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Opinion
THE BATTALION
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Friday, April 12, 2002
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EDITORIAL
Awareness Can
Prevent STI’s
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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
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e a disregard of
■gard of legal pr
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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
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)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.