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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2002)
th:, t Bin-l repor® Opinion The Battalion Page 5B • Wednesday, September 11, 2002 America's lessons rue meaning of heroism and importance of RICHARD BRAY CAIRO. The Arab Jazeera br has been exact, y one y ear since the nation’s outlook excerpts of : han,L:ecl. Professional athletes and movie stars suddenly I uesday in a back stage to real heroes: firefighters, emergency voice attnK. * cal personnel and police officers. Even in College bin Ladcncdon. Texas, a small town with virtually no similarities mg all I9Sc ew York City, the blow was felt. The United States was On Mwuged forever. broadcast i^®otism came to mean something more than it had in the past. Although the United tape m tttes was no longer the indomitable force we once thought it was, it was also, paradoxi- vo,cc< s PCiy, stronger. 55|HB^J r i ca ns came together across the country to mourn the tragedy and, perhaps even J e importantly, most of the world joined. The tragedy of Sept. 1 1 was not just an Mu-hh?? 0 eri f an tra g ed y* was a world tragedy. H in|our * mad communities were strengthened as well. Texas A&M showed its support by fill- in Tuc ^y' ? Cield with red, white and blue shirts, making the football stadium something the voice e i lan ^ usl a stad ' um ^ or a da y- -lust as Aggies came together following the 1999 Aggie hijackers Collapse, students again united to mourn America’s losses and to strengthen our birth were ^ v r ^ blow had been dealt, but mere terrorism could not bring America to its knees, were lauc as M 1 bad following Pearl Harbor, the “sleeping giant’’ awoke. their pier. - v cn as American soldiers remain in Afghanistan, it is now apparent that America’s *'Tho« r ltesl strength is not the speed of its fighter jets or the power of its weaponry. America’s ers) have r:. rce resolve comes from the people’s belief in America. The ideals upon which this only counr on Iwas founded have survived for more than 200 years not because the United States ticc and dc^always been a military power, but because the American people believe in the system, through jib: Adm ittedly, Americans may not have an affinity for politicians, and government waste "truggle fo problem virtually every taxpayer is concerned with, but despite these problems, God. the v ericans consider an attack against their nation a personal assault. They believe in the said in T-fs-tem. and they will display an unmatched courage when that system is challenged. There Americans throughout the United States became heroes that day. The policemen and 1 ' ’ ‘' ,r5c: " ; fighters who saved lives that day are undoubtedly heroes. The people who provided a speaking «s: to cry on; the organizers of Red, White and Blue Out; the church leaders who led ■lucii. ' L yers and the counselors who offered their services all served important functions as the • ^ 2 ^ ion struggled to come to grips with the inexplicable. Suddenly athletes who we once r ught of as superhuman were simply entertainers. V j 8 enera, ' on of college students, which had already seen the Oklahoma City bomb- m'tcrvlewej• ’ f° un d itself facing a tragedy that hasn’t been equalled on American soil since Pearl iSt ^ j . rbor. Instead of faltering, however, it reacted admirably, raising millions of dollars the Voice y OS | t b e country for relatives of the Sept. 1 1 victims through a variety of programs. I aden’s Even today, the United States continues to heal from Sept. 1 1. It will be a day of quiet A differer ltem P ,ation ’ not on| y u P on Sept- 1 1 itself, but of the changes America has undergone on TuMdav , s ce tbe largest terrorist attack in U.S. history. This nation has a firmer grasp of its own the hiuders ; ngth, and a greater appreciation for both this country and the communities of which it ed the greate : omprised. expertise to a! to give up tV stand up. Richard Bray is a senior remnants journalism major. America.” Tuesdav from Sept. 11 community learned in aftermath 11 min nmn llllllllllllll SBCaKSSSM ■HMHiai ■■■■ li fS a I ssvnaasB m • ■■■taifliafli smmmmmmm ;caa»at«aai ft aiiaiasBai mmmmmmmmm aavaaiatsaiai W T RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION New video games carry insightful messages KELLY WOLFENBARGER longer thi r Monday ar; f footage of bit top lieutcnr silently on iIk Bin Ladf. Xhile searching online for hoard !r ' \/V/ obscure information on after the U. < y y the snakehead fish. I campaign umbled across a link to an online Afghanistan - g ame called New York I he i lefender. The game begins with a included icture-perfect view of downtown New York City before Sept. 1 1. Afghanistan j ant . s soon k e g an flying onto the screen heading for the Twin young men owcrs j] ie object of the game is to shoot the planes out of the being among jj- before they collide with the buildings, but within a minute so 1 hey appear^umy pj anes are pouring onto the screen that even the most at maps. inT ^haustive effort becomes futile. The planes crash into the towers Washington 1 re atmg massive holes of dark smoke and the World Trade Center manuals oK oes joy^o Game over. At least one Video games are popular because they offer the player a dif- scveral hoof cu | t but feasible challenge to overcome. The player has an could he su pjfiprtunity to win, thus the tired eyes and sore thumbs at 5 desks and all m but New York Defender is different: You can’t win. This pointing at ’ ante is anything but satisfying. It makes the player feel power- Pentagon on ( ;ss | an( j vulnerable. A no thereof -j-hc game wasn't created for a good time, though. It is a mes- man identic lge a bout the hopelessness of anti-terrorism: Try its you might to Abdulaziz A | ow ever y enemy out of the sky, some will always slip by. what appeanThere are no ways to actually win,” Jonathon Pitcher, one of the farewell mess3j arncs p renc h designers, wrote as a side note to the game. “The “God ma.' d nner becomes the last one to lose.” those who traia:-__ path and who this noble act; mention should Sheik 0sani J may God P fl AI omari and iboard Am eri1 Some are concerned about the message this game conveys. They say it is negative and insensitive to the efforts of America. But the point of this game, and others like it, is not to mock America, but to sympathize. The message of New York Defender is not that America is doing a lousy job of protecting itself; it is that no matter how peaceful the world gets or how well the United States guards itself, you can only do so much to keep a plane from flying past the reaches of your gun. The online video game has become the newest means of mak ing statements about current events. Tech columnist, Clive Thompson, says last summer the pass-around hit was a Lizzie Grubman game in which players mowed down unlucky Hamptons townies using a smirking Lizzie in her SUV. Now there is a parody of the popular arcade game Street Fighter out— Downing Street Fighter, in which nine British politicians maul each other in an effort to become prime minister. As if the sight of nine suits throwing fists isn’t entertaining enough, the men yell mangled Japanese-style English taunts at one another. It’s a jab at the concept of party politics where ethical debate often turns into childish smack down — a game. The war on terrorism has inspired the creation of many online games, and their makers span a wide variety of people both for and against the war. One designer crafted War on Terrorism, a game that allows you to take down the Taliban with sniper rifles and AK-47s. If you’re still alive by the last level, you get to pum mel bin Laden with your fists. Yet another designer created A1 Quaidamon, a satirical play on both Pokemon and human rights concerns over how prisoners of war are treated “Your very own prisoner of war! How will you treat him?” the game asks. “Be careful, you might just grow to love him!”. Most of these games, while sometimes violent and gruesome, are meant to be humorous and in good fun. Others send out a powerful message about the state of the world. The French cre ators of New York Defender have developed another game called Enduring Freedom, and while the title sounds positive, the game is quite the opposite. The player’s goal is to try and bomb Afghan military bases while avoiding peaceful settlements. But the bases look nearly identical to the townships and they go by so quickly the player ends up accidentally taking out innocents in the effort to defeat the enemy. Although the villages being bombed are in a country on the other side of the world, the message hits close to home. Most of these games are pretty dull. They will never make it to the arcades and more than likely, you won’t find yourself at the keyboard early in the morning. They are low-tech, 2-D and so simple most can be mastered within two minutes, but this is all part of the point. These games aren’t trying to get you hooked. They're trying to make you think. Kelly Wolfenharger is a sophomore journalism major. foreign visas too difficult to obtain after Sept. 11 k T ( Flight l obtain a stu- N t COLLINS EZEANYIM bt having to he World dent visa to Al-Jazeera , n( j t d e i r school weekend thaj c choice is some- espondents most wo top lerican college students take for granted, wanted in thrf eign students, however, are not so fortunate. According ;n before last year’s terrorist attacks, interna- bew, report^ ial students had to endure rigorous regulations n June with brder to study in the United States, according to dohammed 'Association of International Educators. Since Jinalshibh, events of Sept. 11, the scrutiny has grown Congress vUS rse. American la^ The Associated Press reports many foreign stu- )aida’s Sept ' its were unable to re-enter the country to attend ie terror group'sses f a ]j because increased security has led red striking visa application delays. In particular, students acilities. rn the Middle East, Africa and Asia have experi- U.S. cowhed more difficulty in obtaining visas. As f'ficials, spea^tann Drolesky, executive director for the inter- on of anonym'-ional programs for students at Texas A&M. said Mohainrnea .rtually no students from Saudi Arabia received x>ut the origi ,1 'as to enter the United States.” This should not I plot are Pmappcning. After Sept. 11, the government ey have no iuld exercise more caution when dealing with at would verfpign visitors. But by unfairly focusing on inter- ional students, the government is performing a grievous enor that will negatively impact both for eign and American students and their universities. For example, in 2001, the visa application process for foreign students lasted about a week, according to The Associated Press. Since that time the government has stretched it to last as long as three months. The expanded time frame is grossly unfair. For some foreign students, it means they may have to wait until spring to continue their edu cation. Even when Sept. 11 is taken into considera tion, there is no reason why a process that took only a few days a year ago now takes months. What makes the situation worse is the govern ment’s inconsistency in handling foreign visitors post-Sept. 11. While the federal government is being stingy in approving student visas, some state governments readily give away driver’s licenses to people who are in America illegally. In fact, Governor Gray Davis is about to sign a bill that would make this official policy in California. The Justice Department claims the intense scrutiny foreign students endure is in America’s interest - yet only one of the Sept. 11 hijackers was able to obtain a student visa, according to NAFSA.org. FoxNews.com reports at least seven of the Sept. 11 hijackers were able to obtain dri ver’s licenses. By this proportion alone, the gov ernment should be more focused on how illegal immigrants obtain driver’s licenses. Instead, they have directed too much attention on international students. Worse still, government organizations may cre ate a needless fear of foreign students. Drolesky said the “INS classifies all schools simply as ‘schools’ - so rank research institutions like Texas A&M are lumped together with flight schools and other such training organizations. Because of this, students and scholars have been made to look as though they are among the most dangerous indi viduals entering the U.S.” Drolesky said less than two percent of the 30 million temporary visas issued are student visas. It would seem logical then for the government to devote about two percent of its anti-terrorism resources to student visa holders. Instead, the Department of Justice chooses to exe cute new and bloated regulations such as the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEV1S). According to the Department of Justice Web site, it will eventually be mandatory for schools to use SEVIS to “report pertinent informa tion to INS” regarding foreign students. Still, SEVIS probably will not keep determined terror ists out of the United States. By implementing more pointless bureaucracy into the student visa application process, the gov ernment negatively affects many critical aspects of higher education. As Larry Bell told The Associated Press, “The greater impact. . . may be on the intellectual community ... a lot of these people are involved in research projects that may have to be put on hold.” Other than educating stu dents, the main responsibility of many universities, including Texas A&M, is to conduct research. It would be a shame if research projects were put on hold or cancelled due to shortsighted actions by government. The new enhanced security will also negatively impact the American economy. According to The Associated Press, the 550,000 undergraduate and graduate foreign students con tributed $11 billion to the economy. In addition, Drolesky says multinational companies seeking to build partnerships in other nations may move their business if foreign students cannot study in the United States. The U.S. government has a responsibility to protect the public from terrorism, but it is wrong to focus so much unneeded attention on the hard working international students who choose to study in America. Collins Ezeanyim is a senior computer engineering major.