OPINION
day.lApril 14, 2000
THE BATTALION
Page 17
nfsp^fop the press!
media coverage of Elian crisis demonstrates
mrusivenessy tendency to focus on tragedies
Tehran ©
elvho have willingly surrendered their rights to
since Febniarv,«;-j V acY and to factual information.
't is a very rare day that Fi
del Castro is right on any
.matter. So rare, in fact.
Hie NBA’s Los Angeles
tippers make the playoffs
ore often than Comrade
jstro liits the correct button.
In that case, get ready for
ime time Clips fans. Unfor-
, natcl\, Castro was right on
111 1 * lal e money when he said the Elian Gonzalez case
-'-ikl ihc fact ih;it (dlecome a prime example of how intrusive the
edin has become in American society. Rarely
- ’ 'viiionsandtk )es broadcast media actually fulfill its obligation
-- ul 'ia condemned lkiH )or t the news to the American people. It is now
f Hore interested in coming up with sensational
" " l! mls 111 cu - sl °dy‘ eas to increase ratings than in telling the truth.
- J: lasted m) minute' he|najor losers, as a result, are the American peo-
Naseri said. Three oil
^ lcai u heftierthe_\ appaa®i ie niedia barricade in front ofElian Gonza-
iz’lgreat uncle’s house is not new — remember
• 9 Imp O.J.? But the broadcast media has still sue-
-a -*-% -pi •i^/sssliilly reached a new low in tenns of class. Di-
xXj. A 1J ijie Sawyer’s two day stalking ofElian and his
limjly held absolutely no infonnational value
'hatsoever: it was merely a pathetic attempt to
HA money offthe life of a confused little kid.
■ ABC News said that Sawyer’s farce was sup-
osed to be a “human interest” story, and was
innocent. 'The resia ewsworthy. Then again, this is the same organiza-
luuc! level as far as wet on that was willing to send that news hound
I he drug gang was capah ,eohardo DiCaprio to interview the president of
IOC pounds of heroin re United States. Any organization willing to sac-
, h would represent ab ifice any vestige of professional ethics to gain a
ib annual productii ewmatings points must have anything they say
. police said. The} said onSidered suspect.
ped heroin to the Unite. Ifthe American people want this situation to
m, I lolland and Italy. ihange, it is within their power to see that it does.
n.|ui|o. whose mother is; mr all, they are the ones that made it happen,
'bur’s mother, was capture fhe media is simply looking for ways to increase
w estern cit\ of Medellin, 'atings and will try anything once to see how pop-
ii rested Wednesday ram alar it is; if people watch, then more sensationalist
■hmen to drug couriers K garbage will lifter onto the air. Ifthe viewing pub-
in trafficking heroin-pi b
nicals and laundering dng
:e said
lie decides that enough is enough, then TV news
will go back to being just that — news. It is a self-
fulfilling prophecy.
The first thing the American people must rec
ognize is that the talking heads on television are
not trustworthy. Most members of the broadcast
media today do not believe that their primary
obligation is to properly inform the public, as Wal
ter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow did. Their pri
mary obligation, unfortunately, is to their own ca-
rests
People that are in the
business of gathering
news should be
interested in findings
of fact, not trampling
on pieces of already
shattered lives.
reers. Currently, American society tends to reward
those who get the big, dramatic “scoop.” Whether
that “scoop” is true or causes increased pain and
suffering for others is not an issue.
The nation must recognize that while the Diane
Sawyers and Jane Pauleys of the world may be
tearing up someone else’s life right now, they
could show up on their doorstep at any time. The
bonfire collapse brought that stark reality to life at
Texas A&M this past fall. Suddenly, our ability to
privately mourn our dead and put our lives back
together was gone; we were forced to do these
things in front of an audience of millions. Most
(though certainly not all) of those covering the
tragedy for the TV media had no interest in find
ing out the truth about the incident or allowing us
to pick up the pieces. To them, it was not “news
worthy.” Only tears and condemnations made the
evening news.
This, by defi
nition, is not
news. It is garbage.
People that are in
the business of
gathering news
should be interested
in findings of fact,
not trampling on
pieces of already
shattered lives. The
Nielsen families do
not seem to recognize
this, however, and the
shameful trend continues.
It is time — frankly, it is well
past time — that the American people
recognized that those “average Ameri
cans” that are being subjected to me
dia scrutiny are no different from
them. The right to “be informed” (if
this warped brand of reporting can
even be called “information”) has
shoved aside a citizen’s right to live
their own life without outside interference.
Ifthe viewers of American television
show their contempt for the current crop of broad
cast joumalism by complaining, or, better yet, by
changing the channel, the press will change in or
der to survive. Then, perhaps, news will once
again become factual information and not some
garbage that should be recycled.
Freedom of the press is a wonderful concept.
The right of an individual is even more magnifi
cent. Currently, the two are at loggerheads with
each other because of the media’s view that
what it wants is more important that what the
public needs. The broadcast media is acting
like a bunch of spoiled brats and needs to grow
up. As soon as the American public does the
same, it can force the media to do just that.
Mark Passwaters is a senior electrical
engineering major.
RUBEN DELUNA/Thk Battalion
ecent assisted suicide case bees the question:
omeo survived?
HEATHER
CORBELL
in Verona, Italy.
Js is Crofton, Md., where two
[ibled 15-year-olds chose to
e a suicide pact in a graffiti-
ijered drainage pipe under the
m lat of separation. Jennifer Gar-
: ey took the .38-caliber revolver
her boyfriend handed her, put
to her temple and pulled the trig-
er. The boyfriend, whose name
as not been released to the media
lause he is a minor, was sup-
led to follow her into death. In-
Id, he ran to get help.
HOn April 17, he will be put on
ial for reckless endangennent, ille-
d possession of a handgun and as-
N de. The latter charge has
ked wide-spread controversy,
aryland law banning assisted
jicide went into effect 17 days be-
‘e Jennifer’s death. It is now be-
ig grossly misinterpreted in an at-
ipt to imprison a young man
jo chose life over death a few
jonds too late.
Maryland’s assisted suicide
| allows for prosecution of any
one who “knowingly provides the
physical means by which another
person commits or attempts to
commit suicide.”
Technically, the boyfriend is
legally and justly accused of the
crime. However, even his prosecu
tors admit that the law is really in
tended to deter people who poison
or otherwise end the lives of termi
nally ill patients and loved ones.
Jennifer Garvey’s boyfriend
is being prosecuted because of
the anger and frustration felt by
the Garvey family and investi
gating officials.
Granted, the boy is probably
bad news, even his mother said so.
His relationship with Jennifer was
violent, possessive and intense.
His hold on her was powerful, and
her parents could not stand him. If
the law had allowed, they would
have done anything to keep him
from their daughter. Now, the law
is allowing for some degree of re
taliation, and Jennifer’s parents
are grabbing for it. Her mother
stated on ABC’s “20/20” that she
wishes the boyfriend had followed
through with the suicide pact and
shot himself along with Jennifer.
She believes that her daughter was
betrayed in the final moments of
her young life.
That is not the attitude of a per
son seeking justice — to wish for
two bodies instead of one — and
certainly not the compassion that a
parent should feel for all children.
Her comments are just samples of
the rhetoric that has surrounded
this trial, and none of it is good for
Jennifer’s boyfriend.
This boy obviously needs love,
support and professional help. So
far he has encountered nothing but
hostility. Psychiatrists say that a
mentally stable person is inca
pable of soberly taking his or her
own life. Jennifer Garvey and her
boyfriend both struggled with
mental illness, in the form of man
ic depression, for years. The
young man identified Jennifer as
someone with torment like his,
mastenninded a suicide plot and
put a gun into the hands of a con
fused 15-year-old. He might even
have had the guts to follow her to
the grave if she had not flung the
gun into some debris as she fell to
the ground.
Fie is mentally unstable, and
the state would do better to help
him instead of putting him through
another emotional battle. This bat
tle, however, may land him behind
bars. Assisted suicide is a felony
in Maryland with a sentence of up
to one year in prison and a
$10,000 fine.
Jennifer’s boyfriend had every
intention of killing himself. He
was not hidden in a culvert with
the sole purpose of helping her
commit suicide. He was there be
cause he was in pain, and Jennifer,
whom her parents were planning
to send to an uncle in Oregon to
get her away from the bad rela
tionship, was the only person who
could ease it.
Like in Gaston Leroux’s
Phantom of the Opera, Jennifer
and her boyfriend chose death
over separation. The boyfriend
was not assisting anything. He
thought he was winning, defeating
his demons once and for all.
The now 16-year-old boyfriend
is obviously a danger to himself
and others. Perhaps Jennifer
would be alive today if not for his
influence. His action in providing
the revolver that Jennifer used to
take her life is what prosecutors
are using against him in the assist
ed suicide trial. However, she is
the one who pulled the trigger, and
it obviously changed his life when
he was faced with the reality of
death. He carries the burden of
some responsibility for her death,
but it should not be a burden
which is increased by the state.
Every day, he will wake to face
the spectre of Jennifer, sprawled in
a culvert bleeding to death with
powder marks on her hands. That
should be punishment enough.
Tips for students’ pursuit
of the perfect summer job
Heather Corbell is a junior
English major.
The Battalion encour
ages letters to the edi
tor. Letters must be
300 words or less and
include the author’s
name, class and phone
number.
The opinion editor re
serves the right to edit
letters for length,
style,and accuracy. Let
ters may be submitted
in person at 013 Reed
McDonald with a valid
student ID. Letters may
also be mailed to:
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Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
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Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: battletters@hot-
mail.com
I t's the time of year when most people have
decided what they'll be doing for the sum
mer. I am not one of those people. Right
now I am in the thick of figuring out some
thing to do that will keep me off the streets
during those long hot summer days. And I've
accumulated some wisdom about the matter
that will be off no use to anyone since most of
you already know what you're doing.
One of the first things I have discovered is
that the mass of college folk seeking summer
activities is a veritable gold mine for employ
ers. Imagine having a huge mass of relatively
educated workers who are willing to doing
charity work for free. Why? Perhaps the "ex
perience," is worth more than any sum of
money less than ten thousand dollars. But if
you have to decide between ten grand and
"experience" and you choose the latter, may
your God help you.
Perhaps I am being a
cynic about these things.
For example, my father
continually reminds me
that one of the best sum
mer experiences he had
was paying money re
build a Shaker village in
the sweltering Pennsyl
vania heat. This first
struck me as an inge
nious scam — a scam I
assumed was far below
the clean-living psyche
of the Shaker mind. But
Be wary of the
enterprising Shaker
asking you to pay
him money for the
experience of
building a "genuine
Shaker casino."
for the sake of argument, I will treat this as a bor
derline case.. After all, perhaps it is worth paying
money to go build something for the Shakers ? as
long as it's the essentials ? a house, a bam, and an
irrigation system, etc. However, be wary of the
enterprising Shaker asking you to pay him mon
ey for the experience of building a "genuine
Shaker casino."
There are a couple of ways to tell if you've
been duped in your choice of summer-building
activity. First, if you get to the project site and
find out that your colleagues in labor are sever
al hundred migrant workers from Mexico, you
might want to hit the road and take that sum
mer job at Wendy's. Also, you should raise an
eyebrow if you notice that you are much more
cheerful than your fellow workers, perhaps
you are the only one whistling. This is proba
bly an indicator that they are working more
from dire economic need than from the charac
ter building benefits of a hard day's work.
Some of us might pay an institution to help
a professor do scientific research, others might
accept a "stipend" to intern at some company
or other. And there is one thing that we should
all accept about these sorts of opportunities:
We are definitely a source of cheap labor. Our
bosses are paying us with "experience," which
will not pay off'a college loan, fill up a gas
tank or, for some of us, pay off large, potential
ly life-threatening gambling debts. But there
seems to be a general consensus that experi
ence is good for us mentally, or something.
There are several kinds of pay internships
to be had. The worst kind is what I will call the
"menial task" internship. With these you spend
your days doing menial tasks for your employ
er for free or a measly stipend. You make
copies and coffee and deliver things to spare
your poor, impoverished corporation the Fed
Ex fees. You might get a reference from your
boss giving the vague impression you actually
did something having to do with the business
of the company, but most future employers
will not be fooled. In short, if you take a me
nial task internship, you either feel a bizarre
sense of compassion for
the welfare of your lo
cal profit-making enter
prise, or you are a suck
er. Either way, avoid the
menial task internship
at all cost.
Then there is the in
ternship where you actu
ally do interesting things
having to do with the
business of your em
ployer. This internship
has no name, but don't
forget it because it's the
best kind. I had an internship at a magazine two
years ago. I worked long hard hours for a boss
who would have been a fine drill sergeant in the
Marines if he had not made it as a journalist. By
the end of the summer I had learned a lot about
joumalism and how to work for a direct descen-
dent of Attila the Hun.
Then finally there is the "sit-on-your-butt"
internship, and the even better "sit-on-your
butt-and-get-paid," internship. You will find
out you have this kind of internship when, after
a few weeks of you sitting around the office
and sending emails, everyone realize there re
ally nothing for you to do, and your presence
becomes the joke of the office. Your boss has
to give you some sort of reference unless you
nearly burnt the place down by not fully
putting out that cigarette you threw in the trash
after smoking on your lunch break. The deal is
obviously even sweeter if you're getting paid.
All of us college interns can exact our revenge
vicariously on the world of intern employers
through the lives of these lucky few.
Matthew Dalton is a columnist for the
Brown Daily Herald at Brown University