Opinion
Friday, February 11,1994
The Battalion
Page 13
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Should Beutel Health Center offer
CON
the morning-after pill ?
ie Beutel
Health
Center has
lecided not to
reat students
/ho get alcohol
?oisoning while
rollerblading.
^et them get
leir stomachs
jumped and
lees bandaged
somewhere else
|— not here, no
sir. Might pro-
rote drinkin'
id the usin' of
FRANK
STANFORD
Columnist
angerous recre-
tional devices.
Although this statement is ridiculous
d the health center provides high
quality care to which I can attest per-
onally, such a statement is really no
different than the clinic's recent deci-
ion not to provide the FDA-approved,
lationally-used morning-after pill.
Kenneth Dirks, the health center di~
ector said, "If we were to offer the pill,
we would be suggesting to students
hat we think it's OK for them to engage
n risky behavior ..." Well, I appreciate
'Mom's" concern for the subtle mes
sages the clinic may be sending us re
ading their drug inventory, but it's
SUPPOSED to have a pharmacy for
:ryin' out loud.
I'm sure their stock of medication in
cludes some pain killers which the drug
rushers downtown would love to have
Students at A&M
should have the oppor
tunity to decide which
morals, religions,
philosophies and pills
they will use.
for resale, but that doesn't mean the stu
dent body will rename the clinic the
"Crack Shack" and start abusing sodi
um pentathol. Good grief, can't we
ake up our own minds?
This is another attempt — nay, suc
cess — by A&M to impose it's moral
‘ value system upon its students who are
Supposed to be here to expand their
minds, gather sufficient information to
make their own decisions and ask their
>wn questions, not to attend a religious
onvention. These decisions include not
only major fields of study, but also
whether to use a particular safe, legal
pill.
The prevailing moral argument
ieems to be that this pill allows unpro-
^ /y sected sex to be "safer" from pregnancy,
J. l u an d thereby promotes unsafe sex. Also,
U Bany pill that prevents a life from form-
ther NA| ing is essentially abortive in nature, and
’ erefore morally wrong from some
erspectives.
Most of us agree on the serious dan-
;ers of unprotected sex. However, hu-
ans have always done dumb things
eriodically and will continue to do so.
~ is means a lingering spread of dis
eases and unwanted pregnancies with
which we will have to deal.
The question of life beginning at the
moment of conception is a moral, reli
gious and philosophical one — not a le
gal one — regarding this pill. Students
should have the opportunity to decide
which morals, religions, philosophies
and pills they will use. It's not surpris
ing that church-affiliated, private insti
tutions like Southern Methodist and
Baylor have made these decisions for
their students. Our "World Class" uni
versity should not.
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ERIN
HILL
Columnist
o, you for
got to take
The "morn
ing of" pill,
you're desperate
for the "morn
ing-after" op
tion, but the
Quack Shack
doesn't offer it.
Maybe this
makes you mad,
but it shouldn't.
Beutel Health
Center doesn't
have an obliga
tion to make this
pill available for
several reasons.
First, many people consider the pill
to be a form of abortion. While it may
be legal, this doesn't mean it's right.
This pill's purpose is to destroy cells,
possibly of a potential fetus, within 72
hours of intercourse.
Whether a life is destroyed when
someone takes the morning-after pill
may not be known, but the attitude that
one can escape the natural conse
quences of sex through technology — in
effect playing God — is disturbing. It
degrades the value of life when we
view it as a commodity that can be easi
ly disposed of at our bidding.
Second, the University is not a
democracy — it is a bureaucracy. Dr.
Kenneth Dirks, director of the Health
Center, has the right to make decisions
for the Health Center just as a corporate
CEO is allowed to make decisions for
her company. Universities often make
decisions that do not represent every
student's viewpoint, but that's life.
The Health Center's purpose is to
keep us healthy. In keeping with that
mission, it promotes things like low-fat
diets, exercise and sexually-responsible
behavior. Sexually transmitted diseases,
including the HIV virus, are problems
nationwide; so much so that President
Clinton recently launched a million-dol-
lar campaign promoting condom use.
In light of that, it seems foolish to offer
something which may encourage un
protected sex.
People may resolve not to use the
morning-after pill, but probably will.
Arguing that it won't be abused is like
People may resolve not to
use the morning-after pill,
but probably will. Argu
ing that it won't be abused
is like arguing that mi-
nors won't be served.
arguing that minors won't be served.
Maybe in a dream world, but not Col
lege Station. After unprotected sex, the
morning-after pill seems to be the per
fect cure-all — except that it only elimi
nates pregnancy, not sexually transmit
ted diseases.
It's human nature to run with as
much slack as is given, even if it's
enough to hang us. If we do hang our
selves, then we ought to face the conse
quences. The morning-after pill deludes
people into believing there need be no
consequences for having sex, when it is
actually something to be taken very se
riously.
The morning-after pill indirectly
promotes irresponsible behavior, which
means trouble. For rape victims, the pill
is available at Planned Parenthood. The
rest of the student body simply needs
either to be prepared or pay the conse
quences.
Frank Stanford is a graduate -philosophy
student
Erin Hill is a senior English major
When death is only part of the pain
AIDS forces loved ones, others to face difficult issues
hen I asked
a friend
about his
Christmas, he told
me about some of
his presents, the
most expensive of
which were from his
brother.
"Wow!" I said.
"I'm too poor to
even exchange gifts
with my brother."
But he became se
rious and told me
there was a reason
for the gifts. It was
probably his broth
ers last Christmas.
I asked my friend what the worst part is
about knowing his brother is dying of
AIDS. He told me it is KNOWING his
brother is dying of AIDS.
"I wish I would just get a phone call
saying that he died/'he said.
But AIDS does not work that way. It is
not like any other disease humanity has
ever known. It gets more personal.
AIDS forces a certain curiosity that oth
er diseases do not. When someone men
tions cancer or heart disease, we do not
ask how they got it. But with AIDS, we ask
for the cause. We want to know if they are
homosexual. Despite the fact that AIDS
has proven itself not to be just a gay dis
ease, we still wonder. AIDS is a disease
that unjustly forces people to come up
with an explanation.
My friend told me about how his broth
er went out and got them both drunk bar-
hopping in Houston. When they were
drunk enough, the truth came out. His
brother had acquired the HIV virus, and
he was gay. How can you react to that?
My friend stays pretty' silent on the sub
ject. At night he likes to drink beer so he'll
fall asleep thinking about nothing. He says
it's better than staying awake waiting for a
phone call. When he gets that call, every
one will ask how his brother died. And
then, how his brother got AIDS.
The cruelest thing about this disease is
that it asked to be ignored. It attacked a
community that was not in the main
stream. Society did not accept gays, but
eventually it was forced to accept their dis
ease. My friend does not agree with the
lifestyle he says his brother has chosen, but
he respects him. And he loves him.
AIDS has forced its way' into main
stream America by attacking every one
from superstars to housewives and even
children. But when it attacks gays, it still
draws silence.
My friend's brother was silent about
who he really was for years, and my friend
still does not tell many peopleabout it.
Many families are not sure what to think
and say when a disease attacks their loved
one who lives a life they don't understand.
That makes it a road traveled alone by
many gay AIDS victims. Very few people
can possibly be there for them without
having a nagging thought deep inside
them. What if my loved one hadn't been
gay? Would he be dying?
But these questions can never be an
swered. We can only play with the hand
we've been dealt. The fact is, many groups
have been singled out by cruel fate
throughout history. Millions of Jews, for
example, died at the hands of hatred in the
Holocaust. When we think of those deaths,
we have respect for a people who have
been faced with extreme adversity.
When will we think of gays with re
spect for being faced with AIDS? Will the
gay victims and their family's always suf
fer in silence? Maybe we don't understand
their lifestyle, but we must understand
that people are dying. And these people
come from families just like purs. Tt is not
just an epidemic; it is a million separate
personal tragedies. It is a million friends,
parents, children and siblings forced to
wait for phone calls they never want to re
ceive.
It would be easier for my friend and the
others like him if they could just get the
news and then mourn their loss. But to
wait for a person you love to become too
weak to fight off death is much more per
sonal than a phone call. It's more devastat
ing than most of us can ever imagine —
hopefully.
These people need our prayers, our
sympathy and our support. They should
know they don't need to be silent. And
most importantly, gays suffering with
AIDS deserve our respect, not our scrutiny
— anyone suffering from AIDS does.
Does my friend wish his brother was
not gay? Probably, But he respects him dy
ing as who he is, rather than living forever
in the pain of silence.
And we should all do the same.
Michael Landauer is a freshman
journalism major
MICHAEL
LANDAUER
Columnist
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Aggielife jazz review
draws acid response
This letter concerns the Feb. 3 edition
of The Battalion, specifically the section
entitled Music Review.
In my opinion, a poor choice was
made in approving Kyle Burnett's music
review of "The Acid Jazz Test Part 1," an
album by Modern Jazz. I found the arti
cle quite insulting and demeaning to
wards an art form which I and many
other people around the world have
studied, practiced and supported
through good and bad times.
Although I am in complete support of
the Aggielife editor expressing his opin
ion, I wish that you had proofread the
article more meticulously. In the first
paragraph of his review, Mr. Burnett
claims that jazz music has thrived pri
marily in elevators. I have yet to hear of
any jazz artist whose existence relies on
revenues collected from consumers in
tending to use the music as background
music in elevators.
The statement of his article that de
serves the most of my criticism, howev
er, is the paragraph explaining how
Acid Jazz is unique from all jazz music
performed up to the present by its use of
electronic equipment.
Burnett writes, "But what separates
this style of music from just any old jazz
is the integral use of electronic compo
nents such as keyboards, mixers and
drum machines."
Acid Jazz is truly unique, but certain
ly not in the way stated by Mr. Burnett.
Does he consider the late Miles David
"old jazz"? He was using electronic key
boards and electronically processed
horns in the late 1960s.
Please be more critical of what your
staff writes to prevent the exposure of
such carelessly false statements.
Ben Bray
Class of '94
Student supports
Mattox, achievements
Adair Holloway's opinion of former At
torney General Jim Mattox in Wednes
day's Battalion (Feb. 2) did make me think
about who Jim Mattox is, and what he has
accomplished for the state of Texas in the
past two decades. The U.S. Senate hopeful
has fostered prosperity to many folks in
our great state.
First, as a young woman at Texas A&M,
I am aware that if it weren't for Attorney
General Jim Mattox, the Aggie Band to this
day would not allow women members to
join its organization. Jim Mattox, in the
early 1980s, brought this issue before a
court of law and changed policy here at
Aggieland — just as we have witnessed to
day at the Citadel. His support for the suc
cession of young women today is as strong
as it was ten years ago.
Second, as a future mother, I feel secure
knowing I would have a Senator who will
combat the onslaught of reckless violence.
His positions on putting more police offi
cers on the beat, expanding boot camp pro
grams for more youthful offenders, and
drug-testing those out on bond, on proba
tion or parole are right on target with what
our society calls for today.
Third, as a concerned member of soci
ety, I am in one accord with Jim Mattox's
resolution that our current welfare system
locks poor families in a state of destitution.
He is the only candidate that I have heard
of even mentioning this dire issue. He
plans to assist both Democrats and Repub
licans in reforming it.
Finally, as a product of over five gener
ations of Texans, I want a Senator who is a
true Texan and will stand up for Texas in
the United States Senate.
Elizabeth Key
Class of'94
Chavez, Clinton both
■
have winning records
When Jose de Jesus Ortiz (alias Pele)
decided to write an article criticizing
Julio Cesar Chavez, he also took jabs at
President Clinton and Tex-Mex food.
I'll forgive his comments about Tex-
Mex food, for how could someone from
California know anything about good
taste? My two main problems with his
column were the suggestions that
Chavez had a weak chip and was an un
proven champion, and his weak Clinton
comment.
Let me assure Ortiz that with a record
of 89 wins, a lose and a draw, one
knock-down does not make a weak chin.
And as far as Chavez being an unproven
boxer, his victory list includes John
Mayweather, Hector Camacho, Meldrick
Taylor, Lonnie Smith, Frankie Mitchell,
John Duplesis and Edwin Rosarion — all
of whom were in their prime and were
never the same fighters after facing
Chavez.
Maybe you've heard of them, but
then again — by judging your comments
— you have not.
As for President Clinton being a weak
leader, just about every piece of legisla
tion sent to Congress has passed, and
our economy and consumer confidence
continues to grow.
In closing I have a little advice for Or
tiz: Why don't you stick to subjects you
know a little about.
Freddie A. Medina
Class of '94