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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2000)
'ednesday, November 8, 2000 -A- THE BATTALION Page 11 s rate dditional5 id to Bicycle Safety 11 V6bl AXES samester in bus route. Bicycle police should focus on educating students in bicycle safety, traffic laws gt. Fisher, now sergeant of the Bike Patrol Division at fcxas A&M, started the -^^r-division about nine years Igo. Since then, he has new duplei j built a program that now comprises six certified tX™ !f;. ■fficers. These campus Bke police choose bicy- cles as their mode of transportation. I They have an advantage at A&M be- ^un?"M-racW use ’ * n an emergency, rather than being 6pm-8pm)i: forced to maneuver a car through traffic, owest p^fley can get to an accident scene more 846-6H7. quickly. j But with all this mobility comes a price (ffsTheC JP at stL, dent bicyclists hurrying to class will ,8 GRE. Con :oufse.com ID pay. These officers are not around only to fight crime and race to accident scenes. I They are there to write tickets to poor iollege students who are oblivious to bike fiws or the consequences of breaking can 1-800-7*5fiiem. Although these police officers en- fiirce the bicycle laws and students suffer ■ $342 ;^1the consequences, the police are not help- caii 268-4M pg students become better aware of bicy- 2 for sisoT" cle traffic laws. ^ Bicycle cops focus mainly on safe bi- (0|S (7 ’ 3|S |ycle riding, so bike laws are strongly en- -^forced and excessive tickets are given. jkiahoma cam p US bicycle officers are bike- -(Legibi^ificrtified and trained in Austin by the In- iy823-7956 temational Police and Mountain Bike As- oss ciation. The problem is that these bicycle cops w Lowerf aie highly trained professionals — students ibecks. c* k re no t. There are no tests given to students regarding bicycle safety, and no classes are offered. How are students expected to know bicycle traffic laws? Officer Tumlinson explained that warn ings are given to students during the first few weeks of school, but as the semester progresses, tickets serve as the consequence intended to teach the lesson. Students are expected to know the rules for bicycles, but many bicycle riders have not been exposed to any kind of safety course or class and are therefore victims of expensive bicycle tickets. Bicy cle violations are set by the county at $100 per ticket. Officer Tumlinson said tickets are given at the officer’s discretion, but failing to stop at a stop sign, riding the wrong direction on a one-way street and not having night bike lights are the main offenses. A bike ticket can cost one-half to one-third of the cost of an average bicycle. The ratio is quite different for an auto mobile ticket — the average vehicle viola tion is about one-sixtieth the price of the vehicle. Furthermore, with most vehicle vi olations, Texas law allows citizens to take a defensive driving course and waive the fine. This is not an option for bicyclists, who are forced to pay the ticket. The result is that very little is actually learned about bicycle safety, regardless of intent. Bike safety is not something most citizens know. When driver’s education is taken at the age of 15, the main focus is to learn how to operate an automobile. There is very little; if any, focus on bi cycle laws, as many citizens have no in tention of riding a bike for any length of time after elementary school. Although the bicycle safety laws are located at the end of the Texas Traffic Code, they are paid little attention. Bicycle officers assume the bicycle laws are common knowledge. It would be nice to see more bicycle cops informing students about the bike laws rather than simply chasing them down and writing tickets. More progress would be made with a simple explanation of what they should do instead of what was done wrong. According to the Texas Traffic Code, bicycles have the same rights as automo biles. But most bicycle riders realize that, even if they have the right of way, most vehicles do not ac knowledge it. According to the Bike Pa trol Division, bicycles can go anywhere that a car cannot, but in reality, bicycles are limited to places where they can avoid pedestrians and inattentive vehicles. Sgt. LeMay said, “Bicycle riders are at a disadvantage, therefore it is necessary to know the laws that govern them.” A more positive approach should be taken to inform students about bicycle safety. The problem may not be with students’ lack of knowledge with bicycle safety, it may be with the bicycle officers who en force the rules. Instead of handing out un wanted tickets, these officers should be more willing to educate and inform stu dents how difficult it is to ride a bicycle on campus. Cayla Carr is a junior speech communication major JOE PEDEN/TH fi B ATTAL'ibN !OOK BAD BULL As the semester wears on, more and more students are complain ing about the “parking Nazis” who tickettheir automobiles. After min- l utes of fussing, the studentSfihvari- fj ably admit, “Sure I was double- parked in a fire lane, but still — they didn’t have to give me a tick et." Nearly every student is con vinced that Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services (PTTS) is but to get him or her. The truth is, PTTS does single ut students — those who cannot bllow common-sense parking regu- ations. Fire lanes, reserved spots, andicapped spots and temporary arking spots are clearly marked. ■The lack of a nearby parking lot ■does not give students the right to lengage in illegal parking practices. I If students cannot afford the '[$50 fines PTTS doles out, they are In for a real shock when they park illegally in the big city. BAD BULL book,go® Why are campus bicycle police ourStutW ; concentrating their efforts on crack- ; 19 ® 9 ' 2CC ; ing down on the “fugitives from jus- ish checks, tice " who do not wear helmets 3 ' while riding? Although wearing hel mets is a University regulation, *surely there are more pressing mat ters that need attention. Instead of stopping bicyclists ho are endangering only them selves, campus police should be stopping the cyclists who dart out in front of cars and buses on crowd ed campus streets. Stop signs, Bull Board — yield signs and traffic signals also apply to bicyclists — a fact that many ignore, placing themselves and those around them in danger. Instead of ensuring bicyclists will be protected when they cause accidents, the goal should be to prevent the accidents in the first place. BAD BULL Once again, marketing execu tives have proven they have ab solutely no idea what appeals to children. The recently launched Duck Texas anti-smoking campaign is a glaring example of what happens when adults try to make a somber message “hip” before delivering it to kids. In a series of television and bill board ads, an obnoxious and poorly illustrated duck dishes out-of-date lingo in ’80s clothing while telling kids not to smoke. The campaign’s slogan — “Tobacco is foul” — epit omizes the horrifically bad public service campaign. It takes more than bright colors and loud noise to keep kids from smoking. Texas would be better off spending its money on some thing that will be effective, not just annoying. GOOD BULL One of the most important as pects of the Aggie family is the care and help Aggies share with one an other and the world. There is no better example of this spirit than former student Luke Bolton, who helped save the life of a man from Rhode Island by donating his bone marrow last year. To Bolton and other Aggies who have selflessly donated bone mar row, blood and other life-saving items, a debt of gratitude is owed by the community at large. It is re assuring to know that, if tragedy should strike, others are willing to aid however they can. Their exam ple should encourage others to make a difference and help others. GOOD BULL Congratulations to the city of Houston and its devoted football fans on its selection as the site of 2004 Super Bowl. It appears that football fortunes in South Texas have rebounded since the con tentious departure of Bud Adams and the Houston Oilers in 1996. Now, with the Houston Texans joining the National Football League in 2002, a new retractable-roof sta dium under construction and a Su per Bowl on the horizon, things are looking up for the Bayou City. Hous ton’s successful bid was due in no small part to the business commu nity, which supported the initiative to bring professional football back to the city and will now benefit from the economic windfall from hosting Super Bowl XXXVIII. Tennessee can keep the Bum Squad — Houston is a big-time city with big-time football in its future. Nicholas Roznovsky Too Much Praise? Proposed Reagan memorial undeserved 1 PERSoRM-LY HKVERT SEEN AN "A*" STUDY THAT CONVINCES. IY\E OF DANGER.... a*E5'rmrm&>x *1 Mi coin, Jefferson, Washington and Roosevelt — the Gipper is coming to town. At least that is what Republicans on the House Resources Committee hope will happen. On Sept. 13, they ap proved the Ronald Reagan Recog nition Act (HR 4800), calling for the construction of a memorial to Ronald Reagan on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In doing so, House Republi cans are attempting to subvert the established procedures for proposing and approving new monuments for the mall. Al though they may think OF Dutch was the greatest thing since sliced bread, it is inappropriate at this juncture to contemplate a memo rial to a man who is still alive and whose place in history has yet to be determined. The Reagan Recognition Act seeks to ignore the established framework for proposing, design ing and constructing national memorials. It flies in the face of the 1986 Commemorative Works Act, which prohibits memorial construction until at least 25 years after the subject’s death and re quires the approval of three com mittees — the National Capital Memorial, Fine Arts and National Capital Planning commissions. Undeterred, House Republi cans have decided to bypass the commissions entirely with their proposed legislation. The bill would create a special panel of three to oversee the Reagan memorial design and construction — the chairman of the National Capital Memorial Commission and one member appointed by the speaker of the House and by the majority leader of the Senate. “No bureaucrat or unelected political appointee should prevent us from honoring this great Amer ican,” said bill sponsor Don Young (R-Alaska). The thinly veiled truth is, the bill’s support ers hope to take the process out of the hands of the established au thorities and put it under the con trol of the Republican Congress. The need to resort to such con trived backdoor tactics only proves that the time is not yet right to consider building a memorial to Reagan. “I just think we are rushing this whole thing,” said Charles Ather ton, secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts. “It’s nice to get some historical perspective before we put a memorial on the mall.” Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt all had to wait to half a century after their deaths for their spots on the mall. Reagan supporters are so adamant about building their shrine so quickly because they are in a race against time and the judgment of history. When that judgment is finally made, it will be harder, if not im possible, to justify a Reagan memorial. Reagan does not be long in the top echelon of Ameri can presidents. He did not lead America to victory over the British Empire, write the Declara tion of Independence, save the Union from division or lead the Reagan does not belong in the top echelon of American presidents. The reach of his ad ministration does not fall outside the scope of normal presidencies. nation through the struggles of the Great Depression and World War II. The reach of his administration does not fall outside of the scope of normal presidencies. The bill’s supporters, such as Rep. Jim Hanson (R-Utah), list plenty of “achievements” Rea gan accomplished during his ad ministration, such as challenging the Soviet Union, winning the Cold War and saving the U. S. economy. If America is looking to memo rialize presidents who have stood up to the Soviet Union, then John F. Kennedy, who defiantly held his ground during the Cuban Mis sile Crisis, or Harry Truman, who carried out the dramatic Berlin air lifts, would be a better choice. De spite conservatives’ attempts to proclaim him the 20th century savior of democracy, Reagan did not take down the Soviet Union. As for the economy, Reagap’s tax cuts and increased military ex penditures resulted in enormous deficit spending. Americans are still paying the bill for supply-side economics with a $5 trillion na tional debt. Reagan may have giv,- en Americans a little extra money in their pockets in the ’ 80s, but his legacy has been sucking them dry ever since. Still, Reagan’s supporters are seeking to plaster his face and name everywhere. Spearheaded by a private group called the Reagan Legacy Project, fans of OF Dutch seek to name “something signifi cant after President Reagan in each of the 50 states and in every coun ty of America.” According to the St. Petersburg Times, 36 things have been officially named in hon or of Reagan, including a nuclear aircraft carrier, a hotel suite in Los Angeles, numerous highways and roads, a statue at the National Cow boy Hall of Fame and a commem orative stamp in Grenada. The group is also seeking to put Rea gan’s face on the $10 bill. The Republican Congress has done its part to further the Reagan cult by slapping his name on Wash ington’s National Airport and on the new Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, the fed eral government’s second-largest bureaucratic office. Ironically, the building houses the Customs Ser vice and the Environmental Protec tion Agency — two agencies that Reagan detested. In its zeal to memorialize the Gipper, Republicans are coming dangerously close to exhibiting the behavior shown by dictator ships and communist regimes. It is almost as if they are in a race to build more monuments to Reagan than there are for Mao, Stalin, Castro and Saddam Hussein. The true measure of greatness is the re flection of history, not the number of granite edifices dedicated in one’s honor. *C The National Mall is noua place for partisan memorials I5r commemorations of living people^ Four great presidents and count* less soldiers who gave their live$ in defense of this nation have had to wait their turn. Ronald Reagaij should have to wait his. Nicholas Roznovsky is h senior political science major