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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1996)
ednesday • October 30 ( | Smi Bm ■. The Bati I 1 D f \J r 1 Battalion ION Page 11 : Wednesday • October 30, 1993; inks celebratei :reets, air NEW YORK (AP)-H r team just won the World it are you going to dorm' "or starters, take [ne shower. Some members ofttie k Yankees gave their t just deserts duringanaj e Monday on CBS' tale i David Letterman. Bernie Williams de Boggs, Paul O'Nei rtinez and Graeme ired onstage monologue. Later, as Is n wrapped up his inten i Torre, the players k with warm it fly, soaking Torre Letterman. "he celebration didn't ends Yankees were fetedki i a ticker-tape parade tin er Manhattan and rode ugh a crowd that was es: re millions. ithor adds! injury with 'ORTLAND, Ore. (AP)-M ire is suggesting a roadirr d be called Phil and Mt he filmmaker and TV Ira i to promote his book to / — spent an hourwil irman and co-l [ht, who had invited Moo the company's headquc" : /erton. In his book, ht No. 3 on his "corporate: file” because of Mike's ft heap overseas labor, loore arrived in Knightss« sanctuary Friday, video ta and proposed a trip to 1^ — leaving on Sunday! i pulled two airline tickets oocket, Nike spokesman!! rs said, night couldn't make time® 1 idule, but the two ork out a time early ifflt* rs said. Tatholic Church’s policy evolves slowly to present day B elieve it or not, it is possi ble to have one’s cake and eat it, too. Last Thursday, the Pope announced that the human body may have been the product of gradual evolution. In effect, this statement of fered an olive branch to heal the rift between faith and science. This decision shows the Roman Catholic Church is on its way to allowing its follow ers to live in the modern world. The Church has nourished both the bodies and souls of man for cen turies, but as other de nominations serve elab orate five-course meals, the Church continues to serve a daily supplement of gruel to Catholics. And if the Church doesn’t cater more to its followers’ needs, it may find itself with out followers. Keeping up with the pace of life today is similar to Opinion Editor Heather Pace Sophomore English major watching a movie in fast-for ward. With the transient atten tion spans of up-and-coming generations and the number of competing interests for those attention spans, it is necessary for the Church to cater the changing needs of who are, in effect, its customers. Because the Church must battle not only the many distrac tions that take people away from religion, but also other denomi nations and forms of enlighten ment that cater more to people’s needs, the Church has definitely taken a step in the right direction in its recent deci sion to recognize evolution. Advocating a modem idea such as evolu tion shows that the Church is ready to deal with the problems of modem-day society. By accepting evolution, the Church wants to heal the deep schism, a problem between science and faith that must be dealt with if the Church hopes to help man’s soul under stand and deal with today’s world. Technol ogy is here to stay, and the Church must take the initiative in offering a solution to the vast differences separating two different, but essential, areas to life. This doesn’t mean the Church should re move one of the Ten Commandments. However, it is time to make the Catholic Church more user-friendly. Seeking answers in a world dominated by capitalism, early Protestants turned from the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation. During America’s Great Awakening in the 1830s, converts to denominations such as Methodism found satisfaction in the emotional messages of evangelists, a far cry from the fire-and- brimstone of Puritan preachers. Remarkably enough, the Church has managed to remain funda mentally the same for time immemorial. But in an ever- changing world, Catholics in the United States don’t struggle with the same is sues that their Third World counterparts face. They want answers to their per sonal struggles, but the Church is determined to re cite the same answers. The Church should not al ter its basic message, but it must be willing to admit its mistakes in non-fundamental areas, such as the question of female priests. After Bob Dole said smoking wasn’t dangerous, he looked like an idiot when he didn’t just admit he had made a mistake. Likewise, the Church has a long history of abiding by its beliefs, « even in the face of contrary evidence. It J took the Church until 1992 to admit it may » have made a mistake in persecuting Galileo, for his assertion that the earth moved around the sun. The Pope said the decision concerning ; evolution came in the face of new evidenced But the decision isn’t anything new—just ; official — because in 1950, Pope Pius XII . accepted the theory of evolution as long as it wasn’t taught as fact. His only concern was that atheists would use it to remove God from man’s creation. Evolution has been taught for years in ; parochial school classrooms — it is only in public schools that evolution remains a heated source of debate. Moreover, the Church won’t even con sider allowing women to become priests. Heaven knows what would happen if women were admitted to the priesthood. God knows Catholic priests have gotten in some hot water for their licentious actions. However, any change is a big change in a. Church that praises women who stay home and take care of the kids. In a world ruled by political cor rectness, it is amazing that the Church can retain its female members with such outrageous statements. And why is it the Church adamantly refuses to promote birth control? With the ma jority of Catholics residing in Third World countries, large families don’t « do much to reduce poverty. The Church has always been stub- ; born, sticking to its guns in an ever- changing world, but it is about time it emerged from the Middle Ages. This is imperative if the Church hopes to. retain both filled pews and coffers. And it must change to survive in America, where i religion is big business. Today, religion comes directly to homes ! across America, whether it 1 is wanted or not. Bored students may be familiar with Channel 38, which of fers varied programs fea turing Christian body builders and reformed rock stars. Much of mod ern-day religion caters to the whims of its devoted flock, but Catholics must overlook major fallacies in what the Church deems appropriate and fitting for the modem world. The Church’s accep tance of the theory of evolution is only the first step; now, the Church should allow its policies to evolve right along with its theories. The Church has always been stub born, sticking to its guns in an ever-changing world, but it is about time it emerged from the Middle Ages. r. ds Mean-spirited rivalries block understanding The Battalion Established in 1893 torials appearing in The Battalion reflect the |ns of the editorials board members. They do necessarily reflect the opinions of other Bat- ion staff members, the Texas A&M student oy, regents, administration, faculty or staff, lumns, guest columns, cartoons and letters iress the opinions of the authors, ntact the opinion editor for information on imitting guest columns. Editorials Board Michael Landauer Editor in Chief Amy Collier Executive Editor Gretchen Perrenot Executive Editor Heather Pace Opinion Editor ur- fhe A, Life Insurance The University should ensure the afety of students on Wellborn Road. Last May, Go Shibata died at- pting to cross the railroad cks next to Wellborn Road. Even as plans get under way 'endow a scholarship in Shiba- js name, nothing is being done ensure the safety of the thou- nds of students who must urney across Wellborn Road jfery day. For years, the University has con- pered various solutions, yet noth- ighas come of its suggestions. The time has come, though, or the University to stop talk- Ig and start acting on solu- ions that would ensure the tofety of students. [Right now, students must loss Wellborn Road via the [inbow to avoid traffic com- letely, requiring students to go fell out of their way. Most importantly, the rain- >w is inadequate for the many ke riders and rollerbladers ho cross Wellborn. Because ey are not allowed to use the inbow, they must put them- Ives at danger as cars come ireening around corners. I One proposal made was to bat Wellborn Road as a school Ine. This proposal failed, lough, because the school lones are available only for K-12 ichools; moreover, the road is a ate highway, providing yet an other obstacle. . With the University’s con nections and paid lobbyists, there is no reason for a simple issue such as this which has at its heart concern for safety, not to be accepted. Instead of giving up on the proposal, the University should have pushed for a change that would have saved lives. Other possible solutions in clude constructing an under ground tunnel or hiring cross ing guards. Relocating the train tracks altogether, although ob viously expensive, would bene fit both pedestrians and dri vers, who are often late to class because of frequent trains. In the past, College Station and Bryan took a serious look at moving the train tracks, and there is no reason that this could not be explored again. Although these solutions may seem expensive and illogical, the lives that will be saved over the long run will justify the cost. Operation Lifesaver, spon sored by the Texas Transporta tion Institute, will be making presentations concerning com mon sense safety practices to various student organizations. Hopefully, this will enable students to make intelligent de cisions concerning their safety since such decisions are not be ing made by the University. I t’s 3 a.m. at the polo fields and the love between Aggies is clearly evident. Ahh, the beautiful sounds of Bonfire. “Give me a log, you nonreg piece of #*%@,” “Blow me, @#%hole. Why don’t you get your bald @#% off my stack, Corps turd?” Why are these people so mad? Do they really hate each other? Nah, it’s all good bull. Friendly rivalries exist all over the world. But Texas A&M has an overabundance of them. At a school where most people have a common bond, some members of the Aggie family seem to be having family feuds. The Corps calls the Aggie Band a bunch of fat nerds. The band retali ates whenever we touch its precious practice field. The nonregs call the Corps a bunch of bald-headed mili- Columnist David Boldt Senior marketing and management major tant freaks. The Corps calls the nonregs a bunch of lazy, long-haired couch potatoes. And, of course, anyone who’s not Greek calls the frat guys and sorority girls a bunch of snobs who buy their friends. The sad thing is that there are people on cam pus who buy into these stereotypes and think that everyone different from them is an idiot. Usually they are freshmen or sopho mores who have been brainwashed by upperclassmen, but sometimes they just have had a bad experience with another group. Maybe they’re nonregs who quit the Corps because of some injus tice. Maybe they didn’t get a bid from their favorite fraternity. Maybe some long-haired nonreg told them they looked dorky in that uniform. On the other hand, there are students who justify the stereo types. There are some nonregs who are couch potatoes, Greeks who are snobs, band members who are geeks, and Corps members who are fanatical about being cadets. These stereotypes, which fuel the rivalries, didn’t just come out of someone’s imagination. But do the majority of these groups really hate each other? Are these rivalries anything but friendly? For the most part, the answer is no. These are just different groups of Aggies having fun farting each other off. It’s not personal. It’s like they’re mak ing fun of their brothers. These groups may harass each other, but see what happens if some t-sip messes with a guy wearing an Aggie ring in front of other Aggies. Whether the person is wearing a uniform, a Dixie Chicken hat or Greek letters, it suddenly doesn’t matter. You don’t see many Aggies ask ing people if they are cadets, Greeks or nonregs before deciding whether or not to say howdy to them. Our various Student Government orga nizations aren’t split into Corps, nonregs and Greeks sections. And at yell practice and the games, there aren’t three separate groups locking arms to saw varsity’s horns off. Having pride in an organiza tion is a perfectly natural emo tion. There is no doubt that outsiders can’t completely un derstand different lifestyles. But looking down on someone because they don’t have the same experiences is ignorant. When we leave this place our memories may be different, but our rings will all look the same. Ask yourself what would happen next Tuesday night if you died today. People would show up in front of Sully in complete silence to pay their respects to you. Not cadets, not Greeks, not nonregs ... just Aggies. Mah- Trainspotting fails to glamorize heroin Regarding Jeremy Valdezs Oct. 29 column, “Hollywood glamorizes heroin use": Instead of accusing Hollywood for the “glamorization” of drugs maybe we could look instead to the real root of the drug problem in America: personal choice. When I saw Trainspotting, I did n’t see any glamorization of hero in. The addicts sleepwalk through life, experiencing phases of over dosing, rehab and flashbacks, all in a very gruesome perspective. The addicts live in slums, neglect themselves mentally, physically and emotionally and turn to lives of crime so they can maintain heroin ho- moeostasis. Valdez fails to rec ognize the real message of Trainspotting: People use drugs to escape problems. Yes, you may have a happy- go-lucky time while doing it, but if a movie shows more why peo ple do drugs than just the action itself, it serves as an educational and effective purpose more than a fifth grade DARE program. Kate Shropshire Class of’00 Heinroth should focus on real issue Regarding Michael Heinroth’s Oct. 28 column, “Media’s biased coverage commits moral sins": Unfortunately (but not to my surprise), Heinroth has written about yet another non-existent media issue: religion bashing in the media. He certainly did not research the topic to any degree. This may come as a surprise, but everyone in this country is not of the same religion. Although he would have us believe we are all be coming atheists, this is not the case. There is no evidence of a me dia attack on religion. If there is, it is unfortunate he did not cite any specific examples. Anthony Raymundo 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, 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.