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PETS
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ESTATE
5 townhome,
id dining. Enclose
of storage.
est interests at heart
“ Despite appearances, PTTS improves campus
p;
dmmates
imate needed
lex. $199/mo. *
1 clean 2bdrm'2r
)sets. S400/mo
W/D, NS, NP, &
arking on campus has never been
an easy task. With recent construc
tion, parking has become more of
1 nightmare. However, in spite of rising
garage prices and less commuter park
ing lots for next fall, the people at
Parking, Traffic, and Transportation
Services (PTTS) are trying their best to meet everyone’s needs at
A&M. In order to accommodate everyone, students need to better
raice their concerns and suggestions to PTTS.
A lot is happening at PTTS right now. The construction of the
oded a.s.apTS iew We§t Cam P us parking garage with an underground passage-
Koxlmateiy nooh way is progressing consistently and creates increased parking hope
,pets welcome a - for the near future. This project, with a
proposed
3609.
spring 2bdrm/1lit! budget «f
at Deal. $400/mc*^ ^
550.
nmate needed.
)use, Rock Pram*
+i/3biiis, 1st mrBservice of
5441 or (979)324-5 ■
darting 8/1, 3t*r
ills, 1-block from 3
, 2bdrm/2bth apr
is and bills, own dr
tments, 694-7868
ided, 4bdrm/2btt) !/■
ig-2003, $326/00.5:
ae, and first nxrt
tes needed. 4txl r '
t, all appliances, ‘i
fmo. +1/4 bills. 69661
needed, 4bdmV4W
Ns. 817-219-6143.
es in CS. Brand
lex. Walk-in closets
5425/mo. (includes
/ard-care) +1/3 bills
23-3839.
se in mobile borne us
all bills paid. Call 9j
361)575-6350.
eded, new 31212, sM
met, $375'mo. +1/W
3)862-2236.
JAMIE DUFF
$46,428,000
and an aver
age debt
jst moiM. ffMr 01
, dsl, security, f300spt
95/mo. MSS® ^' 693
044.
ip/ex on shuttle ff)' 1
d 764-6921.
$3,935,549
will be paid
for with park
ing revenues.
This is the
reason for
increasing
visitor park
ing by fifty
cents. The
blue lot that
was tom
down to
make room
for the garage
had 932 park
ing spaces, and
the new garage
will have a
capacity of
3,725. So,
although it
seems like a
conspiracy
against com
muter park-
ers,the new garage is actually a benefit for everyone.
According to Douglas Williams, associate director for PTTS,
^ new P r °j ect * s funded by “borrowed money.” The rise in hourly
Bss/mo^+biiis Parking prices is required as pay back for all the other garages on
campus, a debt in existence since 1988. Free night parking for
commuter students will continue on through the next year, but
Williams advocates against such privileges
In addition to undergraduate and graduate students, PTTS has
ded. 2/1 duplex$& to accommodate faculty, staff and the 12th Man Foundation. Some
buttle route, 1®*
eeded, new
;300/mo. Lindsay,'
181.
te needed 3bdrm1
bus route, $385/iw
t Julie ASAP 693!
te needed. Look*
No smoking/*'
15/mo., includes/'
sded. 3bdrm/2btbH
Ns, on bus-route.
changes are scheduled to occur for the fall semester, and some
changes have already occurred. For example, the Zachry parking
lot, the biggest commuter parking lot on main campus, was
extended last year to hold more cars. Also, this summer PTTS
made the first row of parking in the Zachry lot a reserved row in
order to accommodate the construction on Spence Street, result
ing in the inaccessibility of yellow lots PA57 and PA29. However,
PTTS says that this should be corrected by the time school starts
next fall. In addition, another blue lot is scheduled to open next to
PA69 by the tennis courts behind Kyle Field, but at the same time,
PA64, a blue lot on West campus next to Wellborn will be
switched to a yellow lot.
“It is for the betterment of the commuters who are unsafely
crossing Wellborn,” said Debbie Hoffmann, a customer services
representative for PTTS. PTTS has also planned for security cam
eras to be operating in the Zachry lot this fall, a service paid for
with parking garage revenues.
Changes to yellow
lots are also scheduled to
occur. To
accommodate
the 12th Man
^ Foundation, PA74
is to become a
12th Man lot
this fall. This
means all cars
will need to
evacuate the
lot by 5:30
p.m. on Friday
of game week
ends. However,
two rows in
this lot can be
used for park
ing until 6 a.m.
on Saturdays.
These new
changes bene
fit both com
muters and
yellow parking
members.
PTTS says
they are trying
to create minimal impact on the students because they are sensi
tive to their needs. Unfortunately, PTTS can only know what stu
dents’ needs are if students tell them. Compromise is the key to
making everyone happy and even though it feels like students are
getting the poor end of the deal, the people at PTTS are sincerely
working hard at trying to please everyone.
LUKE CARNEAVALE • THE BATTALION
Jamie Duff is a senior
English major.
Pop culture invades politics
eeded. House,:
$325/mo. lMbi»
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www.showvizT
e needed,
ng distance to <
tVICES
,NTED
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3all 776-2378-
(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas - Last week
Janet Reno humorously used the infamous
Saturday Night Live" sketch based on her
time as U.S. attorney general as the theme of
a youth-oriented fund-raiser in Florida.
Reno and her campaign team were politi
cally astute in marketing such a unique
opportunity. Perhaps they were worried that
if humor weren't incorporated into the Reno
image, she would suffer the negative fate of
Presidents Ford and Bush Sr., who both were
ridiculed for their personal characteristics on
SNL.
The "Janet Reno's dance party"-themed
fund-raiser proves two things: that the popu
lar media trumps all other aspects of
American life in importance and that whoev
er capitalizes on it first will get the attention
°f young Americans.
The sad truth is that many young people
are more familiar with Will Ferrell's impres
sion of Reno than with what she did as attor
ney general, or even the responsibilities of
the attorney general.
Politics have become a distant presence
in the lives of young Americans. Politicians
reinforce this divide by believing that the
Political process in America is somehow
above popular culture, despite the fact that
the political process is shamelessly driven by
Media images and demographic studies.
Since voting statistics are often used to
gauge public involvement, it is obvious that
Many Americans, especially young people,
uo not care about elections enough to vote.
According to the New Millennium Young
Voters Project, conducted by the National
Association of Secretaries of State, fewer
than one in five voters ages 18 to 24 chose to
vote in 1998.
The attention that is given to low voter
turnout is strikingly similar to the demo
graphic studies used by the media when
marketing products. Political teams spend
enormous amounts of time and energy in
creating the "right" image for a candidate.
Reno is simply capitalizing on an oppor
tunity to show that not only can she take
SNL humor, but she can also use it to her
advantage. Think of it as creating a hip new
image by using a potentially negative carica
ture as a marketable image for young voters.
The cunent state of politics could be con
sidered more humorous than elected officials
want to admit. The same elected officials
who claim to only care about the people they
represent spend more time raising funds
from donors than speaking to constituents.
Reno should be given credit for at least
involving the young and less wealthy in a
political fund-raiser. Political campaigns are
largely out of the control of the American
people, and the youth of America already
know it.
It is not fair to accuse young Americans
of not being patriotic or serious enough to
care about voting. Not only are young peo
ple sent the message that important political
issues do not concern us, but also, politicians
can be notoriously vague and unapproach
able for young adults.
A majority of 18- to 24-year-old college
students don't have to worry about many of
the major issues that elected officials focus
on, such as family policy, mortgages, taxes
and Social Security. Politicians seem to
lament the low voter turnout of young
Americans, but Reno is one of the first can
didates to actually use an image, even if it is
trivial, that most young people can relate to.
Reno's dance party may seem insignifi
cant, but the reasons behind her strategy are
crucial. She is trying to reach young audi
ences through images they are already famil
iar with. As a single candidate for office,
Reno cannot change American culture and
its appetite for humor and entertainment, but
she at least makes herself approachable by
embracing a humorous aspect of popular
culture.
Reno may have started a new trend
toward embracing the truth that the popular
TV shows like "Saturday Night Live" are
what Americans know best. Bring on the
dance parties. Whatever it takes to get young
Americans to see politics as an approachable
entity.
This does not mean that political office
should be reduced to levels of complete
mediocrity, but considering the fact that
image is already everything in politics, we
could use some entertainment. Like it or not,
entertainment is what Americans relate to.
Sarah Gustavus is a columnist
for the Daily Texan.
Page 7 • Thursday, July 25, 2002
Unjust trials
hurt system
D espite its effort to be
consistent and fair, the
American justice sys
tem is failing to be either in
the wake of the trials of
accused terror
ists John Walker
Lindh and
Zacharias
Moussaoui.
Both defen
dants led the
courts through contradictory
testimony about their involve
ment in terrorist activity and
their knowledge of al-Qaeda’s
plans for further attacks on the
United States. The govern
ment negotiated with
California native Lindh, and
Judge Leonie M. Brinkema
allowed foreigner Moussaoui
to rant for 50 minutes in court
about the evils of America. All
the while, according to Time
magazine, two Americans,
Yasser Esam Hamdi and Jose
Padilla — also accused of ter
rorist activity — wasted away
in military brigs in South
Carolina and Virgina with no
access to lawyers.
Critics call this an overly
broad assertion of presidential
authority. While President
George W. Bush kept Padilla
and Hamdi detained under mil
itary authority, he allowed
Lindh and Moussaoui to have
attorneys. Moussaoui even
denounced his court-appointed
lawyer, contending he was
being tricked and manipulated
by the American justice system.
Now, Judge Brinkema is ques
tioning Moussaoui’s sanity.
After initially declaring his
desire to represent himself,
Moussaoui proceeded to call
for the destruction of America
and proclaimed his intentions
to fight America and its sys
tem. This same system he
denounced allowed him to
stand up and rant for 50 min
utes without being held in
contempt of court. In some
courts, a defendant merely has
to wear the wrong clothes in
order to be held in contempt
by the judge.
Moussaoui has now pleaded
guilty after months of denying
any involvement, and he says he
has information to offer the
government about al- Qaeda
plans. This claim seems
unfounded considering he has
been incarcerated for 11 months
and has had no contact with his
former terrorist colleagues.
While the government does not
yet seem to be interested in work
ing out a deal with Moussaoui,
Carie Lemack, president of the
Families’ Organization is con
cerned with the message being
sent.
CHRISTY RUTH
“If there was information
that was critical to saving
other Americans’ lives that is
one thing,” Lemack said. “If
he doesn’t, it is not acceptable
to be negotiating
with a man who
is guilty of help
ing to murder
3,000 people.”
In
Moussaoui’s
case, the ques
tion is not of sanity. The
American justice system is
complicated — especially for
someone who is unfamiliar
with it — and Moussaoui is
just plain ignorant of how it
works. There is nothing com
plicated about it, and insanity
is not even an issue.
Moussaoui is making a
mockery of the system. As
Brinkema said, “You can’t
plead guilty and then say ‘But
I didn’t do this and I didn’t do
that and somebody else did
that.’”
It is a travesty that this sort
of behavior is even tolerated
while other Americans cannot
even get a trial or see a
lawyer.
Lindh and his family also
treat the American public like
ignorants, decrying to the
media that Lindh loves
America and is not a terrorist.
Both Bush and former
President Bill Clinton consid
ered the Taliban a terrorist
organization, and Lindh
admitted in his plea bargain to
joining and fighting for the
Taliban while in Pakistan.
With these facts in mind, it is
difficult to make a believable
case claiming Lindh was not
involved in terrorist activity.
In his interviews with U.S.
officials, Lindh acknowledged
he went to Pakistan to join the
Taliban and contribute to the
Islamic cause. He also con
fessed his desire to takes part
in a jihad, admitted to training
at Osama Bin Laden’s military
camp and said he was aware
that some of his colleagues
were being recruited for ter
rorist activities in America and
elsewhere.
While the prosecution seems
pleased with the results of the
deal that protects Lindh from a
life sentence, much of the
American public is confused
about the Bush administrations
change in attitude toward Lindh.
Unfortunately, Americans must
watch powerlessly as their gov
ernment makes legal conces
sions for terrorists and chips
away at their rights and privacy.
Christy Ruth is a senior
journalism major.
YOWE.'OUTRfcGED ?B9T
WEREvlT YOU THE pRWER
Of THE CM??.?
: T i & W-
Only improved ethics and faith can correct the economy
(U-WIRE) HOUSTON -
fortunately for most Americans, the
Mcent struggle of our economy could
ave been avoided.
h has been quite a fall from the top
0r the Dow Jones, and the promises
0 the new economy offered almost
More than anyone could have imag-
Med. However, because of greed and
ls nonest business practices, what
Co ttld have been was left at just that.
America was on top for so long
that many people simply forgot what it
was like not to have everything work
ing in our favor. When times are good,
things are taken for granted, but it is
unlikely anyone from Enron,
WorldCom orArthur Anderson will
take a burgeoning economy for grant
ed again.
The fact of the matter is that even
though most of America contributed to
a great economy, it was just a small
few that brought it down.
Bad management, bad money han
dling and corruption — all of it points
to the fact that even in our moment of
greatest achievement, all anyone in
power ever had in mind was them
selves.
When America was still working
to get to the top, our differences were
not so petty. Frivolous lawsuits were
maybe one in 10, now they are a dime
a dozen.
There is no tolerance, no morality
and courage is in short supply.
America can not let things continue
this way. Immoral, unjust, or just plain
bad business practices that have come
to the end of their short run benefits
can not be all we have left.
It took more than the few that
brought us down to put us at the top,
and until we can have faith in each
other again, America’s economy will
not recover.
We are not so far from the top that
we can not recover, but we need the
moral courage to do wha is necessary.
No more selfishness, blame-shifting or
petty bickering. If we can not trust
each other and cannot be a moral peo
ple, then this could be the beginning
of the end.
Richard W. Whitrock is a columnist
for the Daily Cougar.
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