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Opinion
5B
Thursday, March 21, 2002
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EDITORIAL
Unwarranted
Censorship
The Texas A&M Student Government Association Election
Commission has demanded that Shannon Dubberly, candi
date for Class of 2004 vice president, remove "inappropriate"
campaign material. Dubberly's fliers, which include the words
"damn," "pimpin'" and "Who's your daddy" may very well be
childish for a student body campaign, but it is up to voters to
decide individually if Dubberly's fliers are in poor taste. No
candidate should be subject to prior restraint. University elec
tions should be a model for free political speech.
Election Commissioner Caytie Sarandis' defense of the cur
rent guidelines, which have been approved by the student
senate and give the election commission complete discretion
to decide if campaign materials are appropriate, is a direct vio
lation of a candidate's First Amendment rights.
There is no justification for such discretionary suppression of
political speech. The election commission i£ setting a negative
example in its attempt to limit candidates' campaign material
by what it deems inappropriate and request removal or dis
qualification if guidelines are not followed.
Sarandis' action is blatant disregard for free speech guar
anteed by the Bill of Rights. Dubberly is right to refuse such
supen/ision.
As adults, student candidates should be expected to uphold
common ethics in their quest for office, just as the student
body should be capable of deciding what candidates they
support without prior restraint by the election commission.
Perhaps in the future, the election commission will allow
individual student candidates to exercise their own judgment
when deciding what merits quality campaign material for their
personal campaign. It will then only be the candidate's prob
lem if he is not chosen by the student body. Political candi
dates are expected to make their own beds; the election com
mission should let candidates lie in them.
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief Mariano CASTILLO
Managing Editor BRIAN RUFF Member MELISSA Bedsole
Opinion Editor CAYLA Carr Member JONATHAN JONES
News Editor SOMMER BuNCE Member JENNIFER LOZANO
News Editor BRANDIE LlFFlCK Member Kelln ZlMMER
-UT* t • : • • ' ‘ '
Iht Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less
mil include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor
(selves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submit-
Sd in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be
nailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
]uM3-l111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
MAIL CALL
id
ig Event is a
vaste of time
weekend I will not be
img with thousands of other
ies to participate in what is
ipposed to be a great day of
immunity service. For the past
oid ioyears my friends and I have
up to do Big Event with
ehope of making a difference
helping others. Both years
shave been disappointed.
My idea of helping out is not
mold off someone's
itio furniture so they can host a
d mer party. It's not clipping bush-
and laying mulch in a nice
Jighborhood for a young couple
th kids who could do yardwork.
i not moving a grand piano
icause the interior decorator
it would look better. This is
iculous. I thought Big Event was
eant to make a difference. I
less it has lost its meaning.
Rachael Hines
Class of 2003
iforse things can
appen for A&M
response to Emily Peters'
irch 20 article:
I did not think it could be pos
sible for A&M to pick a new
president that could be disliked
more than our current one, Dr.
Ray Bowen.
It is unfortunate that Bowen is
not well-liked, but his creden
tials are hard to beat after the
Bonfire decision and the
'Harvard on the Brazos' 20/20
plan. After reading yesterday's
article on Jon Whitmore, a t-sip
from the dean of fine arts pro
gram, it looks like Bowen may
have to try even harder to be
the most disliked president in
school history.
If Whitmore wins, he would do
his best to get us to become a
liberal school like up in Austin.
Whitmore is known for raising
diversity, and I believe all the
A&M big-wigs are paranoid about
getting more diversity on our
campus; but this is not the way
to go about it. Let's try to stay a
conservative school and hope
Whitmore is not the new Aggie
President.
Lamar Mueller
Class of 2005
Activities benefit both Participants are not
students and community helping those in true need
MELISSA BEDSOLE
I t is the time of year when
students should put aside
school work and give up
one Saturday morning to not
only be part of this school,
but part of this community.
While it is widely known
that Big Event is a chance
for students to give back to
the Bryan-College Station
community, this event also
gives back to the students.
Since 1999, there has not
been a Bonfire to unite resi
dence halls, student organi
zations and students not
involved in anything on cam
pus, but Big Event provides
that opportunity.
The entire community is
offered help and those request
ing jobs range from people
who are needy, either physi
cally or financially, to people
who look forward to Big
Event as a chance to be
involved with A&M activities.
Some community residents
take time to cook for volun
teers who come to their homes
and help with the work.
The idea that jobs taken
care of by Big Event are small
or meaningless is simply not
true. There are some jobs that
may be smaller, such as help
ing elderly residents clean up
their houses or yards, but
those are the requests people
have made and that is what
they need done.
Turning jobs away by
deciding they are not worthy
of students’ time would be
unfair and unkind. There are
also larger jobs taken on by
student groups. One of the
larger tasks for this year’s
event will be for some groups
to assist the Keep Brazos
Beautiful organization plant
ing trees along Harvey
Mitchell Parkway. Others
will be assigned to help with
a carnival for Harvey
Mitchell Elementary School.
For many people request
ing students’ help. Big Event
is not simply about getting a
job done. This is an opportu
nity for community residents
to interact with students in
their homes. For some local
residents, especially those
who are elderly or live alone.
this is one of the few chances
they have to talk with stu
dents and exchange stories
about each other’s experi
ences with the University.
Big Event is not just
something that Aggies do; it
has become one of the things
that distinguishes Texas
A&M from so many other
schools. Since A&M started
Big Event in 1982, 24
schools across the nation
have followed with similar
programs. Representatives
from Pittsburgh and Virginia
While it is widely
known that Big
Event is a chance to
give back to the
Bryan-College Sta
tion community, this
event also gives back
to the students.
Tech will be visiting College
Station this weekend to look
at A&M’s Big Event success.
Finally, for many people.
Big Event is not just a one-
day event. It provides an
incredible opportunity for
leadership, hard work and
success for the many students
who make up the Big Event
committee. Each year the
committee must raise approx
imately $45,000 to cover
expenses of the event, and it
is this hard work that makes
the day possible for others.
Also, this year the organiza
tion successfully established
the Big Event Endowment
Fund to secure long-term
financial stability for the
organization.
Big Event is a rewarding
experience for everyone and
Aggies should be thankful the
opportunity exists on campus.
Students on the Big Event
committee, as well as stu
dents who volunteer for the
day, are being rewarded by
seeing how a small amount of
their time can impact some
one else’s life. The communi
ty is not only being given
“One Big Thanks,” they are
being rewarded with the kind
ness and helpfulness of the
Aggie Spirit. ;
:
Melissa Bedsole is a senior
psychology major
RICHARD BRAY
A t first glance. Big
Event sounds like a
great idea. There were
more than 5,300 students
involved in Big Event last
year, according to the Big
Event Website. More than 525
jobs were completed, and
thousands of Bryan-College
Station residents were helped.
Unfortunately, Big Event
ignores local citizens who need
help the most while giving
back to a community that
would be just another Texas
cow town without Texas A&M.
Since 1982, Aggies have
thanked the Bryan-College
Station community with Big
Event, in which students mow
lawns, paint, make repairs and
generally clean up the local area.
Most of these are middle
class homes owned by people
who owe their economic liveli
hood to the money students
bring to this community.
Without the economic stimulus
A&M provides, Bryan-College
Station would basically be
Hearne.
Since A&M students have
chosen to help their neighbors
and ignore the fact that they do
not owe Bryan-College Station
anything, they should at least
spend their resources helping
the members of the local com
munity who truly need help.
Giving back to the commu
nity should be an important
part of being an Aggie, but
with limited resources, deci
sions must be made regarding
how best to apply them. With
that in mind. Big Event
requires too much time and
energy on the part of its
organizers for it to limit its
self to visiting schools and
planting trees.
Big Event should not be
canceled entirely, but organiz
ers should adapt their efforts so
students who volunteer will
actually be accomplishing
something meaningful with the
valuable time they set aside to
participate. In assisting those
who need the help Big Event
could provide, Big Event would
better serve the Bryan-College
Stauon community by helping
to alleviate real problems. Not
only do the students who par
ticipate deserve a Big Event
with larger goals, but the
Bryan-College Station commu
nity deserves better.
The fact that Big Event is
just a big joke would not be
nearly so bad if students did
not take a disproportionate
amount of pride in their
involvement. Placing one’s par
ticipation in Big Event on a
Unfortunately, Big
Event ignores local
citizens who need
help the most
while giving back to
a community that
would just be
another cow town
without Texas A&M.
resume does not impress any
one. It is one day out of the
year in which a student mows a
lawn or does some painting.
There are plenty of 12-year-
olds with the same capabilities
who do not expect to be given a
career for one afternoon of
manual labor.
If students really want to
impress employers with their
philanthropic triumphs, they
would participate in organiza
tions that have more lasting and
meaningful impacts on the
community.
Groups such as HOSTS
(Help One Student to Succeed),
Meals on Wheels, the Boys and
Girls Club, Adopt a
Grandparent and Twin City
Mission have been helping for
a long time and more than just
one day out of the year.
Work done to aid these
groups is what the organizers
of Big Event should be aiming
for — a meaningful project that
causes real change in the com
munity. Now that would be
something worthy of being on a
resume.
Richard Bray is a junior
journalism major.