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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