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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 1997)
iiv Irded: The Battalion Fhe fall of great expectations mmigrants face violence, harsh living conditions in the United States Ifor iiesday •July 29, 1997 ^ eorge Hernandez, Melissa --.Dutchek and Trevor J O’Reilly come to America th hopes of finding a better life led with freedom, liberty and e chance to start their lives over, le first things they encounter, wever, are enough to make lyone turn back and run from e United States screaming. George is mugged; he is beat- land the little amount of mon- that he carried with him is Opinion Editor James Francis Junior English major (■adii; panic nnee [inee I tav Ih lai d 23: olen. He ends up in the hospital with a ® roken arm and a punctured lung. Melissa cannot find work because eople are not willing to hire someone 'ithout American heritage or the roper job skills — skills that would eher a lifetime to accomplish. She irns to prostitution. Trevor becomes a taxi driver and I^Jinks he can make a living from this ser- ce. Everything was going fine until a n 112 ' re that he picked up pulled a gun and, nl0S ithout warning, shot him in the head at 5"™ Dint-blank range . With no family, his ‘ eB ody is cremated, and now it seems that enever existed. Although these situations seem ex- Lr atiot histn- ed it treme and the names have been fabricated, occurrences such as these happen on a day- to-day basis without too many people knowing about it, and even fewer individuals who couldn’t care less. Declaring America as a haven for refugees and immigrants has become a joke. For those indi viduals who think that coming to America means a better life, understand that this type of thinking died with the dinosaurs. For too long, Americans have been un der the misconception that this country is a centralized region where people’s wildest dreams come true. Sure, many individuals achieve great success in America; we have presidents, entertainers and corporation owners who started out with nothing, but now are liv ing the life of luxury and everlasting public recognition. On the other hand, there are people who started from scratch, attempt ing to become these grand hopes we cre ate, but today they find themselves living on the street with a sign hanging around their neck that reads, “Will work for food.” Immigrants seeking shelter from mili- m lve'®| is ai fetfi les i tary-ruled governments and other places of horrific living conditions may want to think twice about coming to America. This is a country where it has become unsafe to even walk to your car in broad daylight, not to mention walking from a place of employment at night. America is in a con stant state of change, each year becoming more violent than the next. Not too long ago, Beaumont had the highest percentage of rape incidents in the nation, not just in Texas. If a small, in dustrial city such as Beaumont can be come a place of such violence, what’s to say that these immoral actions will not branch out into all of America? “Webster’s New Riverside University Dictionary” defines the term “American dream” as being “an American ideal of so cial equality and especially material suc cess.” Although too much emphasis always has been placed on the latter part of that definition, the first portion should be a his torical notion to place in the memory of every U.S. resident, whether a citizen or not. Social equality is a goal that many peo ple in America have been trying to achieve. The problem is that this goal can not be attained in conjunction with those individuals who come to America seeking a more desirable lifestyle. This is because we, as citizens of this great (in size, not yet in reputation) country, have not been able to make this objective a reality. As all of these problems have been outlined, I must say that I do not have all the answers nor the justifications for what seems to be “bashing” of the Ameri can society. What can be said is that if everything was running like clockwork in this nation, there would be nothing to complain about or discuss. Obviously, serious problems face this country, and they can only be solved by everyone uniting in order to form the “better world” we all seek. Every member of American society has a right and a duty to stand up for the problems that seem to surround us. Although it is a group action that will one day turn this society around for the better, the change must start with an individual. The three people mentioned at the be ginning of this column should not have had such experiences when they entered American territory. Each should have found a tiny part of the “apple pie” that al ways has been promised to all individuals who wish to enjoy a better life here. This is not to say that everyone in this country will succeed in individual en deavors and become superstars, but by law, everyone should be able to have the chance to reach their highest goals. If they do not fulfill their destinies, at least people of this nation should feel better that peo ple do have the opportunity to try. In the end, when a boat full of immi grants docks in an American harbor, the individuals on board may want to recon sider their decision to live here before they set foot on American soil. Graphic: Brad Graeber VI \ii. Call Reveille, traditions must be honored I did not have the opportunity oattend Texas A&M, but my hus band graduated in 1995 and my on, who is eight, already has plans ogo to A&M — they both bleed naroon and white. I may not be a true Aggie” as far as actually at- ending, but through my husband aid his family, I consider myself to leone, and I am very proud. The one thing that has been irtually engraved in my mind rom anyone and everyone who hs ever been to A&M is the inie-honored traditions that all tudents hold in high regard, herefore, you can imagine how hocking it was to hear that here were plans to relocate the leveille graves. Though I am not an A&M hduate or student, I was truly Urprised. If one thing stands >utthe most to me, and proba- ilyto others as being the true 'eart of A&M, is the story, or legend” if you will, of the very jrst Reveille and the Corps of adets’ dedication to her. To me, Reveille and the Corps is what 'as held A&M together all these 'ears, and it is what gives stu dents such pride in their school, heir professors and each other. My son has a dream of going to and being in the Corps be muse of what he has learned about the University and what he has seen on our many trips in walking about the campus. When he learned of the plans, he was very saddened. I would think that all efforts would be made to maintain the graves in their current location, progress or not. It seems that some thing of such great importance in the hearts and minds of students, former students and wannabes like myself, would be a top priority, and that moving them would not even be a consideration. I am sure, if someone would just take time, a solution can be obtained. I hope you get many letters, and I hope that action is taken to pre serve one of the most important and stressed traditions at A&M. Stacy D. Zatopek Rockwall, Texas Grave site problem has simple solution Here is my suggestion for re solving the Reveille dilemma: Move the graves. Install a closed circuit TV so that the scoreboard is always visible from the new grave site. With the TV, the entire action on the field can be shown, including the Aggie Band at halftime, R.C. Slocum on the sidelines and instant replays. Hope this helps. Henry Gilchrist Class of’46 Uphold tradition by accepting change Company E-2 and many other student organizations have never been in favor of moving the Reveille grave sites. In fact, E-2 has been on record since the conception of Kyle Field expan sion in 1994 as being opposed to any plans that would endanger the tradition of our mascots’ resting place. In a series of meet ings held last year between the athletic department and repre sentatives from E-2, Traditions Council, Old Main Society, Yell Leaders and the Corps Comman der, the students spoke over whelmingly against moving the graves to fulfill the expansion. The athletic department took this idea to the architects, who ad vised them that it was not feasible to maintain the graves’ location and still be able to design a “first class facility.” With that, the com mittee began looking into alterna tive solutions and decided upon temporarily moving them during construction. The final product will allow for another grave site to be integrated into the expansion. Unfortunately, according to the athletic department, it is just too late in the game. Hopefully these plans can be changed. The students did not “choose” to move the graves, nor were they “in favor of” digging them up. No one holds the grave sites more sacred than members of Company E-2, who were responsible for their bur ial and maintaining their appear ance throughout the year. Make no mistake, E-2 is not happy with the decision to move the graves. We do not “hold our heads in shame,” however, and neither do the other members of the com mittee to my knowledge. Stu dents do not “support” changing the traditions that brought many of them here. Instead, E-2 and other student leaders have made the best of a bad situation to en sure that some remnants of our traditions remain intact. Jeff King E-2 Commanding Officer Class of’98 Tase Bailey " E-2 First Sergeant Class of'99 Lance Hill E-2 Public Relations Sergeant Class of’99 Despite trial, Cosby shows good example In response to John Lemons’ July 28 column: Lemons’ vilification of Bill Cos by shows how people can make unreasonable demands of their “heroes.” “The Cosby Show” pro motes family values with a degree of freshness and wit that could win over the most hardcore of lib ertines. By showing that cool peo ple can have strong families, Cosby did a great service to people of all colors and nationalities. I personal ly have seen the show in Ecuador. The series had a brilliant strate gy. This tribute to television should far outweigh some of the sins in Cosby’s personal life. I say “person al life” because it is not our job to forgive him for his extramarital af fair — that role belongs to his wife. Perhaps some people will con demn him for paying his ex-lover “hush money” to keep the affair a secret. But if we look at the big picture, we should realize that be cause he is a role model, there is much more at stake for Cosby than his reputation. I have little doubt that he placed a high value on the positive influence his show provided. Giv en that sex and violence sells, Cos by could have chosen a much more direct route to wealth if money was all that he valued. I hope that “The Cosby Show” will continue to be watched by families worldwide. As for those individuals who insist on putting celebrities on pedestals, you can watch “The Brady Bunch.” Antonio Chaves 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 IM CR/\HGItl6 THE Tft* CODE. NOW TO'JLL BE ABLE. To FILE ON A yCsVTAPo--