The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 12, 2002, Image 17

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    Opinion
The Battalion
ntkrnatio
the BATT.J
-Qajdfi
spects
Four-wheeled terrors
polio^enovated park will rid campus of skateboarders
'AC HI, Pakhjjt
LoiwrmndosW, ost Texas
^aulc w«h *A/| \ ( v M
holed upmaBiV Astinlems
•dnesday, wjftfiM, h.uc Ivon on
UUI onl ° campus ha\ e
( s u^spKt ely experienced^
1 ri ’^ ^pfuiK:,ear collision with an untalented, ath
as Pakistan
ically-challenged minority that plagues
,K I hcncmr < £ s institution: skateboarders. Fret no
■! inovemefi )re jj 1c c j t y Q f Bryan is doing its part
nat ° helj rid the University of these emer-
ncy room regulars, and A&M students
ould be applauding their neighboring
y for its efforts.
Risers, indui-
nxe agentv
! when .. ...
the UKvfkxt M !' nyot ,he
.1 the roofttr avly-cemented
ion Wdo/ ;as >t cam P us
~ of tax*:: dCdlege
ion the nx**. atidn have
iicnt Nocb inslposted that
ded were r^' sco f jra 8 e skateboard-
>nditioa §• The University Police
said oneofa.^P ar,,nont ' w ho gets stuck
and one • 'tth the unenviable task of
sere Arabs, biasing those who skateboard
ics were not rf campus, can also attest to this,
were Afgfer hile someone might flirt with
e idea of throwing skaters an
federal bow on the way to class, such
m Idanutu tions are viewed as confrontation-
! the gurenr , and generally solve nothing,
hut rclca><c But contrary to popular belief, it
maiion A ac n't the class of 2(K)6 doing most of the
nen moved tui^heeled loitering, but middle and
in the . ,gh school students from Bryan and
hxki ahx oiiege Station with few other places to
cate. One local skakeboarder, John
Mu/cd .1 l^ iajasi, told The Eagle the lack of places
iiicratun’ s j ( ^ te j n ^is community “forces” him
assault nr nc j ^| s fnends to skate on the A&M cam-
: ^. ,sI ms. Clearly, something needed to be done.
ides, said i ia u .u • c. ,
In December, the issue was brought
;fore the city of College Station, which
scarded its plans for a city-sponsored
cate park after citing “liability con-
re traded * "T'U- • • 1 u .•
j , , ;rns. This is simply bureaucratic
|n ‘ r(lss .p, ording. David Schmitz, the direc-
( w im , rv , *r of Bryan parks and recreation,
|on ^ ^ -'Oked into the issue himself, only j
,i a |.Qaidj ‘ find the neccessary insurance
■ ’liters wk as;no more costly than it would
n w [, en to install a typical play-
*rces chase *ound.
ountains t> In truth, what likely
ter the collared College Station away
regime. om the idea of a skatepark
separate r^as'not liability concerns,
on WednCit the near-$2 million
security dee tag Bryan taxpayers
• Islamic niii>e Spending revamping
t planningK'alasota Drive’s Henderson
American ark, the new locale for the skate park,
m the city ' /hile less than $100,000 of this is fund-
icinhersola' „ t ] le seating area, that is still a large
of Har* im 0 f mone y to be coughed up.
• or ^ oven1f The fact that College Station vetoed
original plans for the park was good,
. . this saved a financially-burdened
'thi" niversit y fifi* °f students from having
sai ^'support skateboarding addictions. As
it on the «rs
n cos^
■apons trainin
Pakis
is* funding for the skate park that isn’t
eing covered by the city of Bryan is
e.s
captured
'ists in
irt of the
dost have
o U.S. author
ng.
k. a report
cd Al-JazeeR
ork said he 1
JiXiMoney spent on
iaikh Mohaif 1
inalshibh-' 1 ' A s some students surely J
lined they h e ?/\ noticed upon their recent
, 11 attacks®; A.arrival to the Texas A&M
being picked up by either the school dis
trict or parent-teacher organizations,
according to The Eagle. College
Station’s primary residents, students,
generally have more important things to
concern themselves with.
Perhaps this money could have been
more constructively spent, but as long as
College Station residents do not have to
foot the bill, it really doesn’t matter.
Bryan can waste its money if it so
desire’s. Besides, this frees up space in a
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
congested campus for those concerned
with getting to class, as small as that
number might be.
So maybe the days of skaters with
bloody knees and bruised egos clogging
up the lines at A.P. Beutel Health Center
are over. However, for those working at
Bryan’s St. Joseph Hospital, it’s going to
be a long year.
George Deutsch is a junior
journalism major.
PTTS gets new luxury vehicles
ney spent on new Tahoes could have been better used
A;
Kat'
tmpus, some of the beloved
COLIN ENNEN
mg m ‘'parking. Traffic, and
icsday transportation Services (PTTS)
' of Pa ^ ffieers can be seen tooling around within the friendly confines
gency anJfVf a | uxurious new suv They are a far cry from the mopeds
apartment Aj Cherokees t , have been using since I've been here,
v i n o there. ld are stirring up criticism.
tsLvere sf ^ doesn’t take much for a PTTS officer to anger a student,
he^raiding P ;Ut this complaint may be more legitimate than others. It seems
fire froir *ost of the complaints are a mixture of various grudges and
said. alousy, but this recent concern is about an unwise use of funds,
he gunfit c ' Doug Williams, associate director of PTTS, said four new
neighbor ^ hevy Tahoes were purchased this summer. Williams said there
I reinforcef’ aJ been interaction between officers and the acting director,
in. The g^obert Bisor, and the officers requested larger vehicles due to
bbed g ren ;ie “tight fit,” as Williams said, in the older vehicles,
rtment ""Apparently, Bisor felt the request had merit and justified the
the iiffihase of four vehicles some of us can only dream ol owning,
lion on , a m i n i murn cos t 0 f $34,000 per Tahoe, PITS officers
and NV nly had to collect 5,440 $25 tickets to purchase the complete
whatWhen you consider 5,440 students is only l 2 peicenl of the
vm.iv ;uden t population and probably more than 12 percent of us
official ' ave gotten tickets, many more than one, you have to ask your-
imen insid^f w hy they didn’t go all out and buy five Tahoes, or why the
wled “Therficley wasn’t spent on something more beneficial for the stu-
ih” in Ar a L ents - In fact, with the money spent on four Tahoes, the
tiles d University could have purchased around 130 new computers
:ar at
nts were
either comparable to or better than those stationed in the
Student Computing Center. Or, if you think we’ve got enough
quality computers, the school could have purchased roughly
l ,800 new desks.
In an effort to promote cultural literacy and awareness, the
University could have purchased a half-year subscription to
Time for 5,450 students. PTTS could have purchased 45 beauti
ful new Vespa scooters for its officers. Or, since our school is
all about tradition, PTTS could have stuck with the Jeep name
and bought five Grand Cherokees, with some money left over.
A cool 13,000 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts could have been
kindly purchased. About 1,100 high quality stainless steel
teaching lecterns might also have been more beneficial. After
figuring in the cost of importing them, Texas A&M could have
been the proud owner of a flock of 250 fine Peruvian alpaca
llamas, an animal raised worldwide for its valuable fur.
The point is, while most of these items seem frivolous, many
students feel giving luxurious vehicles to folks who take money
away from us is just as foolish. Instead of this wasteful spend
ing, the administration could have put that money towards our
teachers and instructors.
After all, the classroom and the resources necessary for edu
cation should take priority over the opportunity to buy PTTS
officers luxury vehicles. So the next time you see a friendly
PTTS officer driving around in one of these fine looking vehi
cles, ask yourself how much your education might be suffering
so they can give tickets comfortably.
Page 5B • Thursday, September 12, 2002
MELISSA FRIED
‘In God we
trust’ disputed
M ichael Newdow stirred
controversy earlier this
summer when he fought
the California courts in an
attempt to remove the words
“under God” from the Pledge of
Allegiance and won. For those w'ho missed it, Michael
Newdow, an atheist, argued the inclusion of the words
“under God” violated the principle of separation of church
and state. Just when it seemed his 15 minutes of fame were
over, Newdow is back.
This time, using the same argument as before, he wants the
courts to prohibit the House and Senate from employing spiri
tual chaplains.
Newdow’s argument is wrong. The chaplains that serve
the House and Senate are not there to instill their doctrine
upon members of Congress, but to offer guidance, advice,
comfort and support when needed. They work independently
of business conducted within the House and Senate cham
bers and, contrary to what Newdow wants the public to
believe, do not seek members, but are sought out by them.
Even more interesting, a recent Washington Post article
said he has also decided the words “In God We Trust” should
be removed from our money, and references to God should be
deleted from future presidential inauguration speeches. The
United States was founded to provide individuals with the
right to practice their religion freely. What Newdow proposes
would effectively limit the rights of Americans to express
their religious beliefs, an act that would go against the very
roots this nation was founded upon.
Whether one is a practicing Christian, or Christian at all,
the true heritage and history of this great country cannot be
denied. The words “In God We Trust,” printed on the back
side of our money, is not supposed to be taken to heart by
the person holding it. It is a throwback to our founding
fat! ho ivested a great deal of time and energy so
Americans could choose whether or not to put trust in God.
Newdow goes too far in his demand that any reference to
God be deleted from the speeches of future Presidents at
their inaugurations. There is a difference between preaching
and praising. When a president praises God for helping him
accomplish such an arduous and laborious feat, he speaks for
himself and only himself. In delivering a speech praising
graciousness and mercy, it reflects only the opinion of the
speaker and leaves the audience to either marvel at his
devout faith in a higher being, or to cringe at the thought that
he does not have enough faith in himself. It is difficult to
see how this is an infringement on the separation of church
and state.
The president who makes a reference to God in his inau
guration speech is not attempting to brainwash us to accept
some form or fashion of the Judeo-Christian faith. No presi
dent would dare challenge us to accept God out of fear his
popularity would drop and he would not be re-elected.
In a country that guarantees freedom of religion and pro
tects one’s right to practice, it is unfortunate we have some
one like Michael Newdow who perseveres to chip away at
the very religious liberty granted to us all.
Melissa Fried is a sophomore
international studies major.
MAIL CALL
Student visas
denied for safety
In response to Collins
Ezeanyim's Sept. 7 7 column:
Tm sure Ezeanyim intended
no disrespect with his column.
Still, I am utterly disgusted at
his selfish whining over the dif
ficulty in obtaining student
visas since Sept. 11, 2001.
It is as if Ezeanyim is com
pletely oblivious to the fact
that the majority of the hijack
ers were Saudi nationals.
Common sense dictates that
all Saudis wishing to enter the
country should face more
scrutiny. Period.
Furthermore, Ezeanyim's call
for less international student
scrutiny and "more focus on *
how illegal immigrants obtain
driver's licenses" is downright
idiotic. It should be the exact
opposite. The legislation in
California is intended to help
undocumented Mexican work
ers get some form of valid
identification for employment -
that has nothing to do with the
war on terrorism.
Ezeanyim complains, "stu
dents and scholars have been
made to look as though they
are among the most dangerous
individuals entering the United
States." The cold truth is that
they are. No one can guarantee
that the knowledge they are
amassing here, especially at the
science and engineering col
leges at A&M, will not someday
be used to wreak mass
destruction. A person with no
higher education flying a plane
into a building is one thing. A
rogue scientist constructing a
nuclear weapon is another.
Is it somewhat unfair and
arbitrary? Yes. Is it understand
able that innocent international
students are upset? Yes. Is it
necessary, though? Absolutely.
Better safe than sorry, as the
saying goes.
Twenty-three years ago, my
family first arrived in this coun
try from Taiwan thanks to a stu
dent visa. Without that visa, I
would have never gone on to
become a naturalized American
citizen and I would still be liv
ing under the foot of commu
nist China. So I fully appreciate
and understand the worth of
and Ezeanyim's desire for more
student visas. However, if peo
ple of Asian descent perpetrat
ed the hijackings and I, as a
foreigner, was denied a student
visa, I think Tm reasonable
enough to understand why.
David Lee
Class of 2001
Colin Ennen is a senior
English major.
The Battalion regrets that an opinion column regarding video
games published in Wednesday's edition had been plagiarized
from material published by another author in an online magazine.