thebattalion MAROON l friday,
april 5, 2013
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COLLAR PROTEST Student Senate bill floods social media, A&M says no opt-out in place
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In a country that is becoming increasingly liberal and progressive, [the bill] helps A&M maintain its more traditional values. — Junior Elizabeth Castleberry
Mark Doré
The Battalion
Sixty-four senators cast votes — 35 for, 28 against, one abstention. Many more voices have since been heard. Chatter regarding a Student Senate bill passed Wednesday — The Religious Exemption Funding Bill, formerly The GLBT Funding Opt-Out Bill — has pervaded campus and has attracted state and national scrutiny. The bill aims to allow religiously objecting students to opt out of fees reaching “various services” to which they object. The amended, passed bill claims a system already exists at Texas A&M to afford students this privilege, and bill authors said the bill is designed to expand and make this system more accessible. University spokesman Jason Cook said Thursday, however, that no such system exists. “There’s not a procedure in place for students to opt out of any student fees,” Cook said.
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The change in the name of bill doesn’t change the meaning of it. You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. — Student senator Trevor Brown
“There is an appeals process in place but that process does not allow for appeals based on religious considerations.” Cook said the appeals process is for “catastrophic circumstances” and stressed that action from Senate is “purely advisory” and a “nonbinding decision that will be forwarded to University administration” if the bill clears Student Body President John Claybrook’s desk without a veto. Opponents claim the bill is discriminatory against the GLBT-identifying community in its nature, but bill author Chris Woolsey, sophomore political science major, said his original intent of ensuring religious freedom with the “logical, policy-oriented” bill was twisted and construed by others. “Looking back on it, it was not the best bill and so that’s why I amended it to become the bill it is now,” Woolsey said. “I think it is a good bill See Bill on page 2
From Steven Kung, freshman electrical engineering major
voices From Tim Isgitt, Class of 1993, former head yell leader It was with great disappointment that I read Thursday morning’s headlines about the student senate’s passage of the religious funding exemption bill. This is a Texas A&M that I don’t recognize. As a former member of the Corps of Cadets, a former head yell leader, member of the Ross Volunteer Company and most importantly as a proud Texas A&M Aggie, what I know of Texas A&M is that we are a family that supports each other no matter what. We do not segregate, divide or exclude each other based on race, gender, ethnicity or religious beliefs, and we sure shouldn’t do it based on sexuality. As the Spirit of Aggieland says, we are true to each other as Aggies can be. It’s too bad Student Senate showed the world just the opposite.
Student Senate should clearly reflect the opinions of the student body; however, with the passing of S.B. 65-70, it is clear that Senate showed a disregard to the student voice and abused their power. In the Residence Hall Association meeting the night before the Senate meeting, Northside dorms voted 23-0 against the “opt-out” bill when senator Woolsey came to speak upon his bill. Further, in the Open Forum session, there was an overwhelmingly dissatisfaction with the bill. It is clear that some in Senate do not consult their constituents before writing and supporting bills a responsibility the elected have to their voters. However, despite the
overwhelmingly negative opinion toward the bill, it was still passed. I would just like to remind the A&M community as well as Senate that we are all a family, a family of diverse individuals, a family whom we may not always agree with, but at the end of the day, a family who cares for our own and will forever support them. So I graciously ask for Senate to please remember who they are. Aggies are not a family who votes for bills based on individual whim or ideology, we are not part of a family who writes bills to discriminate against groups of individuals, and lastly we are not part of a family who makes others feel unwelcome at Aggieland, the place we call home.
From Sarah Petta, senior anthropology major I will give Senate the benefit of the doubt and assume that they don’t understand why we have The GLBT Resource Center. GLBT, minority, and female students have resource centers because we have what I like to call “bonus obstacles.” There are challenges that I, as a woman, will face in society as I try to navigate a career. A man with a similar background as me will not face the same obstacles. LGBTQAP people face an even greater number of obstacles than you and I might ever experience. This University must continue to advocate for students with bonus obstacles. Even if you don’t agree with the political affiliation, lifestyles, or are uncomfortable with the ethnicity of other students, we are all Aggies.We want this to be the friendliest campus in the country, we even brag that it already is. So why
don’t we try and be friendly? Perpetuating an environment that is hostile toward those you disagree with will ensure that the intellectual atmosphere at our University will become stagnant. Support your fellow Aggies because you should at the very least respect them, even if you oppose them for moral reasons. To those who oppose The Religious Funding Exemption Bill: do not remove your rings. Wear your Aggie Ring with pride. I receive mine on April 12 and will wear it because I want people to know that I am an Aggie, even though I disagree with certain policies. I know that you are disappointed in your peers, but reacting in an equally disrespectful or hateful way won’t solve the problem. Be the better Aggie. Be friendly.
Christopher Maguire, senior aerospace engineering major I worry about the direction our Student Senate would be taking by approving the “Defunding” bill. Is this the message we really wish to send to everyone else? Basically, it tells me “If you don’t like something based on your religion, then you’re not supposed to pay for it.” How is this right? How is this proper? The answer to all of those: No. Hell no. Think of the money I could save! Behold, the beauty of denying funds because of “Religious” merits. The important take-home message for this: we should not play these sorts of political games with funding. You attend a multicultural, multinational institute of higher education; we all fund each other somehow. Nobody should be left behind because of their minority status here. Student Senate opened a whole can of worms with this. A hate filled, vile, and shameful can of worms. That’s okay, if this can pass, I look forward to opting out of any and all athletic funding because my beliefs set state “Academics First, that is why thou attends University.”
Letters to the editor Continued on page 4
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