esday • February 3, 1998 The Battalion applies ysats: ronal if: Saloma columnist y mom is the greatest mother in entire world. This ue because all of life she has made rts 1 o instill two iciples in me ch 1 find lacking lany people, es- Mltally guys: chival- nd politeness. 'mnot attacking males of this Wht University or anybody’s mother. I can no longer deal with the many pie who live life selfishly and down- it rudely. dy mom always said politeness will you a long way. So ever since I can re al ber, I have attempted to honor my ther by following a code of conduct at -rimes. T Uhlvalry can be defined as the qualities ^ alized by knighthood, such as honesty I courtesy. 1 don’t think chivalry is d; rather it is dormant. Instead of ihing for the addition of multicultural- -1 classes in our core curriculum, what all need is a course to teach us cour- /, politeness and chivalry, hate seeing people opening doors, king right through them and having no ard for anybody who may be walking find them. I don’t think we all should as hostesses and open the door for everybody behind us. But, the least we can do is hold the door for the person follow ing us into a building. I am also very disappointed when I see “gentlemen†sitting on the bus while a lady stands. It’s called being polite. My Mom taught me this. I am not generaliz ing women as weak beings who cannot stand on a short bus ride, but I am merely an advocate for chivalry. My mom also taught me that all fe males are ladies, and they should all be treated as such. By following simple rules such as “ladies first,†we can at least show them the respect they deserve. I also find it absolutely ridiculous stand ing in line at a restaurant and having peo ple demanding things from the employees. All people should be treated with respect. There are two phrases in the English language people sometimes forget. Use of these two magical phrases ensure not only courtesy, but that the user of these phras es sounds intelligent and cultured. The two phrases are “please†and “thank you.†These are not hard to say. By saying “please,†you make a request sound more like a request than an order. Like wise, “thank you†is an expression of grati tude for something somebody has done for you. Also, many of us tend to forget the old adage about respecting our elders. I was horrified the other day when I saw a cy clist almost run over an elderly man on campus. Instead of saying excuse me, the cyclist blurted out an insult. What happened to the good old days when people called their elders “sir†and “ma’am†and treated these elders with respect? We live in a world where most people are suspicious of politeness and random acts of kindness, which is a sad commen tary of our times. Politeness seems so rare that after opening a door for a lady and calling her “ma’am,†she asked me if I was polite be fore I joined the Corps of Cadets. Sure, the Corps strives to instill the characteristics of a soldier, statesman and knightly gentleman to train us to be come the future leaders of the state and nation, but that be something for which we all strive. I am not saying the only polite people on campus belong to the Corps; my point is it is sad that people do not try to better themselves by showing respect for their fellow human beings. We all need to conduct ourselves in the way we know is right and in the way our parents taught us. I know I’m not alone in listening to my mom when she taught me this. I know I am a better man because of her. People must realize that many times our parents teach us the greatest lessons in life. We just need to be reminded of them. Mickey Saloma is a senior journalism major. pp 3ar* hildren born of donated eggs deserve to know truth Kelly columnist ’riagine for a minute you are 13 year-old Jennifer. Re- .ccntly having entered the ^ihller coaster of adolescence, '„.;ou have just been diagnosed .jineeding a blood transfusion, iatiently waiting in the hospi- J| the doctor enters the room. 'fe apologize, Jenny, but you 11 have to wait until we can nd another donor. Your lother cannot donate blood i >r you because she is not your iological mother. Not only is she confused and hurt, but Jenny feels I" 1 ) | ed to and cheated. Always having longingly ad- fa' fired her mother’s jet-black, cornsilk hair, Jenny of- s» >n wondered where she got her unruly blonde »cks. She had asked her parents once if she was : dopted, but they had reassured her worries with ours of videotapes of her birth in the hospital. “I now I’m not adopted!†Jenny shouts at the doctor.. : p so W'here did I come from? Over the last 13 years, Jennifer has been one of te thousands of children who have been the victims dishonesty about their family history. These chil- ren are not adopted, but rather they have been the | l henomenal hybrid byproduct of sperm from their jolbgical father and eggs donated from an anony- ¥ F lous donor. rofll* ■Since 1989, the number of mothers giving birth to children from donated eggs has multiplied 10 times, allowing for the incredible gift of life to extend to those women biologically incapable of bearing chil dren. With this 15 year-old process of egg donation, post-menopausal and infertile women are able to have children. However, where genetics and reproductive sci ence has taken a leap into the future, morals and ethical responsibility have taken a backward dive. Unlike children who are adopted, mothers giving birth from donor eggs are not obligated by law to inform their children. Presently, the only existing laws regarding donor eggs are for the donors themselves, which simply state they release themselves of any rights or duties to the children. Furthermore, these laws exist only in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida, making circum stances very ambiguous in the majority of the Unit ed States. Legislation on a process such as this is at a bare minimum, failing to cover any laws whatsoever re garding the rights of the children. Because parents are not obligated under law to tell children the bio logical truth, the majority of children conceived from donated eggs never know. A powerful debate exists at present discussing whether or not children have the right to know where they came from. The majority of egg donor re cipients do not tell their children the truth. The New York Times tells of a 42 year-old woman who gave birth to twins via donated eggs. The eggs were donated from a good friend and neighbor. She and her husband have chosen not to tell their chil dren, who are playmates of her donor’s children. She argues that “there is nothing to be gained†from telling children the truth, because disclosing such information would only foster confusing and over whelming feelings. One can see clearly the feelings of discomfort and awkwardness that could be avoid ed by simply ignoring the truth altogether. Certainly it would be a very difficult fact of life to understand. However, forfeiting the truth does not suffice as an exchange for an uncomplicated life. Being comfort able cannot replace honesty. Some families who do opt to be honest with their children wait until they are old enough to under stand more fully. It appears from a logical standpoint that these children might be more at ease and expe rience less discomfort if they were in fact told the truth early on in life. Carole Lieber Wilkins, a Los Angeles therapist, suggests parents tell their kids as soon as they are born. Wilkins is a mother-by-donation herself and has published a guide entitled “Talking to Children About Their Conception: It's Easier Than You Think†to encourage parents to be straightforward with their children. Couples deciding to bear children through egg donation inherit an enormous responsibility not only to worry about their children’s emotions in dealing with the truth, but their own as well. Par ents making the decision to give birth from a donor must face incredible pain and sadness in accepting that they are able to conceive a child who they can genetically call their own. Lynn G., also a Los Angeles therapist says think ing about it is so painful that “sometimes (she) just wants to push it away.†Perhaps if donor recipients could view the process as a gift rather than a burden, then thinking about it would be something to be celebrated and not ashamed of. The inability to have one’s own genealogy contin ue is no doubt a heart-wrenching feeling. But again, avoiding the topic because of associated uncomfort able feelings is not the answer. Instead of trying to avoid honesty in order to deal with the pain, parents should try harder to avoid the pain so that they can face the honesty. Instead of omitting words like “infertility†and “donor†from their vocabulary, parents should work on excluding words like “pain†and “confusing.†Chil dren conceived through egg donations have taken part in a genetic phenomenon . Instead of whisper ing and worrying, families should be celebrating and rejoicing. For who in the world should want to keep a secret the gift of life? Kendall Kelly is a junior Spanish major. MAIL CALL merican spending //fault of capitalism t response to Michelle Voss’s . 29 column, it must be said: J>w up and take the blame. It is 'e perhaps such cult children’s ns as Mr. Potato Head are being ]d for the sole purpose of bring- jin profits to our local Burger Hbut the people to blame for rt is far from the capitalists. If we as Americans are gullible | )ugh to simply buy french fries j:ause they are endorsed by the fe play toy that we enjoyed so ich as children, then we, as Jiericans, also deserve to lose ^ry red cent we have. The capitalists are merely a prod- of this “gullible society†and it is . tain that Mr. Potato Head would h be making a cameo on our Su- Bowl commercials if the capital- didn’t think that he would make want to eat fries from Burger King. And indeed he does. Capitalists are merely enjoying the fruits of the country we call the United States of America. Us ing Mr. Potato Head or any other “sacred†character is fair game and should remain that way. If we want Mr. Potato Head off of our commercials and back into our toy boxes, then we need to stop buying the product which he promotes, because as long as we continue to buy them, Burger King and any other capitalist corporation will con tinue to use them. It’s not their fault, though, be cause in this equation the capital ists seem to be the only reason able and logical party. Josh Barnett Class of ’01 STUDENT LIFE 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@unix.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor. Food Services scores with Outbound Meals David Johnston columnist T he semester break brought a handful of changes to Ag- gieland. The strings of lights adorning campus have been packed away, former parking lots are buried under mounds of dirt and Food Services unveiled the new Out bound Dining program. The program is a good addition to A&M’s food services, and those re sponsible have gone unrecognized. For those Aggies still unfamiliar with the new Food Services program, students may use their meal plan to pick up a “meal to go†at ei ther the Commons or Sbisa Dining Facilities. Students may choose several different meal op tions each day, and after only a few minutes they are on their way. Though it seemed not many students were aware of Outbound Meals when they began last Tuesday, the number of users is steadily growing. This new program is a terrific idea. While Texas A&M Food Services is an easy target for student gripes, the department has again demonstrated they care about their clients. Previously, the only option open to Meal Plan students who could not take the time to eat at a Dining Hall was the Aggie Meal Credit program. Meal credit was a useful alternative. Students traded their dining-hall meal for a few dollars credit toward purchases at the Under ground Food Court, Bernie’s Pizza or other campus food stops. Outbound Meals benefit students by going a step beyond meal credits. There are very few meals to be purchased for the price of an Aggie Meal Credit, but Outbound gives students an entire meal in exchange for a dining hall visit. Aggies who have tried an Outbound Meal appreciate the program, and it is time to recog nize those responsible for this student service. Of course Food Services deserves credit for ac cepting input and implementing an idea, but the notion was conceived by a student group. At the last meeting of the Student Senate, senators hailed the Outbound program as a Student Senate success, but the senate, while supporting the idea, does not represent the ori gins of the plan. The Student Senate has passed legislation in support of the Outbound Meal program, help ing to draw attention to Food Services’ efforts. The idea was launched, however, years earlier by a virtually unknown group of students. The Student Food Services Advisory Board consists of A&M students who help Food Ser vices make decisions that will affect the stu dent body. The advisory board helps choose menu items, determine popular entrees and recommend occasional changes. A few years ago the advisory board suggested Food Services consider a take-out meal program. That suggestion got the ball rolling and eventually resulted in the current Outbound Meal program. Food Services has changed significantly over the past few years. Private companies are now selling food on campus, Sbisa is going through design changes and the department still found time to implement a new program at student recommendation. Aggies often focus on high-profile groups or people. Students look to the student body pres ident or MSC organizations to make a differ ence, but often lesser known organizations can have a big impact. Similarly, individual students can change campus. Several student organizations began with one student’s vision to affect campus. The university setting gives Aggies a unique opportunity to see small acts make a dramatic impact. Students should never hope that “someone†will do something, but rather should be bold and take the initiative. The worst thing that can happen is nothing. Students should keep in mind that while it’s often easy to credit those who stand in the spot light, many times the real responsibility lies be- ffind the scenes. David Johnston is a senior mathematics major.