The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, July 01, 2002, Image 5

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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
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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