The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 17, 2002, Image 13

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The Battalion
Page 5B • Tuesday, September 17, 2002
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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
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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.
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'eople have said this ever since
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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
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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.
.
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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.