page 4- The Behrend College Beacon. Thursday, December 10, 1998
The Behrend College Beacon
published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
News Editor
Will Jordan
Photography Editor
Andrea Zaffino
Associate Editor
Mark Greenbank
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Jaime Davis
Advisors
Robert Speet
Jim O'Uiunhlin
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9288.
A view from the lighthouse
SGA book exchange
beneficial to students
At the beginning of next semester,
Student Government Association
(SGA) will attempt to run a book ex
change program for students. The
process will work like this: a student
will bring in a book and decide how
much he or she wants to sell it for. If
the book is sold, the student will get
the full amount of money.
SGA is doing a good thing by fi
nally providing the bookstore with
some competition. Most other col
leges have at least one off campus
bookstore to provide the school run
store with some competition. How
ever, Behrend students are not this
lucky. We literally have no choice
when it comes to buying books. Oc
casionally, Gannon or another nearby
school will have a specific book at
the more reasonable price, but this is
not usually an option.
Gelling students to participate in
Pinochet should be tried
under international law
The strong case for extradition
By George Black
Special to the Los Angeles Times
In the suspenseful hours before the
British House of Lords delivered its
historic judgment on the immunity of
Chile’s Gen. Augusto Pinochet, I
found myself driving slowly past the
Navy Mechanics School in Buenos
Aires, Argentina. In a city of beauti
ful buildings, it is one of the most
handsome and imposing. With its
clipped hedges, whitewashed walls
and ornamental trees, it is an image
of martial elegance akin to Annapo
lis or West Point. It is no one’s idea
of what a torture chamber would look
like. But that is what it was.
Truly terTible things happened here.
The ESMA, as it is known, was the
main detention and torture center
used by the Argentine military dur
ing the years of terror known as “el
proceso,” from 1976-83. Pregnant
women were among those who came
here after being snatched from their
homes in the dead of night by armed
men in unmarked Ford Falcon cars.
At the ESMA, the women gave birth
to their babies. Afterward, the moth
ers were incinerated or thrown alive
out of helicopters into the Atlantic
Ocean. The infants were given to
childless military families, to receive
what the generals liked to call a
"Christian upbringing.”
Argentina is now caught up in a
remarkable debate over the fate of the
ESMA: Demolish it and destroy all
that it symbolizes, or preserve it as a
monument to evil?
More remarkable still, on the day
before the Lords announced their ver
dict on Pinochet, the man who com
manded the ESMA, retired Adm.
Emilio Massera, was arrested on
criminal charges of abducting a child
_ the infant son of Cecilia Vinas and
Hugo Reynaldo Penino, a young
couple who vanished into the dark-
Editor in Chief
Anne Rajotte
Managing Editor
Avodele Jones
Features Editor
Jon Stubbs
Sports Editor
Jason Snvder
Layout Editors
Mike Perkins
Rose Forrest
Advertising Managers
Erin Edinf’er
Carey Smith
l.etter Policy: The Beacon
encourages letters to the editor.
Letters should include the address,
phone number, semester standing and
major of the writer. Writers can mail
their letters to behrcoll2@aol.com.
Letters must be received no later than
spm Tuesday for inclusion in that
week’s issue.
this exchange might be somewhat of
a problem since it is not taking place
until next semester. Students prob
ably want the money for their books
now and might not be willing to lake
the chance of waiting until next se
mester to sell their books.
Despite the possible problems, it is
necessary to at least get the exchange
started. SGA can look at the results
of this semester’s exchange and im
prove future attempts.
ness of the ESMA in September 1977.
The abduction of minors was not in
cluded in the general amnesty that
was granted to Argentina’s former
military leaders in 1990. Nor was
DNA testing an established science
at that point. But it was DNA evi
dence that recently produced the posi
tive identification of Vinas’ son, who
is now 21.
The most satisfying aspect of the
Massera case is that he will be
brought to justice in his own coun
try, not on foreign soil. Admittedly,
dark forces still inhabit the shadows
in Argentina. Human rights advocates
are still snatched off the street and
beaten up - the latest just two weeks
ago. Judges are still suborned and
threatened. But Massera’s trial, as
well as that of his fellow junta mem
ber, Gen. Jorge Videla, seems likely
to go forward in Argentine courts.
Like the debate over the future of the
ESMA, these trials are an essential
step toward healing Argentina’s
wounds and strengthening its demo
cratic institutions.
But what of Chile’s wounds, and
what of Pinochet? After the House of
Lords’ ruling, the Chilean govern
ment maneuvered furiously to secure
the return of the senator for life to
Santiago. Foreign Minister Jose
Miguel Insulza tried to persuade Brit
ish Home Secretary Jack Straw and
the Spanish authorities that Pinochet
should be brought to justice at home,
not abroad, and that a domestic trial
was indeed a realistic option.
The possibility that Pinochet will
stand trial in Chile is one of two ques
tions that now weigh heavily on
Straw’s mind as he contemplates his
final decision on extradition. The sec
ond is the nature of Britain’s obliga
tions under international law.
Pinochet is charged with torture,
committed on such a widespread and
systematic basis that it constitutes a
Live From Guyana
Remember
“Tis the season to be jolly ” It’s
Christmas time again, and the time
has come for anyone and everyone
to take part in the holidays. The holi
days can have different meanings for
people. For some, it’s a time to
spend moments of love and laugh
ter with our loved ones, it’s a time to
attend religious services and also
share with one another in the bounty
of food and gifts. While for others,
it is another holiday to spend in need
of the basic things in life; food, shel
ter and family.
As we begin to continue our quests
for the perfect gifts, we sometimes
overlook the less fortunate. Many
people are without homes, without
The Ordinary College Student
End of semester brings extra stress
With the end of another semester
fast approaching, the usual pres
sures and complaints are starting to
pop up once again all over campus.
It seems that every semester the last
week of classes is the most chaotic
and hectic week of the term.
Everyone is scrambling around
to complete papers, presentations
and projects that have been put off
all semester. The computer labs are
no longer vacant at 8:00 a.m., and
students begin to wander the cam
pus at all hours in a state of insom
nia scurrying around like rats to
complete their work. One issue that
crime against humanity - a crime un
der both domestic and international
law and a crime of universal jurisdic
tion. States therefore have not only an
interest in seeing the crime investi
gated and punished - they have a le
gal obligation to ensure that this hap
pens. That obligation became binding
on Britain in 1988, when it ratified
the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
This treaty is not yet as widely known
as it should be, but it has an enormous
potential role to play in the future en
forcement of international human
rights law.
International enforcement should
come into play only when national
Editorial
the less fortunate on the holidays
jobs and even without families and
instead of being worried about
which color gift wrap they should
buy, many are wondering where
their next meal is coming from.
As citizens of the world let us not
forget about the needy, let our feel
ings of thanksgiving continue
throughout the remainder of the
year, and more importantly let us re
ciprocate our good fortune to the
needy. We can all contribute a small
token of love and generosity to
needy charities.
On Christmas morning while
many of us are awakening to the
various smells of the kitchen and an
array of gifts under the tree, there
issue of selling books back to the
bookstore. Why is it that so many
people complain about the whole
buy-back process without investi
gating how the prices are set and
what factors determine the buy
back prices. These same people
then complain semester after se
mester. You get in line to hear ev
erybody cry about how they paid
$BO.OO for their book and are only
getting $20.00 back. If you don’t
like it, then get the hell outta’ line
and don’t sell your books back at
all, or try buying all your books
somewhere else. Supposedly a
' other book return programs
"The only person I'm hurting is myself."
legal systems are unable, or unwill
ing, to take action themselves to pun
ish crimes against humanity. This is
a core principle of the new Interna
tional Criminal Court, which Britain
has supported vigorously. So again
the question comes back to Straw. Is
Chile willing and able to prosecute?
The answer, categorically, must be
no.
Even as Insulza was delivering his
seductive message in London and
Madrid, the leadership of his own
party was writing to European lead
ers to tell them that the idea of
Pinochet being brought to trial in
Chile was sheer fantasy. The ob-
are some who awaken without hope
or cheer but rather with despair. Let
us not forget these people during the
holidays, donate your time, energy
and even monetary or material gifts
to organizations dedicated to im
proving the lives of the less fortu
nate.
The worldwide fellowship that
Christmas produces causes us to fall
under a spell, of kindness and good
will toward all. It is this euphoric
feeling which defines the meaning
of Christmas. It is not the sugar
plums dancing in our heads nor is it
the tree filled with candy canes and
a bundle of gifts, but rather it the
feeling of giving, giving not only to
are in the works for this year.
Maybe these people can try their
luck with the new programs.
Also there is the issue of 24 hour
quiet hours. I fully understand why
the program is in place, and I agree
with the policy since it is a good
idea. Why, though, do we only get
a generous fifteen minutes of “loud
time” for each day? Thanks, but the
fifteen minutes don’t really cut it.
Many students feel, as do I, that
having an hour or two in the middle
of the day, or an hour in the evening,
would be beneficial for everyone.
This would give students ample
time to relax and still time to study
stacles are simply too great. First,
there is the blanket amnesty that
Pinochet’s military granted itself in
1978; second, the presumptive immu
nity that he enjoys as senator for life;
and third, the failure of the Chilean
government to create a judicial sys
tem that could promise a trial before
an independent civilian court.
If Pinochet is returned to Chile un
der these conditions, Britain will be
in breach of its duty under interna
tional law. Straw’s decision should
therefore be a straightforward one. He
should approve Pinochet’s extradi
tion. The general’s victims would
celebrate that decision, rightly, as a
AYODELE JONES
our families and friends but also to
our neighbors in need. When the
holidays are gone and the gifts are
opened, let us not forget, the spirit
of giving and goodwill toward men,
it is a prineiple that needs to be prac
ticed throughout the year. Let us
remember the angel song; “Glory to
god in the highest. Goodwill toward
men and peace on earth," Happy
Holidays!
Jones is managing editor of the Bea
con. Her column appeared every
three weeks.
MARK GREENBANK
and/or sleep the rest of the day.
Overall, the ordinary college stu
dent has many problems to face at
the end of the year. Many of these
difficulties are brought on by the in
dividuals, but some need not exist.
The school does have many good
policies in place for finals week, but
maybe there is an easier way to the
relieve some of the stresses on stu
dents for the last week of classes.
Greenbank is associate editor of the
Beacon. His column appeared ev-
ery three weeks.
TIN&
mTOMLCAKTOONZ.COM
huge step forward for international
law - even though their joy might be
tinged with the chagrin of knowing
that Argentina, whose military rulers
were every bit as barbaric as
Pinochet, has actually moved further
along the road to becoming a func
tioning democratic society.
Black is research and editorial direc
tor of the New York
City-based Lawyers Committee for
Human Rights.