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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1998)
1SS8:Sept_- attalion Op inion Page 15 • Tuesday, September 8, 1998 * 0, :ternet depression study prompts unnecessary criticism, alarm a touchdow His sccoiki Tony Linds*, touchdown ij ry over Kan>- Cormier, a man, broke fa loes' 42-14 ISth-ranked with an 82-ya- a touchdown He finishe; turns for 130 ■reek. It's that > ime will shown Heismatv Tn up against UC I llll IldllUll U ing (13.8 pom 4ovvn led the i McNown d» rds on 36 cam > against New r offense agar.: whether the pr /ould comeB ?isman race, I i don't think: difference." number of cor. ng with his del; 1 341 yards ini' BEVERLY MIRELES yell, it looks like / another bad ' break for Aggies “wired in” college ts in general, first one of the er was the road action. Then, l textbook prices, larking. Then, of , the ever-present •tween students and the Parking, andiTransportation Services, v, something else to worry about •met depression. Jeez. What will a next? The University will decide 'e all the parking to West Campus? , for tiie love of God, no. • findings on Internet depression ? product of a two-year study of cial and psychological effects of ernet at home. At the end of the •ars, researchers found that sub- ;ho used the Internet for as little w hours a week showed a d increase in depression. » results of the study came as a to the researchers and to the cor- sponsors of the study, companies ing Apple Computer, the Intel ration, Hewlett Packard and the lal Science Foundation, ray have come as a surprise to the :hers, but probably not to anyone ctually uses the Internet. Those ouls know about suffering. Depres sion stems from trying to download Netscape 4.0 Gold on a 66 megahertz computer and then watching the hard- drive spontaneously burst into flames.. In all seriousness, though, the re searchers had earlier hypothesized that the Internet would have more positive effects because its main function is interac tion with others on line. It is one of the few places people can interact with others from a huge range of eclectic environments and cultures on an everyday basis. The Internet has many social fea tures on it, such as chat rooms and per sonal Web pages. These are all ba sically designed to foment human con tact, if only by com puter screen. And that is what researchers found to be the problem. Of the people who used the Internet, most did frequent the chat rooms, but the lack of face to face interaction seemed to affect them. In that aspect, the findings are not real ly all that shocking. Being in close quar ters with a computer screen is just not the same as having an exchange with an actual human being, no matter how enthralling the cyber chat might be. The study is a strong reminder that di rect human contact is essential to the public’s health and well-being. Biologically, people are social ani mals. By denying the basic need to have direct social contact with other peo ple, individuals can be gin to lose their sense of self and their place in society. Though that is one huge theoretical leap, with at least 70 million adults online these days (adults include college students, scary as that may be), Inter net depression is one topic that deserves some attention. Attention it will most likely receive. In 1996, the big media circus bus ied itself with delving into the “Internet addic tion.” Pages upon pages were written about youths who were suffering with drawals likened to those of hero in addicts. However, more serious inves tigative reporting threw out the idea of Internet addiction, especially once it was learned that the phrase itself had been coined as a joke. But with some actual research done in the area of Internet depression, the find ings will be harder to dismiss. Does that mean there will be a rapid media back lash against technology? Hopefully not. The study, though quite thorough, was hardly conclusive. The sub ject group was not ever randomly picked. There were also many non-controlled vari ables that threw off the findings, such as sleep-deprivation and flaming. Flaming is a concept that says remote human interaction increases candor. This would mean that the Internet users, spending more time alone, cut off from society of the tangible sort, were only more aware of their depressed sensibili ties than their non-Internet using coun terparts. And as anyone who has recently visited a chat room knows, lack of can dor on the Internet is most definitely not a problem, especially in comparison with everyday social interaction. This study may show the negative sides of the Internet, and there are plen ty, but one-sided evaluations are useless. Until a more scientific and conclusive study is completed, using the Internet should continue to be a positive activity, and not one that will send us running for our psychiatrists. Beverly Mireles is a sophomore microbiology major. ■ [any freshmen underestimate ' cohoPs potential health threat CORRIE CAULEY ’f Jrinking is ^Hpan in evitable . Jk f the col ixperience. )u do not o drink ?lf into a '. When art slur- he drinking d stop, and if the room spinning, it is too late. [inking is not an activity that )yed only by those of legal Jng age. In fact, drinking loften than not begins during Jfirst year of college. So Ag- photo courtesyw -^6 ^ ^ bunch of alcoholics las! year s b j s responsibility revents one from taking it e of the biggest challenges by freshmen is responsibil- ifter leaving behind cur- rules and reprimands, fish often find their reedom over- gles on, an inebriated fish is more likely to fail to recognize the im mediate dangers involved in dri ving while intoxicated. Many times people will altogether deny their impaired state, claiming they are sober enough to drive. It is important to know when to say when. And as the saying goes, friends don’t let friends dri ve drunk. Do not cheat yourself by riding with someone that is not as drunk as you. If they are drunk at all, find another way of getting home. It only takes one misjudgment for you to never make the same mis take again. One night of being irresponsi ble can be a fatal mistake. Last year, Scott Krueger, a fresh man at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, made headlines af ter falling into a coma as a result of excessive drinking, which ultimate ly led to his death. that freshmen tend to be the most susceptible. Freshmen exploring their first year of freedom often drink more than they can handle. Many freshmen admit that they drink to get drunk. The first year away from home can be difficult. There are a lot of adjustments to be made. One of the hardest adjustments to make is meeting new people and mak ing new friends. Often freshmen turn to drinking to loosen up and to make their conversation and socializing less inhibited. Sometimes, the buzz they want ed to have for the sake of meeting new people turns into a drunken ness that makes for a night of re gret. According to statistics, alcohol is related to many cases of sexual assault. Alcohol also lowers inhibi tions and increases the likelihood of couples engaging in unplanned and unprotected sex. the slwCf'the ?w weeks . epen- many day Sr n try PM in itoriufl their of IDm in le. rr hoW iner a has street aggies of North- it is by no s something to brag about, night students venture to favorite bars and enjoy a of drinking and then get heir cars to drive home, ch year, thousands of people lied in alcohol-related acci- Drjnking and driving don’t Many freshmen confronting ifluence of alcohol for the ime underestimate its ef- Often times, they begin to limited reason and conse- :e awareness. Nights you cannot re member are not the only re sult of too much to drink. Alcohol is strongly associat ed with missed classes and lower GPRs. Researchers at the Center on Addic tion and Sub stance Abuse say alcohol is a factor in about 41 per cent of all academ ic problems and 28 percent of all cases of student dropout. Do not forget the reason you are at A&M in the first place. It was hard enough to get in the _ first time, remember? Graphic by Timothy Kang/The Battalion gQ y\/^{ does all this boil down to? One thing. When you drink, drink responsibly. No one wants to hear your “I was so smashed” stories. No one wants details about how you puked your guts up or about the girl you brought home. Do not be immature about drinking. Be responsible. Com ing from a fellow Ag, no one wants to hear your name called at Muster yet. organize 01 with the infamous beer gog- During the same year, a stu dent from Louisiana State Uni versity died in a very similar sit uation. Although much of the blame was placed on the frater nities they were involved with, it is up to the individual to know their limit. Knowing when you have had too much to drink is a personal responsibility. ' So why point the finger at freshmen? Obviously freshmen are not the only ones who overindulge, but statistics show Carrie Cauley is a senior journalism major. cam s Map chert th not needed real fulfillment jsponse to Andrew Baley’s 7 column: . a senior and a long-time read- the Battalion, I was rather tak- ofA&M j Sof’ack by Andrew Baley’s column fells ana T m p US re |jgj 0n I have grown ac- >med to the continuous dis- on of religion at A&M, but until v calends, have not seen such outright - |elism in the Battalion. bile I do not object to the right MAIL CALL of Baley to write anything he wishes, I want to let new students on cam pus know that there is opportunity at A&M for non-Christian students. Any student at A&M can succeed and have a wonderful experience without having to resort to faith and religion. Believe me, I know. While the overwhelming number of students here are practicing Chris tians, there are definitely non-Chris tians out there, and we are having just as much fun as everyone else. Dan Pirolo Class of ’99 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 Recycling efforts change campus A s another school year begins, Texas A&M has begun to once again gradually turn over a leaf of self-improvement. With Reed Arena completed and the numer ous other construction sites be coming less and less of an eye sore, A&M is starting to feel more like a major university, and less like a hard-hat area. Even Sbisa received a much-needed facelift this summer. But aside from the many structural renovations; A&M has now begun renovations on mother earth. Starting this summer, A&M joined the ranks of the many self less organizations and universi ties throughout the country in the efforts to conserve our planet’s natural resources and save the tax payers and students a little money in the process. The recycling center is not new at A&M, but due to the recent ef forts of the Student Senate and the Department of Residence Life they have taken recycling to the next level. But these efforts may be short lived unless students and fac ulty make the effort to cooperate. The latest of the new recycling projects have been a success. The most recent achievement of these recycling efforts took place last week during residence hall move-ins. With the help of the Physical Plant, Department of Residence Life, Department of Food Services and incoming students A&M was able to haul away 18,000 pounds of cardboard. Before move-in pe riods fliers were posted with a list of locations accepting the stu dents used cardboard boxes, whereby in return the students re ceived coupons for a free drink from Food Services. Once the boxes were bundled, they were then shipped to a Waco recycling center where A&M recy cling center then received cash per pound depending on the pre sent rate. Another recent addition to the cause is the Battalion Recycling Bill, which focuses on the clean up of the excess of Battalions left littering the campus at the end of the day. The recycling center has placed temporary recycling bins at the five main distributing locations on campus until funds for permanent bins are available. Mind you these bins are not just for Battalions, but other newspapers as well. You will also notice the donated bins in the Blocker building and other buildings for plastic bottles. The problem that arises with any non-profit organization is the lack of funding, this is the case with the A&M Recycling Center. “The recycling center is mostly funded from the money they re ceive from recycled products and this is how they stay afloat,” said Elizabeth McKee, a student sena tor and a senior animal science major. “The problems the recy cling center is having are lack of expansion and the lack of depart ments urging their employees to recycle.” she said. It is obvious that a stronger commitment needs to be made by everyone. It is just another case Aggies helping Aggies. With the latest influx of fresh men it is even more crucial that we all chip in. Many universities have instilled recycling programs on their campuses and with stu dent and faculty cooperation they are saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost avoidance from dumping fees alone, not to men tion what they are making from what they recycle. A&M will save thousands in dumping fees as well. Recycling also improves A&M’s image, en abling the campus to serve as a model for the community at-large, and students will take their cam pus recycling habits with them wherever they go. So, the next time you are flip ping through your insightful and colorful school publication, do not throw it on the ground or the classroom floor, recycle it. Also, this week get up a little early and maybe catch an episode of “Cap tain Planet.” You could even go buy some of that cool fibrous-look ing recycled paper. For Aggieland’s sake. Look around for recycling bins Ags and make a conscious ef fort because in this case the ends will justify the means. Richard Paddack is a senior journalism major. RICHARD PADDACK