The Battalion
OPINION
(
%
Monday, September 25,1989
Our support needed to win Bush Library
Locating the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&IV
would have a positive effect on the University and the local com
munity. A&M would immediately stand out among Universities
across the nation. Scholars traveling to College Station to utilize
the library would pump money into the local economy. In addi
tion, the added prestige and recognition of the A&M name woulc
increase the value of student’s degrees.
A&M’s Student Senate is trying to collect the signatures of
20,000 students on a petition to be used to help A&M land the
Bush Library. We urge all students to support Student Senate in
its efforts by signing the petition in either the MSC or Blocker, be
tween 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. today through Wednesday.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Mail Call
McBumett right about prostitution
EDITOR.
In response to letters expressing opposition to Matt McBurnett’s article
favoring legalized prostitution, I must suggest the novel concept of examining the
facts before forming an opinion. To Jon Beeler, who wrote a sincere but
misinformed letter to the editor on Friday, I recommend Sterling C. Evans Library
as an excellent source of information on the subject. Beeler argues that legalizing
prostitution is analogous to legalizing murder, rape, assault and theft. This
argument is clearly not well thought out. Prostitution, unlike the other
aforementioned crimes does not involve a victim. Furthermore, prostitution
involves two consenting adults, who do not infringe upon the rights of any third
party, engaged in an otherwise legal (if money were not exchanged) activity.
There are a plethora of reasons for legalizing prostitution. Although Beeler
dismisses the argument that legalization reduces the spread of sexually transmitted
diseases with the well-researched “I doubt this”, the facts show otherwise. Gilbert
Geiss, in his book Not the Law’s Business, presents evidence from Italy and France
supporting this argument. John Decker, in Prostitution: Regulation and Control,
presents similar data from Great Britain, West Germany and Sweden. Another
reason for legalization is that the laws as enforced are blatantly sexist as McBurnett
pointed out.
In addition to the enormous waste of police, jail and judicial resources in the
futile attempt to stop prostitution, Helen Reynolds in The economics of
Prostitution estimates more than $2.9 billion of tax revenue would be generated by
legalization. This estimate takes into account tax fraud and evasion by the
prostitutes. We must ask ourselves whether the limited resources for policing and
housing criminals should be assigned to the task of stopping prostitution or rather
be allowed to focus on crimes that involve victims. The answer, upon examination
of the FACTS, is obvious.
Steve Harrington ’90
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.
Education necessary to (
alleviate drug problem
These days, it’s all the rage to jump
on the it’s-time-to-do-something-about-
the-drug-problem-in-this-country band
wagon.
Unfortunately, the most popular “so
lutions” being offered are all far from
plausible.
On the far right, keeping company
with Attila and Adolf, we have Czar
Bennett the First, who proposes shoot
ing down any plane suspected of carry
ing drugs that doesn’t respond to at
tempts to make radio contact with it.
tary hardware to the fight a gains;
we have to realize that we are;
have to keep up the same level of([
mitment forever, or the probleirj
just come back.
What a scary scenaric that brings to
mind: Imagine you are a private pilot
who has flown to Mexico for a short va
cation. Shortly after passing over
Brownsville on your way home, your ra
dio goes out. You’re low on fuel, rela
tively inexperienced and now you have
no contact with the ground or other air
planes. But wait! Lo, there on the hori
zon, could it be? Yes, a plane, arriving
just in the nick of time to lead you to a
safe landing at the nearest airport! You
wag your wings, and then the D.E.A.-
owned F-15 jet Fighter sends a heat
seeking Sidewinder anti-aircraft missle
right up your kazoo. God bless America
and all that.
able to go down to the store and buy
drugs over-the-counter. My answer
sounded good at the time: I wouldn’t
want my 12-year-old son to be able to do
so, but I would want my 18-year-old
daughter to be able to decide for her
self, and I would hope I would have
raised her in such a manner as to enable
her tomake an informed, responsible
decision about her own lifestyle. After
all, isn’t that the same way we regulate
the sale of tobacco and alcohol in this
country?
The proper remedy is to attad
demand side of the equation. The i
way to do that would be to remove |
profit motive by legalizing, regulj
and taxing. But the practical cons::'
ations of such a move are so overwle
ing as to render it unworkable.
The answer lies not in legality!:.]
the education of people before the:
addicted, and the treatment (not:
ishment) of those who already are
sure way to reduce demand is tot
people just how bad drugs are fonh |
We have to start early, at home, he! I I
children even start school. We hat:
start teaching them in nursery sd
and kindergarten, and keep renii
them their whole lives.
On the other hand, we’ve got the the
ory of legalizing, regulating and taxing
all drugs. Milton Friedman, one of the
nation’s most well-known economists,
has been a vocal proponent of this idea
since at least 1972 (when the fashionable
“drug war” of the time was “Tricky
Dick” Nixon’s attempt to stop the flow
of heroin into the United States).
But later I realized the inherent fal
lacy of my argument: That is exactly the
same way we regulate the sale of alcohol
and tobacco in this country, and chil
dren and teenagers still have no prob
lem getting hold of the products. Any 9-
year-old in the country can walk up to a
cigarette machine and make a purchase,
if he has enough quarters. And every
college student reading this article has
to admit that the “legal drinking age,”
whether it is 18, 21 or 69, doesn’t keep
“minors” from having access to alcohol.
So why should we believe that “legalized
and regulated” crack won’t fall into the
hands, and blood systems, of our chil
dren?
This is already happening to somti
tent today. I’ve seen “He-Man”
urday morning television, telli
young fans of the dangers of
Teachers are being encouraged toirJ
anti-drug messages into all their cm
ula. Actors, popular musiciansandf
lie figures can be seen in anti-drugf
lie service announcements.
By i
Of 7
M
Cou
weel
beac
fice;
M
cil, :
Non
aggie: evolution
-rUoMA5 _
-rue BZTTTU)
1 £77
1^03
193^
196/
1990
From an idealistic viewpoint, I agree
with the theory of legalize, regulate and
tax. In a perfect America, all citizens
would be free to make their own .deci
sions and follow the path of their own
desires and wants. Of course, all the
perfect citizens of this perfect America
would be perfectly educated, and would
know better than to do anything that is
bad for them. But here’s a news flash:
This isn’t a perfect America, and any
plan to legalize drugs is doomed to fail-
Now President Bush has a magnifi
cent new idea. The United States is giv
ing Colombia enough money to have a
really rip-snortin’ civil war. His logic is
just mind-boggling: We’ll destroy their
nation and cause their people to live in
terror, and that will in some way save
our nation. Brilliant, no?
This approach has already ski
that it can be effective. Cigarette uf
no longer “cool,” and use is falling
The legality of cigarette use havj
changed; education is more perva
and warnings are prominentljij
played on all packaging. Adultsarei
ting the habit, and children are
ing it up. It has taken awhile, bu
surgeon general’s warnings, public;
ice announcements and Great Amen
Smokeouts are starting to have
pact. Cigarette companies are sen
bling to diversify Tecause the den
for their product is starting toshrin
the education programs begin to kj
fective.
>uate
fami
dass
beac
“E
picki
the c
after
a litt
trash
reall
M
was i
the i:
the f
198C
I only realized that this past weekend
when a good friend of mine showed me
a copy of one of Milton Friedman’s lat
est articles in favor of legalizing drugs.
He asked what I thought, and I told him
I thought it was a good idea. He asked if
I would want one of my children to be
The problem with the Bush and Ben
nett plans is that it just doesn’t make
sense to attack the supply side of the
problem. As long as there is demand,
people will be motivated to try and de
vise innovative new ways to smuggle
drugs into the country. Attacking de
mand is a never-ending proposition:
You might stop the supply from Colom
bia, but then the suppliers will just move
elsewhere and start over, or new sup
pliers will move in to take their places. If
we decide to commit money and mili-
I wish that this was a perfect cou:|
and we could all be free to doanyi
we want that doesn’t hurt others !
don’t think the country is ready forJ
yet. Until it is, if we’re really seiij
about reducing the damage
drug abuse, we need to attack thep
lem in a more appropiate manner!]
that currently implemented bytheE
administration.
Scot Walker is a junior journi
major and editor of The Battalion.
We are the Aggies: Corps, Non-reg and Greek
Adam Mathieu’s column in Wednes
day’s issue of The Battalion was full of
illogical reasoning that created a false
portrayal of Aggieland while unfairly
blaming the Corps of Cadets for being
the cause of the Greeks’ unpopularity
among the student body at A&M.
Adam stated that the Corps controls
“virtually every occurrence on this
campus.” His “proof’ is that Corps
members are seen on television and on
the University’s prospecti. This evi
dence does not produce a valid argu
ment. The Corps’ uniqueness and its
proud 113-year history, since the begin
ning of A&M, makes it an interesting
target for the media’s cameras. The
Greeks do not like to compete against
this, as is obvious from Adam’s jealous
statement.
If anybody is trying to “manipulate”
the student body, as Adam so boldly
tried to prove, I would say it is the
Greeks (although I do not completely
subscribe to this point of view). With
half of the Fish Camp directors, the edi
tor of The Battalion, the student body
Michael
Kelley
Guest Columnist
president and the senior class president
all being Greeks, it is ironic that Adam
points the finger at the Corps. No
Adam, it is not the Corps’ leadership
you are afraid of. It is merely the Corps’
presence you cannot stand.
Adam’s statement that “only a small-
percentage of Corps members actually
use the Corps as a first step to a military
career” is not only misleading, it is sim
ply wrong. In reality, this year’s senior
class in the Corps will commission 209
of its 443 cadets. This means that almost
half will go on to become leaders in the
U.S. Armed Forces. That is most defi
nitely not a sma77 percentage.
Adam went on to say that the Corps
members and Greeks are “roughly simi
lar.” I would say hardly similar is a bet
ter definition. He said that the “only”
difference between the Corps and the
Greeks is that Corps members lose per-
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Scot Walker. Editor
Wade See, Managing Editor
Juliette Rizzo, Opinion Page Editor
Fiona Soltes, City Editor
Ellen Hobbs, Chuck Squatriglia.
News Editors
Tom Kehoe. Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Dean Sueltenfuss, Lifestvles Editor
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa
per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and
Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep
resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac
ulty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper
for students in reporting, editing and photographv
classes within the Departmen't of Journalism.
The Battalion is published Monday through Friday
during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday
and examination periods.
Mail subscriptions are SI7.44 per semester. S34.62
per school vear and S36.44 per full vear. Advertising
rates furnished on request.
Our address: The Battalion. 230 Reed McDonald,
Texas A&M University, College Station. TX 77843-11-11.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX
77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal
ion. 216 Reed McDonald. Texas A&M University, Col
lege Station TX 77843-4 111.
sonal time and freedom, while Greeks
pay actual money to join a fraternity or
sorority. I beg to differ.
The Corps is not just some fraternity
that exists, like Greek organizations, to
give its members a sense of social be
longing. The Corps is an official mili
tary organization that is advised and led
by retired and active-duty military offi
cers and non-commissioned officers.
Most of these persons come to A&M to
serve part of their military careers as
teachers and advisers for the cadets.
This has made Aggie cadets the target
of envy, especially at ROTC training
camps, where A&M cadets consistently
take top honors. For those cadets who
do not join the Torig Maroon Line’ as
military officers, their Corps-taught
leadership skills are readily used in the
business and political world.
The Corps also differs from the
Greeks in that anybody who wants to be
come a Corps member is free to do so.
Corps membership is not based upon
such material factors as family wealth or
father’s occupation. For the Greeks,
however, these material factors are of
great importance in determining who
will get a bid to pledge a certain frater
nity or sorority.
The Corps’ open membership has
been the foundation for the Aggie spirit
that pervades A&M. By this notio an
Aggie is simply an Aggie, and is not
judged like the cover of a book. That is
what is important in keeping the spirit
of Aggieland alive. The Greeks have
taken away from this spirit by placing
strict, material membership require
ments upon their members. Even if this
is the national norm for Greeks, they
shouldn’t forget that this is A&M.
The biggest difference between the
Corps and Greeks is TRADITION. The
Corps created, and is still actively partic
ipating in, bonfire, Silver Taps and
Muster, as well as saying ‘Howdy’ or ‘Hi’
to fellow students and visitors (just to
name a few traditions). Aggie spirit for
such traditions is the one key factor that
unifies all Aggies and makes A&M spe
cial in comparison to other schools that
“boast of prowess bold.”
The question I raise is what have the
Greeks, as a whole, ever done for Aggie
land? When is the last time fraternities
and sororities went out as organizations
to cut, stack or to support the building
of bonfire?
Do most Greek organizations go to
Silver Taps as a group? No they don’t.
Sigma Phi Epsilon decided to go to Sil
ver Taps last October, only after one of
its pledges died at its Lake Somerville
party on September 10. This special cer
emony is for all Aggies. What I don’t
understand is why all of the fraternities
and sororities don’t consistently go to
this ceremony and honor other Aggie’s
as well.
Something of great importance that I
have left out so far is what I would call
the ‘real’ student body (certainly not by
Adam’s definition), if there really is one.
That is the 35,000 non-Corps/non-
Greek Aggies. I’m talking about our
very own Fightin’ Texas Aggie NON-
REGS! Notice that I don’t classify the
Greeks as ‘non-regs,’ because I don’t be
lieve the men of Crocker, Moses or
Dunn, nor the women of Davis-Gary,
Spence or Leggett, just to name a few',
stand for the same things the Greeks
stand for.
The Corps of Cadets may have
started many of our traditions, but nu
merous non-regs have been the keepers
cl the traditions as well.
Most of the non-regs I am talking
about have chosen not to participate in
brotherhood, sisterhood or military
conformity. THAT’S GREAT!
what makes A&M such a wondej
campus. These non-regs, particuj
those in the residence halls, addffl
sity to Aggieland while maintaininjl
same spirit I mentioned before.
Adam tried to blame anti-Greekc
pus opinion on the Corps. I
hard to believe, especially withthek
number of ‘NO-FRATS’ T-shirts i
regs are wearing on campus, as w
the anti-Greek sentiment that penj
in the non-reg residence halls.
The truth of the matter is
Greeks have two choices of actio:!
take in order to get the respect
want from the student body. The'!
try to abolish the Corps and sucht
tions as bonfire, so they can red
A&M’s history and make themselvej
center of attention, or they can act
support A&M and what it has:
stood for.
I dare say that if the Greeks t
whole would become more involve*
the traditions here at A&M, then]
only would Aggieland benefit from]
added effort, but more Aggies 4
accept the Greeks, and campus opi
would probably change in favorj
Greek organizations.
In the meantime, it is obvious that J
Corps and many non-regs arenotj!
to allow manipulation, by any groufj
make our beloved Aggieland just]
other school in the Southwest
ence. Greek organizations can
their own identities, and at the:
time support A&M through acti'J
volvement in Aggie traditions r I Q#
choice of the matter is theirs.
Just remember, it’s GIG ‘EM ; j 3(
Greek ’em.
Michael Kelley is a senior
science major and a staff writer fo
Battalion.