The Battalion
Viewpoint
October 27,
The
debate goes on and on .
Editor:
I’d just like to say a few words about
something very un-Aggielike I’ve seen late
ly as I walk around campus — the “No Frat”
Campaign. Of course, all pxoponates of this
trend will say that I must be in a fraternity
myself; I’ll just tell you frankly that I would
not join a frat if my life depended on it —
simply because the fraternity atmosphere is
riot for me and also I can buy a decent
pullover shirt and two new record albums
for the cost of an Izod.
Gettng back to the matter at hand, I ask
you where these people get the nerve to
push a campaign whose very slogan: “No
Frats — an A&M tradition since 1876’’
shows the foolishness of their “platform”?
Strictly speaking, I can say that this said
“tradition” ended six or seven years ago and
speaking more liberally, I can say that this
tradition never was; one fraternity has been
around since the founding of the school and
to this day remains the largest on campus ...
When I say that this campaign is un-
Aggielike I mean that it shows itself as an
undue, unfriendly and uneducated effort.
I’d like to know what the plan of attack is —
are you just going to say “No Frats” and sit
back on your haunches or is there going to
be blackballing of the people in fraternities
(and sororities for that matter)? Do you “No
Frat” guys remember someone named
McCarthy? Live and let live, I say. If you
feel threatened by frats, you’d better go
back home and pump gas or something; you
don’t have smarts enough or the right atti
tude to make it in college. The people in the
fraternities and sororities have every right
to do what they’re doing without any out
side interference. I just don’t know how this
campaign could have started on a campus
that prides itself on friendliness and
brotherhood. You may say that with all his
fellow Ags around, someone doesn’t need a
fraternity; just realize that it’s hard to feel a
sense of belonging on a campus with over
35,000 people on it.
Editor:
Scott Ranalli ‘84
Slouch By Jim Earle
‘Maybe the answer is to vote for the candidate with the
smallest sign!”
It seems that with the current “NO
FRATS” campaign, everyone is confused
on just who “Frats” are. I’d like to help
point out the enemy.
The term “Prep” symbolizes a person
with a particular attitude towards dressing.
It is usually associated with the Ivy League
look or the Urban Cowboy look. The parti
cular way a person dresses says nothing
about that person in the least.
The term “Frat or “Greek” symbolizes a
person who views his relationship with
other students on a type of “God to peon”
basis. This is the stereotype that has been
associated with Frats, and if you’ve spent
time in Austin, like I have, you’ll find it’s
pretty applicable.
At t.u., your code of dress is already
predetermined. Your shirt has to be so star
ched that you can play handball off the col
lar, or you might as well forget your social
life. Wearing something not trendy draws
as many stares as dropping your tray in
Sbisa.
At A&M, the place to be is on campus.
Dorm life is the single greatest factor to
account for our awesome unity. Just recall
All University Night when the dorms were
seeing who could do their dorm yell louder;
a good example of pride and competition
working towards that goal of unity.
At t.u., the place to be is off campus. All
the excitement of all eight dorms could be
housed in a small corner of a thimble. Two
of them are over twenty stories tall, one
looks like Huntsville State Prison (Jester),
all are spread apart from each other, and
none are near the center of campus.
:enn
s, i:
lion, they can offer a lot to A&MJ
ask myself is what do frats have to offer Is tc
we don’t already have? We haveOC
bring together students not on campus
best intramural program tobringonaj ™ is:
campus students together and dorm$<!
center of it all. Dorms fulfill even 1 fur;
fraternities at t.u. do, from wild parties*
the M.A.S.H. party two weeks
mats, to inter-dorm sports, to Biblestt: >erir
So how does t. u. attempt to unite almost
50,000 students? You guessed it: fraterni
ties, rah, which represent about ten per
cent of the student population. Sure, they
promote competition between themselves
like dorms, but what about the other 45,000
people who were lucky enough not to get
drafted. How can you expect a person who
brags about his dad’s six-digit income or his
four cars to want to come off his cloud to
associate with non-frats. (How terrible!)
The first president of the university said
that “the University of Texas is the school of
the common people of Texas. ” Small won
der that his name doesn’t appear on any
building or statue.
Now the frats (not preps) want the Uni
versity to welcome them with open arms
because, as someone wrote to The Batta-
Iculti
Even an occasional quad livens up
evening. Just because other places! al, c
greeks doesn’t mean we need them.fl :han
universities have cheerleaders. Dol 1 ^ 61
want to tell the Yell Leaders thattheie
been a slight change? If the frats couldi “'j
A&M something besides elevatingcei ^
people above others and creating Ian
where unity is wanted, then more
them, but the dorms were here first
Davis-Gary Hall, I think they 11 agr«
By
Acc
!em
iBE'
of
ET
By the way, to the people
asking me if I’m a frat just because 11
dress like me, the answer is — notojByN
life! NUKE THE FRATS!
|tude
ivitie
Thomas A.® [ e ®
Park Plawf hor
livers
A word from the poetry corm
S Ere
fple I
wc
edul<
nerc
The letters from the past few days have been
marvelous. The uninformed among us have got
ten to read about savage beatings going on under
our collective noses (and other individual parts),
the terrors and shortcomings of life on campus,
the refutation of said shortcomings, plus a handy
fingertip collection on the amount of improve
ment we could be working for (or, less positive
ly, our current deficiencies — thanks Tim!). The
Reader’s Forum has taken on a soap-operatic
quality, leaving us breathless as we wait to find
out if introversion really is the mark of a malad
justed personality (“land's sake boy, get out
there and molest someone!”), or why Brian
Gross cares at all about the salivation patterns of
freshman girls. Yes, it’s real life, here in black
and white, the triumphs and heartaches (and
headaches) of Big Time College, and it’s so thrill
ing, it moved me to poetry (which moved some
of my friends to vomiting when they read it, but
there’s no accounting for taste).
Good ags, bad ags, two percenters
Live their lives like fender-denters.
Mostly busy with their biz.
Finding that collisions is,
A part of what opinions bring-
Opinions, living, juggling.
Anything they do, or don’t
Someone’s bound to like, or won’t
And when they write what they are thinking
A dozen brows all furrow, sinking
Reader’s
Forum
Ifliis
:U
|n!y
■ to:
1
Into gloom and deep despair
That someone here could be so square
Or hip, or in, or esoteric.
“Teasip!” “Commie!’’ “Moonie Cleric!”
And letting off a little steam
Their furrowed brows relax and dream
Of grades that they will never see,
Or running over Reveille,*
Or other things they find distressing.
But, saint’s be praised for this small blessing-
When pent up anger needs release
We have a place to speak our piece
No need for us to beat a scallion
For we can write our dear Battalion
* Lest my point was lost in anger’s fog
Let me say I like the dog.
However, as long as we can keep newandl
crises popping up, we can continue toco
people popping off. Another attack of
“Warped” feeling (which went around tte
mer) would do in a pinch, or better yi|
Administration can play one of its clever
that outwardly appear to be the heightofl
but is actually carefully considered towti
students into a frenzied apathy. Afteral |
read the Batt too.
But, if people ever start deciding to do
thing about what upsets them, then we!
trouble. First because we won’t ever he:
thing about it (writing gets more attentid |
doing), and second they might actually
accomplishing something. Then where
we be, if people started solving problems
of (or even while) complaining about
Why, it wouldn’t even rate one angry letli
an equally angry reply.
It is a possibility, however remote
record of humanity (and Aggies too) has si L e
such a course to be. Let us be alert then, te L eac
creeping sense of responsibility overwhel: con |
all and thereby ruin our amusement.
|Two
Philip Mi
By
dec
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so
I’m afraid this flurry of general brouhaha will
eventually fade into the pattern of every day life.
Editor’s note: Mitchell is a graduate studfi
the department of biology at Texas A&M1
versity.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Angelique Copeland
Managing Editor Marcy Boyce
City Editor JaneC. Brust
Asst. City Editor Kathy O’Connell
Photo Editor Dave Einsel
Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy
Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff
Asst. Focus Editor Debbie Nelson
News Editors Phyllis Henderson
Bernie Fette, Belinda McCoy
Diana Sultenfuss
Staff Writers Gary Barker
Frank L. Christlieb, Randy Clements
Gaye Denley, Nancy Floeck, Colette Hutchings
Denise Richter, Mary Jo Rummel, Rick Stolle
Nancy Weatherley, Barbie Woelfel
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr.
Photographers Brian Tate
Colin Valentine
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It s your turn
Fightin’ Aggie Band is still the best
)fj
Editor:
The purpose of this letter is to reassure
the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band that the stu
dent body and anyone else who has experi
enced the excitement of witnessing a half
time performance will always consider
them to be the finest representatives of the
spirit of AGGIE LAND.
Concerning last weeks drill in Rice Sta
dium, I wish to remind everyone that these
dedicated members should he allowed to
stumble from their weekly perfection with
out receiving unwarranted criticism; after
when it snapped. Some other people may
have given up, but not these Ags. Sure,
they were upset and those of us watching
were upset also, but that didn’t stop them.
They plan to be out there Monday to put up
the center pole so the rest of us can enjoy a
GREAT bonfire!
You’re doing a great job Ags!
Kathleen Franklin ‘85
support of something so gauche as honor,
service, and integrity. I note with particular
interest that you made sport of our old ex
pression “Highway 6 runs both ways.” You
may regard this as puerile, but I feel it is, in
many cases, apt. In your case, very apt.
And you, Mr. Gutierrez, I’m sure you
were quite frustrated at the time of your
letter. And you directed these frustrations
Reply to GSSO
ames
ntalh
Editor:
I feel that the letter you printed W Thele
Gay Student Services Organization ?ton a
liberal lift-wing piece. Therefore, I an 1
questing you print this conservativen5
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied
by three other signatures.
all, they are only human. For three years
now, I have attended Texas A&M football
games with the anticipation of not only fine
athletic competition, but also outstanding
half-time performances. As the band takes
the field, I know I am not alone when I
become completely engulfed by the excite-
Misdirected efforts
at the nearest scapegoat you could find.
Your completely senseless arguments mak
ing broad generalizations about the stu
dents here just made a complete fool out of
you.
wing view in its entirety. I accept fill 1
sponsibility for the contents and effect n
this letter.
In short, you “individualists” can have
your individuality. Go ahead and revel in it.
Drown in it. But don’t you dare try to de-
The GSSO used a quote from Susa
Anthony which in essence said, “stand 1
for what you believe in, and accept!
consequences that your views may !)tee l |
igmg
saidt
Editor:
tract from what a lot of PROUD aggies hold
dear to their hearts.
ment, and experience a deep-felt pride for
my school. I am anxiously looking forward
to next week’s game against SMU when I
can again enjoy the magnificence of the
Aggie Band, the pulse of Aggieland.
Louise R. Morgan ‘83
I must say that I am appalled at the
capability of human effort to put garbage on
the printed page. How, I ask, can people
who have been given the priviledge (and I
do mean priviledge) to attend this Universi
ty attack the very heart of what makes Texas
A&M great?
upon you.” With that statement
and faith in the Batt s unending qiie' 11
present both sides, I shall voice an opiid
which I feel reflects the sentiments ofm 1 f er ’
Aggies. Queers, get the hell outa Dod|
By
B man
|mei
I Uni
Steeli
xas Sc
'uston
igeon
ain
'SWl
rvice i
lanta.
'8 of lj
sor
George Danner ‘83
Flaming punishment
I believe the GSSO is a lyinghyproefi
al organization. Ten percent of thestP
body at Texas A&M University is noli
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied
by 25 other signatures.
For me, the reasons for selecting Texas
A&M were not merely for its academic ex
cellence, but also for the atmosphere of
Editor:
and anyone who believes that is being 1 *
realistic to say the least. Anyway, baci
my right-wing philosophies, I am pfl
that the sexual misfits at A&M are orgai
Spirit not broken
We respectfully suggest that the Aggie
Band member responsible for the forma
undying loyalty of many students for their
school. This is exemplified in our fine tradi
tions such as Bonfire, Aggie Muster, Silver
tional disaster at the Rice game on Sat.,
24th Oct. be thrown atop the upcoming
bonfire as a warning to all that any attempt
ing. The more prominent they become,
easier they are to destroy. In fact, in In
of the emerging fags, I wish that all of 1
proud young gays would wear Ijigpinfi
Editor:
I was one of the Ags braving the wind to
watch the center pole go up this Friday.
Everything was in its place and just as they
Taps, etc. Above all, this is what sets us
apart from any other school in the world.
You, Mr. Gross, were probably very
satisfied with yourself after your Oct. 22
editorial in The Battalion. You were so
at individuality on this campus will be ruth
lessly and mercilessly punished.
tons proclaiming, “I am GAY.’ Then, in
best of Old Army traditon, we could
the hell outa the GSSO and all ofitskou
queers.
Doug Spence
3900 Old College
were going to stand it up, it snapped in half.
This letter is to commend those Ags who
were working on the Bonfire center pole
smug and condescending and clever in your
attack of Aggie traditions. How dare we
lowly “good Ags” pursue our petty rituals in
Kennvl
P.O. Box?'
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied
by five other signatures.
Editor’s note: This letter was accompac
by 99 other signatures.