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Pag (
• January 16, iJ
The Battalion
I ()
; season and h
'aight dual meets,
ox sign
it Drabeli W
n _ Thp rhW J
uryear. Law slain in vain
University making poor use of newly freed space
^ urely students have noticed
the vast empty space where
The Chios: ^ Puryear and Law Halls used to
ig to shore uptfe itanc ^- ^ ow l ^ e P ro P ert y is kmd of
have signed fome ierene ’ ^i 111 ^ nauddy and kind of
winner Doug Drase ise l ess -
tract. Students may recall, a strange
won the 1990C| wilding-rubble hybrid filled the
going 22-6 ot for several months last semes-
pitched the Is er.The pile did little to improve
with the Houste the campus skyline, but it allowed
g a 38-42 record.
Columnist
tsto slowly come to terms with the
David Johnston
Junior Math major
;ned Tuesday w 'act Puryear and Law would no
lillion, and he car
.3 million in peifo
he didn't cart
positioned in th
d he couldn't pii
mbers have falls
ral years. He su£
e of the problem!
id from the lack o'
> sinker,
n 1993, his first it
i finished 12-6 wl
I lowing season.
94-77
previous night,
pride. Lastnighl
ssed.”
hich won for the
games, had five
i double figures,
ad 18 points and
hn Starks,
Charles Oakley
s.
ey were going t
Chris Childs, who
ts and five assists,
‘nUtah and some
is this season, s
1 to play hard®
ling minutes, so
ting, sell-out
the Aggies at
d the hustling
isappoint.
Quesada said of
uld love to have
wd every single
:ks you up when
whenever they
near them cheer
lly helps."
o the bitter end
ms shot for shot
he end, however,
as just had
nd was too g
w line.
I well," Baronf
criticism of
:y played as hard
possibly pk
a you can say
yed their heart!
iticize them."
onger be with us.
With removal of the halls finally complete,
University officials have recendy discussed re
placing the buildings. The current plans, howev
er, do not make much sense.
Although there is a high demand for parking
space, classrooms and housing on the main
campus, University officials plan to create a
“green area” where the popular residence halls
once stood. This sounds nice, but Northside al
ready has several park-like “green areas.” This
site is just a brick’s throw from Keathley Beach
(the open space between FHK-Complex and
Wellborn Road) and lies adjacent to the O.R.
Simpson Drill Field.
Dr. Ray Bowen, A&M president, supports
the “green area” plan. He said he likes the
idea of “opening up campus,” and adds he
enjoys looking out his window to plenty of
green space.
While the University President improves
the view from his office, West Campus con
tinues to expand and students face longer
and longer commutes between
classes.
Students feel concern for the
safety of those they care about as
they trek to and from Fish Lot late
at night.
On more than one occasion, I
have been unable to find red-tag
parking anywhere. Maybe there is a
hidden lot I do not know about, but
until I find it, I am forced to either
circle parking lots like a vulture or
find some way to entertain myself
off-campus.
President Bowen
offers litde hope to
those who would like
to see something
useful constructed
on the site. The loca
tion, however, is one
of several being con
sidered for a new hall
within the next 10
years.
In the meantime,
the Residence Hall
Association is gather
ing student support to build a memorial to
Puryear and Law Halls in the green area. The
memorial, which could be built as early as this
June, will include two stone arches and a $52,000
price tag.
In addition to the expensive memorial,
RHA is also considering adding barbecue pits
or volleyball courts to encourage students to
use the park.
Most students agree our oldest residence halls
deserve some sort of visible memory, but $52,000
is a lot of money to pull from any University
source. This sort of project should be a class gift,
not University funded. It seems university plan
ners have a propensity for throwing money
around on small projects while complaining they
cannot free up funds.
The Puryear site is valuable land. As main
campus becomes more crowded, West Campus
continues to grow. Besides the inconvenience of
commuting long distances between classes, we
have already seen tragic accidents involving stu
dents crossing Wellborn Road. As the University’s
westward expansion
continues, officials
propose expensive
pedestrian walks or
tunnels to prevent
further injuries. This
effort seems mis
spent when officials
are landscaping
“green areas” on the
main campus.
Space is already
at a high premium
on campus. Many
on-campus students walk over 20 minutes from
their hall to their car. Most off-campus students
brave fierce crowds at bus stops, or drive to cam
pus hours before their classes begin in hopes of
finding an open parking space. With the increas
ing demand for space and escalating safety con
cerns, we can’t afford to sacrifice prime property
on the main campus for another “green area.”
While the University President
improves the view from his of
fice, west campus continues to
expand and students face
longer and longer commutes
between classes
mt. twy&n.ccm/ mAryt ties
Right to die can be a dangerous tool
ne. The BaitalK 1 '
Calvin Davis
3all to Texas
the second ha 1.
AGUE
ile the only
two certainties
in life may be
death and taxes, in the
'ast, the federal govern-
lent has limited itself
to regulating taxes.
This changed last
Wednesday when the
fight to give doctors the
right to prescribe death
as the final treatment for
terminal illness reached
the Supreme Court. The
states of New York and
Washington appealed lower court
rulings which annulled state laws
banning physician-assisted suicide.
At stake is whether Americans
possess the right to die when dis
ease leaves them with less than six
months to live. Currently, Oregon is
the only state with a law allowing
physician-assisted suicide. A ruling
against New York and Washington
will legalize physician-assisted sui
cide throughout the United States.
This would be unfortunate, as the
right to die is a right Americans can
not afford to gain.
A desire for the right to die al
ready exists. An article on doctors
in Washington state, appearing in
last March’s Journal of the Ameri
can Medical Association, reported
12 percent of the respondents had
received requests to assist a pa
tient’s suicide in the previous year.
Columnist
John Lemons
Engineering Graduate
student
Four percent had been
asked to euthanize a pa
tient.
This right defies every
thing we’ve believed
about good medical prac
tice. The Hippocratic
Oath includes a provision
against mercy killing stat
ing, “I will give no deadly
medicine to anyone if
asked, nor suggest any
such counsel.” Are doc
tors prepared to become
both healer and execu
tioner, and are Americans willing to
accept them as both? Probably not.
Jennifer Carr, a junior psychology
major and EMT, said, “With all of
the responsibilities we are putting
on physicians, and all the lawsuits
we’re giving them, it is unfair to
force them into a situation where
they have to make that choice.”
How will we prevent doctors
from rampantly prescribing
physician-assisted suicide if it
becomes legal? The courts and
medical establishments have
found themselves incapable of
preventing Jack Kervorkian from
assisting 44 suicides since 1990.
Modern medicine already faces a
tremendous problem with doc
tors pushing unnecessary proce
dures. The legalization of physi
cian-assisted suicide creates the
potential for doctors and insur
ance companies to pressure ter
minally ill patients into commit
ting suicide rather than undergo
ing expensive long-term medical
care. The only feasible way to
prevent this abuse is for the gov
ernment to strictly regulate it.
This means creating another
large government bureaucracy,
something nobody wants.
A compelling argument for the
right to die is it vali
dates a person’s life
by preventing him
or her from deterio
rating into some
thing helpless and
pitiful. On the con
trary, physician-as
sisted suicide de
values life. It sends
a message that life
becomes worthless
when stricken with
disease. In a world which worships
youth, strength and beauty, this is
a dangerous message.
In Wednesday’s hearing, Wash
ington state Attorney General Chris
tine Gregoire said, “The history and
tradition of our country is a total
ban on taking the life of another.”
We defy our history and en
danger our weak by granting the
right to die.
What do we teach our children
when we tell them some people
are better off dead? In a culture
What do we
teach our chil
dren when we
tell them some
people are better
off dead?
where much of our entertainment
revolves around watching televi
sion shows and movies featuring
violent killing, we teach our chil
dren life is cheap. When life be
comes cheap, we start to lose
rights instead of gaining them.
We live in a time where we get
what we want, when we want it. Our
pizzas come in thirty minutes, and
our mail arrives overnight. Unfortu
nately, death is not
often so expedient.
Still, suicide is not
the solution to ter
minal illness.
Part of the solu
tion lies in a com
ment made by Sh
eryl Allen, RN, BSN,
weekend supervisor
at Sherwood nurs
ing home in Bryan.
She said, “Most of
the people here (at Sherwood) have
family come and visit them at least
once a week.” These families who
are committed to spending time
with their dying loved ones can pro
vide the love and emotional support
necessary to make a terminal illness
more endurable. The rest of the so
lution lies with doctors who are
knowledgeable in the latest develop
ments for pain mitigation. With
these tools, perhaps we can comfort
the dying without giving them a
right they do not need.
Page 7
Thursday • January 16, 1997
Media judgements
taint reputations
W arning: The
concept of
“innocent un
til proven guilty” is
quickly becoming
vague because of an
over scrutinizing
American population.
Anyone who has
been previously held in
high regard can now be
degraded within an
inch of their life until
the glory of their by-
gone- days becomes a
mockery to be utilized by all.
For instance, Dallas Cowboy’s
wide receiver Michael Irvin was
recently charged with felony
possession when he was discov
ered at a hotel party with topless
dancers and cocaine.
At a subsequent trial, Irvin
pleaded no contest and received
a suspended sentence for five
games by the NFL commission
er. After this well-publicized
event, Irvin remained under a
high-powered microscope ma
neuvered by the media, law offi
cials and preying public. They
were ready to hop on the band
wagon of Irvin’s tainted image.
With this bad press, the fire of
accusations burned brighter
when Nina Shahravan, a former
topless dancer, filed a police re
port Dec. 30 accusing Irvin of
holding her at gunpoint while
Erik Williams and a third man
raped her.
In a similar case, Vickie Run
ning, executive secretary for the
Texas A&M Board of Regents,
was charged with tampering
with government documents.
Like Irvin, eager to move on with
life, Running also pleaded no
contest to her records tampering
charge.
The question of her guilt and
tainted image soon became the
interest of Ross Margraves’ at
torney when he called her as a
court witness.
BillTlimer, the District Attorney
handling the case said, “One of the
defendant’s theories was that be
cause Vickie Running prepared the
paperwork for the trip that she,
rather than Margraves, was re
sponsible for the misapplications.”
A distinct likeness is present
in the comparison of these two
stories: The second
accusation, of which
neither party was
guilty, was based on
the contaminated
opinion of the public
and media.
The public and
media had forsaken
an open mind and
sound judgment and
started to idolize the
concept of the “once-
a-bad-seed-always-a-
bad-seed” syndrome.
Guilt was never proven. It was
the basis of a hostile, incriminat
ing society looking for a story to
sink their arraigning teeth into.
Privacy has been sacrificed for
something obviously more im
portant — the public’s interest.
Those who try to move on af
ter their reputations have been
assailed find it difficult in this
jump-the-gun kind of justice
which has been established as
part of America’s heritage.
Although most Americans
have conveniently forgotten such
a concept exists, “innocent until
proven guilty” is still the best way
to judge a person’s character.
Everyone deserves the benefit
of the doubt.
We have been raised in a soci
ety constandy pointing fingers,
looking for someone to blame.
Until we take responsibility for our
own actions, the concept of equal
justice can never fully be realized.
With everyone expressing
recognition for their own
mishaps, we won’t be so eager
to jump to conclusions about
others’ short comings. Those
whose mistakes are made pub
lic yearn for peace of mind as
earnestly as anyone, so let’s give
it to them. Overall, this makes a
more fair, just society.
Condemnation is too emotion
ally, mentally and physically scar
ring to be used so carelessly. It is
sad this practice has become so
commonplace and popular.
Barbara Jewell, the mother of
Richard Jewell who was at the
mercy of intense federal investiga
tion for the ’96 Summer Olympic
bombing, said, “The media has
descended on us like vultures on
prey. They have taken all privacy
from us. They have taken all
peace.”
Columnist
Kate Shropshire
Freshman Meteorology
major
Editorial Roundup
The following Editorials are
from earlier this week dealing with
the start of a new congressional
term.
The Washington Post, on the Clin
ton administration’s plans for the
District of Columbia
The Clinton administration has
made a substantial and welcome
proposal to change the long-term
fiscal outlook for (Washington).
The decision to include the pro
posal in next month’s budget hard
ly guarantees approval. Congress
would have to concur, and some of
the early reaction there yesterday
was negative. But the issue of re
structuring has now been raised,
and joined, in a way it earlier had
not. What used to be mainly atop
ic of conversation is on its way to
becoming a legislative proposal.
You should count that as enor
mous progress — we do — no mat
ter what you think of the details.
The Wall Street Journal, on the
Democrats’ tactics in Congress
The thing to keep in mind
about the news that a Democrat
leaked the transcript of an illegal
ly taped telephone conversation
involving Newt Gingrich is that
this isn’t at all surprising. Such be
havior is the logical consequence
of Boniorism.
Boniorism describes those De
mocrats, led by whip David Bo
nier of Michigan, who have never
come to terms with the reality of
losing the House. They view the
Republican victory of 1994 as
morally illegitimate, a product of
Mr. Gingrich’s schemes, despite its
ratification in 1996. So anything
goes in their attempt to destroy
him as Speaker and ultimately to
take back Congress.
The New York Times, on the ,
ethics charges against the Speaker
The House Republicans have
stumbled upon a diversionary tac
tic that may play well inside Con
gress but will not fool a public
grown weary of politicians who will
do whatever they can to avoid full
disclosure. Having destroyed any
semblance of order in the ethics
committee investigation into the
conduct of Speaker Newt Gingrich,
the Republican leadership now at
tempts to cloud the issue further
by attacking those who have come
forward with an audio tape in
which Mr. Gingrich and his col
leagues discussed ways to limit the
political damage.
The taped conversation is mere
ly one piece of evidence against the
Speaker. It... does not deal with the
main charge against him.... Never
theless, the tape should be
weighed by the committee and by
House members as they consider
the gravity of Mr. Gingrich’s trans
gressions and his punishment.
The (Toledo) Blade, on re-election
of House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Those who live by the sword, it is
said, often die by the sword. That
might be the political epitaph for
the author of the sweeping Repub
lican congressional victory of 1994..
In winning the House speakership
by just three votes over an uninspir
ing Democrat, Newt Gingrich did
not die, politically speaking, but he
is nursing a pretty deep wound.
Republicans, from force of habit,
refuse to abandon their leaders, even
if prudence dictates it.
It was clear in the 1996 cam
paign that the Republicans lacked
a good recounterpuncher. In light
of Mr. Gingrich’s close call, it is ev-