The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, August 01, 2000, Image 5

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    Tuesday, August IJi|
Feelgood
iouse Session
urtesy of Higher
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mixed CD forar
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nal house musi
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seems to represe::
on the Hig
el. The most not;
good's mixing is
rasing. Each si
uilds in conjunction
t, making the mixes
ndulating.
n starts slow
iuse tracks, but real
steam with its first
n 8
wever, the album's
immediately follow
omes out of "Sing
remix of the same
le want to listen toa
they will hit the
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continues with disco
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of Orgy's cover of
"Blue Monday." This
■ and very danceable,
almost totally differ-
e original and the
lesday. August 1,2000
Jl.
THE BATTALION
mothers and sisters
xpelling members with children contradicts meaning of Greek life
. JLv
undreds
of
young
omen will soon
ock to Texas
&M with high
opesofbecom-
ig Greek. Em-
arking upon a
ew chapter in their lives, these
dies plan to pledge their time,
roney and energy to a new family
Sing it Back"by fsisters. After being initiated, many
orority women will begin to build
|ieir lives around their new identity,
listing their sisters like family.
At this time last year, a single
other went through rush thinking
would be a good way to meet
leople. During rush, however, she
id not mention she had a daugh-
|er. Upon pledgeship, she, like other
ledges, made a "personality
age" introducing herself to her fel-
xw pledge sisters. She included a
licture of her daughter.
Disgusted that this pledge
ould defame the reputation of the
orority chapter by hiding her
notherhood during rush, the new
jrogramming chair told this young
nother not to return to sorority
unctions. To top things off, the
)ledge was told that, if she left qui-
tly, the chapter would consider her
in "honorary initiate" upon her
raduation.
Although this case is individual,
t is conceivable that similar situa
tions have occurred at other times,
but were handled more privately.
Pledges who have children should
not have to experience such dis
crimination, but should be given
equal'opportunity to join a sorority.
While each chapter is expected to
establish and uphold its own stan
dards, the actions of this sorority's
chapter defy what sororities are
supposed to stand for — sister-
his is an excellent
with great songs and
ng. Closet Donna
unite. (Grade: B)
— Jason
ra^
isic @ Work
tesy of London-Sire
Records
imeone's dying! The
to crying! The agony
uite. OK, joke's over,
g the new album by
v Hip?
Vork, the latest from
and The Tragically
ly the most annoying
vear. No other record-
r spells disaster as
±
ong with this horrid
Po begin with, the
mg. Absolutley noth-
le catches the ear. The
eks buyers will heal
i on the CD, but the
mers. Apparently Th
a were trying to avoid D
ri sales with this dis- a ' u ll
irding. The CD's nan-
and the lead sinj
? are the only reasons
not fall asleep
Writer suspension shows paper’s political agen-
rpi-
I:
istrumental andelef
s. The 14 tracks, sin 1 '
? musically rotten,
ally Hip are not main
ier artists with a snu
uding Radiohead ar
have increased
hood, loyalty and trust.
The National Panhellenic Con
ference is not authorized to make
specific policies on such issues as
as accepting mothers as pledges.
Likewise, the Panhellenic Council
at A&M does not set specific stan
dards for individual member
groups, but coordinates the best in
terests of the Greek community.
Panhellenic adviser Meg Manning
said that Panhellenic deals with the
organizational aspects of Greek life,
similar to the way a city's chamber
of commerce overlooks its individ
ual members.
Basically, the object of the asso
ciation, according to the bylaws
and constitution of the Panhellenic
Council, is to "develop and main
tain fraternity life and interfraterni
ty relations at the high level of ac
complishment" and to "cooperate
with member-fraternities and the
University administration in con
cern for the maintenance of high
social and moral standards."
Each sorority defines its own
set of high social and moral stan
dards, and within
each chapter, there is
a standards board
that privately deals
with disci
pline issues.
So when a
member gets
kicked out of a sorori
ty, all of the facts are
not publicly known.
Unique to each
chapter, the criteria
for social probation
or expulsion are un
derstood by those
who pledge. Al
though a member
must take an oath to
uphold certain val
ues, people who join
sororities do not in
tend to shame the sorority with
something like motherhood. To re
ject a sister because of something
like motherhood makes a mockery
of Greek principles and ideals.
Being in a sorority should be
about creating lasting friendships
that endure through thick and
thin. A woman enduring such a
challenge as raising a child should
be able to rely on her sisters for
support and comfort rather than
fear their judgment. The moral
standard to be considered most
should be that of sisterhood. Peo
ple who want to join a sorority do
so because it provides a sense of
belonging and safety. The actions
of sororities that react to situations
with such distaste demonstrate
their ignorance toward the princi
ples on which they were first
founded.
A&M is commonly known as
a conservative school, and Col
lege Station is home to many
families, so an unwed mother in
a sorority is more likely to be
frowned upon in
such an envi
ronment. At
A&M,
sororities intended to promote
unity and togetherness have ne
glected to meet the needs of
young mothers. If one cannot
turn to family for support, al
most all hope is lost. Sororities
are positive social groups. How
ever, a sorority that would ex
clude a girl just because she is a
mother should study their oaths
and remember why they came
together in the first place. Sorori
ty sisters should be able to de
pend on one another, especially
in a time of need.
Amber Rasco is a junior
journalism major
BRANDON HENDERSON/Thk Battalion
he newspaper
business, like any
other job out there,
las its fair share of in-
eroffice politics. Writers
ind editors can act like
polled brats when a
writer puts something in.
irint that they do not
gree with. Most of the time, however, matu-
ity prevails and the problems are ironed out.
This, apparently, does not apply to The
: oston Globe. Its tragic attempt at censorship
iiill' as P roven that it is still in need of a pacifier
nice little nap.
Jeff Jacoby, a columnist for The Globe, was
uspended for four months without pay for
in article that ran on July 4. In his article, Ja-
»by mentioned the fates that met some of
.ose who signed the Declaration of Indepen-
The Completists,"ii ^ ence - Jacoby failed to mention in his article
the other tracks art ^ he found some of the information — and
combination of (f Corret T e d some inaccurate information —
<y voices that over a pi ece widely distributed on the Inter-
jet and printed in an Ann Landers column.
The Globe's editors suspended liim,
creaming all the while with righteous in-
lignation that Jacoby had soiled the "good
land has a small f 'ame" of the paper by plagiarizing,
i following who wJ An appropriate price for a minor faux
Work regardless of* las ' or a P ur g e of a dissenting view? Con-
music on the albui® Bering other past lapses in journalistic in
tegrity by The Globe, one smells a rat.
The Globe is a liberal paper in a liberal
tjown in a state that is sometimes called The
y releasing fantaslf People's Democratic Republic of Massachu-
slightly obscure Jetts. Jacoby is a conservative writer; in fact,
ically Hip will n®
rounds with MiisU.
? contrary, they ra
)ple off with their nC i «. ■ . » .
Inefficient use of water
irlnd^explains shortage
ind torture to he® : In response to Stuart Hutson’s July 27
ummarize the rest® article.
me.
ally Hip have ani# I read the article about on-campus
i, and they have if conservation and had to laugh. 1
release good alb# Woulcl like to venture my own idea
sic @ Work is anytl* about wh y water supply officials cannot
her, this album is# f' 11 th® on-campus water tower. I be-
Grade: F).
— Dewey BaiiG \ .
he is the sole conservative on The Globe's
opinion/editorial staff. Jacoby had the au
dacity to say in a column that he was op
posed to gay marriages and he wrote some
pieces that criticized President Clinton. Ac
cording to The Boston Phoenix, this outraged
many of his coworkers, including two homo
sexual copy editors who encouraged other
members of the staff to "get (Jacoby) back
for his homophobia." When Jacoby was sus
pended, The Media Research Center noted
that he was informed there would be a "seri
ous rethink" of how
and what he could
write in his columns if
he returned.
In other words, Ja
coby would be cen
sored. This hypocritical
act is far beyond a rea
sonable punishment
for Jacoby's crime and
becomes even more questionable when look
ing at the way The Globe handled problems
with other writers. In essence, Jacoby is being
run out of town for getting his facts straight.
This may be why The Globe is so angry with
him; it has coddled writers such as other
opinion writers Mike Barnicle and Patricia
Smith, who wrote as "fact" information that
was about as real as the boogeyman.
The Globe refrained from taking action
against Barnicle and Smith after they repeat
edly invented sources and quotes and pla
giarized other people's work. For these re
peated lapses in integrity, Barnicle and
Smith were never suspended. It took a mas-
There is every reason to
condemn The Globe
not only for being
unfair, but for lacking
of professionalism.
sive outcry from other publications and The
Globe's parent company, the New York Times
Corporation, to get Smith and Barnicle fired.
Likewise, according to the Media Research
Center, The Globe's former city hall bureau
chief was given the light punishment of be
ing transferred to another post after it be
came known that he had gotten a recom
mendation to a Harvard fellowship from
then Mayor Tom Menino — the very man
that he was supposed to be covering.
Now, in an election year. The Globe is go
ing to crucify Jacoby for
running something fac
tually accurate? No$ not
really: It is merely a pre
text for a group of liber
als to silence an opposing
viewpoint. The four-
month suspension for Ja
coby will end, conve
niently enough, just after
the Nov. 7 election. Until
then, The Globe will be able to print liberal
columns without any opposition from the
other side of the aisle.
There is every reason to condemn The
Globe not only for being unfair, but for lacking
professionalism. The Globe has played fast
and loose with the truth before and has actu
ally protected writers like Barnicle and Smith
for doing so. It seems convenient that the first
— and perhaps only — time The Boston Globe
decides to stick up for the paper's journalistic
values and ethics, the target happens to be
the lone conservative on the staff.
Until the elections in November, The
Globe might as well write love sonnets to Al
Gore and the Democratic party because, in
suspending Jacoby, it has muzzled the lone
conservative voice. Apparently, the right to
free speech exists in Boston when those
speaking say exactly what The Globe wants
them to. While The Globe attempts to put it
self on an ivory throne of morality on this
non-issue, it is plain to see that its arrogance
lacks merit.
Jack Thomas, another Globe writer who
apparently holds Jacoby in disdain for his
views, lashed out at his suspended colleague
in his July 17 column. Thomas said that Jaco
by should be made a city reporter, so he
could "write about homeless shelters, upwed
mothers, gay teenagers.... It would make him
a better .columnist because he'd learn some
thing about the newspaper business. And he
might learn something about life."
If Jacoby wants to learn something about
the newspaper business — or, more precise
ly, what is wrong with it — he need look no
further than Thomas and his other hypocrit
ical colleagues. Since Jacoby does not toe the
(Democratic) party line. Globe employees
have effectively trampled the Constitution
to silence him.
If that is the "newspaper business"
Thomas speaks of, it should be gutted and
all those involved in it should be fired. It is
clear that The Boston Globe is not interested in
truth and accuracy in reporting. It is interest
ed in pushing certain points of view. That is
one truth that is painful to see.
Mark Passwaters is a senior
electrical engineering major.
Mail Call
lieve the lack of water stems from
A&M’s aggressive policy of watering
the streets and sidewalks on campus.
Every day for years, the irrigation
system on campus has effectively wa
tered much of Bizzell and Spence
streets, as well as several parts of
West Campus paving.
I think that if A&M water officials
realized how much water they were
putting into the University’s storm
sewer system instead of on the fo
liage, they would understand why they
cannot meet all water demands. In
times of short water supply, perhaps
the answer is not always to cut back,
but to become more efficient in using
what water we have.
Matthew Zeve
Class of ‘99
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Let
ters must be 300 words or less and include the au
thor’s name, class and phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters
for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submit
ted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid stu
dent ID. Letters may also be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
014 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
Page 5
Viewpoints
eBay loses credibility
with auction removal
F bunded in 1995, eBay describes itself
as the world’s premier online trading
community. Everything from automo
biles and Navajo rugs to clothing and
baseball cards can be found and bid on.
Recently, however, eBay has been under
considerable scrutiny from federal regula
tory agencies over the authenticity of
some of the products its users auction. In
stead of defending their sales method,
eBay officials have given into federal pres
sure and are now enforcing strict policies.
In late July, an online auction featuring
purported pieces of Egypt’s Great Pyramid
of Cheops was canceled after questions
were raised about both its authenticity
and legality. In the text part of his adver
tisement, a seller called “brsteve” wrote,
“This is an actual piece of the Great Pyra
mid of Egypt. On my first trip to Egypt, it
was still possible to climb to the top of the
pyramid. Now, because of the deteriora
tion of the limestone, it is no longer legal
to climb the outside of the pyramids.” Offi
cials shut down the sale of the pyramid
pieces, which garnered bids as high as
$40. Kevin Pursglove of eBay Inc. ex
plained: Either the item listed was accu
rately described, which would be potential
ly illegal, or it was inaccurately described,
which would be fraudulent. Neither eBay
nor potential buyers could verify the origin
of the pieces, so the sale was closed.
The logic used by eBay officials is per
plexing. If the origin of the pieces cannot
be verified, then the claim made by
“brsteve” cannot be disproved, either. As
was stated in the auction’s text, the
piece was taken when it was still legal to
climb the pyramid. If eBay, acting on be
half of federal regulatory agencies, shuts
down the auction, then the burden of dis
proving the seller's claim rests with eBay.
EBay is the ultimate free market. Much
of the success that Ebay Inc. has had is
due to its simple, yet strong, business
model. Most children remember the in
tense baseball card trading sessions of
their younger days. Everyone was a CEO
as mergers and acquisitions occurred
every day. No regulatory agencies sat in
on these sessions. It was up to the
traders to verify the legitimacy of their
trades. That was a simpler time, but eBay
started with the same idealistic princi
pals. Baseball-card trading was a free
market and it should continue to be with
eBay.
Some monitoring of eBay is needed to
prevent rampant fraud. But eBay has bro
ken one of its own rules by shutting
down a member’s auction without being
able to disprove his advertising.
—Luke McMahan
Chaney best choice
for VP nomination
T here have been several one-word de
scriptions of George W. Bush’s se
lection of Dick Cheney as his vice-
presidential nominee. Among them are
“safe,” “solid” and “dull.”
How about “good”? Cheney accumu
lated a remarkable resume during his
time in public service and is known as a
capable man. Considering the lacklus
ter competition for the slot, Cheney was
Bush’s best choice.
Cheney brings an increased sense of
competence to the Bush ticket; no
longer can Democrats say that Bush
has no clue of how Washington works.
With a former White House chief of -
staff, member of Congress and secre
tary of defense as his running mate,
Bush has someone who can provide
solid advice based on past experience.
The Democrats have attempted to
label Cheney as an extremist who fore
tells bad things to come from a Bush
administration. They might as well stop
whining and concentrate on who Vice
President Al Gore is going to select as
his running mate, because the Ameri
can people simply do not seem to be
interested in any more negative cam
paigning. The tactic is especially un
wise when dealing with someone like
Cheney, whom the public remembers
from Operation Desert Storm as a gen
uinely good and competent man.
Accusations that Cheney is some
what bland may be warranted. However,
unlike whoever becomes the Democratic
vice-presidential nominee, Cheney’s
boss is not the candidate whose person
ality stacks up unfavorably with that of a
block of wood. Cheney is a man who is
not only qualified to be vice president,
but president as well. He is also a very
loyal man who will fit nicely into Bush s
call for “compassionate conservatism.”
Vice presidential candidates do not win
elections. However, they can lose them
(see Quayle, Dan). Bush’s choice of Ch
eney adds consistent ability to the ticket
and places the onus on Gore to find some
one equally capable of fitting his platform.
—Mark Passwaters