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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1996)
Pagi Septemberl/I trii Op n Page 11 Tuesday • September 17, 1996 been ti no official ga[| ?sted today .M« :>er, that nment on the it if its complt] ssage at the, 5ton. o fast eightw lid Tony G y, as he rushe nch during a shot in the dark Gan g sta ’ s paradise lost Ti nimal testing produces errors necessity for every college student is a bot- aspirin. After all, dache always sto appear the night as a cram- session. bile taking a cou- ftablets, no one much thought to fact that aspirin a cat. hat would have ened if doctors had tested in on cats to see if it was for human consumption? probably have to suffer gh a hell of a lot more aches. is is one of countless pies showing animal test- o be faulty, cruel and point- Animal testing should be ced with updated, safer hods of research, gtpwing number of doctors cknowledging that animal ng frequently produces eading results that are dam- to humans. /hyis animal testing faulty? fause species differ, and ani- Isand humans do not react asame way to drugs, hrexample, Eraldin, a heart was given to patients for |:years before side effects [hasblindness and stomach Igrowth problems were Ttified. Eraldin had been Im Eftr on animals and shown to safe." Thalidomide, a sedative en to pregnant women, ^ Ssedapproximately 10,000 Columnist partially respij out. Cameras! trooms. half." included hisi| zing the net} oation to kf:| igenda alive, lo tell you wet tsaid. "We haul 1 have the detei [vote out. ur vote out, wfij ir agenda pie: characters middle class. f| 3g the budgets bn, investing! ling up for ily.” Jon Apgar Sophomore journalism major Gumbo, Crinfiii I One Of Out II f He Besi iter birth defects world wide. It was also test ed on animals without any adverse effects. Dr. Albert Sabin, who developed the oral polio vaccine, told Congress that the work on polio preven tion was delayed by misleading experi mental models of the disease in monkeys. There isn’t a more unreliable form of testing than animal testing. Currently, 8 percent of children born in America have some form of birth defect that can be traced back to the use of products deemed safe by animal testing. So why does animal testing continue? Because it can be used to prove almost anything the scientist wants. Depending on the species used, it can be proven that cig arettes either do or do not cause cancer. Instead of animal testing, medical scientists should use methods proven to be more accurate and reliable. These truly scientific meth ods, consisting of post-mortem studies, computer models and clinical studies, have provided many breakthroughs. Moreover, by eliminating ani mal testing, not only would medical research be safer, but unnecessary cruelty to animals would be avoided. Five million animals are killed each year in the United States because of two tests — the Draize eye test and the LD50 toxicity test. The Draize eye test consists of spraying chemicals into the eyes of rabbits until they are blind. Does it take a scientist to realize that spraying a bottle of Clorox into your eyes will make you go blind? During the LD50 test, a chemical is administered by sci entists to a certain number of animals until 50 percent die. The results of this test approximate the amount of pes ticide a family of four suppos edly must drink before two of them die. We need to ask ourselves what the point of this cruelty is if it can be avoided with more modern, updated, safer methods? If we ever hope to find a cure for cancer or AIDS, animal test ing is the most certain way to Depending on the species used, [animal testing] can be proven that cigarettes either do or do not cause cancer. slow us down. Besides, chocolate is poiso nous to dogs. Imagine what life would be like if someone had chosen a dog to test the safety of chocolate. ALIGN «wi Hu&ms emtetsp^ S ie Mo fUf Atm is JEAtlUGr JlrtUOfiS To ouTH SCtfoW’ (HAf Tb VO... ith erest ongress takes step back in time 510 n 'W \ml rights in America has just taken a step backward: Rather than freeing (ourselves from prejudice, we seem to ^bracing it. ie right to have a marriage recognized e federal government is about to be icitly denied to homosexuals. A bill has ■passed and, strangely enough, our Sly liberal president has promised to into law. st things first: homosexuals are peo- X). Contrary to many people’s way of ing, they are fundamentally the same terosexuals. They just happen to be ted to the same sex. That doesn’t define their 'personalities. *0 why should the right to declare love for each ^be denied to them? ebeen assured by those who know that the n of the matter lies not in conservative morality, t concern over tax dollars and special treatment, trikes me as terribly odd. ty would anyone assume that granting the right itrimony to homosexuals would automatically ! money-sucking special privileges? |there a long-forgotten clause in the Constitution leads, "In the event of two people of the same coming wed, they shall be eligible for extra its from the government?” No. Is it reasonable time that allowing them to marry will inspire a ave of legislation aimed at giving them your (liars? No. id forbid, this legislation would merely allow gay Ie to be treated more like everyone else. There ograms giving money to qualified heterosexual Columnist Bryan Goodwin Junior English major married couples; what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If extra help is nec essary for heterosexual couples, it must be necessary for homosexual couples as well. Should they get the money aimed at helping couples raise their children? Only if they’re raising some. If the letter of tire law is logically applied to homo sexual couples, the questions will resolve themselves. But I’ve been assured that the only rea son people are seeking the recognition of same-sex marriages is a greedy desire for tax dollars. Why else would they? There couldn’t possibly be two people of the same sex in the entire United States who think they’re in love with each other, could there? Actually, yes. And they’re the real victims here. There may be people out there lobbying for spe cial money for homosexual couples, intent on creat ing loopholes in legislation that will financially bene fit them. After all, there are members of most other social groups out there doing that. But not all gay people who want to get married are evil people looking for fast cash. I would venture my humble, uninformed opinion that the great majority are not. They’re just two human beings that want to declare their undying commitment to each other. Some would call it love. Rest assured, if homosexual people could get their marriages recognized by the federal government, they would treat the commitment no differently than do heterosexual couples. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, ‘til death do them part, Amen. Mason Jackson Senior marketing major lupac — misunderstood poet or glorified gang- banger? It’s a moot discus sion now. Rap artist and proponent of “thug life” Tupac Shakur died Friday of complications from four gunshot wounds, two of them ; to the chest. Columnist He was 25. It was the second time he had been shot in less than two years. What happened to him was unfortu nate, but it is only the most recent episode in a growing trend in rap music. More and more, hard-core rappers are feeling the need to live out the lifestyles they repre sent in their music. It is unnecessary and has become costly to the music industry. First, Snoop Dogg (the favorite rapper of white, suburban youth everywhere) is in the spotlight because he had a trigger-happy bodyguard. Then Warren G, half- brother of Snoop’s mentor, Dr. Dre, gets into similar trouble with his sidekick Nate Dogg (no relation to Snoop Dogg.) We won’t even discuss the trou bles of Rick James because, as we all know, he’s a Superfreak. These people represent the most successful acts in rap music today. What’s a self-respecting gangsta rappa to do when he needs a criminal record to be con sidered legitimate? But wait. Don’t jump to conclu sions. This doesn’t represent an image problem. It is well-cultivat ed by people in the music industry. Marion “Suge” Knight, the head of Death Row Records (pro ducers of Dr. Dre, Snoop, Tupac, et.al.), was driving the car in which Tupac was shot. Rumors claim the Notorious B.I.G., who runs a rival record company on the East Coast, was behind the shooting. Ideally, a fan of rap music, such as myself, is supposed to believe that someone like the Notorious B.I.G. is simply on hiatus from slangin’ dope and killin’ punk-ass busters (i.e. selling cannabis and reducing the number of opposing gang members). This is the style that sells — just ask the recently bankrupt Hammer (I guess he felt the moniker M.C., unlike his trademark pants, was too confining.) Like every other business in the world, the dollar rules rap. So entertainers like Tupac felt pres sure to live up to their lyrics. This is where rap has gotten off track. You don’t have to be “real,” especially when it is obvi ously so dangerous. Other musicians aren’t expected to live out life as represented in their songs. Country musicians would have committed mass-sui cide and Bryan Adams would be much cooler than he is. Is there a solution to this prob lem that will take us back to the days of Young M.C.’s “Bust A Move”? Probably not. It might help to lessen media coverage of events involving rap stars and the words “indictment forthcoming.” They usually degenerate into sensationalistic stories that serve as nothing more than free publicity for those involved (which is not at all what this column is). But ultimately, it is the market that drives the product. So until we can remedy the socioeconomic woes that make the gang-banger lifestyle attrac tive to so many, incidents like this will continue to occur. Or, as some of my rap-impaired friends insist, the rap genre may go the way of disco, and this, too, will be a moot discussion. Mail Problems continue with on-line service This message was brought to you after several hours of attempting to get on-line. Any time I try to log on, I run into the same problems that many others run into — the stu pid line is busy and will be for the next few hours. I realize there are thousands of students who are trying to use the phone lines, but when is the University going to do some thing about it? We all pay our $65 computer access fee. With all the students paying, why can’t something be done to fix the problem? I would like to get my money’s worth, not to mention the infor mation I need. John Matthew Hensz Class of ’00 A&M football team misses motivation The senseless losing must be stopped. The Aggie football team has reached the lowest point this decade with a loss to a team who now has a Heisman Trophy candidate and another to a team who just had the biggest win in school history. Obviously there are major problems with the Texas A&M football program, and the prob lems start at the top. This year’s team and many of the past have suffered because of the lack of direction from the coaching staff. Plain and simple: R.C. Slocum must go! The Aggies aren’t mentally prepared to play. Slocum and his staff had all summer to prepare for the Cougars so they should have been eager to play hard after a disappointing loss to BYU and three tough weeks of practice. But they weren’t. Against USE, the Aggies clear ly had a bigger, better team. But the lack of determination and execution cost us the ball- game. Eight turnovers can only be explained by poor mental preparation. Good teams play well despite their competition. The Aggies have proven time and time again that they cannot win the big game. Now it appears that we have difficulty winning games against inferior teams. With Texas A&M’s resources, football tradition, and recruiting base, there is no reason why the Aggies shouldn’t be in the hunt for a national championship on a yearly basis. Kyle Hoover Class of‘97 Jeff Jones Class of ’98 University cuts too many corners As I recently swabbed my allergy stricken nose with toilet paper procured from a campus bathroom, I realized I was hold ing the roughest, toughest stuff in the universe. This retched attempt by the University at saving a few dollars is putting the traditional definition of “red-ass” in grave danger. So I beseech students to swal low your pride and vocalize your opposition to this discomfort. James Collins Class of ’99 USL game lacks the fans’ support In Monday’s Sports section of The Battalion the question was asked, “What wrong?” With the recent two losses our football team has suffered, I’m sure this question is in everyone’s mind. I have decided to take it upon myself to answer this. Fingers have been pointed after both of the losses. I, however, suggest the loss is simply a product of a bigger problem ... lack of spirit. The lack of spirit has been in both the players and the fans, including myself. It seems as if it takes a 50-plus yard run or pass in order for players to give each other a simple high five. I remember a day not too long ago when the same celebra tion came from a first down. I also noticed our players tak ing a knee during time-outs in Provo and Lafayette, meanwhile the Cougars and Cajuns were rarely ever caught taking a knee. Some fans were also guilty of sitting during the lulls in the game, and almost all fans are guilty of a lack of 12th man spirit. If the players and fans contin ue in their current attitudes we will be 0-3 this Saturday, and on September 28th we could lose to Colorado by 100 points. It is time for players and fans to start a rally that will carry us to St. Louis in December for the Big 12 Championship. Michael J. Carroll Class of ’95 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and include the author's name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let ters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor.