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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1997)
97 The Battalion fednesday - June 4, 1997 What a wicked game to play nited States' troubles resemble a Milton Bradley board game for children merica is playing with fire. Everyday, ■whether televised, adcasted or printed in ackand white, news toss tile nation reflects growing ignorance of sple in todays society, ihoughsomeofthe Sculous actions and sit- Eons people find them- tein are easily labeled 'societal norms,” indi- talsmust learn not to accept the lethe world is in today, iseach day passes and more »s is reported, Americans casual- um away from problems that nuldbe interpreted as "the begin- agoftheend.” It is these same in- Hdualswho trivialize the harsh iyoflife and downplay the is- tsto a simple game of risk, lo illustrate how easy it is to be- le a member of the societal ig- ant, the following situations and ranees invite all readers to ieachance, roll the dice and be- Opinion Editor James Francis Junior English major come informed on the moronic events which take place every day. The first move is free, so pull a card and read it aloud.“Seven- year-old girl raped and slain by 18-year-old high school student in Nevada today — lose a turn,” the card reads. People know, or at least they are becoming Albert faces allegations of sodom izing an unwilling female partici pant. But one must also remem ber the Bill Clinton-Paula Jones story, along with drawn-out talks over a certain sports figure whose name brings refreshment to breakfast foods. Even further back, people must question if famed game-show host Bob Bark er started this whole trend of men All of America knows that De- generes and Heche are a dating Hollywood couple. What some people find disturbing is the fact that these two individuals are women and say that they find themselves in love with one an other. But this doesn’t represent the big picture. More people are worried that the careers of both women will plummet into the sexuals and all other kinds of people who can be classified in the ever-growing categories of sexuality. Whatever an individual chooses to do with his or her life should be a one-sided choice — public opinion and scrutiny should not make a difference. Player No. 2 fell into “The Pit of Talk-Show Hell,” so Player No. 1 goes on to win the game, landing fried every ounce of vitality from their bodies. Even more disturbing aspects of the execu tions were the joyous reactions people exulted when the gov ernment attempted to execute four criminals in four days. In the end, life goes on and people will be people, but this doesn’t have to be the opinion of every American in existence to- <7^ increasingly aware, that rape and murder occur in the United States’ society too often. But when an incident takes place, such as the abuse and slaying of Sherrice Iver son, whose fa ther Leroy was busy gambling in a casino out side Las Vegas, citi zens of this “great na tion” must question the morals and mental psycholo gies of the people involved. The blame cannot be fully placed on the accused murderer, Jeremy Strohmeyer. Certainly, a father with a child has no busi ness gambling the night away while his daughter wanders off to a hotel restroom by herself. It is a situation such as this one which places everyone on the path to destruction. The dice read five and player No. 2 enters the game, landing on “Misconduct of the Rich and Famous.” Kathy Lee Gifford’s husband Frank stands accused of mari tal infidelity. Sports icon Marv and women in the public eye whose lives are not as picture perfect as they seem from the outside view. When people take these instances to the extreme, they need to remember that indi viduals who have their own game shows, run sports programs or over see the governing of an en tire country are human first. It’s sad that a report on the conduct of marriage between Kathy Lee and Frank would be a front page story, thereby replacing the cov erage of a girl’s untimely death. Player No. 1 gains control of the game by rolling a five with the dice. A card is pulled and its title reads, “Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche reveal lesbian love affair.” Well, the word is out (literally). '■S*. abyss of names long forgotten. An Entertainment Weekly article went so far as to say that Heche will no longer be a believ able actress in roles that pertain to heterosexual women. The overall scope is: there are hetero sexual people, bisexuals, homo- on “Execution Square.” Three people were murdered in three days under Texas govern ment. Although these individuals committed crimes deserving of punishment and prison time, no one can overlook the fact that Texas government had these peo ple executed. Some individuals who heard of the executions cheered on the government in its aim to rid the public of undesir ables. What many of these same people don’t understand is that the prisoners who were executed are a part of society as well. There can never be total good without a crack of evil and vice versa. Texas government did not put these individuals to sleep (as animals are "lov ingly” laid to rest) — the government ^>7 day. Citi zens must reach within themselves to push away the “easy-outs” of so cietal mentalities. If one person opens his or her eyes to what’s truly going on in the world of today, that’s one less indi vidual blinded to the hidden truth. Game Over. as?/— inority philosopher examines race-relations for the future | sthe century draws to a U close, many people will Ilook ahead in awe at the years. The year 2000 is peyears away, but this time ssewon’tstop the guess- '•kabout what advance- tntssociety and civilization ^[accomplish, bthe midst of all this ithsaying, there is some- Jigto be resolved — how ^century America will be viewed, eevaluation process concerning Juries is still a bit complex and con- 'iiig. In fact, it may take an additional %yto pick the appropriate label, fcreany new books hit the shelves, a Softhe century author already pro- itda paradigm. ’Ihe problem of the twentieth cen- Columnist tury is the color line,” W.E.B. DuBois said in his book “The Souls of Black Folk.” The for mer NAACP chairman did not live to see the culmina tion of the Civil Rights move ment, or many other ad vancements Americans have made against discrimina tion. But a quick glance through the pages of history between 1900 and 1997 seem to confirm DuBois’ thesis. There have been many great ad vances in civil rights by courageous men and women throughout the centu ry. The amount of progress made is very significant — especially in the way col or plays a role in today’s society. Humans are color-driven animals. On a daily basis, the color of clothing, Stephen llano Senior history major signs, food and traffic signals govern the actions of people from one moment to the next. The color of someone’s skin is always noticed. But humans can provide more than a Pavlovian response to stimuli. Color is only what society, in other words people, make of it. To realize that only a few individuals have dared to step across the color line is to realize pub lic failure — anyone who calls him or herself an American and a lover of lib erty should be crusading for the cause of civil rights. Students at Texas A&M have no right to point fingers at other individu als of this country. This is the part where readers shake their heads. “Not again,” he or she says. "This liberal columnist wants there to be a problem to complain about.” But A&M has more than a relatively simple color line — A&M has a color wall. There is hardly any form of inter action between races on campus. The very fact that minority students are not readily visible at University functions constitutes a race problem. “Race prob lem” doesn’t mean “lynching” or “riots.” It can be as simple as secluding oneself in comfortable racial surroundings. Separation of races at A&M affects each and every student. America has a history that recently draws on diversity as one of the key strengths for advance ment. If centers of higher learning such as A&M are turning into racial enclaves that do not interact, the question of what the future holds is uncertain. Per haps the color line moves off farther than this century. But people must realize there is time left for redemption. The problem with this century might be the color line, but the cure is relatively simple: there needs to be more interaction. Because minorities are by definition a smaller group of people means the challenge of diversity is by definition a great challenge. The difficulty in stretching comfort zones and reaching out is great, but it is attainable. The cost of allowing people to grow and develop without knowing how other human beings live is a breeding ground for racial animosity. There are three years remaining to see if DuBois was entirely right. But instead of worrying about the past which that cannot be changed, soci ety must turn its attention to a future century to be written the way we as a people see fit. 3mpus Voice Photograph.- Tim Moog Action to the Student Center summer policy: ^ Student workers support the diversity should be t to have access to facilities.” Heather Kinder Urban planning graduate student latest news on this doping story, see: /bat-web.tamu.edu Mali. Call Advertising portrays women in false light In response to Mandy Cater’s June 3 column on sexist advertising: Women are misrepresented in the popular media. However, the viewing public should be able to see through the charade by com paring the images to the reality of the (real-life) women they know (including themselves). If women are happy with themselves, then advertising images lose their desired ef fect. Advertising is like religion — it only works if you believe it does. Advertisers are merely exploiting (some) women’s self-image insecurities for monetary gain. If such insecu rities did not exist, then im age-based advertising would be fruitless. Advertising images them selves are false. Cindy Craw ford’s famous mole was air- brushed out of her ads for several years early in her career. And as for those bikini models: take away their fake breasts and what is left — normally-en dowed, beautiful women in biki nis with self-image insecurities. The same argument applies to male-based advertising (i.e. drink beer & get the girls). Male insecurities also are exploited for gain (e.g. is your hair going gray/falling out?). The result will always be the same: content individuals will not be swayed by advertising. The bottom line is there are two kinds of people in this world: suckers and lollipops. Be a lollipop. Bradley Peikert Graduate Student The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude 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. I