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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1981)
a f The Battalion Viewpoint October 30,1981 Slouch By Jim Earle Conservative, not intolerant Texas A&M University is a very conser vative place. There’s something to be said for under statement. If people know nothing else about Texas A&M, they know it is a very conservative university. The teasips can vote Commun ist and wear their hair down past their ank les, but Aggies are conservative. After all, their hair is short, isn’t it? Conservatism is a word all of us hear almost daily, but what is it? As Socrates said, it is time to define our terms. From reading the editorial page lately, you would think conservatism means a will ingness to kill, beat up or nuke anyone who disagrees with you. “Kill the queers” or “Thrash the two-percenters” or “Nuke the frats” may be emotionally satisfying slo gans, but I doubt that Thomas Jefferson, William F. Buckley or Ronald Reagan would agree with them. So what is conser vatism? A predisposition against government in fluence over individual lives dominates the platform of the Republican Party. Republi can conservatism means fewer taxes, less regulation and more freedom for each American. Daniel Puckett ft By this definition, all citizens are free to do whatever they wish, so long as they do not infringe on the rights of others. If I want to open a store, no bureaucrat should be able to tell me no. If I want to drill for oil or buy a gun, no Washington egghead should be able to stop me. But the train of logic does not stop there. If I have the right to live my life as I please, so do homosexuals. So long as they do not try to force themselves upon the unwilling, what right does the government have to harass them? If some disagree with Aggie traditions. we : ought to consider their opinion wi| calling for their execution. There arei perfections even in the Aggie universe Those who feel a need tojoinafrateu ought to have that right. Just because^ and I may despise fraternities does mean that we should try to prevent tli ? formation. Granted, there are gray areas comes to University recognition of| f groups. Should a publically fundedinsti tion help support groups which in the taxpayers? There are legitim grounds for opposing the recognitionofi Gay Student Services Organization or! Greek groups. Opposing recognition, though, doest mean we should advocate, even inaspiiit gleeful hyperbole, the death, maimii^i exile of those with whom we Thinking like that is not conservative;! not even American. Our Constitution guarantees the rigf freedom of speech; the right to disagreea more importantly, the right to voice! disagreement. More than anything else, freedom'^ foundation of conservatism, and Tr A&M is a very conservative universih. B; It’s your turn m Comic strip has right idea, wrong approach Because thbootl welcon :k on t Editor: or his comic strip. Believe me it is no help at all. This is in reference to the Warped comic strip published on Oct. 26 and 27. Martha Langford ’84 Company W-l The issue of women in the band, and the position of women in the Corps is a very delicate balance of nature and is very diffi cult to explain. I realize that Scott McCullar is trying to make a valid point, there are no women in the Band, but by doing so in such a way he is causing problems in the already shaky relations between the Aggie Band and companies W-l and Squadron 14. Women in the Corps are winning accept ance the slow, hard way: through proof of worth and character. The main things that stand in the way of our acceptance are ignorance, fear and prejudice. In his col umn Scott McCullar is helping to perpetu ate these. This week’s “Warped” comic strip has indeed managed to warp relationships be tween women in the Corps and the Band. We feel that we are progressing well in integrating the special groups of the Corps. We don’t need the help of Scott McCullar Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied by 55 other signatures from the Aggie Band and Company W-l and Squadron 14. Fight with food Editor: OPEC nations want to charge us $38 for a barrel of oil, good ... let them eat it! We should exchange food for resources, trade, and protection. For some reason, however, Americans have been conned by sincere and religious people into the idea that we should give freely to our “neighbors,” regardless of their beliefs. Such people would have us feed the world at our expense to ease our consciences because we “have so much.” Get rid of the signs playing fields. Editor: Lynda Bt ; Senator, Education at I’ve got a suggestion for our incoming Student Government officers: If you guys are worth anything, why don’t you pass some laws against littering a beautiful cam pus with campaign signs — you really make it look like crap. Editor’s Note: This letter was accomj nied by 22 other signatures. MOB has no class Common sense. That’s what we need in our political arena, common sense. Various groups have written to The Battalion con cerning the military strength of the U.S. and the use of nuclear weapons. Why not use a weapon that leaves no radiation and has the potential of overthrowing any gov ernment? The weapon? Food. Two thirds of the world’s food is grown in the U.S. and one fifth in South America. Why do we feed nations that oppose our constitution and our way of life? If the Hey! let’s wake up to reality. Why not let our enemies starve? Are bullets and wars more humane? Why do we send money and relief to children who will grow up to kill our own children in WWIII? Would it not make more sense to starve our enemies until they decide to play our game, and stop bargaining away our freedoms in “peace negotiations”? It seems to me that we need a bit more common sense. Why not take a route which will prevent war and bring the riches of the world to our country? Greg Cizik ’82 have ‘If we c in betwt nizers Issible ’ je trad Mike T Thatcl ith the 1 lided no crowd the fief people ] madi Editor: Save Duncan field leen org ifficult, 1 Editor: Michael Goad Getting traditions back on course It has recently come to my attention that the student body has diverted from some traditions basic to Aggie Spirit. My intent is not to complain about the behavior of the 12th man, only to emphasize what I believe is proper Aggie conduct at sporting events. The ability to control a crowd of the size that turns out to support the Aggie teams is unique among colleges and universities. As more and more people are drawn to Texas A&M, partly because of the history of our strong traditions, it is even more impor tant that everyone follow the guidance of those people elected to handle the crowds: the yell leaders. One problem that we’ve had was the attempt by some crowd members to start yell practice after the Baylor game while the Baylor Band was still playing. Even though we signaled the crowd to rest, some people continued to lead their own yells. There was a specific reason for waiting. We were the guests of Baylor University, and it is their right to play after the game and common courtesy to wait until they finish to hold yell practice. We would demand no less at our own stadium. Another problem is the “missuse” of the “Beat the Hell ...” yell. It is the purpose of the yell leaders to lead the crowd in support of the Aggie football team. The “Beat the Hell ... ” yell, which got started only ten years ago, sometimes has the opposite effect of what is intended. It may, in fact, fire up the opposition, not our team. It is up to the yell leaders to decide when the yell is appropriate. Mike Thatcher Tommy Orr, Class ’72 yell leader, initi ated the yell for use at yell practice to fire the crowd up. It was not intended for use during the game. When he returned the A&M several years later, Orr was dis appointed to hear the yell being used at the games. While boot line. Spirit Line and the 12th Man are well-known traditions, there are some lesser known traditions that are be coming harder to pass along as more people get caught up in the spirit of Aggieland. Many of these got started many years ago, for practical reasons, and are still ap plicable. Here are some examples of those tradtions. ^Standing on the wood — Standing on the seats (which used to be wooden) was a senior privelege only, designed to protect the wood from scuffing and splintering. Even though the wood is now aluminum, there is still a practical reason for keeping up with the tradition. Excessive weight can break the benches off. We have the best facilities in the Southwest Conference, let’s keep them that way. J^Clapping during songs — While clap ping was always frowned upon many years ago, it’s now seen as a way of showing spirit. But there should still be no clapping during the “War Hymn,” “Spirit of Aggieland” and the “Twelfth Man.” Hats should also be removed during these songs. ^Starting yell practice early — Yell practice doesn’t start until the yell leaders arrive with the Band to Kyle Field. J^Booing — Remember, Aggies never boo. It’s up to the yell leaders to decide when the “horse laugh” is appropriate. It’s gotten to the point where hissing is used at very inappropriate times, as in the case of the introduction of important guests. It makes no difference if they went to t.u. or wherever, that’s no reason to hiss. One of the best ways for everyone to show their spirit is to participate in the Spirit Line. The Spirit Line is formed from Cain Hall to Kyle Field when the team makes its way from Cain to the locker room. Coach Wilson has said that he thinks the bigger the line is, the better. Texas A&M is known for the spirit and enthusiasm of the crowds. The more people that come to Texas A&M should mean that much more spirit and enthusiasm, and with the cooperation of the fans, the 12th man will continue to be the driving force behind the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Football Team. Beat the Hell Outta SMU! The Texas A&M University System is planning to build the University Press Building on the east end of Duncan Field. Duncan Field is one of the few remaining grassy areas that make this University so beautiful to faculty, staff, students, and visi tors. Currently this field is being used for three very important purposes: bonfire, in tramurals, and football parking. Although this building should not dis continue any of these, it will certainly dis rupt them. The probable overlap in con struction periods for the press and the bon fire would serve to cause confusion. Also, the proximity of the building to bonfire would cause an unnecessary fire hazard. Although this could be overcome by proper precautions, it seems an unnecessary risk. Furthermore, the intramural and other re creational use of this field is not conducive to an office type building. Another problem that would be intensified is the lack of stu dent parking in this area. Not only would there be staff parking required for those who work in the press, but also the loading dock area would cut into the student park ing lot (lot 40). The construction of this building would also set a precedent for further construction on Duncan and other playing fields. Finally, because the operations of the press do not necessitate that it be located on the central campus, we would like to en courage the Texas A&M University System to consider an alternate location for the Univerity Press Building (such as west cam pus) and to not consider any further con struction on Duncan or any of the other •rs idd Footba beautif I am writing this letter on behalf of halftime show put on by the Aggie Bam the Rice game. First, I would like to m: clear that I am not a member of the bai am although, a member of the Corps. The MOB (Marching Owl Band)shoi very little class in the game Saturday, sides obsene posters that they waved, made the best college marching band awful small. While on the sidelines,ti| members of the MOB began blowingw ties which in turn led some of the memlt turday’s of the Aggie Band to march premature ethodist The result was total chaos accompanied! me. embarrassment and tears throughout! The si Aggie Band. The classlessness demon ie nadde trated by the MOB showed that theyItf :)Il stai id very little respect for visiting bands andtfc ^ e an ' they wanted to see the Aggie Bandexecii an imperfect drill. The only reason I cans for such a tasteless act is jealously. A k The Aggie Band drills every weel'df Xk before a game for one to two hours adf " They work hard to learn their movement „ M to produce enjoyment for their fellowTeS KJk Aggies. I am very proud to wear the s® uniform as the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Ban! , Although the band has its conflictsB® the rest of the Corps, when the Aggienli is marching they are representing theti' > fl tire University. All the band can do no*) put the drill behind them and realize we are all human and prone to making takes. The band now needs to lookahead the next drill for the SMU game andlu that their band is not as inconsiderateas^ MOB was. By the way, the last time an incident this type happened was in 1967, thesaf year the Ags went to the Cotton Bowl. Mike Thatcher ’82 Head Yell Leader Warped By Scott McCullar THIS »S A^M UPDATE. WELL, THE SPECTATORS AT TODAY'S FOOTBALL 6A/AE WERE AMAZED TO SEE A WOAW CADET WAS PART OF THE BAWD'S HALF ~ TlfAE PERFORMANCE... SO/ME WERE LIVID, OTHER'S WERE ECSTATIC. SOME THOUGHT OF THE. CONCEPT AS SACRILEGE, MAWY OTHERS AS LONG OVERDUE. BUT ONE WAY WE CAN SUM UP PEOPLE'S FEELINGS ABOUT WOMEN IN THE BAND IS : IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE A TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION, BUT PEOPLE SURE KNOW IF THEIR OPINIONS ARE RI6HT OR NOT. STAY TUNED FOR PRIVATE BENJAMIN." The Battalion USPS 045 360 MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Angelique Copeland Managing Editor Marcy Boyce City Editor Jane G. Brust Asst. City Editor Kathy O’Connell Photo Editor DaveEinsel Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy Focus Editor Cathy SaathofI 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, Tim Foarde, Colette Hutchings Daniel Puckett, Denise Richter, Mary Jo Rummel, Rick Stolle Nancy Weatherley, Barbie Woelfel Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr. Photographers Brian Tate Daniel Sanders, Colin Valentine EDITORIAL POLICY The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Bat talion are those of the editor or the author, anddotd necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M i/n/veit ty administrators or faculty members, or of the Bi Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper^ students in reporting, editing and photography clast- within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial mailt should he directed to the editor. 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