Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845-331
The Battalion
OPINION
Thursday, February 8,1990
Abortion happening now
EDITOR:
I write this in response to the letter written by Joy Mar
shall in last Thursday’s Battalion regarding abortion. I ask
her now, how does abortion fit into the category of something
that will happen in the future?
Abortion is happening now, most likely at the very mo
ment you read this letter. Certainly, probability plays a role in
whether or not women get pregnant, but what about battered
women? Is it an absolute that all women get battered, or does
probability become involved as well?
I am not diminishing the importance of dealing with the
problems of abuse and hunger. I am merely stating that all of
these problems are of equal magnitude and deserve equal at
tention, rather than addressing one as a “waste of time” and
sacrificing it to make room for others. Is it reasonable to re
lease a murderer to make time for a court to try someone
else? Is it reasonable to dismiss drug abuse in order to concen
trate more on alcohol abuse?
It is a tragedy that so much of this nation’s future is lost to
starvation, but isn’t an equal amount of this nation’s future
lost to abortion? At the very least, starving children have the
opportunity to live to experience starvation. On your final
point, Ms. Marshall, yes, it is just as wrong to let a child die of
starvation as it is to have an abortion, but consider your argu
ment the other way around: Isn’t it just as wrong to terminate
a child by abortion as it is to have one die of starvation? I
think perhaps a better argument for your purpose would be
to suggest ways in which equal attention can be brought to
battered women and starving children as to abortion, rather
than taking the extreme viewpoint you now maintain. Per
haps then your arguments would have a more practical value.
Casey Motl ’93
Run complainers should ‘zip it’
EDITOR:
In response to Chris McNess and all of the other cry ba
bies who oppose the Corps units running in daylight hours
across main campus: ZIP IT. The Corps has only been
upholding this tradition since 1876. Maybe you get in the way
of their running. But I’ve never seen the Corps cry about it in
The Battalion. That’s not their style. McNess’ suggestion that
the Corps run on the track around Kyle Field or at the Re
search Park is not a compromise but is shutting them out. I
don’t think shutting the Corps out of our sight is the desire of
most Aggies.
But this running issue is not what we are really talking
about, is it? There are some people who attend this University
who simply do not like the Corps’ existence, period. Because
of some inferiority complex, they will try to badger or belittle
an outstanding institution (from the lack of anything better to
do).
The Corps running across campus in blocks represents
unity. L..think unity is our most valued asset at Texas A&M.
Without unity, all of A&M’s traditions would fall by the way-
side. These traditions have set us apart from other boring in
stitutions of higher learning such as t.u.
Since the Corps is doing most of the work honoring and
revering Texas A&M’s time-honored traditions, we should at
—Mail Call—
least support them. The benefits from these traditions are
worth it. Ever wonder why Aggies hire Aggies? Not because
they loved Bryan/College Station.
Texas A&M has one of the most loyal former student
associations. Why are former students loyal? They remember
bonfire, Silver 1 aps, Muster, the Twelfth Man; they remem
ber the Spirit of Aggieland.
Oh, I forgot the point I was making about the Corps run
ning across campus. Yell as loud as you can. It makes me
proud to be an Aggie.
Cary Moore ’90
Death penalty must be used
EDITOR:
In Damon Arhos’ column of February 6, he asserted that
embracing the death penalty represented pure hypocrisy on
the part of a society which emphasizes “the value of the indi
vidual and his life.”
It is precisely because of this emphasis that the death pen
alty must continue to be used. Mr. Arhos, if you truly believe
in the value of the individual and his life, how can you suggest
that life imprisonment should be used as the only punishment
for a capital offense? Does an inmate lead a life of value? Not
only is life imprisonment economically unfeasible, it is not a
particularly humane alternative.
If I thought that by poisoning your Wheaties I would in
variably be shocked into eternity, I would be much more hesi
tant to indulge my whim. Capital punishment is not merely a
means of “getting even” with capital offenders — it is a warn
ing to society that the individual and his life are valued in
deed, and that the taking of a life will not be condoned. It is
meant to serve as a deterrent to future crimes, as well as a
compensation for past ones.
Jennifer Maloney ’91
Council lacks condom sense
EDITOR:
What is this idea presented by the Aids Policy Council and
endorsed by a Battalion columnist that condom machines
should be placed in bathrooms across the campus because “e-
ven though condoms are readily available at supermarkets,
one is hardly at a supermarket when the need occurs.” Fool
ish me. I thought the buildings on campus were here for stu
dents to learn.
I suppose we should also supply beds for heterosexuals
and drill holes in stall walls for homosexuals to make it even
more convenient for the sexually active. Why, we could have
“sex” and “no sex” zones. And to think — all the time I’ve
been here I have not utilized my “building use” fee to its full
est.
Kevin E. Davis ’92
Petition a ‘ridiculous notion’
EDITOR:
The petition being circulated around campus requesting a
boycott of Aggie Cinema is a ridiculous notion. If people do
not want to attend films brought to us by Aggie Cinema, they
just need not attend them. It is their choice. Why sign a peti
tion claiming such nonsense? Is there some underlying need
for these students to belong to a group so they can feel self-
righteous about their own morals?
I, unlike Jennifer Wolling and Matt DeWoody, saw the
film. I did not find it any more sexual than say, “Dirty Danc
ing.” I did not find it any more graphically violent than any
Rambo movie. There are many American movies that deal
with subjects more taboo than “The Last Woman.” I don’t see
Wolling and DeWoody circulating petitions about “Sex, Lies
and Videotape,” which deals with the topic of masturbation in
detail.
While 1 probably have a different set of values than do
Wolling and DeWoody, at least I can respect their morals as
being good for them. But who are they to tell me what I can
do with my own being. I pity people like them who can’t be
open-minded in a free society that fundamentally guarantees
freedom of choice.
Mark Barnes ’90
Scholarships earned, not given
EDITOR:
Minorities don’t deserve to be at this school?
I, an African-American male, wholeheartedly disagree,
but what are minority students to think when they read these
disturbing opinions about this new monster called reverse
racism. Why does it seem that everybody is crying themselves
silly just because a little handful of minority students w'orked
hard in high school to earn competitive scholarships?
The minority population at this school is nothing more
than a handful compared to the general Great Body. How
ever, the Great Body seems threatened, and is spilling its tears
all over The Battalion. Mr. Babin is crybaby number one.
Don’t you know, Mr. Babin, that while you say that it is a mir
acle for you to be here, I proclaim it a miracle for the whole
minority population to be here.
I too was in the top 20 percent of my class in 9th grade,
but that didn’t stop me from becoming the valedictorian. It
didn’t stop me from applying for and later earning most of
the large scholarships that were offered to everyone in my
class. I am compelled to believe that you, Mr. Babin and many
others of the Great Body are the ones that are complaining
about what someone owes them. How do you know that those
scholarships were given only because the students were mi
norities? Did you apply for the scholarships? Did someone tell
you, “No, no, Mr. White Man, this money is for our poor little
dummies!”? Did you even try, Mr. Babin?
Besides, scholarships aren’t given, they are earned. More
over, I feel comfortable asserting, on behalf of the minority
population, that we’ve earned ours. Incidentally, do you need
a loan, Mr. Babin? I am the only African-American male in
Lechner Hall. I shouldn’t be too hard to find.
Henry Earl West ‘93
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Market ends racism without affirmative action
In a recent edition of The Battalion, 1
read a Mail Call letter about affirmative
action. In her letter, Karmen Moss said,
“(If) affirmative action is taken away, it
will result in qualified minorities not
being judged by their credentials, (but)
by their race. Because qualified people
will be denied the chance to succeed.”
This argument attempts to justify the
existence of affirmitive action
programs. The basic premise of the
argument is that without government
regulation, businesses would freely
discriminate against minorites.
Though this is seen by civil rights
activists as true, this theory needs to be
examined in a less emotional and more
analytical manner.
In spite of common belief, businesses
do not have much freedom to
discriminate. There is a good reason
why they cannot.
It is called greed. Greed keeps
businesses in check.
A simple study of the market would
show that acts of discrimination impose
an economic cost on businesses. If an
employer hires an unqualified white
man instead of a qualified black woman,
that employer will have jeopardized the
future of the business.
So if the employer wants to ensure
Andrew
Matthews
Columnist
the flow of profits to the firm, it would
be in his economic self-interest to
suppress his personal preferences and
hire the black woman.
Economic theory predicts that since
businesses are profit-maximizers, they
will attempt to hire mainly on work
performance.
This does not rule out discrimination
entirely, but whatever discriminatory
actions businesses engage in will be
subject to competitive market forces.
It therefore follows that the more
competitive the market, the less
discrimination will exist.
This theory can be easily seen
operating within two of the tnost
competitive and lucrative industries in
our society: entertainment and sports.
When Art Shell, a minority group
member, was hired as head coach for
the Raiders, all the sports writers talked
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about a new humanitarianism in the
sports industry.
Nonsense!
Al Davis hired Shell because he
thought Shell could win, which
produces more revenue for Davis.
Greed. Not humanitarism.
The same holds for entertainers.
Minority group members have been in
the entertainment business for years. Is
it because club owners and record
companies are good people? Of course
not. The talented singers and
comedians could bring them
megabucks.
But what happens when no money is
at stake? People are free to indulge
without any regard to the costs.
Government is the perfect example of
an entity that can freely discriminate as
it pleases. The historical record
supports such a claim.
A study of non-profit enterprises
shows numerous examples of racial
discrimination.
Before the civil-rights legislation,
regulated telephone companies refused
to hire blacks in any position, and even
limited the opportunities of Jews and
Catholics.
In 1936, only three black Ph.D.s were
hired in all of the universities in the
United States, whereas there were 300
black chemists hired by private industry.
An examination of the railroad
industry shows that while the railroad
companies were private, blacks were
“over-represented” as employees. But
after the government federally
regulated the industry, blacks were
totally excluded from most railroad
jobs.
The big joke about affirmative action
is that it attempts to eliminate injustices
in private industry which do not exist. I
support policy which punishes blatant
discriminatory hiring practices, but this
sort of policy is not needed in private
firms.
As it stands now, the government
imposes regulations on firms which
require that minorities must not be
“under-represented” in the company.
Such statutes actually make companies
hire with race as a factor, when only the
job requirements should matter.
Adventures In Cartooning
Much of the evidence about
affirmative action programs showstki
only highly educated minoritiesbenefi
The uneducated, unskilled workersan
not helped at all.
Affirmative action policy usually
equates education with qualification.!!
an uneducated white or black whoisa
hard working, honest, responsible
person could find themselves rejected
by a company which hired an educated
person solely to meet affirmativeactw
regulations.
Intangible personality characteristt
usually determine job performance, It
they are hard to prove in a court ofla»
I think everyone hopes forasociet]
which judges people on the basis of
their character and not of their sex or
race. The marketplace enforces it.Om
government should also.
But with policies which promote
discrimination, this dream will nevert*
attained.
Andrew Matthews is a junior
economics major.
by Don Atkinson Jr