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Tuesday • September 6, 1994
-
OPINION
The Battalion • Page 11
Wmm&m, I i
-mail saves tense friendship
Daily 'talks' provide chance
for renewed communication
ur^
\y
ERIN
HILL
v WSmSKmmSSSKm
Columnist
hris” and
“Ellen”
had known
each other for
years. They first
met in the elemen
tary school orches
tra and took music
lessons at the same
studio. They attend
ed junior high and
high school together. They had many mutual friends and
attended the same social functions. Their parents knew
each other. They even wrote to each other at college and
made a valiant effort to keep in touch.
And yet they didn’t get along. Things were often awk
ward. Things were often tense. There were many misunder
standings. Ellen often misinterpreted Chris’s blunt style of
discourse as insulting. Chris often mistook Ellen’s light
hearted banter as foolish drivel.
Friends and family were at a loss. What to do with two peo
ple who insisted on staying in touch yet did not seem compati
ble? Some friends tried to mediate, others stayed far away.
The summer after Ellen’s fourth year in college, after Chris
graduated, she decided to go to summer school. She and Chris
realized that they would not be able to see each other over the
summer since their schedules did not allow them to be in the
same place at the same time.
It seemed that the mileage of their friendship had run
out. No one, not even Ellen or Chris expected much from
the relationship.
But something happened.
Ellen opened up an e-mail account. She sent the address
to Chris. He responded. Then she responded. Then he wrote
a lengthy letter, and she replied. She wrote another lengthy
letter, and he replied. They resumed their correspondence
via electronic mail.
Five weeks later they were amazed. They were better friends
than ever. Many misunderstandings had been resolved and
common ground had been reached.
After writing nearly every day for over a month, they were
getting along. They discovered that they shared a love of
books, poetry and magazines. The tension dissipated, and the
awkwardness disappeared.
They bumped into each other in August, sort of unex
pectedly. They hadn’t planned on being in the same place at
the same time until December. When they met, Chris said,
“You know what, I think we are going to have a long and
fruitful correspondence, Ellen.”
And why? Because of e-maii. It saved this friendship.
This is no fictitious story. It really happened - to me of
all people.
I had planned on opening an e-mail account since my sopho
more year but had never gotten around to it. Friends had en
couraged, begged and pleaded with me to do it. They promised
that we would keep in touch, if only I would get e-mail.
1 doubted that anything could be that great. Sure it sounded
convenient, but was getting on the information superhighway
really the joyride that everyone promised?
Well, I’ve been cruising for eight weeks now, and I’m loving
it. My family in far away Minnesota no longer feels so alienated
from me. My sister in Utah can now “talk” with me on a daily
basis. My friends across the country aren’t as distant. And I
have never been so good about writing letters.
With regular mail, I felt that a letter had to be long to justify
sending it, but with e-mail I don’t think that any more. Some
times all I write is “Dear Dad, Have a nice day. Love, Erin.” It is
still the thought that counts.
I encourage everyone to put their fee dollars to work. You are
already paying an S80 computer access fee, so opening an ac
count costs you nothing. And it isn’t a painful or difficult ordeal.
Just go to the Remote Computing Center (RCC) under the
Cushing library. Go to the help desk in the back. Tell ‘em Erin
sent you. And don’t be frightened. I have discovered that they
really live up to their name there; they are extremely helpful.
They will give you a simple worksheet that takes you
through the account-opening process step-by-step. It will tell
you all you need to know. When you are through you can begin
to send or receive mail. You can access your account at labs all
across campus
There are lots of pamphlets available too, explaining differ
ent features and options. And if you have any questions, you
will know where the help desk is.
Don’t wait. Run to the nearest computer lab and get an
e-mail account.
It saved one of my friendships, it could do the same for you.
Erin Hill is a senior English major
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The Battalion
Editorial Board
Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief
Mark Evans, Managing editor
Jay Robbins, Opinion editor
Jenny Magee, Assistant opinion editor
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.
Contact the opinion editor for information
on submitting guest columns.
Defaults on Trust
Student loan repayments necessary to future
Students who rely on loans and
fail to repay them are not only
cheating themselves, the Universi
ties and tax-payers. They also are
cheating future students as well.
When students fail to repay loans,
they are hurting persona] credit re
ports which will follow them into the
future. Wages and credit ratings
can be greatly affected.
Furthermore, when defaults exist
in high amounts, university finan
cial aid funding
Student Loan
$$s$S
ft* rtx ^de
q>$$$s$$
must be cut,
which in turn
hurts the current
student body.
Current students
lose opportuni
ties for aid be
cause of the irre
sponsible actions
of their predeces
sors. Additional
ly, taxpayers
must reach into their pockets to
make up for the lost funds.
More importantly, however, is the
fact that student loan defaults can
prevent future students from receiv
ing loans and other financial aid.
Schools with a significantly high
rate of defaults are not eligible to
participate in the Federal Family
Education Program — one of the
most widely used loan programs
throughout the United States.
A student may have deservedly
earned the right to an education and
have every intention of repaying his
loan, but when post-college expenses
mount, the graduated student de
faults on the loan. Students must
realize that by failing to comply with
the rules and regulation, others be
come the victims. Either the num
ber of loans given or the amount of
each loan is reduced.
Fortunately,
on this campus,
the problem is
slight. A&M’s
default rate is
considerably low
and has been for
quite some time
— yet another
tradition which
to be proud.
Because previ
ous students
have been responsible enough to re
pay their loans, current and future
students’ ability to find aid is not
jeopardized.
Receiving an education is a privi
lege in itself, but receiving a loan is
much more than a privilege — it is a
responsibility that should be taken
seriously. Not returning borrowed
money is a crime that robs the lead
ers of tomorrow.
DEFAULTS
U.S. must prepare to overcome terrors of terrorism in future
rr>
If
JOSEF A.
ELCHANAN
Columnist
■aditional wisdom has always stat
ed that safety lies in numbers.
Places like coffee shops, malls, and
sporting events are supposed to be rela
tively safe. Criminals cannot exactly
sneak up and attack a person with
everyone watching, unless they commit
the crime for attention.
Terrorists are that kind of criminal.
They do not seem to mind killing as
many innocent people as necessary to
gain publicity, power and money. Terrorists operate
all over the world, from Puerto Rico and Mexico to
Japan and the infamous Middle East.
Two distinct groups have come into the limelight
lately - the radical Palestinian group Hamas and
the Irish Republican Army. Both of these groups,
within weeks of each other, have almost ceased their
destructive endeavors. Hamas has been virtually
gutted, due to the Israeli-PLO peace processes, and
the IRA is talking with British officials as this col
umn goes to print. The question now is, what is the
future face of terrorism?
Guerrilla wars and terrorist activity have gone
hand in hand since the end of World War II, when
it became obvious that not every militant political
movement could win against govemmentally
trained and supplied armies. Instead, political
groups discovered they could fulfill their objectives
by staging attacks on
underprotected or
nonmilitary targets
that would influence
public opinion and
bring more people,
supplies and power to
their organization.
The number of civil
ians killed in bomb
ings, assassinations
and brutal attacks mounted, and world opinion
went against these groups - except when they
could be used as pawns in power games between
countries of diverging interests.
Now, with the end of the Cold War, the political
climate has changed. Will the downturn of these
groups’ activities be a sign of things to come, or is it
a signal for the starting of a new age?
Is Carlos the Jackal the future of terrorism, or a
relic of a political game of cat and mouse that has
suddenly become much colder and more danger
ous? Will the U.S. become the new battleground
for extremists, with the bombing of the World
Trade Center an example of the beginning of a
bloody age of insecurity on this soil?
The projected increases in world population
mean that there will be fewer resources for hu
man consumption per person. When food, clothes
and medicines are denied to people, while others
have plenty, the rage sparked by these circum
stances may very well lead to violence. America,
as well as most of the Western world, is not ade
quately prepared to deal with future terrorist ac
tivity on its own soil.
With the United States throwing its weight
around, we have made ourselves a prime target
for terrorist attacks. Hypothetically, let’s say
that a government or a anti-government group
someone could attack the New York Stock Ex
change. Or what if a group got its hands on an
anti-ship missile system? It could then threaten
oil tankers headed for Japan, the America or
Britain through the Mediterranean or other sea
lanes. With the onset of the computer age, the
possibility of someone finding a way to attack
computer systems or electronics is a viable option.
Ain I trying to scare you to death? No. It is,
however, important to realize that with a new age
With the end of the Cold War, the political
climate has changed. Will the downturn of
terrorist groups' activities be a sign of things
to come, or is it a signal for a new age?
abroad is failing. How can it gain its political
goals? If it threatens a world power and demands
a ransom, or blackmails the country, suddenly
the group becomes a major player again.
How could this happen? In the worst-case sce
nario, a terrorist could either build or steal a nu
clear weapon, according to a recent Time maga
zine report. Less popular but still damaging, eco
nomic terrorism could be used to push foreign
powers into assisting such a group. For instance,
comes new problems. With the United
States finally coming to a peaceful coex
istence with the former Soviet Union,
Britain possibly relaxing its activities in
Northern Ireland and the threat of hav
ing children shot to death in school by
PLO terrorists lessened, there are still
many disenfranchised and motivated
people on this planet who will gain pow
er through any means available.
It is absolutely vital that our country, especially
our military, reassess its objectives for defense and
projecting American power around the world. By
pushing our nose into everyone else’s business, we
are leaving ourselves vulnerable. Sooner or later,
someone is going to bite it off.
Josef A. Elchanan is a senior
business management major
ill
Health care reforms
suffer bodily illness
Thank you for printing Jay Robbins’
Sept. 2 column on the current health care
debate. I haven’t laughed so hard in
quite some time. I noticed that Robbins
quite proudly states that he “voted for
Bill Clinton because he promised and
he blames the problems that the “reform”
legislation is having on “public igno
rance.” These two statements tell us
everything we need to know about Rob
bins’ thoughts about those who want to
keep the government off of our bodies:
we re just stupid.
Next, Robbins laments the fact that
interest groups are performing “The
Group Grab.” This started the moment
Mrs. Clinton took the first shot at insur
ance companies, signaling that health
care ‘reform’ would be a political process,
and that interest groups should line up
for their piece of pork.
And he wonders why we’re “all so
afraid of the potential dangers in a
health care plan.” Should we pass any
plan at all, just so we can say we did
something? Why? “We need it.” Well,
then, it’s settled.
As might be expected, Robbins (like
any good liberal) begins to use The Big
Lie technique. “Advancements in
medicine ...” carry a very high price.”
Wrong. We now live longer, for cheap
er, than ever before.
“Almost no one ... can afford ... a seri
ous accident.” Wrong again. The vast
majority of people in this country have
provided for themselves and their fami
lies. By law, hospitals are not allowed to
refuse such service to those who cannot
pay. The costs are passed on to those of
us who can, making it more expensive
and causing some people to decide not to
buy insurance. What a cycle.
Robbins brings up the problem of
the teenage mother, her “boyfriend”
and their premature baby. If we really
want to end this problem, we should
let the teenage mothers rough it, and
be an example to their younger sisters
and friends of what not to do.
How about “expensive vaccina
tions,” Robbins’ next example? I got
vaccinated at a public health clinic in
Houston for S3.
Robbins buries his biggest whopper
right in the middle of his article. “Gov
ernment exists to do for the people what
they can’t do for themselves.” I thought
that we were endowed by our Creator
with inalienable rights, and that to se
cure these rights, governments are insti
tuted. Not to grab all my hard-earned
money, push me around, and give me
some goodies for “free.”
Robbins says that “until the American
public clearly states that it wants health
care reformed, the government will con
tinue its ineffective meddling.” It’s just
that I think such meddling will continue
long past any health care ‘reform.’ After
all, “it doesn’t matter which health-care
plan is chosen.”
Rusty Burlingame
Graduate student
The Battalion encour
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thor's name, class, and
phone number.
We reserve the right
to edit tetters for length,
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Address letters to:
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