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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1994)
y • September I'J i September 19, 1994 .,» w i/ ^ S ^ » s ' T A «S ; asBM^ia iHi ills! SflON IglilSiiigiillg The Battalion . <•*» Page 9 ^Cisneros shatters public confidence in politicians KCATiT ALWA15 WANTED An assi6i<J ELIZABETH PRESTON By Bi I Tofll VoK nother politician who started out looking admirable and hardworking ired himself in a scandal involving |, lies and stupidity. If it weren’t so ic, it would be funny. Henry Cisneros, a Texas A&M gradu- I, first received national recognition dur- fhis tenure as mayor of San Antonio, a ■he held for eight years. He became fa- s for his exciting social programs and his status as a minority. Bfexas was excited that San Antonio finally lari a Hispanic mayor - the first since 1842 - to Present its huge Hispanic population. Cis- iielos, with his hands-on techniques and easygo- j personality, was easy to rally around. He al- |st ran for vice president with Walter Mondale 1984, and his future seemed limitless and r^aght with possibilities, then he fell in love. The main problems with , was that they were both married, and he is tholic. He decided to leave his wife anyway, and loved in with this woman, Linda Medlar. They ^de plans to be married in one year, and he began Jorce proceedings. ■VIedlar did divorce her husband, and received a ‘ idy of her daughter. In order to save Cisneros i embarrassment and publicity she did not seek bttlement in her divorce. He also went public with their relationship in an interview, and they agreed that this effectively end ed her career as a political consultant. Then, the month before their wed ding was to occur, Henry Cisneros heard the call of the family and church - a little late - and went back to his wife, Mary-Ellen. Medlar was left without a career or a way to support her teenage daughter. Cisneros, on the other hand, quickly returned as a rising star in state and nation al politics, eventually even winning a position in President Clinton’s cabinet as the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development. To make up for his horrid behavior, Cisneros agreed over the telephone to pay Medlar $4,000 a month until her daughter finished college. He did not write this agreement down, and no legal action was taken to make this a binding agreement, in his eyes. The trouble is, Cisneros apparently forgot the popular old adage about “hell has no fury like a woman scorned.” Medlar taped the conversations. Every single word he said since he left her she recorded for posterity, and now for public consump tion. She recorded around 70 hours of tape, with Cis neros commenting on everything from their affair to Clinton’s procrastination. Last week she sold the tapes to “Inside Edition.” She made a paid appear ance accusing him of reneging on their agreement, and lying to the FBI during his HUD confirmation. He has publicly denied both accusations. Cisneros was a hero of mine in politics for a long time. He was compassionate to homeless, inventive in his efforts to fight crime and seemed Cisneros has proven to the American people that it is the rule, rather than the exception, that politicians are unable to keep their word in either public or private spheres. to be an incredible family man. In every inter view he finds a way to bring up his 6-year-old son who is recovering from major heart surgery. This is also a reason he gives for choosing not to run for senator, an opportunity that has been of fered to him twice in the past two years. Cheap affairs seem to be a rite of honor with politicians, but this one has broken all the rules. The level of sleaze exhibited in Cisneros’ deal ings with both Medlar and his own wife is as tounding. Not only was he unfaithful, he largely destroyed Medlar’s life. Cisneros told U.S. News and World Report in February that “When you lose the compass, then you just trust the institutions and the rootedness of your life to bring you out.” Where did he think Medlar’s compass would bring her back from? She di vorced her husband for him, allowed him to go public with their relationship and destroy her career and agreed to spend the rest of her life with him. He gave up nothing, and was not punished at all in comparison. Cisneros had more promise than most young politicians, and if he had not al lowed his sex drive to rule his brain then he would not be in this uncomfortable position now. However, his handling of the entire affair, as well as his recent weak attempt to deny any wrongdoing, leaves him squarely in a league of slimy politicians already overflowing with the likes of Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Bob Packwood. Cisneros has proven to the American people once again that it is the rule, rather than the exception, that politicians are unable to keep their word in ei ther public or private spheres. Elizabeth Preston is a junior English major i ■ By Gm Mltl!HAITI! HAITI 1 A I'M SICK Of Ml TAK 'STOf F MT HMT1!! Mm HE PRD EHOOGH ABSUT HAITI? Alright; we Got one/ 1,1 5CWW! 'HlMBtO ’cvrrs / Quati ;h ,EXCUSE ME »' :artoonis>t,wt VE GO BACK TO -AST FRAME F0% A MINUTE?! DIDN'T EVEN/ 6ETA CMM TO SNIFF HOMEY, V|K HAITI? Simple reason proves abortion wrong --fro-choice movement advocates prejudice against unborn infants Wednesday udy. High nearWl bortion can be argued without bringing in the religious aspects rf the issue. In fact, abortion is er discussed using non-religious [isoning because many cannot ertain ideas on the subject without ligious basis. jMany people say that a woman TOM ASHOUR Guest Columnist cannot be told what to do with her own body. But, I am not Hking about her body; I am talking about her baby’s body. A etus in the womb is no more “a part” of his or her mother’s By than you, the reader, are a part of your mother’s body. * ‘bortion advocates often refer to a fetus as a “product of Iception,” as if the fetus is some sort of tumor. On the Itrary, a fetus is an individual just as we are individuals. ~ome people will argue that we, who are fortunate enough to I**~* .vjjBDQm, are different from a baby in the womb. Why? What thg difference? Is it because the baby is not fully formed womb? What does fully formed |an? Is it when we are bom? Is it |en we reach puberty at 12 or 13 of age? Is it when we reach our height when we are around 21 s old? What about our intellect? know from our own lives that we stop learning, so is our intellect r fully formed? I would infer that ndividual is not fully formed until i moment of his or her death. Therefore, an adult, a child, an knt and a baby in the womb will continue to form at every ! in their lives. A fetus is just at the beginning stage of lanity. Thus, a fetus is a human being, like ourselves, who i certain rights, especially the right to live, lost people would agree that it is wrong for a person to kill pther person just because they want to. Why? Because rder is wrong. Therefore, we agree that killing another lan being is wrong. I have just reasoned that a fetus is a lan being. So abortion takes the life of a living human tig, which is wrong. [Still, some people cannot fathom that a fetus is actually ■e than a group of cells instead of being a living, breathing American MeteoroH fl m MSES 3 RANDS d-Hydrocurve) ailable r... includes >F STANDARD \JSES. human being. Because people do not look at fetuses as human beings, they become victims of these peoples’ prejudice. Today, the newest manifestation of prejudice is toward the unborn. Once we dehumanize a person or a group of persons, we are easily able to justify any inhumane treatment of them. When we witness children in a hostile family setting, we feel that nothing could be worse than a child growing up abused or unloved. That is absolutely wrong! Abortion is the greater evil. It is worse because it is not right for anyone to directly take the life of an innocent human being. Abortion does exactly this. We think that terminating a child’s life in the womb is not as bad as the abuse of a bom child because abortion is quicker, easier, cleaner and cheaper. The nicest thing about abortion is that we do not have to witness it. You can imagine what would happen if the media showed ripped-apart babies every day as much as they showed the horrors of Vietnam. People would want to end abortion just so they would not have to look at it every night. Unfortunately, the media are more interested in covering the crazed people who call themselves “pro-life” and kill abortion doctors. True pro-lifers value each person, including the doctors who perform abortions. We feel than no person has the right to end another person’s life. This is also why the right of a mother to have an abortion is superseded by the right of her child to live. To anyone who is suffering either directly or indirectly because of abortion, there are many organizations who will help you. The Brazos Valley Crisis Pregnancy Service (846-1097) offers counseling for women and men who suffer from Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome. Also, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin offers “Project Rachel” (1-800- 767-2243) for the same purpose. My hope is that those who agree with me will lose your fear to vocalize your opinions. You may still feel that you do not have the right to tell people not to have an abortion, but because abortion is wrong, it concerns every person. Therefore, you do have a right to express your convictions. The only way we can change peoples’ minds and change the laws is to have open, calm and thoughtful debate. mmmm m «—s im « '-'s;- * Tom Ashour is a senior electrical engineering major Some people argue that we are different from a baby in the womb. What does fully formed mean? Birth? Puberty? Is it when we reach our full height? What about our intellect? I...INCLUDES ii ; STANDARD ■ - ISES. ) >T LENSES. ntment O.D., P.G TRY Mah- Call .Ab ime days not time for inconsiderate behavior ■ Why does sports (football in this ), have to take priority over learning? ■ thought this was primarily a leam- Tgjinstitution, not one devoted to sports. Saturday, the day of the Oklahoma game I was headed for the Bio-Bio com puting center to do some class work at about 12 noon. Because it was a weekend and I have a blue parking permit I pro ceeded to parking area 74, but was told by the parking attendants present that it was reserved and in spite of the fact that there were plenty of parking spaces avail able in parking area 74, that I had to park in parking area 61 instead. Parking area 74, a faculty lot, is closer than park ing area 61. Now, lot 61 is not that much further, but it is the principle of the thing that matters: I was being inconvenienced because I was pursuing an education! I object to being inconvenienced by football games!!! Sam Stamport Class of ’96 • Last weekend, my family gathered here at A&M for the OU game. My broth er, a recent OU graduate, reluctantly sat in the A&M student section. I assured him, jokingly, that he would not be ha rassed. I was definitely wrong. In the row behind us, a group of Aggie fans showed a complete lack of class and manners, showing unadulterated glee at the injury of an OU player, and chanting “Oklahoma? Those guys are fags!” when ever my brother or mother (an OU alum nus) cheered their team on. After the game, I pointed out to them that the other fans around us were polite, and simply cheered the Aggies to victory. I finally convinced them that this rude type of individual was a rare occurrence at A&M, and that the others made up the vast majority of students here. 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 i 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. Primary problems Washington should reject former mayor Barry Voters in Washington, D.C., While it is true that Barry should Voters in Washington, D.C., looked ridiculous, even preposterous when they chose former mayor Mari on Barry in the Democratic primary for the city mayoral race. That any one thinks Barry can be trusted in any public office seems purposefully naive and ignorant. Washington D.C. is hurting enough as it is. This city not only rates number one in murders, with 60 per cent of them being drug related, but also is plagued by over 80,000 substance abusers. The one thing the city definite ly doesn’t need is a mayor who has been convicted of a drug crime committed while he was in office previ ously, and sparked a scandal that captured global attention. Although Barry was acquitted of most of the drug-related charges level 1 against him, this does : rvf ’ \e, .vhile serv ing as mayor uj. Washington, was caught smoking crack by undercover police investigators. By doing this he was sending a message to the nation’s youth — that it’s OK to abuse drugs, you won’t suffer any consequences. Marion Barry While it is true that Barry should be recognized for his rehabilitation ef forts, he should not be given the re sponsibility of handling the affairs of a major city. He has not proven that he can handle all of the demands of what is arguably the most important city in the country. The job should be given to someone else — some one who is committed to the law, who represents ethics and justice and who has some degree of self-discipline. Let Bar ry continue to recover from his substance abuse. He should be giving this problem, not his political ambitions, his hill attention. In a time where the country, especially Washington D.C. is overwhelmed by crime, drugs and violence, America’s leaders must possess a strong value system and the ability to be good role models for future generations to fol low. Barry can no longer fulfill that purpose by serving as a politician. In all reality, public leaders cannot be perfect. But in this day in age they must at least possess some personal decorum and control - which Marion Barry has yet to demonstrate. However, the next morning, while eat ing breakfast before they left to go home, and after I explained that the people dressed up in grodes and pots were on their way to the first Bonfire cut of the year, this conviction was dissolved. A large group of students was gath ered in the Albertson’s parking lot. I saw what I thought was a perfect opportunity to point out Aggie spirit and pride. What symbolizes A&M more than a bunch of motivated Aggies on their way to cut? As we got closer, however, I heard the Crocker Hall hump-it, loud and clear. I prayed my family couldn’t un derstand the words. Next, they saw the parking lot. In case no one noticed, it was trashed. Gro cery bags, cans, paper, dip cans, beer bot tles and other associate trash was strewn across the lot. After this group left, a pile of garbage sat in their wake, with paths cut through it where cars had gone. Other members of my family are com ing down for the Rice game in October. I’m glad there’s not a cut on that week end. I only hope the people in the stands have a little more class this time. Jon Volmer 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 style, and accuracy. Address letters to: 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University We reserve the right to edit letters for length, 77843-mi fate (409) 845-2647 E-mail;
