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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2001)
Monday, Febmar dotjday, February 19, 2001 Opinion THE BATTALION he Caccti defeated Wcsi 1 Quest 83-81 mate Meredii! ih 76 points, •li Meghan Noti ised with the ted this seaso Stick to noting Arnold Schwarzenegger should not try hand at political career I to the triptoGj •ceiled. Con\e:M% mold Schwarzenegger has lantil is homeifrfl spent much of his acting ca- "oud to takelBl reer trying lid. “I'mrea o ippear believ- t.” ible in roles he has ' next actio: 10business play- en they hos ng. Many people mships at N poked on while he itumbled as the ouch, yet sensi- ivi police officer, nsideratii n Kindergarten Iso placed I fob, and when he spoke unintelligi- utterfly wil|ly in Twins. Apparently tired of of 54.68 ant icting, the Austrian is flirting with id-place 8 he idea of running for California I'Bernor. wish toplatilBchwarzenegger became a U.S: ot to be haf:|ti/en in 1983 and received his sidering 1 first taste of politics when former / with pneuroBsident George Bush appointed Hi to head the President’s Council I that the pni an Physical Fitness in 1990. When feet on Ho' isHed in a recent interview with l|Hk magazine if he had ever con- said thattl hdered running for California gov- ;oodenougl irnor, Schwarzenegger replied, AA champi ‘01' yeah, I think about it many II probably hues. The possibility is there be- is year. aailse I feel it inside. nan Alex «'• feel there are a lot of people in her first Ending still and not doing enough, >he finished there’s a vacuum.” fOO-yard ft! Schwarzenegger is apparently so J NCAAco »er|ous that he has a Website dedi- 12.92. Baldre| at p t0 his cause — Schwarzeneg- n the 200-yi ?er2002.com. w immino ai chwarzenegger is the latest in an ips will be Hming number of entertainers try- f. on Marcl n g 10 dabble in the political sphere. Afone point last year, Warren Beatty an| Cybill Shepherd were both con- ally good g sidering running for president, rtunate west -The fact remains, however, that actors are qualified to do just that Aggies will—’-act. They should not be afforded nts. He also tny political power or influence nds and diseased on their popularity and lerson alsorwealth. Entertainers have no busi- with 22poiriess telling others how to stand on s to the co|ojitical issues — they are simply t host' the 3ut of their league. This country 3oys at 8:30[W does not need another Jesse Ventu ra. It needs people skilled in poli tics, not bodybuilding or acting. “My advice to Arnold, as a friend, is ‘Continue with your movie career, Arnold, don’t get in volved in it. It won’t be worth it to you,’ ” said Ventura of Schwarzenegger. It will not be worth it for anyone else, either. Schwarzenegger is, however, connected to the most recognizable Democratic political family, the Kennedys, through his marriage to Maria Shriver. Arnold would be running as a Republican, but he insists that Shriver “will be 100 percent behind me.” What did Schwarzenegger say when asked to respond to reports that he used drugs? “I inhaled, ex haled, everything.” This is a great example to set for the kids of California — they will all want to shoot steroids so they can get big, like their potential gov ernor. But it gets better. Schwarzenegger said that the Republican Party should “love the foreigner ... as much as the gay per son, [or] a lesbian person.” How sensitive of you to include foreign ers, gays and lesbians, Schwarzenegger, but the heavy ac cent will not win many votes. Sen sitivity to others should not be a concession on Schwarzenegger’s part but something expected of most politicians. Having a few movies to one’s credit is not a license to run for pub lic office. Entertainers should limit themselves to entertaining people on the big screen, not as elected of ficials. If Schwarzenegger really wants to make a difference, he should focus his attention on a problem that has been plaguing the country for decades — his acting. George Deutsch is a sophomore journalism major. Mail Call — Careful research on courses can help p" jUjschedule process ■ /n response to Thomas Campbell’s Bb. 16 column. ■ in his article, Thomas Campbell pointed out that it was the student’s lob to learn and the professor’s job to assign grades based on the amount that a student learned. The flaw in this plan is that not everyone lehrns in the same manner or re sponds well to the same testing practices. ■ Every student learns in a different way. Some learn more effectively by piading while others learn better by w „, visual aids, such as overheads or ex- ijjyjn£\ ■noles. For some students, atten dance is a problem because of work, organizations or just the fact that 8 'a.im. is too early. Other students feel more comfortable with true/false and multiple-choice tests, still others believe they demonstrate what they T, UKAW* ,i y have learned better through essay tests and projects. Pickaprof was designed to allow students to pre-qualify their profes sors before they ever enter the class room. If students plan to take History 105, they can go to the Pickaprof site and look at the student evaluations. By reading what fellow students have written, they can find the profes sor who gives essay tests and likes students who come to office hours to ask questions, takes attendance for a grade and tests from material dis cussed in lecture. Another student can find a profes sor who gives multiple-choice tests, does hot take attendance, lectures in class, but tests solely from the book and reserve readings in the library. The more information that stu dents have before going into registra tion, the more educated a decision they will make. The result will be bet ter performance in classes, and a higher GPR. James Abell Class of '99 Not Too Late Clinton can y and should, be impeached M arc Rich was indict ed in 1983 for $48 million in tax fraud and then charged with buy ing more than $200 million in oil from Iran in 1979 in violation of a U.S. trade em bargo. The latter transaction was made while U.S. hostages were being held in Tehran. Nearly 18 years later, after fleeing the U.S. to avoid trial for his offenses, Rich was granted an 1 Ith-hour pardon from President Clinton. Despite the fact the Rich had no merit in his petition for pardon — a fugitive at large, de nouncing his U.S. citizenship and living in Switzerland — Rich was still granted immuni ty by Clinton for the “merits” of the case. It has been widely reported that Rich’s ex- wife, Denise Rich, who orchestrated the effort for her former husband’s pardon, has been a major contributor to the causes — and pockets — of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Since 1993, Denise Rich has contributed more than $1.3 million to the Clintons, including $450,000 to Clinton’s presidential libfary, and $10,000 to his legal defense fund. Congress should carefully examine Rich’s pardon, because of the suspicious circum stances surrounding it. According to Aden Spector, R-Pa., in a “FoxNews Sunday” inter view on Feb. 11, Clinton could technically still be impeached. Because this offense was com mitted while Clinton was in office, he could be impeached. If convicted, Clinton could lose his pension, allowances for offices, appropria tions for his presidential library and the use of Secret Service bodyguards. It is no accident that a million dollar con tributor’s — and petitioner’s — ex-husband received a last-hour pardon overlooking his anti-American actions for more than two decades. Rich milked the American govern ment of $48 million and has lived in luxury for the past 18 years in in Switzerland, only to be pardoned by the American government be cause of his “merits.” The “merits” Clinton cited in this case, though not specifically stated, are frightening ly clear. Rich’s virtue is that he is like Clinton. He is a greedy, unethical criminal. Therefore, they should both be held by the same standard: Clinton should be indicted and impeached for selling his powers as president. The American public should be outraged by Clinton’s actions in granting petition to this criminal. Moreover, the American public should be livid over the apparent quid pro quo reasons Clinton signed Rich’s freedom. One would be hard-pressed to find another administration as scandal-ridden as Clinton’s. Through most of his two terms, he enjoyed considerable job approval ratings and support from Democrats in Congress. Clinton’s spokespeople and supporters continually in sisted that allegations against him for Filegate, Whitewater, Paula Jones, illegal campaign contributions, perjury and illegal fund-raising activities were apparitions of wrongdoing and a set up by Clinton’s right-wing enemies. It has'become clear through Clinton’s ac tions during his administration that he can be bought, and in turn will buy favors for himself (as evidenced by his $700,000 settlement with Paula Jones). Clinton requested preferred nation trading status with China after allegedly accepting il legal campaign contributions from Chinese corporations, despite China’s reluctance to comply with.United Nations humanitarian concerns. He allegedly held White House coffees in exchange for sizable donations to the Democ ratic Party from attendees. Now Clinton finds himself locked in controversy behind his par don of a wanted fugitive after the man’s ex- wife contributed more than $1 million to Clin ton’s causes. It is Congress’ duty to closely examine this apparent favor for Denise Rich. Though the president's power to pardon is constitutionally absolute, impeachment in this case would pro vide the proper checks and balances in the sys tem to ensure that other presidents do not abuse this privilege. Chris Carter is a senior speech communication major. Page 11 } Military should get pay raises A fter the Clinton years of decreased spend ing and downsiz ing the military, President Bush is fulfilling his campaign promise of pushing for military pay raises. In Bush’s weekly radio address, he said, “They deserve ... long-overdue improvements in their pay, housing and standard of living.” ; In the last eight years, military , « pay has increased only 9 percent, 1 \ and Bush’s proposed raise will add another 4.6 percent. Since the Persian Gulf War, the ! military has decreased from almost 900,000 soldiers to less than 500,000 active soldiers. Some of this loss is because of the discharge • of unneccesary soldiers, but the mil-, itary fails to gain new recruits be- [ cause of low pay. In addition to the $ l .4 billion to go to pay increases, $3.9 billion will increase health care benefits . and $400 million will improve housing. Hopefully, the added - benefits will help build the morale of this once-proud army and to en tice America’s youth to join the military. Bush’s plans for the mili tary include counteracting the re cent downsize, and the only way the military will be able to in- !> crease the number of recruits will be if the pay can compete with civilian jobs. These pay hikes are long over due and much needed for the mili tary, whose morale is considered to be at an all-time low, according to The Washington Post. More raises will be needed, but Bush has made a good start by proposing these raises. During the last few years, U.S. « servicemen and -women have been deployed to the Persian Gulf area, Africa, Croatia, Pakistan, India and Haiti, among other places. The mil itary has decreased in size, but the area it patrols has increased. The $400 million allotted to up grading military housing is still not enough. More than two-thirds of the military’s 300,000 housing units were graded inadequate, de spite the minimalist approach to rating these homes. One estimate stated that the total cost of rebuild ing all the homes would be around . $20 billion. While rebuilding is not needed in all cases, it may be needed in many. A new recruit makes a little less; than $ l ,000 a month right out of boot camp. With Bush’s proposed pay increase, these signees will get a much-needed pay increase of equivalent to a month’s salary every year. This should lift a great burden on servicemen and women, but it is still not enough. Soldiers on the lower pay scale , need to be given a more substan tial raise. Their raise is a large per cent, but it still keeps many mar ried soldiers salaries at or below poverty level. The mid-level pay scale is also being greatly improved in order to keep skilled labor to in the mili tary. Bush has also proposed an es timated $l billion in incentives for soldiers to stay in the military. These extra incentives will help keep these soldiers, who are often considered the most skilled in the military. Losing these soldiers would be a great detriment to the military, because it takes years of training to replace each one. In all, this pay increase may prove to be much too small. Addi tional housing allowances are needed to bring the substandard living conditions up to code. Pay increases will be essential if Bush decides that there is a clear and present need to rebuild the mili tary. America’s youth will not want to sign their youth away for less than $1,000 a month. These pay increases show Bush’s support for the military, but this support needs to grow. m L 4 ,■4 ! > THOMAS CAMPBELL Thomas Campbell is a junior speech communication major.