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.