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Opinion
EDITORJAT
Get Involved
This week’s student elections highlight a growing lack of faith many
Aggies have in their student government. While voter turnout is
always an issue, this year there are signs of a deeper disenchant
ment. The overall number of candidates is unusually low — only two
student body president candidates, a significant number of class offi
cers running unopposed and there are many Student Senate posi
tions no one filed for. It seems a turbulent semester where the cam
pus was the center of attention regarding its top 20 plan, diversity
issues, Bonfire and fee increases, has left the student body with a
depleted hope in effective representation.
Today and Thursday, students can send a message that this must
change. High turnout, followed by an active vocalization of their opin
ion on the issues that directly effect them, is a positive beginning.
Students may feel they cannot do anything when an issue arises.
This, of course, is not true. Ideally, elected campus officials provide the
means of student input to administrators. If little effort is made to gath
er opinion, Aggies raising their voices can still initiate change, such as
last semester with the Residence Hall Association flag controversy.
Now, more than ever, the student body needs motivated, hard-working
leaders in its senate, executive and legislative branches of government.
The vacancies or unopposed candidates on the ballot this week
reflects the type of indifference that creates little or no accountabili
ty for student voices on the most important decisions. This adds to
the disenfranchisement of Aggies.
In the Jan. 22 Battalion, Student Body President Schuyler Houser
said no survey of student opinion was conducted on a large fee
increase. In fact, she and the Student Senate supported the increase
with very little input from students. Maybe most Aggies supported the
new fees. But the lack of involvement from students, in marked con
trast to the uproar that ensued at the University of Texas over a
smaller fee increase, meant that a significant change was made
affecting students without their input. Something needs to change,
oth in Student Government and among students.
Student government can always be improved. Get involved and
vote this week. At the very least, a student voice will be heard on the
issues that affect the lives of current and future Aggies.
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief MARIANO CASTILLO
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
News Editor
News Editor
Brian Ruff
Cayla Carr
Sommer Bunge
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
iul include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves
bright to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in per-
Mat 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014
ieed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111. Fax:
179)845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com
a bad time
ouston ecoc
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;aid.
_ A federally
geified rei
pillion des^l
aves was
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e FleetBosS 1
;roup and n
density for all
avery - n
d jnhu^ again campaign season is
K taj US ' anc * we ' as Aggies, are
rightSi & J datec l with flyers and demon-
it fn^ J 0ns by candidates, hoping to
cuits oftb* § °ur vote. Today, however, I
said, ih Ca !J*P a jgners for Sampson
an beating a drum in a mock
eat, wearing a cheap head-
a nd mocking Native
Stry
CHS
it we^ 1
illege
MAIL CALL
jncan culture.
att b's has to do with being a
r yell leader, I have no idea.
4t mem b e r of the Ogalala
compa^ iended na At i0n ' - 1 Was - 8reatly
states ^ e A j- un,versi ty striving to
s use terdi| ave nn ? lverse ' these actions
.|,prsiii# lat , °. Place. I have no doubt
l he ca . m P a 'Sners been
c nd rn s 'r in8 n cheap crude
0 „ ran# itorir ma sks, the African-
“ wWOildbeKIf 1011 0n ca ^ pus
n light e n an u P r oar and we
iL f e r n have Jesse Jackson
•- hacd istrnn ym8 d own here to rally
° Rj lis The Nativ e peoples of
have suffered the
ld Sfcans Cl,les as haue the
latf I n °t mnrl P kP.? d here for sl ?' /er y-
./^febutwearenotbom-
»o ns 7? ,heir stru ggte or repa-
lieAnoU^ 6 P rouc l people whom
wvitz ^ ^ °^ st °le land from, slaugh-
ers . whos e culture they
’ omthp f to COm pletely wipe
ffere |ltl ; ette rt ace 0 ^he Earth deserves
treatment than that.
I for one would not support
any candidate who would find
this injustice funny, and I would
hope that neither would my fel
low Aggies. Jordan, you have
just lost my vote.
John Kitsopoulos
Class of 2001
No accommodations?
In response to George Deutsch s
March 27 column:
Deutsch said to grant special
treatment for some students and
not others, even if the students
are deemed disabled, is unfair.
Should we not let students with
mental retardation use graphic
organizers, or blind students use
braille materials or dyslexic stu
dents, read small print without
assistive technology or deaf stu
dents sit at the back of the class
room without an interpreter?
These are all examples of accom
modations. Should we put all of
these people with disabilities
that affect academic perform
ance in a segregated classroom
and label them? All of these peo
ple are protected by the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.
Mandy Herrera
Class of 2003
AMERICAN
PROUD?
Patriotism has lost^
its importance ^
COURTNEY WALSH
I n the wake of public complaints
by U.S. and non-U.S. citizens
alleging discrimination, racial
profiling, background checks and
job termination in armed forces and
airport security since the Sept.l 1 terror
ist attacks, Americans have been called
upon to review what being an American
means, especially in tenns of American
citizenship. Some might say lost jobs
are an indirect attempt at revenge or
personal remediation for the terrorist
attacks, similar to the acts carried out
against Japanese-Americans and immi
grants after the bombing of Pearl
Harbor. Without making justification for
such behavior, somewhere the line must
be drawn and boundaries set to ensure
all Americans are as safe as possible.
Random termination is not a prop-
er way to address public concerns
and fears; however, the U.S. gov-
ernment does nothing “at random
when it comes to matters of
national security and sacrifices .,*V‘
are necessary.
Additionally, the majority of
those experiencing duress are
not Americans, but long-stand-
does mean he assumes a level of per-
ing immigrants without a commitment to
the United States. The government
would be ignorant if it were not con
cerned with this matter, especially since
the terrorist hijackers fit this profile.
Also, there has been no real outcry on
the part of the Arab or Muslim commu
nities condemning Osama bin Laden’s
activities and his terrorism campaign
against the United States, which can only
lead the American public to speculate
why this is so. Due to the lack of voiced
opposition to bin Laden and voiced alle
giance to America, it seems that perhaps
some members of the American commu
nity are here for a piece of the American
dream without giving anything in return.
And it is for this reason that the
issue of American citizenship goes
much deeper than the recent attention it
has been given. People seem to forget
there is an exchange that occurs
between an immigrant and America if
he truly wishes to be here. By becom
ing a citizen of this country, one sym
bolically pledges his loyalty to the
United States. This in no way means he
forgets his cultural background, but it
sonal commitment and self-sacrifice as
his American duty — at least it should
mean this. However, many Americans
have taken their country for granted for
RUBEN DELUNA* THE BATTALION
the ACLU sever any thread of common-
Somewhere the line
must be drawn and
boundaries set to ensure
all Americans are as
safe as possible.
so long that it only makes sense for
immigrants to emulate this behavior.
One group in particular that serves as
a prime example of such a scenario is the
American Civil Liberties Union. While
this organization does much good, it has
become a detriment to the legitimacy of
certain civil liberties because it has neg
lected to acknowledge that unless a per
son is an American citizen, he is protect
ed by his country of origin’s embassy
until his naturalization. If the ACLU is
willing to fight for an immigrant as if he
were a citizen, providing him with multi
lingual brochures, community outreach
and other various systems of support,
why should he bother to become a citi
zen? If anything, organizations such as
ality between the ethnic groups that
makeup America. The symbolism behind
the phrase “American melting pot” is
that America, from the very beginning,
has been a conglomeration of nationali
ties merged into one unifying body; if
there is division and self-segregation,
there is no unification.
When one accepts all that America
has to offer, giving oneself in the form of
U.S. citizenship does not seem like too
much to ask for in return. Granted, unfair
practices do occur, but America is not
perfect and those in search of such ideal
ism are disillusioned.
Today, in an America consumed by
political correctness, if one finds what
he deems to be a flaw in the system —
no matter how well-founded or ludi
crous the complaint — he fusses like a
spoiled child until someone appeases
him. How quickly forgotten is the fact
that America, with all of her faults and
flaws, is still a beacon, a land of refuge
and freedom and one of the greatest
nations on earth. America is well worth
pledging allegiance to.
Courtney Walsh is a senior
biomedical science and English major.
Education, not abstinence
No-sex campaign will weaken students’ sexual awareness
DRU COLLINS
T he Center for AIDS
Prevention Studies
reported that although
more than 93 percent of pub
lic high schools offer courses
on sexuality, controversy over
what message should be given
has rendered them ineffective.
The study also pointed out
that the United States has
more than twice the teenage
pregnancy rate of any Western
industrialized country.
More than one million
teenagers become pregnant
annually. HIV infection is
increasing among young peo
ple. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention, the age range that
reports the most new cases is
between 13 and 24 years old.
This is a direct reflection of
the current push to keep sex
and sexuality private and
avoid informing young adults
about their bodies and sex in
high school.
In fact, there is a move
ment in the U.S. Congress to
only award grants to school
programs that teach absti
nence as the only form of safe
sex. President George W.
Bush and other conservatives
argue that “abstinence only”
sex education is the only edu
cation that does not condone
sex. This is a big mistake.
Rather than teaching stu
dents to avoid sex, emphasis
should be geared toward edu
cating students about sex and
its consequences. Americans
in the 1950s tried to keep
their children from engaging
in premarital sex by telling
children fairytales and old
wives’ tales that left absti
nence as the only alternative.
Margaret Griffith, director
of health education at A.P.
Beutel Health Center, said the
1950s attitude has reappeared.
Some parents and teachers
tell children that sex is dirty,
but they also say do it with
someone you love. Griffith
said “this message is obvious
ly conflicting and confusing;
kids should avoid sex because
it is dirty or immoral but are
told that it is a gift to be
shared with someone you love
but only after marriage.”
It is no wonder that when
some children mature to the
college age the curiosity of
sex takes over. With parents
often miles away, college stu
dents are the most explorative
in terms of sex. Yet, because
most of those who are sexual
ly active are uninformed or ill
informed, there are often
severe consequences.
Earlier this year, Karen
Marie Hubbard, a college stu
dent from the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire, died
after giving birth in a resi
dence hall bathroom. She
was 19 years old and a fresh
man at the university. She was
co-valedictorian of her high
school and a member of the
National Honor Society, math
team, Spanish club, school
band, athletics and student
council.
Her high school guidance
counselor described her as
“one of the nicest people you
would ever meet, and the per
son that you would say was
definitely going to make it.”
Hubbard’s roommate said
Hubbard ignored concerns
from her friends and may not
have known she was preg
nant. The ignorance that led
to her death could have been
avoided if high schools placed
more emphasis on educating
students about sex.
These incidents prove that
sex education programs need
to focus on more than absti
nence. As they always have,
children will find a way to do
what they want. It is better
that educators inform them
about the risks and options
and teach children to embrace
their sexuality rather than
suppress it. The wise man is
much more equipped to make
a responsible decision than
the ignorant fool.
Dru Collins is a senit
speech communications majt