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scoring 10 misj fednesday, April 29, 1992
pinion
The Battalion
Page?
The Battalion Editorial Board
DOUGLAS PILS, Editor-in-Chief
BRIDGET HARROW, Managing Editor
BRIAN BONEY, Opinion Editor
JASON MORRIS, Night News Editor
MORGAN JUDAY, Night News Editor
MACK HARRISON, City Editor
KARL STOLLEIS, Photo Editor
SCOTT WUDEL, Sports Editor
ROB NEWBERRY, Lifestyles Editor
The following opinions are a consensus of The Battalion opinion staff and senior editors.
the criterium
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In memorium
Holocaust atrocities deserve remembrance
Fifty years ago, millions of men.
jtarved, and otherwise tortured under
he order of Adolf
iitler and his Nazi
|egime. Even after all
hese years, it is still
Imost inconceivable to
imagine the more than
6 million people who
lied at the hands of the
Nazis.
Most people are
eforA&Mai now somewhat aware
if the suffering that the
European Jews went
jhrough during this
ime, but many do not
ealize that the Nazi
hersecution was not
^mited to this group. The evil of the
Jazis affected a very large portion of
he population of Europe including
Christians, Muslims, homosexuals, and
Others who did not fall into the
|ategory of Adolf Hitler's Aryan race.
To students at Texas A&M, the
rrible events of the Holocaust may
em very far removed from the reality
we know.
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and we haven!
But it is important that we
emember the horrors of the Holocaust
ecause these atrocities really weren't
hat long ago. Learning about history's
j>ast mistakes is important so we can
prevent them from happening again.
DW god! i’ve
In light of this, we need to take a
minute to look back on the misfortunes
of humanity. Holocaust Remembrance
Day, today, provides a
perfect opportunity for
this.
Tonight, the All
Faiths Chapel on
campus will hold a
special program
honoring the victims
of the Holocaust.
Continuing with
this remembrance will
be a scheduled reading
outside of Rudder
Tower. This will be a
reading of 10,000 of
the 40,000 names of
those people who have been identified
as having been killed during the
Holocaust.
The program is sponsored by
students from several different
religious organizations on campus.
Our society has come a long way
since the era of the terrible actions of
the Nazis, but the haunting memories
of the Holocaust live on.
The Holocaust shows us just what
can happen when prejudice and racism
gets out of control.
We must remember this fact and
work together to keep our own
prejudices and hatred under check.
BEWARE THE TEXAS AW
SWAM Pf
Health of the nation
Denial of medical insurance to all shows US thoughtlessness
A:
// \ mbulance 29, Engine 26,
you have a 7-year-old
.male with difficulty
breathing, 800 Park Place at Detroit,
apartment three." Arriving on the
scene, my partner and 1 found the
crew of Engine 26 administering
oxygen to a 7-year-old Hispanic male
experiencing an
asthma attack.
The child had
Guest
Columnist
Paul
Greco
is a freshman
general
studies major
been wheezing
for the past two
hours. While I
examined the
child, the mother
explained to me
that she had run
out of the child's
asthma
medication about
four days ago.
Then I asked
her why she let
her child's medication run out. She
explained, with tears in her eyes, that
she could not afford a day off from
work to go to the public clinic to refill
the prescription. (I did not realize she
had no insurance.) She continued to
explain that filling a person's
medication involves an eight hour
day, from riding the bus to the clinic
to completing a stack of paperwork
taking five to six hours.
For 13 years, I worked as a
paramedic, running calls in the inner
city of Houston and Bryan. I
experienced first-hand something
that most people just read and hear
about, the pain and suffering of
others.
The above story was just one of the
many examples I ran into that
involved hard-working individuals
trying to provide the best care for
their families. Unfortunately, some
people stereotype our country's less
fortunate: they consider them dope
dealers, prostitutes, alcohol-abusing
individuals and drug abusers.
However, this is not the case. The
majority of the individuals who I
have dealt with only had one thing
in common - they were just less
fortunate than others. Some were
handicapped individuals getting a
new start in life. Others included a
laid-off woman struggling through
vocational school whose husband
recently left her with no child
support, and many more.
Obviously, there is a flaw in this
country's present health care system
if these people, approximately 38
million, are unprotected.
Wanting to know how others felt
about our current national health care
system, I ventured out on campus
asking people if they were secure
with the present health care system
or in favor of a national health care
program. I received a variety of
interesting answers. Alarmingly, the
majority of students interviewed had
no idea of what a national health care
system was. I then explained that
national health care is a community
health care plan that denied no one
health care, regardless of their
socioeconomic status. One student
was in favor of a community health
care plan because she spent several
years as a volunteer helping the less
fortunate. She was from an upper
middle class family.
And she believed that the public
hears about poverty, but people don't
actually realize the problems others
endure until experiencing it
themselves. My favorite response
was from a gentleman who blurted
ouf the answer, "to hell with those
who have no health insurance, why
should I give anyone a share of my
hard-earned money?"
My response to this thoughtless
statement was because we're human
beings!
Quality health care is a basic
human right, from the cocaine
snorting individuals to the self-made
billionaire; health care should not be
denied to anyone. By denying quality
health care, we may be turning our
backs on someone who in the future
could discover a cure for AIDS,
improve auto safety, become a
political genius or a friend.
All of whom would otherwise
perish without quality medical care.
Sometimes Americans are selfish
people - under God, indivisible, with
liberty, and justice for-ME!
Mail Call
Editor’s note: The Battalion rec/eved more
than 40 responses to the letter printed Monday
titled “Quit whining about rape." Unfortunately,
we have only enough space to print these few.
has not alwa!
"oilFilippov letter
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shows insensitivity
I've read very few letters expressing as much
ignorance and sexism as the letter written by
Dimitri Filippov. After reading the letter twice I
asked myself whether he sincerely harbors these
Insensitive feelings or is he just trying to make a
pel, sarcastic joke. In either case it's Dimitri and
others who aren't "seeing the big picture." While
it may be socially unacceptable to express views
of intolerance or bigotry towards minorities,
opinions and letters denigrating and offending
women have become an almost weekly
joccurrence. So people really think women are
"bitching" about the possibility of being attacked
and assaulted? If this is some sort of cruel joke,
(does he also think it would be appropriate to joke
about child abuse or poverty? Dimitri, picture
jthis, you're walking home alone at 1 a.m. and
(someone attacks you and imposes a humiliation
to last a lifetime, then someone tells you to "quit
your bitching, you'll get over it". Let's try a little
[Understanding.
Howard Detnroff
Graduate Student
This is to all women who have ever been on a
jdate, and had a man buy them dinner. As we
Ww, a receipt for dinner is not a ticket for sex.
Rape is a violent crime, it has nothing to do
Nth sex, or dinner. It is the action of a sick
Nividual, who has no respect for other human
pings. A date is an opportunity to get to know
someone with the possibility of beginning a
relationship. It is not consent to sex.
Some parents are now teaching their daughters
to go "dutch." This is in response to thinking
such as Dimitri Filippov's that the invitation to
dinner or a drink, is an obligation for sex.
It is unfair that women cannot accept a date,
walk across campus at night, or go to a
convenience store without the fear of being raped.
We salute those women who have the courage to
report criminal injustices, and the men who
believe that sex is a loving, caring commitment,
not just dessert.
Dr. Lynne Walter's Journalism 357 Class
In response to your recent letter to The
Battalion, we can only draw two conclusions
about you. Either you have purposely set out to
anger a large number of people, in which case you
are a cruel and insensitive human being, or your
letter truly reflects your belief, in which case we
pity your ignorance. Either way, your comments
do not reflect those of a responsible, mature
college student. Obviously you have not matured
between junior high and college. You and those
who think like you are apparently so obsessed
with sex (or the lack thereof) that you cannot form
or even comprehend a meaningful relationship
with the opposite sex. Women should not be
happy that men attempt to "buy" their bodies
with dinner. Alcohol is no longer an acceptable
aphrodisiac to be used on sober and unwilling
women. And if breasts drive you into a money
spending frenzy, then that's your neurosis, not
ours. You say that a relationship "doesn't get any
better than this". We're here to say "IT DOES!"
We would suggest that instead of telling
women to "get off your soapbox and enjoy life',
you get out of the gutter and learn a thing or two
about healthy relationships.
Andrea Burris '94
Bryan Pope '95
I am writing concerning Mr. Filippov's letter in
Mail Call on Monday. I just wanted to
congratulate him for standing up for what he
believes. After all, all this talk about rape is
making me sick, too. Really, is it such a crime for
a guy to want to enjoy his manhood? Girls, we
have been in the wrong for too long, keeping a
guy from getting the sex that he so well deserves.
Hey, what is an unwanted pregnancy or years of
emotional torment compared to a guy giving up a
year's supply of beer to buy us diamonds? Now
that is committment to me. It is crazy to see why a
girl would want to wait to have sex until she's
married. This is the '90s for goodness' sake! I bet
that all this talk about AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases is just a ploy to keep guys
from raping, excuse me, having sex.
I hold a job where part of my responsibility is
to counsel girls on personal problems, including
rape. Now I know what to tell them - that it is just
a guy's way of expressing his deepest emotions
and that they should be elated that their breasts
turn him on so much. Ladies, I say we get rid of
our mace and start supporting the institution of
rape for what it really is - the thrill of a lifetime.
Kammie Rodriguez
Class of'94
You poor misguided soul. Women in general
do not care to sit back and enjoy your measly "30
minute" entertainment. If you have to buy your
dates with dinner, rocks, and beer, then obviously
you do not have what it takes to please a woman.
It sounds to us like you need a prostitute because
you could never get a true woman. It is time to
register for the fall and we suggest you look into a
psychology class to learn the motives involved in
the crime. Rape is a violent crime; it's not about
sex. The emotional and physical abuse that a
victim endures can change the scope of one's life.
Patricia Ireland and Jan Parshell deserve our
respect and admiration for their courage to
openly deal with their trauma.
We agree sex can be enjoyable - when done
with the right person whom one cares for and at
the right time with one's consent. It is a pity that
you are a closed-minded individual who is not
getting the big picture. As we all know, it takes
two to engage in intercourse but without one
party's approval, it is no longer just sex, but rape.
We considered that your article might be a bad
joke. If it is, we do not find it humorous and we
are not laughing. How would you like to be
molested, lose your self-respect and your trust of
other people? Rape causes an individual to
experience all these things.
Tory Duncan
Class of'95
accompanied by 113 signatures
This letter is in response to Mr. Filippov's
insensitive remarks about women. If I remember
correctly, Mr. Filippov, you are the vice-president
of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Are the views
expressed in your letter held by many of your
Kappa Sigma brothers or are you just the lone
neanderthal in the outfit? We will certainly know
the answer to this question if you are still an
active member one or two weeks from this day. In
any event. I'll bet you have eliminated the
problem of your fraternity ever having to attend
another co-ed mixer.
Brooke Smalt
Class of'94
Have an opinion?
Express it!
The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers.
AH tetters are welcome.
Letters must be signed and must include classification,
address and a daytime phone number for verification
purposes. They should be 250 words or less. Anonymous
tetters will not be published.
The Battalion reserves the right to edit all tetters for length,
style and accuracy. There is no guarantee the letters will
appear. Letters may be brought to 013 Reed McDonald, sent
to Campus Mail Stop 1111 or can be faxed to 845-2647.