/
wry 19,21
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5B • Thursday, February 19, 2004
! team, the team
ven disappointed
*11, maybe a little
dry. I was disap.
id Darlings,
the weekend, as
d, the Diamond
d at the gates to
items" (as stated
duties on tlie
ite) in the form ol
the Diamond
f I’m wrong, but
mission of the
promote Aggie
i the world were
s with pictures ol
'e the baseball
but it was barelj
t looking for it! |
four hours from
BO degree weal
/ voice to seethe
came back to
iseball team beat
rpus Christi.
Christy Chan
Class of 20112
is the
Aggies
ony Woolstm's Ifent
i, an Aggie i
oeared on Texas
legislators list for
te budget with
muth saved I
i state legislature
of a $9.9 billior
an effective com
ohlgemuth is no
M. She has two
in-law who have
She understands
is that makete
Logan
Class
Workin' on the railroad
Proposed plan for railroad tracks will benefit citizens and students ofB-CS
l
added a
udiences
ts of the
DAVID
SHOEMAKER
Ihe history of College
Station and Texas A&M
has always had close ties
Je railroad. In its early days,
lrailroad was a means tor
Indents to get to the
fersity, and the town grew
Lnd the University and its
[toad station. But times have
|, and now the train’s
[kin the Bryan-Col lege
jginarea has changed. Trains have become an
Cjyance, preventing students from reaching
Lon time and disrupting rush-hour traffic.
Xproposed plan — 12-2, or the Bryan north
— would benefit the residents of
and College Station more so than one of
Mother three.
Pie University, Texas Department of
msportation, Union Pacific, Brazos County and
kcities of Bryan and College Station formed a
si force to address the problem. The Bryan-
jiege Station Metropolitan Planning
Jpiization (MPO) hired Carter & Burgess
to study making changes to the rail-
lull's right-of-way to improve congestion issues.
After several years of deliberations and many
proposed plans, the MPO has finally set-
IcJouaplan from four finalists. The final pres-
■iion has been delayed until March due to the
Kino create an environmental assessment,
ug to an article from The Bryan-College
Eagle. It seems the plans of the MPO and
Idas Transportation Department will greatly
pprove the rail situation in the area.
Each plan has with varying impact on the A&M
npus,but plan 12-2 is clearly the best option.
Ikfirst plan, called Alignment 1, leaves
leas they are, with no changes to the rail line
Jikwlitownorto the highways that cross it.
cnt6-l took the tracks to the west of
istEasterwood Airport and along State
if 47 to the north of Bryan. Alignment 10-
.’niicten more drastic, moving tracks across the
taosRiver into Burleson County, and eventual-
kwingback across the river to meet existing
tebnorth of Bryan.
Butthese plans have been set aside for now.
Alignment 1 made no improvement to the cur
rent situation. Alignment 6-1 was opposed by
the City of Bryan because it could damage the
quality of life along Highway 47. The 10-2 plan
was problematic because it crossed the flood
plain of the Brazos River, requiring long bridges
to meet requirements of federal law, according
to Carter & Burgess.
Alignment 12-2 involves tracks looping to the
west of Bryan and FM 2818 and rejoining exist
ing lines to the north of town. This plan would
take the tracks out of downtown Bryan, but would
leave them where they are in College Station. But
the plan did not leave College Station residents
and A&M students high and dry. As part of the
plan, underpasses such as the one at University
Drive would be built at 16 locations, 11 of them
at existing railroad crossings, including
Holleman, Rock Prairie and Villa Maria.
This would greatly improve traffic patterns
and decrease safety risks for A&M students as
well as the community at large. Students would
no longer have to wait on the bus at Old Main
while a train crawls by at 25 mph. Trains would
no longer cause traffic jams at George Bush and
Wellborn. But one of the best features of the plan
is that Old Main and Joe Routt would be given
underpasses. Although the study has been a long
time in coming, it seems that the results will be
finally worth it.
This may mean construction headaches such
as the one that occurred during the construction
of the Pedestrian Passageway at Joe Routt, but it
will be well worth it in the long run for the
University and the area. The University, its part
ners in the MPO and transportation department
have done well for the students and the citizens in
the area with this plan.
With the anticipated arrival of the finished
study from the MPO’s consultants, hopefully the
plans will move into the final design stages so
work can begin soon. The Bryan-College Station
area has suffered too long from rail related con
gestion and safety issues. o'
David Shoemaker is a junior
management major.
Chris Grifhn • THE BATTALION
Gaining suffrage... again
Attack on Prairie View A&M students uses voting as an excuse to promote racism
i racially-prejudiced official accom-
[A plished precisely the thing he sought to
i. Iprevent when he incited political
m among students at Prairie View A&M
Bjtrying to suppress their right to vote.
alerter run in The Waller Times, Waller
County District Attorney Oliver Kitzman
toed to prosecute the University it it
feed students who were not permanent resi
sts of the county to vote in local elections,
fcman contends that since students comprise
1 large percentage of the voting population, their votes are a e
stew election results at the expense of permanent residents.
Students living in a community have every right to ta e an
heroic in their community by choosing to vote, as sigm i-
*1 decisions and issues have no less impact on then ives
* any other resident. Furthermore, it seems that d district
%ney should be able to recognize the value ot college stu
"Is as educated voters.
Ittas Attorney General Greg Abbott re-affirmed the stu
Ms right to vote as “a fundamental right in this state an m
s country. College students cannot be targeted for discnmi
"alary residency requirements, and nothing prevents them rom
Jling where they attend school.” The only catch is that stu-
must claim Waller County as their residence, just as
exasA&M students who wish to vote locally must designate
L % Station.
, H wever, as Prairie View student Ashley McDonald told The
Angeles Times, “Students at other Texas colleges aren t eve
phoned on whether they’re qualified to register, but they are
a'haine View. If s just not right.”
Uear ly residency is not the real issue.
The truth of the matter is that Kitzman is threatening stu
dents’ voting rights on a racial basis disguised as geography
issue. Coincidentally, Prairie View is a historically black univer
sity in a town that is 58 percent white and only
29 percent black. The implication of Kitzman’s
argument is clear: He fears black students will
dilute or even overrule the white vote.
Kitzman has a history of trying to advance
his personal agenda of racism and discrimina
tion through political action in a predominately-
white county notorious for confederate activity
and intolerance, according to University Wire.
In the 1970s, when Kitzman previously served
as district attorney, the Waller County voter reg
istrar mandated a residency questionnaire for
students, but not for non-students. A federal
lawsuit followed, as well as a federal court
order in 1978 banning the registrar from differ
The truth of the
matter is that Kitzman is
threatening students'
voting right on a racial
basis disguised as a
geography issue.
entiating students from non-students in voting requirements.
Though students’ rights may have been upheld in several rul
ings, Kitzman continues to exert an intimidating presence which
necessitates active resistance.
With the support of the NAACP, four students have filed a
lawsuit out of fear of prosecution, regardless of what the attor
ney general has ruled if they register to vote. No person should
be subjected to this fear; it is contrary to everything that
American ideals of democracy proclaim.
“It’s a situation very reminiscent of the 1960s that unfortu
nately we’re having to deal with in 2004,” Executive Director of
the Houston chapter of the NAACP Yolanda Smith told The Los
Angeles Times.
Prairie View students have made it clear that they are willing
to fight courageously for their constitutionally-guaranteed right
to vote.
Not only did students organize a protest rally and seven-mile
march on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth
day, they also planned a mass voter registra
tion drive and are working to get an on-cam
pus early voting site.
“What Kitzman did was energize Prairie
View students,” said Prairie View Student
Body President Hendrik Maison. “People are
more interested than they have been in a long
time. I can honestly say that students are really
looking forward to voting.”
Kitzman has brought his continued lack of
integrity and his disregard for democracy to
national attention, and now it is the job of the
nation to hold him accountable.
As fellow Aggies in the A&M system, as
Texans who wish to fight stereotypes of igno
rance and racial prejudice and as Americans committed to the
ideas of justice and democracy, A&M students must not remain
silent on such an important issue not only of students’ rights,
but also of civil rights.
In any event, the plight of the Prairie View students should
remind all students that the right and responsibility to vote
should be exercised conscientiously and thoughtfully and not
be taken for granted.
Lindsay Orman is a senior
English major.
■mingArts
I in&piM
Kl Is avoiding facts
p students' race
l Response to a Feb. 17 mail call:
does it surprise me that the
l ^9 Conservatives ot Texas have
pied to shrill name-calling in
pat trom an actual debate ot the
ps? Isn’t this what conservatives
pplain the Democrats are doing to
l ^ideni George W. Bush?
I pact ot the matter is undergrad-
\f demographics starkly contrast
pot Texas and the United States
p'whole. Based on the Fall 2003
pment profile, Texas A&M had
.percentWhite, 2.4 percent Black,
r V percent Asian undergradu-
15 ^rding to the 2000 Census,
■ and the United States have
71.2 percent and 75.1 percent whites,
11.5 percent and 12.3 percent blacks,
and 3.6 percent and 3.6 percent
Asians respectively. Proportionately,
whites are over-represented, and
blacks are under-represented. It is
worthwhile to debate whether demo
graphics should be matched, what
diversity means and its merit as a
goal. Name-calling is not a worth
while, intellectually honest debate.
The Young Conservatives’ mail call
purported to be about the FCIC. Its
hidden agenda was to promote YCT
and its scholarship. I applaud the
race-neutral economic encourage
ment of a scholarship, but I strongly
disapprove of the tactics and intellec
tual dishonesty of the mail call.
Colin Gibson
Class of 2002
I
MAIL CALL
Everyone has a right
to protest his beliefs
In response to a Feb. 18 mail call:
The first widely held view of Texas
A&M is the primary picture of A&M
students outside of The University.
The second picture that Joseph Abel
refers 'to is a mostly untrue view of
Aggies. We are labeled as intolerant
and “sick” because of the rash actions
of a few.
I do not accept homosexuality as a
genetic hindrance. I accept the fact
that people have alternative lifestyles,
and that there is nothing I can do about
what people do privately. However, it is
my opinion to hold on whether I agree
with homosexual conduct. Such rallies
as straight pride are the celebration of
a portion of the population upholding
their beliefs of heterosexuality. For you
to decide that you can agree with one
side of an issue but not let the other
voice its opinion is intolerant.
Again, it is regrettable that a few indi
viduals felt it was necessary to attack
someone for his sexual-orientation.
But to label Aggies as universally intol
erant and in need of a “cure for their
sickness” says a lot for your tolerance.
Michael Gorney
Class of 2003