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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1994)
■ July 19, 1994 >und with two late goals it another against jnts. And two more some very difficult rto Donadoni said, rly blamed for our sen injured and he ked. But when we sed, he was there to of a fourth World lians who won the aid go home proud r teams that could xited States a sue- s and Bulgarians r eden had its best azil in the 1958 fi- ng in, had its best a, which fell in a : shootout against tans as a budding lould be satisfied, tates past the first 54 years. They got Maybe they es- sport on a profes- ght tion plus his playoff 30 days of the season. had yet to be 1 bonuses, which involved a “very unt of money.” l was evaluated by a number of i said. do something of Pout having sol- md opinions re al standing.” id the situation issing” to the it they’re upset nd of course ;o take a con- Campbell said. ) said the Blues to compensate ny way. s had entered ns with Mike nployed by the ' could see it,” cted in totally 1 he had not vith Bettman. eed to talk to Keenan said, f Keenan con- immer for the iy acquired de- aclnnis from red free-agent ; Stevens to an i was matched ed wing Bren- o a five-year, intract last i veteran Jon ieen offered a ontract by iltiyear deal s ago. lians OPINION ill Mew, improved electric gadgets shock younger generations \ Tothing excites my friends more !\| than the AT&T “You Will” 1 l advertisements for bizarre new [lectrical devices. The gadgets shown in ds are every American’s dream. Awesome technology interests the younger generation like nothing else because it connects people who otherwise fould never see or hear each other. What would the world have been like if Einstein and Oppenheimer had sent each other e-mail? Would they have reached some quicker scientific conclusions? Developed some other frightening pieces of technology like the one that scared Oppenheimer into discouraging the development of his own atomic bomb? More likely they would have exchanged recipes for potato salad, keeping e-mail in its original usage: entertainment. Other breakthroughs like K-band fuzz busters, CD players and computer upgrades come out and turn previously-released technology into attractive, very expensive, door stops. There are computers now that make your new 486 look like an adding machine. First reactions range from Vow” and “cool” to “uh-oh” when reality sets in. Most people think of how far we have come in 20 years, but some wonder what we are supposed to do with the obsolete. Texas A&M has a surplus warehouse where all of the old computers go - like JULIA STAVENHAGEN Columnist 1 HE oATTALION Editorial Board an old folks home for technology - but these old folks get old too fast. It took 10 or 15 years before technology went far enough to develop past the Commodore 64, but now the “very latest”in technology is outdated in about a week. Offices on campus are running on computers from the early ’80s. While we can’t expect the University to spend millions on updating them, there should be some control in place to keep us from getting run over on the information superhighway by richer companies or schools. Remember record players? Most people still have a collection of cassettes, but what’s an 8- track? Those things from the Precambrian? The old must be quickly replaced with the new for the average audio-visual buff who wants to keep up. Dollar signs flash. What do we lose in this acceleration of time? Do computer networks contribute to the problems of illiteracy or growing up too fast in a fast world? It may be possible that technology is developing faster than our ability to adapt to it. Last weekend, I was heading for the exit of Wal-Mart. r mi . In front of me, two gentlemen stepped into the radius of the electronic-eye door opener. Instead of whooshing open as usual, the door remained doggedly shut. We all stopped for several seconds, confused, concerned. Humans are adaptable creatures, doubtless, but sometimes it takes a few million years to adjust. I know this because not only did the people in front of me stop at the door, but waved at the eye, hoping to trigger it. Several seconds passed during which I was quite concerned that we were trapped forever in I was heading for the Wal-Mart exit. Instead of whooshing open, the door remained doggedly shut - we were trapped. Then, un thinkably, a man PUSHED the door open. Wal-Mart like flies in amber. An older man approached, strode past us, then did the unthinkable. He reached out and PUSHED the door open, right on the vestigial handle. We escaped into the open night air. I nodded thanks to the man holding the door. It was his ancestors who discovered fire while mine were eating mud. The dynamism associated with technological change usually irks those who tend toward conservatism. My dad still does not have an answering machine, but he is the most intelligent person I know. I’m beginning to suspect that there is something fishy about the millions of people scrambling to get on the information superhighway. Computing networks give readers access to more written material than we could read in two lifetimes, but actually reading it takes as long as it always has. Patsy Cline is out on CD, but she doesn’t sing any faster on the new technology. With a word processor, the time you save typing the information instead of handwriting it usually is lost while you wait for the machine to boot up, format the page, choose a font, eliminate the bugs, turn on, load and initialize the printer and print out the copies. In the end, your correspondence will not go through the mails any faster. While new technology is visually spectacular and extremely entertaining, it helps us only by practically eliminating boredom - if you have enough money for the right gadgets. Instead of concentrating on HOW we read, write and communicate, perhaps it will help us more if we concentrate on the content of our communication. Julia Stavenhagen is a graduate anthropology student Mark Evans, Editor in chief William Harrison, Managing editor Jay Robbins, Opinion editor Editorials appearing in XHe Ei'.iti.ni.w.i the views of the editorial hoard. 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. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns. : Problem presidency Clinton must adjust administration's priorities President Clinton and his admin istration are failing. Clinton has re peatedly blundered into national scandals about his personal behavior and financial dealings and compli cated these problems by his failure to uphold campaign promises, estab lish consistent policies or foster the cooperation of the other branches of the federal government. Clinton’s biggest promise, that of guaran teed universal health care, has met constant resistance and controver sy. His refusal to actively campaign for either his plan or a compromise bill that combines other plans stands out as an example of his waffling. The end result will most likely be a watered-down bill that does little to re form American health care and suffers from a lack of popular support. Clinton, once touted as the “domes tic president,” received support from many voters who felt that President George Bush focused too narrowly on foreign policy. Clinton’s domestic plans, however, are jeopardized by his inability to properly manage interna tional affairs. Today, the Haitian “pol icy” is a muddled mess of promises made and broken. Troop involvement in Somalia became an unresolved mess. His waffling on every issue that comes up is not only legendary, it is also incredibly ineffective. Paula Jones’ allegations of sexual harassment and federal investigations into the Whitewater project have pushed many of these official lapses off the front page and out of the public consciousness. Remember the gays in the military controver sy? When Clinton at tempted to implement this most controversial plan during his first month in office, he did it so unprofessionally that he managed to generally alienate both homosexu als and the military. Clinton The policy remains basi cally unchanged. Clinton has allowed his personal problems to dictate where his time is spent and to compromise our coun try’s standing in the eyes of the world. He needs to re-prioritize soon. If he doesn’t, be assured the country will in 1996. Mail Call i/VW ndians 5 eveland ab r h bi fton cf fquel ss erga 2b Me If irray dh ome 3 b 5 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 4 1 4 0 10 4 12 0 2 10 0 >nza 3b 10 0 0 irez rf 2 11 by rf ;nto 1b 10 0 0 3 111 4 0 3 1 35 5 10 4 .030 000 201 -6 ..021' 200 000-5 8, Cleveland 6. 2B - nzalez (17), MLee amirez (17), Sorrento 8 5 5 2 0 10 0 13 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 8 3 3 1 2 4 3 3 2 1 5-0) pitched 's, striking nke got the r his 11th Abortion irresponsible, kills unborn humans Is it responsible behavior to trash your unborn child through abortion be cause its conception was a mistake? Is it responsible thinking that an unborn child should pay with its life for the unre- sponsible behavior of the parents? Is a fetus not a human being? Author and speaker Cal Thomas, states, “The ar gument over whether the unborn child is I human or not has been bogus from the j start. If it is not human, what is it, a Buick?” A woman who has conceived a I child is not a potential mother. She is a | mother. Her counterpart is a father. Take off your blinders, B-CS, and start realizing that we are killing our children - an estimated 1.6 million each year in the United States alone - through abortion. Sherry A. Paul Brazos Valley Crisis Pregnancy Services Students should watch move-out inventories I learned a valuable lesson this past semester while moving out that I Would like to share with the rest of you. I was not present for my move-out inventory from my apartment. Big mistake! It is possible for the man agers to charge you for whatever they want if you’re not there to witness and document everything for yourself. I said I cleaned something, they say I didn’t, and it boils down to their word against mine. I learned the hard way. Ags, be present at that move-out in ventory or you WILL get screwed! Also, be as detailed as you possibly can when writing your move-in inventory. They can’t charge you $45 for that spot on the carpet they’ve charged the last three residents for if you have it docu mented! The Off-Campus Housing of fice says they see this kind of thing all the time, so beware! I also learned there is a complaint file in the Off-Campus Housing office, where you can check out any company or prop erty that you’re considering signing a lease with. I feel checking this first might have saved me time and money. And properties that want to cheat Aggies sure won’t get a dime of my money, and hope fully not yours. In the future, I plan to re view that file and go with a property that treats Aggies fairly. Finally, I would like to thank the Off-Campus Housing office for being so courteous and helpful. Amy Cochran Class of ’95 The Battalion encour ages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include die au thor's name, class, and phone number. We reserve tlie right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Address letters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 V ‘Stupid 5 describes people, behavior Everyday choices illustrate difference between actions, intelligence CHRIS s. COBB Columnist F rank Zappa, rest in peace, once said in an interview with Arsenic Hall, “Now, let’s not put down ignorance, it’s the one thing that makes America great.” He had a point, didn’t he? There sure are a bunch of stupid people in this country, and the world in general. Everyone has an opinion of which people are stupid. But let’s not get them confused with drivers who cut us off on the freeway, or the cops who write us parking tickets. There’s a fine line be,tween stupid people and those who do stupid things. Whenever someone cuts me off on the freeway, I yell at them. But isn’t yelling at someone who can’t hear me just as brainless? There are many people who do stupid things. For instance, turn on your television every night at 10. So many people are moronic that I can’t even watch the news anymore. For instance, after the Chicago Bulls won the NBA national championship for the second time, the city rioted. The hometown team won, and to celebrate, people became violent. Not every person who participated in that riot is stupid, but what they did was ridiculous. Another example: Dan Quayle misspelling the word potatoE. Our former vice president is not a stupid person. Not everyone will agree with his views about politics or how to play golf, but he is considered to be - generally - an intelligent person. He did misspell a word that could be on a third grader’s spelling test. Even the student Quayle corrected knew the “e” was wrong. Likewise, how smart was it to make such a big deal about his mistake? Could a bigger mountain have been made out of that molehill? On the other hand, there are stupid people in this world. They may have some intelligence, but it’s not evident - and they don’t try to prove me wrong. I don’t understand these people or the things they do. For example, I don’t understand ministers who beg for money on television. How can they offer salvation for a price? Where is the money going? Are they going to the same hell they preach so much about? Reverend: Does Jesus deserve a Porsche? Congregation: Hallelujah! Amen. Reverend: Yes, he does, and he asked me to drive it for him. Those followers aren’t stupid. They act stupid by not realizing they’re being taken by con-men. Other stupid people are prejudiced or racist. Ignorance such as this is rampant when it comes to social relations. Those who judge others because of their religion, sex, or skin color, instead of by their character, do not make sense. For instance, the czar-wanna-be of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has been quoted as saying, “[We must] deal with [ethnic minorities] as America did with the Indians and Germany did with the Jews.” For this idiot, stupid is not a harsh enough term. I don’t necessarily disagree with his comparison, but how is it that idiots like him can dismiss others in this way? Sure, I am judging Zhirinovsky, but it’s plain we’ve seen him before - named Hitler ... Other stupid people: those who killed Andres Escobar, the Colombian soccer player, because he scored a goal against his own team and caused the upset loss to the United States. They killed him because of his mistake which caused failure, as opposed to the Chicago fans’ violence after their team’s complete success. Stupid people also abuse their husbands, wives or children. The people doing the abuse are stupid. Those who are being abused are caught in a hard place because they love the person who beats them. They think that it is their fault for being abused or that the person will eventually stop. They are being foolish by taking the abuse, but often don’t know what to do about it. Every morning I look in the mirror and sometimes I see a stupid person. The person in the mirror has crossed the line from smart-aleck to idiot on a number of occasions. Judging other people is an extremely self-righteous thing to do. We’ve all done some stupid things. But by paying attention to the things happening in this world, we can decide how smart we want to be. Chris S. Cobb is a senior English major Everyone has an opinion of which people are stupid. But let's not get them con fused. There's a fine line between stupid people and those who do stupid things. Page 3 us' >f Aunt the e her ave ^orical ters ’ox- ie and yor of to • i mu-- ill’s emi- -