m
Page 2/The Battalion/Monday October 3, 1988
Americans lacking
respect for others
While celebrating a first place finish in Seoul, South Korea, two
American swimmers obviously had a little too much soju and decided
to swipe two ancient Korean masks from a hotel lobby for an Olym
pic souvenir (as if a gold medal were not enough).
They were caught and arrested causing a major embarrassment
for United States Olympic officials and athletes, the Americans at
tending the Olympics and those of us here in the States. But we
shouldn’t have been surprised. This is just another example of how
Americans, especially young ones, do not have the courtesy or de
cency to respect other cultures, even when visiting a foreign country.
Not only were these Olympians — supposedly the cream of the
crop in our nation — stealing, but they were stealing national trea
sures.
We have been led to believe that the U.S. of A. is No. 1 in every
thing worth being No. 1 in and that the American way is the only
way. This attitude has caused a disdain in us for other countries’ per
spectives and age-old customs. It can be seen every spring break by
the hordes of college students who flock to Matamoros, Mexico to
party. They go to buy inexpensive products and have a good time
and leave after trashing the streets, taunting the natives and behav
ing in a rude and boorish manner.
It would certainly seem appropriate if when we sat down to enjoy
the All-American meal of hamburgers and fries, we also occassio-
nally took a slice of humble pie.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Mail Call
Cookie monsters not camp norm
EDITOR:
OK, you got me. You have finally infuriated me to the point where you got me
to do exactly what you wanted: write a letter in response to an opinion article. I’ve
been angry with Battalion columnists before but Becky Weisenfels wins the award
for pushing my patience so far that I cannot resist feeling compelled to respond.
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t have a good time at Fish Camp, Becky ,— oh,
wait a minute — that’s right, you didn’t go.
So where did you get the information on which your opinion is based? Let’s
see, your article specifically mentions two friends who “sat up one night on the
bathroom floor, eating mint Oreos and Cornquistos until they made themselves
sick.” As a psychology major, I find your two friends very interesting. However, I
can hardly believe that their experience is representative of the majority of stu
dents who have attended Fish Camp.
Of course, not everybody who goes will love it, but we’re talking about more
than 3,000 freshmen each year. It’s extremely idealistic to think that they’re all
going to have a great time. Inevitably there will be outliers sitting on the bathroom
floor imitating the Cookie Monster.
Furthermore, I’m happy to hear that you survived your first year here all by
yourself. We’re all very proud of you.
But what’s wrong with taking advantage of the opportunity to learn more
about our school, make friends, and have fun? Call me crazy, but in my opinion
those sound like positive aspects of a beneficial organization. And since you’ve
never been there, let me tell you that Fish Camp does succeed in providing such an
environment. I cannot, understand your rationale for calling that a waste of time.
Fish Camp does perpetuate Aggie traditions, ease the transition to college life, and
initiate friendships.
Mike O’Brien ’89
Weisenfels planing Detroit visit
EDITOR:
We found Becky Weisenfels’ article in yesterday’s Batt on the shortcomings of
Fish Camp to be very weak. It is an article based entirely on hearsay and her own
outlandish assumptions. Her article has about as much validity as someone who
says living in Detroit is awful, yet has never had the courage or conviction to travel
to Detroit and find out for himself . Becky, go to Fish Camp, then we’ll talk.
Todd Renaud ’92
John Loyd ’91
Bush’s ACLU bashing ‘despicable’
EDITOR:
George Bush’s attempts to gain political mileage out of bashing the American
Civil Liberties Union is despicable.
Once again he is demonstrating his own sharp turn to the right by pandering
to the right-wing extremists in his party.
The ACLU is constantly under attack — because it takes the Bill of Rights
seriously.
Ultra-conservatives and right-wing extremists would prefer to handpick and
choose which American citizens are protected under the Bill of Rights and
determine to what degree those rights can be extended.
For years, the ACLU has worked hard to make sure that the Bill of Rights is a
reality for all Americans regardless of wealth and social status.
If George Bush and Dan Quayle cannot appreciate this, they have no place
trying to lead this country into the future.
Mike Thomas ’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.
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 A Jensen,
Denise Thompson, News Editors
Hal Hammons, Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa
per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and
Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep
resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac
ulty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper
for students in reporting, editing and photography
classes within the Department of Journalism.
The 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 request.
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Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 111.
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77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal
ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col
lege Station TX 77843-4 111.
Opinion
Ut-co Tr O, A'iVlon Poc ft ^ n .
He ain’t that heavy; he’s
my nine-year-old brother
The last time I
took my n i n e -
year-old brother
Trey to an Aggie
football game was
two years ago. He
wore a maroon
beanie with an
ATM” on the
front and two
o v e r s i v e d “gig
’em” thumbs
pro-
Anthony
Wilson
truding from each
side. We had a great time cheering the
Aggies on to a big victory over the
Houston Cougars.
This weekend the A&M football team
returns to the Astrodome as will Trey
and I. I’ve been thinking about this
weekend for a long time now and also
about when Trey stopped becoming just
a brother, but also one of my best
friends.
First let me explain a little about
Trey. He’s an extremely large kid for
his age, but he’s also one of the most
sensitive people I know. A few years
ago, my mother and he were grocery
shopping when he noticed an apple had
fallen off the shelf and was lying on the
ground. He seemed disturbed by it and
asked Mom if she thought the apple was
lonely. She suggested that he put it back
with the others and he happily did so.
But he’s also extremely rambunc
tious. On his first day of first grade he
flipped off the lights as he was leaving
the bathroom, leaving about 20 other
six-year-old boys in the dark with their
pants around their knees. Trey claimed
it was just force of habit to turn off the
lights.
And I had the huge responsibility of
being this complex person’s big brother.
But it was a job I’ve relished.
It’s really something to have a young
child look up to you like he did me. Dur
ing my senior year in high school, I was
the captain of the high school basketball
team. And during the season, our re
frigerator was adorned with crude pic
tures of Tomball Cougars eating Mag
nolia Bulldogs, Brenham Cubs and
Consol Tigers. When 1 decided to at
tend A&M, Trey decided that he was
going to be an Aggie too.
And the drawings became much
more sophisticated. Trey drew pictures
of Of Sarge mutilating a broken-horned
Bevo, gig-impaled Horned Frogs and
featherless Owls. He even added clever
captions such as “Kill the Cows,” “Kill
the Frogs” and “Kill the Owls.”
But it wasn’t until after my freshman
year at A&M that 1 stopped regarding
Trey as a little kid and lie became a real
buddy.
That summer, I returned to Tomball
— not exactly a hub of activity for a 19-
year-old who would have suffered se
rious withdrawals if he hadn’t gone
dancing at the Rox-Z every Friday
night. I was bored stiff, just trying to
survive those three months before I
could return to College Station and my
friends. Little did I know that I would
soon find a great friend in the second-
grader who lived down the hall.
One day as I was moping around the
house. Trey came home from day-care
and wanted to play baseball. Needless to
say, I was not in the mood to play ball in
96-degree, 96-percent humidity
po
weather. But after some needfci
agreed. And I had the most
had all summer.
After that day, Trey and I van
out to the front yard bare-chesici!
wearing Hawaiian shorts and baa
c aps every day. We would set upoc
amond using Frisbees and plav
darkness forced us to stop.
And Trey, only in his first sea;
Little League, became onehedm
ter. I would throw him a coupled
shy breaking pitches to start
then throw him one right downtki
die. He woidd tie into it andsendt!
ing into the neighbor’s yard-
houses down. Home runs soon
to Trey what hot babes are t
Hefner.
1 le would circle the bases sloi
sometimes trotting backwards),tai
me the whole time by screaming,
HA HA! Another HOME RUN
to be embarrassing when theneij
would come out of their houses
what the commotion was all about
But soon, every day I waseagei
ticipating Frey’s return home
could play baseball. It was a great
mer.
I haven’t had the chance tospet
other summer with Frey sincetiit
I may never again get to. Am
missed it a lot. I’m not quite surf
I’m writing this. Maybe ifssot
day I can show it to him andti
love you. You’re my brother. You
friend.”
Anthony Wilson is a senior/
lism major and opinion page edit 1
The Battalion.
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