Opinions

4 – The University Star

Spring Break in Mexico: Not such a good idea

Beth Brown, staropinion@txstate.edu
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Senate
Thursday, March 10, 2011

By Robert Beckhusen
Guest Columnist
Department’s travel advisory, particularly its ad- the chance, and neither do many restaurants and Bill 16
‘belittles
vice for students, all of which are available on its nightclubs. U.S. citizens (including students from
website at Travel.state.gov. In addition, here are a this campus) have been ejected from establish-

E arlier this week the university forwarded an few tips that might help students avoid trouble. ments in Mexico for wearing “Zeta” identifiers.

women’
e-mail from the Texas Department of Public
Safety cautioning students away from Mexico. 1. Don’t be stupid. This is pretty broad, but 4. Avoid certain everyday brand names. Cartel
“The message is simple,” DPS Director Steven C. important. Don’t act like an idiot. Mexico is not a bosses have been arrested wearing Ralph Lauren
McCraw said. “Avoid traveling to Mexico during playground and the people are not there for your polos. The Zetas like Ferrari. Their rivals, the Gulf
Spring Break and stay alive.” amusement. It’s a major industrialized power Cartel, sport John Deere gear and the MGM Lion.
Mexico has traditionally been treated in the on top of an ancient culture and civilization that Although it’s unlikely you will encounter any
United States as a risky place to travel. In re- should be treated with respect. If you’re thinking problems, if you do wear any such logos, it’s best
cent years, and because of a number of reasons, about doing something you probably wouldn’t do to leave them at home.
parts of Mexico have been afflicted with a great in the United States, don’t do it.
deal of drug-related violence. Various criminal 5. If driving in northern Mexico, stop at all
syndicates are fighting with each other and the 2. Don’t do drugs. I don’t want to sound Puritan, checkpoints. As part of the Mexican army’s crack-
Mexican government. Since 2006, some 36,000 but drug cartels get their names for a reason. Re- down on cartels, checkpoints have been set up
people have been killed, including hundreds of ally, you want to limit your contact with people along numerous highways and in cities across the
U.S. citizens, in Mexico. involved in the drug trade because it is danger- border region. There are also illegitimate check-
The question: is it safe? The answer: it depends. ous. The DPS even goes so far as to say college points set up by cartels. Do not drive through
Mexico is a very large country of more than 111 students should avoid “unruly behavior” and without stopping. U.S. citizens who have failed to By Charles Wozniak
million people (think France and Germany com- drinking to excess, which would sort of preclude stop at such illegal checkpoints have been killed. Opinions Columnist
bined). The drug violence is concentrated primar- going to Mexico at all. I’d say, rather: have fun, but In addition, avoid driving in flashy-looking pickup
ily along the U.S.-Mexico border and various drug
trafficking routes. Cartels avoid targeting tourists,
preferring instead to slug it out with each other
avoid the drugs.

3. Leave your greek T-shirts at home (Zeta Phi

trucks or SUVs. Such vehicles are preferred
means of transportation by cartels, and you in-
crease your risk of being carjacked if seen in one.
R epublican state Sen. Dan Patrick
wants to play baby daddy
to all you helplessly uneducated
or law enforcement. And most of those killed are Beta and Delta Zeta only). I know it's important to Driving such vehicles also increases your chances pregnant girls in Texas who might be
typically involved in the drug trade — but not all. represent your organization, but if your club has of being identified as a member of a cartel, and if considering an abortion. He knows
As a journalism student who follows develop- a "Zeta" in the name, don't wear it. One of Mexi- members of a cartel can't identify you as one of what’s best for ya’, sweetheart.
ments in Mexico, I wouldn't tell you not to go, co’s most violent cartels is also called the Zetas. their own, they will assume you are an enemy. Senate Bill 16, regarded as a legisla-
but I would advise exercising caution. If you are Although it’s unlikely their rivals will identify you tive emergency, requires doctors to
preparing to leave for Mexico, read the U.S. State as a member of the Zetas, you don’t want to take — Robert Beckhusen is a journalism junior perform sonograms and describe fe-
tus development to pregnant women
prior to performing an abortion, put-

Senator Wentworth needs to lobby correctly

ting the government intrusively be-
tween a patient and her doctor. With
provisions already in place to educate
pregnant women on abortion risks,
Wait, what? true. The law prohibits the legal concealed weapon into George’s. Patrick’s bill only belittles a woman’s
With no bars on campus, then carry of a weapon into “A busi- While it would still be illegal to ability to inform herself and make de-
what’s with George’s serving ness that has a permit or license carry a weapon while intoxicated, cisions in her own best interest.
beer? I could understand him issued under Chapter 25, 28, there is nothing that would pre- In a letter to Sen. Robert Duncan,
not knowing the ins and outs of 32, 69 or 74, Alcoholic Beverage vent a lawful carrier of a weapon the Texas Medical Association (TMA)
all the campuses in Texas, but I Code, and that derives 51 percent to eat lunch, play pool or meet wrote, “AMA (American Medical
would think he should know a bit or more of its income from the with friends in George’s even Association) Code of Medical Eth-
about the largest one in his dis- sale of alcoholic beverages for though they serve alcohol. ics Opinion 8.082 states physicians
trict, Texas State. Chris Matthews on-premises consumption.” Texas State has shown again should honor patient requests not
did drill Wentworth pretty hard, Businesses that fall in this and again that there is a large, to be informed of certain medical
but after all, it’s called “Hardball.” area are required to prominently dare I say majority, of students information.” The TMA does not take
The senator should have done his display a sign alerting patrons of that are in favor of concealed sides on the abortion issue but simply
By David Fink homework. this. Never seen one? Next time carry on campus. While each of points out the conflict in legislative
Opinions Columnist Not knowing that alcohol is you walk into your favorite bar those students has fair and valid motives and practitioners' established
served on campus at Texas Sate on The Square look up and you reasons for their support, it’s up standards.

O n Feb. 22 Sen. Jeff Went-

worth, D-25, decided to
play a little Hardball.
is a slap in the face and I would
hope someone had a firm talk
with his fact checker after the
will see a sign with a big red “51”
and a bunch of block letters stat-
ing in Spanish and English that it
to Wentworth to voice the wishes
of his academic constituents and
be prepared to argue their cause.
Patrick ignorantly overlooking (or
worse, disregarding) TMA’s advice is
not surprising after a glance at anoth-
Wentworth, went head to head show, but that’s not the real is unlawful to carry a weapon on His poor performance on Hard- er of his past abortion-curbing plans.
with hard-hitting TV show host dilemma. The problem is that the premises. ball shows the senator needs to Still fresh to lawmaking, in March
Chris Matthews to talk about respected senators misinter- So is George’s even a bar? sit down and get his facts straight 2007 The Houston Chronicle reported,
issues surrounding concealed preted several of our state’s laws How would this apply to our before attempting to face off with “State Sen. Dan Patrick wants the
carry on campus. During the dis- on handguns and alcohol. If he only on campus watering hole? people like Chris Matthews who state to pay $500 to women who give
cussion, Wentworth made quite a doesn’t understand this, he won’t A bar is defined as “a counter on make their living off catching their babies up for adoption instead of
boo-boo. Chris Matthews voiced be able to represent the students’ which food or especially alcohol politicians flat footed. aborting them, an idea some say bor-
concern about students with wishes about concealed carry. is served,” so George’s fits the ders on baby selling.”
handguns drinking at campus During the interview, Went- definition of a bar but does not — David Fink is a management First off, only $500 a baby? Patrick,
bars and the senator asserted, worth also says that you cannot make 51 percent of its revenue senior that barely compares to the going rate
“We don‘t have bars on campus carry a concealed weapon in a from the sale of alcohol, there- for babies on the black market. How
in Texas.” bar in Texas — this is not entirely fore it would be legal to carry a would the state’s baby-buying tactics
perform in the highly competitive
baby trade? Despite being what some
would call illegal, and others moder-
ately laughable, this was a completely
unworkable solution. Texas lawmak-

?
ers wouldn’t sign off on money for

what do
kids — just ask public school teachers.
SB 16, which Gov. Perry declared an
emergency priority, is likely to pass

YOU think
according to a report from Reuters.
D Reasons for the bill’s expedited track
are weak. Rep. Sid Miller said, “If we
What do you think about a can save human lives, that is an emer-
gency. I would even put it in front of
scholarship for Caucasian males? the budget,” in an article on Kvue.com.
I find this bit of posturing amusing
considering no research is provided
to prove the measure’s effective-

33%
ness. Rep. Miller’s opposition to a bill
passed in 2009 that expanded eligi-
bility of kids for the Texas Children’s
Health Insurance Plan. Rep. Miller,
27% healthcare saves lives.
More disturbing than the apparent
lack of fact behind this bill is the as-
sumption women can’t comprehend
20% abortion’s devastation. Passed in
2003, the Woman’s Right to Know Act

16% requires doctors to inform pregnant

women of alternative resources. The
act has doctors provide the women
access to a 22-page document with in-

4%
formation on their unborn child, risks
and what to expect post-op. Just as the
Woman’s Right to Know Act did, SB
16 circulates the sexist idea women
are too immature and simpleminded
to make good decisions, further infan-
APPROVE: APPROVE: DISAPPROVE: DISAPPROVE: I DON'T tilizing women in a male dominated
There are not FMAE is free Caucasians There should be CARE culture.
If the goal of Miller and Patrick is
enough white to give any have more no race-based to show women the result of their ac-
scholarships scholarship opportunities scholarships tions, maybe we should flip the tables
on them. Next time voting is held for
children’s health care plans or public
education spending why don’t our leg-
islators visit some uninsured sick kids
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION: or take a quick field trip to the over-
What do you think the act of students crowded classrooms?

removing candy from the Art Gallery — Charles Wozniak is an advertising

senior
represented?
Vote online at UniversityStar.com

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