SPOR]
BATTALII
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Pace Design • LINDSYE FORSON
What’s right is night
li^ggie Nights’ payoff to the student body merits the costs to the University
T:
ADAM
SCHARN
exas A&M is well known for the vast
number of extracurricular programs and
activities it offers students. While some
programs offer the “other education” A&M
is renowned for, others have been designed
for pure entertainment. One such program of
entertainment is Aggie Nights. The national
trend among American colleges and universi
ties over the last three years has been to offer
students late-night programs on campus over
the weekend. In the fall of 2002, A&M fol
lowed suit by creating Aggie Nights.
Unfortunately, after only two years, the program is in jeopardy of
being dropped due to lack of funding. It would be a tragedy to see a
great program like Aggie Nights, which offers a night of free food
andfiin for Aggies and their friends, dropped because the school
would rather waste money on frivolous expenditures. Of course, the
only way to save the program is for the administration and stu
dents to recognize the true value of the program. Furthennore, the
iadministration needs to recognize that the well-being of the students
is more important than spending inordinate amounts of money on
things that might make the school look better in the public eye.
The best thing about Aggie Nights is that it is free. Almost
every student has felt the wrath of an empty bank account. Being
broke should never stop a college kid from having some fun on the
weekend. At Aggie Nights, students can go bowling, play pool and
participate in a variety of other activities. And by scrounging up a
dollar, students can go see movies from time to time, some of which
are out of theaters, but still not in stores. As Dave Salmon, assistant
director of the MSC, puts it, “We want to let Aggies know that there
are free opportunities for recreation and entertainment on campus.”
Salmon is, the primary adviser to the program and one of its
day twt: greatest advocates, is one who sees the value of the program and
Prpvi I attends most of the Aggie Nights. From his frequent attendance,
Salmon has noted that “a significant portion of our audience is
graduate students and international students.” In fact, attendance
reports, which are done by Aggie Card swipes, show that gradu
ate students and freshmen account for nearly half the attendance,
which exemplifies the idea that Aggie Nights is a great way for
many newcomers in Aggieland to meet people and relax from the
stresses of school.
Aggie Nights has many other positive aspects, but of course with
most great things come great critics. Critics’ central argument is that
Aggie Nights wastes too much of the students’ money. Rest assured
A&M wonr
led to Oregont
Mercedes-Be-
view at the Sr
eadows Cours
osted a 307 r
g it a 20th plati
day of
team turned in
ond day.
Nicole U
ace, sophoinortj
ng is tied ioi|
irenda
ined rankatN' ^ ow the administration wastes money on far worse ideas
free entertainment.
Some critics say the program takes too large a chunk out of the
MSC’s apportionment of the student services fee revenue. This is
not true. The MSC is allotted roughly $2.3 million each year, ac
cording to reports from the Student Service Fee Advisory Board.
senior
and sophonwl
ds 91st
y, 21-teamt0i, , |
rap up
sday.
IgJ Aggie Nights receives only $40,000 from the MSC’s fee allotment,
or just barely 1 percent. The first year, the rest of its $130,000 bud
get came from a reserve fund. The second year, the vice president
of student affairs felt the program was important enough to grant
Aggie Nights the remainder of its budget. However, these two
sources will be unavailable for the third year because each was
intended as a one-time grant.
This brings up the question of why Aggie Nights is so expensive
to run. The program subsidizes the costs of all activities planned for
IS
each night, including
the cost of movies. This is
quite expensive. Some have sug
gested that if the program is going to spend so
much money on all these things, it should fund itself by
charging admission. That defeats the puqoose the program, which
is to provid^/ree entertainment to students.
The main problem with funding Aggie Nights is that its
money comes primarily from MSC budgets. As Jennifer Ford,
who sits on the oversight committee for the program explains,
“Aggie Nights is a University-wide initiative, not an MSC project.”
For that reason, the program should perhaps be funded through
other departments.
There is not a lack of funds at the school, just a lack of desire
to fund programs that actually matter or that don’t get public
attention. Many clubs and organizations complain about lack
of funding; meanwhile, some University employees are driving
around in expensive new Chevy Tahoes. And Vision 20/20 always
seems to be taken care of.
A&M has enough money, but the administration chooses to pro
vide resources for programs other than those that will directly ben
efit the students. Aggie Nights is one such program,, and it would
be a shame to see it go because somebody in charge of money is
more concerned with a U.S. News & World Report ranking.
Adam Scharn is a junior
political science major.
University should listen
when students raise issues
MAIL&CALL
kKERS:
>lic Life
lists at Texas
)rofessionals
irs to discuss
dween those
the various
:o 1999, and
ce president
ice of panels
ireciation of
istrationpet
:e. Call 979-
ormation.
Relntionsmi
Throughout history,
Americans have seen events
in which problems are not
fixed until after they culmi
nate into some sort of tragic
accident. The Columbia
space shuttle, the collapse
of Enron and the attacks of
Sept. 11 are prime examples
of such events. The most
recent addi
tion to this
list is the
July 31 explosion of the Univer
sity Apartments. This event is a
prime example of the University’s
pattern of ignoring problems until
they become a priority.
According to The Eagle, the
day of the explosion, residents
complained that they smelled
gas and believed there was some
sort of leak. Unfortunately, ap
propriate actions were not taken,
and the problem was not solved.
The explosion tore through
the apartment of two married
graduate students, resulting in
the death of their 4-year-old
daughter and resident Saquib
Ejaz’ mother. Also injured in
the fire were Ejaz’s father, who is still in the
hospital, and wife, who is undergoing physical
therapy in Houston.
According to the State Fire Martial’s office,
the explosion was a result of large holes in the
gas pipes surrounding the apartments. On the day
before the explosion, a maintenance worker said
there was no gas leak in the building and that the
residents should close their windows because
they believed the gas was coming from outside,
as reported in The Battalion. The worker said
they would return the following Monday to check
again. Unfortunately by then the apartment would
be in ruin.
Residents of the apartment complex have
complained in the past that maintenance workers
provide the residents with little assistance, doing
the bare minimum to ensure that the apartments
were livable. Residents believe that they received
poor treatment because they could not afford to live
anywhere else, especially the little girl who paid the
ultimate price.
Naturally, A&M President Robert M. Gates is
looking for ideas to prevent future accidents. In an
e-mail to students, he announced the establishment
of a special hotline that will prevent future acci
dents, and the latest American trend in dealing with
tragedies: Organizing a task force.
However, the formation of the task force was
halted after District Attorney Bill Turner ordered it,
pending the official fire marshal’s report.
Gates seems to have all
the bases covered, but he
also claims to have taken
a few initiatives before the
accident. Those actions
included improving the de
partment of environmental
health and safety, which
unfortunately did not pre
vent the apartment fire.
Residents are worried
about those who are still
hospitalized but when they
asked Gates if he would
consider paying their
medical bills, he said he
would rather not discuss
that until the investigation
into the fire is complete.
Either he is still hoping the
University is not at fault or
he is trying very hard not to incriminate it.
Of course the apartment residents are being
treated to all the necessary amenities: Free food,
Aggie Bucks and hotel lodging. Suddenly a
group that once felt ignored and neglected is be
ing treated with great consideration, but at what
cost? Some residents are still bothered by the
incident and feel the University is still not taking
full responsibility.
It should come as no surprise to see adminis
trators become so enthralled with boosting rank
ings that they forget the most important division
of the University: The students. At the very least,
the unfortunate death of a little girl will remind
them that their responsibilities lie not only in at
tracting new students, but also caring for the ones
they already have.
Jim Foreman is a junior
mechanical engineering major.
4 4,
It should come as no
surprise to see
administrators become
so enthralled with
boosting rankings that
they forget the most
important division of the
University: The students.
Popular bike locks have
a flaw ruins effectiveness
In response to Mike Walters’ Sept. 20 col
umn:
Mr. Walters makes a good point about the need
to crack down on bicycle theft; however, he un
wittingly I suspect, offered advice to bike users
that might only increase the chances of theft. As
reported by The New York Times in an article on
Sept. 17, U-lock bike locks that use a cylindrical
keyhole can easily be picked open using only a
ballpoint pen. Lydia Polgreen writes, “Mashing
the empty barrel of a ballpoint pen into the cy
lindrical keyhole and turning it clockwise does
the trick that has struck fear into the hearts of
bicycle owners.”
Bike owners would be advised to purchase
something other than a U-lock, contrary to Mr.
Walter’s suggestion, until the lock manufacturers
have solved this problem.
Stephen Addcox
Class of 2005
Aggieland hasn’t changed
over the past decades
As an old Ag, I was asked by a co-worker (here in
Greenville, S.C.) about Texas A&M before her trip to
the Clemson game. She was duly impressed by the tra
ditions, and I told her she would be treated graciously.
I was bursting with pride today when she told me
how they had been greeted and welcomed repeatedly;
someone gave them a beer at the Dixie Chicken af
ter the game, and a fellow diner Sunday paid for their
breakfast! They were astonished and impressed by
the warmth and kindness they were shown.
No doubt a lot has changed since I was there; I’m so
glad some things are still the same.
Michelle Quartermaine
Class of 1980
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 submitted 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.net