Fr ay, February 11,2(XX)
OPINION
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One mans mission for
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itch Maddox, 26, was a mild-
mannered computer systems
manager until last tall, when
had an idea. 1 le would spend the year
i )00 confined to a Dallas townhouse,
ithout ever setting foot outside the
ant door or backyard.
MUSIC
ERSONAL
iow'd they meet 7
six degrees sbowec
PETS
AL ESTATE
He wanted to move into the place
ith only a laptop computer and the
othes on his back, buying everything
se he needed — furniture, food and fun — over the Inter-
1 On January 1,2000, Maddox became DotComGuy.
No, really — DotComGuy is his name, l ie had it legally
ranged. The world can read all about it on his official Web-
te, as well as watch live shots from 26 cameras scattered
iroughout his home.
DotComGuy talks about his eccentric experiment with ro-
antic zeal. Lofty nuggets of wisdom such as “explore the
p ssibilities" and “come along lor the ride" litter the official
|icbsite. He seems to style himsell as one of the last true cm-
- sacrificing himself to help others free their Internet
naginations from the shackles of brick-and-mortar shopping.
But the real reasons for the site's existence are decidedly
tore banal they have to do with the bottom line. Dot-
omGuy is being supplied with sponsorships by nearly
iery "dot com" under the sun. and it is clear they are in it
f' r the advertising potential.
Literally everything about DotComGuy's world is infused
ith marketing ploys. Online companies are moving heaven
td earth (not to mention chunks of cash) to claim DotComGuy
i a customer. His daily journal is a carefully woven web of
nks to e-lailers. The ads which tire never more than an eye
itch away — gleef ully capitalize on DotComGuy's celebrity.
The media windfall over the DotComGuy project has been
§venmore massiv e than the commercial circus. Despite all pre-
nses to the contrary . DotComGuy does not live an ordinary
fe, nonnal in ev cry way except for the places where he shops.
His dailv schedule consists almost exclusively of ordering
rport. large fenced 5
S404 696-9156
-experiment.com/isabadidea
online publicity underlines troubles with society sets a bad example
groceries online or conducting interviews with media repre
sentatives. Journalists have not been slow to exploit the ready
made headlines in DotComGuy’s story.
In reality', DotComGuy’s idealism is tarnished by two
negative consequences of his life on the Web.
First of all, the last thing the world needs is another invi
tation to unrestrained shopping. DotComGuy is a monument
to consumerism, and there is little doubt that much of the ap
peal of his story' is in the idea of moving into a house and
having nothing to do but fill it w ith “things." The Dot
ComGuy manifesto is that everything money can buy is right
at his fingertips, and this motto is not far from saying that
everything at his fingertips should be bought.
However, unbridled spending can do far-reaching social
damage, although Internet retailers are certainly not the only
ones to blame for shoving the need to “buy, buy, buy” deep
into the American subconscious. But DotComGuy proves
that the Internet is quickly becoming an altar to easy gratifi
cation of every material w ant.
“One-click” impulse buying is all the rage, and the world
is quickly becoming cluttered w ith things it does not need.
The amount of money spent by “dot com" companies on
Super Bowl commercials shows just how misplaced con
sumer values have become. Think about how many people
w ho have never even seen a computer could have been fed
with the several million dollars spent on a 30-second ad for
Petopia.com.
DotComGuy's vision is also unsettling for a second rea
son. His success would only confirm the fear that as techno
logical capabilities become more wide open, households
might become more closed.
“E-commerce can provide any thing you could ever ask
for. and you'd never have to leave home,” DotComGuy
claims on his Website. But the question of w hether such a
life should be considered desirable is ignored.
The truth is that a life lived entirely online would be
nowhere as glamorous as DotComGuy’s limelight existence.
If an admirer tried to even partially re-create his experiment,
there would be no cameras. There would be no interviews
with National Public Radio. There would be no sponsor
ships. There would only be a very lonely person.
DotComGuy’s faceless followers show that some people
in the world may not be far from this bleak seclusion. The
celebrity receives thou
sands of email messages
every day, and there are
people following his
movements on the Web
cameras almost around
the clock.
Chat rooms devoted
to talking to and about
DotComGuy are rarely
empty. But how exciting
is the prospect of a soci
ety where people sit in
their rooms all day chat
ting to strangers about
some guy who does noth
ing but sit in his room all
day?
However, these obser
vations should not leave
people w ith the impres
sion that the Internet is a
Pandora’s box of evils.
Unrestrained con
sumerism is not the inex
orable result of electronic
commerce, and innova
tion does not have to
cause isolation.
But if DotComGuy is
to be believed, the ability
to spend a year alone with
the Internet would be a
pinnacle of human
achievement. Whether e-commerce really is such an unquali
fied triumph, however, does not seem as clear.
Caleb McDaniel is a junior
history major.
Matt Rov/The Battalion
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ne would believe
dial as an academic
institution, the pri-
tnary concern of Texas
A&M would be to facili
tate the education of its
students. But a recent plan
;o construct an under
ground pedestrian pas
sageway linking main and
iVest campus seems to focus more on getting
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TRAVEL
Individuals who have crossed Wellborn
load are well aware of the hassle and hazard it
resents. Trains, crosswalks and late buses are
ust a few of the West campus obstacles that im
)ede student’s timely
irrival to classes.
A pedestrian pas-
ageway running under
Wellborn Road and the
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Judging by the location
of the walkway, it
seems the designers
are ignoring the needs of
students trying to get
to class.
Original plans for the passageway called for
wo tunnels to be built: one running parallel to
oe Routt Boulevard connecting the Kyle Field
’laza and the new parking garage (which will he
ocated across from the Student Recreation Cen-
:er) and another tunnel closer to Old Main Road,
iowever, due to financial constraints, only the
lassageway along Joe Routt will be constructed
text fall. Judging by the location of the walkway,
t seems the designers are ignoring the need of
tudents trying to get to class.
Though the administration views the Joe
foutt placement as beneficial to students, the
wanted: 43 peef#‘ lassageway would be positioned much closer to
ithletic complexes than academic buildings,
inking main campus to Kyle Field, Olsen
Jaseball Field, Reed Arena and at least four
other athletic complexes, the passageway would
>e an ideal transit system for athletic functions.
Exiting from the Northern end of the tunnel,
one arrives at at Kyle Field, a structure that
stands empty.except for several weekends in the
fall. On the other side of Wellborn, the walkway
would open to a large, cement parking garage
surrounded by lots that are vacated by students
during football games. And for a few days out
of the year an abundance of alumni would pass
through the tunnel, glad to avoid the busy
street and Union Pacific railroad tracks stu
dents face regularly.
A Joe Routt passageway will do exactly
what the administration claims — get students
to their cars. But students trying to attend class
es are still left in a life-sized game of Frogger.
The four lanes of traffic and the railroad
tracks would not be so intrusive except that
long trains do pass
through campus, and
train cars have been
known to stop on the
tracks. Because of these
obstacles students may
actually be late to class
es on both West and
main campus.
West campus is ex-
panding too rapidly for
the administration to ig
nore the need for a passageway which would fa
cilitate students. Classes mid entire departments
have relocated to West campus, and the main
artery between those classes and others is Old
Main Road. Traveling from Kleberg Center or the
Wehner College of Business Building to die Aca
demic Building, the straightest route would cross
Wellborn al Old Main, not Joe Routt.
More buildings will be constructed on West
campus and a greater number of students will
cross Wellborn Road to get to and from their
classes. A&M needs to reevaluate the place
ment of the pedestrian passageway in order to
accommodate student’s academic needs —
looking toward the future, not just the next
athletic event.
Elizabeth Kohl is a
junior accounting major
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Texas hospitals lose by winning lawsuit
S tart looking for new
ad campaigns spon
sored by the Texas
Health Department en
couraging teens to smoke.
It is not likely that televi
sion networks will be run
ning these ads anytime
soon, but a decline in to
bacco sales will have hos
pital systems all over the state looking for
ways to generate funds. Texas local hospital
districts will lose more than $60 million this
year because of a reduction in tobacco sales. It
seems that in the fight against smoking, hospi
tals may have fought too hard.
As part of the state settlement with tobacco
companies, local hospital districts were to re
ceive $2.25 billion of the $17 billion arrange
ment. However, because of the decline in to
bacco sales, companies demanded an 11
percent return on the overpayment. According
to Harvey Rice of the Houston Chronicle, the
hospitals may be the unfortunate “victims of
their own success.”
This situation points to the strange relation
ship that exists between those who indirectly
destroy public health and those who try to re
store it. The tobacco industry and the states are
destined to ride this merry-go-round until it
stops, if it ever does. Companies such as Philip
Morris U.S.A. market products the public de
mands, but the government monetarily punish
es them. Forced to pay reparations to the states
for health care, the tobacco industry' is, in a
sense, shooting itself in the foot. Evidently,
wounds heal quickly because it can expect to
get some of its settlement money back.
This illogical arrangement resembles a par
ent attempting to resolve a conflict between
two children. The tobacco companies want to
sell their wares despite proven health risks, but
state and local officials are trying to prevent
their adversaries’ success. Suddenly, in steps
the judicial system to solve the squabble.
Philip Morris and others are forced to pay
the states to compensate for the damages done
to citizens by tobacco products. However, the
states were overpaid because tobacco profits
were down this year, and companies want their
money back. This is problematic because many
hosjritals have already budgeted the expected
payment and will struggle to handle the cut.
Hospitals are put in a
complicated position
because if they
succeed in lowering
the number of smokers,
they lose funding.
The fact stands that, in a bizarre way, hospi
tals need people to smoke. They need the mon
ey they are given by tobacco companies to sur
vive. So while the tobacco industry is punished
for its advertising and marketing success, the
health care system is punished when less peo
ple smoke — the true aim of public health re
form. The absurdity of this entire situation re
sides in the fact that smokers buy tobacco
products of their own free will.
The settlement represents good intentions
in the attempt to improve public health, but
this seems to be an inconsequential drop in the
bucket. The tobacco companies could be the
first in a long line of targets for generating rev
enue for public and private hospitals and health
care centers.
If the U.S. Department of Health was so in
clined, it could opt to attack almost any industry.
Fast food chains could find themselves in court
for selling greasy hamburgers and fries to cus
tomers who end up w'ith congestive heart fail
ure. Liquor companies could be attacked for the
nationwide rampant problems of alcoholism
and liver disease. Tanning facilities could face
charges for the growing health dilemma of skin
cancer. The list goes on and on and on.
If smoking is legal, then the tobacco compa
nies should not be penalized for supplying what
customers demand. Why should the industry be
to blame for smokers’ informed decision to ruin
their health? This creates a gray area for busi
nesses if they can potentially be held liable for
the effects on customers who purchase products
knowing full well the risks entailed.
Hospitals are put in a complicated position
because if they succeed in lowering the num
ber of smokers, they lose funding. The govem-
ment is creating a difficult situation by charg
ing fault to tobacco companies and sentencing
them to pay for the damages their products
cause to the public. If this settlement proves to
be advantageous for health care systems, other
companies may soon be heading to court to de
fend themselves.
McDonald's — you are next.
Summer Hicks is a
senior English major
MAIL CALL
DUI violations not
enforced equally
/n response to Brady Creel’s
Feb. 9 article.
The Athletic Department
claims that it takes discipli
nary actions on students who
violate NCAA and student
rules, however it would ap
pear that the Athletic Depart
ment does not make good on
this promise. Ja’Mar Toombs
is a great football player and I
would not like to see anything
jeopardize his career, but I do
think he deserves to be pun
ished for his actions.
His recent DUI and previ
ous hemp convictions
seemed to be overlooked by
the Athletic Department. I
think, as do most people,
those who are in the public
eye should face the same
punishment as everyone else.
I know that if I had been
pulled over with a .1 BAC in
stead of Ja’Mar, I would not
have been lucky enough to re
ceive a DUI. But with a less
recognizable name, I would
have received the DWI he de
served.
I am not saying I am per
fect, but I would like to see
people in the spot light held
accountable for their actions
like everyone else.
Bryan Odom
Class of ‘OO
Racist intentions
found in diversity
In response to Stuart Hutson’s
Feb. 9 article.
The Battalion and other ad
vocates of multiculturalism
have continuously searched
for excuses as to why the per
ceived lack of diversity at
Texas A&M is a threat to our
prestige as a university.
Saying that the Bonfire
tragedy is symbolic of our eth
nic troubles is not only wrong,
it is utterly tasteless. Propo
nents of diversity fail to see
that their obsession with race
and ethnicity is the true prob
lem and that only by looking
beyond skin color can people
be deemed truly intelligent.
A racist someone who
judges people according to
their race or national origin.
One who sympathizes with
an ethnic group is just as
guilty of racism as one who
dislikes an ethnic group. The
“New Racism” of the 20th
Century that hides its ethno
centric aims behind catch
phrases like “multicultural
ism” and “diversity” must be
seen for what it really is: sug
ar-coated racism.
It is racist in its sentiment
because it calls for us to em
brace diversity because we all
benefit from the differences in
herent in ethnic groups — an
ignorant statement because it
assumes that people of differ
ent ethnicity have natural dif
ferences beyond skin color.
In 1984, Thurgood Mar
shall argued before the Unites
States Supreme Court that
“classifications and distinc
tions based on race have no
moral or legal validity in our
society.”
It was true in 1984 and is
true today. We must all em
brace the policy of judging
persons as individuals, not as
members of particular ethnic
groups. In this logic, any per
son who says A&M needs
more members of a certain
race at Texas A&M must be
judged for what he or she truly
is — a racist.
To be a world-class Univer
sity (which we already are)
A&M does not need to em
brace “multiculturalism” and
“diversity”; we need to em
brace people as individuals,
knowing that our community
is judged not by its ethnic
breakdown, but by the intelli
gence of its individuals.
Micah Belden
Class of ‘02
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The opinion editor reserves the right
to edit letters for length, style, and ac
curacy. Letters may be submitted in per
son at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid
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