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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 25, 2002)
L 1 'T & founo '9 11 Name insitfe ' n 9 has antique!- id. please retun iward'oftereT' 7/8 • Male Sta| I, red w/whitect« ’ery friendly. 979^ rORCYCLE shadow 650VU 0 obo. (979)21 PETS Opinion The Battalion Brazos Animal wshelterpets.i white tabbies, aimed, $15,820-03 le has a great >r adoption! 97! ESTATE 5 townhome, id dining. Enclose of storage. est interests at heart “ Despite appearances, PTTS improves campus p; dmmates imate needed lex. $199/mo. * 1 clean 2bdrm'2r )sets. S400/mo W/D, NS, NP, & arking on campus has never been an easy task. With recent construc tion, parking has become more of 1 nightmare. However, in spite of rising garage prices and less commuter park ing lots for next fall, the people at Parking, Traffic, and Transportation Services (PTTS) are trying their best to meet everyone’s needs at A&M. In order to accommodate everyone, students need to better raice their concerns and suggestions to PTTS. A lot is happening at PTTS right now. The construction of the oded a.s.apTS iew We§t Cam P us parking garage with an underground passage- Koxlmateiy nooh way is progressing consistently and creates increased parking hope ,pets welcome a - for the near future. This project, with a proposed 3609. spring 2bdrm/1lit! budget «f at Deal. $400/mc*^ ^ 550. nmate needed. )use, Rock Pram* +i/3biiis, 1st mrBservice of 5441 or (979)324-5 ■ darting 8/1, 3t*r ills, 1-block from 3 , 2bdrm/2bth apr is and bills, own dr tments, 694-7868 ided, 4bdrm/2btt) !/■ ig-2003, $326/00.5: ae, and first nxrt tes needed. 4txl r ' t, all appliances, ‘i fmo. +1/4 bills. 69661 needed, 4bdmV4W Ns. 817-219-6143. es in CS. Brand lex. Walk-in closets 5425/mo. (includes /ard-care) +1/3 bills 23-3839. se in mobile borne us all bills paid. Call 9j 361)575-6350. eded, new 31212, sM met, $375'mo. +1/W 3)862-2236. JAMIE DUFF $46,428,000 and an aver age debt jst moiM. ffMr 01 , dsl, security, f300spt 95/mo. MSS® ^' 693 044. ip/ex on shuttle ff)' 1 d 764-6921. $3,935,549 will be paid for with park ing revenues. This is the reason for increasing visitor park ing by fifty cents. The blue lot that was tom down to make room for the garage had 932 park ing spaces, and the new garage will have a capacity of 3,725. So, although it seems like a conspiracy against com muter park- ers,the new garage is actually a benefit for everyone. According to Douglas Williams, associate director for PTTS, ^ new P r °j ect * s funded by “borrowed money.” The rise in hourly Bss/mo^+biiis Parking prices is required as pay back for all the other garages on campus, a debt in existence since 1988. Free night parking for commuter students will continue on through the next year, but Williams advocates against such privileges In addition to undergraduate and graduate students, PTTS has ded. 2/1 duplex$& to accommodate faculty, staff and the 12th Man Foundation. Some buttle route, 1®* eeded, new ;300/mo. Lindsay,' 181. te needed 3bdrm1 bus route, $385/iw t Julie ASAP 693! te needed. Look* No smoking/*' 15/mo., includes/' sded. 3bdrm/2btbH Ns, on bus-route. changes are scheduled to occur for the fall semester, and some changes have already occurred. For example, the Zachry parking lot, the biggest commuter parking lot on main campus, was extended last year to hold more cars. Also, this summer PTTS made the first row of parking in the Zachry lot a reserved row in order to accommodate the construction on Spence Street, result ing in the inaccessibility of yellow lots PA57 and PA29. However, PTTS says that this should be corrected by the time school starts next fall. In addition, another blue lot is scheduled to open next to PA69 by the tennis courts behind Kyle Field, but at the same time, PA64, a blue lot on West campus next to Wellborn will be switched to a yellow lot. “It is for the betterment of the commuters who are unsafely crossing Wellborn,” said Debbie Hoffmann, a customer services representative for PTTS. PTTS has also planned for security cam eras to be operating in the Zachry lot this fall, a service paid for with parking garage revenues. Changes to yellow lots are also scheduled to occur. To accommodate the 12th Man ^ Foundation, PA74 is to become a 12th Man lot this fall. This means all cars will need to evacuate the lot by 5:30 p.m. on Friday of game week ends. However, two rows in this lot can be used for park ing until 6 a.m. on Saturdays. These new changes bene fit both com muters and yellow parking members. PTTS says they are trying to create minimal impact on the students because they are sensi tive to their needs. Unfortunately, PTTS can only know what stu dents’ needs are if students tell them. Compromise is the key to making everyone happy and even though it feels like students are getting the poor end of the deal, the people at PTTS are sincerely working hard at trying to please everyone. LUKE CARNEAVALE • THE BATTALION Jamie Duff is a senior English major. Pop culture invades politics eeded. House,: $325/mo. lMbi» 3 , friendly, studed www.showvizT e needed, ng distance to < tVICES ,NTED Need to g e ' 1 3all 776-2378- (U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas - Last week Janet Reno humorously used the infamous Saturday Night Live" sketch based on her time as U.S. attorney general as the theme of a youth-oriented fund-raiser in Florida. Reno and her campaign team were politi cally astute in marketing such a unique opportunity. Perhaps they were worried that if humor weren't incorporated into the Reno image, she would suffer the negative fate of Presidents Ford and Bush Sr., who both were ridiculed for their personal characteristics on SNL. The "Janet Reno's dance party"-themed fund-raiser proves two things: that the popu lar media trumps all other aspects of American life in importance and that whoev er capitalizes on it first will get the attention °f young Americans. The sad truth is that many young people are more familiar with Will Ferrell's impres sion of Reno than with what she did as attor ney general, or even the responsibilities of the attorney general. Politics have become a distant presence in the lives of young Americans. Politicians reinforce this divide by believing that the Political process in America is somehow above popular culture, despite the fact that the political process is shamelessly driven by Media images and demographic studies. Since voting statistics are often used to gauge public involvement, it is obvious that Many Americans, especially young people, uo not care about elections enough to vote. According to the New Millennium Young Voters Project, conducted by the National Association of Secretaries of State, fewer than one in five voters ages 18 to 24 chose to vote in 1998. The attention that is given to low voter turnout is strikingly similar to the demo graphic studies used by the media when marketing products. Political teams spend enormous amounts of time and energy in creating the "right" image for a candidate. Reno is simply capitalizing on an oppor tunity to show that not only can she take SNL humor, but she can also use it to her advantage. Think of it as creating a hip new image by using a potentially negative carica ture as a marketable image for young voters. The cunent state of politics could be con sidered more humorous than elected officials want to admit. The same elected officials who claim to only care about the people they represent spend more time raising funds from donors than speaking to constituents. Reno should be given credit for at least involving the young and less wealthy in a political fund-raiser. Political campaigns are largely out of the control of the American people, and the youth of America already know it. It is not fair to accuse young Americans of not being patriotic or serious enough to care about voting. Not only are young peo ple sent the message that important political issues do not concern us, but also, politicians can be notoriously vague and unapproach able for young adults. A majority of 18- to 24-year-old college students don't have to worry about many of the major issues that elected officials focus on, such as family policy, mortgages, taxes and Social Security. Politicians seem to lament the low voter turnout of young Americans, but Reno is one of the first can didates to actually use an image, even if it is trivial, that most young people can relate to. Reno's dance party may seem insignifi cant, but the reasons behind her strategy are crucial. She is trying to reach young audi ences through images they are already famil iar with. As a single candidate for office, Reno cannot change American culture and its appetite for humor and entertainment, but she at least makes herself approachable by embracing a humorous aspect of popular culture. Reno may have started a new trend toward embracing the truth that the popular TV shows like "Saturday Night Live" are what Americans know best. Bring on the dance parties. Whatever it takes to get young Americans to see politics as an approachable entity. This does not mean that political office should be reduced to levels of complete mediocrity, but considering the fact that image is already everything in politics, we could use some entertainment. Like it or not, entertainment is what Americans relate to. Sarah Gustavus is a columnist for the Daily Texan. Page 7 • Thursday, July 25, 2002 Unjust trials hurt system D espite its effort to be consistent and fair, the American justice sys tem is failing to be either in the wake of the trials of accused terror ists John Walker Lindh and Zacharias Moussaoui. Both defen dants led the courts through contradictory testimony about their involve ment in terrorist activity and their knowledge of al-Qaeda’s plans for further attacks on the United States. The govern ment negotiated with California native Lindh, and Judge Leonie M. Brinkema allowed foreigner Moussaoui to rant for 50 minutes in court about the evils of America. All the while, according to Time magazine, two Americans, Yasser Esam Hamdi and Jose Padilla — also accused of ter rorist activity — wasted away in military brigs in South Carolina and Virgina with no access to lawyers. Critics call this an overly broad assertion of presidential authority. While President George W. Bush kept Padilla and Hamdi detained under mil itary authority, he allowed Lindh and Moussaoui to have attorneys. Moussaoui even denounced his court-appointed lawyer, contending he was being tricked and manipulated by the American justice system. Now, Judge Brinkema is ques tioning Moussaoui’s sanity. After initially declaring his desire to represent himself, Moussaoui proceeded to call for the destruction of America and proclaimed his intentions to fight America and its sys tem. This same system he denounced allowed him to stand up and rant for 50 min utes without being held in contempt of court. In some courts, a defendant merely has to wear the wrong clothes in order to be held in contempt by the judge. Moussaoui has now pleaded guilty after months of denying any involvement, and he says he has information to offer the government about al- Qaeda plans. This claim seems unfounded considering he has been incarcerated for 11 months and has had no contact with his former terrorist colleagues. While the government does not yet seem to be interested in work ing out a deal with Moussaoui, Carie Lemack, president of the Families’ Organization is con cerned with the message being sent. CHRISTY RUTH “If there was information that was critical to saving other Americans’ lives that is one thing,” Lemack said. “If he doesn’t, it is not acceptable to be negotiating with a man who is guilty of help ing to murder 3,000 people.” In Moussaoui’s case, the ques tion is not of sanity. The American justice system is complicated — especially for someone who is unfamiliar with it — and Moussaoui is just plain ignorant of how it works. There is nothing com plicated about it, and insanity is not even an issue. Moussaoui is making a mockery of the system. As Brinkema said, “You can’t plead guilty and then say ‘But I didn’t do this and I didn’t do that and somebody else did that.’” It is a travesty that this sort of behavior is even tolerated while other Americans cannot even get a trial or see a lawyer. Lindh and his family also treat the American public like ignorants, decrying to the media that Lindh loves America and is not a terrorist. Both Bush and former President Bill Clinton consid ered the Taliban a terrorist organization, and Lindh admitted in his plea bargain to joining and fighting for the Taliban while in Pakistan. With these facts in mind, it is difficult to make a believable case claiming Lindh was not involved in terrorist activity. In his interviews with U.S. officials, Lindh acknowledged he went to Pakistan to join the Taliban and contribute to the Islamic cause. He also con fessed his desire to takes part in a jihad, admitted to training at Osama Bin Laden’s military camp and said he was aware that some of his colleagues were being recruited for ter rorist activities in America and elsewhere. While the prosecution seems pleased with the results of the deal that protects Lindh from a life sentence, much of the American public is confused about the Bush administrations change in attitude toward Lindh. Unfortunately, Americans must watch powerlessly as their gov ernment makes legal conces sions for terrorists and chips away at their rights and privacy. Christy Ruth is a senior journalism major. YOWE.'OUTRfcGED ?B9T WEREvlT YOU THE pRWER Of THE CM??.? : T i & W- Only improved ethics and faith can correct the economy (U-WIRE) HOUSTON - fortunately for most Americans, the Mcent struggle of our economy could ave been avoided. h has been quite a fall from the top 0r the Dow Jones, and the promises 0 the new economy offered almost More than anyone could have imag- Med. However, because of greed and ls nonest business practices, what Co ttld have been was left at just that. America was on top for so long that many people simply forgot what it was like not to have everything work ing in our favor. When times are good, things are taken for granted, but it is unlikely anyone from Enron, WorldCom orArthur Anderson will take a burgeoning economy for grant ed again. The fact of the matter is that even though most of America contributed to a great economy, it was just a small few that brought it down. Bad management, bad money han dling and corruption — all of it points to the fact that even in our moment of greatest achievement, all anyone in power ever had in mind was them selves. When America was still working to get to the top, our differences were not so petty. Frivolous lawsuits were maybe one in 10, now they are a dime a dozen. There is no tolerance, no morality and courage is in short supply. America can not let things continue this way. Immoral, unjust, or just plain bad business practices that have come to the end of their short run benefits can not be all we have left. It took more than the few that brought us down to put us at the top, and until we can have faith in each other again, America’s economy will not recover. We are not so far from the top that we can not recover, but we need the moral courage to do wha is necessary. No more selfishness, blame-shifting or petty bickering. If we can not trust each other and cannot be a moral peo ple, then this could be the beginning of the end. Richard W. Whitrock is a columnist for the Daily Cougar. !
