Battalion
o
PINION
Page 7 • Thursday, July 8, 1999
'pet
o I make you angry, baby?
iwsuit over Austin Powers doll illustrates dangers of frivolous, irresponsible litigation
he line
be
tween
[cenity and
nor is
Ned every
regardless
tc flood taste,
often at
***]expense of
ency. Al-
■ in the wj
Beverly
MIRELES
Kflst anyone who watches movies
JBelevision would agree. What is
dividuals/ 01 easily agreed on is whether the
>arytoav lw h as a sa V * n editing what is ac-
■ous inb Jtable or not, and if it does, how
S|3ch?
■The judicial system is obviously
(■important tool in the massive
hreautofr 0 ! balancing rights against reg-
are habitation®. However, when the sys-
id poa^Ji attempts to make regulations
^pnrder to save us from ourselves,
tnewond hi system stops being a tool and
^^^^ins to become a public nui-
ce.
Case in point — legal action
nceming the Austin Powers doll,
diiion [(Georgia, Tamatha Brannon filed
recovetS obscenity complaint against the
cow." lys-R-Us chain after her 11-year-
colleci W son picked up the doll that
capi (tJted, “Do I make you horny,
ise, ArirI b y- doI? ”
deer anci wb en her son asked what
■my meant, Brannon became so
ant |y offended that she bought both the
ir re$e(" s remain i n g on hie shelf and
™ned one over to the local police.
Her actions seem somewhat ex-
ssive, considering the circum-
sk,” shf|
■n resin
stances. The complaint against
Toys-R-Us is completely frivolous.
The store was supplying the doll to
satiate a demand, just' like it stocks
toy guns. Barbie dolls and video
games.
That said, it is true that the doll
is ugly, strikingly ape-like and
mildly vulgar. But that does not
make the entire Toys-R-Us chain
guilty of endangering a child.
No matter what the masses may
expect from chain stores, Toy-R-Us
has little responsibility to the pub
lic. If they did, perhaps its shelves
would not be filled with toy
weapons of war, sexist figurines
and violent games, all of which are
bought by both parents and chil
dren every day.
Brannon’s actions were com
pletely above and beyond the call
of duty, as far as regulating so-
called obscenities go. It would
have been perfectly acceptable for
her to picket the store, organize a
boycott or simply complain to the
manager.
When Brannon involved the po
lice, she illustrated how individuals
would rather ban the choice than
let others with the implications of
maturely deciding what is accept
able on their own terms.
Brannon is not the only person
guilty of such reckless use of the le
gal system. Frivolous cases go be
fore judges every day, wasting tax
payers’ money and trial times.
These trivial cases have had such a
negative impact on the judicial sys
tem that there are even laws regu
lating these types of cases.
Unfortunately, these cases con
tinue to fill court dockets. Com
plaints like Brannon’s only serve to
add to the judicial system’s bur
dens. Regulation over reason is one
of the least sensible trends occur
ring in society today.
The Austin Powers doll situation
only concerns a toy, but the trend
goes much further than toy stores.
In many cases, citizens would
rather blame major institutions or
corporations than deal with the
consequences of choice them
selves. One only has to look to Lit
tleton, Colo., to see how people
were quick to use Hollywood as a
scapegoat instead of dealing with
the real issues at hand.
Tamatha Brannon may not have
been ready to explain what horny
meant to her son (who is notably
nearing puberty), but this hardly
means she was correct in filing a
complaint against the toy store
supplying the doll.
Certainly she had the right to
file the complaint. The beauty of
the judicial system is that individu
als can change policies.
Nevertheless, with rights come
responsibilities. Brannon obviously
felt the responsibility to file a com
plaint, but she failed to take the re
sponsibility to parent her son with
out the help of the legal system.
Beverly Mireles is a junior
microbiology major.
Jeff Smith/The Battalion
gst over annexation can be avoided
he Bryan City
Council is
poised to go
/{against the will of
er sai :i h 475 of its residents,
invest a® bi s need not be the
VIS,
igetareccl The council is set
ate is i|° vote Tuesday on
aup.Weil^ eannexat i on
> monev P>^8 acres of land
MinulejBdjacent to Bryan city limits. The city be-
;awid(a n studying possible areas for annexa-
Marc
GRETHER
Jon in Feb. 1998. Since then, several
,o (roniipublic hearings have been held in an at-
0 Jenniir em Pt t0 find out what citizens think
ttersaid ' bout tbe proposal.
t[? ar |Ke( i Many of those at the hearings have
levariet' pen decidedly against it. Led by Karen
e pyy; all and her groups, the Concerned Citi-
M s0 [ [ns of Bryan and the Citizens Against
, muc |,j hnexation, many people have been
[hting against this annexation.
are a ! | They are doing so for two main rea-
Ins.
f 0( j; j First, after being annexed, Hall claims
/n 0 pperty taxes will go up by about 30
isnallvi l rcent - '
«^ e { . Hall also said those affected by the
sts aM Inexations should have a say in them.
Her desire is to see the citizens of Bryan
)ers 0 j id the owners of the land to be an-
■ ^ji ixed get the right to vote on all pra
ised annexations.
1 The current charter states that annex-
eons can be carried out “with or with-
:y mailt the consent of the inhabitants in the
ere art|eiritory annexed.”
All votes on the matter are currently
Irried out by the City Council exclusive-
I The City Council should be taking the
pad in changing this provision.
| Those in proposed annexation dis-
]cts should have the right to decide
?achesl
he carl
he ca«J
labor [
imfortj
) helpl
e
they’
This 1
whether or not to be co-opted into the
city. Each landowner should have the
choice to determine what to do with his
or her land.
Rather than just complaining. Hall did
take steps to rectify the problem. Her
groups circulated a petition to call for a
vote to amend the charter. The city sec
retary said 1,475 qualified voters in
Bryan signed the petition.
Unfortunately, Hall’s good intentions
resulted in a vaguely worded document
which will likely be voided in court. Her
petition called for the charter
to be changed, but did not
specify in what way.
Further, the petition incor
rectly stated the change
would be an ordinance, not
an amendment.
While this seems like pet
ty nitpicking, the law re
quires strict wording.
But the City Council’s re
sponse was to sue the peti
tioner. Rather than comply
ing with the petition and
holding an election, the city
filed suit in district court.
It contends it would be
impossible to fulfill its duty
because the petition does not
specify the wording for the proposed
amendment. Further, the city would save
$30,000 by not having an election. This
amendment would not affect the current
annexation proposal because the vote on
the petition would occur after the annex
ation vote.
Each of the city’s arguments is valid.
However, it is not taking the best ap
proach. This suit has been extremely un
popular because it does not address the
petitioners’ concerns. In fact, it has
made them angrier and caused many
people to feel further alienated from the
council.
The council should propose an
amendment themselves that would satis
fy Hall and her groups. Bryan Mayor
Lonnie Stabler is right in pointing out
that an amendment could be seen as an
attempt to control the situation, but so is
suing the petitioners.
By proposing an amendment itself,
the Council would be making a good-
faith effort to follow the will of the peo
ple.
The council’s amend
ment should include the
provision that all annexa
tions must be initiated by
landowners and then be
voted on by Bryan’s citi
zens. Both parties are in
terested in these matters
and should be allowed to vote on
the outcome.
Further, the amendment
should specify that votes will not
be held strictly to decide on annexa
tion matters.
This would keep the city from hav
ing to pay $30,000 for an election solely
based on annexation. This would not
cause a meaningful delay in most cases
because annexations typically take
years to complete.
And after doing this, the council
could continue following the will of its
citizenry by practicing self-restraint and
not voting to annex any land until the
charter amendment situation is cleared
up in the courts.
By taking steps like these and listen
ing its citizenry, Bryan will be on its way
to truly becoming an All-America City.
Marc Grether is a graduate student
in mathematics.
Cabarets good
for community
In response to Caleb Mc
Daniel’s July 7 column.
I like sex. Just this sen
tence has probably offend
ed half of this conservative
little town already.
I am glad people have
different opinions, they just
need to realize where those
opinions are coming from
before they spew rhetoric,
as in McDaniel’s article
about the new cabaret.
All of the cliched old
points in his article are ob
viously due to his religious
viewpoint.
Instead of complaining
for half a page about true
love, the degradation of
women and morality, he
needs to admit he has a
problem with cabarets be
cause his religion has a
problem with sex.
Call it anything you will,
sex sells. Even though our
community is oh-so-pious,
the adult video store on the
comer of campus has
failed to go out of business
yet.
I will not be visiting the
new cabaret because that
form of entertainment just
does not float my boat, but
I applaud John Skruck for
allowing people to attend
something other than bars,
tiny clubs or movies in the
evening.
MAIL CALL
I only wish other entre
preneurs would follow suit
and help bring this town up
to date.
Adam Nordost
Class of ’01
It seems McDaniel for
got one “truth” for his col
umn: America is a capitalist
society — not a capitalist
(with respect for morality)
society.
Hence, what a minority
— or even a majority —
finds “wrong,” as McDaniel
termed it, has no bearing
on the establishment of a
business.
Also, do Aggies a favor
and do not waste more of
our money on ink for such a
weak argument. To promote
or define universal truth,
use the tools of fact, logic
and reason. Save the
morality for your personal
truths, because they are
not ours.
Brent Barkley
Class of ’00
Grad speakers
should be brief
In response to Caleb Mc
Daniel's July 6 column.
While it is unquestion
ably discourteous to leave
graduation early, it is equal
ly discourteous to the grad
uates and faculty for com
mencement exercises to
last for hours and hours.
There are ways to make
it easier to stay, including
shortening speeches and
having separate cere
monies for each college.
If the audience were con
sidered by the speakers,
they would see that less is
more.
Succinctness is not
stressed in our society. We
love lots of words, especial
ly if we can pepper them lib
erally with technical jargon.
But ask, “What exactly is
the point?” and often nei
ther speaker not audience
knows.
Graduates want and
need the pearls of wisdom
passed on at graduation,
blit perhaps they do not
want or need quite so many
of them.
Ann Weaver Hart
Class of ’00
The Battalion encourages letters
to the editor. Letters must be 300
words or less and include the au
thor’s name, class and phone num
ber.
The opinion editor reserves the
right to edit letters for length, style,
and accuracy. Letters may be sub
mitted in person at 013 Reed Mc
Donald with a valid student ID. Letters
may also be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
01.3 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
ore financial aid, cultural opportunities can make A&M diverse
|he ’98-’99 stu- 1
dent application
ior Texas A&M
atured the following
Isay question: “How
|\\ you contribute to
ie diversity here at
fxas A&M Universi-
I?”
BECKER
—’s
The prominence of
-60,0t this topic on the stu-
ndatf-JInt application reflects A&M’s desire to
ve a diverse student body. Texas A&M
eds to find more ways to diversify,
e goal can be accomplished by offer-
g more need-based scholarships and
I' creating a more cultural atmosphere
that will draw a more varied group of
dent students.
e acti With the removal of minority-based
e Mpolarships and admissions, the minor-
jvn,aj|ty population at A&M has fallen to less
ajor.^han 11 percent of the student body.
. at I This statistic is a huge indicator of
OrtlW&M’s lack of diversity, but it does not
kil the whole story. The low number of
gl wijhinorities at A&M has not resulted be-
the clause the school is discriminatory or un
concerned about diversity. The answer
lies in the statistical correlation between
race and economic status.
Economic factors are the main rea
sons people do not attend college. The
person who has the lights shut off every
other month because his or her parents
cannot afford to pay the bills is going to
have a much tougher time finding the
time to do homework assignments than
someone who has everything provided.
Many people are forced to find jobs
when they reach employable age just to
help their family pay the bills.
Economic status does affect academic
performance.
Less affluent families are not able to
afford to send their children off to
school at a cost of thousands of dollars a
year.
The problem is this: much of the mi
nority population is poor, unfortunately.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
the percentage of the population that is
black in poverty areas is four times
greater than the percentage in non
poverty areas.
The comparable percentage of His-
panics living in poverty areas is three,
times greater than in non-poverty areas.
The reason for the discrepancy can
be attributed to many factors, including
“Economic status is a
much fairer gauge by
which to give admission -
and scholarships than
race."
past injustices and high levels of immi
gration to certain areas.
In Texas and other states, the immi
gration rates have led to large numbers
of first- and second-generation Ameri
cans who have been traditionally poor
throughout the nation’s history.
More opportunities for advancement
must be given to people who are in their
economic state because they had the
misfortune of being born into it.
An education at A&M is one of the
best financial deals in the country, so
there is little excuse for having such a
small minority population compared to
other schools. A&M needs more scholar
ships based on financial need in order to
diversify its population. A&M should re
alize the adverse effect of economic
background on academics and the abili
ty to go to school when parents cannot
afford to pay.
Economic status is a much fairer
gauge by which to give admission and
scholarships than race, which A&M has
thankfully abandoned.
When scholarships are given on the
basis of race, it is not fair because not
all whites are rich and not all minority
members are poor. For instance, more
than half of the people living in poverty
areas in the United States are white.
Many people are not given the proper
treatment because they fall in these cat
egories which are ignored when scholar
ships are given based on race.
The policy of giving certain people
preferential treatment on basis of race is
discriminatory. However, by offering
more financial need-based scholarships,
Texas A&M can fairly and efficiently cre
ate a more diverse environment by mak
ing it easier for people of all economic
backgrounds to attend.
But diversity is also about the unity
of people who have a myriad of cultural
backgrounds and multi-faceted interests.
A&M can help to create a more diverse
group of students by bringing more cul
ture to the university.
A&M should not be known for having
one museum and two nuclear reactors.
A&M must consider more options in im
proving the liberal arts program, such as
more funding and better facilities. If
A&M were to bring more cultural oppor
tunities to campus, an even more di
verse group would surely be drawn to
A&M.
A&M has already taken many mea
sures to attempt to diversify the school,
but a more intense effort must be made
to truly create a dynamic, competitive
and fair learning environment and di
verse student body.
Jeff Becker is a sophomore
computer engineering major.