Page 11 • Monday, September 13, 2004
Opinion
The Battalion
Deadly drink
Students must take responsibility into their own hands when drinking
T
MIKE
WALTERS
he poet W.H. Auden once wrote that “choice of attention — to pay attention
to this and ignore that — is to the inner life what choice of action is to the
outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the
consequences whatever they may be.”
Sadly, many adults in America refute their responsibility, longing for a golden
age when someone else took care of them, made the decisions for them, and
they didn’t have to deal with the consequences of their actions. And while
childhood may have been a nice time for many people, adults
must grow up and realize they are responsible for their
ivelihood and actions.
Civil courts have lately become the battlefield for these child-
lood longings. The parents of former Texas A&M student
Vlichael Wagener, who died from alcohol poisoning
^ five years ago, were awarded S5 million in a settle-
nent against the owner of a bar on July 28.
According to The Battalion, Wagener died
)n his 21st birthday in 1999, after a night
Dfdnnking on Northgate, capped off by
:onsuming approximately eight shots of
hard liquor at a shot bar. Wagener was later
found dead in his apartment with a .48
blood-alcohol level.
It is the Dram Shop Act that made that
award possible. Dram Shop laws allow
an individual to sue a bar if he was served
alcohol while intoxicated and later caused
injury to himself.
Let’s set the legalese aside and trans
late this into English: If you get drunk and
hurt yourself, you can legally sue some
body else for it. When broken down and
poked at objectively, this hardly sounds
like justice.
It’s true that someone has to serve
[the liquor in order for someone to get
drunk, but that doesn’t change the fact
that people have to make the decisions to
purchase and consume the alcohol all on
[their own. While alcohol related deaths
are tragic, Americans can’t forget that the
“victim,” in fact, is the one responsible.
“I empathize with any victims who are
damaged as a result of a drunk driver or an
intoxicated person,” said Texas Restaurant owner
[Victor Allred in a testimony to the 1 louse Judi-
1 clary Committee. “However, it is the consumer of
|alcoholic beverages who must face his or her own
[personalresponsibility and the consequences of
their actions.”
Of course the counter-argument questions
how in control the intoxicated person is. As an
Democratic protesters missed
publicity during the convention
individual becomes intoxicated, he becomes less capable of rational thought and eventually loses
his memory and motor functions.
However, just because someone heads to Northgate for a
night of drunken excess doesn’t mean he loses his adult status
and the responsibilities associated with that title.
The government sets the legal drinking age at
21 — by then people are expected to be able to
deal with the consequences of buying one of
the few legal recreational drugs available.
There’s no denying that alcohol consump
tion is a popular pastime in Aggieland, so if
Aggies are going to be responsible adults,
but still want to get drunk and possibly “lose
control,” how do they do that? If that’s how
a person wants to spend an evening, he needs
to make the conscious decision to do so and
establish a safety net. Following a few simple
guidelines can make a fun evening out on
Northgate a safe one.
First, never get drunk with strangers.
Alcohol has been called the “social lubri
cant,”— and yes, sharing a drink with some
one you’ve just met may be a great way to
get to know a new friend and have fun. But
know your drinking limits and never push or
explore them while surrounded by unfamil
iar people. If you choose to get drunk, make
sure you have a sober friend you trust to take
care of you and get you home safely.
If someone can’t commit to the responsi
bility of personal safety or can’t place this
safety in the hands of a trustworthy friend,
he shouldn’t get drunk.
Ultimately, people’s safety is their job
and no one else’s. Suing a bar for ir
responsible behavior doesn’t change the
fact that all people are accountable for
themselves, and it doesn’t bring dead
friends and loved ones back.
By taking the right steps, Aggies can
stay safe, have a good time and avoid
having to worry about blaming some
one else. The mistakes of Wagener and
others like him are mistakes Aggies
don’t have to make.
Mi he Walters is a senior
psychology major.
MAIb&CALL
I he Republican
National Convention
last week will be re
membered for the speeches
of a Democratic senator, a
famed actor and the presi
dent of the United States.
However, the convention
will not be remembered
for the protesters who
tried in vain to get their
message across.
Throughout the convention, almost 2,()()()
protesters, demonstrators and anarchists were
arrested. Many of
them never got near
Jadison Square
Jarden. The press
ave little atten-
ion to the protest-
rs and those who
id receive media
ttention only man-
ged to advance
he image of the
epublican Party.
1 Last Wednesday,
during a speech by
•the White House
Ihief of staff, a
giandful of protesters managed to gain access
the convention Boor and began shouting
Jemands for money to prevent the spread of
JDS. They were arrested and literally car-
ied away.
Those protesters were among the small
portion of people who disturbed the conven-
|ion. They even received national attention
n The New York Times in the form of a
front-page picture of a protester being carried
tway, kicking and screaming, by three police
officers — an image that makes one think that
taybe the Republican Party is the only sane
political choice.
Kieran Mahoney, a Republican political
consultant, told The Times, “if the protesters
ho something outrageous, they benefit Bush;
if they don’t do something outrageous, they
don’t get covered.”
Most delegates claimed the protests have
ilmost no effect after their visit to the city,
/hile a few complained about the protest-
They fail to realize
their public disturbance
never lasted long enough
to be heard, thanks to the
New York Police
Department.
ers’ behavior. According to Chris Mealy,
an alternate delegate from Connecticut
who spoke to CNN, “It’s not in the spirit of
political discourse ... there’s such a lack of
humor, there’s such a lack of subtlety; it’s
all so retro-60s stuff.”
Anarchist organizers of some of last week’s
protests view people being arrested as a suc
cess. They fail to realize their public distur
bances never lasted long enough to be heard,
thanks to the New York Police Department.
In one case, a well-trained group of police
officers took a mere 15 minutes to arrest 200
protestors demonstrating without a permit.
Processing all of them individu
ally took only three hours (less
than a minute per protester). It is
unfortunate and ironic that their
message was never really heard
— and people in prison are ineli
gible to vote.
However, anti-Bush marchers
should consider it lucky that they
have not received major media
coverage. If they had, it would not
take long for the public to con
nect their disruptive behavior to
the Democratic Party. Many of
the demonstrations last week were
funded by the Tides Foundation,
which receives millions of dollars in funding
from Teresa Heinz-Kerry, wife of Democratic
Presidential Candidate, according to World-
NetDaily.com.
To the dismay of protesters and Repub
licans who want to blame their opponents,
nobody really noticed the marches, public
disturbances and civil disobedience, as these
acts were overshadowed by the convention.
But honestly, who wants to hear people gripe
when they can hear Arnold Schwarzenegger
talk instead?
SGA ignores
student body
/n response to David Shoe
maker's Sept. 9 column:
When it comes to the Student
Services Fee Advisory Board (SS-
FAB), it seems that once again
with A&M student government
the so-called leaders are noth
ing more than followers of the
administration. Despite the fact
that students voted overwhelm
ingly against new fees, the board
increased the fees anyway.
Its gotten to the point that
student service fees are fund
ing administration boondoggles,
such as the renovation of Cain
Hall, which doesn’t improve the
lot of one single student. This
action only goes to bolster many
students claim that the student
government isn't working for the
good of the students but instead
the good of their resumes.
The student government has
become so insulated that often
those involved lose touch with
average students and are more
interested in how to increase their
own budgets and make friends
with the administration. It's about
time that we had student leaders,
not lap dogs. Now is the time to
demand accountability from your
student government and insist
that they pay more attention to
the needs of the student body.
Robert Edmonson
Class of 2007
change our armed forces.
I agree with those Mr. Fore
man labeled traditionalists
(though I prefer the term “people
who grasp the notion of mam
malian evolution”) that, if there
are women in a fighting unit, it
might create a conflict of inter
est within the male ranks. Even a
second’s hesitation could mean
the difference between failure
and success.
The Israeli military, like Jim
Foreman, believed women should
be in combat. That experiment
ended once morale started to
drop due to the fact that the men
had to watch women die in com
bat— women they instinctively
wanted to protect.
Of course, this is to say noth
ing of study done by Israel of how
women really are the physically
weaker sex and therefore won't
be placed in combat roles (all in
spite of their military being des
perate for bodies to fill the ranks).
If the U.S. Army has found that
women can achieve the same
physical standards as men, why
is there such a disparity in the
physical training requirements?
Being in the Corps, I know Mr.
Foreman is not ignorant of this
double standard.
I believe in women’s rights as
much as the next person, but
this is one issue too important to
concede to political correctness.
Paul Sims
Class of 2006
TS should start
buses earlier
As a recent graduate of Tex
as A&M, I can understand the
struggles of TS to provide park
ing at reasonable prices and
establish efficient bus service.
Since my graduation last May, I
have worked on campus, and as
an employee, have purchased
my parking pass in the only lot
available to me. You can imagine
my disappointment when I found
out that I cannot use my parking
pass on game days because it is
a reserved football lot.
Ratherthan complainingabout
the situation or griping about TS,
I decided to use the Get to the
Grid service from Post Oak Mall
on game days. I was especially
excited to about the “Aggie Fan
Zone" and planned on watch
ing the Aggie Band and football
team make their Spirit Walk to
Kyle Field at 11:30 a.m. And then
more disappointment — the “Get
to the Grid” service starts at
noon. In order for this University
to accomplish Bill Byrne’s goal of
"Building Champions," everyone
must work together. I hope to see
Transportation Services extend
their services for our remaining
home games to allow the Twelfth
Man to participate in all game
day activities, even those that oc
cur before kickoff!
Beth Johnson
Class of 2003
Jim Foreman is a junior
mechanical engineering major.
Women will hurt
the front lines
In response to Jim Fore
man’s Sept. 10 column:
,C 6 L:1
' s f ■
"1
/") ■
The military is not a social ex
periment for gender equality. The
military exists to win wars, not to
serve as a platform for women’s
rights. Helping gender equality
is not a good enough reason to
— 3!