5-
FttE
State and Local
Former student says he's a new woman
a
>es
us who have to
shed trom the
cabin, training
the astronauts
ssion w-as doing
e on maneuver-
arm. The mis-
ie Nov. 27 mis-
Ihaw, was sitting
?e, Shaw looked
his part of the
s on the ground
serious look he
me he felt the
e going through
rig for the next
dieve the launch
dongan had fin-
st training class
and would start
onauts the same
we’re all in here
g, the astronauts
ling who’s going
hey’re going to
preparing for a
’t get to go.”
rip my girl scout
mldve been the
t a close look at
go into space. It
from behind the
ead “Authorized
was a shot at un-
ue behind those
auts.
ile in their space
nior journalism
for The Battal-
By D.ANN BEELER
Reporter
Phillip Frye, once a khaki-clad
member of Texas A&rM’s Corps of
Cadets, now answers to the name
Phyllis and wears skirts and pumps.
On Sept. 13, 1976, Phillip Frye
walked out of his front door as Phyl
lis, never to return as Phillip again.
Until then, Frye says, he hid his real
self inside men’s clothes and played
a man’s role in society.
Frye, 37, came to Texas A&M in
1966 on a four-year Army ROTC
Scholarship and a one-year engi
neering scholarship. He was a mem
ber of the Corps of Cadets in Com-
lany F-l. He also sang with the
inging Cadets for two years.
During his junior year, he mar
ried and transferred to Company H-
2.
In 1970, after 3'A years at the
University, Frye graduated with a
degree in civil engineering. He was
commissioned in the Army, but was
given leave to obtain his mechanical
engineering degree. He also wit
nessed the birth of his child.
In 1971, Frye served as a first lieu
tenant in the Army. However, Frye
says, “I was forced out when the
Army realized that I might change
gender or sex in the future.”
Frye says he told his wife that he
was considering a sex change and
“she went crazy.” In 1972, Frye was
divorced from his wife. A year later,
he married his current spouse,
whose gender Frye protects from
public knowledge.
Shortly after he remarried, Frye
says he gave in to the taunting per
son inside of him.
“No matter how macho I tried to
act, that over powering urge to be
Phyllis was real,” Frye says.
Frye’s spouse agreed to stand be
side him and give him support as he
began his metamorphosis. Frye says
that his second spouse was able to ac
cept his change.
“Our relationship is based upon
friendship,” he says. “We love each
other, but it’s friendship first.”
Frye, who now prefers to be re
ferred to as a woman, says she
started cross-dressing and acting as a
woman that day she walked out of
her house as Phyllis. That year, she
also began physical alterations, in
cluding extensive electrolysis to have
the hair on her chest, face and arms
removed, she says.
A year later, she started taking
large doses of the female hormone
premarin, she says.
Frye says she has not had her sex
surgically changed because her
spouse originally married a man.
Frye says that deep down inside of
her spouse’s mind, Frye is still a
man.
She says that when she decided to
let her real self out, she considered
several consequences, such as the
emotional strife and strain to which
she would be subjected.
“I knew in my heart that my par
ents were going to bury me,” she
says. “I knew that I was going to end
a promising career in engineering. I
knew I would have to let my son go,
and I knew that I was going to be
subjected to a lot of hatred.
“I was effectively blackballed from
meaningful employment, and I was
on the (welfare) dole for almost two
years. I received $63 a week and lost
a lot of my self-esteem and began to
despair.”
She says that A&M’s registrar re
fused to change the name on her
transcript which further frustrated
her employment-interview efforts.
Frye says that she was buried in a
mock funeral by the members of her
family.
Unable to find a job, she entered
the University of Houston business
college using her veteran’s benefits.
In 1978, she entered law school at
UH. And in 1981, she graduated
with an MBA and became a licensed
attorney.
During the vears that she was
without work, Frye says she found
support and friendship within the
gay community.
Frye says she believes that she is a
lesbian. She says that she knows she
is a woman, but since her childhood
days she has been attracted to
women.
Frye says that she became an activ
ist for gay rights, women’s rights and
human rights. She says she vigor
ously fought to change the law in
Houston which allowed the police to
arrest anyone found cross-dressing
for any reason.
“I lobbied vigorously against that
law,” she says. “I went into the bo
wels of the police department, where
I debated the vice squad about it. I
debated with judges at city hall. I was
always up at the city council meet
ings to speak against it.”
Frye says she is a card-carrying
member of Houston’s Gay Political
Caucus and a delegate to the Texas
Democratic Convention. She funds
her voluntary efforts with her inde
pendent Amway distributorship in
comes, she says.
The 5-foot-9-inch, brown-eyed
brunette openly says that she is a tra-
ngenderous or transperson. A trans-
genderous is a person who has taken
hormones in order to take on physi
cal characteristics of the opposite
sex.
Frye says she keeps in shape by
working out to Jane Fonda tapes and
running. She says she also enjoys
women’s softball. Frye recently led
her team to victory in the women’s
softball championship.
Frye recently celebrated her 12th
anniversary with her spouse. Al
though she is dead to the other
members of her family, Frye says she
has begun to develop a wonderful
and new relationship with her
mother. Although Frye has not seen
her son in four years, she says corre
sponds with him through letters.
“He calls me Phyllis,” Frye says.
Phyllis Frye
Today, Frye’s eyes shine. Her
smile is friendly. .She is ambitious
and lives the life she says she’s always
wanted to live. She’s lived two lives,
that of a man and that of a woman.
She says the greatest advantage that
a man has over a woman is that peo
ple will always listen to what a man
has to say.
“Women must be assertive,” Frye
says. “Don’t let society, or any man,
label you (women) as inferior or sub
missive.”
State judge halts no pass, no play trial
Associated Press
HOUSTON — A judge Wednes
day halted the trial of a suit against
the no pass, no play rule and or
dered that a special master be ap
pointed to gather information from
Texas’ 1,100 school districts.
State District Judge Marsha An
thony said she would appoint an
overseer to gather facts such as fail
ure and exclusionary rates.
Anthony Sheppard, the plaintiffs’
attorney, had sought to prove that
the rule, which bars failing students
from extracurricular activities, is dis
criminatory to minority and hand
icapped students because they fail at
a higher rate.
He said the main reason the ap
pointment is being made was be
cause he could only get data from
about 20 school districts.
He said the state has not gathered
the needed information.
Anthony, who certified the suit as
class action, had ordered school dis
tricts to submit the data Sheppard
requested.
But the Texas Supreme Court,
acting on an appeal from the Texas
Education Agency, threw out An
thony’s order Nov. 8.
Assistant Attorney General Kevin
O’Hanlon, who is defending the law,
said the state is not required to keep
such statistics.
“The master will do what the state
was ordered not to do,” he said. “All
we’re doing is going through a lot of
expense to get the same point
across.”
A hearing will be held Monday to
consider an appointment of the spe
cial master.
Sheppard said it may take up to
six months to gather all the data.
O’Hanlon says the failure rate of
minority children exists indepen
dently of the no pass, no play rule, so
the statute has no specific discrimi
natory impact.
He argued that a survey Shep
pard submitted as evidence was in
valid because it was based on 19 of
the state’s 1,100 school districts.
Johnnie Orr, a retired teacher
who conducted the survey, said the
polled districts are representative of
the state’s schools.
But O’Hanlon said the survey,
based on data of rural school dis
tricts, deals with less than 1 percent
of the Texas population.
Orr, who was a schoolteacher for
17 years, said that, although her sur
vey did not include urban districts, it
was representative of the state be
cause the studied districts are lo
cated throughout Texas.
The Spring Independent School
District, which has 8,532 secondary
school students, was the largest in
the survey.
O’Hanlon noted that the survey
did not include students in districts
inside a triangular area formed by
Houston, Austin and Dallas.
The triangular area contains 70
percent of the state’s school-age pop
ulation, he said.
Although the survey indicated the
failure rate for white students in
some districts was greater than that
of minority students, Orr character
ized those districts as “isolated situa
tions.”
The suit is the latest in a series of
legal challenges to the no pass, no
play rule, which was part of an edu
cation reform package approved by
a special session of the Texas Legis
lature in 1984.
Earlier this year, Anthony found
the statute unconstitutional, but that
ruling was overturned by the Texas
Supreme Court.
The rule’s opponents are seeking
review of that case by the U.S. Su
preme Court.
ion
60
nation
Conference
trial Board
Editor
tging Editor
i Page Editor
y Editor
t, News Editors
>rts Editor
Staff
Kirsten Dietz,
Jerry Oslin
.Cathie Anderson
Jan Perry
Charean Williams
iely, Walter Smith
...Wayne Grabein
iicy
elf-supporting newspa-
’ice to Texas A&M and
t nil ion are those of the
' do not necessarily rep-
I administrators, faculty
boratory newspaper for
id photography classes
nica lions.
onday through Friday
iters, except for holiday
ibscriptions are $16.75
year and $35 per full
)n request.
216 Reed McDonald
y, College Station, TX
lege Station, TX 77843.
-‘oV'
St
if
siffifc
'SiSivr
A
.T-
Mr
m
M
fe#
i§
m
IT PATS OFF.
WE AT 24 HR GYMS OF TEXAS
ARE WORKING EVEN HARDER
TO SERVE YOU, WITH SPE
CIAL RATES, HOURS, STAFF
AND FACILITIES.
NEW 1400 SQ FT POWER AREA
NEW 1800 SQ FT AEROBIC ROOM
5 NEW LEG MACHINES
MORE FREE WEIGHTS & MACH.
NEW TANNING BED
4500 SQ FT EXERCISE FLOOR
STEAM SAUNA WHIRLPOOL
5 30 MIN. TANNING BEDS
STAFFED NURSERY
THIS AD MAY BE USED FOR
ONE FREE VISIT AND 10% OFF
ON ANY OF OUR REGULAR
PRICED MEMBERSHIPS ON "
YOUR FIRST VISIT.
Recent injury to
wrist, knee or ankle?
Severe enough pain
to remain on study
up to 10 days and 5
visits?
Recent injury with
pain to any muscle or
joint?
One-dose (4 hours)
in-house study.
Recent injury with in
flammation (swelling,
pain, heat, tender
ness)?
Study of 5 day dura
tion with only 2 visits
required.
Volunteers interested in participating in investigative drug studies
will be paid for their time and cooperation.
G&S Studies, inc. 846-5933
The Boot Barn
JUSTIN
ROPERS
00
$79
Largest Selection
Lowest Price
in The Brazos Valley
2.5 Miles East of Brazos Center on
FM 1179 (Briarcest Dr.) Mon.-Sat 9:30-6:00
776-2895
mmy
0iocm
Top of the Tower
Texas A&M University
Pleasant Dining - Great View
SERVING LUNCHEON B UFFET
11:00 a.m. -1:30 p.m.
Monday thru Friday
$5.25 plus tax
Open each Home
Football Game
11:00 A.M. till game time
Serving soup & sandwich
11:00 A.M. —1:30 P.M.
Monday — Friday
$2.75 plus drink
Available Evenings
For Special
University Banquets
Department of Food Service
Texas A&M University
“Quality First”
PEACE Special Work !
CORPS For Special People
Peace Corps volunteers are
people pretty much like you. Peo
ple with commitment and skills who
have assessed their lives and decided
they want to be of service to others
in a troubled world.
The problems our volunteers
deal with overseas aren’t new. Such
as the cycle of poverty that traps one
generation after another because
they’re too busy holding on to get
ahead. The debilitating effects of
malnutrition, disease, and inade
quate shelter. Education and skills
that are lacking, and the means to
get them too.
Your college training qualifies
you to handle more of these prob
lems than you might think. Such as
teaching nutrition and health prac
tices; designing and building bridges
and irrigation systems; working on
reforestation and fisheries pro
grams; introducing better agricul
tural techniques; advising small
businesses and establishing coopera
tives; or teaching math and science
at the secondary level.
The number of jobs to do is
nearly as great as the number of vol
unteers who have served since 1961:
Nearly90,000. More volunteers are
being chosen now for two-year
assignments beginning in the next
3-12 months in Africa, Asia, Latin
America, and the Pacific.
Our representatives will be
pleased to discuss the opportunities
with you.
The Toughest
Job You’ll
Ever Love
Peace Corps reps on campus — Memorial student Center, 8:30
a.m. - 5 p.m., Weds, and Thurs. 11/20-21. Learn more about
Peace Corps assignments; see the Peace Corps Film, 6:30 p.m.
11/20. For more info, stop by the booth or call 1-800/442-7294.
Applications and interviews (w/ completed app.) available at the
Placement Office.
y
if
■
n
1:1 ;
; f
Battalion Classified Call 845-2611