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Opinion
The Battalion Tuesday, Nov. 15, 1988 Page
Scenes we’ll never see*.
IT’S AN ADVISORY OPINION FROM
THE MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME COURT!
IT SAYS REQUIRING HIM TO RECITE
THE OATH OF OFFICE is
UNCONSTITUTIONAL.'
©1988 k'ARL- Sr-euc/r
a>?'/Ak ) . T7-—Y/4 'S
NY’s needle exchanges are
moronic way to combat AIDS
Oxymoron — “A figure of speech in
which antithetical incongruous terms
are combined.”
Headline: “New York Officials Pro
vide Drug Addicts With Needles in
Combatting AIDS.”
What’s wrong with this headline? It’s
oxyMORONIC, that’s what’s wrong
with it.
Sana
Purser
Columnist
you “turn yourself in” to city health offi
cials? When you’re hopped up on drugs,
are you always in complete control of
yourself? Do you act responsibly and
think, “Hmmm, I may be spreading
AIDS, better boil this syringe before I
fire up and get out the condoms before
I have wild sex. Oops. Almost forgot to
read these neat brochures on needle hy
giene and safe sex.”
Mail Call
‘Moral absolutes’ don’t exist
EDITOR:
Laura Gilliland, in her letter about AIDS, had some good ideas about howtj
prevent the spread of the disease by returning to “moral absolutes.” The only
problem with it is that there are no moral absolutes.
Morality is something that is created by a society to express itsvalues; itisnoi
some hard, undeniable fact. Ms. Gilliland asks whatever “happened to teaching
that sex outside of marriage is morally unacceptable?” The answer is simple-!
a large number of Americans it has become acceptable (assuming the two peoplt
involved are in love), and therefore sex with love, married or otherwise, stopped
being a “wrong” thing to do. And at the same time many Americans haveseena
severe split between love and marriage, one no longer requiring the other or
perpetuating it. So saying it is a moral absolute that marriage precede sex just
doesn’t apply for many Americans today — but they are at still at risk of
contracting AIDS.
And this is why people are so gung-ho about endorsing condoms. Condoms
will protect someone no matter what they may believe, no matter why they have
sex, no matter who they have sex with. It is a simple, universal form of protectiot
from the disease.
Trying to convince people that their morals are wrong, that they’ve been
“running from moral absolutes,” and that they should change them in orderto
protect themselves would be about as easy as changing someone’s mind about
abortion or the death penalty. In other words, it’d be impossible. We should tpi
convince people to be more selective about who whey have sex with, but for now
will be much easier and more immediately effective to convince everyone to use
condoms.
I think is’t sad that somebody might try to use the tragedy of AIDS to try to
push their values onto others, as opposed to just realizing that people’s valuesart
extremely diverse and that none are absolutely “right” or “wrong.” We all must
learn to respect others’ morals, even if we cna never agree with them and firmly
believe thta our way is better. And for now we must advise everyone to use
condoms for their own protection, and let them decide their own morals.
Mike Freeman ’91
Article needed more homework
EDITOR:
This is in response to the Nov. 9 article entitled “Foreign Aggies' interest in
U.S. elections varies,” written by staff writer Richard Tijerina. Your article was
totally superficial.
To begin with, you seem to imply that Latin-American students representa
valid sample of the foreign student body at A&M, since your interviewed sample
included a handful of Latin-American students with the exception of a French
student.
Last week this, and similar headlines,
were splattered on the front pages of
newspapers across the country. New
York City health officials implemented
a program Nov. 7 in which they will pro
vide drug addicts with sterile syringes in
exchange for their used ones. The pro
gram is aimed at reducing needle-shar
ing among drug abusers. Its ultimate
goal, however, is to curb the spread of
AIDS within this high-risk group.
any disease-ridden subjects involved in
this study).
That’s all it takes: produce a birth cer
tificate, sign the dotted line and roll up
the sleeve. Mr. or Ms. Drug Abuser, you
are now a proud participant in our pro
gram.
How successful is a program like this
in reaching the people it’s intended to
serve? By early afternoon of the pro
gram’s first day in operation, not one
single responsible drug addict had ap
peared at Health Department head
quarters.
I ask you, is this not a glaring exam
ple of being oxyMORONIC?
With a $240,000 budget, the program
will provide counseling for drug abus
ers, will allow addicts to exchange used
needles for sterile ones (the abuser will
receive a sterile needle only after pre
senting the used one. Failure to do so
will result in expulsion from the pro
gram), and finally, the program will of
fer a freebie in the form of a safe sex-
/drug abuser kit (including sterile water,
a condom, safe sex pamphlets and a
brochure discussing needle hygiene).
I have never heard of such a thing
and hope this program is the first and
last of its kind. At this point, it certainly
is the first, in this country anyway.
I WONDER WHY? Do New York
health officials really believe the people
who are abusing drugs, themselves and
probably others, will act responsibly and
wisely by volunteering themselves?
Just what every responsible drug ad
dict needs. Don’t leave home without it!
Except for the goods, everything is
there for you to have a good time. But
are you straight enough to read the
pamphlets and make sense of them?
Under the Reagan administration,
the “Just Say No” program has urged
our citizens — young and old, rich and
poor — to refrain from using drugs.
Abuse clinics and crisis hotlines have
sprung up across the country. Commu
nity service groups have sponsored sub
stance abuse campaigns. A massive anti
drug war has been waged, designed to
overcome the drug crisis in practical
and responsible ways . . . even though
the methods have not always met with
total success in achieving their goals.
These people are law breakers in ev
ery sense of the term and I hardly ex
pect them to beat down the door so they
can be first in line. I know I’ll be anxious
to hear the results of this program at the
end of its six month research period. I
hope I’m proven wrong and the pro
gram is successful.
Our country must find effective and
reasonable ways in combatting drug
abuse and AIDS.
To get in on the ground floor of this
pioneering program, applicants must
simply be over age 18 (people under 18
don’t abuse drugs or have sex), com
plete an application (officials must en
sure they are accepting quality appli
cants), sign a consent form (NO SIR, no
lawsuits arising out of this program) and
take a blood test (city officials don’t want
In addition to the anti-drug war, is
the war against “Public Enemy Number
One:” AIDS. The surgeon general re
cently undertook a massive mailing,
sending brochures about AIDS to each
and every one of us. College administra
tors and students, the media, commu
nity service groups —just about every
body — has mounted the safe sex
bandwagon.
However, I’m not sure this program
is the answer. Despite its ultimate suc
cess or failure however, is the fact mixed
messages are being sent: it’s “OK” to do
drugs as long as you’re using govern
ment issue needles and reading a bunch
of pamphlets. And it’s OK to have sex
ual relations after you’re ripped out of
your mind, just as long as you’re using a
government issue condom.
The only thing I can’t figure is this:
what’s the sterile water for?
Let me pose a few hypothetical ques
tions: If you were abusing drugs, would
Sana Purser is a journalism grad
uate, a graduate student in English and
columnist for The Battalion.
This is far from the truth. If you had taken the time to look a little harder,you
would have found out that there are also students from Europe, Africa, the Midi
East and from many Asian, Central and South American countries. Polling a
handful of foreign students was therefore hardly enough to derive a valid sam
of opinions.
Also, it was interesting to note that you reported the “expert opinion” of Leon
Galindo (nothing personal Leon), a Bolivian student, on the Soviet people’s
knowledge about the American political process. In conclusion, your artidetitle
should have read “What a few Latin-American students think of the current U.S.
elections.” Please do not generalize and next time do your homework more care
fully.
Christos Makrigeorgi
Petro Yuanidis
Graduate Students
Students endangering personnel
EDITOR:
We would like to express our concern for the safety of the grounds
maintenance personnel on campus. Recently, considerable amounts of garbage
and other objects have been thrown at these workers from the windows of dorms
Trash cans full of hot water, bricks and trash have all been thrown in attemptsto
hit the workers or mess up their work. One student even attempted to urinateon
an employee.
The danger involved in stunts of this type are obvious. Someone could be
seriously hurt by flying objects, not to mention the destruction of University
property. So far, no one has been injured by these pranks, but the number and
magnitude of these incidents continues to grow.
These workers are making their living beautifying our campus. If we were to
injure one of them, not only would it hurt them, but it might keep them from
earning their livings. They are just working to make our living conditions better,
and there is no reason to endanger these people. Besides, these people take pride
in their work, just as we do. How would you feel if someone dumped garbages
over your research paper right before you turned it in?
Come on Ags, these maintenance people are simply trying to do their jobs.
They don’t need some thoughtless prankster throwing things at them or their
work. We realize that it’s a pain to have all the construction going on, but just thinl
how much better our campus will look in a couple of years. An improved library,
renovated and new residence halls and a new parking garage will only add to the
quality of campus life.
University Employee Awareness Committee
Bravo!
EDITOR:
I think a loud “congratulations” and a hugh round of applause are in orderto
the cast, crew members, directors and musicians involved with “The Pirates of
Penzance.” The play truly reflected incredible, impressive talent by so many
people, and the many hours put into it these past weeks resulted in a dynamic
performance by everyone.
I urge everyone to see the play Wednesday, Thursday or Friday night. Itiswi
worth your time, money and support!
Ricki Hasou ’88
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters forty
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