University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, April 18, 1997 Page: 3 of 6
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UPOpinion
University Press • Friday, April 18,1997 • Page 3
University Press
Allen Pearson....................................Editor
Tonya Andris...........................Managing Editor
The opinions that appear in editorials are the official views of the
University Press student management as determined by the Student
Editorial Board Opinions expressed elsewhere on this page are the
views of the writers only and are not necessarily those of the
University Press student management. Opinions are not necessarily
those of the university administration.
Editorial
Walk for healthy children in
Southeast Texas tomorrow
Want to “walk for someone you love?”
Time to put on your walking shoes for the
March of Dimes annual Walk America. The
annual fund-raiser, which starts at 8 a.m.
tomorrow, will help fund research to see that
babies are born healthy. Progress has been
made for the cause, but the March of Dimes
needs the help of Lamar.
The goal for Lamar University students this
year is to help beat last year’s totals. Last year,
5,000 walkers in Southeast Texas raised
$269,810 for the cause.
Many people decide to take time off from
work and school on Saturday, but this year
make different plans. Attend Walk America
and experience a different type of relaxation.
Walking is a good way to relax for many, and
participants will be able to enjoy this benefit
while helping a worthy cause.
Many people don’t realize the magnitude of
funds from Walk America. With money raised
from the event in the past, the organization has
helped make strides in screening newborns for
PKU to prevent mental retardation. March of
Dimes funds also help infants affected with
breathing disorders breathe a bit easier.
Many events have been scheduled by
Lamar to help the cause, and it is very impor-
tant that Lamar students, faculty and staff
show their Cardinal pride and support the
March of Dimes. In the past, Lamar University
and its components have participated as teams
and studenets have participated as individuals. It
doesn’t matter how LU participates. The most
important thing is that we are represented in
great numbers at the event.
Lamar needs to show the community that
we support efforts to enhance the health of
children. Come out and show your love for the
many children each year who are born with
birth defects.
University Press
Editor.....---------------~..AIlen Pearson
Managing Editor.............Tonya Andris
Copy Editor.................Laura Lee Scott
Features---
Editor........................Holly Simmons
Staff Writers-
Samantha McGuire, Kim Green,
Vita Gradney, Ginger Sjolander,
Todd Sonnier, Billie Dorman
Sports-
Bryce Darby, Brian van Staveren,
Owen Myrhe, Sarah Stirk, Jamie May
Graphics —-—
Editor............................Liv Lindberg
Mark Nesmith, Matthew Herndon
Photography-:-
Editor.............................Mark Smith,
Henrik Sandsjo, Shawn Sosa
Advertising.......................Linda Barrett
Adria Cormier
Letters to the editor policy
Individuals who wish to speak out on issues should send a letter
fewer than 400 words in length to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box
10055, LU Station, Beaumont 77710, or drop letters off at our
offices in 200 Setzer Student Center. The writer’s name, address,
phone number, and social security number must accompany each
letter. Letters received without this information cannot be printed.
Letters may be edited for length, grammar, style and possible libel.
Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the UP stu-
dent management. Letters by the same writer on the same subject
will not be published. Poetry, reprints, anonymous letters and reli-
gious debates will not be published.
THE MARCH OP DIMES
WALK AMERICA;
OME DW OP SW6AT ...
A LIFETIME OF Wof>£ I
MsmUL "97
‘War on the floor’
Conflict triggers exchange between political parties
In grade school, we learned there were
two causes for war: immediate and long-term.
The Civil War was triggered by the election
of Abraham Lincoln but its root cause was
the simmering North-South debate over
extending slavery to the new western states.
You can perform the same historic analy-
sis on the recent tussle on the floor of
Congress.
What caused one member, Texas
Republican Tom DeLay, to shove another,
Wisconsin Democrat David Obey, was the
sight and feel of Obey’s finger jamming into
his chest.
The long-term cause of the recent War on
the Floor, which featured language not fit for
this or any newspaper, dealt with political
fundamentals. The Republican majority, led
by Speaker Newt Gingrich, wants this year’s
sleepy Congress to keep the media spotlight
on Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign.
Democrats, led by California’s George
Miller, want to see some action on Capitol
Hill. Barring that, they’d at least like to stir
things up.
Miller’s crowd has the argument on its
side. Since taking the oath in January, the
105th Congress has celebrated Jack
Kennedy’s description of Washington as a
city exhibiting “the charm of the North and
the efficiency of the South.”
Even the paltry number of days the
House has actually held session is deceptively
high. One week, members were called back to
Washington for a lame trio of resolutions, the
most consequential of which was a rhetorical
gold watch to retired Secretary of State
Warren Christopher.
“I think it’s pretty clear, however you
look at Congress, we’ve been into a massive
drift,” Miller said in an interview. “No direc-
tion. No priorities. No vision. We’ve been
here three to four months and we have done
nothing.”
A 51-year-old serving his seventh term,
Miller is not waiting for the Republicans to
pick up the action. He’s been employing a
wide range of parliamentary tactics, including
motions to adjourn, meant to intimidate the
GOP leadership into action, especially on leg-
islation to reform the way members of
Congress and presidents raise campaign
money- Congressional Record. After DeLay’s motion
His goal, Miller openly admits, is to was rejected, Democrat Obey arrived on the
“raise the irritability level of the Congress. floor waving a copy of a Washington Post
“I want to make sure there’s a visibility article backing up Miller’s charges. It was
here on campaign finance reform. It’s very when he waved the article too closely to
clear, from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue DeLay’s face that the tussle commenced,
to the other, that massive amounts of money “I’m fully prepared to raise the tempera-
are corroding and corrupting our Democratic ture of the House,” Miller said the morning
institutions.” after, “and yesterday it rose faster than I
Miller never expected his scheme to thought.”
heighten the “irritability level” on the House He remained unapologetic about his
floor would be so successful. What triggered unusual means of drawing attention to
the in-your-chest fingerpointing, shoving and congressional inaction on campaign reform,
name-calling was the burly Californian’s “I think you get the privilege of coming to
charge that Congressman DeLay had allowed Washington, and to have this thing dead in
industry lobbyists into his office to help draft the water is unacceptable. I have had to
legislation. Miller called this a classic case of develop a whole new set of tools.”
rat-cat campaign contributors getting power
denied the average citizen. Christopher Matthews is the Washington
Furious, the Texas congressman asked to bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner.
have Miller’s comment stricken from the
Letter to the editor
Editor
“It will be no surprise to me if stu-
dents at Lamar don’t want to hear or read
anything about elections after the last two
weeks. However, the reasoning for this is
wrong.
The Student Government
Association may be the easiest organiza-
tion to blame for the election mishap, but
as a representative to SGA from
Morris/Combs, and a former member of
the now defunct Election Commission,
there is a lot more than meets the eye.
First, let it be said that as members of
the Election Commission, we are not
sworn to secrecy. I would not have had a
problem if it was not for the fact that I
believe, that as students of this university,
we have a right to know what is happen-
ing behind the scenes that affects us.
Second, there is some controversy as
to whether or not I should have been on
the Election Commission because of the
fact that I am not a senator. I was unaware
of this rule, and I was asked to be on the
Commission. It was the duty of the
Election Commission Chairman to check
these things, and it was not done until
complaints were voiced. Someone else
was denied a position on the Commission
because he was running in a race, though
non-contested, but at the same time,
Wayne Paulus was allowed to serve as
Election Commission Chairman, even
though he was running in a race, though
uncontested.
Third, the Election Commission
Chairman has certain responsibilities to
uphold. One such responsibility is being
sure that all Election Commissioners have
read and signed the rules of the
Commission. This must be done to insure
the integrity of the voting members. This
was not done.
Also, the Election Commission
Chairman was the architect of this elec-
tion computer program. Was this program
checked for the possibility of tampering
by anyone? I firmly believe that no mem-
ber of SGA should have the right to
devise an election program because of the
possibility of bias acts. As creator of this
program, the Election Commission
Chairman should have made 100 percent
sure that all computers used were coded,
and it should have been made 100 percent
sure that there was no possibility of them
becoming decoded. Then, the tainted
votes of the first election could have been
thrown out. Do I believe the Commission
had a right to declare the first election null
and void? No! Had the rules been given to
all voting Commissioners, I am confident
that results would not have turned out the
same way.
Fourth and foremost, a poll worker
was accused of influencing votes in the
first election. This was the main factor
determining a re-election. The Election
Commission Chairman assured us that
this matter would be dealt with. But, until
April 11, it was not. Now, the poll worker
states that he did not influence votes.
In conclusion, I feel that it is time
for the Election Commission Chairman to ’
either step-up or step-down, whichever it
may be, and accept full responsibility for
the improper handling of the election.
This way, the SGA can move on and not
be blamed, for it was not the fault of SGA.
I would like to see the results of the first
and second elections combined to reflect
the true wishes of Lamar students. After
this, let’s move on and work to represent
this campus as it should be done.”
Jason Rahmani
Houston sophomore
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Pearson, Allen. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, April 18, 1997, newspaper, April 18, 1997; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500691/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.