Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, September 9, 1988
Opinion
Aggieland’s still far away from Wonderlam
I never thought
it would happen to
me. I never
thought I’d be one
of the victims.
This summer I
had an experience
which has
changed my opin
ion of “good safety
measures” and has
decreased my
faith in human na
ture.
Lydia
Berzsenyi
The summer was an unusual one for
me. For the First time in more than
three years, I did not work. For the sec
ond half of the summer, I was not even
in school. So for five glorious weeks, I
was a bum.
But sooner than desired I had to re
turn to responsibility and resume my
duties. That’s where the vacation ended
and the nightmare began.
On a Monday afternoon I arrived
back in College Station and took a cab
(yes, there are cabs in Bryan-College
Station) to the house which I had shared
with three girls for the First half of the
summer.
As my things were still in the house, I
Figured I’d just stay there until my new
apartment was ready, i.e. gas and elec
tricity turned on.
After I let myself in and put my bags
down, I realized none of my roommates
was in town and, not wanting to be an
unexpected guest, called each at their
parents’ homes to let them know I was
staying in the house.
Few things had changed since I had
been there a month before. I stayed by
myself in the house that night.
The next day, I put in a twelve-hour
day before returning once again to the
empty house. This time I had an uneasy
feeling about staying in the house alone.
Don’t ask me why — it was just a feeling.
I stayed up reading that night until
almost 3. Finally, I put down my book
and went to sleep, but not before turn
ing on both inside and outside lights,
and checking and rechecking locks on
all the doors and windows. As an extra
precaution, I left a low light on in my
room to ward off “uninvited visitors.”
It didn’t help.
I awoke two hours later to find a man
sitting on the edge of my bed.
My First reaction was not panic. It’s
not that I’m used to strange men sitting
on the side of my bed, but I had just
spent Five weeks with my family. My
dad, or one of my brothers, often had
awakened me in the mornings. And be
sides, I’m legally blind without my con
tacts, and they weren’t in.
So my first thought was that the man
was my dad, and I sleepily asked the
man, “Dad, what are you doing? What
do you want?”
My panic button went off when a
strange voice answered, “I’m not your
dad.”
Immediately, I realized where I was
and that something was very wrong. I
kicked the guy in the stomach and
screamed at the top of my lungs.
But I soon realized that screaming
wouldn’t do me any good. I was the only
one in the house.
I rechanneled my energy and fought
him even harder. It was then I noticed
that his hand, which I had grabbed,
held a knife. I heard him say, “You’d
better stop Fighting. 1 have two knives.”
The reality of the danger set in and I
decided to be sensible and do exactly
what he said. I didn’t know what he was
going to do. But I certainly didn’t want
him to use that knife.
He told me to pull the covers up and
to cover my face with a pillow. He said
he wouldn’t hurt me.
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll be out
of here,” he said.
I didn’t really believe him, but I did as
he said. And then 1 waited, hoping he
was gone. He did not touch me.
During the struggle, I had tried my
best to listen to his voice; to note his
physical description. But without those
contacts, I wasn’t certain of anything —
not even the color of his skin. (He had
knocked over the lamp I’d left on, so the
room was dark.)
I waited what I thought was ten min
utes. Then I counted to 300, just to
make sure. I didn’t know even then
whether he was still in the house or even
in my room, so I didn’t want to call the
police from the house.
I quietly grabbed some clothes,
changed, snuck out a bedroom window
and ran four blocks to a church, where I
called the police.
I was lucky. All the man took from
my house was some money. I could have
come out of the experience much worse.
Others in similar instances have been
raped, or beaten or even killed. Instead,
I simply had a very bad scare.
I’m telling this story for a reason. Be
fore this experience I was one of those
who thought there was no crime in
Bryan or College Station. At least none
that involved students like myself. 1
mean, we’re all Aggies, right? And ev
eryone knows that Aggies don’t lie,
cheat or steal. But what I failed to fully
realize is that not everyone in Bryan-
College Station is an Aggie, and even
some Aggies are bad apples.
You simply can’t blindly trust human
nature, even in Aggieland.
Play it safe. Keep your doorsandJ
(lows locked, even in the daytime,
not assume that being in a larged
ment complex or a busy neighbori]
with lots of people around willpreJ
you f rom becoming a victim.
Anyone can walk into an unloj
apartment at 5 in the evening as easil
they can at 5 in the morning. AndJ
when all windows and doors areloj
as mine were, some people can gt]
quietly enough not to awaken you.
Make sure your 1c
bolts are a necessity
( ks are good !
C Tains can be
ken, as mine w<
be picked.
other locf
suspicious
If you see any
hanging around, call the police. II
some reason you feel unsaf e at nigl
cause of people wandering about
the police to drive through vour
borhood.
■ To cl
tape sh<
tOxicate
||sed su
pis Cor
piemen
Rain di
■ The
County
slate gr;
tijme pa
mera:
The
for twc
ounty
fhr in
BountN
charts phe
vided fc
And remember
Never let so met
asking who it is.
your mother’sad
me in without
Please let this story serve as at
ing. It was meant to scare you,beat
is a very scary subject. You shouldi
think, “It could never happen tom
It CAN happen to you.
Sorority members give their side
Anthony Wil
son, last week you
described to your
readers that you
were an opinion
page editor. You
warned your read
ers against being
offended by any
of your opinions
and stated y o u
and other opin-
ions page editors
1. No dedication, basically lazy.
2. No talent whatsoever, beyond put
ting ones hair in a perfect bow.
Shelly
Schluter
3. Lastly, one must lack pride in your
self and the organization she represents.
Tamara
Elcher
Guest Columnists
were lovers of Texas ^A&M, blah, blah,
blah.
Yesterday, your opinion was not only
offensive but your information was in
correct. In fact, there is not one word of
proven truth in the entire column. The
lack of truth is due to your ignorance of
your topic.
You do not understand Greek Rush.
Rush is a time when the sororities try to
recruit members like any other organi
zation recruits. We believe your analogy
was football recruitment. T he sororities
are in fear of not reaching their goal of
recruiting fifty new members. They
therefore, rush every rushee “hard.”
You used the term “rush hard” in your
column Monday but you have little or
no knowledge of its meaning. Rush
hard is a sorority’s attempt to get to
know a girl, on a personal level, to fur
ther inform her of the purpose, ex
pense, benefits and time commitment
involved in the organization.
You stated in your column “They
don’t know how to get involved in extra
curricular activities on a large state uni
versity.” If these girls don’t know how to
get involved how did they know how to
get in involved in rush. Certainly, Soror
ity Rush 101 is not listed in the fall cata
logue. Many of these girls were presi
dent of their student bodies in high
school, members of National Honor So
ciety, participants in sports and a wide
variety of clubs. When they enter a so
rority their participation does not end
or is it limited. Many sorority girls (if
you do a little research you will discover)
are involved in Freshman Leadership
Dynamics, MSC Hospitality, OPAS, are
their class representative, writers for
The Battalion, participants in intramu
rals, members of Thirty Love and the
Diamond Darlings.
They are far from being uninvolved
on campus.
Your column states qualifications
needed to be accepted into a sorority.
To disprove your point, organiza
tions such as the sororities at Texas
A&M have evolved over a course of 100
years. Such organizations could not
have been possible wit bout dedication,
talent, pride and determination to build
a strong bond cheated to serve the com
munity, the^scTu ul and each other.
We acknowledge, we are social sorori
ties. However, what better way to pre
pare oneself for the “real life” of work
and community involvement, which we
as college students all anxiously antic
ipate than by coming in contact with
over 150 people a week. Each sorority at
A&M offers its members the opportu
nity get to know many individuals all
with unique and distinct personalities of
not only one chapter members but also
those members of other greek affilia
tion. What club on this campus prohibits
social activity.
tion is examined by an alumni in the ru-
shees hometown who is familiar with the
individual’s background. The soul pur
pose of rush is to Find a group in which
you feel comfortable and be yourself.
We, as sorority members would never
do anything to hurt the self-esteem and
integrity of a rushee or make her feel
she is any less of a person because she is
a rushee and not a member, which you
accused us of doing. What would be the
purpose of doing this? We want new
members to our organization. If we
were to humiliate and criticize rushees
publicly, our sorority would not be invit
ing or attractive to its members.
Mail Call
c<
Rush can be harsh, valuable lesson
it A&M raised
immunity. Bui
<m i/at ions fade
We would like to remind you, the
greek system at A&M is a very strong
system. It would not be strong if mem
bers were publicly humiliating potential
members, correct?
The end of your column is our favor
ite. Do you recall, Mr. Wilson, when you
were a small boy in grade school? Team
captains for kickball were chosen and
told to choose their teammates. You
were not “Joe Kick-ball” and were one
of the last standing to picked! Your sug
gestion of ush similar to a sports draft
would be more humiliating and tragic
then the current process of rush. You
second suggestion of a better sorority
rush is very familiar to us, maybe be
cause you described the exact process of
rush at A&M. You stated we should “di
vide the number of rushees by the num
ber of sororities and require each orga
nization to choose x number of women.”
We do exactly this! It is true, some girls
do not get in sororities and the sororities
are concerned with this fact. As a result
they (the sororities) have asked the
Bryan-College Station Panhellenic to
raise the number of girls to be admitted
to each sorority but our request has been
denied. Maybe you should discuss your
complaint with officials at the panhelle
nic level.
What was the purpose of your col
umn? We realize it is a new semester,
but do you really have to establish your
self as a writer by causing controversy?
Are you calling attention to yourself or
are you sincerely concerned with the fu
ture of rush and rushees at A&M? If the
latter is correct, we suggest you research
your topics, speak with Panhellinic,
come visit a sorority house. We would be
more than happy to explain most every
aspect of greek life to you and feel you
would benefit from asking questions.
As a journalism major, you should
have a copy of Mass Media by Dawson
and Wollert. Rutn to page 31 and rad
the bottom of the page which states,
“When you are writing opinion copy for
a broadcast commentary, a review, an
editorial, or a personal column, the
judgment or opinion expressed is based
on a knowledge of all aspects of the is
sue of situation.”
Again, Mr. Wilson, you are obviously
in the dark! Rushees do not lie on their
application. If they did lie, get into a so
rority, don’t you think they would be
discovered? We don’t recommend lying
on a rush application, since the applica-
Shelly Schluter, a junior journalism
major, and Tamara Eicher, a senior po
litical science major, are guest column
ists for The Battalion.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Anthony Wilson’s
column on Aug. 29 never warned read
ers to not be off ended by any opinion
which appears on page 2. On the con
trary, the basic nature of an opinion is
such that it is impossible for everyone
to agree on everything. His column on
Sept. 5 also never stated any qualifica
tions to being accepted into a sorority,
especially not laziness and a lack of tal
ent and pride in oneself.
EDITOR:
1 must admit that your editorial concerning sorority rush
and timely concerns that ought to be addressed by the Greek c
pathetic attempt to criticize the very nature of these social or
terly to address reality.
Certainly each “rushee" should carefully examine her own motives as i
those of her prospective sisters. But the flaw in your reasoning rests withyo
sertion that these social organizations should accept any interested rushee in
to promote social justice. On the contrary, natural social groupings, unfairtl
they may be, often prove to be the best solution for all concerned. To um
words, “They deserve each other.”
If you are really concerned about the fairness of the system, thee leave it
1 hoe who are rejected by it most likely will have learned a li
son about lime. It’s a lesson we all have to learn sooner or latei
t her. I
rh hat valuaUei
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Paul J. Underbank
Graduate student
Black Greeks are different
erning sot
in his artic
>i ity rush. Fin
e. Maybe the
EDITOR:
1 resent the article you wrote in The Battalion cone
of all, not all sororities are as Anthony Wilson describe
white ones are, hut black sororities are different.
When a young black woman chooses to be part of a sororitv she decideswhil
one of four she wants to he a part of. After the young lady has chosen one,shea
“on line” (the pledge period) for about four to six weeks. During this time,she I
engages in activities that will help her learn more about the sorority in detail. I
Also in your article, you mention that (w)iite) sororities are just social, buthj
black sororities it’s more service than social.
Yes, black Creeks have “mixers” but the money raised (or canned goods
donated) are given to charity organizations.
Joy L. Marshall
Yes, Greeks do deserve each other
EDITOR:
Anthony Wilson’s narrow-minded, tunnel-visioned defaming of sororityr
in his column is much more discriminating than the rush process itself. Althoi
his opinion was well-written, it cannot be deemed responsible journalism toil
trate sororities as unfair social clubs.
Deriving from Mr. Wilson’s inexact statistics (there’s some responsibilin ■
least 70 percent of the girls involved in rush were extended bids to join sororili&B
Does the Battalion editorial staff allow 71 percent or more of the students*!
want to write columns or articles do so?
His comparison of sororities to clubs such as the Water Ski Club is incorredii
cause the latter are strictly local interest clubs while the former is a nationally^
ognized organization with designated criterion concerning eligibility and pa™
pation. It sounds as if Mr. Wilson has jumped on the anti-Creek bandwagon™
many have here at the home of the Fightin’ Texas Army. Most of the sororityf
that I know aren’t the social-crazed, identity-seeking chest heaters that Mr. 1
alludes to them as, but they are intelligent, good-looking, and have wonderfulf
sonalities. I do agree with one point Mr. Wilson made. Members of sororil
should stick together because they do deserve each other.
Gary Price ’90
Editor’s note: The figures quoted in the article were obtained from Panhelki
which did not have the exact numbers available. And The Battalion does encO
age anyone to submit guest columns.
/
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters
and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must be signed and must inclm
classification, address and telephone number of the writer.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Lydia Berzsenyi, Editor
Becky Weisenfels, Managing Editor
Anthony Wilson, Opinion Page Editor
Richard Williams, City Editor
D AJensen,
Denise Thompson, News Editors
Hal Hammons, Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor
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resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac
ulty or the Board of Regents.
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