The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, September 3, 1999 Page: 2 of 20
twenty pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE RICE THRESHER OPINION
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
the Rice Thresher
Jett McAlister,
Mariel Tarn
Editors in Chief
Brian Stoler
Senior Editor
James Dallal,
Gordon Wittick
Opinion Editors
Using SA funds wisely
The Student Association's surplus of about $32,000 should be
saved for a large cause, not divided among the eight colleges for
them to do with as they see fit.
The sum, which was collected in student blanket taxes for
several years to cover the cost of programs since defunct, should
be treated carefully — the student body isn't likely to have
another windfall of a couple tens of thousands of dollars, with
basically no strings attached, fall into its lap anytime soon.
$32,000 is quite a hefty sum for a student group that doesn't yet
know what to do with it.
A proposed solution presented at Monday's SA meeting seems
like a halfhearted last-ditch effort to use the money as soon as
possible. College presidents proposed taking $24,000 of the
money, leaving the SA approximately $8,000 and allotting $3,000
to each of the colleges. The colleges would then decide what to
do with their portion of the funds — because, supporters of the
plan argue, the colleges are closest to the students and know
how to best distribute the money.
But the ideas suggested for the funds by college presidents
are nothing extraordinary. They could be used to improve the
upkeep of college buildings; and colleges could put money into
their appropriations budgets, to distribute to student organiza-
tions and activities asking for funding.
Most colleges that have not already done so, however,' are
working toward eliminating their appropriations budgets —
because it's hard for student groups that want funding to beg at
each college's individual cabinet meetings. Will Rice College
suggested that their portion of the $3,000 would help improve
the college buildings and areas, saying that the college didn't
have sufficient funds for upkeep — because they didn't want to
raise college fees, which have been low. Why, then, should the
money of students who have graduated and left the school be
spent to keep fees low for current students?
Students should think carefully about where they want this
money to go. An extra $3,000 in each college's budget is a nice
treat, especially for cash-strapped colleges. But realize that
divided into chunks, the combined power of a large sum is gone,
probably to fund small programs and purchases.
Saving the large sum for a worthwhile cause, however, has the
potential to sway decisions of the administration. A referendum
voted on in April proposed that the money be used to support
increased hours for Health Services, although the effort ulti-
mately failed.
The idea behind that referendum, however, is what we should
keep in mind — that the students can decide to use the money
to support a cause that the administration has ignored or refuses
to back. And splitting up a large sum of money to go toward
comparatively commonplace goals destroys a potentially signifi-
cant power of the student body — the ability to demonstrate to
the administration an important cause that students support and
where Rice should consider spending more money.
Supporting Rice EMS
Another proposal for the Student Association's $32,000 in
surplus funds is to use it to improve Rice Emergency Medical
Services. EMS is a worthy cause to support —though not
necessarily with the defunct blanket tax money, which EMTs
have proposed be given to the service.
Rice EMS has asked the administration for funding to help
support its services — including upgrading its equipment and
possibly purchasing an ambulance. We should wait to hear
Rice's verdict on using university funds to support EMS before
deciding to use the surplus money to improve EMS. If the
administration decides not to aid EMS — which seems unlikely,
considering how vital their services have become — students
can then decide to publicly support EMS with the SA's surplus
funds.
Most of us have never had direct contact with Rice student
EMTs. But their services to the community are vital, especially
because Rice EMTs are often the first qn the scene at an accident,
a heart attack or any life-threatening medical emergency — and
particularly when the response time for ambulance paramedics
to reach victims of medical emergencies average about 10 min-
utes and may take up to half an hour. The cost of an ambulance
for campus may be steep (over $60,000, EMTs said at Monday's
SA meeting), but who can put a price on saving a human life?
...m>rip uine
is
STUPID
41vpid
C
REGISTRAR
3 Houas
STOPid si^oarunet
CHetusH THfc srfpio Twines in Lire.
The emperor wears no clothes
Bush's campaign: Read between the lines
George W. Bush and I have two
things in common. First, we both
purportedly reside in Texas. Sec-
ond, neither of us has used any ille-
gal narcotics in the past 25
years.
Most "compassionate"
conservatives must think
much more highly of me
having learned that fac?t.~
But I sense that many of
those same individuals
might want to hold the
Texas governor to a higher
standard — no illegal nar-
cotics in the past 50 years,
perhaps.
What we have here on
the face of it, then, is a typical case of
American ageism. Gov. Bush must
jump through a higher hoop simply
because he was born earlier.
On the other hand, I could pass
the 50-year test as well, and I'm ndf
even a candidate for president. (Al-
though I might run if I didn't have to
be 35 years old. See? Ageism is ev-
erywhere in our society.) It seems
more than plausible that Bush could
not pass such a test. From my van-
tage point, it seems at one time the
man enjoyed snorting a few blissful
lines of cocaine every now and then.
And I believe that I may now lay
claim to a truly unique political
stance. So far, the barometer used
to evaluate Bush's snorting proclivi-
ties has ranged from "That's awful,"
to "So what?"
Fresh opinion surveys have ad-
dressed only the degree of indigna-
tion among American voters. CNN
has reported that 87 percent of Ameri-
cans would be just as likely to vote
for a coke-snorting, platformless son
of a president than they would be to
vote for a harmless, platform-less
son ofapresident. The remaining 13
percentmightconsider changing their
votes on the basis of past drug use.
I, on the other hand, had exactly
the opposite reaction. For once in
the human comedy that Campaign
2000 is shaping up to be, I actually
admire Bush. Until now, I had
thought he was merely a really pretty
name with a somewhat pretty face.
But now I realize I was wrong: The
son has learned well, and he is a
brilliant politician.
Bush's implicit admission of past
drug use was a masterstroke, one
that placed him more firmly than
ever at the front of the Republican
pack, and I hesitate to assume that
such an action could have been acci-
dental.
In the first place, Bush's admis-
sion establishes that the man is no
wuss. It's always-reassuring to hear
tHfct our public leaders are human,
especially if they condescend to be
honest about it.
And let's face it, Bush was about
as honest as he could have been
about his youthful improprieties
without openly bragging. We Ameri-
James
Dallal
cans detest wussiness in our public
leaders. Fortunately, we haven't had
to put up with it too often of late, but
when we have, the results have been
telling. In the 1970s,
Jimmy Carter admitted
in a Playboy interview
that he felt "lust in his
heart." He was hailed.
As a laughingstock.
But the other, far
more important advan-
tage Bush wins with his
admission is an end to
mindless questions from
the media about such
trivialities as his posi-
tions on campaign issues
and his plans for reform once he
takes over the White House. The
national news media have long hun-
gered to answer such questions for
the American public, but the only
news flowing from the Bush cam-
paign has been the endless string of
record-breaking fund-raising fig-
ures.
The plain fact is that exchanging
minor policy guarantees for dona-
tions earns one far more money than
developing a consistent foreign
policy, and trumpeting Jesus and
the essential competence of the well-
meaning American will earn one far
more votes than an adequate though
controversial solution to the health
industry mess.
During the politically dormant
autumn before an election cycle, the
onus is on the media tc^-further ex-
plore the upcoming race and ex-
plain its meaning to American vot-
ers. But while Jesus and patronage
favors are alfwell and good in press
circles, they are tired territory.
It's always reassuring
to hear that our public
leaders are human.
The news sources want to report
something new, something fresh.
Without the drug story, their inces-
sant inquiry might have come dan-
gerously close to pinning Bush down
to an actual position. With it, that
danger evaporates — journalists
may aim their analytic powers away
from policy questions and toward
more marketable but less relevant
moral concerns.
Over the past few weeks, the na-
tional news media have run with this
story. They've clawed at it in a des-
perate rush to craft the definitive
American opinion of Bush's nasal
delights. The Republicans have been
established as apathetic, the Demo-
crats silent, the public curious but
forgiving, and the governor's pris-
tine "press image" ruined—we have
arrived once again at the philosophi-
cal quagmire of the press reporting
on the press.
This done, George W. Bush is an
even surer lock to be the Republican
nominee. Senator John McCain of
Arizona, the only other Republican
candidate of any governmental stat-
ure, could only tip the scales if gov-
ernance, not politics, comes to the
forefront of the public discussion
surrounding the election. That pro-
cess is dependent on a perceptive
media persistently asking incisive
questions. The media's preoccupa-
tion with coke-snorting and self-
analysis has ensured this will not
happen any time soon.
By now, you no doubt have no-
ticed that this column has drifted
into the press reporting on the press
reporting on the press. Of course,
it's far easier to craft such a gimmick
than to delve into the actual signifi-
cance of a political development.
And it's far easier to be a politi-
cian than a statesman.
James Dallal is opinion editor and a
Lovett College sophomore. He can be
contacted afjdallal@rice.edu.
CONTACTING THE
0 . THRESHER
Letters
■ ^Letters to the editor
should be sent to the Thresher
by mail, fax, e-mail to
thresher@rice.edu or be deliv-
ered in person. We prefer that
letters be submitted on disk
or by e-mail. Letters must be
received by 5 p.m. on the Mon-
day prior to a Friday publica-
tion date.
■ All letters must be signed
and include a phone number.
Rice students and alumni must
include their college and year.
will withhold names upon
request.
■ Letters should be no
longer than 500 words in
length. The Thresher reserves
the right to edit letters for
both content and length.
News Tips
m Tips for possible new* sto-
ries should be phoned in to
the Thresher at (713) 5274801.
Subscribing
■ Annual subscriptions are
available for $40 domestic and
$90 international via first-class
mail.
Advertising
We a^Cfcpt both display
and classified advertisements.
Contact the Thresher for more
information.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
McAlister, Jett & Tam, Mariel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, September 3, 1999, newspaper, September 3, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246653/m1/2/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.