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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1998)
fridav.Ottv •isasSi 'three cofs ^ losses,' VoL,. «ck onto 5 t *•,00 Sail ‘ Kanscs] Vm. 1 lost to 1 ias Lon[- j 'bur garre •all and j, tice. against' fe four: 'i'l 1 rankecta' battalion inion Page 7 • Friday, October 23, 1998 ckless Tyson undeserving of license reinstatement yson the time bomb. jOur President is fac- |ing impeachment igs for immoral and deal behavior, our is under constant |its of terrorism and tof America’s favorite nes is on hold. What [could go wrong? patever could go RICHARD PADDACK did on Monday when Tyson received fixing license back after having it re fer biting Evander Holyfield last June, bve aside McGwire and Sosa, because iu did for professional sports is about put on the back burner as Mike Tyson the ring on Dec. 5 to once again de land degrade all that is good in profes- sports. ; license revocation, a five-day psy- igical evaluation and millions of s later, Tyson is back and sup- ly a new man. Itie psychological report ex- ipts of Tyson’s mandatory eval- ln were released this week, were not as positive as som 1 pave heard. e report rambles on about ’s deep depression, short (erand attention span — Is we already knew. It could be said that his com- pn of a foul puts him at in- led risk of committing another Jse,” Dr. Roland Schouten said, ghouten also said he would con- r Tyson at some increased risk of Isivity and poor judgment, and d perfofi'iecommended follow up treatment m the r.ithe boxer. i. Be scariest thing is that these elements you mate fson’s psyche are highly characteristic hings ste'.i le average criminal. How are Tyson and o take tliati average criminal different? Tyson gets text to®: We. a team,w |nie analysts speculate Tyson’s past and wene bressions and his ability to annihilate • defeats; # in theses •weep inH •i. m sli Kansas $&] against match, :y Syto ligs. Jui it WOOISS) 5 and 10 iii out-blod olf r tom A&M Me; I to Waco heir fouitt fad seast ming weeks ap| d River Clas Club Ellis I s to Wat are com v Honh at Ri Vaco. f(i t of 36 d by IS ’idgewoocj eat cour I (is saio 1 . 3 with a i 1st anyone who gets in his way are re- to his upbringing, or lack thereof, son’s arrest at age 12 for purse hing was among the tamest of his in- pns. Probably because it was the only n his life that he was not bigger than body on the block. ;on slowly graduated to grander and physical crimes such as battery, as- tape and most recently, cannibalism. [son is now 34 years old and in dire of a career change. There are plenty ourceful ways Tyson could capitalize on his strength and mental capacity other than boxing. There is a high demand for test dum mies, but he would probably be required to sign a release form. Wrestling is obviously out of the ques tion. Most wrestlers are probably afraid to fight him because they are afraid he will forget they are just faking. The fact is, no matter what happened to Tyson growing up or outside of the sport, the ring is not the place to vent his hostili ties or anger. Every kid who plays sports competitively growing up, learns this “golden rule of sports” from coaches, peers and their parents. Participation in a sport is not a therapy session where players vent by beating their opponents. • ;vJ \ Although there may be some trickle- down ethics involved once athletes achieve professional status and large amounts of money are introduced into the equation, pressure and money are all part of the game that Tyson played and lost. g trail l Relit and W Diving lerfe t Neb, Annual 6 egrading contests boost egos, illustrate missing morality CORRIE CAULEY here are some pret ty outra- jus things :(ana/atM phappen on inter, ft5err y 3 offtodaf N er Show.” nd l,65(kf fact > there d probably |a “jerry ________ get Show” ut the absurdity, obscenity utrage his guests so willing- unt in the face of America on nal television, duly for Aggies, the filth akes it on Springer’s show from the conservative little of College Station, Texas — is it? [list as the heated shouts of “If J°tit, flaunt it!” or “Yeah, "diverwill.' - to ° sexy!” give rise to the de in three :T S on Springer’s show, it is the I starts “ti aun fing of it” that gives the lOC-'l 10 the crowds gathered be no If' N the dance floors hosting a swimnw ored event the popular tight-fitting jeans con tests, wet T-shirt competitions and bikini contests. Unfortunately, while the falling body parts on “The Jerry Springer Show” are subject to censorship before they make their way onto the screens of viewers, the declin ing morals, of these contest partic ipants are not. And many partici pants abandon caution, modesty and common sense as they get swept up in the moment. Encouraged by the whoops and whistles of intoxicated on lookers, the timid twisting soon becomes a much more daring dis play. A display in which the par ticipant is degraded, demeaned and exploited. However, those participants bold enough to bare, well, almost all, not only end up with cash in hand, but with a new narcissistic image to go along with it. So what does Jerry Springer have to do with any of this? Well, both his show and these contests promote bad taste. Both promote a lack of morals. And both pay people to use their bod ies on their behalf to promote their image. However, both also have willing participants. And while it is unfor tunate that establishments sponsor such events, it is even more unfor tunate that society has encouraged — and even embraced — those willing to flaunt their figures for the sake of a buck. Dance floors are not the only place for the bold to bare it. The beaches have become an attrac tion for the brave bikini-clad spring breakers. The chance to parade around half-naked on a stage in front of beer-guzzling beach bums has be come something that appeals to many rather than to the minority. And while hard bodies are as popular as the sun at beach bikini contests, the wet T-shirt contest is easily the biggest attraction in New Orleans. Girls ornamented in beads, begged to show all, are made less than ladies by groping hands, tasteless tauntings and the sur render to vulgarity. The girls who choose to par ticipate in wet T-shirt contests are often drenched with cold beverages and their moment of fame in the eyes of the heavily intoxicated is infamous in the eyes of morality. The ego that was boosted up onto the shoulders of sacrilege is soon shot down by the realization they are regarded with the same respect as those talk-show guests on national television. And no. College Station is not immune to this type of behavior. Yes, the conservative little town of Aggieland — though a good eight hours away from the most popular beach, and a decent six hours from New Orleans — Aggies bid farewell to staff member We are losing an outstanding Aggie, who has been helping and working with other Aggies for most of her life. Mimi Sicilio will be leaving A.P Beutel Health Center this month af ter many years of service as a fan tastic, wonderful physical therapist. Sicilio exemplifies the Aggie spir it we hope we can see in each oth er. Throughout the years, Sicilio has given her best efforts to ensure each Ag in need of care received prompt and personalized attention. Sicilio has been able to provide such care with the help of student assistants, and these student as sistants have gained valuable work experiences, exposure to allied health career opportunities, as well as earning money for school. Now, the powers-that-be believe the use of student assistants in physical therapy would no longer be necessary, and as a result, Si cilio chose to leave the physical just as readily promotes the ex ploitation of anyone willing to shake a name for themselves. And unfortunately there are those willing to set their values aside in order to take center stage to display their egos. And while only the winner walks away from these demean ing contests with a handful of cash, at least on “The Jerry Springer Show” all guests appear ing are compensated. Winner or not, those partici pating in these local contests are all losers in the end. The only success attained in the event is that of successfully establishing an appearance of poor character, loose morals and a purely narcissistic image — just because you got it, doesn’t mean you have to flaunt it. Often cu riosity is best. Corrie Cauley is a senior journalism major. MAIL CALL therapy department at A&M. Ags, the quality of care that you receive at the health center contin ues to decline. Sicilio, or another sin gle physical therapist, could never handle the amount of work there, and she has prided herself in having the opportunity to have student workers help her so tremendously. Has the Aggie Spirit been termi nated in the health center? Is the morale level declining in the health center? What can be done about this? We want Sicilio to stay at the health center. We would like her to know we love her. Eddie Shanley Class of ’99 Accompanied by 51 signatures Prisons do not solve drug problem In response to the Oct. 20 article, “Two students arrested on marijua na charges”: The sobering truth is that these A&M students are likely to MANISHA PAREKH ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion One excerpt from Tyson’s evaluation said a variety of social and financial pressures were related to last year’s biting incident. Tyson obviously cannot handle these key elements of professional sports and should not have had his license returned. The main reason anyone will watch the fight is the same reason so many are attracted to “The Jerry Springer Show.” In fact, therp is no better referee for Tyson’s bout than Springer, especially since Mills Lane is now pursuing safer interests, such as court television. Richard Paddack is a senior journalism major. UPD ignores Aggie bikers I t seems there is a big problem here at Ag gieland. It has to do with pedestri ans, bicycles, cars and what happens when they meet. Recently, there have been a mim- ___________ her of accidents involving bicycles and automo biles. According to the University Police Department, these acci dents are due to bicyclists failing to observe traffic laws and com mon courtesy. That analysis is as correct as saying students park in yellow lots because they like paying parking tickets. UPD, like the Department of Parking, TTaffic and Transporta tion Services, does not have the slightest clue what is happening on the streets of Aggieland. The basic problem with campus /traffic is the lack of planning and safety consideration. With parking lots in a different time zone from campus, commuters are forced to suffer death marches to class. Busses provide no relief be cause of their unpredictable service, and bus stops are still far away from key areas on campus. This lack of close parking has created the first ingredient in the recipe for Aggie accidents: cars parking in bike lanes for long pe riods of time. Commuters leave their cars parked or idling in bike lanes as they “duck inside” a building for a little while. Meanwhile, bicy clists find themselves without a navigable lane to use. UPD expects bicyclists to stay off the sidewalks. But if cars can not stay out of the bike lanes, where are the bikes to go? The next ingredient is PTTS’ closing of streets that lead to center campus. Reaching the O&M Build ing or Sterling C. Evans Library is impossible without walking or rid ing a bike. UPD officers urge bicyclists to slow down, but try telling that to a bicyclist who parked at Olsen Field and wants to get to the O&M Build ing before his credit card expires. As PTTS has made getting across campus harder and harder, the number of bicyclists has grown. But PTTS has not taken any action to accommodate them. Bicycle racks are few and far be tween. On any given day, the racks at the Blocker Building, Evans Li brary and the MSG are overflowing. While UPD is blaming the ig norant bicyclists for accidents around campus, no one pays at tention to the dangers bicyclists face from ignorant drivers. Drivers must treat a bicyclist as though he is another car. Howev er, drivers cut bicycles off repeat edly at stop signs and take turns in front of them, causing a dan gerous situation. Lt. Bert Kretzschmar of UPD says “[safety] boils down to com mon courtesy, common sense and good judgment.” It sounds like UPD should send that message to PTTS in stead of the student body. It might make a difference. Manisha Parekh is a junior psychology and journalism major. go to jail for a long, long time. This case is one of thousands of injustices that occur every year in the United States’ failing "War on Drugs.” We are sending people to jail by the hundreds of thousands in this country every year, most of them for non-violent drug offens es. Our prisons are filled with drug offenders, who often receive mini mum sentences of up to five years for simple possession. On paper, we are spending about $30 billion a year on the War on Drugs, but when you fac tor in the additional cost of hous ing the 600,000 or so non-vio lent drug offenders in prisons today, and the costs of maintain ing the prison system, that num ber jumps to a whopping $100 billion per year. There simply has to be a more cost effective and com passionate way to handle the drug problem. Jason Lawhorn Class of ’97
