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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2002)
Opinion The Battalion Page 11 • Tuesday, October 15, 2002 he goods ie size of the stag illy born torun.l, Jic silver medal J 1920 and herfafc Jr marathoner inlii he moved glish midlandsaii surrounding >th her 'ointments steelej imes ahead. Befe eason, her principa anging from 31 neters was the lad that enabled hern aetitors in somai -'ing lap after lap been her greater narkable marate peratures intheads he runners heads; ically ground dw the second er than she tlanta Games, hem Olympians« i if they wouldti :nt substances f winning and im ne forld Are you next? Nelson Jacob n 209: Stamu.edu A doomed undertaking Divestment campaign too simplistic to succeed I nthe early 1980s, college stu dents helped to eliminate the apartheid regime from South Africa through a divestment cam paign, according to Time and Newsweek. This is a movement COLLINS EZLANYIM by students to pressure their universities to review their investment portfolios and eliminate stocks of companies they believe are aiding human injustices. The anti-apartheid divestment movement is a shining example of how focused and passionate college students can organize and make a difference in the world. Now a new divestment movement is sweeping campuses from coast to coast. According to Time, the campaign involves students’efforts to pressure their universities to divest from any company doing “substantial busi ness with Israel.” The goal of divestment activists is to pressure Israel into changing its policies toward the threat, two-timt Palestinians, which the stu- atherine Ndereta le. liffe stopped afn ile for drug testm marveled at hire n mediately suspett mistry. dents consider oppressive. According to Time, major universities involved in this divestment movement include the University of Michigan, the Jniversity of ialifornia at Jerkeley and the jniversity of Texas it Austin. Targeted ompanies include jeneral Electric. IBM McDonalds, accord- toTime. Unlike its anti ipartheid predecessor, this nodern divestment movement s unnecessary, unjustified and inef fective. It also comes dangerously lose to becoming anti-Semitic. The problem with any movement tgainst Israel is that the activists nvolved will always be suspected of whoring anti-Semitic feelings. Unfortunately, in the heated rhetoric that •ftenaccompanies discussions concerning sraeland the Middle East, it is hard to distin- uishanti-Israel and anti-Semitic feeling. For xample, according to Time, the Hillel Center or Jewish students at Berkeley was vandalized on the first day of Passover when someone hrew a cinder block through the door and Pray-painted its wall with an expletive regard- ng Jews. There was no evidence of a link oBerkeley's strong divestment campaign, t members of the movement have a duty ovehemently condemn any anti- Semitic words or actions. Instead, "'hat they offered were weak and non- ffective statements such as the designed by 21 Berkeley faculty x. ■" which they “unequivocally” ■ejected “all forms of acism,” fording to The Daily Califoi ian, eiteley’s student newspaper. Another deficiency of the divestment movement is its over all lack of effectiveness. This defect is twofold. First, the universities simply do not agree with the campaign.and see no reason to divest from Israel. As Time explained, “schools are not rushing to sell right now.” Secondly, the divestment movement faces serious opposition from pro-Israel supporters. Even at places such as Berkeley, where the divestment movement has a particular ly loyal following, a counter-petition denouncing divestment has been circu lated and has collected 4,000 signa tures, according to Time. This is much more than the divest ment movement has been able to accumulate. Christopher Cantor, a member of the campaign for U.C. Divestment from Israel, said in a Daily Californian column that this counter-petition “does indeed have many more signatures than the corre sponding divestment petition.” As it wears on, the divestment cam paign grows more and more egregious. Especially when its supporters try to com pare Israel’s policies to that of apartheid, as did Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a piece titled, “A Moral Campaign to End the Occupation.” This comparison is sick and cruel. Many of Israel’s policies concerning the Palestinians are questionable and should be seriously reconsidered, such as Israel’s occupation of disputed lands in the West Bank. However, to compare these poli cies and laws with the travesty of apartheid is immoral and unfair. This is the ultimate failure of the campaign to divest from Israel. The students involved view a complex issue, the conflict in the Middle East, with too simple-minded a viewpoint. They speak of the human-rights abuses of Israel but conveniently never talk about the homicide bombers that target inno cent civilians at will. As Jonathan Alter pointed out in a column for Newsweek, they “say nothing when the Palestinians routinely execute suspected col laborators, including the mothers of young children.” The divestment campaign will never be as successful as the anti-apartheid movement unless the student activists acknowledge these complexities. Their folly shows that any campaign to bring about change in the Middle East can’t be “pro- Israel” or “pro-Palestenian,” but must be pro-peace to succeed. Collins Ezeanyim is a senior computer engineering major. SARAH FOWLER • THE BATTALION & Rita's Fri llam-llp m am-9pm Pesticide restrictions needed Treaty ratification would limit pesticides in foreign nations 1g Iv it icrr ter riissi® 11 ccrn II 845-15 15 T he Environmental Piotection Agency (EPA) works to — ect consumers from me Wential dang'*’"- Pesticides. However, this esn°t stop U.S. companies from P° rt 'ng these pesticides. According to the New (\y^ ]at i° na ^ St ' percent of the pesti- s 011 sa le in developing countries do ■neet international standards. a„ p e Suited Nations environmental i Cy called for a ratification of a 1998 and! t0 tl§hten the ban on the export acm ? P es ti c ides in other countries, is co^ ln ^ t0 CNN.com. The crackdown ban n ? ntrated on Pesticides that are d e ve| ln t ^ le United States but not in asie 0 * 3 ! 11 ^ Cour >tries. This ratification is cides tu ° Sei to con trolling harmful pesti ^ at endanger lives. are!? 6 ,^ re S u Jates which pesticides nsf ln the United States. The EPA unfit f eStlc '^ es and chemicals that are ti C id e ° r tae env ironment. Although pes- hnited 38 are banned in the ^PPiimm 68, there is no re g ulation itig 0 f j’ 6 rnan ufacturing and export- tries s'"' 3 P est ici d e to foreign coun- ba n ce' t nCe Am ericans trust the EPA to States ain P estic i de s in the United theb a n ^ ^ n ! ted States should support pesticide^ 0 ^ ex P° rt i n g those very Since the EPA regulates ’ United ANDI BACA iv..-,, emulated pesticides can have on iiicm. According to the Australian Fertiliser Services Association (AFSA), the United States imports food from many countries it exports pesticides to. Ecuador, which uses imported pesticides, has polluted rivers, where shrimp are harvested and exported. Ecuador is the number one exporter of bananas as well. Since these products are imported into the United States, it is safer to support a tighter ban on harmful pesticides not approved by the EPA. Tightening the ban on exporting iden tified pesticides will improve the harmful conditions environments are exposed to. Harmful pesticides negatively affect the environment. Pesticides cause irre versible damage to land and water sup plies. They are responsible for illnesses and deaths of people exposed to them. CNN.com said the pesticide monocro- tophos causes nausea, blurred vision, res piratory problems and death. Monocrotophos is one of the pesticides the intended treaty would ban. Although banning the export of dan gerous pesticides to foreign countries is a beginning to improving the quality of the environment, it does not eliminate dan gerous pesticides. same The biggest problem is what to do with banned pesticides. According to the New Informationalist, it will cost Africa $80 million to dispose of all banned pes ticides. Underdeveloped countries will have a harder time paying for the dispos al of unused pesticides. However, the New Informationalist said that the agro chemical industry has agreed to pay 30 percent of the costs of disposing banned pesticides. Despite its steep cost, dispos al of banned pesticides is an unavoidable task. While pesticides have allowed under developed countries to maximize their scarce agricultural resources, the harmful affects of some pesticides are dangerous enough to require tighter regulation. The EPA uses strict guidelines to judge the pesticides used in the United States, and similar regulations are required in other countries due to today’s global commu nity of trade. Simply banning pesticides in one country will not prevent their potential harm in others. Although many U.S. citizens will never experience the harmful effects of dangerous pesticides, thousands will. The world consists of one community resource, recycled repeatedly. Poisoning one country will poison the United States in the long run. Andi Baca is a senior journalism major. Diversify A&M through study abroad program Y ■ ^he top universities in America are world -A. universities,” says Vision 2020. Those universities open themselves to international students and provide substantial opportunities for their domestic students to go abroad. The closer Texas A&M moves toward its vision, the more impor tant international experience will become. International experiences are becoming imperative in today’s world. “Study abroad is essential if you want to be competitive in the global market,” Erin Delcarson, an A&M study abroad adviser, said. A&M offers many opportunities for students to get involved in the international experience. Students can study abroad, intern abroad and become involved in organizations focused on emphasizing international relations. A&M offers more than 60 programs in 20 countries. Many students are aware of major programs the Study Abroad Office offers, but are missing the opportunity to get involved in smaller programs that may hold the key to their interest. “No matter what your major, there’s something out there for you,” Delcarson said. With many different programs available, students don’t have an excuse to miss a study abroad experience. Delcarson said that upon graduation, she was continually asked about her international experience by every job inter viewer. “Recruiters are looking for people who are willing to take the extra step and aren’t afraid to step out of their com fort zones,” Delcarson said. America is a strong international player. Therefore, its cit izens should be international players as well. Countries out side the United States are growing in power and influence. The European Union continues to gain momentum and power - the success of the Euro and free movement within the countries certainly attest to that. As foreign influence rises, American citizens will be forced to learn more about it to be able to understand America’s international relations. Students have the advantage of multiple programs at their fingertips designed to benefit them and help them learn. Melissa Tyroch, a senior political science major, went to study the European Union this summer through the European Summer Academy. “I’d suggest that anyone want ing to expand their horizons and learn a little while being immersed in a different culture participate in a study abroad program,” she said. Many students are concerned about the expense of study ing abroad. The Study Abroad Programs Office says the biggest complaint student have is the cost of studying abroad. However, the Study Abroad Office has more than $300,000 available in scholarships, so money is available. As the programs grow and the support gains momentum, more money will be available to students to ensure that no one is left out of these opportunities. Being willing to take the experience is the first step towards realizing how international relations can help one personally. New programs are developed each year and organizations such as Aggie International Ambassadors are being founded to help emphasize the importance of interna tional experience. Many of the faculty and the University’s top leaders rec ognize that a strong international experience is important — it is time the students became more aware of this as well. Studying and interning abroad can be life-changing experi ences that help to diversify and globalize the A&M campus. Lenti Smith is a junior political science and journalism major. LENTI SMITH MAIL CALL Bad experience with Corps escort In response to Sara Foley's Oct. 10 column: I have nothing against the Corps of Cadets. My father and two uncles served in the Corps and I have nothing but respect for it. I do, however, have serious grievances against their escort service. As a freshman, new to cam pus, I called the escort service to walk me to my dorm, and I was embarrassed and humili ated by the experience. The person on the other end of my escort's walkie-talkie asked questions about my physical appearance, ending in "What does she look like?" to which the escort replied, "She's noth ing special." I will never call the escort service again, no matter what time of night it is or how unsafe I feel. I refuse to be rated by someone who doesn't even know me, especially when the assumption is based solely on physical appearance. I think it's sad that I can no longer trust the escort service, considering that they are fel low Aggies, and when my female friends heard my expe rience, they also decided that calling the service was not worth it. As I have shared this story, I've found that other lady Ags have had similar negative experiences, and it's time that someone ends this very un-Aggielike behavior. Jamie Hall 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 sub mitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-11 1 1. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com. Attachments are not accepted.