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Opinion
Wednesday, November 11,1992 The Battalion Page 7
V
eTErANs i •jay
NOVEMBER 11, 1992
A day to remember
Crime and punishment explored
Drug war diverts attention from real crimes, causes
I n the last ten years spending on
criminal justice has risen twice as
fast as health care spending. In
this light, it is curious that all of the
candidates in the recent presidential
race advocated more of the same:
harsher penalties, more police and
more prisons.
In a sense, many conservative
thinkers are on to something with
harsher penalties. Both harsher
penalties and a judiciary willing to
hand them down increase the cost of
committing crime and decrease the
incentive to commit crimes.
Liberal thinkers are also on to
something. Increasing the benefits of
not committing crimes likewise decreases the incentive to
commit crime. So the concern with poverty and crime is
not without basis. Then why is the crime rate skyrocketing,
despite all of the money and bullets being directed at this
problem? Perhaps it is because so much of the "war on
crime" is being misdirected into the war on drugs.
Discussing crime in America has become impossible
without referring to the so-called drug problem. The "war
on drugs" misuses metaphor. In no sense is this a war on
drugs. It is a war on human beings.
After Ronald Reagan left office, more American citizens
were in federal prison for drug crimes than were in federal
prison for all other crimes. By 1995,it has been estimated
that 67 percent of all convicts will be imprisoned for drug
crimes.
The problem with drugs is that they are illegal. While
drugs are sometimes associated with crime, as is alcohol,
drugs are neither a necessary nor sufficient cause of crime.
Since people pay large sums of money to get drugs, sup
pliers take great risks to gamer the profits that illegal drugs
generate. The two great crime waves of this century were
both associated with prohibition of some type. In the
1920s, it was alcohol prohibition. Now, it is "drug" prohi
bition. Both also brought more potent drugs into the mar
ket.
Prohibition in the 1920s generated alcohol ten times
more potent than pre-prohibition alcohol. In addition, pro
hibition alcohol was often adulterated with toxins. Be
tween 1974 and 1984, the percentage of THC —the active
ingredient in marijuana — increased eight times. Further, a
more potent form of cocaine, crack, has also appeared.
And like alcohol prohibition, many drugs today are adul
terated with toxins.
Both prohibitions this century also spawned gangs that
have fought for territory to sell their substances. After the
repeal of alcohol prohibition, liquor sellers stopped staking
out their territory with drive-by shootings.
Neither the increase of more potent drugs nor the
growth of gangs were present when these drugs were pre
viously legal in America — even the Declaration of Inde
pendence was written upon hemp, or marijuana, paper. It
is a symptom of the perversity and paranoia of the times
when it is legal to carry a loaded gun about but not an
empty syringe. It is time to re-legalize drugs. Aborting the
drug war and the persecution of drug users, would release
more resources for the real crime problems facing America.
Crimes that matter, crimes with victims, need more
stringent punishments. I do not pretend to know the opti
mum punishment for murder, but it seems that the actual
number of years served for murder, about six years, is
laughable. Is that really a disincentive for murder? There
needs to be a reasonable amount of certainty that those con
victed of crimes such as murder and rape serve more strin
gent sentences. This should not be taken to mean that I
support the death penalty.
The economics of the effect of income level upon crime
appears impeccable. As income levels increase, the oppor
tunity costs of crime are increased. Therefore in a given so
ciety, crime would tend to decrease, everything else held
constant, as income increased. Economic progress for the
impoverished is imperative to give an incentive for non
crime.
Diverting efforts from the war on drugs to the war on
crime will focus energies where they are more needed. In
creasing the costs of crime and increasing the benefits of
noncrime will bring the crime rate down.
Dickerson is a sophomore economics major
MATTHEW
DICKERSON
Columnist
Editorial
Waste not, want not
Attention saves money and earth
The natural environment is erod
ing, and students at Texas A&M can
do something about it.
Unlike the depletion of the ozone
layer, water shortages and electrici
ty costs are ecological concerns
which, though less universal, hit a
little closer to home.
Students living in dorms and
some apartments pay a flat fee for
utilities like water and electricity.
This flat fee encourages students to
i use unlimited amounts of the utili
ties without paying one cent extra
I for the excess. Many students never
I realize that wasted water and elec-
j tricity exert a cost on the environ-
: ment as well as on bank accounts.
Too often, students leave lights
on or water running simply because
it's convenient.
A phone rings and the ensuing
conversation lasts for an hour, while
the shower water continues to run.
Classes start in ten minutes, and the
student runs late to class disregard
ing the light, the fan, the radio, the
computer, and the desk lamp which
remain on. The scenario seems
overblown, but students do it all the
time.
Students can make a difference
by taking a few seconds to turn off
appliances when not in use. Water
should be run only when needed
and turned off if something occurs
to delay the user.
A little thought makes a big dif
ference. An ounce of prevention
could be worth a gallon of water.
Texas A&M is considered one of the
most conservative campuses in the
world; maybe it's time to leam how
to conserve.
Americans need not
fear new president
The votes are in; the decision has
been made; and Bill Clinton is now the
president of the United States. I look at
the faces of the people around me and
see happiness, anger, disappointment
and hope. For some reason too,
amongst the faces of so many, I see fear.
They fear the future, what it holds for
America and what will happen now
that there is a Democrat in the White
House. All that they remember of the
Democrats in office is pain and despair.
They can only remember the sad hap
penings of that time.
Why are you afraid? You forget that
it is not the president who makes the
rules but us, the people of America.
The president is an embodiment of the
beliefs of the people of America. He
Will do what the people feel is better.
We cannot let him know how we feel if
We continue to act alone. We must
unite together as Americans, and let
him know what is up.
We must always remember that we
are not Aggies or t-sips. Democrats or
Republicans, Corps turds or non-regs.
We are citizens of the United States of
America, united under the beliefs of a
free nation. So through this letter I
hope that I have turned some fear into
faith. Now that we move into a new
era of politics, I wish to leave the peo
ple of America with this one quote that
I have learned so very well. "Per Uni-
tatem Vis" — "Through Unity,
Strength."
John R. Bianchi
Class of '94
Twelfth Man lost
against Louisville
I am writing this letter to say some
thing to the Texas A&M Twelfth Man
that I never thought I'd have to say —
Shame on you!
Last Saturday at the Louisville game,
I got a lump in my throat and a tear in
my eye as I looked out on the student
body from my seat on the alumni side.
Was it the Aggie Band's beautiful ren
dition of our school song that tugged at
my heartstrings? Was it the brilliance
of the Aggie football team that stirred
me so?
No it was the paltry attendance on
your side of the stadium. Where were
you? Our team is 9-0 and number four
in the nation. The national champi
onship is within our grasp. We have
something that hasn't happened in
decades.
Yet all this is irrelevant. You are the
Twelfth Man on the team, and you
didn't show up to your own game.
Don't tell me you watched it on TV.
Everyone knows that nothing compares
to "being there."
Let me remind you that the student
side of Kyle Field is in full view of our
players' bench. What kind of message
are you sending them? That you 're
only there for the "really important
games"?
I also noticed the flood of students
leaving late in the third quarter, once
the game was in the bag. There was a
time when only t-sips did that.
Did you even know that had we
been outscored, the game would have
been followed by yell practice? Or has
the Aggie dominance on the field for
the last few years spoiled you? For
what it's worth, you missed a great
game.
The 48,000 that were and I will con
tinue to turn out in full force for the rest
of the season. A lot of us already have
hotel reservations in Dallas for the Jan.
1. Hope you can make it.
E. King Gill was ready to play for his
team once. Where were you?
Keith W. Johnson
Class of'91
MSC a memorial, not
a shopping mall
This letter is addressed to the orga
nizers of the clothing sale on Tuesday
in the MSC. MSC does not stand for
Main Shopping Center. Remember, the
MSC is a memorial to the Aggies who
have given their lives in past wars.
The shopping mall is a good place to
buy clothes. The MSC is a good place
to pay respects for those who have
made the final sacrifice for you and
your country.
Certainly you don't think that I
would buy clothes at a cemetery just
because the price was right. Next time,
think about a more appropriate setting
at which to display and sell your goods.
Matthew Michaels
Class of'93
Where is the line
drawn on tolerance?
In response to David B. Nash Ill's
letter, I must question the reference
source used for his assertions. As a
Christian, my reference is the Bible,
which tells me that homosexuality, bes
tiality, necrophilia and pedophilia are
all wrong.
Having the Bible as a reference point
is how I base my beliefs. Mr. Nash,
where do your beliefs come from?
What tells you what is right and
wrong? And who are you to say that
homosexuality is OK, but the others are
not? Does some inner voice tell you?
I believe tlv point trying to be made
by Zeke and Owen is, "Where is the
line drawn?"
What is to prevent fathers from com
ing forth and claiming their rights to
have sex with their daughters because
they have their daughters' "consent"? I
have seen a daughter give her consent,
so do not think it can't happen.
I also do not believe that Zeke and
Owen's intolerance for homosexuality
can be called bigotry.
if you have the right to be gay, then
others have the right to believe you are
wrong.
Shiloh Green
Class of'96
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