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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1997)
^dnesday • December 3, 1997 O The Battalion PINION 3aby BOOMers r oopla, praise for McCaughey septuplets ignores reality of parents' decisions line is money, as a mere si Kendall Kelly columnist lx minutes produced a . five-year supply of dia- >, four boys, three girls, a -year food supply and one r house. The only thing srica did not donate to the Zaughey septuplets was a tridge in a pear tree, iow wonderful it is that cor ations, families and even government is in the spirit iving this holiday season, vunlbrtunate it is that be en all the rejoicing over the Brady Bunch of the eties, America has completely overlooked the real le of the McCaughey family, tether than celebrating the birth of Bobbi Mc- ighey’s seven clones, America should be learning n tliis family’s grave mistake by observing the bad mple they are setting for future generations. Take aylhe television news coverage and the number ront page stories sprinkled across the nation and ierneath is a poor, middle-class family who can ely support the two-year old daughter they al- dy have and has no business taking fertility pills :hey can end up with more mouths to feed and dies to clothe. Irresponsible decisions such as this one only speak he twisted view our country has regarding person- esponsibility. Bobbi McCaughey personifies her maturity and lack of thought by her decision to e fertility pills. She, like so many other women, fell into the ne trap of bearing more children without the fi- ncial support necessary to provide for them. A ver-middle class family living in an apartment eds fertility pills about as much as Texas A&M eds another library. Participating in such activities shows selfishness d l|ack of thought in the development of one’s ildjren. Of course any mother would love to have a second child. Usually women yearning to begin a family men tion things such as, “I am ready to get pregnant be cause I want a baby” or some other such hoopla about how their maternal instincts have shifted into high gear. One moment women are longing for a baby and nine months later, a family begins. What often seems like a page out of a Berenstein Bears book often turns into a disaster. Women wanting chil dren too often think only of themselves and their motherly cravings, forgetting what is in the best interest of the child. Women become so anxious to have children that little thought is given to the possibility of waiting a few years until a couple is financially more stable. Such is the case with Bobbi, Kenny and now the rest of the the McCaughey gang. It is obvious that little thought was given to the fi nancial standing of the family when McCaughey decided to pop a few pills. It seems that in situations like these, couples wanting a child think more with their hearts than they do with their heads. I find it very hypocritical that when issues such as abortion arise, pro-life advocates practically set them selves on fire, becoming so heated in claiming that aborting a fetus “isn’t in the best interest of the child.” Yet when a struggling family such as the Mc- Caugheys take fertility pills knowing they will have financial difficulties that will hinder proper child rearing, the best interest of the child is forgotten. Again, in all the press coverage and showering of gifts, the best interest of these children has again been forgotten. America becomes so preoccupied with celebrat ing over this “miracle,” we fail to see the real issue: Bobbi McCaughey should never have taken fertility pills to begin with. What she and her husband claim is God’s will is really no more than a doctor’s pre scription and a large dose of irresponsibility. Kendall Kelly is a junior Spanish major. Charity should not cease with births of McCaughey children Jeremy Valdez columnist T wo weeks ago in Iowa, Bobbi Mc- Canghey didn’t jusi give birth to septuplets. ■She gave birth to one of those rare stories that is very unusual , yet wholesome and palatable to the mass audience. ■There was an exhausting birth, and now dramatic medical treatments in the nursery, and hopefully the heartwarm ing introduction of seven healthy ba bies into a loving home. R Why, then, am I left feeling low about this miniature baby boom? My initial “Go team!” mentality has given way to a flood of concerns about the actions of both the parents and those of us who are watching their every move. I am somber because being one who both chronicles and consumes the news, I search for a larger context to place these events in. The bigger picture, unfortunately, is as full of superficiality and injust ice as it is warmth and family values. These sev en little ones are themselves innocent, but the attention given them highlights how unevenly and illogically we dole out our compassion in this culture. For some reason, one woman who bore seven babies is getting more sym pathy and support than the millions of women who have single births. Since the marathon delivery, the Mc- Caugheys have been promised, among other things, a new home, a van, a life time supplies of diapers and baby formu la, college scholarships for the children and an audience with President Clinton. An Iowa bank established an account for the McCaugheys and has been receiving donations from around the world. Good for the McCaugheys. They have a tough task ahead of them and they are going to need all the help they can get. Without the support they are getting, it is doubtful they would be able to feed the new litter. What is unjust is the stigma so often attached to other women who are un able to support their new babies. Whether they are minorities or under privileged whites, many mothers are ac cused of trying to “get rich on welfare” are told that they should “get some birth control.” Media portrayals have cast the Mc Caugheys as bystanders who suddenly had seven kids dropped in their laps. When reporters asked Bobbi McCaugh ey what she felt when she learned that she was canying seven fetuses, she replied “sheer terror.” “At first, it was like ‘God, why have you done this to us?”’ McCaughey, 29, said. It’s odd how she asked what had God wrought when it was she who had been swallowing daily doses of Metrodin, a fer tility drug that often causes multiple births. The drug had already helped them to have Mikayla, their first daughter. Indulging my need to wax religious, it seems that God provided souls for the kids that the McCaugheys went to ex traordinary and only semi-natural means to create. Without going into the sticky moral and philosophical issues surrounding science-aided procreation, it is safe to say that the McCaugheys had at least some idea what they were getting themselves into. That should not discourage the spirit of giving that has moved people to help Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey, but it should be hoped that some of that char ity trickles down to the millions of mothers and children who are not on the cover of Time. Certainly the average person cannot send money to every impoverished fami ly, and our current system of government assistance is not particularly effective. But the least we could do is make the underprivileged targets for respect in stead of insult. And at least some time should be taken to consider the Thomp son sextuplets. They were born almost two years ago in Washington D.C. For some reason, the black infants failed to receive any attention, not even a local presidential phone call. The Thompsons were recently fea tured in a CNN story about the possible racial undercurrents that influence the media’s coverage of multiple birth stories. CNN reported that a small group of D.C. residents has formed a support foundation, but the story conspicuously omitted the foundation’s address, even though the McCaughey fund’s address was prominently displayed. The McCaugheys may have received their attention because of their class, their race or simply because there were a few slow news days. More than likely, a combinations of factors was responsible. No matter what catalyzed our na tional sympathy for them, let’s recog nize that there is room for improve ment and consistency. Jeremy Valdez is a senior chemical engineering and journalism major. 'am MIail Call flale escort idea aises questions Wksponse to Chris Hujfines’ “Want- i: Male Escort” Dec. 2 column: pter reading Chris Huffines’ col- Bi about male escorts, I was won- Jring about a few things. It sounded Ian elementary school boy who is raid of the dark and still wets his id was whining in this column. Is a sophomore in the Corps of idets, I have been running escorts Iwo years and have never heard a guy calling for an escort. How- r er, if you really feel like you need I escort, call the Guard Room and II them you’re afraid of the dark id I’m sure they will walk you to >ur dorm and tuck you in bed. ■)n the other hand, you could just : some homosexual who gets off i the idea of a male escort. In that w, I suggest you transfer to t.u. n kure you wouldn’t have any trou- 6 finding a guy to walk you to your om. After all “Steers and queers ... i place but Texas.” Zac Dietrich Class of '00 via e-mail Tasteless jokes about safety offend I hope few Aggies will give creedance to Chris Huffines' col umn in Tuesday’s Battalion, or at least, realize that joking about safety isn’t funny in real life. According to the U.S. Bureau of justice Statistics, available at: http: / / www. feds tats, gov/ bj s / p ress. h tm, men are two or three times more likely to become victims of violent crime, so let’s not encourage care less behavior. Huffines also jokes about “politi cal correctness” in asserting equal spending on services for males. The conservative (right) end of the political continuum also has a political correctness or a party dog ma which they like to employ in their attempt to keep most people from actually thinking. The conservative or traditional notion that “men” are indestructible is probably just as harmful as the left-wing dogma or politically cor rect notion that all men are rapists or abusers. It may be true that Texas A&M is a safe campus, but a bit of research will show that male college students are mugged, beaten and killed on other campuses. Let’s not encourage our male students to be too reckless, Chris; men and women need to be careful out there. Again, A&M may seem quite safe, but few Aggies will be able to spend their whole lives here in Aggieland. Most of us, male and female, can afford the time to start prac ticing safe habits for the real world or, at the very least, taking safety seriously. Michael Osterbuhr Graduate student via e-mail Aggies not just current students My coworkers and I were looking at The Battalion on-line as we are former students and are very pumped about Bonfire and the t.u. game last Friday. We were very upset to see the teaser for the top story by Karie Fehler that read “Texas A&M students’ ‘burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u.’” We have very strong ties to A&M that go back to even before we were students, and we were disap pointed to note that current stu dents are the only Aggies that have a burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u. (or that the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire only represents the current student body). We would appreciate it if your staff would re member that the former students of this great University do a lot to keep these traditions going. Amy Fonville Class of'96 Carol Anne Doherty Class of'91 Tracy Williford Class of'79 via e-mail New tradition promotes religion The “new Texas A&M tradi tion” of the Winter Spirit of Ag gieland is geared to a limited student population and even in appropriate in its current form. I am specifically referring to the erection of Christmas trees on campus as part of this “new tradi tion”. We all know that Christmas is a holiday for Christians, who are the majority on this campus. However, making Christmas trees a part of this “Winter Spirit of Aggieland” is promoting Christmas to the whole campus and gives the University a Christian face. One may even argue that such a display violates the separation of church and state clause. For many of us, Christmas has no special meaning other than it corresponds with the winter break. In fact, some people may even feel uncomfortable being a part of a celebration which they do not believe in. So we need to consider our di versity on campus when organiz ing any program or activity which is representative of the en tire University. The concept of “Winter Spirit” in itself is fine, but we need to avoid giving religious undertones to the displays. I. M. Latheef Graduate Student via e-mail 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 - IVIail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1.111 Campus Mail: 1111. Rax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu Mite Offettr’/mie?? 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