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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 1994)
September lj ■('porters, “I don’ttl ble to turn th which is indivi] artificial contracep; on the individual tan would have|j; ave it confined to Vatican I would i ticipating” inf® as a “full particip; lesday • August 24, 1994 ■Main mmamm The Battalion • Page 13 5 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 re flect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of oth er 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 informa tion on submitting guest columns. '••rV.Ci*.:'.,.- .V'^vA-ac.:... p S drug [“^“'Billions and Bu t ions [World population growth demands attention R SPRING, erimental drug] 3S patients wo| autside limitedt! 1 at least the micl ( its maker saijf isappointing [offman LaHt ir came as ail lerly debated wL , nment allowst in ^° ccess to prom: rstem has not sc Statistics reveal that the world’s urrent population is 5.7 billion and is ixpected to grow by 90 million a year said Gregg Gonsi ” a s ^ ze comparable to that of the w York-basedT; vhole country of Mexico. It is estimat- on Group. “We '■& that by the year 2050, the world’s ata for peopletoi copulation will reach 10 to 12 billion if decisions ■ being protecte: sponded Dr. Thi Los Angeles. “Tti er going on in ery day ... andi out data?” rongly welcome The dramatic increase in world pop- lation will have staggering effects on conomic development and mainte- ance of environmental resources in he near future. Urgent action is needed to help stabilize the popula- ion, and the leaders at the recent pop- ilation conference have tried to put a 10 efforts are made to control it. Some- hing must be done to help stabilize flobal population before money and re- ources have completely diminished. The main controversy has surround- id the issues of family planning and fertility management” as ways to help urb the population crisis. While the cess for saquinav Vatican argues that these terms sup- nmissioner Da; iort pro-abortion, they are really try- d LaFtoche. vir is so complica hat La Roche sim enough togivetoi >utside those itrolled clinical tri ist mid-1995, r. WaijenSoo, (hen it does o| to broad experiiif der FDA’s expam jram, fewer pati ban have gotten arimental drug, ing to educate and promote better health care. The aim of the conference is not to promote abortion, but to encourage fam ily planning, improved health care and education for sexually active teens. While it is important to respect the religions of the Vatican and other reli gions that support anti-abortion, there must be efforts to help control the pop ulation problem. Not only are natural resources depleting, but money is also a factor. Currently, it costs Si7 billion for basic health care for women and children, family planning and AIDS prevention. By the year 2015, the ex pected amount is S22 billion. There is a need to look into the pop ulation problem and make attempts to control it. Without some effort, the population will continue to grow while money and resources continue to dwin dle. The recent U.N. conference is a starting point and will perhaps draw more attention to this continuous growing problem. A call might make the difference ounseling services offer help to prevent suicides iot have enough i ) anybody whowaJ d an FDA heari| acquire! potent! lasers IRK (AP)-Ni t two more poten joined Time ERIN HILL Columnist had been meaning to call him for several weeks. In fact it was on my “to do” list for July 5, 1994. I was even ^e need your help, .thinking of him then, t, decidingwhen my mom walked d who doe?not.” in the room. I was trying to remember his telephone number so I could call as soon as I got home. My mother burst into the room and said, “Erin, I am so sorry.” I had no idea of what she was talking about. “Didn’t you hear about Tim?” No, I hadn’t. “He killed himself yesterday-.” I felt weak. And then shocked. I started crying and didn’t stop for three days. Though members of my extended family had passed away, this was the closest that t had been to death. It hurt. f mrp k M y friends an d I struggled to make sense of the whole 1 P 1 ° j NBe may# thing.We wondered how long had he been thinking about all three broadti y]ij n g himself. We had known he was sad. He talked about is problems freely but we hadn’t realized how much worse kings had become in the four years since graduation. I had seen Tim over hristmas vacation, and hile he looked too thin, e still possessed his sual dry sense of umor. I thought verything was fine. In fact, things had been coking up for Tim in the e in play, jot three netwoi ibably have eig I buyers,” said Gerbrandt of ociates in Carl increases the , a series of dti pen, almost ii| ion.’ published repo- aidentified soui No matter how desperate you feel, no matter how lonely you are, taking your own life is not the way out. Sui cide only changes your location. Varner, whose h th NBC owner ic were widely weeks ago, was'remember that he’s gone. I look through old yearbooks, ith GE to acquifl 5 the network's V stations, ’oday. urt General ffemembering everything we had done together. I onths before his death. I didn’t know then that suicides often iccur within a 3 month “improvement” period when things are jetting better. Those close to the person may falsely believe the isis has passed or that none exists, as we did. I still think about Tim’s death. I sit in class and stake in NBC, i ^ emem bered how talented he was. And independent. In my room at night I picture his face and fthe way he smiled. He was a dear friend. I know that I won’t be over this for a long time. uenerai p Tien I think of those even closer to him. His family was nv and retail ht devastated by it, of course. At the wake his father was y is also contf^ x P* a * n * ng var i° us pictures of Tim that were on display, d for the netw® ) The Wall Strf! As he remembered their times together he began to cry and said poignantly, “He was a wonderful, sweet boy.” He was indeed. Did he have any idea of the number of the many people who cared deeply about him? Did he know how he would tear apart the world of his family and loved ones? How could life have become so unbearable to someone we cared so much about? So many questions remain. The one thing can see clearly is that suicide isn’t the answer to problems. Nothing will ever be the same for Tim’s family and friends. When people take their lives, they kilfa part of those who love them. We aren’t immune from the problem here at Texas A&M. Last year there was 1 “successful” suicide, 29 attempts, 24 threats and 5 other related situations. Dr. Kerry Hope, Associate Director of the Student Counseling Center, said that they are used to dealing with 2 to 4 suicide situations each week at the center. Despite these alarming figures,this rate is better than at many other schools. “Texas A&M’s rate is lower than those at other campuses,” said Dr. Hope, “Probably because students here are usually pretty good about asking for help.” There is a strong commitment to helping students; in fact, the counseling center is starting up a crisis helpline and needs interested students to come by Henderson Hall and apply. These students will be trained to deal with suicide attempts and other emergencies so that there will be even more listening ears for those who are despairing. No matter how desperate you feel, no matter how lonely you are, taking your own life is not the way out. It only changes your location. And thinking about suicide doesn’t mean you are mentally ill. It means that you are having trouble coping. That is nothing to be ashamed of. There are people to contact if you find yourself thinking about taking your own life. The Student Counseling Service telephone number is 845-4427 during the weekdays, and 845- 1557 after 5 p.m. and on weekends. There are counselors available, 24 hours a day, if necessary. Someone cares. And if you have any fears about those close to you, act on them. Try to discover a way to help. Some signs of distress are giving away personal possessions, withdrawal from usual interaction and undue anxiety. Out of every 10 people who have killed themselves, eight have given definite warnings of their suicidal tendencies. Don’t put off that telephone call until it is too late. I wish I hadn’t. Erin Hill is a senior English major I 3 All-U Night incident betrays 'Aggie spirit' TV mogul has said he wa| oadcast netw«> ( an offer, the T- r i’d been close t this year but 1 me Warner, wlft percent stake. Broadcast Syslj, eg to the Journo mies named ini 1 io comment, all three netwof hands withinf iths,” said Poll Many organizations on campus brag vestment bant| ab out, how much Aggie spirit they f a Turner biogt bav e and about how much more they ithing is goinf Put out for traditions. One example is ;diately.” Jhe rivalry between the Corps of will have tofi|Cadets and the on-campus residence cations bill woffialls. I would like to question the con- ept of “being an Ag” -and what it eans to certain organizations. We are all supposed to be Aggies ere, meaning that we treat each oth- r as fellow Aggies. On Monday night ight before All-University Night, I m’t think anyl) 11 law a perfect example of how miscon- t a deal until tifstrued some of these concepts are. A |5ophomore female cadet in the Corps If Cadets was walking past a group of trough Congres-' lematic whetlj will allow into broadcsi e companies nadcasting,” students from a residence hall on her way to Kyle Field. They were all on their way to the event. When the cadet began to pass the group, many of the guys began taunting and harass ing her, some even jumping in her face. When another male junior cadet in the Corps jumped in between say ing, “Aggies do not insult other Ag gies,” they tried to pick a fight with him. Luckily, he and the female cadet were able to leave without any physi cal violence. The sad thing is that one of the students from the resident hall was wearing the yellow hat that bon fire crew chiefs wear, meaning that this was an upperclassman, supposed ly an example for the many fish that were huddled there. The crew chief, who supposedly should be so full of Aggie spirit was the main one taunt ing her. If this is what they think Aggie Spirit is about or that they are “good Ags,” they are wrong. If they cannot be mature enough or caring enough about this University to follow the Ag gie code of “Soldier, Statesman and Knightly Gentleman,” then they do not deserve the right to call themselves Aggies or brag about their “Aggie Spir it.” If this is the way they want to act, we do not need these kind of people at our University, especially with A&M under the scrutiny it is already under now. These so called “Ags” need to head back on Highway 6 and go to Austin. They are not needed here. We are all Ags, whether we live off- campus, in a residence hall or in a Corps dorm. We should treat each other as fellow Aggies and keep this University the great place it is now. And to the members of that Southside Hall, I think you all owe the two cadets, as well as the rest of the Uni versity, a huge apology. Clint McCommon Class of ’95 Th<? Battalion en courages fetters to the editor and wifi print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude the author's name, class, and The Battalion - Mall Call 013 Reed McDonald We reserve the right to edit letters for length. College Station, TX 77843-1111 Fax: 409/845-2647 E-mail: Law of man must remain separate from law of God New Year's celebration leads to concerns about dangers of faith, importance of religious freedom I t was Monday when I got in my car to leave for home. I was looking for ward to seeing my family. I normal ly never go home during the school -year, even though my parents live in Plano. However, today was different: it would be Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and with my mother having to leave town for a family emergency, I wanted to be with my dad and sister for support over a normally joyous holiday. After getting into town at about 5:30 p.m., I quickly showered, dressed and headed to my godparents house in Richardson, where I spent the evening enjoying roasted chicken and some of the best kugel in the world. The next morning, my family went to pray at a small synagogue run by Israeli immigrants, where I met many of my dad’s friends who spoke Hebrew mixed with bits of English. While I could not understand everything they said (my Hebrew is pretty poor), I could not help but enjoy the feeling of being with a group of Jews practicing my faith. Being Conservative Jews, we had no organ or choir, no news cameras or any other fancy extras, just each other, the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) and the New Year. That evening, before coming back to school, I watched television - a rare treat for someone who has no cable. There, Ted Koppel, from “Nightline,” invited a Catholic bishop and Vice Pres ident A1 Gore to discuss the recent UN population talks in Cairo. The bishop talked on and on about moral values and how the United States cannot al low abortions because they are evil, ac cording to the church. At the beginning of the conference, Saudi Arabia, among other Muslim countries, pulled out, saying that it did not be lieve that population control is morally right, according to Is lam. “The 700 Club” blasted the conference as leading to baby murder and immorality. I have always loved being a Jew and believed in certain ten- ants of my faith that might seem backward to modem people. While I would definitely not vote for someone who is an outright anti-Semi te, my rabbis told me long ago that Jews were not the only good people on earth; that we should be thankful we live in a free country that allows us to be who we are while living among those who are different from us. Some people do not feel this way. Many religious organizations have geared themselves to try to defy the Constitutional guarantees that ensure separation of church and state. These groups offend and threaten every American, especially those who are in the minority. Some of these groups de mand so-called “moments of silence” or outright prayer in classrooms. Some want to force teachers to explain the backward and illogical ideas of cre ationism while ignoring evolution theo ry. Some religious groups ask profes sors to speak about their religious ideas in classrooms, while supposedly teach ing engineering or physics. Some reli- JOSEF A. ELCHANAN ■ililltilll Columnist gions try to outlaw freedoms like ex pression and gender equality while forcing their opinions into law by using weak-minded politicians - people who cannot see the inherent dangers of these supposedly kind and moral peo ple. These dangers have become more and more obvious as of late. Many activities occur within the con fines of the United States that I find personally immoral. Fortunately, I do not have to agree with these activities. As long as people are not harming any-' one but themselves, I have no legal out let for my disagreement with them. If someone wants to have an abortion or be a homosexual or pray to some deity in a way I find personally offensive, that is their right. I practice a religion that is misunderstood and frankly of no consequence to most people. The impor tant factor is that I be allowed to do so. This country was not founded on re ligion, and those who say so lie and tar nish the names of those who sacrificed their lives for it. Men like Thomas Jef ferson, a deist - one who believes in God but has no religion - guaranteed for future generations their right to choose a moral path, or not to have one at all, as long as the rights of people around them were unaffected. If people want to share their religion with oth- This country was not founded on religion, and those who say so lie and tarnish the names of those who sacrificed their lives for it. ers, their best recourse is one I discov ered from my Corps training. In leader ship classes, it was explained that there were 11 principles of leadership. From these, the most important was not “beat people in to submission” or “ad vertise what a wonderful leader you are.” Instead, the basic principle was very simple: “Set the Example.” If you want to promote goodness or a particular religion, don’t try to legislate it. Instead, take the time to be a good person. Use the money given to organi zations like Right to Life, television evangelism, church advertising and movements to allow prayer in school to feed and clothe people, to sponsor edu cation programs that will make people want to think and work. Setting this example - rather than trying to change people’s minds with a sledgehammer - should be a religious person’s goal. Josef A. Elchanan is a senior business management major