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Opinion
Page 11 • Tuesday, April 13, 2003
Kidding around
Childrens Center must receive more money to help Aggies with raising young
he stress of keeping up
with classes is enough for
most students at Texas
A&M, but the additional
responsibility of raising a
small child is one that
few are equipped to
manage. The
A&M
in 1998 to offer child-care services for students at a discounted
rate through funds supplied by the student service fee.
One would assume that a center founded and financially sup
ported with students in mind would reflect that focus in all of
its actions. In fact, its mission statement states that its aim is to
“promote access to higher education” through “quality child
care for University parents,” according to a presentation plead
ing for an increase in funds made to the Student Service Fee
Advisory Board in August 2003.
Don’t be deceived, though. Despite the insinuation that
“University parents” refers to students at
A&M, the A&M Children’s Center pro
vides care for less than 80 children of stu
dents this year, or 48 percent of its allot
ted spaces. The remaining spots are for
those “University parents” who are
employed by the University as either faculty
or staff. The Children’s Center must
allocate more money to students and
actually accomplish what its mission
statement stipulates.
The center offers reduced payments
for student-led or low-income fami
lies. In the 2003 fiscal year, 31 fami
lies received child-care payment dis
counts ranging from 15 percent to 25
percent. Had the fee referendum on the
recent student body election passed,
more student-led families could have
been eligible for discounts that help
them offset expansive child-care costs.
Di Fontenot, director of the center,
said the student service fee is not a sig
nificant portion of its budget, which is
approximately $1 million, but merely a su
plement for student families to pay for
child-care fees.
However, the center received $59,300
in funds from student service fees in
2003, but only $30,000 of it went toward
assistance in child-care payments.
President of the Graduate Student Council Josh Peschel said
child care is one of the services that directly benefits graduate
students, but didn’t think enough of the student service fee
money went toward the child-care and other programs that ben
efit graduate students.
Where the rest of the money goes is unclear.
In the request for additional funding in August 2003, the
Children’s Center also requested money for supplies and salary
increases that were denied by the Student Service Fee Advisory
Board. The Children’s Center receives a substantial amount of
funding from other venues, such as federal grants, the Child &
Adult Care Food Program, the College of Agriculture, the
College of Engineering, The Association of Former Students
and The Texas A&M Bookstore, as well as donations of sup
plies and resources from various student groups on campus
including Junior League and Aggie Moms Clubs.
These sources should finance supplies, needs and other
budget concerns. This will allow the money students pay in fees
to go toward assisting other A&M students with the financial
burdens that accompany raising children.
The center’s problems don’t stop there. For a child to be
admitted into the center, he is placed on a waiting list that is
200 names long. When the financial assistance is only a slight
possibility, parents have better chances seeking other daycare
facilities no university related.
The role of parents often calls for sacrifice.
Unfortunately, due to inadequate fund allocation by the
A&M Children’s Center, this may cause parents to wait to com
plete their degrees until their children are older. The center
must make their services more available to students to avoid
this situation.
Sara Foley is a junior
journalism major.
Graphic by Ivan Flores
Reparations would hurt
blacks in the country
;ities
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COLLINS
EZEANYIM
dvances in DNA tech
nology have improved
the ability to link
crimes to suspects. Recently,
DNA has been used by mis
guided activists seeking repa
rations for American slavery.
But these people, who waste
so much energy futilely pur
suing something they will
lap St 1 * never have, would do better to channel their
resources on issues that truly affect the black
community.
On March 29, descendants of slaves filed a
$1 billion lawsuit against American and
British corporations in federal court in
Manhattan, according to an Associated Press
an dg(Hfi st ory. The corporations include Lloyd’s of
nerican* London, FleetBoston and R.J. Reynolds. What
makes this lawsuit intriguing and, frankly,
somewhat disturbing is that the eight plaintiffs
have used DNA technolo- —
gy to link themselves to
blacks who brutally suf
fered due to the American
slave trade.
AH Americans recog
nize slavery as a perma-
ne nt stain on American
history. It was a disgust
ing, dehumanizing insti
tution that undermined
the United States’ foun-
dation as a free and
democratic republic.
But unfortunately, no living slave is avail
able to collect the restitution that he has right-
jiully earned. It would be acceptable if the chil-
jdren of the released slaves were served repara-
|ti°ns. The plaintiffs of this lawsuit are too far
pmoved to morally collect any money relating
| to the slave trade.
B is obvious that reparations activists do not
J°nly seek to gain financially, but they wish to
jPunish someone for the past horrors caused by
jAmerican slavery. The stories of how
jAmerican slaves were treated would certainly
Intake almost anyone want to lash out.
Unfortunately, in the same way the victims of
js avery are gone, the perpetrators of those
I Meous acts are also no longer around.
If the reparations activists truly wanted to
I ° something positive, instead of suing compa-
|J! les Utat have profited from slavery in the past,
|. e y could work with these corporations to
Invest in inner-city neighborhoods and to sup-
g-jPort diversity-building policies such as affirma-
w
a
Unfortunately, in the same
way the victims of slavery are
gone, the perpetrators of those
hideous acts are also no longer
around.
iiJ
i4 r
)4)S<
tive action.
One of the plaintiffs is Deadria Farmer-
Paellmann, a name many who follow the activ
ities of reparations activists will recognize. A
couple of years ago, Farmer-Paellmann made
headlines when she was the only named plain
tiff in a reparations lawsuit against Aetna, an
insurer, the railroad CSX and FleetBoston, a
financial services firm. In the latest lawsuit,
Farmer-Paellmann is identified as a descendant
of the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone. DNA evi
dence has also linked other plaintiffs to tribes
in Niger and Gambia, according to the Farmer-
Paellmann may be an intelligent woman, but it
is an awful shame she isn’t using her abilities
to achieve good.
All reparations activists should direct their
energies to problems that affect the black com
munity. For example, the National Urban
League recently released a report, “The State
of Black America 2004,” which concluded that
the “Equality Index,” or
“the statistical measure
ment of the disparities
that exist between, blacks
and whites in economics,
housing, education,
health, social justice and
civic engagement,”
revealed that the status of
black Americans is 73
percent lower than their
white counterparts.
This is an issue that
needs to be dealt with immediately, but it can
not be addressed through reparations activism.
The attitudes of black Americans must be
talked about seriously. Black and white rela
tions must also be examined, and reconcilia
tion must be advocated. But pursuing financial
redress for slavery will only create divisions in
a country that is increasingly becoming more
accepting of its racial differences.
Farmer-Paellmann and the other reparation
plaintiffs have a choice. They can leave a lega
cy of bettering the lives of black Americans, or
they can be seen as greedy opportunists who
profited from the sweat and blood of their dis
tant ancestors.
Collins Ezeanyim is a senior
computer engineering major.
MAIL CALL
Bush knows what
he is doing in Iraq
In response to Collins
Ezeanyim's April 12 column:
In previous columns, Mr.
Ezeanyim rags on President
Bush for getting us into a quag
mire with no end in sight. Now,
he is criticizing him for taking
steps to transfer power to the
Iraqis and greatly reduce our role
in Iraq, eventually ending our
presence there.
Keep in mind, the U.S. military
will not just pick up and leave on
June 29. It will remain to back
the new government until it can
take care of itself and its people.
Steps like this must be taken or
we will be there forever, proving
cretins like Kerry, Kennedy and
Mr. Ezeanyim correct through
our inaction. If, as he says, this
turnover is so risky, why would
Bush want to stick to the June
30 deadline with the election
coming up?
You should be overjoyed — this
is a win-win situation for liberals.
If the turnover goes well, then our
troops come home sooner, so the
“quagmire” will be over and liber
als won't have to waste their
breath wailing about it and they
can then go grandstand over
something else. If, however, the
transferring of sovereignty to
Iraqis turns into a blood bath, the
people will punish Bush for it in
the voting booth, whether justified
or not.
Paul Sims
Class of 2006
Admission policy
must ignore race
In response to a April 12 mail
call:
This race-based admission
debate has gone overboard.
According to Kellee Carr on
Monday’s mail call, she says to
blame the educational system of
Texas. I find this quite amusing.
Teachers cannot force kids to
want to learn. It is up to the par
ents to promote the advantages
of being well educated, not the
teachers.
I find it sad that parents don’t
want to do their jobs anymore as
parents and leave the burden of
teaching all aspects of life, right
and wrong, up to the teachers.
But when their children slack in
school and don’t keep up with
their grades they automatically
blame the teachers and schools,
but not themselves. I say the
University should try this race-
based admissions procedure for a
few years. Once they see that the
dropout rate increases exponen
tially, maybe they will come to
their senses.
Jordan Chambers
Class of 2004
Suggestive art
must be stopped
In response to Ivan Flores’ April
12 graphic:
I sat down yesterday before my
calculus class, ready to get my
daily news from The Battalion,
but when I opened up the paper,
I was once again disappointed by
the artwork chosen. The
Battalion has in many past news
papers chosen to use a risque
picture for illustration, and
Monday’s was no exception. This
needs to stop now.
Aggies read The Battalion for
news, sports and crossword puz
zles, not to see a picture of a girl
in a skin-tight shirt and low-rise
jeans. I know Monday's picture
doesn't even come close to the
promiscuity of some graphics
published earlier this year, but it
was still inappropriate.
I commend The Battalion's
artists for their abilities to draw, but
their pictures often are offensive
and completely uncalled for. I
encourage The Battalion editor and
staff in the future to chose artwork
that is more suitable for a newspa
per, not a Maxim magazine.
Daniel Nieswiadomy
Class of 2007
A&M logo belongs
on maroon only
Our University is one of the
most prideful schools in the
nation. We have no problem in
telling people how great our edu
cation is because it came from
Texas A&M. To show our pride,
we love to wear A&M apparel.You
cannot walk into a classroom and
not see at least one "Texas A&M”
shirt, hat, or shorts. And I wished
it stopped there.
I am seeing something these
days that is completely out of line
and inappropriate. You might look
around today and see somebody
wearing an A&M shirt that is not
maroon. I’ve seen everything
from blue to green to pink! Are
those our school colors? Then
why are you wearing them?
I believe it is necessary to make
students wear at least one piece of
maroon A&M clothing a day. Then
we can maroon out every day!
Charles Holland
Class of2005
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 stu
dent ID. Letters also may be mailed to:
014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas
A&M University, College Station, TX
77843-1 111. Fax: (979) 845-2647
Email: mailcall@thebattalion.net