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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2002)
IE BATTAlls >mise ^ntlesl e Eas Opinion THE BATTALION Monday, April 1, 2002 AP) — Presit two more: not discourage torts as senai him to get Don t drink and dunk h&M should distance itself from ri nns these act X)kesman Gore second bombe let these lat pursuit of peat; xld leaders lay. The presk iccurity adv te first bombii Easter service ranch, Johni "ed no new int ony Zinni mg to arrangt cease-fire. Bush wav to reporters left the chu:.! but made a remarks. Three set: tors — a fella Republican as two Democra: — said Sun# that Bush mis step up k efforts to halts violence. “I think#: / with the Aral the financing is .rlen SpecterJ- the Middle East eaders including political settle- jrity rainbow, to ese 18-year# a threat wticli ' said on CBS rid he isl es’’ from^t a: r\i COLLINS EZEANYIM all resped president owell, wilt'- [ it the world s Lieberman. 0- . unday." ins Committee the administra- peace pact tint something dta- ne president to Biden, D-Del n Aggie declares firmly in a |iv commercial choose not to dunk my Aggie ring.” Soon after, the screen fills with the proclamation: Ring dunking is not a tradition. This commercial shows Texas A&M taking an official stance lagainst the practice of Aggie ring dunking, which as most Aggies know, involves dropping an Aggie ring into a pitcher of beer and then chugging the entire container, catching the ring between the teeth. Many Aggies see the commercial as an attack on a legitimate A&M tradition. But the University is justified in declaring ring dunking an officially unrecognized tradition. Aggies who disagree with this action may argue that many student activities — Bonfire, in particular - were per formed for years before the University recognized them as tradi tions. But John McFate, chair of the Traditions Council said there are three criteria that an activity must meet before it can be declared a tradition: it must happen continuously, it must bring Aggies together and it must make A&M a better place. Ring dunking only satisfies the first of these condi tions. It lacks the reverence that true A&M traditions, such as Silver Taps and Muster, have in abundance. Ring dunking also fails to bring Aggies together. It is an issue that polarizes many stu nts. Many Aggies believe that ring dunking is a legitimate tradition that deserves recognition University, meanwhile, other Aggies feel Mongfy that ring dunking is not a real A&M tradition. For example, Jennifer Ford, the pro- gramming coordinator for the Alcohol and Drug Plication Programs and Cynthia A. Olvera, the Mohol and Drug Education Programs, coordi nator of campus events said the student who appeared in the commercial chose to say the anti-dunking words herself. Also, many “old Ags” who attended the University before ring dunking was invented fail to see the logic of dropping something so treasured as one’s Aggie ring into a pitcher of beer. The division this activity causes between Aggies is unacceptable. Furthermore, if Texas A&M recognized ring dunking as a tradition, it would be seen by some as an endorsement of the dangerous practice of binge drinking. This would cause serious harm to A&M’s reputation. This is especially true if one considers two studies recently released by the College Alcohol Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health. They point to a disturb ing relationship between college students and alcohol. One of the studies conclude that college RUBEN DELUNA* THE BATTALION students are now more likely to drink to excess when they drink. Even all-female colleges are witnessing a sharp increase in binge drinking. It does not make sense for any university to endorse an activity that involves the consump tion of large amounts of alcohol. Fortunately, McFate said that ring dunking will never be rec ognized as a tradition because it involves alco hol. Another disastrous result that would occur if ring dunking become an official recognized tradition is the stratification among students who have Aggie rings: the rings that were not “christened” at the Dixie Chicken would be seen as less valuable than those that did under go the ritual. But after more than 100 years of the senior ring tradi tion, it is clear that earn ing the privilege to wear the ring is special enough. Of course, just because ring dunking is a not a tradition according to the University does not mean students who want to dunk their rings can not do so. They should realize, however, that what they are doing will never be seen as a tra dition in many Aggies’ eyes. They should also realize that it is the responsibility of the University to draw a line in the sand and protect the reverence and reputation of real Texas A&M traditions. Collins Ezeanyim is a junior computer engineering major. Smokers are people too tamu.edu -)rmation< visit: mm . (U-WIRE) BALTIMORE — Illegal activi- t ' es take place all the time in this country. And not sort-of crimes but real, violent Cities. One would think that we as a society would focus our efforts at preventing these ^imes. Still, every day there are millions of aw abiding Americans who are persecuted a ud pushed farther and farther to the fringes °‘society: smokers. Now, I don’t smoke. I think the tobacco com plies have misled people. I think second-hand smoke may be a health issue. In spite of all this, smoking is legal, and whether or not a person smokes is a decision they are free to make. To many, cigarettes are the great evil to be P Ur ged. In the X-Files, the mysterious, sinister ne mesis is referred to simply as “the smoking 111an ’ as if this trait alone were enough to assure Us of his evilness. To these people, around every j-onier is another subliminal message placed by Jg tobacco to get four year olds to smoke. Most e ntly, health advocates in Sacramento pushed ° r smoking to be a criteria in movie ratings. A 0v ie character enjoying a cigarette is lumped j Wlt h the murderer, topless actress and foul | nguagc. Surely no second hand smoke can Pass from George Clooney’s Marlboro to the of^tmg movie viewer. This is not an issue ^ ealth, it is an issue of vilification. Smokers |j toe modem day lepers, pushed to back sec- ns ot restaurants and dingy designated areas of office buildings. e Sffi here in Maryland the most egregious earn 6 sm °l cers ’ rights violations almost Co e t0 b 6 - The law passed, but vetoed by the law'V execut * ve ' n Montgomery County, out- sirmlT Smo l c ' n §’ even in your own home, if the thisV ,X)t l lers a neighbor. The implications of apart arC far ° ver reac hing. If you live in an noti 1116111 anc * P asse rsby in the hallway merely tob!) Ce tlle P resence of cigarettes or other (l ler CC0 ’ there would be legal penalties. Again, 0n | e ’ s 110 health issue involved. An accuser enC p f° demonstrate annoyance at the pres- tlweir Ci § are «es. A tenant of a legally-owned subst ln ® attem Pting to use a completely legal ance could be committing a crime. SlTl0 , le 8 0v ernment, doing their part to make the “sin f 61 - a l ?, uas t' cr tminal, enforces outrageous i s j n L Xes ‘ The revenue raised from these taxes f 0r e tens °f billions. These taxes are unfair half oU° US reasons - First of all, more than all tobacco price increases will be paid by people with incomes of less than $30,000 a year. Only 1 percent will be paid by those with incomes of over $ 100,000. The ones who can afford it the least are being made to pay the most as a penalty for their using a legal con sumer product. Hard working, law abiding Americans are forced to fork over dispropor tionate and unfair amounts of money to the gov ernment just to enjoy a nice, legal cigarette. It is important to keep in mind that when tobacco executives are forced to defend themselves to congressional committees, that Uncle Sam gets more than his share from their evil doings. In essence, these taxes and escalating prices take away the freedom to decide. There are numerous goods that consumers may take a liking to. For my part, I have a particular affin ity for Cheez-Its. Unfortunately for me, these delicious cheese crackers are high in choles terol, which I understand is unhealthy. In spite of that, I choose to spend my money on legal snack food. If tomorrow the government levied a “sin tax” to these cholesterol and salt laden crackers, I would no longer be able to afford them. This would similarly be unfair. There are many things the average person can not afford to begin with, caviar for example. The high price of caviar, though, is a function of supply and demand, not a government deci sion that I owe society something extra for my choice. Incidentally, these taxes do nothing to discourage smoking in practice. In the United Kingdom where a pack of cigarettes is roughly twice as expensive as in the U.S., teen smok ing rates are nearly identical. There are non-tax mechanisms that can limit smoking. Those who don’t smoke don’t con tribute a penny to Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. If enough people choose not to smoke, these companies will be out of business. It’s called Capitalism, and it’s the way success and failure of a company should be decided. Government should be making every effort to defend the right of citizens to enjoy a legal ly purchased legal substance. Whether or not to smoke is not the decisions of movie stars or senators. If you don’t want to smoke, don’t. If you don't want to be around smokers, walk the other way. A smoker is not less of a per son, just less healthy. Eric Barker is a student at Johns Hopkins University Everything’s all white Mascot lessens American Indian discrimination GEORGE DEUTSCH T he issue of racism is a hot topic at Texas A&M, and the ongoing discussion is largely centered on Caucasian and African- American relations. But there is another often overlooked group that is discriminated against daily on an even grander scale — American Indians. And in response to the all-too-common practice of giving sports teams slang Native-American names, American Indians on the University of Colorado intra mural basketball team have adopted a name of their own — the “Fightin’ Whities.” As part of the new team’s promotional effort, creator Charlie Chuny has team mem bers wear shirts emblazoned with a slick-haired, middle- aged, grinning white mascot on the front. Underneath his picture is the phrase, “Everythang’s gonna be all white.” Sure, some critics might see embracing new racial stereo types as an unorthodox way to rid the world of old ones. But in stereotyping whites, this team forces the Caucasian majority to consider the emo tional pain inflicted by what most consider tasteless team names like “Savages,” “Redskins” and “Scalpers.” The white majority would never insult other ethnicities by using racial slurs to name teams after them, so how dare this country be so quick as to toss around such phrases about American Indians. The University of Colorado team, comprised of American Indians, Hispanics and the occasional Caucasian, created the Whities primarily in response to a local Colorado high school’s official mascot and logo. The Eaton Fightin’ Reds’ mascot is an angry- looking depiction of an Indian with a big, crooked nose, a loin cloth draped over his crotch and a sneering head the size of his torso. Depictions of American Indians in this negative light have been the subject of debate for years. The Colorado protesters estimate that more than 3,000 high schools, colleges and profes sional sports teams across the country use discriminatory names and characters. An example would be the Cleveland Indians’ mascot. Chief Wahoo, who has a feath er in his hair and a grin on his face like the village idiot. Even more disturbing than some of the names these teams have are the implications behind them. There are 20 schools in Colorado alone whose mascots have discrimina tory labels, and some of these are illusions to historical events. The Lamar High School Savages, for instance, are locat ed near the site where more than 150 peaceful Indians were slaughtered in Colorado’s 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. One would be hard pressed to find that nugget of knowledge in a Lamar high history book. Interestingly enough, American Indians are the only race used as mascots usually a position filled by animals. As Mary Ketterling, a Cheyenne River Lakota, said, “They’re not honoring us. They’re dehumanizing us.” So when Chuny, also a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, conceptualized the Whities, it was not to mock whites but to motivate pro gressive discussions on Indian stereotypes. “If it opens the lines of communication, that’s great,” he said. “I would hope people would be smart enough to see though to the real issue—that we have to respect all cultures.” Sadly, it is difficult for any one outside of Native American Indian circles to appreciate the hatred and big otry they must endure, and hopefully Chuny’s efforts will pay off in the long run. Professor at the Institute of American Indian Art and Spokane Indian Charlene Teters blames this country’s disrespect for Indians for many of the problems the Indian nations face, and rightfully so. “We see it in the low self-esteem, the high suicide rates and the self- hatred,” she said. “[We] on the front lines ... see this as an important issue.” George Deutsch is a junior journalism major.
