The Battalion
The I
OPINION
Page 2
The Battalion
Monday, September 4,1iP oni
HCVSfUJ
What if women took over
Mail Call
School’s location inappropriate
EDITOR:
How many children must be killed each year in the
United States before the city councils an planners understand
the significance of their decisions?
The Bryan ISD recently opened Sam Rayburn Junior
High School on the Frontage Road of the Highway 6 Bypass.
Highway 6 is a 4-lane divided freeway with 2-way frontage
roads. This roadway is clearly an inappropriate location for a
school.
The peak travel period on this facility is between 7:15
a.m. and 8 a.m., which happens to correspond with the time
Sam Rayburn opens each morning. I have personally
witnessed junior high students cross the bypass both on foot
and bicycles during the peak period.
As a recent TAMU Civil Engineering Graduate, it is
apparent to me that buildipg Sam Rayburn at this location
was a flaw of judgment. As a Bryan citizen, I fear the
consequences.
I don’t believe the school administration can guarantee
that students will not cross the bypass even if penalties are
enforced upon them or their parents. Eventually, a tardy
student will cross the road, fearing the ramifications of
tardiness more than the risk to his or her health.
An overhead crosswalk is probably not a viable alternative
since the cost to construct such a structure would be dose to,
if not greater than, the cost of the school itself. The speed
limits could be better enforced, but this would not prevent
accidents from occurring. After all, Highway 6 is a freeway
segment designed for mobility, not pedestrian access!
I sincerely hope that the Bryan city planners use better
judgment in the future to insure the safety of our children.
Dave N. Carter ’88
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 classifi
cation, address and telephone number of the writer.
Women are simply too smart not to
have eventually figured out the way to
gain complete control of the country is
to form their own political party.
It happened in Cincinnati at the con
vention of the National Organization
for Women (NOW, by God!).
The convention adopted a resolution
calling for a commission to study form
ing a new political party because of “the
failure of both major political parties to
address women’s needs.”
Said NOW President Molly Yard (no
relation to the famous landscape ar
chitect, Back), “We are 52 percent of the
country, and we have almost no rep
resentation.”
There is the key statement. Women
make up 52 percent of the nation’s pop
ulation, which means if there were a po
litical showdown between the sexes,
women would have unbeatable strength
in numbers.
If women do go ahead and form their
own party — and they are being quite
foolish if they don’t —here’s the way a
future presidential election would stack
up:
The Democrats, of course, would
nominate some ultra-liberal male who,
if elected, would lead us into fiscal peril,
while the Republicans would nominate
an ultra-conservative male with a plank
in his platform that called for shooting
any woman who even thinks of having
an abortion.
The new Tupperware Party, made
up of all women all over the country,
would counter with somebody like Rep.
Pat Schroeder of Colorado, Cher or
Sally Jessy Raphael.
Men would dilute their votes by split
ting them between the two male candi
dates while women, hungry for power,
would go en masse for the female candi
date.
Lewis
Grizzard
Syndicated Columnist
er
By H<
They wouldn’t have much trot
with career women, but they would!
to hang around a lot of tennis coun ^aj-
get those women to give up lues
morning doubles in order to govott
their sister.
Gaining the White House in aw
the Tupperwares would then turntl
thoughts toward controlling Congret
One by one, the Senate and
House would begin to fill up
women, and the men, ousted from lit
seats, would have to return home
resume their chiropractic and lawp
tices.
You could expect a lot of changf
women 'took complete charge of
government. Let’s look at specific are
• DEFENSE: The first thing Tii
perwares would do is brighten up
Stealth bomber and have its all-blad
terior painted mauve.
• HUMAN RIGHTS: Millioj
would be funded for research to fim
D\Tht
Cor
firme<
dets’
durinj
had si
mand
Dai
the T
Board
montl
of the
tee.
“Gr
ity, ar
we’ve
said.
He
Corps
highe
Seven
grade
Cl
as
ByCi
The only thing that could go wrong
in the scenario would be the failure on
the part of the Tupperwares to get out
the vote.
way for men to have babies for a wl
and see how they like it.
• The ENVIRONMENT: Cig
smoking and belching at the dinner
ble would be outlawed.
• ANIMAL RIGHTS: Cats would:
given the vote, further strengthen
the Tupperware members.
• HOUSING: Men would be oi
lawed from using guest towels.
• LAW AND ORDER
Lacey would be appointed co-attorm
general.
• TRANSPORTATION: “Well I
the planes from now on, you go bi
and serve lunch.”
• FOREIGN RELATIONS. “Pres
dent Cher and Soviet Premier Ra:
Gorbachev met today in Geneva andd
cided to go shopping.”
Copyright 1989, Cowles Syndicate
Stei
a $25
A&M’
Saturc
Cagney angdent
memh
Mo
behalf
ulty, l
meani
“an i
A&M,
Thi
mone
were
A little condom sense goes a long way
Last Friday I shared with you five fe
male Texas A&M students’ thoughts
about birth control, sexually transmitted
diseases and sex in college. Today, we’ll
continue our unscientific poll by hear
ing what the guys have to say.
• The first question, and the biggie:
Do you and your prospective partner
talk about birth control before you have
sex?
“Al,” 21 years old: “I never used to
ask the girl before we had sex whether
she had any sort of protection. I figured
if she wasn’t on the pill or something,
she’d tell me to stop. But now I know
that girls aren’t that responsible, so I al
ways use a condom. I don’t even bother
asking anymore. Well, at least that’s
what I try to do, but sometimes I don’t.”
“Bill,” 22: “It’s easy for girls; they
know without asking whether the guy is
using birth control or not. I mean, he’s
either wearing a condom or he’s not
wearing a condom. But the guy has to
ask the girl, and if she is on the Pill or
something, she gets offended that you
even asked, and if she’s not protected
sometimes she’ll say she is anyway. And
if you’ve been drinking, you don’t give a
(expletive) anyway. You just do it. It’s
such a game. It’s like playing a slot ma
chine or something.”
(This is Scot again. I was just wonder
ing . . . Bill, can you say “Daddy?”)
“Curt,” 19: “It’s no big deal, really.
It’s, like, four or five words: ‘Are you on
the Pill?’ If she says no or you don’t be
lieve her, then, as the saying goes, you
better wrap that rascal. And if you don’t
believe her, then what are you doing
sleeping with her anyway?”
“Dave,” 23: “Sometimes I ask, some
times I don’t. Most of the time, if she
doesn't say anything, I figure it’s OK.
It’s really awkward to talk about stuff
like that when you don’t know a girl that
well. Usually what happens is that I ask
afterward. At least then I’ll know next
time.
“Ed,” 19: “I’ve only had sex with one
girl. I didn’t ask her about birth control,
because I felt really stupid talking about
it. But I guess I’ll feel a lot more stupid
if the girl calls me and tells me I’m a
daddy.”
• What about disease? For example,
do you ever talk about sexual history?
The most common response to this
question was laughter. None of the guys
ever asked a girl about her sexual his
tory before they had sex. Dave did say
he talked about it with some girls, but
only after they had been going out for a
while.
Bill: “Of course it does. It’s dumb, but
it’s true, and any guy who says otherwise
must be lying. And girls are the same
way. They always make guys out to be
the villain, but they get drunk and get
just as sleazy as we do. And some girls
are even worse than the guys.”
(Whoa! This is Scot talking. Just want
to remind you that these are not my
comments. Please, ladies, don’t fire
bomb my house or anything. Just write a
letter, OK? We now return to our regu
larly scheduled programming.) Dave: “I
don’t think it really matters. I mean,
those guys who are responsible are al
ways responsible, and the rest of us
never are, even when we’re sober. And
girls are probably the same way.”
• Researchers now say AIDS cannot
be transmitted through oral sex. Do you
think oral sex is becoming, or will be
come, more common as a safer alterna
tive to intercourse?
All five of the guys said that oral sex is
not more common now than before.
Most said they think women feel oral
sex is more personal and intimate than
intercourse, and therefore won’t usually
perform it the first time they have sex
with a particular man.
I think we can see where this is
• Have you ever tried to pressure a
girl into having sex even though you
both knew you had no protection?
Only Dave admitted to this, although
a couple of the others said they had
heard of “friends” who did it.
• Does drinking affect your
judgment or your willingness to use
birth control?
going. Most college students, male and
female, just don’t give a lot of thought to
birth control or sexually transmitted dis
eases. We’re theoretically in college be
cause we want to have a better future,
but we’re willing to take a chance on
screwing it all up for some short-lived
carnal pleasure.
So what is the solution? Well, the ob
vious one is abstinence, but I’m not na
ive enough to expect any significant
portion of the college-age population to
abstain from sex. I’m not going to rec
ommend that anyone do something I’m
not willing to do myself. I enjoy sex. I
don’t think it’s immmoral. I intend to
keep doing it, hopefully for 60 or 70
more years. I suspect that most of you
are going to do the same, or at least try.
If abstinence works for you, that’s great,
but it’s definitely not for everyone.
So for those people who do partake,
what is keeping them from using birth-
/disease control? It’s not a lack of educa
tion; everyone I talked to knew they
were taking big chances by having un
protected sex. The problem, rather, is
lack of communication.
I don’t think we can make people talk
about things they don’t want to talk
about. Instead, we should make the talk
ing unnecessary. All sexually-active
women should be on some form of bit
control — the Pill, a diaphragm, foai
something. And all guys should useco
doms. Period. Always. Carry a coup
cases of them in your car if you need
This way, instead of having to detf
who will be responsible for “taking ca
of It,” everyone’s responsible. It does:
matter whether your partner is pi
tected or not, because you know f
are.
We should also make it socially uni
ceptable to have unprotected sex. Win
your roommate tells you she had unsa
sex, tell her how dumb she is. And gu]
quit spouting nonsense like, “Sex will
condom is like a shower with a rail
coat.” Try this, instead: “Sex without
condom is like 18 years of responsibi
for an unwanted child.”
College students are not too emk
rassed to drop their pants, but we} 1
can’t bring ourselves to ask The Quf
tion, to bring up The Topic. Rati
than being embarrassed by talkiw
about safe sex, we ignore the wholesn|
ject, as if it’s going to go away. Badnf
guys and gals: It doesn’t go away:
very long —just about nine months
so.
Scot Walker is a junior journals
major and editor of The Battalion.
AAAft&w-ies
HcvestcN twr
Curt: “Not at all. Actually, I’m even
more careful when I’m drunk, because I
get paranoid. I don’t want kids yet. Pe
riod. I don’t take chances.”
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Scot Walker. Editor
Wade See. Managing Editor
Juliette Rizzo. Opinion Page Editor
Fiona Soltes. City Editor
Ellen Hobbs, Chuck Squatriglia,
News Editors
Tom Kehoe, Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Dean Sueltenfuss, Lifestyles 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 administrator, 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.
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.