The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, November 08, 1999, Image 13

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■Battalion
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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.