Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, October 10, 1986
The Battalion
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Ken Sury, Sports Editor
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A school divided
T he clash that occurred at Friday’s midnight yell practice only
aggravated an already-painful division between the Corps ol Cadets
and civilians. If the much-vaunted unity of the Texas A&M student
body is to be preserved, an understanding must be reached.
While the Corps has no legal justification for barring students
from running onto the field, it has traditionally done so. While the
civilians know the cadets will try to keep them from running onto the
field, they traditionally try to do so.
But when this traditional sparring turns to violent conflict, some
thing needs to be done. The civilians should have thought about the
possible consequences of their provocation. The cadets should have
thought about the consequences of using physical action to deter the
civilians. Certainly, neither groups’ antics should be repeated.
In this case, tradition served as a catalyst for violence. The only
accomplishment either side can boast of is that the yell practice inci
dent has helped to drive apart two groups that should be striving to
come closer together.
Michael Kelley, a sophomore general studies major and bass cor
poral for the Aggie Band, summed it up better than anybody.
“We’re Aggies, and we should be working for the common cause
of Aggies. I’d like there to be a better bond between the Corps of Ca
dets and the civilians. It think it’s stupid — Aggies fighting Aggies,”
he told The Battalion Wednesday.
Stupid it is. The dif ferences that divide the Corps and the rest of
the student body need to be rectified, not enhanced. We don’t need
traditions that encourage such a division at a University that boasts
of its unity.
If the no-civilians-on-the-field tradition continues to be followed
by the just-try-and-stop-us routine, repeat melees are certain. Many
civilians do not understand the cadets’ intent and purpose and vice
versa...... ,, t ,
This doesn’t mean the tradition is bad dr that it should be sacri
ficed because of a misunderstanding and a few hot heads. But it ob
viously needs to be modified — as most other traditions have been —
to meet the needs and well-being of the entire student body.
Ice-olated solutions
Why Iceland? Of all the places to hold a superpower talk, why
would the United States and the Soviet Union agree on this geo
graphical speck in the North Atlantic? Perhaps because Iceland, the
most isolated nation on earth, may put die negotiators’ goal in better
perspective.
Iceland has a population of 234,000, a jobless rate of less than 1
percent and a literacy rate of 99.9 percent — the highest in the
world. No ballooning defense budget saps vital social programs such
as education.
It had its first reported armed robbery in 1984. The last presi
dential election was scrapped because no one ran against the incum
bent.
On Thursday nights there is no television, so President Reagan
and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev don’t have to worry about be
ing distracted by either “Family Ties” (Reagan’s favorite) or “The
Cosby Show.”
But the best things Iceland has to offer the superpower pre-sum
mit is peace and solitude. The solitude may create an amiable nego
tiating environment, but it’s the peace that may be the most valuable
asset.
In the midst of divvying up missiles and evening up nuclear
stockpiles, the two leaders should take time to look around their pre
summit site. If they get up from the table, go to the window and pull
back the curtains, they’ll see all around them what they seek —
peace. Uet’s hope it’s a strong reminder.
I Mail Call -i
Lost faith
EDITOR:
Two weeks ago I attended my first yell practice of the year only to leave in
disgust and disappointment. To restore my faith in our yell leaders, who
represent the Spirit of Aggieland, last week I attended my second yell
practice of the year only to leave in disgust over the so-called spirit our yell
leaders represent. This is one proud Ag who has hung his head low bcause of
the filth I heard when the yell leaders told their grody stories.
Yell practice is a tradition that is used to “fire-up” the Ags for the
upcoming battle on the gridiron. It is a showplace for future Ags, former Ags
and visiting guests to see the spirit we are proud of at Texas A&M. It is a
place to bring our family, friends and date to be a part of a fine tradition. It is
a place to show the spirit and support we Aggies have for our fine “world-
class” university.
To me, a “world-class” university doesn’t have to lower itself to the
distasteful stories our yell leaders tell at yell practice. We should be able to
stand on the pride, traditions and spirit that has distinguished A&M to be the
fine university it is today.
Michael Cooper ’87
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right
to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent.
Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of
the writer.
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Life marked with milestones
Richard Cohen
Several years
ago, my family
gathered on Cape
Cod for a week
end. We met at
one of those resort
restaurants where
the menu is writ
ten o n a black-
board held by a
chummy waiter,
and we had a won
derful time. With
dinner concluded, the waiter brought
the check and set it down in the middle
of the table. That’s when it happened.
My father did not reach for the check.
In fact, my father did nothing. Con
versation continued. I waited and
waited and, finally, it dawned on me.
Me! 1 was supposed to pick up the
check. After hundreds of restaurant
meals with my parents, after a lifetime
of always thinking of my father as the
one with the bucks, it had all changed. 1
reached for the check and whipped out
my American Express card. My view of
myself was suddenly altered. With a
stroke of the pen, I was suddenly an
adult.
Some people mark off their life in
years, others in events. I am one of the
latter, and I think of some events as rites
of passage. For instance, I did not be
come a young man at a particular age
such as 13. It was later, when a kid
strolled into the store where I worked
and called me “Mister.” I turned around
to see who he was calling. He repeated it
several times — “Mister, mister” —
looking straight at me. The realization
hit like a punch: Me! He was talking to
me. I was suddenly a Mister.
and 1 remember them all well. One oc-
cured when I noticed that policemen
seemed to be getting younger, not to
mention smaller. Another came when I
suddenly realized that I was older than
every football player I knew. Instead of
being big men, they were merely big
kids. With that milestone went the fan
tasy that sometime, maybe, I too could
be a player — maybe not a football
player, but certainly a baseball playet. 1
had a good eye as a kid — not much
power, but a keen eye — and 1 always
thought I could play the game. One dav
I realized that I couldn’t. Without hav
ing ever reached the hill. I was over it.
For some people, the ultimate mile
stone comes with the death of a parent
and the realization that you have moved
up a notch. As long as your parents live,
you stay in some way a kid. At the ver\
least, there remains at least one person
whose love is unconditional.
I count other, less serious, milestones.
I remember the day when 1 had a fero
cious argument with my son and real
ized that I could no longer bully him.
He was too big, and the days when I
could just pick him up and take him to
his room/isolation cell were ovet. I
needed to persuade, reason. He was
suddenly, rapidly, older. The other con
clusion was inescapable: So was 1.
One day you go to your f riends' wed
dings. One day you celebrate the birth
of their kids. One day you see one of
their kids driving, and one day they
have kids of their own. One day you
meet at parties and then at weddings
and then at funerals. It all happens in
one day. Take my word for it.
asleep in f ront of the television setasmi
friends' fathers did. 1 never thougil
would have trouble sleeping. I rentt
ber my parents and their friends talking
about insomnia like they were memb
of a different species. Not ableiosleep.
How ridiculous. It was all 1 did onte.li
was what 1 once did best.
I thought that I would never eata
food that did not agree with me.\o\d
meet them all the time. 1 thought!
would never stop playing basketball and
never go to the beach and not swim.I
spent all of August at the headland
never went into the ocean me. I
thought I would never appredate op
era, but now the pathos, the schmalt;
and. especially the combination of voict
and music, appeal to me. Thedeathsol
Mimi and Tosca move me. Thev die ip
tnv home as often as I ran manage it
I thought I would nevei preiertostat;
home instead of going to a party, hi
now I find myself passing them up.
used to think that people who watdil
birds were weird, but this summer I
found mvself watching them andmavbe
I'll get a book on the subject. 1 yearnfot
a religious conviction I never tho
I’d want, exult in my heritage anywav,I
feel close to ancestors long gone and
echo my father in arguments with my
son. I still lose.
One dav I made it good toast. One
day 1 handled a head waiter. One day I
bought ;t house. One day — whatadavll
— I became it father, and nottoolo
af ter that, I picked up the check fori
own. I thought then and there it wasij
rite of passage for me. Not until I|
older did 1 realize that it wasoneforl
him too. Another milestone.
There have been other milestones, I never thought I would ever fall Copyright 1986, Washington Post WritersGntj^
Woman’s place’ analogous
to the role of cheerleader
Bill
Sparks
a.< uiii in a ni
Assault victims “
constitute 25 per
cent of the group’s
visits to emer-
gency rooms — its
members have learned to fear the dark.
The group also receives an average of
only 62 cents for every dollar that the
ruling minority earns for the same
work.
Of elected representatives, only 5
percent are members of this majority of
the population. This group has been at
tempting for more than 100 years to se
cure the same constitutional rights that
are now the pi i\ ilege of the members of
every other group in the country —w ith
no success.
The stereotypical place of the woman
in our society finds its perfect analogy in
professional cheerleaders: grown
women, chosen for solely for their ap
pearance, on the-sidelines cheering on
men in their basically worthless activity.
In the average conversation, which
sex dominates the talk? Which sex yields
its voice when the other speaks? Which
sex is considered the final authority in
the instances of disagreement? Hold on
to that cheerleader image.
I am no longer surprised to find my
English professors, who consider them
selves absolutely modern in terms of the
latest artistic movement or philosophical
perspective, still using the male gender
for the majority of their speech.
By using the male gender I mean, for
example, “The degeneration of Man in
the industrial Age . . . ,” or, “When a
writer ends his treatise he must first
consider . . . .”
I realize that — especially for males
— this may seem like nitpicking. How
ever, when we consider the inverse of
the two statements, so that they read:
“The degeneration of Woman in the In
dustrial Age . . .,” or, “When a writer
ends her treatise she must first consider
. . .” you may notice a slight discomfort
or even an alienation with the usage.
To understand how a woman can feel
left out by sexist word choices, you
might try for one week — or even only a
day — to make a conscious effort in us
ing only female-gendered words, being
careful to note the response of the per
son you are speaking with. It requires
only a little extra effort to make your
speech completely non-sexist.
The AT. Beutel Health Center also
subscribes to the cheerleader analogy. It
has only one gynecologist — who ap
pears only twice a month. Imagine
going to the Health Center with a com
mon ailment and being told that only
regular gynecologists are on hand at the
moment and that you will have to come
back in two weeks to see a doctor about
your “special” problem.
There are 17,000 female studentsoij
this campus who have paid theinsN
of building use f ees, health service left
et ah, and who deserve at least onefulj
time staff gynecologist on campus.h'
not unusual for universities — the
versity of Houston and the University
Texas, for example — to have a M
time gynecologist.
Is it right that grown women (ft
grown men) do not have the abilitv®
obtain birth control and birth-contn*
information at our university?
There are influential people onil'*
campus who believe that to haven#
marital sex, regardless of your age.*
immoral. They insist that a woman*
womb is not her own but the propert'#
society and that these concerns areff!
the matters of the University.
But it is certainly not illegal fort" 1
consenting adults to have sex if tltf’
choose (at least, two of the oppot
sex), nor for a.woman to decide whetl
to carry her pregnancy to term—yet.
They paid their share of fees, tit*!
have certain rights entitled to them
students of this University, oneofwP
is to oppose prejudicial policies on cam
pus — and to help effect a change.
Bill Sparks is an English major andlk
newsletter editor for the campus
ter of the National Organization ft*
Women.