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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1995)
Monday • April 24, 1995 ^ organj. 11 be held i Blocker, tion call vill beheld ‘B Faiths ‘formation a: Pledge Id at 6:3() Karen Sev ipplicatior. it 8:30 p.ir. 'e informa- , 3-7217. Successful .vill beheld i : 3der. For 145-5139, grams Of- interested ested in be- ■om 1-1:45 n. in 154 ■e informa- eeting will i 410 Rud erested ir, nd fellow- to attend, i call Dan Club: A the SWT eld at 8:30 ! or more in- Harrod at ! ling Ser- ent Walk- pointmenl | > seen on a basis from rson Hall, call Juan 134. rrs: Grout at G. Rolls nore infer 6-2464. lion serve udent and ities. He* » later than of the do- ation dead- events and s Up. ifyw ase call tte -n rk as: g- Diagnosed with Junioritus Fear accompanies transition to senior year M y roommate and I have discovered a new disease — it is called Junioritis. It’s been around for a long time, and it deserves some recognition so that all of the sophomores who can think about nothing but being able to whoop next year will know what they are really in for. Your junior year is when reality officially slaps you in the face; up until now, it’s just kinda been tapping you on the shoulder. It is a time when you realize that the warm, safe cocoon of college will be ejecting you in a year (or two, or three). One can live off of student loans only so long. I hear you have to pay them back, and not some day — immediately, and in large, painful doses. Those doses are especially painful if you have a life of journalism salaries to look forward to. If you are like most class of 96’ers I know, myself includ ed, — in other words, if you are a year from graduating and have not co-oped, gone by the career center, or know where it is, or taken the GREl/GMAT — your junior year is the time to OFFICIALLY start freaking out. My apartment has become the unofficial career center. En tire afternoons are spent on the phone with graduate schools, advisers and potential internships. I remember the days when we were content to lay around watching Ricki Lake. “The Future” was the furthest thing from our minds. Now that we are almost seniors, it is the one thing we cannot escape. I’m sure “the future” would not be such a frightening thing if I had an inkling as to where I will be a year from now — homelessness and unemployment are not pleasant things to think about. Neither is continuing my part-time job a day past graduation. I can’t pinpoint the time Junioritis was first diagnosed. I think I was asked “What do you want to do when you get out of college?” one too many times and something snapped. I cannot even imagine what Senioritis is like. If it’s worse than this, I might not make it to next May. I don’t think this is paranoia. Life up until now has been safe and orderly. Every significant change has followed an understood pattern. For example, I knew that I would to to college after high school. Mom and dad would send money, and I could come home on the weekends. I knew that would be how it would happen since I was about seven. I had years to come to grips with this change. Now I’m facing the possibility of shipping off to the ends of the earth to do who knows what with the possibility of seeing friends and family only once a year. And, to make it worse, the apron strings will be cut off completely. Needless to say, these are not comforting things to contemplate. Despite my fears, I don’t plan to hide in my closet after I graduate. I look forward to whatever great adventures lie ahead of me. Half the excitement of going to college was knowing that it was my ticket out of Smalltown, U.S.A, and on to bigger and more exciting places. I just wish I knew where my ticket was taking me. In an attempt to keep myself from going completely in sane, I’ve been trying to dwell more on the positive aspects of becoming a senior. I don’t have to tell you that they are. I order my ring in three weeks. I’m actually getting the classes I want through telephone registration. And, of course, I’ll get first pick at tickets from the t.u. game. Sorry, sophomores, this is one privilege you won’t be looking forward to your senior year. The senior year is not something to dread, but living in limbo for an extended period of time is. As the job market gets more competitive, things are only going to get worse for college seniors. But I’m determined to not let Junioritis or Senioritis get the best of me during my last official year as a kid. I’m going to enjoy my last year, butT’m sure I’ll it much more when I get a job. Then, I’ll be able to start complaining about what a drag it is to have my future mapped out for me. Amy Uptmor is a junior journalism major The new of terrorism I f there is one thing in this world that truly disgusts me, it’s terrorism. Terror ists attempt to force their mo tifs on the world governments by violently attacking the weak and vulnerable. They don’t give a damn who they hurt. Children? Ah, to hell with children. They mean nothing to a terrorist. In fact, the more innocent children killed the bigger the news story. They’ll tell you it’s all done in the name of some righteous cause, of course. Causes, however, that tend to be as vague and shadowy as the terrorists themselves. We’ve all heard of them. The Shi’ites, PLO, IRA and other groups are notorious for trying to get their “causes” across. Every now and then they remind us of how ruthless and cowardly they are, by hijacking airplanes, setting off bombs and shooting innocent people to death. Real heroic stuff, you know. The bad news is is that up until now these atrocities have been rather in significant. Violent, but insignificant. A bomb here, a hijacking there, nothing to make the world stop. Well, that changed a few weeks ago. On March 27, 1995, terrorism crossed the darkest of thresholds and into the world of mass destruction. It was quick and simple. An un known man walked onto a Japanese subway, messed around with a pack age, and then abruptly left. The same scene was played out si multaneously in four other train cars. When it was over, ten people had died and over 5,000 people were injured do to a deadly nerve gas called Sarin. In this one instant the rules changed. Now unconvention al weapons are on the shop ping list of international ter rorism. Weapons that could conceivably target not just hundreds of people but thou sands, even millions! The good news is — if it can be called good news — is that for now, the terrorists appear to be only on the chemical weapons aisle. But reports say they’re shopping quickly. This attack happened in Japan and Japan is far away from us, right? So the question is, how real is this new terrorist threat to us? Well, we all know after watching the news the other day that terrorism has defimtely landed in our country. This time it was a car bomb. But are we at risk now for a more po tentially devastating chemical attack? Marvin Cetron, president of a Vir ginia-based think tank and advisor on terrorism to the Pentagon, told Time Magazine that a chemical or biological attack on the U.S. is becoming more and more likely. He thinks it could happen “within the next five years.” Representative Glen Browder, an Alabama Democrat, said that “it’s just a matter of time before it occurs in the U.S”. If Browder and Cetron are right, and this kind of terrorism has the po tential to be let loose in our country, then the next question is:What are we planning to do about it? Time Magazine said that the FBI and CIA are spending more and more money on counter terrorism. But they also say that preventing an attack from a determined terrorist group is al most impossible. For instance, it has been reported that the Tokyo police had numerous warning signs of an imminent chemical attack, but they were still caught off guard when it occurred. I can think of only one way to stop these fanatics who would kill our chil dren. Total authority should be given to our counter terrorist agencies to be come fanatics themselves. That means total authority for counter terrorists to hunt down, infil trate and break up all suspected groups before they strike. That’s total authority without the fear of repercussions, I might add. Now, there will be people out there who will adamantly protest this. They will scream and yell about potential civil rights violations, police brutality, big brother government, overspending, and so forth. Kinda like during that Branch Da- vidian thing. These people are a detriment be cause they cause hesitation in our counter terrorists groups. And that puts us all in danger. But when the first homemade atom bomb is detonated in a major city or 60,000 people are nerve gassed at America’s favorite pastime, then I think these people will shut up. With this terrifying new threat, the game changes and so must the players. It all boils down to a simple analo gy. Terrorists are like cockroaches. They’re nasty little creatures that hide in the shadows, and scatter when the lights come on. You step on one, and another one ap pears. So when your house becomes in fested you have no choice but to call the exterminators, who exercise no mercy. Adam Hill is a sophomore anthropology major Adam Hill Guest Columnist Television programs set bad examples for youth I don’t want to alarm anybody but the televi sion programs that we watched as kids did not improve our minds. Even though shows like “Mam mal,” “Facts of Life” and “Misfits of Science” were entertaining the truth is they were not educational, us scored higher on the SAT because we watched “Growing Pains” or “Who’s the Boss” religiously. The sad truth is that the television of the late 70s and early 80s only taught us bad things. You might think seeing every episode of “B.J. and the Bear” made you a better person but it didn’t. It probably stunted your emotional and psychological growth by teaching you a bunch of lies and half-truths. Don’t think for a second that “B.J. and the Bear” is the only television program guilty of this though. Any cartoon or situ ational comedy that we watched between the ages of three — 14 has caused us ir reparable harm. “Scooby Doo” — Taught us that doing drugs was okay by showing Scooby and Shaggy stoned in every episode. Their chronic laziness and never-ending munchies can only be explained by heavy pot use. It’s time we faced the facts, Scoo by snacks were marijuana brownies. The show also taught us that having sex be fore marriage was all right. It didn’t mat ter the situation, Fred and Daphne want ed each other and they didn’t have any rings on their fingers. Fred: “Well, that evil glow-in-the-dark robot has to be around here somewhere. Let’s split up and find him..” Scooby (slurring speech): “I’m hungry.” Fred: “Shaggy, you and Scooby go check out that spooky barn. Thelma, you go down and check the basement. Daphne and me Eire going to go check the back of the Mystery Machine to see if he’s hiding there.” Daphne (purring): “Oh Fred.” Shaggy (staring at ceiling): “Cool man, we’ve been wearing the same clothes since this show started three years ago. Zoinks!” “Josie and the Pussycats” — I think the name says it all. Basically an all-girl band functioning as animated whores for adolescent boys. Taught young girls they would be considered prettier if they had tails. “What’s Happening” — We learned that fat people (i.e. Rerun, Shirley) better be funny or we really have no use for them. It also wronged in teach ing us that a man will not get beat up if he says “Hey, hey, hey, hey” more than once in a month. MacGyver— Taught us that you could save the world from destruction by using ordinary items. Mac: “These nuclear warheads Eire set to destroy the world in 45 seconds. I’ve got to do something. Janie, check that box for materials. Janie (sexy female appesiring only in this episode): “ All that’s here is fishing line, gum wrappers and an autographed picture of K.C. and the Sunshine Band.” Mac: “Perfect, we can stop the war heads now. Qood thing I put this broken pencil in my pocker earlier in the show r or the rest of that stuff would be totsdly use less to us.” “Different Strokes” — Taught us the only way black children can get ahead in 5 life is to live with white families. “Webster”— Taught us that “Different ; Strokes” was the best show on television at exploiting black children. “Dukes of Hazzard” — We were in structed all police officers are bumbling ‘ idiots and should not be respected. The speed limit, seat belts and other aspects of car safety were shown not to be that important. The worst thing Uncle Jessie and the boys taught us was always help people no matter what federal law they have just broken. Bo: “I don’t care if she is our first cousin, did you see those shorts she was * wearing today?” Luke: “Oh yeah! Man, I wish we lived in Arkansas.” Uncle Jessie: “Boys, I just got word that Boss Hogg is in trouble. It seems . he helped some fellows steal all the gold from Ft. Knox and now he’s being double-crossed. We’ve got to help him avoid prison so we can save him next week.” Bo: “All right, we’ll do it. But only if we can unnecessarily jump everything in ‘ Hazzard county with the General Lee.” Those are just few examples of how television has ruined our lives. It’s no . 7 time to start the healing process. I ho a- 7 there are some excellent doctors on ER. £1- David Winder is a jun ior -' journalism major David Winder Sports Editor Not one of 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. EDITORIAL BOARD Mark Smith Editor in chief Jay Robbins Heather Winch Senior Managing Managing editor editor for Business Sterling Hayman Opinion editor Erin Hill Asst, opitiion editor — m M SMii §s§®!1 CALL Tubularman sexist, trivializes violence This letter is in response to the com ic/advertisement that appeared on Wednesday, April 19, which depicted Tubularman telling a boy to “tell your mom to shut-up or I’ll spank her like I did last night.” This comic is blatantly sexist and extremely offensive. It per petuates the sexual objectification and degradation of women which is all too common in our society. Comics like this have no place in a college paper. Kimberly Thomas Class of ’95 • I am surprised that The Battalion printed the offensive ad for Tubular man in its April 19 issues. The cartoon for this ad depicted Tubu- 5 1 arm an responding to a young boy whose mother had made some derogatory re marks about the so-called “superhero.” ; Tubularman says he will spank the boy’s mother as he (Tubularman) had done the night before. In a world which has just witnessed the wanton destruction in Oklahoma, it is unfortunate to publicize the trivial- ization of violence. Dr. Sara Alpern History Professor The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will j print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 i words or less and include the author's name, class and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for j length, style, clarity and accuracy. Letters may be sub- 1 mitted in person at 013 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: Texas A&M University Batt@tarnvml.tamu.edu College Station, TX 77843-1 111