Wednesday • April 8, 1998
The Battalion
PERSPECTIVES
cruel
roclamations of Clinton's guilt are popping up as frequently as Elvis sightings
s a result
of the pa-
ade of
allegations
Igainst Presi-
tfdent Clinton,
ome Ameri-
:ans have taken
he position that
vhere there is
;o much smoke,
here must be
;ome fire.
To these
iomewhat hasty citizens, the constant
nedia coverage of accusations against
he president is evidence in and of itself
hat he is guilty of them. It is surprising
hat these sage pundits do not conclude
5y the same reasoning that Elvis lives.
After all, there have been many re-
orted sightings of the King, and where
here is that much smoke, surely there
must a hunk-a-hunk of burning love.
The truth is the unbelievable amount
of mmors of Presley sightings do not
contribute one iota to the hypothesis that
Elvis lives.
And, to be fair, neither does the in
credible bulk of allegations against Clin
ton confirm that he ain’t nothing but a
hound dog.
A district judge in Ar kansas recently
had the courage to realize this when she
determined the much-publicized Paula
Jones lawsuit was not solid enough to be
favored with a juiy trial.
Instantly, the judge was met with crit
icism from camps around the country.
Feminists deplored her refusal to punish
sexual harassment.
Religious leaders intoned their deep
disappointment in the moral corruption
of an American society that allows adul
terous presidents to get away with un
speakable sexual predation. And an
chors on CNN seemed visibly stunned
that they were suddenly covering the
case-that-never-was.
These reactions were not surprising.
They are die reactions that have greeted
eveiy new report that President Clinton
is a loose womanizer who likes to —
well, you know the stories.
However, a cautious contingent of
the American population, a small mi
nority represented admirably by the
Arkansas judge in the Paula Jones case,
refuses to allow so much smoke to cloud
time-honored principles of justice.
They prudently lean on the corner
stone of American jurisprudence, the
principle that an accused criminal is in
nocent until proven guilty, and they per
ceive no reason why die president should
not be afforded the same right. Until a fire
is conclusively discovered, no amount of
smoke will convince these cool-headed
citizens that Clinton and his employees
used to well, you know the stories.
But notice how quickly these “inno
cent until proven guilty” believers are
disparaged by their “smoke, therefore
fire” counterparts.
The message to the judge in Arkansas
and those who agree with her decision is
discouraging. Americans seem to be
lieve that if you are not against Clinton,
then you are for him — that if yo u be
lieve in holding legal plaintiffs to a rigor
ous burden of proof, then you must be
unburdened by any sense of conscience
or morality.
Thus, feminists conclude that be
cause a judge adhered strictly to the
legal definition of sexual harassment,
then she must be in favor of sexual
propositioning.
And others among us seem to think
that the person who reserves judgment
about Clinton’s exploits until all the facts
are available must be in favor of adultery
and illicit sex.
Be reasonable. The presumption that
suspected criminals are innocent does
not imply that the deeds for which they
are suspected are not crimes.
And neither do those who do not
condemn Clinton because of insuffi
cient evidence necessarily condone the
actions of which he is accused. The pre
sumption of Clinton’s innocence does
not change the despicable immorality of
marital infidelity or sexual assault.
Many (but admittedly, not all) who
reserve judgment about Clinton’s guilt
believe strongly in the wrongness of the
acts for which he is suspected.
But these important truths have be
come obscured by the frenzy of media at
tention on the supposed Clinton scandals.
Social commentators have made a huge
hullabaloo over the fact that the presi
dent’s popularity ratings have not been
damaged by the allegations against him.
You can see them on television, with
wrinkled brows and dark demeanors,
speaking in sad, hushed tones about the
death of American morality.
Or you can hear jubilant libertines
conclude from political polls that peo
ple just do not care anymore about sex
ual misconduct or adulterous affairs.
The American people are okay with a
president who sleeps around, they con
clude triumphantly.
It’s the economy, stupid, they pro
claim. Americans just care more about
money than morality.
May I offer an alternative explanation
for at least some of Clinton’s ratings? Per
haps the explanation is that a good deal
of the population is waiting until the
smoke clears to decide if there is a fire.
We are not home-wreckers, we hate
all forms of sexual harassment, we de
plore adultery, and we believe in hold
ing the presidency to the dictates of
morality.
But we also have a profound and rev
erent regard for the practice of thinking
the best of someone until you know to
think otherwise.
A person is innocent until he or she
is proven guilty, not until they are ru
mored guilty.
Justice should be blind to the viru
lence or variety of rumors surrounding
a suspect, but this does not mean that
we should be blind to injustice once it
is proven.
So when we cautiously presume that
Clinton is innocent until he is proven
guilty, try not to step on our blue suede
shoes. After all, we are only being as fair
toward him as you would expect us to be
toward you.
Caleb McDaniel is a freshman
history major.
STUDENT LIFE
ish Camp offers opportunity to
learn about traditions, life at A&M
STUDENT LIFE
Mickey
Saloma
columnist
T here is nothing greater
than giving back to the
university one holds so
lose to the heart. One of the
>est opportunities Texas A&M
las to accomplish this goal is
iy participating in Fish Camp.
■n 1954, YMCA director
brdon Day began the tradi-
ion by taking a few new
adets camping in order to
each them the many Aggie
'aditions.
■This camp has evolved into
ifour-day camp, run by approximately 900 student
tounselors, 72 student co-chairs, 8 directors and 24
: ish Co. members, which touches the lives of over
1,200 incoming Aggies each year.
Fish Camp is designed to aid the transition from
;h school to college and specifically to A&M.
Fish Camp serves as an optional program for in-
ing freshmen intended to establish friend-
ps, learn about residence halls or apartment liv-
, meet student leaders, become familiar with
ie traditions and learn about A&M campus life
n a very relaxed atmosphere.
In short, it is the most popular activity in
which A&M students participate to give back to
his University.
Fish Camp gives incoming “fish” a look at what is
to come in their years of Aggieland. It is the coun-
ielors’ responsibility to make sure that these fresh
men start off their college careers on the right foot.
A&M has a lot to offer all incoming freshman. It
is a school rich in student involvement and even
richer in tradition.
Fish Camp’s toughest job is to give the freshmen
reassurance that they will be not only accepted,
but that they will succeed as well.
Fish Camp ’98 Co-chair David Taylor said, “The
attitude and love that a counselor shows through
their words and actions will change the freshmen’s
lives forever.”
The cornerstone of every Fish Camp is the
“D.G.” which stands for discussion group. During
D.G. time, counselors pair off into small groups
with fish both to get to know the freshmen and to
discuss all that being a student at A&M entails.
Counselor Kelly Feavel commented, “A key D.G.
goal is to get the freshmen motivated about being a
part of this university and for them to love A&M as
much as every counselor does.”
Fish Camp also gives Aggies a chance to mold
the future of this university. It is difficult to under
stand the scope of the impact that every counselor
has on the freshmen, yet the words and actions of
those involved will serve as a direct reflection in
A&M’s near future.
Fish Camp is one of the finest traditions Texas
A&M has to offer. It serves as a learning institution
for the incoming freshman and furthermore it
proves an unparalleled leadership experience for
many students.
It is also one of the most noble gestures an Aggie
can perform, for those involved receive nothing ex
cept the gratification of motivating the incoming
freshman class.
Fish Camp is a great experience for everybody
involved, however the wonder of this tradition is
seen each year when the new crop of freshmen ar
rive on campus. It is their attitude and outlook
that will one day run the campus. Fish Camp en
sures that A&M will continue to be the best univer
sity on the planet.
Mickey Saloma is a senior journalism major.
maw ctrmtnjfe*
VMentwe president^,
threw ogrwt
Cf«&, HE VENTED TO
K\ss HER l
Students must strive to uphold
Aggie Code of Honor on campus
A!
Len
Callaway
columnist
ll \ ggies
do
lot
lie, cheat, steal
or tolerate
those who do.”
What? At
times it feels
as if I must at
tend the little
40-acre school
in Austin
where the arts
of lying,
cheating and stealing are properly
taught in the freshman handbook.
Texas A&M has always had the
ability to feel pride in its student
body for the honor and integrity it
displays, however, these ever-so-
valuable attitudes and ideals ap
pear to have been lost by some of
our students and faculty.
Although the problems here at
A&M regarding dishonesty etc.
are mild, they do, in fact, exist.
We have signs in our libraries
warning students of the dangers
of leaving their belongings unat
tended and security systems to
cut down on the risk of theft be
cause the administration cannot
trust the student body.
The University Police Depart
ment has a program to engrave
bicycles so that when they are
stolen they might eventually be
recovered and returned.
In addition, the officers dress
in tactical gear as their regular
uniform, and when they pull over
students, the officers strategically
locate themselves around stu
dents cars in case we degenerates
try any “funny stuff.”
Our University is forced to
have a special policy on scholastic
dishonesty, and some professors
have had such negative experi
ences with students they feel they
have to mention the policy in
their course syllabi.
I have one professor who re
peats and notes the scholastic
dishonesty policy on every as
signment she makes.
In addition, A&M has a tenured
professor under felony indictment
on several different charges.
The problems referred to here
at A&M are mild, yet they are sim
ilar to the problems faced by
America as a whole.
On the national scene, our
president has faced too many alle
gations to count, yet has main
tained the highest public approval
rating in history and a prominent
Aggie and former Cabinet mem
ber is under indictment for 18
counts of lying and one individual
conspiracy charge.
One common attitude seems
to be ever present in all of the
problems mentioned above
whether faced by A&M or the na
tion in general. If a problem
doesn’t directly affect us then we
usually aren’t too concerned that
it happened.
As mentioned earlier, the
problem here at A&M is indica
tive of a much larger problem
faced by the nation. In a larger
percentage of American homes
than ever before, the ideals of
honor and integrity are not
taught, and some parents no
longer provide a positive example
for their children to follow.
The problem here may be just
that simple. Recently, reelected yell
leader Brandon Neff shared this
sentiment with me, “ We are one of
the largest universities in the
world, and students are coming
here from all over the nation and
the world. Some from homes
where parents did not take the
necessary steps to ensure that
these children learned of the virtue
associated with being honorable
and trustworthy. Fish Camp is not
mandatory, nor is the Corps and it
is har d for an institution to instant
ly replace a lifetime of examples
with some new ideals.”
While the problems faced by the
nation are the result of apathy and
may never be resolved, here in Ag
gieland we could choose to take
control of our collective destiny
and what happens on our campus.
Aggies have traditionally been
able to pride ourselves on our
unified determination to hold
ourselves to a higher standard of
honor and integrity.
Aggies are recognized all over
the world for our accomplish
ments and our reputation as hon
orable and decent people.
With that ever present reputa
tion and identity comes an in
tense responsibility, and it is in
cumbent upon each of us to hold
ourselves to a higher ethical stan
dard while helping others to real
ize the importance of simply be
ing honest and trustworthy. All
the while we must maintain the
hope and objective that the A&M
legacy can continue to be prolif
erated through the actions of gen
erations of Aggies to come.
Len Callaway is a junior
journalism major.
MAIL CALL
Land mines necessary
for national security
I agree with McDaniel that land
mines often do harm innocent non-
combatants. Where our ideologies
part ways is on the issue of national
security. McDaniel made no reference
to our soldiers, marines, airmen or
sailors stationed in a place called
the Republic of South Korea.
The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)
that lies roughly along the 38th par
allel is pertinent to national security.
Many people may not agree with
this, but I suggest they ask those
who live on danger’s doorstep.
Although I was not stationed
directly on the DMZ, I lived only
a few kilometers away for more
than a year, and I believe those
“stinky” land mines have a dis
tinct deterrent effect. I also left
behind many Korean friends who
felt the same way. Land mines are
also a more “efficient” way of pro
tecting one’s perimeter, border, or
avenues of approach without ad
ditional troops being assigned.
This is something our government
is keenly aware of in light of the re
duction in forces of the recent past.
In a perfect world it would be pos
sible to eliminate land mines, but as
long as we stand on lines such as the
38th parallel it does not seem likely.
Cube Hernandez
Class of’00
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