June 7,199;
ress
lent
de Leon Cat-
r as suspended
le.
ople cheered
' and firecrad
ration,
human righ
:edented in.
human rights
r-old war,
diet in Centra
's candidaci
after Arturt
, the 81-year
he country!
ribunal, with
n prolong^
rid on televi
/ote gave hin
Leon Carpi
in go Garcii
ase minister
iterfere, bm
ying whether
would bad
chose.
Opinion
Monday, June 7,1993
The Battalion
Page 5
rH? PAV ^ pePi^ATEP^ TWE-
Kt)KPI^EPe> WMP "O^AVEL
ea^w iK a ^ue^nr ticutw,
> AMP ^EUF,
I /
yo 62U\£&0 &|M N ^UlMEfe , ^IU V0U& PLAIT”
jss Hours
. - 5 p.m.
ly through
iday
jpted
The Battalion Editorial Board
Jason Loughman, editor in chief
Mark Evans, managing editor
Stephanie Pattillo, city editor Kyle Burnett, sports editor
Dave Thomas, night news editor Anas Ben-Musa, Agg\e///e editor
Mack Harrison, morning news editor Billy Moran, photo editor
Editorial
Make up to $2,000*
onal English abra!
jom & board**
teaching certitele
12-1146 ext. J58S5
Let justice be done
Criminal court no place for politics
? If you have eve
nded Vacation M
e your expenenw.
ry Sundays 8-12(r
all 3 to 5 games (»
ies. Ea>
on fislih!
)ver 8,05
>r Fernet
*xt.A58S
iarn up to$2,000*
the Caribbean,
/ment available ^
rent program celt
icts at home,
Suaranteed. FREE
9-2900 CopyrijN*
Death penalty opponents have
seized upon the case of Gary Gra
ham, convicted in 1981 of capital
murder and sentenced to death, as a
vehicle to propel their campaign.
Graham, who has received two
30-day stays of execution, was
found guilty of robbing Bobby Lam
bert of less than $100 and shooting
him to death in a supermarket park
ing lot in Houston.
Graham pleaded
guilty to 10 similar
robberies in supermar
ket parking lots, in
which two victims
were shot and one
raped.
He claims to have
been with friends dur
ing the robbery of
Lambert and says his
conviction is the result
of racism, because he
is black and the victim
was white.
Racism, however,
would appear to have
little to do with the
eyewitness testimony of Bernadine
Skillern, a black schoolteacher who
testified against Graham at his trial.
In a like vein, the crusade to save
Graham from lethal injection ap
pears to have less to do with in
formed debate than with the politi
cization of American justice.
The Texas Resource Center,
Amnesty International, USA, the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund and
other activist organizations and in
dividuals are coordinating cam
paigns touting Graham's innocence.
They have eplisted the aid of ac
tors, musicians, and Hollywood
celebrities to take their anti-death
penalty case to the public and put
pressure on Texas political and legal
officials.
It is quite unlikely,
though, that movie
stars know any more
about the case than did
the jurors who found
Graham guilty a
decade ago.
Additionally, this
campaign, coupled
with fears of jury in
timidation in trials of
Los Angeles and Mia
mi police due to the
threat of violence
points to an alarming
trend toward mob jus
tice.
It must be remem
bered that public pres
sure for an acquittal or a reprieve
one day can be mirrored by cries for
blood the next.
Courts work best when insulated
from public pressures, with the pro
viso, of course, that the proceedings
be open to public observation.
They become a hollow mockery
when they are ruled by movie stars
and media campaigns.
Money isn't all that important?
Lack of funding disintegrating inner city schools
An African-American high
school in the 1960s:
The chalk-board is marked by pocked
areas, the slate is broken and the contents
removed. The whole decor is indistin
guishable from that of other institution
alized rooms seen in the local jail or
poorhouse.
—James Irwin
An African-American high
school in the 1980s:
Blackboards at the school are so badly
cracked that teachers are afraid to let stu
dents write on them for fear they'll cut
themselves. Teachers and students have
come to see humor in the waterfall that
courses down six flights of stairs after a
heavy rain.
•Jonathan Kozol
A frican-American children have been saddled with in
ferior educational programs and facilities since the
days of Reconstruction. Their schools have been his-
>lagued by segregation and underfunding. Al-
“ ;hts Act of 1964 improved the condi-
le class and middle class blacks, it failed
to have an impact on the huge black underclass. Segrega
tion and underfunding still dwell in school systems and ur
ban residential areas that are predominantly black, creating
a pool of the mostly poor, unskilled, and uneducated.
Because of the poverty of the school districts, the educa
tional institutions that depend on local funding are forced
to employ fewer teachers and administrations. In addition,
they are left to choose from a pool of educators who are
lacking in experience and/or nave had little specialized
preparation for the teaching of children who bring with
them different cultural and familial values, modes of speak
ing, or interpretations of national and local events.
Poor educational attainment leads to limited occupation
al opportunities. Lower paying jobs in turn prevent citizens
from moving to better neighborhoods that provide better
educational systems.
This unending cycle of poor educational attainment is
the rationale behind the Texas Supreme Court ultimatum:
the court insisted that the Texas public education system
equal out funding between its poor and wealthy districts or
else face termination of state aid to these districts. In states
all across the country — including Texas — minority chil
dren residing in poor urban centers often attend schools
that are not able to provide adequate supplies of books, lab
equipment, learning aids or even classroom space due to fi
nancial constraints.
For various reasons state legislators, superintendents,
administrators, and parents in more affluent districts have
been staunchly opposed to integrative measures such as
busing, school consolidation and channeling money into
poorer districts. These people say they resist these actions
because: a) money is not all that important without appro
priate values and b) lower income children have differ
ing/opposing moral and social standards.
Some children do not have adequate numbers of books
nor are the schools able to provide them with current
books.
But money is not all that important?
Some children are being taught in converted restrooms
and broom closets.
But money is not all that important?
Some children are attending buildings with holes in the
roofs.
But money is not all that important?
In looking at the second reason given, it is true that chil
dren from lower income communities whose ties with the
mainstream have been severed hold opposing moral codes.
They have no reason to internalize middle-class values for
the simple reason that nothing in their environment corre
sponds to these values. College is not an entity that they
necessarily aspire to; understanding that a solid education
can greatly improve their chances of transcending the envi
ronment that tney were raised in is not a concrete belief for
them. And yes, once they have been encased in these pes
simistic values for a great length of time, it is next to impos
sible to instill middle-class values in them by ages sixteen
and seventeen. The teaching of values need to begin prefer
ably in the formative years, no later than early childhood.
By being exposed to role models (e.g. well prepared teach
ers, involved parents) and classroom situations that pro
mote middle-class standards and values, children from dif
fering backgrounds will begin to internalize at least a por
tion of these values. With time, the conflict between values
can be greatly minimized.
So, since 'Tnoney is not all that important," perhaps this
time around it will not be a problem for the wealthier dis
tricts to share some of their funds with the children who re
side in the poorer districts.
Jones is a senior psychology major
DEFICIT REDUCTION
CHARTERED
ITJVD 1993
a
BELL CLINTON, PRESIDENT
^ w? ’ N gr J sigf
750. V’sunl
,, 764-6019
, a re three of fo l,r
3V e message
^/$50 - cas hl
to campus, t)«' ;
frige!atPp°j
! pSS accept® 0
artrUentTP^
,22-0472.
Fight income tax hike
instead of energy tax
] Sen. David Boren is barking up the
wrong tree when fighting Bill Clinton's
proposed energy tax. He should be
lighting the increase in income taxes
instead. His argument against the energy
tax is that it will hurt the economy. Well,
no joke!
Any increase in taxes hurts the
economy, but an income tax does far
more damage than an energy tax. If you
are smart, you can avoid an energy tax by
^coming more more energy efficient.
Ihe income tax is the worst kind of tax
there is because it discourages exactly
what we want to encourage. We want
ihe economy to grow. We want people
J nd businesses to be more productive.
But if you are more productive, you
punished with higher taxes. That just
doesn't make any sense. We shouldn't
what we want to encourage; we
should tax what we want to discourage,
such as energy consumption.
Chris Marquette
Graduate student
Sorry, Rush, Olajuwon
does deserve MVP
I would like to dispute Matthew J.
Rush's claim in his column "Sorry
Houston, Sir Charles deserved MVP,"
and specifically the logic behind his
argument.
In his first two paragraphs he
mentions Barkley's "Dream Team"
performance, and his trade to Phoenix.
Then Rush states "it is for all these
reasons" that it should have been no
surprise that Barkley won the MVP
award. He goes on to explain that
Barkley was robbed of the award in 1990.
Then he lists Barkley's stats, and states
"sorry again Hakeem et al, Charles was
the better man this year".
this point, I will present a more
objective argument than Rush. First, the
Olympic team and move to Phoenix have
nothing to do with being MVP. (Though
it is debated as to what the criteria are,
these reasons obviously do not fit.)
Second, the claim of his being robbed in
1990 does not relate to the 1992-1993
season. Athletic awards should not be
given out to right past wrongs. Third,
the mention of Barkley's statistics is
absurd, when compared to those of
Hakeem. In seven major statistical
categories, Barkley proved superior only
in assists.
Rush's last argument seems to center
on the team's respective success in the
playoffs. This is the first logical point
presented by Rush. Unfortunately, it is
not valid when explaining voting for
MVP, because the ballots are turned in
long before playoffs begin.
If the playoff argument itself is
considered, then again Rush is mistaken.
The Suns have made the conference finals
since 1982 (in 1989 and 1990). Also, the
Suns almost had one of the biggest
chokes in playoff history when they fell
0-2 to the Lakers. Third, the Rockets
were one Kenny Smith or Vernon
Maxwell jump shot away from playing
the Suns in the conference finals. (Not to
mention that the Rockets were cheated by
the league in home court advantage, and
some incredibly poor officiating in the
seventh game of the Sonics series.)
Fourth, the Rockets were a lottery team a
year ago, while the Suns have
consistently posted winning records.
In conclusion, I have to say that I am a
Houston sports fan (arguably, the
toughest job in America). 1 was
disappointed that Hakeem didn't win the
MVP. There is no question that Barkley
is a great player, but this year the MVP
should have gone to Hakeem. My main
problem with Rush's column is his lack
of objectivity and logic. Instead of
apologizing to Houston, why don't you
apologize to your readers?
Sorry, Rush, you're mistaken in who
deserves the MVP. Better luck next time.
Bill Tommaney
Graduate student
Editonds appearing in The Baftolon reflect fhe views
of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas
A&M student body, regents, administration, faedty or
staff
Columns, guest cofcumns, and Mail Cal items express
the opinrons of the authors.
The Battalion encourages letters to the eefitor end wit
print as many as space allows n the Mail Col section.
Letters must be 300 words or less and include the
author's name, doss, and phone number.
Contact the editor or men aging edtor for information
on submitting guest columns.
We reserve the right to edit letters and guest columns
for lengfh, style, and accinacy.
Letters should be addressed to:
The Battcdon - Med Co8
013 ReedMcDonald /Malstop 1111
Texes A&M UntversJy
Colege Station. TX 7/843
Editor’s note:
Applications are available in
013 Reed McDonald for
The Battalion Reader’s
Panel.
The panel will meet
regularly with editors to
give us a better picture of
what our readers want from
their newspaper.
If you have ideas about the
paper — if you want to be
involved — stop by and fill
out a short application.
It’s your newspaper ....