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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1987)
Page 2AThe Battalion/Monday, April 27, 1987 Opinion No, her boyfriend didn’t dump her — it’s just spring I like spring just as much as any body else. The warm, sunny days, the mild nights, the blooming flowers, the grow ing grass, and the leaf-covered trees are a welcome sight after the dull months of winter. But for me, and millions of people Paula Vogrin like me, the mere mention of the word spring summons images of sneezing fits, runny noses, scratchy throats, and itchy, watering eyes. You see, I have hay fever. I don’t know how I got it. In my family of six, I am the only one afflicted. WHY ME? Every spring, for about two weeks, I feel miserable, look miserable and am miserable to be around. I am a walking advertisement for Allergy Relief Medi cine. I could be the star of any antihista mine commercial. My eyes have that red, watery, glazed look, my nose runs like a faucet (as my mother would say), and my breathing has a raspy, wheezing quality, all perfect qualifications for an allergy medicine spokesperson. Pollen is the culprit responsible for r»y annual suffering. How can some thing so small, so invisible to the human eye, cause so much trouble? Plenty of those little pollen particles will fit on the head of a pin — with a substantial amount of elbow room left over. Pollen is measured in hundreds per square inch, for gosh sake. Just think how many pollen particles inhabit the three square inches of air in front of your nose! I’m an outside person. I like to jog, ride my bicycle or just sit outside, espe cially on warm, sunny days. But for two weeks in spring, I’m a pollen magnet. I can’t even leave my apartment without a box of Kleenex, and the box is rather bulky when you’re trying to ride a bike. What am I supposed to do with the used tissues outdoors? Since I ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ there isn’t any place for me to put them. Jogging isn’t quite so bad. My feet have company because my nose runs, too. As a hay fever sufferer, my social life is considerably impaired for two solid weeks every spring. Backyard barbeques and cook-outs are fun for everybody but me. No matter where the barbeque or cook-out is, the plants capable of pro ducing eight million pollen particles per square inch will surround the area for miles. I stand around alone with my box of Kleenex and wish I could smell the steak and hamburgers broiling. Nobody wants to talk to the girl who sneezes and blows her nose continuously. It might be contagious. Then there are the times when I get invited to the lake. I pack food, towels, beer and my trusty box of Kleenex, wondering all the while how I’m going to hold the ski rope and blow' my nose at the same time. After walking across a pollen-infested campus, even sitting in class can be a major ordeal. 1 have to blow my nose ev ery five minutes or so, and I imagine the people sitting around me are thor oughly grossed out. When I’m sniffing and rubbing my red, watering eyes, I can read the minds of everyone around me, and two major thoughts surface ev ery time. 1. “Her boyfriend dumped her.” Far and away the most popular thought among people when they see a teary- eyed female, but wrong in my case. My classmates must think I get dumped a lot during those two weeks in spring. 2. “She failed a test.” Wrong, also. I avoid F’s like the plague. I’ve only failed two tests in my college career and both were a long time ago in Chemistry 101, the class that convinced me to change my major from zoology to journalism. Right attitude but wrong body “So, how do you look w ith your legs shaved?” he asked I could only imagine. “Well, I don’t really know, but I might be able to talk my girlfriend into loaning me a pair of pantyho se,” I said. Mike Sullivan He laughed, and I realized I was a victim. Not a victim of cruel humor directed at a desperate job applicant, but a victim of tradition — toss in a pinch of discrim ination if you must. But I can’t blame him. I was calling about an opening his company had for a receptionist. No, I don’t have a full head of blonde hair — my hairline is receding (slightly) — and my voice isn’t high and happy — I have trouble hitting a high C. But I can answer a phone and take a message right along with the best of them. And if there’s one thing journa lism school has taught me, it’s how to type. “I admire your attitude,” he told me, “but, unfortunately, some things are dictated by tradition, and this job is one of them.” He gave me some good advice about launching my career, I thanked him for his time and there it was. After three years at a school where tradition is said to be the unifying hub of the student body, 1 was stabbed in the back by it out in the cold, real world. Some might call it poetic justice, considering a few of my ideas about the Corps of Cadets. But I call it a shame. And why is it a shame that a 22-year-old male college graduate can’t nail down a job as a secre tary? First of all, I could do that job. But most of all, I could really handle the job it might lead to. I’d make a great ac count executive, but, as anyone trying to Find a job in the world of advertising knows, I might sooner be hired to feed the whales at Sea World. (I don’t know anything atiout big fish.) But I haven’t been defeated. No, I continue to mail out my cover letters and r£sum£s. I listen to all the bad news — horror stories people tell about get ting canned by an agency they had been with since they w'ere mere tots. I listen attentively to the advice my professors give me, bless their hearts. And I continue to hear about the lucky young lady who just happened to be the receptionist at the ACME Ad Agency when they landed a big account. They made her an account executive, hired another female receptionist and the cycle churned on. It makes me bite my nails — that’s OK for men. Sure, there are other ways to get an account executive position. “Be at the right place at the right time” is a favorite cliche. It’s not my favorite saying, but that doesn’t matter. I’m never there. Maybe I’m never at the right place be cause I’m wasting my time trying to con vince someone that my phone voice won’t scare off new business. Really, my Mom says I have a nice voice. But whatever the case, I’m for break ing tradition. And what better place to start than at an ad agency — the very heart of change in America and even the world? Please don’t give me the ar gument about whether advertising changes the world or merely reflects a changing world. I’ve heard it all before and it has nothing to do with the recep tionist. I’m talking about setting trends here. I’m ready to be a trendsetter, a mar tyr for the cause of men who want to get their feet in the front door of the ad business any way they can. I’m pumped, I’m ready, and I’m se rious. So if there are any ad men listen ing out there who need a receptionist, give me a call. If I’m not home, talk to my roommate. He can take a message, too. Mike Sullivan is a senior journalism major and the Opinion Page editor for The Battalion. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Loren Steffy, Editor Marybeth Rohsner, Managing Editor Mike Sullivan, Opinion Page Editor Jens Koepke, City Editor Jeanne Isenberg, Sue Krenek, News Editors Homer Jacobs, Sports Editor Tom Ownbey, Photo Editor Editorial Policy The Bmialion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper ated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Sta tion. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Depart ment of Journalism. I'hc Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on re quest. Our address: The Battalion, Department of Journalism, 'Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, De partment of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. Nobody ever thinks I might be suffer ing from hay fever. One guy came close when he asked me if I had taken any thing for that nasty cold, but no one has ever hit the nail on the head and real ized it’s hay fever. Of course, I take any hay fever/al lergy medicine I can get my hands on, but these don’t always do the trick. Be lieve me, I’ve tried every antihistamine ever invented. I can tell you which ones cause drow siness, upset stomachs and double vision and which ones don’t. A certain brand will work for a day or two sometimes, then the hay fever germs figure ow what’s going on and become immune to it. I just can’t win. So, all of you people not afflicted witli hay fever have mercy on those of us who do. We may be unrecognizable at the height of the affliction, but we’re not contagious, and after a few weeks we’l be our old selves again. Achool Paula Vogrin is a senior journalism major and a columnist for The Battal ion. U.S. ■will grant patents to new forms cf animal life MW^UES (£»<»7 MCVSTDN PC*T 1 IRS auditor Griffith Mi day’s perfoi to '18 wit By Mail Call It’s quit ’eter Ilyi Iverture" ireworks ray it was tibra ihe Orchestra, irea chur im Jon performai: Time to think about change EDITOR: Successful drive EDITOR: Concert in With Finals approaching, I realized that I have just about Finished my First year here at Texas A&M. I can’t help but remember some of The Battalion’s columns that sparked such great responses from the student body. I am talking about Karl Pallmeyer’s column dealing with civilians walking on Kyle Field and Mike Sullivan’s column about abolishing the Corps of Cadets in order to become a “world university.” I love A&M and all of the traditions — I just hope students become more involved with what goes on around campus. Now that our enrollment is growing rapidly, I hope students voice more opinions on what happens. On behalf of the sisters of Omega Phi Alpha, I would like to thank all the Aggies who donated clothes at McDonald’s. The items collected at the four McDonald's locations filled at least 100 leaf bags. Your support is truly overwhelming and very much appreciated. About 1, bankets or >n the lawn in evening The clothes collected have been taken to Twin City Mission Inc. where they w ill be distributed to those in need. Just this past semester, I have encountered some problems that worry me when I look into A&M’s future. Some of my professors are having a hard time Finding a classroom to accommodate us for study sessions. What will happen when the enrollment increases? (39,000 students projected for Fall 1987.) Will we be holding class out on Kyle Field? I wish this was my only worry, but I just found out that the library will be cutting back the number of journals we receive by 10 percent. Their solution to the problem is to drive us down to the University of Texas. Now please! That is the last place I want to go. Rather than worry about A&M becoming a “world university,” I wish someone would worry about how we are going to adjust to our increasing enrollment. If there are any former students out there wanting to make a donation to A&M, please make it out for new classrooms or to the library. Let’s make as few trips to the University of Texas as possible and let all of the future Aggies enjoy this great campus. Julie Brieden ’90 You have proved that Aggie spirit runs deep, not only on campus but also in the community. This project could not have been a success without you. Jan Becker Vice president of the clothing drive for Omega Phi Alpha service sorority Hot time on campus EDITOR: Last November, the hot water in our Haas Hall room stopped working, so we had to take 50-degree showers every day. T he resident adviser and head resident both reported the problem to the maintenance office, but it was not Fixed until February. Fur uni Last Tuesday, our air conditioner broke, and now we can only get heat. Modular dorms have very small windows, so we get very little air circulation. Once again, the R.A. and H.R. have reported the problem, but we are still sweating in our 90-degree room. Different strokes EDITOR: Another girl on our hall recognized the maintenance man who had repaired her air conditioner last fall and told him about ours being broken. He was amazed because the maintenance of fice had not informed him, and he personally promised to Fix it the next day. Thank you for printing Albert Babin’s letter. Never have I seen more open-mindedness and conviction put into print. If everyone at Texas A&M, and indeed everywhere, could accept alternatives in religion and ways of life even though they don’t possess these beliefs themselves, then God’s will is already nine-tenths of the way done. There is so much derision in the world for things that we don’t know or don’t understand — political beliefs, religious convictions, sexual lifestyles — that simply to recognize them without scoffing or cracking a tasteless joke would be a giant step forward for mankind. In short, there’s a reason why humans have different chromosomes that goes beyond evolution. Let’s try to appreciate this fact, while at the same time glorifying in who we are ourselves! This laxness on the part of the maintenance office is utterly ridiculous. We have read about funding cuts and realize that the maintenance staff is overworked and understaffed. But we Find it hard to believe that it really took them three and a half months to Find the time to fix our hot water, when it only took them 30 minutes to actually repair it. If the maintenance office intends to wail another three and a half months before they decide to send someone to fix our air conditioner, then they also had better plan to refund part of our housing fees. Modular dorms are not cheap, and college students are not rich. Why should we pay full price when we’ve spent most of the year without a full room? Karen Owens ’89 Chris Anderson ’89 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorialslrfl^ serves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to tain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classift 1 ' lion, address and telephone number of the writer. B