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Opinion
THE BATTALION
5B
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
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F.DTTORTAT.
Approve the Fee
Derek Bok, former President of Harvard once said, "If you
think education is expensive, try ignorance." Heeding to this
popular quote, The Battalion endorses the Enhancement Fee
proposed before the Texas A&M Board of Regents.
As a decision for the Enhancement Fee gets closer, students
should realize how lucky they are. Texas A&M officials have
openly debated options for the proposed fee increase for
months. They have held open forums to initiate student
responses to the new fees and have considered how stu
dents will be affected by such an increase.
The situation at A&M is favorable compared to the plan facing
the University of Texas-Austin. UT students are in an uproar
because officials made the decision to hike fees during the hol
iday break, making forum attendance nearly impossible. They
are faced with a proposed fee of $230 per semester for any stu
dent taking more than 7 hours, which translates into an
increase of nearly $2000 across four years.
Both current and future students at A&M are being consid
ered as officials decide what the increase should be, and in
response, students should be supportive of this fee.
The time to debate the necessity of a fee increase at A&M
is over. The proposed increase is estimated at $30 per cred
it hour for students after Fall 2002, a reasonable request. As
A&M strives toward Vision 2020, the simple truth is that the
school needs more money.
The temptation to make the fee applicable to incoming stu
dents only is unfair and will have a huge increase in what they
pay. If current students pay an additional $10 per credit hour,
and incoming students pay $20 per credit hour, then the $30
increase will be taken care of. This will be a small increase for
current students and should not have a huge effect on their
funds overall, while new students (who are not aware of cur
rent fees and thus not impacted so greatly by fee increases) will
not be stuck with the entire bill. Current students should take
responsibility for the future of their school and be thankful for
the consideration given in their favor.
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief MARIANO CASTILLO
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
News Editor
Brian Ruff
Cayi.a Carr
Sommer Bunce
Brandie Liffick
Member
Member
Member
Member
Melissa Bedsole
Jonathan Jones
Jennifer Lozano
Kelln Zimmer
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or
less and include the author's name, class and phone number. 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 also may be
mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
77843-1 1 11. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
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Top 20 is insulting
; Automatically admitting the
top 20 percent of "target
schools" is a reaction to the
symptom of the real problem:
a poor level of public high
school education. Holding
some students to relaxed
admissions standards implies
that they do not have the capa
bility to compete with students
from wealthier schools, which
is simply not true.
I There is no reason why a stu
dent at an economically disad
vantaged high school should
not have the same opportuni
ties to go to college as a stu
dent in a wealthier school dis
trict. These high schools
should be expected to improve
the level of their education so
that their students can succeed
and compete with the best. By
refusing to do so, they are
neglecting their responsibility to
the students, and to diversity in
higher education.
Carrie Carson
Class of 2005
Cartoon raises
bigger issues
In response to Jan. 14 cartoon:
Marco Portales claims Aggies
cannot recognize how the
"offensive" cartoon can be
considered racist, evidently
because the Battalion ran the
cartoon.
I object to the general argu
ment that the perception of a
work of art as racist is sufficient
cause to condemn the artform.
Consider the inspirational pho
tograph of three members of
the FDNY at Ground Zero raising
the American flag.
Some people perceive a
sculpture of this scene as racist,
offended by the race of the
three firemen (they happen to
be white).
The point of the sculpture is
completely twisted, the mes
sage missed. I can spot a loopy
argument when I see one.
Cam Barker
Class of 2002
More than weird science
Human exhibits should not be made theme parks
COUR FNEY WALSH
W hen the “Human
Body Worlds”
exhibit opened in
1997 in Mannheim,
Germany, it is doubtful that
its creator. Professor
Gunther von Hagens of the
Anatomical Institute of the
University of Heidelberg,
expected the wildly popular
and often contentious
response it has received. Or,
did he? It features more
than 200 human bodies pre
served by a technique called
plastination, the removal
and replacement of water in
cells with various polymers,
and arranged in some rather
controversial and unrefined jf;
poses.
These poses include a
pregnant woman lying on
her side with her abdomen
sliced open, fully exposing
her womb and the fetus she
is carrying and a man riding
a horse with the layers of his
skin flying off behind him,
simulating the wind’s effect
as he “rides.” Each figure
gives an eerie life-like
impression; so much so that
visitors have fainted upon
witnessing these images.
Hagens is the inventor of
plastination, and there is no
disputing that the veterinary
and medical communities
have vastly benefited from its
application. Plastination pro
duces plastic bodies or body
parts that are odorless, dry,
non-toxic, pliable and so
durable they can be stored on
a shelf. However, somewhere
along the way, von Hagens
misconstrued the intended
scientific purpose for his
technique. Granted, most of
the people passing before
this exhibit, now on display .
in Brussels, will never view I'
the human body how medical
students and physicians do,
but von Hagens has taken
this to a level that has no jus
tified scientific application. It involves
the dismemberment and disfiguration
of the human form as his perverse
version of art.
Since the exhibit’s debut, fierce dis
putes have raged over the dignity of
the dead and the sanctity of the human
body. In a May 2001 news article fea
turing the exhibit, von Hagens stated
he was helping to absolve people’s
fears of death by showing them the
beauty of their own bodies. He even
Hagens has taken this
to a level that has
no justified scientific
application.
went so far as to say, “This exhibit
gives people the possibility to
approach death in a good mood, even a
mood of festivity.” What is festive
about a body, sliced into a multitude
of fragments and suspended in the
air as if it were shrapnel from an
exploding bomb? What of that
person’s soul?
! And yet, bizarre as this is,
more than 7.5 million people
have passed before this exhibit,
and each day an average of five
people attending the exhibit
donate their bodies to von Hagens,
bringing recent totals to more than
4,000. Have these individuals
stopped to consider that their
loved ones will have an even more
difficult time finding closure for
their loss when their bodies are dis
played in such a disconnected and
nightmarish manner?
In a recent world news telecast
from Brussels, von Hagens predicted
that within the next 10 years he would
have animated exhibits in Germany,
Japan and the United States.
Freedom of artistic expression and
appreciation for the beauty of the
human form are not excuses for one
man’s blatant disregard for the social
and emotional impact his “art” is
making. If this happens, boundaries
will be blurred on multiple levels,
plastination as a scientific tool will be
completely distorted and doorways
will be opened for the Jeffery Domers
of the world to create beauty by tak
ing life.
RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION
Courtney Walsh is a senior
biomedical science and
English major.
An education is lost
Wellness Fair should not have been canceled
due to Planned Parenthood abortion flyers
O nce again, the
extreme abortion
opinions of some
have interfered with the
lives of others. The Bryan
Wellness Fair will not be
held this year, leaving many people
without flu shots, cholesterol screenings
and valuable health information they
usually receive.
The Wellness Fair was originally for
Bryan Independent School District
employees, but over the past seven
years it has grown to be a helpful event
for the entire community. Bryan
Superintendent Herman Smith
announced the fair was canceled at a
board meeting in early January. Smith
explained the cancellation as a cost-say
ing measure and possibly prevention for
liability of the flu shot.
Before last year’s event, both
Planned Parenthood and the Coalition
for Life were asked to remove graphics
from their displays and both complied.
The Science Coordinator for BISD,
Patti Willems, reviewed each brochure.
However, at last year’s fair, one of the
flyers that Planned Parenthood passed
out said “abortion services.”
The flyer obviously just slipped
through the cracks, and it is hard to
believe that any harm was done. Still,
there was an uproar at the December
meeting of the school board, where the
MELISSA BEDSOLE
Coalition for Life suggested
that Planned Parenthood
should not be involved with
the fair.
It has been said a hun
dred times before, but evi
dently there are people who
cannot grasp the concept, so it should be
said again: Planned Parenthood does not
offer only abortions. It is a clinic that
offers many other services such as pap
smears, birth control and family plan
ning consultations.
It has been said a hundred
times before, but evidently
there are people who cannot
grasp the concept.
Planned Parenthood does not
offer only abortions. •
For many women, it is the only
option for these services, because most
services at Planned Parenthood are
greatly reduced from most doctors’
offices prices. Brett Cumpton, a trustee
of BISD, recently said, “We’re in the
business of educating children,” but
their actions are not supporting that.
The Wellness Fair was an opportunity
to educate adults as well, but now the
opportunity has been lost.
The problem of a flyer with two
words that were supposedly inappropri
ate is easily fixed.
Simply have someone take a closer
look at what is being handed out - and
undoubtedly. Planned Parenthood would
have complied with regulations. But on
the other hand, it is time that people
stop overreacting.
Having flyers passed out that say
“abortion services” does not mean that
BISD supports abortions, it is simply
information being passed on to the public.
If the concern is having children read
those words, that is an even more ridicu
lous argument. Children of any age
could read or hear the words “abortion
services” anywhere, anytime. It is in the
best interest of everyone that parents
clearly answer their children’s questions
and explain their personal views.
Because these options were too
much to handle and no one was big
enough to make a decision, this com
munity has lost a wonderful event. It is
a shame that the school district has yet
to be truly honest about canceling the
Wellness Fair, but even more shameful
that those who are associated with
teaching have given up this chance to
really educate.
Melissa Bedsole is a senior
psychology major.
Heat ion"