Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2003)
STATE THE BATTALION Bushin crowds r tour, which wraps up ■ward, he and three bus- supporters and reporters i hour south to San for another rally. Austin i Antonio are a pair of atic strongholds in an igly Republican state, ng those waiting in San i was Matt Glazer, a Jniversity senior whose mse is Dean country. :r is the Bexar Count; tor for the Howard Dean sident campaign. He's won others over to the itic hopeful’s cause, g the three fraternity he shares the house with, ve kind of adopted id Glazer. tgh his savvy use of the Dean has established footholds around Texas and taken in tens of thousands of dollars from small donors. “I wake up every day and ask "What can 1 do today to make sure George W. Bush is a one-term presi dent,’” said Sue Wenninger, a retired secretary in Lubbock. Two days a Venninger and some live away Dean litera- bumper stickers froma Lubbock’s airport, /body who goes through rt, if they’re going on a y have to walk within 20 ’ she said. mer Bush spokesman tmber of Dean’s posi- counter to the Texas im. worked hard to stake most liberal positions ngriest rhetoric of any andidates,” said Ray now a Republican con- Austin. ?an tial ?ful % RANT BUFFET els i t Duck )le all day long! HILE YOU WATCH! BUFFET 75 • Sat. 9:30pm is Avenue S. ation, TX Shopping Center tein Mart) 694-7482 Opinion The Battalion Page 5B Silencing students’ speech designated protest zones violate First Amendment right to freedom of expression « F reshmen, welcome to Texas A&M. It may come as a surprise that there are policies in place at A&M designed to violate students’ First Amendment rights, specif ically the right to free speech, by having desig nated “Free Speech Zones.’’ Two weeks ago, the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights sent a letter to universities across America denouncing such unconstitutional behavior, and A&M’s administration would be wise to end its speech codes before the rights of students are violated. The Office of Civil Rights issued its letter in the wake of numer ous incidents in which students were denied their right to free speech and peaceful assembly. The letter informed university officials that students cannot be punished for speech because another person finds it offensive. This is important because many Texas universities, including A&M, have legally dubious speech codes. A&M rules prescribe disciplinary action for students and faculty who engage in activities deemed “disruptive.” Guidelines state that, "The university reserves the right to cancel any event it deems likely to cause an interruption in the university's orderly activities.” The University discrimination policy defines hate speech as “expressions that are insensitive, demeaning or hostile in nature.” Most Aggie Yells could be considered all of the above. Such vague rules, if enforced, are lawsuits waiting to happen. Last year, students in Walton Hall faced dis- ciplinary action when they were accused of planning an off-cam pus “ghetto party.” Students have also been threatened with dis ciplinary action for participating in Bonfire-related activities. In another incident last year, Christian faculty members in the College of Education were threatened with dismissal for speak ing out against a departmental policy that would have required them to “celebrate” homosexuality. Regardless of how one feels about these activities, it is impossible to justify violating student and faculty First Amendment rights. A&M’s “Free Speech Zone” policy restricts students to practicing their First Amendment rights only in one of three designated areas, according to the University’s Scheduling Web site. To use these zones, the person or organization sponsoring the event must apply 48 hours in advance, and the application must be approved by three officials before the event can take place. The same officials who place such a premium on the notion of “diversity” also use speech codes to suppress the expression of diverse ideas. “Speech codes are tools that administrators use to quash speech they do not agree with, and to punish students and facul ty members for expressions they do not agree with,” said Erich J. Wasserman, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s executive director. FIRE is a nonprofit legal organization that works to “defend and sustain individual rights at America’s increasingly repressive and partisan colleges and universities.” FIRE, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, has The same officials who take " ,he , lead defending place such a premium on Amendment rights the notion of'diversity’ on campuses. Unless j / j , A&M policies change, also use speech codes to adrainistr p ators could s00 ' find suppress the expression of themselves getting to know these diverse ideas. two groups very well. Recently at the University of Houston, a pro life student group was prevented by college offi cials from having displays outside the campus’ free speech zones. Understanding their rights, the stu dents took their administrators to court. The administrators were ordered to change the free speech zone policy and pay the students $93,000 in attorney fees. Other schools that have revoked free speech zone policies include West Virginia University, the University of Maryland and the University of Texas. A lawsuit is pending against Texas Tech for its speech code, which closely mirrors A&M’s. The rights of every American should be respected, as thou sands have given their lives to secure them. People shouldn't abuse that right by using it as an excuse to push back the fron tiers of decency. More importantly, respecting these rights means calling the government, including university officials, on the car pet when it infringes on those rights. Matt Maddox is a senior management major. Graphic by Ruben DeLuna Misplaced priorities Unimaginative plans Kinesiology attendance policy limits students’ ability to meet responsibilities Gig ( Em Week provides little chance for incoming students to feel welcome u S cenario: A student is assigned a registration time of 8 a.m. Even though the University gives the student 48 hours to register, the student knows it is important to register as soon as possible to get the section he needs. The problem is that the student has an 8 a.m. racquetball class. If he chooses to register at the most advantageous time, the student will be tardy for his physical education activity class. For other classes, it would be possible for the student to explain the situation to his instructor. Then the decision to make any punitive actions would be left to the professor’s discretion. But, because racquetball is a kinesiology course, a poli cy by the Department of Health and Kinesiology mandates that the racquet ball instructor deduct a point off of the student's final grade. The policy needs to Lae changed. Specifically, the policy states that a point will be deducted from a student’s final grade for each tardy up to 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the student is considered absent which carries more severe consequences. The kinesiol ogy instructor is obligated to deduct three points from a student’s final grade if he is absent or more than 10 minutes late. This policy applies to all kinesiology physical activity courses and is printed on syllabi handed out in those classes. It is a flawed and unnecessarily rigid policy. Kinesiology instructors must be able to exercise their own discretion in deciding whether points should be deducted from a student’s final grade as the result of an absence. Furthermore, the problem is exacerbated when one considers that kinesiolo gy is required for all non-Corps students. It makes little sense to apply such a narrow rule to a wide population with diverse interests. The policy for kinesiology courses has been around for a long time. Although a specific time of origin is hard to pin down, Frank Thomas, a senior lecturer and chair of the Physical Education Activity Program for the Department of Health and Kinesiology, said he’s been with the department since 1979 and has always remembered having the policy in place. Thomas said the attendance policy is based on the University Attendance Policy, which is available on the student rules Web site. The Department of Health and Kinesiology believes it is has all of its bases covered with regard to legitimate reasons why a student may be absent. Its attendance policy allows for “death or major illness in a student’s immediate fami ly, participation in legal proceedings . . .,” reli gious holy days and an illness that is validated by the A.P. Beutal Health Center or a physician. The policy also allows for “participation in an activity appearing on the University author ized activity list.” Although none of the past kinesiology syllabi used as research for this column instructed where to find this list, it is available online at the student activities Web site. If a student wishes to participate in an activity that could be legitimate by University standards but somehow does not end up on the University authorized activity list and conflicts with a kinesiology course, the student will either have to deal with Furthermore, the problem is exacerbated when one considers that kinesiology is required for all the severe consequences non-Corps students. It makes lit tle sense to apply such a narrow rule to a wide population with deverse interests. of an unexcused absence or forgo participation in the activity. This is why allowing instructors to exercise their individual discretion is important. Not all legit- imate excuses for absence or tardiness will be cov ered by the policy. For instance, the registration example discussed previously. Also, some pro fessors will excuse a senior if the student has a job interview in another city. As Thomas correctly points out, there are some good points to the attendance policy. He said that although theory is discussed in kinesiology cours es, it is important that students participate in these classes because they are physical courses. This is very true, but overall, this policy encourages resentment from dedicated students who have legitimate reasons for missing the occasional class. It also contributes to the per ception by many students that fulfilling their kinesiology requirement is something to be endured rather than something to look forward to. Abolishing the attendance policy would illustrate that administrators understand that students may have more important commit ments than a racquetball class. A t first glance, the cluttered calendar of activities the week before classes seems to provide more than ample opportunities for new students to learn about Texas A&M and meet new people. However, Gig ‘Em Week, the series of events aimed at welcoming incoming freshmen and transfer students into the A&M community, has failed to meet stu dents' needs, despite revisions from previous years. The week that is supposed to introduce new stu dents' to the community provides no opportunity for them to truly meet other people. According to the student affairs Web site. Gig ‘Em Week’s events include various seminars on subjects such as employment, buying textbooks and leadership. Socials, such as the showing of “Chicago” at Simpson drill field tonight at 8:30 p.m., are sponsored by student organizations, including the Aggie Orientation Leader Program, the Honor Programs, residence halls and several apartment complexes. However, none of the events are projected to draw even half of the 6,800 members of the Class of 2007, according to Cynthia Hernandez, director of New Student Programs. Even though all events are free and open to all students', most of the events — such as a “campus dance night” on the Academic Plaza, a pizza taste- off or the ice cream social — would be awkward to attend solo. However, many new students' come to A&M without an established group of friends. Gig ‘Em Week events provide activities to attend with friends, but many freshmen have not had the opportunity to make those friends yet. Compared to other schools, A&M’s idea of “welcoming” freshman is not as friendly. At Baylor University’s Welcome Week, students' are assigned to small groups with upperclassmen lead ers to interact with during the week’s activities. At the University of Texas, different events are grouped by college. At A&M, they assume stu dents will know each other already. While some freshmen may know each other from programs earlier in the summer such as Fish Camp, Impact, Excel and T-Camp, many new stu dents cannot sacrifice the time or the money to attend any of these. Those who do attend may leave the experience without meeting anyone with whom they would willingly socialize. A&M must not ignore the fact that many stu dents do not attend Fish Camp or similar programs. It is a necessity to welcome all students once they arrive at A&M, even if they may have participated in previous events. Gig ‘Em Week should do this, but instead it uses unimaginative plans that fail to compete with events at other universities. The New Student Programs office should put more effort into welcoming the students it claims to serve. There should be more to greeting new stu dents than providing them with activities and food. If they are lucky, the individual members of the Class of 2007 and transfer students will be wel comed to A&M through various means, but it is doubtful that Gig ‘Em Week will be one of them. Sara Foley is a junior journalism major. hDEOMm mwPCNNER MD PAMtRlEL oN THE GROWD WILL EKS9RE OUR NIiSio^ FoR K&Q prelim... Collms Ezeanyim is a senior engineering major. ^ewaKXRsrHvn Courtesy of the USBIC Educational Foundation (800) 767- 2267