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Corps block is an
important tradition
In response to Collins
beanyim's Oct. 21 column:
Ithink that it is fair to say that
Mr. Ezeanyim does not under
stand some of the issues that he
discussed in his article that very
691-8065 "iclearly chastised the Corps of
Cadets. Frankly, I could not care
less about his feeling towards
Corps block. I also do not care
when people gripe about how
'or sale. Lassec*Jtrie Corps juniors get to be on
"the field for Yell Practice or how
Cats, Puppiesq Corps fish get to tackle the yell
ebreus. Brazosj,k | e3( j ers \i\i e work hard to be
5, www
'■shelter^
) puppies, Merra
irmed, dewdawed Ife
9-773-0012
able to have these privileges
and I am unapologetic in that
regard. If you want to be able to
ilo these things, then by all
is idewciaws dsJineans join the Corps of Cadets,
mfo can 268-2321« y^at | take issue with is the
fact that Ezeanyim would have
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id for large to
icluded, 777-7052
,-589-2786 VieW ^ ^ nerVe t0 attack the Corps for
hurting campus unity. Writing a
huge spread on how the Corps
is bad for this reason would
seem to me to be a greater
injury to campus unity than any-
Ihing that the Corps does. Just
because we have privileges
does not mean that we did not
earn them.
Finally, regarding the Red,
lllhite, and Blue Out, I have one
final thing to say. It is very nice
that the student body did such a
thing to show support. But the
point must be made again for
sake of people like
j asap, 3txM Ezeanyim: Those Aggies that
off s.w.Pkwy.ors have died fighting for this coun-
Ts-^Msag 41 Mi e d wearing a uniform not
different from the one that
the Corps of Cadets wears. I
challenge Ezeanyim to take an
objective look at how much the
Corps of Cadets, especially
those cadets that are contracted
to serve in our nation’s Armed
fences, do for this school and for
this nation.
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Just like members of a fratern
Jy,sorority, or any other organize
group on campus, cadet
a set of standards, partic
pate in campus activities togeth
ci, and share a sense of came
laderie with one another. Th
inly difference is its size. Ever
oiganization on campus shoul
1)6 so lucky as to have the bond
that Corps members have.
Tue, the Corps sets itself apai
horn the student body at fool
wll games, but then agair
uoesnt it have the right to d
so - Fish Camp discussio
§ioups, fraternity brothers an
|> r oups of friends pull tickets i
' ar 8 e r groups at every footba
8 a me. Are you going to prever
j em from pulling ticket
°§ether as well because the
'nteract mainly with one anotf
Nuring the game?
would also like to remind M
, ze anyim that just because the
ave a Corps block does nc
Nean that a cadet has to pu
th'there. I have been o
' rd deck at football games an
nave seen several Corps men
ers up there with the rest (
ne student body. On the oth(
1 ' have had a few opporti
n ! es to s 't in Corps block an
0nce was I labeled as a
U5| der or treated rudel
aus e I was not in uniforn
Rather, I was made to feel wel
come and was allowed to repre
sent the 12th Man to the best of
my abilities. So before Collins
judges the members of the
Corps block, I would like to
challenge him to befriend a
cadet and take the opportunity
to sit there.
The truth of the matter is, it
does not matter where you are
sitting or who you're sitting
with at a football game. We on
the East side of Kyle Field are all
a part of the Aggie family.
Whether we're wearing khaki,
maroon or purple, the impor
tant thing is that we are stand
ing and yelling for the same
purpose, and that is to support
our team.
Mary Masch
Class of 2003
NRA did not deserve
criticism in cartoon
I request that you issue an
apology for printing the
Luckovich cartoon suggesting
that the National Rifle Association
is a terrorist organization.
The NRA is the number one
firearms safety education group
in America, if not the world, and
responsible gun ownership is
one of the primary tenets of its
membership. By defending the
Constitution (not just the
Second Amendment), the NRA
defends freedom and human
rights for all Americans, and
indeed for all people.
The existing gun control laws
in and around Maryland -
among the most stringent in the
nation - have done nothing to
stop the sniper and those of his
ilk, and it is absurd, even dan
gerous, to suggest that the
answer is even more gun con
trol laws. All available evidence,
worldwide, shows that criminals
will always find a way to obtain
guns with which to commit
crimes. It seems, though, that
you would rather slander law-
abiding Americans than punish
criminals. It is a shame that gun
control fanatics are so eager to
exploit human suffering to fur
ther their attack on our
Constitutional rights ... but they
are, and that is one important
reason why my NRA member
ship dues are kept up-to-date.
Jon L. Gardner
Department of Food Services
Bonfire is worthy of
coverage at A&M
In response to an Oct. 21
mail call:
Bonfire is not just a "pile of
sticks." It is one of the many rich
and probably most favored tra
ditions by students here in
Aggieland. I know this and was
offended by your comments
even though I’ve never seen
Bonfire and am a fish at A&M. I
think that a "newsworthy
event," as you called it, can be
in a paper, such as the "atroci
ties being committed in
Zimbabwe," along with an arti
cle about Bonfire. If you want
news not in Aggieland, sub
scribe to a bigger paper, such as
the Dallas Morning News, the
Houston Chronicle or The New
York Times.
Katherine Alexander
Class of 2006
, for Breckenf#
Ih6915@tamu.e»
fTearnawes^
th and happii**
79)268-3838
a battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less
' nc l u de the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor
^serves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submit-
^ ln person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be
77 a ' ed to; 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
^ HU. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebatt.com. Attachments are
lot accepted.
Opinion
The Battalion Page 7 • Tuesday, October 22, 2002
A pooity behaved guest
Chinese president trying to bully the United States
F ew people had
reason to
rejoice after
Sept. 1 i, but there
were a few who
did. Palestinians
danced in their streets, Gary Condit slipped from
the front pages to the gossip columns and pressure
eased off of China, perhaps America’s foremost
post-Cold War threat.
China’s communist leader Jiang Zemin will make
a rare appearance in College Station Thursday under
the auspices of friendship. Not since Yasser Arafat
has such a mischaracterized leader met with the
president. It is only due to China’s status as a poten
tial economic market and potential diplomatic disas
ter that Zemin is consulted. China’s government
must be recognized for what it is: the missing mem
ber of President Bush’s “Axis of Evil.”
Contrary to current proposals, the United States
should not lift military sanctions against the
Chinese government. In 1989. the world watched
as a student-led protest in favor of democracy sur
faced in China. In the public area known as
Tiananmen Square, student protestors were
viciously suppressed with military tanks, resulting
in the deaths of more than 500 civilians, according
to declassified U.S. intelligence reports. After the
massacre, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping fired
subordinates he believed were too kind towards
the protestors, according to CNN. In this power
vacuum, Jiang Zemin rose to the top of the com
munist party and, later, the country. There are
numerous reasons why, under this current leader
ship, China should not be considered a friend.
In an unusual display of interest in democracy,
three Chinese nationals were found to have tun
neled money into the Democratic National
Committee prior to the 1996 presidential election
through false companies and aliases.
One of those convicted, Charlie Trie, admitted
in a congressional hearing to procuring germ war
fare material for China, according to NewsMax.
More recently, China displayed hostility during
an April 2001 downing of a slow-flying U.S. sur
veillance plane operating over the South China Sea.
The aircraft was struck by a Chinese fighter jet,
forcing the plane to land in Chinese territory. For
nearly two weeks, the 24-person crew was held hostage until it
was ransomed by a U.S. government;qpology. The Washington
Post reports that Chinese aggression towards U.S. planes in inter
national airspace has increased this year.
China’s behavior in regard to human rights is appalling. Last
summer. President Bush withdrew $34 million from the U.N.
Population Fund despite the cries of American feminists. His rea
soning: the funds were supporting forced sterilizations and abor
tions in China. The Chinese government has ordered one of its
regions to perform 20,000 abortions by the end of 2002, accord
ing to the U K. Telegraph.
Guaranteed to be an issue this week is Falun Gong, a group
that partakes in spiritual and physical exercise similar to yoga and
was outlawed in China in 1999. According to the group’s Web
site, more than 1,600 practitioners have been killed by the Chinese
government and more than 20,000 were sent to labor camps. Up
to 3,000 followers of Falun Gong may protest Zemin’s visit to the
Bush Library, according to an interview in The Eagle with
University Police Department Director Bob Wiatt.
For security at the Falun Gong protest, which takes the form
of peaceful meditation, a seemingly excessive eight local, federal,
and foreign security agencies will be in attendance. In a fashion
that has been increasingly questioned for First Amendment rea
sons, the protestors will be only allowed in “free speech zones.”
“The Chinese government, not content with persecuting the
Falun Gong in China, has (urged) local U.S. officials to shun or
even persecute them right here in America,” a Feb. 21 Wall Street
Journal article said. “The approach ... tends to combine gross dis
information with scare tactics and, in some cases t slyly implied
diplomatic and commercial pressure.” Sadly, Thursday’s events
may come to reflect the communist Chinese stance on freedom,
not America’s.
The largest point of contention between America and China is
Taiwan, a democratic island country off the coast of China, which
has much in common with Israel. Its lands are claimed by unde
mocratic powers and its survival is dependent on the United
States.
Zemin has a message for Bush, according to a report in the
Straits Times. If Taiwan asserts its independence, China will
respond aggressively. If America interferes with China’s reaction,
there will be catastrophic results. In return for allowing the
Taiwanese democracy to flounder, China will not veto a Security
Council use of force in Iraq. This blackmail can be distrusted at
best. Even as America considers action against Saddam Hussein,
the U.S. State Department released information indicating that
Beijing sold complex fiber optic systems for Iraqi air defense.
Why does America need enemies when it has friends like
China? America and President Bush should not reward dictators
the ilk of Jiang Zemin with improved trade status, the lifting of
sanctions, or barbecues in Crawford. America should return to the
era of recognizing and defending democracy, not just those in
power. Bush should concede nothing to Zemin.
Matthew Maddox is a junior
management major.
‘Trash’ ads have no place in election
W ith only two weeks
until elections, the
mudslinging
between Rick Perry and
Tony Sanchez is as unrelent
ing as ever. It is long over
due that Texas voters grab both of these
men by the ears and shout, “It’s the
issues, stupid!”
Going to the polls this year, most
Texans can recall the negative accusa
tions made by each candidate but have
little grasp, if any, of where the candi
dates stand on issues.
Election debate on campus inevitably
gravitates toward the trash ads. Too many
students feel like educated voters simply
because they can discuss the finer points
of “we didn’t elect him, we don’t have to
keep him” (Perry was indeed elected lieu
tenant governor) or “Sanchez lacks expe
rience to govern” (his distinguished
career and degrees in business adminis
tration and law certainly qualify him).
If Perry and Sanchez are obscuring
their stances on education, health, taxes
and other issues, the public has com
pletely buried them by focusing on the
polarizing issue of race.
Who has time to opine on school
vouchers, immigration or budget plans
when it is much easier to gripe about how
Sanchez is “counting on” the Hispanic
vote? Or how Perry is “pandering” to
Hispanic voters, for instance, through his
increased use of Spanish phrases?
While the candidates
skirt the issues in favor of
negative ads, many voters
skirt the issues in favor of
incorrect racial assump
tions. Texas Democrat and
Republican voters must remember to
place emphasis on issues, not race. This
election should set an important example
on how to balance race and politics, as
29 percent of the potential electorate in
Texas is Hispanic. . v
The first and most hurtful assumption
is that voters are expected to vote along
racial lines. This mindset unfairly creates
antagonism toward minorities who sell
out by voting for someone who is not of
their race.
Not only is it detrimental to the
minority community, but this misconcep
tion breeds resentment from many white
voters who will not give minority candi
dates a look because of that stigma, in
effect being racist.
If the issues are not the main focus,
then race clouds people’s perceptions
and judgments. It creates dilemmas that
have little to do with how these leaders
will help the state. For Hispanics espe
cially, these election decisions are partic
ularly tough.
At a party a few weeks ago, 1 was
taken aback when a young woman scold
ed me when I insinuated I was not plan
ning to cast a vote for Tony Sanchez. “I
can’t believe that there are Hispanics
who are not supporting Tony,” she
exclaimed.
I was shocked. Of course I would not
vote for Sanchez just because he is
Hispanic, I replied. The same way I
would not vote for Perry because he is
an Aggie.
She admitted she was wrong for her
initial remark, but asked which issues I
sided on Perry with over Sanchez. She
caught me. I had not familiarized myself
with the issues — all I had was a hunch.
Beyond all of the mudslinging and
race rhetoric, maybe Sanchez is indeed a
candidate who would represent me better.
I am embarrassed that I felt some guilt
about supporting him because people
may think I was just another Hispanic
supporting the Hispanic candidate.
The candidates have not been giving
voters the issues in their commercials.
The public debate has consisted only of
name-calling and racial assumptions. It
is up to individual voters to not feel pres
sured by the hot air being blown by both
parties and to do their research. There
are several Web sites with breakdowns of
major issues and where the candidates
stand on water, budgets, education and
health.
This campaign has been exceptionally
dirty, and it is time voters take on their
responsibilities and hose the mud off the
candidates before Nov. 5.
Mariano Castillo is a senior journalism
and international studies major.
MARIANO CASTILLO