ttalion >el IS diMsday, July 1 1, 2000 Opinion Page 5 THE BATTALION <-sing sprint to J|boot camp for minors in of the Tour ickeye, Ariz. 'The cause of sday, leavingL-ath was not known. How- )th-place finri er, the director of the boot Tying to wiiitFT- Charles Long, was in- ird straight for child abuse tck briefly in t ie >' e 1 ar *j?° at a sim J. lar . , a i tut Za\A od-# ie c * irectec ' at hort Apache. At the previ- M I n i ispamp, youths reported being kicked and inish. 1 ■ c intd to pursue the case, and the Department 0,11 :j uSt j ce neglected to pursue potential civil im to this scutjl ts violations. >urs, 34minutiBj 1 i s cnse should have been more thoroughly i Bstigated. The children in this disciplinary an Sunday’s!: )ot cam p may have committed some crime, but aas 10 stagen M ar e still children. Even the slightest possi- >urs. My of child abuse is unacceptable, and any nanuelMagr lih abuse allegations should be thoroughly in- esday, follovcMgated. io GarzeE Mi addition, police records show that Long ituart O’GndU arrested in 1989 after using a sledgehammer dh the sameriffliureak down the door of his ex-girlfriend’s res- yellow jersei leikce, according to The New York Times. ill leader. AfcMords also show that he was arrested in 1991 ed more than!Bp uncl ' lin & lier while fighting over their 3- ind Tuesdavanl»' 0 ^ son ' hhis man should not have been ■ overalllead » liste ^ caring for children in the first place. Iso credited fill M 1 ls enough that abusive parents are often inu time flowed to keep their children. However, be- *d un from llr^ Use current parental rights laws and govern- overalialfL|apathy, these situations often are unavoid- ^V ibk. However, hiring people who have have i ;rica ycMknt tendencies to care for children easily is ■ ‘ ’ ivoidable and utterly inexcusable. It does not Etiatter whether Long still acts on these violent tendencies. It is simply not worth the risk when dealing with the safety of children. “The camp’s regimen included forced marches, black uniforms, and a diet consisting of an apple for breakfast, a carrot for lunch and a bowl of beans for dinner,” according to The New York Times. In addition, no medical per sonnel were at the camp, and the children had been under the supervision of 17 - and 18 - year-old staff members. Obviously, the diet these children were al lowed does not come near meeting recommend ed daily values of nutrients. All questions of le gality aside, causing the children to become malnourished is hardly the best way to retrain their young minds. In addition, it is irresponsi ble to not keep medical personnel on site, con sidering the difficult physical regimen. Juvenile boot camps are meant to be discipli nary, but they are also meant to turn minors away from crime and violence, not toward it. Studies have shown that abused children are more likely to become criminals later in life. According to the National Institute of Justice, maltreatment in childhood increases the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53 percent, as an adult by 38 percent, and for a violent crime by 38 percent. With this in mind, boot camps should be much more careful to whom they entrust the care of they troubled children. There is a fine line between teaching a child a lesson and abusing him or her. There are enough un solved problems of abuse in U.S. homes. It is inexcusable to add to the problem by hiring employees whose past record shows a propen sity for abuse as well. Jessica Crutcher is a junior journalism major. RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion )N from Pay 11 ion deal its’ Media blameless for interest in intern . He gotisr minors w 1 hit. 190. :>us itemoftte Wets manager ; says or does, layer of the •od, Chicago. S. Rep. Gary Con di t is at the center of a media firestorm over the ■sappearance of ■ intern he was \ ood destroyed n g. an affair s not only re- (th.The 53-year- ie j sonaM1, " rt 0 1,] Condit, a Democrat from Cali- ' Picks New ■ rn: '‘ 1 ’ ^ ias A* 6611 widely criticized for ‘, King tight-lipped in regard to his re- yainst (ta e [ a p ons hip with 24-year-old Chandra that it mattersi I . 1 . . A ,. . . Irevy, the missing intern. 1 he media win again. K hounded Condit relentlessly be- Mise of his prominence and the pub- £ lie interest in a married father of two ~ ~ ■Jgving an affair with a woman young rom Page- £noU gh to [ )e his daughter. the first ballaiMCondit’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said Mindit feels he has been wronged by ell, for sure,® ‘ the media. He thinks the press has been unfair in its handling of the case and in its fierce scrutiny of his life. But Condit is mistaken — he brought the media frenzy down on himself and especially since he is a represen tative of the people of the United States, he has no right to complain about the media poking at his deep est, darkest secrets. Yesterday, Lowell said in a state ment to die press that Condit was ful ly cooperating with the Washington, D.C., police and would allow them to search his apartment in the city. Low ell also said the police would give the congressman a lie detector test as well as DNA tests if they felt it necessary. In return for this olive branch, Low ell asked the media to refrain from in truding into Condit’s family life. Lowell also said she was sending let ters to the heads of several media or ganizations asking them to leave Condit’s family in peace. While no one finds media feeding frenzies a pleasant thing, no one could expect anything else for some one in Condit’s position, especially considering that Levy’s family has railed against Condit’s handling of the matter. Levy’s mother claims that Condit lied to her when she asked him about his relationship with her daughter. He has also been accused of trying to get another lover, a flight at tendant, to sign an affidavit falsely claiming diey never had an affair. Given the fact that Condit is a con gressman from one of the biggest states in the country, and that he has been tight-lipped in dealing with the media while being accused of lying to the missing girl’s parents, how can he expect anything but to be squarely in the media spotlight? It also seems hypocritical of any politician to com plain about the media. None of them complain when the media broadcasts them kissing babies and touting their plans for office while they are on the campaign trail. It is only when things turn sour that the media suddenly be comes the enemy. There are certain factors that cre ate media, and by extension, popular interest. High at the top of this list would be national prominence of those involved in the story and sexual intrigue. This story has both a promi nent key player and multiple affairs. That does not make what the press has done with the story, and its deal ings with Condit, an example of good manners, but how can Condit com plain when he brought it on himself? As a member of Congress, he employs a number of public rela tions people, so even had he not known that what he was doing was lunacy, they would have told him. This story would have been nation al news had the affair been uncov ered, even if the girl had not disap peared. Now that she has, Condit is going to have to live with his mis takes painted across every television in the country. Condit should be grateful that, so far at least, he has only been crucified by the media and not by the police. Jason Bennyhojfis a senior journalism major. credit him 994 World Se«^ JRTOON OF THE DAY 1 by him goinf i Gehrig’s ecord. ur now turned played in ame and speif ngs watchini All-Star gani: when JohflBj :1 Yastrzemst it time. 1 as an honora' get to hit, Tfc latting champ :go said he vi nt to follow tt: ae dugout. ia, one of tie players wti game, was th and teammat got the savt :s. z singled hon ^ in the AL fife an. the new bree_ .0 have carntflBattalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or less Sage, and (rind include the author's name, class and phone number. off Jon Lie I 0 pj n j 0n ec )itor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. .etters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. it a sacrificef ! - e w* rs ma y also be mai|ed to; lC NL’s run, 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 Moderates should go home TF you GET TVS\S X'ro /v\ak\t4g> yuka of you )OD USA call 764-7M . Bypats 6 (U-WIRE) — Although sad but true, the people who run our government are the most indecisive, unaware people in the country. They are moder ates. There is nothing worse than a moderate in politics. These are the people who say they are open-minded be cause diey do not have to fol low a set of beliefs. They look at the issue and say there is no right or wrong; we need both. Moderation is the easy way out of making a decision. Attorney General John Ashcroft put it best with a fa vorite joke of his, “The only thing in the middle of the road are moderates and dead skunks.” Voters who consider themselves to be “in the mid dle” are a drag on our political system. They instandy become the main focus of every elec tion, regardless if its a liberal or a conservative running. The candidates water down die is sues to solve problems in order to get the vote of someone who can’t even decide what they be lieve in. A moderate electorate is rather disappointing, but it doesn’t compare to the damage done by moderate legislators. It seems to be the new trend in Washington, especially within die Republican Party. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is a prime ex ample of an inconsistent mod erate. McCain, who claims to be a Reagan conservative, is the No. 1 problem of die Republican Party in the Senate. He takes a liberal/moderate view on al most every major issue — gun control, campaign finance re form, tax cuts and the patients’ bill of rights. Then he tries to act like some big Republican hero, ignoring the fact he is making it more difficult for his own party to legislate because they must fight amongst each other instead of only facing the Democrats. People like McCain who take spineless stances on issues throw the entire system off track. Right now, it’s throwing the conservative base out of » whack because the Republican Party consists of the most mod erates. Let’s take campaign fi nance reform for instance. This is McCain’s pride and joy. It has passed through the Senate and is up for debate right now in the House. The effect this “skunk” had on this bit of legis lation is horrible. At first, it wasn’t an issue. Republicans looked at it as a violation of free political speech. After it passed the Senate, House Republicans decided die way to counter the bill was to aim at the moder ates. Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, helped draft a bill that isn’t quite as restrictive, and it’s get ting the backing of many Re publicans. As a result of a mod erate pushing his No. 1 issue, congressional liberals picked up on the ability to make the Re publican Party appear as if its own members are at extreme odds with one another. It’s called playing politics. It was a wise political decision on behalf of the Democrats. Pit your ene mies against each other by tak ing one of their sides. And ob viously they aren’t going to join the side of those furthest away from them on the political spectrum. Then an alliance is formed, and it makes the liber als and the moderates look good, while making die rest of the Republicans look as if diey can’t get along. Then they counter with weak, moderate legislation as a compromise. When there is a real prob lem, moderate legislation will ^ do nothing in the long run. A . ' person may be liberal or con servative, but to mix the two is absurd. They are opposites. All the moderate views do is give politicians something to cam paign on in the next election. It’s not just with campaign fi nance reform, either. The exact same thing is happening with the patients’ bill of rights legis lation. One Republican crossed party lines, so it made others look like they don’t care about “the people.” So they drafted a moderate piece of similar legis lation and used that for debate. The sick thing about this type of legislation is it appeals to the public. People look at as a great compromise — no one is wrong, no one is right, we must be centered in our think ing. Moderation is the easy way out of something. It is unpro ductive and unsuccessful. It is the ultimate hypocrisy. There is no way to describe it; it has no basis to argue from. Moderates, make up your mind. Zach Calef Iowa State Daily Iowa State U.