The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 04, 1998, Image 11

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    Battalion
inion
Page 11 • Friday, December 4, 1998
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ri the 1-35 feeder't
Austin. s
evorkian harms cause, overshadows message Wanted:
JOHN
LEMONS
ppears to be the
aw that broke the
Jibway, a senior Jfroverbial camel’s
id the the mone ;d< Jack Kevorkian has
3ts is estimated:« gone too far.
and $1,100. He I In his crusade to make
tal value of ttie;®er — that is, physi-
because theyi'c:B assiste( J suicide — an
nerwhenhewasBP^ble medical prac-
ns taken include; ce < Kevorkian has per-
and a camera. a euthanasia. This
’t think itwasalit|| e ‘ nt0 uncharted territory has in-
but apparently eased the stakes in the national debate
said. Bow to handle the terminally ill. As a
iy said thatacc'^ 1 °f his actions, Kevorkian faces
m was alsobroleB? 68 murder, assisting a suicide and
he police toldtB^y a controlled substance,
vould not beaWt®bile pro-lifers are glad Kevorkian
goods Borced a confrontation
ay said hisca' ec ' ,,not win » the y
Corps of at)l ld a * so b e sa d to see
nd it could havB g0 - Aside from his
, et tactice of killing pa-
’ with inforrai.B 5 ; Kev , orkian is a
niversity Police f( lfersb / s J tfriend -
}5-2345 lispisguided mission
I H Bcrippled the move-
i Bt to legalize physician
l-APrc cniil si r ed suicide -
LtJtJfb SvUJBevoj-j^H | s t j ie f ace
jon.im pfthysician-assisted suicide in
rairU|J w'Bcountry. His name is in-
i Creek is ttiefcBrable from the practice,
ffort that neer lit the flamboyant
Saturday. iiorkian is wrecking his
cott, a Brazos B cause.
:il memberand.Blearly, Kevorkian is
lean-up andasiMa rational man. Bygiv
i the Recreation lithe video tape of a eu-
iSciences DepaBasia he performed on a
k is a potentc; 2tyear-old man with Lou
development. Brig’s disease to CBS’s “60-
nCreek willprciifinutes,” Kevorkian forced
e in greenwaydwolecutors to charge him
scity in the tenth murder,
to makeitbottiriBfter viewing the tape aired
»k at andmoreii[60 Minutes,” Oakland
ho don’t te-Bnty, Mich, prosecutor David
isaid. Bcya indicted Kevorkian on
i up will includeiiumer charges,
s ofthecreekKWConsent is not a viable de-
iTexas Avenue, pse in taking the life of another,
is should mee'ijven under the most controlled en-
nphitheater hronment,” Gorcya said in a press
s. ThecleaiKipflbijference.
Binder the law, euthanizing a patient is
information hurder. Advertising one’s involvement in a
goes to jail, he intends to go on a hunger
strike until he dies.
Always on the fringe, Kevorkian has
turned self destructive. As lucky as he has
been in court in the past, surely he had to
know that he cannot win this battle.
The crusader, according to Fieger, now
seeks the martyr’s role.
If it is the martyr’s role Kevorkian wants,
he will not get it. Martyrs are people who
are liked, and Kevorkian’s fanatical actions
have not endeared him to the public.
0/
r
BRAD GRAEBER/Tm: Battalion
A
6334.
murder on national ,television is insane.
But Kevorkian’s behavior in this re
fill incident has been consistently irra-
onul. In an interview with CBS’ Mike
/allace, Kevorkian said he hoped legal
ijhorities would charge him for the eu-
anasia. Moreover, Kevorkian said if he
) rogram for weary drivers
ticreases highway safety
In a recent interview with the De
troit Free Press, Kevorkian’s former
lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, said Kevorkian has
a “self-destructive streak that has over
whelmed his campaign for legalization of
doctor-assisted end-of-life procedures. ”
Americans, by and large, are
disgusted by what they witnessed on
“60 Minutes.” A delicate subject like physi
cian-assisted suicide needs to be presented
gently if Americans are to be expected to
accept it.
With apologies to Mary Poppins, a
spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go
down. Kevorkian has offered Americans
a spoonful of tacks to chase down his
bad medicine.
Worse, Kevorkian has made the issue
more about himself than about relieving
patients’ pain. Even his former lawyer
acknowledges this fact.
“Kevorkian has no sense of
loyalty and no sense of hon
or,” Feiger said. “He thinks
of himself more than he
thinks about the issue.”
By working alone,
Kevorkian made himself the
sole arbiter of which pa
tients live and die. One rea
son why Kevorkian’s prac
tice of physician-assisted
suicide is so danger
ous is it leaves no
room for second
opinions. This ex
ecutioner work
ing solely on his
own judgement
— a frightening
concept.
On the
whole,
Kevorkian’s ac
tions are moral
ly bankrupt.
Thankfully, the
actions of one
man are sinking
the whole cause.
It is, after all, about
time. For years, the pro
death movement — that
is, pro-choice — has
painted the pro-life
movement with a broad
brush. By labeling all pro
lifers as religious fanatics and
clinic bombers the pro-choice move
ment has time and again damaged the
move to make outlaw abortion. It has been
dishonest and unfair to stereotype the
whole movement to save babies by the ac
tions of a few on the lunatic fringe.
Well, if turnabout is fair play, then it ac
ceptable for the country to believe that like
Kevorkian, all proponents of physician-as
sisted suicide are nuts.
Kevorkian is the wrong man to front his
cause, which is good to those who still be
lieve that life is precious.
Who would have guessed Kevorkian’s
last victim would be himself?
Batt staffers
John Lemons is an electrical engineering
graduate student.
D n any giv
en week
end or hol-
ay, Texas
ghways are
owded with
Ipy motorists,
any of whom
e between the
|es 18 and 24.
■Drowsy dri-
ELIZABETH
STRAIT
is have the potential to end
jir own lives, as well as the
s of any fellow motorists.
The National Sleep Foundation
lorts 72 percent of people be-
fen the ages of 18 and 24 have
en while drowsy,
he Texas A&M Student Senate
passed a bill in conjunction
h the National Sleep Founda-
s “Drive Alert ... Arrive Alive”
Jgram that addresses this issue
id has the potential to save
Iny people from sleep-related
[accidents.
[the National Sleep Founda-
pi’s program, which addresses
wsy driving, is a national cam-
gn to raise public awareness
ut driver fatigue and sleep-re-
ted crashes. Drowsy driving is a
[ious problem for college stu
nts. According to a recent study
the University of North Caroli-
Uno > people under the age of 25 ac-
er [int for 55 percent of all sleep-
aes, stuffed ated accidents.
The senate passed The Lupe
dina Bill for Driving Safety last
ptember. The bill is named for
dina, a Texas A&M student
to was killed in a sleep-related
:ident in April 1998.
The Texas A&M Student Sen-
i Senate home page says the bill
lablishes a program to provide
a iuced rates for college students
veling late at night on week-
ds, and during winter and
ring breaks at participating Su-
t8 Motels and Hampton Inns
toss Texas.
There are already participating
^tels located in several Texas
ies, and more hotels are consid-
for finals is
19th at
2C
ow us yo^
w up with
-ight.
12 FAX
ering joining the program.
Hotels post fliers to let stu
dents know they are participat
ing in the program. The student,
who must be at least 50 miles
from his or her home campus,
simply provides a student identi
fication card from any university
at check-in, and he or she will
receive a discount.
The goal of the bill is to make
money less of an issue for stu
dents who are driving late at
night and would like to stop and
rest. Rather than put their lives in
danger by driving drowsy, they
can stop and get some rest in a
safe environment.
The bill will not only prevent
drowsy driving, but it may also
prevent students from pulling
over on the side of the road to
rest, which can be equally dan
gerous. Sleeping on the side of
the road opens students up to a
number of other danger like hav
ing their car broken into while^
they are in it or being hit by an
other motorist.
Now that the cost of a hotel
room is less of an issue, the only
thing left to the student is taking
responsibility for his or her driving
behavior and recognizing when it
is time to get off of the road.
If stopping and getting some
rest is still not an option, students
should take other steps, such as
rotating drivers or stopping peri
odically to take a break.
Sleep-related car accidents are
unnecessary and can be prevented
if drivers make a point to take pre
cautions and recognize their limits.
Long drives are fatiguing for
anyone, and especially college
students who have a million
things going on in their lives. The
National Sleep Foundation along
with the Texas A&M Student Sen
ate is taking an important step in
eliminating sleep related car
crashes on Texas Highways.
Texas athletic teams deserve joint support
T
ANDREW
BALEY
Elizabeth Strait is a junior
journalism major.
I here is rea
son to
smile today
in Aggieland.
The Texas Aggie
football team has
a chance tomor
row to reclaim its
football season.
A win in the
Big XII Champi
onship game against No. 2-
ranked Kansas State University
could push the Aggies into a
prominent bowl game and give
their season a positive end.
Most Ags are probably praying
for a decent showing tomorrow. In
the minds of many, even a re
spectable game could ease the sick
feeling from last week’s loss.
There is no doubt last Friday
was bad for Aggies. Neither of the
two participants in the nation’s
best college rivalry deals well
with losing the big game. Compe
tition in any arena, whether it be
football, baseball, or 3-in-the-
morning brawls on 6th Street, is
always at its best when Aggies
and Longhorns are competing
against one another.
Protesters miss
biblical message
In response to the Dec. 3 article,
“Baptist group to protest apology”:
As a Southern Baptist, I was
disappointed to read about the
hateful way Westboro Baptist
Church of Topeka, Kan., plans to
protest. The Bible states homosex
ual behavior is a sin. However, that
does not mean “God hates fags.”
Because God is loving and just,
sin must be accounted for. By his
grace and mercy, a way to salva
tion was provided for all people.
Most Baptists adhere to the Bible,
which commands us to love our
neighbor. It is important for the stu
dents of A&M to understand that
Christians, whether they are Bap
tists or not, should love the sinner
This is why our rivalry with
Texas’ other big school is so heat
ed and cherished. But two events
occurred on Friday that served to
remind everyone that despite the
love of the rivalry, neither A&M
nor the Austin school, is bigger
than the state in which they both
are located.
After Texas kicked its game
winning field goal there was
heartache and jubilation in Royal
Memorial Stadium. However,
even those Aggies present took
time out of their heartache to ap
plaud Texas running back Ricky
Williams for becoming the
NCAA’s all-time leading rusher.
William’s feat is quite an ac
complishment. He broke a record
that had stood for 22 years and
passed up some very famous
company along the way. Williams
destroyed records that used to be
long to guys with such big names
as Tony Dorsett and Earl Camp
bell. Ricky Williams deserved the
applause he received from all fans
at Royal-Memorial Stadium, in
cluding Aggies.
After the Aggies’ kind gesture,
it was the Longhorns’ turn. Texas
fans took time out of their cele
bration to applaud and support
A&M when the stadium announc
er wished the Aggies good luck
against Kansas State in the Big XII
Championship Game.
This was a kind act on the part
of the Texas fans. They had no
more reason to cheer for us than
we did to cheer for their superstar.
The reason these two events
took place is because Texas is the
best state in the country. All resi
dents of this great state should
have pride in it.
Texans should keep this in
mind when they see the burnt-
orange uniforms playing the
likes of Nebraska or Notre
Dame. A win for Austin is a win
for the state of Texas.
Just the same, a win for A&M
is a win for the lone star state.
When Aggies are facing t-sips,
they all know who should and
will win. But, when the teams are
playing separate opponents, they
should root for each other for the
state’s sake.
Andrew Baley is a junior
political science major.
MAIL CALL
but not his or her sin. Following
Christ’s example does not include
loud, hateful protests.
Jonathan Jones
Class of ’02
Football coaches
show poor strategy
I want to thank the Texas A&M
Wrecking Crew for winning as
many games as they did this year.
As a football fan I enjoyed
watching such a dominating de
fense. I want to thank the offense
for scoring enough points to allow
the Wrecking Crew to win as many
games as they did this year. I have
attended this university for four
years and have seen the Universi
ty of Texas beat the Aggies three
out of the past four meetings. I
have seen Texas come to Kyle
Field and dominate us and I have
seen us get completely dominat
ed twice at Royal Memorial stadi
um in Austin.
Now I have one question for
the coaching staff: Why did you
call for a prevent defense with
52 seconds to go in the game
when the Longhorns were nice
enough to let us take the lead by
giving us the ball?
The Longhorns managed to
drive the ball 70 yards in 52 sec
onds and kick a chip-shot field
goal to win it. If you give a quar
terback — much less a good
quarterback — 10 seconds to
throw the ball,-he is going to
pick apart a defense no matter
how good it is.
All this defense does is pre
vent you from winning. Keep with
AARON
MEIER
T he average
semester of
The Battal
ion requires
about 2 million
newspaper pages,
1,520 stories writ
ten by 50 of the
100 staff mem
bers, 640 rolls of ____________
film, 2,800 cans
of Coke, 160 trips by food deliver
ers and so many angry mail calls
the office clerks might need thera
py after graduation.
Did I mention that all of this is
headed up by one single individ
ual? Well next semester that fool
— excuse me, honored student —
is me.
It’s hard to believe that three
years ago I turned in my appli
cation to be a feature writer
with no journalism experience,
no formal writing experience
and absolutely no idea what I
was getting myself into.
I am the poster child for the say
ing, “No experience necessary.”
Three years later I have be
come editor in chief and will take
the helm of one of the largest stu
dent newspapers in the nation.
Heaven help me.
Actually, The Batt has offered
me experiences that I never
would have had the opportunity
to see otherwise. Where else can
a student be able to watch from
the fourth row as Shania Twain
shakes her stuff in a spandex
outfit and then be able to write
about it?
Working at The Batt is not
about free tickets though. Notable
Batt alumna include Lyle Lovett
and Debby Krenek, editor in chief
of the New York Daily News.
While we all may not be able to
marry Julia Roberts, at least we
can worship the ground he
walked on — the lucky dog.
For people that say they do
not need to know how to write
for a business degree or an engi
neering job, I simply laugh in
their face. Every summer I work
for an engineering firm during
the summers and every summer
they tell me that the one thing
they wish they could find more
of is good writers. Everyone
with an engineering degree can
take the integral of a function or
calculate the area under the
curve, but ask most engineers to
write about it, and they give you
this saucer-eyed stare like a deer
caught in headlights.
For those readers who are al
ready talented writers, or pho
tographers or graphic designers.
The Battalion is a great way to
get learn just how messed up
this great University of ours can
be. From vicious arguments
over bottles of wine to bitter de
bates on whether students
should use one backpack strap
or two, it is hard not to sit back
in the newsroom and laugh at
some of the thoughts that cross
students’ minds.
Don’t believe me? Think I am
just some crazy two-percenter
who has been locked in the
basement of Reed McDonald too
long? Well, then just head on
down here and throw your ap
plication at my feet and say, “I
carry my books in a satchel,
wear my 12th Man T-shirt every
day and I want to write for The
Battabloid.”
I’ll have a can of Coke wait
ing here for you.
Aaron Meier is a senior
political science major.
what has gotten you there and
that sure was not the prevent. I
hope if the coaching staff can
make the game against Kansas
State close enough, they do not
make the same mistake again.
Max Rohrer
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: 11.11
Fax: (409) 845-2647
idSKilOT
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