THE BATTALION
Page 11
ED CROSSing the line
donated majority of money to Sept. 11 victims
donor intent” with how the money has been man- Healy and other Red Cross leaders said.
Ilk-
lei,
zd Cross should have
the wake of the Sept. 1 1 terrorist attacks,
illions of Americans showed the true good-
of their nature by donating more than $1
n to various charitable organizations. Sadly,
it now seems that more than a
few of those charities were as
interested in helping themselves
to this treasure trove as they
were helping the families of the
victims. These are not small
groups, either: one of the chari
ties that has been called out on
the carpet is none other than
the American Red Cross.
In its handling of the
fcerty Fund,” the Red
ass has disillusioned
i(j infuriated many
iericans who feel that
r money is not being
■d in the way it was
|tjnded.
s of last week, the “Liberty
d” had taken in more than
B4 million in donations. These
■ations were made by Americans
Being to ensure that the families of
■victims were taken care of now and in
■ future. Two months after the attacks, the
tel Cross has dispersed $121 million of that
Hie Wife Cota !o|tey to the victims and oniy another $ l 79 md
ayhawks Wednesi
n its handling of the Liberty Fund,
he Red Cross has disillusioned and
ifuriated many Americans who feel
at their money is not being used in
the way it was intended.
i pro after
time, fie follow. According to
ames and waii.Bernadine Healy, the out
rum a battle president of the
job «# Mmvericm Red Cross,
remaining $264
iom—nearly 47
bnt of this wind-
of generosity—will be
:en up by the Red Cross
lelf. Bill O'Reilly, host of Fox News’
he O’Reilly Factor,” has gone so far
to claim that 80 percent of this
frtiBnev will not reach the families for
nich it was intended.
donor intent” with how the money has been man
aged. Somehow, the Red Cross has decided that
“donor intent” means Liberty Fund money can go
toward anthrax victims, a $50 — million program
to build blood inventories and a donation of $14.7
million for community outreach. The remaining
$200 million, in the meantime, will remain in the
bank, collecting interest for the Red Cross.
VA • THE BATTAU
ludicrous." hr
ated Press,
greatest p
college ‘
way.”
nghorns d
son Nov. 23 a®
VI. With i *
ggies, Texas«
bid to a
hip Series^
said he has
coach Mackh
ro possibility
really the m? 1
think." Simnis j
/e’ll have ei
about it.’
A Red Cross spokesman has said repeatedly
the organization “feels it has been true to
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
Healy and other Red Cross leaders said,
according to The Washington Post, “Their mes
sages to local chapters and their public appeals
made clear to donors that money would be used
for family needs after the Sept. 11 attacks, and
for its ‘aftermath’ and ‘emerging’ needs.’ ” Most
people would have considered that to mean the
“aftermath” and “emerging needs” of the wid
ows, widowers and orphans of Sept. 11, not the
Red Cross. They certainly would not have
approved of the Red Cross hoard
ing money toward a fund
they claim is for victims
of a second attack that
may never come.
It is disappointing to
see that the Red Cross is
looking at such a humanitarian
disaster as a big payday, but it would
not be the first time that they have
shown a lack of appreciation for
people who raised money on their
| behalf. This summer, Texas A&M
students set up the Chad
Garren Memorial Flood
Relief Fund that was
intended to help raise
money for the victims of
Tropical Storm Allison. The
storm, which ravaged Houston in
June, killed 17 people, including a
member of the A&M Class of 2001.
Instead of helping the novice students
with their efforts, the Red Cross refused to
return phone calls, would not guarantee that
the money raised would go to the victims of
Tropical Storm Allison, declined to help with
public relations efforts — in spite of having a
paid staff on hand to do so — and refused to
assist the students in obtaining not-for-profit sta
tus from the IRS. Red Cross officials were, how
ever, able to attend the
Aug. 16 event to ask
when they would be
receiving their check.
The Red Cross has
done many great things for
people in need for more
than 100 years. Their
actions of this summer, and
more importantly now, might
cause one to wonder if they
have decided that their
good deeds now ,
extend to
| themselves. If
1 true, this
would be a
tragic disaster
in its own right.
For the sake of
many people, let
us all hope that
the Red Cross
places the needs of
others before the
needs of itself.
Mark Passwaters is a senior
political science major.
all game
on campus
EDITORIAL
Texas A&M University— Celebrating 125 Years
EDITORIAL BOARD
Brady Creel
Mariano Castillo
Cayla Carr
Jonathan Jones
Rolando Garcia
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
Never Underestimate the Uncartoon
Texas A&IVTs perfect political cartoon would be one
by which no one is disturbed, no thought is provoked
and no humor is found — a true Uncartoon.
CARTOON OF THE DAY
'TVi€ DNc* Rt6C>N/Wf-<!D
Honorary mascots
In response to Brieanne Porter’s
Nov. 13 column:
Although there may be people
who are offended by the use of
Native American names for their
high school mascots, it should be
taken as an honor rather than a
slander. There are many mascot
names out there that represent a
group of people: Dallas Cowboys,
University of Louisiana Ragin
Cajun’s and the New York Yankees.
I am a graduate of Port Neches-
Groves (PN-G) High School that
has the mascot “Indians." PN-G is
a high school that is very dedicat
ed to tradition, just like Texas
A&M. In the early 1970’s, the
Cherokee Nation gave a seal of
approval to the PN-G Independent
School District for use of “Indian”
for its mascot.
Would they have given the seal
of approval if it was so offensive? I
believe that my high school honors
Native Americans by sustaining
pride and the tradition of excel
lence within the school district.
Coming from a high school so
conservative in tradition, I find it
very hard to believe PN-G would
ever give up its mascot name. It
is the equivalent of someone forc
ing Texas A&M to change its
mascot. We all know that would
never happen.
Ever since I have been here at
A&M, I have learned that there
are a lot of people who don’t feel
strong about their high school
traditions. It might be easy for a
person like that to agree to
change their high school mascot.
But when you are very dedicated
to tradition, like so many Aggies
here at A&M, you will put up a
fight and never give up. I believe
my high school will never give up
its mascot name for as long as it
exists.
Brandon Hanks
Class of 2000
A sign of maturity
In response to Richard Bray's
Nov. 12 column:
The recent opinion from the
RHA concerning the wording of
the fight song is a welcome sign
of maturity. After almost 40
years on the campus, I am con
vinced that constantly looking
over our shoulder at Austin seri
ously inhibits our ability to look
ahead to our own future. The sec
ond verse two should be reserved
for games where the university in
Austin is our opponent.
Today’s letter from Mr.
Williamson also flies in the face
of history. Unless he is from the
Class of 1902 he will graduate
from a university not a college.
Believe me, he should be grate
ful!
David G. Woodcock
professor of architecture
GEORGE
DEUTSCH
Rent-a-Center
falsely accused
B ig business forever has been an
easy target for people looking
to scam those more fortunate
than themselves with needless law
suits. In today’s increasingly political
ly correct workplace, this trend only is
getting worse. In most of these cases,
the facts are rendered irrelevant
because this country’s judicial system
feels continually obligated to rule in
favor of the struggling “little man.”
Plano, Texas-based Rent-A-Center,
the nation’s largest
rent-to-own chain,
has fallen prey to
many such frivolous
lawsuits, the most
recent of which
resulted in a $12.3
million out-of-court
settlement with 4,600
female employees.
Interestingly enough,
only nineteen of these female employ
ees actually fded the suit. The other
4,581 apparently joined in when they
saw that there was money to be made.
Rent-A-Center has denied any wrong
doing.
Because the company has either
settled or lost questionable lawsuits in
the past, ranging from racial discrimi
nation to unfair hiring practices, these
ladies clearly thought that they could
cash in with a sex-discrimination suit.
They were right. The $12.3 million
settlement that was reached could have
been even worse had the case gone to
trial. No jury wants to rule against
4,600 “helpless” women, regardless of
the evidence presented.
But it was these women’s own
physical and mental limitations, not
company policy or poor management,
that held them back and interfered
with their performance at work. The
And a good look at these
ladies' comical list of griev
ances shows that this law
suit is just that — a ripoff.
rent-to-own giant should not have been
forced to cough up a dime.
Admittedly, rent-to-own companies
do have their problems. They are not
traditionally known for their leniency
or generosity. But they generally stick
to overcharging their customers; cus
tomers who know exactly what they
are getting into when they walk
through the front door.
But perhaps Rent-A-Center taught a
few of its female employees a little too
well because the students have started
ripping off their teacher. And a good
look at these ladies’ comical list of
grievances shows that this lawsuit is
just that — a ripoff.
Some of these women claim that
they were discouraged from applying
or simply not hired by Rent-A-
Center. Half of the company’s work
force is composed of women, many
of whom are happily employed. The
management did not put “we don’t
hire women” on job applications.
People are quick to cry “discrimina
tion” when they are not hired instead
of considering the fact that they may
not have been qualified for the job
they were seeking.
These ladies also claim that Rent-
A-Center’s weight-lifting requirements
for employees were simply “too
heavy.” But if someone cannot meet
the demands of the job description, it
should come as no surprise to them
when they lose that job, regardless of
their sex. If a female employee cannot
lift a television or appliance, she obvi
ously has no business working at
Rent-A-Center. After all, it is not like
she was asked to juggle this stuff. All
of the company’s employees were
given adequate tools and training to
meet their job’s demands.
Rent-A-Center was even willing to
allow most of these limp-armed ladies
to continue working, taking less physi
cally taxing jobs such as cleaning or
doing clerical work. Though this may
have been all some of these women
were qualified for, it came as a slap in
the face because they considered
themselves above sweeping or typing.
It was only out of sheer fear of
harsher monetary penalties that Rent-
A-Center settled with these women.
With a poor track record that would
have meant certain doom in court, the
company had its back against the wall.
It is unfortunate that senseless lawsuits
like this ever get off the ground.
George Deutsch is a junior
journalism major.