Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2001)
LION o PINION Page 5 THE BATTALION buted as No. I Charts, selling t s first week. -s totali’ng 79 l t Is, Lateraliu 1 f-indulgence v ilnerable first - Inand with its t~ ofthealbum, list 13t, Fool hasr'eek, bad sports allowed ourt decision on golfer Martin )es along with Disabilities Act i ig album that to to today’s rock. The jwerfulqml Tool shine he me tdecid- it Casey in can , it is obvious| motor _ ► re intelligen;lr 0 ]f cart w hile playing on i \ e band hasK^^ "p our Martin has a fern BRIEANNE PORTER i that they aitlgnrtjyg circulatory dis- lt,C " iSln his right leg, which uxteralus is hnl severc ain w p cn an Tour rules state that it eavy, fl» er j ias to p e . a i J } e to walk h hole course to play, in sued in federal courts r the 1990 American with Dilities Act (.-ADA) to be :o use a golf cart during The court agreed with in that the use of a cart, in se, does not fundamental- track, “Theler the game. The riding u down a pat® fair and logical example an and enenr Be scope of the ADA. terful chany-Many critics of the ruling aades thatpusrtne court was just being I and the ruling was not ling to nomugln the scope of the law. J formats, foe.■ his dissent, Justice Antonio dbum that v: ajj., sa icl, “the majority had the patiem:^ w jtli a benevolent compas- 1 of i he piili. , n ,| ra t the law- does not place >f rage, continuousli er hy^pnotizft best describe; .llenging. drumming is al, with a pon ce that creates be matched. ‘Schism,” fa i with pin our power to impose. ass inrr0V ' 1tIl '«he AIDA does state that ocals by May- n that noothei : rompare with r shows a hat is equally : unconscious and basses. Mie Texas leg bol” is exquisittH islature re- harmony ofvo-BL cently passed an .Arabic tingtlather bill affect- nto the secottK teenage drivers. , the more h'^ording to the irabola,” showH t j e h neS) i an( j inionship these yjyear-olds will be rohibited from mg l icks <11’ jjh i n g between midnight and 5 a.m., lose to the F'- xcept to and from a job, for work on a earlier albums.®-jy f arm? f or school-related activi- ■aw aggressso [e | or £ or mec b ca } emergencies. In ad- ^ntin diis m i!:-j| ()n ^ teena g ers under the age of 18 luni 1 s ill teu roi) y not b e allowed to drive with msmess — JL e t b an one passenger under 21, ex- n f et • . ,* s ’ ept: for their brothers and sisters with mm . au £ Kj r p arents ’ permission. The new , «r 1 taduated driver’s license bill is de- '' u L1 ^ ®ied to reduce teenage accidents, opens with m D : quickly grabl_ ith classic hyp- d and finishes - nding sending ne spine. The* d “Reflection,' ■ 11 minutes, isI owners of public places, which includes golf courses, must make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities provided that the modifications do not se riously alter the nature of die ac tivity. Allowing Martin to use a cart to travel the course does not fundamentally alter the game. The game is not about walking; it is about the skill of hitting the ball. “.From early on, the essence of the game has been shot mak ing,” wrote Justice John Paul Stevens. "The nding does not al low for everyone to use a cart, but only those with medically qualified, permanent disabilities. In the majority opinion, Jus tice Stevens went on to say that Martin’s claim is different from others because he does not have the capacity to walk the course, while others have the capacity but find it difficult or uncomfortable. This language makes the standard for apply ing for a cart more restrictive. In its arguments, the PGA said “that the walking rule served the purpose of injecting the element of fatigue into the competition,” according to the New York Times. Martin used this argument in his favor when the previous trial court found that he would have at least as much fatigue riding in a cart as the other players did walking. The court agreed with this finding and used it when deciding the case. Some golfers say that back injuries or knee surgeries may allow others to apply for a golf cart. Yet, the language of the ruling is specific, stating that the disability must be perma nent and that the applicant must not have the physical ca pacity to,walk the approximate ly five miles of the course. In other words, just because someone has some difficulty or gets uncomfortable walking does not mean the person will be able to use a cart. “The court stressed the need to evaluate each case on an in dividual basis,” according to the Times. This decision is not a blanket ruling, and leaves it up to other courts and the PGA to decide how it will im pact the game of golf. Although the ruling opens the door for many more court battles, it was still a fair deci sion, based on the ADA. Brieanne Porter is a junior political science major. ADRIAN CALCANEO/Th-f Battalion Teenage drivers need training, not restrictions r c< Although statistics may suggest this is a potential solution to the accident problem, it does nothing except take away the few freedoms still allowed to minors. Although the ban on driving be tween midnight and 5 a.m. is misguid ed, it is not the biggest problem with the bill. Most teens will still be able to drive at will by the time they are 17. However, not allowing minors to drive with more than one passenger is ridiculous. This will put a hardship on environmentally-conscious high school students wishing to carpool to school, work or the movies. In addi tion, high school students in rural ar eas often ride to school together be cause it is a long drive, and they cannot all afford gas money. However, it will present the largest problem for young college students. There is an increasing number of stu dents who graduate from high school at age 16 or 17, meaning they will not turn 18 until late in their freshman year of college. Attending college this young is enough of a hardship. Law makers should not put an additional burden on these students by telling them they are not allowed to drive when going out with a group of friends. This seems to be a particularly large mistake since chances are, a per son that young will probably be die first nominee for designated driver. All hardships aside, the bill is still not well thought out. There is no need to put further restrictions on licensed, physically capable drivers. Teenagers are not likely to suffer from age-related failing eyesight and are just as able to see at night as every one else. In addition, licensed teenagers should be just as able to op erate a vehicle as the next person — if not, they should not have been issued a driver’s license in the first place. That is why driver’s education classes and learner’s permits exist — to teach teens how to drive and allow them to work die kinks out of their perform ance before being issued a real license. If teenagers are more likely to have an accident, it is because diey were not trained and tested properly. Instead of putting restrictions on teens, the government should take steps to make driver’s education cours es, and the driving test itself, more rig orous. Many driving tests involve nothing more than driving slowly down an empty road, putting the car into reverse, and driving back to the testing site. This is hardly a measure of whether the person can cope in heavy traffic. It is no surprise that a person with limited experience driving in nor mal traffic is more likely to have a wreck than an experienced commuter. Instead of penalizing teenagers for their lack of knowledge, diey should be taught how to drive, correcdy and thoroughly, the first time. Then, not only would there be less wrecks, but teens would be able to keep their free dom as well. Jessica Crutcher is a junior journalism major. ITOON OF THE DAY ovements and along with po- ecipe for what a masterpiece :s these togeth- he introverted id challenging human mind. h'tmdon Payton om Page 1 Think This iou).” Simon from her fa- ire So Vain,’ her feelings men. "" TOV\C -rve op GMRtvnotsl y Dow -mvee -WVS C.LN3S... Moderates are American majority 1 is definitely hie. Do not iar her catchy ■ iring out of ummer. Ai ds on this al- been better, :he album is lissj ackson if ide A-) - Dim Ramos TVV5 IDHcPi The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or and include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and ac- •acy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid ident ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 014 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (979) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com (U-Wire) — The rumors swirled through the marble stairwells of the Senate and the ornate gardens of the Capitol. Whispers of shock met scoffs of disbelief at every office’s water cooler. Barely anyone dared ut ter the word — “independent.” It was almost too incredible to be true. And yet just like the removal of a single card from a card house, Jim Jeffords single- handedly brought the entire Republican Senate crashing to the ground. The Jeffords story is a perfect example of what happens when the moderates in any political party are stifled, not because the party disrespects their views but because the party’s ambi tions become too great. Moder ates are the gears in the com plex machinery of successful lawmaking and Jeffords’ depar ture should serve as a warning to both parties about the penal ties of political arrogance. Jeffords did not leave the Re publican Party because the par ty’s politics had lurched to the right. He left because they had taken him for granted. Respon sible policy-making is usually done over months of discussion, and sometimes years of debate. But President Bush’s tax cut could not wait. It was bad enough that a few conservative Democrats would have to be courted in order to prevent those ugly party-line votes and the appearance of uncompas sionate conservatism. But there was no room for tolerating the demands of liberal Republicans, the “weak sisters,” as some Re publicans call them. It was not so much the idea of a tax bill that bothered Jim Jef fords, but rather the way they went about passing it. At first they refused to compromise al together. Then, when it was clear that they had no choice but to compromise, Jeffords’ com plicity in the deal made him a marked man. After a debate over what essentially boils down to a $250 billion difference ($1.6 tril lion versus $1.35 trillion), the Republican Party threatened to punish Jeffords simply for a dif ference of opinion. Some con servative Republicans may now be thinking, “What’s a couple billion when we had the entire Senate on the line?” Forcing the tax cut was not the only reason that Jeffords had to leave. With regard to the Bush agenda, it was not a matter of policy disagreements, but rather the way the party dealt with those disagreements. For the first time in 50 years, Republicans had the op portunity to enact a thoroughly conservative agenda, and, like kids in a candy store, none of them wanted to listen to Jef fords who pleaded with them to slow down and make changes in moderation. For the past six months, the Bush White House has been digging out the GOP’s grand old policies, some of which have not been discussed by anyone other than Washington’s stand- up comedians for two decades or more. But the real problem is that he has presented these policies as if his several hundred Florida voters had turned into an overwhelming mandate for a Republican agenda, thanks to fairy godfather Jim Baker’s magic wand. Bush does not have the sup port of a mandate from the peo ple. He has been pursuing his agenda with only token com promise rather than acknowl edging the closeness of the 2000 election. Jeffords could no longer stay with the Republican Party be cause the GOP had forgotten that moderates’ opinions deserve recognition — not because they appear bipartisan, but because moderates’ opinions represent the vast majority of Americans’ opinions. Moderates help legislation be come something that is both rel evant and acceptable to the largest number of voters. Should moderates be allowed to make all the decisions? Ab solutely not, or we would end up with wishy-washy policies that accomplish almost nothing. But when moderates are shut out, or, even worse, kept quiet through subtle threats, a political party risks the marginalization of the American people. In the wake of the Jeffords de parture, John McCain called on his party to “grow up.” But one of the great things about chil dren is that their opinions and philosophies are not yet etched in stone. Maybe both parties need a bit of a refresher course in one of those elementary school lessons: the one that teaches respect. Dan Pollock The Dartmouth Dartmouth College