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EDITORIAL
Honoring the code
System ensures fairness
An Aggie does not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.
Thanks to the new honor system that will be put into place this
spring by the Academic Integrity Task Force, these words will
find a rejuvenated role in the everyday lives of Aggies.
For too long, cheating has gone unnoticed on the Texas
A&M campus because professors played the biggest role in
enforcing academic integrity. The new system will allow pro
fessors to shed this burden and, more importantly, provide a
structured punishment system for violators, ensuring that every
case is handled the same way.
A student accused of academic dishonesty after this spring
can face either his professor or a five-member subgroup of the
50-member honor council. This will ensure that unnecessarily
extreme punishments are avoided.
The convicted cheater will receive an ‘F’ on his transcript
and can choose to take a remediation class that identifies why
the student committed the dastardly deed and helps him try to
avoid the same mistake. Upon completion of the class, the
failing grade is removed from his transcript. Giving the stu
dent a second chance will allow him to repent and learn from
his mistake and allow A&M to eliminate an ineffective zero-
tolerance policy.
If a professor catches the student in another moment of chi
canery, he will be either probated or expelled from the
University, weeding out habitual cheaters.
These new guidelines will provide a mold from which all
future punishments can be shaped. They are a fair balance
between sorely needed punishment for dishonest Aggies and
understanding and rehabilitation for those who ignorantly com
mit scholastic dishonesty which will ensure A&M retains the
honest reputation that 127 years of integrity has earned.
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
Metro Editor
Sommer Hamilton
Elizabeth Webb
Jenelle Wilson
Sarah Szuminski
Metro Asst.
Member
Member
Member
C.E. Walters
Collins Ezeanyim
Matt Maddox
Matt Rigney
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 77843-1 111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: inailcaII@thebattalion.net
MAIL CALL
RIAA's actions
illegal, harmful
In response to Mike Walters’
Sept. 23 column:
This should be a wakeup call
to today’s generation.
Senators, organizations and
individual groups such as boy-
cott-riaa.com are not backing
the fight against the RIAA
because file-sharing is wrong;
they are standing up because
file-sharing is right. The public
is entirely within its legal limits
to do what it has been doing
for the past 10 years.
In the past, businesses
called the radio and VCRs
“bad.” Now it is the Internet and
p2p servers. This is wrong.
We have the right to down
load and today’s generation
should arm themselves with
the legal knowledge to not let
that slip away. Today’s gener
ation has a habit of sitting
idly by as what they know
and love is pulled out from
underneath them because
they think they can’t stand up
to yesterday’s generation.
The RIAA is illegally monitor
ing our activities and is using
the information they obtain for
their own profit. The “sue ‘em
all” campaign of the RIAA has
already taken its toll on the
youth and the elderly.
Hick Bowers
Class of 2002
Promoting Aggie
hospitality
I have recently read many
articles from Virginia Tech
Fans that are related to the
Aggie spirit and hospitality. I
don’t think that we as the
Aggie family take the time
enough to point out some of
the better sides of what we
exemplify as college students
and Aggie sports fans. The
VTech fans were very appre
ciative of our fans taking our
loss on the road with a grain
of salt and being good sports
about it. It makes me glad to
see that Ags everywhere pur
posefully exude hospitality
towards our opposing fans.
So when Pittsburgh gets
here to try to oust the Aggies,
I would hope that we can be
as courteous as we were to
Virginia Tech last year. The
Panthers are ranked 17th in
the nation and deserve some
respect (off the field).
Michael Gorney
Class of 2003
SOTWS IS v#1
*1 mDYOD'SO,
ro v
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 7B • Thursday, September 25, 2003
Ruthless Rumsfeld
Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay denied basic rights
MIDHAT
FAROOQI
W hen the Northern Alliance in
Afghanistan captured David
Hicks nearly two years ago and
gave him to the U.S. Army, he had no idea
what lay ahead for him. For months now,
Hicks has not been charged with a crime, but
has been jailed at Guantanamo Bay, a prison
camp in Cuba with miles of razor-coiled fenc
ing and small cages for prison cells.
Ironically, Guantanamo Bay is famous not
for what it keeps in, namely 660 supposed terrorists, but tor
what it keeps out: lawyers, family members and the protections
afforded to prisoners of war by the Geneva Conventions.
Yet, this does not bother Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld. With a straight face, he recently asserted that the
United States has a right to keep men like Hicks in metal cages
until the war on terrorism ends; in other words, indefinitely.
Rumsfeld should realize that such imprisonments are illegal
since they deprive humans the basic rights given to them by
international law.
Hicks is a citizen of Australia, a nation that, similar to the
United States, was party to the Geneva Conventions, a widely
respected body of international law. The Third Geneva
Convention dealt with the capturing of prisoners during
wartime. The convention guaranteed basic humanitarian and
legal rights to any person detained by a warring state. These
ranged from the right to engage in religious and physical activ
ity while captive, to the right to a lawyer and trial.
However, those imprisoned have been denied some of these
rights. This is because Rumsfeld has said the detainees “will
be handled not as prisoners of war, because they are not,
but as unlawful combatants.” Apparently this designa
tion makes the captives less human and much more
criminal than a normal prisoner of war, and causes
them to lose their basic human and legal rights.
Besides, calling a duck a chicken does
not change the fact that it is a duck. Just
the same, Rumsfeld may call the detainees
anything he wishes, but it will not change
the fact that they are prisoners of war.
Still, if there is any doubt as to a cap
tive’s standing, the Geneva Convention
makes it clear that Rumsfeld does
not have the power
to decide
whether a cap- 1
live is a prisoner
of war.
Article Five of the Third Geneva Convention says if anyone
is detained in the course of an armed conflict, he is presumed
to be a prisoner of war until a competent court or tribunal
determines otherwise. Plus, the status of each detainee is to be
determined individually, not by a blanket decision issued by
the Secretary of Defense.
Rumsfeld does not have the power to decide how long these
people can be held, though he thinks he does. Rumsfeld recent
ly said the men at Guantanamo would be detained for the
course of the global war on terrorism rather than face trial.
“Our interest is in not trying them and letting them out,” he
said. “Our interest is in — during this global war on terror —
keeping them off the streets, and so that’s what’s taking place.”
But. human beings have suffered from these unilateral
assessments. Another Australian citizen, Mamdouh Habib,
wrote this to his wife while imprisoned in Guantanamo: ’T’ve
been blindfolded for eight months. I never see the sun but 1 see
you and your kids every minute.”
Personal interests in a matter of human rights and interna
tional law are irrelevant. It is all the more worrisome when the
Secretary of Defense believes that the detainees, if put on trial,
would be acquitted and free to walk. This makes their impris
onment less valid. If indeed they are criminals, put them on
trial, prove they are guilty, then lock them up and keep them
off the streets.
Meanwhile, at least tell the prisoners how long they will be
incarcerated. “Until the war ends” is incredibly vague, espe
cially when referring to the war on terrorism. This conflict is
not between two nations, but between one state and terrorism
across the globe. There is no one specific enemy, for after one
group is defeated, the United States can move on to
another, case-in-point: Afghanistan and Iraq. This war
can potentially last for decades.
The United States has benefited enormously from
the international community during the global war on
terrorism. Widespread sympathy for the United States
caused many countries to hunt terrorists on their
own soil, share intelligence and send America mil
itary support. By ignoring the rights of those
detained in Guantanamo Bay, the White House
wastes this intangible but priceless asset, and
gains nothing but a fleeting chance for
quick revenge.
Josh
vin • THE BATTALION
Midbat Farooqi is a senior
genetics major.
Hindering the peace process
Arafat is the greatest obstacle to stopping violence
jONATHAN
STEED
F or more than
50 years, the
conflict
between Israelis and
Palestinians has result
ed in bloodshed and
tears for both sides
involved. Some say the
current terrorist acts are
only a Palestinian reac
tion to Israeli aggres
sion. Critics of Israel cite the Jewish set
tlements in the West Bank or targeted
assassinations of Hamas leaders as only
hindering the possibility of peace.
Yet the main obstacle on the road to
peace in the Middle East is Israel’s
staunchest critic, Yasser Arafat himself. For
any kind of peace agreement to be reached,
Arafat must be removed from power.
In both 1948 and 1967, surrounding
Arabic nations attacked Israel. In both
cases, Israel defended itself and captured
land that once belonged to the Jewish
people more than 2,000 years ago. Israeli
officials have repeatedly vowed to work
with the Palestinian leadership and sur
rounding countries to work out disagree
ments over disputed lands in the West
Bank and Gaza. They have upheld their
end of the bargain.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be
said for Arafat and the Palestinian
Authority.
In 2002 during a raid on Arafat’s
compound, Israeli forces found docu
ments proving the Palestinian Authority
has provided financial resources to ter
rorist groups such as Hamas. According
to the Telegraph News in February 2002,
Israeli naval commandos seized a ship
named the Karin-A in the Red Sea.
Captained by a Palestinian, this ship was
bound for the Palestinian Authority
armed with weapons capable of launch
ing rocket attacks on Israel.
The militant wing of Arafat’s own
Fatah Movement has repeatedly claimed
jesponsibility for deadly attacks against
Israeli civilians on public buses and in
Israeli streets. In a poor attempt at public
relations, Arafat has condemned these
attacks, yet his actions speak louder than
his false statements.
Arafat is nothing more than a terror
ist, and the documents found in his own
compound prove that, along with his
record as a provoker of anger and incite
ment toward Israel.
Former President Bill Clinton
attempted to broker a peace agreement
during the Camp David talks in
December 2000. According to ABC
News, Israel made “significant conces
sions.” Those included 97 percent of the
West Bank, all of Gaza and 3 percent of
Israeli lands in exchange for one simple
objective: peace.
Rather than agree
to this offer that more H
than likely would
have paved the way
toward an independ
ent Palestinian state,
Arafat walked away
from the table. This
even stunned
American negotiators.
The real goal of
terrorist groups such
as Hamas and
Hezbollah isn’t to
stop Jewish settlements or to create a
Palestinian state; it is to wipe out Israel
entirely. Throughout the Middle East,
children are taught in their schools that
the Holocaust is simply a made-up
Jewish lie, that Americans and Jews alike
are enemies and that terrorism will make
you an honorable martyr. It should be no
surprise that this breeding ground of hate
only contributes to hatred of Israelis,
resulting in constant terrorist attacks on
Israeli civilians.
Many around the world equate Israeli
military strikes on terrorists with
Palestinian suicide bombings. They claim
that for the violence to end, Israel must
withdraw from the occupied territories
and end it? assassination attempts on
Although Israel's admission
that it is willing to expel Arafat
from his Ramallah compound
is controversial, it is the only
way for both sides to work to
ward legitimate peace.
Hamas and other terrorist officials. Yet
these people fail to realize the overall
perspective at hand.
Like the United States, Israel should
make no concessions with terrorists. If
they make concessions now, they will con
tinue to make concessions and build a slip
pery slope that is bound only to get worse.
If Palestinians really want their own
state, they must work from within to dis
mantle terrorist groups that prevent both
sides from achieving a two-state solu
tion. Arafat’s recent undermining of Abu
Mazen, the new Palestinian prime minis
ter, proves once again that he lacks the
ability to negotiate peace with Israel.
For peace to reign, Palestinians need a
new leader that is
willing to put peace
ahead of violence.
Although Israel’s
admission that it is
willing to expel
Arafat from his
Ramallah compound
is controversial, it is
the only way for both
sides to work toward
legitimate peace. As
long as Arafat
remains in power,
terrorist groups
throughout Palestinian lands will contin
ue to murder innocent Israeli civilians.
Neither Israel nor the Palestinian
Authority has been perfect; both have
made mistakes. However, Israel’s actions
during the Camp David talks and
Arafat’s own actions prove that Israel is
making an honest effort to rectify the
problems facing both sides. Most
Palestinians dream of an independent and
sovereign state. Without Arafat in the
picture, if they simply cease terrorism on
Israelis, that dream may one day become
a reality.
Jonathan Steed is a senior
Political set