Opinion
The Battalion Tuesday, Nov. 29, 1988 Page
*
Bonfire’s good and bad sides
I’ve tried . . . and failed. I couldn’t re
sist the urge. I made several attempts to
fight it: I torched my flair pens, burned
my pencils and paper, short-circuited
my word processor, tied my hands be
hind my back. And all to no avail.
Temptation tapped on the door to my
conscience and I answered.
I never thought I would write about
it. After all, we hard-line, high-blown
flacks (that is spelled correctly, by the
way) are supposed to criticize, analyze,
theorize, scandalize, hypothesize and
every other “ize” known to man. We
journalists are obligated to the public
and are expected to dissect every impor
tant issue, crisis and event that comes
along. And that’s exactly why I felt com
pelled to write about BONFIRE: it is an
important event, at least here in Aggie-
land. Why, I hear it’s even in the Guin
ness Book of World Records.
Suna
Purser
Columnist
for them, they were too blasted to know
or they would have been humiliated.
I’m just sorry they missed what every
one else, and probably they themselves
came for and hope that alcohol poison
ing didn’t take its toll.
siasm, the excitement. Indeed “The
Spirit of Aggieland” took on new mean
ing that night. Former, present and fu
ture Aggies were huddled in tight for
mation as the yell leaders carried the
crowd through one yell after another.
“Beat t.u., burn Bevo and kill the tea-
sips,” were on everyone’s lips as the fire
raged, a fire that in every way is a sym
bol of Aggie spirit. Small children
looked on in amazement and I thought
to myself, “There is a future yell lead
er.”
I must admit that in my five-year stay
here at Texas A&M, I’ve been what is
commonly called a “two-percenter.” I’ve
never gone to a midnight yell practice,
the Dixie Chicken, a football game
(heaven forbid!) or . . . bonfire. This se
mester was my last shot at seeing some
of these events and early on, I decided
to take the plunge. Why heck, I’m prob
ably even a 10-percenter by now.
The crowd swelled and the echos of
the yells resounded off of the surround
ing buildings. / looked on in amazement
and tried to decipher the yells I never
learned. Sensory overload: the sights
and sounds were spectacular and I was
proud to be an Aggie . . . proud to be a
minuscule part of such a monumental
event.
Well, back to the point at hand. Yes, I
went to bonfire last Tuesday and when
the band marched in and the bonfire
was torched, I all of a sudden wished I
had known more about this renowned
Aggie rite.
How many gallons of fuel is needed
to saturate the logs so they’ll burn? In
fact, how many logs are there? How tall
is the bonfire stack? How many man
hours are spent in building it? What
substance is in or on the outhouse (is
that what that thing on top is?) to make
it burn so vehemently?
No one seemed to mind the mud was
knee deep. After all, mud at bonfire is
as much a tradition as bonfire itself. No
one seemed to mind the air had a nip to
it. Everyone seemed to be taking a nip,
so who cares if it’s a bit chilly. Get a little
closer to the bonfire and I guarantee
that’ll take care of the cool.
A friend (who had also never been to
bonfire) and I stood in awe as the bon
fire went up in a breath-taking confla
gration. Even from where we stood
(which was “far from the madding
crowd”) the heat was intense. The only
word that came to mind was the valley
girl term “awesome.”
As we looked at the other spectators
we noticed the comraderie, the enthu-
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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 AJensen,
Denise Thompson, News Editors
Hal Hammons, Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor
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And then there were those blissful
young lovers who were attached at both
the lips and hips. P.D.A. (Public Display
of Affection) in its most disgusting and
sleazy form. No modesty among that
crew. I’m certain you couldn’t have
pried them apart using a crow bar
Their bodies and lips were hermetically
sealed. Like the drunks, they were obliv
ious to all . . . except each other, ob
viously. Listen lovers, save that kind of
lewd stuff for the bedroom where it be
longs.
Mail Call
Batt’s crap annoying
EDITOR:
Sen
evi
It is bad enough that the editorial page istoo often dedicated to such
unintelligent drivel as discussions about Saturday morning cartoons, the demised
Robin (of the Dynamic Duo), or some loud-mouth out-of-state student’s
complaints about Texas and the residents who live here. Granted, editorialsare
opinions, but let’s use facts, or at least a semi-logical thought process to base our
opinions and not write annoying crap just to see how many people we can getarij
out of.
The two editorials by The Battalion Editorial Board in the Friday, Nov.
edition are just more examples of what a poor-quality newspaper The Battalion
I can understand The Dallas Morning News and A1 Carter of The Houston
Chronicle jumping on the band wagon to convict A&M’s Athletic Department,
Jackie Sherrill and anyone else in sight without waiting for all of the facts to be
revealed. Granted, the phrase “if true” appears in the second editorial, butthelas
sentence declares “. . . the last penalty was only stiff enough to keep the dirtofftlt
football program for three days.” It had not been proven at press time if anyruls
had been violated, and it still has not been proven.
But, worst of all is the bold headline “Ags deserve death.” Why do theAgs
deserve death before being proven guilty? “Sherrill’s got to go” is not a good pie
of journalism either. This masterpiece includes the sentence “While portraying
themselves as victims of unnecessary scrutiny, A&M Athletic Department official
under Sherrill’s supervision were paying off a former player to keep quiet aboui
violations that the NCAA apparently missed.”
Has that been proven beyond a doubt? Why does “Sherrill’s got to go” yeti
Lets’ give him a fair trial before we run him out of town.
If indeed Jackie Sherrill and/or any of his assistants are proven guilty of
violations, I would be among the first to expect them to be accountable forthier
actions and face the consequences. However, none of us are qualified tomalesui
a grave decision. Until the proper authorities decide on a verdict, we should
make premature judgements.
Bill Frawley ’87
‘Stonewall’ Sherrill a cancer
EDITOR:
Congratulations on your forthright stance in calling for the immediate
resignation or firing of Coach Sherrill. You are not alone — the vast majorityof
major newspapers and sports journalists also are demanding his immediate
resignation. Unfortunately, however, we have a Nixonite mentality herewith
Jackie and his palace guards now stonewalling the issues. First they (Jackieandli
boys) send cash in overnight envelopes to a former Aggie who left the Universiti
six years ago! Now these cash payments are a loan! How ludicrous!
or
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Of course, we can’t forget the brazen
young boys who decided to relieve
themselves of their Miller Lite on the
buildings. Aren’t we supposed to use
restrooms for that? Don’t those build
ings have rooms designed specifically
for that purpose? I had heard some
guys did that and I’m here to tell you it’s
true and it’s disgusting. No further com
ment.
And bringing up the rear, are those
who talked trash and I mean filthy,
nasty trash. Some of the profanities I
heard, coming from both men and
women, would rival any slime bag bar.
And the cavalier attitudes they had
while shouting such language was, quite
frankly, unbelievable. I can’t even imag
ine how they came up with some of the
word combinations. It was truly awe
some.
Like the logs, people were stacked on
top of each other so they could get a bet
ter look. I kept waiting in eager antic
ipation for some guy to slip in the slimy
mud and send the stack crashing into
the quagmire ... it never happened. In
deed, the entire scene was awesome.
But there is a turn in every tale and
this one is no exception. I can’t count
the number of people I saw being car
ried out feet first, too drunk to stand on
their own. Some minus shoes, some
minus shirts, all minus their dignity.
Their eyes rolled, their tongues hung
out of their mouths: they were making
spectacles of themselves. Fortunately
When the bonfire fell at approxi
mately 8:40, my friend and I had seen
and heard enough and decided to cut
out. As we walked to our cars, we were
glad we went and left with mixed emo
tions. Regardless of whether one is pro-
or anti-bonfire, it is exciting to see such
a spectacular event, one which in so
many ways symbolizes Aggie spirit and
unity. Nevertheless, some of us “good
Ags” have a lot to learn about common
decency, dignity and honor. I guess you
have to take the good with the bad.
Suna Purser is a journalism grad
uate, a graduate student in English and
columnist The Battalion.
I did not attend A&M, but did go to SMU. And from the NCAA investigalioit
and all the trouble here at SMU, I can say the only way to clean up the athletic
program is to get rid of all the cancer. And that goes for the entire athletic
department at A&M from top to bottom.
Although the Board of Regents and Jackie’s palace guard will continue to
stonewall it, keep up the editorials. Good luck!
Sandy McDouglas
Indians
The Ind
perform “1
p.m. today
rium.
The ever
OPAS, also
drive for th
Batt only good for few laughs
EDITOR:
Hal Hammons is entitled to his opinions on Jackie Sherrill and the A&M
football program, but his statement, “If you don’t like the facts, don’t read The
Battalion,” is a joke. The Battalion proved how it deals with the facts when it
printed the pre-election voter’s guide.
The Battalion is a rag with the credibility of the National Enquirer. Thei
one could hope for when reading it is comic relief.
Debbie Partain
Geography drafter leader
Misinformation feeds sexism
EDITOR:
Oh give me a break, Laura! If you want to be a housewife, that is your rig
But when you start spewing forth a lot of “facts” that are contradicted by
everything I’ve learned as a psychology major (and from experience), I feel the
need to speak up.
Children of employed parents are not deprived, do not feel “second-best"#
do not become “materialistic.’
There is no evidence to show that they develop any differently, psychologic^
or emotionally, from children with mothers who don’t work. In fact, children,
especially females, of women who voluntarily work seem to have more self-estett I
and higher goals. Even if you do believe a child needs a parent at home, wh
it be his or her mother?
Doesn’t the father have half the responsibility of the child’s upbringing?Ca» ;
he just as easily become a “house-husband”?
You are correct about one thing — your ideas are “old-fashioned” and
“archaic” and are one of the reasons it has taken women so long to progress in
society.
Choose your vocation as you wish, but allow the rest of us to pursue ourg
as well. It is misinformation such as you gave me in your column that allowssesfj
to remain alive even in this “modern” era.
Hope Warren ’89
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit kttmjlt
and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and mmt inr^
classification, address and telephone number of the writer.
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathe
IBM and Personal: