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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2000)
Wednesday. March Qj issmatf chool OUnsinji hooting IND. OHIO 1 said. I le found out minutesl tlicr of his relatives was sk t Morris Township is somef thwest of Detroit oli contamination avernrnent said Tuesday thslui the cattle in the nation's ts are infected with deadly E ictena. Here is a look at howh la can get from cattle to the table. the farm A cow that it is carrying the E. cot 0157:H7 bacteriah its intestinal tract chosen for slaugt e slaughterhouse II ' rfe E coll can escape the intestines of infected cattle ate opened during processing. eat plant The contaminated meat is mixed witt ■adWBMi other meat and ground for hamburger iut meal It the contaminated meat is undercooked t/0 the bacteria can cause severe food poisoning. >k all ground beef or hamburgeit nternal temperature of 160MJs(! mometer to be sure the meat is oughly cooked. id back any undercooked mealyi served in a restaurant for lurthet king. nsume only pasteurized milk,** ducts and juices. sh hands, counters and utetsS i hot. soapy water after theycitf r meat. mT^ I Hon KIMBER HUFF/Tm Haiiii ' : Jane Long Middle • 100 sixth grade Ian- ) nation’s r prices needed here,” ClintonS “We'll see. I’m encour? might occur.” rdson visited severalleail® 1-producing countries t eekend hut failed to oW ly firm promises that on Id agree to signified ise its self-imposed prod® 3n cuts. The cuts have caused; 'ices to soar, from $113 tar ago to a nine-year lit ound $30 a barrel, andl^ e highest average U.S.? 35 ic prices ever. Unadjusted for infW 1 at the pump is $1.47 pet: 1 rding to industry analystd 1 )erg. is up 6 cents on average it 1 ' ks ended Friday, thel lll! vey of 10,000 stations 1 reported Sunday. OPINION L Wednesday, March 1,2()(X) THE BATTALION Page 11 (/(ymete&SAry rpukAness NFL arrests demand league attention T his past week. New Orleans Saints running back Ricky Williams was arrested and spent six hours in an Austin jail after refusing to sign a ticket for a traffic violation. Williams’ belligerent attitude towards the arresting officer and his lack of rev erence for traffic laws would usually be asource of amusement to the public and embarrassment to the National Football League (NFL). Due to recent events, however, the Williams incident passed with little fanfare. The NFL could be called the National Felon League due to die spate of crimes committed by its players in the last few months. Most notable are the allegations against former Car olina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Carruth is accused of master minding the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, while Lewis is one of three people accused of killing two men outside an Atlanta nightclub the night of the Super Bowl. % With the recent arrests of Leonard Little of the St. Louis Rams, Tamerick Vanover of the Kansas City Chiefs, Michael Irvin, not to mention league alums like Law rence Taylor and a Ford Bronco owner named Simpson, the NFL has an All- Pro lineup appearing on police posters. Some people are claiming that the NFL itself is to blame forthese crimes, as the players are a product of the violent sport they play. This argument is totally ridiculous. People like Emmitt Smith, Darrell Green of the Washington Red skins and the late Walter Payton showed that there are also many quality human beings in the league. This is not to say that more could not be done to prevent crimes from being committed by NFL players. The NFL, and the public in gen eral, could help a great deal in cutting down on these crimi nal actions. Many players grew up in difficult circumstances. Their actions may have more to do with a living a violent youth than playing a violent game. Many of these players getting headlines on the Associated Press (AP) and police wires came from broken homes with little or no supervision. Gangs and athletic teams became a sort of surrogate family. Once they got to college, many of these athletes were on full athletic scholarships. However, this does not necessarily mean they had much money to spend, as the NCAA prohibits scholarship athletes from holding other jobs. Eventually, some players make it to the NFL, and tons of money is suddenly thrown at them. Now thrust into the national spotlight and making more money in a week than most people see in their lives, these players are then placed on a pedestal by the public. While able to enjoy more of finer things in life with their newly found riches, rookie pro athletes also become increasingly isolated from reality. The only people they can actually talk to person to person, as opposed to person to icon, are their old friends, many of whom have criminal backgrounds. These individu als, with the assistance of a hard-knock youth, can convince the athlete that violence is an acceptable option. This is exactly what happened in the Lewis episode. The Balti more linebacker was arrested along with two of his long-time friends, who had extensive criminal backgrounds. While there can be no excuse for such ac tions, the NFL could do a great deal more to monitor its players' activities. When rookies come into the league, they undergo a couple of days of “orientation,” which will suppos edly adjust them to the ways of the league. Then they are cut loose to do as they will. The league really does not get involved again until it is time to discipline a player for his actions. The NFL has more than enough money to hire some sort of player oversight director — preferably a former player. The league’s players’ association would probably not object to such a person, as they could be someone the players could rely upon for advice and counsel. Former Cowboy Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson acts a counselor for NFL players, and former Redskin Earnest Byn- er has such a position with the Ravens. However, such influ ences are too little and, in the case of Ray Lewis, too late. The public also can contribute to bettering this situation by having a reality check. While these athletes may be able to do tremendous things on the field of play, they are still mortal. Treating them any differently helps add to their mis taken aura of invincibility. Just because these players are “public figures” does not mean they should not be held every bit as accountable for their actions as someone who is not. Little served less than a year for killing a woman while driving drunk, while Irvin and LT escaped prison time. That certain Ford Bronco driver was acquitted on charges of slaughtering two people. With these players getting off with a slap on the wrist and the public willing to quickly embrace them again, the fear of RICHARD HORNE/Thi: Battalion serious punishment is often ignored until it is too late. The NFL is faced with a serious situation, as their play ers have their pictures showing up on post office walls as of ten as Sports Illustrated covers. While this problem can.fever be totally defeated, there is something that can be done. The league can increase its efforts to ensure that its players act in a more responsible fashion, and the public can hold the play ers more accountable for their actions. It can only be hoped that something is done before “(Jourt TV” gives NFL players as much coverage as ESPN. •> Mark Passwaters is a senior electrical engineering major. KINE 199 requirement beneficial for students U nfortunately, the trend toward obesi ty has not passed by the Texas A&M cam pus. Now it seems that with the elimination of ki nesiology classes, over weight students could be come a more common sight as the required KINE 199 courses often are the only physical activity students participate in while attending A&M. Members of the Core Curriculum Review Committee (CCRC) have recently decided there is no place for kinesiology classes at A&M. The existing requirement of four semesters of KINE 199 would be ^ discarded in favor of classes that are deemed to be more in the student’s academic interest. The CCRC has evidently decided that allowing an extra scholastic course to be added to the core curricu lum would greatly en hance the worth of a de gree from A&M. The remaining health and fitness class would consist of two-thirds scholastic work and only one-third physical activity. The designed purpose of these health and fitness classes is to teach the students the value of athletic participation, rather than mandate the courses to fill University requirements. One justification for this desired change is that other prestigious universities do not require any kinesiology classes. After all, if peer univer sities do not require physical activity, then A&M students should not have to participate either. If Ivy League students can be smart and over weight, Aggies can be, too. Administrators need to avoid the path of scholastic conventionality and do what is in the best interests of the students at this institution. If students desire to retain the right to participate in kinesiology courses, they should be allowed to instead of being forced to lake another humani ties or upper-level classes in their major. Many students are severely limited in the number of electives that can be included in their schedules. Aggies spend anywhere from four to | six years in college, and most do not have the extra time or money to take a class such as mod em dance if the University does not allow them to do so within the core requirements. During the middle of a hectic week full of term papers and exams, students often relish the chance to take an hour to go play volleyball or swing a golf club. KINE 199 courses are some thing students can look forward to as a change of pace from a core curriculum that often seems dry and relatively pointless. The busy schedules of many Aggies do not allow much spare time to work out at the Student Recreation Center or anywhere else. Kinesiology classes provide stu dents with the opportunity to improve their health without feeling guilty for not spending the extra time at the library. The Surgeon General recommends exercise at least three times per week. Admittedly, most stu dents do not participate in voluntary athletics this often. Aggies often have too many other commitments or simply lack the motivation to visit the Rec Center on a regular basis. However, kinesiology classes provide the opportunity for stu dents to better their health and well-being. For whatever reason, partici pating in beginning ten nis or even bowling may be the only workout many students get. If the administration allows the core curriculum to be tampered with, the “freshmen 15” could be come a thing of the past. The “University 50” could be the newly coined phrase for Aggies as they remain stationary in their desks for four, five, six or more years. The health of student’s bodies, as well as their minds, needs to be taken into consideration. If KINE 199 classes are eradicated from the core curriculum, students will be at a disadvan tage. Any outlet for physical improvement will merely become an extravagance, something stu dents can only participate in if they have the extra time and finances. Why should the administration make staying fit more difficult than it already is? Elimination of kinesiology classes will in evitably result in a different atmosphere in Ag- gieland. Desks will be uncomfortably small, Hullabaloo will experience dizzying lines of rav enous students, and incoming freshmen will be gin to refer to themselves as the Fighting Texas Fatty Class of 2004. Summer Hicks is a senior English major. EDITORIAL ’"BATTALION mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmt’: :«u ; Mr A* i . u r y a f t«m i’i 3»-) t Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the majority view of the editorial board members. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons and letters express the opinions of the authors. Editorial Board MARIUM MOHIUDDIN EDITOR IN CHIEF BEVERLY MIRELES MANAGING EDITOR STUART HUTSON CAMPUS EDITOR ERIC DICKENS OPINION EDITOR KYLE WHITACRE AGGIELIFE EDITOR DOUG SHILLING SPORTS EDITOR JASON BENNYHOFF RADIO PRODUCER JEFF KEMPF NIGHT NEWS EDITOR GUY ROGERS PHOTO EDITOR RUBEN DELUNA GRAPHICS EDITOR BRANDON PAYTON WEB MASTER MEREDITH HIGHT COMMUNITY EDITOR MARIANO CASTILLO OPINION EDITOR VERONICA SERRANO AGGIELIFE EDITOR DAVE AMBER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR JASON LINCOLN ASST. SPORTS EDITOR NONI SRIDHARA ASST. RADIO PRODUCER CRISTINA PADRON ASST. NIGHT NEWS EDITOR JP BEATO PHOTO EDITOR ROBERT HYNECEK GRAPHICS EDITOR BRENT BARKLEY ASST. WEB MASTER A CALL FOR CHANGE Racial disharmony needs to he addressed by all at A&M “Typical nigger” — that was the mes sage someone wrote across Rasheda James’ car her freshman year at Texas A&M. It was not just a message of hate and ignorance, it was a message to James that A&M is not the close-knit Ag gie family it appeared to be at the sum mer orientation she attended and the re cruiting weekends she was invited to. While it is easy to agree this is a racist act to be condemned, would all agree this type of incident is uncommon at A&M? Through a recent round table dis cussion with several African-American student leaders, The Battalion heard first-hand accounts of a divisive racial atmosphere at A&M. While this may merely reflect existing racial tension in society, it should be acknowledged that A&M’s all-white, all-male history makes the racial tension on campus more dif ficult to overcome. In the last 80 years, A&M has made many positive steps toward the ultimate goal of being a world-class university. This progress began when A&M opened its doors to women and minorities, and continues through the administration’s efforts to recruit minorities. But it is now time for A&M to progress to the next step. A&M is well-known for its traditions and conservatism. However, these characteristics cannot be used as an excuse for the racially tense environ ment many minority students encounter. The discrimination minorities experi ence on campus is appalling. If A&M wants to be on par with other universi ties, and if Vision 2020 is to become a reality, students and the administration need to demand further change. Texas A&M is in need of such im provements as a greater number of mi nority students and faculty, a multicultur- alism requirement in the core curriculum and a truly desegregated community that sees intolerance as unacceptable. It may be hard to admit, but as much as A&M appears to be a campus united in its traditions, it is divided by a lack of racial diversity. While a solution to racism will not ap pear overnight, it is the responsibility of the University, from students to faculty, to work to eliminate it on our campus. MAIL CALL College of Liberal Arts deserving of campus-wide recognition In response to Brieanne Porter’s Feb. 28 column. I am a junior speech communication major and would like to thank Porter for drawing attention to the efforts of the Col lege of Liberal Arts (CLA). We have long deserved attention from the school, which was originally mechanically and agri culturally based. I have many friends who simply feel the CLA is full of unnecessary required courses and think I should have attended the “other” school in the state to get the de gree 1 desire. I am here to say that my department alone is ranked among the top schools in the nation for speech communica tion. I am proud of my department and my professors. I am proud to be an Aggie, and I am proud of the degree I will soon possess. We are not just those classes engineers hate to take. This brings me to another point. I am frustrated with the department for not promoting its strengths throughout the school. As the article mentioned, the CLA has little recogni tion, but we need to do more to promote what we stand for. Two weeks ago the CLA held our annual Liberal Arts Career Week, and turn-out within the college was great, however we wanted to hit other colleges as well. Publicity is a huge factor the CLA should investigate. I would like the University to know what great efforts liberal arts students go to in earning our degrees and that the CLA is not composed of blow-off classes with easy professors. Clara Kruljac Class of ‘01 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. 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 accu racy. 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 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com