The Rice Thresher, Vol. 90, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, November 15, 2002 Page: 3 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2002
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/rowy w overrated
Seeing past our Winnie the Pooh stereotypes
Looking at the ongoing debate
over what some have already euphe-
mistically called "coach Hatfield's
remarks," it's interesting to note how
much time and energy
we've spent debating
whether and how head
football coach Ken
Hatfield should be pun-
ished. Personally, I think
that should be near the
bottom of our priority list.
I recognize that there is a
question of whether Rice
policy was violated, so I
can't say the punitive as-
pect of the issue doesn't
matter at all.
I do, however, agree
with what Natalie Nardecchia ar-
ticulated so well in the Nov. 8
Thresher ("Decision on Hatfield's
future lies with Gillis"): This is not
about a football coach or an apology
letter but about [homophobia]." We
can take our cues from the Rice Ally
program and ADVANCE, who have
already sponsored a training and a
forum, respectively, to address ho-
mophobia on campus.
The first of these is something
you'll probably hate me for saying,
but I'm going to say it anyway: If
we're willing to jump down Hatfield's
throat for saying what he did, we had
better be prepared to subject our-
selves to the same kind of scrutiny.
And believe me, homophobia does
exist among Rice's student popula-
tion. Furthermore, students are able
to get away with more than, say, an
administration official when it comes
to anti-gay sentiment and perpetua-
tion of gay stereotypes. Part of this is
because students aren't as high-pro-
file as administrators or
coaches, but it's also true
that we (as peers) tend to
let each other off the hook
more easily.
There have, for in-
stance, been numerous
occasions in which a gay
stereotype has shown up
in a college theater pro-
duction, usually in the
form of a lisping male
character who bounces
around the stage like
Tigger on a caffeine high.
This, of course, does not mean
the people participating in such pro-
ductions are homophobic, but we
have to reckon with "intent versus
effect." Even if the use of a familiar
stereotype is meant as good-natured
fun, will people take it that way? I do
not advocate censorship in college
theater; in addition to setting a bad
precedent, it wouldn't do anything
to actually reduce homophobia. I
only suggest that, individually, we
should be more aware of instances
in which our own actions reinforce
negative stereotypes.
Additionally, when a fellow stu-
dent voices harmful views of homo-
sexuality, we implicitly validate those
views every time we fail to respond
to them. Particularly persistent is
the idea that gay people can be iden-
tified by certain physical character-
istics. Lesbians, if the physical ste-
reotype is to be believed, are all
short-haired, breastless, athletic,
muscular people who don't shave
their legs. Well, apart from the mus-
cular bit, I fit that description per-
fectly, but that doesn't make me a
lesbian.
Finally, what about the notion of
homosexuality as sin? I personally
don't think homosexuality is wrong
or unnatural, but I also recognize
that people who think otherwise
won't change their minds anytime
soon. So, for now, let's consider this
aspect of the issue from a slightly
different angle: Even if homosexual-
ity were truly "sinful" or something
that people could choose, aren't
there more important things to
worry about? Murder and rape, for
instance, are not only condemned in
the Bible, but also far more destruc-
tive than homosexuality could ever
be. So why are we as a society so
demonstrably willing to turn a blind
eye to murder and rape?
Regardless of how each of us
feels about the morality of homo-
sexuality, I honestly think that given
the magnitude of the problems we
have yet to address, none of us has
the right to make an issue of some-
one else's sexual orientation. And,
in general, persecuting people just
because they're different from us
isn't right anyway. So let's stop do-
ing it.
Raj Wahi (Wiess '99) is a graduate
student in chemistry.
Guest column
Ballistic fingerprinting is a case of weird science
The recent shootings across the
nation and especially in Maryland
and Virginia by John Allen
Muhammad and John Lee Malvo
have occupied the air-
waves and newspaper col-
umns for the past several
weeks. Since the murders
started, the concept of "bal-
listic fingerprinting" has
been presented to the pub-
lic as a magic solution that
would have solved these
horrible crimes after the
first murder and should be
enacted to prevent further
tragedies.
However advocates fail
to point out that the type of precrime
"ballistic fingerprinting" they want
is not only illegal, but also unwork-
able.
It is important to draw a distinc-
tion between current methods of
police work and the new "ballistic
fingerprinting" ideas. When a gun is
fired, grooves inside the barrel make
distinctive marks on the bullet. In
the current system, if police can re-
cover a bullet or cartridge case as
well as the weapon they suspect was
used in a crime, it is a fairly simple
matter to fire the weapon and exam-
ine if the marks from the test bullets
and cartridge case match the bullet
or cartridge case from the crime
scene. If they do match, there's a
trial and quite possibly, a convic-
tion.
Advocates for "ballistic finger-
printing" are led by gun control
groups, such as the Violence Policy
Center (formally Handgun Control,
Inc.), that want every firearm to be
test fired at the factory and have the
bullet and cartridge case sent away
to be placed in a government data-
base. They claim cross-checking the
bullet or cartridge case with the gun
list and a list of buyers would wrap
up any case in no time.
Since the current law enforce-
ment database consists only of evi-
dence used in crimes and recovered
from crime scenes, it does not in-
fringe on constitutional rights, while
the "ballistic fingerprinting" system
would.
How many people are willing to
get their voices tape-recorded and
Alex
Higbee
submit writing samples to the FBI
"just in case" the FBI needs to check
them against a ransom note or suspi-
cious phone call at some point in
their lives? What about a
national DNA database?
Any database or list of
firearms or firearm own-
ers held by the govern-
ment is in violation of the
Constitution and even
current gun control laws.
The science of the sys-
tem isn't any better. An
October 2001 report of
the Bureau of Forensic
Services of the California
Department of Justice
studied the concept of creating a
statewide database of bullets and
cartridge case markings from every
handgun sold in the state of Califor-
nia.
The summary of the report states
that "automated computer match-
ing systems do not provide conclu-
sive results" — basically, it doesn't
work. The evaluation mentioned sev-
eral reasons why the ballistic image
database would not work as imag-
ined.
The system has a very high fail-
ure rate in recognizing cartridge case
markings. Changing the firing pin,
breech or shell ejection mechanism
on the firearm or scratching the bar-
rel or breech would result in a com-
pletely new set of marks on the car-
tridge cases. The report also notes
that as mechanical parts wear down
over time, the markings on the car-
tridge cases change. Finally, bullets
deform on impact and can only be
examined individually by a trained
expert and cannot be included in any
computer database,
The report notes that the terms
"ballistic fingerprints" or "ballistic
DNA" are misnomers, because fin-
gerprints and DNA do not change
over time while bullet and cartridge
marks do and are not as concrete as
evidence.
Unfortunately, the 2001 Califor-
nia report has been mentioned very
little in print and television media,
which instead fills the news with lots
of talk and conjecture but little fac-
tual analysis. One of the panel mem-
bers from the California paper re-
ported being prohibited by the Cali-
fornia Attorney General from speak-
ing on the topic at all. The forensic
experts have been shoved to the
back of the room by politicians and
gun control groups who want to pig-
gyback on a tragedy.
The sad irony in the Maryland
and Virginia crimes is that the rifle
used in the murders was reported
stolen from the Tacoma, Washing-
ton gun store where it was shipped
to from the factory. Even if we had
cast the Constitution aside and bent
the laws of physics and material prop-
erties to create a working system, it
would not have solved the
Muhammad and Malvo case.
Activists and politicians who seek
the limelight might find that "ballis-
tic fingerprinting" is an example of
good emotional politics, but it's bad
law and terrible science.
Alex Higbee is a Baker College
senior.
Guest column
More students should take
the time to hug Rice's trees
What does the word "envi-
ronmentalism" mean to you? Hug
a tree? Save a whale? Recycle your
newspaper? This amorphous
word has many definitions and is
applied to issues rang-
ing from species pres-
ervation to global
warming.
Here at Rice, envi-
ronmentalism is al-
most always embraced
in thought, but usually
not in action.My expe-
rience with students at
Rice is that, like the
average American,
they're concerned with
the overarching idea of
the environment, but
few put their words into action.
Tlie Rice campus produces
tons of paper each year, and right
now it's estimated that less than
half of that gets recycled. In addi-
tion, only a small percentage of all
the aluminum and glass produced
on the campus is actually re-
cycled, because people don't
bother to put them in the recy-
cling bins.
Rice has the
opportunity to be an
environmental leader
for Houston.
There are more than 100
people who receive e-mails from
the Rice Environmental Club, and
yet an average of 25 people actu-
ally participate in club activities.
How many of us leave our rooms
with the lights and the stereo on
or set the thermostat at a ridicu-
lously cold temperature because
we know we'll never see the bill?
All I'm asking is for you to con-
sider the mundane things you do
every day and think about how
they impact the environment.
Contrary to what most stu-
dents think, there's a lot of work
on this campus to raise aware-
ness about environmental issues
and to sustain eco-friendly
programs.For instance, there is a
staff member who works with Fa-
cilities and Engineering to pro-
mote and facilitate recycling. To
ensure recycling of materials not
collected in bulk by the univer-
sity staff, a group of students col-
lects all the plastic bottles and
takes them to the recycling cen-
ter each week.
There are students working
with Housing and Din-
ing right now to get rid
of the styrofoam cups
in the college kitchens.
To initiate change at
the administrative
level, the UNIV 303:
Impact of Carbon Di-
oxide class spent all of
last semester re-
searching and writing
an environmental
policy for Rice and pre-
sented it to President
Malcolm Gillis. Its
adoption is still pending.
There are a lot of great projects
on campus to raise environmen-
tal awareness, promote more sus-
tainable and efficient use of re-
sources, and initiate community
environmental projects, but few
take advantage of what we have
to offer.
Rice students are passionate
about few issues — and the envi-
ronment should be one of them.
It concerns everyone. And while
we don't have a university policy
promoting environmental protec-
tion, that doesn't mean we can't
work to make our campus a
greener, more environmentally-
friendly place.
Rice also has the opportunity
to be an environmental leader fry
Houston — to show Houstonians
that there is a way to live as Ameri-
can consumers and have less im-
pact on the air, water and land.
In a city where the name of our
university is deified, we should
use our reputation to do some
good.
So the next time you drink a
coke, take those few extra steps
outside your door to throw your
can or bottle in the recycling bin
instead of the trash can. Use the
recycling bin in your room for
paper instead of pizza boxes.
Learn more about what's go-
ing on around the campus to make
Rice a more sustainable place,
and find out how you can do your
part. Help the people in the Rice
community that are trying to make
big changes that will benefit ev-
eryone in terms of the environ-
ment. A little change from every-
one goes a long way.
Lee Cagle
senior.
is a Lovett College
the Rice Thresher
Rachel Kustin
Editor in Chief
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Rustin, Rachel. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 90, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, November 15, 2002, newspaper, November 15, 2002; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443073/m1/3/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.