The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 123, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 5, 1984 Page: 2 of 8
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Editorials
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The North Texas Dally
Page 2 Wednesday, September 5, 1984
Exiled to the streets
During the summer, the powers that be banned bicy-
cles from the inner campus and exiled them to the sur-
rounding streets, where reflector buttons and freshly painted
white stripes guide the cyclist around the pedestrian-
controlled university.
It was just too dangerous to allow pedestrians and cyclists
to intermingle; safer, apparently, is making riders dodge
automobiles instead of stu-
dents.
Before venturing out on the
streets of Denton, the prudent
cyclist and altruistic motorist
should scan through the fol-
lowing "I'm a responsible citi-
zen" checklists.
Drivers:
• Be aware that there is, in
fact, a bike lane, carefully planned and designed for bi-
cycles, not automobiles.
• Do not park in the bicycle lane, even when there aren't
any bicyles in sight.
• Do not blame increased difficulty in finding a parking
place on Denton's poorly maintained streets close to class
on cylists; there is always Fouts Field.
• Do not attack the rear wheels of cyclists as soon as
they reach Welch Street; though the city chose not to
give the reflector-button and white-paint treatment to Welch,
it's part of the bike path.
Bicylists:
• Do not attempt to intimidate a motorist.
• Do not attempt to leave the relative safety of the bicyle
path for the open road; motorists are only human, and
they're already frustrated because they can't find parking
• Do not abandon bicycles in the road no matter how
deep the potholes.
• Do not scoff in disbelief or ridicule NT's finest when
actually given a ticket for cruising campus sidewalks.
• Do not lock bicycles to trees or other convenient sta-
tionary objects, even though it's impossible to secure a
bicycle frame to the new "state-of-the-art" bicycle racks
without an abnormally long,
special-issue cable or chain.
• Do not fail to yield the right
of way to any of the numerous
construction vehicles dominating
most of the streets—including
the bike paths—around the
Science Research Building.
• Do not forget to register
bicycles to be parked on campus
with NT Police; they have very
large cable cutters and will not hesitate to impound bicy-
cles in violation.
• Do not forget to patronize businesses on Avenue A;
they are afraid they'll lose business along with the parking,
and cyclists don't need any more enemies
With careful cooperation and goodwill, cylists will min-
gle better with motorists than the> did with pedestrians
They certainly have more motivation A bicyclist can knock
an unsuspecting pedestrian sprawling and wheel off bliss-
fully to class. But on the road, the cylxst is the one in
danger of being knocked sprawiing. and hot-blooded
freshmen driving the:: parents' new turbu-churged sports
cars aren't known :Vc their understanding
Cyclists lost their campus ~d:ng privileges :arge!> be-
cause of their incvXLjuieranon. on the streets of Denton.
e per-
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Schools should outlaw hazing
though, the re-
manent than ei
:enc : :r uiconsideranon is
Vote or else
The right to vote is a concept central to modern de-
mocracy. Men and women have fought and died for this
right for years. In the United States, we are fortunate
to have this right, a right which is not shared by most of
the world's population.
When the first Tuesday of November arrives, millions
of Americans will cast their ballots for the candidates of
their choice. But millions more, probably 50 percent of
those who are registered to vote, will not exercise their
right to vote.
Why vote? they ask. Politicians are all liars, they make
dozens of promises, none of which are kept. Besides,
who cares anyhow? One vote doesn't make any differ-
ence out of millions and millions. Anyway, when you get
right down to it, politicians are only going to follow the
wishes of the special interest groups and the voices of
those who have the most money to spend.
So why bother? Anyhow, you have to go stand in line,
and there really isn't much of a choice. You have to go
downtown and put up with a bunch of red tape and other
hassles just to register. It simply isn't worth the trouble.
Wail a minute. The old saying, "Use it or lose it"
doesn't only apply to physical atrophication or material
possessions. Rights, like everything else in this world,
are not permanent, and it is much easier to take some-
thing aw : ixr
That is corrtcu tr.zzz
does not ha-. £ i*
grandparents'. 's* i:c :
should those :n ?• • er ..
c tre nrst place
■ -; . correct Our generation
if a tendency to vote as our
:are about our nght>. so why
e about protecting them'1
It would be j loc easier and cheaper to not hold elections
A committee of powerbrokers could decide who would
hold office, and that would be the end of the problem.
Voter apathy does not exist if there is no suffrage. No
longer would we have to listen to politicians' flatulent
tirades. So much for all the tension and contention.
If that solution would suit you, don't read any further.
If you are a little disturbed, the answer is up to you and
everyone else who cares about his own destiny, and that
of the nation.
Maybe it is true that politicians, including the ones cur-
rently running for office, are less than honorable, or less
than representative of their constituencies. But that is only
because we have not been involved enough in the elector-
al process. The choice is ours, and it really isn't Ilobson's
choice.
Vote this November. Register to vote, if you haven't
already. It isn't that hard.
But if you don't register, and you don't vote, don't
gripe.
How will they explain it to his family
and friends?
Texas A&M officials have to answer a
lot of questions concerning the death of a
20-year-old Texas A&M student who died
last week during having.
Bruce Dean Goodrich of Webster. N.Y..
joined the 2.1(H)-member Corps of Cadets
last week He was a transfer student. He
and his roommate were awakened at 2:30
a m. Thursday by three members of the
corps and ordered to run through the cam-
pus and do calisthenics as part of a "moti-
vational exercise."
An official at Texas A&M said Good-
rich did not hav e to take part in the exercise,
but realistically, if he wanted to stay in the
corps he had little choice.
Goodrich probably did not realize what
was happening to him. He collapsed one
time while doing the running and calisthen-
ics and the three upperclass corps mem-
bers "urged" him to get up and continue.
Earlier, he had spoken to his brother-in-
law about having a career in the military,
and one of his main reasons for coining to
Texas A&M was to join its Corps of Ca-
dets. This was probably the firs! step to his
career and he probably did not want to
quit. He did continue wilh the "motivational
exercise" and his roommate practically
carried him back to their dormitory.
In an effort to revive Goodrich, his room-
mate put him in the shower and when that
did not work, he called the university police.
Goodrich never regained consciousness in
the 12 hours before he died, and prelimi-
nary autopsy results indicate Goodrich died
of heal stroke.
This is only another example of some-
thing thai should have been stopped many
years ago—hazing. Although this death is
a somewhat more serious case of hazing,
any hazing that involves any type of physi-
cal or mental stress should be stopped.
How many more people are going to die
or be injured before university officials take
into consideration the seriousness of the
effects of hazing?
Beth
Fulton
University officials at Texas A&M said
they were shocked this occurred. They said
the last incident of hazing they knew of
was four years ago when a student was
"paddled," and since then efforts had been
made to curb this type of activity. That's
hard to believe, because Texas A&M alum-
ni have said hazing has been part of the
corps since its founding in 1876.
Also, a doctor at the student health cen-
ter of Texas A&M said he was wondering
when something like this was going to
happen, because year after year, students
come in to him with bruises that look like
they were made with broom handles and
paddles. If he has reported this to university
officials, I don't see how they can say they
haven't heard of gazing on their campus in
four years.
Hazing was outlawed by Texas A&M in
January 1983. but it is difficult to stop a
tradition that is more than 100 years old
If these rules are not enforced, they will
do no good to anyone.
Stricter rules should be enforced on the
Corps of Cadets and any other organiza-
tion that continues hazing if the rules they
have do not stop hazing. Hazing probably
won't stop with the death of the Texas A&M
sophomore, but it should get some students
to speak up to officials if they know of
hazing incidents.
For a short while, maybe the Texas A&M
cadets won't have any hazing incidents. Fri
day the corps commandant, Col. Donald
Burton, wisely outlawed all physical train-
ing for corps members until an investiga-
tion into Goodrich's death hasten com-
pleted.
All universities should outlaw hazing for
the benefit of the students, and organiza-
tions should enforce the rules. No one wants
to get whipped, no one wants to do 87 push
ups if he can't, and no one wants to run
around the campus at early hours of the
morning after being in school all day and
working.
Students who arc being hazed should
report it. Hazing is not a "tradition;" it is
a prank and is not worth losing your life
or even having bruises. Those who don't
speak up are the ones lhat will probably
turn around and haze an underclassman the
next year and the "tradition" will contin-
ue until a firm hand is put down to stop it
Preregistration blues
Old system let you concentrate on current classes, not worry about next semester's load until four days beforehand
Ever since I came to NT three years ago.
I've been participating twice a year in
what 1 personally describe as "the registra-
tion ritual."
Certainly there are drawbacks to thhs
ritual, mainly the fact thai ii is generally
held in cither blazing August hea! or bliz-
zardly January sleet But I've always rath-
er enjoyed it. It was easy. It was fair. Bui
most of all. it wasn't time consuming. Vou
walked in, got your card packet, and walked
out two or three hours later with your
classes, your fee receipt and your student
ID card.
This system might not have been perfect,
bul when I compared it to systems used by
colleges around the stale, it seemed pretty
dam good. Friends from other colleges often
told me horror stories about computers lhat
ale their schedules, computers lhal put them
in graduate classes when they were sopho-
mores and computers thai refused to ac-
knowledge their existence, even though
they'd been enrolled as full-time students
every session since 1979.
My friends also told me what it was like
to try to register for spring classes during
the middle ot ihc fall semester. They usual
ly ended up spending about three days, when
they should of been in classes, standing in
various academic offices and computer cen-
ters saying, "You've got to let me enroll
in this class. I'm a senior and I have to
have it to graduate,"
THE RESPONSE to that plea was al
ways, "Sorry. The freshman track squad
ran in here and enrolled for that class en
masse. And you know we do registration
strictly on a first-come, first-served basis."
Upon hearing these stories I'd smile, roll
my eyes heavenward and think, "Thank
you God, for allowing me to attend a uni-
versity which allows students to concen-
trate on fall classes during the fall semester,
and not have to worry aboul spring classes
until four days before the semester begins.
A university which still affords some privi-
leges to those who have reached senior
status A university which has faculty mem-
bers available to talk to students during
registration."
However, those days are now a thing of
the past. Registration for the spring 1985
semester w ill begin next month, long before
many students have even decided if they
are getting anything out of the classes they're
taking this semester. I've looked over the
little preregistration brochure lhat was shoved
al me as I picked up my ID card, talked to
a couple of faculty members and figured
out exactly what this new program is.
It's GARBAGE, that's what it is! The
part about using computers doesn't really
irk me, even though I'm sure it will cause
a lot of problems the first couple of semes-
ters it's in use.
EVEN THE PART aboul having to
select our spring courses in early October
doesn't seriously bother me, although it will
probably be a big problem for freshmen
wilh undecided majors, who want lo see
how well they do in their fall classes before
selecting their spring schedules.
There are two fatal flaws in the system,
which combine to make il much more trou-
ble than it's worth. The first big problem
is that il doesn't give seniors a special time
to register. The other is that all students
who want to preregisler musl also prepay.
Seniors deserve to have first crack at all
classes. I hey've been here three or four
years; they've earned it. Of course, most
Angela
Payne
seniors will still be able to get the classes
they need in their majors, because by the
time you've hung around a department for
four years the professors know you and
cither like you or will do anything to get
you graduated and out of their hair.
But whal about seniors who want to lake
courses that aren't in their majors? If they've
taken three semesters of such "fun" PE
courses as inlennediale volleyball and begin-
ning jogging, don't they deserve to have
at leasi one semester of racquctball, gym-
nastics or dancing?
IF THEY WANT to broaden their hori-
zons by taking eleetives that have absolute-
ly nothing to do with their majors, shouldn't
they be allowed to do so without having to
camp out on the doorsteps of their depart-
ment offices, to be the first people whose
names are entered in the computer under
those courses?
The fact that tuition and fees for the spring
semester must be paid by the first week in
December presents an even bigger prob-
lem for an even larger segment of the stu-
dent body. Maybe whoever designed this
new system of registration didn't realize
it, but this isn't SMU or Rice, where stu-
dents have money to burn. This isn't even
A&M or UT-Austin, where students at least
have money to play with. This is NT, where
students are lucky to have money to live
on.
Most of the students here arc paying for
some, if not all, of their own education
costs. The Christmas holidays have tradi
tionally been a time for students to make-
money.
HOW ON EARTH are we supposed to
come up with an extra $200 or $300 the
first week in December? What it boils down
to is this: those who can beg, borrow or
steal the money will be able to register for
the classes they want, at times that are con
venient to them. The rest of us peasants
will end up with schedules that have us
eating lunch at 4 a.m.
We'll also probably never get to take an
elective just because it sounds interesting
It's sad to think of education as something
that is offered to the highest bidder, rather
than to those who want it the most, or will
do the most with it.
There's old saying that applies here: "If
it's not broken, don't fix it " The NT reg
istration system may have been a little
creaky at times, but it certainly wasn't
broken. I'd just love to get my hands on
the bozo who decided to "fix" the system
anyway.
t;
!
'J '
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The North Texas Daily
67th Year North Texas Si?.te University Denton, Texas
Printed by the North Texas State University Printing Office
Southwestern Journalism Congress Member
PACEMAKER 6 TIMES
ALL-AMERICAN 77 TIMES
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TRENT EADES, editor
EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, advertising manager
Carole Jansen, managing editor
Beth Fulton, managing editor
Stefam Gammage. editorials editor
Russell Roe, editorials editor
Debra McGuire, stall writer
Angela Payne, staff writer
Jerry Boulware, inside editor
Molden Lewis, inside editor
Tonya McMurray. entertainments editor
Laura Lipinsky, entertainments writer
Steve Beavers, entertainments writer
Debbie Willis, sports editor
Jef Ray, cartoonist
Joseph Kent, illustrator
Debbie Henderson, ad representative
Christin Morris, ad representative
Shauna Quinlan, ad representative
Robert Smith, ad representative
Ken Currin sports writer
Joey Richards, sports writer
Bill Douthart, photographer
Rusty Hall, photographer
Michael Wetchensky, photographer
Richard Calooy, cartoonist/illustrator
Casey Shaw, cartoonist
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Eades, Trent. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 123, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 5, 1984, newspaper, September 5, 1984; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth332674/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.