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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1995)
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I toldoc er has his hat . let the refer- ach Jacque mplainedtotl ponents hav i to his playe rid. “Because nd grabbing he whole time the complain y’s system, 'onents betwet nd strike quid Lett tify at ns’ trial r (AP) —- Dal lefensive Sim laley and Ijco: red Monday: id jury's que. ; alleged sexua ing teamma: lounty Judg and ruled tk ions submittf jury lookini against the o' ■i is valid an; red. s scheduled: day, when ii : ar from Hal; week, the pa S of question isked, inciudif- rey had see th the girl had ever see'- il situation, ar; had told the; id her life. ’ attorneys a; ie of the mie ; i to be a tiak ie questions', certain item: w been, litnite I.^ett will ha' answerir.; ett’s attorne? )istrict Attor lion said tk 'der is limite; c list of que? hearing migr ho grand jur further. d jury felttk ;o those que : l in a need uestion, I su d go throug 'cess one mo: The Battalion ® Page 5 Chris Stidvent Columnist |his is the tale of two men. One is an indi vidual whom I’m sure needs little or no in troduction. He is U.S. Air Force Captain Scott F. O’Grady, the 29-year-old combat pi lot whose F-16 was shot down over Bosnia by a Ser bian missile two weeks ago. He was dramatically rescued after six days of hiding behind enemy lines, where he survived by drinking rainwater, eating grass and bugs and generally putting his “face ... in the dirt, and ... praying they wouldn’t see me or hear me.” The other individual is probably one whom few, if any, will recognize. He is Captain Howard E. Rutledge, a pilot whose plane also was shot down while over enemy lines. In this instance, his F-8 went down over North Vietnam on November 28, 1965. His escape attempt was not as successful as O’Grady’s. Rutledge spent more than seven years in various Vietnam prisoner- of-war camps, including the infa mous Hanoi Hilton. During this time, he was rou tinely beaten, starved and held in solitary confine ment for hundreds of days at a time. Since O’Grady’s return to the United States, he has been hailed from all corners as a hero. This praise certainly is quite deserved, for what O’Grady endured is remarkable. He has met with President Clinton and Jane Pauley, and made the cover of both Time and Newsweek. Upon Rutledge’s return to the United States, he spent a few days in a Navy hospital and then went home so he could go to church in San Diego. His return was chronicled in a brief piece in the Los Angeles Times, but he never was invited to the White House and he didn’t make the cover of any magazines. The different circumstances under which these men were received as they returned home highlight the complex attitudes which Americans seem to hold toward war. The relief and fanfare accompanying O’ Grady’s rescue illustrate the fact that we still view our involvement in the Bosnian conflict as one of individuals. We collectively rejoice at the return of an indi vidual pilot, for we do not expect there to be a great number of American casualties in the Bosnian conflict. During the Vietnam War, almost 60,000 sol diers died, and thousands were either impris oned or listed as permanently missing. The president would have had to spend a con siderable amount of each day greeting each and every one of the POWs who made it back home after being imprisoned by the North Vietnamese. The Vietnam War was not one that we per ceived of as being fought by individuals. There was no national sigh of relief every time that one man returned home. This is not because our country was any less sensitive to the strug gles of the individual soldier. It is because, after a while, the death toll rose from the individual to the incomprehensible. As Joseph Stalin once said, “A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” This increased tendency of the average Ameri can to view war in individual terms was evi denced both in our involvement in Somalia and in our support for the Gulf War against Iraq. The tide of American opinion turned against our operation in Mogadishu when we saw the bodies of American soldiers being dragged through the streets, surrounded by hordes of jeering Somalis. We were able to measure the death toll in the Gulf War in numbers roughly parallel to a few days of combat in Vietnam. And, in a sense, this viewpoint is a logical ex tension of our national interests and how they • are perceived. The omnipresent dread of communism fueled our attempts to “free” the South Vietnamese. What reasons can be found that would be so sim ilarly compelling as to allow us to once again condone the deployment of American troops to a foreign country in a remote location? The national reaction to O’Grady’s and Rut ledge’s returns, coming as they did at different points of different conflicts, reveal that this is not only a tale of two individuals, but a tale of two nations. When a country pays more attention to the re turn of a man who had been missing six days than it does to the return of a man who had been imprisoned for seven years, it is evident that the situation and the attitudes of that country have drastically changed. One had been increasingly numbed by the mounting death toll in a war that would not end. One is still thinking of its soldiers as individu als, and not as grim statistics. Chris Stidvent is a senior philosophy major The BATTALioisr Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials 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. Editorials Board Jay Robbins Editor in Chief Rob Clark Managing Editor Sterling Hayman Opinion Editor Kyle Littlefield Assistant Opinion Editor Rising Costs The proposed fee increases could present problems for students. Public universities like Texas A&M historically have received money from the state so they can provide students with inex pensive higher education. Unfortunately, the Texas Legislature apparently has abandoned that goal and has ag gravated Texas A&M’s strained financial situation by cutting $6.7 million from the Universi ty’s state funding. The University administra tion has proposed a substantial increase of the general use fee to compensate for the Legislature’s negligence .This fee increase pro posal is “too much, too fast,” and many Texas A&M students will suffer from it. The administration has not planned well. It expects the students to swallow a hike in the general use fee from $12 per semester hour to $26 per semester hour. For a student taking 15 hours, this increase amounts to $210 per semester. The prices of housing, tuition and other fees also will increase significantly this fall. The Uni versity cannot expect students to accommodate every one of these increases all at once. Everyone with questions or opinions about this proposal should attend the open forum scheduled with University ad ministrators on Wednesday, June 21, in MSC 292 at 3:30 p.m. Although a large fee increase seems necessary to help make up for the lost state funds, the University would be wiser to limit the increase to the mini mum feasible amount and make cutbacks in programs and ex penses if necessary. If a choice arises between cut ting programs because of expens es or losing students who cannot afford sudden large price hikes in the costs of attending school, then students must come first. The proposed fee increase would be used in truly beneficial ways: faculty raises, campus maintenance and financial aid. The Legislature’s $6.7 million cut has brought about this fund ing crisis, and the state deserves most of the blame for the finan cial problems confronting the University. But the University and the Texas A&M System should have foreseen the possible need for ad ditional funding. If the University had in creased fees to keep up with in flation and expenses, and planned for funding cuts which have been rumored for years, the current burden would have been distributed over time and stu dents could have prepared for the additional costs. The current situation is dif ficult, and not everyone will be happy with the outcome, no matter what it is. But some of the options facing the Univer sity seem less harmful to the average student than this pro posed fee increase. The increase still awaits ap proval by the Board of Regents, but no matter what happens, the University administration should learn something from this. In the future, it should plan ahead better for its financial needs. If it does not, either the students or the quality of the ed ucation they receive will suffer. Students can direct any ques tions or comments about the pro posed fee increase to the follow ing persons: A&M Chancellor Dr. Barry Thompson 409-845-4331 A&M President Dr. Ray Bowen 409-845-2217 Regent Chairman Mary Nan West 210-378-5335 Regent Vice Chairman Raul Fernandez 210-690-9933 A&M Regents Aliston Brisco 713-236-2462 John H. Lindsey 713-652-4080 T. Michael O’Connor 512-573-7672 Royce E. Wisenbaker 903-593-2588 Frederick D. McClure 214-369-8566 Don Powell 806-358-4582 Robert H. Allen 713-659-2435 Dr. M. Guadalupe L. Rangel (&\W5 TUB NEW JFR4F'/ Argumentation helps solve problems “De la discussion jaillit lu- miere” — From discussion comes light... “Shiny happy people holding hands...” - RJE.M. A wise man once asked, “Can’t we all just get along?” Of course the same wise man was ar rested earlier this spring for getting along with a few too many beers while driving an automobile. Right about now, a lot of people are preach ing the virtue of holding hands and being one big happy family. Getting along is overrated. Just so I don’t get blamed for some random militia-related act of violence — I am in no way encouraging, condoning or supporting playing target practice with your debate partner. I do, however, suggest that you not try to shut them up. In 1789, a group of men spent a long, hot summer locked-up in a building in Philadel phia while trying to figure out how to organize our government. The little states wanted all states to have a single vote in the Legislature. The big states wanted voting to be repre sentative of population. Alexander Hamilton wanted a strong cen tral government. Thomas Jefferson wanted a weak one. Of course I wasn’t there, but I bet the rep resentatives didn’t always get along during their debates. Last week the president and the speaker of the House got together in New Hampshire and spent the afternoon telling each other how swell they were. Neato-keen. In case you didn’t get to see it, imagine Chuck Woolery hosting Speaker Gingrich and President Clinton. Cbuck:“Gosh, Mr. Clinton, did he buy you dinner?” Clinton: “Yes, and he was ever-so-wonderful. ” Gingrich: “No, Mr. President, you’re wonderful.” Clinton: “No, really, you’re more wonderful than me.” Gingrich: “No, you’re won- | derful ...” Audience: “I love you. You love me. We’re a happy family ...” Dave: “Would you please let me out of my rubber room now?” This country is confused enough about what each party stands for without a wishy-washy game of “The Political Love Connection.” Both the speaker and the president — I as sume — have distinct philosophies. We need to hear the differences between the two to understand who to vote for and to get an idea of where this country should go. That means we may have to hear — gasp — dis agreement or even — cough — argument. This is a good thing. Here in America, the people are expected to vote their minds — and use them. This means that people need to have a good feel for com peting ideas. To use an economic term, this is the “mar ketplace of ideas.” When people present coherent arguments to support their positions — conservative, liber al or apathetic — then, and only then, can we truly have a “marketplace of ideas.” Back in the late ’80s someone had the idea that if we could all just hold hands across the country, we could solve ... something. Great idea. We all felt really swell for a couple of minutes and then realized Nevada is a mighty tough place to link hands. But unfor tunately, the problems were there for us when we got home. It takes debate, sometimes strong debate, to find solutions to problems. We won’t get at those solutions by simply “getting along.” We have to argue sometimes. An important distinction should be drawn here between “argument” and “per sonal insult.” Saying “Chuck is a scum” — even if it is true — is not the same as prov ing Chuck wrong. I am not encouraging a substitution of in sult for substance. A true difference of opinion, however, is not an insult. I know that sometimes it makes us feel all warm inside to link arms and tell the person sitting next to us how much we ap preciate them. However, you are not appre ciating them any less when you have a dif ference of opinion. If you do, explain it. Supper it. Don’t just sweep it under the r ug to pro mote “harmony.” For example, this past week we learned that the administration is considering plans to double the general use fee. I’m probably pretty JoSSESSSiSSEIi Here in America, the people are expected to vote their minds and use them. radical on this one, but I don’t really want to have my fees equal to my tuition — something about being dead broke already and having to pay even more concerns me a bit. Tomorrow afternoon. Dr. Bowen will ex plain the admirdstration’s position. If the ad ministration hasn’t thought through this in crease, it is in our best interest to argue until it gets thought through. Our futures, not just here at A&M, but in general, rest on our interest in disagreeing when we think the other guy is wrong. We can’t just “get along.” On the other hand, maybe there is some thing to that damn purple dinosaur. Maybe we could just share our Leggos and make the world a better place. I can see it now — Barney and Big Bird on a stage in New Hampshire with Bob Barker. David Taylor is a senior management major The Battalioist Editorial Staff Jay Robbins, editor in chief Rob CLARK, Managing Editor Sterling Hayman, Opinion Editor Gretchen Perrenot, City Editor JODY Holley, Night News Editor STACY Stanton, Night News Editor MICHAEL Landauer, Aggielife Editor Nick GeorgandiS, Sports Editor Stew Milne, Photo Editor Staff Members City Desk - Assistant Editor: Eleanor Colvin; Re porters: Katherine Arnold, Javier Hinojosa, Scott McMahan, Jill Saunders, Michael Sim mons, Wes Swift & Tara Wilkinson Aggielife Desk - Feature Writers: Amy Collier & Libe Goad; Columnist: Amy Uptmor Sportswriters — David Winder and Lee Weight Opinion Desk - Assistant Editor: Kyle Littlefield; Columnists: Elizabeth Preston, Frank Stan ford & David Taylor; Contributing Colum nists: Justin Barnett, Margaret Gordon, Alex Miller, Chris Stidvent & Mark Zane; Editori al Writers: Jason Brown & Alex Walters; * Editorial Cartoonists: Brad Graeber & George Nasr Photographers - Mike Friend, Roger Hsieh, Nick Rodnicki & Eddy Wylie Page Designers — News: Kristin DeLuca Sports: Robin Greathouse; Aggielife: Stew Milne Copy Editors — Rob Clark & Sterling Hayman Graphic Artists — Toon Boonyavanich & Melissa Oldham Strip Cartoonists — Valerie Myers & Quatro Oakley Office Staff - Office Manager: Julie Thomas; Clerks: Wendy Crockett & Heather Harris News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in the Divi sion of Student Publications, a unit of the De partment of Journalism. News offices are in 013 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom hours: Sunday, 2 p.m. to 1 0 p.m. Monday — Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Newsroom phone: 845-3313; Fax: 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvm1.tamu.edu The Battalion Online: The Battalion offers photos and the day's headlines on the worldwide web. Web Site: http://128.194.30.84 Advertising: Publication of advertising does not im ply sponsorship or endorsement by The Bat talion. For campus, local and national dis play advertising, call 845-2696. For classi fied advertising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald and of fice hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2678. Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per full year. To charge by VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express, call 845-2611. The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions (except University holidays and exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843.