Thursday, March 2,J(
OPINION
Diursday, March 2, 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 13
ighanddry
ubstance-free housing option limits
indents’ freedom, college experience
tudents moving into one of the
four substance-free halls next fall
must sign a contract with the fol
lowing clause: “Residents living in
ibstance-ffee housing will not use al-
, tobacco or illegal drugs there,
■id will not return under the influence
pfthese substances.”
The Residence Hall Association ap-
iroved substance-free housing last
s Swimming and Diving
host
ship
i. “For some people this istk
■t of their year, while on ik
d we have some guyswhot
; to get to the NCAA’s,”
•reparation process for tit
iship has almost becomeron-
&M. namely because the At
hosted the event threeoftlt
seasons. Despite
1 that planning for the eta'
ipringbecause surveyed students living on campus last year
jp BEATon'iiEBAmJexpressed a desire to live exclusively with substance-free
students. While it is understandable why these students want
an option, substance-free housing does pose serious
questions that the A&M staff cannot yet answer.
First, substance-free students will be given the opportuni-
lytoexclude those who use any or all of the named sub
stances. No such options will be offered to students who do
use the substances, oral least the legal substances.
A&M students frequently hear, and even occasionally
:d, the call for a more unified campus. Separating users
m non-users does not band students together.
College should prepare students to live in the outside
world where people have to associate with others. And there
are numerous “others" who use substances, so allowing stu
dents to live in a closed-off environment only serves to shut
them out from reality.
One must consider whether deeming only one floor of a
dorm as substance-free actually gives substance-free students
the environment they are asking for. Students living in dorms
have access to all floors of their dorm. There are no restric
tions barring substance-using Aggies from walking through
substance-free halls.
While designating single floors as substance-free is serv-
olves the collaborationo1^ the P ur P ose of allowing substance-free students choices
ofwhich dorm style to live in while the program is in the
testing stage, the program will not be as effective as it would
if an entire dorm was dubbed substance-free.
vital people and elements,
natch for me we haveata
iff," Nash said, “Thereisi
;ad of time.”
use we have hosted it beta around substance-users in
runs on cruise control so ills
. e are starting from scratch.'
wimming and diving prelit
e scheduled to begin All
sday and run through 6p&
gin at 7 p.m.
us amount of work that aocs ^ ot on *>' W 'M substance-free students have contact w ith
substance-using students in the dorms, they will also be
asses, organizations and jobs.
And when they move off-campus, their neigh
bor may sit on his or her adjoining balcony
while enjoying a Bud Light and a Winston.
Another concern is the reason for offering
substance-free housing. An important reason is
to increase the amount of students who want to
remain on-campus for more than a year, ac
cording to Mike Krenz, the area coordinator
for north area residence halls.
However, the shortage of rooms available
for incoming students is already a problem.
Retaining more upperclassmen in dorms
would rob new students of the chance to live
on campus — a unique college experience.
Another concern revolves around the 800-
plus incoming freshmen who have requested
substance-free housing.
Parents usually play a large part in the deci
sion-making that accompanies a student’s first year
college arrangements. If parents suggest or even de
mand that a student live in substance-free housing, the
student would be signing the agreement to remain sub
stance-free half-heartedly.
Chances are, then, that the tentative substance-free
dent will break the agreement.
A student could also come to college completely inno
cent, make some new friends and decide to experiment with
substances, which is not a rare occurrence.
Efither way, incoming students would be breaking their
substance-free pledge, causing problems. So far, discipline
actions start with a meeting between the student. Resident
Advisor, judiciary board and possible fellow substance-free
students. If found guilty, the student will be moved to anoth
er dorm or off campus.
Sue Foster, assistant director of dormitory administration,
said she could not give a flat statement explaining details of
how discipline will take place, but that all breaches of agree
ment would have to be treated equally.
Sounds fair enough, but somehow it does not make sense
that a frequent underage drinker and an occasional cigar
smoker would receive the same treatment..
And the students who are disciplined will then face a
huge ordeal — moving in the middle of the semester, proba
bly off campus since most dorms are full in the fall.
Parents will probably experience an annoyance when
they receive that phone call. And when they hear of the new
housing expense, annoyance could turn to anger.
Another aspect of substance-free housing that could
cause problems is the faet that students and their guests may
never enter the hall under the influence.
So if a student suddenly decides to go to the Dry Bean after
a really rough test, consumes too much alcohol to be coherent,
he or she must hunt for somewhere to crash for the night.
If all substance-free residents are supposed to hang out
ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion
with each other all the time because of their shared
lifestyle, will the drunk student have anyone else to call?
For that matter, could one count on substance-free buddies
to help, or expect to be snubbed?
A.similar situation could occur if a substance-free stu
dent’s guest became under the influence.
While substance-free housing will be a reality in Fall
2000, the “what-if’ issues are too large to ignore. Before
A&M begins such a program, more of these questions
should be answered so that such problems could be mini
mized.
Jilt Riley is a senior journalism major.
Media should be present at Waco reenactment
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HEATHER
CORBELL
T he Federal Bu
reau of Investi
gation (FBI) is
hiding something. On
19,1993, feder
al agents stormed
David Koresh’s
•anch Davidian
compound in Waco,
the time the
siege was over, 76 people had lost their
lives, Most died in the inferno that left the
compound in ashes, but several were
killed by gunshot wounds.
The FBI claims they did not fire a sin
glebullet. Understandably, survivors of
the siege have catalyzed an in-depth in
vestigation of FBI actions by filing a
death suit. Further, they want
the media to keep tabs on the investiga
tion to ensure that evidence is not com-
ifromised by government officials. The
’ssuspicious actions in this case make
media surveillance imperative.
Special Counsel John Dan forth, who
is in charge of the Waco investigation, is
to keep media out of the inquiry
by barring reporters from a reenactment
ofthe siege that may be able to put to
test questions about whether or not
agents fired on the Branch Davidians. In
frared tapes of the 1993 siege show un
explainable flashes of light coming from
FBI agents.
Branch Davidian survivors claim that
tee flashes look suspiciously like gun
fire. In response to such allegations, Dan-
forth is requiring a reenactment of the
movements of federal agents on April
19th. However, he has filed against allow
ing media presence at the event.
The dramatization, set to take place on
March 18th in Fort Hood, Texas, will be
taped from helicopters by infrared cam
eras. The tapes will later be evaluated by
experts to determine whether or not the
flashes on the original tape coincide with
gunfire flashes at the reenactment.
However, government officials (eight
congressmen and representatives from
the FBI, Department of Defense
and Justice Department) and su
pervisors from the con
tracted Vector Data Sys
tems may be the only
witnesses to the reenact
ment that will seemingly
prove the government’s
guilt or innocence. A
petition by the Si. Louis
Dispatch for media
presence has already
been rejected because
authorities claim that
national security and
safety could be compromised.
Danforth argues that media involve
ment will impede the justice process. But a
people’s government cannot see justice if
the people are blindfolded. The media is
necessary and inescapable when pursuing
the cause of justice. They disseminate facts
and help maintain an informed public.
What does Waco have to do with na
tional security and safety unless one is re
ferring to the people’s security and safety
from the government? Seventy-six people
died when the FBI was on watch. When the
government takes an action which results
in the deaths of its citizens, the circum
stances rightly become a matter of public
interest.
The American people have the right to
check and balance their government. The
easiest way for them to determine when
that kind of action is necessary is by stay-
MATT ROY/The Battalion
ing informed through the media. Mike
Caddell, a Houston attorney for the
Branch Davidians, says excluding the
press “serves no purpose but to create un
necessary suspicion.” He is right. If the
FBI does not have anything to hide, why
are they being so secretive?
The siege reenactment is supposed to
prove whether or not federal agents fired
on David Koresh and his followers. How
ever, if only self-preserving government
officials and their contractors observe the
event, nothing is clearly proven. Suspi
cion simply increases. Allowing a gov
ernment agency to “prove” its own inno
cence in such a way would be like finding
an accused murderer not guilty based
solely on his word of honor. Sadly, that
kind of testimony is insufficient because
of faulty human nature.
Special Counsel Danforth fears the
public will form its own opinions about
the siege if they are allowed to observe
the reenactment. He must realize,
though, that the government cannot run
from public opinion. They exist to
serve it.
The FBI seems to fear something else,
like the truth behind whether or not they
fired on the Branch Davidians. They
have already lied about their use of tear
gas. What else do they want to keep from
the public?
These are questions that have to be an
swered if the American people are ever
going to be able to trust their government.
Like so many of the current presidential
campaigners, government agencies sim
ply need to come clean about past mis
takes. “Faulty yet honest” is far more ap
pealing to the American people than
“faulty and false.”
Heather Corbel! is a junior
English major
African-American students
also responsible for racism
In response to The Battalion's series on issues fac-
IngAfrican-American students:
I acknowledge the social segregation between
icksand whites on campus, and I commend The
tta//on for sponsoring this dialogue. However, I
dothink several important points have been left
unsaid. It appears to me that the majority of the
I feels that the cause for this segregation lies
mthe hands of campus whites and administration.
lile it is not unheard of to see a Confederate
fragflyingoff the antenna of John Red Neck’s
, a larger portion of this problem results from
attitudes within the black population itself than
tieyhave admitted.
Whites are collectively blamed for not eating or
socializing with blacks on campus, but at the same
campus blacks consistently group together in
anianner that makes me as a white guy feel un-
*elcome. When I sit in a cafeteria with 80 percent
% people I’m not sitting with the white guys,
'oijust sitting. I’ve always wanted to try to break
^racial cliques, but I’m just as intimidated to
^ke the move as the black guy.
Furthermore, it seems that whenever a black
^son on campus gets involved with whites he’s
MAIL CALL
accused of “trying to be white” or being “a house
negro.” With these apparently anti-white comments
heard frequently on campus how can the black
community expect me as a white guy to break that
barrier? Of course there are some stupid white
people who make us all look bad, but white to
black relations are not the only problem.
Perception of the white community by blacks
needs to change as well.
Chris Shull
Class of ’02
Photo reinforces concerns
In response to J.R Beato’s Feb. 28 photograph.
I am writing in concern to the picture of the
Black History poster being burned. Let me say that
I was very upset to see something like that, howev
er I was not surprised.
I feel that here at A&M, racism is alive and it
thrives. Nothing is said about a Black History
poster being burned. This is why racism thrives
here at A&M, because no one cares about it. They
want to ignore the matter and say “Howdy!” That
burning showed the attitude that some students
have and that attitude can thrive because the the
environment here is condusive for its existence.
Why hasn’t the administration made it known to
the students that the attitudes of the such won’t be
tolerated here at A&M? Because no one cares.
The truth is A&M tolerates racism. I don’t know
where this school gets off thinking that racism is
silent and unnoticed here. It’s alive and well. If
people aren’t exposed to differences then they
make faulty perceptions and generalize that which
is different. Here at A&M we have little diversity on
campus. We have all the elements needed for
racism to exist.
This is a shame considering A&M’s Vision 2020
program. We need more diversity. I’m not surprised
no one said anything about this act of racism. If you
do care, then do something ajpout it.
Keilen Wiley
Class of VO
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ber.
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and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc
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E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
MELISSA
JOHNSTON
Research can
enhance
trips abroad
A s the fair weather traveling bug starts to
buzz in unsuspecting college students’
ears, some adventurous folks may get
an itch to take more than just a road trip. Laden
with backpacks taller than their younger sib
lings, passports eagerly awaiting stamps and
money belts fortified with travelers’ checks,
they will squeeze into airplane seats with leg
room designed for Spud Webb and fly to the
foreign land of their choice. Yet in their haste to
pack everything, many students might be forgetting the most impor
tant thing of all: to educate themselves about where they are going.
Now, just wait a minute, the average traveler might say. Vaca
tions are supposed to be fun, and education is, well, not always fun.
A little pre-travel reading might be too much work or boring to peo
ple who are just looking to “have a good time” during their travels.
Trips to pubs and crazy pictures at tourist traps are all part of great
memories, but there is also much about the surrounding cityscape
and countryside to consider. Being aware of not only the current cul
ture and people of a country, as well as the country’s past as an influ
ence on its present, can turn a trip into more than just a chance to party.
Students thinking about traveling sometime soon should look at
it this way: a rare opportunity may have arisen, and not just the op
portunity to fly far from home. After years of complaining about
how classes are not applicable to anything in everyday life, students
who travel overseas may find real uses for some of the things they
were forced to learn. Those history and geography classes they
slept through in high school might actually come in handy during a
walk through thousands of years of history. Not only could students
be excited about merely being in a foreign place, but also about
putting what they know about that place to use as well.
Diego Garcia, director of the Memorial Student Center L.T. Jor
dan Institute for International Awareness, realizes that all travelers
do not have the same goals in mind when they set out on a trip. But
“any time students can learn about the history or culture of the place
they are visiting, they will benefit from that experience,” he said.
“There is a mix of [students] who go out knowing nothing and
those who do their homework. Their experience would be richer if
they did prepare before or during the trip.”
Admittedly, most travelers will attempt to study the Cliff’s
Notes way by snagging one or two travel guides before they
leave. However, travel guides, though they have nifty fold-out
maps, are overrated for background information. Books like
Fodor's. Lonely Planet, and Let s Go are good as starting
points, but reading something other than just a snippet of infor
mation about a city will bring more benefits to the traveler. If
one does not have time to do some secondary reading, at least
flipping through histories and biographies of countries and
their people can round out one’s expectations of the days
ahead. And actually paying attention in yet another round of
history and geography classes might be a conceivable option
with a future trip in mind.
An over-stuffed backpack, a calling card and a pocket book
on conversational language are not the only essential things one
needs to bring along on a voyage abroad. Knowledge about the
history and the culture of one’s destination takes up less room in
a suitcase than a duty-free bag of goodies from the airport and it
lasts a lot longer upon arrival. Not many students have the
chance to make these journeys often — so crack open those
books and leam a little.
Melissa Johnston is a senior English major.