^■ay, July 18. 2001
r in ad). This rateaf:
0 PINION
Page 5
THE BATTALION
ou get an additiona':
aduled to end toqu
ELP WANTED
ice assistant needec
iff ice. Detail- orient
aceive customers, u
i programs and peri:-
s This is a yeai
es l2-20hrs/wk ai
listory is here to stay
Confederate and Christian monuments remind us of our heritage
r Apply in perecj* , • ,
entry Glen Really,^ ^ ' 1 - 1
East. CS. ■(! proud mili-
ice assistant, w.-tai \ history, ;intl
i. Flexible hours elit /cs in show-
Most
anager, part-time t ' X_
plus. Call 979-st)l(l, have at least
the Alamo.
TORCVCLE ice atification of
rasaki
$4200.
kl ZX-11 GPZ
and Hines exriai
PETS
Ninja Constitution, Texas is the only
Can Carv te to have been a separate country
;h its own standing anny. Memorials
■altered across die state honoring
: brave men and women who served
dr nation from the Alamo to the
■War.
jons for sale, maiesr'Hie typical Texan attitude toward
« f° r a worthy cause is summed
the words on die Alamo Memor-
^ , - 1 ; G( id and lexas, victory or death.
eeds! Occasenffl IA .’. . r l c r
i & others Braros-f* die lexas Division or the Sons or
6Confederate Veterans is in a fight of
lie: Chocoate La:; eir own about honoring those who
t ready 7 aui ^ a p art 0 f t h e state’s history. Last
puppies. Biue-eye: •at, two small plaques at the Texas
irmed S195 5*
The effort to erase the
IA fiAC folmoc frv av-l
e except rabes C- Confederate side of the
Civil War and judeo-
L ESTATE Christian heritage of
i home for ho®i the United States does
T^imdisservice to everyone.
i. Just minutes ter —
104 Los Robles, CS ; :
and Realty. Be-, Supreme Court Building that were
c ^dedicated as a memorial to those who
nad servetl the Confederacy were re-
)MMATES moved and replaced by the Texas Gen
eral Services Commission. The action
made headlines across die nation, just
in time to be an issue for former Gov.
George W. Bush as he sought the
iWiire House. •+ a, ^
■BVlajnv of the same critics who insist
ded, fumisry.S»^ p- eo • - ; -
needed
se, $250/mo.
180-0576.
eeded 3bdmar
bills. 979-2&.W
i-bills. (979rw«
he Ten Commandments are a threat
ioihe separation of church and state
+i/3bills, on inwnfifted the plaques removed from the
im, garage, ffiplfeitol. Much has been made of their
Bposed narrow, divisive and bigoted
for fail move-/,^||urc. But an effort is currently un-
atrium, $3i5/iiio.,s»H w to have the Confederate me-
-3070 Tracy. ■ , f . ^
_i(jrmls restored. Certain areas, most
ided starting ^notably Alabama, have pushed to have
; m ° 0 n °®° | r s 9e Ten Commandments placed back
H ■the wall. This controversy is noth-
iare llew ’ but i,: is lon g P ast tinie t0 let
plus utilities. Cali tie plaques and the Ten Command
ments rest in peace. Both should be al
lowed to hang freely.
The offensive plaques quoted
Robert E. Lee and bore the Great
Seal of the Confederacy, one stating
simply, “Dedicated to Texans who
served the Confederacy.”
The group has filed a lawsuit,
Sweeney v. Muse, noting that the deci
sion to dedicate the memorial to Con
federate veterans was made through a
constitutional amendment election in
1954. It reads, “The first major struc
ture erected from die State Building
Fund shall be known and designed as a
memorial to the Texans who served in
the Armed Forces of the Confederate
States of America and shall be devoted
to the use and occupancy of the
Supreme Court.”
The law implementing die amend
ment specified the placement of the
plaques. The issue raised by the Sons of
the Confederate Veterans is an interest
ing one. Can current unelected bureau
crats decide that memorials put in place
by voters and legislators from a previ
ous generation be undone if the memo
rials become politically controversial?
There is no reason why this should
even be an issue. The Civil War has
been over for 130 years. Texans should
concentrate on building a future that
can benefit all citizens.
Why should the past be erased? If
some citizens find symbols of the Con
federacy offensive and racist, it should
be understood that many other citizens
throughout Texas do not. Other me
morial plaques paying tribute to Tyypns
with whom not everyone would agtnee,
including President Lyndon Johniitih
and Congressman Henry Gonzales,
rightfully adorn the Capitol in Austin.
They are important parts of state histo
ry. The plaques in question, along^cjth
other symbols through the Capitol, pay
homage to the six governments that
have governed Texas.
There is a rich and fascinating histo
ry in this state. Like all history, it con
tains elements that few today are proud
of. The Confederacy, however, was
about much more than slavery. The
plaques were not intended to be an en
dorsement of all the policies and as
pects of any of the old Texas govern
ments. Likewise, the Ten
t fil&r
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t no
Commandments do not have a solely
religious purpose when hanging on a
classroom wall. The government is not
forcing citizens to adhere to one state-
established religion when they are put
up on the classroom wall, just as no one
is endorsing every aspect of 19th centu
ry Texas with the memorial plaques.
Let them both hang freely, properly
honoring those who came before us.
The effort to erase the Confederate
side of die Civil War and Judeo-Christ-
ian heritage of the United States does a
disservice to everyone.
Like it or not, they are parts of U.S.
history, and should be remembered and
learned from. T here is much there to
honor and respect as well. In die me^n-
LLAM/The Battalion
time, Texas and America should both
be forward-looking places, with no liv
ing in the past. The freedoms found
here, after all, allow for the making of
great history that can make every citi
zen proud.
Jonathan Jones is a junior
political science major.
i, M/F, 3bd/2bth 17k
i, furnished except
ckyard, Paul 822-15^
Mail Call
i „r«OT :hina deserving of
Olympics
d valley, W/D cow* v
yard. $305/mo. res p 0nse f Q Bader's July
11 column.
)/ICES
rive Driving. Lots-
ticket dismissal#!.
M-T(6pm-9pm),
&Sat.- Fri(6pm-8:'
, Sat(8am-2:W
ica. Walk-ins
west price allowed
Ste.217. 846-61'
ly. (CP-0017).
DRS
. Call 846-0169.
I; I read the opinion article
'China undeserving of
Dlympics because of human
ights" today. I met other Chi-
lese students at lunch this af-
:ernoon, and everyone felt an-
:jry about the article because it
lurt every A&M Chinese stu
dent's heart. Although my
English is not good, I want to
:alk about my opinion of Chi
na hosting the 2008 Olympic
Games as an ordinary Chinese
aerson.
| | have to admit, our country
s not a democracy like the Unit-
ad States. In addition, we took
part in the Tiananmen Square
event. I still remember when I
paraded with a lot of my
schoolmates in 1989. At that
time, I was 14 and did hot ex
actly know the true meaning of
democracy and freedom. I was
just thinking it was great about
parading in the street, because
it kept us from having to go to
school and do homework.
I just want to say that in
China, ordinary people do
support the Olympics being
held in Beijing. We think it
honors not only our nation,
but every individual person.
This event should be treated
separate from politics. It is not
about politics, it is not about
governments' opinions, and it
is the dream of every Chinese
person's heart. The author is
ridiculous in comparing Beijing
hosting the 2008 games to the
1936 and 1968 Olympic
Games. Beijing hosting the
2008 Olympics will benefit the
development of China. It will
also make Americans under
stand Chinese culture, politics
and customs much more than
now.
Last Friday, when I saw the
news from the Internet, I was
moved. All the Chinese stu
dents at A&M are excited
about this news. I also hear a
lot in Email from my friends in
China, Japan and Australia. We
are all Chinese and we are all
proud of our great country.
We had this dream when
we were young. Now it has fi
nally come true.
Vivian Xie
Graduate student
A second chance
Denying former drug users aid harms students
(U-WIRE) — The U.S.
Department of Education esti
mates that more than 34,000
students will be denied loans
and grants this year for pre-ex
isting drug records. That num
ber is triple the amount of
those turned down for the
2000-2001 school year.
The education department
screens all its applicants with
drug records and denies those
people any type of aid. Is this a
fair law? Many students exper
iment with illegal substances
before attending college.
Should one mistake cause a
student his or her education or
future career?
The education officials in
the Bush administration seem
to think so. They support de
nial of aid to people with pre
vious drug convictions. I find
that quite amusing since Bush
seems to have had his own
dealings with illegal sub
stances. What are students
with prior drug records to do?
It is commendable that the
education department advo
cates a drug-free learning en
vironment, but should it not
also support the uplifting v f
students trying to better them
selves through getting a college
education even if their records
aren’t squeaky clean? Should
students not be granted a sec
ond chance?
The argument at the oppo
site end of the spectrum is that
students should do nothing to
compromise their futures. My
response is interrogative. Don’t
we all make mistakes? I suggest
the department do something
to discourage drug use.
Maybe, implementation of
an aid probation period would
help the problem, rather than
completely banning a student
from aid. The reality of the sit-
Should one mistake
cost a student his
or her education
and career?
uation is that this law will keep
students who want to move for
ward from doing so, it will also
discourage many students from
even applying for aid for fear of
denial.
Let’s face the facts, we live in
a competitive society. How are
people expected to be able to
compete and make a comfort
able living when they aren’t al
lowed a second chance once
they make a mistake?
Take for example: a re
formed robbery felon has a
bachelor of science and is seek
ing work in a specific field for
which he is well qualified.
However, he finds no job.
Where is his reward for want
ing to do more with his life?
Has his mistake cost him his
future?
This analogy may not be a
great one, but it promotes a
certain point which is that peo
ple deserve a second chance.
There have been several at
tempts to repeal this law and
give students a second chance.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
introduced a new bill in hopes
of repeal and the Students for
Sensible Drug Policy’s 140
chapters are also seeking a re
peal of the law. According to
officials, 10 million aid appli
cations are expected this year.
Of those applications 34,096
will likely be denied. For more
information concerning the
student drug policy go to
http://www. ed. gov/
Kimberly Dudley
Daily Mississippian
University of Mississippi
The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 300
words or less and include the au
thor's name, class and phone num
ber.
The opinion editor reserves the
right to edit letters for length, style
and accuracy. Letters may be submit
ted in person at 014 Reed McDonald
with a valid student 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
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