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.TEVECAM?
CHOOL OF
:uitar
Opinion
The Battalion Page 5B • Monday, September 30, 2002
Terrorist threats are not a joke
Georgia woman was right to report what she heard at restaurant to police
COLLINS EZEANYIM
I t is perhaps the
most serious
case of “he
said, she said” the
nation has ever
known. A Georgia
woman, Eunice Stone, claims to have heard
three men plotting an attack of equal or greater
magnitude than Sept. I 1. According to CNN,
one of the three men
' n Muestion, medical
student Ayman
Gheith, says
the woman
discrimi
nated
against
him
because he
was
Muslim
lied her story. Unfortunately for Gheith and his
fellow medical students, Kambiz Butt and
Omer Choudhary, Stone must be given the ben
efit of the doubt because the nation is at an
unprecedented level of alert. She was correct in
reporting the men to the authorities and hope
fully more Americans will have the courage to
do the same if faced with a similar situation.
According to Houston Chronicle News
Services, on Sept. 12, Stone sat down to eat
breakfast with her son at a Shoney’s Restaurant
in Calhoun, Ga. What was supposed to be a
relaxing meal turned alarming when Stone
overheard Gheith, Butt and Choudhary — all of
Middle-Eastern descent —joke about Sept. 1 1.
According to the Houston Chronicle article,
their comments included, “If they mourn Sept.
11, what will they think about Sept. 13?”
Instead of dismissing these comments as off
hand remarks. Stone took wrote down the
license plate numbers of these men and alerted
the Georgia State Patrol. The three medical stu
dents were tracked down at a bend in Interstate
75 near Naples, Fla., known as Alligator Alley,
according to The Miami Herald. Their car was
searched and they were later released.
Some critics say Stone’s actions will only
: feed the nation’s paranoia and that the three
men were treated unfairly. For example. Matt
Drudge said on his Sept. 15 radio show, “We
owe these guys an apology.” But Stone did
not act rashly in reporting the men. If any
thing, she actually hesitated to take any
action. She was quoted by Houston Chronicle
News Services as saying, “At first, you know, I
just went ahead with my breakfast.”
Furthermore, her story has remained consis
tent while accounts of what the three men did
have vacillated wildly. Salon.com reports that
police first thought the men started joking
about terrorist plots after receiving a dirty look
from a customer in the restaurant. The men
later told CNN that their comments about
“bringing it down” were in reference to bring
ing a car down to Florida and not to blowing up
a building as Stone suspected. The men have
claimed they never said anything about Sept.
1 1 or Sept. 13.
According to the Houston Chronicle article.
relatives of the three men have claimed just
about everyone involved in the incident —
including Stone, law enforcement officers and
even the media — of being prejudiced against
Muslims. Other detractors of Stone’s actions
agree. “If the people in the next booth had been
named Bubba, Leroy and Goober, would she
still have called the police?” wrote one reader
to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Stone’s critics do raise a legitimate con
cern about ethnic profiling.
Unfortunately, there have been
other cases since Sept. 1 1 in
which innocent people have
been discriminated against
because they were or appeared to
be Muslim. For example, Michael
Dasrath claims to have been thrown
off a Continental Airlines flight
because a female passenger reported
that he and two other “brown
skinned men” were — in her
words — “acting suspi
ciously,”
according to a
statement
released by the
American Civil
Liberties Union
(ACLU). In this
case, the reporting
passenger was
clearly acting out
of bigotry. She
couldn't even
specify the ethnici
ties of the men she
had thrown off the
plane or any of their
supposed “suspicious”
actions. But Stone has
been very specific about
why she alerted the authori
ties of the three medical students
so her actions most likely were
not born out of a hatred for
Muslims.
The anger expressed by sup
porters of Gheith, Butt and
Choudhary can be understood, but they must
understand that the nation’s chance of prevent
ing another Sept. 1 1 may depend on people like
Eunice Stone roaming America’s streets and
restaurants.
Collins Ezeanyim is a senior
computer engineering major.
Aggie deserved death penalty for murder
Though he claims he didn’t plan murder, Ron Shamhurger’s execution was justified
I am almost the same age Lori
Ann Baker was in 1994. Like
me, Lori attended Texas
A&M, participated in yell prac
tices and cheered for Aggie foot
ball. She studied often and prob
ably dreamed of many of the same things I do. But unlike
Lori, I have the opportunity to achieve my dreams. Lori does
not, and she never will. This is because she was horrifically
murdered before she ever got the chance. Last week, her killer,
Ron Shaniburger, was put to death in a fitting act of justice for
ber murder.
The community we think to be safe and friendly was
shocked when a member of the Aggie family brutally took the
blc of another. According to reports, the murder occurred in
the early morning hours of Sept. 30, 1994. When Lori awoke,
she was undoubtedly surprised to see Shamburger in her room.
Shamburger tied Lori to a chair before shooting her in the head
with a 9 mm pistol. Then, in a futile attempt to recover evi
dence against him, Shaniburger used a knife to dig for the bul-
' e t- Unsuccessful, he doused Lori’s body with gasoline and set
her on fire.
When presented with the gut-wrenching picture, one can only
wonder how anyone can say Lori’s murder was unintentional.
But this was Shamhurger’s claim. According to
thedeathhouse.com, in Shamhurger’s words, “things happened so
quickly, sometimes you don't have to think. It was a response, a
reflex. I panicked.” According to him, he was in Lori’s house
only to burglarize it and did not intend to harm anyone.
However, the facts of the case present a very different story.
Ron Shaniburger showed up that day with a gun, a roll of duct
tape, gasoline and a knife for a reason. When considering if a
killer is deserving of the death penalty, we must find out if the
murder was planned and if the killer knew what he or she was
doing. In this case the answer, absolutely and unequivocally,
is yes.
We must also decide whether a convicted killer represents a
future threat to society in determining the death penalty is jus
tified punishment. With respect to Ron Shamburger, those
against his execution argued this point. In a Sept. 15 Houston
Chronicle column, columnist James Kimberly argued that
Shamburger posed no future threat to society by saying, “Since
his 1995 arrival, he has spent time listening to Christian radio,
studying the Bible and preparing a personal testimony to con
vert others to Christianity.” Based on this, Kimberly feels
“Shaniburger has defied the jury’s prediction that he would be
violent in the future.”
Apparently, Kimberly thinks killers’ behavior in a maxi
mum-security prison is indicative of how they will behave if
released into society. Shamburger may have been a model pris
oner, but prior to the murder he was an equally model citizen.
He was a senior biomedical science major, was an Eagle Scout
and attended church regularly. In fact, in the days before
Lori’s murder, Shamburger was leading Bible studies at his
house. If you had asked anyone then, nobody would have
called him a threat to society, much less fathomed that
Shamburger was capable of murder. Based on this, one cannot
say with certainty that he would not have killed again, and the
risk was one too great to take.
The death penalty is an appropriate and fitting punishment
for specific criminals who commit the most heinous of crimes.
Sadly, Shamburger fits into this category, and deserved to be
executed for the murder of Lori Ann Baker.
Lindsay Aiello is a sophomore
journalism major.
LINDSAY AIELLO
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MAIL CALL
The meaning of 'real Aggies'
ln response to Richard Bray's Sept. 26 column:
Brays column has a very poignant message:
Sgies are not living in Utopia and should not pre-
te nd it is so.
As Texas A&M moves forward (and it will - the
ew administration has proven that). Aggies must
e P art °f solutions instead of always pointing at
problems. With 45,000 students come 45,000
n ique opinions, and A&M’s leaders will be tested
s ney try to heed consensus. But saying some stu-
e nts are not "real" Aggies because of their opin
es 1S unacceptable.
ggieland is a great place, and many of us love it
I ar| y-. Bu t a free exchange of ideas is imperative.
m y tinae at A&M, I have seen a dichotomy emerge
n campus: those who are for Bonfire and those
o are against. As Bray so cleverly explained, that
^agreement has evolved, creating scissions
, 0n § m any factions of campus life. This is futile
counterproductive; we must all remember that
® can agree to disagree. We are, after all. Aggies,
ongratulations on reminding us of something
We need to hear.
Brady Creel
Graduate student
I'm so glad someone had the gumption to say
what Bray said in his article "What makes a real
Aggie." Aggies need to realize that criticizing
something or disagreeing with something does
not mean you don't care about it. In fact, I agree
with Bray that those who criticize A&M express
their criticisms because they want to see it con
tinue to succeed. How often have we criticized
something our government did? That doesn't
mean we dislike it. Think of it this way: imagine
how the old Ags felt when women were allowed
on campus. Many were appalled and angry and
disappointed in A&M. But A&M has grown to be a
better institution because of that. Not all change
is bad. I love A&M as much as anyone does and
am thankful for all it has given me, but I am not
without my criticisms of it. It's time for us to open
up to new possibilities, realize that change is
inevitable, and realize that the universe doesn't
stop at the College Station city limits.
Jeffey Givens
Class of 2003
I must say that I agree with Bray completely on
this issue. Being a real Aggie does not mean you
agree with everything the school does or like
everything about every single tradition. Being a
real Aggie does not mean being blind to problems
for the sake of spirit and tradition. To be a real
Aggie one must respect each other even if you
completely disagree with their views. Everyone
has a right to think how they want to. You can
love all the traditions or hate all the traditions and
still be a real Aggie as long as you respect each
other. That is what is meant by a "community of
respect."
It does not mean respecting only the Aggie
family and ignoring "two-percenters," "t-sips"
and everyone else. It means respecting all peo
ple regardless of who they are, where they're
from, what they think, where they are or where
they're going.
Cody Sain
Class of 2006
To clear something up that Richard Bray seems
to be quasi-concerned about: Texas A&M has
always made two-percenters, who entertain my
free time between classes when I have nothing
better to do than read their arbitrary opinions in
The Battalion, pay full tuition.
Travis Straw
Class of 2002
I was absolutely appalled after reading, "What
makes a real Aggie?" in Thursday's paper. Bray is
only an Aggie because he pays tuition at this fine
University. He is not an Aggie at heart. Being a
real Aggie comes from within. Bray says that he
cares about this University. Then shouldn't he
care for traditions like Bonfire and having Yell
Leaders that set this University apart from all oth
ers? Shouldn't he tell workers to get off the
Memorial Student Center grass, which is a memo
rial to those Aggies who have unselfishly given
their lives protecting our freedom?
Bray has probably never attended a Yell Practice,
a football game or Muster. If he had, he would
understand why this University is so special in real
Aggie's hearts. He would understand what it
means to be an Aggie.
Lindsey Turner
Class of 2004
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters
must be 200 words or less and include the author's name,
class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right
to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be
submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid stu
dent ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald,
MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-
1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com