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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2002)
,n ternat{ THE BAr PINION The Battalion Page 5B • Tuesday, September 17, 2002 pmiyah’s alb r ’ K Abu Bakar E aJs vin ihc\ ha\er- 1 slancc trig^enng ’ulous Muslim nai; be iniemarional • FOUL ‘ ,n > illegal activt) rested last monti be Moro Islamic ^ Inch seeks a sepe^ Jtliern Philippine, ' 'here. MILF fournalisfs credibility not undermined by her posing in magazine LINDSAY AIELLO hen CBS Sports football idelme reporter Jill c 1 hll, PP inc 8»r- aT Jgton decided 5 pose in nXitflmSf'. eptember's FHM (For Him Magazine), little did lt . m PhilippinJ f now how much controversy she would ifcrtcntions uc; auSc - Arri ngton, who cited “strong family sup- and F.ikistar ort a self-image and a thirst for more mior al-paicla i e ''f ers ” as reasons for the shoot, posed in the f OfAlar men’s publication's football edition Bl agents ^eaung jean cut-offs and a cni descentmlie emi-revealing white top. ^ tltes sserep^.- Since the issue hit the stands ana bm Ladt ritics have been quick to say tine imi U S he photo spread suggests ■^Bigton is no more than a iretty face who was just hired n fyt B'ract young male viewers. |HH^His is not a new argument. Women do have a harder road to hear than men in sports journalism, which is why Arrington should he commended for paving the way. alestiman trainees v»erj, 'eople have said this ever since • ler long blonde hair appeared s i ( l e li nes - Anyone who yj l/|ias seen Arrington knows she X X s beautiful whether she’s on heBield or in a magazine. ' Nothing changed when she put on a sexy out- ericho beea.'; fh’lbnd she certainly did not suddenly forget how X'ks. to recognize a wishbone offense. Instead, she pokesman it. g avt> people an excuse to vocally stereotype her lie m Jmv r in a way they did long before any photo shoot. States vi.iN s According to CBS’ Web site. Arrington learned nans to rr'!r>. thejrules of football at an early age from her forces but bt father, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles t specific from 1970-1973. She graduated in 1994 with a broadcast jour nalism degree from the University of Miami and immediately began her career as a production assistant for CNN. She then served as a producer/ correspondent for the network before signing on with Fox Sports in 1999. There, Arrington hosted and anchored “NFL Under the Helmet” and i Mondav rs of Al Acs “. a militu Arafat’s F;'. and sever; ig to the mi.. demonstrai; square of B: served as an NFL reporter until September 2000 when she joined the CBS team. Initially covering college football, Arrington worked her way up to the position she currently holds as a reporter for the network's pregame show, “The NFL Today.” These credentials, the result of years of hard work, show she has more than proven herself in the world of football, and those accomplishments should not be erased by one photo shoot. When contacted on the issue, CBS Sports Spokeswoman Leslieanne Wade said, “The idea that these photographs compromise Jill’s credibility is insulting and inconsistent with public opinion. The suggestion that this somehow impacts other female broadcasters and their accomplishments is absurd.” While Arrington's decision was unprofessional, it was in no way “a setback to every woman journalist trying to earn respect in what still is a Fiercely male-dominated arena,” as G. Cote of The Miami Herald said. Women do have a harder road to bear than men in sports journalism, which is why Arrington should be commended for paving the way. Arrington's choice was hers alone, and will not affect Melissa Stark’s or Suzy Kolber’s or any of the other women who have successfully made their way into broadcast journalism, nor will it affect their successors. She is one of the few women who have made it as a nationally-recognized sports broadcaster, and this is a commendable feat. It was not easy for her to get there, but her years of hard work will make it easier for others. Her contributions in this manner are far more significant than any photos. Lindsay Aiello is a junior journalism major. . i — M:’ riff 7 I RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION /II money must be distributed more quickly tx: LAUREL FRANCK on th£ i’' T he horrific terrorist attacks of Sept. 1 1, 2001, left a significant portion of New York City in utter ruin. When Americans across the country witnessed the devastation experi enced by the thousands of families of the victims, they responded with an unprecedented outpouring of support. In his speech at a September Rose Garden remembrance ceremony, President Bush eloquently stated, “Out of our tears and sad ness, we saw the best in America.” According to The Associated Press, Americans have donated more than $2.4 bil lion to numerous charities set up for the victims of Sept. 1 1. Foundation Watch, an organization that reports on the activities of relief funds and aid organizations, reports 58 percent of Americans donated money, 13 percent gave blood and 1 1 per cent offered their time. Seven out of 10 helped in some way. Citizens of the United States, as well as people from countries around the world, displayed compassion with the sheer magni tude of their generosity. Donations ranged from jars of change collected by elementary school classes to millions of dollars given by large corporations. Now that donations have been col lected and monies have been promised by Bush, the govern ment must get this desperately-needed aid to victims’ families and all those affected by this terrible tragedy much more rapid ly than it has thus far. Amidst these good-hearted donations, troubling controversy has arisen over decisions made and lack of action taken by vari ous charitable organizations, as well as the federal government. Americans were angered to learn the Red Cross was going to dedicate $200 million of its $564 million in Sept. 1 1 donations to activities not directly related to victim assistance — a deci sion that was later recanted, according to Foundation Watch. Families of the 657 Cantor-Fitzgerald employees that died in the collapse of the Twin Towers were outraged when Howard Lutnick, the company’s CEO, stopped paying the salaries of the missing and deceased just one day after tearfully promising on national television that, “As a company, we’re going to do everything we can ... to take care of the families of the people that we lost.” Lutnick has since apologized and announced a generous aid package, according to Foundation Watch. The Sept. 1 1 Fund came under fire when television personality Bill O'Reilly of “The O'Reilly Factor” made accusations that the money was not being distributed quickly enough. Since all of these prob lems came into public view, swift action has been taken to resolve these issues. The largest charities have now distributed 60 percent of the donations, according to The Associated Press. The most recent controversy is the disturbing fact that of the more than $20 billion pledged by the federal government just days after the attacks occurred, only 14 percent, or roughly $3 billion dollars, has been handed out to individuals and busi nesses in New York City affected by the Sept. 1 1 attacks. The pressure needs to be put on the government now. Families of the victims and all those who lived or worked near Ground Zero have suffered more than enough already — money must be distributed as promised, and this needs to hap pen now. On Dec. 20, the Department of Justice issued a statement by Kenneth R. Feinberg, special master for the Sept. I 1 Victims’ Compensation Fund, saying, “This Victims’ Compensation Fund is an unprecedented expression of compassion on the part of the American people to the victims and their families devas tated by the horror and tragedy of Sept. 1 1. The Attorney General has instructed me to cut all unnecessary red tape and deliver a program that can help the victims as soon as possi ble.” While this and other such programs have been proposed, lit tle action has been taken and much of the money has yet to be seen by those who urgently need it. In the meantime, the terrorist attacks have taken an econom ic and emotional toll on thousands. People have lost their homes and jobs. Businesses ranging from tiny coffee shops to huge corporations have been forced into bankruptcy and devas tating layoffs. Many families lost their only source of income when loved ones perished. According to The Associated Press, “Thousands of aid applications are sitting in government offices, while the cash flow has been slowed by red tape and a lack of consensus over how to rebuild the World Trade Center site.” MSNBC.com reports Meryl Mayo, who lost her husband in the attacks, testified before a state senate committee, “The bureaucracy is knee-deep, the phone calls, the applications, the fear that the federal compensation program will not be ade quate. These fears allow us to sometimes sleep two to three hours a night.” The government must take immediate steps to distribute the promised aid as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to minimize the anxiety and grief of the families who courageous ly struggle to go on without their loved ones. Laurel Franck is a junior English major. ‘94 Policy requiring English skills should be enforced )OL icern 1 V! COLIN ENNEN irtually every stu dent at Texas A&M has heard horror sto ries about a pro fessor or graduate teaching assistant whose English is worse than a five year old’s. This is probably due to the fact that Texas A&M is one of the top research institutions in the world and thus attracts brilliant, but foreign, minds. Of course, this is wonderful and something stu dents should all be very proud of, but students must wonder what is being sacrificed tor this distinction. F It appears that in order to have its name appear on more scholarly documents, A&M is allowing professors who can barely spit out one logical sentence at a time to teach complicated courses — and not just in the technical depart ments. Instead, there are teaching assistants grading literature papers and handling adminis trative tasks for professors with whom most couldn’t hold a meaningful conversation in English. Some students even claim their grades can sometimes have a direct correlation with an instructor’s ability to speak the English lan guage. Here’s the kicker: A&M has had a policy in place regarding this very issue since February 1995. Revised in March 2000, this system-wide policy states, “Every faculty member at every system component university and the health science center shall be proficient in the English language, both orally and in writing. The same policy shall apply to all teaching assistants given the duty of oral presentations.” It is September 2002, and the problem still persists. According to Measurement and Research Services, the department charged with adminis tering the test to determine English language proficiency for teaching assistants, some for eign students seek certification on their own while others are referred after applying to be a teaching assistant. The test itself is made up of six sections, one each for listening, composition, grammar, vocabulary, reading and speaking. If one fails any portion of this test, they are then sent to the English Language Institute on campus to take classes and eventually gain cer tification. Even then, it is apparent that these classes are lacking something when physics and chemistry lab instructors are unable to express themselves except for the mathematical numbers and symbols they put on the black board. However, this test applies only to teaching assistants, not to professors, and there is not a test anywhere asking for professor participa tion. Even the Center for Teaching Excellence is nowhere near prepared for such a necessity. The best it can manage is to offer voluntary workshops for international faculty members which aim to acquaint them with American cul ture. Perhaps in this day of extreme political correctness, this diversity-driven University is too afraid to do the right thing. The University should either not hire certain candidates or tell them they cannot teach until they can speak English at a level approaching that of their stu dents. It is not unreasonable to ask a person who expects to get the respect and attention of students to speak in a manner in which he is understood. The effort put forth by the administration has not been enough. The policy clearly states that the entire faculty, not some arbitrary por tion of it, is required to be proficient in the English language. Even if only a small percentage of instruc tors at any level were sub-par, that could mean that anywhere from a couple hundred to thou sands of students are not receiving the full ben efits of the money they or their parents are pay ing. Perhaps this is just another one of many reasons why A&M has the 12th least happy students in America. Colin Ennen is a senior English major.
