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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2002)
u rHE BATTij tobi, •arli Opinion THE BATTALION 7B Friday, April 12, 2002 P to prevent tj Jge has schelf EDITORIAL Awareness Can Prevent STI’s i as early as net tpone the bat: | s unlikelyt itic-controlledS al Parks Conser] atercraft are irj onal parks an: park experienc;is April brings Sexually Transmitted Infections Awareness are places Lith to center stage, education and testing should be at the 5° t0 8 et w jont of college students' minds with the recent release of the their everyth; t s Department of Health's Annual Report. The data contained I waves report are alarming because it reports the risks and dan- iore withoutnt® ass0 ciated with unprotected sex and rising numbers of Bos^ Z safd° r rte d STI cases - Unfortunately, the highest STI rates in Texas ita Fontaine ire ^ ouncl in Lu bbock and Brazos Counties, homes to Texas Tech , r 0 f ,(j e p f '.p Texas A&M. This is a direct reflection on the large population ndustry Assa students represented in these counties, he Park ServicsJ Brazos County alone, there are 520 cases of chlamydia per d it is premaL»000 people and 361 cases of gonorrhea per 100,000. There of water to the■ 101 and reported cases of HIV/AIDS. The HIV infection data nvironmentalaii 3een performed e a disregard of ■gard of legal pr disregard of | ontaine said, cision based o who happened ark.” gone from 11 reported cases in 1999 to 25 in 2000. These [ires are a call to arms for the sexually active to make respon- lle choices, to plan ahead and get tested for these infections, pwyour partner and get tested together. ie A.P. Beutel Health Center offers free HIV testing as well as ne testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia. This is vital to stu nts' safety as the high rate of infection in Brazos County sug- ^ts undetected cases of these infections that are largely treat- Wildemess SocM ew ' t ^ ant 'biotics. personal watetol'^ 6 con< ^ om use ' s encouraged, it is not a foolproof method ■nt and wildlif 3 * sto PP' n 8 fhe spread of STI's and people should educate them- ves and take the utmost caution with sexual activity, lesimied for spi p e message from the study should be simple enough; anyone -e that has note: I 10 ^ as ever had sex should be tested for STI's and play it safe alue of these nan: w > t0 avoid complications later, and curb the trend of high e science and Mon rates in these counties, we believe Jet Si I THE BATTALION ■ SINCE 1893 l J Imaging Editor Opinion Editor News Editor News Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief j Mariano CASTILLO Melissa Bedsole Jonathan Jones Brian Ruff Cayla Carr Sommer Bunce Branoie Liffick Member Member Member Member Jennifer Lozano Kelln Zimmer Haro said he! and was crossing he heard glass shattering icross the border, fc several other can been shot in thd# j j leg, received SI? j The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less I Jnd include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in per- nt014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111. Fax: |9) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com we right ion at oi " feed Me! ation ^6. ML THE GOOD PARTS WRE HIDDEN BY THOSE "WILL WORK FOR FOOD" SIGHS PM ALTS. T^-cOttsrmraSRe 20(3? frjt cor* amera... 7 for you- oin environing S INCLUDE: he position(s) for interested. Ify° u in more than umber them « -ence with 1 choice. J Fall D 60 * Editor liters MAIL CALL ill only) -ector if Jucer itor positions only) Drter Viter (faii on W ,tertainnne nt ter prter olumnist ner >r ner ter tist d 4:30 p." 1 ' lasement) t deadlin 65. )tests irrelevant ¥ unnecessary , res Ponse to Christina van's April 11 article: |° not consider two students pockets of opposition to l ric as war on terrorism" in Inland. There is not a better ‘° call attention to yourself J ~ tu dents for Civil Society I by blasting the war on ter- Th- Young said, "There are of dissent to this war. Not J 0n e is complacent." Young, F may be voices against this L but there are over 3,000 Jr SCr eaming above yours Jtney want justice. * Cari not solve ns with 'root prob- a peaceful end" J u se terrorists do not favor 17'. T hey favor a world |^ n ln 8 to them and they are to kill innocent ^n, and children ,’t - You cannot negotiate ^terrorists. They are evil and be neutralized, or, in sim- |K rms , removed from the face 3 rd eart h- Hiding behind l( j ■ °t Peace, social justice, I Imperialism will not protect a su ' c ‘de bomber. P^ulations, your state- ln The Battalion would made V.l. Lenin proud. Justin A. Tice Class of 2002 men, accom- ive So the terrorists are "merely" responding to U.S. policy. Let's think about that one. Our govern ment says that Israel is our friend. Now Certain Muslims hate us, and "merely" respond by blowing up our embassies, our ships, you know, anything American. Corporate America finds that employing laborers in Third World countries allows them to operate more efficiently while providing an income to families that are starving. So in response to this "exploitation,"certain Muslims "merely" blow up our World Trade Center, attempting to kill 50,000 people of many nationalities? Not just Americans? Don't you realize that terrorists like to kill people? They don't want peace, they don't want to negotiate. They just want to kill. You can try and talk with them if you want. I'd rather protect my country. I'm curious, instead of protesting would you consider sitting down and discussing the issue? I mean, you are the president of a civil society group, right? Forums are great, they force you to back up your position with intelligence. Protests remind me of babies. When they cannot communicate they throw their arms around and cry. Jeff Jones Class of 2002 IS IT GONNA BE ME? ’NSync’s Lance Bass has no place ‘ASA astro nauts must demon strate tremen dous amounts of aptitude, knowl edge, determina tion and good health before being selected as a member of the elite American space program. Many people who compete for this honor will not achieve their goal. Their missions are technical, involving complex scientific procedures and experiments, and space “travel” has yet to evolve into tourism. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration stands firm in the belief that space travel is not a right; it is a privilege. However, judging by the actions of Lance Bass, a member of “boy band” ‘NSync, anyone with the right connec tions could be allowed into space. With the financial backing of Destiny Judging by the actions of Lance Bass, a member of “boy band” NSYNC, anyone with the right connections could be allowed into space. Productions, Radio Shack and other international corporate sponsors, Bass has been undergoing medical examina tions in Moscow to ensure that he is fit for a trip to the international space sta tion with the Russians this November. It should be no surprise that Bass’ flight will be filmed for television. Regardless of how much he looks for ward to “completing this lifelong dream,” the whole scenario is nothing more than exaggerated lip service to his sponsors who will only gain marketing opportunities. Destiny Productions, who MELISSA FRIED will film the event for a television spe cial, is riding on Bass’ name and immense popularity to market its televi sion special to the national networks. David Krieff, president of Destiny Productions, believes this will be a good way to demonstrate the “united front of Russia and the United States working together.” In reality, it is only a way to demonstrate how the United States film industry can exploit the Russian space agency to make a couple of bucks. This is capitalism at its finest. To make matters worse, Bass said, “I am honored and privileged to represent my country in this history-making deci sion.” Bass is not representing our coun try at all; he represents no one other than himself. Our country did not solicit his participation in any space program of any kind. Our country did not select him from a pool of applicants and deem him wor thy of the mission. In all actuality, he is ANGELIQUE FORD- THE BATTALION not even flying with an American crew. Bass is no Christa McAuliffe, and it appears her efforts will be overshadowed by some pop star. A teacher and a person all Americans could relate to, she was chosen by NASA from a pool of 11,500 civilian applicants for a ticket on the space shuttle Challenger that tragically exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. She was the perfect role model for such an expedition as she paved the way for future educators and thousands of stu dents into the space program. The same cannot be said for Bass. While his space flight will be self-sat isfying, it will neither inspire or move the general public. He may convince people to buy some new “space-age” Radio Shack gizmo, but even that will not be enough for Americans to accept Bass as a true space pioneer. Lance Bass is, at best, an entertainer. And he is doing nothing more than enter taining his followers. Melissa Fried is a freshman international studies major. Inadequate father figure Russell Yates should be held accountable for negligence N MELISSA BEDSOLE 'ow that Andrea Yates is settled into a cell for at least the next 40 years of her life, people have begun to speculate that there may be someone else to blame. This time eyebrows are being raised at Yates’ husband, Russell Yates. Perhaps the latest questions and gossip about the mur ders of the five Yates children is only the media stirring up more drama, but maybe there is a case to be made. Russell Yates may have been the father of the children, but other than providing for them financially, he had very little success in his role as a father. Being a parent involves Being a parent involves responsibilities, and whether he was in denial of his wife’s mental illness or not, he chose not to take his responsibility seriously, leaving his children neglected and ultimately leading them to their deaths. responsibilities, and whether he was in denial of his wife’s mental illness or not, he chose not to take his responsibility seriously, leaving his children neglected and ultimately lead ing them to their deaths. Although many issues regarding the severity of Andrea Yates’ mental illness were discussed during her trial, no one denies that Andrea suffered from postpartum depression. This disease is frequently pushed off as affecting only the woman and as something that she must deal with on her own. But this disease affects entire families, and when there are children involved, it is crucial that the husband take con trol of the situation for the sake of everyone. Russell Yates also had a problem. Ignorance and negligence are not dis eases, they are problems; but they are what Russell suffered from. The problem with the Yates family is that they were not helping themselves. Whether it was denial or refusal to deal with the problem, he chose not to take control of his family when it was obviously needed. Andrea went in and out of hospitals and treatment centers, hardly staying long enough to get any help. Andrea was getting only a tempo rary fix, never making a real recovery from her illness. When doctors urged them not to have more children, another opportunity for Russell to take charge arose. But again responsibility was lacking. Andrea was rarely bathing herself and obviously heading down a road toward serious danger, and Russell simply would go to work each morning leaving his five children in the care of their sick mother. The results of that fateful day last June may have been a horrify ing surprise to the rest of the world, but they should not have been a surprise for Russell. His children may have died at the hands of their mother, but both parents share the guilt of their deaths. Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal recently explained that Texas law allows prosecution for crimes of omission as well as commission. That is what needs to be considered in the case against Russell. While he may not be a danger to anyone and may not need to serve jail time, he deserves some form of punishment. Whether or not it was intentional, an example was made during the trial of Andrea Yates. A precedent was set in the tri als of mental illness against women, and it is time an example is made in the punishments for the fathers in these situations. Melissa Bedsole is a senior psychology major.
