Page 2/The BattalionAThursday, March 21,1985
OPINION
SG elections provide students
opportunity to voice opinions
——
umpifi
■ ■
Aggie women have|
come a long way
Loren
Steffy
I wandered
across campus this
morning and for
the first time I no
ticed them. They
were everywhere.
Texas A&M has
become infested
with them and no
one really seems to
mind. How times
change, I thought.
Their presence can’t be ignored — the
campus has females on it!
Tuesday marked the 27th anniver
sary of the court ruling which made the
University admit women. Many true
Ags were not pleased with the decision.
How could women be allowed to enter
this bastion of masculinity?
Ralph Gorman Jr., then president of
the Dallas A&M Club said, “The action
is one of the most selfish acts ever per
petuated against A&M in a long time. It
will do the school a lot of harm.”
Gorman also stated on that
day in 1958, “I can’t imagine whatl
of girl would go to A&M.” Just f
looking around I would guess aboute
ery kind of girl imaginable who wanisi
better herself through a good
tion. I read Gorman’s quote to i
female students who found itssexistu
to be so riduculous that it was funny.
Times have changed. Today,
man’s comments seem comical,
tainly no one in 1985 would argucn
the admittance of women into a i
state university.
But although times may change,
tory repeats. In 1958, former studti
were outraged at the thought of wo®
being allowed to enroll at the traditio;
ally all-male Texas A&M. In 1985,fe
mer students are outraged at the rule
which forces the Aggie Bandtoaccti
women. The last two digits of they
have reversed, but attitudes at At!
haven’t.
But 14,487 women later, Gorman’s
statement seems rather absurd. The
school has expanded from a college to a
university and the influx of female fac
ulty and students played an integral role
the growth process. The injection of
women into Texas A&M was exactly the
medication this University needed to
cure its horribly chauvanistic attitudes.
Let’s hope, 27 years from now,i
male band members will beabletolw
back on the quotes of the former®!
dents fighting the band ruling am
laugh as easily as the female studenuit
day chuckle at Gorman’s words.
Loren Steffy is a sophomore joum
lism major and a weekly columnist (;
The Battalion.
Texa:
car ahe;
than 25
lane ha
past twt
yet. Tin
But i
Top 40
—jazz,
If so, tf
(90.9) a
John
Hallett
Who really cares
about Student Gov
ernment? That’s a
question I’ve thought
about before but
never seriously considered until Sunday
night when campaign signs mysteriously
popped up by University Center and
Sbisa.
Even then I never really thought
about writing a column on the subject
until yesterday when I passed by Sully
and the infamous symposium.
It was around noon and the candi
dates for student body president were
being introduced.
Present for the forum were approxi
mately 25-30 students of which as many
as 10 were concerned journalism stu
dents. Concerned about a writing as
signment or snapping a few pics for
photojournalism.
Who knows how many others were
from Lambda Sigma or Student
Government. That’s a sad reflection on
the A&M student body.
Or is it?
Where does the fault lie? Perhaps
Lambda Sigma is to blame. What
started out as a noble cause to bring the
student leaders to the students seems to
have failed.
The symposium lost credibility in my
mind when it presented speakers such
as Kim Walters, then reigning Miss
Texas A&M. No offense intended to
Miss Texas A&M, but my intelligence
was of fended when Lambda - Sigma
tried to pass her off as a student leader.
I think it would be much better not to
have the symposium every week, espe
cially given its limited success, rather
than to search for speakers in despera
tion.
On the other hand, maybe the fault
lies with Student Government. Students
complain they lack input into Student
Government and University affairs.
The candidates at the symposium ac
knowledged that there is insufficient
communication between students and
their leaders but none seem to offer any
new concrete ideas to bridge the gap.
Are there really student leaders at
Texas A&M? Does a government really
serve a useful purpose when the masses
can’t perceive any tangible benefits
from that government’s actions? Is stu
dent government worthwhile when the
biggest event of the year appeared to be
the gay rights resolution which was
eventually vetoed by Student Body Pres
ident David Alders? Alders claimed he
vetoed the resolution because of techni
calities and not necessarily because he
opposed the resolution.
How could Student Government
even consider proposals such as the one
sponsored by Robert Hill designed to
prevent demonstrations on the grass
around the Memorial Student Center?
Fortunately the bill was killed in com
mittee, but why was the bill ever se
riously considered? If the bill had
passed it would only have added fuel to
those who love to ridicule A&M. Hill
claimed the purpose of the bill was not
to violate students’ First Amendment
rights, but “to remind students that the
MSC is a memorial and to reinstate the
MSC’s memorial status.”
Imagine banning protests and dem
onstrations in Washington, D.C. around
national memorials. Where would the
Civil Rights movement be today if it
hadn’t been allowed to gather at The
Mall and Martin Luther King couldn’t
have given his famous “I have a dream”
speech at the foot of the Jefferson Me
morial? Their purpose and SWAMP’s
purpose last semester was not to dese
crate a memorial but to use the memo
rial (the MSC grass in SWAMP’s case) as
a symbol. Would either action have got
ten the same attention or response if
they had taken place elsewhere?
The former students who gave their
lives defending our country did so to
protect our freedom. How would they
feel now knowing that a memorial in
their honor violated the principles of
free speech?
Hill should think about how a propo
sal would benefit the student body in
the future before he sponsors a bill. The
Student Senate would function much
better if it didn’t have to waste time con
sidering such proposals and was free to
act on more pertinent issues.
Student elections are coming up
Wednesday and Thursday, March 27th
and 28th. This will give the student
body an opportunity to be heard. Or not
to be heard. If students care about Stu
dent Government and what it stands
for, and what it does and doesn’t do,
then they should exercise their right to
vote. At the same time, students who
don’t care about Student Government
and feel that it has no effect on their
academic lives shouldn’t vote. To do so
would be to support something they
don’t believe in.
For those who do plan on voting,
think about it carefully. Get to know the
candidates and the issues if there are
any. An uninformed votecan hurt more
than no vote at all.
John Hallett is a senior political sci
ence major and an assistant news edi
tor for The Battalion.
What does ‘S.B’ mean'!
Part of the sum
mer before my fresh
man year was spent
learning Aggie terms
Trent
Leopold
like K.K., C.T., DS,
F.O.W., R.A., T.A., etc. But nobody
ever explained to me what S.B. stood
for.
During one of my first classes here a
girl started talking about an event she
attended where all of these S.B.s were
congregated and how I knew how S.B.s
acted and couldn’t I understand how
S.B.s were.
When I got back to my apartment
that evening two years ago I found my
informative “Inrol” and started hunting
for S.B.
I really didn’t know what a S.B. was
and I figured I just missed the term
while learning all of the other ones asso
ciated with this great maroon and white
institution.
But S.B. wasn’t in “Inrol.”
So I asked around until I found out
S.B. stands for Sorority Bitch.
Since then, I’ve been trying to dis
cover exactly what a Sorority Bitch is.
I’ll admit I don’t thoroughly under
stand the entire definition of a S.B. now.
Nobody does. Not even S.B.s them
selves.
However, I do have an idea of the
meaning after living around them,
going to school with them and dating
them for nearly three years.
Basically a sorority is a clique of girls
who tell each other their secrets, know
each other’s innermost feelings, main
tain confidential test files and share big
mansions. And it follows that a S.B. is
one of the members of the group.
But the definition is broader.
Look around until you see a girl
wearing the latest of the Ralph Lauren
Polo creations while she sports her
Gucci purse religiously.
Her add-a-beads will be gleaming in
lusters of lapis and gold.
You can sense she’s probably proud
of her drop necklace composed of two
or three funny-looking symbols.
And her makeup is meticulously
drawn on her face.
She might even have a well-dressed
stocky Frat Daddy beside her. (The
term “Frat Daddy” is not in “Inrol” ei
ther.)
You are probably safe in betting she is
a S.B.
If she’s blonde (naturally or other
wise), she might be a Delta Zeta.
If she was homecoming queen in high
school she probably is a member of the
Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority.
If she is from Highland Park or River
Oaks she is likely to be a Chi Omega.
One of my first personal encounters
with a S.B. was when I asked out a DZ. I
suggested several date options, but
really wanted to go bowling.
I discovered, in no uncertain terms,
that “DZs don’t like to go bowling.” We
did go to dinner and a movie.
The DZ S.B. told me that I was lucky
she went out with me at all.
Maybe part of the definition of a S.B.
includes an appreciation of dates like
formal dances, movies, classical concerts
and dinner with fine wines and blue
cheese. And not dates to the bowling al
ley.
Both types of dates are fun.
Several members of the Delta Ddc
Delta Sorority are friends of mine. The
are better known as the Tri Belts.
Rumors are that Tri Delts have bra
known to do such things as steal meni
underwear.
Ann, a friend who is a sophomoreati
college in Louisiana, is a typical Tri Dei
We were good friends until shejoinei
the sorority.
But when she joined, she toldmeshi^
couldn’t spend time going on dates.
She also can’t spend time to say
any more.
Maybe a S.B. is just a memberofai
que of girls who hangs around exdit
sively with other members of thesamt
clique and just likes to act bitchy.
Whatever the definition is, it needsm
be put in the “Inrol.”
Trent Leopold is a junior journals
major and a staff writer for The JBattaJ
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Brigid Brockman, Editor
Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor
Ed Cassavoy, City Editor
Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor
Michelle Powe, Editorial Page Editor
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors
Kari Fluegel, Rhonda Snider
Assistant News Editors
Cami Brown, John Hallett, Kay Mallett
Assistant Sports Editor
Charean Williams
Entertainment Editors
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Staff Writers Cathie Anderson,
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Walter Smitlr
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Loren Steffy
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Wayne Grabein, Bill Hughes, Frank Irwin,
John Makely, Peter Rocha, Dean Sailo
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