OPINION
nst
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K-
;day, January 18, 2(KM)
THK BATTALION
Page 15
'High ratings for Hillary
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B irs( lady steals political spotlight from Giuliani on 'The Late Show’ with wit and charm
IF
.terwi
from 3
jur words: Severe
apse in judgment.” was
one of first lady Hillary
od lam Clinton’s Top Ten Rea-
mt for finally appearing on “The
ate Show with David Letterman.”
^Junny, but far from the truth,
Hlinton's decision to finally
ike the hot seat on the "Late
how” stage turned out to be any-
lin : but a bad idea.
■mage is essential in American politics, and Clinton
res .*nted a very likable one on the stage of the Fd Sul-
i Theater.
he was poised, she was open, she was knowledge-
ble and she even gave Letterman a run for his money
ntV if 10 humor department. She did admit that she was “a
nervous” when she sat down next to the "Big
^ iu) ” Please.
,^■v’hen rating stressful events in Hillary Rodham
thf^’lliton’s life, an interview with David Letterman ranks
B^Uiere with having to decide what to eat for lunch.
■The only thing she had to be nervous about was
^^Kther Letterman had changed the quiz questions
■^■ut New York.
■jjHClmton’s appearance on the show was much antici-
talfd. as she had dodged Lettennan's nightly broad-
■■cd interview requests for nearly a month. He called
■■staffers “pinheads and weasels," resorting to bully
■Bics in challenging her to appear at his play ground
^^Br school.
■Truthfully, she was lagging behind her likely oppo-
■■t in the senate race. New York Mayor Rudy tiiu-
■■i, who had already graced "The Late Show" w ith
tislpresence 16 times.
■Though Giuliani was leading Clinton in the polls 49
:o |H percent, not one of his 16 appearances full, of
Cijnton-bashmg and Yankee talk, could have been as
memorable as the single appearance the first lady made
H week.
■ Letterman offered some advice about the race, in-
for ling Clinton that she could make comments about
■■iliani’s hair to unnerve him during debates, a tactic
■■ surely slipped into her file. Nervous or not, she was
ch; rming, and America took notice.
■ The idea of a first lady, particularly Clinton, running
for political office has been met with a large amount of
HBiosition. Clinton’s critics have portrayed her as a
■■\er-hungry carpetbagger, arguing that one Clinton in
politics is enough.
■ It would actually be somewhat of a first if she were
to [w in her yet undeclared race for a New York seat.
'o.
I
JT
First ladies and their ex-President husbands have
traditionally gone on to live private lives with their
families when their days in Washington were over.
What a tw ist it would be for ex-President Clinton to be
the one offering a briefcase and a kiss for his Senator
wife on her way out the front door. If he still lives
there, that is.
Maybe the calm and polished woman who appeared
in Lettennan’s hot seat is a sign of things to come. She
certainly did not seem like the ice queen of the past,
and she did not appear to be on any kind of power-
starved rampage.
The President's wife,
ambitious in her own
right, may have
finally decided it is
time to reclaim a
life of her own.
She might have even shed some of that unapproach
able image that the media has built up around her for so
long. The President’s w ife, ambitious and intelligent in
her own right, may have finally decided it is time to re
claim a life of her own. For the past seven years, she
has done little right in the public’s eyes.
She has been continually besieged w ith criticism of
her actions, her appearance and her attitude. Nothing
she ever tried to do was "appropriate” for her role as
the first lady. She did not seem to fit in anywhere. No
wonder she is ready to take on a role where she can ac
complish something.
Expecting Hillary Rodham Clinton to move into a
quiet post-White House existence is like expecting Jan
uary in Texas to be cold.
She w ill not simply disappear. She is determined to
emerge from her husband’s shadow, and if that means
running against Rudy Giuliani for a chair on the Senate
floor, that is what she will do.
David Letterman seemed impressed. It remains to
be seen ifthe rest of New York is impressed as well.
Four words, I lillarv: Go for the hair.
Melissa Johnston is a senior
English major
I Go south, young man
Attempts to keep Elian Gonzalez in America lack reason
R
>8, Ine.
elations be
tween the
United
States and Cuba
has e a history of
been strained.
Americans do not
Hem to compre
hend why Cubans
have a dislike for
the U.S., despite
the numerous invasions and a U.S.
imposed embargo.
I However, there is no mystery
about the Cubans’ irritation at the
extended stay of little Elian Gonza
lez. The six-year-old Cuban
Has discovered off the
Coast of Florida after the
boat carrying him
and 12 other
Hfugees, sunk,
Hilling 10, in
cluding his
■other and
stepfather.
Hince then, his
Hreat-uncle
Hazano Gonzales
Has tried to
Heep him in
Hie country,
while Juan
Miguel Gonza
lez, his father
in Cuba, wants
his son back. In this
Situation, not only the
law but common decen-
Hy demand Elian be re-
Hurned to his father.
| As most Americans
are aware, there are fed-
Bral laws governing immi
gration. There are even
Specific laws governing im-
Hnigration from Cuba. These
Haws state that since his mother and
Stepfather have died custody of Elian
■everts to his nearest relative, his fa-
■her. Only the legal guardian (his fa-
■her) can apply for asylum. Thus far,
I' the only applications for asylum
miave come from Elian’s great-uncle,
pfhese illegitimate applications are
; the reason Immigration and Natural-
Bzation Services (INS) has decided to
Jdeport the boy. The law states that in
the absence of a legitimate request
for asylum Elian must be sent back
to Cuba. Period. No mas.
But the “forces of justice” in Mia
mi are exerting pressure on the gov
ernment to defy its own laws and
keep Elian here. What would happen
ifthe United States of America de
cided to ignore its own laws? Loss of
face would not even begin to de
scribe the situation, as news of
American hypocrisy spread around
the world. Third-world dictatorships
twist their own laws to suit their pur
poses. The U.S. government should
be above that.
Further, one need only compare
the actions of the Cuban-American
community to those of the Cuban
community to understand which side
is extremist and which is rational.
The Cubans have held many peaceful
rallies that featured Elian’s father
and both of his grandmothers, who
are determined to travel to Miami
and retrieve their grandson when
they are assured he will be not be
forcibly kept in the United States.
Elian’s father is afraid he will be
prosecuted the second he sets foot in
America.
And Gonzalez should be con
cerned. The Cuban-Americans have
resorted to blocking traffic, attempt
ing to shut down the Miami airport
and call for a nationwide campaign
of civil disobedience if Elian is de
ported. In effect, the Cuban-Ameri-
cgns are threatening the U.S. with
massive unrest if its citizens allow
the law to be enforced as it is written.
Cuban-Americans have engaged
in even more questionable tactics by
bringing a suit in family court before
Judge Rosa Rodriguez. Aside from
certain previous scandals and an utter
lack of jurisdiction in the case. Judge
Rodriguez is notable for having em
ployed the spokesperson of the fight
to keep Elian in the country. While
there is no proof a favor was called
in, the appearance of misdeeds
should have been enough for the
judge to remove herself
rom the case. The appear
ance of impropriety is
the legal standard
for removals of
this nature.
The fact she
did not re
move herself
is definitely
interesting.
Perhaps the
worst abuse of
power in this mat
ter comes from
Senator Dan
Burton of Indi
ana issued a sub
poena for Elian to
testify at a Congres
sional hearing in an at
tempt to bring the INS de
cision to a standstill.
While dishonesty seems
to be always prevalent in
politics, it is still disgust
ing at every occurrence.
Yes, it would be bad to
send the boy to a evil, com
munist dictatorship. However,
Cuba is not evil and is barely
communist. The specter of Cuban
communism is smoke and mirrors
made semi-real by political rhetoric,
not fact. U.S.-Cuban relations have al
ways been about bravado and not jus
tice. It is a shame that policy is being
played out on a six-year-old.
The law says he has to leave. I f
Elian does stay, he would be staying
with people who have lied, threatened
the United States, and bent the legal
process to get whatever they want.
There is no choice but to send Elian
Gonzalez to his father and grandparents
in Cuba.
JEFF SMITH/1 mi Batiai.ion
COLLEGIATE ROUNDUP
Chris Huffines is senior
speech communication major
Dartmouth goes too far
From the California Aggie at
U. Califomia-Davis
(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. — The
message is clear: If students can
not start making decisions that fall
into line with the Dartmouth Uni
versity administration’s vision for
campus life, privileges will slowly
and forcefully be snatched away.
After a scathing report recom
mending drastic changes to Dart
mouth’s greek system was re
leased earlier this week, it
became obvious that university of
ficials had missed the mark.
While it makes perfect sense to
tweak the system — holding rush
activities during winter quarter and
implementing stricter alcohol poli
cies than are currently in place —
completely overhauling student life
on campus in order to make it
mesh with a professional admin
istration’s ideal is a bit rash.
Drinking, partying and skipping
class are all inevitable side ef
fects of leading a life free from
curfews and watchful parents.
Trying to quietly tell students
they need to act more responsi
bly may not work, but wrenching
away alcohol from adult hands is
simply insulting.
Spiting students by stripping
them of the option to make ratio
nal choices might be a temporary
solution destined to lead to the
demise of Dartmouth’s Greek sys
tem, but administrators cannot
presume that their job descrip
tions include parenting duties.
Banning fraternities and soror
ities on campus may lead officials
to presume they have solved a dif
ficult dilemma but in reality, they
cannot remedy the underlying
problem in this situation.
Alcohol is everywhere and if
students are of legal age, it is ,
for better or worse, their preroga
tive to walk home from parties in
a stupor and spend rent money at
the bars. This may not be ideal,
but at least it means acknowl
edging reality.
Furthermore, the university’s
recommendation that faculty
members schedule early Thursday
morning tests and create more rig
orous course requirements to help
keep students too overwhelmed to
drink perfectly illustrates the pet
tiness of the administration. There
are ways around these ridiculous
encroachments and intertwining
from U-Wire editorial reports
the Greek and educational sys
tems only complicates what the
administration seems to be after
— lessening the influence of
sororities and fraternities on cam
pus. Making greek and non-greek
students pay for having a social
life is ludicrous.
If calming down the university’s
greek system means completely
taking away fraternities and soror
ities, then officials need to act
quickly and decisively.
Snatching away various privi
leges one by one is demeaning,
but identifying a course of action
and sticking to it deserves much
more respect.
Constructive criticism is what
this situation calls for — let stu
dents understand what they can
do to ease tension on campus be
fore condemning their actions.
Outlining realistic goals and
openly sharing campus priorities
will send a message that student
safety and academic excellence
are what the administration is
concerned about, not the abolition
of alcohol and good times.
Up in smoke
From The State News at Michigan State U.
(U-WIRE) EAST LANSING, Mich.
— Though Michigan’s citizens de
serve to vote on whether to le
galize marijuana, a ballot pro
posal one Michigan lawyer is
pushing probably would not gain
voter support.
Saginaw lawyer Carl Schmid
has proposed a "Personal Re
sponsibility Amendment,” which
would fully legalize the growing
and smoking of a limited amount
of marijuana for Michigan resi
dents older than 21.
Schmid plans to actively pur
sue efforts to add the measure to
the November ballot. The propos-
,al also legalizes the use of mari
juana by minors who have
parental consent.
Schmid said he has 1,000 vol
unteers who will petition for the
302,711 signatures needed to
put the proposal to a public vote.
Obtaining the substantial num
ber of signatures needed to put
the proposal on the ballot would
prove the issue is relevant to the
citizens of Michigan.
Any issue that can gain support
from such a large number of peo
ple is worthy of a public vote. The
measure also requires a public
poll because legislators may not
bring issues like these to the con
gressional floors or represent true
public opinion on matters as sen
sitive as this one.
The people most likely to sup
port Schmid’s proposal are prob
ably young adults, who typically
avoid voting more than any other
demographic. This factor would
present a problem ifthe matter is
put on the ballot in November.
The act also attempts to make
marijuana fully legal without tak
ing intermediary steps.
The proposal probably could
gain more support by shooting a
little lower. Alaska, Arizona, Cali
fornia, Nevada, Oregon and Wash
ington have made marijuana legal
for medical use — perhaps
Schmid should have considered
this option first.
A proposal to legalize marijua
na for medical use would be a bet
ter transition step before full le
galization, and this goal might
have a better chance of being ac
complished.
Ifthe proposal passes, it would
be difficult to regulate the
specifics of the act. The proposal
states that users would be al
lowed three full-grown plants,
seedlings and up to three ounces
of dried marijuana. It would be dif
ficult for authorities to monitor
whether or not citizens comply
with this rule.
An undeniable benefit the pro
posal could have is allowing the
critically ill to use marijuana for
medical purposes. Marijuana can
be used to help cancer patients
tolerate chemotherapy and can
also help AIDS victims regain their
appetites.
One argument for the legaliza
tion of marijuana compares mari
juana to alcohol and tobacco,
which are legal, but, many believe,
more harmful.
However,'it is not very rational
to promote marijuana by ranking
it among other dangerous sub
stances. A drug being less harm
ful than others does not warrant
its legalization — it is, after all,
still harmful.
Schmid and his supporters are
moving too fast in pursuit of mar
ijuana legalization. Because of
the host of factors involved, the
proposal should have a poor
chance of passing if it makes it to
November’s ballot.