'n Colfe Sne M'F': fence St,' I fcgy.P;. r iuage iJ * rayler:!! ianiedT|. ork Mfc -|m. pie, fl)kCt.C0[r silionsos J 113 I 1 ,: r 1 Pay$, Wayl t *18+. Ci Opinion The Battalion Page 5 • Tuesday, July 27, 2004 ew 1 Sp« ims, lignna Too abstract for Aggieland modern art on campus will take away from traditional campus atmosphere he figure stands frozen tunately becoming extinct on this campus along HHHH| '''‘r*-' I in a moment of intense HHkHHRHH with Bonfire. strength and focus, his Journalist and historian Hendrik Willem Van wm strength and focus, his look e anbs gripping a chain wrapped ' ockd,cc 'Llind a steel pipe as if they S /ere the reigns of a power- iil beast he was taming. The Ms, to loighneck statue in front of the 'etroleum Engineering build- ng elebrates a theme that can mike ^TpwMppreciated by the future waiters ;n t cilntists and engineers walking p-y^-Blass on that side of campus — man conquer- ipoint,te'ng nature with the ease and confidence that comes vitl the proper knowledge that Aggies seek in their ^^Jcation and growth at this University. 'TATE Perhaps the best thing about great art is that view- m ,4btr njit can give one a concrete sense of values, beliefs mete ■em otions, renewing one’s strength by seeing pething of beauty that the viewer may relate to. Jtues on campus like The Roughneck can give a Id Aggie a refreshed resolve on hard weeks of ling and stress, with the silent reminder of the [ngth and beauty that is possible in man. badly, there are Aggies who don’t understand this Itiment. Elizabeth Jurewicz, chair of the MSC lual Arts Committee, believes abstract sculptress Rit Blitt should be the artist to spread art awareness S#ughout campus. However, Aggies should reject abstract twists of metal as the kind of art that -JZjbodies the spirit of Aggieland, and refuse to allow nlo .ul m on our beautiful campus, ugust. M'Any type of art, especially art that’s abstract and ■terent, that causes people to think, will be very influential on a campus that is isolated from those 979-TMids of influences,†Jurewicz told The Battalion. He statement echoes an idea that is sadly common ipiex. a that art is the most interesting and special when itl abstract and conveys no solid meaning. —-«nthe same article in The Battalion, Jurewicz [is reported as saying her committee wanted to ng “more abstract†sculptures to campus, “Un- eother statues ... such as the Victory Eagle at in Park.†Ilfs wrong to think that different always means belter.The Victory Eagle was donated by the class * 1991 as “a perpetual symbol of the Aggie spirit.†ijftEMe eagle has always represented America as a did in it^ 778-5713 2bth, I jus. $8 oommae raw tow Rachel! from wl mbol of freedom, strength and independence, wiich are common values that Aggies share as ; ytung soldiers, scientists, doctors and scholars. shing. salt’s probably not a coincidence that people like Jurewicz wish to have something different d and^ fj)in a statue like the Victory Eagle — they don’t understand it. It represents values that are unfor- g. 2bdmii' icluded,^ irina, 485-' tunately becoming extinct on this campus along with Bonfire Journalist and historian Hendrik Willem Van Loon once said “the arts are an even better ba rometer of what is happening in our world than the stock market or the debates in Congress.†The loss of appreciation for traditional Aggie values is showing in the Visual Arts Committee’s choice for new campus artwork. Make no mistake, there is merit in change. Al lowing “non-reg†students and women to attend Texas A&M were steps forward in the school’s history. But forgetting why classic statues are important, and the principles they represent is unforgivable. This school will only go downhill if we throw away values that are shown in the hard lines of our realistic statues. By favoring the haphazard forms and meaningless shapes of abstract art simply be cause it’s a social trend, we sacrifice what it means to be an Aggie. The school’s push to be the “Harvard of Brazos County†at any cost — from the racism of new admissions policies to the destruction of a relaxing Flag Room in favor of yet another tired study area — there is part of the Aggie spirit that’s rapidly disappearing. Aggies should try to remain proudly distinct rather than try to “go with the crowd.†It’s contradictory to try to achieve distinction as a top university by being like every other school. A&M has represented an distinctive characteristic called the Aggie Spirit. Aggies lead the world into battle against terrorism and tyranny. A&M scientists pave the way in the human exploration of genetics with our cloning projects, and many Aggies have gone on to become politicians such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Our heroism, individualism and deter mination is world famous. So what kind of art awareness is most appropri ate to Aggies? The twisted guesswork of Blitt’s sculptures, or art that captures the Aggie spirit in the form of a soaring eagle or a rugged oil worker? Installation of the two sculptures at Cain Park and by the Kleberg Center will be complete by Sept. 1. If Aggies prize the spirit of our tradi tions, they should take one look at the silly forms and say, “No thanks.†Aggies must not give in to the mindless duplication of other uni versities and artistic traditions. There’s nothing wrong with being different — in fact, Aggies should be proud to be so. Mike Walters is a senior psychology major. Graphic by Grade Arenas MAIL CALL cal business not part Rock the Vote jRock the Vote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization developed to encourage young adults to vote. Rock the Vote engages young 3 7°fo; flults in the political process by incorporating entertainment community and youth culture its activities. Rock the Vote does not sup- 1-293-ifcjprt or participate in any individual electoral : nrnai7 : campaigns. The “Rock the Vote" slogan and -°, stj SL was trademarked in 1990. This summer City of College Station adopted MTV’s Rock igam'v; ^ ote Program. We at Rock the Vote look for te bringing our nation-wide campaign to college town, uniting the vitality of music need' culture with the renowned Aggie spirit. i79-693W* ew York Sub is selling presidential cam- paign T-shirts displaying the Rock the Vote slo- t/v/d, «gan on their front. The use of the slogan has been approved by MTV or Rock the Vote ITT National. As representatives from the College Station Rock the Vote Street Team we ask that you not associate this abuse of our slogan to cab* our organization. If you would like to learn more D/mo. 9/ about how to get involved with Rock the Vote ^College Station, please contact your local Com- ™ nit y Street Team Leader, Marcella Colbert, at Brcella_colbert@yahoo.com or check out our ^tioIWeb site at: www.rockthevote.com. More about □els ok our events will be available in your local busi- ses and via The Battalion. Marcella Colbert MTV Rock the Vote McCain-Feingold Act is beneficial In response to Eric Brown's July 26 column: “It is a sad fact that the government has come to the point where it must regulate the amount of money that can be donated or spent by indi viduals, special interest groups and unions.†I couldn't agree more. But the realization of the aforementioned fact coupled with the claim that soft money should still be left unregulated is even more heart wrenching. Your contradic tions are very disturbing. Here’s another: "These politicians often forget why they are here: to represent the interests of their constitu ents." Is this referring to the politicians who re fuse soft money and refuse to sell out to special interests? Or is it referring to the politicians who are solely dependent on special interest funding for election? Leaving special interests unregu lated guarantees their rise to the helm of Ameri can politics and, consequently, the voice of the people goes unnoticed. Politicians can then ignore the concerns of constituents as long as they act accordingly to the wishes of the special interests. McCain-Feingold is a bold step in the right direction. Grass roots campaigning is what it's all about so I suppose I’ll end with this: Mc Cain-Feingold in 2008 - you can bet your bottom dollar they won’t sell out Brad Brewer Class of 2006 Students must voice concern over West Campus parking T exas A&M faces an endless dilemma: There | are only about 34,000 park ing spaces and more than 45,000 stu dents, as well as faculty, staff and visitors trying to park in them. The frustration this formula adds up to has created a great animosity between students and Transporta tion Services that runs rampant across campus. The attitude is not unfounded; TS rarely seems as if it is making policies that are in the best interest of students. A recent example of such a policy is the new pre-pay system in parking area 72, a parking lot near Wehner and that is frequently used by those studying late at the West Campus Library. The new system requires people who park in the lot to first decide how long they plan to be there and then pay for that amount of time. If life were predictable, this system would work well. Since this is an imper fect world, full of classes that run late and tests that get out early, the system has only fueled the frustra tion felt by many students into an even bigger flame. The most apparent problem with the pre-pay system is the inability for students to predict how much time they will need to park on campus. “I don’t like (the new system). You don’t know how long you’re going to be here,†said senior ac counting major Colin Baker. Students may plan on staying on campus for an hour and a half, but whether they need to meet with Unfortunately, TS isn't coming up with solutions that would work best for all parties involved. a professor after class or they run into a friend, something is bound to hold them up at one time or another. If someone parked in lot 72 doesn’t make it back to the car in time, he will find a $40 ticket on his car. In addition, problems could arise if a student’s professor decided to cancel class. A student who has already paid money to park in the lot for two hours will not get a re fund when he gets back to his car 15 minutes later. The lot would be much bet ter served as a commuter lot for students who take all their classes in Wehner. Unfortunately, TS isn’t coming up with solutions that would work best for all parties involved. Rodney Weis, director of TS, said the issue is a need for visitor parking on West Campus. While visitors obviously need places to park, too, students who are on campus every day should be TS’ primary concern. If the West Campus Parking Garage is too far to make visitors walk, some of the parking lot should be allocated to 30-minute parking or paid parking and the rest to permit holders. This idea is obviously feasible, since previously some of the parking lot was allocated to faculty permit holders and the rest was for paid parking. To solve the bigger problem, an improvement is needed in the communication between students and TS. The perception among many students is that TS is out to get them, which is actually far from the truth. When students have a problem with the TS’ parking policies, they are more likely to do nothing and complain about it than find out the reasoning behind the policy. Students must voice their complains to allow positive changes to be made in their favor. TS says that it is willing to work with students’ complaints either by fixing the problem or explaining why they can’t. Weis has only received four e-mails regarding parking area 72, even though there seems to be a much greater student popula tion that is disgruntled with the change. He said he has person ally responded to each e-mail. Students who are inconvenienced by the new policy must speak up. Weis said that TS would be willing to make changes when problems occur. “We’re going to keep evaluat ing it, we’re going to keep analyz ing it, looking at it and certainly as the technology changes and we’re allowed to do more for the customer, we’re going to do that,†Weis said. Students must put aside their frustrations with TS and instead, initiate changes by taking action. If there really is a problem like the one in parking area 72, it will not get changed unless students take their parking fate into their own hands. Kristina Butler is a senior journalism major.