The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1989 Page: 2 of 8
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Pago §/Th@ J-TAC/Thursday, February 9, 1989
OPMiof"'
Students should not issue traffic citations
.1. • . ♦u..* n,^r*r\ and nnlv whp.n nflrftssarv.
Lu\V enforcement officers go through months of training to earn their
badges. They learn strategic tactics in apprehending criminals as well
as the judgement, required in a police officer to make rational, legal deci-
' IliMis. Ill fact, the latter may be the most important quality, and one of
tile most difficult to learn.
At Tarleton, the University Police Department regularly assigns students
the taSsk of writing parking tickets. If it were simply a matter of review-
ing the parking regulations in the campus motor vehicle handbook, the
job wouldn't be that difficult. But the assignment is more than just the
"meter maid" stereotype. Students on this campus demand, and rightly
so, that citations be issued in good judgement and only when necessary.
The judgement required in this decision is not explained in the motor
vehicle handbook; it is something a law enforcement officer learns after
years on the job.
It is not that student workers are probably not capable of learning the
task and becoming competent law enforcement officers, but rather, they
should not be required to issue citations and legal decisions without the
proper training. Just' as a dentist can't do the simple task of brushing the
teeth of a patient without a state license, neither should students have
the authority to issue traffic citations without professional training.
Writing can be enjoyable for all
Ben Tinsley
Asst. to the
Editor
impress the holy heck out of your
mate. Passing Grades-A lot of
teachers in non-English classes at
TSU (ie; history, science, jour-
nalism,etc.) are asking more and
more for essays of some sort dur-
ing the semester.
Writing, in my opinion, is one of Now, I know some of you are
the main weaknesses, generally probably saying, "SO WHAT?
speaking, of the college student. A IT'S STILL A PAIN IN THE
lot of people, it seems, have had one REAR!" Well, folks, I hate to tell
bad experience or another in high you, but a lot of you will be doing
school or some other place, and a lot of writing during your careers,
regard the act of writing as un- be it simply taking notes, or prepar-
necessary. A chore to be done. ing speeches to give to your co-
'I'hat is wrong. Il is wrong workers. No matter if you are an ag
because writing, when seen in the major or a business major, you're
proper perspective, can be one of never going to be able to escape the
the most fun things a student or pro- English language.
fessional will ever do.
Why? Well, just imagine a
weapon so powerful, so useful and
so efficient that it could affect
anyone in the world who can read.
Imagine this weapon cannot be seen,
because it is not a specific entity;
cannot be stopped if used properly;
and is so powerful, that it will let
anv - of people, from a small
iiiii if* .. world, know
who yo,'i are, Now, s (v. i.agi'iing
Snd start reading a newspaper. Th'c
weapon is the art of writing.
Writing can be used in this form,
and it can be used for many other
things: Communication- If you want
the campiiS to know something, the
quickest way to have it known is by
writing a letter to the J-TAC.
Poetry- If you want to impress your
loved one, then write a poem. If one
is written correctly, you can not on-
ly get your point across, but you can
To gain a greater knowledge of
English, you're going to have to do
more than just stay awake in your
composition and rhetoric classes.
Here are some tips;
*Read. I don't care if it's Stephen
King, Harold Robbins, Jackie Col-
lins, John Steinbeck, Geoffrey
Caucer, or Perry Stuart'^ column in
the Star-Telegram. Read. You will
find, after, a period of time,, that
reading will help, among other
tilings, your punctuation, subject-
. verb agreement, and conceptualiza-
tion (your ability, to think up story
or practical ideas in yoi^r head, and
follow through with these ideas to
their conclusion).
* Practice. Even if it is a pain,
practice your writing. Go to
workshops, take writing classes of-
fered at TSU, or just practice in
your room. But practice. You can
do this by writing letters, poems,
short stories, letters-to the-editor, or
something. Think of a letter as a
gift; something that you are giving
to' someone as a present, and
something you'd want to think out
before you mail it out or present it
to someone. This would be a good
philosophy to adopt with all your
writing.
^Critique. Have someone look at
your work, and edit it. (Preferably
a teacher) This will give you an
understanding of the weaknesses in
your writing style, and give you a
better idea on how to cope with
those weaknesses.
For those of you who enjoy
writing, I apologize. I'm going off
on this tangent because a lot of good
friends of mine have very low
writing skills. I think a major part
of their problem is that they have
always looked upon writing the
same way I've always looked at
math: necessary only to graduate.
This was the attitude I carried all
through high school, and I'm pay-
ing the price now. My conception
of math is so primative, that I'm
having to go to lab-upon-lab just to
keep up with the basics. Because of
my negligence, I'm spending a lot
of extra time learning math. And
that's a shame, because I can think
of a million things offhand that I
could be doing with that time. But
I'm still working on that math,
because I need the knowledge. And
people with writing problems should
too.
When I was in Basic Training at
Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri,
(Yes, I did a stint the U.S. Armed
Forces for two-and-a-half years as
an enlisted man in the national
guard) my drill sergeants would
drop us for push-ups during P.T.
(Physical Training) During this ex-
ercise period, the drills would walk
around the sweaty, exercising group
of men, and inspect each individual
on the quality of his push-ups. They
would be looking at us to see if our
arms were straight, if our rumps
were too high in the air, and if we
were keeping up with the "one-two-
three-four" count.
Because there are always more
soldiers in a platoon or company
than there are drill sergeants, com-
manding officer, or executive of-
ficers, some of us would take the
opportunity to rest on the ground
when our leader's backs were turn-
ed. The result: we could not do as
many push-ups as someone who
didn't rest until the exercise was
over could. In a vain attempt to
avoid this from happening, the drill
sergeants would appeal to our con-
ciences, saying: "If you don't do all
the push-ups, you're only hurting
yourselves." And this was true.
At the end of the basic training
cycle, I could barely squeeze out 40
push-ups, when guys beside me
were knocking out 60,70,100 push-
ups right and left. The moral of my
story is: I cheated myself, and I paid
the price. Just like I'm doing in
math.
Don't do this to yourself.
Work on your writing. Please.
You owe it to yourself to learn now,
when you're in a learning enviro-
ment. You'll thank yourself later.
Democracy: a system that works
t§
Kim Kraalz
Opinions Editor
The system does work.
When a reporter uncovered the
' truth about the congressional pay
raise, Americans were outraged.
We knew that the pay raise was due
to go in effect but no one realized
how much the salaries would actual-
ly increase. A reporter for the
Boston Globe decided to figure the
exact amount of the raise, and in do-
ing so, discovered the absolute
nonsense of the increase. His story
stirred the public to action.
Letters poured into congressional
offices. Editors across the country
attacked such an obvious abuse of
power. Congressmen didn't even
have the GUTS to vote on the issue,
and we were outraged. Children
even realized the unfairness of the
raise. One young man urged
everyone opposed to the unvoted
raise to keep their headlights on
while driving during one Monday.
The news about the raise traveled
through all mediums and was ex-
amined, debated and criticized by
all.
And it worked. Congress got the
message.
Speaker of the House Jim Wright
called for a vote to decide if the raise
would go into effect or not. That
was all the American people
wanted. A vote.
My faith in the democratic system
has been restored. An automatic pay
raise of such a large amount would
have been entirely unnecessary and
impractical. Welfare, housing and
medical needs should come first,
and it was obvious through the
response of the people that these and
more needs must be met before
legislators get a raise. The over-
whelming opposition to the raise
voiced by people across the coun-
try prompted a last minute vote.
This just shows that legislators do
listen to their constituents, at least
some of the time.
And, that is what the democratic
system is all about--government BY
the people for the people. We
the JhTAC
STAFF
Editor-Dan K. McCoy
Opinions Editor-Kim Kraatz
Sports Editor-Gayden Hays
Assistant to the Editor-Ben Tinsley
Advisor-Charles Reynolds
Staff-Wendy Brown, Manuel Alvear, Barbara Martin, Russell
Schneider, Gloria Smith(News); Lance Moore, Mike Mar-
bach(Sports); Wayne Briggs, Ross Canion(Photography)
■ Production and Design-Cathy F. Hope, Greg Mefford, Liz Dawes
; Advertising Saks Manager-Cindy Prestridge
Circulation-John Hughes, Christine Hancook
Secretary-Dusty Pounds
The J-TAC is published ouch Thursday during the regular semesters, with the exception of University
holidays and cxjiiiinarkm periods. The printer is the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.
The J-TAC is a non profit organisation. The U.S. postage is paid permit number 133, Stephen-
ville, Texas 76402.
Only articles, under the EDITORIAL section of this page express the opinion of The J-TAC. All
other columns do not necessarily represent the opinion of the University or this newspaper.
Deadlines arc noon Monday for advertising and noon Tuesday for articles and letters to the editor.
Inquires may be mudc bv telephone to: Editor, %8-9056; Newsroom/Editorials/Advertising, 968-9057;
Faculty Advisor, 968-905H.
FOR MAIL SU11CRIPTIONS
Send $4.00 to. John Hughes c'< J-TAC Subd'iption. Box T-98, Tarleton Station, Stephenville.
Texas 70402.
Valentines pop cork
The Real McCoy
Dan K. McCoy
Editor of
The J-TAC
I was inundated with responses to
my request for ideas concerning the
perfect date. Either that, or there
were a lot of people thirsty for a bot-
tle of champagne, After much
deliberation, the best of the bunch
was:
A man surprises his female com-
panion one night by having the men
of his fraternity gather around by
the flickering of candles. From their
hearts poured the most wonderful
tune of the fraternities "Sweetheart
Song'', for many felt that night, that
she was truly the most wonderful
girl in the world. With grent zeal
they sang as her sweetheart asked
her to take his hand and be his
Valentine forever. With tears in her
eyes and (■. smile on her lips, she
WE r>l& NOT
EXACTLY Wl/V
their hearts
AND MIND5.EH
"PMfcADE?
LEMWNO
af-LEAVING-.
<1
/V">
sometimes tend to forget that
democracy is linked to "we, the
people," and that those elected to
office do not hold all the power. If
our elected officials uphold or create
laws that we, as a whole people,
disagree with, the officials can
possibly be thrown out of office or,
at least, not be elected again. Know-
ing that their election to office
depends on the public, legislators
realize they must listen to the peo-
ple who vote for them if they wish
to stay in office.
We must stay involved in our
government for it to work effective-
ly, and the raise issue only reinforc-
ed the importance of public
involvment.
graciously accepted. Her accep-
tance was met with joy not only from
her beau, but also from his com-
rades. Love was in the air.
The date is set for Valentine's Day
— a day set aside for lovers. That
day greeted each spring with roses
abloom and gifts from the heart.
The couple's closest friends and
family will gather that afternoon,
stand under some enchanting live
oak trees, and they will be married.
As the couple recites their vows,
rings will be exchanged. For him a
simple band of pure gold. For her,
a beautiful gold band set with a
stone that will remind her of this day
forever. The ring was a garnet of
beautiful color and clarity, cut into
the shape of a heart.
When alt to be said has been said,
and all to be done has been done.
What a wonderful way to spend
Valentine's Day. This is a true story
and may I wish James Sullivan a'nd
Jan Cobb best wishes in their new
life together.
Letters
I.D. card 'in the mail'
To the Editor:
Re: the letter sent to Paula Westbrook in reply to her letter about the
unavailability of ID cards.
The I.D. Card Office is open during night registration and has person-
nel set up at two separate locations to take pictures. I.D. cards are mail-
ed to any student who cannot or does not wish to come to the office to
pick them up. The only restriction is that a student who was issued a
temporary card must return that temporary card to be able to pick up
their permanent card.
You are mistaken about having to sign for receipt of your I.D. card.
Our records indicate you had your first I.D. card picture made this semester
and that your I.D. card has not been received yet. Your address was taken
at the time you had your picture made so we can mail the card to you;
which we will do on the date it's received.
The film for I.D. cards are mailed to New York to have the cards made
and at times it takes up to three weeks to receive the-cards. This is.a
problem area and plans have been made to change to an I.D. card system
that will permit I.D. cards to be made in-house. We hope to have the
new system in operation for the 1989 Summer Sessions.
Thank you for your thumbs-up on the new evening hours of the Cam-
pus Store. This is on a trial basis; so pass the word around to/patronize
the store during these new hours. '
We mailed your I.D. card on January 31. Please advise if I can be
of further service to you.
Sincerely,
Clifton Hanks
Director Auxiliary Services
f
Sport equality demanded
To the Editor: ,
Saturday, January 29; my husband and I stood outside the gym waiting
for the doors to open in anticipation of an invigorating game of raquet-
ball. What we ended up with was an angry trip back to our apartment.
My husband and I try to play raquetball three to four times a week.
We play for exercise and relaxation. Lately we haven't been able to play
at all due to basketball games. ;
During basketball games the raquetball courts and the weight room are
closed to everyone. We were told the reason for this is that not enough
staff is available to run the game and the equipment room simultaneously.
I understand this reason. What I don't understand is why we were not
allowed to play Saturday, three and one half hours before the beginning
of the "pack the stands night," when there were slots open. Someone
said it would be "too much of a hassle." Well, I must inform them that
we pay for that hassle through several of our fees. -
I will not end this letter without a suggestion. I suggest moving the
ticket taker to the metal gates in the gym, locking all but the front doors,
roping off one side of the stairs and having raquetball and. weightroom
people pay of leave their student I.D. 's with the ticket taker. Those playing
raquetball would receive a red'ribbon to pin on their clothing, those for
weightlifting a yellow ribbon. I.D.'s pould not be retreived without the
ribbons, or we could just hire more people.
Sincerely, '
Lynn Cope
Casino Night is a jackpot
To the Editor:
On Monday, February 13, the Tarleton Center Advisory Board will
have their 6th Annual Casino Night. This event will be held in the
Gameroom of the Tarleton Center from 7 p.m. to 10p.m.
In an effort to provide an opportunity for students and faculty members
to meet in a non-academic setting, I would like to invite you to participate
in Casino Night. There is no cost for you to' attend, and I am positive
that you will have an enjoyable evening;
If you have any questiohs, please call the T-CAB office at 968-9838
Monday through Friday between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. j
I hope to see you there,
Michael T. Goodrich
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, February 9, 1989, newspaper, February 9, 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141697/m1/2/: accessed June 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Tarleton State University.