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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2003)
SP0R1S! THE BATTALIOI ) plans esta is very cool,” si ictela, who watched[}< on down Comme® i the heart of downlo»: ter (than 1999) bee* : and they won iti the Spurs won tin i in 1999, an estimait; | people gathered onts [ it- and saloon-linei k to watch the teamaii npionship trophy flm ■ San Antonio Riverot | nt players, ex-Spiis, ! acts, local politician s will participate ini j ersion, scheduled n > p.m. rganizers said a speciai II haul a group ofsiii- | n the Carver Acadenj I retiring center Dav«i . who spent moreita | a of his own money It the private school for aged children, i nautical mile or fil'd id celebrants will raalr rip over land to tie : ne, where a specialcer | scheduled for 9p.ra. j members and coaches j ;ss the crowd, accord j nners, and the title tro- I 1 be on display. :e at the Dome will be t 50,000, and early ; /ill be able to watch | parade on the score-1 :en. a Jordan-based trading dustrial goods into bag m, which is being sbd opportunities, arrying wads of Iraji nst the U.S. dollar, Ayad Husseini isoflei- bout $200), downfc it seller is the Kras) ).()00 dinars to 3b,(W I to buy one himself» amel and a friend sel soda pop, by the case, i-painted banner.’“We >audi Arabia, aboutJl ad place, followed by d Oranta. Shamelsaid after expenses, lity to start something to expand what they e of Elegant Bodies Iding for seven years, new business despite :r of a well-oiled and me and worked oni," vas jailed briefly by ritional supplements, special postwar pro- ledmond. lice Department 11:12 a.m. Theft, icycle rack. A maroor <t mountain bike was igation continues. 05 a.m. Burglaryofa a, Parking Area 51 rors were stolen and ir side window shat- ickup owned by tbe iportation Institute, continues. ):23 a.m. Burglaryof angford Architecture ipaq PC and monitof I from a secured lab. continues. 46 p.m. Theft, Evans e rack. An orange tain bike was stolen. :ontinues. :06 a.m. Criminal t, North Houston, were recognized as il trespass warnings, ad, they were in pos- bicycle listed as le was taken to a tion center and tbe sen to the Brazos :10 p.m. Minor in tobacco/failure to : corner of MSC, :10 p.m. Minor in ure to identify, West Citation issued. Opinion The Battalion Page 5 • Tuesday, June 17, 2003 Ethical dilemma Perry must not veto House Bill 1606, which promotes financial responsibility T he recent commendable work done by the Texas Legislature will either go to waste or help in the reformation of crooked politics. What will happen depends on whether Gov. Rick Perry chooses to exercise his power of veto over House Bill 1606, an ethics bill that challenges city officials and various other local leaders by holding them financially accountable. Despite the fact that the bill passed over whelmingly in the House and Senate, those whom the bill would affect, such as Lubbock Mayor Marc McDougaL are calling for a veto, according to the Houston Chronicle. However, should Perry veto this bill, it would not only encourage conflicts of interest, but would remove the checks and balances that are neces sary to ensure that no corruption of office is taking place. The bill requires local city officials, school district trustees and port and sports authorities in towns with populations of more than 100,000 to complete a personal financial dis closure form that indicates other sources of income such as real estate and stock invest ments. It also monitors campaign funding, requiring the identity of contributors to be revealed as well as the cash balances. Legislators who are lawyers are also prevented from representing a client before a state agency. Nothing about this law is intrusive for indi viduals who accept these roles. As a communi ty leader, one should expect to be held to a higher standing and to be in the public eye. As a result of this, it should be known if an officer is supporting a piece of legislation merely because it benefits his own real estate holdings or financial condition, or if it benefits the community as a whole. Conflicts of interest should be avoided in all areas of work, and while in the realm of politics it might be impossible to evade them completely, having them recog nized would be an improvement. This bill would restore public faith in government offi cials and political campaigns; whereas, a veto by Perry would be a stark affirmation that deception in offices exists and will continue. This bill would restore public faith in government officials and political campaigns; whereas a veto by Perry would be a stark affirmation that deception in offices exists and will continue. Those who have publicly opposed this bill, such as McDougal and two other Lubbock city councilmen, wrote letters to Perry vowing to resign if the legislation passes. They are protesting that the new legislation will discour age people from running for low-paying or part-time positions, according to the Chronicle. Those who the public would desire to fill a SARA FOLEY position that requires public confidence should be willing to gain trust by dis closing financial information. Furthermore, if a candidate has something to hide, he is most like ly unfit for office. This law also monitors campaign finance, a measure that is long over due. It’s necessary not only to super vise the funding of campaigns, but for this supervision and monitoring to be an openly known fact to discourage corrupt dealings. The passage of this law would show the integrity of the state government by professing that it will not tolerate deceit ful or crooked financial dealings. Perry discloses all of his own financial deal ings, according to the Chronicle, and should expect no less from those under him. A veto of this bill would not only be detrimental to the integrity of local politics, but would fur ther peoples’ distrust of government officials. Perry needs to uphold the decision made by the legislatures and sign the bill, instead of allowing the possibility of a vast improvement in politics to dissolve. . Sara Foley is a sophomore journalism major. Graphic by Seth Freeman. Achieving diversity can be problematic New vice president for institutionalized diversity must avoid others’ failures B arring any unforeseen issues, Texas A&M will take a step forward this fall with the installation of the first vice president for institutional diversity. This new posi tion can, and should, bring sweeping changes to the campus. However, the path to diversity at A&M is built on fragile ground — any misstep in the process will undoubtedly cause more harm than good. Fortunately, yet somewhat unfor tunately, this university has a clean slate to meet the challenges of diver sity with. Because this issue is one that has been attacked aggressively only in recent years, failures in the process of diversification have not occurred to such a degree as to hem orrhage the campus community. But, the failures that have occurred at other schools have taken their toll on those campuses, and A&M’s leaders must learn from these mistakes. Fox News recently reported that universities across the United States are increasingly supporting segregated student events, stating that, “Vanderbilt, Stanford University, and the University of California are among those that offer separate graduation ceremonies for minority students. Other schools, including the University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania, have separate ‘celebratory events' for black, Hispanic and Asian-American students.” However, graduations are not the only events that have become distorted. Stop Hate on Campus, a student organization at the University of Colorado, held a work shop last month in which white stu dents were not allowed to attend. Leaders in the field of diversity, such as the co-director of Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project, Gary Orfield, believe these actions are not only acceptable but com mendable. Is this the new face of “diversity” - an exclusionary, vile ethos? Even the poster child for college diversity, The University of California at Berkeley, is facing a crisis on its campus. In UC Berkeley’s student newspaper, the Daily Californian, Jesse Gabriel, president of the student government association, offered some harsh criti cisms of the current climate at Berkeley. “UC Berkeley often touts diversi ty as one of its greatest strengths, but such claims seem empty in the context of the racial polarization that exists on our campus,” he said. “While embracing and celebrating one’s cultural heritage is one of the most important parts of the college experience ... it is important that stu dents realize that such activities and cross-cultural interactions are not mutually exclusive. In this respect, the Balkanization of our campus is disturbing in that it limits opportuni ties for learning and for the creation of a larger sense of community on campus. Is A&M poised to suffer the fate of “Balkanization?” But just as the various universi ties’ acceptance of these events is a grotesque perversion of anything resembling a diverse campus, so too is the backlash from white students that has resulted. White-only schol arships and graduations are just as troublesome and disheartening to race relations as their minority coun terparts are. It is exactly this frus trating polarization, or “Balkanization,” that has engulfed universities around the country and could certainly strangle A&M if left unchecked. These events show that diversity built on the ratios of the populace is merely superficial. The fact that Berkeley, for instance, can have far superior numbers of racial minorities than A&M, yet still have severe racial problems on campus, proves this. Simply increasing minority enrollment at A&M will only enlarge the self-segregated masses, should A&M’s culture move in that direction. However, A&M does not have to follow other universities whose paths to multiculturalism and diversity have degenerated into seg regation and squabble. This university has something rivaled by only a handful of other major colleges around the nation: spirit. Many A&M students and teachers may believe that this spirit is a trite self-delusion, but no one can deny that this campus is different. For bet ter or for worse, A&M is a very unique academic institution. Campus leaders must build on the cama raderie of being an Aggie. It is from there that celebrating and elucidating the differences among Aggies will be most successful. Michael Ward is a senior history major. MAIL CALL © CORK REMOVAL GUIDE HAND SCKA his BKT 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. Bush's tax cut will work if given time In response to Midhat Farooqi's June W column: The game of politics is just that: a game. Politicians such as George W. Bush and Ari Fleischer are com pelled to give speeches that give hope to every American even if they are not very edu cated in economics, which most are not. Therefore, the statements they make cannot be taken literally and analyzed word for word. Bush proposed his plan in a manner that will hopefully get him re-elected in 2004 so that he can continue to be one of the best presidents our country has ever had. Bush has an MBA from Han/ard and understands economics better than anyone. He recognizes that economic change takes time and that the benefits of his tax cut will not be seen for several years. By putting money in the hands of the affluent, more funds will be pumped into the American economy, not saved in a Swiss bank. Those who earn a large amount of money each year earn it for a reason. They have taken advantage of a capitalist society and will continue to do so in the future. As a result, new businesses and new jobs will be formed giving middle and lower class citizens better jobs and more money. Once these jobs have been secured, it is almost cer tain that tax breaks will not be given to the rich until the next economic downturn occurs; exactly when this type of action is needed. American workers are the greatest economic strength, at home and abroad. I'm not sure which economic theory states that lower income people will spend tax cut dollars because it is very false. These people are much more likely to save the money and pay off their credit card bills until they secure a better future; a future that is created by the entrepreneurs who saw immediate fiscal benefits from the tax cut. Unlike most of us, million aires are not concerned with saving money, but prefer to continue building empires because they can have every thing they ever wanted and have enough funds left over to be on the cover of Fortune. It is only a matter of time before Bush's tax cuts better the economy. Alex King Class of 2003