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
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