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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Friday, February 7, 200^
Sbisa presents: meals gone mild
Renovation ofOSbisa has killed Aggie traditions
and camaraderie
A n eerie silence fills the
boundless room.
Hundreds sit at the
tables, quietly eating the mys
tery meat of the day. Two
salaried officials stand observ
ing the masses, ready to
pounce on any deviants.
Sadly, it is just another day
in Sbisa.
In years past, the word
Sbisa would conjure up images of
Sbisa balls being tossed back and
forth between friends. Hullabaloo
being pounded on the tables, and yells
of“Pick it up!" when an inexperi
enced freshman dropped his tray on
the way to his table. It was these tra
ditions and the camaraderie that were
built between students that made
Sbisa a unique dining experience
instead of just another ordinary dining
ball. Yet since Sbisa’s
renovation and sub- 41^^^
sequent reopening in
2001, there has been a con
certed and continued effort by
Department of Food Services
officials to remove such
uniqueness from the hall.
Unfortunately, Food
Services fails to realize that
much of Sbisa’s popularity is
due to the traditions and
camaraderie associated with
it. Less expensive and better
tasting food is available less
than a block away at Northgate, but
droves of students still fill Sbisa
every day because of its unique
atmosphere. Food Services needs to
understand that if it is successful in
its attempt to remove all remnants of
tradition from Sbisa, it will be left
with nothing more than a dull dining
hall, and students may choose to take
their business elsewhere.
Students used to have no qualms
about taking a brown Sbisa nap
kin, carefully folding it into a
compact Sbisa ball, and throwing it
one of their friends at a nearby
table. But the practice is now out
lawed, and Sbisa officials stand
watching and waiting to discipline any
student caught throwing one. Food
Services Director Ron Beard said he
objects to the tradition because stu
dents get carried away, causing mess-
es and other disruptive behavior.
While disruptive behavior
^^such as a food fight is question
able, the simple tossing of a Sbisa
ball at a friend does not incite a riot.
Furthermore, the effort required to
clean up the mess Sbisa balls create is
minimal, since they can be swept
away with the food and other debris
that falls from tables during the day.
Sbisa officials have also outlawed
the practice of pounding Hullabaloo, a
tradition that helps to establish and
display dorm and Aggie unity. Beard
says pounding has caused damage to
Sbisa tables. However, Food Services
officials will not even allow the
pounding of Hullabaloo on trays.
They seem opposed to the idea of
anything that deviates from
their image of a sterile and
quiet eating environment.
Food Services may have
some validity to its position in that
some patrons of Sbisa do not want
Sbisa balls flying over their heads or
Hullabaloo being pounded on nearby
tables. Yet Food Services is not open
to any sort of compromise to allow
the traditions to continue. Beard
even said that he would not be
open to the idea of having a
designated area of Sbisa where
traditions such as Sbisa balls
would be allowed.
In fact, Food Services is so
opposed to traditions in Sbisa that it
has distributed fliers to its patrons that
attempt to argue against them. The
flier contains a bulleted list defining
an Aggie in Sbisa. Apparently, Beard
and his co-workers believe themselves
more qualified than the student body
to define an Aggie. An Aggie, the flier
says, does not throw napkins and does
not bang on trays. Anyone who has
ever thrown a Sbisa ball or pounded
Hullabaloo should be offended by the
insinuation that he is not an Aggie
because of his actions.
Sbisa patrons should be further
insulted by the way Sbisa officials
treat them. One or two Food Services
officials are always watching the stu
dents as if the they were criminals,
and the officials frequently exchange
condescending glances with potential
troublemakers. A customer at any
other restaurant would take offense if
the manager stood against the wall
glaring at him during his entire meal.
Yet Food Services officials have no
problem doing this to their
customers.
A framed poster in Sbisa claims
that Food Services is building com
munity through dining together. This
couldn’t be further from the truth.
Food Services has removed a good
deal of the character, tradition and
community-building atmosphere
from its establishment, yet despite its
best efforts, some still remains.
Students should refuse to let the last
bit of uniqueness be removed from
Sbisa, and Food Services must real
ize why Sbisa is special, and begin to
treat its patrons more like customers
and less like criminals.
Nicholas Neumann is a graduate
computer science major.
WS IN BRIEF
ands mourn
^Ifast terror
seek revenge
T, Northern Ireland
A/ith a bagpipe's wail
mge in the air, more
DO Protestant extrem-
id Thursday behind the
a senior Belfast terrorist
down in an internal
t threatens to claim
s.
nor guard" of masked
eather jackets fired a
shots over the casket of
gg, 45, a commander
tlawed Ulster Defense
on, the major anti
paramilitary group
tie for hundreds of sec-
Mings over the past
ades.
ckloads of floral tributes
the hearse carrying
man of unusual brawn
:ry who won fame by
an IRA leader in 1984.
I
»ck Prairie
0 Rock Prairie
)-680-0508
Guns save lives
T he Dallas Morning News
reported late last month
that a resident in the far
north area of the city fatally shot
two men after they forced their
way into his home and attacked
him. For this quick-thinking citi
zen, the personal firearm he kept
in his home likely saved his life
and the lives of his family.
Perhaps those who persist in
assailing the constitutional rights of
American gun owners should reevaluate
their position.
The 29-year-old victim of the home
intrusion, who was unnamed in the arti
cle, was home with his wife and three
children on Jan. 23. At 9 a.m., two men
appeared at a side door and asked for
someone the man did not know. Before
he knew it, the two forcefully entered the
home and shot him in the arm. After
retrieving a firearm from his bedroom,
police said the resident shot and killed the
two intruders in an ensuing gun battle.
When lobbying for further restrictions
on Second Amendment rights, gun-con
trol advocates love to call attention to the
number of crimes committed with guns in
America. Brushing the Constitution off
like a Transportation Services parking
ticket, these groups call for more laws,
more interference with average citizens
seeking to exercise their outdated (albeit
enumerated) rights. Somehow, they con
fuse good citizens with criminals. Ignored
is the fact that, in the hands of the law-
abiding, firearms are frequently used to
prevent crimes.
An exhaustive study on the effects of
firearm ownership on crime by Professor
John R. Lott bears this fact out. In his
book. More Guns, Less Crime, Lott
examines the results seen in many states
after allowing qualified citizens to carry
concealed weapons. Lott found that, in
counties allowing concealed handguns,
the violent crime rate dropped an average
of 5.5 percent, while neighboring coun
ties not allowing concealed carry saw
murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault
and property crimes all rise. Apparently,
the criminals decided it would be in their
best interest to choose victims less likely
to be armed.
Noticing the clear trend in these areas
of the country, Lott was curious as to how
the crime rates would have been affected
bad all states adopted right-to-carry laws.
In one year alone, he estimated that 1,500
murders and 4,000 rapes would have
never taken place. While substantial on its
own, this analysis does not even begin to
tell the whole story. Lott reports that,
according to surveys, 98 percent of the
time guns are used defensively,
and the mere sight of a gun will
send an attacker running. Many
such instances are never reported
to police, distorting the true role
of firearms in self-defense.
Rather than being blamed for vio
lent crime, firearms in the hands
of average and law-abiding citi
zens should be credited with
much success in thwarting crime.
Another trend anti-gunners should take
notice of is the falling crime rate under
the Bush administration and Ashcroft’s
Justice Department. As the Wall Street
Journal reported this week, Ashcroft was
initially attacked as attorney general
because he believed Americans had a
right to own guns. After two years in
office, the violent crime rate is down
from 12 percent to 9 percent. The reason?
Ashcroft implemented Project Safe
Neighborhoods, a plan similar to those
long-advocated by the NRA and other
gun-rights groups, as well as by law
enforcement.
The plan called for more money and
officers to be directed at enforcing the
gun laws already in existence. In contrast
to the Brady waiting period, which,
according to John Lott, only put four
criminals behind bars in the four years
before it was determined to be unconsti
tutional, Project Safe Neighborhoods has
been wildly successful. The same Journal
article reveals that federal firearms prose
cutions have increased 32 percent over
Clinton administration prosecutions, with
the vast majority of convicts receiving jail
sentences of three or more years. The
Ashcroft Justice Department has treated
the right to bear arms with the respect it
deserves, simultaneously reducing the
rate of violent crime, simply by enforcing
the laws already on the books. Somehow,
this strategy had been conveniently over
looked by those hostile to gun rights.
When the Redcoats attempted to seize
colonial arms in Concord, they were met
by minutemen at Lexington Green, and
the Revolutionary War began. These early
Americans appreciated first-hand the
importance of an armed citizenry to
ensuring safety, whether it be against a
tyrant or a simple intruder. The Second
Amendment is by no accidental circum
stance or historical anomaly enumerated
in the document establishing this nation.
Even in today’s society, guns serve as an
invaluable tool for self-defense. The gun-
control lobby owes an apology to all
Americans for seeking to undermine both
their rights and their safety.
Jerad Najvar is a senior
political science major.
JERAD
NAJVAR
Blue laws antiquated
F reedom-loving Aggies must unite. The
state of Texas has restricted personal
freedoms for too long through archaic
“blue laws.” These laws are defined by
Merriam-Webster as, “one of numerous
extremely rigorous laws designed to regulate
morals and conduct.” In other words, special
interest groups have high-jacked Texas state
law to force their version of morality on
Texas citizens. These laws restrict personal
freedom, go against our free market system
and blur the line between the separation of church and
state. Frankly, they are unconstitutional.
On any given Sunday, the usual sad scene starts
something like this: Two brothers who attend an early
church service, go grocery shopping afterward at the
local HEB. The brothers like to peruse the beer sec
tion every week, especially the foreign and domestic
specialty brews when one of them happens to spot
some TsingTao (a beer from China) that looks worth
trying. They finish their shopping around 10:30 a.m.
and head for the checkout. After the first few items in
front of their six-pack of TsingTao are scanned, they
are politely informed that Texas does not allow the
sale of beer before noon on Sundays. They put the
beer aside somewhat sullenly and finish checking out.
What is the big deal you might ask? It's just beer.
Please explain the difference between purchasing beer
at 11:59 a.m. and at 12:01 p.m. on Sunday. Sunday is
not inherently different from any other day of the
week. If you go to a restaurant, you are
unable to purchase beer with your meal until
10 a.m. according to TABC code. Liquor
stores are not even allowed to be open on
Sundays. The answer, as an article by Ari
Armstrong puts it, has everything to do with
religion.
The first amendment states that Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion. Sunday is the Sabbath for a major
ity of Americans. A law prohibiting commerce
on a holy day is clearly respecting an establishment of
religion.
Equal protection of the laws is guaranteed by the
14th amendment. It is impossible to justify any busi
ness but a liquor store being able to operate on
Sunday. Someone might like to pick up a nice bottle
of wine to go with his or her Sunday dinner. These
laws benefit no one.
This is not an advocation of reckless early morning
drinking. No, this is a demand for personal freedom
guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.
Our local State Representative Fred Brown best
summed up these laws by calling them, "outdated and
poorly reflective of modern consumer practices." That
is something we can all say amen to.
Matt Cheshier is a senior
economics major.
MATT
CHESHIER
Ross Volunteers did
not harass protesters
In Ms. Walch's article, Thursday,
she wrote of an incident in which
the Ross Volunteers allegedly
harassed anti-war protesters
holding a candle-light prayer
vigil. I was there during this sup
posed incident, and I saw no
harassment taking place. Almost
every Monday night as I walk
back to my dorm after dinner, I
see the Ross Volunteers doing
their PT from the Quad to the
Academic Plaza and back.
Monday night was no different.
They ran in doing their jodie (in
lay terms, a cadence), got on one
knee and rested while their
leader gave them a speech, did
some drills with their rifles, and
then ran back to the Quad.
Throughout this regular routine I
did not witness one iota of hos
tility toward the protesters.
In the 60's, anti-war protesters
faced down National Guardsmen
and never complained. How sad
it is for the anti-war effort that
MAIL CALL
this era's protesters are so sensi
tive that they can't even be in the
presence of the Governor's honor
guard.
Kerry Chandler
Class of 2005
Crush party allowed
time for guests to
attend Silver Taps
In response to Matt Giese's Feb.
6 mailcall:
Please allow me to set the
record straight on behalf of my
organization. I would first like to
apologize to any member of the
Texas A&M community offended
by the scheduling of our crush
party on the same evening as
Silver Taps. I assure that Kappa
Kappa Gamma supports Texas
A&M and its traditions and our
event was by no means an effort
to take away from Silver Taps or
those being remembered.
We were aware that Silver
Taps and our event would be
held on the same evening. Our
risk management policies require
that we have set times that men
are allowed to enter our event.
In effort to accommodate our
members and guest wishing to
attend Silver Taps, the check-in
time was extended to midnight
allowing for attendance at both
events. It was possible to attend
both Silver Taps and the crush
party on Tuesday evening. The
party had originally been sched
uled for the week prior, but
members of both the Corps of
Cadets concerned with their
selection of Corps Block and fra
ternity leaders with recruitment
conflicts had asked to change the
date.
Our purpose was misrepresent
ed by Mr. Giese's letter, and I
regret that our event was held on
the same evening as Silver Taps,
but assure you that there was no
disrespect meant by my organiza
tion or any of its members.
Jade Fountain
President,
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Class of 2004