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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1994)
Opinion Friday, April 22, 1994 The Battalion Page 7i ANATOMY OF A "P£ACE"KEEPER- >r the N|| »al dun,, tick seatii tubers ib, scouts, rforminj it is a ms hes to i® eyes of til in Howar; of Matt: f being i )laced bf ess, thrtf defensit- f this nw mer n watcbeJ w in eady! lespite tit pointing his yeat's Visconsin- the nation ire, and is 'Changing ee r it a rd nadoni e the hem pion was xt goldtt or Magit mas ant s aretJO the btst est ibinson, haquillt f the na- isL L n Tropb) of faint ot mean the hi; P 'enter STAMPS FoU. WHi'ue. Some. Expems TMlfJjt THAT TH& NoT M UCH pUcneCTi /£ H£i_M£.T l't , (N rACT , A ThRCBT fNOi'cAToP, <=Trt 1EA4- eeLl'Ev'6 7 HAT IT t» A H Eprec-TIVE. MEAM To iHl^T PoWN AN ' OUTRAGE fc£. Mouth shot fAuwAtO [f OPEN, THE ioaieCT is pHoMPTLy T«AN J TAR GET iNp;cAT-o« 005£f!Vihl& EYES; oeseAve- a uor Fuak j-Aocgr Amp uptsa guts typearb AiOfe SAFfuep As to the FPoTeri r/At- Mse. da that appbhpoJcb. Wum FiMSER ToRCH Li'CHT: Ali'AHT t.'me TARGET IrlfSi'CAToR PUTTE/I. RNi’pe L£ris star p;a/* Ar (*Turi'p>) •SAFE H&VEN pro sir con Should celebrities be held to higher standards than everyone else? LYNN BOOHER Columnist C elebrities are just ordinary peo ple who have been thrust into the spotlight, and they don’t have any responsibility to behave better than the general public, right? I want to be in the spotlight, but I want to hold the switch. I want the world to give its hard- earned cash to watch me on the silver screen, but ignore me when I show up on the 6 o’clock news after I get caught driving drunk. Does this sound familiar? Probably the entire American public would agree that politicians, particularly the president, should be held to much higher standards than the average hu man being. Making lots of money from cattle futures invested for him by a good friend might be okay for Joe Bob, but it doesn’t look good when the president’s wife is the one who benefits. Should standards really be differ ent for anyone who chooses to be recognized by the media and the general public? People argue that it’s not celebrities’ responsibility to serve as role models for America’s children. That’s what their parents are for. But any logical person realizes that children watcn television and are influenced by a variety of sources, including the media and their peers. By the time a child is in middle school, he or she is particularly suscep tible to peer influence. Seventh graders like a particular band or TV show not for its intrinsic value, but because their friends like it. When a popular rock star’s drug habits are exposed by the media, these kids get a very strong mes sage that counteracts the “Say no to Any logical person real izes that children watch television and are influ enced by a variety of sources. In this world all of us, not just kids, need someone to look up to. drugs” slogan pounded in their heads by parents and public service messages. We can only wonder what kind of influence the suicide of hugely pop ular Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain has generated. As anyone who re members junior high and high school knows, teenage suicide is a re ality. Who knows what obsessed, de pressed fans might do? Kids aren’t the only people influ enced by celebrities. Many adults fail to distinguish between actor’s true person ality and the character he plays. An actor who perpetually plays the good guy on TV or in movies often becomes a hero to all of us. When we hear on the news that he beats up his wife, it’s a blow to all of his future work and it taints our memory of him as a good person. Does that really matter? Do we need heroes anymore? In a world as violent, as scary, as of ten ugly as ours can be, all of us, not just kids, need someone to look up to. We need people who can make us for get that the world is not always beauti ful. We need people who believe in high standards. Lynn Booher is a sophomore English and psychol ogy major DAVE WINDER Columnist T o err is human. Just because a person can sing, act or play sports exceptionally well does not mean they do not make the same mistakes as everybody else. Celebrities are placed upon pedestals on which they are thought as being per fect. This is highly unfair because no one can be expected to escape unblemished in the fish bowl these people live in. Things such as drug addiction and al coholism happen all across the country, but when it happens to someone famous it becomes a big deal. Everyone gets a “How could they do that?’ attitude all of: a sudden. < It is unfair for people to have to change their ways just because they have become celebrities. Holding them up to high er standards punishes them for making it big. Celebrities should only be judged as people, not the demigods that the mass media perceives them to be. Thanks to tabloid television and magazines, every little thing these stars do is news. People magazine devotes most of its space to celebrity scandals, divorces and skir mishes with the law. But then again — who doesn’t want to read about David Letterman getting a speeding ticket? It is totally unfair for someone to have to change their ways just because they have become a celebrity. If some body famous wants to have an affair out side of marriage then he or she should be allowed. These people are adults; they can make their own decisions. By hold ing celebrities up to higher standards than other people you are punishing them for making it big. Take Michael Jordan, who got tons of criticism for gambling at casinos and on golf courses. The guy does everything he possibly can for Cnicago-area charities but still catches grief for betting his own money. Apparently it does not matter that millions of “common” people do it. Why should Michael Jordan be treated any different? Just because people look up to celebrities does not mean that the celebrities should have to stop their fun. If someone feels getting drunk every Sat urday night is pure enjoyment then they should not have to halt their activities. If you are going to hold celebrities up to higher standards, then what scale do you use? How far above the rest of soci ety do they have to perform to be con sidered living up to what people expect? Judging other people is easy when you have no one to compare them too. Syracuse University went as far as to separate student-athletes from other stu dents by passing a strict conduct code. The code reads in part, “You will be held to a standard of ethical conduct and behavioral expectations which may well exceed those of non-athletes.” Stating that a person must act a cer tain way just because they hold a posi tion is highly unfair. Don’t the other stu dents represent Syracuse, also? Celebrities are just people who worked hard and made it big. They should not be punished for excelhng. Dave Winder is a sophomore journalism major A&M inspires list of likes, dislikes Not everything’s completely bright and beautiful T his column is dedicated to some of the good and not-so-great things at Texas A&M. I consulted various friends to come up with a long list of grins and grievances. There are the obvious nice things like The Battalion, Midnight Yell and football games, Aggie spirit and Reveille VI. But what about other cool things like those college fairs that come to the MSC grounds and hand out all that free stuff? Or those “Good Stuff” boxes that we get at the beginning of each new semester? Vending machines that take Aggie Bucks are one of my personal favorites. Aggie Bucks themselves are great, as are establishments on campus that take them. I like bike lanes, and I don’t like people who park in them during classes. When Tm walking, I don’t like bicyclists and when I’m riding, I don’t like pedestrians. Almost everyone dislikes registration and that annoying lady that says, “Please hang up and try again in one hour. 409- 845.” But phone registration beats doing anything in the Pavilion. Class size is a point of debate among the people I talked to. Some like small ones for the individual attention; others prefer large classes because they’re easy to skip. Classes that are before 1 1 a.m., after 4 p.m. or last 75 minutes are not nice. I don’t like the limited number of hon ors classes or liberal arts classes and ma jors. It was only months ago that I realized there is a theater arts major here. Still no music or art majors, however. The art galleries in the MSC are really nice, as is tne whole MSC complex. Cheap, artsy movies at Rudder Theater are fabu- LYNN BOOHER Columnist lous and so is OPAS and all the perfor mances it brings. MSC Town Hall and its concerts are great too. The campus appearance is generally at tractive. West campus is pretty, though a big hassle to get to for class. It’s nice that we don’t see flyers stapled to trees like all over t.u.’s campus. The Academic Building windows annoy a lot of people. I find it annoying that the workers replacing the windows are selling the old ones for five dollars a pop. I thought they were just going to be trashed. The way some buildings are construct ed bothers me too. All modular dorms I’ve been in have one side that’s longer than the other. Residents on the short side have to pay the same amount of rent as those on the long side, even though they get about 36 fewer square feet. It also bugs me that all the dorms are four stories so that they’re not required to have elevators. One really good thing about dorms is the phones. They have call waiting, call forwarding and three-way calling. Has anyone else noticed that construc tion always seems to be done during the regular school year and not the summer? I’ve also seen maintenance workers do some important job like leaf blowing and use three people for the task: one to hold the blower and two to point at leaves. If they’re not blowing leaves, they’re driving on the sidewalks. The relative safety of campus is nice. It’s good to have Corps escorts and Dial-A- Ride available. Of course, since I almost never see any violent crimes that occur on campus (especially rape) publicized, it’s hard to be sure that campus really is safe. I like the National Organization for Women, and I dislike stupid guys that ha rass them when they march to “Take Back the Night” for women. I hate that flier that says, “Friends Raping Friends Is Bad Bull.” That flyer is bad bull. Rape is a lot worse. Silver Taps and Aggie Muster are good. So is the tradition of Corps freshmen polishing the statue of Sul Ross. Singing the ‘Aggie War Hymn” is a lot of fun. People who are fanatical about traditions are not fun. Going to Sbisa on the days it has special dinners like Chinese food is relatively good. The lady who makes grilled cheese sandwiches is great. People who yell, “Pick it up!” when someone drops their tray and the Bonfire guys who eat-in their grodes are not great. There are many, many more things on my list, all across the spectrum. I didn’t have room to touch on good and bad things about Evans Library, PTTS and many of the other organizations that make Texas A&M what it is. But I did relieve some stress. Lynn Booher is a sophomore English and psychology major Editorials appearing in The Battal ion reflect the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, car toons and letters express the opin ions 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 au thor's name, class, and phone num ber. We reserve the right to edit letters and guest columns tor length, style, and accuracy. Contact tne opinion editor for in formation 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 Women do not need single-sex classrooms I would like to offer a reply to Erin Hill’s column printed in the April 19 Battalion. Hill makes a good argument for the imple mentation of single-sex classrooms in schools, especially for the maths and sci ences. But wait a minute ... If I understand her arguments correctly, women need single-sex classes because, even though some of us like math and sci ences, we are too afraid to brave raising our hand to ask, or heaven forbid, answer a question. She also points out that many of the most successful females in the areas of math and science come from women’s schools. These women are successful be cause they did not have to contend with the overpowering male domination in the classroom. In all these “surveys” did anyone take into account the academic programs of the school? Many women from these schools probably choose to attend due to the quality of the curriculum or the teachers, or for other reasons. They most likely would have done well in any public school. So what if many teachers praise male students more; it is because they have not heard a peep from the females who are so shy they will not take a chance. Hill’s citing of stereotypes, such as “women being invisible in the classroom” are lame. Most women I know are only visi ble if they want to be. As for basing any sol id argument on “64 percent of females*’ in a California middle school saying they liked math, well, I am sure many of those same children like pizza, but I wager they do not eat it every day. How can the answer to such a simple and biased question be used to im ply that most women want to make a career in math or science? Saying that women need single-sex class es just to do well in math or science is ludi crous. Where did the stereotypes Hill wrote about come from anyway? The bottom line is, if you want to do well in a class you are interested in, participate in class and study. If not, it sounds like a personal problem to me, not a gender-based one. Marianne R. Guzman Graduate Student Grades less important than overall education What does it take to increase an Aggie’s cultural awareness? Tonight I had planned to go to a seminar titled “The Himalaya: Man and the Biosphere Changes,” which was organized by the Uni versity Lecture Series and the College of Geo sciences and Maritime Studies. Instead I am sitting here writing this letter concerned about what gaining an education means to some people. Before going to the seminar, my room mate informed me that he was also going, gaining full credit (100 percent) for two labs in his course if he attended tonight and Monday’s seminar. I thought nothing of this until we arrived, to find the seminar room overflowing with students. “Fantastic!” I hear you cry - a true triumph for multicul- turalism and the environment? Jumping as always to my first conclusion, I presumed everybody has similarly been bribed to pro duce an outstanding attendance for the speaker, Professor Jack D. Ives. Now as I contemplate the scenarios I re member a similar event about a month earlier. A seminar series titled “Energy Development vs. Environment” which was presented by the MSC Great Issues Program. Turnout during the day was anything but good for a well or ganized and presented program. The evening finale was given by the renowned Aggie Michel T. Halbouty, and again was attended by less than 50 faculty, staff and students. Be fore starting, Halbouty made his feelings felt about the poor attendance after spending a great deal of time preparing his speech. That evening turned out to be one of my best experiences at Texas A&M — being both educated and entertained by a man who was a part of this state’s evolution, which is a large part of this university’s history. Now I ask myself why die difference in at tendance? For the sake of this university I hope that gaining an A is less important than the gaining of an education. Adrian Newton Graduate student f ■ Winner declared in governor’s race debate I congratulate both teams in the debate be tween Aggies for Bush and Aggies for Richards. Both sides did a good job, but the victor was clear: George W. Bush is the best candidate for governor. The deciding point of the debate came during the discussion of juvenile crime. Crimes committed by youth have skyrocketed in Texas in the past four years. And, when ju veniles commit crimes, they are much more likely to be violent criminals for the rest of their lives. The George W Bush team explained high- lights of his 1 7 -point plan to deal with the ex ploding problem. The Ann Richards team sidestepped the issue completely, instead talk ing about her contacts with Clinton. In rebuttal, a Republican speaker han dled it well when he said, “I commend the Democratic debater, if I had to defend Ann Richards I wouldn’t want to talk about ju venile crime either.” He continued to point out that Ann Richards only came up with a plan to deal with juvenile crime after George W Bush had released his. I thought that was amazing and showed how out of touch the governor is. Juvenile crime skyrockets, and Ann Richards waits four years until her opponent makes it an is sue to address it. Ann Richards should have more than a plan. With a democratic House and Senate, she should have already passed several bills to help curtail the problem. Ann Richards’ pitiful response to juvenile crime is inexcusable. It shows her lack of leadership, and it shows that Texans need a change. John Gillespie Class of ‘96