THE BATTALION
brsday, November 8, 2001
Page 5B
mei
etween the lines
diversity Drive is a dangerous crossing
i features one ii
arises againsti'-:)
». A&M hass
ne, while Ok!;-1
ntrol to al
ne. Both leadfe.B A s safety-minded as Texas A&M has
jories. I /\ become, one potential danger is over-
m the first \-looked on University Drive at
earns, 2-0,onOcHthgate. On an y given night, students risk
cer Complex,Is fii’ lives by haphazardly crossing University to
get to the bars or returning to
their cars after a night of party
ing. This is an accident waiting
to happen.
Crossing six lanes of traffic is
always a risk, but on University,
this risk is compounded signifi
cantly. Many of the bar-goers
have been drinking, as have
many of the drivers.
ird againsiOl
ime, A&M
first 11 minute
own the pace,
ne of the conic
s in sophomof;
was one of fi
d to the All-
feam. She ha-
with 13 goal
he danger mainly stems from students’
tied with AillBrch for free parking. Parking at Northgate will
1 Linsey Jot pays be a hassle, no matter how many garages
■ built or spaces are made available. Students
iurnament on^Be learned to seek alternatives because
: flrthgatc parking remains expensive, and the
I lice strictly enforce parking violations.
•■The most popular alternative is to park in
I CC|Icampus parking lots near the Northside res-
^•^^^Wllnce halls. On weekends, they provide free,
le parking for Northgate patrons. The only
No. 40. ancl 1 E stan( ^ n g between the students and the
Hedberg and bars is six lanes of traffic.
Nedorostova, \
competing aga::
teams inc
> team of senior L
ind sophomore
. No. 13.
aggies will be
riday morning:
singles and dr
on.
xumament, whid
Sunday aftemo*
al action of the fall
the Aggie woi
: fall season is tk
he year in
>rds are kept.
Students seem aware of the danger, as it is
An discussed informally. Talking about it,
tiduever, is not enough — it is the responsibili-
^of students to make this a pertinent issue, so
)per measures may prevent fatal accidents,
len the bars close, and bar patrons run back
oss the street to their vehicles, even more
e must be taken.
Although crossing University is a visible
blem, little has been done to solve it, because
one is specifically at fault. There may not be
^entity or organization to blame, but the
ponsibility to find a solution falls on many
bultlers. ■
Most importantly, it is the Northgate-goers’
Joblem. Students who enjoy Northgate must be
Vocal with city officials to ensure proper action is
taken. Aggies look out for each other, and it takes
mfc effort to ,say something to students who are
pVu to run carelessly across University. It is
i at!unspoken responsibility of students to keep
others from endangering their lives.
It also is important to remember that it is not
only students crossing University who are in
danger. Continued emphasis on the use of a
designated driver drastically can reduce the risk
of an accident.
Responsibility also lies on the shoulders of
the Student Government Association. Student
leaders must take the initiative to inform their
peers of the risks that exist while crossing
University.
For similar reasons, it is the Texas A&M
administration’s problem. If they are going
to push risk management requirements on
campus, it would be hypocritical not to
address this issue. After all, students are
parking on campus and crossing to
Northgate from there.
It also is a problem for
the city of College
Station. The city’s park
ing rates are part of the
reason that students
seek cheaper alterna
tives. Indirectly and
unintentionally, the
city’s current system
results in students endan
gering their lives.
Hopefully, city officials
will work with student
leaders and administrators
to make University Drive
safe at night.
For the present, students
should set an example for each
other and make a concerted
effort to cross at designated
crosswalks. As basic and
silly as this seems, it is
the least students can
do to look out for
each other.
Mariano Castillo is a senior journalism
and international studies major.
RUBEN DELUNA •THE BATTALION
tudents
ai'mg constitutes a large part of the
everyday college student's life. This
fhas become associated with social
activities, and it is no differ
ent at Texas A&M..Many
students meet friends and
classmates for lunch or din
ner during the week.
Sometimes, students gather
at Poor Yorrick’s for a quick
cup of coffee before a class
or to study while enjoying
' an iced mocha. Before this
emester, it was possible for a student to use
imeal credit in exchange for $4 worth of
'ood at dining facilities on campus.
However, as many observant Aggies have
loted, AMCs are no longer an option, and cer
should respect Food Services
tain Outbound meal sizes have downsized yet
prices have remained the same.
Students around campus have become
irate, mumbling that the University has
found another way to extract as much money
as possible from students. The Department
of Food Services is operating on limited
resources and has come to a conclusion that
has allowed prices to remain the same while
having essentially the same options. Students
need to respect this decision.
Each meal cost ranges from about $4.20
to $6.95. What many students are not aware
of is that not all of that money pays for the
food. Almost half of each meal plan pur
chased goes to the labor and overhead costs
of maintaining dining facilities on campus.
Regardless of whether students eat there, the
building remains open and utilities and over
head costs must be paid. Food Services is
not funded by the state; it is an independent
auxiliary enterprise.
With the cost of utilities tripling last year
and a mandated personnel pay raise, Food
Services had two options to stay in business.
The first option was to raise prices for meal
plans, which would have caused an uproar.
The second choice was to cut down choices
and find acceptable substitutes.
The decision to take away the AMC option
was based on the fact that not many students
used it. Most students were not willing to get
only $4 worth of food in exchange for a meal
plan. Baked Lays are no longer an option as
part of Outbound combos, and, as many stu
dents have realized - , the chips are no longer
the Big Grab variety but smaller sizes.
Costs have increased drastically, and, to
prevent an increase in meal plan costs, chip
bag sizes were reduced. Unfortunately, Baked
Lays do not come in this size.
If students are insistent on getting some
thing that is not part of the Outbound combo,
there is the new Outbound Exchange option.
With this option, up to $2 of food can be
obtained in addition to the Outbound meal.
While students have complained it is a rip-off
and prefer the $4 value, only $2 of each meal
plan goes to food. As Cindy Zaweija, associ
ate director of food services said, “You’re pur
chasing a service.”
Ruby Lee is a sophomore
computer science major.
$UN<
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Houser speaks out
It saddens me to hear the asser
tion of my silence and lack of par
ticipation in furthering Bonfire. My
extensive involvement in Bonfire in
past years is clear evidence that I
support the return of this tradition.
I do want Bonfire to return, and I
want students to be safe.
For that reason, I have participat
ed in many difficult meetings,
talked with various student groups,
answered countless emails, dis
played plans in my office for com
ment, made my contact informa
tion readily available and wel
comed students who would like to
visit with me.
In order to push forward, we
need to be committed to all it will
take to have a safe Bonfire. I fear
that because of uninformed con
demnations, the trust that we all
need to make this happen could be
dissolved. I am very glad that stu
dents are again becoming interest
ed in Bonfire.
For many months, student feed
back on Bonfire plans and partici
pation at open forums and meet
ings was worryingly low. Bonfire
has surfaced again as a big issue,
as it should be. This is a very seri
ous project. I will not abandon the
safety issue, but I certainly have
MAIL
not lost hope that Bonfire can
return in 2002 and feel very opti
mistic that we are moving closer
and closer daily.
A&M students should care, you
should give your opinion, and you
should ask questions. Hard work is
going to make Bonfire return, and
there are so many people who have
and continue to work tirelessly to
serve Texas A&M. I will continue to
serve this student body and treas
ure the opportunity to see this proj
ect through its entirety.
R. Schuyler Houser
Class of 2001
Silver Taps, anyone?
As a student, it saddens me to
see the low number of students
who attend Silver Taps. After the
summer break, the first Silver
Taps is very crowded, but as the
semester rolls on, the numbers
dwindle. Considering that the
school we attend prides itself on
traditions, it is shocking that so
few Aggies show up.
Tuesday, I not only saw stu
dents walking past as if nothing
was taking place, but also people
leaving early. How many students
stand in support for the football
team each week compared to the
L. L
number of students who stand for
our fellow fallen Ags each month?
Silver Taps takes a mere 20
minutes. That is not a large
amount of time taken out of your
day. Ask yourself this would you
go to Taps if it was your best
friend who died?
Sara Herbst
Class of2002
School prayer should
be a local matter
In response to Christy Ruth’s
Nov. 7 column:
I cannot disagree more with
Ruth regarding religion in
schools. First, no one ever said
prayer in school was mandatory.
Some schools may choose to
include a prayer in the morning,
some may not. Similarly, a child
may have been brought up with
strict atheistic views and just not
participate in the prayer.
I find it ironic that a vocal
minority that preaches tolerance
would have such trouble display
ing it. Using the argument of tol
erance, a group is a group be it a
minority or a majority, and it
makes no sense to deny the
majority an activity just because
a vocal minority objects to its
validity. If the vocal minority were
allowed to set policy everywhere,
how many freedoms would the
people of America lose. Tolerance
is fine, but it works both ways.
I am sure that if he were
Jewish, Muslim, Shinto, Hindu or
any other religion the prayer
would've been much different.
And as the sensible majority did
then, they would have accepted
his prayer as the sign of remorse
and plea for strength that it was.
In the end, everyone is dancing
around the real issue which the
author hinted at. Who decides
what is acceptable in a state or
locally administered agency, the
federal, state or local govern
ment? I believe that only the gov
erning body with the most direct
contact with the concerned area
should have rule of law over such
an intimate issue.
Secondary to this is the fear
that a child's right to chose is
being infringed upon in some
way. It is, but not in the way that
Ruth seems to think. In fact,
removing prayer simply removes
a category of choices.
Zach Cummings
Class of 1999