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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5B • Thursday, January 23, 2003
A VACATION FROM THE LAW?
Corporate sponsors of Spring Break should not promote lax substance rules
tudentspringbreak.com,
a Web site that helps
college students plan
their spring break travels,
claims there are many benefits
to traveling to Cancun, Mexico.
These include, “the luxurious beaches,
the lush jungles, ancient ruins and the
beautiful hotels.” But the Web site adds
that most students who visit will only
care about the “abundance of alcohol.”
It claims, “your yearly intake of alcohol could
happen in one small week in Cancun ... on
Spring Break.” The Web site also heralds
Holland's liberal laws on marijuana, stating, “Who
hasn’t heard that Amsterdam is a pot-smoker’s par
adise? The myth is true.”
Meanwhile, another student travel Web site, stu-
dentadvtrav.com, tells students that the drinking age
in Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas is 18, “but is
rarely enforced.”
Spring break tour promoters are using the
relaxed alcohol and drug laws of foreign countries
to lure college students to buy their travel packages.
The problem is that in the United States, many of
these students are considered underage and would
n’t be able to legally obtain these substances. These
promoters must realize that although touting a for
eign country’s lax stance on alcohol and drugs to
sell their packages is legal, it is not ethical. Spring
break travel companies should stop promoting their
travel packages in this manner because when they
do, they encourage students to engage in harmful
activities such as binge drinking.
Tour promoters would like students to believe
that for an entire week, students can engage in all
the drinking and drugs they want — without any
consequences. But health experts in the United
States have the opinion that many spring break
events have become too hazardous for young
Americans. In a press release, the American
Medical Association (AMA) went so far as to call
spring break, “ . . . a dangerous activity that gets
worse every year.”
Indeed, one study that surveyed the drinking
behavior of students on spring break found that 50
percent of men and 40 percent of women became so
drunk that they passed out. This study was
done by the Trauma Foundation of San
Francisco, an organization committed to the
prevention of traumatic injuries.
Alcohol abuse in spring break destinations
has become so prevalent that even the federal
government has become involved. The U.S.
Department of State warns, “Alcohol is
involved in the vast majority of arrests, acci
dents, violent crimes and deaths suffered by
American tourists in Cancun.”
Yes, college students are adults who ultimately
make their own decisions to engage in possibly haz
ardous activities such as binge drinking. But they are
also young people who may not understand the con
sequences of drug consumption in a foreign country.
Students should be warned by spring break promot
ers of the possible dangers they face by acting irre
sponsibly in a land not rule by U.S. jurisdiction.
And there are many dangers. The U.S. Consulate
in Merida, Mexico reports that during the eight-week
spring break period of 2002, American students
accounted for 360 arrests, 495 reports of lost or
stolen property and even two deaths, according to an
article in USA Today. The same article reports that in
Mexico, students can be charged and arrested for
offenses as small as making an obscene gesture and
can be held for up to a year before trial. The U.S.
Department of State warns “ . . . the fact that some
one is a U.S. citizen in no way exempts him or her
from full prosecution under the Mexican criminal
justice system.” It adds that U.S. officials cannot
arrange for the release of Americans arrested in
Mexico.
Unfortunately, tour promoters are not the only
companies that use lax foreign alcohol laws to take
advantage of unknowing students during spring
break. In an effort to promote their product, beer and
liquor distributors often use outrageous promotions
to push their merchandise. Probably the most notori
ous of these events is the Bacardi “rum shower.” This
involves inviting people as young as high-school age “ . .
.to climb into a shower to have Bacardi rum and coke
poured into their mouths from a showerhead.” Again, the
problem is the fact that many of the participants of the
“rum shower” and other events sponsored by alcohol
companies are considered underage in the United
panics are attempting
to get young people
addicted to their
product before
they’re legally
able to consume it,
the tactic is work
ing. One high school
student interviewed by
the news magazine
Inside Edition said,
“They (marketers for
Bacardi) give us some
free stuff and they get us
hooked on Bacardi for life.”
It’s understandable that
tour promoters and other companies want to profit
from the annual rite of passage known as spring break.
But there is absolutely no need to promote irrespon
sible and hazardous behavior to do so. These com
panies should warn American students of the possi
ble dangers when engaging in alcohol and drug
activity during foreign travel. Perhaps students who
go on these vacations and who overindulge in alco
hol will make it back to the United States in one
piece.
Collins Ezeanyim is a senior
computer engineering major.
Graphic by Leigh Richardson
Bush should fund foreign abortions “Ghetto Party 5 ’: just the facts, please
JENELLE
WILSON
rS-'
P resident George W.
Bush's proclamation
declaring Jan. 19 as
National Sanctity of Human
Life Day is another in a long
line of actions meant to
undermine a woman's right to
control her own reproductive
future. In the proclamation,
he claims he wants to protect
"the weak, the imperfect and the unwanted," yet
many of his national and international policy
decisions suggest otherwise, especially when
they end up killing people.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNPF)
supports maternal and child health care, volun
tary family planning, screening for reproductive
tract cancers, promoting breast-feeding and pre
venting HIV/AIDS.
According to the UNPF Web site, since it
became operational in 1969, the UNPF has pro
vided more than $5.6 billion for developing
countries to meet reproductive health and pedi
atrics needs to support sustainable development.
In July this past year, the Bush administration
announced it was withdrawing the $34 million
appropriated by Congress for the UNPF on the
basis that a portion of the money goes to perform
forced abortions in China, despite, according to
the Washington Post, the State Department find
ing no evidence to support the allegation. The
UNPF estimates the lost funds will translate to 2
million more unwanted pregnancies, 800,000
more abortions, 60,000 cases of serious maternal
illness, 4,700 more dead mothers and 77,000
deaths of children younger than five years old.
Another example is the global "gag rule,"
which Bush reinstated his first day in office. The
gag rule prevents any international group from
receiving U.S. funds if they counsel women
about abortion, engage in political speech about
abortion or provide abortion services, even with
their own funds, according to The New York
Times. The National Organization of Women
state on their Web site that an estimated 80,000
women will die every year from unsafe and ille
gal abortions as a result.
Bush's respect for the "sanctity of human life"
will actually result in the death of hundreds of
thousands of women and children a year.
Unwanted pregnancy is not the only area in
which the Bush administration is knowingly fail
ing to protect the health of women and children.
In his proclamation. Bush stated that(add) his
administration has promoted "compassionate
alternatives" to abortion, including abstinence-
only programs, despite evidence they do not
work. A report from the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services released in April
2002 stated federally funded abstinence pro
grams do not have any significant impact on
unwanted pregnancy rates or STD transmission,
according to Advocates for Youth. A similar
Surgeon General report released in July 2001
found that these programs fail to delay the onset
of sexual activity or the frequency of sex.
Comprehensive programs, which discuss
abstinence and contraceptives, have been found
to succeed where abstinence-only programs fail,
yet they receive no funding.
The Bush administration is not stopping with
American youth— it’s taking the failing absti
nence-only programs global. This past December
at the U.N. population conference in Bangkok,
the U.S. delegation shamefully tried to block a
measure endorsing the use of condoms to prevent
HIV/AIDS. The U.S. officials insist that absti
nence is their goal and promoting condom use is
tantamount to encouraging sex among teenagers,
according to The New York Times. In Asia, how
ever, many young girls do not have a choice
when it comes to sex; they are lured away from
their families or simply kidnapped and sold into
prostitution, according to Human Rights Watch.
Not providing them with basic information on
how to prevent AIDS amounts to a death sen
tence, and is in no way respectful of the "sancti
ty of human life."
The Bush Administration's claim to care
about human life is nothing but talk. His actions
continually contradict his words. Cutting funding
for advanced pediatric training for doctors, pro
grams that coordinate medical care for
Americans without health insurance and pro
grams that deal with child abuse and neglect, are
all items which Bush took care of within his first
100 days according to political commentator
Michael Moore. They are the antithesis of con
cern for "the weak, the imperfect and the
unwanted." Preventing contraceptive coverage
while leaving coverage for Viagra intact, as he
did with federal employees, will only result in
more of "the unwanted."
If Bush truly wants to respect the "sanctity of
human life" and prevent abortions, denying fund
ing to reproductive health services, comprehen
sive sex education programs and contraceptives
is not the way to do it. The best, easiest, and most
realistic way to prevent abortions is by prevent
ing unwanted pregnancies, meaning women
worldwide need accurate information and safe
options that allow them to make their own repro
ductive decisions. To deny women this right,
under the guise of a respect for life, is unaccept
able and results in hundreds of thousands of
needless deaths around the world.
Jenelle Wilson is a junior
political science major.
R ecall in
Harper
Lee’s
novel “To Kill a
Mockingbird”
the trial of Tim
Robinson, the
black man
wrongly con
victed of rape.
Robinson’s only crime was that he
deviated from societal norms by
befriending a white woman in his
community. In Robinson’s time, a
frivolous charge of black-on-white
crime was enough evidence to hang
a man. Unfortunately for America,
little has changed.
Last week, Texas A&M
Director of Residence Life Ron
Sasse received an anonymous letter
claiming that an upcoming “Ghetto
Party” sponsored by Walton Hall
would include persons wearing
black face and dressed in Ku Klux
Klan (KKK) costumes.
Lacking anything resembling an
investigation, the administration
immediately issued written warn
ings to all Walton residents and sent
out a press release that in a few
days’ time has reached an interna
tional audience. The damage done
to the reputation of Walton Hall res
idents and A&M may be irreversible
after the administration’s brand of
justice was used. A&M administra
tion should never have issued a
press release based on an anony
mous letter.
From the release comes, “Texas
A&M University officials have
expressed outrage over a reported
event that was being planned off
campus by students of a residence
hall (Walton Hall) to portray nega
tive stereotypes of African-
Americans. Planning of the event,
which reportedly was to include a
‘ghetto theme party,’ shows a total
lack of respect for others, is destruc
tive to the residence hall communi
ty and is an embarrassment to Texas
A&M University.” Today, the insin
uated and vague charge of racism
levied by the University press
machine at the residents of Walton
Hall is another Tim Robinson,
where the seriousness of the charge,
rather than the facts involved, is
enough to find guilt.
“I couldn’t believe the
University’s press release,” said
Matt Kemper, a senior manage
ment major and resident of Walton
Hall. “It tried to paint the party as
racist, but didn’t say how it was. It
was as if they were hoping for
everyone’s imagination to fill in the
gaps where the facts should have
been.” Kemper clarified what the
party was about.
“It was just a get together on
our day off that was a theme party
like ‘Go Western’ or ‘Tropical,’”
Kemper said. “Race had nothing to
do with it.”
Arouna "Boo Boo" Davies, a
former Walton resident and the
most recent black yell leader,
attended the party in years past and
agreed the issue was overblown.
“As far as the accusation that
KKK costumes were worn, the
only student wearing one was an
African-American,” he said.
He added that despite the
University press release, black face
was never a part of the parties.
“As a resident of Walton, I
always felt welcome there,” Davies
said. “I trust those guys with my
life. They aren’t racists, bigots, or
whatever some people are saying.”
Davies said the party wasn’t
intended to celebrate Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
Last November at the
University of Mississippi, racial
slurs including “F g N—r” was
scrawled on the doors of two black
students in a residence hall. Also
found nearby was a hanging stick
figure in a tree and sexual vulgari
ty drawn on windows. As reported
by syndicated columnist Michelle
Malkin, pundits immediately con
cluded the suspects were white.
A “Say No to Racism” march
was organized by black students,
there were calls for protection
against white-on-black harassment,
and administrators demanded the
creation of racial sensitivity guide
lines. Leaders vowed that the obvi
ously white perpetrators would
face criminal charges. Weeks later,
when it was learned that the three
vandals were black themselves, the
outcry stopped.
According to the Daily
Mississippian student newspaper,
Ole Miss Chancellor Robert
Khayat said, “it taught the universi
ty community that...before we
jump to conclusions and start con
demning groups of people, we
should know what happened.”
Perhaps .A&M administrators
should heed that advice.
As reported by The Battalion,
Briggs Hall Council Presideni
Veronica Garza said she attended
the party in 2002 and did not find it
racially offensive.
“There were a lot of minorities
at the party,” said Garza, a
Hispanic and sophomore French
major. “That's why I don't under
stand what the big deal is. We are
bombarded by these ‘negative
images’ by MTV and BET all the
time. Yet when there is a ‘thug’
party, we are called racist. It does
n't make sense.” Interestingly, both
Music Television and Black
Entertainment Television are sta
tions A&M students recieve inside
their residence halls.
The oddest aspect of the fiasco
is that University officials had
seemingly fixed the problem, as
they saw it, in house. Since organ
izers had already received written
reprimands and had agreed to can
cel the event, there is seemingly no
reason for the administration to
have advertised a party that wasn’t
going to happen. What diversity
initiatives will be launched and
which students will be punished
under the auspices of ending future
“ghetto parties”?
The A&M administration needs
to remember that its career objec
tives should be to serve the aca
demic needs of A&M students,
rather than the personal politics of
character assassination. Much as
with Tim Robinson, what are
whites accused of racism in this
day and age able to use in their
defense if not the facts? Turn off
the University press machine, and
start improving A&M for current
and future students for a change.
Matthew Maddox is a junior
matutgement major.