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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1999)
mstida ly to wj nary :0 CITY (AP) -I ■Battalion o PINION Page 13 • Monday, November 8, 1999 astida, Mexico^ ^ ?cretary, appeared ary yesterday in'li arty’s first presii: a vote that will candidate most 1 Everything I learned, I learned in the crih caching foreign languages to children at a young age is beneficial later in life and in career s nearly every business devel- presidency and^' 0 ?? ^[^inter- d to divide thepar 11 ! 113 a ? d re ' tor 70 years, ujes stretch to results showed LP| orttde g lobal vl1 ; ly seen as the die > e | lt 13 becoming ob- l a nestoZedillo, ; )U: that Americans I the 300 elector ft,llin 8 far short of h more than 10r 1 n g ua S e standards te in. A pluralityT e i economically- vas needed towir u f d countries have set. The fact that arest challenger,:*g|sh is the most widely used language Gov. Roberto Ma no excuse for failing to expand the lin- ng in 25 district? tstic abilities of future generations, ok count organize Aptitude in another language is more an broadcasters 3i| just a skill or ability to list on a re- catedthat Labasoemi. Understanding a second language districts to22 to.vd| to an individual’s worth to his or laer or Puebla Gov.''dpioyer, and those who are bilingual, in /on eight. Htion to their specific career skills, are residential prim,:'plandidates for working abroad, st gamble on den %'hile living in a foreign country may tory of the parr itlppeal to everyone, employment out- I Throughout it? t ie of the United States is often one of the presidential ca osi cost-efficient ways to see the world, sen by the outgo nlloyers pay airfare into the country of abandoningtha neloyment, and many, such as Lucent hoped to boo? icnnologies, will supply an apartment or credentials and.to additional cost of living fund for the popular enougl aration of foreign employment, ig oppositionch Even though learning foreign lan- ibastida’s three aages requires a great deal of effort, Bartlett and tor uefedvantages of taking the time to do IumbertoRoque-a are limitless. By speaking to friends, ed that the pro usiness partners or prospective em- iir. that the p< loyers in their native tongues, an indi- as rallied around , idlal can not only instantaneously la non of party n: ase tension but can also show respect, has led to spe /hich is crucial when dealing with hazo may leave ome international firms, tek an oppositions Furthermore, languages themselves un under the epresent culture. And in the same way party. Native Americans hold to their language 'iis wereaggrj ;s part of their heritage, so do nations all hen Madrav.e; )Ver th e world. alained of voting communication and transportation idudingtheintiiniit. 0 f q nue t 0 evolve to more efficient lev- ' and election day • the world is becoming smaller and , by Latusti'dassup^nialler. Those who have insight into oth- ilation ofparty rules er cultures simply have more of this small world at their fingertips. It is time for Americans to expand their linguistic horizons. At the global level, the United States is falling far be hind other internationally competitive countries. In Germany, for example, fifth- graders are singing songs and reading nursery rhymes in English. And com pared to most of the Swiss, whose chil dren speak at least English, French, Ger man and Swiss German, Americans are linguistically incompetent. Because young children have a better ability to grasp languages, learning them quicker than adults, foreign languages need to be incorporated as priorities in the American education system. Serious efforts should be made to offer language in classes or after-school programs at an early age. And Americans should be en couraged to pass on their linguistic skills to their children, bringing second lan guages into the home. Some schools have already recog nized the need to integrate more lan guages into the their students curricu lum. Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, in Houston teaches French from first through sixth grades. At such a young age, it is easy to use games as teaching tools and to maintain the inter est level of children, making it simpler for them to be educated with a skill they may eventually put to practical use. For an individual, mastering another language opens doors and windows that previously were closed. There are new books to read or poorly translated books to reread. There are new places to travel to and different walks of life to experi ence. There are international mergers to negotiate, and children in foreign coun tries in need of medical attention. Even if one never puts their linguistic skills to professional or personal use, there are always children to teach. Elizabeth Kohl is a junior accounting major. We tXNt allpW our CHILD TO f?Ep,D FITTER BCOKS. lUBREs w MJCH REFERENCE RICHARD HORNE/The BATTALION mo{y\,o*eck \rour! AT THE WHERE ThE SNAKE <3ETS THE NAKED CHICK TO HAT THE PfPLEl Supplements allow students to side step academic responsibility T! Kristian efforts to mvert intolerant nResponse to Chris Huffines’ 2 column. Mter attending school here for r four years and reading The Bat- )n almost everyday, I would like ay that I have never been as un- ved over an article as I was after Video Camcfding Huffines’ view of the South- Baptist Coalition and the ADL. >ked up to youbs he not realize the arrogance r r , lsv . Shm ,s showing by stating the "critical that the Messiah has come." I er that person^ never in my life been ap- ir nrrlcct siviz 3ched by a Muslim or Bud- 1 1 ‘ telling me that I am wrong for larp, still imagtfftl believe and that their religion wacked boriflf', e on| y true wa y t0 Goci - However, I could not count the T the QuickCiUhber of times I have had Chris- h online stoft' 5 tr y t0 convert me r 'ght there n online mu he spot and tel| me that , am ig to hell for what I do or do not 2ve. Of course, every religion kspey are right, but Christians the only ones I've seen laming at the top of their lungs everyone else is wrong. That iligious intolerance. Clay Stanfield Class of '99 fully believe that Southern Bap- . have every right to "proclaim ' beliefs", and we have heard n. Sadly, we have sometimes received no small amount of hate and intolerance in the process. Every Jew I know can speak of being insulted by Christians who, in the same breath, profess to love every one. These are not the actions of the vast majority of Christians, but it is a fact of Jewish life. In Huffines’ column, a Jewish man stands up and (to paraphrase) says, "Leave us alone, we deserve respect for our own beliefs", and you accuse him of intolerance? I stand amazed, now let us reason together. To share "the good news... (To Jews) especially during (Jewish) holy days, when awareness of God and religion is heightened..." is not an expression of love and respect toward us — regardless of your in tent. Would you appreciate the re turn from another religion as you walked into church for Easter ser vices? Unlikely. Please do not decide for us, what is an affront to the Jewish people. That is not your decision, nor is it yours to decide how "suffi ciently outraged" we should be by these recent statements or the Holocaust. We are not "in need" of anything save for the same forbear ance and respect that we show to ward you. Judaism strenuously dis approves of pushing our own beliefs on others, all we are asking is for that courtesy to be returned. Wayne White Class of '99 “Working for aid’ a bipartisan ideology In response to Beverly Mireles’ Nov. 2 column. I suspect FDR would be sur prised to know that the concept of working in exchange for aid is a strictly Republican idea. Our consti tution enumerates certain inalien able rights, the right to a free bed and the right to save money are not among those rights. I do agree that this is clearly a political stunt, most likely impossi ble to enact. It was too bad that you chose to open your argument against a proposed policy by using con frontational partisan politics rather than dealing directly with the issue. Michael McDowell Graduate student r. The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. 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. Let ters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald 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 E-mail: battietters@hotmail.com lypical col lege stu dents have a long history of shirking respon sibility when it comes to their schoolwork and classes. It started in high school when Cliffs Notes became a viable alternative to actually reading a particularly boring book one was to be test ed on in class. The trend continues today in college, when after a feeble at tempt to get out of bed, the older and wiser student re members he can just go and buy the notes from today’s lecture later on in the day. After this epiphany, the student’s feeble at tempt to wake up and go to class becomes a complete failure. Universities are supposed to be places to learn and achieve by overcoming acade mic challenges. However, many of the benefits of meeting those challenges are lost when students opt to take the easy way out and misuse sup plemental notes. Note taking services and other academic re sources are designed to help students with their studies, not to re lieve them of their obligations. But too many times, students abuse the system to compensate for their own mis takes and personal laziness.Companies that provide class notes have justified places in academia. They provide useful supple mental support to a student’s own note-taking and class atten dance and are excellent places to turn when a student misses a class and needs that day’s lec ture notes. But students have to draw the line on how much they rely on these services. If one only used note-services but did not go to class, they would be neglecting the obligations of higher education. By going to those note-provid ing businesses rather than going to class, students may save some time for sleeping or playing Mario Kart, but they forgo many benefits of attending class. Besides the risk of being ab sent for pop quizzes, lazy stu dents also miss useful class dis cussion and valuable time with their professors — two factors that can help a student succeed in the class and in college. WHS & MARK McPHERSON and GUY ROGERS/The Battalion Granted, some class sizes are huge, and students feel like just a numbered seat. But, just being in class and taking in the material first-hand helps any student further under stand the subject matter. Furthermore, being in class, listening to lectures and dis cussing with the professor and fellow students is what studying at a university is all about. To skip out on class and just pick up the notes later on is to miss the point of a somewhat ex pensive higher education. Students will continue to see the benefits of going to class even after graduation. In the real world, if somebody misses a meeting or an inter view, they cannot run over to a co-worker that was at the meet ing for them and find out what the boss said. A college student learns about time management, punctuality and other necessary skills for the work place by going to class and doing their own work. If students want to make the most of their limited time at this University, they should take their own notes rather than the easy way out. A student’s first re sponsibility is to his or her grades. At A&M, there is a lot of talk about “the other education” of leisure and extracurricu lar activities. But there is a reason it is called “the other education;” a stu dent’s main education will always be in the classroom. The lessons learned in the classroom do not end when the class is over or even with graduation. Students who take their attendance seriously will continue to benefit from a better sense of real-world responsibilities. The chance to go to college and study at an in stitute of higher education is one that all students should be thankful for and take full advantage of. Students forsake this great op portunity by skipping class and skipping over to note-providing businesses. Students should take on all their responsibilities, including going to class and taking their own notes. Otherwise they are wasting another valuable oppor tunity and undermining the pur pose of education. Eric Dickens is a junior English major.