Spring Break
GUEST COLUMNS
Save our wallets? Save our sanity!
By: Brian Hilton
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Opinion
For many years now I've enjoyed reading The Batt as a way to keep abreast of the latest news in Aggieland. Generally I have found the reporting informative, and opinion pieces interesting, even if I don't agree with the ideas presented. However, I am extremely disappointed, and even angry, over Monday's opinion piece "Saving our wallets?" This article identifies a number of issues that have caused concern among Americans, namely, the celebrity status President Barack Obama seems to be enjoying while the majority of Americans face economic distress, and whether this suggests that he is not taking his responsibilities as president seriously. More importantly, the article also succeeds in demonstrating a lack of perspective and maturity.
The most glaring example of the lack of maturity is when the article refers to the president as "a jerk," a term heard more commonly in elementary schools than in the newspapers of major research universities - not to mention the fact that this insult is aimed at the president of our country who, whether you agree with his policies or not, is our elected leader, and is genuinely interested in the well-being of this country.
This is a minor issue, however, when compared with the article's larger failing of perspective. Specifically, the article suggests that some students are feeling a bit deprived. Have they lost their homes? Did the bank repossess their cars? Did the drop in the stock market wipe out their savings? We don't know the answer to these questions. What the article does say, however, is that some students, as a result of the economic meltdown, don't have any money to hang out at the beach with friends. The article laments how the failure of the Obama administration to send some of the bailout money to students has resulted in their being forced to forego their trips to Panama Beach during spring break, and instead to merely stay at home and watch TV.
To all those who would suggest such a thing, I'd like to offer a wake-up call: no one cares about your beach party, and neither should you.
I hope that students do not believe that missing out on a beach vacation is of the same magnitude as someone losing their life savings, being kicked out of their home and having to start over. I hope A&M students have more sense than that, because if that is, in fact, what some of them believe, then they are guilty of the same thing the article is accusing President Obama of doing - allowing personal desires to overshadow more important issues.
Agree with the article's main points or not, The Battalion has presented its readers with an article that reflects unacceptably poorly on its staff, the A&M student body and American youth in general. I hope that in writing future opinion articles, contributors to The Battalion will demonstrate a capacity to place student experiences in proper perspective.
The most glaring example of the lack of maturity is when the article refers to the president as "a jerk," a term heard more commonly in elementary schools than in the newspapers of major research universities - not to mention the fact that this insult is aimed at the president of our country who, whether you agree with his policies or not, is our elected leader, and is genuinely interested in the well-being of this country.
This is a minor issue, however, when compared with the article's larger failing of perspective. Specifically, the article suggests that some students are feeling a bit deprived. Have they lost their homes? Did the bank repossess their cars? Did the drop in the stock market wipe out their savings? We don't know the answer to these questions. What the article does say, however, is that some students, as a result of the economic meltdown, don't have any money to hang out at the beach with friends. The article laments how the failure of the Obama administration to send some of the bailout money to students has resulted in their being forced to forego their trips to Panama Beach during spring break, and instead to merely stay at home and watch TV.
To all those who would suggest such a thing, I'd like to offer a wake-up call: no one cares about your beach party, and neither should you.
I hope that students do not believe that missing out on a beach vacation is of the same magnitude as someone losing their life savings, being kicked out of their home and having to start over. I hope A&M students have more sense than that, because if that is, in fact, what some of them believe, then they are guilty of the same thing the article is accusing President Obama of doing - allowing personal desires to overshadow more important issues.
Agree with the article's main points or not, The Battalion has presented its readers with an article that reflects unacceptably poorly on its staff, the A&M student body and American youth in general. I hope that in writing future opinion articles, contributors to The Battalion will demonstrate a capacity to place student experiences in proper perspective.
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