Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1997)
Pag day • February 6,1j| Spot Brie The Battalion m I INION Page 9 Thursday • February 6, 1997 an mustbi st behavi IGELES (AP) - | I be back in the spot er a microscope- to the Chicago Bulls mmissioner David j him ;r inci- as the when :ked a j me ra- ri onth, I his . 35, sus- nine 1992 mes since last i coach Phil Jad an must realizehei arrogance esults in Irish pain Rodmaoj s has to undersi (ague is watching e line of peace has been drawn on Irish soil. The time now for the past to be alt with and for peace to evolve in its place. Last Thursday marked the 25th an- iversary of the infa- ous Bloody Sunday lings in Derry, Ireland, is solemn occasion me and went, but the itish government iled to take the oppor- nity to begin the process of heal- ig the rift in Northern Ireland. For 25 years of recent history, Opinion Editor Alex Walters Senior Journalism major be on his best be lc i thousands of years before, >on said. slap Sp faro -I I lllsed sovereign idlsCy l md, and raped LPHIA (AP) he stat sheet bad® < Davis already knew, 1 a lot of good tli Davis said aftei ia 76ers beat the purs 113-97 on I ;ht. "We’re startifi oall well.’’ hia was 44-of-75fr rs in winning its lose representing the crown of le United Kingdom have mur- ered their Irish ‘subjects,’ pil- and sacred Irish the collective The iftiint of the ancient Celtic tribes. Time and time again, the ritish have kept a stiff upper lip. y doing so, they have paralyzed le open dialogue necessary for eace. The Anglo tradition of tewing quietly while time dulls ie pain of mistakes is outdated nd foolish. The solution for Northern Ire- cent) and committee md is simple, though near im- ossible, because it involves a ven starts following a tumble attitude on both sides of lie Irish Sea. I The British must admit they are lltimately to blame for the vio lence which claimed the lives of liorethan 3,000 Irish men, women and children. This is not including countless subjects of the United Kingdom. The following is a partial list of crimes the British have commit ted against Irish humanity in re cent history: • During the late 19th century, just before the start ofWorld War I, d from Page 71 t/ie crown sponsored and offered “rotection to Protestant gun-run- ing efforts. (Arms were and are il- gaiin Northern Ireland.) After putting down the Easter ; streak. son led the 76ersr Stackhouse had 22 . and Rex Walters IT g- anid, which has lor was led by Hr 19 points. ■ had 16 poiiP Wilkins and VT- id 14 each. UITS idn’t have eno guys to work with rog. So 1 think trselves there. Tli ising in 1916, Irish revolutionar- line and second; ;s were brutally executed, me- o areas that I tl# j e val style, in public arenas. This rselves the most, ccurred, despite the fact these because of its evolutionaries had neither in- ihasis on defend Jrec j nor killed anyone. •The British have forced a state if'Martial Law’ on Northern Ire- d since 1972, complete with ed paratroopers marching the eets and an openly corrupt po lice force terrorizing the populace. •The British have stalled the peace process and frustrated the citizens of Ulster by refusing to recognize Sinn Fein (the political arm of the IRA). Yet, they openly accept and privately condone the Ulster Volunteer Force (the Protestant counter part to the IRA). They have done this despite the fact the IRA put down their weapons in a year-long cease fire. These crimes withstanding, the Irish remain hopeful peace is just around the corner. For a brief pe riod of time (during the mutual cease-fire), a calm washed over the streets and shops of Derry, Belfast, Inniskillen and all other Ulster cities better known for ram pant violence than colorful cul ture and beautiful land. Sectarian lines were crossed: Protestants forgot for a time they hated Catholics and Catholics stopped living in fear of brutal retaliations. Soon peace became stagnate because British overlords, led by Prime Minister John Major, sat on their hands and placed ridiculous demands on Sinn Fein — demands which did not apply to the UVF When the IRA sat still, kept their peace and waited for the British, nothing happened. When they raised arms, shouted and act ed out of rage, at least then they were recognized. Now, the situation remains as it has been since 1972. The ball is in the British court. It would be quite a start if they recognize Catholics as humans in stead of chattle. If the British were to ask for an other cease-fire from the IRA, they would get it if genuinely serious about peace. The British should pull the troops out in return for a renewed cease-fire, and make seats for Ger ry Adams and Martin McGuiness (the executive officers of Sinn Fein) at the peace table. Maybe then the Irish would believe the British quest for peace in their only remaining colony. Then and only then will the wheels of peace begin to turn. TWenty-five years is long enough. Wicked web of porn Internet overrun with pornographic images P ornography has repeat edly hidden behind a warped interpretation of the First Amend ment. But what disturbs me is part of my tuition is being used by others to satisfy their addiction. As we all know, pornography is big business in this coun try. Even movies about the pornographers them selves are best-sellers. The Internet is no ex ception. There is no shortage of pornog raphy online, de spite the wealth of data showing it is dangerous and linked to rape and violent crime. In an 18-month study, researchers at Carnegie Mellon found 917,410 pic tures, stories and clips in Usenet newsgroups on the Internet. Over 80 percent of the pic tures on these newsgroups were pornographic. The majority of the im ages involved pe dophilia, bestiality, sadomasochism and other “hard core” subjects. A quick look at computer usage statistics for the tam2000 web server, provided free of charge to students by Texas A&M Uni versity, found two of the top-five stu dent web pages accessed in a 24-hour period con tained pornographic ma terial. This accounted for over 14 percent of total hits on student web pages. Incidentally, the top site, while not porno- Columnist graphic, con tained hun dreds of pic tures of popular film sex symbols. Moreover, there are 4,838 news- groups (inter net servers that aide in the compila- tion of data) in the A&M computer system. Of these, at least 61 are unquestionably pornographic. This 1.2 Robby Ray Junior speech Communications major cent are pornographic. This means if the trend continues, the overall percentage will increase as well. I know some of you are going to tell me I have no right to tell you what to put on your own web pages, but the point is this: my computer access fee is having to pay for others to post things which I find distasteful, and which have been shown to be damaging to society. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ested in sexuality, depict or describe in an offen sive way conduct speci fied by law, and lack seri ous artistic, political or scientific value. The Court also ruled even if the material is only made available to “consenting adults,” it is not immune from the law. The day before his exe cution for multiple sex crimes, Ted Bundy was interviewed by psycholo gist Dr. James Dobson. Bundy claimed his addic tion to pornography fu- percent may not seem like much until you real ize a sizable number of the newsgroups have few or no content in them at all. A more disturbing trend of the 182 new newsgroups is 5.5 per- ruled obscene material is not protected under the First Amendment as free speech. The tricky part is the definition of the word obscene. In brief, the ma terial must appeal to those excessively inter- eled his lust for brutal crime. “I’ve met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence just like me,” he said, “and with out exception, every one of them was deeply in volved in pornography.” Studies have shown rape rates are highest in those states with high sales of pornographic magazines and lax en forcement of anti pornography laws, with 86 percent of rapists ad mitting to regular usage of pornography. Pornography advo cates like to use Denmark as an example of how le gal and easily obtainable pornography can be used as a “safety valve” to vent sexual frustration and re duce sex crimes. But the 1977 Sta tistical Yearbook of Denmark, published one decade after pornography was legalized there, showed a 300 percent in crease of forcible rape, a 300 percent in crease of vene real disease and an illegitimate birth-rate of over 200 per cent. I’m glad my car doesn’t have this kind of safety valve. It’s time we get to the bot tom of all this. Despite what the courts say, pornography is a profitable business in which there will always be some one to distribute it. No amount of legislation will be able to keep it off the In ternet, but steps can be taken to ensure those who disapprove don’t have to pay for habits of others. I don’t mind if you smoke, but don’t ask me to pay for your cigarettes. Larry S | 0{un i and sper. The fresh® >o may be expected immediately. Iso helped i i a depleted seconi tocking linemen, si) /ill contribute immi tudent Senate attempts restructuring \fter years of inept operation, Senate makes a strike at real power lJ TT io r HI ont line, •eceived commitnii i offensive two linemen, r apiece for the >f quarterback, vide receiver, back Matt he Student Senate has final ly done something. No, it is- , , x —— not April Fool’s Day, and this ng replace whatwap just another column bashing e Senate. Considered by many to be the ghingstock of campus, the Sen- |e proposed several suggestions tWednesday to increase its pow- and improve its reputation. It might have taken the Senate Columnist ensive linemen, 1 leedecj,” Slocum said he would the hole at widen etter. disappointed better at the red| Slocum said, it we also needed^ d have like to have ibers at that posi 1 >uld have used r ver corner, too.” of quality and de r position is the akness in this f n Columbus, was® '°y ears to reali f e this - but ^ , nat i on ’ s t0 p 20 qE eas are enacted sometime before and running I) e com pletion of Reed Arena, the odes from Terelrus! mate might actually gain the respect of the 100 yards last seaso» ud ent body and increase its power, fensive line prosp' Although suggestions such as electing ties. Seth McKW e vice-president and making the judicial ;er brother of 'f ancb more involved will not be consid- lineman S 1 ed until after this year’s Senate elections, and Moses Vakal*! 1 e Senate will examine the possibility of re- of freshman offe® 'gning the student service fee allocation, rniisi Heimuli. le Senate will also consider eliminating ught in another qi* 1 dundant Senate seats, ick, added a coup!' Whether change is implemented or not, e Senate should first take a serious look at internal workings. Although many senators tirelessly devote e improving Texas A&M by proposing any new ideas, few are agreed upon. Even er are implemented. Unfortunately, there isn’t too much the mate can do in regard to changing actual licy because Texas A&M President Dr. Ray wen ignores everything it does. Chris Reed, Speaker of the Senate, said he pes to change this by focusing on its role determining the allocation of the student rvice fee. “We want to use this as a tool for having dent Senate legislation implemented :lass, but coaches^ id seeing that students’best interests are is an athlete will rved,” Reed said. serving several scl' f Student Government can and does play >t such an occurred Heather Pace Sophomore English major an important role in the community through co-programming and spon sorship of various committees such as United Way and Muster. As to rep resenting the student body, though, the Senate has yet to come to a con sensus on anything substantial. Short of Bowen handing the reins over to Student Government Association, SGA will remain nothing more than the weak voice of the student body. Because this responsibility seems to be lost in the woodwork of countless bills and endless meetings, here are a few simple suggestions nowhere near as difficult as the Senate coming to a consensus on anything. First, the Senate might consider inviting Amy Vanderbilt to a Senate workshop on good manners. At one Senate meeting last spring, one senator was prac tically laughed off the floor after suggesting the railroad alongside Wellborn be rerouted to avoid West Cam pus. Whether or not this proposal was real istic, the senator de served a little com mon courtesy. Second, the Sen ate could stop acting like the clique every one despised in high school. Even when those who are an integral part of the clique aren’t reelected, they are promptly appoint ed back into the clan. Like the yell leader referendum issue, the Senate doesn’t seem to listen to the students when they do speak up. If a senator isn’t re-elected, there might “We want to use this as a tool for having student sen ate legislation implemented and seeing that the students best interests are served.” Chris Reed Speaker of the Senate be a reason. Third, the Senate needs to start concen trating on what it is supposed to do — rep resent student opinion. The yell leader referendum issue has made it perfectly clear many senators do not believe it is in the best interests of the school to represent the student body’s opin ion, instead preferring to force their own beliefs on Texas A&M. The proposals suggested by Reed should change this by increasing student represen tation, maybe convincing the senators that the students aren’t as dumb as some are convinced. “We want to shift the burden to the acade mic colleges because the constituency is dis tinct and use these effectively to get all the stu dent organizations involved,” Reed said. These proposals will enable the Senate to reach out to those stu dents who simply do not care if the Senate passes the "Winter Spirit of Aggieland” bill to turn campus into a winter wonderland. Student Body Presi dent Carl Baggett cau tioned the proposals should be studied care fully to ensure they really will benefit the students. Mail CZ AU - Baggett believes in setting practical goals. “I think proposals and ideas that try to increase the representation of students are great and necessary ... but we really need to look at them and make sure they do in crease the representation of students,” Baggett said. Although PTTS might add more parking spaces before the proposals are implemented, at least they are a step in the right direction. Readers offer advice to insulted student Regarding Kevin Barrios’February 4th letter: “Racist remarks alienate student” A&M is a major university in the southern part of the United States. You know, the part that seceded over the enslavement of a minority and later (about 30 years ago) had feder al troops wandering around to en force integration, among the rest of the Civil Rights movement. To say that a fair amount of, to put it eu phemistically, discriminatory feel ings towards minorities are still floating around is repeating the bla tantly obvious. Let’s face the facts, in College Station there are idiots out there who will yell things like “Fuck ing F*ggot Chink.” To be perfectly honest, I have been called a Packing Q*eer (Sorry, but I’m not.), even though I got yelled at on Wellborn, not University. In stead of condemning Aggies based on the actions of a few misguided (dare I repeat myself) idiots, I simply blew them off and continued on with my life. A true Aggie would not let a single incident cow him, would not simply fold under the pressure from a pair of no doubt drunken bigots. A real Aggie would have squared his shoulders and proven, through his actions, how wrong a pair of idiots can be. I challenge Mr. Bamos and those who identify with him to actually be come Aggies, to identify with the spirit that allows us to forge ahead despite adversity, before they decide that they don’t want to be an Aggie. Chris Huffines Class of‘00 When people act the way certain people leaning out of car windows did to you, it is easy to be discour aged. I am not an acclaimed sociolo gist, but I have a theory. I feel as though people are afraid of what they do not understand. Also, ignorance is so easy to inherit, it makes hatred spread like wildfire. Kevin, you were correct in re fraining to return the racist, hateful and cowardly comments of those people on University Drive. You are wrong, however, to say that you are not an Aggie. Kevin, times and people change. Texas A&M is not a racist organiza tion. More and more people from around the world are coming here every year. Change is often not easy !j to take. As people who are not used “ to seeing change are surrounded by it, they may lash out in fear, hatred or ignorance. These are emotions peo ple who are weak resort to, because they are easier to come by. Kevin, you are an Aggie. Please help those who are weak to be strong. ‘i Chuck Konderla Class of‘95 .