Hold athletes to same standard

I was disappointed in reading the Dec. 4 issue of the Badger Herald to see that it stooped so low as to continue the practice of mainstream print media by sensationalizing criminal charges against a celebrity.

Perhaps the brief article would be relevant if the charges were against a public official or faculty member. However, as an athlete and student, Ernest Mason deserves some respect as he deals with the criminal charges against him in a private manner. The crime does not affect the community or the university as a whole, and should be a personal matter between Mr. Mason, the law and the parties involved.

I do not believe that Ms. Samenfeld, the author of the article, witnessed the event. She neither spoke with Mr. Mason nor any of the parties involved in the incident, as the article contains no personal accounts or reports from actual people; only one sentence of actual information, followed by the definition of the crime charged and the player’s high school football stats: nothing more than the printing of meaningless research. Reading the crime report or listening to the police band and picking out recognizable names for a newspaper article is catty. That isn’t reporting news, that’s a deliberate attempt to embarrass someone.

Even if they are athletes, people have a right to their privacy, especially if they are students.

Ryan Kuehn

Freshman

Clark for President

I support Wesley Clark for president in 2004. I won’t bash other Democrats as a means to further my candidate like others have done in this section; Mr. Clark wouldn’t approve it.

So who is Wesley Clark? His career picks up in 1966, where he graduated as the valedictorian from West Point. He became a Rhodes Scholar, earning Master’s degrees in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford. He ascended the military ranks to NATO Supreme Allied Commander in 1997. Some highlights along the way include the Silver and Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, honorary Knighthoods from the British and Dutch, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian award — after stepping down as NATO commander.

Some critics say Clark is too inexperienced to run for President, though his master’s in politics, his study as a Rhoades scholar, experience as a four star General suggest otherwise. To say his resume is impressive is an understatement.

But record alone isn’t why the DraftClark movement asked Clark to enter the race.

A few of his plans for the future include a real strategy for catching Bin Laden, pumping $40 billion into the states to fix their budget woes and halt tuition hikes, and advocating equal opportunity for all children with universal preschool and child healthcare plans.

With three million more people out of work and trillions of dollars in deficit spending under Bush, it’s time to start thinking about someone who can clean up this mess.

I know Gen. Clark will get it done.

Jon Mitchell

Sophomore, Pre-Business student

The fabric of our lives

Cotton was the economic crutch of the ante-bellum South. Slavery and foreign markets allowed cotton to become the cash crop of the southern United States. Now, however, we are looking at a different fibrous regime where steel and petroleum are holding the reins of the economy.

Steel takes many forms in our society, and more specifically in our vehicles. Not only are the chassis and the body of the vehicles we drive made of steel, it is also made into thin strands and woven into the rubber that makes your steel belted radial tires infinitely more durable than previous tire designs. Furthermore, the airbag that will save your life in an emergency is also reinforced with woven steel threads.

There are some interesting incentives that are provided in order to boost SUV sales in this country. For example, businesses get tax breaks on company vehicles that are light trucks, but not for cars. Since SUVs necessitate more steel for their production than cars, and yield much more profit per unit sold than cars, this can be seen as a sort of corporate welfare. The government, heavily influenced by Detroit car manufacturers and domestic steel producers, seems to have an interest in keeping these industries ahead at all social, economic and political costs.

In close connection with steel and cars is of course petroleum. It is integral in actually manufacturing the vehicles we drive, and once they are on the road, that we rely on gasoline to keep them going. Further, the hydrocarbon polymer chains that make plastics in all of their useful forms come from leftovers in the refining process.

If you stop and think about it, how much of the inside of your car comes from petroleum or distillates thereof? The inside of the doors are usually molded plastic with synthetic fiber upholstery. All of the knobs and dials and switches are likely of plastic origin as well. Oil, in many different configurations, permeates all aspects of cars and the subsequent car culture that these vehicles support.

Without government incentives ? which currently encourage an exploitative trend ? our environmental future is in grave danger. Americans need to make smart, economical energy decisions, but our failure to recognize steel and petroleum prevents this important goal. Are these new fibrous materials exploiting the world’s resources at a rate that can be maintained over time? We need to make sure that the fabric of our lives does not suffocate us!

Eric Sherman

[email protected]

Senior, Biological Aspects of Conservation