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Nov. 7, America
will elect a new
president. Among
those visiting the polls will be
the elderly, the wealthy, people
of all races, Republicans and
Democrats.
Generally, college-age citi
zens do not show up at the polls
when election time comes
around.
As a generation, new voters
must break the trend of past
generations and make their
voices heard on Capitol Hill
not only by registering to
vote, but by making a choice
on Election Day.
A recent poll conducted by
the Kaiser Family Foundation
and MTV shows that only
one-half of people ages 18 to
24 are registered to vote, and
only 46 percent of those reg
istered intend to vote.
Essentially, only one in
four of America’s young
MARCUS
WHITE
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nee the 1960s had
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taries and school chS-
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Veek.”
e 1970s, the Chinese
ill conduct
ation of
oon and
ely join
mtional
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adults exercises his
right to vote.
" The reasons why
they choose not to
vote range from apa
thy to ignorance.
Some college-age vot
ers find the voting sys-
tern difficult to work
with while in school.
Also, the youth of America are often
convinced candidates and politicians
largely ignore issues that concern col
lege-age voters.
".Aside from on-campus groups such as
TAMU College Republicans and Texas
Aggie Democrats, many students at
Texas A&M are unfamiliar with the plat
forms each candidate supports.
As a result, many choose not to vote
Essentially, only one
in four of America's
young adults exercis
es his right to vote.
at the polls, leaving their concerns un
voiced in the political arena.
Tim Nevotti, a junior biomedical sci
ence major, will vote in this year’s presi
dential election.
What Nevotti finds disturbing about
both candidates, hdwever, is the relative
apathy toward subjects and issues close
to college students’ hearts.
“It seems like all politicians discuss
are issues like Social Security, gun con
trol or welfare,” Nevotti said.
“Granted, these are important to
many people, but they do not really af
fect my daily life.”
There is no doubt the candidates
make transparent attempts to gain popu
larity with the young voters.
Most recently, MTV aired a town hall
meeting with Gore.
Like his predecessor, current Presi
dent Bill Clinton, Gore discussed his
platforms and campaign promises with
an audience of more than 150 young men
and women.
Programs like MTV’s “Choose or
Lose,” which sponsored the Gore forum,
work to familiarize America’s youth with
the ideals of each political party.
Often, as was the case with the Gore
interview, MTV allows what could be an
informative discussion on issues to di
gress into another episode of “Total Re
quest Live.”
Instead of hearing Gore’s plans for
America’s voting-age population in de
tail, MTV viewers discovered that Gore
listens to Sister Hazel and is friends with
Tommy Lee Jones.
Politicians, until forced to do so, will
not put much emphasis on what they be
lieve college-age voters want.
Issues like financial aid for college
students and civil rights will inevitably
take a back seat to Medicare, defense
spending and Social Security.
They have discovered that, as a group,
voters age 18 to 24 do not go to the polls
when the time comes.
As citizens of the United States, it is
the obligation of all those eligible to vote
to become involved in the democratic
process by voting.
The Kaiser/MTV poll showed that 70
percent of 18-24-year-olds polled be
lieved that a change in presidents would
have little to no effect on their day-to-
day lives.
The only way to get issues that col
lege-age voters believe to be important to
the top of the political agenda is to prove
to candidates that they will vote for the
nominee and party that best represent
them.
Hopefully, college-age students will
find their way to the voting booths this
November.
Marcus White is a sophomore general
studies major.
o children allowed Kids in Olympics questionable
uccessfully tested!
anned exploration
tnned Shenzhou.or
’ in orbit last
F rom gymnastics to the pentathlon,
there is an alarming trend relating
to the age of athletes who qualify
for the Olympics — they are too
young.
When the average age for girls who
participate in Olympic gymnastics is
17, there is something wrong with
Olympic age regulations.
There should be restrictions on the
ge of Olympic participants. It is safe to say that many
7-j 15- and 13-year-olds are physically or mentally ma-
ire for the stress of the Olympics.
Many people say that if 13-year-olds are skilled
nough to make the Olympics, they should be able to
(articipate.
This is an absCtrd concept. It is unacceptable for a
ild to be in the same athletic category as a veteran 25-
ear-old, no matter how good he or she is at a sport.
It would be more understandable for 13-year-olds to
larticipate in the Olympics if there were not a lower cate-
;ory of Olympics such as the Junior Olympics. Some
ports in the Junior Olympics accept athletes ranging
rom 8 to 23 years of age.
There are no excuses for 13-year-olds in the
llympics; they should only be allowed to participate in
he Junior Olympics. The Junior Olympics are designed
o be a preparation for larger competitions such as the
ilympics.
The Olympics are a very stressful, intensive competi
tion. The best of the best compete.
How can children handle this pressure? Some physi
cians believe that with a younger Olympian, more
injuries are likely to occur during the
Games. Most 13-year-olds do not
have the physical abilities to handle
the stress on the body the
Olympics create.
Dominique Moceanu is an ex
ample of a child who was al
lowed to participate in the 1996
Summer Olympic Games in At
lanta at the ripe old age of 14.
The effects of her winning the
gold at the 1996 Olympic
games have been dubious.
Since the Olympics, she has
legally divorced her parents.
Moceanu wanted to control
her life because she said her .
parents and her coaches
pushed her too hard and
forced her to compete in major
competitions too early in her
life.
During a gymnastics exhibi
tion tour of the United States last
year, Moceanu said,"When I was
young, I had no clue.”
Maybe if the Olympics put age
regulation ons their participants, then things like
this would not have to happen.
When children at a very young age are forced
to give up their whole lives and divorce
their parents because they have the
chance to go to the Olympics, there
is a huge problem that needs to be
dealt with.
It is ludicrous to consider the
Olympic sport of women’s
gymnastics.
These little girls are by no
definition women. When a
20-year-old is considered to
be in the last years of her
Olympic competition, some
thing is wrong with the way
the Games are structured.
No matter what, the
Olympics should be revered
as successful and re
spectable athletic events.
The athletes who partici
pate in these Games are the
best at their sports, but some
are just too young.
There must be some regulation of
attas ion The age of. Olympians,
Sunnye Owens is a junior journalism
major.
Mail Call
< I
to send astronaut?
United States at)<t
ly nations with do-
iace programs. ,
media reports in-
I test-flight could
year’s end and?’
may soon follow'-
little about 1 d
only that manned
)llow “successful
anned experimen-
specific about the
rm goals: “We will
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national activities
on.”
n, a rocket scientist
of the China Asso-
s, added that one
house permanent
ft and astronauts
:re that can genef-
arth.
riticism of polygamy
column hypocritical
In response to Sarah Albers' Oct. 2
Vail Call.
4 heartily applaud Albers’ defense of
tehreligion from the ungodly hordes of po-
ygamists, but I must take issue with her
Accusations against Greenwood and his
esearch practices.
, bis column, though not uproariously
finny, was a satirical stab at an almost
lead practice in this country.
^ 1 Albers’ holier-than-thou message was
Jnwarranted, as were her accusations of
leceit. She asserts that Greenwood has
Tot done his homework. I suggest that
Perhaps she has not done hers, either.
Of the four Scripture passages she cit
ed, l found three of them to have nothing
to.do with polygamy.
. Two of those (Jer 3:1 & Proverbs 5:18-
l?) were warnings against adultery (which
differs from polygamy), and one was an ex
cerpt from a love poem in which the au
thor expounds on his lover’s beauty but
hakes no mention of the polygamy vs.
honogamy issue (Song of Solomon 4).
The only passage relevant to the issue
Was Ephesians 5:31. One should consid
er, however, that most of the original Chris
tians were Jewish converts, no strangers
to the concept of polygamy, as seen by Old
Testament writings.
Paul, author of the passage, was one
such convert. He, however, was born a Ro
man citizen and therefore shared the Ro
man cultural distaste for polygamy, as
mentioned in Greenwood’s article.
I find polygamy to be an immoral prac
tice, but I seriously doubt that Green
wood’s article is going to inspire Aggies to
take up the practice.
Remember John 8:7, “Let you who is
without sin cast the first stone.”
Kevin Gifford
Class of ‘03
Red Raider impressed
by Aggie unity
I am a proud Red Raider — have been
and always will be. However, my recent
visit to your University showed me a new
meaning of the word pride.
As I sat shoulder to shoulder in Kyle
Field playing “Fight, Raider, Fight” with
the Coin’ Band from Raiderland, I saw
for the first time what true school pride
should be.
I looked upon a stadium filled with ma
roon and proud Aggies screaming “Beat
the Hell...”
We are sometimes lucky to have our
student section — two sections of Jones
Stadium — even partially full. Half of Kyle
Field seemed to have been made up en
tirely of students.
For your pride, unity and spirit that you
show for the simple fact that you are Ag
gies, I commend you alj.
Matt Holt
Class of‘03, Texas Tech University
Photo misrepresents
student’s support
In response to Sept. 21 photograph.
The picture displayed a group of Bonfire
workers listening to the Student Senate’s
debate on President Bowen’s Bonfire reso
lution. I was featured in this picture with
the caption, “Students in support of off-
campus bonfire listen to speakers at Stu
dent Senate meeting...”
I was not there in support of off-cam-
pus bonfire, nor was there in support of
Bowen’s resolution.
I was there because I am a senior from
Mclnnis Hall who loves to build Aggie Bon
fire. I have been to virtually every pre-cut,
cut, unload, stack shift and even a few
load shifts since I came to this University.
I was there hoping there was a possibil
ity of getting those things back in a Univer
sity-sponsored Aggie Bonfire because they
are the backbone of dorm life and unity.
Brandon McDermott
Class of ‘01
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Columns and letters appearing in The Battalion express
the opinion of the authors only. They do not necessarily re
flect the opinion of other Battalion staff members, the Texas
A&M student body, regents, administrators, faculty or staff.
ANDREW
STEPHENSON
A DIFFERENT
VIEWPOINT
Affirmative-action issue skewed
any articles
have been
Sprinted in the
past few years discussing
the perceived racism
problem at Texas A&M
and other colleges
throughout Texas. It
seems a study is done
every week, or some vis
iting professor has a comment to make con
cerning the attitudes on campus.
However, few of these people are doing
anything to solve the perceived problem.
They are, instead, creating problems where
there are none, or in some cases making
small problems out to be very large.
Recently, professor Robeit Jensen of the
University of Texas-Austin spoke at A&M to
discuss the attitudes of Caucasians and affir
mative action in America. It was his belief that
affirmative action is already prevalent in a rel
atively Caucasian-dominated society for its
Caucasian citizens, and that a white man in to
day’s society is granted more privileges than a
minority member. He admitted that he was no
expert on race, simply a “dumb-ass white boy
from North Dakota” exploring a world in
which white men receive undeniable privilege.
I do not feel that 1 have been given unde
niable privilege throughout my life. 1 do not
believe that many, if any at all, of my life ex
periences would have been altered il my
skin had happened to be a different color.
My family was by no means rich; most ot
the time we were barely getting by. This was
never used as an excuse for anything, and
my parents expected nothing less than my
best in whatever I did, from band to football
to schoolwork. 1 was able to maintain good
grades, and thus I was lucky enough to be
admitted into a great school. Texas A&M
even gave me a scholarship.
As a white person, I real
ize that I may not always
be able to see certain ex
amples of discrimination.
if I was a minority, however, 1 could have
possibly received a larger award. There are even
those students who have comparatively lower
grades and come from better backgrounds than
white students. These students can be given a
scholarship that is of a greater amount, while
maintaining a lower grade-point average.
As a white person, 1 realize that I may not
always be able to see certain examples of
discrimination. Motivated by this realiza
tion, 1 spoke with an African-American stu
dent in my dormitory, and got his opinion on
racism on campus.
Under terms of anonymity, he told me, “I
feel like I should not be judged just because
of who I am. I do not think that I should be
accepted into this University because I am
black. I do not feel like any organization
should accept me just because 1 am black. I
do not feel like anyone should give me any
special treatment just because I am black.”
When affirmative action was brought up,
his comment was, “I do not think there will
ever be complete equality because ... by af
firmative action [life] is racist.”
Another subject discussed was whether a
certain hostility existed on campus toward
minority students, whether by other students
or by the administration.
“I do not think that [hostility] has any
thing to do with this University, because
anywhere I go there is always going to be
one ignorant person in the group that has
something to say. I came here not because
this is a black school, I did not come here be
cause it is a white school, I came here be
cause I wanted to get an education,” he said.
Granted, this one person does not necessarily
reflect the views of all minorities on this cam
pus. However, his opinions do provide insight.
Certainly, today’s world is not perfect,
for any race. How can it be right for people
to be judged on the basis of their skin color,
one way or the other?
The University recently did a study of mi
norities who were accepted to A&M but
chose not to attend. The top reasons that
were cited were lack of financial aid and
lack of personal attention. This raises the
question, “Why should any students be sin
gled out for special treatment? ’
There is definitely no easy solution to the
problems of discrimination and reverse dis
crimination, but a start would definitely be
to remove the little boxes that are checked
on any forms students and prospective em
ployees fill out.
The fact that A&M gives prospective stu
dents little special treatment is a good thing.
It shows that the University is doing its best
to look at each student as an individual, not
as a race.
Once everyone begins to view people
simply as who they are — not what color
they are or where they are from — it will
bring society one step closer to unity.
Andrew Stephenson is a sophomore
environmental design major.