Pn ;e 7
Opinion
THE BATTALION
Tuesday, July 31, 2001
i ad). This raieapp.
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iled to end to quaf:
Ppen skies, open bars
imit of alcohol consumption on airlines an unnecessary violation of rights
r^he United g ers or airline personnel. The Feder- from its destination in China to an al- ✓ <3
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One of those freedoms is the free-
lorn to drink alcohol. Like most free-
loms in this country, drinking is re
stricted, and often rightly so. No one
rants pilots drinking on the job, and
to one wants drunken drivers on the
road. However, people should be al-
76io Easr, ai owec | to tlrjnk as much as they want
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/hen they are not placing anyone in
langer by doing so. Unfortunately,
California Democrat Sen. Dianne Fe-
instein does not agree.
Feinstein recently sent a letter to
Ithe heads of seven major airlines re-
Iquesting that they voluntarily impose
|a two-drink limit on all domestic
mights or face Congressional action
jon the matter. She said in her letter
Ithat she could not sit by and put up
Iwith the numerous incidents of “air
I rage” every year and not take action.
I Air rage incidents are cases where un-
Iruly passengers, sometimes drunk,
I have to be restrained by other passen-
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gers or airline personnel. The Feder
al Aviation Administration reports
that there have been more than 100
incidents involving disorderly passen
gers so far this year.
One hundred incidents,' hardly
seems like enough to restrict the
rights of the millions of passengers
who fly every year and cause ho trou
ble. Restrictions on freedopfs in this
country have always been'blade, but
they should be looked af By weigh
ing the individual’s rights/gg^inst so
ciety’s needs. Here, the irfdfvidual’s
right to drink poses, at rhhht, a mi-
nor risk to the passengers sitting
around him or her, much less to so
ciety as a whole.
For every passenger who gets
drunk and insults a flight attendant,
there are thousands more who sit qui
etly with their tray tables in the up
right and locked positions. Airlines
mistreat passengers enough by pack
ing them in like sardines and poison
ing them with what passes for food on
their flights. It hardly seems right that
the one true pleasure an airline pas
senger could have may now be taken
away by the government.
Feinstein cites incidents such as one
where twin sisters, equally sloshed, as
saulted a flight attendant and hit the
plane’s captain. All of this commotion
forced the pilot to divert the flight
ternate landing in Alaska, where the
sisters were removed from the plane.
While this incident certainly appears
to be a blight on the argument to
refuse a two-drink maximum, it is
really an indictment of the cabin
crew on the flight in question.
Most airlines already have
restrictions on how cabin
crews should serve and not serve
alcohol.
Michael Wascom, Air Transport
Association spokesperson, said in a
statement to CNN.com that air
lines already limit alcohol con
sumption by not serving drinks to
intoxicated or underage passen
gers. He also said they may even
refuse to board passengers who
look intoxicated before getting on
the plane. So, the one problem with
the current system is that when the
cabin crew does not cut the drink
ing passengers off soon enough.
Airline passengers might be best
served if airlines would simply
agree to train their cabin crews more
thoroughly in dealing with in-flight
drinking. However, whatever the so
lution, Congressional legislation
hardly seems like the right answer.
Jason Bennyhoff is a senior
journalism, major.
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Thanks, farewell
to Dr. Wade Birch
W ithout fanfare or
long goodbyes, Dr.
Wade Birch is qui
etly leaving the community he
has called home for the last
three
decades.
But those
who know
Birch
would ex
pect noth
ing else.
Birch has
never asked
for congratulations or thanks
from those he has helped, and
he usually does not get them.
This is because die students all
too often are afraid to acknowl
edge the fact that they needed
the mental or academic assis
tance that diey have received.
Somehow, they are
ashamed to admit that they
have sought help for problems
that are as prevalent on col
lege campuses as textbooks.
Yet Birch never has failed to
take these problems upon his
shoulders and give a helping
hand anytime it was needed.
One of my most vivid mem
ories of Birch was the Bonfire
Memorial ceremony, one year
after the 1999 Aggie Bonfire
collapse. As Aggies gathered
with candles in hand to re
member those who had fallen,
Birch and others waited in the
drizzling rain and cold winds
to lend an ear to anyone who
needed someone to listen.
But diat was typical of
Birch’s mentality. When other
directors of student services go
home, they are allowed to for
get about their job, their re
sponsibilities and the students.
Birch always kept in mind
those for whom he was here
and did whatever he could to
make sure they got what they
needed.
When he first came to
A&M, mental health was not
a concern on the campus.
Those dealing with the pres
sures of life had no where to
go. Today, they have one of
the foremost college counsel
ing services in the country.
A few years ago, I needed
help. It does not matter why.
It does not matter how badly.
Wade Birch and the coun
selors of the Student Coun
seling Service were there.
In less than two weeks, I
will graduate from A&M —
an accomplishment that was
possible only with the help I
received from the SCS.
Dr. Birch, from one stu
dent, thank you.
The bidding these days is absurd
O
Stuart Hutson senior
journalism major.
of the
teresting
things about
capitalism is bartering.
A prospective buyer
and seller get together
and try to come to
some sort of financial
understanding over an
item. For thousands of years, these
items were things like food, rugs or
clothing. In recent years, this has in
cluded naming rights to things like sta
diums or buildings.
Now, the money craze has reached a lev
el of sublime absurdity. Jason Black and
Frances Schroeder of New York City soon
will be the parents of a bouncing baby boy.
The baby’s name? That remains to be de
cided — until a company decides to “spon
sor” the baby with a donation of a half-mil
lion dollars.
That guy who said the love of money
was the root of all evil may have been on
to something. One must feel for the soon-
to-be-born “Toshiba” (or whatever his
name will be) Black, for his life will be
hellish because of the remarkable greed of
his parents.
The father of “Pepsi” Black was inter
viewed on CNN and asked what he possi
bly could be thinking with such an idea.
“It’s the opportunity to have this media
1 moment when the name would be unveiled
... the exposure it could bring to a business
is potentially huge.”
Ah, yes. Childbirth, brought to you by
the Ford Motor Company.
Usually, monetary transactions leave
two parties happy. In this case, there is a
This time, the
money craze has
just gone too far
third party wbo is going to suffer every
day of his life until he turns 18- “Ninten-
do” Black. In this society, i t usua lly has
been frowned upon to take business
home.
WTiat if you cannot escape big business
because it is not your middle name but
your first? Mr. Black and Ms. Schroeder
claim that they merely are doing this in
the best interests of themselves (a stunning
development) and their two daughters.
This is good, because they certainly can-
Usually, o monetary
transaction leaves two
parties happy. l n this
case, there is a third
party who is going
to suffer every day of
his life until he turns 18.
not be in the best interests of “Rich
Chocolate Ovaltine.”
Once “Firestone’s” name is decided on,
will his parents then sponsor the stages of
his development? Will Pampers pay for the
rights to host his “terrible two’s?” Or will
Playskool sponsor the preschool years?
The year when “Nike” gets his learner’s
permit certainly will have to be hosted by
General Motors. Trojan must be just
chomping at the bit for his senior year of
high school.
In spite of the general cheers of derision
directed toward their decision, Black and
Schroeder fail to see the problem.
“As long as we provide him with a com
fortable and loving home, he’s going to
turn out fine,” Black said.
Has it been that long since they went
through grade school? Children are cruel
enough to people with normal names.
How bad would they be to “Microsoft?”
No example is required to illustrate the
pain this poor kid will endure.
Naming rights have become an every
day feature of the corporate world. Look
at the MetLife Building in New York or
FedEx Field, home of the Washington
Redskins. It should not become part of
America’s family life.
Black and Schroeder are not whor
ing themselves out for money. They
are whoring out their unborn child. If
these people are the first in a pattern
of corporate-sponsored parenting, it is
a sad commentary on our country’s
mentality.
Find it in your hearts to feel for
“Clearasil.” His life will be cruel and un
usual because of his parents desire to
make very quick chunk of change. Of
course, there is one thing that can be
done: log onto Ebay and bid yourselves;
then you can name him “Bob.”
Mark Passwaters is a senior
electrical engineering major.
CARTOON OF THE DAY
GofcS “TWfc
Mail Call
TVfc UFlc* Rt6^N/\vf-
West Campus parking garage
inconvenient for students
In response to Stuart Hutson's July 30 article.
I was reading about the West Campus
garage construction and was shocked to see
the quote by Tony Heger mentioning Dr.
Bowen's feeTT'ngs toward the construction. In
the article, he is quoted as saying “President
Bowen made a point to express to the com
mittee how much possible disruption this con
struction may cause duriryg football season.
This is going to be happening for two years, so
it going to cause some problems for two sea
sons."
So Bowen is making a point to ensure the
construction does not affect football games but
does not mention a word about the nightmare
students are going to face trying to park to at
tend classes and the Student Recreation Center.
This just proves what so many people were
saying last spring about how the garage was
only being built to satisfy parking demands
during football games and how the adminis
tration really did not care about students'
concerns. Why not put the parking garage
closer to main campus near the Southside
garage or the Northside dorms where it
makes more sense?
Last spring, the University defended the
garage saying it would provide more space for
students needing to park on West Campus for
classes. Dr. Bowen does not make a "point"
to ensure that students have other places to
park for classes, but rather seems to care
about the football season and the money it
brings to A&M. I would like to see him try to
park on West Campus every day this fall dur
ing the construction.
Ryan Burkhaltur
Class of '02