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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2000)
Page 15 Monday, Augusl 21,; thtitl ampionsk ay, August 28, 2000 THE BATTALION )er won her fourth straij unship finals MVPati ) 25 points, seven assists ' ounds in the clinchinaE en everyone countedusi l in there and showedd erseverance,” Cooper ss ,ild have let down today through Unity, roposed off-campus "wildcat' et me make some thing very clear — I am as pro ve got a game tomonwj )n fj re as anyone else i out and played tough linute.” sparks beat the Comets! this campus. Con- dering my current po tion, this assertion times in the regulars® ^ a lo e the favorites to unseiti v ,j|| ow ig champions. ButtheCoa nd went 6-0 in the plajof )er bid the fans fared ne celebration. : had a wonderful carat BA,” she said. “Youctd for a better time to got n top with the Hob as No. 1. This is it.” \ she hedged, know, right now I'm sail irs in the WNBA.Rigl centrating on thefourda is we won. oper doesn't return,Swoojt wn she’s at her peak® most of the 1997 season!: .‘hildbirth Strength bonfire should not be supported However, it must be .'ii last live regulars® a t e dthat these words are not coming om some pessimistic “two-percenter.” I OtF-campus bonFire Special Series Part 1 oF 2 Jive had the fortune of donning my . rodes, boots, pot and gloves at all hours noment, she said. Iveii fthe day in previous fall semesters. As eat y^ars^withte CoiwJ^ as j wou } c j [jpg to (j en y it, j have al- ays taken to heart the ideals of “unity” id “tradition” that are espoused in an ndless mantra at Texas A&M University. Considering all of this, it is natural that "Jam concerned with the possibility of an nofficial “wildcat” bonfire being held off tmpus. The driving force behind this bonfire is >wboy$ quire mtiago with professional engineers overseeing the work of students. Safety restrictions in cluding the elimination of “cut” and the drastic redesign of “stack” will be im posed. Common sense dictates that, for KTFB, its primary mission is accomplished. De spite whatever changes the University has made, the fire will keep burning — the tra dition has been saved. Bowen’s decision may not be good enough for KTFB. Too long, too little, essentially. Plans for the “wildcat” bonfire this fall are proceeding under a cloud of secrecy. Possible locations are being scoped out and a long line of former students has lined up to foot the bill. KTFB has made it very clear that its bonfire will not occur unless the student body supports it and improve ments over safety mid security can be made. It is at this turning point that all support for KTFB's efforts must stop. 1 do respect their gumption, attention to detail and “can-do” spirit. My respect pales in com parison to my level of anxiety and out rage. By not agreeing with the University’s position, KTFB and its supporters are making three major mis takes. First, they are essentially absolving the student body from any blame in the deaths of our 12 fellow Aggies. It would be say ing that the Special Commission on the 1999 Aggie Bonfire was incorrect — that Aggie culture does not need to be more flexible, that we do not need time to flush out the upperclassmen and start anew. I cannot accept that logic. Whether we like to face it or not, our inability to listen to constructive criticism in Bonfires past contributed to the tragedy of last year — no matter how safe and error-free previous Bonfires were. The blood is on our hands. Second, any indication of disunity and infighting between the student body and the University will invite the scrutiny of the national news media yet again. Al though they will return regardless to cover any memorial services and remembrances, it would be foolish for us to give them something negative to cover. My stomach turns at the thought of more news trucks and reporters than nec essary roaming our campus. Third, a poor example is being set for the Class of 2004. Along with the Class of 2003, these are the Aggies entrusted with resurrecting Bonfire. Upperclassmen — we cannot argue among ourselves while the fish class is hung out to dry. We must invite them into a united student body that will prepare them for the return of the le gitimate Bonfire. It is ironic that the Aggie ideals KTFB originally set out to preserve are now the very things they are obliviously set on un dermining. Think about it — Bonfire is a tradition rooted in unity and the preserva tion of the Aggie Spirit. By initially fight ing to preserve Bonfire itself, KTFB was fighting the good fight. But it must be understood that Bonfire is not an end within itself — it is one of many vehicles that convey those ideals we hold dear. By organizing an unofficial bon fire that conflicts with the University’s po sition, KTFB is inviting chaos. Students will be forced to choose sides — destroy ing any shred of unity among the student body. We need to think long and hard about the choice before us — I certainly have. Every fiber of my being tells me that the “wildcat” bonfire is wrong. David Lee is a senior economics and journalism major. Reminder of the bad old days lussian handling of submarine tragedy reminiscent of USSR ie student organization Keep the Fire urning (KTFB). Formed soon after the 999 Aggie Bonfire collapse, KTFB was a rassroots effort to save our sacred Bon re. Petitions were compiled, unified T tilts were distributed — their effort was xtremely commendable. If anything, IFB existed as a watchdog that influ- iced Texas A&M President Dr. Ray M. owen’s eventual decision not to end Bon 1NG (AP)—After a ME re. Based on that outcome, it is undeni- it ions for a third tighter; ^ that we owe this organization and its Has Cowboys acquiredO. lem bers a debt of gratitude, to tiom Atlanta on Sundt! However, these are the facts: Bowen’s ’ ^de-round draft picks, ff lc j a i decision mandates that Bonfire ason-ending mj.ry loK. cominl|e jn the fa|| of 20()2 a| , he ear . fit'm .'h'fhC-fnir esLAny future Bonfire construction on r and Jackie Harris. ^ on the shortest of leashes have joined LaFleurai blocking tight end on is 20 percent of the Co« ew offense las’ search includedtfi' one candidate, claimii r off waivers, signing .md looking at another; )n the roster. Cowboys were leanitfjjTlhe desperate at eeping two — a blocked I tempt to save the o and complement LaFls X ] 18 men trapped eceiver to back up HarrMj the Russian sub _ ie Falcons called S»€ |rme KmA is now ter a few hours of negw . Dallas agreed to give if ^ As a natlon round pick next yearaiF 10 - voun 8 men who died i-rounder in 2001. 0,1 the tloor of the Bar - ey’-d been watching fits Sea, many Russians i tight ends, so they sa#l|re angry and have begun to publicly wonder atentially interested,”Ctnihether the Russian government made a real wner Jerry Jones said. Jjtempt to rescue the trapped seamen, tiago caught 27 passes 1 Since the disaster was first reported on Aug rds and five touchdown: j2, t h e Russian government appeared, at first he year Atlanta reached! [different, and later inept in dealing with the pastrophe. Now, as the Russian people ourn their loved ones and Russian President ladimir Putin consoles the families of the de- ased, it is becoming clear to the grieving milies and the world at large that the “new” ussian government is really just the same So- ^ et bureaucracy under a different flag. GALLERY Throughout the crisis, the Russian govern- ent reacted just like its Soviet predecessor istomarily did — slowly, guardedly and often mtradictorily. Faced with the prospect of los g face and admitting weakness to the world, e Russian leaders chose to hold their cards fi r jaff i ose t0 t * ie * r chests. In the end, they gambled J ; ^ J f f /f vr) Jay the lives of 1r a i i '*i S *«*( [**1 IM u, ADRIAN CALCANEO/The Battalion fowl. ISi wn 118 young sailors. The Russian need for an immediate covemp quickly led to a number of conflicting reports. First, the submarine had been rammed by another Russian boat while conducting exer cises. Then it had been hit by a Western sub marine spying in the area. Finally, the Russians were able to admit the possibility existed that a massive internal explosion caused the ship to sink. Now, according to reports from the BBC, Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev still believes that a foreign submarine was involved in the sinking of the Kursk, although no firm evidence has surfaced to support such a claim. As details about the incident slowly emerge, many media outlets are concerned that a number of “facts” about the incident initially provided by the Russian government are ques tionable at best, such as the exact time of the incident and the reports of crewmen banging on the hull of the ship up to two days afterward. It now appears that the vast majority of the crew was killed in the initial explosion and subsequent influx of seawater into the hull. The amount of misinformation coming from the Russian government is confounding both the families of the dead seamen and journalists trying to uncover the truth surrounding the in cident. The frustration felt around the world was perhaps summed up best newspaper Ivestia when it asked, “What if they had not lied to us? ... Now it is too late.” Perhaps the most vexing question surround ing the tragedy concerns the Russian refusal of outside help with the rescue efforts. Although Putin now claims that the West’s offers were accepted “immediately,” the stark truth re mains that the United States and Britain pub licly offered assistance two days before Rus sians begrudgingly acquiesced to Western help. By the time the Russians swallowed their pride and admitted they could not undertake the rescue effort alone, the sailors on board the Kursk had probably all died. Many Russians are now wondering how many young sailors could have been saved if their government had put its people before its pride. A number of the victims’ families are ex pressing anger toward President Putin, a man known for his “hands-on” approach to govern ing, yet conspicuously detached from the Kursk affair. Instead of overseeing the rescue efforts personally, Putin left the job to his sub ordinates. In fact, he did not even feel the need to interrupt his own vacation. As he now visits the families of the dead, Putin is facing their indignation and frustration with his government. Although Putin and his administration claim to be guiding the Russian people into a new era of governance, the tragedy of the Kursk shows that the old habits of Soviet rule die hard. While the “new” Russians can hold out their hands for billions of dollars in eco nomic aid, they still cannot bring themselves to ask the West for help when they need it the most. By devoting its energies to covering up the Kursk incident, Russia has shown the same disregard for human life that the Soviet Union displayed while covering its own tracks after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In the end, it was not a lack of training or inferior maintenance work that killed the crew of the Kursk. Mother Russia consigned those men to their deaths. As the Russian government scrambles to assign blame for the tragedy and exonerate it self of any wrongdoing, it is doubtful that any one will re-evaluate the decisions that ulti mately doomed the sailors on board the Kursk. The government will undoubtedly make a very visible effort to assure its people that such an incident will never happen again. The Russ ian people will add the loss of the Kursk as an other sad chapter to their long and calamitous history. And since nothing will really change, the same Kremlin mind-set that killed the men aboard the Kursk will continue to cost inno cent Russians their lives. Nicholas Roznovsky is a senior political science major. Bull Board Good Bull — From the Freshman Welcome Day volun teers to the cadre of Corps of Cadets upperclassmen, hearty pats on the back are due for a surprisingly smooth on-cam pus move-in week. The mobs of lost freshmen, with mom and pop in tow, were minimized thanks to the volun teers’ hard work. Believe it or not, Parking, Traf fic and Transportation Services (PTTS) deserves some of the credit, too. The usual standstill traffic alongside the Commons and the Quadrangle was sped up to a tortoise’s crawl under PTTS’ watchful eye. If only it were as effective the rest of the year. Bad Bull — “I can’t be lieve the fat, naked gay dude won the million dollars!” This was the collective yell of frustration heard across the na tion Wednesday evening as the season finale of the reality tele vision show “Survivor” aired. Why the letdown? Because “Rich” — the victorious corpo rate trainer from Rhode Island — connived and schemed his way to the prize. Granted, he recognized the game's theme of self-preserva tion and did everything in his power to turn his castmates against each other. However, the “villain-esque” outcome allows everyone to lose a little more faith in the concept of fairness. — David Lee BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude 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 014 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mall Call 014 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University 1111TAMU College Station, Texas 77843 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (979) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmaii.com