e Battalion
o
PINION
Page 9 • Monday, February 15, 1999
J-’Wother spin on sex and the government
^legalization Prostitution bad for country’s
(prostitution moral fabric, societal values
oodfor nation
1
Brendan
GUY
,a H
iresp
HJSTON (AP.
ey undenve:
ay for a left;
vill keep him
the Houstoncannot
ext three to:. :1 fathom
a brief news A how
the afterno e could
physician : ok that
said the king anoth-
ve damaged auman be-
exactly as pit feel good
oming into a fee could
;ood) shape :’ degrading
, to help treir,: demeaning,
■hab," Lower ess it is degrading to make other
iple feel good.” — Norma Jean
A'ay. nodovar, a former Los Angeles
u Kukoc ledt ice officer turned prostitute,
lints and 1 There is no rational reason for
, vvhohadsti: existing laws against prostitu-
revious losse; i. Such laws, like most laws
was theoniv tinst consensual activity, are
louble figure; ;ed on outdated moral ideas and
ierally do far more harm than
)d to both individuals and to so-
ty.Bo why, in a society that
ims to value freedom and capital-
1, is a simple economic transac-
i that does not hurt anyone ille-
7
^Malized prostitution would be
ulated prostitution. It would fall
der [the jurisdiction of zoning
ight between l /s and health regulations. Licens-
he winner ‘requirements would be able to
on unbeatenli pBut the diseased, the addicted
lix Trinidad 1 the under-aged,
ker on Si.Regular medical examinations
on Square C: uldjhelp keep brothels free of
'active. :ually transmitted diseases, and it
V, uld be taxable.
lost :Allbf this would help make prostitution (an
dec - ustry that is going to exist no matter what
La ’ government does to try and shut it down)
199' er, cleaner and a useful source of govern-
chairnl revenue.
James TM advantages of legalizing prostitution
Seveiive Been successfully demonstrated in both
supeifeiftch city of Amsterdam and. throughout
weiglach pf Nevada, where a recent survey of 535
could al prostitutes found none of them infected
to FK HIV.
La ■ The disadvantages of criminalizing prostitu-
Fjiil - wasting money and time on pointless
Hoya orce ment efforts, giving millions of dollars
””“to deli sry rear to organized crime and making the
arr. Carr wonkustry needlessly dangerous — have been
ai over Frankie nonstrated pretty much everywhere else in
ay-per-view caw United States. So again the question is,
is & Mack CentffB possible justification can there be for
he sixth-round' king prostitution illegal?
irne alter Deb One main argument against prostitution is
>d Quartey eafiit it is degrading to the people involved in it,
De La Hoya argument that could just as easily be ap-
tt, ‘Hey, I’m to working at a fast-food joint as to work-
aack up and ;i|in|a brothel. Besides, most of what makes
I’m not aquittenstitution degrading is a direct consequence
' showed iitit being illegal.
’ said Gil Claulf prostitution was legal, prostitutes would
co-trainer. “It fall under the control of abusive pimps,
for him. He spat ey yvould not be forced to work in danger-
ghting Quartey's s areas where they are easy targets for rape
d other violence, and they might even be
a Hoya
iuartey
able to call upon the police for help if they
were attacked.
Also they would not be subject to the hu
miliation of arrest and having a police record
that almost precludes finding other employ
ment. Those factors make prostitution degrad
ing, not the exchanging sex for money.
Others attack prostitution for a different rea
son: they see it as being immoral. Of course,
since modern conservatives seem to think
everything is immoral, the question has to be
why single out prostitution for criminalization?
Is it because prostitution is paying someone
to pretend to care about their client? If that is
the case, psychiatrists should be locked up in
droves.
Is it because prostitution causes people to
have casual sex? Alcohol causes more casual
sex than prostitution ever could — as spending
any time among the drunken, horny hordes
that descent upon Northgate every weekend
demonstrates. Is it because prostitution vio
lates some divine law?
What is this, a theocracy? The First Amend
ment to the Constitution is specifically de
signed to keep religious laws from becoming
secular ones. Besides, some of the early pagan
religions believed prostitutes were sacred; if
they had only been better warriors than their
Judeo-Christian counterparts there might still
be temple prostitutes to this day.
Morality is obviously an extremely subjec
tive thing that is going to vary from person to
ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion
person. Therefore, the only rational way for a
free society to behave is to only criminalize ac
tivities that cause direct harm to other people
or their property.
Since prostitution does neither of these
things, or at least it would not if it was decrim
inalized, it should not be illegal.
Obviqusly people have the right to believe
that prostitution is immoral or degrading, but
they shopld not have the right to enforce their
own beliefs on other people through the legal
system. By passing laws against prostitution,
much harm l]as been done to both society as a
whole and to many individuals.
Prostitution is a business like any other, pro
viding a service in exchange for money. It has
existed for all of recorded history, and as long
as humans are sexual beings, it will probably
continue to exist.
Almost all of the negative effects of prostitu
tion come not from the activity itself but from
it being illegal. Since legalizing it would enable
the government to regulate it (making it safer
for both the prostitutes and their clients) there
can be no possible justification for the contin
ued criminalization of prostitution.
As for the people that truly believe prostitu
tion is immoral, they should remember that Je
sus treated prostitutes as friends not as crimi
nals.
Brendan Guy is a senior political science and
history major.
oposed parking permit fee increases need
loser examination before implementation
ie parking permit
[fee increases that
are currently before
? Campus Access and
Game 1 (FriF ki f§ Task Force are at) -
^1-5 _ Arizcrrrent, amoral and out-
WMilo(2-B eOUS ’ , ff -
I Fossiim llB 0 weeksa8 °’ offl '
1 '' 1 iis in the Office of the ^ LEN taxttt^
, . , ice President of Adminis- JANIK
'ame 1 (Sap 1 ^^ anc j p ar i<ing, Traf-
“ Anzp arK ) Transportation Services unveiled their
W 1 earce 1 Q p 0sa ] to raise parking fees on faculty and
L Caplefi’ Jden ts. With increases so dramatic and un-
irranted, it is time for the campus bureau-
lame 2 (SahF ts lo explain why such an increase is
18-9-AOd.
W Russ(l' First, the sheer magnitude of the increase
L DigginsO abhorrent. Student garage spaces will in-
ea si $144 — a staggering 60 percent hike.
Fident-resident and student-commuter per-
iree runs in sis its kHI increase $50 — a jump of two-
af starter Matt 1 i r ds. Yellow lots will increase by a third,
t e d lots will nearly double in price and
eI1 notorcycle passes will go up 37 per-
• nt.
fU If|h° se proposed fee hikes are not enough
1 t? DO an ger Aggies, they only need to be told
TUp filPie listurbing fact: According to the task
I lie LU this would be the first of three sched-
1EE POOL Hed h' kes -
w/student^ students who receive scholarships and
purchase of3 f 3 IlS wil1 Quickly see a decrease in the value
InesdavNiqht-l! their education as funds previously re-
v/ frpo In ninrrved for books now go towards the privi-
V y ge of parking on campus.
College-acrossfrC
822-079'
■Northgate tradiW
As for faculty members, some will have no
problem forking over the extra cash, but
what about the scores of staff members who
make just enough to feed their families?
Money will be transferred from groceries to
parking permits.
It is inevitable for fees to increase. Some
have even suggested parking permits deserve
to be increased because they have remained
constant for several years. However, with
such a large increase, some questions must
be answered.
First, look at the proposed West Campus
garage. Are there currently a lack of spaces
on West Campus? With shuttle buses running
to and from Olson Field and Reed Arena,
there are currently more spaces than needed
on West Campus. Perhaps then, this garage is
for somebody other than the students. To fig
ure out why this garage is being built, simply
look across Wellborn Road to the football sta
dium.
The new West Campus garage is nothing
more than another football perk for the 12th
Man Association, and the proposed Wellborn
Road underpass/tunnel a means of ferrying
the fat-cat fans to the stadium. Students
know more parking is needed on Southside
and at Zachry, but this University would
rather please its fans than serve its students.
There are no classes or dorms near the
Student Rec; only a football stadium. To force
students to pay for fan parking is simply
amoral. To not tell the students about the
true nature of the garage is immoral.
Despite all the deception this University is
T he citi
zens of
the Unit
ed States of
America enjoy
many free
doms: the free
dom of
speech, free- Brandon
dom of religion MULLEN
and the right
to form militias. But there is a
group of people who wish to add
the right to legal prostitution to
the list. If prostitution were legal
ized it would hurt society, as well
as the prostitutes themselves.
Those in favor of prostitution
have a number of seemingly posi
tive reasons for its legalization
and regulation. Some argue by de
criminalizing prostitution, the
government could mandate test
ing for sexually-transmitted dis
eases. It would also save the tax
payers money by eliminating the
cost of enforcing the current laws.
And they point out that if prosti
tution were made legal, it — like
everything else — could be taxed.
The most positive of all these
arguments is the ability to test for
sexually transmitted diseases. But
the U.S. Department of Health re
ported that of all cases of STD’s in
a year, only 3 to 5 percent are
contracted through prostitution.
This is a low percentage. It would
seem that the majority of prosti
tutes and their clients are taking
the necessary precautions against
infection.
Even if the government could
test prostitutes, how would they
do it? The gestation period for
many of these diseases can cause
them to go undetected for long
periods of time. Would every
prostitute be required to be tested
every month, week or day? More
time allowed between tests would
endanger more people with infec
tion.
Testing could become expen
sive if the testing were done fre
quently on every prostitute. The
cost of testing challenges the pro
legalization argument that legal
prostitution would be cheaper. In
addition to the tests, the bureau
cratic costs that would come with
the licensing and regulation of
prostitution are inestimable.
Those in favor of legalization
also point to the tax revenue that
could be raised by taxing prostitu
tion. Prostitution is estimated to
be a $14.5 billion a year industry.
A great deal of money could be
raised by taxing this market, but
would it be worth all the negative,
that surround prostitutes?
The one group of people that is
carefully being ignored are the
prostitutes themselves. Prostitu
tion is not a career choice. More
often than not it is a woman’s last
choice. And the majority of these
women have suffered some type
of mental or physical abuse in
there lifetime. A survey of prosti
tutes in the San Francisco area
showed that 75 percent had been
physically or sexually abused as
children. The women who be
come prostitutes have mental
scares which blind them from re
ality. Legalization would not help
these women it would only en
courage their self-destructive be
havior.
In addition, the abuse many
prostitutes suffered early in life is
also found in their profession. An
other survey of prostitutes found
that 82 percent had been physical
ly assaulted, 83 percent were
threatened with a weapon and 68
percent had been raped. There is
no amount of regulation that can
protect these women when they
are alone with their clients. They
are putting themselves in the
most vulnerable position imagin
able.
This can be seen by the mental
state of prostitutes. It is not a hap
py life. The same study revealed
that 76 percent of all prostitutes
have considered suicide. The peo
ple in favor of legalizing prostitu
tion give little consideration to the
women they are talking about.
By keeping prostitution illegal,
society has a better chance at re
forming these misguided youth.
Legalization is not the answer, so
ciety can not continue to turn its
back on its problems by simply
making them legal.
The damage legalizing prosti
tution would do to society is re
flected by the ideas found in
Robert Bork’s book, Slouching To
ward Gomorrah. Bork points to
Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
who called this trend “defining
deviancy down.” In short, this
means that as a society reaches
the limit of deviant behavior it
can accept, it will redefine what is
deviant. In the case of prostitu
tion, the practice has become so
ingrained in society, those in fa
vor of legalization believe it
would be easier to legalize it than
to continue to persecute it.
But Bork finds another trend in
our society, “defining deviancy
up.” This trend results from the
morally upright citizens creating
increasingly strict moral codes.
Thus, while one side of society is
making their standard more re
laxed, the other side is tightening
theirs.
The legalization of prostitution
would continue the polarization
of American society. As more sins
are made acceptable, more people
will be drawn to them. Converse
ly, an equal number of people will
go the opposite direction recog
nizing the direction society is go
ing. American society would be
left with two ideologically op
posed sides. Any benefits from le
galizing prostitution would not be
worth the effect it would have on
society.
Brandon Mullen is a senior history
and English major
attempting to pass by the students and facul
ty, only one thing can be more outrageous
than the fee increase scam — student and
faculty apathy. Someone must ask the tough
questions. If Aggies are being asked to pay
hundreds of extra dollars, the officials who
proposed the increases have an obligation to
answer every question from the concerned
public.
How much does the PTTS currently have
in reserve funds? Why can the school not sell
bonds to raise the funds? How much will the
next two increases be? Have any other op
tions been explored including not building
the facilities? Who is demanding a West
Campus parking garage? How will the dorm
parking shortages be addressed in light of the
fee increases?
Until Aggies get answers to these ques
tions, all faculty and students have an obliga
tion to oppose these increases.
With each fee increase, A&M is becoming
more unaffordable. Increased economic barri
ers to this institution build a wall poor stu
dent will not be able to climb.
Is parking so important that the University
is willing to further the economic segregation
of campus?
If only white upper-middle class parents
can afford A&M, our school will become
even further homogenized.
What a pleasant vision for 2020 at a
“world-class” university — a school valuing
the amount of parking for football fans over
affordable education for the citizens of Texas.
Glenn Janik is a senior political science major.
MAIL CALL
Greek system not
elite “ivory towers”
In response to Pablo White’s
Feb. 10 mail call.
When an Aggie suggests that
another group of Texas A&M stu
dents are less than Aggies, it is a
sad state of affairs. If Pablo White
truly believes this, then he needs
to seriously reconsider whether he
is worthy of being called an Aggie.
I was disappointed in White’s
opinions concerning our communi
ty service efforts. The Greek sys
tem donates thousands of dollars
each year to worthy charities that
benefit many people.
It is apparent that White has
not spent enough time outside his
dorm room. I think it is ludicrous
that he thinks Aggie Greeks live in
“ivory towers.” Greeks are some
of the nicest and friendliest peo
ple I know. It is quite obvious that
White and his friends have not
spent much time around Greeks
of A&M. Despite his claims,
Greeks respect and participate in
many of the rich traditions on
A&M. We don’t “rent friends” as
some people believe. I have made
lasting friendships in my fraternal
experience, as I am sure men and
women in other Greek organiza
tions at Texas A&M have as well.
It is true that the Greek system
at Texas A&M has not been here
since 1876. However, we have
been quite productive student or
ganizations for over 20 years. We
successfully coexist with the rest
of the student body at our beloved
University. If White and his small
group of friends fail to see that,
then they need to go back to the
Northside dorms and watch their
reruns of Star Trek.
Andrew C. Davis
Class of '98
The Battalion encourages letters to the ed
itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in
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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.
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Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: batt@tamvml.tamu.edu