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THURSDAY
August 1, 1 996
OPINION
Page 5
Sex offenders need
help, not humiliation
M aybe it’s just
because I’m a
wimp, but
when I go running at
one in the morning, I
spend half the time
looking behind me to
make sure I’m not be
ing followed.
Recently, one of my
friends was research
ing sex offenders for a
speech class.
After sharing her re
search with me, I was even more con
vinced there was some sick-minded indi
vidual hiding behind every bush I passed.
Many parents have the same fears for
their children, especially when convicted
pedophiles return to their hometowns af
ter serving jail time.
After being released from jail, Roger
Bourgeois lived in Edmonton, Alberta,
until the media and the police warned
the community of his new residency.
The community responded with
protests until Bourgeois moved to the
small town of Elkford.
Parents in Elkford reacted by pa
trolling the schoolyards and picketing
Bourgeois’ house.
In the United States, a law requiring
citizens to be informed when a convicted
sex offender moves into the community
was upheld by the New Jersey Supreme
Court last year.
“Megan’s Law” is named in memory of
a 7-year-old girl, Megan Kanka, who was
raped and murdered in the home of a
man who was twice convicted of sexually
assaulting young girls.
The reasoning behind the law is if
Megan’s parents had only known a sex
offender was living in their neighbor
hood, Megan would still be alive.
Although this might be true, the fact
is that if Megan’s parents had taught her
not to go into the houses of strangers, she
might also be alive.
The problem with Megan’s Law is that
the community’s typical reaction upon
Learning a sex offender is moving into the
community is to chase the sex offender
out of town.
In 1993, residents of a small Califor
nia town burned the a sex offender’s
home to the ground after they were noti
fied of his new residency. While this may
have caused him to leave town, he had to
move somewhere.
There is no secluded island where
we can ship all of our sex offenders,
and the cost of locking them away for
ever is prohibitive.
The issue for released sex offenders is
whether justice has been served or if citi
zens have a right to take justice into
their own hands, which is exactly what
happens when a community learns of a
sex offender’s relocation.
On the other hand, about 25 percent of
child molesters recommit crimes. There
fore, there is obviously something wrong
with the system, which goes way beyond
Megan’s Law.
It would be easy to say the best pre
vention for repeated sex offenses is in
creased punishment, but there is more
to a sex offense than to an average
crime, especially if it is viewed as a
mental illness.
Remedies such as group therapy,
drugs and even chemical castration can
help to keep sex offenders from recom
mitting crimes.
One clinic found that fewer than 10
percent of 626 patients committed sexual
offenses after being treated with a combi
nation of group and drug therapy.
However, justice must be served.
In 1992, rapists spent an average of
five measly years in prison, and 43 per
cent of all felons convicted of sex offenses
received non-prison sentences.
Today, prison time is increasing; un
fortunately, treatment in jail is decreas
ing, which means that those who really
do need help aren’t getting it.
There must be a balance between lock
ing away pedophiles for the rest of their
lives and giving them a chance to prove
they are ready to move on, and not just to
a different community.
Heather Pace is a Class of ’99
English major
HEATHER
PACE
Columnist
The Battalion
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
Stacy Stanton
Editor in Chief
Dave Winder
Managing Editor
Jason Brown
Opinion Editor
David Taylor
City Editor
Degree Planning
The discussion on encouraging early
graduation should move forward carefully.
At the Board of Regents meeting
last Thursday, Texas A&M administra
tors and regents recognized something
many students already know: It takes
a long time to graduate from A&M.
The vast majority of undergraduate
students spend more than the tradi
tional four years completing their de
grees. Regents and administrators are
rightly studying ways to decrease the
time students spend at the University.
However, A&M policy-makers
should approach this sensitive subject
carefully. Many students have good
reasons for taking longer to graduate,
and some proposed incentives could
have negative impacts on them.
For example, Texas A&M President
Ray Bowen floated the idea of mandato
ry summer school. Yet summer is an im
portant time for students to earn money
and gain valuable work experience
through internships and other jobs.
Regent Robert Allen suggested full
time student status be raised from 12 to
15 hours. But some students, even those
taking as many as 17 hours, could be
placed in a difficult situation if they want
to drop a course. Dropping a course could
knock them below full-time status and
jeopardize financial aid and scholarships
for the following semester.
There are other possible incentives,
however, that deserve consideration.
Increasing and focusing financial aid
on the first four years of college would
diminish the need for some students to
hold jobs while attending school. This
would allow them to carry a larger
course load and enable them to gradu
ate earlier.
Also, administrators and depart
ments could increase the flexibility of
curriculum requirements so that when
students change majors, more credits
will count toward the new major.
Although the discussion on encourag
ing earlier graduation is just beginning,
it holds promise. It is an important sub
ject and deserves careful consideration.
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Jewish divorce law clashes with Constitution
JEREMY
VALDEZ
Columnist
T oby Yeager spent more than three
years of her life as an agunah.
In Orthodox Judaism, a marriage
cannot be dissolved unless the husband
grants his wife a religious divorce, or get. An
abandoned wife who is not given a get is an
agunah, or chained woman.
Sadly, this curious precept of rabbinical
law sometimes becomes a weapon in the
hands of vengeful or sadistic husbands.
Hundreds, perhaps even thousands of
American Jewish women like Yeager have
discovered this firsthand.
But the plight of American agunot is not
likely to change anytime soon, because their situation is a vi
cious but necessary consequence of our nation’s separation of
church and state.
Too often, the get is used as a bargaining chip in a cruel sort
of divorce negotiation. Husbands of agunot attempt to extort
money, child custody or lopsided property settlements in ex
change for a get.
Yeager told Jewish Monthly Magazine that she could not
even try to meet her husband’s demands since they were con
stantly changing.
“The get for him was a means of psychological control,”
she said.
Women are not the only ones injured when abandonment oc
curs. The children of chained women are illegitimate mamzerim
(a Hebrew term which carries all the sting that the gentile
word “bastard” has lost in the modem day).
The denial of a get can permanently spoil a Jewish
bloodline because mamzerim can only marry those who are
similarly tainted. The offspring of such unions are also con
sidered illegitimate.
At first glance, it appears American agunot suffer because of
Jewish divorce law. The law seems designed to oppress women.
But a closer look at the rabbinical codes reveals something
very different. Jewish divorce law actually has many safe
guards created to protect women from extortion.
The real crux of the problem is that the Constitution pre
vents agunot in America from taking advantage of the recourse
Jewish law could provide them.
In Israel, only rabbinical courts have jurisdiction over Jew
ish marriages and divorces. This is different from American
marriage law, where even religious marriages must be sanc
tioned and, if necessary, canceled by state governments.
Not only do rabbinical courts have considerable jurisdiction,
they have the power to impose civil punishments on Jews who
violate religious law. In Israel, recalcitrant husbands who
refuse to surrender a get can have their driver licenses revoked,
be fined or even incarcerated.
These punitive mechanisms are unequivocally prohibited by
our present interpretation of the Fir^t Amendment.
States cannot force synagogues td recognize a civil divorce.
As a result, observant Jews are stuck in a situation where
American custom tells them they are divorced, but their reli
gious heritage speaks differently.
Ironically, the need for religious freedom is what facilitates
the enslavement of the agunot.
Jewish women in the United States are not entirely without
recourse. Especially in metropolitan areas, the Jewish commu
nity often rallies around the women brave enough to publicly
acknowledge their chains.
An organization called Agunah Inc. even coordinates efforts
to harass and publicly shame recalcitrant husbands. Toby Yea
ger’s husband finally granted her a get when he feared that
such publicity might harm his career.
Those who judge Jewish marital law to be backward and
oppressive fail to recognize that the law in its entirety is not
meant to punish women. Also, millions of Jews — including
the agunot — have lived voluntarily under the Orthodox
system for centuries.
Ultimately, in a culture that must keep church and state
separate, the gentile opinion of Jewish law means very lit
tle. No one should expect the rabbinical laws that have
stood for thousands of years to fold under the weight of
American law and custom. Even the majority of agunot do
not want that.
Jeremy Valdez is a Class of’96 chemical engineering major
Changing pageant is no
excuse for bashing
As a former contestant, producer
and volunteer in the Miss America
pageants system, I must correct Shan
non Halbrook’s erroneous concepts in
his July 25 column.
First of all, the “viewer voting” is an
other ploy to capture attention to the
telecast, similar to last year’s “swimsuit
controversy.” Who really believes that in
two hours, the entire United States de
cided whether to maintain the swimsuit
competition? After all, when someone
tried to call, the line was out-of-order or
busy (no doubt this will occur again).
Second, if Halbrook had actually seen
a Miss America pageant lately, he would
realize “drill team” make-up and “walk
ing-chandelier” (overly sequined) dresses
are so far outdated, they are buried with
parachute pants. Miss America is not a
walking Barbie doll that is picture-per
fect 24-7. Miss America winners (local
and national) actively work for causes
ranging from surviving incest to AIDS
educatipn. She aims to make a difference
in individual lives, not necessarily the
lives of the masses.
Last, Miss America is not a perfect,
virginal girl free of embarrassing mo
ments. In fact, many have a tremendous
number of trials (and not just about
whether to eat cookies or carrots) from
Mail
Call
which they have overcome. These women
are outstanding because of the ability to
surpass obstacles and pursue their edu
cational dreams of becoming doctors,
lawyers, astronauts and congress women
with the scholarships obtained through
the pageant.
In short, the “viewer-voting” is news
worthy but won’t alter the scope of the
pageant. However, using this news item
as an opportunity to slam the pageant,
which provides a large amount of schol
arships to America women, is not an in
telligent move for someone who obviously
knows little to nothing about the system
and the women involved.
Devon Geiszler
Class of ’98
Atlanta Olympics will be
remembered for triumphs
No, Marcus Goodyear. You are out
of control.
Yes, there have been busing and com
puter problems, but that is certainly not
why these 1996 Olympic Games will be
remembered. Atlanta won’t be remem
bered for fascism, racism or anti-Semi
tism either. Not even a good, old-fash
ioned boycott for the history books. These
games have enjoyed a refreshing and un
familiar apolitical atmosphere.
Four years of anticipation will gener
ate some hype, especially at an Ameri
can-hosted Olympics that are the largest
ever, according to my Honey Nut Chee-
rios box. But even Goodyear cannot sepa
rate himself form the media-generated
hype he condemns by sensationalizing
the Atkins incident and the tragic Cen
tennial Park Bombing. The maniacal,
gun-toting, knife-wielding, 55-year-old
psychopath was removed from the open
ing ceremonies before injuring anyone.
And Goodyear’s insinuation that Atlanta
security was doing something other than
the best it could in the few minutes be
fore the Centennial Park bombing is ab
solutely disgraceful.
Unfortunately, Goodyear’s deadline
did not allow him to participate in the
equally disturbing public persecution of
Richard Jewel — the already guilty
bomber who, as of yet, has not been ar
rested, charged, indicted or convicted.
Maybe he has been supplying Irish
swimmers with steroids, too.
These Centennial Olympics have al
ready given us great moments that will
overshadow any media hype. Kerri
Strug’s strength, Carl Lewis’s last gold,
new Slavic nations. It’s no longer capital
ism vs. communism, but simply terrific
international competition.
Stephen Charles Stout
Class of’97
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