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THE BATTALION
Friday, March 1, 2002
The Value of
Student input
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I On Wednesday, Texas A&M chose Dr. Linda Lekawski to replace
the late Dr. Lucille Isdale as the director of Student Health
Services. The hiring of Lekawski came amidst controversy regard
ing the candidacy of Dr. Scott Spear, who is a supporter of abor
tion rights and a former employee of Planned Parenthood. Many
Students, including members of Aggies for Life, expressed con-
fern that Spear's political views would make him a poor fit for
the primarily conservative A&M community.
I Spears was not passed over because of his views, which would
have been wrong. But students have the right to their views, and
the administration has the right to hear them.
I In expressing its views to the administration, the student body
gave officials an opportunity to make an educated decision to
include student concerns in the decision-making process.
Students should be applauded for taking the initiative to provide
their leaders with the information necessary to make a decision
that impacts virtually every student on campus. As a vital part of
the A&M community, it is important that Student Health Services
ave a leader the student body feels comfortable with. By pro-
iding the administration with feedback, students allowed the
dministration to do precisely that.
It is crucial that students take the time to express their con-
erns regarding campus issues if they want their opinions to be
onsidered. Through open and honest communication, students
ot only have a heightened opportunity to make their mark
pon this University, but they also develop a stronger relation-
hip with A&M administrators.
THE BATTALION
SINCE 1191 mm
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief MARIANO CASTILLO
Managing Editor BRIAN RUFF Member MELISSA Bedsole
Opinion Editor CAYLA Carr Member JONATHAN JONES
News Editor SOMMER BUNCE Member JENNIFER LOZANO
News Editor BRANOIE LlFFICK Member KE1.LN ZlMMER
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or
Jess and include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor
Beserves 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
Hnailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
77843-11 1 1. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
MAIL CALL
Barton weak on
md Brenda tlj issues
ked voluniin
In response to the Feb. 28
editorial:
I hope students will take more
into consideration when casting
a vote than the recommendation
schools. made by The Battalion. To vote
nder waytopOif or Barton simply because he is
rust" in schools an Aggie and understands Aggie
i December ttetraditions is absurd. It seems that
to can be hung' in recent years, Sen. Kay Bailey
irizona, Virginia Hutchison (who graduated from
are consider; the University of Texas) has been
more of an advocate for Texas
ird members A&M than Sen. Phil Gramm (a
gets of a patnot: former A&M professor),
ers voted again;' Hutchison has secured impor-
; a way to fui! tant Ending for research and
riotism The boat extens ' on projects at Texas A&M,
) offer the pie* ? nd s f e mas ,he one who read
lorado's SenliW *e Senate record a tribute
d a Republie» °Ii xasASMon,heUn,vers "V s
indents to reel Aggje ’ radjtjon5 have
their value, they also have their
tudents to do si
place. Congress should be con-
IN BRIEF
cause them cerned with the war on terrorism,
ountry. taxes, social security and other
national issues, not Bonfire, Fish
' Camp and other Aggie traditions.
This is not a football game, this is
our government. Responsible
voters should choose candidates
based on how the candidates
rPQriiP(i w ^ respond to those issues, not
c simply which school they gradu-
:h team ated from.
Stan Pounds
graduate student
Only a day after The Battalion
acknowledged that Barton was
"light on political substance but
heavy on Aggie credentials," they
endorsed Barton in the District 31
primary? What an embarrassment!
f Barton is a joke, a misan
thrope who lays the blame for
taxes on the feet of Ted
Kennedy, and who dares
breathe "pro-life" and "pro-
Bonfire" in the same sentence,
as though those two issues
were moral equivalents. Maybe
Barton should run for yell
leader, but at least that position
has minimum grade point
requirements to check against a
lack of "political substance."
Nick Rangel
doctoral student and
teaching associate
Republic (AP) -
i scientists lost! 5
is park for a wed
I by a Dominica^
and were rece
’hursday frotf
fficials said,
artin and Olivia
st on Feb. 21 ^
rmudez Nations
Pico Duarte, tilt
untain in tin
learly 10,500 feet
ved by rationing
rth of food sup 1
king spring wale 1
ue team fount!
day afternoon,
d his assistanl
i from Cornel
'ere researching
tree, Pino oca
:h grows in part
inican Republic
Students should
vote in elections
Campaigns across the nation
are watching Texas A&M and
the District 31 race to see if we
will make a difference in it.
What they will find, and what
was expected, is that the stu
dents do not care. Less than
100 students voted in the
Republican primary by
Wednesday, Feb. 27. I can't
imagine the Democratic pri
mary has received much more.
There are more than 3,500 reg
istered voters on campus alone.
That doesn't even include the
off-campus Aggies who are reg
istered. This is our chance to
make a difference in govern
ment. Texas A&M can choose
the next U.S. and Texas repre
sentatives for our area, not to
mention all the local officials.
This gives us great power, and
we should wield it!
Shannon Dubberly
Class of 2004
A&M makes bad
business decision
In response to Richard Bray's
Feb. 21 column:
Texas A&M's current policies
toward the journalism depart
ment and Vision 2020 are
ridiculous, not to mention bad
business. There are currently
more than 900 students in the
Department of Journalism. This
department has faculty and
facilities for less than half of that
number. For you economists
out there this means the
demand is greater than the sup
ply. Instead of trying to correct
this problem by hiring more fac
ulty and improving the depart
ment, the University is position
ing itself to get rid of the depart
ment altogether. The University
is establishing its policy with
problem departments right now.
This policy, to simply be rid of
the problem, will not make
Texas A&M a top 20 school.
James Schneider
Class of 2002
A HO
Lawsuit against bin Laden unlikely to zceed
T
he weapons used
during Operation
Enduring Freedom
have included Marines,
mines and missiles. But
now another weapon is
being introduced in the
war against terrorism coming in the form
of a lawsuit. In February, seven women
who lost the men they loved on Sept. 1 1
filed a federal lawsuit against Osama bin
Laden, Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader
of the now-defunct Taliban, the entire al-
Qaida network and the governments of
Iraq and Iran, among others. The goal of
the suit, according to one of the plain
tiffs, Fiona Havlish, is to “bankrupt all
terrorists.” This is a truly noble goal —
one that every American must support —
but to try and seek legal action against
these brutes will accomplish nothing.
Of course, one cannot help but feel
compassion for these families. On Sept.
1 1, their lives were torn apart by a mon
strous act of evil. No one could possibly
imagine the type of pain or anger they
must be going through. However, their
lawsuit will have no impact on the war
against terrorism and should not be pur
sued any further.
COLLINS EZEANYIM
The plaintiffs claim they
wish to freeze terrorists’
assets through the lawsuit,
but millions of dollars in ter
rorists’ assets already have
been frozen. The United
States and its allies do not
need to be prompted by a lawsuit to
properly deal with the terrorist threat.
The plaintiff’s case asks for $1 billion
in compensatory damages and more than
$100 billion in punitive damages. In this
area, these women are treading on thin
ice. Already, there is a significant public
perception that some of the Sept. 1 1 vic
tims’ families are greedy. This arises
from complaints by some family mem
bers that the compensation they will
receive as a result of the attacks is unsat
isfactory. Unfortunately, a lawsuit seek
ing hundreds of billions dollars in dam
ages will only add to that perception.
The likelihood that the women will ever
see a nickel of this money is very small.
So why should they risk their reputation
on a lawsuit that Ellen Sarachini, another
plaintiff, admits has only a limited chance
for success? If it is vengeance they want,
they should allow the might of the U.S.
military to dispose of these monsters.
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
Another reason the lawsuit will have
no effect is the sluggish nature of the
nation’s court system. Amazingly, there
are still lawsuits to be processed from
the previous World Trade Center
Bombing. For example, after 400 indi
viduals sued the Port Authority for the
World Trade Center bombing in 1993,
the lawsuit was still pending eight years
later. If it took eight years for this law
suit to be brought to trial, it may be more
difficult to seize the assets of many of
the individuals and organizations named
as defendants.
Although their lawsuit has virtually no
chance of success, those who filed it
should be commended for their grace and
character. They have admirably refused to
sue any American companies or individu
als. Unlike the 1993 WTC bombing law
suit, these widows see no point in seeking
legal action against true heroes like the
Port Authority. These are outstanding
Americans with a worthy goal, but they
are going about it the wrong way.
Collins Ezeanyim is a junior
computer engineering major.
Pet owners guilty of murder
JENNIFER LOZANO
T wo prominent San
Francisco lawyers, Marjorie
and Noel Knoller, have
been charged with involuntary
manslaughter. Marjorie Knoller
also faces a harsh charge of sec
ond-degree murder and although
the second-degree charge seems preposterous, it pales in compari
son with the atrocious facts of this case. The suspected assailants
are the Knoller’s dogs. The bizarre circumstances have revealed
extreme negligence and an incredible sense of arrogance on the
part of the defendants. An environment of sheer hostility has aris
en, giving the prosecutors an unbelievable opportunity to make an
example of the Knoller’s negligence and convict Marjorie Knoller
of second-degree murder.
The story begins Jan. 26, 2001, when Diane Whipple, a 33-
year-old lacrosse coach, arrived at her affluent San Francisco
apartment and was attacked and killed by the Knollers two 120-
and 113-pound Presa Canaries. According to Rolling Stone, the
first police officers on the scene found Whipple lying face-down,
naked and covered in blood on the hall carpet in front of her
apartment door. Shortly after finding the victim, Marjorie
Knoller, also covered in blood, stepped out of her apartment.
Knoller claimed she was walking her dog, Bane, down the hall
when he lunged at the victim. She said she barely managed to
lock Bane and his mate up in her apartment and was afraid to go
back inside. It took animal control officers three dart tranquilizers
and “catch” poles to walk Bane to a van, where they euthanized
him a short time later.
Further investigation found that the Knollers were raising the
Presa Canaries for a Pelican Bay State Prison inmate and feared
leader of an Aryan brotherhood who had recently joined their
family. Paul “Cornfed” Schneider, who they call their son, was
orchestrating a dog breeding operation called “Dog o’ War” ken
nels from behind bars. According to ABC news, the two dogs had
attacked a blind woman and a guide dog and had bitten numerous
other people. The fact that the victim’s clothing was completely
stripped leads the prosecution to believe the Knoller’s dogs had
been trained to fight. In addition, a dog training book titled
Manstopper that was in the Knoller’s apartment during a televi
sion interview is now missing. Given this information, along with
the bizarre manner in which the Knollers acquired these dogs, it
is safe to say the Knollers should have known their pet was a
lethal weapon. Like others who own lethal weapons, the Knollers
were under the same obligation to exercise care for the safety of
others. However, they blatantly ignored this obligation and were
reckless in their regard for human life, much like drunk drivers
who are often charged and convicted of second-degree murder.
Although the Knoller’s claim Whipple provoked the attack by
wearing a pheromone-laced perfume or by menstruating, the
Knollers had no right to be keeping dogs whose breed is charac
terized as “dominant and highly aggressive” in an apartment set
ting where they would inevitably encounter unsuspecting children
and adults.
A Website for Presa Canaries says that only “responsible peo
ple that have the know-how to establish a correct relationship”
with them should be allowed to own these dogs. The Knollers
obviously did not fit this description. Somewhere along their
journey through law school, these educated people traded their
common sense for arrogance.
Although convicting Marjorie Knoller with second-degree
murder will be difficult, it is far from impossible and needs to be
done to assert the court’s intolerance for blatant disregard of
human life.
Jennifer Lozano is a junior
English major.