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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1993)
i rl, 1993 Opinion Monday, November 1,1993 The Battalion Editorial Board CHRIS WHITLEY, editor in chief |ULI PHILLIPS, managing editor MARK EVANS, city editor DAVE THOMAS, night news editor ANAS BEN-MUSA, Aggielife editor BELINDA BLANCARTE, night news editor MICHAEL PLUMER, sports editor MACK HARRISON, opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, sports editor KYLE BURNETT, photo editor The Battalion Page 7 EDITORIAL Food for thought why were top personnel sacked? Battalion or ward actice. i the lead that ched you "But • and aced ^ady Sun- ’our- cho- )kler D a 3-0 The recent removal of top srsonnel in the Texas A&M Apartment of Food Services aises some interesting con- ms. A history of conflict between je department and Robert iith, vice president of finance aid administration, suggests srsonal rather than the per- snnel problems Smith cited as neasons for the changes. The director, assistant direc- ir,and business manager of sod Services have been shuf- ftd to other departments. The missals came after controver- over the privatization of fa des in the Sbisa Food Court, [lie food service hierarchy op- d Smith, who unsuccessful- pushed for a private contrac- Irto operate the project in lead of Food Services. Smith questioned the offi- ials' dedication in a Sept. 14 nemo. However, so far no one is produced any evidence gainst their integrity. Personal Jolitics and differences are no Jason for such an allegation. The records of the dismissed ersonnel are outstanding. For mer director Lloyd Smith spent the last 21 years working for A&M Food Services. Lloyd Smith has received wide recog nition for his innovative contri butions to the industry. Col. James Moore served as assistant director for the last six and one-half years. Moore also received the Silver Plate of the International Food Service Manufacturer's Association, the most prestigious award in the industry. George Nedbalek was re moved from his post as busi ness manager after more than seven years in the department. All three men were reassigned to other positions in the Uni versity administration. An Oct. 4 memo said an in ternal audit and restructuring plan resulted in the firings, but the results of the study were never publicized. The A&M community de serve a real explanation for the changes. Robert Smith has yet to cite any hard facts to sup port his radical move. Personal reputations and the good name of Texas A&M de pend on the answer to every one's repeated question: Why? Mother uses canvas to express grief Pain of son's death inspires artist's 'violent watercolors' H ave you ever watched some one die? If so, then you understand that it is not something one soon forgets. Weil, watching someone die slowly, wasting away over several months is infinitely more trau matizing. It can be a harrowing experience that leaves long-term mental scars and an guish. What if that some one were your son? Now meet janna Macy. She is an artist, the chairperson of the Cy-Faix High School Art Department and most importantly, she is a survivor. On Feb. 2,1991 she celebrated her only son's 29th birthday in a hospital, holding his hand as he struggled with yet another infec tion. Mark, her son, had been living for sev eral years with AIDS. This birthday was to be his last. Eleven days later, Mark's struggle ended. His mother wasn't that lucky. Still not ful ly recovered from the deaths of both of her parents within the preceding four months, her son's death seemed to be yet one more meaningless, soul-shattering catastrophe. Macy began to develop an awareness of the society around her that shuns those infected with HIV and casts a stigma upon those living with AIDS. She realized that instead of caring for and nurturing these individuals, society was just turning away from them. Her son had died in a society that had re jected him. But, she was still alive and still had to deal with losing someone so close to her. She turned to her art and began to express her feelings of pain and loss through her paint ings. These works were not meant to be shown, but were a sort of catharsis, helping her to make sense out of a senseless situation. Nearly a year later her daughter, feeling that Macy wasn't dealing well with all the loss, expressed concern over her mother's seeming lack of an emotional outlet. Macy turned to her daughter and told her that she was handling things as best she could by us ing her paintings as an outlet. Up to this point, very few people had seen any of her work. Her daughter, being quite taken with the paintings, asked a friend to view some of the art and give his opinion of it. Her friend, the owner of R.E.F. Gallery in Houston, was amazed at what he saw and instantly asked Macy if she would care to have a one-person show in his gallery. After much consideration, she decided to go ahead and let the public view her works as a sort of memorial to her son. Half of the proceeds from this first show were donated to AIDS organizations. She also hoped that the show would serve as a reminder to people. She knew that a vast majority of people didn't think they had to worry about AIDS. She also knew those peo ple were mistaken. Everyone is vulnerable. While it is true that not everyone may be at risk of becoming infected, everyone is at risk of being affected. AIDS does not affect only those who have it, but it reaches out to the families and loved ones of those infected. The pain is shared by the survivors of those who die. Macy now hopes that an awareness can be developed that recognizes the pain fami lies have to suffer when dealing with the crisis of AIDS. "Hopefully," she says, "if they can see the pain in my work, maybe they'll think." Yes, and maybe they'll understand. But beware — her paintings are not for the easily offended. When I asked her to describe her style of painting, she told me she calls it "violent watercolor." She informed me that it wasn't the nice, flowery pastels that most people create with watercolors. She uses stark colors that depict dark feelings of pain and anger. Yet, through these paintings she gains strength to understand the meaning of Mark's death. The exhibit, "Duality of Life and Death", will be showing this Monday through Friday in 120 Langford Architecture Center Building A. The gallery will be open to all, free of charge, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you want to witness first-hand the pow er of this woman and her art, then attend the opening tonight at 7:30 p.m. Macy will be at the gallery to give an informal walk-through of the exhibit. She will discuss the meaning and origin of each painting and try to shed some light onto the deep emotions that in spired mis memorial. John Scroggs is a senior 'English and philosophy major Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the 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, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters express the opinions of the authors. The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters and guest columns for length, style, and accuracy. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns. Address letters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Mail stop 1111 : Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 ; : i; Fax: (409) 845-2647 B Capital punishment neither swift nor egalitarian enough Tlhere are cer- "The death penalty cannot be useful .... criminal's background. Death is not — much more so than those who employ many appeals, tainlv more It seems absurd to me that the laws which viewed the same wav bv everyone. private attornevs. If the lawbreaker knew ahead of time r here are cer tainly more sides to the ipital punishment ibate than the 'owe are accus ed to hearing ■'out and seeing. Death penalty locates see the Jmmals/murder- 3as receiving iir "just tiserts." "The ultimate pression of state mt over the in- pidual: 'You are of fit for this world, take your chances tewhere.'" — Furman v. Georgia. Advocates also point out that execu- Jns are relatively cheap. It is certainly % to execute the person and be done 'iihit than house him or her in prison at 'ousands of dollars a day for however Jny odd years of incarceration. Opponents of capital punishment ar- Jethat to take life in order to honor life hypocritical. TRACEY JONES Columnist "The death penalty cannot be useful It seems absurd to me that the laws which are an expression of the public will, which detest and punish homicide, should them selves commit it," said Beccaria, an an cient prison rights activist, But one important point that seems to be overlooked is the actual deterrence ef fect of the death penalty. Is it effective? Does it prevent numerous other murders from occurring? The homicide rate goes up every year all across the country. Some studies have even shown the murder rates to go up in execution states the week immediately before and after an execution. So whether you are for the ultimate punishment or against it, it does not appear to be an ef fective deterrent to crime. Other factors and/or "sides" are being over looked. For instance, one murder vic tim's loved ones perhaps only see that jus tice has been achieved through the death of the murderer, but this may not be the case for other families. Perhaps this family was able to afford excellent legal counseling that secured the execution while another family in similar circumstances was not. Another factor to consider is the criminal's background. Death is not viewed the same way by everyone. While it may seem as a punishment by the standards of the legal system, a per son who feels his life is worthless and has nothing to live for will obviously not see it the same way. He may kill sev eral times before being caught because he knows he can only die once. If the lawbreaker knew ahead of time that punish ment was certain, perhaps he would think twice about committing the crime. But the punishment would have to be immediate and certain. Still another factor is the biased utiliza tion of the death penalty. Limited finan cial resources play a role in this practice. Those who are unable to afford adequate legal counseling and are forced to rely upon court appointed attorneys are at a greater risk of receiving death sentences — much more so than those who employ private attorneys. The people most often forced to rely upon public defendants are blacks and other members of minority groups. Aside from poor economic situations, the race of the victim is an important consideration in death penalty cases. Those who murder whites are much more likely to receive the death penalty than those who murder blacks. These practices have been documented in sev eral Southern states, including Texas. Ironically, blacks are the majority of homicide victims in the United States. With 80 percent of Americans in favor of capital punishment, it is unlikely that the practice will be banned. In fact, there is talk of making the death penalty a mandatory sentence for those who kill police officers and other peace officers. So executions will continue to be jus tice for the few, while the many who fa vor capital punishment never receive their idea of the ultimate justice. Because capital punishment as it stands now is not an effective deterrent of crime for society at large. The system allows for too many biases, both economic and social, and too many appeals. If the lawbreaker knew ahead of time that some sort of punishment was certain, perhaps he would begin to think twice about committing the crime. But the pun ishment would have to be immediate and certain. If he is sentenced to prison, put him in prison — not probation, but a cer tain punishment. The same would hold for the appeals. Allow for a smaller number of appeals and hear those promptly. When they have expired, the sentence of execution needs to be carried out immediately. Improving the quality of court ap pointed lawyers and recognizing that all numan life deserves to be respected would appear also to facilitate the death penalty's effectiveness. It is therefore im portant that the sentences be handed down as equally as possible. Certainty, swiftness and egalitarian practices could give new meaning to the judicial system and society's concept of appropriate punishment and justice tem pered with mercy. Tracey Jones is a senior psychology major Kudos to letter writer Kudos to Kevin Weller. Homosexuali ty is an issue I feel strongly about. My unwavering position is that being gay is, 3s Weller put it, like "being brown- e yed." It is certainly not a condition in Deed of treatment. So, when Peter frunone's letter appeared, a friend, who •s opposed to my position, was one up °nme. I certainly couldn't dispute a sur- ’ e y of psychiatrists. Or, so it seemed. ^ As an aspiring psychologist, I was surprised at what the AMA survey indi cated. Thanks, Weller, for taking the ini tiative to investigate Brunone's claim. For many gay men and women, the "cure" is in admitting their homosexuali ty. Ags, please be kind to all mankind. Don't judge what's best for someone else. Concentrate on what's best for you. Anne Barr Class of'94 'Rent a friend' shirt has basis in real life I always thought that those shirts that said "Rent A Friend - Join A Frat" were rather crude and unfair, until last week. A few of us were at a very good friend's house when 13 angry fraternity guys showed up at the front door at 2:00 in the morning, demanding the surren der of my friend's pledge jersey and any other items displaying their honorable letters. These guys meant business and just happened to be rather large seniors. Anyway, they referred to de-pledging as "black-balling," whatever that means. When I spoke in defense of my friend, I was laughed at and called sexist and de moralizing names. I said he didn't de pledge because he didn't like the frater nity, he just had too many things going on: i.e. campus involvement, sports. No matter. They expressed an attitude total ly opposite of the gentlemanly traits they claim to exhibit. I don't have to mention any Greek let ters or names, because you know who you are — poor excuses for Aggies. I don't see how you can hold your heads high while you wear your letters next to those of A&M on your t-shirts, caps and other Greek paraphenelia, since I now know how you really are once the "friendship rent" has been collected. Ever heard the phrase "Worthy of the highest?" Well, you're not worthy, period — not of my friend's pledgeship, and sure ly not of calling yourselves Aggies. I think you lost that identity a long time ago. Stacia Heimgartner Class of '96 Donated computers: For female use only? In the Oct. 26 Campus News Briefs, one of the articles detailed donations made by Marathon Oil. One of the dona tions is to be used for "computer equip ment for women in engineering." I'm wondering, will signs posted above these computers read, "Male Use Unauthorized"? Or will the computers be kept in "Women Engineers Only" rooms? I don't wish to seem unappreciative of the donation, but I can't help but com ment on such a peculiar one. Bill Hutcheson Class of'95