ilion
inion
Page 7 • Friday, September 18, 1998
dent Senate program helps children, ^ shows Aggie hospitality
' ‘‘PPear m a^, • again the Texas
cu getanadfl:- M Student Sen-
do quality f or ,,’ has stepped up
' :e for the greater
ggiekiud.
■he completion
l«Jldren's Center,
"^dents, faculty
■ can continue
. ; classes and
—at A&M, confi
RICHARD
PADDACK
their little ones are in good
-TTrrd close by.
‘*7 11 - s to tp e undying support of the
• : tenate and the Student Govern-
•.ociatjon, the new high-quality
? facility is now within reach of
1 • • need of financial assistance.
aycare was instituted by A&M
■ led its doors on Aug. 31.
Children’s Center provides high-
.. ‘ are while utilizing the academic
s of the University, and the stu-
®culty and staff will benefit from
a such as convenient hours, an
-1.1T1: location, and part-time care,”
•sa’-Ysr abeth McKee, a student senator
-e s^-s^ or animal science major.
- x--*' 1 ew baby-undergrad playland con-
-- v :lassrooms, two offices, a kitchen
ourse, a huge playroom.
Monday, the Children’s Center
, iv;- ted as f ar as funding goes.
SpECUnJiugh the daycare center carries
the Texas A&M University name, is sepa
rate from the University and is therefore
required to raise its own funds.
This makes it tough for the Children’s
Center considering a majority of the par
ents who have their children enrolled
are students. Most students are not
making the professional wages
necessary to pay the center’s
monthly fees.
Although the fees are
steep, they are comparable
to other daycares in the
area, providing the same
care. The fees at the Chil
dren’s Center range from
$360 to $475 a month for
children ranging from in
fants to pre-kindergarten.
“The Children’s Center
offers subsidies to low-in-
come families in need of fi
nancial assistance who would
not otherwise be able to af
ford child care,” McKee said.
The center has set guidelines
for those who need assistance in
paying for tuition.
“In order for these subsidies to be met,
the center must go beyond Texas A&M for
financial assistance,” McKee said. “These
subsidies are crucial for students with
families, so that they might have the op
portunity to finish their education.”
With the hard work
of McKee and oth
ers in the
gie Program Bill, was
passed by commit
tee Monday. This
is an excellent
Graphic by Robert Hynecek/The Battalion
Student
Senate, a plan was devised and a bill
was passed.
The bill is called Adopt a Future Ag-
opportunity for Aggies to help out Ag
gies. If all goes as planned, the new
program will help to meet the center’s
goal of 50 percent subsidies, enabling
several families — students and faculty
— who could not have afforded the fa
cility before, to utilize the new Chil
dren’s Center.
The program is designed so that
donors may sponsor a child enrolled in
the Children’s Center. The donors will
then be responsible for providing at
least a minimum percentage of the
child’s tuition.
The program will be carried
out by Texas Aggies Making
Changes in conjunction with a
liaison that will be appointed
by the Student Senate Internal
Affairs Committee.
Since the beginning of the
school year the Student Senate
has made some great strides to
improve Texas A&M and the re
sults have been positive.
With their recent efforts in or
ganizing the new Adopt a Future
Aggie program, the senate is defi
nitely leading by example. Any orga
nization on campus is eligible to
adopt a future Aggie. In the caring
words of Sally Stuthers, “Sponsoring
just one child can make all the differ
ence in the world.”
Richard Paddack is a senior
journalism major.
■ent witnesses still carry blame
MANISHA
PAREKH
rice Ivor
Wi will
r er go on
date or
2 from
VANTED AU f0C": loo l.
ice Iver
u/iifj never ex
■ the joy
p<*’d to to" ; in love.
' " never get
or have children.
T 7 ice Iverson never even
,rJ momhs; ed her eighth birthday.
Ttx-iiie 356 S3o : 25, 1997, Iverson was
409 690 368' a the women’s bathroom
rimmadonna Casino by
aramMd chea:-i er a nd a female employee.
•TTTTTT 1 been missing for several
txChnsty. 18. and when she was finally
S , it was too late.
partially clothed body
md in a bathroom stall,
td slumped over to one
trensic pathologists dis-
Volunteerj {that Sherrice had been
with mode / strangled and molested,
severe jock muscles had been
'articjpateiii! to P°int of tearing. Her
, . , tissue showed signs of
ria a y.ition and hemorrhaging.
Pi cal m ed- on was only seven,
visits are rec-es like this make the public
lunteerswl-with pain. They wonder
for their tfend of savage world this is.
.ike Iverson’s make people
Call to jf anyone can protect the
■ « q rtrom heartless predators,
ij OLO vl that is probably the sad-
OAC l! rt a fr° ut Sherrice Iverson’s
O4v^omeone could have pro-
—"ler, saved her. Only he
—lot to get involved.
ET YOUBfc not any of his business.
: e said.
-900-933-1 s ^y strohmeyer, 19, plead-
$2.99f y to sexually assaulting
Must be angling Sherrice Iverson,
Serv-U: (Sloefore his Sept. 8 trial.
~Otors had a strong case
•—* Strohmeyer, including his
ming Ongflision and a video surveil-
rw arpvnii#P e showing him enter the
‘ am with Iverson during a
game of hide-and-seek. The tape
also showed that minutes later,
Strohmeyer’s friend, David Cash
Jr., entered the bathroom for a
short time, then left the scene.
Cash did not try to stop
Strohmeyer from harming Iverson.
He did not alert security personnel
that he had seen Strohmeyer force
Iverson into the bathroom stall, or
that Strohmeyer had threatened to
kill the girl. And after Strohmeyer
confessed to Cash that he had as
saulted and murdered the girl.
Cash still did not tell authorities.
He went on to spend a fun-
filled day in Las Vegas with
Strohmeyer and then returned
home to Los Angeles.
Jeremy Strohmeyer was sen
tenced to life in prison without
possibility of parole. He will never
be a threat to any child ever
again. For his cruel act, Strohmey
er will never be a free man again.
For his inaction and disregard,
David Cash is attending his first se
mester at Berkeley. Because Neva
da has no “Good Samaritan” law.
Cash can not be charged with what
is most certainly a crime. He has
told reporters his only regret is that
his best friend is behind bars. He
feels no sympathy for Iverson; he
did not know her or her family. He
does admit that the death of Iver
son has impacted his life: he said it
was easier for him to pick up girls.
Who is the true monster here?
Jeremy Strohmeyer was direct
ly responsible for Iverson’s death,
and for that, he feels remorse and
guilt. Strohmeyer is paying the
price for his crime and, in some
small way, making restitution for
the horrible deed he committed.
Defense attorney Leslie
Abramson told reporters that
Strohmeyer “believes he is to
blame. But I think if we want to
prevent this in the future, we
have to look farther than that be
cause he was not a bad seed.”
How true. Strohmeyer is a crim
inal, a murderer and a very sick
man, but he is not a bad seed. At
least in the end, he admitted his
guilt and accepted punishment.
Can that be said of David Cash?
Cash and his lawyer argue that
he did nothing wrong. He was not
the one who murdered Iverson.
But Cash’s silence allowed
Iverson to die. Cash’s inaction al
lowed his friend to take the life of
a little girl. Legally, Cash did
nothing wrong. But as a human,
his inaction is indefensible.
Many students at Berkeley
have taken up the cause of Sher
rice Iverson and vowed to make
Cash’s life miserable. More power
to them. Even though Cash can
argue that he did nothing wrong,
his peers know that he did noth
ing right, either. And they do not
want a person who lacks the sim
ple decency to help a fellow hu
man in need to be amongst them.
David Cash may not have com
mitted a crime according to the
laws of Nevada, but he did commit
a crime against humanity. And for
that, he should pay a stiff penalty.
Congressional lawmakers are
trying to make sure that other
David Cashes pay the price for
their inaction. Rep. Nick Lampson
of Texas is trying to get the “Sher
rice Iverson Act” passed by Con
gress. The act would require states
to impose criminal penalties on
witnesses who fail to report sexual
crimes against children. It is a
start. Unfortunately, it comes to
late to help Sherrice herself.
In the mean time. Cash be
moans the public sentiment
against him. He claims that he
should be allowed to get an edu
cation. He was just an innocent
bystander. He just wants to get on
with his life.
That was probably what Sher
rice Iverson wanted also.
Manisha Parekh is a junior
psychology and journalism major.
Have you cof
Facullil
Ntetocto/idi
Yes, Uf
MAIL CALL
Aggies’ character
not tied to address
In response to Len Callaway’s
Sept 15 column:
Len Callaway’s column “Aggie
against Aggie” failed to point out
that there are some in Hart Hall
who do not participate in imma
ture acts of stupidity. In fact,
many are ashamed of their fellow
residents’ behavior.
I do not wish to justify the
acts of those who disrespected
one of the greatest traditions in
the world, but do not judge our
character and integrity by the
“jackassery” of those students
we are forced to share a resi
dence hall with.
You cannot judge a man’s char
acter by his physical address or the
actions of his peers. If a journalist
acted immaturely, I would not judge
all the journalism majors by one
moron. That is not just.
There is still Aggie Spirit in Hart
Hall. There are some of us who still
follow the Aggie Code of Honor and
who are not alcoholics, smokers or
hecklers. Above all, there are some
who will not tolerate being viewed
negatively for being forced to live
with barnyard animals.
It is true, student rivalries do
hurt campus unity, but please
acknowledge that not all of Hart
is heartless.
Van W. Gardner II
Class of ’02
Wage increase
harms workers
In response to Stewart Patton’s
Sept. 16 column:
The assumption that increas
ing minimum wage will help the
poor is unfounded and misguided.
I am currently a minimum wage
worker, and when I was looking for
a job for the first time, I had a very
difficult time. The main reason was
businesses could not afford to hire
me at the new minimum wage.
When I did find a job, the higher
wage did not help me since prices
were raised with minimum wage.
Raising minimum wage will only
speed the increase of inflation.
President Clinton insults the public
when he presents a minimum
wage increase as an effective solu
tion to poverty in America.
Instead of white-washing the
problem, Clinton should examine
why poverty is a problem, and
then search for a solution.
Jerilyn Gragg
Class of ’01
Coverage neglects
Democratic Aggies
In response to Sept. 14 “GOP
hopefuls host rally’’ article:
We expect The Battalion opin
ion page to promote the Republi
can agenda, but we were shocked
to read the front page story about
state GOP candidates. It had no
dissenting viewpoint whatsoever.
The story proclaimed that Rick
Perry, candidate for lieutenant
governor, was a Republican, an
Aggie, and a former yell leader.
So what? Garry Mauro, Democ
ratic candidate for governor is an
Aggie and was a yell leader. John
Sharp, Democratic challenger to
Rick Perry is an Aggie, a former
member of the Corps of Cadets,
and former student body president.
By writing its pep-rally piece for
the Republicans, The Battalion
neglects the voters of Texas A&M.
Our University deserves balanced
and fair coverage of issues which
shape our future.
Jack Harvey
Class of ’99
Accompanied by 14 signatures
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itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in
clude the author’s name, class and phone
number.
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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:
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College Station, TX
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Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
Federal police cause lawlessness
U nder the
guise of
making
Germany safer
for Germans,
Adolf Hitler built
one of the most
efficient police
forces in history.
Hitler’s police
were basically
army units responsible for “law en
forcement.” With the same mis
guided aim of making American
streets safer, local and state law en
forcement agencies have abdicated
their roles to federal law enforce
ment agencies in order to create a
centralized police force.
The FBI, for example, routinely
takes ownership of criminal cases
they have no legal claim to.
Apparently, federalism has a
different meaning today than it
did to Alexander Hamilton, John
Jay and James Madison.
As an increasingly political or
ganization, the FBI feels entitled to
handle cases such as “hate” crimes
that are local matters and not a
part of any conspiracy.
Some argue this national ad
ministration of serious crimes
brings more efficient law enforce
ment. Totalitarianism, however, is
the most efficient legal system, but
it has not been adopted.
The federalization of police is
more than national organizations
aping local jurisdiction. Local
units also subscribe to the philos
ophy that more power brings bet
ter law enforcement.
The SWAT team is a good ex
ample of a more general issue:
policing at the local level shifts
from patrols and community co
operation for the apprehension of
criminals to midnight raids and
dictates from above — hauntingly
similar to Kristallnacht.
Granted, the use of SWAT teams
is justified in extreme cases, but its
use raises serious questions.
Crime has risen, not declined,
since the start of the federal ap
proach to law enforcement. Our
society is more, not less, afraid of
crime now than it was before the
advent of centralized local police.
Even the president is so afraid of
bodily harm that he has his own
palace guard stationed around the
clock to protect him from injury.
Any elderly German will tell
you he felt no safer as a result of
gun control and the foundation of
Hitler’s military police units. A ca
sual glance at the mace canisters
and car alarm controls attached to
so many college students’ key
chains will tell you all you need to
know about the effectiveness of
American law enforcement today.
Even more troubling than the
federalization of police is the atti
tude that a suspect is presumed
guilty before he is judged innocent.
God help the citizen who is in
the wrong place at the wrong
time. The SWAT team will break
down his door, haul him to jail,
and subject him much psycholog
ical and physical discomfort be
fore any sort of charges are
brought against him.
If an individual is lucky
enough to avoid such dishonor.
he will be judged guilty by the
media before he is brought to trial
and declared innocent.
Even the innocents are not
spared from this assumption: no
college student can walk around
campus unmonitored by the ever
present “security” camera.
The security camera sends the
message to the observed that no
one can be trusted. It states the fact
that our society is more concerned
with the accumulation and reten
tion of wealth than the individual
rights of citizens.
Perhaps the most ominous facet
of American law enforcement is
the way in which it is conducted.
Telephone tapping, national and
state identification systems, video
surveillance, data matching, police
information systems and medical
record databases all illustrate that
the mechanisms for authoritarian
ism are already in place.
America is not very far from
the founding of a thought police
that uses universally distributed
information to track down and
persecute perfectly innocent
Americans. The struggle for law
enforcement has become one of
safety vs. equality. Sadly, many
Americans would gladly purchase
a little temporary safety at the
price of their freedom.
To paraphrase Samuel Adams,
anyone who loves wealth or
tranquility more than the strug
gle for freedom and liberty is not
a true American.
Josh Moskow is a sophomore
computer science major.