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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2002)
'02 Opinion The Battalion 3ns uii arrest Jrfews media g invasitr m ope? ights e and :ism. "Opeic last w; 'Ombing Israelis Palest- lar six-i Vest Ba 1 , camera, MTV deserves to be sued for candid camera prank lawsuit st exte- w: iiile no one has accused MTV of being the most asteful producer of entertain- nent, one would hope its xecutives possess at least a nodicum of human decency, apparently, one would be wrong. Recently, a couple from Washington, eli tf[M).C. filed a lawsuit against MTV and Hard re in see *ock Hotel for invasion of privacy, fraud the offiepind mental anguish over an incident tsser Aflinvolved in the taping of a segment for a has k iew reality show. The show, entitled ‘Harassment,” was intended to be the extreme sports version of “Candid Camera.” James and Lauri Ann Ryan, as unwill- ng participants in the show, checked into he Hard Rock Hotel and when they went :o their room, found what appeared to be a nurder victim's corpse in the room. Security guards and paramedics arrived MICHAEL WHITLOW ;ey. In d into >ut wit: ‘fights. Iran )were ie deatli 3^ _ ^ quickly to take away the body and ques- you can swindle, backstab, lie to or outperform enough people, you win. Who would want the youth of America learning such ideals, especially in the hands of the leader of youth culture: MTV. After all, isn’t this the same company that brought us “Jackass” a show that exalts notoriety above dignity or even personal safety? The sad thing is that in all its years, in light of all its potential, this is where MTV ended up. A small station that became a cultural icon, that invented such campaigns as Rock the Vote in order to inspire young adults to vote in presidential elections, has fallen to the point of placing fake corpses in hotel rooms in order to get higher rat ings. This is a company that was poised to motivate the youth of a nation into politi cal activism and cultural unity. To be fair, they have still succeeded in this endeavor to some degree. This success, however, is offset by their decision to spray human excrement on two teenage girls during the taping of a show entitled “Dude, that Sucks,” which never aired as a result of other legal problems. Instead of focusing their energy on enlightening and educating our nation’s youth, MTV decides to film corpses, humans covered in feces, and re-run so many episodes of “Real World” that they have to create a second channel, MTV2, to show the music videos they no longer have time for on the original MTV. Hopefully this lawsuit will succeed in showing MTV and other network producers they have a responsibility not to harm inno cent people in the taping of their shows. Michael Whitlow is a senior English major. tion the couple. The couple later dis- zonek covered that the body was fake, the DOorm: guards and paramedics were actors and the entire proceeding had been taped with hidden cameras. The couple was understandably upset and filed the lawsuit in April, though it was recently moved to federal court. The suit included the Hard Rock Hotel because of its compliance with MTV’s |scheme, as well as the show’s producer. The fact that MTV even entertained t 7:30it this idea for a moment, much less ereirt: moved it into the production phase, is ‘ or mix appalling. No one ever said that all ess,® lentertainment needs to be iol I art. but exposing people to ja ^ eS: 1 situations that are poten- " dally traumatizing, and Vri recordin g l * le ‘ r reaction s ttfH ^ 0r a v °y euris tic indul- S ence b° r< Jers on inhu- P j! man. It also serves to ipustrate the problems w d/t reality television and 1 Iiv]/ v programming in ;_k»Jp ener al. Reality television is first and foremost any thing but reality. Yes, it Jtilizes individuals that re not paid actors, but it Iso places them in xtremely artificial cir- umstances set up to elicit narrow range of esponses. Almost all of hem are nothing more han glorified game hows, with a large mone- ary piece of cheese await- ng whichever rat success- ully navigates the maze n question. Of course, e are allowed to sit back nd laugh at the pain and truggles of individuals long the way. Shows like ‘Love Cruise” or [Temptation Island” make mockery of human sen- liment, and shows like ■‘American Idol” expose Ihe destruction of human Breams to public ridicule. [ Of course all of this is Nfl»kay, because as long as j 10 p2' eseafi nfecM vagirt rmatioi $150. No more solicitors on campus C onsumers are bombarded every day with advertisements and solicitations. Businesses Biaye carried advertising past the ■point of TV and newspaper ads by ANDIBACA ■Blitting untapped resources like col- B e ge campuses to make a greater profit. While it may be lucrative for the businesses, Texas A&M Should not allow solicitations on campus. At the beginning of every semester, business lepiesentatives set 3p all over campus to pressure students to sign up lor meichandise mch as credit cards, newspapers and cell phones. The problem with solicitors is the selling tactics they use to gain customers. Many solicitors yell out announcements or personally address stu dents as they pass by. Students often feel compelled to stop, even 'hough many do not want to, especially when they pass the same dooth several times a day. With more important matters on their minds, students have 'nore to worry about than filling out applications for credit cards they do not need. , „ ^ The sales gimmicks companies use also take advantage o s u dents. Solicitors know if they offer free stuff, they can draw more students in. Students, especially freshmen, can easily be lured into signing up for a five-year subscription to the Houston Cluonu e Py an oversized, cheap T-shirt. .. As most college students are constantly short on cash, solicitois hempt to push credit cards as a money source to students. As the at e of students graduating from college with credit card debt increases, colleges need to help students avoid debt instead of handing them the pen to sign up for a credit card. Students might be less annoyed and pressured by solicitors if they set up their tables in a better location. If A&M insists on sup porting solicitors they should confine them to certain areas only, such as the Memorial Student Center. Students expect to see tables with recruiters and solicitors inside the MSC and are less likely to feel annoyed by a solicitor. Not all students may see solicitors as a problem. Students who live on campus might see it as a convenient way to get a cell phone or credit card. However, everything is convenient these days, and if a student really needs their own Visa card, it is not dif ficult to obtain one somewhere other than a campus solicitor. If students were not bothered by them, they would not have to resort to ignoring solicitors or even finding alternative routes to class simply to avoid dealing with them. A college campus is not the place for businesses to set up shop and take advantage of the heavy traffic of students who just moved out of their par ents’ house and have no idea how to balance money, much less make a monthly financial commitment. Students already see enough propaganda on campus because of student elections and organization recruitment. On-campus solicitation has become more of a nuisance to stu dents than a convenience. A&M is an institution for learning and should be kept as such. Andi Baca is a senior journalism major. Page 7 • Monday, June 24, 2002 Anti-Muslim speech harmful T his month. Southern Baptist Conference leaders began attacking the religion of Islam and its founder Mohammed. Not only were their comments extreme ly prejudiced, they were also hypocritical. The issues the leaders attacked are not limited to Mohammed’s life and Islam. Reverend Jerry Vines, in an address to the convention’s pastors, called Mohammed a “demon-possessed pedophile.” Other Southern Baptist Convention leaders such as President James Merritt have refused to refute the statements, saying that they are accurate. It is historically acknowledged that Mohammed’s last wife Aisha was nine or 10 when her father gave her to him. The practice of girls marrying at a prepubescent age was considered the norm of the time. All females during this peri od, including those written of in the Bible, married extremely early, usually between the ages of nine and 12, to ensure their “purity.” Mohammed, however, does not fit the definition of a pedophile. The typical pedophile is unable to find satisfaction in an adult sexual relationship and choose children because the innocent are less threatening than adults. Mohammed’s marriage to Aisha, according to historians, was simply one of alliance. His other wives were all over the age of 17, and nine were widows before they married him. Half were widows over 30 years of age. Calling Mohammed a pedophile was simply an inflamma tory and bigoted remark. Reverend Vines attacked Mohammed because he had 12 wives, but the practice of polygyny — one man having many wives — was not uncom mon during this time either. In the Bible, both King David and King Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines, yet they were still considered to be in God’s favor. Many wives lead to numerous children, and children were consid ered economic commodities necessary to increasing family wealth. The more children a family produced, the more money they were able to earn. Vines also said, “Allah is not Jehovah, either. Jehovah is not going to turn anyone into a terrorist that will try to bomb people.” However, doing something God tells you to do and doing something “in the name of God” are two dif ferent things. Christian fundamentalists frequently commit terroristic acts in the name of God. Groups such as The Army of God have bombed women’s clinics and gay nightclubs in the past, as well as killed doctors and harassed abortion clinic employees. The Army of God manual calls for protesters to leave nails in parking lots, to flood clinics with water and even to rent construction equipment such as bulldozers to destroy buildings. Neal Horsley, creator of the pro-life “Nuremberg Files” website, once published an online hit list. The list had hundreds of names, personal information and pictures of pro-choice doc tors and clinic workers. Former President Bill Clinton and selected members of Congress were also on the list. Horsley once stated that his website does not threaten anyone, but New York obstetrician Barnett Slepian, who was assassinated by a sniper while standing in his kitchen in 1998, was once included in Horsley's hit list. After his mur der, Slepian was crossed off the list. The “Nuremberg Files” now publishes pictures of women entering abortion clinics on the Internet. These are just a few examples of terroristic acts undertak en in the name of Christianity. In the months since the Sept. 1 1 attacks. President Bush continues to remind Americans that Islam is a peaceful religion, that the 19 men who carried out the attacks were not representative of all Muslims; they were fundamental extremists. The bigoted and hypocritical Southern Baptist remarks will create more hatred on both sides of the issue. They will lead to more prejudice against people of the Islamic faith who are trying to distance themselves from the acts of the fundamentalists. The comments could also make targets of Christian missionaries around the world. For Rev. Vines to have made such comments shows a lack of.historical under standing and a bigotry that America does not need in its leadership today. Jenelle Wilson is a junior political science major. JENELLE WILSON MAIL CALL Battalion coverage of Corps not biased Having read the numerous accusations of systematic bias by The Battalion against the Corps of Cadets, 1 looked through past issues of the newspaper and found no evi dence to substantiate the claim that The Battalion has an agenda to discredit the Corps. As a former Battalion editor and Corps first sergeant, I know firsthand how Corps cul ture often clashes with news reporting. Overall, coverage of the Corps in The Battalion has been fair and balanced. Last spring, there were 13 page one stories and photos about the Corps, and the Corps was mentioned in another 30 articles. Out of 71 issues, that is a high percentage of cover age. The Corps voter registra tion drive, the Corps sweeping the Yell leader elections and the Corps Leadership Excellence Program were newsworthy and ran because they were of interest to read ers. The same applied to the stories regarding a cadet arrested for pornography and, I am sure, to the stories about the photographs of alleged hazing. Some of these stories are definitely embarrassing to the Corps and the University, but do not constitute bias against the Corps. 1 hope the bad con tinues to be reported, just like the positive is. Every member of the Corps, not just its leaders, should be aware that as Keepers of the Spirit, the public and media will be more critical, as it should be, when its members do not hold themselves to the higher standard they profess. Mariano Castillo Class of 2002