Wednesday, February 7,2001
Opinion
Page 5B
THE BATTALION
Turn down that noise!
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Joint noise taskforce targets students y wastes resources
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n an effort to keep the commu
nity reasonably quiet, the Col-
l lege Station Police Department
(CSPD) and the University Police
Department (UPD) have decided
to permanently continue the Loud
Party and Alcohol Enforcement
Task Force, a unit designed to is
sue citations to residents who have
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loud parties and disturb their neighbors. The task
force consists of three teams, each composed of one
CSPD officer and one UPD officer.
Although each officer in the task force has volun
teered to work overtime, this unit is a waste of re
sources that could be used for more important en
deavors. If the officers employed by CSPD and
UPD are incapable of taking care of noise violations
nd related offenses during their normal working
ours, perhaps the local police departments should
ire officers capable of performing these duties.
According to a statement released by CSPD on
an. 19, the task force “has proven its effective-
liess.’’ This statement is supported by the number of
itations that were issued by the task force last se-
I hpster; 212 citations for disorderly conduct, 605 for
I Icohol violations, 95 arrests and 23 warnings.
m While the stats prove there are a number of noise
liolations occurring in the community, it does not
demonstrate that the task force was successful. If
trie task force were truly successful, then there
iould be fewer noise violations occurring, and,
aver time, the problem would diminish. Instead of
attempting to actually solve the problem by mediat-
i|g the situation and building an understanding be
tween the police and violators, the police point to
the large numbers of citations they have given to
)rove the task force's success.
I The College Station community does have resi
dents who are not college students. These individu-
tls deserve the right to sleep on the weekends and
should not have to call the police to report noise vi
tiations. However, drunken college students do get
olid on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and,
isyi result, police must be called out on occasion to
:alm the situation and break up out of control par
ies. Does this really require a special task force?
mCSPD and UPD are ignorant if they believe stu-
erits are so unreasonable that they refuse to quiet
ivn at a police officer’s requests. While there are
occasional situations when individuals must be giv
en citations, most of the time students are willing to
comply with the police’s requests.
If officers are ableto simply disband the party
and/or provide warnings, in most cases the issue can
be settled quickly and without incident. However, in
most cases over the past semester, the task force
chose to issue citations rather than warnings as the
law suggests as an alternative in normal situations.
By issuing 212 citations and only 23 warnings, the
task force boosted the numbers that were then used
to support the program’s continued existence.
In a Battalion article regarding the task force on
Jan. 26, a University of Texas-Austin law professor
was quoted as saying that selective enforcement of
noise violations is unfair because a low number of
warnings were issued. He said that issuing a citation
without a warning is legal, but the law says there
should be a reason for such action.
The CSPD release defended the task force by
saying that “a decrease in loud-party complaints
means that more police officers are available to han
dle other responsibilities, such as patrolling for bur
glars and responding to in-progress-type calls.”
Perhaps a better solution would be to spend the
money and manpower dedicated to the noise-level
task force and apply them toward these other re
sponsibilities. By concentrating their resources to
ward relatively minor crimes instead of larger com
munity problems, CSPD and UPD are wasting the
money of those who pay for their programs.
The College Station community has more serious
crime to contend with than noisy parties. In the
week the task force’s future was announced, an
A&M student reported being assaulted on the golf
course while walking to his residence hall and a
teenage girl told police she was sexually assaulted
after a practice track meet at A&M Consolidated
High School. These are the type of incidents, not
noise violations, that should motivate police to work
overtime.
With limited resources, CSPD and UPD must be
careful when making decisions about how they can
serve the community best. Students are being as
saulted, but the police are concerning themselves
with noise violations. They should rethink their
priorities.
I Grand OP Party
laugural ball funds could be better spent
Richard Bray is a sophoynore journalism major.
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion h,
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f In Washington, D.C., nearly half the
he inauguration of
the nation’s 43rd
president recently
k place, and many
>ple came from all
r the world to wit-
s and participate in
events and parties.
Though there are no
ures that depict the exact amount
;nt on the inauguration, the Bush team
sed at least $17,466,000 to spend on
- inaugural event, according to a list of
itributors published by the Bush cam-
ign. Too much money was spent on the
tuguration.
America does not need to spend mil-
ms of dollars on parties to welcome in a
w president. It does need to find a solu-
Dn to the problems of this country, not
ilebrate in the face of them. Washington,
tC. has a tremendous rate of poverty and
omelessness. The people of this country
hould spend money to solve the prob-
ems of homelessness and poverty, not on
Dirties.
The list of lavish inaugural events
eems endless. The Black Tie & Boots
all was held in an upscale hotel with
1.1,000 guests. Brisket, martinis and
iO,000 jumbo shrimp were served. In ad
dition to the Black Tie & Boots Ball, there
vere 10 other extravagant inaugural balls,
jleven separate galas waste money. The
nauguration should welcome the new
President, but with all the money spent on
he events, it is more like the coming of a
tew king.
One might think that there could not be
)om for any more events, but there was
bom for one more — the inaugural pa-
ade, which consisted of more than 10,500
tiarchers representing 45 states. The pa-
^de lasted more than two and a half hours
nd ran through the District of Columbia,
nding just past the White House.
These events were held in the city with
le highest poverty rate in America, 19.3
ercent. Ten thousand homeless
:ople live in the District of
olumbia alone. Many of
em saw the extravagant, ele-
int events roll into the city
homeless adults have children. Try to
imagine a homeless child asking his moth
er why they cannot live in a house or eat a
hot meal or even take a daily shower. Now
imagine that same child asking his mother
the same questions while they watch lim
ousine after limousine, carrying wealthy
people on the way to fancy parties, roll
past them. This inauguration shduld be
considered an embarrassment to all who
proudly call themselves Americans.
Instead of spending the money on a
night of partying that will have no long
term benefits, Americans should have do
nated the money to organizations that
strive to end homelessness and hunger.
There are more than 40 nonprofit agencies
that assist the homeless in Washington,
D.C. Any one of them could have made a
difference in the life of someone who
needed help.
Future inaugurations should be less ex
travagant. There is no need to have 10 par
ties to ring in a new presidency. The mon
ey raised by the president-elect should
fund one party, the parade and the actual
inauguration.
The partygoers at the inauguration may
have thought they were being patriotic, but
getting an American off the streets is a
much more patriotic and noble way to
spend money.
Chris Busta is a senior agriculture and
journalism major.
Puff Daddy finally faces the music
F aced with possi
bly having to
hang up his Ver
sace attire for an or
ange jumpsuit, Sean
“Puffy” Combs, also
known as Puff Daddy,
has landed himself
with yet another run-
in with authorities.
Combs is facing five criminal charges
in conjunction with a shooting inside a
New York nightclub late last year. Combs
has adamantly denied the weapons and
bribery charges filed against him, retain
ing dream-team attorney Johnnie Cochran
to assist him. In a trial that began last
week, Combs’ high-profile lifestyle ap
pears to be in danger as he anxiously
awaits the verdict.
On the night of the incident. Combs
and his girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, were
enjoying themselves at the club when an
other patron of the club insulted Combs by
throwing money in his face. Angered,
Combs and another rapper for the Bad
Boy label, Jamal Barrow, drew weapons
and fired several shots in the air, injuring
three. As they fled the scene, Combs,
Lopez, his bodyguard and his driver were
pulled over by.police. All were arrested
for possession of a weapon that police
found inside the vehicle. Several days lat
er, investigators discovered yet another
handgun they claim had been thrown out
of the window during the frantic drive.
Success as CEO and founder of music
label Bad Boy Entertainment has obvious
ly influenced Combs’ “above the law”
thought process. Taking the label’s name
literally. Combs is no stranger to court
rooms, attorney fees, and celebrity treat
ment. Indeed, Combs’ past bad boy behav
ior has never landed him a day in jail,
because he has somehow negotiated plea
bargains for his violations. After pleading
guilty td a charge of possession of a
weapon and robbery in 1995, Combs was
sentenced to a paltry $ 1,000 fine, probably
pocket change for him. Police reports re
leased after this latest arrest reveal that,
when booked, Combs was carrying more
than $8,000 in cash.
Only months before the shooting,
Combs pleaded guilty to a second-degree
harassment charge in connection with an
alleged attack on record company execu
tive Steve Stoute. Stoute produced a video
featuring Combs that contained footage of
Combs nailed to a cross. Combs had Stoute
promise the footage would be removed, but
he broke the promise and aired the video
with the clip intact. Stoute’s jaw and arm
were broken in a subsequent attack. Combs
was once again let off lightly, sentenced to
attend an anger management class.
During his appearance before the grand
jury that recently indicted him. Combs cit
ed personal reasons for choosing not to
own a gun. When Combs was three years
old, his father was killed by gunfire and
later, his best friend the Notorious B.I.G.
was killed by a gun as well.
“I would never, never, never disrespect
the life of my father or my best friend by
owning or possessing a gun,” Combs testi
fied, no doubt with his lingers crossed un
derneath the table, hoping his previous
guilty plea on an identical charge would
not surface.
Nervous that he might not be able to
rap his way out of this one, Combs was hit
with another charge of bribing a witness.
Prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos maintains
that Combs put “relentless” pressure on
the driver of the car by offering $50,000
and a diamond ring to claim the weapon
that was found. On three different occa
sions following the shooting, Combs al
legedly left message on the driver’s an
swering machine.
“I just wanna make you feel comfort
able ... make your family feel comfort
able,” Combs said. Doing an unexpected
U-tum, the driver went to police and later
filed a $3 million suit against Combs.
In what sounds like a desperate de
fense, Combs’ lawyer said his client had
no idea whose gun was in the vehicle,
telling police that Combs has promised to
find out who owned the gun. Combs just
needs to make a few more phone calls and
up the bribe a tad, and'an owner of the gun
will almost certainly appear at the station.
Combs has developed a pattern of vio
lating the law and needs a severe punish
ment like jail time, instead of class time, to
rectify his behavior. Althotigh Combs has
been known to say, “Ain’t nobody gonna
hold me down. I’ve got to keep on mov
ing,” it is now up to a jury to decide other
wise and convict the rap mogul. If he is
found guilty, his jail cell might entice him
to pursue a career in singing the “jail-time
blues.” Not to wony, a maximum 15-year
sentence should give him plenty of time to
perfect the sound.
J.J Trevino is a senior
journalism major.
Mail Call
KRISTIN MCNEFF/The Battalion
Athletes deserve
special treatment
/n response to Matthew
Cannon’s Feb. 5 column.
First of all, let it be known
that I am not a student athlete,
■but I do interact with them dai
ly as a student athletic trainer.
I came into this school as a
regular student. I did not have
a perfect SAT score.
For some, being a student
athlete is the only way they
would be able to pay their way
through college. Otherwise,
they may just end up working
at a local fast food place.
Many students do not real
ize the amount of time that is
put into being a collegiate .
athlete. Many times, they are
up at 6 a.m. for morning
weights and then off to class
at 8 a.m. Then they have a
morning full of classes before
three hours of practice.
After that, they have to eat
and then report back to study
hall. A certain amount of
hours of studying is required
for each athlete, therefore
academics are strongly en
forced. Also, student athletes
have to keep the same GPR
as any student in order to stay
in this University — a 2.0.
Then, they finally get a chance
to go home and rest up for
the next day ahead of them.
Early registration is neces
sary to ensure that all ath
letes can make scheduled
practice times. Just like the
student workers who get to
register early around their
work schedules, athletes are
the same way, except their
line of work is practice. Also,
athletes are not allowed to
park at the front door of Cain.
It is only for staff and, yes,
athletes do get ticketed.
Every student has access
to Cain Hall if they want to pay
for that meal plan just like at
Sbisa or the Commons. What
about Duncan Dining Hall? It
is strictly for Corps members
and their dates and that is
only during lunch. In the
evening, it is just the Corps.
Isn’t that being unfair to regu
lar students? What about be
ing the same for everyone?
After reading this article, I
was very disappointed in The
Battalion. I cannot believe this
article was allowed to be print
ed without proper research and
With the amount of inappropri
ate comments it contained.
Christine Albright
Class of ’02