High rank means more work
All hail the Commission of 125, indeed! Really, I'm just as aghast/amused as the next guy at the ridiculous pomp put on for 218 mysteriously heroic "volunteers" and their recommendations.
Actually, after three years of just wishing someone would pick up the phone when I'd like to make a recommendation to this University, I'd probably think the band fanfare and the Tower being lit up in my honor was pretty cool. Thing is, none of us could hope to be perceived as that important, and why should we? What have we done, besides tout our student status and run around seeking inclusion in Such Important Decisions As This, that really merits getting to put our two cents in? We're just that: students who have yet to distinguish ourselves. The high-ups have doled out the cash to help figure out how we can edge ourselves above the likes of UC's Santa Barbara, Davis, Irvine, San Diego and Berkeley.
I object to the ceremony and to the amount of money delegated to what any of us (distinguished or not) could figure out with common sense, but perhaps most of all, I object to anyone who'd like to enjoy a higher ranking but perceives what we as students would inevitably need to do as an unnecessary burden on us. I'd like to see the percentages of the students who are self-supported at the top-ranked schools. I'd like to see how many of them sucked it up and took out loans, as opposed to cutting back class hours for a semester or more, and I'd like to know what else they do with their time, aside from their 15-plus class hours.
If we as students want to enjoy higher rankings, we're going to have to conform to the reality of what being a student at a highly ranked school is. In my opinion, we're going to have to sacrifice a lot of what we're accustomed to (jobs, social lives, volunteer work, one could go on), and for many of us - myself included - some of those sacrifices are going to be impossible to make.
A final note: Don't fear the Commission's harsh wording. Does anyone really think the administration is going to kick the vast majority of us out after four years? Not a chance. How else would they fund the next big task force?
MaryAnne McReynolds English/French senior
Union benefits grad students
It's important that The Daily Texan publish a clarification of some misinformation printed in "Decision bars unionizing of grad students," from Sept. 29. While I'm sure that this reporter is well-intentioned, his piece contains some significant and potentially dangerous, errors.
First, the Brown University decision prevents grad students at private universities from unionizing, but grad students at the University of Texas have the right to organize. Our union, the Texas State Employees Union, is perfectly legal and is recognized by both the administration and state government. It is our right to join and participate.
More importantly, the statement attributed to TSEU's university organizer Pete Haney that "The University's graduate student body has been successful in gaining better health and tuition benefits ... even without unions" is laughable and grossly distorts recent history. Over the last 10 years, the two most important benefits graduate students possess - tuition reimbursement and health care - were won by the efforts of TSEU. When the 78th Legislature proposed to cut our health care, the campaign against Senate Bill 1370 was led almost exclusively by union members. The insertion of the key phrase permitting the university to pick up the slack in our health-care costs was negotiated by Erin Boade and Caroline O'Connor, both - you guessed it - union activists.
Finally, last fall union members and the GSA successfully lobbied UT's administration to fund our health-care programs even after SB 1370. That would not have been possible if dozens of union members had not traipsed down to the Capitol to advocate for the interests of all grad students. It is no exaggeration to state that, without the union, grad students would now have no access to quality, affordable health care.
Michael Martin Doctoral candidate in comparative literature TSEU member
Rev. shows true compassion
Thank you, Andy Sere, for the article on Rev. Jim Rigby ("Standing up for gay marriage," Oct. 4). I applaud the Rev. Rigby for his brave stance supporting gay rights; it is refreshing to see a Christian leader forgo self-righteousness in favor of tolerance and respect for a lifestyle other than his own.
It is important to note that the basis for Christian dogma concerning homosexuals is rooted in the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus, which outlines various unsafe ("impure") practices for the Israelite community. Along with homosexuality, it condemns clothing woven of two materials, fields planted with two types of seed and the ingestion of certain foods.
In the context of the Israelites, this made perfect sense; these proscriptions were essential to the survival of the community. Planting two types of seed is bad because the field will not yield a hearty crop; homosexuality is "bad" because the practice does not engender community growth through procreation. And while modern Christians recognize many of the tenets of the Old Testament as vestigial, they often cling to those that validate their own world views.
It is exactly this type of ethnocentric, fundamentalist (mis)interpretation and ideological displacement that has been historically misconstrued as raison d'etre by hate groups, including the Nazis, Al-Qaida and the KKK. Gays comprise roughly the same percentage of our population as African-Americans and have experienced similar struggles in obtaining the limited brand of equality thus far achieved. The reality is that gays have as much "choice" in being gay as African-Americans have in being black.
Where is the moral outrage on their behalf from a Christian community so instrumental in changing American attitudes during the Civil Rights and abolition movements? It seems that the Rev. Rigby embodies this bygone progressive spirit; I wish him luck in transforming Christian sentiment from within.
Seth Bills American studies senior graduate student
Only commies at the Texan
The president of the University. The U.S. Secretary of Commerce. More than a few distinguished alumni. And a former governor of Texas.
All of the above, in addition to hundreds of former and active Cowboys, attended the opening of the new Texas Cowboys Pavilion this weekend - a $1.2 million facility across from the stadium, and the first to be named expressly for a student organization.
Since 1922, the Texas Cowboys have served the University Community, and Saturday's event marked a public demonstration of that continuing legacy of service.
But Monday's edition was missing an article describing the event. Perhaps the coverage hole can be attributed to the lack of UT Watch members in attendance. Or maybe we should've grabbed a couple of Campus Greens, handed them some chaps and black hats and let them fire the cannon. It's likely that the opening was just a bit too far on the pro-gym-class side to warrant a reporter.
Whatever the rationale, and it could've been an honest oversight, the University unveiled a million dollar facility, and the students' newspaper was noticeably absent.
Maybe we'll just have to wait for next season, when the University Socialists christen the Eugene V. Debs Memorial Fountain. I hear they're accepting donations.
P. Ryan Petkoff Journalism senior
Web-Exclusive Firing Lines
There's still time to register locally
For those of you who seem to have been sleeping under a rock for the past couple of weeks and woken up Tuesday morning at 12 a.m. to realize that you still haven't "postmarked" your voter registration card, don't fret. Guess what: You can still exercise your right to vote on the ballots that pop up throughout the other three years.
Sure, you wont be able to choose your president come November 2nd, but don't let that stop you from registering to vote for other measures! It amazes me that those who seem to perceive it to be their duty to remind us to register to vote every four years fail to inform us of the hundreds of other ballots we need to cast.
By the way, The Texan forgot to mention another place to get your registration card - that one place that seems to be empty except the night before exams, the library.
Ramya Sankar Biomedical Engineering sophomore
Bikes insanely annoying
To all you bike riders: Dude, you guys are not cool. Us pedestrians are not props on your obstacle course, so please don't see how sweet it looks by weaving in and out of us. Also, aren't you guys supposed to stop at stop signs and red lights? And another thing, it's not awesome for you to blow through the bicycle dismount zone just because the ticket guy isn't there to get you. We are not amused by your thrilling desires for speed, we're actually quite annoyed. "Dismount" does not mean get off if you want to, and "dismount" does not mean stop pedaling. Dismount means stop your bike, get off of it, and walk with it.
Is it wrong that I chuckle to myself every time I see a bicycle frame chained to a rack but one of the wheels is missing, or when it's just the wheel chained to the rack? I'm honestly not all too bothered by it because chances are you're one of the jerks who weaved in front of me on Speedway. Or maybe you're the guy/girl who's almost ran into me because you failed to stop at a stop sign and just figured you'd try your chances with the 15 people around me who thought it was safe to cross the street because all the cars stopped at the stop sign like they were supposed to.
Brian Kennedy Computer sciences sophomore
Graduation rules unreasonable
Alright, I have kept silent for too long about this, but I have to say I am wholeheartedly against any rule that requires students to graduate in four years. Granted, it seems bad to deny someone education, but it seems far worse to award someone with education only to take it away because someone can't do it in four years. Not to mention that it makes no sense to belittle the usefulness of AP if the goal is to get people to graduate sooner. AP credit is what has allowed me to graduate in four years myself.
And what about us that work? I have to work 20 hours a week to eat! I tried the 15 hours thing while working and I have to be honest, I didn't come out on top. Since then, I have stayed conveniently at 12 or 13 hours and I'm quite happy. Am I to be punished for trying to make ends meet? No!
The thing I hate about all this is that it sounds like more rules. What about incentives? Why not just set tuition for the first four years at a certain price and after that raise the amount? It does not forcefully kick anyone out, but does provide a severe incentive that everyone can relate with: money.
For goodness sake, the people making these rules are alumni! I would expect more thought from someone who has graduated from UT than this.
Tim Soderstrom Computer sciences senior
There's no I in Team, Benson
Did Cedric Benson really say he would rather win the Heisman than Texas beat OU? What kind of Heisman candidate is this? I think I speak for every Longhorn fan everywhere when I say that we are just dying to see the Longhorns defeat the Sooners on Saturday. We've been waiting for years; I've waited my entire college career! But we have our star running back and Heisman hopeful wanting the Heisman more than beating OU. Defeating OU will definitely put us in the hunt for a national championship. Maybe he should sit out on Saturday so he doesn't get hurt and lose his chance at the Heisman. Ahmed Rashid Biology senior
Kerry facts caught in media filter
I wasn't surprised to see that nowhere in the cover story about Bush's hometown newspaper endorsing Kerry was it mentioned that Kerry's hometown newspaper, the Lowell (MA) Sun, endorsed Bush. Incidentally, the Sun has about 100 times the circulation of the Crawford Iconoclast. This bit of obviously relevant information must have been caught in the liberal filter. Also, the Texan didn't mention that the "impartial" operator and editor of the Iconoclast donated to Kerry's campaign, information available to anyone on the web.
At any rate, this caliber of investigative journalism is preparing you well for a career at CBS.
Alex Heltzel Mechanical Engineering graduate student
Burnham's column dead on
Three cheers for James Burnham's "U.S. is fighting an ideological battle," Oct. 5. Regardless of one's political views, Burnham provides a refreshing bit of original insight into the Iraq and terrorism debates. Instead of rehashing the same old arguments, his piece presents a new and compelling way of viewing the differences between Bush and Kerry. I read the Texan's Opinion page every day, and this was one of the best I've read in a long time. Thanks.
Ezra D. Church Third year Law Student
Burnham's column dead wrong
In his Tuesday column, James Burnham inaccurately portrays the current confrontation between the U.S. foreign policy establishment and worldwide Islamic terrorist groups as ideological. Nothing could be further from the truth.
If the current struggle was a philosophic conflict between freedom and religious authoritarianism, then why are the Chechen terrorists at war with semi-authoritarian Russia, a nation not known for representing the ideals of classical liberalism?
Burnham suggests that terrorism today is anti-American. But how is the terrorism against Russia anti-American? And if al-Qaida hates democracy, why did it defend the democratically-elected government of Afghanistan in the 1980s against its invasion by the totalitarian Soviet Union?
Although it's true that neither al-Qaida nor the unaffiliated Chechen rebels are supporters of freedom and democracy, that is not why they are committing terrorist acts. It's far more plausible to believe that the Chechen rebels in Chechnya and the Islamist terrorists in Iraq are responding to Russian and U.S. military interventions, respectively. The chaos in Iraq and Chechnya today suggests that military interventions create far more terrorists than they eliminate. The thousands of insurgents in Iraq today are not primarily foreign fighters and remnants of Saddam Hussein's former regime. The current terrorists there have been freshly minted by the U.S. invasion last year and the 17-month military occupation.
Clark Patterson Liberal arts senior
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