have right to exclude homosexuals
ames Dale was a Boy Scout, an Eagle
Scout, a Scout leader and a recipient of
an award that only 3 percent of Scouts
115 minutes for thebusil eceive. He had been a Boy Scout for 13
ears when, in 1991, he was asked to leave
eep," Bailey said, "limaf he organization. However, because he was
ilso an outspoken gay rights activist,the
lonmouth Council (N.J.) of the Boy Scouts
equested that he leave.
! Many people probably feel sympathetic
to Dale for what seems to be a prejudicial
judgment of his character, even though he
.ontinued from Page iroved his character worthy to the Boy
said the college < lcoulsforover 13 y ears '
, works hard to reerf But that should not color people's judg-
, , .. fnent either. The Supreme Court's decision
n to become elemental 1 1 r .
in Boy Scouts of America v. jame Dale was a
ound one. Chief Justice William H. Rehn-
quist wrote the opinion for the 5-4 majority,
declaring the Boy Scouts can legally exclude
1 Dale. The case originated in New Jersey,
[yhere Dale had been a Scout leader. New
ersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD)
pplies to all public facilities — such as
chools and government centers — and all
ublic accommodations — such as high
ways and restaurants. So if the Boy Scouts
it the description of one of the two, then
ire trying to encouraj 1
n to become element®
but it doesn't seem
t is making any imp
itary schools struggled
nale teachers in stair
exas. On average, only
f the nation's public d
ichool teachers are men
lid the shortage of Spey cannot discriminate based on sexuality,
s a problem that will C and hence could not exclude James Dale.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey
Wrongly classified the Boy Scouts as a pub-
c accommodation, and compromised its
ntegrity as a result.
ause of the lack of resp 9 ’
think there is no presh
an elementary teach 1
"Also, I think parents ;
uirage boys to becotj-
ike they do with girls."
Here is just one implication of the New
Jersey Supreme Court's reasoning. Consider
a liquor store. If it is a public accommoda
tion, then the LAD's age discrimination
clause would demand that it must serve 19-
year-olds and 22-year-olds alike. No right-
minded court would ever label a liquor
store a public accommodation for this rea
son — doing so eliminates the state's ability
to set a drinking age.
But liquor stores
are often run by the
states themselves.
Hence, if no court
would call a state-
run liquor store a
public accommoda
tion, then surely the
Boy Scouts — a pri
vately chartered organization
one either.
Seeing that the Boy Scouts are not a pub
lic accommodation is crucial to understand
ing the Court's ruling. Depending on person
al tastes, one might consider the position that
homosexuality is immoral, an unthinking
prejudice. Everyone is entitled to make that
judgement. So is the Boy Scouts of America.
In fact, one of the treasures of the First
Amendment is that people have a right of as
sociation for the purposes of expression.
If aggregation is to have this power,
there must be a right to exclude. Forcing the
Boy Scouts to accommodate homosexual
Prevention of discrimination
in this case conflicts with
First Amendment expressive
association rights.
■ cannot be
lifestyles also forces it to accommodate a
tacit contradiction of its moral message,
since part of that message is an objection to
homosexuality. In the case of James Dale,
who was publicly identified as president of
the Rutgers University Lesbian/Gay Al
liance, this contradiction is not so quiet.
It is no different than an intelligent, out
spoken, environmentalist lawyer who
might repre
sent an oil
firm. Just as
homosexual
Scout leaders
are as compe
tent as hetero
sexual Scout
leaders, so an
environmen
talist could be a competent representative of
a company that causes significant damage
to the environment. Such a lawyer's associ
ations, however, diminish the effectiveness
of his speech.
The same is true of the Boy Scouts. The
more gay rights activists it must accommo
date, the more watered down its message
would become! Its right of expressive asso
ciation would be meaningless. The Supreme
Court, by favoring the Boy Scouts, allowed
it to remain meaningful.
Several homosexual groups agree with
this reasoning. They filed friend-of-the-court
briefs arguing that if the Boy Scouts cannot ex-
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UT employees justified
in strike over benefits
I i/n response to Sunnye Owens’ June 29
olumn.
I was appalled to read this extremely
Insensitive article in The Battalion. How
can Owens act like the UT employees
do not have the right to strike because
they might hurt the students?
I Any strike affects someone, but
thank goodness in this country we are
allowed to stand up for ourselves when
it comes to important issues like health
insurance. I am afraid that some col
lege students who still live off their par
ents’ insurance do not realize how ex
pensive health insurance really is.
Recently, my husband and I had a
beautiful baby boy. The bill for the
anesthetic alone was $800. Without
the insurance that I receive through my
part-time staff position, we would have
been in debt before we even got the
rest of the $5,000 bill.
For someone like me, whose pay-
check is little more than $300 a month,
an extra $80 is quite a bit of money to
take away from it, and lowering it to an
extra $30 with the pay raise is still a
week’s worth of groceries.
I think it is interesting that some peo
ple do not realize that to those who
make less than $30,000 a year, it would
be much easier just to go on Medicaid,
which requires no premium whatsoever,
instead of actually going out and getting
a job to provide healthcare for a family.
It is very easy to judge when you have
never been in that situation.
Anna Hawkins
Class of '01
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 pe/son at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid stu
dent ID. Letters may also be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mall 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
elude them, then they cannot exclude hetero
sexuals in purely homosexual associations.
Prevention of discrimination in this
case conflicts with First Amendment ex
pressive association rights.
The New Jersey Court favored the for
mer on shaky grounds. The Supreme
Court could not favor the former and yet
maintain its jurisprudential integrity.
"Discrete and insular minorities" —
sucE as racial minorities — are protected
equally under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Not only did Congress not intend the
Fourteenth Amendment to be a protection
of homosexuals, tmt judicial precedent
does not either.
In Bowers v. Hardwick (1985), the Court
ruled that states can pass laws against
sodomy, which means they can regulate ho
mosexual conduct in ways they cannot reg
ulate heterosexual acts.
This demonstrates that homosexuals
cannot have a blanket protection against
discrimination along the lines of what New
Jersey had in mind.
The Boy Scouts have circulated several
position papers on the immorality of homo
sexuality. They may have taken the wrong
position; they may not have. But the Court
has the law and its integrity. Americans can
rejoice that neither was compromised.
Jeffrey Eisenberg is a columnist for
The Cavalier Daily at the U. of Virginia.
Viewpoints
New Vietnam plaque
rightfully honors soldiers
T he black marble of the Vietnam Memori
al in Washington, D.C., was meant to
honor those soldiers who gave all in de
fense of their country during the Vietnam
War. The memorial, which displays more than
50,000 names and has had 261 names
added to it since its completion in 1982, is
now slated for another update.
Legislation signed by President Clinton in
June ordered the addition of a plaque bear
ing a eulogy to veterans of the war who died
afterward due to post-traumatic stress disor
der, exposure to Agent Orange during combat
and other causes not directly associated
with combat wounds.
While some people may balk at the idea of
altering a national memorial, this plaque is an
important step in recognizing that the
wounds suffered from wartime conflict some
times surface after the fighting is over.
Post-traumatic stress disorder; Hodgkins
lymphoma, which the government has recog
nized as an effect of Agent Orange exposure;
and other afflictions that haunt war veterans
need to be acknowledged not only by memori
al visitors but by the public in general.
Doctors believe the number of people who
have died from conditions related to combat
experience rivals the thousands of names al
ready listed on the Vietnam Memorial.
The new plaque will be nameless, but
putting a short commemorative inscription
describing the battle these soldiers fought
after the war ended is the least American
can do to honor their memory. Some veter
ans believe post-traumatic stress disorder is
a sugar-coated term for suicide and that
such actions should not be honored.
Veterans who lost the battle with post-
traumatic stress disorder died from wounds
received when they answered the call to de
fend their countries, just as those who took
enemy bullets in the hills of Vietnam. While
others burned their draft cards and marched
through the streets of D.C., these soldiers
were shipped across the Pacific to fight in a
war in which they had no personal stake.
While their deaths did not come for years
after combat’s end, their wounds still had the
same root as those of soldiers who died
overseas — the defense of freedom.
The shape of the Vietnam Memorial, a long
thin swath cut out of the rolling landscape,
was designed to symbolize a veteran’s battle
scar. The new plaque is a fitting and important
way to recognize those who were scarred in
battle, even if those scars were not evident
until after the war was over.
— Eric Dickens
‘Survivor’ shows full of
unnecessary danger
T hink back to “traditional” game shows
like “Jeopardy.” The contestants, for the
most part, stand calmly behind a podi
um and win money by demonstrating their
knowledge of various subjects. The modern-
day counterparts of these shows are striking
ly different from their predecessors and in
creasingly more violent and sensationalistic.
Two examples are CBS’s TV-drama-meets-
game-show program “Survivor” and Comedy
Central’s new prize show “Don’t Forget Your
Toothbrush.” Sensationalism is well and
good in its place, but many game shows are
taking it too far.
People stuck on a desert island and other
dangerous escapades are undeniably excit
ing to watch. But some of the activities the
contestants perform are potentially danger
ous and would be better left to trained stunt-
people. Game shows are meant to be fun
and challenging entertainment, not activites
where contestants risk life and limb for a
chance at big bucks.
Eerily enough, modern game shows seem
to be moving ever closer to competitions
such as those featured in Stephen King’s The
Running Man. In The Running Man, less fortu
nate people in a futuristic world can enter
themselves in a variety of game show compe
titions. For example, an elderly man with
heart problems would be placed on a tread
mill until he either died or completed a cer
tain amount of aerobic activity. If the contes
tant won, he would be financially set for life.
But in the process, crucial body parts and
even lives are prone to being lost. Although
American game shows have not progressed
to this level, one still has to wonder exactly
how far the obsession with sensationalism
will go.
In addition, the premise of many of these
game shows is idiotic. For example, the very
idea of a group of people “trapped” on a
desert island with television crews is utterly
ridiculous. Instead of devoting their time to
helping those truly are trapped in desperate
situations survive, the contestants devote
their time to petty arguments and dangerous
activites.
It is arguable what is more disturbing: that
this is a real competition or that people actu
ally watch it. Either way, Alex Trebek would
not be pleased.
— Jessica Crutcher