SPORT) |
HE BAITALIO)
) tick
ie expected his tei
it they would beiii
his series,” he
iwn there provedli
Game 3 here, I
i to get better, in
od team, and tie
> our challenge."
rs led the series !•
■ next three. Dal
Sdmonton for the I
ears,
is an Anaheim tei
ng off a surer:,
lefending champ:
; Stars are g
ed Wings are
but they can’t
facing Mighty Dili
Jean-Sebast*
isidering he altae
ils in four games,
rere the extra score;
ed.
md Guerin havete
:heir own and cot;
. series. Tup
est.
Iso expects to k
Arnott, who
nn Game 6 after ii
ate. He left Game
■riods because of
injury.
s went 3-1-1 agai®
Ducks in the regal
mpu
e Municipal Airpa
hletic Director Dpi
landed at about
:i last week to spes
Williams, who left
ites for The Kaos
rnal-World andli
n. Ill. — all chit
eported that St
Director Doug Van
essages left by B
ne and Illinois Jjwl
wn’s office anil
Sunday,
ms at Illinois audit
nent each year.
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5B • Monday, April 21, 2003
EDITORIAL
Roll call
Aggies in war remembered
The call to Muster is a call to remembrance for all fallen
Aggies. This year especially. Muster echoes more poignantly
then in the past. Muster is celebrated by Aggies around the
world, and this year Aggies will be remembering their friends in
combat in Iraq. This April 21, Aggies are on the field of battle,
risking their lives to free the oppressed Iraqi people.
Aggies serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom will experience a
closer connection to Muster, just as the Aggies fighting and mus
tering in the Philipines in the caves of Corregidor were closer to
Texas A&M’s values that day.
A&M has a long history of serving the United States in its
wars and conflicts. With the current conflict, not only does
Muster touch a chord that resonates louder and louder in our
hearts and homes, but many other A&M traditions ring more
soundly then in past years.
Traditions such as the Memorial Student Center, a living trib
ute to Aggies who have served and died in combat, and the Corps
of Cadets, in which many Aggies begin their careers in the armed
forces, are held to a higher esteem then previous years. Silver
Taps continually reminds one of A&M’s connection to the United
States military. This connection is more evident now with the
current conflict. It is hard not to experience this connection vic
ariously through these various traditions.
Muster is a time for remembrance. It is our duty as Aggies
not only to remember our fallen comrades, but to celebrate
A&M’s rich tradition of supporting our country through the
armed forces.
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
Brandie Liffick
Sommer Bunge
Brieanne Porter
Rolando Garcia
Asst. News
Member
Member
Melissa Sullivan
Sara Foley
Matt Maddox
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 submit
ted 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
77643-1 1 1 1. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
MAIL CALL
Matth
political
ew Gaines deserves recognition for
achievements
;hoosing
t us to
it and
In response to Matt Maddox's
ftpril 16 column:
Maddox seem to have forgot
ten the fourth man whom we,
Ihe students of A&M, have
Mmemorialized on campus
Ihrough a statue. Lt. Gen. James
||. Hollingsworth was a member
bfthe Class of 1940 whose cal-
hber of leadership is indicated
hby the list of military decora
tions he received while serving
bur country during World War II
the Vietnam War.
| ;Hollingsworth was a member
of the Corps of Cadets at A&M,
fend he did continue on to be
|he school's most decorated
general officer. However, his
contributions to the University
are not necessarily notable.
It seems as though the main
eason Maddox is opposed to the
:ommemoration of Matthew
[jaines is because you feel he did
tiot have any direct contributions
; o A&M. It is true that he was not
he sole responsible man for
passing the Senate Bill No. 276,
April 4, 1871, which established
the Agricultural and Mechanical
I College of Texas. The students
Mio propose the memorial to
jWatthew Gaines did not simply
flick him because of his race, as
vas claimed. Gaines has been
recognized by the House of
Representatives of the 77th Texas
legislature in H.R. No. 753, which
Mates that the Legislature "pay
Special tribute to the life of
'Matthew Gaines for his excep
tional public sen/ice."
Not only was Gaines "one of
:he foremost African American
eaders in Texas during the sec
ond half of the 19th century," as
stated by H.R. No. 753, he was a
State senator and a great leader
n his time. He worked to pro
vide safe polling places for
members of all races. He sup
ported a bill that established a
sax-supported school system for
all Texans and one that exempt-
led "educational, religious, chari
table, and literary associations
from taxation." (H.R. No. 753)
He continued to advocate
MEMORIAL FUNDS
Should the tribute be exempt from budgetary cuts?
Democracy through political
activities until his death in 1900.
The addition of a fifth statue
to this campus would neither
detract from the historical
value of the school, nor would
it undermine the accomplish
ments of the four other men
we have already honored.
Gaines deserves to be memori
alized on campus. Although he
may not have directly had a
grand contribution to this
school, he was nonetheless a
powerful leader among all citi
zens of Texas. In 1997, the stu
dent body felt it necessary to
commemorate Lt. Gen. James
F. Hollingsworth because of his
military accomplishments. Why
is it so hard for the Aggie com
munity to accept a commemo
ration of Matthew Gaines for
his political accomplishments?
Lauren Christina Carza
Class of 2006
Ticket prices too high
In response to the April 16
front page article:
I am a dedicated Ag, Class of
1974. For those of you have not
heard, football ticket prices for
next fall have gone up a bunch.
The game with T.U. will be
$75.00 per ticket and a season
ticket is now $375.00. I am still
proud to be an Aggie, but I am
not proud of squeezing out a
bunch of great fans who can no
longer afford or justify the price
of a ticket. I am told that our
prices are the highest in the Big
12—not much of an honor.
President Robert M. Gates,
Board of Regents, will some
body reign in the "new" athletic
department before it gets any
worse? None of us needs to
hear about the cost of running
the program, since it has gone
from high to ridiculous. One
more thing-have you heard
about the economy?
David Stasny
Class of 1974
R ecently Robert M. Gates announced that
Aggie Bonfire will be disrupted for another
year pending the legal battles concerning the
1999 collapse. While breaking the news to the stu
dent body and media. Gates told The Battalion that
the planned Bonfire Memorial will be “exempted
from all budget cuts from this date through its
completion.” While the collapse should never be
forgotten—it claimed 12 Aggies and injured 27
others—during the University’s hard financial
times, the memorial that remembers these students
should be subject to the same restrictions as the rest of the current
student body.
When the University unveiled the winning memorial design in
March 2002,The Battalion reported possible costs between $4
million and $7 million, with the number nailed down to $5 mil
lion by September. The contest held to find the winning design for
the memorial cost the University $550,000. These costs, plus the
costs of litigation concerning Bonfire, will eventually amount to
tens of millions.
On paper, one sees these expenditures as prime candidates for the
budget cuts the state required, but the legal costs cannot be reduced;
lawyers will always be expensive. The $550,000 contest money has
already been spent. This leaves only the memorial as a viable option
for cutting costs of this expensive endeavor, but Gates has unwisely
protected this cost from being reduced by even a few dollars.
Texas A&M will decrease its budget by 12.5 percent for 2004, as
reported by The Battalion. To achieve this, nearly every department
faces “very tough, and almost certainly controversial decisions about
budget priorities,” according to Gates’ memo sent to top administra
tors and college deans. These cuts are already apparent in the faculty
hiring freeze implemented by Gates this January.
By excluding the Bonfire Memorial from the spending decreases.
Gates will be forced to cut deeper into other academic departments
and student services or raise tuition. The recent rejection of fee
increases by students clearly shows the administration how students
feel about cost increases.
Departmental decreases will only lead to a decrease in the serv
ices the University can offer. Dennis Corrington, director of the
Recreation Sports Department, told The Battalion on March 4 that
the department has already taken money from its $5 million
reserve fund.
Gates announced that the budget cuts will not affect the top pro
grams in the University as much as others, keeping the hopes of
Vision 2020 alive. This will make the weaker departments at A&M
become even more strained and lead to an overall decrease in the
quality of an education.
The memorial should still be built, but a $5 million price tag is too
high of a price to pay. Saving a million or even a few hundred thou
sand dollars on the Bonfire Memorial would ease the pain for the
lower-ranked academic and student departments, which would help
to sustain the value of an A&M diploma.
Student Body President Zac Coventry, who also sits on the
Bonfire Memorial Planning Committee, labeled Gates' decision
as appropriate, pointing out the value of human life over every
thing else.
“It’s the Aggie thing to do,” Coventry said.
Coventry is right; the Aggie thing to do is build a memorial to
remember these 39 students directly affected by the cdllapse, but
doing so at the expense of the current students at the 1/Diversity di
gards the most important responsibility of Texas At
valuable education.
The loss of 12 members of the community is aj
building a memorial is something this communit
remember these Aggies.
However, actions speak louder than 12 expensive pfla|s.|b|er
month in a solemn ceremony, this community remembers Aggies
who have died. Millions of dollars are not spent to remember the
students each month, and millions of dollars do not need to be spent
to remember 12 Ags who passed more than three years ago. An out
pouring of student support on the anniversary of this event will hold J
more meaning than objects built at the expense of the University’s
academic programs.
Gates has a great responsibility in devising the diminished budget
for the 2004 school year while still balancing the agenda of Vision
2020 and some decreases cannot be avoided. His decision to exclude
the Bonfire Memorial from any budget cuts over-fulfills another
responsibility to honor the 39 students who either fell or were injured
on Nov. 18, 1999, and in doing so, he neglects another 45,000 surviv
ing students who attend this University.
Matt Rigney is a sophomore
journalism major.
“Ai
xYt
day that will live in infamy.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said
this about the day Pearl Harbor was
bombed by the Japanese. For Aggies, the day
that will live in infamy is Nov. 18, 1999 — the
day Bonfire collapsed. Twelve Aggies died in
the collapse and another 27 were injured. For
many on the Texas A&M campus, Nov. 18 is a
day of sadness and remembrance. It is not a day
easily erased from the memory.
When Texas A&M President Robert M.
Gates announced that the Bonfire Memorial project would not be
subject to budget cuts, some people protested his decision. While
the University is facing a financial crisis, the Bonfire Memorial
project should not be subject to the same budget cuts. To do so
would be to disgrace the memory of those the A&M community
lost that fateful night.
Many students argue that the Bonfire Memorial is using money
that could benefit current students on this campus. With the Dairy
Science Center closing because of funding problems and other
departments, such as the journalism department, facing similar
budget cuts, the Bonfire Memorial seems to be a prime candidate
to lose funding. Yet, the memorial is not a luxury.
The Bonfire Memorial is a necessity.
Students must not forget that 12 Aggies lost their lives on cam
pus while participating in a time-honored tradition. These deaths
did not only affect their families and friends, it resonated with all
students. The tragedy brought the A&M community closer togeth
er. “The collapse was shared by thousands of people,” said Neva
Hand, mother of Bonfire victim Jamie Hand, to reporters in
November 2001.
Bonfire 1999 is a distant or non-existent memory for many on
campus, but the tragic event still affects the Aggie community. In
2001, then-President Ray M. Bowen decided not to hold an official
Bonfire memorial ceremony. On that night, a tearful Janice Kerlee,
mother of Bonfire victim Timothy Kerlee Jr., said, “Two years
ago, they said they would never forget, they said they would
always be here.” Yet, many have chosen to forget. Building this
memorial will be a permanent statement pledging A&M’s contin
ued remembrance of our fellow fallen Aggies.
Remembering Bonfire 1999 is the duty of current and former
students. A&M has memorials for other fallen Aggies. The
Memorial Student Center is a place to commemorate Aggies who
lost their lives in war. Silver Taps is observed every month for cur
rent students who have died. Muster is held once a year on April
21 to remember fallen Aggies.
Yet, there is no memorial for these 12 Aggies who died and the
27 who were hurt with the collapse of Bonfire. These Aggies were
partaking in a tradition on the A&M campus, and were killed
while doing something they believed in. The Polo Fields in which
Bonfire was built is not a distant land, but a spot here on campus.
A permanent structure needs to be constructed so no one for
gets that on that spot 12 fellow Aggies lost their lives. Right
now, the only evidence marking the spot where 12 fellow stu
dents died is a lone Bonfire pot on a stick surrounded by 12 sim
ple white crosses. This makeshift memorial does not do these
fallen Aggies justice.
To not have a Bonfire Memorial is to dishonor the students
involved in the tragedy and those to come. Future students need to
Kifow about Bonfire 1999 and those Aggies who are no longer
here. It is a reminder that the past is never far from the hearts and
jninqjs df the A&M community. Without a permanent structure
|o|miie|noratidig those lives lost, A&M is denying the memory of
n| of its most tragic events. The wounds of Bonfire 1999 are still
ealing,,and some of these wounds will never heal completely.
Memorial ceremonies are not enough for these students. They
are not concrete. As in 2001, memorial ceremonies can be can
celed. A permanent memorial will protect against such a thing
from happening again. As Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. J.
Malon Southerland told The Battalion in October 2001, “We’ll
always remember Nov. 18, and the best way to do that is through
the permanent memorial.”
While the University struggles with a budget crisis, the Bonfire
Memorial project must not be altered. To properly remember the
39 hurt and killed, a fixed structure is necessary. Gates was correct
when he announced that the project would be exempt from budget
cuts. Bonfire 1999 is not that long gone, and it must always remain
in the minds of Aggies here on campus.
Brieanne Porter is a senior
political science major.
Graphic by Radhika Thirunarayanan.
PETA fights the wrong way
(U-WIRE) COLUMBUS, Ohio -
People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals is a group that is becoming
more and more visible in our society.
Clever marketing campaigns have helped
the group to succeed in spreading their
message across the country. In short,
PETA thinks humans should just leave
animals alone. They fight for animal
rights and try to convince people to
become vegetarians.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to
agree that a majority of the animals raised
to be eaten are mistreated. But that's not
going to stop me from eating them.
One of PETA's recent moves launched
a worldwide campaign against KFC.
PETA argues the chickens raised for KFC
are given no rights. They live in spaces the
size of a piece of paper, are mishandled by
workers and are routinely still alive when
their throats are cut. Yes, this does sound
bad, but accusations alone are not enough
to keep the Colonel from whipping up his
secret recipes.
Instead of blasting KFC for their mali
cious ways, why not sit down and talk to
them about ways to make it better? In their
minds, PETA members have to know they
will never be able to drive KFC out of
business, so why not do something pro
ductive with their time?
In another campaign, PETA let us all
know that Jesus was a vegetarian. I don't
know for sure, but 1 doubt that PETA as
an organization was around 2,000 years
ago. So just like anyone else could do,
they are interpreting the Bible in a way
they see fit to benefit themselves.
Personally, I think Jesus liked his seafood.
All of his buddies were fishermen at one
point, and let's not forget about the sec
ond-most talked-about miracle in the
Bible: the multiplication miracle. Jesus
thought he had something that tasted so
good he just had to share it with everyone
else, so he turned two fish into 5,000 just
so his friends could discover the same
love for flounder.
One last example of a PETA campaign
is of the organization trying to do the
unthinkable; Getting the Green Bay
Packers to change their name.
Apparently, the name "Packers" refers to
people who work in slaughterhouses,
whose job it is to kill animals. Could you
imagine Vince Lombardi coming into the
locker room before a game and telling his
team, "Sorry men, PETA's here. We've
gotta change our name. We're no longer
the Green Bay Packers. From now on
we're just gonna be the Green Bay
Beans."
I don't think so.
All joking aside, PETA does have some
good points. The treatment of animals can
stand to improve drastically, but they're
pushing their cause at the wrong angle.
Everyone who eats animals knows the
animals were killed before they appeared
on a plate. But just because PETA can
convince someone that the animals were
terrorized before they were killed will not
keep anyone from eating them.
Come up with a plan to minimize terror
ism, and go from there.
Maybe PETA is right and I'm wrong.
But until the new "Lion King" movie
comes out and Simba is wearing a PETA
necklace, I won't hold my breath.
Erik Bussa is a columnist
at Ohio State University.