The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, October 5, 2007 Page: 3 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2007
Guest column
Baker 13 must clean up its own droppings
As the chair of the Staff Apprecia-
tion Committee at Hanszen, I have
had the opportunity to meet the men
and women who work for
Housing and Dining. Many
of them ardently desire to
speak English. Many of
them dream longingly of
when their children will
have an education. They
are some of the hardest
working people on campus
and they do some of the
least popular jobs. If you
do not believe me, feel
free to spend a day, much
less a career, cleaning up
after people.
Mop some vomit from the fresh-
man who does not know his limits.
Pick up the beer cans and chicken
wings that spilled onto the floor
from the trash can. And, yes, clean
windows that have shaving cream on
them. Not just shaving cream from
a can, but shaving cream that was
smeared on by an anus, a penis, a
breast or a vagina.
Eric
Silberman
It is time for Rice
students to treat other
people as people.
Let's not try to make this about
something it is not. Let's not pre-
tend that this has anything to do
with nudity. Let's not hide behind
a facade of "freedom." Let's not
act like American patriots proudly
defying social norms in favor of
what is right. This is about self-
ishness. This is about people who
think that they are better
than others. This is about
people who simply do
not care.
Housing and Dining
needs to issue an ulti-
matum to those who
choose to run Baker 13:
Clean up after yourselves,
or stop. By all means,
Baker 13ers, keep run-
ning. Keep smearing your-
selves against windows
and doors. Keep repulsing
anyone with a standard sense of
decency. Keep the tradition. Then,
clean up your mess.
Do not leave it for the next day
when it might cake onto the win-
dows. Baker 13 does not end when
you put your pants back on. Other
students will not clean up after you.
Do not assume that the H&I) staff
has nothing better to do than mop
up what you left behind.
Housing and Dining has a lot of
work to do without students adding
to it unnecessarily. They are here to
clean up all of the incidental messes,
the debris that happens when so
many people live and work in such
close proximity. They are not here
for when students intentionally
make a mess and intentionally leave
it there.
So, why is there this problem in
the first place? Are people too busy?
Are people too tired? I do not buy
these excuses. After all, they had
the time and energy to run naked
around campus. Truthfully, I think
there is only one possible explana-
tion left: These people do not want
to clean up after themselves. They
think it is disgusting. They think it
is beneath them. Someone else will
clean it up. And, if it is beneath some
people to clean, and other people do
the cleaning, then the implicit feeling
is that the cleaning staff is beneath
the students.
Do not assume that the
H&D staff has nothing
better to do than mop
up what you left behind.
This type of arrogance is dis-
graceful. I believe it is time for
Rice students to treat other people,
all people, as people. It is time for
Rice students to acknowledge what
Thomas Jefferson noted so long ago,
because these truths are self-evident:
"all men land women] are created
equal" and they are endowed with
"certain unalienable rights."
If people reading this agree that
disagree, then I encourage them to
come forward and enlighten me as
to why not all people are equal. And,
if they do not come forward, then I
expect them to be there with mops
and buckets just as soon as they have
finished making a mess.
Eric Silberman is a Hanszen College
junior.
Guest column
Barry Manilow versus freedom of speech
The free and open exchange of
ideas is a celebrated value and goal
of liberty-loving nations worldwide.
Americans treasure the ability to
hear and be heard. All
citizens are entitled to free
speech. And the right to be
heard does not include the
right to silence those with
whom you disagree.
However, seventies
relic Barry Manilow
seems to have missed the
memo. Manilow provided
ample evidence of this
when lie backed out of a
long-scheduled interview
on ABC's "The View" last
week. The singer refused to appear
because producers were unwilling
to bar the more ideologically con-
servative "View" hostess, Elisabeth
Hasselbeck, from the set during
Manilow's show visit.
Manilow elaborated on his Web
site, "I wanted to let you know that
I will no longer be on The View
tomorrow as scheduled. I had made
a request that I be interviewed by
Joy [Behar|, Barbara [Walters]
and Whoopi [Goldberg], but not
Elisabeth Hasselback [sic]. Unfor-
tunately, the show was not willing
to accommodate this simple request
so I bowed out. It's really too bad
because I've always been a big
supporter of the show, but I cannot
compromise my beliefs."
Caroline
Mav
The right to be heard
does not include the
right to silence those
with whom you disagree.
To clarify, Barry Manilow
was to appear on the program to
discuss the release of one of his
new greatest hits albums, a topic
entirely unrelated to politics. This
leads one to the inevitable ques-
tion: How exactly does discussing
'70s love ballads with a woman,
who happens to vote Republican,
compromise his beliefs?
"The View," whether
fortunately or unfortu-
nately, mirrors the overall
health of the American
conscience. If a "View"
guest cites political dif-
ferences as a legitimate
reason to refuse a con-
versation with a hostess,
one can only wonder what
that says about the cur-
rent state of discourse in
— the country. Apparently
the fear to offend or be
offended reached such a level that
Barry Manilow cannot see it fit to
discuss his singing career and up-
coming album with a woman who
has a different perspective on the
world than he. To prevent dialogue
due to disagreement is nefarious
enough; to prevent discussion
regarding issues wholly irrelevant
to politics seems unfathomable.
Nevertheless, it seems Barry Ma-
nilow has made the unfathomable,
fathomable.
In a manner reminiscent of
elementary school squabbles,
Manilow has not shied away from
stating both his motives — to si-
lence Hasselbeck and undermine
diversity — and what he deems to
be the best course of action — pure
avoidance. "I strongly disagree with
her views. I think she's dangerous
and offensive. 1 will not be on the
same stage as her."
Many suspect that the crooner's
friendship with former "View"
co-host Rosie O'Donnell, no fan
of Elisabeth Hasselbeck. pro-
vided Manilow further incentive to
shun the "dangerous" Hasselbeck.
O'Donnell, as many will remember,
left "The View" in May after a num-
ber of contentious disagreements
with Hasselbeck.
Barry Manilow's juvenile evasion
of Hasselbeck is a humorous yet
insidious act. Where would society
be if we all refused to associate
with those with whom we have
ideological differences?Thankfully,
Barry Manilow is no longer popular
enough to set trends. In fact, the As-
sociated Press reported on Sept. 17
that a Colorado judge was sentenc-
ing individuals to an hour of Barry
Manilow tunes as punishment for
noise level violations.
My hope is that Barry Manilow is
an anomaly and that most Americans
understand the importance of pro-
ductive discourse. It is nonetheless
erroneous to view an episode such
as this one with indifference.Though
small in scale, it demonstrates that
the political divide in the country,
when paired with increased levels
of societal sensitivity can change
people's ability to simply commu-
nicate.
Caroline May is a Will Rice College
junior.
Guest column
Bottled water on campus
contradicts sustainability
Welcome to one of the most
ridiculous yet most successful
profit-making schemes of our
time: bottled water. It is expen-
sive, it is environmen-
tally destructive and it
is a threat to our human
right to water. Aquafina,
Dasani, Pure Life, Evi-
an, Poland Spring, Fiji,
the list goes on and on.
Even Target, Wal-Mart
and Whole Foods have
their own brand. But
despite the branding,
there is nothing special
except the price tag.
Bottled water compa-
nies have executed an incredible
advertising campaign, drilling into
our minds that tap water is unregu-
lated and grimy while their water
flows straight from clear mountain
springs or the untouched islands
of Fiji. And Americans are sold.
List year, we spent $15 billion on
bottled water, more than we spent
on iPods or movie tickets.
$15 billion. That is enough to
provide clean drinking water to
half of the billion people currently
without it.
$15 billion spent on a product
that actually costs virtually noth-
ing. Bottled water costs anywhere
from 200 up to 10.000 times more
than tap water. At one dollar per
liter, bottled water is even more
expensive than gasoline.
If bottled water were healthier
than tap water, the money would be
worth spending. But this is not the
case. Reports show that anywhere
from 2540percent of bottled water
is just reprocessed tap water. C oca-
Cola's Dasani, PepsiCo's Aquafina.
Nestle's Pure Life — they are all
just tap water.
While tap water is guaranteed
to be fit for drinking under the
Safe Drinking Water Act, bottled
water is regulated with weaker
rules that allow for less frequent
testing. Public water treatment
plants are mandated to disclose
tap water sources, testing results
and contaminant levels. Bottled
water companies are not. In fact,
in 2004, Coca-Cola had to recall
half a million Dasani water bottles
in the United Kingdom when
levels of bromate, a carcinogen,
were found to be higher than
legal levels.
Not only is bottled water a
complete waste of money, it is
a tremendous waste of natural
resources. It takes 63 million gal-
lons of oil each year to produce the
Karen
Leu
Bottled water has also come
to represent our society's depen-
dence upon disposables. Only
a quarter of water bottles are
recycled, while every
hour, 2.5 million plas-
tic bottles are thrown
away, further packing
our landfills to capac-
ity. The production
and transportation of
bottled water also un-
necessarily adds to
our greenhouse gas
emissions — especially
when we are shipping
water from Fiji.
Beyond the eco-
nomic and environmental rea-
sons, there is a deeper, more fun-
damental problem with bottled
water. Water is a public good
that is necessary for life. Yet it
is being commodified and priva-
tized for no other reason than
for companies to make an extra
buck. Corporations like PepsiCo
and The Coca-Cola Company
already have monopolies on the
beverage market and now they
are making billions more by
putting water in a bottle. Other
companies like Poland Spring,
Evian and Fiji Water are buying
and depleting our lakes, rivers
and aquifers. Marketable goods
have a distinct and important
value in our society, but they
should only consist of things
that are not essential for survival.
Water is simply too important to
be privatized.
At one dollar per liter
bottled water is even
more expensive
than gasoline.
The United States has one of
the best public water supplies in
the world, let's use it. And if tap
water still sounds too tainted to
drink, there is still the filtered tap
water that Rice provides freely in
our serveries and commons.
So before taking your next
sip of water, think outside the
bottle. Invest in something re-
usable and support our public-
utilities. You will save money,
save the environment and save
yourselves from being duped by
a bogus advertising campaign. It
is a win-win-win situation,
disposable bottles from which we
drink our water — enough to fuel Karen Leu is a lF?>ss College
about 100,000 cars for a year. senior.
the Rice Thresher
Stephen Whitfield
Editor in Chief
Evan Mint/
Executive Editor
NEWS
Lily Chun, Editor
Liang Liu, Designer
Yuekai Sun, Designer
Sean McBeath, Designer
OPINION
Amanda Mdehor, Editor
Dan Derozier, Cartoonist
SPORTS
Casey Michel. Editor
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Matthew McKee, Editor
Nikki Metzgar, Asst. Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY
Taylor Johnson, Editor
Marcus Roman, Assignments Editor
lan White, Asst Editor
COPY
Nick Schlossman, Editor
Ryan Stickney, Editor
BUSINESS
Adam Benaroya, Manager
Rob McAuliffe, Asst. Manager
Jessie Huang, Subscriptions Manager
Sarah Mitchell, Payroll and Office Manager
Joe Passaro, Distribution Manager
Sean Monks, Distribution Manager
Rachel Kinney, Office Manager
ADVERTISING
Joseph Ramirez, Ads Manager
Thomas Yeh, Asst. Ads Manager
Sarah Mitchell, Classified Ads Manager
CALENDAR
Sean McBeath. Editor
Julia Bursten, Staff Coordinator
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© COPYRIGHT 2007.
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Whitfield, Stephen. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 95, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, October 5, 2007, newspaper, October 5, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443021/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.