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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1999)
5309 A2322 v. 105 :r>o 14T ie Battalion O PINION Page 5 • Wednesday, June 2, 1999 Talk show host makeovers ing of naughty turns nice AARON MEIER is bald gleaming head rushing into the fray al ways gave me a sigh of 16 5 llief. His ominous presence 6:30 f mforced order in a world of ±.108. The chant of “Steve! J 6 >teve! Steve!” heralded doom d 6:30 o breast milk drinkers, adult "f fcies and transsexual lesbian e 7 fidgets everywhere. SprllAs of last week, that chant f fil no longer be heard. Steve Wilkos, the head of 6 8 f° r “Th e Jerry Springer Show,” will proba- nio ’9pt)b have to find work breaking up fights between V) fisie O’Donnell and Tom Selleck now that the . Rducers of “Springer” have decided to tone Ine 9 l|wn the violence and profanity of the top-rated a ' 9 P-ndwtime talk show. 7) ■USA Networks issued the statement last week fimt shows dealing with such issues as prostitutes 11 fid bisexuals would be replaced by Springer nk, TBA |iows made B.C. (Before Catfights). V) BNow that the land,TE|l)lence, nudity y) md profanity fins been re- 13 fijved, making na, TBA :oi a kinder, gen- y) fir Jerry, what anio.TE s left? The an- y) fier simply is — ht Jenny Jones, I Wl dc ki Lake and pur, g ^ury Povich T vc rid of free n. keovers and he perpetual fa- ^ /orite, “I used to e f at _ ^ ow i’ m ill that. ” T It is possible or Springer to •eturn to his B.C. ^ir days - I IVl Before his il.lu turn t0 daj-k side, “Springer’s hi" 1 Final Thoughts” were introspec tive and offered hope on issues such as interra cial relationships and raising chil is (I dren in the Ku I jpg!: Klux Klan. But con after three years ( | ie ;; as the self-ap- ’hanip!# nted Ring- ve( j master, the in- ^2 E-^gnty of Springer is as low as his guests’ IQs. A U ’ tr j a[ 5 This is because television begs the country to >ell its soul to the highest bidder. No matter what „ He cost, obtaining the obligatory 15 minutes of , anie is a higher priority than integrity or quality. 5 .fj'* Springer, former aide to Robert Kennedy, former ^; hncinnati mayor and former television anchor, \ vl V old out his integrity and soon will pay the price 101111 vhen his show’s ratings plummet and it is can- :eled faster than a transvestite can leap across a is ‘i - tage and tackle his/her hayseed boyfriend who gassi ^lumped him/her for another queen of the desert. JlThe decision to edit out the violence in tench. Springer” episodes has been cited as a moral de- thewe&ision following the incidents in Colorado and • injury, coming from hi ? felt lii ;s in t : too nu r iff. Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials board members. They do not necessarily re- T Pi fleet the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, facul- ^ , r l ty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters express the opinions of the authors. I the f Queen of nice turns naughty the I nd roi lets in hree: ■iictu Georgia. Analysts said the production company has realized the impression the show leaves on the minds of television viewers and has decided to put an end to the violence. If only USA Networks had reached this decision before they allowed the 300 lb. stripper on the show. That is an image television viewers could have done without. But let’s boil this moral decision down to the only terms television producers speak— money. Specifically, the $25 million judgment awarded during the Jenny Jones case. If the need to end the violence was so pressing, then perhaps the vio lence, profanity and nudity would have been cut before Jonathan Schmitz killed Scott Amedure, a gay man who confessed on an episode of “The Jenny Jones Show” he had a crush on Schmitz. For better or for worse, the rule of thumb is to go where the ratings are. Dollar signs get in the way of the ripped clothing, bleeding faces and bro ken chairs, and nothing else but money could drown out the yell of the crowds as each of these fights broke out. The audiences chant for more, and this year several au dience members rushed to the stage and started fighting with the guests. Some audience members even got into stripping con tests with the guests. These people prove it is the audi ence that keeps these spectacles alive, not the pro ducers or even Springer himself. We tuned in to see who would walk out from be hind the cheap brick facade onto the stage and get mauled. We got up set when the cam era didn’t show the blows, but cheered when they added the overhead cam era, so we could get an uninterrupted view of the action. We laughed as strippers drank their own breast milk or cringed when a girl admitted she was hav ing a lesbian affair with her twin sister. Maybe USA Networks’ claim will hold this time, or maybe they will retool the show so all hint of integrity is gone. Maybe they will switch formats and compete against the WWF and WCW It is easy to picture. Perhaps this time they will allow our good friend Steve to wear a referee outfit, and Jerry can call shots from ringside. He is, after all, the Ringmaster. MARK PASSWATERS Mark McPherson/"! nf- B attauon Aaron Meier is a senior political science major. R osie O’Donnell, suppos edly the “Queen of Nice,” has decided to be come a political activist, a shift in programming about as ap propriate as the “Capital Gang” doing stand-up routines during their show. The first target of O’Don nell’s moralist tangent for gun control was actor Tom Selleck. Selleck is a member of the National Rifle Associa tion and has done a commercial for them. After berating him without warning on a nationally syndicated program, O’Donnell then demanded that the cast of the Broadway play “Annie, Get Your Gun” change the words to the tune “Any thing You Can Do.” The reasoning? Annie, played by Bernadette Peters, sings that she can “shoot a partridge with a single cartridge.” When Peters fbund out about this demand, she refused to appear on the program. The song that was played on the show was switched to “My Defenses Are Down.” Hopefully, Rosie’s ratings will drop with the defenses. Just be cause this woman has a talk show does not mean that she has any more of a clue about an issue than anyone else in this nation. However, her big ego and even bigger mouth have allowed her to charge off on a loony crusade. Granted, the NRA has certainly made some block headed decisions in its time, such as Executive Vice- President Wayne LaPierre calling American Law Enforcement “jack-booted thugs.” Anyone that compares U.S. crime fighters, be they federal or local, to the Nazi Gestapo should be forced to read a history book, then hit over the head with the book. But despite the NRA’s mistakes, one member of a group — in this case, Selleck — cannot be held responsible for the actions of a whole group. After O’Donnell said she thought that there was a need for strict gun legislation and that the NRA was entirely at fault for these laws not al ready being on the books, Selleck accordingly said he could not speak for his organization. O’Donnell’s response: “You can’t say that. Do Mark McPherson/I'hi-' Batt.m.kw you think you can?” All right, Rosie. Is it safe to say that you speak for all overweight New Yorkers? Probably not. It is equally safe to say it is inconsiderate and unprofessional for O’Donnell to do what she did to an unassuming guest who was there, in Sell- eck’s words, “to plug a movie.” It is also shows total disregard for the audience of the show, who did not tune in to hear Rosie pontificate about any issue. If her lust for Tom Cruise is enough to turn viewers off, personally of fensive attacks on guests will, too. A quick note to O’Donnell: people do not watch the “Rosie O’Donnell Show” to be preached to. People do not become hosts of shows like this on their strong knowledge of current events. This issue, as O’Donnell did note, is not “some thing to laugh about.” However, the reason most people tune in to her show is to laugh. If they want commentary or opinion, “The O’Reilly Factor” or “Hardball” can be seen on their local cable sys tem. It is a tragedy that the kids of Columbine High School have been taken from their families, and many things should be done to prevent this from being repeated. Rosie O’Don nell’s approach to this situation, however, is not going to help. If she truly wants to prevent this from happen ing again, she should lend her moral and finan cial support to other people or groups. Any person who demands that guns be banned but does not have the courage to sever their ties with K- Mart —'which sells guns — can not be taken seri ously. After Rosie O’Donnell finished her personal as sault on Tom Selleck’s integrity, she said that she did not mean it personally. A somewhat shaken Selleck looked down, and said, “It’s your show, and you can talk about it af ter I leave.” If this is the way the supposed “Queen of Nice” is going to act, the people that watch will be right behind him. Mark Passwaters is an electrical engineering graduate student. EDITORIAL Editorials Board KASIE BYERS Editor in Chief SALLIE TURNER Managing Editor VERONICA SERRANO Executive Editor CALEB MCDANIEL Opinion Editor NONI SRIDHARA Campus Editor Political reactions to violence fall short RYAN GARCIA School Ties Severance of George Bush School from College jf Liberal Arts brings benefits with conditions who" i senio: as “aC ide a k it ml st. ns " n 101 ^ As long as the interests of students 1 1111 ind faculty members are given appro- * ie 11 iriate consideration, giving the George n gjush School, of Government and Pub- t > s gafic Service administrative autonomy ; deci'vill prove to be beneficial, ays ^ The redent announcement of plans :s. o'sever ties between the Bush School P ^ md the College of Liberal Arts stressed 0 hat this optimism is born of necessity. ^ rider on a hill passed by the Texas (iiei.egislature will cut off funding to the lush School unless it becomes a sepa- ustorfate entity. Consequently, severance is ims he only sound financial alternative nH^ ivaliable to the Board of Regents. all IP /Although the new legislation may P ^ n piave put pressure on the Bush School ' e ;o separate earlier than officials had inapfilfrmed, the University must nonethe- for I'l kind’ •athd : less be careful not to forget the inter ests of students and professors. As .the severance plan is imple mented, administrators must work hard to preserve the academic integri ty of the Bush School. It is primarily an institution of learning, and it would be a travesty if its independence turned it into nothing more than a training ground for public servants. If, however, the academic mission of the Bush School is not forgotten, its bu reaucratic independence could actual ly increase its prestige and importance on this campus, benefitting under graduate and graduate students alike. Therefore, once these precautions are taken, the severance of the Bush School could actually make it closer than ever to the University. I n the wake of the Columbine tragedy and the Georgia shootings, everyone from talk show hosts to politicians have jumped on a band wagon of legislative proposals. With ill-founded solutions ranging from stricter gun control to endorse ments for V-Chip television, the political powers that be are treating the symp toms rather than the causes of these re cent events. Instead of analyzing the real solutions to these problems, such as early recogni tion of potential threats and adequate counseling of such students and their parents, politicians have immersed themselves in gun control legislation, and it’s easy to see why. Passing a new piece of legislation gives politicians a reason to pat them selves on the back when, in reality, a new law is nothing more than a patch- work solution. A psychologically deranged child will find the means to obtaining a gun no matter how many restrictions are passed regarding firearms. Nevertheless, we continue to applaud the monitoring of the local pawnshop as if it is a breakthrough in prevention. Next on the political agenda — a war against the media. It seems no facet of the media is safe from this misplaced attack by politi cians, professionals and parents. Claiming violence is glamorized by the entertainment and news industries, these people would have everyone be lieve that no one can think for them selves. The public are lambs being led to slaughter by a malevolent shepherd. Vice President A1 Gore, in a recent fund-raising speech reported by the Mia mi Herald, said, “We need more self-re straint in the entertainment industry and the broadcast industry. I reject the argu ment that [the media] doesn’t make any difference, that it doesn’t affect people.” If people are this easily influenced, then perhaps Mr. Gore should have re considered striding into the room to a Blues Brothers song. Let’s hope none of his audience suddenly gets an urge to drive a car through a shopping mall. “Passing a new piece of legislation ... is nothing more than a patchwork solution” Blaming the media for influencing vi olent behavior is the easy way out. Whether it’s entertainment or news, the media is a reflection of the society that created it. It reflects human behav ior rather than influencing it. Politicians fail to accept this because it would mean finding real solutions in stead of debating pointless issues and pointing the finger at the media after the fact. Regardless of the extent to which our political leaders criticize news coverage and motion picture content, problems will persist because the real solutions continue to be overlooked. Many other policy areas are being cast aside by politicians. For instance, adequate psychological counseling is needed on every campus in the United States. The day of the pen cil-pushing, schedule-making school counselor is over. Staffs of qualified psy chologists are needed more than ever no matter what the costs of implementa tion. Early recognition and effective coun seling will have a much greater chance of preventing tragedy than a restriction on firearms. This counseling must be provided not only for the student but for the parents as well. Parents who have beepme out of touch with parenting must be shown the importance of a stable, supportive fami ly unit. School districts must rise to the occasion and find the means to address the emerging needs of a society in which atrocities such as Columbine are possi ble. The solution to these problems is more than just buying a television set equipped with a V-Chip that allows par ents to block sexual and violent content from their children. It is more than gun control. Political leaders must recognize this. The majority of the potential candidates for the next school massacre will most likely not have a supportive family foun dation. Maybe the parents will be too busy trying to figure out how to deactivate the V-Chip rather than spending time with their children. Ryan Garcia is a senior journalism major. Vli }\