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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 1998)
ORD ( rotn Page 7 ire of the spon ive desire prove :h for Crawford he Battalion wpinion iy summer ■nee, I reconside osee [former ti) Crawford s interested. ...S the summer Spin doctors manipulate modern culture ■prostitution maybe illegal -/in 49 states, but selling oneself is practically a icessity these days — politi- lly and otherwise. That is a hectic job consid- ring how quickly people’s pinions change. Change may rmay not be good, but there iths later, she tion as a walk-or jgies’ scorers ence Meet. not her only tail no doubt change is fast. BEVERLY M1RELES her track and mtials, Crawfe diment of the individual. Often too fast. People are fickle enough, but when you add rofessionals whose job requirements involve ranipulating the facts to regional qualifie hange public opinion. d also played ir year. ades and acade arthe right reasons. which includi: academic Take Bill Clin- )n’s entire presi- onal Merit star, ency. From the trong candidate of Texas e Poster Girl tart, Clinton had ames Carville pinning his omas, Crawfo: ampaign one coach, attribc vayortheoth- leadership, academic ex najor compon; tas his, Clin- an hired the n all-around ,” Thomas sail of academ me plans areai essive. is a prime coi dio tends to rather than xroving last ye nish is a r ) improve Crawford Si estion about th confident in nothing hoi year, when 'e freshman d mores, Crawt ger picture excited for I’m sure we”! oals for rui •onstraints bates every November. It is this type of slant on events that showcase “spin” in America. It is prevalent throughout the country, and these types of campaigns are essential because they can be a tremendous factor in public opinion. In a more mercenary sense, most corpora tions’ profits depend on promotional frenzies. In 1993, the burger chain Jack in the Box fell victim to a wave of negative press. A national E. coli scare erupted when one restaurant’s ham burgers caused at least 600 patrons to become seriously ill and caused four more deaths. hange comes even more uickly, and not always r. And once le presidency oe-sucking )ick Morris to arveout political lositions for him tat corresponded to s to go to medfe polls. He and his id. he future of vhole family have been veri- able chameleons from the days they mifived in the Arkansas governor’s mansion. The most exaggerated Clinton make iverwas Hillary’s. One minute she was por- rayed as the strong, intelligent, “let’s kick ome bureaucratic health care butt” type, and he next minute she was only attending vomen’s functions and baking cookies for helsea — in heels and pearls, no doubt. But the Clintons are hardly the first public igures to use polls and drastic promotional ampaigns in an attempt to assuage negative lublic opinion. Take the many faces of the Christian Right, or example. There is the family values side, the lomosexual despising side and, of course, the nilitant vigilante pro-life facet of the group. Sure, not all of them are clinic-bombing The fresliiij l ' an ’ acs * n the same way that not all mail car- anger and u iffs are gun-toting wackos. But how often does Ralph Reed mention he killing of abortion doctors' at party conven tions? That would hardly be helpful come lection time, and that is why Pat Robertson will most iihnuts about family values and character de- Lately, however. Jack in the Box has re gained a positive image with a heavy advertis ing campaign selling burgers with comedy. The food may not be that good, but at least the commercials are funny, right? Either way. It is the fact Jack in the Box is still making money that ultimately counts. One of the more recent spin campaigns is for Pepsi’s “One.” Trying to broaden the mar ket is always a risk, and the Pepsi corporation has not forgotten the lesson of Coca Cola’s “New Coke” — a flop that cost millions of dollars — over a decade ago. In order to influence wary public opinion, Pepsi recruited the exuberant Cuba Gooding Jr. to spark interest in the super-sweet soft drink even before it was released. ■ Closer to home is the attempt of George W. Bush to sell himself as a Hispanic advocate. His Spanish-language political ads did much more for his campaign than any policy debate against Garry Mauro ever did. And Bush was especially lucky when the Texas Environmental Commission voted down a proposal to build a nuclear waste site in Sierra Blanca, a largely-Hispanic commu nity in west Texas. Bush made his so- called ties to. the Hispanic groups known by calling the waste site a dump in a terse statement soon after the proposal was nixed. Sierra Blanca will not get a nuclear waste site, which is good, but it means Sierra Blanca lost out on jobs as well. Now the nuclear waste Texas already has must stay in tem porary dumps in the big and over- populated city of Houston. Either way, it was a difficult decision, consid- brad grabber/ i iik Battalion eriiig Texas has been looking for such a site since 1983. The decision against the waste site at Sierra Blanca was an environmental one, due to the fault line it would have been built on. Howev er, there is no question its veto helped Bush “spin” more of the Hispanic vote his way. Now that most political candidates and cor porations use spin to influence profits and votes, it is even more important the public take the facts into consideration. Packaging is cheap, and when that is all a candidate or a corporation turns out to be, it can leave a taste more bitter than “New Coke” in everybody’s mouths. Beverly Mireles is a sophomore microbiology major. Page 9 • Wednesday, November 4, 1998 Hall fire serves as learning experience I n the early hours of Mon day morning, a fire erupted in Eli L. Whiteley Hall, Dorm 9. We still do not know the cause of the fire, but we do know it be came intensely hot very quickly. The Hawkeye fire alarm noti fication system alerted the Col lege Station Fire Department, and they responded. The initial alarm system and horn-alert sys tem in the residence hall worked as well, but the fire’s heat was so intense wires melted and the system’s fuses were blown. Be cause of the blown fuses, the horn alert system ceased to oper ate during the evacuation. The student residents of Dorm 9 did a magnificent job of evacu ating the residents and account ing for everyone. I would espe cially like to mention Brian Yates, a senior member of B Battery in the Aggie Band. Because of the intense heat and smoke in the building, nine students were unable to exit the fourth floor. Yates led these stu dents to a room at the end of the hall, used towels to seal the door, opened the window and alerted fire officials who were able to evacuate the students with a ladder. Band Commander Beau Voelkel and other cadet leaders should be commended for their leadership and responsiveness. The College Station Fire De partment, University Police De partment, Environmental Health and Safety Department, Physical Plant, University Relations, Emer gency Medical Services, Corps Commandant’s Office and the Di vision of Student Affairs Critical Incident Response Team were all on the scene and in position to make decisions. I would like to recognize the cooperative effort and thank everyone involved for their help. These groups were able to mini mize injuries, begin stabilizing the building and deal with emo tional issues. We were fortunate. There were only minor injuries. Two students were transported to the College Station Medical Cen ter for mild smoke inhalation, and both were back for breakfast later in the morning. Texas A&M students should learn from this experience so they ■will be able to help themselves or others should a tragic circum stance occur in their presence. Every student must be familiar with alarm and escape proce dures in their residence. Every student must be aware of who is in their living area and be able to account for them. We, the administrators, are us ing this incident to learn as much as we can about safety precau tions that can be taken. Last night, the Corps’of Cadets conducted a full fire drill, and hall staff checked fire alarm systems in all other residence halls. Each system performed up to standards. The response to this situation has helped us to once again un derstand the Aggie family. Par ents, former students, the Texas Aggie Band Association, Universi ty officials and others were pre pared to offer significant assis tance. The Texas A&M Bookstore has offered to replace all books, supplies and certain uniform items (such as ribbons and brass) lost in the fire. Last evening, the Corps Com mandant’s Office directed all members of the Corps of Cadets to walk through the third floor of Dorm 9. I requested representa tives of the Department of Resi dence Life do the same. It is im portant we use this tragedy as a learning experience so we can continue to learn and improve all systems. J. Malon Southerland is vice president for Student Affairs lore year ofei tek because ating after t this fall question in 1 said. “I had early.” d roster at with immedii ities, Crawfc r is a possibil EDITORIAL Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials board mernbers. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student tat I’ve chanj body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. said. “But; insider, for m individual, Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters ex press the opinions of the authors. Battalion Editorials Board Mandy Cater Grabber Editor in Chief Aaron Meier Managing Editor Jennifer Jones City Editor Dave Johnston Opinion Editor Faces of Diversity Page 7 Artistic statue proposal offers wider representation of campus minority groups ke this wee! jrning to Dn VI zhich is the meet for President Ray M. Bowen recently Jave the go-ahead for the Presiden tial Advisory Committee on Art Policy to begin preliminary planning for a di versity statue on the Texas A&M cam- r eek wart and oyle wereti ek for their ading perfof 12 the 8,000- minutes, 5 ~ned him a ost experi- t e squad, li ity of Texas vanced to # "lips and was Foadrunne! ed in every ar career, onal best of overall and ‘ am-leading .at A&M. tement m# in the states Pus. The committee will select a sub- * nd Arkansas committee to begin the process of establishing an official monument to diversity at A&M. Bowen’s decision is perhaps the most important com mitment to the future of diversity at M in the post-Hopwood era. The committee is considering a Work of art, possibly to be located be tween Cushing Library and the Acad emic Building. The subcommittee, members, which will include Vice President for Administration Dr. Jerry Gaston and Student Body President taurie Nickel, will make a recom mendation regarding the artistic style end representation of the statue. Although decision making is in its earliest phases, already debate is erupting across campus regarding what particular type of representa- ly runner tl' ) fen would best celebrate diversity. Perhaps the most vocal group is campaigning for a statue of Matthew Gaines, an African-Ameri can State Senator whose historical k to A&M has been hotly debat- . Some proponents of a Gaines statue argue depicting a historical is a jiiflifere would humanize diversity, giv- —Free Activate 'ng students a minority role model hwhom they could relate. Although it is valid to argue a con- ete historical figure might have more impact than an abstract sculp- , limiting the piece to portraying one individual opens the door for oth er minority groups to feel overlooked. In other words, if the subcommit tee decides to in favor of an image of one particular individual, they may have difficulty deciding upon a figure accurately symbolizing all groups — women, African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and homosexuals are only a few of the groups a monument to diversity would need to portray. The point is, the decision to begin working on a permanent monument such as this one is a huge step for this campus. Deciding upon the im age to portray will be a difficult task, but the subcommittee deserves the united support of all Aggies. And while the subcommittee should so licit the opinions' of an array of stu dents and organizations, it is certain their decision, whatever it may be, will not be void of careful consideration. No matter what the work of art may be, all campus factions should see this statue as a victory for diversity,. Regardless of the end result, this statue will stand as a symbol of the commitment the University * has made to pursue a diverse popula tion, which can only be positive. In stead of getting bogged down in de bate, campus leaders should take this as an opportunity to unite to help A&M on its continuous struggle to ward diversity. However, everyone in volved must remember this is simply a monument and the truly important goal has nothing to do with art, but with actively pursuing a diverse Texas A&M student body and'faculty. Women’s movement appears unladylike CORRIE CAULEY I t seems as though lately, being a “woman” is a job most ladies are not cut out for. In a day when women seek to compete with men in the race to achieve fame and fortune, some women have forgotten what being a lady is all about. Although, the days of women’s liberation are not as irrational as the days of the Flapper, they are still characterized by gender envy. And although both men and women should have equal oppor tunities to achieve success, they do not need to give up their femi nine nor masculine qualities. As the once-popular tailored skirt gives way to slacks, trousers and pleated pants, and as long, layered locks are chopped off, the surface of femininity slowly be gins to fade. In the past, women were proud to put their jobs on hold to stay home and raise their children. Now they fight to be accepted by society, first, as a career person, and secondly, as a mother. Many women today hold criti cal positions in the workplace and maternity leaves are much shorter than in the ’60s. It seems more than coinci dental that juvenile crime rates are higher. Kids coming home to milk and cookies is a thing of the past, but coming home to an empty house and an open opportunity to get into trouble is front page news. Though you cannot blame in creasing crime rates on the femi nist movement, it has contributed to other social changes such as men’s insecurity. As men begin to feel threat ened by the success of their coun terparts, they become deterred from pursuing relationships with “the enemy.” The intimidation by women develops into a fear of rejection and in turn, the lady loses out. When he finally does summon enough courage to face the lady of his curiosities, it becomes more of an issue of approach — should he open the door for her? Should he allow her to pay for dinner? Will she think he’s old-fashioned if he tries to be a gentleman? Although women have come a long way since the days of burn ing bras, it seems lately they feel they cannot go far enough. It is no longer good enough to be vice president when you can be president. And while ambition is a respectable characteristic of anyone, it unfortunately becomes a tool for a cause that warps the goals of the individual. Members of the women’s liber ation movement often confuse personal goals with those of the movement, or they fight to attain a goal for the sake of the group rather than for individual satisfac tion and self-pride. Too often women’s organiza tions find themselves embroiled, in partisan political issues such as abortion instead of working on behalf of all women. The movement frequently seeks more than simple equality be tween the genders. Ironically, it seems as though all femininity is absent from femi nism and all that it represents. To day, women display their pride by parading. Striking and petitioning, but ladies are quite content to re main uninvolved and even enjoy being treated like a lady. Corrie Canley is a senior journalism major. HB APPRa THE PITCH FOR ft Lc MAIL CALL Maroon Out unifies students In response to Oct. 29 editorial: The editors of The Battalion once again tried to make an effort to neg atively publicize a University event. Apparently, unity cannot include any attempt to draw Aggies togeth er, whether it be through bloc seat ing or wearing maroon. Who would have ever thought an organization selling T-shirts for $5 could have hidden motives of financial reward? 1 commend the Maroon Out staff for choosing unity before out stretched wallets. Even if profit was a motive behind the event, class councils’ primary purpose is to raise enough money to give back to this University in form of class gifts. Maroon Out’s vision was to make Kyle Field look like a sea . of maroon, not a sea of Maroon Out shirts, and that is exactly what happened. What began as 5,000 Maroon Out shirts for those who did not have maroon to wear to the game ended with over 31,000 support ers. Even those who chose not to wear the official shirt, but maroon, where still a part of the Maroon Out success. Having an annual drive provid ing the shirts is a great way to keep this new tradition alive. Ag gies, wear maroon on Nov. 7 to support our team and University — even if our own newspaper does not support any efforts to unify Texas A&M. Aaron Dobbs Class of '01 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
