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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1996)
September! wai The Battalion Page 13 Wednesday • September 18, 1996 e pledged, “we j sharply.” Aed later on P| with Jim Lehm pis also have to nd forces ley’re situated] iderstand vet}' have to do am o refrain from be watchingver i see that thevl lid. ist, administraiii ; said Iraq m r defense sitei U.S. cruise no bile missile ■fly zones, notl aircraft and not lits into the sou »batt iton campaign ling to a senior rates, each lastii utting heads with Marlboro Man olumnist |lhe tobacco industry is coughing and hacking its way into courtrooms across the country as the lawsuits pile up. astweek New Jersey filed suit, contending the industry owed the state $1.1 billion to smoking related illnesses. The New Jer- uit is one of more than 23 lawsuits pend ing in various state and federal courts. What does all this legal activity mean? Why should the tobacco indus try pay for the bad judg ment of millions of Amer ican smokers who should know the risks involved? The answer lies in the question: Smokers should know the risks in volved, but tobacco com panies have made a habit of suppressing reports denying accusations that may reduce the Dpularity of cigarettes. The tobacco industry A 'KEftACEhSMT ' is fouuD For the: tm... atrick Smiley Sophomore zoology major tmake amends for its exploitation of all would includeBericans, and the only way that can occur ivn-hall style se- irough reparations and apologies. ladly, the industry shows little remorse for deaths of millions of smokers, and tobacco i on Oct. 13. te on Oct. 9 bet and GOP vicep: ipanies spend most of their time denying np •eting, Dole’s lea! South Carolina! lie two sides wei ing wrongdoing. ^addition, tobacco companies used adver- igto take advantage of impressionable chil li. Many ads caught children’s attention ti images of sexy young women and manly Wednesday mom mgmen with Marlboros hanging precari- ;il coordinator oil ilyfrom their lips. 1988 marked the largest rease in adolescent smoking. And, not by co- idence, it also marked the birth of Joe Camel. Impressionable young minds instantly rec- lized Joe, often seen with a leather jacket la large-breasted female draped on one n, as the definition of cool. It seems rather dthat a smoking desert beast with a habit of itting could ever find such a woman. [ Not to mention the fact that women rep- ted the commisi ;e decision that is and Democrat tem.” .■dieted thatdecii I trigger a back! ing Perot’s exclusi Americans in ptl ir his inclusion. ■ ,hat we’re seek# ente “ ' n suc ^ a manner reduce real at we’re seeking.'f 01611 n 161 " 6 sex objects in the minds of i Party wouldft.® un 8* lormona ^ males. But it was suppos- Court in W nd its individuJ objective crit he debates. E-J such suitasAtk lly cool just the same. I So advertising makes the little fish nibble, but what sets the hook? That was the question on the tobacco companies’ collective minds when they began their studies in the ’50s. What did they discover? Hmmm, there seems to be some indication they began putting more nicotine into cigarettes after their studies were complete. Essentially, all a cigarette does is supply the junkie with a fix of nicotine, which acts as a stimulant in small doses and a narcotic in large doses. Cigarette companies have known this for decades and utilized this knowledge by keeping nicotine levels artificially high, at the expense of the general welfare of the nation. Given the fact that smoking is a proven con tributor to mouth, lung and throat cancer, em physema, birth defects and yellow fingernails, it would make sense that the tobacco industry should be subject to strict government regula tions and scrutiny. Comparably, the government plays a miser ably small role in the industry. Sin taxes and tiny Surgeon General’s warnings do little to deter any smoker or crooked tpbacco company. Let’s whip out the oj’ campaign contribution list and see what’s happening. In the first half of 1996, Republicans and Democrats accepted nearly $2 million from the industry’s lobbying arm. Could the government be so greedy, so for-sale? You bet, especially when the billion- dollar industry in question is one of the most powerful lobbying forces in the nation. Granted, all other industries lobby Con gress, but what other industry’s sole concern is the slow death of humanity for a profit? Firearms? Alcohol? They can all justify their existence, be it for protection, recreation or making borracho beans. Tobacco cannot justify itself for the love of money. Why not argue for the legalization of heroin? At least it kills its victims in a timely manner. Still, is the tobacco industry liable for all the deaths it has caused? The answer is a re sounding “yes.” After 50 years of cover-ups, kickbacks and early graves, it is time the industry owned up to something, rather than putting the blame on the millions of people it has manipulated. Learning to accept responsibility is part of growing up, but the tobacco industry is in a po sition where it cannot do so without destroying itself. Would that be so bad? Napping college away N apping is seri ous business around here. Since I live off cam pus now, my days of running back to the dorm for a quick catnap are gone. At first, this nap deprivation took some getting used to. However, as I gradu ally and resentfully ad justed, I began to think about the situation care fully. Why, exactly, is napping so important? After much thought, I am convinced that, like most oth er unhealthy habits, napping has become (gasp)... an obsession for many college students. First, napping almost always leads to guilt. Case in point: Re member the time you jolted awake in your bed, only to find to your chagrin that you missed a class you had already napped through earlier in the week? If so, you can recall the agony and the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you hurriedly flipped through your phone book in search of a classmate’s number. Furthermore, I am convinced that napping is an obsession be cause people lie about it so much. Try a little experiment: Call your friends in the early after noon and see how many answer the phone sounding extremely muffled. Ask him or her, “Hey, what’s up? Are you asleep?” and I promise the answer will be “No!” Or, if they possess an inkling of honesty: “No, I was just lying down.” Yeah, lying down asleep! Obviously, action needs to be taken. Do not despair — if you are a habitual napper, there is help out there. The cycle can be broken, but Columnist Aja Henderson Senior political science major the first step is admit ting there’s a problem. You are a dysfunc tional napper if you show the following symptoms: 1. You schedule your classes with gaps between for the exclu sive purpose of being able to nap. 2. You schedule your life around the nap — that is, you actually pencil in the word “nap” in your day planner. 3. You think you cannot func tion without your daily nap and will stop a productive activity, such as studying, to do so. 4. You nap whether you’re tired or not 5. You fantasize about your next nap in class. 6. You are grumpy when you don’t nap, much like the chain smoker without his lighter or the alcoholic without his bottle. Getting a little shut-eye is al right — in moderation. However, as the thrill of class and buying books steadily wears off, we need to stand up in true Aggieness and nip this napping problem in the bud. Just think of all the great things our student body could accomplish if napping was brought under control. More students would be in class learning, or just hanging out with friends and smelling the roses. College is supposed to be the best time of our lives. Napping cuts that time short. So, let us unite and lick this nasty habit. After all, we will have all the time to nap in the world when we are d,ead. And we haven’t bit the dust yet! Mail rest you : eeling forced into Armed Forces 510 JV l im high, be all I a you can be, and V.go full speed pad so you can be ;e of a few good n, Just make sure are doing it for the ht reasons. Throughout my Idhood, my parents Ight me’that it was I duty to serve my Jntry. My head was shaved t buzz haircut and I re camouflage around the back 'd as I killed the imaginary ene- with my toy guns. Iln church, the pastor taught (that before starting our lives, us men had the obligation to the armed forces. When I first came to Texas iM and joined the Corps of dets, I was motivated to be a irine. I had a few friends who re in the Marine Corps and I vhow proud they were. I was e of what I wanted to do with 'life — I was going to be a tine Corps Aviator. But after my freshman year, I ;an to question whether or not it path was the right one for me. No, it wasn’t because of all frustrating hardships I had dured as a freshman — I ew that being an officer in J military was going to be tch different than being a fish the Corps. My uncertainty s a little deeper. I began watching and remem- ingwhat had gone on in the Columnist David Boldt Senior marketing and management major world in the past few years. Pictures went through my head of an American soldier’s body being dragged through the streets of Mo gadishu, Somalia and thousands of men and women leaving their families to go off to war in the Middle East. I wasn’t afraid of dy ing. If it’s my time to die, I am going to die no matter what I am doing. My concern had to do with the reason those who died pointless deaths joined the military. When these courageous men and women join the U.S. Armed Forces, they take an oath to pro tect the freedom of Americans. Before the Soviet Union fell as a world power in 1989, soldiers at least had the possibility of de fending the United States. Countries who possess nu clear power know the United States has more nuclear war heads than they do. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to fire their nuclear mis siles on us. To some, the absurd atrocity of the Vietnam war had the pur pose of stopping communism from spreading. In Desert Storm, these fine men and women were protecting the U. S. economy by defending the oil rich land of Kuwait. But sending soldiers to places like Somalia, Bosnia and the most recent campaign in Iraq, to die for people who do nothing to benefit the United States is useless. Why should I be obligated to kill and possibly die for some one in some other country who simply whines to Clinton for help? Supplies, medical care and economic assistance — yes. American lives — no. We are all lucky to live in a time when the threat of an attack on U. S. soil is slim to nonexistent. Thanks to the brave men and women who have served through out history, we are pretty darn safe. However, the need for a strong military is still alive and the U.S. Armed Forces offers great opportunities to all who choose that path. But since the threat of an at tack is no longer eminent, the obligation for all men to serve no longer exists. One can serve the American people just as well by making money in the business world and investing it or giving it to charity. Fortunately, like my father before me, my choice was lifted by physical problems. But there are many men and women on this campus whose parents have ingrained the obliga tion to serve. These are not just cadets, but just about anyone with ultra-con servative parents. Join if you want to learn lead ership and respect. Join if you want to fly jets. Join if you want to travel the world at the expense of the government. But don’t join out of sheer obligation. Judge Tupac with greater knowledge Losing Tupac is a tragedy that I still cannot find the words for. I hate it that yet another black man is dead for no reason. I hate it even more that the na tion he lived and died in is filled with people who think they can look at his life, judge his actions, weigh his worth and find him wanting. I hate that we have a nation full of people living in glass houses trying to throw boulders at his life and insisting that we, as fans, are wrong for being hurt, wrong for grieving and wrong for loving Tupac. If you are wondering who will weep for Tupac, then you need look no further, because that is my brother who died in Las Vegas. Maybe if some of you boulder throwers would listen to his lyrics you would discover that he was your brother, too. Nature Sargent Class of’96 Biased media errs in criticism of Tupac I’m really tired of the media and others criticizing Tupac Shakur. First of all, Tupac was not a gangsta nor did he rap about gang banging. From the release of his debut album, “2Pacalypse Now”, the media has only portrayed nega tive images of Shakur. What about 2Pac’s positive songs such as “Dear Mama,” “Can U Get Away,” “Life Goes On” and several others? Despite some troubles he might have had with the law and his lyrics, Tupac was the victim. Someone took the life of a very talented person who had much to offer the music indus try. The media doesn’t discuss the sins of its other victims or blame them for their own deaths. Why is Tupac different? If I didn’t know any better, watching MTV and CNN would give me the idea that Tupac was just another angry young black man who got what he deserved. They conveniently left out the clips of Shakur’s smile and playful disposition. We only saw what the media wanted us to see, such as 2Pac leaving a courtroom. Mason Jackson obviously did n’t do any research nor is he knowledgeable about rap. Kensley R. Alexander Class of’98 Mice needed for accurate research I sympathize with Jon Apgar’s feelings about animal testing; However,he seems to have little understanding about how animal research is actually done. Drugs with clinical promise must first go through animal test ing against three different species. The purpose is to eliminate errors that might occur by initially choos ing a species whose reaction to a drug might not parallel our own. Once the drug has cleared an imal tests, it enters clinical trial in humans, which consists of very specific phases. The first determines toxicity in humans and is guided by the LD50 data Apgar is so quick to condemn. The reason is very simple — you don’t want the first injection of a drug to be the last injection of the patient’s life. Tests such as the Draize eye test, although certainly on shaky ethical grounds, are important, in particular for the cosmetics in dustry. What other method is there to determine whether or not a new mascara causes blindness? Apgar also suggests using post mortem studies to test drug effica cies. What does he think animal testing is? Would he rather kill ten or twenty human patients before a doctor figures out how to handle a new drug? Does anyone want their parents, children or spouse to be the first guinea pig? A medicine, thought to be an excellent supplement for offset ting side effects of chemotherapy, was used in a hospital without any animal testing. All of the pa tients died within days. I will certainly be among the first to cheer when animal testing is no longer necessary. At this time, how ever, the only way to determine what a medicine will do in a body is to put it in a body. If the choice is between a mouse and my sister, I “ sadly choose the mouse. Robert T Crow- Chemistry professor j Liberal martians : invade on mission : About midnight, I was walking near the MSC when a small space craft came down and began to hov-. er just over Rudder Fountain. I crouched in fear as a door- * way to the craft opened and two * dozen little green men ran to the nearby bulletin boards and start ed ripping down fliers seemingly without discretion, but I soon re alized their purpose. They were destroying College Republican fliers with extreme malice. Then I noticed it, printed on the side of their ship, our smiling presi dent’s face and the words “Martians for Clinton” printed beneath it. I gasped at the sight of such a nefarious attack on free speech. My broken silence was enough to draw the attention of the aliens who then captured me and forced me onto their ship along with thou sands of CR fliers. I was forced to watch hours of programs perpetrated by the “liberal news media” and made ^ to join organizations like PETA and Green Peace. I would have been doomed to a life of bleeding heart sentimentality if not for the courageous efforts of , the College Republicans. With re doubled efforts, they replaced every old flier with two new ones that snapped me back to the “real world”! of hard-nosed conservatism. I was saved by the College Re- • publicans, but be careful, the “liberal extremists” will surely return tonight. Jeremy Grohikey Class of’99 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, IX 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.