The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 16, 2002, Image 9

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GEORGE DEUl’SCH
Local police
should focus
on real crime
S ome recent Battalion head
lines read like a violent work
of fiction, most notably:
'‘Student kidnapped at gunpoint
and robbed” and "Police reports
indicate rise in car break-ins.” But
amid these car burglaries and student kidnappings, the
University and College Station Police Departgaents appear to
prefer focusing their efforts on asinine things such as The Noise
Abatement and Alcohol Task Force, which is in its third year.
The harsh reality for students is that until these police
forces collectively choose to address these serious crimes
and stop harassing those they are paid to protect, this cam
pus and College Station will never achieve its maximum
level of security.
According to an Oct. 9 Battalion article, car break-ins in
College Station have increased 26 percent from last year. One
particular theft victim had more than $3,000 worth of merchan
dise stolen from his vehicle. In a city with two separate police
departments, this is unacceptable.
Last year saw an increase ———
in the nearly 1.500 citations
issued by the task force, most
ly given to domi and apart
ment-dwelling A&M students.
As the police departments
focus their attention on stu
dents and petty noise viola
tions, crime throughout
College Station escalates.
This, too, is grossly unaccept
able, and it is time A&M’s
student body held its law
enforcement agencies
accountable.
The area police departments occasionally make their pres
ence felt on campus, only not in a helpful or productive way.
TheUPD, CSPD and Bryan Police Department recently
teamed together to work security for Midnight Yell Practice.
But instead of merely standing aside and ensuring things went
smoothly, they took it upon themselves to needlessly check
every bag, purse and backpack that entered Kyle Field without
having received any actual threat. Many students missed
Midnight Yell entirely, and there were likely crimes being com
mitted in the B-CS area with much of the three major police
agencies concentrated at Kyle Field.
To make matters worse, these police departments misman
age their resources. Take, for example, the CSPD’s unmarked
patrol cars and plain clothes officers. From Thursday to
Saturday nights on the weekends of home football games, they
can be found making their way from party to party issuing
citations. As Bob Wiatt, UPD director of security, smugly told
The Battalion, “We are sneaky like that.” While noise might be
aproblem to some, to most it is trivial and Wiatt’s efforts at
being “sneaky” would be better spent trying to apprehend those
that pose a legitimate threat to others instead of those with
active social lives.
Unfortunately, the disregard for real police work and the
alter indifference shown to students is evident from even the top
Positions of UPD. In a now-infamous quote, Wiatt said earlier
is year, “when kids get in apartments, they go crazy, and other
residents don't like the drunk screaming.” With that one com
ment, Wiatt has reduced every A&M student to a child and a
drunkard, and every student, in turn, should take this as a slap
■ n the face. Student fees and state money should not go toward
ftmding this garbage.
, The life of college students is hard enough without being
resulted by the very officers paid to protect and serve them. B-
police agencies should assess their worth to the A&M com-
reumty and find ways to overcome their faults and turn their
°cus toward legitimate criminal activity. If they choose not to,
crime will continue to increase, and student respect and support
°rtne police, in turn, will not.
George Deutsch is a senior
journalism major.
Wiatt has
reduced every
student to a child
and a drunkard y and
every studenty in
turn, should take
this as a slap in the
face.
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Vision 2020 not to blame
University rankings will inevitably rise and fall
MARIANO CASTILLO
L ast month, when the overly-cov
eted U.S. News & World Report
rankings lowered Texas A&M’s
standings in several categories - knock
ing the University from the top tier —
many students jumped ,at the chance to
denounce Vision 2020 as a failure.
Those who are inexplicably satisfied
with the idea that the tenets A&M has
used in the past are necessary for future
success feel vindicated at the news. The set
back in rankings, the argument goes, is evi
dence that Vision 2020 has failed to do any
thing but increase fees. Furthermore, accord
ing to this view. Vision 2020 is responsi
ble for fostering an atmosphere that is
killing Aggie traditions, causing racial divides
on campus and destroying the conservative
aura of the University.
If it seems hard to believe that the leaders
of this tradition-rich university would
erase the foundations of the school and
engage in discriminatory practices, that’s
because it is not true. It is absurd to believe
Vision 2020 is a conspiracy to destroy A&M’s ..
history.
To the contrary. Vision 2020 is the third long-term vision
undertaken by the school, with the goal of preserving
A&M’s uniqueness while keeping pace in an ever-changing
and competitive world. Aggie traditions, unity among stu
dents and political atmosphere are debatable issues in them
selves, but in the end are in the hands of students. They
always have been and always will be.
A drop in rankings - whether it is in the AP Top 25 poll or
U.S. News & World Report — is frustrating. The blame game,
however, is severe when applied to Vision 2020 because it has
created a growing number of myths and misconceptions. More
troubling is that these misconceptions are being accepted by students and propagated by
certain groups on campus. The most damaging myths being circulated around campus
regard the diversity imperative outlined in Vision 2020.
The obviously confused staff at The Examiner, for instance, featured an article written
a defensive tone titled, “Whites aren’t diverse?” which boldly asserts that “Vision 2020 and
the diversity issue it created are robbing our school’s distinctions of the attention they so
duly deserve.”
Had the editors perfonned minimal fact checking, they would have discovered that
Vision 2020 did not “create” a diversity issue. Debate regarding the make-up of the cam
pus population dates back to at least 1963, when women were admitted to A&M on a
limited basis. And how diversity is linked to “robbing” the University’s distinction is
anyone’s guess.
Many students on campus are mistakenly drawing lines and inventing injustices
where there aren’t any. Vision 2020 has been demonized because it is apparently
“the epitome of racism,” as one Battalion reader wrote.
Quotas and the admission of under-qualified minority students is wrong. But
this is not happening, nor is it a goal of Vision 2020.
The administration is making a commendable push to reach out to minor
ity students, but that is not affirmative action. In the same way, it is mind-
boggling that some students are opposed to opening up a recruitment center
to attract qualified students to A&M because it was built in a subdivision
with a high minority population. What do these critics suggest — opening
up recruitment centers in predominantly white areas? Let the
University’s needs dictate where the centers open.
By drawing sides along racial lines and falling prey to the “us versus
them” mentality, campus unity is pushed further and further away. It is
worrisome that some students believe pro-diversity equals anti-white.
As A&M heads toward Vision 2020, the rankings from various
sources will no doubt have ups and downs. However, there is no
need to fuel the frustration of dropping in rank by scapegoating
Vision 2020, which is ultimately about intellectual pursuit at
A&M.
Supporting a plan to move A&M forward is something
everyone can get behind, regardless of political or personal
beliefs. One can be anti-affirmative action, pro-Bonfire and
hate Ray Bowen and still support Vision 2020.
Mariano Castillo is a senior journalism
and international studies major.
ALIGN
MAIL CALL
Divestment campaign a
step in the right direction
In response to Collins Ezeanyim's Oct. 15
column:
From the French revolution to the devel
opment of on-campus public interest
research groups, student involvement in
social and political affairs has been of
paramount significance.
Student activist groups stood up to the
governments to resist racism, fascism, to
stop wars and the use of nuclear technol
ogy and colonialism. The Israel divest
ment campaign is no different.
Calling the students involved anti-
Semites is shameful! That’s a cop-out and
an easy way for you to look the other way.
I marched in Washington hand in hand
with Palestinians and Jews alike, hoping
that our government might actually do
something about the criminal, murderous
occupation of Palestine.
As for the divestment campaign itself,
some of the same listed corporations and
many of today's largest are also responsi
ble and were awarded by the Third Reich
for their invaluable efforts during WWM.
Some of these include G.E., Ford Motor
Company and Chase Bank. The State of
Israel uses U.S. aid to purchase the latest
technology in guns, airplanes with
bombs, tanks and Caterpillar machinery
to enforce their occupation, curfews and
settlements.
I do not condone any act of terrorism.
However, the state-sponsored coloniza
tion of Palestine must not be tolerated.
The whole point of a University education
is not only be given the facts, but to act
upon them. This campaign, like the anti
apartheid campaign, is a step in the right
direction.
Chris Young
Class of 2004
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor.
Letters must be 200 words or less 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 submitted 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 77843-1 111.
Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com.
Attachments are not accepted.