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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2000)
Thursday, March9,5 verid ^ase iman (AP) — Dennis Rodj an a month to wear on! alias. icks gave up on theirbij Wednesday, giving him: after he lashed out as;: OPINION Thursday, March 9, 2000 THE BATTALION Page 9 RE PASS OR DUMBASS? Students promote spring break stereotype through actions, make regrettable decisions ‘S pnng break RODMAN which : move : before nent, said it would irsdav morning. ,vas no immediatecok A University of Florida student named Cody posted that informative message on a college Website message lis Los Angeles-fe board under the category “What does spring break mean to you?” Thanks for the information, Cody. Lots of girls are sure to be ecstatic if they run into ith the Los Angeles lib you at Charlie’s next week, because they must be looking for exactly what you have to oiler. After all, that is irepanng a response, stint in Dallas isthesk: i's career. He lasted Mi cks were 4-9 since Rotfc . He was ejected twice,® what spring break is all about, right? and lined $ 13,500 b;’I So what is spring break really all about? It has always been a long- ad only been on a losij awaited post-midtenn holiday that col lege students begin to yearn for as soon as they return to the classroom in re in his 14-year career, feats wore on him. straight loss Tuesday me January. Apparently, it now comes at- uban, who had personal n and even was brietlylt had given Rodman per® ictices and show'uplatefi an wants to win, buthe'ss 6 loss in Seattle. “Hete tanging around the playa h or something. That’sfc J it’s dumb. That’s w ick and put people ini m in the right direction, icks play again Thursi against Minnesota. Atiet von’t be as high as itli nan wearing No. 70. means having lots of meaningless sex with random peo ple and blaming it on the alcohol in the morning. See yaat Charlie’s!” MELISSA JOHNSTON (ached to slightly different goals and expectations than those of the past. OK, so today’s college students are spontaneous. They are adventurous, they are fun-loving and they are slightly influenced by their hormones. But these characteristics are no excuse ilayer,” Rodman said:- for the level of depravity to which spring break has sunk, not only for Cody, hut for many other college stu dents as well. The media may be re sponsible for creating spring break’s down. He needs to bell sex-drugs-and-alcohol riddled stereo type, but it is students themselves who promote that stereotype by choosing to participate in its debauchery without a second thought. The rest and relaxation of spring break appears to have been replaced old out four games this si by the hype and hysteria of a shack-a- e the hometown nativek thon bikini-fest during which males lue and green. He cf/a* and females alike seem to magically ice for the locals to see In forget about their significant others, their morals and their brains in favor of very little clothing, lots of alcohol and well, you know. Of course, the break can be a complete blast without any of this mess — but one would not hairdo featuring the tea man’s career may be ova hampionships, three wil /o in Detroit, and seven r: ything he accomplished* I be remembered for ol- :h as showing up at a g a w'edding dress. know this from what one sees. This type of orgy-esque description is often the only portrayal of spring break ac tivity one can find. Because spring break is all about the hookup. Take a look at MTV Spring Break broadcasts airing from every hot spot around the world. There will likely be more skin than speech in most of the broad casts, and how else are the cameras to get this footage than by filming students who are taking part in it? Shows like “Beauty and the Beach” and “Singled Out” tend to empha size the more physical aspects of spring break, and therefore overlook the plain old relaxing fun that many other students are probably having. Instead, view ers can see lots of girls and guys in little clothing strutting up and down catwalks and grind ing against each other at pool- side. It is no wonder Cody and thousands like him natu rally think spring break is all about drinking and sex: they can watch the foreplay on television. This reckless decision making, though, is not just some perception one gets from a TV screen. It is also a reality. In a 1997 poll by Durex Condom Company, 64 percent of college students admitted to at least one random hookup (and we’re not talking just a random mug) during the break. Thirteen percent of the students admitted to having live or more. But to reveal an even more disturbing sta tistic — 47 percent oflhe whole group said they did not use a condom at any time, and out of the students who claimed five or more hookups, 73 per cent never thought to use one either. Cody’s definition of spring break might not be so warped after all. There is no reason spring break should not be fun, especially when it is an extremely necessary vacation from school and classes. But there is also no reason why fun and responsibility can not go together. If anything, college students should want to prove the Spring break hype is not justified, offers well-deserved vacation for college students A s midtenns loom omi nously in the immediate fu ture, the only light many college stu dents can see at the end oflhe tun nel is Friday, March 10. Aggies Over the years, spring break has gained a questionable reputation. It is narrowly viewed by some people as a wild, drunken, hormone fest where college students over-indulge them selves in alcohol and free love. The idea that spring break is a wholly nega tive event is incorrect. It is crucial that college students dispel the myths sur rounding spring break, because it truly is a positive and worthwhile event. First, it is narrow-minded to think that the status of a vacationing college student denotes an intoxicated, sex-crazed mani ac. Not all students get dangerously i V,. drunk every night, get thrown I cxe-I ' nto a Mexican jail or show their iSvr i breasts for free .3 beer. Besides, | the students I that do get media wrong when it comes to how responsible they are actually being during spring break. Really, how smart do students look when they are too drunk to think for seven days in a row or they cannot remember the names of people they have slept with? Being re sponsible is not actually the drag it is always made out to be. All students really have to do for a start is make Si re all the tried-and-true slogans ap ply for the following week: think when you drink, use protection, don’t drink and drive — and stay away from Floridians named Cody. Melissa Johnston is a senior English major. think to themselves, “If I can just make it until then, everything will be all right.” Spring break is seen as a well-deserved, one-week vacation from classes, tests and studying. Unlike those unfortunate enough to have entered the real world, stu dents are blessed with the opportuni ty to leave worries behind and relax. The prospective road trip or beach vacation symbolizes all that college students hold dear — the chance to experience life outside the class room. Spring break often represents the last opportunity to take a vaca tion with friends before entering a job that offers three days a year of unpaid vacation. into trouble while on vacation are those that would maybe exhibit the same negligent behav ior if they were to remain in College Station. If a location becomes a breed ing ground for hedonism, chances are the students would have acted in the same manner anywhere else on any other given occasion. Irresponsibility on the part of students results from the lowered maturity level of the individ ual, not the location itself. If anything, popular vacation spots become safer during this time be cause oflhe preparation of businesses and an increased number of police. Most business owners and law offi cials are experienced and knowledge able concerning the activities of vaca tioners during spring break and anticipate problems in advance. The false representation offered by movies and television contributes to the common stereotype that all students will return from South Padre pregnant or with a criminal record. The common story line of drunken boy meets tipsy girl and the two spend “quality time” together is one that creates fictitious ideas about spring break and the dangers it sup posedly poses. Another common misconception is that the only scheduled activity for students during spring break is wait ing in line for the beer bong. In actu ality, there are many other options for vacationers. Students may choose to spend time on the beach, go swim ming, scuba diving or parasailing. Fishing trips, jet ski rentals and shop ping are other alternatives to camping around the keg buried in the sand. Spring break presents an opportunity to participate in many activities that are unavailable to students in the Bryan-College Station area. Spring break offers students the possibility of taking a discounted va cation with friends to locations that are not included with Disneyland on the family’s list of places to see. All- inclusive trips organized by travel companies offer airfare, hotel accom modations and other amenities for a fiat rate. This arrangement saves students time and leaves travel preparation to experienced professionals. Students are offered information about local restaurants, clubs and bars as a safe alternative to wandering dark alleys in a strange town searching for Senor Frog’s. Aggies need to act responsibly while on vacation in order to ensure'*- their safety and dispel the illusions a^r sociated with them. Spring break is a* great opportunity to leave school be-! - hind for a few days and unwind. A good tan and the chance to stare at girls in bikinis is just a bonus. Summer Hicks is a senior English major. W Six-year-old shooter deserves punishment regardless of parents oftball team Bobcats vranked Texas jam defeated 'exas State University . Wednesday in San ) in the sixth innit >more second base- am hit a two-run 1 ne Aggies in the shed the day 2*3 ae run and two shman pitcher ted three innings ol :o pick up the w -3) allowed no struck out six. tinned from Page is, giving Watkins anus' 1 ' >n the floor. merica once again looks at a school shooting with dismay. This time, though, the situa tion seems more tragic. A six-year-old girl in Mount Morris, Mich., lies dead after being shot in the chest by her six- year-old classmate Feb. 29. In the past, school shootings occur in middle schools and high schools. Older students killed each other over large issues, like feelings of isolation and troubled rela tionships. What issue did Kayla Rolland die for? None — that is why this particular school shooting raised so many eyebrows. Bill Clinton only considered the issue for about five seconds before spouting his solution to the problem — more gun control legislation, according to CNN. Howev er, there are more issues surrounding this incident than just guns. Elementary schools are not as safe as people think. Though reports usually focus on high schools and middle schools, crime and violence do occur in American elemen tary schools. In fact, 45 percent of elementary schools report ed one or more violent incidents in the ’96-’97 school year, according to a study done by the National Center for Educa tion Statistics. Four percent reported one or more serious vio lent crimes, such as assault with weapons and murder. While the statistics are much lower than they are for middle and high schools, the study’s findings prove that elementary students are capable of being violent.The fact could not be more evident as it is in the Mount Mor ris case. The boy acted violently when he shot Kayla in the chest with a .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The boy’s violent be havior must be punished in some way. In this case, though, serious questions abound over who needs to “get it.” Do you detain the child, the mother or the uncle? The boy lived in his un cle’s home, which contains guns and illegal drugs. Flis father is in prison. His mother lives somewhere else and marijuana was smoked in the uncle’s house daily. This child probably sees the world a little differently than others. The child definitely needs help. But the child also killed a girl, and slapping him on the wrist could have terrible consequences. The boy understood crime and punishment enough to know to deny pulling the trigger in his police interview. He claimed he gave the gun to another student before the shooting. He also knew to drop the gun and run to the bathroom to hide after shooting Kayla. Actions such as these indicate knowledge of crime, and understanding crime means the child is old enough to be punished. The boy’s father knew his son was capable of such an action. When he heard about the shoot ing he feared his son was involved, according to CNN. “He said a sickening feeling came over him ... because he knew his son and knew the type of problems he’d been hav ing,” said Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell. Punishment should be doled out when even the father in prison knows his son could act violently. Chris DeWitt, the spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office, claims the boy could be charged under Michigan’s law allowing children to be prosecuted as adults for murder or other violent crimes. According to most reports, however, the boy will likely receive no punishment. The county Family Inde- The fact that the murderer was six-years-old should not have much influence in determining his punishment because he showed signs of understanding the crime. pendent Agency will determine whether the government should take custody of the boy or release him to his mother, according to the Detroit Free Press. The only official punishment mentioned at this point will go to the person responsible for allowing the boy ac cess to the gun. The police have charged Jamelle James, 19, of involun tary manslaughter, but the boy should be punished as well. How he should be punished would also pose a problem because there are no facilities for detaining young prisoners. Putting the boy through a program teaching about the im pacts of violence, the value of human life and of the conse quences of crime would solve the problem. If they are shipping the boy to a program, they should also send the mother to a few “Parenting Responsibly” class es, and the father to “How-to-stay-out-of-prison-and-be-a- real-dad” class. The death that occurred in Mount Morris was tragic. It was caused by negligence and bad parenting. The fact that the murderer was 6 years old should not have much influence in determining his punishment because he showed signs of understanding the crime. Punish the boy and his parents for their wrong be havior. The parents of little Kayla deserve at least that much retribution. Jill Riley is a senior journalism major. ika game highlighted! 1 Ti the A&M seniors. F*' Brown and Paul Jacc! jcrformances to close* 1 the inside perform^ ack and freshman M Local publications draw criticism 'dless, the Aggies arek Hop strength in s led by senior 4 points and 4.7 reboi# e, the Buffaloes rely oap 1 os ley who averages m rebounds, nber what happened 1 ; t,” said Walls who si 1 points against A&M to get some revenge npleting its second yea 1 ' ler Watkins. The Agg^ nt win as the next level 1 irocess. e the next step,” Jack ^ r the first Big 12 To# ould be real important! overall program ers, right now.” response to Mariano Castillo’s March 7 column. find it extremely ironic and outrageous that in an editorial complaining of the unprofes sional nature of other publica tions, The Battalion referred to one of the other newspaper as written as if its readers are re- ji tarded." Can The Battalion be anymore unprofessional? Besides sounding as if they are still in junior high, The Bat talion’s use of “retarded" is bla tantly offensive and insensitive to the plight of the handicapped individuals in our society. Furthermore, The Battalion editors should be the last ones to talk about journalistic profes- MAIL CALL sionalism, given their history of displaying a picture of where an Aggie — who tragically commit ted suicide — landed, rather than showing sensitivity towards his friends and family. Until the Battalion gets it act together, I believe that it should not criticize other publications. Frankly, Texas A&M deserves a better newspaper than the un professional Battalion. Timothy Shelby Class of ’99 In response to Aaron Lauver’s March 8 mail call. In response Lauver, The Touch stone is by no means held to pro fessional standards. I’ve been reading that rag for years now, and I’ve seen plenty of typos and mistakes accompanied by more insults than arguments. Its “professional and infor mative” articles are simply one sided looks at issues its staff thinks is relevant. Most of what it publishes are attacks on anyone not as leftist as its writers. Anything else, as Lauver mentioned, is corre spondence written by others. The Battalion, on the other hand, is more than just a big opinion page. It reports news on local, state, national and world levels. It does not have a political agenda, merely a jour nalistic one. So, anyone who thinks that the Batt is a liberal piece of trash, I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Touchstone the next time you pass one of their bins around campus and read the two month old “news” and judge for yourself. Then, for anyone who thinks the Batt is a conservative piece of trash, pick up the next copy of the Aggie Review. Congratulations, The Battal ion. You're the moderate source of news on campus. Michael R. Lakin Class of ’98 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 accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let ters 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 mRUmsMtaCRN-NlSRlCAMs: THESE OBJECTS APPEAR TO BE suns to Police mm'm hold them-