University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 19, 1997 Page: 3 of 6

                                
University Press • Friday, September 19,1997* Page 3
UflOpinion
University Press
Tonya Andris....................................Editor
Samantha McGuire......................Managing Editor
The opinions that appear in editorials are the official views of the
University Press student management as determined by the UP
Student Editorial Board. Opinions expressed elsewhere on this page
are the views of the writers only and are not necessarily those of the
University Press student management. Opinions are not necessarily
those of the university administration.
Editorial —
RESIDENCE LIFE
RHA spearheads improvements
Something good is
happening at the dorms
this semester.
Occupancy is up
compared to last year,
and some structural
changes have made the
residences more attrac-
tive to many students.
Renovations to the
dorms at Lamar have
given residents more
confidence in the hous-
ing department.
Students will no
longer have to wait an
eternity for problems in
their rooms to be
solved. With full-time
housing maintenance
personnel, students’
time in the dorms will
be calm.
Housing has decid-
ed to listen to the needs
of dorm residents by
making a wide variety
of changes. For exam-
ple, the addition of
cable television to every
dorm and unit room
and new mattresses
inspires some students
to dish out $900 a
semester for some of
those benefits. These
additions are key to the
faith that residents have
in housing.
Another addition
that could bring more
change to the dorms is
the resurgence of the
Residence Hall Associa-
tion. For those that
weren’t around three
years ago, RHA spear-
headed the task of get-
ting cable in every room.
If RHA can have
such an impact on resi-
dence life, look to see
more changes in the
future through the dedi-
cation of these resi-
dents.
Housing should be
commended for its con-
tinuous effort to make
the dorms safe through
fire drills and alcohol
policies.
There are still flaws
in housing that need to
be changed, such as the
$1 fee for each tack
hole in the wall.
However, housing is
getting rid of some of
the nuisances and
replacing them with
positive restorations.
It is always nice to
see results when you
buy something. Resi-
dents of the dorms are
seeing these things first
hand.
University Press
News
Editor...............................Tonya Andris
Managing Editor ...Samantha McGuire
Copy Editor..............Archie Windham
News Editor.....................Todd Sonnier
Features Editor..............Billie Dorman
Staff Writers
Sylvia Streeter, Jason Rahmani,
Michele Simmons
Sports
Sports Editor.....................Bryce Darby
...............................................Jamie May
Photography
Photo Editor.......................Mark Smith
........................................Henrik Sartdsjo
Graphics
Jennipher Lavorato, Mark Nesmith
Letters to the editor policy
Individuals who wish to speak out on issues should send a letter
fewer than 400 words in length to Letters to the Editor, P. O. Box
10055, LU Station, Beaumont 77710, or drop letters off at our
offices in 200 Setzer Student Center. The writer’s name, address,
phone number, and social security number must accompany each
letter. Letters received without this information cannot be printed.
Letters may be edited for length, grammar, style and possible libel.
Opinions expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the UP stu-
dent management. Letters by the same writer on the same subject
will not be published. Poetry, reprints, anonymous letters and reli-
gious debates will not be published.
Jewish students oppose co-ed dorms
Dormitory diversity builds bridge between sexes and cultures
With the school year back upon us, so is
the season for campus protests, this time
with a twist. Shortly after the fall term
began, five Orthodox Jewish students at
Yale hired a Washington lawyer and
threatened to sue the university. They don’t
want to abide by Yale’s requirement that
freshman and sophomore students live in
mixed-sex dormitories.
In relations between the sexes, Jewish
law and tradition, like that of conservative
Christians, require a level of modesty that
has not been required at Yale in quite some
time. Even in the dorm floors designated as
“single sex,” it is not unusual to walk out of
one’s room only to bump into someone of
the opposite sex casually strolling down
the hall in a towel or less.
Parents might take some cold comfort
in the posted notices that tell students
where to pick up condoms on campus or
instruct them in how to perform various
forms of “safe sex.” But not the offended
students. They don’t want any part of it.
They want out.
That’s a switch. When I was in college
in the late 1960s, most of the undergradu-
ates I knew campaigned to live off-campus
to escape gender restrictions in the dorms.
Now we have students campaigning to live
off-campus to escape the lack of gender
restrictions in the dorms.
All of which illustrates an old principle
of human nature, the more things change,
the more somebody will try to change
things back.
When I heard the Yale Five were
claiming religious discrimination, my
immediate thought was, why didn’t we
think of that?
Perhaps we, the students of the “We
Shall Overcome” generation, should have
hired a lawyer and claimed that our reli-
gious rights as “secular humanists” were
being violated if we were not allowed in
our dormitories to coexist and commune
with our fellow humans.
Absurd? Not quite. It only sharpens
the central question: How much should
Yale or any other college or university
bend to the wishes of religious minorities?
The federal Civil Rights Act doesn’t
offer much help. It bars discrimination
based on race, sex or nationality at univer-
sities that receive federal funds, but not
religion.
Besides, Yale is arguing, the Yale Five
must have known what they were getting
into when they enrolled. Live with it or
leave.
Or, as Yale spokesman Thomas Conroy
told the New York Times more diplomati-
cally, “We understand that that aspect of
the Yale educational experience is not
going to be attractive to everyone, and we
understand it means some prospective stu-
dents will choose to go to school else-
where.”
“Educational experience?” Yes, educa-
tion does not begin and end at the class-
room door. The post-’60s consensus at
Yale and many other universities holds
that, by learning to live with each other,
college men and women can learn some-
thing valuable about each other and them-
selves.
They have a point. It is interesting that
many of those who sympathize with the
right of religiously conservative students to
pull out of mainstream campus dorms
harshly criticize the racial and ethnic
“theme dorms” at Cornell, Stanford and
some other campuses. Yet, the issues are
largely the same. Diversity is enriching,
particularly for students who will someday
be graduating into an increasingly diverse
America.
As an African American who used to
sit occasionally at the “black table” in my
campus dining hall, I understand the reas-
suring familiarity that comes from hanging
with people who share your cultural back-
ground and values.
But I also learned much of value from
living in dorms with young people who
came from other backgrounds, even those
who came from neighborhoods where peo-
ple of my complexion got beat up.
As a result, I encourage today’s stu-
dents of all races to break out of their dam-
pus comfort zones to learn more about the
people they will find swimming in the
mainstream that faces them after gradua-
tion.
With that in mind, I regret that the
Orthodox Jewish students at Yale feel they
can’t abide living in Yale’s dorms. They
have much value to share with their fellow
students about faith, self-discipline and
other fine virtues.
From the sound of dorm life these days,
those are the sort of lessons their fellow
students need to hear.
Clarence Page is a syndicated columnist
with the Chicago Tribune.
Internet offers can be hazardous to pocketbook
It is estimated that more
than 50 million people use the
Internet worldwide, and most of
them are accessible to mar-
keters at very low cost. The
speed and convenience of shop-
ping by computer can be a boon
to businesses and consumers
alike. Be forewarned: These
advantages are a strong incen-
tive for scam artists to go on the
Internet, too.
Most of the scams on the
Internet are not entirely new
ideas. They have been around
for years. But the Internet ver-
sion of a time-worn scam may
have a sleek new look, and we at
the office of the attorney gener-
al want you to be on guard.
Whether it is a phony invest-
ment or business opportunity, a
fake job placement service, or a
simple chain letter pyramid
scheme, the goal is to separate
you from your money.
Online investment scams
have involved gold mines, snail
ranching, movie production, live
online “virtual shopping malls”
and “prime bank instruments”
(a non-existent type of security).
They are often set in exotic,
remote corners of the world,
where buyers cannot just drop
by to check on the progress of
their investments.
Other common Internet
scams:
•Bogus Internet services
offering low-cost access and web
site design.
•Miracle health or technolo-
gy products, such as satellite or
cable decoders and free long
distance phone call devices (if
they were legal and actually
worked, you would see them in
stores tomorrow).
•Bogus job opportunities
and help-wanted ads.
•Universities that only exist
as web sites.
Look out for hot tips on
stocks and other investments
found in chat groups. If they
involve genuine issues, such as
small-time penny stocks, the
comments may be an attempt to
manipulate the stock. More
often, however, the whole setup
is a scam.
Never give out credit card
or financial information to any-
one who approached you
through an unsolicited e-mail
(also known as junk e-mail).
Don’t give your password to
anyone for any reason. Also
stress the importance of this to
children in your family who use
the Internet.
Never invest in anything
you heard about through unso-
licited e-mail until you have
thoroughly researched the offer,
even if it appears to come from a
well-known company. Call the
company to make sure they real-
ly sent you the solicitation.
Never do business with any
outfit that will not give out a
street address, telephone num-
ber or other form of verifiable
information. Before investing,
find out where the firm is based,
whether it is regulated, and
which country’s laws will apply
in case a dispute arises.
It costs very little to set up a
web site that looks expensive.
Do not confuse glitz with legiti-
macy. Use your common sense
and a healthy dose of skepti-
cism, just as you would with tra-
ditional sales offerings.
As always, be wary of claims
that sound too easy or offer
huge returns for little or no
effort or risk. Remember to take
your time, and do not fall for
high pressure sales tactics. A
good deal today will still be a
good deal tomorrow. And when
in doubt, check out the company
with the Better Business
Bureau, the Securities and
Exchange Commission, or the
Texas State Securities Board.
For online information
about bogus Internet services
and other scams, visit
www.oag.state.tx.us.
Dan Morales is Texas
attorney general.