Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2002)
SPORTS r T ALIOS « filled thi (cach-goen ‘8 suits and :ys to the ns before a on Rio i beach, many were loped J expected he tourna- surprising Vorld Cup crowd from lany fan: f a large their faces inal whi} lent n the ven legal bem France m ians neves orites as 1 Portugal nd South even the making its tall, incredible German) lid. "The) one. The; lampions ty and ir vith flair, e "Three onaldinhc ension to naldo fin- ense, par son. who : e of Jem ly in th; rcos.whf and was st wori Oliwr free hi goal- Brazil, thwm/n. acritkz," to revive ictorious Opinion The Battalion Page 5 • Monday, July 1, 2002 Lies on resumes becoming common Companies should investigate applicants' resume claims before hiring them CAYLA CARR M any people will admit to having exaggerated the facts at one point in order to land a job, especially right out of college. Now however, it seems naive undergraduates are not the only people lying on resumes. The Dallas Morning News reported that just this month, Charles Harris, athletic director for Dartmouth College, resigned after neglecting to correct his resume. Harris was turned in by a past employer who informed the college that he had never completed a mas ter's degree, something Harris listed on Jge3 he first •e pitch outing : days is hotel iund a tency he )W never ct he ider on jr left no [e him- :very ague ball- t forget that players Kile, not hitter ouston ison for ise he and dorado, use ay well- play 3 it to t effort nound. v left we must 5 still t the at fills is spirh each rst pes of agues spirit io go cing of :h and ed a - all y and ofes- >ver la a senior i/ mnj 01. JEFF SMITH • THE BATTALION his resume. An increasing number of public icons who had held jobs for a lengthy period of time have recently been under scrutiny for falsifying their resumes. What once were harmless exaggera tions have now become destructive, full-blown lies. People who lie to make themselves look better should come as no surprise; however, prospective employers should be more cautious and investigate the facts before hiring these individuals. According to The Dallas Morning News, Sandra Baldwin, president of the United States Olympic Committee, resigned after it was discovered she had not received her bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University or a doctorate from the University of Arizona. In Dec. 2001, George O’Leary, former head football coach for Notre Dame, resigned after it was discovered he never played football for the University of New Hampshire and did not have a master’s degree from New York University, as he had claimed on his resume. According to the St. Petersburg Times, O'Leary had mis led other employers for nearly two decades. In both of these cases, the false information has led to poor publicity for Notre Dame and the U.S. Olympic Committee, and it also cost qualified applicants jobs. Both instances could have been prevented if employers would have ade quately researched the candidates. The high profile positions of both Baldwin and O’Leary would lead one to believe extensive investigation should have preceded the hiring process. James Ware, a California federal judge, was reported by The Dallas Morning News to have lied about his kinship to a young black boy murdered in 1963. Ware used this information to explain his life-long quest for justice. Finally, in 1997, Ware was forced to relinquish his nomination to the federal appeals court. Ware’s motive to lie seemed weak compared to the other alleged culprits. Regardless, he was trust ed with making dire decisions that could affect the entire nation, and because of his lies, he did not deserve the position he upheld. A similar case in 1992 sparked pub lic alarm. According to The Dallas Morning News, Lena Guerrero was defeated for re-election as Texas Railroad Commissioner because she claimed she had a bachelor’s degree when she did not. Guerrero was elect ed and served an entire term as Texas Railroad Commissioner before the truth was uncovered. The problem was not that Guerrero did not have a college degree, but that she had lied to her constituents. Too many cases of resume falsification have been exposed, and too many others are still a secret. If this problem contin ues, turning in a resume will be as difficult a process as boarding a plane. The American people will not stand for such deceit. Employers must step forward and investigate potential employees before they are hired, especially those given significant power, so as not to com promise their organization’s integrity. Cayla Carr is a senior speech communications major. Military needed to enforce U.S. border Fdoes not take much of an imagi nation to figure out what may .happen if America does not I observe the powerful lessons learned on Sept. 11. A new focus on national security must start where the country ends, on its borders. If strong action is not taken, this nations’ sum of all fears may be realized. For this reason, U.S. troops should be stationed on our borders. Whether before or after the days of Ellis Island, iall Americans can trace how their family heritage 1 has made changes and vital contributions to the United States. Despite this mutual connection, the current unbridled immigration across the southern border sets a dangerous new precedent. The legal immigration process exists for an ^important reason. The American border is the nation’s first line of defense. It is essential that the I U.S. government place the welfare of U.S. citizens above the interests of non-citizens. In Harris I County alone, between 1999 and 2001, illegal I immigrants cost Texas taxpayers over $330 million I for health care. The current immigration regulation system is one [of failure. Government estimates place nearly 1480,000 new illegal immigrants in the United States I since Sept. 1 1. Illegal immigrants secure the benefits I of citizenship, such as education, without such [responsibilities as taxes. Meanwhile, potential immi- j grants that follow the law are penalized through [excessive waits and bureaucracy. While the INS has plans to quicken the process, Mexican nationals con tinue to flow in illegally. Despite the large number of illegal immigrants [ entering the country, improvements in prevention of [this problem now only exist in small denominations. MATTHEW MADDOX Steps to beef up border security along the U.S.-Mexico line has been on the order of fewer than one new agent for every 10 miles. This is unacceptable, and a new, more potent force is need ed. Instead of guarding the borders of countries thousands of miles away, the U.S. military should be located from Baja to Brownsville, Washington to Maine. If military might was brought to bear on the bor der problem, not only would the inflow of undocu mented persons dwindle, but so would the drug trade. While few would say the war on drugs has been successful, the enemy has yet to face real hand-to-hand combat while entering the country. The benefits of reducing drug traffic on U.S. soil alone should be worth the cost of stationing troops along the border. Despite the American attitude which believes the Mexican border does not pose a threat, there exists already a seditious element with plans to use the immigrant population to their own ends. The Moviemento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan(MEChA) is a national group with plans to subvert the Southwest, which they refer to as Aztlan, from the U.S. MEChA claims over 400 chapters at colleges and universities, including campus organi zations at the University of Texas-Austin, UT El Paso, UT Pan American, and the University of Houston. They also call for restitution for supposed atrocities committed by the United States. According to their website, “In the spirit of a new people that is conscious not only of its proud historical heritage but also of the brutal ‘gringo’ invasion of our territo ries, we, the Chicano inhabitants and civilizers of the northern land [believe it] belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans ... Brotherhood unites us, and love for our brothers makes us a peo ple whose time has come and who struggles against the foreigner ‘gabacho’ who exploits our riches and destroys our culture. With our heart in our hands and our hands in the soil, we declare the independence of our mestizo nation.” MEChA was also responsible for ending the famous Texas Independence Day festivities at UT by persuading former University of Texas President Robert Berdahl to cancel the traditional ceremonies in 1996. Further evidence that this trend is a growing one includes gubernatorial debates in Spanish and cam paigns based on non-American ethnic pride. University of Texas regent and gubernatorial candi date Tony Sanchez has highlighted the Democratic primaries and won after chiding his opponent, Dan Morales, for not wanting to debate in Spanish. Another public shift in this direction is the now infa mous move by Houston schools to dilute Texas his tory of its independence struggle. As millions of non-U.S. citizens continue to reside in America, separatist seeds sown in today’s political arena will be reaped in the generations to come. If Texas and the United States are to maintain their sovereignty and security, foreign citizens that break U.S. law must not be allowed to remain in the country. Those here illegally must go. Those on the way in must be stopped. With a the need for a power greater than the token current federal presence, the U.S. military needs to protect this country. Legal immigration is a strong tradition. Any other kind is bad bull. Matthew Maddox is a junior management major. Cities should not set own air standards ANDIBACA A s many people question pollution as the cause of the increasing summer tempera tures, regulating pollution standards has become increasingly important across the United ; States. The U.S. government established the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the welfare of our natural environment through sever al means, including regulating the level of pollution in the air. Among ot lei cities, according to CNN, San Antonio is undergoing plans for an agreement with the EPA that would give it control over its own pollution program, bypass ing the EPA’s current regidations. The EPA should not allow San Antonio, or other cities, to run its own pollution-control program. Such a policy fails to establish the uniform guidelines necessary throughout the United States. The EPA creates a universal standard by which every state and city must abide. If the EPA allows individual cities to control its own pollution-control system, it would weaken its system. Regulations are much more difficult to control when there is not a standard to compare it to, and the system of pollu tion control changes in every city. The EPA is efficient and effective because it controls the pollution level in all states and enforces standards in a non- biased manner. . , . ... „ , The EPA should not give cities more freedom in their pollution control I because cities already have a great deal of freedom. According to the EPA, the 1990 Clean Air Act lets the state regulate in conjunction with the EPA. Each state has a State Implementation Plan (SIP), which guides it in regulating pollution. The SIPs encourage public participation through hearings and encourage feed back from residents when constructing pollution plans. Most plans are designed similarly but are modified to fit particular characteristics of each state. The EPA allows states to tighten its policies. However it cannot weaken them. This pro vides a base for each state to work from. SIPs allow states a degree of independ ence, yet are still regulated and controlled by the EPA. The priority of the EPA is to create a healthy standard of living for all Americans. If cities are allowed to have the final say on its pollution plan, citi zens could be the ones who have the most to lose. Not all cities may feel the need to create the healthiest environment for its residents at a cost of losing profit through high-polluting businesses. Cities need to have regulation and guidance beyond the city limits. Cities such as San Antonio might have the best intentions in creating a pollu tion-control plan specifically for the city. However, not all cities will feel the need for serious pollution-control regulation when faced with the political power of industrial leaders. City residents will experience discontinuity of regulations between their home and neighboring cities, and clear separating lines become skewed for business owners trying to meet standards. Among other changes, San Antonio’s pollution-control plan will result in a higher cost of car inspection rates. In order to avoid costly mistakes, the EPA should continue to have control over regulating city pollution levels. Andi Baca is a senior journalism major. MAIL CALL Pledge only used to further imperialism I was actually quite surprised to hear that a federal court, albeit one in California, would rule that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitu tional. In this era of unbridled patri otism, this decision gives me hope for our country, though not very much. Thomas Jefferson would probably be glad to hear that someone is questioning our government's status quo, for there is no better way to test a supposed truth than to chal lenge its authority to be called a truth. 1 am a veteran Marine who served his country three times on foreign soil in the mid-90's, though the public didn't hear much about it, and it didn't leave me teeming with patriotic fever, but rather asking, what government is this? The Pledge of Allegiance is impor tant for one reason: it keeps America's children in the politicians grasp for use in the future as they exploit American patriotism to expand their imperialism. Anybody who understands early child devel opment knows how easily impres sionable a 'tabula rasa' is. I was as patriotic as they come. I believed the Gulf War was about "naked aggression" and that I had joined the Marines to be used in the serv ice of defending my country. 1 was wrong. I was tricked by my educa tors and by ruling class propaganda. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say anything about requiring a Pledge of Allegiance to include the words "under God". Allegiance should come naturally. Matter of fact, the pledge did not really become important until the 1950s with the Red Scare, and again recently. It is time for Americans to start wondering why we are not liked anymore by other countries. We are no longer thought of as a beacon of freedom, but rather as a land of imperialist despots, and the boob tube has got everyone convinced that everything is going to be alright. The Hitler's youth said a pledge everyday and so did Napoleon's. If we say a pledge to anything, it should be to the Constitution, not to the flag of imperialism and greed. Then maybe "God" will bless my homeland again. lake Reighard Class of 2003
