Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, March 11, 1988
Opinion
Just when you thought it was safe to be religiou
Just when you
think the world is
safe for rational
thought, the Vati
can has to go and
declare that using
condoms to guard
against AIDS is
“morally unaccep
table.”
thing of a shock. It’s quite a change of
pace from the endless safe sex cam
paigns to which we’ve all been exposed.
My first reac
tion was disbelief.
My second reac-
Sue
Krenek
And it seems at first like a jarring mis
step, a retreat from facing up to the
facts of a deadly disease whose cure
eludes us. It seems as if the Roman
Catholic Church is saying it would
rather have people die than have them
ignore the chuxxh’s traditional ban on
artificial birth control. Death before im
morality, as the case may be.
tion was disbelief. So were my third and
fourth. Reaction in the newsroom
ranged from “you’re kidding” to “you’re
kidding.”
After all, AIDS is not some minor in
convenience. Flirting with AIDS is flirt
ing with death. So when Osservatore
Romano, the Vatican’s daily newspaper,
says in an editorial that condom use
can’t be condoned, it comes as some-
That, of course, is not what the
church is asking. The editorial hardly
suggested that Catholics take their
chances of contracting AIDS. But the
church refuses to condone any sexual
activity outside marriage, and therefore
its solution to the AIDS problem is not
safe sex but abstinence. As the editorial
said:
‘The only effective means is preven-
Mail Call
Out in left field
EDITOR.
I just can’t stand it when people who don’t understand put their noses
where they don’t belong! Especially when it comes to the Corps of Cadets
and, more directly, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. As a member of the band,
I know how “sacred” our drill field is. Like thousands before me, many hours
of sweat, hard work and tears went into that drill field. Every day we work
our damndest during football season so that you — the students — can have
pride in saying, “Yeah! That’s our nationally famous band!” Come rain, snow
or sunshine, the Aggie Band never misses a practice. There’s an old saying:
“What happens when it rains?” “The Aggie Band gets wet!” We weren’t given
the name “noble men of Kyle” for nothing. We earned it, and it all began on
our drill field.
Tell me something. If you worked hours on, and put sweat and tears into,
a piece of art, would you just let someone walk all over it? No, you’d protect it,
and that’s exactly what we do. That drill field is our piece of art, and every
“Corps Turd” on this campus knows exactly what it means to the band. And
to think that they would walk on it, a drunken one at that — well, let’s just say
they’d get what they deserve.
That drill field is for the band and the band only, and I’ll be damned if
any “Corps Turd” is going to walk on it as long as I’m a member of the
Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. So show us some respect, and STAY OFF THE
DRILL FIELD! /
Andrew Myers ’91
Scorn the porn
EDITOR:
I am writing this letter in reference to The Battalion's future
advertisements for Playboy. Since this issue caused such uproar eight years
ago, it is not reasonable to repeat the same mistake. Recently, programs were
held addressing the problems of rape and pornography. If we want to create
this “rape-free environment,” why is The Battalion supporting a magazine
that has exploited so many women? Is the representation of this school in
Playboy going to help make us a “world-class university?” Certainly not. It is
more like throwing dirt on A&M’s good name. Women can get their picture
in a pornographic magazine without the advocation of A&M, if they choose
to do so. The bottom line is that Texas A&M is a conservative school and
should not be associated with this sort of sexist indignity.
Melanie Rembert ’90
accompained by 12 signatures
But they do care
EDITOR:
In the March 8 article titled “Finals compromise fails to pass Faculty
Senate,” Student Senate Speaker Jay Hays was quoted as stating, “I think the
faculty and administration just don’t care what we think.” As fellow students,
we do not feel that this statement is wholly correct.
Dr. Fulling, instigator of the Faculty Senate finals plan, is concerned with
the opinions of the student body. In the last few weeks, several open
discussions of various finals plans occurred in the time before Fulling’s class.
The plan of the Student Senate received general disapproval by the class,
with some specific objections. Many students appreciated having the last final
on Tuesday (Fulling plan) rather than on Thursday (Student Senate plan).
One student presented the problem of forfeiture of nonrefundable
airplane tickets due to later than anticipated finals. Spring plans made in
consideration of the original schedule could remain unaltered under the
Fulling proposal. The Fulling amendment received wholehearted support
from the class. We feel that Dr. Fulling did consider the opinions of students
before making his proposal.
Charlie Barron ’90
accompained by 3 signatures
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters
for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and.
must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Sue Krenek, Editor
Daniel A. LaBry, Managing Editor
Mark Nair, Opinion Page Editor
Amy Couvillon, City Editor
Robbyn L. Lister and
Becky Weisenfels,
News Editors
Loyd Brumfield, Sports Editor
Sam B. Myers, Photo Editor
tion, avoiding the cause of contagion,
which, in 95 percent of cases, amounts
to abstaining from sexual practices out
side marriage and the consumption of
drugs.”
shouldn’t spend money trying to find a
cure for AIDS since its victims con
tracted the disease by “sinning.”
The church is in a difficult position
on this one because of its traditional op
position to artificial birth control. That
opposition makes it impossible for the
Catholic Church to deal with something
like AIDS.
But whether the church likes to admit
it or not, people — even unmarried peo
ple — have hormones. Although pre
marital and extramarital sex may be
“wrong,” they happen. Preaching absti
nence is idealistic but doesn’t address
reality. Some people will not abstain.
Some of those will get AIDS.-
The church’s insistence that premari
tal and extramarital sex are wrong is not
unusual. That insistence has surfaced in
other sects in connection with other is
sues, most notably sex education. Reli
gious leaders have been notorious for
their opposition to sex education on the
grounds that information equals en
couragement and is therefore bad.
And the church’s insistence on absti
nence ignores the fact that fidelity is not
a given in any marriage. When Osserva
tore Romano says AIDS can be pre
vented by avoiding sex outside mar
riage, it is only half right: Monogamy
prevents AIDS, but only if both part
ners are completely faithful all the time.
hard enough to deal with thefaci::
sexual indiscretion could lead todM
Now the c hurch apparently want»
one who is married to accept thaiiH
ual indiscretion that is not hisown(J|
lead to death.
Other denominations, while
that extramarital sex is a sin, donl
the faithful to die for such asinJ
enough ot a gi ip on reality to real
the risk, they can at least look tin
way when people talk about safe sal
For the Roman Catholic Chuifli
look the other way, it wouldhavej
not e its ban on artificial birth cm
—1
And while overlooking one re!;-,
principle in the- face of a lite4re, ?ȣ#*
ing epidemic may be possible,ovdi *
This is the same kind of logic by
which some people have argued that we
In effect, the church is asking its
faithful to stake their lives on the
unyielding fidelity of their spouses. It’s
ing two is not. Catholicism hasj
itself into a corner and is noȣ
honied with a situation its doflniuHl^^i
not solve. |f *
Sue Krenek is a senior journalist
jor and editor of The Battalion.
The moral for criminal car cretins
one should only drive sixty-five
I don’t think it
was such a good
idea to raise the
speed limit on
stretches of inter
state and rural
areas to 65.
The reason is
when people get
behind the wheel
of a car, they im
mediately develop
a criminal mind.
Others, of course, go even faster if
they have one of those machines that
makes chirping noises when there is po
lice radar around.
precious amount of time saved,c
you could learn to speak French.
They call these things “fuzzbusters.”
You can go 120 if you want to it you own
one of those things. When the chirping
starts, you simply slow down.
Lewis
Grizzard
It doesn’t take a criminal mind to op
erate one of those things? Of course it
does.
Other drivers don't wait theirtf
four-way stops. T hey also makei
lane changes, neglect to flip on|
turn signals, speed up througl
caution lights, tailgate and put
stickers on their bumpers.
1
Most of us won’t steal, kill, deal iti
drugs or make a tape of a movie we
rented, which would get us on the FBI
most wanted list.
What’s the difference between a fuz-
zbuster and a lookout?
Throw in those who still drill
drive, and we’ve got a nation fulh
pie who make driving terriblyr
your well-being as well as to yours
But when we get into our cars, we
might as well be Bonnie or Clyde.
I’ll go in the bank and take the money
and shoot the security guard,” criminal
No. 1 says, “and you look out for the
cops.”
And now, we go and makf(
even more of a crap shoot by rais
speed limit to 65 on rural inters®
In the first place, I’d guess 90 percent
of the nation’s drivers speed, which is
against the law.
“What should I do if I see one?” crim
inal No. 2 asks.
“Make a chirping noise.”
If the speed limit signs say “55,”
hardly anybody goes 55. We figure
we’ve got a cushion there someplace and
if we don’t push it up to, say, 65, the
cops aren’t going to bother us.
There are all sorts of other ways peo
ple can break the law when they drive.
Nobody will go over 65, ol
They’ll go 75 and 80 throughti*
nies and we’ll soon get the i
death rate back up there wherf
longs.
For instance, nobody really comes to
a full stop at a stop sign if they’re in a
hurry and there are no other cars
around.
Also, Farmer Brown will nevf f
the answer to that ageless quest®
did the chicken cross the road?
So we drive 65. When we’re feeling Stopping completely at a stop sign
our wild oats, we go up to 70. could cost you a half second. With the
Some fool who thought he
arc! Petty ran over it.
Copyright 1987, Cowles Syndicate
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