J
Opinion
Monday, January 27, 1991
The Battalion
Opinion Page Editor Jennifer Jeffus 845-3314
FnrrnpiAi q
Memory of Challenger disaster
encourages quest for knowledge
On this, the fifth anniversary of the Challenger disaster, let
us pause to remember the space explorers who perished that
day.
Like each astronaut before them, the Challenger crew risked
their lives to gain knowledge of space for the United States and
the world. Let us hope their sacrifices will not be in vain. Tighter
safety procedures have been implemented at NASA so a disaster
like it does not happen again.
Christa McAuliffe, the only civilian on the Challenger that
day, was to have been the first teacher in space. To many Ameri
cans, she embodied the spirit of U.S. space exploration.
We ask NASA to continue its work so her final lesson — that
we must create enthusiasm for knowledge in children — will not
go unlearned.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Horrors of war make
media coverage crucial
W,
ar is hell on the home
front, or so the song says.
And it's true. Few of us don't feel the
stress of the war.
If you are one of the lucky ones that
haven't had friends or family members
shipped out, it still is impossible to
avoid the horror of this war.
Media coverage is making this war
hard on all of us. Though no taxes have
been invoked to support the war,
there's been no rationing of products
and there's not even the huge increase
in gasoline prices most people
expected, its effects have touched
everyone in this country.
When there began to be such a
resurgence of nostalgia about the
Vietnam War and there were all those
movies and T. V. shows about the
"Vietnam experience," my mom told
me she just wouldn't watch those
shows or pay money for those movies.
She had seen enough body counts
and news coverage on T. V. while it
was actually happening to last her for a
lifetime.
I didn't think much about that until
now. I wake up to morning news
conferences about our casualties and
targets. I read how many Scuds were
intercepted and how many hit and
where on the front page of my paper.
There are now as many war updates as
traffic reports pouring out of my car
radio.
A,
. nd the horror is
fascinating. It's like driving by an
accident on the road and not oeing able
to keep from looking.
I hardly walk in my door before I
turn on CNN and sit down on my
couch. I don't want to miss anything
and get behind.
Of course, the media have been
drawing a lot of critics since the war
coverage started. There is more
coverage of this war, certainly more
constant coverage, than in any war
before this.
That includes the Vietnam conflict,
when my mom's interest in jungle
warfare was completely satisfied.
The most common complaint about
the coverage is that it is going to
endanger our missions, give away our
targets or make the Iraqis better able to
reach theirs.
But there's very little chance that
American media will give any of our
secrets away. Not only is this war
getting the most coverage of any
military conflict in history, all
information that comes tnrough the
media has to pass a more stringent
security clearance than any in history.
The chance»of ou^secrets getting
through the military censors is
extremely slim.
A more realistic fear to have about
this coverage is that when we go to
ground warfare and the casualties
escalate, we're going to have to watch
the real horrors of war, and we'll be
able to see more of the awful things our
family and friends will see while
they're out there fighting.
JL rue. I'm scared of that,
too. But we won't see the faces of our
soldiers in agony — not only is it
unethical, but the military censors
won't allow it.
We may, however, see horrible
things that we'd rather not be
watching.
But we need to see it. We've gone to
war, we've sent our soldiers there to
fight and we need to see what they
have to go through. We need to
remember that war should be an
absolute last resort; and while it may be
hard to be patient and try to find ways
to avoid war, war is so bad that it must
be our only choice before we fight one.
I want to thank the media for
reminding me, and everybody else in
the United States, how bad war is —
even though I don't want to see it.
Because maybe if we see it, next time
we'll do more to avoid it.
And after this, I think I will have
seen enough war in the media to last
me a lifetime.
Ellen Hobbs is a senior journalism
major.
“It’s George Bush ...He wants to know if foil’d like
to go lor another ride in a tank ?...”
—— 3
Mail Call
JL MM JLmI II Swimii l—ifi
The Betta&wi is Intewrtad In bearing from Its readers and welcomes aD letters to the editor. Please Include name, classification, address and phone number on ell letters. He
edBtor reserves the right to edit letters for style and length. Because of limited space, shorter letters have a better chance of appearing. There Is. however, no guarantee letters «l
appear. L^ttemmay be brought to 216 Reed McDonald or sent to Campus Mall Stop III 1.
Support brothers from overseas
EDITOR:
Like everybody, I have followed the events in the Per
sian Gulf with concern and fears about their repercussion in
our daily lives. As president of the International Students
Association, I have had the opportunity to meet fascinating
people from every single part of this global village; and
among some of my best friends, there are those whose fami
lies, history, friends and background are in the gulf region.
I have worked, partied and participated in many events
with Arab students, and through that contact, I have
learned to respect deeply their culture and heritage. They
have showed themselves as cordial, sincere and respectful
friends, hard workers who are proud of their homelands,
full of history and wonderful traditions.
We are all living through hard times. Many people from
many nations are suffering from the anguish of having
friends or relatives in the front lines of combat.
Those same feelings are shared by the Arab students,
who have everyone and everything they love under the
constant threat of attack. The current events are not their
fault; nevertheless, they, too, are paying for it.
On behalf of the entire international student community
at Texas A&M, I would like to express our full support to
these friends and students who, like all of us, share this
unique campus.
As an Aggie, I would like to ask the support of the entire
student body toward their Aggie brothers from overseas.
I have asked some of my good friends to cosign this let
ter. More than ever, we need to stay together, creating new
bonds that will help us to face any challenge.
Please remember, we all are human beings, no matter
what race, color, nationality or religion, and we all pray for
the end of this war.
Juan Ignacio Com jo
ISA President
accompanied by 14 signatures
Respect innovative cartoonist
EDITOR:
On Jan. 21 and 22, Nito's comic strip "the itch" displayed
extremely early child sexuality and violent adulterous acts.
These sexual abhorrations are explicitly beyond the capacity
of any sane mind and the comprehension of any six-year-
old girl, or are they?
The repugnant, obnoxious and insidious exhibition of
pornographic material made the tears flow down our faces,
not because we were appalled, but because we just couldn't
stop laughing.
We are ecstatic to read something so hilarious in The Bat
talion. The only other article that comes close to the outra
geous humor in "the itch" is Police Beat, where people get
arrested for spitting lima beans and exposing themselves to
rusty poles.
Mail Call also can be quite humorous when people like
us write in condemning the narrow-mindedness here at
Texas A&M.
A previous letter, which made a pathetic attempt to
downgrade the comic ingenuity of Nito, epitomizes this
narrow-minded attitude that threatens free thought today.
It takes a mature mind to be able to laugh at our society's
darker side and still realize the gravity of such "real prob
lems." It is unfair and shallow to attack the character of the
cartoonist on the basis of his innovative comic strip, not to
mention attacking The Battalion.
Please narrow-minded people, write in and condemn
our kind so we can laugh some more.
Paul Fierro '94
accompanied by two signatures
War arouses patriotism
EDITOR:
I am truly sorry the United States could divert Saddam
Hussein's evil tactics only by war, but it is great to see how
the vast majority supports the war and the servicemen and
women risking their lives. Unfortunate though the war may
be, it has aroused in us a great spirit of patriotism as well as
a serious concern for the innocent lives that already have
been and will be lost.
I do have one wish, however. It seems that in moments
of crisis, we all become less selfish and think more of our fel
low men and women. We all should become as concerned
about the innocent lives lost in the United States due to
drunk driving. Thousands of innocent people lose their
lives every year due to the carelessness of those who drive
drunk.
Let us remember all the servicemen and women fighting
for us in the Middle East and pray for their safe return. But
when this war is over, let us not lose our concern for the
lives of innocent people — let us become serious about
doing all we can to prevent deaths due to DWI in the United
States.
It would be sad to see a young serviceman or woman es
cape death in Saudi Arabia only to meet it on the highway at
home. The war in the gulf will end. Let us not forget that we
have one another to fight.
Wendy Lawrence '93
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Lisa Ann Robertson,
Editor
Kathy Cox, Managing Editor
J ennifer J effus,
Opinion Page Editor
Chris Vaughn, City Editor
Keith Sartin,
Richard Tijerina,
News Editors
Alan Lehmann, Sports Editor
Fredrick D. Joe, Art Director
Kristin North,
Life Style Editor
Editorial Policy
Th Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup
porting newspaper operated as a commu
nity service to Texas A&M and Bryan-
College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion
are those of the editorial board or the au
thor, and do not necessarily represent the
opinions of Texas A&M administrators,
faculty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion is published daily, except
Saturday, Sunday, holidays, exam peri
ods, and when school is not in session dur
ing fall and spring semesters; publication
is Tuesday through Friday during the
summer session. Newsroom: 845-3313.
Mail subscriptions are $20 per semes
ter, $40 per school year and $50 per full
year: 845-2611. Advertising rates fur
nished on request: 845-2696.
Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed
McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col
lege Station, TX 77843-1111.
Second class postage paid at College
Station, TX 77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald,
Texas A&M University, College Station
TX 77843-4111.