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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2004)
Opinion The Battalion Page 5B • Thursday, September 2, 2004 Page Design • MATT RICNEY A working plan Jonathan Smith says Gates’ Vision 2020 is achieving its goals Christopher Jones •THE BATTALION O ver the summer, Texas A&M students received an early Christ mas present. The marketability of ■1 A&M degrees increased as the school’s Jonathan U.S. News and World Report ranking rose smith five spots from the previous year. A&M climbed to 62nd place among the nation’s 248 research universities. Aggies will experience an increase in opportunities as the school gains an increase in prestige. This rise in the rankings was the product of A&M, President Robert M. Gates’ new plans for A&M and the results show that his proposals are positive and effective. Since these changes have affected the University’s ranking in such a short time after being implemented, students should trust Vision 2020 as a step in the right direction and give Gates a chance. Much of the increase has been the result of Gates’ blueprint to add 447 new faculty positions. This ranking gain was produced with only 130 of these positions having been filled so far. The addition of these positions does much more than improve A&M's national ranking. These new faculty members increase the educational opportunities for all future and current students. Gates promises “more small classes, a better student-faculty ratio, more course choices, more tenured and tenure-track faculty in freshman and sophomore classes.” A&M also rose five positions to 22nd place among public universities. Such a large improvement seemed almost impossible when the plan was first announced, but now A&M is charging toward that goal. A&M’s current ranking demonstrates the value of A&M’s tuition. More expensive Texas schools such as Baylor, South ern Methodist University and Texas Christian University all received lower rankings. As Gates' plans continue to improve perceptions about A&M. the ranking will increase and tuition will become an even better value. Though some Aggies believe that outside perceptions of A&M don’t matter, in reality this ranking might help deter mine the value of an A&M degree for someone with little or no experience with the school. In the long run. Aggies who deny the importance of the external grade might get a job based on where A&M ranks nationally. Gates does more to improve the school's image than just improving rankings, however. He has also announced that he is looking to create a new high-level administrator position that will be responsible for coordinating communication and marketing efforts at A&M. “We have not done a good job of selling ourselves and the good things we do here,” special adviser R .C. Slocum told The Hagle. Whoever is hired to this position will help A&M put forth a consistent, positive message to the outside community. A more controlled marketing plan w ill improve the perception of all Aggies. There has been much controversy over Gates’ plans that worked toward improving the University’s ranking. Yet. chal lengers to Gates' actions have been shown why he was trusted with a job much more important that running A&M: He produc es results. “We have only just started down the road to improve the quality of education at Texas A&M,’’ Gates said during the academic convocation ceremony Saturday. Now that we have proof that Gates’ plans are effective, let us not waste time fol low mg his lead into a new era of excellence. Jonathan Smith is a junior history major. John David Blakley reasons Wohlgemuth isn't ready JOHN DAVID BLAKLEY t a recent fundraiser in Waco, Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, posed this question to an audience of nearly 8()() sup porters: “Arlene Wohlgemuth has pledged to do for the nation what she has done for the state of Texas. Is that a promise or a threat?” A care ful look at Wohlgemuth’s record in the State House reveals that her pledge may very well be the latter, as she has proven to be a lawmaker aloof to concerns of college students and work ing families, and is uninterested in the ideas of compassion and personal responsibility. Take a look at the controversial House Bill 2292, a bill authored by Wohlgemuth, which she now proudly flaunts in appear ances throughout District 17. Last week, the Waco Tribune editorial page called portions of the legislation “the costliest budget gim mick in Texas history.” The most expensive consequence of the legislation, a consequence Wohlgemuth always fails to mention on the campaign trail, is nothing short of an as sault on low-income working families for the purpose of saving a buck. Approximately 147,000 children of working families are now without health insurance due to H.B. 2292. Wohlgemuth not only authored legislation considered blatantly immoral (in fact, Texas Impact, a religious advocacy network, has been pushing Gov. Rick Perry to restore the budget cuts to CHIP, along with the Texas Medical Association and United Way) in the name of saving money, but it is projected to be unsound economics for Texas. As Wohl gemuth praises her actions as cost-saving, not only are thousands of children without means for healthcare, but Texas will end up footing larger bills due to lost federal dollars. For example, the federal government gives states $2.59 for every dollar it spends on CHIP. Also, the expensive and inevitable trips to the emergency room for illnesses that could have been treated at the doctor’s office add to the state’s costs. Perhaps the worst aspect of H.B. 2292 is the dilemma faced by low-income parents. They must deal with a the gut-wrenching choice. Parents could continue to work and set a good example for their children, but worry about whether their children will get sick. On the other hand, they could also leave their job and fall into a lower income bracket and re ceive government assistance to assure decent health care for their children. Wohlgemuth recently joined Gov. Perry in calling for the delay of about 20,000 children from being thrown off CHIP. This backtrack ing is too little too late and does not absolve her original cuts. College students beware: Wohlgemuth voted for tuition deregulation. For those who do not know, tuition deregulation was the removal of the 2 percent cap the state was allowed to increase tuition by and a measure that was opposed by a staggering majority of students, ranging from the Aggie Democrats to the Young Conservatives of Texas here at A&M. It is easy to see why deregulation is so unpopular among students — just look at your latest fee statement. At A&M, tuition has increased 21 per cent since deregulation, largely due to the Legislature’s failure to adequately fund higher education. A self-proclaimed conservative voting for a back-door tax increase on college students and then asking them for their vote is not only ironic, it is degrading to students. Such disrespect for students and education itself may explain why Wohlgemuth was quoted in the Texas Observer as saying that although she had not read “To Kill a Mock ingbird,” she would like to see it banned in schools. More importantly, however, it may explain why she cannot fully wrap her mind around the difficulty and, in many cases, penny-pinching, endured by college students trying to complete a college education. It is a big step for a politician to move from the state stage to the national stage. It is a promotion that should be earned. Take a good look at Wohlgemuth and what she has done for Texas. Placing undue burdens on young people who are attempting to make a good life for themselves by attend ing college does not deserve praise. Someone who increases hardships for families and puts them in a situation where the path of personal responsibility and work may hinder the health of their children does not deserve promotion. John David Blakley is a junior political science major. MAIL CALL A challenge is proposed to TS decision-makers I hereby challenge the decision-makers to subject themselves to the same circumstances many of us pe ons are forced to endure. The ground rules: 1. If you do this experiment on any day but a Monday or Wednes day, it will not be valid (for reasons of class schedules); 2. You must not obviously appear as a decisionmaker (we wouldn’t want any special treatment). Leave the O&M building at 2:42 (to allow for leav ing classroom, elevators, etc.) Walk, do not sprint, to the closest Ross Street bus stop and wait for the next bus going to Wehner. While you are here, you can remind yourself that you need these two consecu tive classes this semester to grad uate. They are not offered but for one section for the year. Oh, look, there is a bus! Never mind, it is a sardine can. No, you cannot stand in the back stairwell. A bus you can actually get on will be here eventually. Forward to getting off of the bus at the Wehner stop. Now, take a good look at your watch, or ask the nearest friendly Aggie for the time. Forty-five minutes from O&M to Wehner. Your class started 25 minutes ago. You wonder how many test questions were covered for the first half of the class. I expect many will soon be walk ing this sort of trip, but what about those for whom walking is not possible or practical? What about the fees? In this society, a service that becomes useless usually results in a change of ser vice or a refund. The students will be anxiously awaiting the results of your experiment in next week’s Battalion. Ben Jelley Class of 2004 to be the one to break this to the Greek community, but they are Aggies just like us. Just like us, they deserve nothing special for football games. Go and be exclusive somewhere else. Willem Strittmatter Class of 2002 Frats contribute to A&M as much as the Corps Although they have not existed at A&M since the inception of the University, fraternities and sororities are values-based organizations that contribute greatly to Texas A&M and the surrounding communities. It’s time to accept the fact that 10 percent of A&M’s student popu lation is Greek, which is more than twice the size of the Corps. Times are changing, and the way things were is not always better for the University and its students. Prior to August of 1925, there was no woman who earned a de gree from A&M, but I think we can all agree that the tradition of an all male school is one we are all happy to do without. If the metric to determine if an organization is worthy of a seating block at a football game is the age of the organization, then the Greeks are certainly out of luck. But if the metric is something more meaning ful; something dealing with community involvement, leadership development, and values that carry into life after college, the Greek community is fully deserv ing of a seating block at the Aggie football games. I would much rather watch Aggie football on tele vision than be associated with an organization that values so poorly the good work done by Greeks at A&M, as well as the work that has yet to be done. Times are changing, and the way things were is not always better for the University and its students. — Jon Boben Class of 2006 Jack did the right thing, Greeks aren’t special In response to Chelsea Sledge's Sept. 1 article: Jack Hildebrand made the right decision when he denied the Greek block. I’m glad to see we have a SBP who finally does what the majority of the stu dent body wants. The Corps is the only group that should be al lowed a block because of tradition. I’m sorry to have Jon Boben Class of 2006 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters should 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 sub mitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 015 Reed McDonald, 1111 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thcbattalion.nct