^The Battalion
Opinion
Friday
August 25, 1995
77
Internship perks differ drastically
A&M's smaller colleges provide little support for their Capitol Hill interns.
I t’s 4:30 a.m. somewhere
in the Midwest, and a po
litical science major in
terning at a dairy center
wakes to milk cows.
Meanwhile, at 6:30 a.m.,
in Washington, D.C., an
agriculture major prepares
to attend a hearing on wel
fare cuts in food stamps for
a Texas congressman.
Why would ag majors work for a congress
man? Because, through a program developed
by the College of Agriculture, they have the
opportunity to accept a congressional intern
ship.
Why would political science majors be
milking cows at dawn? They wouldn’t — the
scenario is completely fictitious. However, po
litical science majors don’t have the opportu
nity to intern on Capitol Hill through their
department.
Ag majors can. In addition, they are able to
intensely study their area of interest. They
learn first-hand the operations and proce
dures of preparing students to handle “the
real world” by emphasizing the importance of
pursuing career interest through internships.
The problem lies not within the develop
ment of this particular program, but with the
inadequate career advancement opportunities
available from the College of Liberal Arts.
Comparing congressional internships from
the two colleges shows the political science
department is underdeveloped and antiquat
ed.
Ag students apply for congressional intern
ships through their college; political science
students must pursue internships on their
own, sending their resumes directly to con
gressional offices.
Ag interns are paid a stipend as high as
$2,000 by sponsors; political science students
have no sponsors, hence no money. Interning
ag students are also paid as much as $500 a
month by their congressional office; most po
litical science students are paid nothing by
their offices. Ag students receive a
maximum of six credits for the in
ternship; political science stu
dents receive three.
Current policies imply the De
partment of Political Science does
not consider a Capitol Hill experi
ence worthwhile.
Internships seem to interrupt
the focus to swiftly graduate stu
dents. The department indirectly discourages
internships by requiring students to pay full
tuition and Student Service fees for those
hours they receive — even though there is no
professor and the paid services are a thou
sand miles away.
These academic and financial difficulties
are merely obstacles for aspiring politicos,
though. Tlie real harm is the failure of Texas
A&M to recognize the additional chance to ed
ucate these ambitious students. Their politi
cal interests and curiosity are blossoming
during congressional internships, and A&M’s
inability to envision the advantages of invest
ing in this is an injustice to students.
Continuous learning is a given while in
terning. At least twice a week, interns have
the opportunity to see speakers such as
Hillary Clinton, George Stephanopolous,
Newt Gingrich and major network news cor
respondents.
Interns may also attend briefings and
hearings for legislative assistants, or cam
paign training by the party of their choice.
But no matter how diligent the student, it
is impossible to watch enough C-SPAN or
read enough newsletters to understand exact
ly what is happening. The system never be
comes completely clear because Capitol Hill
staffers are assumed to know the detailed in
formation needed by the average intern.
Without a classroom oriented program, in
terns lack direction for furthering individual
studies. Giving students a structured agenda
would create a favorable framework exploring
all the political arena has to offer.
If A&M chose to begin by creating intern
ships similar to those of the College of Agri
culture, sponsors would be abundant. Con
tacting A&M supporters such as former Pres
ident George Bush, Gov. George W. Bush,
Sen. Phil Gramm, Rep. Chet Edwards, Rep.
Greg Laughlin, Rep. Joe Skeen, Clayton
Williams and the former students in the
Texas Legislature would only be the begin
ning.
Then, contacting schools that have existing
programs, such as Stanford, USC, Pepperdine
and Boston University would be the next
step.
It is time that A&M focus on
more than just 'A'griculture and
'M'echanical, and quit short
changing other departments.
From here, classes could be developed that
study pertinent areas. These include the ad
ministrative versus the legislative side of
Capitol Hill, committees and the committee
process, current legislative events and Con
gressional lobbying and interest groups.
Our University should take advantage of
the abundant possibilities. Not only should
liberal arts departments encourage Capitol
Hill internships, but investments should be
made to establish Washington, D.C. class
room facilities for congressional studies.
It is time that Texas A&M focus on more
than just “A”griculture and “M”echanical, and
quit shortchanging other departments.
Attention, beginning with liberal arts ma
jors, is well overdue. For some reason, not
credible to A&M, the word on Capitol H01 is
that in 20 years the Texas delegation will con
sist mainly of Aggies.
How nice it would be if our political science
department would actually contribute to this
success.
Erin Fitzgerald is a junior English
and political science major
Ironies riddle UN conference in China
T he Chinese govern
ment just isn’t
known for its hu
manitarian ways.
But strangely enough,
Beijing is the city where
the United Nations chose
to hold its human rights
conference for women.
This is the case, be
cause the organizers of the United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women could
not care less whether human rights are be
ing trampled on as long as their radical and
liberal ideas are furthered.
Few governments have less regard for
human life than China’s.
An example of this, is told by Harry Wu,
an American citizen who was arrested in
China and charged with espionage and
treason. Because he traveled around the
world protesting the abuses of human life
in he was convicted to serve 15 years in a
Chinese prison and upon release will be ex
pelled from the country.
Wu previously spent 19 years in China’s
forced labor camps. He claims to have wit
nessed the Chinese government often exe
cutes young prisoners and “harvest” their
organs which are sold on the black market
to Westerners who need organ transplants.
It is a lucrative business for the Chinese
government. But I guess it is OK to have
the Conference in China as long as they
aren’t killing many women prisoners?
The Chinese government also has little
regard for the rights of women.
Because of over-population, families are
allowed only one child. The San Francisco
Examiner reported that the Chinese gov
ernment monitors women’s menstrual cy
cles so that women who have un
approved pregnancies can be
dragged into medical clinics for
forced abortions. So much for
the so-called “right to choose.”
If that isn’t an oppressive
enough attitude toward women,
consider that this Chinese law
has caused couples to abort fe
male babies because the majori
ty prefer male children.
Many couples abort female babies in or
der to wait until they conceive a son. This
does not sound like a great place to have a
conference that is supposed to further the
rights of women.
In other human rights atrocities. World
magazine, a Christian fundamentalist pub
lication, reports that some people prefer
these aborted fetuses as a dinner-time deli
cacy.
Maybe the delegates to this conference
can enjoy a little Chinese cuisine.
I’ve heard that liberal, radical feminists
“eat their young,” but I always thought
that was a figure of speech.
And if holding such a conference in Chi
na isn’t outlandish enough, the conference,
which will begin Aug. 30, features an agen
da as crazy as its organizers.
For example, noted loony feminist Bella
Abzug is determined to change the defini
tion of gender from strictly “male and fe
male” to “male, female, homosexual, bisex
ual, transsexual or hermaphrodite,” be
cause the current terms are “too constrain
ing.”
You can have the option of calling your
self male or female, but if neither one ap
plies to you, then choose another.
What happens when babies are born and
the doctor either sees a certain anatomical
part or he doesn’t?
In this modern day, I guess he would yell
“Congratulations, it’s a male or possibly a
homosexual or bisexual or — if you know a
good surgeon — possibly a transsexual!”
I can hear it now:
“Did you hear Jenny had her baby?”
“Really, what did she have?”
“Don’t be such a vertical thinker — we
won’t know until little Pat develops a sexu
al preference.”
And if holding a human rights
conference in China isn't out
landish enough, the agenda is
as radical as its organizers.
Most of the women who will attend this
conference are not radicals. Unfortunately,
most of the freaks come from the United
States and the rest of the Western World.
Many conference participants come from
other countries and genuinely need help.
The women from Third World countries
need to know about how to maintain clean
water, they need to learn about nutrition,
and they need medical supplies.
Instead, they get condoms by the truck-
load. Way to help women, feminists!
By the way, American taxes, American
time and, of course, America’s first lady
Hillary Clinton will probably be going to
this conference.
It seems the lunatics are running the in
sane asylum.
Lydia Percival is a senior
political science major
The Battalion
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Thinking Green
The University should help the
campus recycling program expand.
TVij« giimm(ssy m fmiu ^mrF.Vi.Qirlc*
This summer, four people,
with the help of conscien
tious students in Northside
residence halls, advanced en
vironmental conservation at
Texas A&M. They are now
asking for, and deserve, help
from the rest of the campus.
The summer residence
hall pilot recycling program
was an unqualified success,
as Northside residents recy
cled over 2 tons of paper and
200 pounds of aluminum.
Obviously, the
students on the
Northside were
eager to par
ticipate in
this worthy
program,
and all those
involved
should be
congratulat
ed for their
efforts.
Now it is
time for the
program to
spread to the
rest of campus
But in order for the success
to continue, more people
need to contribute.
First, the program needs
additional funding, since its
grant has expired. The Uni
versity administration
should seriously consider ap
propriating funds to pay for
more workers and bins so the
program can continue on
Northside and expand to
Southside.
The administration should
realize that the money spent
would be a good investment.
The faculty should also be
willing to get involved. A re
cycling advisory board would
make operating the program
easier, especially if the pro
gram continues to expand.
Finally, the students
should show their dedication
to the project. The benefits of
recycling are widely known,
and it requires little ef
fort.
Also, they
should re
member to
be careful
when re
cycling.
Much of
the mate
rials in
the recy
cling bins
this sum
mer was
contaminat
ed, so stu
dents should re
member what can and can
not be recycled.
Clearly, the small group of
people that made the pro
gram a success this summer
cannot be expected to im
prove the project without the
help of others.
Assistance in funding, ad
ministration and participa
tion is essential if the project
is to continue.
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a**-