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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1997)
The Battalion Page 7 Friday • April 11,1997 r CP correctness egalization solves America's ineffective drug war he phrase “war on drugs” is used to day more often as unchline rather than jerious political ince on a chronic iblem for America. The reasons are ob- « us. Billions of dol- shave been wasted a futile attempt to ip the flow of drugs ;o America. Ineffec- lelaws have been ated and imple- bnted with the vain hope drug jalerswill actually respect the vs and fear imprisonment. Columnist Jon Apgar Junior journalism major Both Republicans and Democrats live in this fantasy world, where more money spent in an effort to fight drugs will make the problem just go away. Meanwhile, drug dealers still buy Mer cedes and gold jewelry while millions suffer from drug addictions. Politicians’ attempts to stop the flow of drugs look good only on paper. In their minds, an in creased police force coupled with stricter laws will scare people into avoiding drugs. Ituife Istalb Jrardf f: |c)# ay i» jpotef' laid. > Ik# [that| licM J2) c J / (ji ■ ! Mail ble! K inister fails flock, sinterprets Bible response to the April 8 article, dstor: Homosexuality is genetic, Controllable.” God’s truth is plain and clear, ^people like Rev. Piazzamanipu- ethe Bible to accommodate their 'n beliefs. He intentionally states at Christians frequently misuse ttin the Bible to persuade and isguide those who are unfamiliar 4 the Bible. However, it is he who manipu- Gfldfi} fe the Word of God in an attempt rationalize homosexuality. It is rd to comprehend how one would sitse or misread verses in the Bible ten it explicitly says, “ Do not lie 4 a man as one lies with a woman; it is detestable” (Leviticus 18:22), d''Men committed indecent acts 4 other men, and received in atnselves the due penalty for their rversion” (Romans 1:27). There are ter verses that make the same dement about homosexuality just dear: Leviticus 20:13, Romans 16-27 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, to me a few. Rev. Piazza’s comment that Jesus dboth heterosexual and homo- J dial feelings and that he struggled G° J 4 ways to live with his sexuality no base. I can find no verse in the Bible that says anything about Jesus’ sexuality, much less homosexual feelings. This argument is ludicrous and has no foundation, ft should be taken as one man’s twisted, misguid ed opinion and not fact. However, this does not mean that there is no chance of redemption for homosexuals. If they will simply give up their perverse lifestyle, be repen tant of their sins and ask Jesus into their hearts, they can be forgiven and allowed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Biyan Hager Class of’99 The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. 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 Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters 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. But the cold, hard reality is that drugs are rampant in America and easily smuggled into our country. Politicians need to stop proposing “feel-good” drug policies and start looking at the problem from a dif ferent perspective. The biggest problem with drug policies today is their em phasis on harsh punishments for drug offenders. Republicans sit on their own Cloud Nine in this dreamland — They want to implement the death penalty for convicted drug dealers. The death penalty rarely deters anyone except the person about to be executed (if even them), and this law would not stop drug deal ers from peddling their goods. Drug dealers fear drive-by shootings or brutal paybacks from rival dealers, not rich white politi cians threatening them with 10 years on death row. Members of the Pat Buchanan fan club, who think money and legislation are keys to combating drugs, should realize the war on drugs is a big failure. More money and more police are unable to stop drug dealers. The real solution is the legalization of drugs. The idea has been called “crazy,” “abominable” and many other phrases not fit to print. Dr. Jocylen Elders was removed from her post as Surgeon General for even suggesting the idea. The reason people fear legaliza tion is their unwillingness to admit defeat in the war on drugs. Consider the facts. The war on drugs has not reduced drug use or the number of dealers, and random con fiscations amount to only a fraction of 1 a percent of the total amount of drugs on the streets. Taxpayers’ money is being flushed down the toilet. If drugs were legalized, dealers would go out of business. Crime as sociated with dealing would become a moot point if someone could pur chase them legally. Consider alcohol. Alcohol is legal and regulated by the government. There are no “alco hol dealers” on street corners, nor is there crime associated with the sale • of alcohol. If drugs were legalized, the gov ernment could regulate their sale and impose taxes on them. The billions of dollars saved by eliminating unnecessary and inef fective drug enforcement agencies could be used for rehabilitation ef forts for addicts. Despite fears, the legalization of drugs would not increase drug use. Those who want to use drugs do so now, regardless of legality. Making drugs legal would not incite those who previously declined drugs to suddenly become addicts. Scores of murders occur every day in America due to drug traffic. It is a tragedy politicians continue to enforce failing drug policies while ignoring a viable—yet un popular—alternative. If politicians were not so worried about re-elections and favorable im ages with voters, Captiol Hill bureau crats might actually consider the benefits of drug legalization. Legalization might be the first drug policy to actually decrease crime. Sometimes the most unortho dox ideas turn put to be the most beneficial ones. Vanity diminishes female self-esteem Columnist Kate Shropshire Freshman biomedical science major S ociety’s warped concept of how women should look leaves many ma turing young girls constantly displeased with themselves. From puberty on, and sometimes even earlier, young boys and girls are faced constant ly with society’s images of the “perfect mate.” Images of perfection are thoughtlessly uti lized in numerous advertising cam paigns when, in reality, such an ob ject of perfection remains elusive. For young boys, this subterfuge surfaces in ads relating to sports, cars, beer and other certain aspects of conditioned male interest. For girls, Seventeen and YM magazines serve as delusional guides which dictate the route to wards the “Most Desirable Female of the Month” award. Graduates of this brainwashing school can then move up to Cosmopolitan which can teach women successfully how to earn promotions “the otlier way.” After such bombardments from new-and-improved special interest groups, such as glamour media, the effects of the persuasion becomes ingrained in America’s youth. The media underestimate die harm of their power as young women turn to anorexia and bulimia in order to at tain the perfect body. Becki Elkins-Elkins-Nesheim, co ordinator ofWomen’s Programs at Texas A&M, said agrees society defi nitely has expectations of women and said she attributes much of the problem to the media. “The most powerful way of communicating this message is the media,” she said. “It is hard to say where the idea originated from. Parents, school, and peers play a roll as well. Parents and grandpar ents ask more questions pertaining to who you are dating rather than how are your classes.” If a girl fails to get a date for a Saturday night, she will attribute her misfortune to the size of her rear end and the lack thereof in her bust line. Rarely do women exclaim “I look fabulous in this dress.” In stead, they often say, “I see I am wearing the Thanksgiving turkey on my hump.” With men it is a totally different story. Men rarely express disap proval when looking in the mirror. Actually, men seem to have a more confident air, which unfortunately most women lack. This automatic acceptance heightens men’s toler ance of themselves and decreases their tolerance of women. Elkins-Nesheim said she recognizes the de cline of self-assurance in young women as they become accustomed to society’s potent and permeating ideals. “Girls are confident ‘til around the age of eleven or twelve,” she said. “Then we see a decline of confidence due to em phasis on dating and how you look, rather than who you are.” With such environmental influ ences, it is extremely difficult for women to be content with them selves. An inherent fear of the oppo site sex seeing them naked, hence exposing their flaws only diminishes any sense of self-worth they have. When men expect women to re semble Playboy bunnies, it is no wonder women’s security is tossed out with die garbage. Men even have expressed disappointment at seeing a girl naked for the first time only to realize Penthouse toys are a figment of the imagination. Elkins-Nesheim said she sees these prospects of the sexes as a pre cursor to unwholesome attitudes. “I think we set women and men up by images which leads to unhealthy behavior,” she said. “Some men think that with a little coaxing they can get women to attain that image.” Age can also be considered a factor in society’s reliance on cer tain dream replicas, Elkins- Nesheim said. “Men become more distin guished as they get older, while women become more invisible,” she said. As women fade into the shad ows of their doubts, the poten tial pride and power of the woman is lost. It is unfortunate when a woman’s conformity to society’s limits is placed above their value as a person. Women must stop believing their bodies are a myri ad of defects to apologize for. Elkins-Nesheim said she be lieves these distorted deviants of re ality could and should be avoided. “When we start talking about these issues we need to see that it doesn’t need to be this way,” she said. Women are under no obliga tion to achieve attention or ap preciation through personal reincarnation of the theoretical boy toy. International students add spice to Aggie pie M any students fantasize about study-abroad pro grams and touring the world, but few take advantage of the part of the world that comes to Texas A&M. Texas A&M students should broaden their perspective of the world and make foreigners’ stay here at A&M educational through friendships with international stu dents and teachers. Lisa Klintworth of the Office of International Student Ser vices, said A&M hosted 1,726 in ternational students, about one for every 24 Americans. Although it is true that sitting at a cafe beside the Eiffel Tower or treading the expanse of the Great Wall of China are unique experiences, much of the allure of other countries is the cul tures and thought patterns of their peoples. People must explore and understand oth er countries’ image of America. Internation al news, specifically the way other countries relate to the United States, is often puzzling to Americans, who usually do not under stand that minds in other countries work slightly differently than Americans’. Bonnie Cross, a sophomore Spanish major, works with the Baptist Student Ministry's con versation class. “They have different perspectives on every thing; they think differently about things in gen eral,” she said. Yulong Wang, a visiting professor of English rhetoric from Qingdao University, China, said he sees the United States in much the same light as many Americans. He said America currently is the most powerful country in the world and should use that clout in the U.N. to guide world affairs to a more peaceful planet. On the other hand, Mohammed Al-Mishil, a visiting chemist from Saudi Arabia, said he does Columnist Joshua Hill Sophomore English major not agree with American foreign poli cy at all. He would prefer the U.S. to take a more hands-off approach. A second interesting question is foreigners’ view of their own coun tries. Even for those who pay close at tention to the news, their view of other countries is somewhat distorted. Con versely, international students from some countries don’t have a clear pic ture of their countries’ activities be cause of tight social control. For example, Al-Mishil said he adamantly believes that the Hebrews never had inhabited the Palestine area until 1948, when they were given the land ac cording to their mythology. The hatred most Arabs have for Israelites is easily understood if their governments are teaching such lies. Many Americans have had an image of China seared into their minds by the American media’s treatment of Communism, the Chi nese civil rights record of restricted childbearing, and theTiennaman Square Massacre. Many Chinese, how ever, disagree with the American image of their country. “We have a different interpretation (about Tiennaman),” Wang said. “It is a very sensitive issue in our country. It harms the stability of our government, but some things were changed.”. A third insight Americans can gain from frat ernizing with internationals is the picture other countries have of the world and its future. Complementing his respect for America’s po sition, Wang quoted George Bush, saying “rela tions between the United States and China will “(International students) have different perspec tives on everything; they think differently about things in general.” Bonnie Cross sophomore Spanish major be the most important [of all nations] in the coming century.” He said he sees America and China leading the world across Bill Clinton’s “Bridge to the 21st Century.” Al-Mishil had no grandiose plans, just day- to-day life and his practice of Islam, which I got to watch and learn about. He and I had several talks about Islam over an evening meal of lamb, spiced rice and dates during the holy month of Ramadan. This cultural exchange is not, of course, one sided. A group of Mexican exchange students, here for only three days, were so anxious to learn and experience American culture they almost denied themselves of sleep all together. Internationals are eager to learn about Amer ica and Americans. Many of them are here just for the culture and training in English. The English as a Second Language (ESL) program and the BSM’s conversation class are just two ways stu dents can help and be helped by internationals. Karen Smirmaul, a Ju nior biomedical science major, participates in the BSM program. “It provides them a way to make friends with Amer icans; they probably wouldn’t be able to other wise,” she said. “[Also], you get information about the country first-hand, not processed through the media.” Cross said he believes the label of “foreign er” can often be applied to Americans. “You always profit from getting to know people, even people here,” she said. If students at A&M are to be informed and in telligent citizens, they need to have a clear picture of the world around them. The environment of this university provides an excellent opportunity for students to see the world through its people.