The Battalion
OPINION
Thursday, April 13,1989
Mail Call
Think before you write
EDITOR:
“It is time for a tradition to either change or end.” T his is J.Frank
Hernandez’ opinion of the cadets eating together each night at Duncan
Dining Hall. As far as I know, as long as Duncan has been there, the Corps
has eaten there together.
While the Commons cafeteria is being renovated the non-regs must eat
there. All that the Corps asks is that they eat before 6:10 p.m., and, if they are
there later, to sit at tables designated for them.
This, as far as Mr. Hernandez is concerned, is discrimination and
segregation. This is no more discrimination than not allowing non-regs to live
in Corps dorms or go on Corps runs. It’s their thing; let them do it. Where
discipline is concerned, the Corps has the same rules for alcohol consumption
as other dorms, and stricter visitation rules.
Furthermore, these rules seem to be more strictly enforced.
Mr. Hernandez says that the Corps is guilty of hazing since they “run
every morning.”
Well, unlike him, I did a little research. The law says that hazing is “any
intentional, knowing, or reckless act. . . directed against a student, that
endangers the mental or physical health of the student.”
Twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, the members of the Corps
participate in some type of outdoor exercise. The outfits decide what type of
exercise it will be and the exercise ranges from playing frisbee football to
running. I don’t see how this fits the above definition of hazing.
Mr. Hernandez, you obviously did not know what you were talking about,
nor did you talk to anyone who did.
Next time, think before you write.
Carol Klemm ’90
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters
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The Battalion
STA
Thursday, April
for ri<
By Andrea Warrent
REPORTER
Operators of moto
scooters and mopeds :
to give up a little per
for their own safety.
A bill in the Tex
proposed by state Sen
Mesquite, would requ
operating or riding a
moped to wear a helm
At press time Wei
Bill Clements had not
But was expected to di
the law would go into <
“The law will decrer
verity, with possibly 1 [
A&M
to all;
School hopes
By Kelly S. Brown
STAFF WRITER
Doughnuts, happiness and the meaning of life
I have a habit of saying, “Happiness is
a cake doughnut.” This is just a little
quirk I have, due partially to my love for
cake doughnuts.
Cake doughnuts are an appropriate
symbol for happiness. Just as happiness
has many roads which lead to it, cake
doughnuts have a variety of flavors —
plain, chocolate, glazed, blueberry, etc.
The variety is limited only by the imagi
nation.
Cake doughnuts are also round, a
symbol for the completeness and unity
that happiness is. But there is a hole in
the middle of the doughnut. The
doughnut is not really whole. While
physically this is because the dough in
the middle cannot be cooked without
burning the outside of the doughnut,
the hole represents the missing parts of
happiness which are needed for life —
fullness, love, meaning. Happiness does
not imply those missing aspects of life.
This may sound inconsistent, the
doughnut being whole and not whole.
But life itself is full of paradoxes which
are true, if you think about them.
All of this is simply philosophical
rambling, and the philosophical part is
debatable. Happiness, though, is a prob
lem which touches all of us. We all are,
or should be, seeking it. It is a desirable
quality, as the best components of life
are.
As I look around, most people are not
happy, or do not seem to be. Maybe I
am just not looking hard enough. I feel
a degree of happiness, but it is far from
complete. I am not even sure if happi
ness ever can be complete in this world.
Perhaps unhappiness is just a symptom
of post-adolescents in college.
During the past four months, I have
had four friends seriously contemplate
suicide, and probably there are more I
do not know of. That in itself makes me
wonder about what I am doing, if I am
part of the cause and/or the cure. In a
less personal sense it also makes me
wonder about the sanity of this world of
ours, if happiness can exist.
Are we looking in the right places?
Are we following futile dreams? Do we
know what we are doing?
Ask yourself “Am I happy? Why, or
why not?”
Todd
Honeycutt
IBP"
Columnist
If you answered both questions
quickly, you are either a meditative gen
ius, or you are not thinking deeply
enough. Those are complicated ques
tions. We have both happy and un
happy moments. And usually we are
blind to what is going on inside of us.
I look into the mirror several times a
day and most of the time I see only the
physical. How does my hair look? Are
my glasses crooked? If I look deeper, I
may see a certain sadness around the
eyes, or a joy in the way the mouth is
curved.
Rarely do we look in the mirror to see
anything deeper than the surface, and
the same applies when we look at our
selves. I believe that this is a barrier to
being happy. We are not contemplating
our emotions, thoughts, and situations
hard enough to determine whether or
not what we are doing is right for us in
the long term.
Longetivity is definitely an aspect of
happiness. There are many times where
we exhibit a form of happiness, usually
referred to as bliss or ecstacy, which
does not last. Sex, drugs, music, people
and beauty are common causes of bliss,
but that does not rule out their potential
for real happiness.
Many people think of happiness as
satisfaction. It is not. Pure and total sat
isfaction within and without a person is
stifling and boring. Growth, necessary
for life, is weakened greatly. And from
satisfaction comes complacency, the
killer of free thought.
Happiness requires effort and work.
Waiting for it to come to you is like wait
ing for a bird to land on your head
when you are standing in a desert. The
only bird that will perch on you out
there is a buzzard, and that may occur
only after you die. You have to con
sciously decide to find the bird, and lay
out your plan of strategy. If you use vio
lent means, you are going to end up
with a dead bird.
No one can tell you how to catch the
bird. Everyone has their own methods,
some which work and some which don’t.
And no one can use another’s methods
fully. We are all unique. In the end, you
have to decide what happiness is for
you. Is it a paycheck or a romantic inter
est? Perhaps it is a heavenly view or hit
ting somebody. Are these one in the
same, or are different types of per
ceived happiness derived from each?
And is pleasure the same thing as happi
ness?
How often I have heard, “I love to be
with children. They seem so happy, so
full of life and vigor. I wish that I were a
child again, in a simple world without
problems or demands or the complexity
of desires which come with later life.”
Children are beautiful, with their ex
plorations and explainations of the
world, however small and simple. We
forget, however, that problems do exist
Helmet law intrudes
A bill recently passed by the Texas
Senate and awaiting signature by Gov.
Clements demonstrates the “Big Broth
er” attitude lawmakers have taken in re
cent years.
Imagine a law requiring people to
wear sunscreen when they’re outside, or
a law making it illegal to cross a street
without looking both ways first.
This bill didn’t legislate against sun
burns or hazardous street-crossing, but
the idea is the same. A seemingly insig
nificant bill with little effect on most of
the public, it requires all motorcycle rid
ers to wear helmets. No big deal; the
seat belt law that was passed in 1985 was
similar to this, but it created a great deal
of controversy.
The legislators have tajcen it upon
themselves to tell “we the people” what
is best for us. Clearly, they question our
ability to make decisions for ourselves.
So, instead of passing laws to protect
people from criminals and civil disobe
dience, they pass laws that force us to
behave in a way they think is best.
f James
Cecil
Columnist
people to eat balanced diets, which have
been shown to reduce illness and pre
vent fatal diseases? Perhaps people who
get sunburned should be arrested.
They’re increasing their chances of de
veloping skin cancer, not to mention
suffering a great deal of pain. Why
don’t lawmakers legislate against that? It
would be for the safety of Texas citi
zens, right?
People riding motorcycles can decide
for themselves whether or not wear hel
mets. What have they got to lose if they
don’t? Their life, maybe. Then again,
what are the chances a person may be in
an accident anyway?
The principle is the important thing
here. The state government is making it
illegal not to take care of yourself. Law
makers justify their actions because they
are acting in the public’s best interest.
Indeed they are.
These are questions that only the in
dividuals can answer for themselves.
When taking into consideration the
chances of being crippled or killed in ac
cident, most people will see the need for
protection.
Everyone should wear seat belts, and
motorcyclists should wear helmets be
cause it could save their lives. But
shouldn’t people make a decision on
their own to save their lives?
If the legislature can justify passing
these laws, why not pass laws requiring
In the same way people decide to
wear sunscreen and look both ways be
fore crossing the street, they will decide
whether or not to wear helmets.
Another aspect to consider is the fact
that the ^legislators spent valuable time
presenting and voting on this bill. Valu-
for little ones, perceived small in compa
rison with ours, but big when looked at
from their perspective. That doesn’t
keep them from being happy.
We can see the happiness children
hold, and often we are envious. The
same happiness is available to the old
and the adolescent and those with all the
years in between. Take the doughnut if
you want it and are willing to find the
right one.
Todd Honeycutt is a sophomore psy
chology major and a columnist forThe
Battalion.
on rights
able because we are paying for it, and
also because they could have used that
time and effort to improve the shoddy
state education system, the state tax
codes, or the jumbled-up mess ol laws
they’ve patched together over the past
decades.
Laws such as this are expected to be
enforced, and what is the current state
of affairs with our law enforcement
agencies? Generally not good. Officials
are pressed enough with tight budgets
and current manpower levels. '
Police don’t need to be pulling people
off the roads and slapping them with
tickets because they aren’t acting in what
the state deems to be their own best in
terest. Aren’t there more serious crimes
that need attention?
Law enforcement capabilities aren’t
limitless, so their resources ought to be
focused more on enforcing laws that
protect us. I don’t consider people not
wearing helmets on a motorcycle or seat
belts in a car to be criminals.
The purpose of the legislative branch
of government is to pass laws that set
rules for situations where people inter
act (civil law or family law) or to protect
people from another person’s malicious
behavior (criminal law).
The Texas Legislature has taken
upon itself the responsibility of restrict
ing our lives, supposedly for our own
benefit. But they don’t realize that we
know more about what is good for us
than they do.
James Cecil is a senior economics
major and a columnist for The Battal
ion.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
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Southwest Journalism Conference
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Mary-Lynne Rice, Entertainment Edi
tor
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