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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2002)
me 10, if ION ITS! tmek lilable, ply t Time e/Sales able N iline •EFRE FORI ord.net UN D THEM TES ' LOANS ROGRAV ;s & FOC >! ail us at ■d.net) xWd-Mff 281! Aides Ski 64-1M DH ER 95 v l&ynirx rs 5 lightlwi c Oil Exlro EDITORIAL A New President Gates deserves A&M community’s support On Thursday, the Board of Regents voted five to three to appoint Dr. Robert M. Gates as Texas A&M's next president. As a former dean of the Bush School of Government, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a close confidant to several former U.S. presidents and a recipient of the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service medal twice and the Distinguished Medal three times, Gates has proven himself capable of leading A&M toward its goals. During his visit to the A&M campus in April, Gates outlined the goals he hoped to achieve if he obtained the presidency. He said his primary objective was to implement Vision 2020 with out undermining A&M's traditions. Other goals included an aggressive pursuit of a diverse campus and working with the University of Texas-Austin to convince the state legislature of the importance of providing its flagship universities with the funding they need. These three issues need to be addressed and it is a positive sign that Gates has already recognized them and is planning to provide A&M with the leadership it needs to improve the University in these areas. Despite the existence of unnamed candidates and vocal support for Senator Phil Gramm, Gates has exhibited a great deal of restraint in a difficult situation. Although he has not yet spent a day in office. Gates has proven to the A&M community that he will represent the University with the class and dignity it deserves. All A&M students, even those who preferred Sen. Gramm, should unite behind A&M's new president as he pre pares to lead our University into the future. THE BATTALION ■ , "™ l, "*** , * l, »*»**—SINCE 1893 mmmmm EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief \ DOUGLAS PUENTES Managing Editor Executive Editor Opinion Editor News Editor Guy Rogers True Brown Richard Bray Christina Hoffman _ the Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or '‘/sis and include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor ■reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submit ted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 1 1 1. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com MAIL CALL ■51 Ifficfl Hof' F6 Mon-ffl 10-5 Sil lybrid vehicles not the answer Response to Michael Vhitlow's June 4 column: While improvements in afford- ble transportation are without doubt on the horizon, man- ates for hybrid vehicles are not he means to that end. Even if he potential of efficient hybrids Tiuld be realized, its impact on he marketplace would be mini mal in the absence of a man- late. Regular fossil fuel internal ombustion engines (ICEs) will continue to dominate the auto ndustry despite continued esearch on hybrids. There are many reasons ICEs remain superior. First, they ffer lower purchase prices. Ithough there are relatively less-expensive hybrid engines now in the making, consumers ho choose them will not get much "bang for their buck." heir maintenance expenses HI be higher because of the ■complexity involved in using Imultiple motors and computer icontrols. Secondly, many ihybrid manufacturers have decreased the size and weight °f their vehicles to improve fuel efficiency. At a time when many people are buying SUVs for safety rea- s °ns, small hybrid vehicles are not appealing. Finally, ICEs enable manufacturers to offer consumers more vehicle types. Artificially limiting them to smaller cars will harm those who prefer larger vehicles. The gains offered by improve ments in ICEs and conventional fuels simply outweigh the eco nomic value of the fuel efficiency gains offered by alternative technologies. It is only rational t° enable consumers to choose which technologies they desire m an open marketplace. Jumping into inefficient man dates will only harm them over time. Tyler Dunman Class of 2003 Cross burning should be protected In response to Richard Bray's June 6 column: I am a firm believer that the rights we have as Americans need to be protected and appreciated. That is why I believe we should be able to burn a cross if we feel so inclined. In Bray's column, "A Burning Issue," he says that burning a cross, "promises vio lence," and is "detrimental" to the country. I disagree. Like Bray, I hate the sight of a cross on fire. Yet at the same time I know that some people demon strate their opinions on every thing from politics to religion in different ways. To say that cross burning is "domestic terrorism" is taking it too far. A cross being burned in no way guarantees violence. I believe that cross burning should be made legal in all 50 states, just as the American flag was made legal to burn by the Supreme Court. As a Christian, it pains me to see the cross, and all that it stands for, on fire. However, this act clearly falls under my First Amendment right to do so if I feel so inclined. I do not want any more rights taken away from us as American citizens. A person should be allowed to burn two sticks of wood nailed together. While I certainly detest cross burning and flag burning, I also believe they are rights we all have as Americans and they should not be taken away. Luke Alsobrook Class of 2004 Opinion The Battalion Page 5 • Monday, June 10, 2002 Home is where the rip-offs are Local apartment managers take advantage of students CHRISTY RUTH S ummer is here, and for many students that involves mov ing. When this happens, it usually assures a tug-of-war to get move-in deposits back. Deposits however, are not the only source of grief local apart ment complexes cause students. Heather Moore, a senior meteor ology major, was preparing to move out of her duplex on May 1. She was very tidy and the place looked much the same on May 1 as it had when she moved in two years earlier. One of her friends was considering moving in, and when Moore called the realtor to inquire about the rent, he quoted her a price that was $100 per month cheaper than her friend had been paying and told her he was putting in all new carpet and repainting the walls. Had Moore renewed the lease, however, the rent would have stayed the same and none of the improvements would have been made. Landlords in college towns are fully aware that their tenants know little about their rights, and some exploit this for as much profit as possible. Legally, a landlord has 30 days to return the deposit or an itemized sheet of deductions with details of what repairs were made, but many students do not know this. Some landlords will deduct from the deposit for repairs on wear and tear that is considered standard. For example, small holes in the wall from nails should be filled in at the expense of the landlord according to most lease con tracts. When Holly Kinnemond, a senior agricultural develop ment major, received her deposit back, the itemized receipt showed deduc tions for mold on the door of her laundry room that happened j as a result of poor ventilation. She had complained to her landlord about this months before she moved out, but it was never fixed. April Young, a senior journalism major, had a similar experience at the apartment com plex she recently left. After her smoke detector Jeff smith • the battalion continued to emit irregular beeping sounds, she tried everything aside from removing it to make the sporadic noise stop. She complained to management about it, but it was never fixed, so she adapted to sleeping with the detector sounding throughout the night. In each case, complaints to management did not help. There are easily avoidable mistakes tenants initiate that make it easy for their landlord to appear in the right. One mistake students make is failing to obtain a copy of their landlord’s lease and are unable to refer to it when contesting a deduction. Many students also rely on their parents to sort out situations with their landlords, but doing so puts them at a disadvantage. The business practices these landlords employ are often standard procedure in the elusive “real world” that college students have been told about since high school. Senior speech communications major Jeremy Rogerson speaks from experience about how landlords and apartment managers deceive tenants. As an employee at University Commons two years ago, he recalls a specific instance in which an apartment was flooded due to a defrosted refrigerator. The future tenant was expecting to move in only a few days later, and when her parents demanded to know when it would be fixed, an employee told them it would be fixed immediately. At that time, how ever, the University Commons was under regional management, and no one who was on the grounds had the authority to make any repairs. Complaints can be heard all across campus about the poor management at large apartment complexes in College Station. Some students com plain of having broken appliances or dirty air filters at the time of move-in and getting billed for their repair at the time of move-out. Others maintain they made numerous calls to man agement regarding weak air conditioning units in the dead of summer only to wait three days before getting it fixed. Young not only had problems with a testy smoke detector, she also noticed rats in her apartment! When she went to manage ment, they gave her glue traps to catch the rodents herself rather than hire an exterminator. When she opened her pantry door one day to find a dead rat decomposing on the trap, she called man agement to have them dispose of it. When she came back, she found they had merely put it in her trash can. Such neglectful behavior is inexcusable. Apartment complexes and realtors charge enough rent and should have the financial capability of fixing problems immediately, regardless of what the problem is. As the owners of the property, it is the landlords’ responsibility to handle property maintenance just like it is the university’s responsibility to keep the grounds looking nice and student computers working. Fees are paid for services that are added into rent, just like tuition, and substandard performance will only continue if students allow it to. Access to legal information regarding the tenant and landlord relationship is readily available in the campus library and should be taken advantage of. It is necessary for students to know their own rights and their landlord’s responsibilities when moving in or out of a new place. Property rental is a business and like any other business, most vendors want to get as much money for as little work as they can, which means tenants often get stuck with a bill that leaves them scratching their heads. Fine print is a main culprit that gets tenants in hot water. While many realtors will not make adjustments to contracts, some will comply with requests for addendums to be added that will ensure the tenant’s protection against surprise charges. Others will handwrite clauses on the lease to clarify broad stipu lations, and despite the headache that reading the fine print on leases can cause, those who do may protect themselves from an even bigger headache when move-out time comes. Christy Ruth is a senior journalism major. Arafat should reconsider appointees Terrorist organizations do not deserve cabinet posts S adly, no one expects peace in the Middle East anytime soon and by now it should be appar ent that no one person has the answer. Now, Yasser Arafat may soon make a decision that can only worsen an already troublesome situation. According to a recent report released by the Associated Press, Arafat is planning to announce a restructuring of the Palestinian Authority. Part of this restruc turing process includes a recent offer of cabinet posts to Hamas and other militant organizations. So far, Hamas is the only one that has stated they are considering the offer. It is not clear what Arafat hopes to gain by this. Many feel that by making Hamas a part of the government, it will be easier to control, reducing the threat of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis. Or perhaps Arafat is seeking to solidify support from hard-liners and extremists among the Palestinian popula tion. Whatever the reason, it is unlikely that this action will have the intended results, and it could have deadly implica tions both within and beyond the borders of the Middle East conflict. Terrorism has become a problem because disaffected groups with little or no economic or military power are trying to influence world politics through vio lence against civilians. The terror this vio lence produces is sometimes considered a viable method for advancing their inter ests. The hope is that the target, scared of more attacks, will succumb to the wishes of the terrorists. What is dangerous about admitting Hamas into the Palestinian government is that it completely legitimizes this approach. Giving it a govern ment position in an effort to curb its violence is submit ting to them and proves their methods are effective. Once terrorist organizations prove that by using violence they accomplish their goals, or at least gain political power, they then provide encour agement to other terrorists. At that point terrorism ceases to be a crime, and becomes a logical, effective and legitimate political tool. For this reason alone it is doubtful that Hamas could be controlled once it gains legitimate authority inside the govern ment. Bolstered by its success, the mem bers are more likely to continue its violent methods or become even more ferocious instead of relenting as some people hope. However, this is not a certainty and we live in a world where abstract principles must sometimes be compromised in exchange for concrete results. At least that is what we have learned from the FBI’s push for the loosening of its restric tions and the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s disregard for the rights of the thousands of Arab immi grants it had arrested or detained follow ing Sept. 11. But there are several other problems with Arafat’s proposal. The most obvious is the fact that Israel is, to put it mildly, not going to like this. Granted, the Likud party’s recent resolu tion to not support an autonomous Palestinian state was to the peace process, the political equivalent of not just a shot in the foot, but also the allowing of said foot to fester, grow gangrenous and require amputation. But Hamas contains individu als who have claimed responsibility for the death of Israeli civilians, and Israel has already stated that they view this move as a signal that the Palestinian leadership has no interest in stopping the violence. Israel may not be making things easier, but with this move, Arafat is only ensuring himself an uphill diplomatic battle. This is assuming he’ll have the authori ty to even deal with the Israelis. In 1993, when the Oslo Accords made history, the PLO, led by Arafat, recognized Israel’s right to exist. Hamas denounced the agree ments and refused to participate in the fol lowing elections. Such a lack of support for Arafat — and the very existence of Israel as a nation — undermines his authority. As legitimate members of his government they could easily destabilize him, especially if Arafat continues with his plan for holding elections in six months. If it is a member of Hamas that takes the helm, then any hope for peace will disappear. Arafat does not need to take this risk. In a recent interview Marwan Kanifani, a former associate of Arafat and current rep resentative for Gaza, said a growing num ber of people in Palestine are less con cerned with the struggle with Israel than they are about things such as education and jobs. These people are increasingly dissatisfied with the Palestinian Authority and are eager to see a restructuring, but few want to see Arafat himself leave office. If it is public support that is prompting this move on Arafat’s part, then the move is unnecessary and likely to backfire. Arafat needs to reconsider this offer. If it could guarantee a lasting peace in the Middle East then it would be worth it, but it is more likely to guarantee the lack of one. Michael Whitlow is a senior english major. MICHAEL WHITLOW
