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TIM
DYLL
Jack to
bed.
Every
American
knows the
end of
this fic
tional
story hav-
I heard it as a child, but as it
Ins out. this might not be a
pi , tale anymore,
enetic engineering long
been regarded as the
ureoffood production, and
|w, it has become a reality,
altering the genetic make-
of plants, scientists can
deduce healthier crops and
noreof them. Open any
ng again. |chen cupboard or look on
; steal... whe |ny restaurant’s menu.
Gov. Ronniecliances are, they are full of
loducts enhanced by food
een slow to roduction companies to be
yor andotfiei Icheaper, healthier and better,
o make $1001| Over the years, these com-
lable to bust panies have used technology
for the benefit of mankind by
leaking our food healthier,
heaper and more abundant
fan ever. This burden is not
laken lightly, and because of
e current economy, cost con-
:ious consumers have
scome more aware than ever
the price of food.
New farming techniques yield
lore produce, newly discov-
ed hormones allow cows to
■oduce more milk and new
erilization techniques make
irfood cleaner. It only seems
gical that genetic engineering
the next step in food produc-
bn technology.
To maintain or lower the cost
[food in the United States,
[any companies are turning to
netically engineered foods as
Jeir next resource. The FDA
assed regulations for genetical-
engineered foods in 1992 and
^ain in 2001.
times, they saw very lit-
a danger in letting research
intinue without interference,
enetically engineered foods
e healthier, heartier and more
Jtritious than organic foods
ad can be produced for less
loney. They will make a power-
il weapon against world
unger and will play an impor-
nt role in feeding our ever-
rowing population.
Opponents of genetically engi-
eered food should try living for
few weeks on an empty stom-
ch, before condemning the
lodsas unsafe. A genetically
ngineered ear of corn might
of look so bad after a month
fstarvation. Green Peace, the
roup made famous by the
Save the Whales” campaign in
le mid 80s, is one of the
trongest opponents of geneti-
ally engineered foods.
Its Website cites allergic reac-
ons as one of the main evils of
enetic engineering. It claims
lat because people potentially
uld become allergic to genet-
foods, then their production
ould be stopped. A lot of peo-
5 are allergic to peanuts,but
toe as that mean a “Save the
'eanuts” campaign should be
lounted?
is idiotic to mount a cam-
laign aimed at better food pro-
toction methods. Who is the
%er fool? Jack for putting his
in some magic beans or
'is mother for throwing them
Hit the window?
Tim Dyll is a senior
electrical engineering major.
Expensive laptops...
C one are the days of simple
back-to-school shopping,
the crisp feel of unused
notebooks and the pristine
sharpness of No. 2 pencils, that
somehow yielded inexplicable
feelings of
excitement
regarding the
upcoming
school year.
Instead, a new
and more cost
ly back-to-
school neces
sity has
emerged for students of the new
millennium.
Laptops, one icon of the
21 st century, have reared their
ugly heads in the classroom.
For many students, in public
and private schools alike, lap
tops are becoming as impera
tive to education as textbooks
and pencils. New programs,
provided by the Anytime,
Anywhere Learning program
and headed by the Microsoft
Corp., are giving laptops to stu
dents as young as fourth
graders, to be toted around
school and taken home at the
end of the day.
Despite the overzealous
opinions of techno-junkies and
computer corporations around
the world, it is highly doubtful
that $2,000 laptops, plus the
many other expenses and prob
lems generated by this pro
gram, are going to make a sig
nificant difference in the big
picture of education.
The idea behind providing
laptops for students is idealistic.
Administrators hope to end the
“digital divide” between stu
dents from wealthier families
and students from lower income
families and help students apply
computer skills to their learning
experience as a whole.
According to the San
Francisco Chronicle, advocates
said laptops “have an egalitari
an effect on classrooms, replac
ing top-down, lecture-based
teaching with collaborative, stu
dent-led projects.”
Early research suggests
improvements in student writ
ing and attendance. Students
also appear to be more excited
about their class work.
However, the results of these
reports easily could be attrib
uted to simultaneous improve
ments in the curricula that
existed independent of the lap
top programs.
Many critics feel that the
excitement with which student’s
greeted the laptops’ arrivals will
wear off, and administrators
will be forced to search for a
new, more expensive way to
entice kids to learning.
The most obvious problem
with supplying students with
laptops is the expenses that
incur for a public school district.
In Bloomfield, Conn.,
Carmen Arace Middle School
has given every student — all
850 of them — a laptop com
puter and installed wireless net
works in every classroom. This
program was financed by a
$2.1-million, five-year plan
with NetSchools. To support
this state-of-the-art learning
environment, large sums of
money were spent training edu
cators, installing wireless net
works, rebuilding courses to
match the introduction of the
Internet, and hiring on-site
computer technicians.
According to The New York
Times, even Jerry Crystal, the
technology coordinator for the
Bloomfield district who direct
ed the laptop program, is con
ducting an intense evaluation of
the Carmen Arace Middle
School to find out “exactly
what students are getting in
return for those $500,000
checks the school board has
written each year.”
Even in elite private schools,
where laptops in the classroom
originated, many voices of dis
sent have been heard.
At Lakeside School in
Seattle, Wash, alma mater of Bill
Gates and one of the first private
schools to implement laptops,
one parent, who is a computer
engineer, said, “If there is an
academic deficit, it’s that stu
dents can't do critical reasoning
and can’t analyze. These capabil
ities have nothing to do with a
piece of machinery.”
Unfortunately, our society
could end up with a generation
of “cut-and-paste kids” who
cannot rely on their analytical
skills or imagination because
they never were developed in
their youth. As it appears, lap
tops in the classroom pose sig
nificantly more questions than
they do answers.
Carmen Arace Middle
School and Lakeside School do
not stand alone in the growing
number of both public and pri
vate schools implementing lap
tops into their curricula.
According to the San Francisco
Chronicle, “200,000 children
nationwide carry laptops in
their school backpacks every
day.”
However, technological
changes do not mean the needs
of children have changed.
Technology is a huge part of
our everyday lives, but that
does not mean every child in
AMEY BHAN • THE BATTALION
grades four through 12 needs a
personal laptop. In fact, tech
nology will change so much by
the time kids graduate, that
what they learn at school will
have almost no relevance to
what they encounter in the
workplace.
Instead of spending tax
payer dollars on laptops,
school districts should consid
er improving the quality and
quantity of the more afford
able stand-alone personal
computer and applying com
puter usage to the study of
traditional courses. When
problems suffocate the bene
fits of advanced technology,
there is something to be said
for simplicity and tradition.
One Lakeside parent
summed it up perfectly by say
ing, “Kids already have 24-hour
access to learning. It’s called
books.”
Jennifer Lozano is a junior
English major.
EDITORIAL
Texas A&M University — Celebrating 125 Years
THF
SERVING THE TEXAS A&M COMMUNITY SINCE 1893
EDITORIAL BOARD
Brady Creel
Mariano Castillo
Cayla Carr
Jonathan Jones
Rolando Garcia
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
Where to Place
the Extra Money?
Southerland, SSFAB should listen to A&M students
Accounting may prove to be a difficult course for
administrators as it is for students. The University has
an extra $1.1 million on its hands, part of the Student
Services Fee that originally was budgeted to support
Bus Operations before the student body voted in favor
of a separate transportation fee. As the questions arise
of where and how this money should be be allotted, one
point must remain clear — the student body must have
a strong voice in the outcome of the decision.
This means that the decision makers, Vice President
for Student Affairs Dr. J. Malon Southerland and the
Student Services Fee Advisory Board (SSFAB), must
make a more conscious and deliberate effort to ensure
that the students who voted to create this surplus have
influence over how the funds are distributed.
Compared to the Texas A&M System’s multi-billion
dollar budget, $1.1 million may not seem outstanding,
but in a time of budget crunching because of rising util
ity costs and looming decreases in state funding, A&M
has reported facing a $6 million budget shortfall. In this
light, the fee surplus is, after all, significant.
Students should take it upon themselves to remain
informed of developments in the debate about how this
money should be spent, and students should expect
that the administration will continue to be forthcoming
with proposals.
The University has expressed interest in using the
surplus toward the construction of a student leader
ship retreat center. Other possibilities include spread
ing the surplus around other student services, many
of which are underfunded.
Making an educated suggestion to the SSFAB, com
posed of students, is a challenge that requires students
to think about how this surplus in a sea of debt can be
spent. In turn, the SSFAB has the duty to lobby
Southerland and the administration on behalf of popu
lar student sentiment.
Southerland should take the committee's input into
consideration, that should in turn heed the will of the
student body. The money comes from the students, and
the ongoing effort to make A&M a top public university
will not happen without their cooperative support.
CARTOON OF THE DAY
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