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
â– 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
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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
â–  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
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013 Reed McDonald
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77843-1111
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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
â– 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