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September 19, 1994
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^Cisneros shatters public confidence in politicians
KCATiT ALWA15
WANTED An assi6i<J
ELIZABETH
PRESTON
By Bi
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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
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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
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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
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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
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