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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 23, 2002)
% J ul y 23,2os: e must possessions isn’t sell, or the 5 arly. VCLE >50VLX excellf '9)260-6570. Animal Shete 3ets.org jreat selection: l! 979-820-0® FATE me. 2/2.5/3.S Enclosed coui!- 96- 775-9265 TES eeded a.s.ap )/mo. + 1/3 bills led, 3bdrm/2blr yard, $320/mc 0941. )drm/2bth con* ' OO/mo. 1 bloc* l ■ NP, 260-3472 \ KJrm/lbth trailer S400/mo utilite eeded. Augus: k Prairie, fence; 1st month red 79)324-8197. /I, 3bdrm/2btfi :k from campus m/2bth Universi- 1326/mo. Depos- irst month paid 3. Brand new t-in closets, w/d, (includes high +1/3 bills. 979- rile home in Bry- aid. Call Dustin 1350. n 3/2/2. shutia '5/mo. +1/3bills, 16. i-in, 1-year old curity, MOOspH' Jlison S79-693- hutt/e. irm/2bth duple •bills. 979-694' ew 3bdrm/2bth Lindsay, leave luplex $350/rcio, te, 1/2bills. 979- d 3bdrm/2.5bth i, $385/mo +1/3 SAP 693-5457, 1 Looking to noking/drinking. icludes utilities irm/2bth house, us-route. Call ded a.s.a.p, | 3wn bed/ bath j ed. Large; ice to campus. 3ne block from S. 695-9489. leeded! V® 1 ) ew W/D, all ap /mo +1/3-biHs needed. 8/1®' ise. $350/nw 6 4bdriri/2Wii 844-2996 >th dupie><^ bus, $333/hn°' droom duple* 1 i/mo. +utilities I. Female sto 100/mo utilities x . 696-0857. s pe pregnant ,5-9193, Bryan »er CounseW ) get U-haul e f !378. esome Fun merits in ongmire UT tuition plan hurts students T his fall as freshmen and transfer students prepare to attend Texas public uni versities, they will be greeted with unpleasant fee increases and record enrollments. The University of Texas, however, has instituted one more setback for new students to face. According to the Austin-American Statesman, all full-time undergraduate students from the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Natural Sciences will be expected to pay a flat tuition rate equivalent to 14 credit hours regardless of the number of hours they are enrolled. Students attending from out of state will pay approximately 45 percent more than Texas residents. The objective of the pilot program is to encourage students to take heavier course loads and graduate in four years. The program is a step in the wrong direction and should not be emulated by other public universities in Texas. Proponents of this plan argue that a fifth year at UT costs students the income they would receive, approximately $32,000, in their first year after graduation. The Statesman also reported that the average UT liberal arts undergraduate takes 12.7 credit hours a semester. There are many other fac tors not taken into account by administrators that dictate a student’s hour enrollment each semester, such as part-time work or extracurricular activities. Students are practically being forced to give up these activities and take as many hours as possible to be economically beneficial. But the opportunity downfall for students to enroll in more hours per semester is that they have fewer jobs and activities to include on their resumes. The truth of the matter is that public institutions need more room, and instead of turning less qualified students away, administrators have chosen to push students through college as fast as possible and make more room for others. In mid- July, the Statesman reported that a record enrollment of 51,000 students will be attending UT in Sept. 2002. The Statesman also reported University officials are searching for ways to best serve this large number of students. According to the newspaper, 40 percent of the University of Texas’ 50,000 students were liberal arts or natural science majors last fall. In March, The Daily Texan quoted UT Dean of Liberal Arts Richard Lariviere as saying that by increasing the four-year graduation rate, room could be made for an additional 1,000 students each year. \ The problem is not that students are not graduating in four years and need an extra push. The problem is that the univer- • shy can increase its profits per year if it encourages or insists that students manage their time to the university’s advantage. Education is about quality, not quantity. The objective of a university is to serve its students, not push them through the process like herds of cattle. The true value of education has been lost at the University of Texas. Perhaps other Texas uni versities can think twice before sacrificing students success Cayla Carr is a senior speech communications major. CAYLA CARR MAIL CALL Public, not PETA, must stop cruelty In response to Richard Bray's July 22 column: Mr. Bray should not generalize all animal protection groups by the actions of just one facet of just one organization. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) does more than promote vegetarianism and is actually involved in the battle against animal cruelty. The issue of the column should not have been the degree of involvement of ani mal protection organizations (as you can see, we're involved), but the lack of involvement from local police, lawmakers and the public when it comes to animal cruelty. We don't need PETA to be more focused on abuse of domestic animals. We need the passing and enforce ment of effective legislation which gives more than a fine for shooting, decapitating and skin ning a cat. Sarah Johnson Southwest AiRuwes ikmRieesmivosew The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words o and include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor 'Serves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be subm.t- ted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may e bailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, 77843-1 111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com Opinion The Battalion Page 5 • Tuesday, July 23, 2002 Long live Hie weed Britain deserves praise for decreasing marijuana prosecution T his month, Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett announced a plan to reclas sify cannabis sativa, or marijua na, from a Class B to a Class C drug. The change, which must be JENELLE WILSON approved by both houses of Parliament, would put marijuana in the same class as steroids and anti-depressants. While the move would not officially decriminalize the drug, police would no longer arrest people possessing small amounts of marijuana. The money saved will be used to help fight the consumption of more danger ous drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. Britain's policy change is a part of a continuing trend in advanced, indus trialized countries to rethink the war on drugs, espe cially the combat against marijuana. Most European Union countries are declin ing to arrest and prosecute individu als who possess a small amount of cannabis for per sonal use. The United States government should follow Europe's example. Marijuana was made illegal in the United States under highly racist condi tions. The prohibition of cannabis in 1937 with the Marijuana Tax Act was an attempt to better con trol black Americans and force out Mexican immigrants who were willing to work cheaper than Caucasians during the Great Depression. Cannabis was blamed for mur ders, sex crimes — such as a white woman sleeping with a black man — insanity and even "satanic" jazz music. The United States' stance on marijuana is still illogical. Currently, the Federal Drug Administration classifies mari juana as a Schedule 1 narcotic equating it with LSD, mescaline and heroin. In 1988, after two years of hearings, the Drug Enforcement Administration's administrative law judge recom mended marijuana be moved to a Schedule 2 drug, but the rec ommendation was not followed. According to the Controlled Substances Act, Schedule 1 narcotics have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical benefits. The medical use of marijuana is a hot topic for legislators and the medical community. In the past 25 years, 36 states have voted to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The California Supreme Court recently ruled that medical marijua na users will be immune from prosecution in state courts. However, because of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year that using marijuana for medical purposes is illegal, medical users can still be arrested and prosecuted for violating federal law. It is believed that marijuana can help alleviate the suffering of many conditions, including AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multi ple sclerosis, epilepsy and chronic pain. A 1999 study by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine showed that patients who fail to respond to the standard, accepted treat ment for some of these conditions could find relief from short- termed use of marijuana. The war on drugs in the United States is really a war on marijuana, the drug consumed by more than 80 percent of all drug users in the country. The federal government provides $19 billion each year to fight illegal drugs, almost half of what it spends on education. According to Gary Johnson, the governor of New Mexico and a longtime advocate of drug legalization, “1.6 million Americans are jailed each year for drug-related reasons, half of those people for marijuana and 90 per cent of those people for possession alone.” One U.S. citizen is arrested every 45 sec onds on marijuana charges. It costs tax payers almost $ 18 billion each year to arrest and prosecute marijuana offenses, and over 60,000 indi viduals are in prison for marijuana, costing an additional $1.2 billion. Tobacco kills 400,000 people a year; alcohol causes over 250,000 deaths annually, and legal prescription drugs result in 27,000 overdoses each year. The nicotine in cigarettes causes the arteries to harden and the lungs to bunch up, which prevents the user from exhaling the smoke and dirt from their lungs. Marijuana does not contain nicotine, and the THC in the drug acts as a bronchial dilator, which serves to open the lungs. Alcohol is a leading factor in auto accidents, domestic and societal violence, homelessness and poverty, according to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving web site. Over time, alcohol use damages every internal organ, yet it is perfectly legal for adults to consume. Marijuana is safer than many legal drugs. Unlike tobacco, alcohol and legal pre scriptions drugs, no one has ever died from simply using mari juana. Despite the laws against it, over 11 million people use marijuana every year, and according to multiple studies, decriminalizing marijuana would not result in higher usage. It will decrease the profits associated with dealing the drug, cre ate a safer environment for users, free up more money to fight truly dangerous drugs and increase research into the medical benefits. Jenelle Wilson is a junior political science major. Ground Zero must be rebuilt Building should be mixture of memorial and office space I t is hard to believe that almost a year has passed since the horrific tragedy of Sept. 11. Images of terror, such as those of the Twin Towers burning and collapsing to the ground, will be for ever imprinted in the minds of Americans and all who witnessed them firsthand or through the media. Citizens around the United States were left feel ing helpless and afraid, deeply saddened and angry for the thousands of innocent lives lost. But the American people ral lied together and showed their patriotism by donating millions of dollars to the victims’ families, displaying flags proud ly and selflessly giving of both their time and resources. As the one-year anniver sary of the attack on America approach es, many agree it should be a time of remembrance and rebuilding, and of con tinuing to show the world the resilience and determination of the American peo ple. The most significant way this can be done is by both memorializing and rebuilding at Ground Zero. Six proposals were unveiled last Tuesday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as rough drafts for construction at the 16-acre former site of the World Trade Center towers. Despite the fact that the plans will most likely be greatly altered and changed, they are a start, and one of the first steps of many towards the redeveloping of Ground Zero. According to The Dallas Morning News, each plan would replace the 1 1 million square feet of office and retail space lost on Sept. 1 1. The plans all include between four and six towers up to 85 stories in height. None compare to the 110-story tall Twin Towers, but some plans call for buildings to stand in the former places of the two towers which has raised controversy. New aspects have also been added, such as museums, garden space and, of course, a large por tion of land set aside for a memorial. The names of the proposals range from Memorial Plaza to Memorial Promenade in an effort to emphasize the importance of honoring the more than 2,800 people who died in the attack. USA Today reported critics of these plans argue it is too expensive, and many of the designs give precedence to office space over memorial space. According to Monica Iken, founder of September's Mission, a family group pushing for a memorial park on the site. “For the fami lies, building on the footprints [of the towers] is non-negotiable.” However, all the plans devote between one-third and two-thirds of the allotted space towards the construction of a memorial, accord ing to the Houston Chronicle. It is extremely important to rebuild at Ground Zero as well as to memorialize the site for several reasons. One of the more practical and financial issues is the lost value of the land as well as revenue from the more than 200,000 tourists and visitors who passed through the buildings daily. Another more pressing matter is the need for a place to house the office space for the numerous corporations and companies and the 50,000 people who formerly worked at the Twin Towers. The victims' families were not the only ones affected by this tragedy. Tens of thousands of people lost their jobs or had to be relocated, and they have had their lives disheveled as well. However, the most vitally important reason Ground Zero should be built upon again is a more personal and emotional one: to show the terrorists they did not prevail, and while they did demolish buildings and many lives, they did not demolish the pride and spirit of the American people. They must realize the citizens of the United States are rebuilding their lives as well as their country, and are stronger than ever in their will to rid the world of all terrorism and evil. The United States was dealt a harsh hand last September, but our country has always triumphed over any adversities it has faced, and the American people will do so again. As we rebuild, we will always remember. Laurel Franck is a sophomore English major. LAUREL FRANCK
