SPORTS
THE BATTALION
tIEF
ts Net on a regional basis.
3 rest of the Big 12 tele-
J games on Saturday
de Texas Tech at
homa State at 2:30 pi
ABC Regional, and
ouri at Oklahoma at 6pt
ox Sports Net National.
trying to mend
er OU debacle
STIN (AP) — Even aftei
ring what went wrong
ist Oklahoma, Texas
i Mack Brown is trying to
> out how it happened,
i not sleeping because
ot so much to do, I’m lost,'
iid Monday,
e solution may be some
mnel changes, although
n would admit to only one.
wn said redshirt freshman
i Young will replace
ce Mack as the starting
erback against Iowa State
aturday. In the 65-13 loss
Sooners, Young threw for
/ards with two intercep-
and ran for 127 yards,
ing a dazzling 59-yarder.
made some really good
s look foolish in the open
Brown said. “He'saspe-
hlete, and he'll grow into
:ial quarterback."
ng's poise under pres-
ripressed Brown andliis
nates.
s one of the most coin
players I’ve ever seen
freshman,” senior Brett
said. “Vince thrives on
uations.”
n said in his first Texas-
tme he felt like throwing
t Young.
ver saw on his face any
senior receiver BJ.
on said.
Longhorns (4-2,1-1 Big
1 nine spots in the poll
20, ending a streak ol
•aight appearances in
) 15.
ecover, they’ll need to
up flaws such as six
;rs and 552 yards allowed
2 penalty yards.
Opinion
The Battalion
Eyes wide shut
Page 9 • Tuesday, October 14, 2003
States should wake up to New Jersey driving law
H e knew he should not have been
driving in his condition. He was
operating on only four hours of
sleep over the past 36 hours, and he was
beginning to feel the effects. The highway
seemed to stretch on forever, and the striped
yellow median became a blur. Every once in
while he would find himself nodding off and
jumping awake. The last thing he saw before
his eyes closed was a pair of headlights
approaching from the opposite direction. It
took him a while to wake up completely and
involved in an accident.
Scenarios like this occur all across the country to various
drowsy drivers for numerous reasons. Sometimes these wrecks
take lives, but no matter what the result, the cause of this type
of accident can be avoided. The state of New Jersey has taken a
step in the right direction to prevent this all-too-common occur
rence. Legislators in the state have passed a new law to curb the
number of fatalities which occur from accidents caused by
drowsy driving.
The new rule is meant to punish those who cause accidents
by falling asleep behind the wheel of a vehicle. Legislation
such as this is also a good way to raise awareness of how dan
gerous it is to drive while tired.
The law was passed in response to a wreck five years ago in
which Maggie McDonnell, a 20-year-old New Jersey college stu
dent, was killed by a driver who swerved through three lanes and
hither head-on. The driver who hit her had been awake for 30
boors. The state had no laws concerning falling asleep at the
wheel, so legally the man had done nothing wrong. Sleep depriva
tion was not allowed as a factor in the court case against the driver,
and he received only a $200 fine and a suspended jail sentence.
Afterward, McDonnell’s mother set out on a campaign to get
alaw passed in memory of her daughter concerning sleep-relat
ed accidents. Her efforts proved successful when Maggie’s Law
was passed by the New Jersey legislature this past summer.
Mrs. McDonnell should be commended for her determination
and resolve in getting this law passed.
The new law does not allow police officers to pull over driv
ers and test to see if they are alert enough to be driving, but it
does impose tougher penalties on drivers who kill someone
while they are tired. The punishment includes a fine of $100,000
and a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Only motorists found
to be fatigued can be charged under the new law, and fatigue is
defined as being without sleep for 24 consecutive hours. New
Jersey may be a long way from College Station, but laws are
being introduced in a number of other states which are similar to
Maggie’s Law, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Rep.
Robert Andrews, D-New Jersey, has also introduced a similar
bill in Congress which would affect the country. The new law
should impact all Americans because drowsy driving can be a
hazard for all motorists.
Other state legislatures need to recognize the disasterous
effects of driving while fatigued and take action like New
Jersey did in order to make the nation’s highways a safer place
to drive.
Most people do not realize drowsy driving is a problem and
believe driving drunk is much more dangerous, but that is not
true, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Its Web site
states that going without sleep for 24 hours can have the same
effect on the body as having a blood alcohol level of 0.1 per
cent. To be legally drunk in Texas, a blood alcohol level of 0.08
percent is all that is needed.
Many people are unaware going without sleep can have such
hazardous effects. The lack of knowledge can make it even
more dangerous since people do not realize their senses and
instincts are not functioning properly.
In the past, laws such as this one were mostly aimed at truck
drivers, but college students are also put in situations in which
they might drive without adequate rest. These can include stay
ing up all night studying for an exam, staying out all night par
tying or making a long road trip home. Students should realize
that even if they have not had a drink and they have been up all
night, their driving abilit^an still be affected.
The effects of the new legislation should have consequences
everywhere. New Jersey has taken the first step, and other
states should follow suit and impose laws which penalize
Paul Wilson • THE BATTALION
drowsy driving. The new rule should raise concerns about the
dangers of sleeping while fatigued, and if made law across the
nation, would make people think twice before getting behind
the wheel when feeling tired.
Hayden Migl is a freshman
political science major.
HAYDEN
MIGL
figure out he was
Keeping woman alive disregards her personal rights
rill
>re?
to find out!
E or MCAT*.
efore test day.
r 19
'ampus
s105 & 108 j
I or visit
seat today!
*
Knights of Columbus,
ts for Life of America
F lorida Gov. Jeh Bush
filed an amicus curi
ae brief on Oct. 8 to
save an incapacitated woman
from a death she had request
ed, according to The New
York Times. Bush’s effort to
keep Terri Schiavo tethered to
a feeding tube against her
wishes is a gross disregard
for well-established legal and
ethical standards protecting individuals rights.
Schiavo suffered critical loss of oxygen due
to a heart attack in 1990, leaving her with
severe brain damage. She had requested before
her husband and two relatives not to be kept
alive by artificial means. For 13 years she has
been in a permanent vegetative state which
means she can breathe on her own but is unable
think or speak. Her husband, Michael Schiavo,
has spent five of those years fighting to honor
her wishes in the Florida courts.
His legal opponent was not the state but Mrs.
Schiavo’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Schindler were
understandably driven by faith in the possibility
that their daughter could recover, but another
factor played in. Upon winning a malpractice
suit, Mr. Schivo won $1.2 million on his wife’s
behalf. The money, allocated for Mrs. Schiavo’s
treatment and care, would be inherited by Mr.
Schiavo pending her death. If he were to
divorce her the money would go to her parents.
As the circumstances suggest, each party has
grown suspicious of the other’s motives.
Because the dispute could not be resolved with
in the family, the court serves as
a “proxy,” an independent third
party with authority to make
the decision for the family.
According to court docu
ments, selected neurologists
found that Schiavo’s condition
was indeed pennanent. They
also could not fulfill the burden
of proving that medical treat
ment existed that would restore
her cognition. The decision to
remove Schiavo’s feeding tube
went through three trial courts
and was affirmed before a
Florida appellate court. In a final statement.
Chief Judge Altenbernd maintained that “(the
panel of judges) understand why a parent who
had raised and nurtured a child from conception
would hold out hope ... but in the end, this case
is not about the aspirations that loving parents
have for their children. It is about Theresa
Schiavo’s right to make her own decision.”
With the court’s recognition of Schiavo’s
right, her wishes and dignity were preserved.
Now, however, the state has picked a side.
This isn’t the governor’s first attempt to sub
vert the rights of legal proxies to make deci
sions. Bush, an abortion opponent, asked a
court in April to appoint a
guardian for the fetus of J.D.S.,
a developmentally disabled
rape victim, infuriating
women’s rights groups. The
court denied his request, saying
a separate guardian for the
fetus would conflict with the
rights designated to J.D.S.’s
guardian. Critics interpreted
Bush’s action as an effort to
reinforce his good standing
with conservative groups.
The euthanasia debate
remains contentious surround
ing what role physicians may take to end the
life of a willing patient. Medical experts and the
courts, however, agree on the right to refuse
treatment. The Council on Ethical and Judicial
Affairs of the American Medical Association
stated in 1989, “The social commitment of the
physician is to sustain life and relieve suffering.
Where the performance of one duty conflicts
with another, the preferences of the patient
should prevail.” It went further to state: “Even
if death is not imminent but a patient is beyond
doubt permanently unconscious ... it is not
unethical to discontinue all means of life-pro
longing medical treatment.”
Despite expert consensus and court rulings,
Bush wants to drag this case out further. His
brief argues the possibility that Schiavo could
be trained to eat and drink on her own, but this
possibility has been explored during her 13
years of care. These attempts have failed.
Arrogantly presuming that a state knows bet
ter than those appointed to make crucial deci
sions inhibits due process of law. In Florida this
attitude combined with Bush’s political aspira
tions has sparked the idea of a fetal guardian
and is now behind the degradation of a patient.
An executive official should not attempt to
make things right when a judicial decision
doesn’t agree with his views or the views of his
conservative constituents. Values dictate deci
sion-making and action, but those in power
must not let ideology trump a citizen’s right to
privacy and liberty.
David Shackelford is a senior
journalism major.
DAVID
SHACKELFORD
a
Arrogantly presuming
that a state knows better
than those appointed to
make crucial decisions
inhibits due process of
law.
MAIL CALL
All sides must be heard
for true tolerance
It seems to me that modern toler
ance is a recursively incriminating
folly. A person is “tolerant” only if his
ideology conforms to what certain
groups consider to be tolerant - it’s a
paradigm that censors speech. For
an individual to verbally express
abhorrence of the homosexual
lifestyle is to invite ridicule and intol
erant rhetoric from those who proud
ly boast that their level of tolerance
has culminated to a non-enumerable
level. Apparently, it’s acceptable for
those folks who pompously proclaim
tolerance to harshly scold those who
disagree with them, yet the converse
is most certainly untrue.
The YCT is attacked because they
disseminate their opinions regarding
homosexuality but the pro-gay com
munity can arbitrarily assign those
with whom they disagree with the title
of "discriminatory person.” If anyone
vocally expresses a dissimilar opin
ion and who is not coerced by the
inaccurate representation and rightly
termed ‘eisegesis’ of the Biblical texts
and mounds of propaganda to sup
plement it, they then cry discrimina
tion. It doesn’t matter who is offend
ed or insulted by these things; what
matters is that they are “tolerant.”
What matters is that they accept this
lifestyle that their consciences find
morally objectionable. To this I reply:
cursed be that tolerance by which
free speech may never exist!
Matt Gamel
Graduate Student
YCT moral objections
not shared by all
In response to an Oct. 13 mail call:
If the Young Conservatives of Texas
insists on characterizing its actions on
Wednesday as a demonstration, so
be it. I’m sure that some might agree
that banners with messages such as
“Satan is a flamer” are useful tools in
serious political discourse. Sarah
Davis may feel confident in speaking
for all members of the Christian faith
by proposing that welcome views on
GLBT issues are a “slap in the face.”
Perhaps the University is wrong to
support our events, and the best pos
sible way for concerned Aggies to ini
tiate a fair and honest discourse about
the use of student fees is to attempt to
make the nearest available non-het
erosexual feel subhuman. Maybe it is
possible to self-righteously perpetu
ate cruelty and hatred.
The Young Conservatives of Texas,
with its moral objections, its constant
protests against opinions it does not
support and those who support them
anql its calm veneer of political advo
cacy may take itself seriously. Please
do not ask me to do the same.
Christopher Smith
President of GLBTA
Tuition dollars are
split among everyone
In response to an Oct. 10 mail call:
Moore states he doesn’t want his
tuition funds going to groups such as
GLBTA or other groups with similar
interests. However, in an institution
such as A&M, you don’t have that
choice. Every tuition dollar is divided
and passed to the different student
groups. My tuition money goes to
groups that I do not agree with, but it
also goes to groups that I support.
Every student should have the ability
to support a cause he believes in and
this arrangement allows just that. The
Young Conservatives felt the need to
express their feelings, and I support
their right to do so even if I disagree
with the message. As an out gay stu
dent, I can see the hostility caused
by such events and I wish people
would find better ways of voicing their
feelings.
Stephen Schmidt
Class of 2002
Bullets won't rebuild
Iraq the right way
In response to Collins Ezeanyim's
Oct. 13 column:
I agree that Bush’s plan for recon
structing Iraq is wasteful and igno
rant, but it is important to remember
that Iraq will never resolve its current
issues without a free-standing and
capable infrastructure. Paying for
things like training a police force and
fire fighters or for building schools are
a necessary step to rebuilding Iraq.
We rebuilt Japan within a decade
with an army of bureaucrats, and
Bush seems to think we can fix Iraq
with bullets. He has no sense of how
to use a working system, but I guess
I can’t expect much better from a
man who ran his oil company to the
ground, micro-managed his baseball
team, and did little for Texas in the
year he spent as governor before
running for the presidency.
Thomas Critz
Class of 2005
Boycott the back door
and meet bus drivers
Since the addition of the back door
entrance to the on and off campus
buses, there has been a steady
decline of students getting to truly
know their fellow Aggies. How many
of you know the name of the bus driv
er that takes you to school? Most
people only know them as Operator
# 1473. Too many rely on this form of
transportation to get to campus yet
because of the back door we don’t
take the time to get to know these
drivers. I challenge the student body
to boycott the use of the back door,
and keep our Aggie Network Alive.
Clayton Smith
Class of 2004