The Allen American (Allen, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 69, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 1, 1995 Page: 4 of 54
fifty four pages : ill. ; page 24 x 14 in. Scanned from physical pages.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:
Page 4A — The Allen American — Saturday, April 1, 1995
"He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still. ”
- Samuel Butler
PINIONS
1NIUN
Your thoughts and views are welcome
in The Alien American.
--------------------An Editorial —----------------
Bill gives students a break
For 10 years Texas has had a Toughlove
stance regarding the schoolhouse mix of
academics, athletics and extracurriculars.
The no-pass, no-play rule ousted children
from non-academic activities if their grades
slipped below the passing line. The ouster was
absolute: no athletic practices, let alone
games; no rehearsals, let alone performances.
"Put your nose in the books and keep it
there,” we said. “It’s for your own good.”
The rule has always been controversial.
Many see it as being a little heavy on tough-
ness and a little light on love.
This week the state Senate agreed. Its bill
would maintain the suspension for a six-week
grading period; but once in junior high and
once in high school, a student with no more
than one F would be entitled to a break: a
shorter suspension of three weeks. The Sen-
ate bill also would allow students to participate
in practices and rehearsals during any suspen-
sion period.
The matter is not settled yet. The state
House of Representatives also proposes revi-
sions to the no-pass, no-play rule. In all likeli-
hood, a conference committee will have to re-
concile the two versions before a final vote is
taken and the governor’s signature obtained.
We endorse the changes just approved by
the Senate. But we diverge from the view of
Allen Superintendent Barbara Erwin, who was
quoted as saying she believes “extracurricular
activities are just as important as academics...”
In our view, academics should take priority;
that’s what school is all about.
Kids need to be held accountable for their
actions and the Senate bill ensures that they
are. It’s faithful to the personal responsibility
trend that’s gathering steam. But the bill also
allows a scaled-back penalty for the usually re-
sponsible student who makes a one-time mis-
take. Such a “warning” is consistent with the
rest of our body of law; a first-time misde-
meanor is not a hangin’ offense.
Allowing students under suspension to con-
tinue practicing and rehearsing with peers wins
our approval, too — provided the parents
agree and their will prevails over any contrary
wishes of the coaches.
We believe that kids suddenly left out in the
cold for six weeks lose the instruction and skill
building or skill maintenance necessary for
them to continue the activity. A six-week shut-
out could effectively bar them forever.
And we agree with AISD Athletic Director
Ken Purcell that ostracizing youngsters from
their peer group can have disastrous social
consequences. For some students, extracur-
riculars are the only arena in which they can
be stars. Allowing these academically un-
talented students to at least continue with ex-
tracurricular practices or rehearsals safeguards
their self-esteem.
The House of Representatives Education
Committee proposes dropping six-week sus-
pensions in favor of the shorter ones. We
oppose that. We like the Toughlove stance
that has helped raise students’ grade-point
averages and stanched their dropout rate.
WHY 700,
1W WATCH 0.J.
TURING THE DAV
D TALK SCUS
AT NIGHT... WHY
D YOU ASK?
Letter Policy
Letters published do not necessarily reflect the
editorial policies or beliefs of this newspaper. All let-
o . , ters must bear the handwritten signature of the writer
Ihe Allen American welcomes letters to the editor and must include a hometown, an address, and work
on subjects of interest to our readers. Short letters are and home telephone numbers for verification pur-
most likely to be chosen for publication, but the use of poses. (The address and phone numbers will not be
any material is at the discretion of the editor. The printed.) Anonymous letters will not be printed,
editor reserves the right to edit letters to meet space Submissions can be dropped off at the office at 705
requirements, to clarify, or to avoid obscenity, libel or N. State Highway 5, Suite 100, or sent to: Editor, Th
invasion of privacy. Allen American, P.O. Box 27, Allen, Texas 75002.
On May 6, elect to
make right decision
My first year of college I lived on
the third floor of a dormitory that had
been built for the school as part of a
work project during the Depression.
There were no elevators or con-
ditioned air, but that is not part of
this story.
The rooms were lavishly fur-
JEFF
BALL
Random Thoughts
nished with a bed, desk, chair and a If she ever had a first name, I never
metal free-standing closet sort of a learned what it was, but I will never
thing. OK, there was nothing lavish forget her.
and the rooms were small, too. Inorder to select the third-grade
The building was old even then, officers, Mrs. Money had each stu-
although sometimes convincing my dent in the class, one row at a time,
: children there are buildings — and write their names on the chalk-
mountains — which existed before boards which faced three sides of the
me is sometimes difficult.classroom. We still called the chalk-
Several weeks into the first boards blackboards then, even
semester it was discovered there though they had turned green,
was a stairwell which only went up With that done, we all put our
from our floor. heads down. One by one we were
We were on the top floor. The allowed to go to the board and sign
stairway went nowhere. Perhaps at off under the name of the person we
some point it had gone somewhere, thought could serve best as a class
or perhaps the building had been in- officer. We were to cast three votes,
tended as a four-story structure and There were no nominations,
the crews were shifted to a national speeches or promises. Everyone
park. . , was involved. And, everyone, every-
The stairway was located behind one in the class received at least one
an unlocked door that was so in- vote.
nocuous it had taken weeks before Now, wouldn’t that make for an
anyone even noticed the door. interesting city council or school
There had to be a use. We found board election — a ballot with every
one. ,voter included. The really long
One Saturday, when the desig- ballot.
nated user went to the library to Imagine the scene at election
study, aU of his furniture and belong- headquarters as the ballots are re-
ings were moved into that secret turned.
stairwell. Upon his return he found The’election official would no
his room totally empty doubt look at a 27-inch tower of pap-
He took it rather well. er and whistle softly.
“Looks like quite a turnout. ”
Now, even though I am certain
any kind of statute of limitations on
culpability has expired, I will still .... . .... ... Ju.ul
deny being the instigator The fact are here, there, and al the ‘football
that a similar, but refined incident stadium ... and it is just about full
occurred years later at a fraternity "
house on another campus where I ‘"Elections for city council and
happened to be a member is mere school board are May 6. There is
irony. . . scant chance of someone hiding your
At least that is my story, furniture and electing you to office. If
. wasn t that we did not like the you are on the ballot, you know it. If
fellow. We later elected him to class you are not, you have a different
office. .obligation. Make sure you are reg-
, In fact, my favorite election was a istered to vote, find out who is run-
class election. It was another, much ning and determine who deserves
earlier class election at Oliver Wen- your support
dell Holmes Elementary conducted With a short ballot, making the
under the guidance of Mrs. Money, right choice is especially important.
Like all teachers, she apparently
gave up her first name when she Jeff Ball is news editor of the McKinney
took on the profession of education. Messenger.
Then the correction.
“This is only one ballot. The rest
The Allen American
The
fort
Tussl
1 ime to curb runaway legal system
To the conspicuous distress of The basic right of citizens to advantage ceded to for-
the Association of Trial Lawyers sue for damages is not at issue, eign nations that do not
of America, and to the commen- That right has always been jeal- permit their legal estab-
surate delight of business, the ously protected by the courts and lishments to wage such
GOP Contract With America Congress, and always will be. aggressive assaults on
includes a bold commitment to What is at issue is a runaway their business communi-
“common sense legal reform.” legal system that encourages ties. The new GOP
unwarranted lit- majority is taking dead aim at this
igation and abuse, and enjoys broad support
excessive from the public.
awards and It is perhaps too early now to
assigns respon- predict exactly what shape
sibility for judg- reform will take, but a few gener-
ments accord- al concepts seem most likely to
ing to who can see early action. Among these
are:
• Caps on non-economic dam-
Such reform
is long overdue
and has been
the focal point
of business
complaints for
, many years.
Year after year,
RICHARD L
LESHER
Commentary
relevant com- pay, not who is
mittees of Congress would con- actually responsible. Designed
sider needed tort reforms, only to by and for lawyers, this system age awards, for such things as
be ambushed by a resilient serves primarily to enrich “pain and suffering,” and on puni-
alliance of trial lawyers and con- lawyers at the expense of the tive awards in product liability
sumer advocates who regard most productive sector of society suits.
coporate treasuries the same way — private business. It has • A new “loser pays” rule for
sharks regard wounded swim- evolved into a giant lottery that securities and product liability lit-
mers. Aided by a few well-placed promises exorbitant payoffs to a igation in which the loser in a law-
allies in Congress, the lawyers few at the expense of the many, suit is required to pay attorneys’
and activists fought off reform Every week the news media fees for both sides.
efforts again and again, but anew report ever more bizarre lawsuits • A reduction of the power of
day has dawned. There is reason that produce outrageous verdicts anti-trust regulators to scrutinize
to be optimistic that definitive that defy common sense. takeover before they are consu-
action will be forthcoming in the The result is shuttered facto- mated.
104th Congress. ries, lost jobs and competitive • A requirement that the gov-
ernment pay for the ancillary
costs of environmental regula-O
tion, as when bans on construc-
tion and development reduce the
value of private property. This
question is part of a broader
issue of property rights that a
growing number of Americans
are concerned about.
To be sure, the trial lawyers
and self-proclaimed public inter-
est groups will fight legal reforms
tooth and nail, but many of their®
primary legislative allies of years
past are either gone from
Congress or removed from key
committee chairmanships.
Business has an extraordinary
opportunity to achieve real
reform this time, and must not let
it slip away.
Richard L. Lesher, president of
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
since 1975, is a writer and
radio/television commentator. @
Legal reform would favor big businesses
Not enough years ago, one of
my sons said to me: “Mommy, do
you know how a balloon loses all
■ GAIL j
ARMSTRONG ‘a
A Harte-Hanks Community Newspaper
Lynn Dickerson
Publisher
Tim Watterson
Editor
Beth Roddy
Advertising Director
Bill Lindemann
Financial Director
Linda Franks
Circulation Director
Dollie Turpin, Assistant Editor
Don Olson, Production Coordinator
Doug Layton, Director, Graphics/Design
Leslie Mascari, Marketing Services Director
David May, Senior News Editor
Brenda Welchlin, News Editor
Valerie Barna, Opinions Editor
Ian Halperin, Photo Editor
Gary Patterson, Sports Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD
All editorials are opinions of The Allen American editorial board, which
includes:
•Tim Watterson, Editor
•Debbie Tackett, General Manager
•Lynn Dickerson, Publisher
•Valerie Barna, Opinions Editor
• DeeAnn Pitts, Harte-Hanks
Administrative Assistant
Tw
year-i
Star I
k Lis;
'Point
MT I
rode 1
ern PI
Jam
Freck
Point
Pleasi
Walk '
The
Assoc
Horse
Sh
The
Tempi
from 1
Dallas
of Cer
Dallas
ple at 2
o The b
Unated1
more i
The
ACCEP
" We al
punitives favors the wealthy and tim’s well-being.
leaves the middle class and the The proposed changes in
working poor to fend for them- venue would practically render
selves. Sure businesses need to the courts immobile.
be protected from frivolous law- Under existing law, citizens are
suits, but not at the expense of allowed to pool their resources@
innocent consumers. and bring suit jointly in a court of
A major overhaul of our civil law. This allows them to share
its air?” And, knowing he was
exploring a book on how things
work, I allowed him to impress
me with his knowledge.
Its really easy,” he said. “All spend my time with my husband
over the balloon are little holes and two boys, I instead find justice system would serve breast legal costs. By forcing defendants
which we cannot see, and the air myself talking to elected officials implant manufacturers (big busi- to bring suit individually, they will
goes out through there.” . about punitive damages, joint and ness) well. be less likely to share the legal
It occurred to me at that point several liability laws and venue. The “reforming” of joint and financial burden. The manufac-
that my son had explained to me Punitive damages are the several liability laws would allow turers of breast implants would
something which soon would financial award granted by the each party to be responsible for like nothing better than to face
become very familiar to me. courts above and beyond the out- damages directly attributed to his each and every one of us alone in
Much like a balloon slowly and of-pocket expenses a victim actions. Sounds fair, but this stip- a court of law. Citizens would not
steadily releases oxygen into the incurs due to injury. Punitives are ulation can get rather involved. If, be able to afford to have their
environment, the silicone in a punishment, of sorts. The talk for instance, there are four defen- rights defended and would be
breast implants is slowly and in the state capitol currently cen- dants, each with a 25 percent the mercy of big business,
steadily released into its environ- ters around capping punitive responsibility, all equally solvent, Allowing victims to pool their
ment.— in this case, my body. damages at two times the individ- then there is no problem, resources and lodge the same com-
Silicone impacts different peo- ual’s economic loss. This formula However, if one of the defendants plaint together before a court
ple in different ways. Some suffer may be fine for those who are cannot meet their financial decreases the court backlog and
neurological disorders. Others employed and have a great responsibility, then the wronged makes for a speedier judgment
have autoimmune disease. We all income. But what if your primary party (plaintiff) will only recover Tinkering with our courts is
have compromised immune sys- job is to provide for your children 75 percent of their damages. The playing with our democratic ideals
tems. In virtually all cases, the at home? What if your primary remaining defendants should and should not be done lightly,
women are never the same. And source of revenue is a fixed have a moral obligation to com-
silicone poisoning has a latency income? What is two times zero? pensate a victim for the use of a rmstrong, a registered,
m J J r nurse who lives in Dallas, is thees
period of 20 to 30 years, u , Nothing. Two times a fixed product from which they have all founder and director of the
Although I would much rather income? Not much. A cap on profited, at the expense of the vic- National Breast Implant Coalition.
Commentary
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.
Watterson, Tim. The Allen American (Allen, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 69, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 1, 1995, newspaper, April 1, 1995; Allen, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1688419/m1/4/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Allen Public Library.