Mondav\
f^Jy, March 5, 2001
ion
Opi NION
Page 11
THE BATTALION
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nderage does not mean stupid
\nti-tobacco groups should stay focused on facts when educating teenagers
e 1990s were an im-
ijportant decade for oppo-
fients of cigarette smok-
to have advaciglThey succeeded in
elt good,”CaiBining numerous settle-
ted. I set mytients from tobacco compa-
hem. I had a kies, managed to kill Joe
tship and did'amel and other tobacco ad-
qualify, bute; : ertising campaigns aimed
iward children, limited the places where
good day,’' mokers could light yp, stopped tobacco ad-
Rawon. “It ertising targeting teens and increased adver-
)bviously,ThfiJsiIg against the use of tobacco.
' happy withit Wor the 21 st century, anti-tobacco advocates
s have severs ppe.u to be even more determined to protect
oare before Tenagers from the dangers of smoking. As a re
’s. ult, it is virtually impossible to turn on the tele-
ision without seeing a commercial designed to
' Hvince teens that smoking is not cool.
LSo far, all the resources used to teach teens
C* TY1 About the dangers of smoking have done little
*'*’“*■ ■H^bourb smoking. The incidence of first tobac-
a iiB 156 increased by 30 percent and first daily
itv* 86 ' mcreased by 50 percent between 1988 and
i l J6, according to data from the National
k. ■ (i lolisehold Survey on Drug Abuse. The Ameri-
)ma Univers an ^ eart Association says that as of 2000,
rsity Texas nore t ^ lan 6,000 people under 18 years old try
■sity* ofTexajEl c |§ arette eac h day, and more than 3,000 per-
icdist Univer ;0ns under 18 years old become daily smokers
Jniversity.M. :Ver y day. A survey conducted by the Harvard
. WichitaStt'jcbool for Public Health in 1998 showed that
Jniversity,® 'inoking among college students increased by
liversity off38 percent between 1993 and 1997.
Kansas, fewThese numbers would imply that anti-
Universityofitmoking financial resources are not being
ie teampoitioqpent in a way that deters teenage smoking,
d ^^ a0stas ® s fact becomes even more evident when
ind McKenzie® watches the latest round of anti-smoking
'dkleuv idvertising. TheTruth.corn’s recent advertising
■iTa usec * a num her of different gim-
id said or d er to portray “Big Tobacco” in a
us some conti® ative ]i g ht ’ including using a large pile of
i as we bringtliffy bags to visualize how many people die
orial.” t F 0m c ig arette smoking-related deaths in an
average year. One commercial even portrayed
anti-tobacco activists driving a truck through
an upscale neighborhood where tobacco exec
utives supposedly lived and pointing out how
much money tobacco company executives
make from selling cigarettes.
These commercials underestimate the intelli
gence of the average teen. It is terribly obvious
that the people producing the commercials are
fanatics, and it is difficult for anyone to accept
the argument of someone who is so obsessed
with their cause that they seem willing to do
anything to convince the public that their view is
correct. Rather than appearing as a voice of wis
dom, they appear to be promoting blatant propa
ganda, making them difficult to take seriously.
They also do their best to make the tobacco
industry’s advertising appear to be a devious at
tempt to subconsciously trick the American pop
ulation, especially teens, into smoking. This
“Magic Bullet” mentality, which assumes that
advertisements affects people in uniform, pow
erful ways, is outdated, and this theory has since
been discarded.
However, TheTruth.com’s Website would
have visitors believe that the tobacco industry is
using its advertisements to force teens to smoke.
The site also declares that tobacco companies
are “good at what they do, but they are afraid of
us discovering the truth about what they have
done.” This kind of over-the-top language
makes it difficult to take them seriously.
Since anti-tobacco advertising is having little
effect, anti-tobacco advocates must find new
ways to spread their message. Simply annoying
people with self-righteous commercials will not
have the effect these advocates want — in fact,
it may have the opposite effect. If they want to
stop teen smoking, they need to better focus
their resources by either replacing their current
commercials with ones that will have an impact
on teenage smoking or with an entirely different
program altogether. Otherwise they might as
well just light up the money they are wasting.
Richard. Bray is a sophomore
journalism major.
* 4* -fc * <» * .» 4* «
MU should not
) A. Ljy e benefits to gays
:za
hSt.
72
ast week.
Southern
ethodist
Diversity
|SMU) an-
ounced plans .
3 extend med
al benefits
.nd reduced tu-
tion to same-sex partners of em-
iloyees. This controversial deci-
ton comes at a time when the
Jnited Methodist Church’s inter-
lal disagreement over same-sex
mions is threatening to segment
he 8.5 million-member Christian
lenomination.
The benefits, which will in-
lude medical and dental insur-
ince and reduced tuition, are to be
ivailable in 2002, according to the
Associated Press.
The Dallas-based SMU will be-
ome one of about 150 of the
ountry’s 3,300 higher learning in
stitutions offering such benefits.
The Human Rights Campaign
dentified Rice University as the
only other Texas university with a
similar policy.
Though SMU faculty and ad
ministration may regard the new
policy as more inclusive and
therefore attractive to potential
employees and students, it actu
ally undermines the legitimacy of
what should be a Christ-centered
institution.
Those familiar with the Christ
ian faith know that it adheres to
several ideological tenets, not the
least of which forbids the practice
of homosexuality.
Willfully abandoning these
tenets is equivalent to abandoning
Christianity because they are in
separable. SMU should not offer
benefits to same-sex couples. By
granting benefits reserved for mar
ried couples to homosexual cou
ples, SMU is acknowledging ho
mosexuality as an acceptable
alternative lifestyle, thereby com
promising the values of the Christ
ian university.
SMU, as a Methodist universi
ty, should reflect Christian values
and the ideals delineated in the
Bible. According to the book of
Leviticus, a man should “not lie
with a man as one lies with a
woman; that is detestable.”
Morgan Olsen, SMU vice pres
ident for business and finance, told
The Dallas Morning News that the
plan was a good business decision.
“It was becoming clear that
many employers nationally are
offering this benefit,” he said.
“This is necessary to ensure that
SMU recruits and retains the best
people.”
However, some of the universi
ty’s Christian students could be of
fended by the new provision. Stu
dents seeking an education at a
Christian university might dislike
the idea of benefits for partners of
gay instructors, especially if these
students consider homosexuality a
moral wrong. SMU students were
not even given any say in the is
sue. Instead, the SMU Faculty
Senate made the ruling.
Homosexuality should not gain
mass acceptance from the nation’s
religious universities. When a uni
versity like SMU condemns ho
mosexuality as immoral, yet
grants two men living together the
same rights as a married couple, it
is being hypocritical.
Universities should be inclu
sive and politically correct, but not
so much so that they compromise
their most fundamental values.
George Deutsch is a
sophomore journalism major.
The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 300 words
or less and Include 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 McDonald with a valid student
ID. Letters may also be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mall Call
014 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1.1.11
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
HISD needs Hispanic leader
E ver since Rod Paige was
whisked off to Washing
ton, D.C., by President
Bush to fulfill his appoint
ment as Education Secretary,
there has been much grum
bling in the Hispanic commu
nity about who will succeed
him as Houston Independent
School District (HISD) su
perintendent. The HISD board of trustees, in
typical fashion, has no idea what they will do.
Hispanic leaders are calling for the next super
intendent to be Hispanic, and the community
truly deserves a Hispanic superintendent. But if
the past is a good litmus test, we can expect the
board to hang Hispanics out to dry.
Hispanic students now make up 54 percent
of HISD’s students, and if present population
growth trends continue, this number will in
crease even more in coming years. One would
think that with Hispanic students in the majori
ty, their parents would have no problem being
heard. However, as soon as it became clear the
superintendent job was open, local Hispanic
leaders began preparing for an all-out war with
the board.
Hispanics apparently have not forgotten the
last time the board bungled its way through the
superintendent selection process. In 1994, the
board met behind closed doors for two hours be
fore making the surprise announcement that there
Mail Call
would be no national search for a new superinten
dent. Instead, the job was given to Paige, an
African-American, thanks to a bloc vote of Cau
casian and African- American board members.
Many Hispanics felt completely left out of the
process. Who could blame them? They were the
most affected group and yet they had the least in
fluence in the process. “They weren’t inclusive
in allowing the community to be a part of the
process,” said parent Rosemary Covalt.
So this time around, Hispanics are naturally
suspicious. The League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC) is not only requesting that the
next superintendent be Hispanic, but is also form
ing its own superintendent search committee.
“Our mission and goal is still the same; we
can’t let our guard down,” said LULAC
spokesman Johnny Mata.
LULAC may be treating this like a war, but
it could be the only way to get some respect.
Despite the obvious statistics showing the pre
dominance of Hispanic students in the school
system, the trustees show no signs of favoring
a Hispanic superintendent.
The board agrees that Hispanics deserve a su
perintendent who is sensitive to Hispanic needs,
but they seem to think that this person could be
someone of any ethnicity. Even Paige has
weighed in, saying his successor should be a per
son “who cares about all people and can do the
best job for all children,” regardless of ethnicity.
Of course, this statement comes from a guy who
was hand-picked for Bush’s diversity-friendly *
cabinet.
Despite the rhetoric, the next HISD superin- 7
tendent should be Hispanic. It sounds nice to j
want a superintendent who is colorblind and »
loves all children equally, but the fact remains 1
that the Hispanic community has special con
cerns that are not shared by Caucasians and *
African-Americans, like bilingual education and
immigration issues.
These problems will only grow as the per- *
centage of Hispanic students rises. A Hispanic
superintendent would be familiar with these is- ».
sues and would be well equipped to handle them
in a sensitive and understanding manner!
In addition, a Hispanic superintendent wouM'
provide Hispanic students with a much-needed *
role model. At a time when there is a relative
shortage of Hispanic leaders to African-Ameri- -
can and Caucasian leaders, a Hispanic superin
tendent could gp a long way toward inspiring
Hispanic students to believe in themselves.
HISD trustees should take advantage of this *
opportunity to reach out to the Hispanic commu
nity and show they are really interested in making
the selection process a community decision.
Making a decision behind closed doors is tanta- -
mount to the smoke-filled rooms of early national
political conventions and should not be tolerated.
Matt Cannon is a senior
biomedical science major.
Evolution, creation
are both unproven
In response to Matt Cannon’s
March 1 article.
. Matt Cannon is right when he
says, “Evolution is based on the
same evidence that all other scientif
ic theories are based upon.” He even
seems to understand that “science
relies on solid, empirical evidence,”
yet he fails to provide any such evi
dence for the theory of evolution.
With remarkable consistency, he mix
es theory with fact, science with sup
position and emotion with reason.
Evolution is, in fact, a theory. It is
unproven. It is based on the same ev
idence as the theory of creation,
which is also unproven. Neither theo
ry is provable using the scientific
method, which, as Cannon admits,
demands experimentation and obser
vation. Nobody was around to ob
serve the “big bang,” if it happened,
or sample the “primordial soup.”
Most sciences, in fact, suggest
that the theory of evolution is se-
CARTOON OF THE DAY
verely flawed for example, the basic
tenet of evolution depends upon a
biogenesis, which has never been
observed in nature or in a laborato
ry. Likewise, evolution as a whole de
pends on random beneficial net in
crease in genetic information over
time, which is exactly the opposite
of what is shown by the solid, empiri
cal evidence.
Radiometric dating has been
proven to be inaccurate when mea
suring igneous rocks of known ages,
and carbon dating is theoretically ac
curate only to a few thousanql years.
We have no way to scientific^ verify
any dates older than a few thffijsand
years because nobody was agfcmdJto
take the measurements.
Simply put, the scientific evidence
against evolution is significant if not
overwhelming. Yet, this fact is rarely,
if ever, mentioned in textbooks. True
science is ignored for the sake of
propagating belief in a nice, clean,
godless theory. This, in reality, is a re
ligion in and of itself. It is called secu
lar humanism.
Jor\Qprdner
Class of ’89
THE OF A \>£A»4
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