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