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Tiil Battalion • Page 7
The Battalion
I Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the
; views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily
■eflect the opinions of other Battalion staff members,
whe Texas A&M student body, regents, administration,
I acuity or staff.
I Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters
Impress the opinions of the authors.
I Contact the opinion editor for information on
lUbmitting guest columns.
:ercise builds
ore than firm
highs, flat gut
forking out, eating right
ill help stop 'wheezing'
I aja
I HENDERSON
Columnist
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I could feel the eyes of my favorite professor
and the entire class focused on me. I had
just finished the long journey to class, and
the final, treacherous stairs to the fourth
floor of the Academic building had left me
completely winded.
As I finished wheezing and looked around
for an empty seat, it occurred to me that
something had to be done, I needed to whip
into shape. So, I decided to take a walk on
the wild side and look into this fitness thing.
All it takes is a brief glance at the TV to
I discover America’s love affair with exercise
| gadgets and diets. You can find a staggering
| variety of contraptions that promise miracle
results to firm those thighs, smooth that tum-
| my or firm that derriere. It appears like the
fitness craze of the 80s, that precarious
decade in which the phrase “no pain, no gain”
was law, has continued well into the 90s.
However, appearances can be deceiving.
According to a 1990 National Health Inter
view Survey completed by the National Cen
ter for Health Statistics, overall participation
in strenuous activity and exercise declined 10
percent between 1985 and 1990. This figure
certainly does not mean that all Americans
are idly sitting on their posteriors inhaling
fat products, but it does show that the exer
cise trend is changing.
“No!” You might be shouting. “I see peo
ple running like maniacs on campus all the
time.” Well, to those of you who are straining
with this idea right now,-1 will admit that
this was one of my initial reactions, also.
I thought exercise was on the rise among
college students. Wrong!
Data shows that exercise is declining for
all age groups, spread across broad demo-
| graphic categories like age, race, income, gen
der and the like. In addition, jogging is one of
the activities that has declined the most.
What is the reason for the decline in exer
cise? No one knows for sure, but there are
several factors that probably contributed.
These include the faddish here-today-gone-to-
morrow quality of some exercise activities,
lack of time because of a busy schedule, crime
concerns, funding cutbacks to public
sportq/exercise institutions and mixed signals
from the media regarding the benefits - or
detriments -of certain exercises.
So, how fit are you? To find the real an
swer to this question, we will now engage in a
small activity. First, find your pulse by
putting a finger on the inside of one of your
wrists or on the side of your neck. Then,
count the number of beats you feel for 10 sec
onds. Multiply this number by six, and you
have your resting pulse.
OK, Ags, now for the diagnosis! If your
resting pulse was below 40, you’re probably a
Olympic runner or the like. If it was 40,
you’re as tight as a trained swimmer. If it
was below 60, you’re either an athlete or in
impeccable shape. If it was between 60 and
80, you are about average. If your resting
pulse was higher than 80 ... Well ...
OK! Since most of us are not as fit as we
thought we were, I planned ahead and sought
advice for us. I talked with Jana Watts, a for
mer student who received her degree in exer
cise technology and who is now the aerobics
coordinator for a local health club. She of
fered several helpful tips to keep our bodies
strong and happy:
• Rest! Although the recommended
eight hours of sleep for an active adult is
probably seen as an unrealistic luxury to
the college student, try to come as close to
that figure as you possibly can. Also, try
mini-naps in your idle time between class
es if you are exhausted.
• Drink at least eight glasses of water
a day. Texas heat can get pretty intense, so
try to carry water or other fluids with you for
that trek to class.
• Stretch your tired muscles often -
you can even try little stretches at your desk
during class. Little ones, Ags - not full-blown
calisthenics!
• Walk, don’t ride, to class when pos
sible and take the stairs.
• Wear good shoes for all that walking
you will be doing now.
• Skim the fat out of your diet - easy at
that potato bar in Sbisa!
• Chill out. Try to lower your stress level.
Let’s face it- exercise is not all fun. It re
quires work, dedication and most of all, time.
As college students, we all lead hectic lives,
perhaps even too hectic. Still, 30 minutes
three times a week is all that is needed to
keep you in top form. Now, is that too much
to ask? See y’all in Deware!
Aja Henderson is a sophomore
finance major
Appearances do matter in relationships
Unfortunately, looks often
change the way people feel
F irewater and Yuppie Boy are friends of
mine. Firewater is a party girl. My friends
and I place bets on how many guys she’ll
mug with on any given night. She is wild and
free. She belongs to the world.
Yuppie boy is quite different. He wears glasses
and at least looks like he studies all the time. He
worked in a Yuppie store in a wealthy part of
Houston and is a hopeless romantic. He’s looking
for a commitment, but he found Firewater. Their
relationship reads like a script for a bad sitcom,
but there is an important lesson here.
Firewater was afraid of appearances, and
Yuppie Boy did not fit her image. She liked
Yuppie Boy, but just couldn’t help
thinking about other people’s
impressions. I told her it is human
nature to judge people based on
appearances and to worry what other
people think. But understanding human
nature doesn’t mean we can exempt
ourselves from it.
I also told her not worry about what
other people think. She knows him and that
is all that’s important. Then I told her my story.
A friend of mine, Ashley, who goes to an all
girls school in another state showed my letters to
her suite-mate, “Jane”. Needless to say Jane was
either charmed by my eloquence or extremely
bored, so she wrote me a letter. We became pen
pals and got to know each other well. After a
while we even started working up a large phone
bill, and she started talking about coming to
MICHAEL
LANDAUER
asess®
Columnist
Houston over
the summer to
visit Ashley
and me.
I had sent Jane a picture of myself and was
waiting for a picture of her in return. Ashley never
told me if Jane was pretty or not. Well, after
exchanging three more letters I finally got a picture.
I don’t want to use the word ugly. I really don’t.
But OK, she was ugly. Maybe not to everyone, but
she was certainly not my type — my type being a girl
who is not physically threatening to me. I was
miserable about the way I felt. It was even worse
telling Ashley.
We like to think we are too intellectual to
judge people by appearance. We link such
shallow judgments with our high school
days. Unfortunately, life is not like that.
Through this whole experience I formed idealistic
views about appearances. People are what they are
inside, not outside. It is their personalities, not then-
appearances on which we should base our opinions
on. Jane is a good person. That’s all that matters.
Yuppie Boy is a great guy and Firewater enjoys his
company. What more does she need?
We would like to think that we are too
intellectual to judge people based on their
appearance. We link that kind of shallow
judgment with our high school days and like to
consider ourselves open-minded college students
now. But, unfortunately, life is not like that.
I have talked to people who have said they have
become more racist since coming to A&M. This kind
of judgment is not just human nature, it is also a
result of ignorance. I had never seen blatant racism
until I came here. Just this year a Hispanic friend
of mine was made to tuck his shirt in before being
allowed into a popular club. Yuppie Boy was with
us, looking as dapper as ever, and he was allowed
to keep his shirt untucked.
At a party in a suite on campus, people were
packed into one room while the other room was
virtually empty. A friend of mine wanted to find
out why so she peeked her head into the adjoining
room. There were a few black girls in there —
alone. When the girls left, the other room filled up
and nothing ever was said about it.
It seems so simple. We should be capable of
avoiding such judgments. We should outgrow our
ignorance. If this world were perfect, it would be no
problem. I would know what to say to my pen pal,
and Firewater would not think twice about the
strange looks she gets when she’s with Yuppie Boy.
We like to think we would never be so shallow, but
we don’t always do what we know is right. I’m not
sure we can.
The Firewater - Yuppie Boy match has hit hard
times. Firewater, driven by a fear of commitment,
made a run for the “Most Dates to Midnight Yell”
record. And as for Jane — I feel bad and I really need
to write her back one of these days.
High ideals are great. It’s just a shame how reality
gets in the way.
Michael Londoner is a sophomore
journalism major
-m!' _
Should Texas prisons ban smoking?
Yes —
If Carol Vance, chairman of the board for
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
has his way, criminals will leave prison more
than rehabilitated. They will leave the prison
system free from nicotine addictions as well.
Vance has proposed a total ban on all
tobacco products, including cigarettes and
chewing tobacco. He says it is his goal to eliminate tobacco, both to rid felons of
addictions and to protect prisoners who don’t smoke.
“I think this protects everyone from having to smoke other people’s smoke,”
said Vance. Second-hand smoke, as you can imagine, is a real problem in the
prisons, where ventilation in cells is poor.
Forcing prisoners to quit smoking may seem harsh and even dangerous, but
Vance isn’t the first prison administrator to come up with such a plan. Smoking
bans have been implemented in other state prison systems in the past.
Closer to home, the Stevenson unit of the Texas prison system in Cuero
is already smoke-free. Harris County also implemented a successful ban in
their county jail.
“Some of our people took a pretty pessimistic view and were trying to prepare
for inmate unrest but there was none,” said Captain Don
McWilliams of the Harris County Sheriffs Department. ^
It was actually an exceptionally smooth
transition; not a single uprising occurred.
Some may tell that you smoking is one of the few ~ ,
pleasures left for felons to enjoy; taking that away „
would make prison life intolerable.
It may be one of their few pleasures, besides color
television sets, but prison comfort shouldn’t be our main
concern. They are entitled, certainly, to adequate shelter,
clothing, food and water, but prisoners park many of their ‘rights’
at the door when they are convicted of a crime.
It seems ironic that one of the loudest voices of the
opposition to the ban belongs to William Spaulding, a
prisoner convicted of rape in two separate counties. He thinks
it is unfair to take his cigarettes away.
What is truly unfair is that innocent women suffered at the
hands of this violent criminal. He is in no position to gripe.
Yes, the smoking ban may initially cause discomfort for
both the prisoners and guards (no special treatment for state
employees) who are required to give up their habits, but it
will also give them an opportunity to develop self-discipline
and control.
While the harmful affects of smoking are debatable, no one can argue that
abstinence from tobacco products is bad for one’s health. Vance will not be
hurting anyone if his proposal is implemented.
The goal to free all prisoners from addictions is a noble one. He is aiming for
true rehabilitation. The men and women who leave the prison will be better for
giving up their addictive habits.
Erin Hill is a senior English major
“I don’t think that this should he shoved
down any body’s throat... the whole restriction
is based on someone’s personal opinion. ” - a
sergeant at the Brazos County Jail
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine
a prison full of docile, smiling, smoke-free
criminals who will emerge fully rehabilitated
from all of their evil ways and addictions upon release. Now, open your eyes and
face reality. A law banning smoking in the prisons might be construed as a smart
political move, but it would only create a legal minefield.
The rationale behind this whole silly mess is that all prisoners should be rid of
their addictions upon their release. The key word here is addictions. It is obvi
ously not debatable that smoking is detrimental to one’s health, but the scientific
community is debating the issue of whether smoking is an addiction and not just
a habit. There has been no conclusive evidence that it is an addiction, and there
appears to be no scholarly consensus on this question. This makes the entire “ad
diction” rationale nothing more than an inflated personal opinion.
In addition to the fact that this proposal is based largely on opinion rather
than conclusive facts, the constitutional concerns here are enormous.
The Fourteenth Amendment prevents the government from denying citizens
equal protection. It could be argued that banning prison
ers from smoking violates this equal protection clause.
Any law requires the government to justify why it took
away a right from a person, or from a group of people in
this case. Smoking is certainly not a right that is explicit
ly stated in our Constitution, but rights deemed funda
mental for equal protection disputes are not clear.
Judicial decisions have reached far beyond the ones
usually reserved for due process. This precedent
paves a way for the argument that smoking is an ac
tivity that is legal for the general population, but
stripped from the criminal one.
This idea also dissipates the topic of secondhand
smoke. Sure, prisoners can sue other prisoners on
grounds that they are suffering from the ill effects of sec
ondhand smoke. However, that alone would not be
grounds to ban smoking in prisons across the board. The
general public is allowed to smoke, and a free person can
expose many more people to secondhand smoke than a
prisoner, who has highly limited movement.
A smoking ban would face scrutiny in the courts under
the Equal Protection clause. The economic implications
are staggering, as well. Texas would have to consider highly probable costs from
legal challenges, as well as the cost of implementing and maintaining a program
to help the prisoners quit smoking.
The true end benefits of a smoking ban in prisons are questionable, the means
economically ignorant at best and unconstitutional at worst. A smoking ban is a
high-minded idea wrapped in bad plan of action.
Aja Henderson is a sophomore finance major