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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1994)
26,1 SUP essive on le is very it playeo his earl' 1 nee is low start and tha: ;ame," k J realtft time, Barn aach, will: onfidents Opinion Wednesday, January 26,1994 The Battalion Editorial Board JULI PHILLIPS, Editor in chief MICHAEL PLUMER, Managing editor KYLE BURNETT, Aggielife editor BELINDA BLANCARTE, Night news editor DENA DIZDAR, Aggielife editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor SEAN FRERKING, Sports editor TONI GARRARD CLAY, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Photo editor JENNIFER SMITH, City editor The Battalion Page 7 EDITORIAL Cable Control Self-regulation a hollow gesture Everything is profits and ex pansion for the cable industry until Congress is in session, ith Congress returning next id. "ir bveek, plans to redouble efforts i n g a ? i: io pass legislation requiring a im e $fe' , Bri c> l ence - ra ting system on TheuWRj-oadcast television have .Bereed the cable industry to ™ at ti: j||nake the first move. This moti- , , ■ r ation makes the efforts put .^" ^rth by the cable industry sus- ndsfflB fr* wa ^ e °f growing sup- evein(W ort ^ or re g u ^ at i on °f violence ■n broadcast television, the iismon# a i° r U.S. cable companies parajfeW ave approved a plan to regu- ,®te themselves. Included in the A'hen sBew self-regulation:vpolicy are v forfellans to develop an actual vio- everyc fence-rating system for movies n the £ shown on cable. The plan also :he PoMendorses a method to allow !. If thjiewers to block from their i laugh; homes those programs rated as "violent." -1 Despite the effort, the cable Industry's plan will not work, lior will any rating system , mi—passed by Congress. Similar at tempts haven't worked for ei ther the movie or music indus tries. Underage kids get into ■-rated movies all the time, ffiard-core rap exploded into the mainstream only after local bans on the sale of the records. The fact that the cable indus try has waited until faced with possible government regula tion makes it rather obvious that the move has been made for defensive reasons rather than a genuine concern for the people that are affected by the violent, sex-glamorizing movies shown on cable. Opponents of a rating sys tem believe the cable industry should not be expected to do the job of the parent. If consent ing adults want to watch a vio lent movie, they should be al lowed. True as this may be, the whole debate over violence on television centers around the people that are influenced the most — children. Children are not always able to distinguish reality from television, and while indeed the parent should explain the difference, that ide al is all too often not a reality. One alternative to the rating system is to restrict the airing of excessively graphic shows to time slots when children will most likely not be viewing. Of course, the cable industry could simply resolve the issue by no longer showcasing gratu itous sex and violence in so many shows. But, then, we are dealing in reality. Dealing with some of life's little fears Phobias, like food, have their place, but can slow us down F FRANK STANFORD Columnist •ear is as necessary to humans as food; it keeps us going in many ways. Al though enough fear en ables us to reach certain goals, we are all famil iar with the discomfort and sluggishness that results when we ingest too much. Like Jell-o, however, many fears have no significant val ue or purpose whatso ever. Last night, for in stance, I saw a news story on TV that got me thinking about just how much we love to wallow in these Jell-o fears. It seems that the children of a Midwest town voted to name their new elementary school Springfield Elementary. This seems quite understandable because the name of the town happens to be Springfield. The problem arises from the fact that the same name graces the town and elementary school in the popular animated sit-com, "The Simpsons." Apparent ly, the children's parents are afraid of the con nection between the school name and the sit-com's main character, Bart, who is not a good student They have banded together like good parents should, and petitioned the school board to revoke the new name. Now, even though I'm not a parent, I can empathize with the concerns attached to rais ing a child in today's society. We are all scared of the drugs and handguns found in many schools across the nation, and even the effects of TV violence on youngsters — but alarm over academic apathy on cartoons? This is a big time jell-o fear. These parents are bent on passing the responsibility buck. To them I say, "Don't have a cow." To a large extent, and unfortunately, too many students attend A&M not to be educat ed, but rather because we are afraid. Our par ents and — for the most part — society have told us that if we don't receive a college degree we won't ever get "good" jobs and may even become bag-ladies. This is sort of a jell-o pud ding fear since many "good" jobs certainly re quire formal education. Even though the world has plenty of non-degree success sto ries, fear often drives us toward graduation. Fear may also help us steer us towards ap propriate disciplines as well. For instance, many people consider accounting to be a "good" profession. Although I respect the im portance of the field, I would sooner pursue a degree in bag-lady transience for fear of count ing someone else's bean piles for a living. En gineering is another "good" endeavor, but alas, fear of flunking Engineering 109 keeps most protractor wielding wannabees running to the Ag Department. I understand the Col lege of Veterinary Medicine to be the scariest school of all. Not only is the department na tionally ranked and almost impossible to en ter, but also all those kitties and doggies bangin' around the giant refrigerators like fur ry beef jerky are enough to scare any pet own er. Social situations are also ripe with fright for most students. Gathering the nerve to speak to that cube in your class by forcibly repressing enormous hursts of anxiety is never something we really enjoy — not to mention the expense of such incredible self-control. This fear skips straight from possible Jell-o to a Clydesdale pot roast and pea-gravel-stuffing fear. Along with the fears of a relationship get ting off the ground — or being buried in it — come the all too familiar, "I'm afraid he's go ing to cheat on me,” and, "I'm scared he will break-up with me." And let's not forget the ever terrifying, "Oh , I'm late." These examples seem a bit sexist. Although it's safe to say there are as many male fears as female. I'm afraid to list them for fear they may happen to me. Because there are so many things that are legitimately scary, the Batt Staff came up with a Top Ten List of things we really SHOULD be afraid of. 10. Banging your knee on a table when you come home at 3 a.m. — hammered. 9. Still being in college at age 30. 8. That your slutty roommate will get lucky and leave you alone at a party. 7. That someone else at the same function will wear the same outfit you are. 6. That you will have to live with your par ents after graduation. 5. That the babe in the car next to yours saw you picking your nose. 4. That maybe the test really IS today. 3. That your chair will make a tooting sound when you're next to an attractive class mate. 2. That your credit card will be rejected in front of your date. 1. That when the band starts to play "Saw Varsity's Homs Off" the smelly, drunk beast next to you will lunge for your waist. Frank Stanford is a graduate philosophy major ... fttRMWC ttu tuys UlLl K 7H* flfcST Jo mrs hew light Mb fiKeuiaek {ok tflbSt cohnu,..! VUM rn % 0 f July. US. tests o\m EFFECTS rnimw ((A Optsi who?') 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 Fax: (409) 845-2647 O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice ... I: remember the first time that I ever cheated at a Hame. I was in Mrs. 1 needs.'' Webber's second- ’nrilyS sdenCe C | aSS ' 3 and we were play- ing Heads-up 7-up. =—^ For those who lived through a de prived elementary existence. Heads- up 7-up is a game in which the teacher picks seven people, and they Kt to stand at the front of the class- J it JENNY MAGEE Columnist ^tars room. The students who aren't chosen as one of the seven have to hide their eyes and stick up their thumb. The seven cho sen people walk around, each tapping an other person's thumb. Then they yell "Heads-up 7-up!" and the people whose ,1 Thumbs were tapped have to stand up and guess who did it. I Well, as anyone can imagine, there is all sorts of glory associated with being a chosen 7-upper. So one day, when a long dry spell was grating on my competitive nerve, I decided to take a quick peek to catch a glimpse of the culprit when I felt that light tap on my thumb. I lifted my head slightly, but put it back down quickly. That corny cliche "a cheater never wins" danced through my thoughts. "What difference does it make? It's just a stupid game," I told myself as I raised my head and caught a glimpse of blonde curls. If it was just a stupid game, why did I have to cheat? Heather O'Neil had the longest blonde, curly hair in the history of sec ond-graders, so it is no surprise that my "guess" was right on target. Subsequent ly, I got to take my prized position among the chosen seven. A couple of days ago, some friends and I were reminiscing about good ole 7- up, and they told me that the trade secret to cheating at the game is to look at the person's shoes. I didn't think of this idea at the time. This memory came to mind as I was reading an article about the recent allega tions that figure skater Tonya Harding helped her ex-husband plan an attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan. Although Harding is denying any involvement and nothing has been proven against her, let's say for the sake of argument that she did play a part in planning the attack. What There is something innately dissatisfying about winning through unfair tactics. It doesn't produce a whole hearted sense of accomplish ment like a true win does. would winning mean? Although it is probably not written in any rulebook anywhere, I think hiring a hit man to bash a blunt object into a com petitor's knee is pretty much cheating. Say Tonya Harding does go to the Olympics and win a medal. What could she say about such a medal? "Here's my medal — at least I think it's mine, even though one of my major competitors wasn't able to compete." As a society, do we place so much em phasis on winning that honesty and fair ness no longer have a place? Have we made the glory of winning so great that it can overpower one's conscience? There is something innately dissatisfy ing about winning through unfair tactics — it doesn't produce that wholehearted sense of accomplishment like a true win does. Many times people try to rationalize or justify cheating. Maybe those nine A&M football players who accepted money for work they never performed didn't plan an attack on another team's player, but they did accept money for work that they didn't do. That's cheating, plain and sim ple. Rules are made to protect integrity. In the case of college football, student ath letes are not allowed to accept money for their performance on the field, or from overzealous alumni, as an enticement to go to a certain school. The reason for this rule is to protect the idea that college football, like high school football, is played in an educational atmosphere. If cheaters didn't hurt the innocent along with themselves, perhaps the knowledge that they gained because of an unfair advantage would be enough pun ishment. However, many times cheaters drag down others because of their ac tions. Why was Nancy Kerrigan almost denied the opportunity to fulfill her Olympic dreams? Why should the other A&M football players, the coaches and fans be forced to endure a punishment that has little effect on the offenders? Cheaters cheat to win; but if you have to cheat, then you didn't really win in the first place. Jenny Magee is a senior journalism and English major ■le Have they ever got a deal for you 1 Beware of some of the automotive re pair shops in the Bryan-College Station area. In November my daughter, a ju nior at A&M, said she was having trou ble with her car not shifting up to the higher gears. T First, she took the car to Tune Up Plus. They gave us a $600 written esti mate indicating the problem was a need to replace the fuel pump, fuel filter, and some aspect of the intake manifold. Next, she took it to Gary Stevenson's Quality Pontiac, Buick and GMC, where the problem, they said, was that the transmission needed to be replaced and there was really no need to look any fur ther. He gave a written repair estimate of $1,858.20. Not knowing these firms or trusting their diagnoses, the car was towed to Glossermans' Chevrolet, Buick dealer ship in Lockhart, where a sticking trans mission linkage was loosened. This cor rected the problem at a cost of about $100. The moral of this story is, you can't be too careful when it comes to dealing with a mechanic you don't know. Stu dents beware. John S. Carter Austin, Texas Beutel gets a bad rap It seems as though the Beutel Health Center hasn't received anything but neg ative publicity here in the Mail Call sec tion in semesters past. Contrary to the popular trend. I'd like to shed some pos itive light on the Health Center through an experience of mine. I went into the Health Center right af ter finals with a sore throat and fatigue. Tests revealed I had mono. I ended up not being able to leave the Health Center due to an enlarged spleen and was forced to stay over night. I must admit that I felt right at home. I was served food from Hullabaloo and watched cable TV. Overall, I was given exemplary care by the physicians and nurses, and the doctor who cared for me at the Health Center went beyond the call of duty by faxing my records to my hometown doctor and arranging for my parents to come pick me up the follow ing morning. She even called me over the holidays at my home to see how I was doing. I don't think many students realize how lucky we are to receive the kind of care that is available from our medical center, not to mention the low prices of prescription medicine. I had to pay $25 for a refill of a prescription at home that I paid $3 for here. I bet a lot of students who went to Fish Camp have forgotten about the pre sentation that is made by the Health Center about how to stay healthy and prevention of becoming sick. Represen tatives from the Health Center are also available to speak to student organiza tions at any time during the year about preventive medicine for anyone who is interested. If you are not pleased with the care you received the first time, ask for an other doctor the next time. There's a large number of qualified physicians to choose from. Tim Deithloff Class of '95