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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1995)
Tuesday • April 11, 1995 PINION . The Battalion • Page 13 The Battalion Established in 1893 the editorial boarrl. 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 chief Jay Robbins Senior Managing editor Heather Winch Managing editor for Business Sterling Hayman Opinion editor Erin Hill Asst, opinion editor Editorial Vanity unfair A national magazine insults Texas A&M University and its students. The May Vanity Fair features an article which makes several direct and indirect insults toward Texas A&M University. The magazine, in a feature piece on the presidential can didacy of Texas Sen. and former A&M faculty member Phil Gramm, saw fit to question the quality of the school and the pride of its students. The first insulting reference at tacked the credibility of both Gramm and the University. The article states that Gramm “promoted himself from an unknown economics professor at a second-rate university ...” It would be interesting to find out what Vanity Fair’s definition of “sec ond-rate” is. Apparently, oth ers would disagree with their version. George Bush, the for mer President of the United States, obvi ously doesn’t believe that A&M is second- rate. He chose A&M over every other uni versity in the nation for the home of The George H. W. Bush F*res- idential Library. A&M has one of the high est enrollment of National Merit Scholars in the nation. Obviously, they don’t consider A&M second-rate. Texas A&M’s faculty is made up of Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize- winning professors. This is not a sign of a sec ond-rate university. A&M is the oldest public institu tion in the state of Texas, and its en rollment continues to expand each year. Texas A&M University was the first institution in the nation to be awarded a Land, Sea and Space Grant. A&M also provided more WWII soldiers than any other insti tution in the country. Vanity Fair should have probably checked the facts on this assertion. A&M’s record speaks for itself. The article then went on to claim that A&M has, “a kind of underdog pride that suited [Gramm] to a T.” It is obvious that the author of the article knows nothing about the pride and spirit of the student body of Texas A&M University. Aggies take pride in many things, including the quality of an A&M education, the friendliness of the campus popula tion, the wide array of A&M’s suc cessful activities and programs, time- honored traditions that are recog nized throughout the world and the camaraderie that bonds all A&M stu dents together. Many words can be used to de scribe the pride of Texas A&M stu dents, but “underdog” is not one of them. V step further by say ing that Aggies are the “perennial rivals of the more presti gious University of Texas ...” Perhaps the au thor should spend some time on each of the two campuses. Maybe then they would better be able to assess the prestige of each one. Surely, their conclusion would be different. It is a shame that a third-rate journalism publication finds it neces sary to distort the image of a univer sity and its students in order to help support its views of a political figure. Fortunately, the pride, credibility and dignity of Texas A&M University will continue to stand on its own — despite the tabloid-type, sensational- istic journalism skills of Vanity Fair. If anyone is interested in contact ing Vanity Fair, the phone number and address are listed below. All comments and/or criticisms should be welcomed. Vanity Fair 1 (212) 880-8800 350 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10017 Norman Rockwell police force a fallacy Kyle Littlefield Columnist R emember “The Andy Griffith Show?” Re member how the police department consisted of Andy, Barney and, at night, Otis the drunk? Things sure have changed. A different wave of cop shows including “CHiPs,” “Hill Street Blues” and now “NYPD Blue” have arrested our attention since then. The police, as depicted on television, have become tougher and maybe a little less friendly. If you are one of those who believes that art imitates life, then it would make sense to say that the police on television are not much different than the police in reality. Poor Otis the drunk would be not be treated as hospitably on television shows like “Cops,” which is an edited glimpse into the lives of real law enforcement officers. Picking up a newspaper will clue you in to the fact that police aren’t known for rescuing kittens from trees anymore, but rather for shooting dogs. Ouch! OK, that’s really not fair to say, considering the Galveston County Police officers who were accused of using a small, stray dog for target practice were acquitted. However, it il lustrates a good point. Both of the officers expressed concern over the certainty of their careers as policemen after the tri al. If these men were perceived as innocent, then there would be no problem. The public sees all of these negative things, and it doesn’t matter if the officers were later cleared of charges, because the damage is already done. When Detective Mark Fuhrman denied planting evidence in the Simpson trial, just the mere questioning of his charac ter was enough for the public to change their views of him. We don’t have to know if he did it or not; it’s all about doubt. True, police officers aren’t the only ones who are affected by this phenomenon of ignoring verdicts and assuming guilt. But the police have it harder because of the nature of their work. Naturally, it is difficult for individuals to not be bitter to wards the police when they get a speeding ticket or any other citation. It cannot be a very popular position when you are the one that enforces the law. Remember when you were in elementary school? No one was too fond of the hall monitor that wore the ribbon and took names on a clipboard. And so it is with the police. For instance, the Los Angeles Police Department is still trying to live down the Rodney King incident, which tainted the LAPD in the eyes of the public. Most of the public out rage that has been directed towards the LAJPD stems from apparent misuses of power. Those who have power over us usually are not our favorite people. What has been a downfall to many police officers is that they misinterpret authority as power. And when one officer succumbs to this misinterpretation, the whole lot of “boys in blue” get a bad reputation. It seems that the public does not distinguish between po lice departments but rather thinks of all police departments collectively. When Mark Fuhrman’s character is questioned, the character of the entire LAPD is questioned, which in turn questions the character of all law enforcement officers. Administrative Lieutenant of the College Station Police De partment Scott McCollum says it is unfortunate that the police get a bad reputation from all of these negative incidents. The public does not always get a chance to see all of the good things the police department is involved with, he says. “Law enforcement is equal to arrests and citations to many of the public. However, police are facilitators of problem solv ing, counselors ... not just law enforcers,” McCollum says. He says that the College Station Police Department is fortunate the local media does a good job of covering the work of the police. Each year, the College Station Police Department surveys a sample of residents to see how satisfied they are with the total operation of the police department. The most recent poll reports that 94 percent of College Station residents gave the CSPD a rating of “satisfied or higher.” McCollum attributes this good report to the fact that the police department realizes it is a public service profession. It gears activities toward the public when making decisions. But it is the police’s job to take action when the law is bro ken, he says. McCollum says that he expects the 1994 poll to be just as positive, if not more so. And even if the results of the poll are positive, I doubt Otis the drunk will have a place to sleep. Kyle Littlefield is a senior journalism major fbk ?R€6It£NT. Radio DJ needs stern lecture “S Jenny Magee COLUMNIST top it. I can’t stand it anymore. Cough — gasp — laugh. Please, please ... I can’t breathe.” We’ve all been there be fore — choking on laughter, hunched over and begging for mercy from our tickle tormentor. What began as a frolicking game ends in painful hysteria when we reach that point where being tickled is tor ture. And frankly, at that point it just isn’t funny anymore. Recently, the risque radio disc jockey Howard Stern outraged the mourners of the murdered Tejano music star Selena when he ridiculed her music in a sup posed attempt at humor. The Fort Worth-Star Telegram re ported on April 6 that during his na tionwide radio show. Stern said, “This music (Selena’s) does nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul ... Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth.” In addition to this comment. Stern played Selena’s music with the sounds of gun shots in the background. Wow! What an entertaining guy. Not only did Stern’s comments hold Tejano music up to ridicule, but he also aggra vated the raw emotions of fans still try ing to come to terms with their hero ine’s death. In a Houston Chronicle article. State Rep. Diana Davila said, “Howard Stern has gone beyond his discourteous and uncivil nature, and has begun to perpet uate a terrible disrespect for our com munity, the family of Selena and the young people in our community to which she performed a great service and acted as an immense source of inspira tion to succeed.” Stern doesn’t have to like or listen to Selena’s music. But he is more than welcomed by the First amendment and fair comment doctrine to voice his aver sion to her music. His comments are not of questionable legality, they are of questionable taste. Given the fact that Stern is a DJ, one can imply that makes him an entertainer. It would seem logical to assume that his job is to entertain, not pore lemon juice in the wounds of hurting people. Of course, supposedly Stern’s great appeal is that he is controversial and tasteless. But, can he really rational ize a chuckle from three or four totally unfeeling people as just compensation for enraging the entire Hispanic com munity? Perhaps, Stem wasn’t trying to be fun ny. Perhaps he was just voicing an opin ion. But, we live in a volatile society. And, in a period of waning tolerance for the PC movement, many view group outrage as just another plea for special attention. But, the fact is words are powerful and often painful. No semi-compassionate person would walk up to someone who was having a really bad day and knowingly say, “My, you look really bad today.” Why should Tejano music fans have to listen to a radio deejay bash Selena a couple of days after her murder? Humor is an interesting phenome non. Often laughter and pain are blurred from distinction. Psychologists have been prescribing laughter as an ef fective healing agent for emotionally straining situations for decades. Laughter allows people to release tension. Viewing a serious situation with a certain degree of levity helps us put emotional pain into perspective. And, comedians often help facilitate this process. Over spring break, I watched an episode of “Hard Copy” that dealt with comedians exploiting the O.J. Simpson case in their stand-up routines. Appar ently there are more O.J. acts now than rej ected jurors. One of the comedians interviewed by Hard Copy defended the use of the O.J. case by saying that comedians make fun of everybody and everything. The man sounded as if we should all rejoice in the great strides the comedic industry has made in equally offending everyone. Humor, especially satire has always played an important part in American history. Political cartoons, satiric writings and comedians help keep the powerful in line and the people informed. Upton Sinclair changed the entire meat packing industry with his satiric novel, “The Jungle.” However, there is a major difference in Sinclair’s attack on the meat packing industry and Stem’s attack on Selena. The great atrocities that took place in the meat packing industry of the In dustrial Revolution could and needed to be changed. Selena can’t come back to life and No semi-compassionate person would walk up to someone and knowingly say "My, you look really bad today." alter her music. It is highly doubtful that she or her fans would want her music to be redone to Stem’s liking. Under the Fair Comment doctrine, journalists (and thus radio DJs) are protected when they express their opinions about a public performer’s work. Given the fact that the Ameri can justice system granted journal ists this right, they possess the power of discretion. It is their job to determine when a tickle is a tickle, and when a tickle be comes torture. Jenny Magee is a junior English and journalism major MAIL CALL Illegal drug problems cannot be ignored In response to Jason Carr’s article, “Marijuana Users Needlessly Hounded, “ Let us state again your ‘revised’ Aggie Code of Honor: “Aggies do not cheat, lie, steal, or turn their fellow Ags in to the repressive state apparatus.” Now, you must have some sort of in telligence to make it to graduate school, but your ideas definitely lack such insight. You say we should sit passively and ignore the wrongs committed on this campus while condemning those who witness such illegal actions and who want to preserve a sense of morality? You say we should sit passively and allow drug users to bask in their ‘recre ational’ activity? What sort of twisted philosophy do your ideas come from? If we sit passive ly and ignore their actions, then the problem will escalate further. True, the drug problem faced in America is al most insurmountable, but let us do our part to at least keep A&M free from such problems. Kenneth A. Delling Class of ’95 Pregnancy centers show neighborly love I agree with Elizabeth FVeston that “heckling, taunting, and terrorizing women as they approach abortion clin ics,”is not ‘neighborly love.’ I also agree that abortion is a “tragic choice.” Preston claims that Warren Gilbert needs someone to remind him of the Ag gie Code of Honor and of human decen cy because of his support of the “das tardly and disgusting ways” of Opera tion Rescue. I can defend neither William Gilbert nor Operation Rescue for their doings in Dallas. However, I would like to know FVe- ston’s definition of human decency. It seems to me that she deplores violence outside of the clinic, yet supports the vi olent death inside of the clinic. The $75 million in tax money the Clin ton administration has pledged to Planned Parenthood International over the next five years should be allocated to Crisis Pregnancy Centers which provide alternatives to abortion. These centers show ‘neighborly love’ by assisting women, and their mates, in handling unintended pregnancies. Justin Hester Graduate Student Jonna Hester Class of ’94 Don't stereotype non- regs by actions of few Colacicco’s April 7 letter was quick to accuse “all non-regs who live on the Quad” of not observing the raising and lowering of the American flag. He felt that we needed to “catch a clue” after seeing the hundreds of CTs out there each morning and evening. Well, I was born into a military fam ily. I have lived my entire life observing these and other military traditions. I’m sure I understood and observed these traditions long before Colacicco began playing soldier. In the future, please don’t stereotype all people by the actions of a few. Beth Hicks Class of ’97 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 013 Reed McDonald Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvm 1 .tamu.edu Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111