NATION
THE BATTALION
examine
losion
’s discarded theories bad
table is “a combination
,ng thorough and being
indent,” said NASA's
Nesbitt, who is tern-
ly serving as the board
.man.
: 10-member board -
o gain a new member or
- is being scrutinized for
of independence because
chosen by NASA.
“The board
wants to make sure
j every base is cov
ered,” Nesbitt said
’ Wednesday.
/ “They’re not going
to take NASA’s
'g word that every
thing is OK in a par
ticular area.”
After first con-
,bjt sidering damage to
. Columbia’s hear-
ard . ,
protecting tiles by
ian the foam insulation
falling off the fuel
jring launch, shuttle pro-
manager Ron Dittemore
uled it out: “It just does
ke sense to us that a piece
>ris would be the root
for the loss of Columbia
; crew,” said Dittemore.
:’s got to be another rea
le later softened that. Bui
ith the board members in
, the foam appears to bea
focus.
Opinion
The Battalion
governor of the state ol
>ught to at least have the
to prevent a person from
executed when he or she
s it is prudent," Ellis said,
lust be sure that when
executes someone it is
e that person is guilty and
to be executed."
raid the legislation would
1 fundamental reiomm-
to restore confidence//r
as criminal justice system.
PROBLEM
j not add mandatory gratuity fi
sh<> ul ^7* A/[
ee
g there.
ur
needs.
aybe it’s old
fashioned, but
a tip is some
thing that should be
earned, not simply
received. Ray Brown,
general manager of a
Baltimore, Md.
Bennigan’s, disagrees.
At this particular fran
chise, a 15 percent tip
is added to every check
after 9 p.m., regardless of
the party’s size and the
quality of service, accord
ing to a Washington Post
column. This practice under
mines the work ethic of a
waiter, while at the same
time, obligates the diner to
reward a restaurant and its staff
even when such recognition is not
deserved.
Dining out should be
a pleasurable experi
ence. Customers expect
waiters to write
down orders cor
rectly, refill drinks
when they are get
ting low and fill any
special requests peo
ple might have. Such
expectations should
not be considered too
high since these are the
very basic roles of a
waiter.
Forcing diners to
leave a tip is a green
light for waiters to no longer have to
be attentive to their customers,
because they will still be compensated
for a job done poorly. It suddenly does
not matter if it takes twice as long for
food to be brought out, or if one must
ask three times to have a drink
refilled, because the wait staff knows
that a 15 percent gratuity will auto
matically be factored into their cus
tomer’s check. Brown said he believes
the mandatory tip is a good idea for
restaurants whose staff is “not getting
compensated for its work.” Gee Mr.
Brown, could that be a reflection of
something?
The second foolish thing about this
mandatory tip policy is that it goes
u
Forcing diners
to leave a tip
is a green light for
waiters to no longer
have to be attentive
to their customers,
because they will
still be compensated
for a job done
poorly.
into effect after 9
p.m. Families have
come and gone by
this time, and what
you have at the bar
and scattered
throughout the
restaurant are
drinkers. True, there
are a few people
who come in for a
late bite, but mostly you have
drinkers. And drinkers like to run up a
tab and, paraphrasing Levey from his
column, it usually runs generosity in
the same direction. No mandatory tip
and the wait staff will make sure your
beer is in front of you in no time. A
mandatory tip means they will get to
you when they get to you, and you
still have to reward your server. Of
course, at this point, you also have the
option to leave.
And really, when you
think about it, tipping
has become such an
involuntary-voluntary
action these days that
many people leave the
obligatory 15 percent
tip just to keep from
being remembered as
the “jerk who doesn’t
tip.” Call it America’s
neuroticism - people do
not like to feel guilty
about being served so
they leave a little some
thing behind to say
thanks.
So if this is a problem, there has to
be an answer.
Maybe if American restaurant asso
ciations would not lobby to continue
underpaying their employees, tips
would not be sought as often as they
are. Tipped employees do not get paid
the normal minimum wage. In fact,
the federal minimum for tipped
employees is $2.13 per hour —
assuming that tips will make up the
difference in salary.
To tip, or not to tip, that is the
diner’s question. Except in Baltimore.
Melissa Fried is a sophomore
international studies major.
Graphic by Leigh Richardson.
• Halls
new
MAIL CALL
Legislation clarified
I would like to take a moment to clarify
the legislation proposed in the Student
Senate on tuition deregulation so that it
may be clear for all readers. The legislation
is opposed to a tuition deregulation plan
that would give unfettered discretion to the
Board of Regents to set the rate of tuition.
The legislation argues that the Texas
Legislature must be true to its role of estab
lishing an affordable price for higher educa
tion, and at the very least, it must maintain
some restraint upon increasing the cost of
tuition. The legislation supports granting the
Board of Regents greater control over
money the University receives from the state
so that it can be more efficiently managed,
thus keeping the cost to students down.
The legislation is desperately trying to
keep the cost to the students as low as pos
sible, and if the State would simply fund the
University's appropriations request, there
would be no need for this complicated
debate. In this case, the Battalion Editorial
Board does not take into account the vari
ous forms of deregulation and their different
impacts on students. Instead, they share the
same position as the SGA of the University
of Texas in roundly and irresponsibly con
demning all forms of tuition deregulation.
There is little doubt such uninformed com
ments would be immediately discarded by
the State Legislature leaving the students of
Texas A&M without the benefit of student
input in the State Capitol on this important
issue. This legislation does not blindly follow
the University of Texas and The Battalion in
making such a mistake.
Kevin Capps
Class of 2004
Student athletes privileged
Potential headline change for the Feb. 18
top story: from "Slocum pleads no contest
to misdemeanors" to "Sports Stars 1, Legal
System 0: Fame affects court decision once
J gain."
Justin Decker
Class of 2005
Testing not standardized
T here is a new trend appearing on
America's standardized tests.
Testing organizations are removing
traditional multiple choice sections and
replacing them with writing sections.
The GRE, a test that prospective gradu
ate students take, added a writing section
this October to replace its “Analytical”
section. The grandaddy of standardized
tests, the SAT, is adding a writing section
beginning in 2005.
Adding a writing section is merely the begin
ning of the process of coming up with non-tra-
ditional measurements of aptitude for a number
of testing organizations, a trend many don’t
want to see.
Certainly, things such as artistic ability, cre
ativity, and writing skills are important. However,
testing organizations are kidding themselves if
they think they are going to be able to measure
any of these skills in a “standardized” way.
The first problem with adding a writing sec
tion is that it will be scored. This simple principle
is at odds with the essence of writing. It is impos
sible to put a universally accepted score on writ
ing. At its core, writing is communication and
depends on both a writer and a reader.
Each GRE essay will have two readers. They
will assign a score between zero and six, and if
there is a discrepancy greater than one point, a
third reader will “arbitrate” the scoring dispute.
With hundreds of thousands potentially taking the
GRE every year, and two essay questions in the
writing section, more than a million essay read
ings will be required each year. If you think that
this article is boring, imagine having to read a
million just like it. Obviously, this will require a
large group of graders decreasing the likelihood
of uniformity in the grading process. Getting
such a large group of graders together will be a
hard task logistically. Testing organizations have
put in a lot of work getting the system ready, but
it is still a large undertaking.The magnitude of the
task could very well detract from the quality of
the grading.
Students will have the option of writing or typ
ing their essays. The standardized testing environ
ment can be stressful for some, and many stu
dents will be rushing to get their thoughts down.
TIM
SCHNIEDWIND
Many have handwriting that is barely leg
ible in perfect conditions, much less
when produced by sweaty hands holding
a number 2 pencil. The graders will be
human, and things such as handwriting
will undoubtedly influence them. If
essays are typed, then this will disadvan
tage those who are not used to working
with computers. In either case, the
method of inputting the essay will affect
the final grade, and that is unfortunate.
The list of potential topics that a student could
receive on the GRE is lengthy, and the topics are
wide-ranging. Almost anyone could find some
questions that he could write passionately about,
while at the same time, he might pick out ques
tions where even a paragraph would be outside
the range of interest and expertise.
Unfortunately for students, they will have only
two options to choose from. Already there have
been complaints that the reading material on
some tests may be of greater interest to some
groups than others. Interest in a topic is even
more important when writing, so the topics them
selves will introduce randomness to the test.
The topics would make for interesting discus
sion in an English class. However, they are broad,
vague topics. This means that there is almost no
framework for a student to work with. Students
will be forced to abandon conciseness and
attempt to demonstrate to GRE graders their mas
tery of vague, analytical writing skills. Open-
ended topics may mean too many possible “right”
answers for anything to be incorrect.
One must feel sorry for the generation of stu
dents that will be judged by this random and arbi
trary process masquerading as a standardized
form of measuring writing ability. As society con
tinues to place more emphasis on higher educa
tion, this is not the time to take a step back in
evaluating prospective students. Say what you
want about multiple-choice questions, but at least
there is a relatively clear idea of correct and incor
rect. The admissions process is always going to
be largely arbitrary, but standardized tests do not
have to be. Leave the grading in the hands of the
machines.
JOHN DAVID
BIAKI.EY
Page 5B • Thursday, February 20, 2003
Killing the
death penalty
I n the early months of 1994, as
Robert Nelson Drew resided in
Death Row after being convicted
of capital murder, a man came for
ward and signed an affidavit in which
he confessed to the murder for which
Drew was scheduled to be executed.
The state of Texas, however, refused
Drew a new hearing and on Aug. 2,
1994, the 30-year-old man was exe
cuted by lethal injection. This is just
one of too many unforgivable flaws of administering the
death penalty.
When the life of a human being is cut short, not by
disease, old age, or accident, but done so deliberately
and when otherwise the life would continue, it is mur
der. Whether such an action is sanctioned by the govern
ment and is executed with the greatest possible consider
ation does not change the fact that it is murder.
According to the St. Anthony Messenger, Pope John
Paul II has asked America and its states to “end the
death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.” The
pope said, “modern society has the means of protecting
itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance
to reform.” After all, reform and rehabilitation are the
purposes and goals of the prison system, not revenge.
No government can place a value on a person’s life,
soul, or ability to reform, no matter what experiences or
crimes are in that person’s past.
Even if done in the most humane way, murder under
any circumstance is cruel and barbaric. If it was not
endorsed by the state, would strapping a human being
into a gurney and counting down the seconds until
injecting sodium pentathol, pancuronium bromide and
potassium chloride into his veins be considered
humane or anything but cruel? The American people
must not forget the Eighth Amendment and must inter
pret it in as modern a fashion as possible. More impor
tantly, they must not forget the Sixth Commandment
and the creeds of all worldwide religions which con
demn murder, in any form, either by an individual or
by a group such as a state.
Maintaining the prison system is a significant tax bur
den for citizens of all states, and Texas is no exception.
It is a common belief that executing prisoners costs less
than incarcerating them. However, according to the
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, various
state governments estimate that a single death penalty
case, from the point of arrest to execution, ranges from
$1 million to $3 million, while cases resulting in life
imprisonment average around $500,000 each, including
the cost of incarceration.
The death penalty has failed to deter crime in
America. According to the National Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty, governments that have
enacted the death penalty still have higher murder rates
than governments that do not. In addition, 67 percent of
all law enforcement officers feel that capital punishment
does not decrease the rate of homicides. It makes no
sense to have a policy that is not only barbaric, but does
not even work.
Capital punishment also produces trends that are
nothing short of appalling in a modern society.
According to the Cornell Law School’s Web site, the
Supreme Court has ruled that the execution of children
as young as 16 is not cruel or unusual, and has been
silent about the execution of children under 16. Since
1975, more than 160 children have been put to death in
the United States. The imposition of the death penalty
has also been proven to be racially biased. Despite the
fact that non-whites make up more than half of all homi
cide victims, more than 80 percent of persons executed
were convicted of killing whites. These are trends the
U.S. government cannot continue to support and at the
same time call other countries brutal and malicious.
A prevalent explanation given by people who support
the death penalty is that one must consider how he
would feel if a loved one was murdered — if a loved
one’s life was taken without reason by another human
being. However, no one close to a murder victim, in all
their anger and grief, can be considered a rational judge
of how punishment should be dealt. Of course mothers
and fathers, husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters
will want an immediate resolution and closure to such a
traumatic experience, but one death can never erase
another. Rev. Carroll Pickett, who is the retired death
house chaplain for the Huntsville Prison Unit, and spoke
at Texas A&M last semester on the fallacies of the death
penalty, stressed that another death can do nothing but
create another family of victims. It only guarantees that
more parents, siblings, spouses and children will forever
be unable to see their loved one alive again.
So why do Texas juries continue to opt for a penalty
that is cruel and biased, results in higher costs than the
alternative, falls short of having an effect and that is
deemed uncivilized by much of Europe? Because the
state does not provide another penalty which guarantees
criminals of capital crimes will never be able to commit
another offense. Currently, there is no punishment for
capital murder in Texas that sends murderers to prison
without the opportunity to receive parole. This unfairly
leaves jurors with an altogether unpleasant decision: End
a stranger’s life or give life to the possibility that 30 or
40 years from now, this criminal may murder another
innocent victim. A third party should not have to live
with either of these decisions on his conscience.
Texas must give juries the option of sentencing capi
tal murderers to life in prison with no chance of parole.
It is the only way to assure every citizen that his neigh
borhood will be safe, and at the same time end an out
dated practice that should no longer have a place in the
modern world.
Tim Schniedwind is a graduate
environmental engineering major.
John David Blakley is a freshman
political science major.