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Homebuilders should not add panic room
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terms of money and safety.
■In the film, Foster battles
intruders from the confines of
what is commonly known as a
safe room. The concept is sim
ple: residents of a home that is
violated by intruders can retreat
to the room and call authorities
on an independent phone line.
Although the idea is basic, there
is much more to the safe room
that homebuyers must consider.
r'P Once they take these aspects into
account, they will discover there
is no need for such a structure.
■Unfortunately, as soon as the
movie was released, there was a
sharp rise in the number of
requests by homeowners and
irm potential homebuyers for panic
^ ^ u rooms to be installed. But these
safe rooms do not come cheaply;
1 a fully equipped version easily
)j can cost $500,000, and many
security experts say the cost is
not justified. The Associated
iermany - Press, on the subject of people
cross 0 buying safe rooms, quoted
day to ret William Bratton, former com-
chool mass: m j ss j oner 0 f the New York
cople O' Police Department. “If you’ve
ihard Sc g 0t t j ie money, that’s great,” he
ter gun corf
•ved
said. “But what are the chances
that you're ever going to use the
darn thing?”
Granted, the concept of a safe
room has its place. Reinforced
rooms make sense when it comes
to protection from natural disas
ters such as hurricanes or torna
does. Safe rooms also have use
ful applications in foreign coun
tries. In Israel, for instance, it is
mandated by law that every new
building or addition to an exist
ing building is equipped with
either an apartment protected
space or a floor protected space.
For the besieged country, this
precaution makes sense and only
The recently release
Jodie Foster movie.
Panic Room, has
sparked a trend that
may be costly to home
buyers in terms of
money and safety.
can be seen as necessary. And
while the United States is now
more aware of the threat of ter
rorism, it is not under the con
stant threat of bombings; there
fore, the addition of safe rooms
to homes is superfluous at best.
Furthermore, there is no guar
antee that a panic room will keep
the occupants safe. This addition
may become a hazard by itself.
The Associated Press reported
on the tragedy that occurred to
Edmund Safra, a billionaire
banker who was killed by a fire in
his Monte Carlo penthouse
safe room. He had feared
that intruders had set the fire,
but as The Associated Press
reported, the fire was really
set by one of his nurses, Ted
Mathers. Mathers admitted
that he had set the fire in a
scheme to rescue his boss
and earn a promotion.
In this case, Safra relied
too heavily on the false
sense of security offered by
a safe room. Once he dis
covered that his penthouse
was on fire, Safra should
have done everything in his
power to get out, regardless
of whether there were
intruders in his home or not.
Many who will invest in safe
rooms will expect the struc
ture to protect them from
every possible threat, but
Safra’s tragic example shows
that homebuyers must still
be on their guard.
It is a homebuyer’s choice
whether they want to invest
the time and money into a
safe room. But hopefully, the
majority of those who decide
to take this venture will do so
because they believe safe rooms
are a worthwhile investment their
families safety, not because a
movie made them trendy.
Collins Ezeanyim is a junior
computer engineering major.
ADRIAN CALCANEO* THE BATTALION
it's about growth
\Despite challenges, Texas A&M stands out
The terror continues
Palestinians must give up violence for peace
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MARIANO CASTILLO
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lexas A&M University,
despite the criticism
and negative stereo-
Itypes that are frequently
associated with it, provides
students with an unmatched
learning environment. For all
its faults, A&M is a place where students
are exposed daily to harsh debates and
controversial issues that regularly escape
students elsewhere. Lessons are learned
the old-fashioned way here; theory gives
way to real-life experiences that make
powerful impacts in one’s life.
On the night of Jan. 13, 2002, I gave
Jmy OK to run a questionable cartoon in
\The Battalion — a decision that set of! a
Ichain of events that has forever changed
how I view race in American society. In
|the weeks following my decision, there
Iwere times of frustration, anger, confusion
land regret, but most of all, I was left with
la fascination of how ethnic groups see
fthemselves and how they perceive others
jsee them.
That experience reinforced the first lesson
11 learned upon my arrival on campus. As a
j fish in the Corps of Cadets, I was ready to
I quit on day two. I remember my command-
•er, Mark Gonzales, pulling me aside and
telling me that the fact that I chose to join
the Corps meant that I believed in it and
what it could do for me. I would regret it lor
the rest of my life if I quit something I
believed in, he told me.
He was right.
The Corps is among the most reward
ing things I have done in my life.
This is not a lesson that is limited to
the Corps. Being an Aggie is not easy.
The idea that Aggies take the higher road
still rings true. It is what sets A&M stu
dents apart.
Yet, as evidenced by the hundreds ot
letters The Battalion received this semester,
I see many Aggies wanting to quit on the
school they believe in. Former students
constantly threaten to withdraw support
because of the cancellation of Aggie
Bonfire 2002, or because they think A&M
is becoming too liberal or too politically
correct. Current and former students are
divided over the presidential search and
hang their support for Texas A&M on who
is at the helm. Where are their mentors to
remind them that quitting
something you believe in
because things go in unexpect
ed directions will lead to
regret?
Letters to the editor are
among the best samples of
student sentiment. Instead of cursing the
changes that A&M is heading toward, as
seems to be the trend in letters, students
should embrace the opportunity to
engage in dialogue over difficult issues.
This is not an easy or painless process,
as many of us learned in the weeks fol
lowing Jan. 1 4.
The cartoon controversy, which unfor
tunately overshadowed much of the excel
lent journalism produced by The Battalion
Spring 2002 staff, brought out the worst
of A&M, that of a student body divided,
and with it came some of the harshest
criticism of the University. However, it
also put the much-repressed issue of race
on the forefront, and all students were
exposed to it. engaging their intellect and
challenging their perceptions. A&M is
truly a learning place, where we can learn
from our mistakes and from each other’s.
The controversy taught all of the students
involved very powerful lessons about the
way people interact.
The growing pains that current students
are feeling, with the Bonfire decision, the
issue of diversity and Vision 2020, among
others, should not be viewed as obstacles
that will do away with ’Ol Army, but as
changes that we should not be afraid to
debate about. Dialogue such as this brings
with it high tempers, emotions, politics
and other things students would rather not
deal with. But this is what makes us
stronger. It makes us better people, better
leaders, and leaves us prepared for the
real world.
The University finds itself at a defining
point in its history. In true Aggie tradition,
students should embrace the challenges
and always take the higher road; it is what
makes A&M stand out.
Mariano Castillo is a senior journalism
and international studies major.
JONATHAN JONES
C ountering the attacks of
neighboring nations
fighting to push Israel
into the Mediterranean Sea is
nothing new. The civilian inno
cents of this democratic nation,
Arab and Jew alike, have faced
a barrage of suicide attacks in
the wake of stalled peace talks.
Some Palestinians, including
teenagers of both sexes from
wealthy families, have stooped
so low as to disguise them
selves as pregnant women and
ambulance relief workers just
to be in a better position to kill.
The Arab world, and
Palestinians in particular, are
not ready to coexist with the
The Arab world,
and Palestinians in
particular, are not
ready to coexist with
the Jewish state.
Jewish state. There can be no
long term peace until violence
aimed at destroying Israel is
abandoned and political negoti
ation is embraced as a means
of resolving conflict.
Before Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon began to
root out the cowardly terrorists
hiding among their own civil
ians, the hope of his people for
a secure and prosperous future
seemed more and more distant.
Predictably, he has faced a bar
rage of criticism. Israel is right
to defend its very existence,
which the current conflict
threatens. America should stand
shoulder to shoulder with Israel
in our collective war against
terrorism. Many of its values
are shared with this country.
These are the same democratic,
free market and pluralistic val
ues that are been the bedrock of
Western civilization.
There should be no moral
equivalency between the
Israelis and the Palestinians in
the current conflict. There is no
“cycle of violence,” only
attacks and legitimate respons
es of war. In fact, Israel has
gone beyond most of its obliga
tions in the effort for peace and
security. This has been met
with violence and terror.
Following the Oslo Accords,
for example, Israel has granted
self-rule and a de facto state in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
If the Palestinians wished,
there could be much more. In
addition, many refugees in
Israel are living in such a sad
state of affairs because the
much larger countries sur
rounding Israel refuse to give
them shelter. In the meantime,
nothing is said of the right of
return for the Jews of
Alexandria or Baghdad. While
Jews are not permitted to live
in many Arab countries, Arabs
are granted full citizenship
with the right to vote in Israel.
They are free to become me m
bers of the Knesset. Ironically,
Arabs in Israel have more
rights and freedoms than most
Arabs in living in Muslim
majority countries.
Israel, smaller than New
Hampshire, is an island of
democracy in a sea of totaliitar-
ianism. Israelis are willing to
make peace, but the Palestinian
leadership is not. The Israeli
offer at the 2000 Camp David
summit, which Palestinian
Yasser Arafat rejected in favor
of the current violence, is a
clear demonstration of this. He
rejected 95 percent of the West
Bank and shared sovereignty of
Jerusalem.
Until the Palestinian peo ple
as a whole renounce terrorism,
there can be no long-term
peace and it is not just Arafat
or a fanatical fringe that sup
ports the suicide bombings. In
poll after poll, over three-quar
ters of Palestinians approve of
this gruesome tactic.
Sharon is now completing
what the United States is still
doing - systematically rooting
out terrorist organizations that
reject peaceful overtures and
threaten national security.
Arafat, however, is very adept
at playing up victimhood to the
Western media. The supposed
massacre at Jenin is the latest
of these disgusting episodes.
There has been much politi
cal discussion about the Oslo
accords of 1993. Hailed at the
time as a significant step
toward peace, Arafat has since
undermined the agreements
from the start. Israel fulfilled
its obligations, but the series of
reciprocal concessions that
were supposed to take place
were decidedly one-sided. The
only obligation the Palestinians
had was to stop terrorizing
Israeli civilians, and they could
not do it. Israel wants to coex
ist in peace with its neighbors.
But the steady stream of
Muslim martyrs is making this
impossible.
One man’s freedom fighter
is not another man’s terrorist.
There should be no moral
equivalence from the American
point of view. The United
States must fully support Israel
in their war on terrorism. By
negotiating with Arafat in the
wake of suicide bombings, a
message is sent to Tehran,
Damascus and Baghdad that
terrorists can intimidate the
United States. At that point, no
one is safe.
Jonathan Jones is a senior
political science major.