Opinion
The Battalion Wednesday, Oct. 26, 1988
DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH WAITING FOR THIS:
BY A Z-TO-I MARGIN,
VOTERS TODAY REJECTED
EIGHT nORE YEPvRS OP
CO/AfAUN 1ST-PARTY RULE.
PRESIDENT GORBACUEV SfMD
HE ACCEPTED THE RESULT OF
THE PLEBISCITE AMD WOULD
SCHEDULE /^ULTI-PARTY
ELECTIONS FOR NEXT
YEAR .. •
Corps weakening, Greeks on rise
EDITOR:
I just have a couple comments about f raternities and those who opposetbl
am not in a fraternity t mien i Iv, hut 1 plan on going through rush in thespraj |
©I%6 kARJ-
We shouldn’t bash until we
understand all of the facts
“When you feel like criticizing any
one, just remember that everyone in the
world hasn’t had the advantages you’ve
had. ”
These first lines of F. Scott Fitzge
rald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby”
contain an axiom from which we could
all learn. When upon the threshold of
judgment, we should pause and think
about our words.
Timm
Doolen
Columnist
typed group, Greeks are here to stay, so
all Aggies must accept it.
In this election year we have seen how
negative human nature can be, as evi
denced in the campaigns of the candi
dates. But an appeal to a higher sense of
reason demands that we not be overly
judgmental or negative without warrant
for those judgments.
Generally, humans are conservative
about things we know little about and
tend to take on uninformed and some
what pessimistic attitudes about those
things.
cidents during bonfire cut. Fie also con
structively criticized the existing condi
tions and provided a useful, albeit
probably unworkable, solution. Mr. Wil
son’s'intent was not to do away with bon
fire hut to improve it so that it could re
main longer at this university.
If we feel strongly about a situation,
we should not hash the subjects of our
whims unabashedly, but rather help
fully criticize them after gaining the
necessary knowledge to do so.
Mail Call
My comments are concerning the 1 -shirt which states: “A tradition since y
beginning— No f i ats.”
First, this T-shirt is worn bv guys who were told by some upperclassmenila
fraternities were a no-no and that they should hate fra tern i tiles. Obviously wiij
those shirts around campus, most listened. They didn’t go out and try to form
their own opinion.
Second, the statement "A tradition since the beginning” is faulty.TheCon»
Cadets is the original tradition since the beginning. If that tradition was si as
strong as it was when it started, Texas A&M would still he a military school, an
most of the guys who hate fraternities wouldn’t be here.
Unfortunately, traditions are sometimes abolished or altered. For a school!!
big and with as many traditions as Texas A&M, that is sometimes necessary fori
school to succeed. Traditions which were important 100 years ago may
important today, such as the Corps. So come on, guys, form your own
stop listening to someone else’s!
Greg Flinn ‘92
Us? Lie and cheat?
EDITOR:
“Birds of a feather (lock together”
\ml\ Keetc h in the Oct. 18 MailCal
Well said, Mr. Keetch. And that is why I am sure the majority of thiscampu
will support your political views and vote for Bush on Nov. 8.
Why should we expect anything dif ferent from an institution whechclaiiE
abide by a code of honor to never “lie, cheat or steal,” but in practice actually
follows the premise that anything is fair as long as WE win.
The Aggie Code of I lonor is dead and buried under the MSC grass.Our
football coaching staff has most recently emphasized that point, fhememba lizatior
the Corps of Cadets has been emphasizing it for years (i.e. denial of rigorous
sometimes deadly hazing/midnight training, pirated test copies in privateCoip
exam files, and theft of state city limit signs from a certain unpopular city
each Thanksgiving).
Why should any of us not expect each and every Aggie to support another
Republican administration? After all. the last one has lied to (misinformed)us,
cheated ns by selling weapons to the same people who take us hostage, and has
practically “stolen" any economically secure future from us by turningthisini
greatest debtor nation in the world.
Though it has existed within all of us
for centuries, I’ve seen a long trend of
negativity recently — especially exhib
ited on the Batt’s Opinion Page.
We’ve had many columns and letters
that denounce the many facets of our
life — some reasonable, others un
founded. There’s nothing wrong with
being critical, but there’s a big gap be
tween constructive criticism and
thoughtless bashing.
I am reluctant to touch tradition my
self, but the constant hashing of the
University of Texas is another product
of the same negative mentality. If things
would have gone slightly different, I
might have been a Longhorn instead of
an Aggie, and the people whom 1 call
friends now would have senselessly been
my sworn enemy come Thanksgiving
Day. I’ve indulged in t.u. bashing my
self, but usually in fun and hardly se
rious.
This may seem negative, but many
people, definitely not all, are too neg
ative. It may sound corny, hut we should
try to see the good in people and groups
we know little about rather than bran
dishing them with a stereotype. The
failure to do this is at the roots of rac
ism, a historically decided wrong.
I’m sure Gov. Bill Clements never did.
Jack Perdue ’89
Constructive criticism is a knowledga-
ble evaluation of a subject that attempts
to find sources of improvements for
that subject and most importantly, pro
vides a better alternative. Denouncing,
or bashing, of a subject implies a
judgment or conclusion made on lim
ited knowledge, usually a stereotype of
the subject, with little or no logical rea
sons for arriving at such a conclusion.
Rivalries are healthy, hut let’s keep it
in perspective.
Charles Lamb, a 19th-century En
glish author, was once at a reception
where a group of people were raving
about a political colleague’s various
faults. Amidst the conversation, Lamb
said that he absolutely couldn’t stand
the person.
For example, let’s look at two recent
Battalion columns. The Fish Camp arti
cle was well-written and the thoughts
clearly expressed, but there was no logi
cal basis, taking in to account the facts,
for the author to say, “Fish Camp is a to
tal waste of time despite the effort put
into it.” Hundreds, and possibly thou
sands, of students would testify other
wise.
Along the same lines, we’ve all seen
the shirts around campus that say “No
frats since the beginning . . . an Aggie
Tradition” and “Rent a friend, join a
frat.” Nothing against the people who
wear them, but the ideology behind
these phrases seems to be a product of a
limited knowledge on the subject.
Another man remarked that he
wasn’t aware that Charles knew the gen
tleman in question.
He said “Oh, I don’t. How could I
hate a man I know?”
Though social in nature, fraternities
do many service projects for the sur
rounding community and the Univer
sity. Addressing the selectiveness of fra
ternities: well, show me an organization
or group that isn’t selective. From Texas
A&M University to any corporation to
our close friends, almost every group is
selective with regards to its members.
His words reinforce the belief that in
certain respects, we all share some basic
qualities and similar feelings. When we
get to know those who oppose us, we see
a little of ourselves. Yet we differ in
many respects and it benefits us to un
derstand each other’s differences.
On the other hand, the issues
brought up in the bonfire column by
Anthony Wilson were valid concerns
that have been reinforced by recent ac-
As F. Scott Fitzgerald said later in his
book, clarifying the quote above, “a
sense of the fundamental decencies is
parcelled out unequally at birth.” We
should remember this when we begin to
unduly criticize.
The idea that the Greek system is det
rimental to A&M is a mistaken one. Like
the Corps of Cadets, another stereo-
Timm Doolen is a sophomore com
puter science major and columnist for
The Battalion.
So if we can handle a slap on the wrist from the commandant oi the NCAA
should have no problem with a little griping from the world comrnunitj'.Thir
love us anyway, right?
Oh yeah, we can also be secure that Bush won’t raise our taxes regardlessc
any circumstance. He wouldn’t LIE to us would he.
Where do grad fees go?
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EDITOR:
We applied to graduate school within the last two months. Wewerebotl
charged $25 to apply. T he application says no fee is required toapplytothc
graduate college and the 1987-88 graduate catalog mentions nothingaboutis
application fee. When we asked about this, the secretary said that thesewere'
application forms.”
We would like to know why a state-supported school requiresa
grad school and where does the money go?
We thought application fees where indigenous to the private institutions®
state. Is this a processing fee? No fee is charged to apply to Texas A&M as an
undergraduate. Is it more difficult to process the graduate applicationthantit
undergraduate application, or is this just another method to milk students to
money?
Kenneth M. Dorsett ’88
Edmund M. Parker II ’89
Thanks from Student Y
EDITOR:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people whohelpcdi
mocktails at the Mocktail Fables last Monday for National CollegiateAlcoliol
Awareness Week. T hanks to the efforts of the Members of the Student Y
Association, Circle K International and BACCHUS and the donation of driii
from the TAMU Food Services, we were able to serve mocktails to approxiiw
2,550 students, faculty and staff as well as project the message of responsiblt
‘drinking to the University community.
Dave Mendoza ’88
President, Student Y Association
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right toidill/fc
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The Battalion Editorial Board
Lydia Berzsenyi, Editor
Becky Weisenfels, Managing Editor
Anthony Wilson, Opinion Page Editor
Richard Williams, City Editor
D A Jensen,
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Jay Janner, Art Director
Leslie Guv, Entertainment Editor
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