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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1994)
Opinion f Friday, February 25,1994 The Battalion Page 5 5 Alpha Pjl blemsande) Olympiad; litely gioiv- Kcownsai; ‘ our origir; i yan-CollegtS |. to include; I »bock." the initial p| people ah ad, but tk r the succes] us more s "It hasM town stater,; ek Olymp;^ in recent vJ :s and per-/ ast minute Greek Old irman; sidentoffej- er, said preparatij planninl elimiif those ■ iems. Mdl said chaptij recnii!:| . formeil I rectly other shows aai ate to ers: )ation fro: ;istering tl| the prori howing c| vill also hoi ne, he said Greek-Oljr d this year's p teams pe: only the;: :h as Sigmi i Phi Beta, setter repro Greek org 5 1 . M. J PRO I.A CON Should nudity he allowed on network TV? ince its be ginning, television has been a means of enter taining the public. It, like no other medi um, can show a mirror image of society. Through drama and comedy programs, the viewer sees the triumphs and faults of the world they live in. Historically, this view has been highly censored though. Instead of getting anything close to real life, audiences got "Leave It to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best." I guess all the kids in those days thought their parents were weird if their dad didn't do everything in a three piece suit and their mother didn't sleep in a separate bed. There were few, if any, black or Hispanic characters, and even then most were not positive. It wasn't until almost 30 years af ter TV began broadcasting that shows were finally being aired in which society's problems were being "N.Y.P.D. Blue" is trying to push the envelope by using curse words and some nude scenes. The cursing and nu dity adds to the story line by showing the viewer how these people live. addressed. In the early '70s, "All in the Family" made history when a black George Jefferson moved next to the white bigot, Archie Bunker. Here was love, hate and respect in the same show. Since then television has grown with programs such as "Good Times," "M.A.S.H.," "Hill Street Blues," "Roseanne" and "The Cosby Show." These shows, along with many others, have broadened peo ple's perspectives of what society re ally is. Some were meant for the whole family, some were not. Now a non-family show like the controversial "N.Y.P.D. Blue" is try ing to push the envelope further by using curse words and some nude scenes. The show does not compare to a "Porky's" movie, but it is the first 'R'- rated television show. That does not mean that the show has no redeeming values, however. It shows common people in their every day lives reacting to society. The cursing and nudity are never used as a sideshow; they just happen to be a part of the characters' routines. It is definitely not pornographic, and it adds to the story line by showing the viewer how these people live. Still, people object to it because it airs on network television in the last hour of prime time when some chil dren may be watching. What these objectors don't realize is that most of the kids who are still up could also turn the cable a couple of stations and see something much worse. A new dawn of television broad casting is coming, and it is pro grammed for mature audiences. They deal with adult subjects and have adult material. We should just be adult about it. ach season as the net works compete for higher Nielson ratings, the level of gratuitous vi olence, language and sex scenes increases. The latest addition is nudity. The net works argue, as with the contro versial detective show, "NYPD Blue," that the nudity is essential to a realistic depiction of American life. The lives of tough, big- city cops probably do contain a certain amount of sexual activity. But, do we really need to see the entire human body in order to understand what is happening when a couple rolls around under the sheets? By diverting attention from the story line, sex scenes — especially those in volving nudity — take away from oth erwise excellent programs. Rod Dyer, a critic with the Washington Times, says that although the characters in "NYPD Blue" "reek of humanness," the show could be improved "by a little sanitiz ing." The controversy over the nude scenes has greatly overshadowed the show's merits. With all the nudity in movies today, many people argue that it is only natur al for television to follow suit. "They're going to see it anyway," is the attitude of many television producers. Yes, we are. Unfortunately. According to Bradley Greenburg, a professor at Michigan State University, the average teenager is exposed to up to 4,000 sexual references each year through television and movies. Such ex posure does effect us. When studying girls who watch soap operas, Green- The lives of big-city cops probably do contain a cer tain amount of sexual activi ty. But do we really need to see the entire human body to understand what is hap pening under the sheets? burg found them to have a distorted view of the occurrence of premarital and extramarital affairs. Not only does nudity intensify the sexual references on television, it also sets the standard for the human body. When teenage girls see a nude woman on television, they immediately com pare themselves to the actress on the screen, and many feel they don't mea sure up. Nudity on television only adds to the "need" for plastic surgery, un healthy diets and eating disorders. Obviously, nobody is forced to watch television. Anyone can change the channel after the first glimpse of an unnecessary nude scene. Theoretically, parents monitor what their children watch. But realistically, that job is very difficult. Most parents work and are not always home to monitor the television. And what about when children are playing with friends whose parents don't restrict television viewing? By broadcasting nudity on televi sion, the networks are placing a burden on their viewers. Because nudity adds nothing to a program that couldn't be achieved through suggestive yet unre vealing camera shots, the networks have sacrificed the interests of their viewers in a blatant ratings bid. qielifedM ports edit# )N> ecial Section n Pipherjj"*' ^reenslad 6 /asson mie Maye^' Dave Winder is a sophomore journalism major Melissa Megliola is a senior industrial engineering major ZavaleU Kristine ,ny Mage^' gar- ra^oO^ at! ands s and exairF rrsi’V "VafM n 013 ^ r full ) e3 ' R-E-S-P-E-C-T: find out what it means Economic, social status key issues in gender equality LYNN BOOHER Columnist I magine, if you will, a universe opposite of ours. A place where men hurry down the street to underpaid jobs, wearing push up jock straps as a chorus of, "Hey, big fella, show us what ya got," rains down from female con struction workers. Televisions blare commercials where sons say, "Dad, what do you do when you get that itchy feel ing?" Outrageous? It's the kind of world women deal with every day. I recently went to a party where a young man informed me that women should be required to sign up for the draft if they want to be considered equal. Once this were law, he said, equality would be as sured. My initial reaction was one of frustration that anyone in modem society could be so simplistic in their ignorance. It did, howev er, provoke a lot of thought about just how far women are from gaining equality both socially and legally. For any woman who is out in the real world, the huge discrepancy in pay be tween men and women for the same job is daunting. I have never understood why my mother gets paid less than the men who work under her, especially since she has more experience and puts considerably more time and effort into the job than some of them. The trend of lower pay for females ex tends across all jobs, whether in govern ment or in the private sector. The two ex ceptions are modeling and prostitution. Only government legislation insuring that both sexes receive equal pay for the same work can right this wrong. In case anyone's noticed, pay discrepan cies aren't the only problem for women in the work place. Getting respect from male coworkers is often a big hurdle. It's ridiculous to assume that the reason there isn't an equal number of women po litical leaders or corporate executives is be cause there aren't enough qualified women to fill these positions. A more plausible rea son is that it is difficult for qualified womtm to gain respect from men, and sometimes even from other women who may feel un comfortable about another female passing them in a certain career or, in the case of politics, stepping out of the bounds of the traditional temaYeroIe. Luckily, sexual harassment is getting a lot of play in the media, but stopping ha rassment alone won't stop discrimination. Socially, women don't have it much easi er. A woman who shows strength and stands up for her rights often has to con tend with unfounded name-calling, ranging from various forms of the word "lesbian" to just plain "bitch." Television commercials promote the im age of women as inferior, whether they're bimbos hanging onto men in beer commer cials, models who want to please men in make-up commercials, or women who don't mind discussing their latest yeast in fection or whether they douche on national TV. I ha ve yet to see a comparable ad aimed at men. Movies aren't any better. It's a much- hyped rarity to see male frontal nudity in a film, but naked women in movies have been around longer than I have. Children's toys are also outrageous. I'd love to see a G.I. Joe doll with the same monstrous proportions Barbie has. Girls are taught early on by their dolls and fashion magazines that they are expected to be thin and gorgeous. What about women in athletics? High school girls are discouraged soda lly from playing sports other tium volleyball or ten nis because anything else is seen as "too manly." Five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair gets very little recognition from the press or the public for her achievements. One has to wonder what the difference would be if she looked like Cindy Craw ford. Nancy Kerrigan certainly gets a lot more recognition than she would if she weren't beautiful. I heard one man lament that "the pretty one" had to be the one to get hurt. Don't forget the "virgin-whore dichoto my" that exists in sexucif standards, the fear of being attacked when alone anywhere, and many other pertinent concerns;. Where does all this leave societ}' as a whole? Until more women speak out, the few who do will continue to be persecuted. Perhaps men who make arguments like "making the draft a requirement for women will make them equal" should reevaluate their motives. It seems that someone who was truly concerned with equal rights for both sexes would empha size more important issues, like equal eco nomic and social status. Lynn Booher is a sophomore English and psychology major Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns and letters express the opinions of the authors. The Battalion will print as many letters as space allows. They must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, ciass/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 Oiil ^1994^ Aggie ring worth wait I feel bad for Aggies that can't afford their senior rings. I feel bad for Aggies who will be seniors and have to wait an other year (30 hours) to order their rings. I do not feel bad for Aggies who have been enrolled for one year (30 hours) and want their rings — whether they are the class of '96 or transfer students. The A&M ring is awarded for hours at A&M. Thirty hours is not enough, or sophomores would have rings. It seems to me that transfer students are attending college for an education and/or a degree. If they are so desperate for a ring, they should wear their JC ring. And if they are so desperate for an A&M ring, then they should have started here at A&M. The A&M ring is worth the wait; I am still waiting, and transfer students should wait, too. Lisa K. Lattu Class of '95 Something is rotten in state of Denmark It is now possible to say there is no jus tice in the state of Texas. Never before in my lifetime have I seen or heard of such a blatant political misuse of judicial powers. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Mike Tigar, Dick DeGuerin and the so-called judge who presided over this obviously unethi cal proceeding should be run out of this state. First, let's consider the tremendous in sult to the integrity of the good people of Austin by claiming Hutchison could not get a fair and impartial hearing in our state's capital. Then, let's consider the in sult to the intelligence of all the people of the state of Texas whose tax dollars pay her salary. What the people of Texas need to ask themselves is why a judge who has not sat on the bench or presided over a crimi nal case for 15 years was picked to pre side over a case as important and contro versial as this one! Another question which must be ad dressed is why the judge refused to rule on evidence which was vital to the Travis County District Attorney's case when he had three weeks to do so. At the very least, the refusal to make such a crucial ruling in a criminal case and then ordering the jury's decision without hearing any evidence or argu ment from either side, smacks of a sold- out judicial system that allows suppres sion of crucial evidence in a criminal court proceeding. To me the answer is as plain as the nose on my face. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is Kay Bailey Hutchison's backyard. It is also the location of the largest group of her political supporters and allies. There is a tangled web of political con spiracy being weaved in the state of Texas. But I say it is not by the Travis County District Attorney, as has been suggested, but rather it is being spun by Kay Bailey Hutchison. If Hutchison is representative of what fiscal conservatism stands for, then it is time for not only all Texans, but all Amer icans to utilize their right to vote to cleanse not only the federal but state gov ernments of these unethical parasites. William H. Foster Vidor, Texas Umbrella theft last sign of corrupt world I write this letter fox two reasons. First, as a lost and found piece, and second as a warning to all students at Texas A&M of the kind of people that live among us. OK, the story: on Feb. 21, I went to my 11:30 math class just as I always do except that I carried my trusty umbrella in one hand because that morning had been a lit tle cloudy. I placed the umbrella in the cor ner of 107 Heldenfels ;md went on with a normal class. At the end, I put my note book in my backpack and prepared to leave. I looked in the comer to notice that my umbrella had been stolen. Now, I'm not going to go into some big soapbox about two-percenters, Aggie hon or or which way Highway 6 actually runs. This has nothing to do with Aggies or be ing a true Aggie or whatever else people love to preach about. This has to do with the fact that there is a class of people out there that will actually steal your umbrella. I mean if I had left my watch or money in the comer, then I think I might deserve to have had them stolen. But an umbrella? What kind of world do we live in where a person can't feel safe propping their um brella in a comer? Well, I guess I learned something. So now you people have a right. This is not an "Aggie right." It's the right of every red-blooded umbrella owner. If you see someone with a black and white Wilson umbrella (the big golf kind), ask them where they got it. Ask them if they got it in Heldenfels. If so, then look them straight in the face and tell them that it's not theirs; it's Chad Hastings', and he wants it back. And to the person who took it, if it was a simple mistake, fine. Just a simple apolo gy and my umbrella is all I need. But if you actually intended to steal another hu man being's umbrella, I truly feel sorry for you. So enjoy the next southern Texas shower unaer the dxy, comforting heaven that is my umbrella! Chad Hastings Class of'97