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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2002)
INTERNatio S the BAI1J | ?pea leas contains footage > well as a farewe Opinion THE BATTALION 5B Tuesday, April 16, 2002 3 of humiliation anti ion is over. It's tine cans in their hear: cker Ahmed Ibrafr vi, whose image s EDITORIAL For Academic Integrity JUniversity President Dr. Ray M. Bowen is setting a negative prece- ■nt by exonerating tenured professor Dr. Mary Zey despite accu- )osed on a montai sations against her of plagiarism and scientific misconduct. Bowen ant slogans and-Mould not have overturned the decision of Provost Ron Douglas, ung World TradeCsl|e University's chief academic officer. By giving Zey a second Bance after she was found guilty of plagiarism by an internal inves- ■ation committee, Bowen is giving the impression that Texas A&M is not a place where academic integrity is truly valued, and has cre ated a double standard between faculty and students. Jlf Zey was wrongly accused, reinstatement is the proper course of aciion. However, it is disturbing to read that the University President laintains that Zey is guilty and judges that it is not a "most offen- Ive of egregious action" that merits dismissal. ■Bowen agreed with the investigation's charge of Zey's guilt, but Is actions to allow her to continue to teach undermine the weight Bhis words and the serious nature of plagiarism, an offense most ■culty consider the highest level of academic malpractice. A&M man in the vide fcdemic standards are cheapened when plagiarism charges are our hijackers on [ pot taken seriously in all cases. ylvania. | When students are found guilty of plagiarism, there are dire con- i isover. Itistime®q uences to ^ ace / expulsion among them. However, Bowen is eir children, and :] 3 ' )W ' n § a tenure d faculty member to remain despite agreeing with Tied as the hijackerB 1 ^ 0 ? 5 that label her guilty of such an offense, shirt and a blac J^ our, H guilty- 3 student, even one who maintains his or her inno- ore an iniaeeof t -l ence ' muc H as ^ e Y Has maintained hers, receives an 'F' in the idded to the back' y ourse ar, H' s subject to expulsion. ■ The Zey case sends troubling signals to students and faculty, ast Will and aca demic community in is one that has made great strides Martyrs "The title* 1 recent decades, and has ambition to improve Texas A&M's y ' deputation and academic standing among American public uni- h\ Qatar's wmsiP 5 ' 1 ' 65 " i m Pli cat i° n ^ rom this case is that improperly using , L ... T. j,''. mother scholar's work may not result in the expected discipli- ^ tary action. Aside from dampening the working environment, ™ lowen's actions foster an atmosphere of disregard and disre- . , tpectfor the intellectual property of others, dcast exclusive comm jyt ee found Zey passed off the work of other professors ei ’ a . s0 airecla ' i “ as her own, and then engaged in an attempt to cover up the theft al-Qaida leaderapie. 0 f anc j p rose Along with spurning academic integrity, this deci- atlacks. 5 j on j s a double standard of the highest order. Most students found in videotape, uifi® g U j|ty 0 f cheating in this manner would never register for another ; made, but binuw p c | assat a&m. Anything less for those whom students are supposed le around that® to look toward for guidance and inspiration should be an outrage. line but than 35 abusi pof* ipport to the bisli ory said Saturdi. 1 ilted States," THE BATTALION Managing Editor Opinion Editor News Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief Mariano CASTILLO Brian Ruff Member Cayla Carr Member Sommer Bunge Member News Editor Brandie Liffick Melissa Bedsole Jonathan Jones Jennifer Lozano Member Kelln Zimmer The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less "d include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves he right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in per- wiatOM Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 ’ e ed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111. Fax: 979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com AX ox* IG ITY Theatre not gua jciety. ranteed Aggie Code of !°nor ignored j|At a University that encourages r students to live by the Aggie lode of Honor, "Aggies do not | e -cheat or steal," how can high lyadministration, in good con- ,| len ce, keep an accused pla- : admitted witbo u |arist as a professor? Dr. Mary e V was found guilty of plagia- " Srn and recommendations ' er e made that she be terminat- |o- Through an appeal process, fS Was found not guilty. 1 °w can two committees Knu^h an 0 PP 0S > te decision? if u| d it be because the sepa- hearing committee, who gpund her not guilty, included B lessors at this University who ■f^pathized with her situation | because of some backdoor ■ 'tics that are not known. t ; n Wen c ites that her "contribu- , ns to sociology ... entitles her I B a . second chance." What ■ ot 01156 we Have that this is ■ a repeated offense or that ( live Wl " not this again? On ^ ^ syllabus that is handed out hw C *u SS an H further emphasized -*f y the Professor, it states that MAIL CALL cheating their should there will be no tolerance for pla giarism. What type of precedent is Bowen setting for students who receive a zero on a test for ig and appeal? Given past academic record, they be exonerated? Many consider Bowen a lame duck since his announcement of resignation as president. In all political arenas, a lame duck attempts to pass final legislation or pardons before one's last day in office. Like Bowen's pardon of Zey, Clinton in his last days pardoned Marc Rich. Clinton has since admitted that hindsight is 2020 and he should not have par- Rich. Similar to political mistake, uwwv... ^ decision will have repercussions on the integrity of this University. This is a mockery of all the faculty members and students who have honestly and ethically achieved their status. In the near future will this deci sion by Bowen be detrimental to the value of our degree and insti tution? Students think so. Marci McClellan Class of 2002 doned Clinton's Bowen's CONSIDER THE FIRE Fate of Bonfire must be on next president's agenda v — MATTHEW MADDOX 'oter apathy has been cited as a failure of modern American democracy. Voters who do not feel they have anything at stake often shy away from the polls. Several millenniums ago, Pericles said, “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” However, just the opposite could be said of today’s Aggies. In January, nearly 10,000 Aggies voted on an issue, some of whom had no firsthand experience with. More This burning desire for the continuance of Aggie Bonfire has persisted despite its absence, and the decision of its fate rests equally with students and the next University president. than 90 percent of those who voted in the Student Bonfire Survey said they wanted Bonfire to return to the A&M campus. This burning desire for the continuance of Aggie Bonfire has persisted despite its absence, and the decision of its fate rests equally with students and the next University president. On Feb. 4, A&M President Dr. Ray M. Bowen ended the hopes of many in the Aggie family by cancelling any further University progress toward a Bonfire in 2002. While this eliminated any chance of a University-sanc tioned Bonfire next fall. Aggies should not allow their disappointment to overshadow reality. In the February press conference, Bowen made public his realization that future plans for Bonfire still occupy the hearts of many. “My decision only speaks to 2002. I will not be president of A&M after this June, and it is natural that I will not do anything today to take away options for the future.” This declaration only passes the buck to the next presidency, which is the key to the next University-sanc tioned Bonfire. Recently-elected Student Body President Zac Coventry appears to be a positive choice for those who favor the return of Bonfire. Campaigning on his hope for the future of the tradition, Coventry described his vision of its return as a series of small victories to be won. He also made clear his desire to work alongside the next administra tion in this pursuit. Coventry undoubtedly will face an uphill bat tle against the current status quo but promised to deliver the stu dents' will to the administration. Student and former student groups already have taken measures to ensure success of Bonfire. The Bonfire Coalition, an organization co-chaired by current and former students, aims to work with the next president to bring Bonfire back to campus. Marc Barringer, a board member in Bonfire Coalition and Class of 1992, cited A&M’s lack of camaraderie and unity as the need for the return of the tradition. Barringer also said more than half of the applications to the group have come from the current freshman and sophomore classes. Meanwhile, other groups have continued to work outside the political arena of University relations. The University’s apathy turned on itself with several “renegade” bonfires popping up across the state. The people behind these fires are not anti-Aggie. More accurately, they are Aggies who simply have not surren dered their tradition as readily as University politics and University lawyers demand. Bonfire always has been renegade, a symbol and custom misunderstood by the rest of the world nor wholly sanctioned by this school’s administration. Whether Bonfire happens in the near or distant future will be a function of student determination and the next administra tion’s attitude. Whoever A&M’s new pres ident turns out to be, he or she must come to Aggieland with a dedication to work with these students and the resolve to understand their passion. The Aggie spirit is a force to be reckoned with and will be felt. Who listens will depend on the next A&M president. Matthew Maddox is a sophomore business administration major. Wealth should be redistributed DHARMARAJ INDURTHY T he Texas school system is riddled with problem this much is undeni able. The Robin Hood plan, enact ed in 1995, has been inadequate to com bat disparities between school districts or the capacity issues raised by a grow ing student population. The Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance, led by Sen. Teel Bivins, has begun to explore these issues. Texas desperately needs new tax measures and a new sys tem of resource allocation to fairly accommodate the demands on public education. Under the Robin Hood plan, there is some effort to distribute money to schools equally. Schools are funded mostly from local property taxes and the state. Districts pay a certain portion of their property tax revenue to the state for redistribution, and there is an established minimum “floor” of funding the state guarantees. More wealthy districts with revenue equal to or above this minimum may receive no state funding, and excep tionally wealthy districts with resources exceeding a certain “ceiling” have to return surplus to the state. Unfortunately, Texas still is plagued with disparities and lags behind the national average of funding per student. A report by the Center for Public Policy Priorities notes that while most schools have per pupil funding between $4,000 and $8,000, the total range is $3,643 to as much as $20,859. Pam Hoimuth, a lead researcher of the report, concludes, “The resulting inequities in resources, performance and student achievement hurt all Texans in the long run.” That the Robin Hood plan largely fails does not imply that redistribution is inherently a bad idea. To the con trary, one only can conclude that the. degree of redistribution is insufficient. In almost any city in Texas, it will be easy to distinguish the more affluent schools from the poorer ones. One must wonder how such gaps could exist in a public system of education. How hard is it to distribute funds so the spending per student is equal? Perhaps this is a naive picture of funding, but certainly this should be the vision. Some critics suggest that people should not have to devote tax money to schools miles away. Since when has this been a rule? An individual’s tax money often is spent on roads he or she will never drive on, programs he or she will never use and salaries of people he or she will never know. In fact, it is almost intrinsic in the idea of taxation that the money be used for the general welfare, not individual welfare. Otherwise, what is the point in taxing at all? Perhaps some schools will have to give up junior high violin lessons or rent out their indoor swimming pools, but that is a harm one ought to be able to live with. But even homogenous distribution cannot solve the capacity problems and a general lack of funding. The student body in Texas increases yearly, and only more funding can cope with it. Despite the fact that it is an election year, legislators have to be brave and propose new taxes or tax reforms. Some solutions are extending property tax maximums, imposing new forms of tax ation or shifting the burden to the state and businesses. Legislators have to dare to inflame popular opinion or find a way to siphon the necessary funds out of the complex bureaucracy. A well-informed and educated public is fundamental to democracy. It is this premise that warrants mandatory educa tion and the establishment of public schools. It is important to provide a homogenous public school system that favors no one. It is equally unjust for a public school student to be rewarded for his or her parents’ financial successes as it is for a student to be penalized for his or her parents’ hardships. Dharmaraj Indurthy is a senior physics major.