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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2000)
December 4, 2000 pet is not a toy \nimals a long-term commitment; must spay and neuter JESSICA CRUTCHER dependent time, to s tenure; i Sherrill^ he holi day sea son is the f year ormencrjjp the great- l| m tlimbers of eieluii. .{Are bought, i sy over (jetiKt it be latioti'. om shelters, ' on ' :t stores or n senedijjpaper advertisements. coactoi.» owever> many potential dmator not think through 1 * x: ! ieir actions before getting an read thereby harming both 1 !x letnselves and the animal in the met a' , n g run _ intonr: j n addition, those who deliber- ,<: 1 :ely breed their animals, hoping it. londrM^g a ]j tt j e ex t ra cnsp, f or t he ■ay season, make the situation H 6, r<l tr ^ ie * ters anc l P et stores are al- kWiJw full of unwanted animals, * tdkittens and puppies eventually ich Bobh'ov out of their initial cuteness, teamcoi ^ addition, many pet owners the Hui’gkct to get their pet spayed or moles y stored, thereby adding to the the BCSiani'm P r °t ) l em of animal over- \servesto' 0 P ll * a ti on ’ which is an enormous M)lem in the United States, mu {UjMlthough it is unlikely the t said "Iw* 6111 w '^ * :)e s °l ve d an y Or 06 ThefactM 1 ’ more responsible pet adop- 1 ol practices and increased spay- igand neutering will help. ’ Before adopting an animal, one ^ hould consider whether the size ) ' - 111 ' tilpersonality of the animal will ieat potential cl be No. Beds lifestyle. fc utthatpr™ n addition, especially in the \P miles; ase 0 f college students, one hould consider whether the ani- h Davy.nal will have a permanent home ach tlieBirUill end up at the shelter after yed in iishe student graduates. Beeping an animal for several /ears, then returning it to the shel- u ittun er | snot a so ] u ti on a t a n i s cru _ away Inland thoughtless and results in said, 'abandonment and death at the igaiml lands of a stranger, ia Ted- According to the Humane Soci- didever ity 0 f the United States, only 25 ve.” Rcent to 35 percent of animals at ib Stoopdhelters are adopted, how toWThe low adoption rates are not son, ant nd. We caused by a lack of effort on the part of the shelters, but by the con stant overload of stray, unwanted and abandoned animals. Healthy, friendly animals are euthanized daily because there is not enough room to board and feed them all. Adult animals are often the biggest victims of neglect and abandonment. Somehow, an adult Labrador loses much of its cuddliness once it loses the baby fuzz and hits the 80-pound mark. However, this is no excuse to take the animal to the shelter or give it away — prospective own ers should take the entire life span of an animal into account when choosing a pet. Before adopting an an imal, one should con sider whether the size and personality of the animal will be compat ible with the potential owner's lifestyle. Otherwise, the animal will end up abandoned, with little chance of finding another home. The saddest thing about shel ters is that adult animals are less likely to get adopted than puppies or kittens. It does not matter if the ani mal is housebroken, loves children, fetches the newspaper and can practically speak Eng lish: it will not get a sec ond glance if it must compete with the cute fuzzy babies the prospective owner thinks can be trained to “act just like I want them to.” The importance of spaying and neu tering pets cannot be emphasized enough. For example, ac cording to statistics from the Humane Society of the United States, one fertile cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in a seven-year period. Even if 35 percent, or 147,000, of these kittens are adopted, 273,000 kittens are left to be euth anized, simply because the owner was too lazy or uninformed to get the first cat spayed. The repercussions of thought less breeding and adopting of ani mals will continue in a deadly cy cle until pet owners become more responsible. Spaying and neutering animals is the first step. In addition, potential owners should think seriously about their actions before adopting an animal. Animals are living creatures with feelings, not toys to be dis carded on a whim. Jessica Crutcher is a junior journalism major. RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion ■e isn l “For at in’t have" step ahead ol the law Criminal celebrities should not be supported ions !7-24wUJ g 12 tilled MICHOLAS ROZNOVSKY te mericans have long been fasci nated by the lives ijthe rich and famous, ft seems that their fasci- lOthilimoH only increases .Mien the famous be- jt, Jlcome infamous. As evidenced by a :ent string of public ftures at odds with the law, Americans seem Vo have accepted the fact that stars are ove the reproach of societal norms. In a country where parents complain 5 SCJ about violent and otherwise inappropriate . content in everything from video games to ill w movies, it is odd that society seems to ac- j.n cept the illegal behavior of numerous celebrities. « If Americans are serious * ibyBo"- ■jQyt providing decent role jtbalkJ; models for their children, they Will put their money where their mouths are and stop sup- 1e importing criminal celebrities. IlC , «■ Last week, popular rap Tllofler Ol’ Dirty Bastard was ;C ‘I 00 Japprehended by police in the drive-thru lane of a Jhiladelphia McDonald’s restaurant. Better known to law enforce ment officials as Russell Tyrone Tin®- Jones, the 31-year old has been jtfdiiPwrested nine times in the past 13 riioie- months. rellie^j When captured last week, he had (KofW>een on the lam since he escaped from a Los Angeles drug-rehabilitation center n October. p,,. _ In addition to being wanted for violating 111999 probation agreement, Jones has sev- iral outstanding warrants in New York, ivhere he faces a number of drug and motor- vehicle charges. Instead of lying low, Jones taunted po lice. He even appeared on stage with his band Wu-Tang Clan at a packed perfor mance in New York City two weeks ago. I can’t stay on stage too long tonight — the cops is after me,” he said onstage. Before leaving, he vowed to evade po lice by living “like a bird,” living off “bird seeds or whatever — you’ll see.” Another recent example of celebrities choosing the wrong path is actor Robert Downey Jr. In what now seems to be a regular occur rence, Downey was found in possession of narcotics last week. He has been in and out of jail since 1996 for incidents involving controlled substances. pies! $ ft IQUE FORD/The Battalion Two days after his arrest, Downey posted bail and returned to the set of the Fox television series “Ally McBeal,” where he has landed a recurring guest role in hopes of resurrecting his acting career. No doubt looking at the increased ratings Downey has supposedly brought to the show. Fox executives issued statements last week welcoming Downey back to the set and wishing him the best in overcoming his “personal problem.” His problems may not end for quite some time. Downey is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 27, and he could get up to three years in jail for violating probation. Despite the possibility of prison time in his future, Downey is under contract to be gin filming a movie in January. Downey told Details maga zine during an interview in October, “The threat of prison has been eliminated for me. I know I can do time now.” The prospect of prison time for Downey is no doubt softened by the knowledge that he will still have acting prospects when he gets out. “He was in demand and will continue to be in demand as long as he’s available,” said Downey’s publicist, Alan Nierob. Downey suffers no real conse quences from his pattern of sub stance abuse. When A1 Gore admits to smok ing pot in college and George W. Bush re fuses to reveal any details about his youth, it is a scandal. When Robert Downey Jr. uses con trolled substances for a period of years and bounces in and out of cor rection facilities, it is a merely an interruption in his string of pay- checks. A few years ago, basketball star Charles Barkley caused a stir by declaring that he did not want to be anyone’s role model. Compared to the murders, rapists and ad dicts who abound in professional sports to day, Barkley looks like a saint. At this very moment, it appears that for mer Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth may receiVe the death penalty for allegedly orchestrating the death of his pregnant girlfriend. Former baseball star and long-time “re covering” substance abuser Darryl Straw berry was arrested in Tampa, Fla., just be fore Thanksgiving for driving under the influence and violating probation. Former Green Bay Packers star Mark Chmura is facing charges of third-degree sexual assault after attending an underage > drinking party and allegedly forcing a 17- year-old girl to have sex with him. NFL quarterback Warren Moon, Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and NHL goalie Patrick Roy have all been arrested on charges of domestic assault. There is nothing fair or sportsmanlike about a professional athlete abusing his wife or girlfriend, yet none of these athletes have been reprimanded by their leagues for their actions. An investigation by APBnews.com in June found that 18 percent of NBA players have been arrested at some point. Clearly, the notion of a professional ath lete does not include being a good citizen. It is clear that responsibility and respect for the law are not requirements for celebrities. They may receive legal slaps on the wrists, but there are no real repercussions for these household-name criminals. After serving their deferred probation sentences and perhaps making a few dona tions to selected charities, they are free to go forth and receive the love and adulation they so desperately craves from the public. It is time for the public to stop giving them this attention. Americans cannot criti cize the behavior of stars and then reward them by paying for their record, a ticket to their latest movie or a jersey with their names emblazoned on the back. It does not matter whether today’s super- stars want to be role models. They are. Americans should stop supporting crimi nals and start looking for better people to admire and ehiulate. Until they do, celebrities will continue to do whatever tlf3y please and not accept re sponsibility for their actions. •• ft y Nicholas Roznovsky is a senior political science major. Bye, Bubba Departure of Clinton filled with memories --life 7* —.? vd MARK PASSWATERS I n less than two months, it all will be over. Bill Clinton will be out of office. Outside of Hol lywood establish ment and over weight interns, the people who will be most distraught over Clinton’s departure will be columnists. Love him or hate him, Clinton made life easy for them. Now they have to work for a living! Look at all the things that colum nists will lose: Nicknames like “Bub ba,” “Billy Boy,” “perjurer,” “the extra value-president,” and “the comman- der-in-Krispy Kreme” will have to be retired. At least if Gore had won, columnists would still have the use of catchy zingers like “President An droid,” “C-3P0”, and “Albert Five.” So what are they left with? George W. Bush. And what can they call him, “Dubya”? That is bound to get boring after a few thousand uses. They also lose Clinton’s supporting cast, which is a shame as well. Gone will be Janet “I am the law” Reno, Bill “those nuclear secrets were there yesterday” Richardson, and Clinton’s entertaining entourage of lawyers. Gore eventually will go away, even Nicknames like "Bubba," "Billy Boy," "perjurer," "the extra value-presi dent, " and "the com- mander-in-Krispy Kreme" will have to be retired. though they will hear him kicking and screaming for months. They even lose Hillary ... oh, hello, Madam Senator. There are many other reasons that columnists will mourn Clintons depar ture. They have learned so many things from him, including: “Is” is a complicated word: If the most powerful man in the world can not comprehend the meaning of these two letters together, it must be tough. Chicks dig chubby guys: Clinton has given hope to overweight men everywhere. Besides the young lady in the beret, there were Jennifer, Paula, Kathleen and Juanita. So pack on the pounds — they are a babe magnet. Having problems at home or work? Blame Iraq!: Americans all know Sad dam Hussein is a bad guy, but it took the leadership of Clinton to prove that Hussein is the source of all the world’s evils. The president got caught with his pants down and had to apologize to the nation for his marital infidelity. He bombed Iraq the next day. The Repub licans decided to impeach him for his naughtiness, and Iraq was bombed the very same day. Bad Iraqis! Look what you made him do! China loves capitalism: Americans all thought that China’s government was a totalitarian nightmare that had no interest in opening up to the out side. Clinton proved China is. more than willing to play a game of econom ic give-and-take. You give a few hun dred thousand dollars; you take our nu clear secrets. Everyone loves a parade: And no body puts on a show quite like the U.S. armed forces. In an attempt to make everyone happy, the president sent them to places like Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. It is too bad that some people did not like the tunes and killed some of those troops. Think the rules stink? Blame the rule makers: What is a little perjury and obstruction of justice between friends? How rude of the Republicans to butt into someone’s personal matters. Yes, love him or hate him, Clinton will be greatly missed. He was, for eight years, the personification of en tertainment. Bush probably will not be nearly as interesting. To compete, he would have to clothesline Dick Gephardt on the floor of Congress, ap point a federal commission to find out who let the dogs out, or drop the “F- bomb” on Ted Koppel during “Night- line.” None of these things are likely to happen, and columnists will be left to mourn the days of yore. A hot rumor floating around * that Clinton will run for mayor of New York City in 2002. You have colum nists heartiest endorsement. Bill. Working for a living is a pain. Mark Passwaters is a senior electrical engineering major.