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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1995)
Monday • March 27, 1995 The Battalion • Page 11 Affirmative action draws scrutiny Republicans attempt to annihilate much-needed proactive program A ffirmative action gives all the good jobs to minorities. It keeps the most qualified persons from getting the positions they deserve. It does noth ing but create bias. It should be abolished. That is all I ever heard about affirmative action while growing up. Everything I ever applied for that a person of color received instead of me — be it a scholarship or a job — was blamed on equal opportunity programs the government created to make things “more fair.” Then a study was published last week that blew “every one’s” results right out of the water. It seems that affirmative action isn’t nearly as much about race as it is about gender. The Labor Department discovered that, of all the minori ties affirmative action is meant to help, it has helped white women the most. Nevertheless, congressmen are trying to abolish affirma tive action because, as Bob Dole put it, “this race-counting game has gone too far.” I wonder if Mr. Dole and others will reconsider the worth of this program now that is has come to light that it has had the most impact on the while race ... even if it is “just women.” It will be a shame if this is the reason. But affirmative action deserves a chance because it gives people who have traditionally faced discrimination a better chance at getting many things they deserve. The United States has traditionally been dominated by white men. This is no secret. Open any history book and compare the number of white men you study to the number of women and minorities. No blame can be put on anyone for the past. But because of the past, women and minorities still need extra help at times to overcome the obstacles that remain in existence. Affirmative action will be needed in some form as long as bias exists in the work place, and that will most likely be a long time. What needs to be changed the most are the mis conceptions that go along with affirmative action. Besides the fact that many people have always believed that affirmative action is only for ethnic minorities, too many people also believe that those minorities see affirma tive action as a free ride. While it may be true that affirmative action in some in stances has been abused, most people affected by this pro- Amy Uptmor Columnist gram see it as an opportunity, not as a free ride. As a woman, I see affirmative action as a safeguard that will ensure me that potential employers will look at me and see a qualified individual, not just a woman. Affirmative action is not meant to take jobs away from the “best applicant.” It is meant to make sure that the opportunity to have that job is equal for all qualified applicants. And by saying “best applicant,” it is usually implied that a male, usually white, is being denied. This means that a bias is not being catered to because of affirmative action. That is the idea. Many affirmative action programs are voluntarily man dated by businesses. This self-policing could be out of para- As a woman, I see affirmative action as a safeguard that will ensure me that potential employers will look at me and see a quali fied individual, not just a woman. noia, but it could just as easily be done because many man agers are beginning to see how biased many businesses are, and they want to change it. Affirmative action is by no means the answer to all the problems of bias in the workplace, but it is a start. Affirmative action needs to be closely examined and changed to ensure that it truly does give equal opportunity to minorities. But it is a necessary programs, and it should not be done away with yet. Its good points definitely out weigh its bad ones. It is a shame that affirmative action is necessary, but equality does not exist. White males are still paid almost twice as much as white females and most blacks. Women and minorities need affirmative action to contin ue their advancement up the ladder of success — up to the place where white males sit alone. This climb could take years. But, opportunity-wise, women and minorities have centuries of catching up to do. Affirmative action is shaping up to be a key issue in the upcoming presidential race. It will be interesting to see what stand candidates will take on the issue. Hopefully, a person will be elected that sees that opportunity without af firmative action is not necessarily “equal opportunity.” Amy Uptmor is a junior journalism major The Battalion Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect 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. Mark Smith Editor in chid Jay Robbins Heather Winch Senior Managing Managing editor editor for Business Sterling Hayman Opinion editor Erin Hill Asst, opinion editor Editorial Women’s Week This achievements of women should be observed on the A&M campus. This week is Women’s History Week. It is a time to not only reflect on the past accomplishments of women, but to also increase the appreciation of the impacts that women continue to make on our society. It was not too long ago that women only could attend classes at Texas A&M if they were the daugh ters of faculty members. This prac tice changed under the Admin istration of A&M President James E. Rudder, and in 1963 A&M began to freely admit female students. Even so, it was years lat er before women were al lowed to join the Corps of Cadets. It was later still that they were allowed to march as part of the Aggie Band. ' It was only last year that Brooke Leslie became the first woman to be elected A&M’s Stu dent Body President. And the current A&M System Board of Regents has only three fe male members. Enrollment of women at A&M has increased over the years. However, women currently only make up 41.5 percent of the student population — a figure that lags be hind the female population of many other universities, as well as that state and nation. All of this indicates that A&M still has a ways to go before women are truly equally represented. How ever, A&M is hardly alone. The dis crimination against women is a problem that is still prevalent throughout our society. Sexism is still alive and well — in the workplace, educa tional institutions and in so ciety in general. This year’s Women’s His tory Week celebration empha sizes the importance of the women’s suffrage movement. What is unfortunate is that this is only the 75th an niversary of women’s suffrage. Our country is more than 200 years old, and yet women have only been allowed to vote for less than half of that time. Progress has been made. How ever, we cannot truly say that so ciety is yet gender blind. Students should be encouraged to participate in this week’s activities, and the University should attempt to better represent the female popula tion of this campus. MAIL CALL Story should have mentioned location of A&M International We have always thought that one of the first lessons a journalist learns when writing an article is to answer the who, what, when, where and why questions related to the story. However, on the front page of the March 20 is sue of The Battalion a story entitled “Bill speeds through Legislature, despite opposition” answered all of the above questions except the where? Although it was not printed, we know that Texas A&M International University is in Laredo, only because we are from there. Yet, those Aggies not familiar with South Texas were probably left wondering where. TAMIU is located. Was the exclusion of a fact so vi tal as the location done in error, or was it intentional. Carrisa M. Mardiros Andrea Ramirez Class of ’96 Looking at pictures of nude models compromises morals I am writing in response to Deric Walpole’s and Shelly Cormier’s letters on March 22. I agree 100 percent that Playboy is “highly detrimental” to those who look at the pictures of naked women. While looking at those pictures, one usually lusts after the women. Looking at another woman, besides your wife in a lustful way is just like com mitting adultery with her. This is detrimental to a relationship with a wife or even a girlfriend because one is having an affair in their mind with another woman. A person may say they can stop when they get a girlfriend, but I know that is not true because I used to think the same way, and I was proven wrong. As for Cormier, if she thinks that the women in Playboy represent art, then she should see the beauty in it. I assert that those poses are associated with sexual acts and are very far from good taste. Lust, pornography and orgies are wrong and are not beautiful. I agree that the presence of human bodies, a husband and a wife alone, is a very beautiful thing. However, when it is put out for others to see, it becomes disgusting and perverse. •Jonathan Snead Class of ’9 7 Darla Levens Class of ’95 Many differences can be found in Smith, Simpson proceedings Amy Uptmor’s column on March 20 was idiotic. Is it possible that she really has no understanding of and is perplexed by why people differ in their opinions of O.J. and Susan Smith? She obviously has no appreciation of our legal system and no logic skills. Susan Smith admitted to killing her two chil dren. She said she did it. Why should we have sympathy for her — regardless of her mental state? She admitted committing a cold-blooded murder, and she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Simpson, however, says he is not guilty. If Uptmor did not know, our legal system is based on an “innocent until proven guilty” model. This means that we cannot, in any fair way, say the Juice is guilty when he, in fact, says he is not. We must take his word as true until it can be disproven. This is what the court case is for. People sympathize with Simpson because they don’t want him to be guilty. People hate Smith because she has admitted guilt. It is Simpson’s right to be given a trial to de termine his innocence. We cannot prejudge him. This premature accusation by Uptmor is typical of her ill-informed half-truthed style. M.P. Catalina Class of ’95 Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan differ in political ideologies In the midst of David Taylor’s long polemic on liberal “closed-mindedness,” this liberal reader ac tually found a statement with which he could agree: “Gee,” Taylor writes, “not only am I closed- minded, I’m kinda’ slow, too.” No argument there. How else can one explain Taylor’s slight confu sion over the Republican contenders. Last time I checked The 700 Club, Pat Robert son was more concerned with spreading the Gospel to those poor, godless Russians that with seeking the Presidency. Might Taylor have confused Robertson with fel low-conservative Pat Buchanan? Leave it to a liberal to make sense of things here. The protest a Buchanan’s coming-out party con cerned Pat’s accusations that: 1) Washington is controlled by the Israel lobby 2) Figures for the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust are grossly overstated. Robertson loves Israel and the Jewish people; he just wants to convert them all. Buchanan rarely smiles, even when he is happy. Robertson always smiles, even when he finds our moral decay troubling. Buchanan has dark hair, Robertson has grey ... and so on. Taylor may want to read up on the facts next time he writes a column. Harry M. Klaff Graduate student A&M catered to Bush, Gramm to promote true Aggie spirit This letter is in response to Dwight Phillips’ March 21 letter about the peddling of the “Aggie” title to “pseudo-Aggies.” First of all, Phillips’ letter actually turned out to be about his political conflicts with Phil Gramm, and how Gramm compares with President Clinton. Give me a break. Instead of making tactless jokes about the Gov ernor of Texas, a former President, a Presidential candidate — originally from College Station, please do not forget — as well as the man for whom his alumni building is named, the Ross Vol unteer Company, the Aggie Band, the Corps of Cadets and even Reveille — who did also suppos edly represent him at one time — he should have addressed the issue, which was left loosely defend ed at best. However, my concern is for the apparent fact that he graduated from this University without grasping what the Aggie spirit truly means. One of the most sacred traits of a true Aggie is their ability to see the potential Aggie spirit in another, without regard for political affiliation or position. He obviously missed the purpose of A&M’s “court ing” the Bush family and Phil Gramm, which was not to roll out the red carpet for some undeserving politicians, but rather to pay respect to some fellow Americans by whom we have paid respect. The beautiful thing about Texas A&M is that we readily accept people into the Aggie family, regard less of what they can do for the University itself. Which leads me to ask — forget about Senator Gramm or President Clinton — what has Phillips done for “dear ol’ Aggieland.” Although these comments may read disrespect fully, I mean no offense. For I do believe the Aggie spirit is within him, but I believe it has been cor rupted by his ever-increasing political education and awareness. Kristafer Y. Jarboe Class of ’96 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, clarity and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 01 3 Reed McDonald. A valid student I.D. is required. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call Fax: (409) 845-2647 013 Reed McDonald E-mail: Batt@tamvm1 .tamu.edu Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111