reo
-time tech
'lion open
adniinist;
0 learn. $
email
Opimon
■time, two
3- Greaic,
to medic;
and one
ax resi®
erson at;
urs. Chin
alien ne®
; ducation,
(erred,
bcs.com
Steps toward democracy
Progress made in Iraq should not he overshadowed hy partisan bickering
The Battalion
lii!
■
Page 5 • Monday, July 19, 2004
•S. Grads:
ay$. Flei
iyl Cusio
+• Condi;
ler Block,
>peciali:ii
• lights/srn
i early!
dj.com
for adopj
testing,
its. Th«
'04, first
k, $250,
TE
bth conds
loan, ran:
i. large te
ES
imate rw:
tome, furs
io tbills, it
-648-945:
>drm/2t#
aveown
179-7791
dudes ca
112.
3/2 ho.
h1/3util.
15-3564
|. 4bdi3
)25/mo.
ig 2004-7
1406 &'
rom cair:
s. $15C
ng. 979-4
and $ffl
apt twfw
itherlemak
telope. cah
I. (9!
shley.
W ith all the raw, venomous bile that has
found its way into this election year,
it is easy for reality to be perverted by
passion. On the subject of Iraq, it is incredibly
dangerous to allow toxic partisan sentiment to
contaminate the national debate. The situation in
Iraq is at a pivotal point, with distinct grounds for
optimism. Success, however, demands the unity
of an informed American public, instead of a
reckless, daily assault on a president during a
time of war.
Never before has the issue of national
security been so politicized during an election season. Liberals
have tried relentlessly to erode Bush’s credibility for us
ing America’s resources to amputate a gangrenous limb
from a troubled part of the world. While Bush-
bashers across the globe join
hands in a furious attempt to
disgrace the president before
November, hyperventilating
over conspiracy theory after
conspiracy theory, something
important is happening in
the Middle East. Some
thing with much greater
implications than whether
Saddam Hussein had huge
stockpiles of weapons of
mass destruction or ties to
al-Qaida.
The British newspaper, The
Sun, reported recently that
while being grilled by inves
tigators, deposed Iraqi Dicta
tor Saddam Hussein admitted
he “misjudged Britain and
America’s resolve to smash
his grip on Iraq,” that he
was counting on United
Nations’ bickering on
WMDs to save him and
that he was “surprised”
when the Coalition did
actually attack.
Libya, shortly after
witnessing America’s
resolve and over
whelming military action in
Iraq, surrendered its nuclear
weapons program, ending
years of successful concealment
from U.N. inspectors.
Syria is now frantically trying to improve diplomatic relations with the
United States.
Pakistan has been one of America’s greatest allies in fighting terrorism.
Saudi Arabia, after years of apathy and inaction, has been shaken out of its
complacency by recent terrorist attacks within its borders and, brandishing a
newfound sense of urgency, is starting to act forcefully in helping the Coali
tion hunt down terrorists.
All of these Middle Eastern countries have something in common.
To differing degrees, they have all been captive to the same culture of
backwards logic and political disillusionment that creates a fertile breed
ing ground for terrorist ideology. Were democracy to take hold in this
turbulent part of the world, however, its openness and political account
ability would be antidotal to the culture of fear and secrecy that terrorist
groups thrive in.
This complex backdrop underscores how crucial a victory in Iraq is. No
one has ever confused Bush with the Great Communicator, in whose footsteps
he follows, but like former President Reagan, he is a tireless visionary with
the resolve to get things done. Regardless of how inept the Bush administra
tion has been in conveying to the American public just how key the Iraqi
battlefront is to the overall War on Terrorism, they did one thing right: This
administration insightfully recognized going into Iraq that if it could only get
a foothold in the region, and establish a thriving democracy, it would be a lot
more effective in spreading democracy’s seeds throughout the Middle East
than trying to implement de.
Americans should not fool themselves any longer regarding the enemy. If
obtained, terrorists will not hesitate to use weapons of mass destruction on
American soil. In a January 1999 interview, when asked if he was acquiring
WMDs, Osama bin Laden responded: “If I have indeed acquired these weap
ons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so. And if I seek to acquire these
weapons, I am carrying out a duty.”
With the future of U.S. society at stake, many Americans are left
wondering how this country is so divided that its citizens cannot come
together on an issue of this magnitude. Ed Koch, former mayor of New
York City, articulated this frustration best in a column for the World
Tribune, lamenting: “It is shocking to me that Americans, in a time of
war ... will attack their own country, sapping its strength and making its
enemies stronger.”
Foreign terrorist elements have been streaming into Iraq by the truckload
to resist the democratization of Iraq. They fully realize how detrimental a
democratic Iraq is to their cause, and it is time Americans do too. The front
line of the War on Terrorism is now on the other side of the world. Better
there than on American soil.
t ’ :> . v y . > D:!. •• / - ■ ■ • . •. ‘ • . VGV-A
Scott Monk is a junior
agronomy and entomology major.
Graphic by Rylie Deyoe
2bdrm/lif
idedfuHf. 1
a, 485-OZs
4bdmi?
no. +1W :
).
louse, K
)-690-89i
3bth lious
+1#
Legislation forces students
to cheat or be left behind
I-;
I rooiraiil I
jinvillea,* l
acobati!
eed 1#
$425
-693-32*
led,
icluded,
0/mo, id
all (979)?
79)578-32
D, 4053!
ja house
hoo.cod
i,
ed, on ft 1
shed W®
a#
;ondo^
room 8^
:ie,
, 979-2*
1-1/31)*.
idrm, ^
jyrs. 111 )
nn, Si® 1
/alk-ios
rice i
SI#
heaters
never
win. Or at
east that’s how
he old adage
>oes. But what
lappens when a
)altry piece of
egislation serves
:o place such an
egregious burden
)n a person or
>roup that cheating becomes a
tecessity at some point?
Fox News reported that some 200
eachers in California were caught
lelping students cheat to per-
— ^ form better on the newly-required
10 + i3c itandardized tests. This problem
vasn’t isolated, and experts claim
hat the No Child Left Behind bill
las placed an enormous amount of
ressure on teachers.
Without a doubt such behavior
nust not be tolerated but, some-
imes, when the amount of insubor-
iate neeBlinate behavior is this great, there
s a need to investigate a possible
ource aggravating this problem.
The NCLB bill sailed through
3oth houses of Congress, garnering
majority of support. Now that the
mplementation phase has ventured
nto the spotlight, problems have
.risen, eluding that this piece of
^ egislation is doing the exact op-
i® )osite of its intended purpose. Not
CallJ* r
)nly is it leaving children behind, it
s destroying entire school districts
md their integrity.
The bill expands the federal gov-
mment’s role in education. That is,
f states opt to take federal dollars
o aid public schools, strings are at-
ached. These strings are in the form
>f a number of measures designed,
n theory, to increase a school’s ac-
nissai’f-' Jountability to their students.
For example, annual testing that
spaces significant emphasis on math
ind reading is required, with an overall
:oal of bringing all students up to the
tj. 3 tete- set proficiency level by 2014.
Such is a task that Forbes Maga
zine dubbed “insane” because “no
amount of accountability, incen
tives and super duper teaching can
possibly get all kids in any sizeable
school up to 100 percent proficien
cy by 2014.”
This also means schools that have
a high level of students not only
passing the tests but scoring excep
tionally well, can still be labeled as
failures even if five percent of the
students fail.
A school failing to meet the
requirement two
years in a row
must offer stu
dents the choice
of attending other
public schools.
Schools failing
the requirement
three years in a
row must provide
private tutoring
to students, and
schools perpetu
ally failing face
a governmental
takeover.
Rightly so, the
bill also requires
every teacher in
core content areas to be “highly
qualified” in the subjects that he
teaches.
Some of the requirements sound
commendable but, much like commu
nism, this Utopian idea doesn’t work
when implemented. This is because
of one simple reason: It fails to ac
count for a student’s desire to learn.
It doesn’t matter how “highly
proficient” a teacher is. He
could be a miracle worker hold a
doctorate degree in the subject he
teaches, or offer private tutoring
sessions free of charge, and still a
portion of students would fail the
standardized tests.
Should such failure signify a
teacher is not doing his job effec
tively? No, but under the NCLB
bill it does.
Instead, it should illuminate that
many children these days, especially
those unfortunate few from lower
socioeconomic classes whose parents
could care less about their child’s
success, have no desire to perform
well on these tests. Why should they?
Often such students, see no value in
a high school education, and without
proper parental guidance they will
continue on the same dilapidated path
leading to a disenfranchised life.
Teachers cannot be required to
instruct uninterested
students and assume the
role of quasi-parent to
ensure that test scores
rise. As it is, teachers
are underpaid for their
labor, and many already
dip into their own
salaries to ensure their
students have the proper
supplies to complete
their lessons.
If an education bill
stacks the deck against
teachers, something
must give. When test
scores are the gold
standard in measur
ing success and the
requisite for allocating
school funding, the measurement
will usually be met. If that means
breaking a few rules along the way,
that’s precisely what will happen.
So before subjecting these busted
teachers to jail time or hefty fines,
perhaps the media’s focus should
redirect itself on the bill fueling such
debauchery.
This affront to the education sys
tem displays one thing: Americans
need statesmen as representatives,
not self-interested power-hungry ac
tors willing to pass legislation, with
out reading it fully, simply because
they long for another chance to get
their name or face on TV.
Nicholas Davis is a senior
political science major.
Teachers can
not be required
to instruct unin
terested students
and assume the
role of quasi-par
ent to ensure that
tests scores rise.
The Battalion regrets column
In response to Nick Davis ’ June 30 column.
On Wednesday, June 30, The Battalion
published a piece by Nicholas Davis en
titled, “Intolerance is the answer.” This
article was an assault on Islam and the
Muslim community and constitutes hate
speech. The hatred it promoted endangers
not only the Muslim community but also
thousands of international students of di
verse cultural and religious backgrounds.
Mr. Editor, perhaps you cannot relate
to the anxiety in which the Muslim com
munity is living these days. Hate crimes
against Muslims more than doubled across
the United States last year. In Texas alone,
there have been numerous incidents. Only
a few days ago, a homemade bomb explod
ed in the mailbox of a Spring, TX mosque,
nearly harming children who were close
by. In April, death threats were left on the
answering machine of an El Paso Mosque.
Earlier in the year, three Muslim-owned
businesses were torched in San Antonio.
The list of incidents is actually quite ex
tensive, even if not well reported and pub
licized. Non-Muslim people of foreign
origin have also become victims of hate
crimes either because they were perceived
to be Muslim or Arab or were targeted as
foreigners per se.
Unfortunately, some of the responsibil
ity for violence and threats of violence
against law-abiding individuals and com
munities must be laid at the feet of those
who shape public opinion. We believe
careless reporting and editorial judgments
have validated pre-existing prejudices and
accentuated fear and hostility that could
lead to harassment. To us, this is not an
issue of political correctness; we are actu
ally concerned for the safety of our friend
and families— as it would be for anyone
else in our position, this is serious busi
ness.
We do not need to lecture you on the
responsibility that comes with the exercise
of free speech. As journalists, you are well
aware of your responsibilities. However,
a serious lapse in judgment did take place
when The Battalion allowed the publica
tion of hate speech that creates an atmo
sphere ripe for physical harassment of
Muslims and Arabs.
Sincerely,
Zahir Latheef
President, Muslim Students’ Associtation
Editor's Note:
The Battalion acknowledges
that the June 30, Nicholas
Davis column, “Intolerance
is the answer" was inflam
matory and insulting to the
Muslim community. The Bat
talion regrets publishing the
column.