Monday. Februan ‘
OPINION
I donday, February 7, 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 11
lanChoose or lose sensationalism
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lay, it should bethel]
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pin on it.”
ird straight victory,i
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TV special series avoids solid issues, highlights insignificant tales of candidates youth
or most college
students, there is
only one thing to
when election cover-
|ge appears on the telev i-
ion screen — change
ne channel. Many stu-
lents claim that main-
nream media coverage
fthe presidential election
NICHOLAS
ROZNOVSKY
Under Democratic
tes could choose del
o such restriction.G
ics are campaign®
n Tuesday. Sen. Job
i Hampshire, skippe,
t eat in Iowa and a 1
nd smallest stateo
d there would ben
beat him 50 percern ocuses on the sensational and ignores the is-
uesthat face their generation. Young adults
laintain more concerned w ith the environ-
lent and human rights than they are with the
andals of the candidates’ pasts.
Enter MTV — the favorite media outlet of
oung America — to save the day. Fear not
lisenchanted students, the network which
i New Hampshire ■rought you “Beavis and Butthead” is try ing
the state-run priirA make the presidential race more accessible
intest oilers I2tvmnd meaningful to the youth of the nation,
go withthewm-i'Murely MTV w ill w ade through the media sen-
■ationalism and bring the issues that young
■dults care about to the forefront, right?
^ Time for a dose of reality. MTV is merely
Rehashing the same stories that other net-
orks have been obsessing about for months,
he only difference is that MTV managed to
Jet it all to music and make it look hip. In-
•, jltead of attempting to educate the young vot-
C Cl [Brs of America, MTV is just tn ing to sell
0X1 ^ lli 4iore ad space.
I MTV’s coverage of the upcoming presi-
lential election, titled “Choose or Lose 2000,”
Regan last week airing the first in a series of
■our-long specials the network plans to pre
lent until November. “Where Were You at
■2?” was billed as a fresh look at the candi-
■ates and what they did during their college
Jit 261, leavingthv•-'■cars. Instead it was a fast-paced, dumbed-
e but collecting xf-Bow n collection of the character questions that
lave already been raised by the press,
lal I ransportatioo vp Al Gore smoked marijuana in college,
detailed pictureo!rel jeorge W. Bush had a drinking problem and
ore pieces ol theplaj lv - 0 ij cc j fighting in Vietnam b\ defending
surface.
at w ill be brouA*
-
I NT Mi:, Calif. (
apped more oftli
near the crash site
her interpretationofl
lit voice recorder;.
Texas in the Air National Guard. John McCain
yas a rebellious hell-raiser w ith a weakness
for women and the “dev il rum” at the Naval
l ana'lv/ed in'\fe:f' LCadem y• Bil1 Bradlc > was really tall and
esman said. Iplayed basketball. Apparently, these were the
. have been.'iej::a|teround breaking looks at the candidates that
y Williams.‘teMy
going on.
find any bodies^
iringing them up."
area is about 10irate:
nta Barbara Channel''
bout the size ofafo
40 feet deep.
. more memorials 4
sand friends ofthe Sii
c plane. Among then
Cardinal Roger Mr
.os Angeles, who ledi
\ngeles Intemationi
only MTV and its crack staff of political ex
perts could provide.
But wait a minute. These stories are neither
new nor fresh. These are the same news items
that have been plastered over the front page of
every newspaper in the land for the past six
months. All of these past improprieties have
been revealed on the evening news, editorial
ized in the opinion page and debated on the
Sunday morning political roundtable shows.
The addition of goofy clips from the ’60s and
music from the Forrest Gump soundtrack can
not make any of these revelations more perti
nent to college students than when they first
appeared in the news months ago.
What happened to the issues? How does Al
Gore plan to provide jobs for the next genera
tion of American workers? Will George W.
Bush be willing to cut trade with China if they
continue to violate the human rights of their
own citizens? Would Steve Forbes support an
initiative calling for the legalization of drugs?
The average young American would be better
informed in casting their vote knowing how
the candidates stand on these and other issues.
MTV discovered what the major broadcast
networks discovered a long time ago — the is
sues can sell newspapers and magazines but
only scandals and allegations can satisfy the
short attention span of the average television
viewer. To keep their audiences interested,
new s broadcasters increasingly find them
selves like the entertainers on which they re
port. Why should MTV try to take the high
road and refuse to participate in the media
frenzy of sensationalism? MTV has found the
ultimate blend of entertainment and scandal to
satisfy the tastes of its young audience.
The only other “Choose or Lose 2000"
program to air so far was a rock concert head
lined by the band StainD. Done under the
guise of empowering youth to vote, the music
was loud and the students in the audience
danced the night away. In the end however, no
one learned anything remotely related to the
presidential election.
A quick look at the MTV “Choose or
Loose 2000“ Website shows that the real focus
of the series is not the education of young vot
ers. It is just another shameless stab for a
chunk of the viewing audience. Although
The rings that bind
‘Aggie Network’ needs to examine power it exerts,
accept Bonfire tragedy criticism with open mind
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8, 2000
_LS
LIFE
O
Life is available on !
et this, now,
■[Texas A&M] is
spending $1
million to study why | Bon
fire] fell. Apparently, Isaac
Newton was not an Aggie.”
Students at A&M may
not be laughing at this joke,
but an audience last week
on ABC’s “Politically In
correct” could not help but let out a chuckle. For
host Bill Maher, the 1999 Aggie Bonfire col
lapse was among the biggest headlines last year
and has discussed the topic during the show on
several occasions.
Malicr holds a strong stance against the tradi
tion of Bonfire mid has had several guests who
agree, including Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, Billy
Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins
and Cyndi Mostellar, a cam
paign advisor for John Mc
Cain.
This example is
only one of several in
which Aggies in
general have been
publicly slammed
and stereotyped as
brainless, sheep
like hicks.
Current and for
mer students, as well
as family and support- *
ers of A&M, need to be
open-minded about criti
cism and careful about how
they respond to it, especially con
cerning bonfire.
Often Aggies react too quickly and hastily send
mass e-mails and letters to newspapers, Websites
and online forums. In many cases these rebuttals
are not well thought out and driven by emotion. To
a non-Aggie reader, the responses sound arrogant,
close-minded and support the original premise that
Texas A&M students are brainwashed. Regardless
of how many statistics show that A&M ranks
among the best, the jokes will persist until every
thing that students write and say in response is in
telligent.
Since the 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse, the
‘Aggie Network’, the link that binds everyone
who has walked the halls of A&M, has become
the tightest in recent memory. When a negative
opinion has surfaced, the network has f lexed its
muscles and attained results.
However, there is a problem when the network
accomplishes its mission by using shady tactics.
For example, the Website for the Darwin Awards,
which recognizes “stupid deaths,” nominated
Texas A&M almost immediately after the tragedy.
MTV claims that they will cut “through the
spin of conventional media coverage to bring
you an unobstructed view of election 2000
mayhem,” the six wide-eyed camera hungry
reporters that make up the MTV News Street
Team look an awful lot like the new cast for
either “The Real World” or “Road Rules.” As
always, MTV has found a new way to serve an
old dish to the youngsters of America.
So now, wedged in between reruns of “To
tal Request Live" and yet another scantily clad
hip-hop beach party in the middle of winter,
college students can sit down and be spoon
fed the same hype and sensationalism that
their parents are getting from the evening
news. Whether they choose to get their dose
with a helping of MTV funk or not, students
wanting to make an informed choice in No-
JEFF SMITH/Tia BATTALION
vember will still be left out in the cold. Unless
the network makes a new effort toward pro
viding actual thought provoking coverage,
MTV’s “Choose or Lose 2000” will be as
helpful and informative to the average voter as
Celebrity Deathmatch.
Nicholas Roznovsky is a junior
political science major.
Any decent person, Aggie or not, knew this was a
mistake on the Website’s part —- it was wrong to
disregard the lives of 12 students and to laugh at
the grief of an entire state. Mass e-mails circulated
the Aggie community, urging students to write to
the administrator of the site and complain. There
was nothing wrong with dial. However, there was
something wrong when a list of the site’s advertise
ers were posted along with calls to write to the ad
vertisers to yank the site. No matter how much it
hurt to read the awful things the critics were say
ing, it must be remembered that they have the right
to their opinions. Forcing the Website to remove
opposing opinion by attacking its source of in
come reinforces the long-standing reputation that
Aggieland is not a tolerant place.
Another network move that made little sense
occurred after Maher first discussed the tragedy on
Nov. 24. Cyndi Mosteller, Sen. John
McCain’s campaign national poli-
& cy advisor, was a guest and
. commented negatively on
nWf-’A bonfire. “I think they died
for foolishness, unfortu
nately,” she said. That
comment was enough
to make every Aggie’s
maroon blocxl boil.
However, instead of
criticizing Mosteller di
rectly, McCain was
flooded with mail stating
that he had lost the votes
of Aggies eveiy where for
her unpopular opinion. It is
true that Aggies support each oth
er, but unfortunate if the ‘Aggie Net
work’ becomes tangled in the political arena,
based on one person’s thoughts.
The best tactic in these tough months is to ac
cept the criticism that A&M will receive and to
at least make an attempt to understand why
many citizens around the country see things dif
ferently. True, much of the criticism has no val
ue, but one can learn about where and how the
A&M society fits in.
Finally, refraining from excessive arguing and
allowing public forums to mn their course, sup
port from non-Aggies will be stronger. Even on
“Politically Incorrect,” when Maher was bashing
bonfire, model Ali Landry supported tradition and
what it stands for.
Trie ‘Aggie Network’ is one of the most amaz
ingly strong ties that an A&M student benefits
from. When the network acts, it sets off change. It
is up to Aggies everywhere that the influence it has
be used fairly and responsibly.
Mariano Castillo is a sophomore
international studies major.
Clinton haunted by Filegate scandal
E veryone in the
world knows about
Monica the intern.
Everyone knows about
the draft dodging. Every
one should know about
“Filegate,” because
America’s privacy laws
would mean nothing if
they do not.
The tenn Filegate refers to the 900 confi
dential FBI files found in the White House by
a House committee in 1996. Many of the files
contained personal and sensitive information
about prominent Republicans working at the
White House during the Reagan and Bush
presidencies. The files were obtained for the
purpose of clearing the Republicans for White
House access, but since most of them had al
ready worked there, the likely purpose of the
files was to dig up political dirt.
Even though Clinton managed to avoid the
prosecutors’ whips for almost four years by
having his office personnel strategize to stall
the Filegate lawsuit, the plaintiffs expect jus
tice from Federal District Judge Royce C.
Lamberth. They do have a valid reason for ex
asperation since their personal tiles were rum
maged through by White House officials. It is
understandable that federal employees should
get checked out before working at the White
House, but the Clinton administration looked
at former employees’ files, which had already
been checked.
Clinton said, just days after his inaugura
tion in 1993, “I promise the most ethical ad
ministration in the history of the Republic.”
The general public in America did not hold
him to his vow. But the clock is ticking, hope
fully, toward a time when justice will be
served on a huge silver plate to Clinton, his
wife and his assistants.
The Wall Street Journal said Clinton, “...is
guilty of essentially the same thing over which
Mr. Nixon was hounded from office — abus
ing his office to cover up criminal activity by
himself and his accomplices, and misleading
the public with a campaign of lies about it.”
The Wall Street Journal is correct. Abusing
power to dig up political dirt is wrong. Larry
Klayman’s Judicial Watch brought the lawsuit
against Filegate offenders because Ken Starr
gave up Filegate in late 1998. Simultaneous
prosecutions against Clinton — Watergate and
Lewinsky — were too much for Starr to han
dle. It is a sad fact when a nation elects, and
keeps, a man in office that needs more than
one prosecutor to manage his misdeeds.
The alleged White House perpetrators
learned from their boss; When someone asks a
question, give them the runaround.
Craig Livingstone, fonner head of White
House Personnel Security, testified at a con
gressional hearing in 1996 that he was un
aware an aide he hired requested the files. The
aide, Anthony Marceca, submitted the requests
and claimed he had not known the list of
names was outdated. Maybe someone with
more knowledge of White House personnel
should be used for the next sensitive job, be
cause this man broke the law.
Clinton called Filegate “an honest bureau
cratic snafu.” If this business was “honest,” it
seems odd that the Clinton administration
would continue accessing files of employees
who resigned because they felt “Filegate” was
wrong. The fact that the Clinton administration
would continue abusing a law shows total
lack of respect for the law. It also shows their
confidence — they expected to not be held ac
countable.
Another former White 1 louse staffer, Sh
eryl L. Hall worked for Clinton lawyers deal
ing with Filegate plaintiffs. Her duty, accord-
MAIL CALL
ing to White House Counsel’s office Michelle
Peterson, was to delay because there were
“only a couple of years to go [before Clinton
leaves office].” No one allowed Nixon to fin
ish his term before prosecuting his illegal ac
tions, and it is a mystery as to why Clinton de
serves special treatment.
White House employee Martha Scott in
structed Hall to “use her imagination” to side
step any legal restrictions she came upon in
her work, according to the Washington Times.
Hall was forced to quit her job because she
“challenged the lawfulness” of a White House
database used by Hillary Clinton and the De
mocratic National Committee. Unfortunately,
practically firing employees for executing
their jobs with integrity does not fit the
promise President Clinton gave at his ’93 inau
guration.
However, Bill is not the only Clinton
who could get in trouble for Filegate. FBI
notes, Linda Tripp and the ex-wife of Clin
ton’s former law partner in Little Rock testi
fied with information implicating Hillary as
one director of Filegate, according to the
Houston Chronicle.
Judge Lamberth has been studying the 14
pieces of evidence offered him by Judicial
Watch’s Larry Klayman and is also consider
ing requesting sworn testimony by Hillary.
As GeoffMetcalf ofWorldNetDaily said,
“[Americans] have become desensitized to
egregrious misconduct, lies, obfuscation and
presidential BS.” Bill Clinton avoided im
peachment in the “Zippergate” scandal. For
the sake of those whose personal information
was used for skeleton hunting, America should
hope Larry Klayman makes Clinton and his
administration responsible for broken laws.
JM Riley is a senior
journalism major.
RHA responds
about new dorm
\n response to Melissa
Bedsole’s Feb. 2 column.
We believe that Bedsole
has every right to express her
opinion on the issue of the
newly proposed residence hall,
but we believe that her “facts”
are unfounded and untrue. Her
opinion piece stated many
things about the proposed on-
campus dormitory that are only
ideas and have not been de
termined as being definitive at
this point. First of all, the only
thing that has been deter
mined is the site of the new
hall, at the former site of Law
and Puryear Halls on the
Northside of campus.
Mr. Ron Sasse, Director of
Residence Life and the Resi
dence Hall Association, works
hard to provide as many quali
ty on-campus options as pos
sible and we believe that many
ideas should be explored to
achieve this end.
Regarding the proposed
kitchen style rooms, the De
partment of Residence Life
has constructed a full size
“modular apartment” in Mc-
Fadden Hall and an efficiency
apartment in Hughes Hall as
pilot projects for students to
live in and evaluate. Residence
Life has been collecting infor
mation and getting student
feedback for several years on
apartment-style rooms. The
new hall would be a luxury only
in the sense that it is new.
Room rates would obviously be
more than the current on-cam
pus rents, but isn’t that to be
expected?
Little has been decided yet
on the entire issue. Room
rates will not even be deter
mined until right before the hall
opens, leaving room for debate
and compromise.
If you would like to help the
committee that will be plan
ning the new hall, feel free to
call the RHA office.
Cameron Cushman
Class of '02
Director of Public Relations, RHA
The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 300 words
or less and include the author’s name,
class and phone number.
Letters may be submitted in person
at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid stu
dent ID. Letters may also be mailed to;
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111.
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail; battletters@hotmail.com