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ie pain of mistakes is outdated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 .