uesday • January 27, 1998
The Battalion
ENDERSCOPE
Tel
A/omen’s struggles not limited to United States, Europe
^^Ivery year, the media ap-
[ or M plaud women musicians
hnc Jfor the great strides they
l lf ve made in the rock 'n' roll
wrld. Columnists print articles
“noimcing “The Year of Women
c
I
Caleb
McDaniel
columnist
■e Grammy Awards join in
3 chorus by decorating women
im Celine Dion to Alanis Mor-
ette with the highest honors
3 music industry can bestow,
fj. ie Spice Girls, arguably the
ly fcpices in the world that are
L mpletely tasteless, gallivant across the globe
reading “Girl Power.” And women’s rights activists
q$ uaie the success of female entertainers with the
I ccess of their movement.
Bui think about this. Last year, while Gwen Stefani
Doned “I’m Just a Girl,” Paula Cole wondered where
3 cowboys went and Lilith Fair stormed across the
unjtry, women in Turkey were being legally beaten
S thfeir husbands.
Only two weeks ago, the Turkish parliament
ssed the country’s first law against domestic vio-
ice. And the law barely passed because the wife-
atihg lobby worked overtime. Islamists in the leg-
ature opposed the measure because they believed
I - tcking down on spousal abuse would undermine
pily harmony. The mostly male parliament had pi-
'Ulonfholed the law for almost two years, and only
i concerted efforts of secular women’s rights
'bups made the law possible.
||.p’ Or consider this. While Meredith Brooks enjoyed
M os surprising success of her mediocre music, Ellen
- 3 Generes got her way and Lisa Loeb worked on the
I ease of her second album, women in Afghanistan
|t tie ;re not allowed to leave their houses unless escort-
\IFi by a male relative. The troubled Afghan govern-
ItorK
ment has also forbidden foreign-aid agencies from
directly assisting females.
According to a report from CNN correspondent
Christiane Amanpour, “Today Afghan women cannot
even expect proper medical care.” In September, a
government order
banned female patients
from all of the main
hospitals in the capi
tal city. After return
ing from an Octo
ber visit to
Afghanistan,
Amanpour re
ported that
“sick women
are being sent
to a crumbling
old building
that has no
windowpanes,
no running wa
ter, no proper
operating room
and barely
enough electric
ity to power light
bulbs.”
In other
words, as Amer
icans self-right-
eously celebrate
the recognition
of women in the
entertainment
industry, many
women in the
world are still
struggling for
Y>n
basic human rights, much less Grammy nomina
tions. Of course, the success of female rockers is no
small thing.
But there is an increasing danger of commercializ
ing the women’s-rights movement by exalting women
like the Spice Girls or Mered
ith Brooks as the
princesses of “Girl
Power.” Op
pressed women
need more than
cute slogans
and pop songs.
The Spice Girls
complain their
identities as
women have
been re
pressed be
cause a cold,
prudish
world
frowns on
the fact their
dresses look
more like
long blous
es. Boo-hoo.
Meanwhile,
Afghan
women can
not even
wear white
socks be
cause they
are thought
to be too
sexually
alluring.
The point is this: There are serious problems fac
ing women around the world, and they require seri
ous solutions. Even under Uncle Sam’s roof, the
struggle for women’s rights is far from over. Every 15
seconds, an American woman is beaten by her hus
band or boyfriend. Every 45 seconds, an American
woman is sexually assaulted. These women need
help. They are the victims here — not the Spice Girls.
So let us stop speaking of how Lilith Fair has finally
liberated women and has proven once and for all the
girls can rock better than the boys. Let the press stop
acting as if Baby Spice were the reincarnation of Su
san B. Anthony herself. There is no time for such car
icatures of the crusade for women’s rights. Women in
Afghanistan are being operated on in buildings with
out running water. These are genuinely oppressed
women who need genuine compassion.
The women’s movement has accomplished an in
credible amount in the United States. Women have be
come a powerful voting block and women’s groups
have established themselves as important political
lobbyists. The Secretary of State and the Attorney Gen
eral are both women. According to census statistics,
women own one-third of American businesses, and
the growth of woman-owned businesses is greater
than the national average in all fifty states. Women are
more active in the work force than ever before.
But society cannot be satisfied with these ad
vances. People cannot conscientiously turn their at
tention to fighting for the rights of female Grammy
nominees while women around the world are still
struggling for basic civil liberties. The women’s move
ment is too important to be trivialized by bad music.
There is much work to be done, Spice Girls, and “Girl
Power” isn’t going to work. “Human Power” and
“God’s Power” are needed to seriously and soberly
better the lives of women everywhere.
Caleb McDaniel is a freshman history major.
Ijones
1 disci!
ERSPECTIVES
)eath of child crosses line
f weight, becomes neglect
Manisha
Parekh
columnist
he
Mill wf jk Then
bee /\/ Christina
e Be f V Corrigan
:d on Nov. 19,
f,’ Ic96| her body was
ind lying naked on
Mas i living room floor,
[hiniif rounded by emp-
es isfoqd containers,
knd The room reeked
i deiurine. Feces was
kio' ind in the folds of
|d be r flesh and her
udies dy was covered in
be if' en bedsores. The coroner found evidence
<forht insects had been feeding on flesh,
sit gi lt’s hard to imagine that anyone could de-
id Marlene Corrigan’s treatment of
Id c ristina. But when Corrigan was brought
jid I on charges of felony child endanger-
or hUnt, supporters rallied around her, claim-
netolj Corrigan was not to blame for the condi-
|nk n her child lived in.
lid. See, one thing separated the case of
[inter ristina Corrigan from other cases of ne-
coatfet and abuse. At the age of 13, Christina
[CIA: s 5’3” and weighed 680 pounds,
tec And the self-proclaimed “fats rights”
ft tups that banded together to support
br Ga irlene Corrigan announced that the issue
ia trial was not Christina’s death, but
nave ristina’s weight.
witb “It’s not a crime to be fat and it’s not a
to me to have a fat child,” said Marilyn Wann,
[t, tlirbtor of FatlSo?, a fats rights magazine,
i GrfYes, it’s not a crime to be fat or to have a
|5 sf child. However, it is a crime to allow a
[ed b id to live in conditions that would not be
pernor a dog. It is a crime to allow a child to
corVe open, untreated wounds, some of
leW Uch are months old. It is a crime to allow a
jjerry Id, who is in obvious need of medical
favre p, to avoid going to see a doctor for four
|/edsTrs.
3 wis It seems ironic that groups who are so
s w fadfast about gaining acceptance for
at sb :rweight people and trying to get society
[istabmok past a person’s weight are the ones
I abo^o are making the biggest fuss about
[lass lghi. This is not a case about weight, it is a
|jt a^e about neglect.
But the fats rights activists have found
/iev^mselves a poster child, and hell hath no
; anciby like an activist group that has found a
ge e to plead. It is useless to point out that
yea se groups are undermining their own
;lie f lse by promoting Marlene Corrigan, a
B#man who did almost nothing to take care
ills ner child.
r udei The fats rights activists claim that they
e bl* on solid ground in defending Corrigan.
NFL rents might now start pressuring their
5 y, R 8 s even more, because they are afraid they
0^
are going to get sent to jail if their kids get
too fat,” claims Judy Freespirit of the Nation
al Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
It is highly doubtful that a single judge in
this country would send a parent to jail for
having an overweight child. What is more
likely is a parent being sent jail for leaving a
child “lying in her own filth.” According to
Detective Don Horgan of the El Cerrito Po
lice Department, that was exactly how
Christina was found.
But the activists still refuse to see the ac
tual matter at hand.
“There are things that she is not guilty of
that she is being prosecuted for, like being
responsible for a child who weighed 680
pounds,” said Freespirit.
Funny thing is, that is precisely the rea
son Corrigan is being prosecuted: because
she wasn’t being responsible for a child who
weighed 680 pounds.
At every turn, Marlene Corrigan showed
that she was not going take responsibility for
her child and that she was not going to look
out for Christina’s well-being.
When Christina refused to go and see
the doctor, despite the fact that it had been
four years since her last visit, what did Mar
lene Corrigan do? Nothing. She let Christi
na have her way.
When Christina constantly demanded
more and more food, did Marlene Corrigan
try to get her child to eat sensibly? No, she
gave in and let Christina have her way. Cor
rigan hoped that Christina would decide to
stop eating so much on her own.
And what about the food containers and
the waste that Christina lived in? Michael
Cardoza, Corrigan’s lawyer, defended her in
action by saying the following: “Adolescents
are not neat. What was her mother sup
posed to do, be her kid’s maid?”
Oh, yes, heaven forbid that Marlene Corri
gan should try and keep her daughter in a
clean environment. Heaven forbid that she
should actually, for once, act like a parent.
So, if the fats rights groups claim that
Christina’s death was Corrigan’s fault, who’s
was it? According to Freespirit, the schools
are guilty, the medical establishment is
guilty, and society is guilty; Marlene Corrig
an, just like her daughter, is simply a victim.
But how many responsible parents would
allow their child to choose when and how
much he or she wants to eat and whether he
or she wants to go to the doctor? None.
The only thing Marlene Corrigan is a
victim of is her own inaction and irrespon
sibility. And Christina was the one who
paid the price.
Manisha Parekh is a sophomore
psychology and journalism major.
STATE OF THE UNION
Presidency should not protect if
criminal actions are discovered
Donny
Ferguson
columnist
I n Oliver Stone’s Nixon, the embattled
president reminds his advisers it is
not the crime, but “it’s the lie that
gets you.” Twenty-three years later, the
specter of perjury again looms over a
troubled presidency.
At the center of Bill Clinton’s
most serious crisis are charges he
urged a former White House intern
to lie about an affair to attorneys in
Paula Jones’ sexual harassment
lawsuit. If they are true, the Clinton
Administration's five-year flirtation
with impeachment could end in the
president’s disgraceful removal from office.
Clinton could face charges of suborning to perjury and ob
struction of justice, both of which are impeachable offenses.
If the allegations are true and he pressured a young intern to
lie about their affair in a sworn deposition, the House Judicia
ry Committee should draw up articles of impeachment and
the Senate should remove Clinton from office.
• THE NATURE OF THE CHARGES
In a Jan. 7 sworn statement in Paula Jones’ lawsuit against
Clinton, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky denied
she and the president had a sexual relationship. However, in a
secretly taped conversation six days later, she talked at length
about she and Clinton’ engaged in oral sex and explicit phone
conversations, and how he pressured her to lie under oath
about it.
In the 20 hours of tape, she told her friend, equipped with
a hidden microphone, how Clinton told her, “There is no evi
dence, so you can deny, deny, deny,” and that Washington
lawyer Vernon Jones would help her craft a plausible affidavit.
Interestingly enough, Jones is accused of similar allegations
involving Whitewater figure Webster Hubbell.
Clinton’s private relations with Lewinsky, if any, are not the
issue. The issue is whether or not Clinton instructed Lewinsky
to lie under oath in a sworn deposition involving a lawsuit
against him.
If he did so, he could be found guilty of suborning to per
jury and obstruction of justice.
Unlike the campaign fundraising and FBI file scandals,
these charges are leveled directly at Clinton, not a litany of
Democratic figures. Unlike Whitewater and Gennifer Flow
ers, these charges involve a crime committed while in office.
Unlike the other scandals, these charges are not being pur
sued by Republican politicians, but by the FBI and an inde
pendent prosecutor. And unlike the other scandals, a power
ful boss strong-arming a young intern to lie to attorneys
about sexual liaisons is easily understood by the public, and
more easily prosecuted.
• THE EVIDENCE AGAINST CLINTON
In the Lewinsky tapes, the former intern tells her friend
about her fear that independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr’s
lawyers would find out about the gifts and trinkets given to
her by Clinton. Among them are a dress and a photograph
bearing an intimate inscription, uncommon gifts for an un
paid intern.
According to one source close to the investigation, after
one sexual encounter, Clinton’s semen stained Lewinsky’s
dress, which she saved as a “souvenir.” If the stained dress ex
ists, and if forensic experts can link it to Clinton, there may be
enough evidence for an indictment, or impeachment.
Among the other items sought as evidence in the investi
gation are White House logs and employment records. White
House interns often only see the President once, at the annu
al photo op. Lewinsky, however, reportedly had frequent ac
cess to Clinton and was issued a “blue pass,” giving her access
to the White House, and Clinton.
Two sources told CNN she frequently visited the West
Wing, often late at night and usually signed in saying she was
visiting Clinton’s secretary, Betty Currie. One of the sources
reports she was almost always alone and often at the White
House well past midnight. Such high-level and frequent ac
cess is unheard of among interns.
Once source also tells CNN Lewinsky was “mesmerized”
by Clinton and frequented the West Wing where, “she would
bump into him.” Other sources describe her “slight crush” on
Clinton and corroborated she and Clinton did have some
form of a personal relationship. Whether it was sexual has yet
to be proven.
• CONGRESS HAS AN OBLIGATION TO IMPEACH
If the claims made by Lewinsky are indeed true, Congress
must impeach Clinton.
Suborning to perjury and obstruction of justice are serious
crimes which must be punished. After five years of what
many see as illegal activities by Clinton, concrete evidence of
a crime committed while in office may exist. If he did pres
sure Lewinsky to lie about their affair, if it ever exists, it under
mines his credibility, damages his job performance and de
rails the business of the nation.
In the Watergate affair, Richard Nixon realized a convicted
felon could not lead the nation. Rather than force Americans
through the pain of impeachment proceedings, he resigned
from office. If Clinton is guilty of obstruction of justice, he
should take the moral high road and resign from office.
Unlike the other scandals, if the charges are proven, they
will destroy his base of support in Congress. Democrats are
wary of Clinton’s political future and certainly will not sup
port the agenda of a criminal, for it will drag the party down
with him.
As former Clinton chief of staff, Leon Panetta, said, “You’re
dealing with a Congress that is likely to move against him in
the Judiciary Committee. And unless he’s got a clear resolu
tion of this matter, Congress itself is going to be paralyzed.”
With important issues like education funding, tax cuts and
Medicare reform on the agenda, the business of the nation
will be seriously damaged if it is controlled by a politically
dead president.
If Lewinsky’s allegations Clinton urged her to lie under
oath are true, Congress must remove him from office and al
low the national agenda to move forward. To vote against im
peachment in the case the charges are proven would place
personal political ties ahead of the good of the nation.
Richard Nixon stepped down because Republicans would
not support their president in the event he was linked to Wa
tergate break-ins. If Monica Lewinsky’s claims about Bill Clin
ton are true, all lawmakers, Democrat and Republican, must
remove him from office.
If he obstructed justice, the matter is not one of liberal vs.
conservative or President Gore vs. no President Gore. The
impeachment and removal of President Clinton, in the
event the charges are true, should be one of what is right for
the nation.
Donny Ferguson is a junior political science major.