The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 06, 1988, Image 2
By Mel • Lord, thank you for finally letting Alabama get here. • Thank you for the wonderful weather. • At the end of the game, let the score reflect the hard work of the Aggie team and Jackie Sherrill. I thought this was in VTRY poor taste. I realize that the “Hurricane Bowl”has become a big joke around here and it has been fun to laugh at Alabama. Butl believe these statements were totally inappropriate for an invocation. They made a mockery of what should be a solemn, unbiased prayer. I am embarrassed that such a tactless invocation was given at an Aggie func tion. I Heroes are Ihere bystarr Ind ignore c: Bonfire night, lents proved found anywhe Mandy Uss< Jere leaving lat evening \ approached d “She ran a tabbed me ai Graphic suggests racism EDITOR: I’m writing in response to the article written in last week’s At Ease on poverty. Desiree Keenon presented a well-written informational story that explained Locals enjoy more than car| greasing during Christmas In a week or two, many of you will be gone. You’ll be in your respective home towns with your family and friends. Do you ever wonder what happens here while you’re away? Do you ever ask the burning questions, “Where does College Station go for Christmas?” or “Is there life after stu dents?” Stephanie Stribling Columnist around waiting for that of school bell to | ring, kind of like teenagers waiting for mom and dad to go out of town. When they’re absolutely certain all of you are gone — let the fun begin. efforts of the Bryan-College Station community to help the poor make endsmeei That’s great. But I have some quarrels about how the black member of povertyd depicted in the graphics that accompanied the article. This racist graphic composed by Lynn Lytton displays her ignorance concerning the typical black person living in poverty. I’m sorry, hut just becausea person lives in poverty does not mean that they cannot grow an adet]uate amount of hair or has hair that sticks straight up as if they have been scared to death. Hell, I couldn’t even tell whether this person was male or female, eventhougli he/she/it (it looked like an alien to me) was holding a doll. Ms. Lytton, please go into a local poverty-stricken neighborhood andtryto find someone who looks anything remotely close to the black person in your graphic. Let me know if you do. I’m very aware that discrimination exists on this campus, but it should notstaitl the pages of our school newspaper, which serves the “entire" student body. Cherita Montgomery ’90 MARSHAL Jymes lost h< ■•ome six ye: |ys, of the lac disease at t ild and flu se :ar, she is co 'areness. “As far as f it. there is not Super Aggies save the day ■ys. ■ Reye Syndi ■flicts infanti ft ts all the [ously the live Its symptoi ild convulsio Ibility. If it is patient sli les or suffers I According t Inal Reye S Because I’ve been a “local” far longer than I’ve been a student, I feel qualified to give you the somewhat elusive an swers to these questions. party commemorating a student’s de parture. Don’t get me wrong, they have plenty of parties. Some of our profes sors look better in a lampshade than we do. Some of the “locals” relish the thought of being able to drive unim peded right down the middle of Texas Avenue at 5 o’clock. On any given day, it’s not unusual to spot two or three cars planted smack in the middle of Texas Avenue, just driving up and down, up and down . . . The locals can’t pack up and go home for the holidays — they’re already here. This isn’t a tourist resort that closes out of season. College Station doesn’t be come one of those ghost towns like the ones you see in Hollywood westerns, with sagebrush blowing lazily across Texas Avenue, and the sound of creak ing double doors coming from the Chicken. To my knowledge, there has never been a rap session where our professors sat around laughing at all the stupid things we did last semester. They are too discreet for that. Although, I have heard of “faculty get-togethers” where some of the more obnoxious students were given the honor of being the bull’s- eye in a friendly gante of darts. Others like to go to the most popular restaurant in town on a Saturday night, request a table for twenty, get seated im mediately and then get up and leave — just because they can. EDITOR: I was driving through Wichita f alls on my way to my grandmother’s housefor Thanksgiving when I suddenly had a blow out. This situation was alarmingsinctii was 1 1:30 p.m. and I was all alone in a strange city. 1 pulled into a nearby 7-eleven only to encounter a group of loyal Ags having yell practice in front of the store! Two fine Aggies, Anthony and Thomas, changed my tire right away. I was soon hack on the road after briefly joining their yell practice for “Farmers Fight." Thank you Anthony, Thomas and your other Aggie friends for helpingme out of a bad situation, f know I’ll always remember your good deed. Debbie Byars ’88 ■ere is a pos ■sease and p |pirin. “It’s the flu lising a lot of a She said sh ley should n< |eir childrer leased chano According t Itive director Sex is a battlefield EDITOR: Then there are those who frequent Northgate. They like to buy a pitcher, pick a table and sit down, drink one beer, then move to another table —just because they can. In response to Ms. Gilliland’s letter concerning AIDS and morality, 1 would like to point out a few things to Ms. Gilliland. She states that “we need to be reminded of what a sexual relationship was intended to be from the beginning of time: complete and total oneness between two people who make a solemn promise to love only each other until death.” While you’re home making merry with family and friends, so are the lo cals. But they don’t have to leave to get there. They even have relatives from out of town leave their own homes to spend Christmas in College Station. Truth is stranger than fiction . . . Now, there may be some of you out there saying: “I know what the locals do over the holidays. They go down to the Gulf station and watch ‘em grease cars!” There is absolutely no truth to the ru mor that the locals pick up stray stu dents over the holidays and impound them on the drag in Austin. Quite the opposite. They provide deluxe incarcer ation facilities — I mean recreational fa cilities — where an abundance of bread and water is shared by all. In addition, you can sit back and enjoy the easy-lis tening sounds of Frank Sinatra while you catch up on all those “Masterpiece Theaters” you missed last semester. NOTE: For those of you interested in local trivia, here’s something you may want to know. It’s entirely possible to walk the full length of the Dixie Chicken without touching a single person. How ever, this should never be attempted while school is in session, as you may find yourself violated — more than once. Real funny. But you couldn’t be more off-base, buddy. I think they deserve just a little more credit than that. They are not so easily entertained. Although, if you’ve ever had the opport unity to ob serve the intrinsic beauty of a mechanic in action . . . The locals have never broken into your dorms or apartments for the pur pose of having a party. That’s not it at all. They just want to get a good look at some of your personal items. ADDITIONAL NOTE: For those of you who have never seen more than the back of someone’s head at the Chicken (I can personally testify to that), in addi tion to tables and chairs, there are also items of decor on the walls. It’s a “must see” if you ever get the chance. Despite what you might have heard, life in College Station over the holidays can become a virtual mecca for those who choose to make it so. There are lots of things to do — fun things. There are even some things they do that have nothing to do with Texas A&M Univer sity. Contrary to popular belief, there is still running water and electricity in Col lege Station over the holidays. The lo cals periodically stock up on canned goods and other non-perishables, but they don’t mind. Houston’s not that far and it’s a lovely drive. Then there’s my personal favorite. Because I’m a student as well as a local, I like to pick a nice sunny day, get in my car, drive to campus and park in every single lot at least once —- sometimes two or three times! Ms. Gilliland, only a casual reading of the Old Testament brings forth many examples of polygamy. And as any scholar will inform you, it was Jewish lawthati man had to take in his brother’s wife and have children by her if his brother died i without leaving children. No doubt these Jews of the Old Festament came before the beginning of time, so let’s look at the Christian societies and see if they practiced the morality that you find so desirable. It is well documented that many early Christians interpreted Christ’s message I of universal love to not only mean spiritual love, but also physical love. These Christian sects practiced what was known in the 60s as “free love” and mighthare influenced western Christianity if they had not been quashed by a patriarchial church that labeled their ideas “heresy” and crushed them. (Gee, isn’t it funnylio« often true Christians, f illed with love for all mankind, feel compelled to oppress anyone who has a different idea of what the Bible means?) However, the sameid6 has come up again and again in history — most notably during the Protestant ref ormation and in the Oneida colonies here in the United States during the IW century. As always, these groups have been viciously persecuted by tire “true” IChristians, but the point 1 wish to make is that isn’t it funny how differentpeoplt can read the same book and come up with completely different ideas about what God said about sex. First, let me tell you what they don’t do. I think it’s important to dispel any myth that may exist. Then I’ll tell you what they really do. Last but not least, locals have the ut most respect for students and their tra ditions. They never once put horns on “Sully”. Last but not least, some poor fools who are particularly desperate gather together at the Gulf station — for those of you who’ve ever had the opportunity to observe the intrinsic beauty of a me chanic in action . . . Ms. Gilliland, take off your blinders. The morality you speak so glowinglyo( (has never existed for any length of time in any society. One need only read Chaucer to see what kind of sexual morality Europeans of the Middle Ages practiced. Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” points out the hypocrisy that inas many as 40 percent of all marriages during that period of American independence, the bride was pregnant. Sex is something that few people ever will be willing to give up. So for Gifs I sake and their own, they had better learn how to be safe. Richard Bender A&M Research Foundation Staff Now you know what they don’t do, let me tell you what they do. There has never been a city-wide After finals, they’re just sitting Stephanie Stribling is a senior jour nalism major and columnist for The Battalion. to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit lettersjt ! bind length, but will make every eff ort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must he signed and mustincl^ 1 i /ossification, address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Becky Weisenfels, Editor Leslie Guy, Managing Editor Dean Sueltenfuss, Opinion Page Editor Anthony Wilson, City Editor Scot Walker, Wire Editor Drew Leder, News Editor Doug Walker, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Mary-Lynne Rice, Entertainment Edi tor 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 cio 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 f urnished on request. Our address: The Battalion. 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station. TX 77843-1 111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. . POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, 216 Reed McDonald. Texas A&M University. Col lege Station TX 77843-4 111. BLOOM COUNTY by BerKe Breathe Men L< Tex. 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