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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2002)
Opinion THE BATTALION 5B Monday, January 14, 2002 friendlier sky? Students left traveling anxieties behind for holiday break I 2V n December, as final exams wore on. College Station became .an increasingly desolate place. With worn spirits, most Aggies returned home for the hol idays. A month later, this once-empty college town is com ing back to life. A popular topic of conversation after the . break is always Hk Christmas vaca- tion. This year. Sept. 1 1 terrorist at tacks hanging over head, the prospect of taking Christmas va cations was uncertain. However, recent content feelings with airport security have reestablished Ameri cans’confidence in traveling. Rather than being discouraged to travel in light of Sept. 1 1, students showed a greater inter est in travel. The travel industry suffered tremen dously after Sept. 1 1. According to the Air Transport Association, (ATA) passenger volumes were down 17 percent in 2001 compared with 2000. The unpredictability of the American passenger strained air lines, making December a volatile month in the already weak airline business. For tunately, confidence returned as passenger volumes decreased only 1 1 percent. With an emphasis on family and fun, Americans are rebuilding a nation with their patron age through travel. Whether students are returning home, taking ski trips or beach vacations, the travel industry depends on them. In the past semester, students were bombarded with glitzy flyers advertising refreshing ski vacations and relaxing beach getaways. With cheap airfare and hotel accommo dations available, students were unwilling KATHERINE TUCKER to pass up this great deal. Whether stu dents were experiencing anxieties from the pressures of school or from the fear now associated with Hying, this did not keep them from indulging in much-needed vacations. Ter ry Trucco of the New York Times said travel agencies also depend on students to look to the beaches for a “warm, familiar escape from a troubled world.” The “troubled world” that students are escaping from is not only the stress of schoolwork, but also the stress of coming home. An entire month back in the house The travel industry was saved by the resiliency of travelers everywhere. with mom and dad merits a vacation. Travel agencies confirm that business was not hurt this holiday season. Spencer Curry, a travel advisor for STA Travel, said their business has picked up since mid Oc tober, and he is expecting their best travel year yet. As spring break approaches, stu dents have their minds on far away places, not on staying at home. A time of recovery was needed and a holiday spent with family provided comfort, but a spring break spent at home is no student’s dream vacation. The travel industry was saved by the re siliency of travelers everywhere. Whether enticed by cheap airfares or a renewed sense of security in America, passengers filled 85 percent of flights this holiday season, according to ATA spell out As the travel industry rebounded during the holi day, the recent “fly anxiety” is being put to rest. Katherine Tucker is a sophomore general studies major. edia should accept left lean parenting state be intellectually honest and say coasts, far from the media glare, JL. JONATHANJONES here are some things so ob vious as to be beyond dis pute: Texas is the best state Ihe Union, Tech fans have be- vioral problems, and there is a ng liberal bias in the major me- establishment. his bias, intentional or not, too often has influence on at can and cannot be said on air and in print. Americans increasingly turning toward er outlets that fill a niche in marketplace for more fair id varied coverage, especially ble and the Internet. The big three news outlets are trenched bureaucracies resistant change. As such, criticism of major media networks and krges of bias provoke fierce de lls, most famously from Dan ther of CBS News. This is part the reason viewers are turning where. It is no secret that her, who has attended Texas nocratic fundraisers, is not d of conservatives. Should he be intellectually honest and say so, viewers would have no doubt where he is coming from as a journalist and respect him for be ing honest enough to admit it in fluences his work. Since a report can never include complete infor mation due to so many word choices available in the English language, bias is inevitable. By not recognizing that fact and con tinuing to claim he “calls it straight,” Rather and other jour nalists lower their credibility. Bernard Goldberg, an Emmy award winner and former CBS News reporter, has experienced firsthand the wrath of stepping outside the major media ortho doxy. His best-selling book. Bias, chronicles the powerful institu tional culture of arrogance that pervades his former employer. Former colleagues have labeled him a traitor, one even calling him “a no-talent hack.” Goldberg writes that among the big three news networks, more liberal views are seen as mainstream, reasonable and enlightened. Con servative, family-orientated posi tions held by a sizable number of Americans living between the CARTOON OF THE DAY If you ain’t careful, you gonna end up doing airport security Kgl?' 'TVfc coasts, far from the media glare, are viewed as backwater and ex treme. That is part of the reason why viewers are turning in large numbers to other outlets, especial ly Fox News, that take both sides seriously. Rather, for example, seems to believe he plays no favorites, stat ing so on many occasions. How ever, speaking from the news an chor’s chair of similar legislation from different angles in early 1996, he illustrates, as happens regularly, that this is not the case. “President Clinton is giving some election year help to Ameri ca’s ranchers and farmers,” Rather said. “The President took action today to try to boost cattle prices, which have fallen to their lowest levels in ten years.” In contrast, he reported of “the hush-hush plan afoot in Congress (by Republi cans) that could make your milk prices sour. CBS News has been told that a secret deal is making its way through Congress that would increase the additives in your milk and increase the retail price of milk about 40 cents a gallon.” Rather is a dedicated journalist, but his creativity and credibility is marred by the influence of per sonal political views, which will always taint reporting. It would be better for Rather and all journal ists to acknowledge that bias is unavoidable. Something must al ways be left out, certain descrip tive words must be chosen and correctly presenting the views and actions of others is a very subjec tive enterprise. Simply acknowl edging this increases credibility, because viewers can take bias into account as information is processed. There is no question the media as a whole is liberal: a Freedom Forum survey found that 89 percent of journalists voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. There is no organized conspiracy to shut con servative opinion out but stub bornly clinging to the status quo will cause frustrated viewers to turn elsewhere; Jonathan Jones is a senior political science major. New driving laws unreasonable JENNIFER LOZANO O n Jan. 1, the Texas government put on its par enting hat and passed Senate Bill 577, which introduced the Graduated Driver License Program. According to the Department of Public Safety, the GDL creates two phases of driving requirements for those under the age of 18. Grandfathered out of all phases of the new graduated system, a few lucky teenagers who receive either their instruction permit or pro visional license before Jan. 1 escape the ef fects of the law. The first blow of the new GDL law is the rise of the minimum age from 18 to 21 for the licensed passenger who accompanies a permit-holding driver. Also in phase one of the GDL program, appli cants under 18 must hold an instruction permit for a minimum of six months before they are issued a provisional li cense. Only then can an applicant graduate to phase two. • In phase two, a provi sional license holder may not have more than one under-21 non-family member as a passenger in the car for the first six months. Also, the applicant may not drive be tween midnight and 5 a.m. unless driving is necessary for employment, school, school- related activities or a medical emergency. However, if a licensed operator accompa nies a provisional license holder over the age of 21, the time and passenger restrictions are removed. According to the Austin American-States- man, the new license law is intended to reduce fatalities caused by new drivers and carloads of teenagers who are on the road late at night. Although there are clear benefits to the GDL program, concerned parents could en force these laws at their own discretion for their children. Since there is no way for law Although there are clear benefits to the GDL program, concerned parents could enforce these laws at their own discretion. enforcement agents to instinctively know the age of a driver, they will simply have to use a hit or miss system to determine if a driver is breaking the law. This will inevitably result in a number of inconveniences for drivers over 18 who will be stopped for absolutely nothing. According to the Dallas Metro, these laws have also created debates for parents whose children have late night jobs or live in rural areas where at least one senator has claimed that the new licensing program is unwanted and unneeded. The GDL program is too broad and leaves no room for varying, valid circumstances. For instance, the new law would create quite a hindrance for the many students who are still 17 years old when they begin college. Supportive parents are the real enforcers, said Allen F. Williams of the non-profit In surance Institute for Highway Safety. It is these parents who will be tot ing their teens from late night football games and accompa nying them for a six-month period to supervise their driv ing. Unfortunately, these are the same concerned parents who would be doing the same thing regardless of the new GDL program. Other parents will still be too preoccupied to notice if their teen is obeying the new law. It is a given fact that fatal car accidents are often the result of newly licensed teenage drivers who are distracted by their friends. However, many fatal car accidents are also the result of adults being distracted by pas sengers, cell phones or the stereo. Many states have passed cell phone laws already. Is the next step a restriction on the use of car stereos? Although the GDL program may appear to be a benefit, it is not the government’s re sponsibility to assume that all teen-age driv ers are irresponsible and dictate when and where a newly licensed driver may drive. Par ents should always be the ones with the ulti mate responsibility. Jennifer Lozano is a junior English major.