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■Battalion
o
PINION
Page 9 • Monday, April 5, 1999
-ro fi him aver fees
in ad). This rate
u get an additr
luted to endtoc,
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ites. Muzzy, gatage
Wisconsin students justified
m fighting for their say
n allocation of student funds
100 Shadow !
^ wri " Bhe United States
Msupreme Court is
822^46■ preparing to hear
C777^ :ast ‘ involving the
c«ii 822-5387 live rsity of Wiscon-
'ERSONAi ® lloca ! ion « f stu -
mt ees after three
■tudents at the
11&. S«iv-l
Jvirsity sued the
Branixtn
MULLEN
PETS
ms CFA 'W
' 693*0239
jjBl because their
om v was supporting
Hizations they disagreed with.
Hott Southworth, one of the students
solved in the lawsuit, said in the Wis-
nsin newspaper.The Badger Herald, “If
or inization is getting student money
-,d no one is willing to support them
Ueil^-iOfflbut segregated fees then it is good if
Al FSTAftlf 1 , ' 1 '
ni_ -■uthworth is fully justified in his argu-
jaena i invest: ?nt and the Supreme Court should up-
^ s -. ^ IW he decisions of the lower courts,
lich felt the current use of the fee was
-7.: appropriate. If an organization is not
• atmosw ong enough to sustain itself, students
^■disagree with the organization
’ii ratoToc ou ^ not charged with the responsi-
proiessTia iity for keeping it alive. The present stu-
fo«b nisegregated fee provides money for
MMMHj^vthing from the University Health Ser-
)OMMATE$ :es to the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual
. s need* io'u GB) Campus Center.
Mckyani six Currently, students who attend the Uni-
Mtv pay $330 in segregated fees. Of this
ip througn A.: 30 $284 is considered “non-allocable
The Badger Herald reported that
isPnoney is used to support “University
aalh Services, recreational sports and
e student unions.”
The remaining $46 is allocated by the
isociated Students of Madison (ASM)
id the Student Services Finance Com-
<j. Sumnw
rtment $245/
Aug. Own mo
•smoker. Sim
ire info.- 764-8
imer-'99 tK'-‘
bdrm/bath. H'
p JenmleifS*
ire 2bdrm/t
+1/2bills
e? Find one
mittee (SSFC). And this is the money that
is used to fund some of the which funds
some of the controversial groups, such as
the LGB Campus Center.
Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin state
representative, has proposed a bill which
would give students the option of paying
this additional $46 dollars. This is a rea
sonable solution because it keeps money
from going to any organization that is fo
cused at a specific group of students.
Another representative, Tammy Bald
win, opposes Grothman’s bill because she
believes it is not democratic. The Badger
Herald reported her as saying, “Student
government, chancellors and the Board of
Regents have ensured that segregated fees
are not allocated frivolously.” Most of the
people against changing the current policy
believe it would decrease the amount of
democratic choice the students have.
But the current policy is not democratic
in nature, in fact it is closer to commu
nism. By collecting student money, pool
ing it together and then distributing it to
various student organization, the current
system is ignoring one of the pillars of
democracy, individual choice. Why should
a members of the College Democrats’
money be given to the College Republi
cans?
The advocates of the current system
further argue that the students do have a
choice. The Badger Herald stated that the
ASM and the SSFC are elected by the stu
dent body. And therefore the students can
elect representatives who support their
views. This still does not justify the absur
dity of making a college student, who may
be on a fixed income, to support an orga
nization they are ideologically opposed to.
One can only imagine the uproar at
A&M if student fees were distributed to
student organizations. Just picture the
scene on campus if members of Aggies for
Christ realized they were supporting the
Aggie Atheist and Agnostics.
When considering Grothman’s pro
posed bill, Baldwin also stated “This will
leave many student activities unfunded,
depriving students of important student
life.” But how important is an organiza
tion that cannot fund itself. An organiza
tion must look to its members and sup
porters for this. In expectation of the
change in policy, one student said, “The
only difference is that the people who
fund the politically active groups now are
the ones who WANT to fund them.”
Regardless of the Supreme Court’s deci
sion, the students’ lawsuit will have some
effect on the university. Hopefully, the
ROBERT HYNECEK/Tm: Battalion
Supreme Court will rule in there favor,
and the current system will have to
change. But if they do not, the lawsuit has
brought to the surface a sensitive issue,
and it should spark students to want to
change the system from the inside.
Brandon Mullen is a senior history
and English major
SlfATO’s mission in Kosovo E ?‘ tor ex P lai “ s P«n*>se of photo,
ointlocc raicnnino inodonnotp addresses readers concerns, qualms
astweek, ————■ called, asking that I not run a story One e-mail to me said, “Is this
ATO is in its second
week of war in Kosovo.
-RVICES ll'^l Wait, did I say war, I
lebnt peace-keeping mission,
a peacekeeping mis-
i(8pm-8pm) ssn jon, how about a “peace-
StX"*- Jr l in §” mission —though
46-6117 she* ial sounds like an oxymoron.
Forcing peace in the Balka- Zach
sis that possible? After all, HALL
o world wars were started
.efe, and the people of the area have been
pTee Quoieoftlng each other for hundreds, if not thousands,
Jlar name Ixam) f yratS.
h the recent events in Kosovo seem all too
inch like another conflict that this country was
UTORS fvfclved in but did not belong in, then you are
lalive speaker n OtlwrOIlg.
with business s' i lon i ca ]ly though, the same country that
Aught so hard against the propaganda machines
3HT L0o"f enem y countries like Vietnam, Iraq and the
ht wanted / Arnier Soviet Union is now engaged in the
c , 0 r recommer; tfgcst mass production of the same type of pro-
|__ Ca "^"L aaanda that it has fought against for so many
Breakthrougk
ir/ ener may remember the first days of this con-
ict, when spokesmen from both the Pentagon
ncreaseene® nd NATO said that this action was not meant to
e rnore than a one- or two-day action. Yet in
.rpiuTi^r^ day of bombings and air raids the Serbs
t Energy boost avc neither budged nor flinched, but NATO and
g/csTcastTct TejUnited States continue the spin.
_i€ase in point: soon after the bombings and
Tajss exodus of ethnic Albanians began, NATO
op scomparejyp 0 L eSDerson j am j e shea, as quoted in a March
bs by 4/20J o Edition of the Houston Chronicle, said “I’d
tress that the current campaign is not a sponta-
llus outburst following NATO’s operations. It
joks much more like a planned, conceived and
routed campaign against the civil popula-
on.”
rShea does not even sound very convinced
self. President Clinton has made similar
ms.
'et, only since the bombing began have as
|iy as 4,000 refugees per hour crossed into
hboring territories such as Albania. Nice try
[pinning the facts, but there is a direct correla
te the bombings and a mass exodus,
he only remotely legitimate reason the Unit-
tates has in being involved in this war is to
ect against the supposed ethnic cleansing
g conducted by Serbian President Slobodan
fsevic and his forces. Yet we have been
wn no concrete proof that he is conducting a
ranging massacre of ethnic Albanians;
e have been only rumors of executions of
minent figures that are opposed to Milosevic,
ot that this is by any means correct, but does
Iton plan to start a war against China or
Aov \ Korea, countries notorious tor (heir Yiu-
tan rights violations. The hatred between Serbs
mended
316-2887.
and Albanians is much deeper than what Clin
ton and NATO try to make it out to be. Most im
portantly these are two groups of people with
very different religious beliefs. The hatred be
tween the mostly Greek Orthodox Serbs and
Muslim refugees is not going to be resolved be
cause of long-term bombing. Just look at the sit
uation in the Middle East. For that matter, we
Aggies cannot even get through Resurrection
Week without conflict.
Over a week and a half into the exodus of
refugees, the Clinton administration finally de
cided to begin relief aid to the refugees, yet an
other attempt at making his cause look legiti
mate. Perhaps Clinton should offer to move
some of the hundreds of thousands of refugees
to America. He certainly seems to think that the
other Balkan countries have plenty of room for
them.
Then Bill Clinton had the gall to tell the par
ents and friends of American soldiers that the
reason their sons and daughters have been sent
to and remain in the Balkans is because of Slo
bodan Milosevic. The nerve of this gutless bas
tard to blame Milosevic for American presence
in this conflict is despicable. To further the com
plications in Kosovo is the capture of three
American soldiers being held as POWs in this
war that does not exist. They will soon be tried
by the Serbs, probably for war crimes. While
Americans hope and pray for their safe return,
Clinton and his machine have used this as an
other propaganda tool for support of his non-ex
istent cause.
Well President Clinton, the lives of those three
servicemen rest on your head.
The fact that NATO is violating international
law by taking offensive actions against Yu
goslavia has not even begun to be discussed. But
because NATO is nothing more than a puppet for
the United States, little has been said. Further
more, the other European countries, who have
needed the United States to bail their asses out
of every conflict that has arisen in this century,
are not complaining either, nor are they taking a
very active role. They would much rather the
Serbs hate the United States than themselves.
Unfortunately, we are too far advanced in this
operation to succeed or back out without send
ing in ground troops. Though Clinton has main
tained that he will not send in ground troops,
any person who has actually had experience in
the military will say that our goals (whatever
they may be) cannot be accomplished without
ground forces.
For now, we can only pray that this “military
action” was not started so Clinton could save
face on his already pitiful presidency. It is so
very unfortunate, though, that this doubt even
arises in the first place.
Aaron
MEIER
L ast week,
the cam
pus of
Texas A&M ex
perienced one
of the most dif
ficult ways to
lose a fellow
student. Tues
day afternoon,
William E.
Berry Jr, known to his friends as
J.R., apparently took his own life,
leaving his family, friends and the
student body shocked.
The next day. The Battalion
along with The Bryan-College Sta
tion Eagle, and later the Houston
Chronicle, ran stories on Berry’s
death. As editor of The Battalion, I
made the decision to run a photo
graph of a clean-up crew scrubbing
the portion of New Street where
Berry fell.
As I sat looking at the page before
it was sent to the printers, I knew the
campus reaction to such a picture
would be strong. However, after the
flood of telephone calls, e-mails, mail
call letters and personal visits, I feel
an en masse response is warranted.
First and foremost, let me extend
my sincerest condolences to the
family and friends of Berry. The
loss of one so young is difficult
enough to deal with, but when that
loss comes in such a quick and hor
rifying manner, it is that much more
difficult to comprehend.
With that said, however, I cannot
apologize for the photograph that ran.
The night Berry died, a student
called, asking that 1 not run a story
on Berry’s death, saying that it
would desecrate his memory.
To this I responded with one
simple question, “Is this story
news?” The answer is an unquali
fied “yes.”
This is the reason it was covered
in The Battalion and the reason the
accompanying photo ran next to
the story.
Examine any photojournalism
book and stronger images can be
seen. One used by the department
of journalism shows a picture of a
young boy being placed in a body
bag as his father cries over his son.
Images bombard us on the televi
sion every day of gang victims in
Los Angeles or dead bodies in Israel
following a bomb explosion.
Are these images any different?
The answer is yes. They are differ
ent because they do not hit so close
to home. That is why the image of
water, bleach and men cleaning is
so disruptive to our lives.
“Tacky,” “tasteless” and “total
disregard for human life” — these
are some of the terms I have read in
the letters that have passed across
my desk. My own father said that
the picture was something he ex
pected to see in the Houston Chroni
cle, not a college newspaper.
But why shouldn’t such a picture
appear in the student newspaper?
Suicide is a horrible tragedy that
doesn’t simply end with a person
taking his own life. As editor, I made
a conscious choice not to flinch
from the harshness of this incident.
MAIL CALL
One e-mail to me said, “Is this
the image you want to present of
the University?”
The Battalion is not meant to be
a public relations tool for the Uni
versity. We are not the campus
newsletter, we are the campus
newspaper.
As a journalist, I am here to ac
curately portray the events that
happen on this campus whether
they be good or bad.
Romanticizing such a thing as a
suicide is not only a betrayal of
every lesson I have learned during
my three years at The Battalion but
also as a human being.
Everyone would like the world
to be a place where smiles and
howdys follow us wherever we go,
but such a fantasy will never exist.
This has been a difficult semes
ter for the campus of A&M. With
the alcohol-related death of Barry
Vail, the cocaine overdose of former
student Mark Eisemann and now
Berry’s death, it has proven the
small-town spirit of College Station
is not immune to big-city problems.
The anger directed toward The
Battalion is understandable, but if
we want to prevent a further death,
the energy placed into writing mail
call should be redirected to assisting
our severely taxed counseling de
partment or simply lending an ear
to a friend.
There are people on this campus
who need our help. To deny this fact
truly is a dishonor to Berry’s memory.
Aaron Meier is a senior
political science major
Zach Hall is a senior philosophy major.
Student counseling services
in need of more promotion
I am writing in response to the photograph accom
panying the article on William E. Barry Jr, in Wednes
day’s edition.
In my opinion, The Battalion chose the most taste
less and disrespectful picture to place with the article
showing workers cleaning the street where the young
man died. It makes me very angry to see that our
campus newspaper has shown this tragedy in such
an inhumane fashion, where it appears at Texas A&M,
we look at someone’s misfortune as something that
stands in the way of our own progress.
I am sorry if William Berry’s parents have seen the
picture, and I hope they do not think less of A&M, be
cause of \t.
An issue that concerns me even more, is the fact
that our campus does not make a decent effort to
reach people who are in need of help; great or small.
There are hundreds of promotions for organizations
and events, which are widely distributed and costly,
but there is a severe deficit in promoting student
counseling and help.
I think it would be a good idea for the University to
start placing flyers, or for The Battalion to put in ads,
informing students of easier ways to find help.
Brad Woods
Class of ’02
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300
words or less and include 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 McDon
ald 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
E-mail: batt@tamvml.tamu.edu