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Page 9 • Tuesday, November 2, 1999
ET THEM WORK TO E
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ITA Na'
ew policy forces New York’s
omeless to work for shelter
th an
idea
that is
Republican to
the core, New
York mayor Rudy
the
ipionships r p| an enaC ( e( j ) would affect
na k Jff ore than 80,000 homeless peo-
. Madden becc pL j n city. The plan
|ie to win the 8 *
gles bracket.
JT
from Page /
off on her if
example of
style occurred
at the Big
ips at the Texas.
Bookout ran t
rain against son
competition
would force all able-bodied home
less people to work for a bed in
one of the city’s crowded shelters.
I Initially, Giuliani’s plan seems
td have a very American “pick
yourselves up by your bootstraps”
kind of idealism. What could be
better than a plan that would get
the homeless off the street and
put them to work? After all, it is
assumed, homeless people are in
ri'ed of direction, not pity — nev
er pity.
I Unfortunately for everyone
who hopes this idea will rejuve
nate Giuliani’s campaign and the
mg in mind ths: city’s outward appearance, the
a demanding s plan is both a logistical and a so-
s country can cial nightmare,
fought througii No one knows how Giuliani is
•h first on the: going to enact the proposal. Will
?rall. ■me homeless paint houses or
said she was di: clean windows?
i her performance. Many of the homeless might
happy with my already have experience with
aid. “My hans cleaning windshields — will
k a little,bullsIm they now do the same in the
her than that' city’s name?
ked about how s| The provision rewrites the defi-
I with thehamsintjjntion of “unfair.” Certainly, as
?s to bother her up ihundreds of thousands of parents
CAA attest to saying, no one said
lips, she' -auA' the world was fair.
is ever being a pwt
again. J
be feeling anpg
,” Bookout said,
gies have '
onals, wl
weeks in 1
hairs all season
te goal, and forg|
e women have w
for the Nl
lips in the histot
m, but Bookout,
ive style and M
just be the key to
up lock.
However, life in the United
States is dictated by certain free
doms, whether they are fair or
not. People have the right to not
work, the right to not bathe and
the right to be homeless without
being punished.
Failure is an option, if not the
most optimistic one.
By making homeless people
work, Giuliani converts a the
shelter system into a Northern
version of share-cropping.
According to the New York
Times, even those homeless who
do work but do not make enough
money to afford a place of their
own, would have to spend the ex
cess on their shelter bed, up to
the actual cost of $20,000.
When money is definitely an
object, spending one’s small ex
cess is a problem.
It takes away a person’s right to
save money.
Giuliani may think he is saving
the city money with the working-
for-shelter plan, but he is only rel
egating the homeless to continue
in their poverty — an endless cycle
of attempting to get out of the sys
tem while the city pulls at an al
ready scant pocketbook.
Homelessness should not be
perpetuated by the city.
The proposal actually contra
dicts the city’s former policy, which
put those waiting for permanent
shelter into temporary shelters.
Being in the shelters acted as a
shortcut to permanent residency,
but the plan backfired when the
shortcut pushed many people into
a more permanent homelessness.
Also, by modifying shelter pro
cedures into a stepping stone to the
subsidized housing system, the city
perpetrated “big government,” be
cause the more people there are in
the shelters now, the more people
will be affected by the shelter plan.
The city’s plan may affect many
homeless families. By law, all peo
ple in the shelters must have quali
fied for welfare.
If shelter residents lose welfare
eligibility, they cannot stay in the
shelter, and their children can be
taken into foster care. This will put
even more of a burden on the city.
Giuliani’s idea also is vague.
MARK McPHERSON/Thk Battalion
As of yet, no one really knows
what homeless people will be
forced to do. And by leveraging
beds for work, Giuliani could
make people do almost anything.
Beds are always preferable to
CAKE
cement, but just what will these
untrained and perhaps mentally
unbalanced people will be forced
to do for the city? And where will
Giuliani draw the line on their
ability to work?
So far, he has said that only
the able-bodied and mentally
healthy will be forced to work.
But the line between healthy and
unhealthy is arbitrary.
Perhaps Giuliani would have
the city’s doctors give the home
less physicals to confirm their
ability to work. However, this
would only cost the city more
money and red tape.
Is Giuliani ready to put more
monetary pressures on the city
just so he can authorize a plan
which can only serve to get him
more press time?
Until Giuliani is clearer about
his plan, it remains a useless pro
posal manufactured to get him
more publicity in his Senate cam
paign against Hillary Clinton. He
may try to get the plan passed,
but in the long run, people will
be able to attest to its senseless
ness.
Politicians cannot be expected
to solve every problem, especial
ly in a metropolis like New York
City. But they should not be al
lowed to make more problems.
Giuliani’s plan is — superfi
cially — an interesting one. If he
could have every able-bodied cit
izen in New York join the work
force, it would be a feat indeed.
However, with a plan as prob
lem-riddled as this homeless
shelter one, he is only making
the problem more difficult. It is
easy for him to decree what the
homeless must do for a bed in
the city. But for the homeless
themselves, it is a problem de
serving of a solution, not just a
press release.
Beverly Mireles is a junior
microbiology major.
3N
ui from Page!
owered to halt:
m’s headquarter
?st, 111.
July 25, 1954
, Miss., Paf
s college football
Jtate where lie '
ol records, secret
ns and rushed
ds He once > p ro _|jf e protests
in one game. v
the nation mscoO^ pro-violence
nth 160 points, r
areer points response to Amy Hinze’s
orc ) Dot. 21 mail call.
was some"-
d for a power r Having spent multiple
oack, some! 'ours in peaceful, prayerful
a Vikings ednd non-confrontational
Ureen remembwotest outside Planned Par-
mthood, I have to comment
t a standard forfn the fact that Hinze’s re-
Treen said. “He" ; ent letter grossly misrepre-
g as some of rented the actions of the
cks that play kazos Valley Coalition for
t he could ouh'-ife (BVCL).
and he always The BVCL does not use,
nt. And that was ondone or support the
o his family, to scare tactics” Hinze de-
o the game of hcribed. In fact, when the
so is a guy tlviVCL was created, it adopt-
ng to be missed, d [the following Statement
i’s nickname f Non-Violence: “Peaceful
■ss” was a tribii !; ofutions to the violence of
nality more thabbortion are the goal of the
hyle. He was aiUrazos Valley Coalition for
ier but often too!ife.” Opposing abortion
with a stiff-aNith the violent tactics such
belied his size s those described by Hinze
i retired after > against the principles of
son, and the he BVCL.
ely retired No. Hinze also commented
i was elected B.iat abortions account for
ame in 1993, h^ nly seven percent of
igibility. lanned Parenthood’s busi-
commissioner ess. This statement
? called Payton voids the real issue: Does
eatest players r
f the sport.”
opifeEKOMax obese,
tOUMG 300,000 YfARtf!
{mo mo's v
the UBAI WID ORDERS
BUFFED NWED EUtES,
MAIL CALL
abortion kill an innocent hu
man being?
If this is the case, then
the fact that Planned Par
enthood only performs a
few abortions is irrelevant.
It is not necessary for
our community to support
the injustice of abortion in
order to have economical
health services for women.
Mike Sharma
Class of ’00
With 89 signatures
Players should
display Ag spirit
I just wanted to thank
the three football-team
members who stood with
the rest of the students dur
ing the War Hymn at the
end of the game Saturday.
It was quite refreshing af
ter having the team sing
with us last year at the end
of every game, only to have
the team just head to the
locker room this year. I hope
the rest of the team will ac
quire the same team spirit
as the Twelfth Man does.
Cory C. Stoddart
Class of ’02
Complaint about
cartoon wrong
In response to Sabas
Abuabara’s Nov. 1 mail call.
I disagree with Abuabu-
ra’s recent mail call letter.
While “Fish” sometimes
misses the mark, it is
nowhere near as inane as
the “Side Burn Club.” The
creators of the “SBC” have
yet to make me (or anyone I
know) crack a smile.
Their strip is so unfunny
it is insulting.
Beth Sutherland
Class of ’02
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ber.
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and accuracy. Letters may be sub
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may also be mailed to:
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E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
Baptist call for Jewish conversion
not constitute religious intolerance
CHRIS
HLHIMS
S everal times in
the past few
years, the
Southern Baptist
Convention has is
sued resolutions
calling for an in
crease in the efforts
to convert others.
These resolu
tions invariably
have targeted specific religious
groups, most often Jews but also
Muslims and Hindus. The wording
for the 1996 resolution is typical. In it,
the Southern Baptist Convention re
solved to “direct our [the Conven
tion’s] energies and resources toward
the proclamation of the Gospel to the
Jewish people.” At times, these reso
lutions have called for these increases
in efforts during Jewish holy days.
This series of actions has not en
deared the Southern Baptist Conven
tion to their prospective converts, but
the outcry against Baptist attempts to
convert members of other religions is
religious hypocrisy and media one-
upmanship at its worst.
According to the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) Website, Abraham Fox-
man, ADL national director , said, “It
is pure arrogance for any one religion
to assume they hold ‘the truth.’”
Hari Sharma, president of the Hindu
Temple of Greater Chicago said in a CNN
interview, “Whoever publishes such a
book does a disservice to the society.
People should understand one another’s
religions, not go back into history when
we were attacking one another.”
Curiously enough, most statements
attacking the Southern Baptist Con
vention resolutions assume one par
ticular fact not in evidence. Each reac
tion has been grounded in the belief
that the Southern Baptists are acting
out of contempt and intolerance to
ward other religions, which Foxman’s
comments illustrate very well.
In a letter to the ADL which at
tempted to explain the resolutions.
Convention President Rev. Paige Pat
terson outlined evangelical Christian
arguments for efforts to convert Jews.
“The letter expressed no remorse
for the prayer appeal and contemptu
ously invited us to return the gesture
and pray for them...We will not en
gage in this kind of base spiritual nar
rowness, as the Southern Baptist lead
ers have done,” Foxman replied in a
press release.
Foxman fails to note that the Bap
tist offer to pray is religious tolerance
at its best. Instead of condemning the
ADL, the Baptists are turning the oth
er cheek. This gesture is especially
courageous of the Convention, as Fox
man and the ADL do not appear to be
doctrinally sound. By stating no reli
gion should assume they hold the
truth, Foxman’s statements accuse his
own religion of arrogance.
To Christians, Jews
have the right
religious idea.
They just miss one
critical fact.
Exodus 20:2 (NIV) states, “You
shall have no other gods besides me.”
The Jewish faith allows no other *
gods. It assumes it holds “the truth”
about the nature of God.
The fault in this situation lies not
with the Southern Baptists but with
organizations like the ADL, who are
attempting to one-up the Baptists us
ing their own religious views as
proxy. Clearly the top of this list is the
ADL, not to be confused with main
stream Jews, the majority of whom
are nice, reasonable people, not politi
cal bombasts like Foxman.
Apparently, the ADL feels the re
cent efforts to convert Jews is related
to the Holocaust.
“Unfortunately, the backdrop for
intolerance towards Jews in Europe,
culminating in the Holocaust, was the
absence of respect by Christianity for
Judaism’s legitimacy. Anything less
than ardent support of the preserva
tion of the Jewish people is an affront
to the memory of those who were
murdered by intolerance. ADL has
long been involved in promoting tol
erance and understanding among dif
ferent religions,” Foxman said.
That is a contradiction. While the
ADL preaches tolerance and under
standing, Foxman is clearly misunder
standing the intent and purpose of the
Baptist Convention’s resolution, and in
doing so is promoting intolerance.
John Herring, university minister
at First Baptist Church in Bryan, said
the purpose of the Resolution is to
share the good news of Jesus’ salva
tion with everyone, and that when
the Convention singles out a particu
lar religious group it is so that mem
bers can pray for that group. Herring
said Christianity teaches salvation can
be achieved only through the redemp
tive grace of Jesus.
Herring referred to John 14:6,
which says, “Jesus said to him, T am
the way, the truth, and the life. No
man comes to the Father except
through Me.’ ”
Note there is no disrespect here.
Jesus did not say Jews are bad people
and that Judaism is bad. He simply
said, and Christians believe, that he is
the only path to salvation.
Even a lukewarm Christian knows
Christianity is itself an extension of Ju
daism. Judaism preaches the coming of
a Messiah, and Christians believe that
Christ was the Messiah. By definition,
to illegitimize Judaism is to illegitimize
Christianity. To Christians, Jews have
the right religious idea. They just missed
one critical fact — that the Messiah has
come. To share that fact, especially dur
ing holy days, when awareness of God
and religion is heightened, is an ex
pression of love and respect.
But by waving the Holocaust and
acting sufficiently outraged, it appears
Foxman and the ADL are looking to
score political points at the expense of
the Baptists’ honest attempt to help
others. By stating that not supporting
Jewish solidarity is somehow an at
tack on Judaism is a lie that is itself
an affront to the Jewish people.
The Southern Baptist Convention
attempted to reach out to those they
saw were in need, and groups who
would place themselves before the
ideals they espouse are raining hell-
fire upon them.
Chris Huffines is a senior
speech communication major.