SPOfi|
THE BATTAll
Opinion
:gional competing first.
“Right now we are ii
osition, and we determine,
wn destiny,” Helme s
e play good golf, we
s fine.”
Nearly one-third of
ation’s top 20 teams v
tendance, including
niversity of Nevada-Las Vsj
he Morris Wife
itercollegiate is also exp®
:veral of the NCAA’s topi
dual golfers.
The No. 2 UNLV
icled largely by the otitstani
ay of sophomore Ryan Mon
ho is currently ranked
e top 10 collegiate golfersiii
mntry by Golfweek/Sa®
mfomiance Index,
eraging less than 70 strol;ei|i
und this year.
A quartet of 2002 PINGS
mericans will also beci
ting in Austin,
esno State’s star seniotS
atney, Oklahoma Stateje;
unter Mahan, Georgia 1
nior Troy Mattesonand'
nior Adam Rubinson.
ur are ranked among the
i by Golfweek/Saraginak;
ie Moore.
The two-day Morris Wife
:ercollegiate tournament te
lay on the men’s char
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BRIEF
uestrian tourney
eredith Houx won
mpions on Saturday.
? nation's top riders, scotef
ompetition in Canyon,
n a tie for ninth place Ik
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is over weekend
rd and junior Adam Motjit
tctively in the three-mete
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rd.
The Battalion
Page 9 • Monday, March 17, 2003
Eliminating voter apathy
As campaign week begins, students should not neglect voting responsibilities
I t has begun. Even reading this news
paper, you have already been hit with
it. Campaign week is here and stu
dents are being mauled by smiling cam
paigners passing out flyers, candy and
platform cards. There are shirts and
sandwich boards all over campus and
Bryan-College Station touting candi
dates' names and slogans, attempting to
catch eyes and win votes.
Let's all pay attention this year.
In the student body elections last year, voter
turnout was 9,479, down from the previous
year's 10,307 votes, according to an April 1,
2002 article in The Battalion. This is a dismal
number, considering Texas A&M enrollment
constantly sits higher than 40,000. This year's
official 12th class day tabulations, according to
the Feb. 4 Battalion, set A&M's official enroll
ment at 42,184. Considering this figure, less
lhan 24 percent of the student body votes in
the largest, most important campus election of
the year.
Sadly, the 6,116 votes cast in the fee referen
dum that took place on Feb. 26 and 27 were a
record high for that type of ballot.
Astonishingly, only 7 percent of the total
enrollment of this campus casting a vote is con
sidered a record.
This voter turnout shows a compelling lack
of concern on behalf of the A&M student body
in the political process as it pertains to this
campus. In a student body election, most candi
dates have Web sites, representatives to speak
with, or the candidates will make time to speak
with students. The voting process is relatively
accessible and easy to take part in. Campus
elections are important for the functioning of a
university, but only if the students take them
seriously.
This year’s fee referendum turnout shows
it the tide is turning and more, though not
enough, students are paying attention to events
around them. Students have an obligation to
educate themselves and to take note of
the candidates they feel will serve and
provide leadership
in the upcoming
year. aJ
The March
6 Battalion quoted
A&M President
Robert M. Gates as
saying student fees
will not be increased because
he said he feels student inter
est was represented by negative
votes in the fee referendum.
Someone is listening, and when
students take part in the voting
process, it does matter.
A&M students should take a stand
when voting in the student body presi
dent, yell leader student senate
and class officer elections.
By seriously considering
candidates, holding them to
their platforms and question
ing them on issues they will
face in the next year, candi
dates too are held to a high
er standard. It should not be
easy to win an election on a
campus as large as A&M's, but if a
candidate only needs about 8 per
cent of the votes to achieve a
majority, the task is not as daunt
ing as it could be.
More than 10,000 students must
vote in this election for it to be
truly representative of the stu
dent body. The process is easy
and takes only a few seconds
online or at any number of
voting booths across campus.
Characteristically, A&M
is not a political campus, but
it is time for students to take
a stand and pay attention to the
politics around them. Honor and
integrity are issues in this election,
especially considering some events
surrounding some of last year's top
the University, one with a new president and
vice president of student affairs and a changing
of the guard in the Athletic Department. A&M
needs student leaders who are up to the chal
lenge and will represent students well. The
turnout for the fees referendum was record
breaking, but not admirable. Hopefully more
than 7,500 students will cast votes in next
week's student body elections.
This is A&M and its students are its most
valuable resource, but only if they pay attention
and choose not to throw those campaign flyers
away.
Kelln Zimmer is a senior
English major.
Graphic by Ivan Flores.
i. After I did
it was illegal,
ithout his or
raternity, my
my friends,
ow that this
nts of Texas
rrested and
irvice, pay a
MAIL CALL
Ashcroft's attack on pipe dealers ridiculous
In response to George Deutsch's March 7 column:
At a time when America was under high alert for terrorism,
Attorney General John Ashcroft was on a marijuana jihad,
squandering Department of Justice resources on a nationwide
hunt for bongs.
With marijuana decriminalization on the horizon in neigh
boring Canada, the United States may soon be one the few
Western countries that uses its criminal justice system to pun
ish otherwise law-abiding citizens who prefer marijuana to
martinis.
Ashcroft's reefer madness is best exemplified by the federal
government's paramilitary raids on voter-approved medical
marijuana providers in California.
The very same attorney general who claims illicit drug use
funds terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the
hands of street dealers. Apparently, marijuana prohibition is
more important than protecting the country from terrorism.
Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture
war otherwise known as the war on some drugs should con
tact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at www.ssdp.org.
Thank you for your consideration. ’
Robert Sharpe
MPA Program Officer
Drug Policy Alliance
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 77843-1111. Fax: (979) 845-
2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com. Attachments are not
accepted.
gize to you
‘X
fcHDUOSEME 1 \M
W * m OF 1 QUEEH
FI
Conspiring to throw napkins
Food Services treated Sbisa diners like criminals
W hile Food Services’
usual efforts to elimi
nate the practice of
throwing wadded paper napkins,
or “Sbisa balls,” may meet with
objection from some, its actions
on Feb. 25 in response to a stu
dent-planned Sbisa ball fight
were deplorable.
According to numerous posts
on the Hobbes forum,
hobbes.resnet.tamu.edu/forums, several
students used the forum to schedule and
announce a Sbisa ball fight involving
approximately 800 Sbisa balls.
Food Services caught wind of the
planned Sbisa ball fight, however, so lit
tle fun was to be had by Sbisa’s patrons
and the planners of the fight that night.
While the efforts of Food Services pre
vented any large quantity of Sbisa balls
from flying in the dining hall that
Tuesday evening, those entering Sbisa
likely noticed a few things out of the
ordinary.
Two uniformed University Police
Department (UPD) officers were present,
standing and watching over the patrons,
along with several Food Services
employees. Assistant Director of Food
Services Cindy Zawieja said she asked
the police officers to be present because
she felt the situation in Sbisa might be
out of control that evening.
While Food Services should provide a
safe dining experience, the idea that
police officers are necessary to control
the throwing of paper napkins is laugh
able. UPD has far more important things
to do than stopping tossed napkins. For
example, according to the UPD police
blotter, an attempted kidnapping at
knifepoint took place in the Read
Building the very night of the planned
Sbisa ball fight.
Some students involved in the plan
ning of the Sbisa ball fight are being
disciplined for their involvement. Senior
computer science major Matt Heard,
who admits he was involved in the plan
ning, said the fight was meant to bring
tradition and fun to the Sbisa dining
experience.
Heard said he was confronted
by University officials before.
entering Sbisa for dinner that
Tuesday evening, and that he has
received a letter from Student
Conflict Resolution Services for
his role in the planning.
In addition to the absurdity of
having cops present and dragging
Heard through SCRS for conspiracy to
throw napkins. Food Services acted
inappropriately by treating all of its pay
ing customers like criminals.
a
While Food Services
should provide a safe
dining experience, the
idea that police officers
are necessary to control
the throwing of paper
napkins is laughable.
UPD has far more
important things to
do than stopping
tossed napkins.
Michael Frink, a sophomore mechani
cal engineering major present that
evening, said Food Services employees
were confiscating napkins from cus
tomers, including himself. Frink said the
employees took napkins away from
those who had taken what Food Services
deemed was too many.
“I had like five or six napkins,” Frink
said. “I was told (by the employee) that
napkins cost a lot. One employee was
taking them off (customers’ trays) and
throwing them in the trash can.”
Food Services’ treating of its cus
tomers like children and criminals that
night was impolite and offensive.
Zawieja justified Food Services’ actions
by saying that she couldn’t understand
why students would want to damage
Sbisa property.
But freshman meteorology major
Jason Hernandez said the Sbisa employ
ees scared him more than the prospect of
being hit by flying Sbisa balls.
Hernandez added that he was shocked
by the actions and presence of the UPD
officers.
“If you were to go to a restaurant and
employees there were to treat you in a
similar manner, they would be out of
business,” he said.
Additionally, Frink said he saw one
employee walk up to a student juggling
Sbisa balls and stare at him. Others were
also being visibly monitored. Clearly,
students felt uncomfortable.
Food Services, the organization that
manages and operates on-campus dining
facilities, can do as it wants in an
attempt to eradicate traditions in Sbisa;
but its treatment of customers as crimi
nals on the evening of Feb. 25 is
absolutely not acceptable.
Students should not allow themselves
to be treated as children and deviants by
Food Services employees. They should
patronize dining establishments that
actually treat them as the customers they
are, and be reluctant to purchase meal
plans for next semester. Those residence
halls that usually gather for dorm dinner
at Sbisa should still go to dinner togeth
er, but choose to eat at one of the dining
establishments on Northgate. When
Sbisa is empty for a few days in a row,
or the number of meal plans purchased
next semester falls below the expected
number, perhaps Food Services will then
take notice of patron discontentment.
A&M President Robert M. Gates,
should not let the actions of Food
Services go unnoticed or without repri
mand. Zawieja said “dining in Sbisa is
like a regular restaurant and everyone
should mind their manners.” This
“everyone” should include Food
Services’ many workers.
Nicholas Neumann is a graduate
computer science major.
NICHOLAS
NEUMANN