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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION Thursday, September 28, 1989 iiiiiiiiK ...MO IN A NOT TOTALLY UNEXPECTED MOVE, THE AilA BOARD OF REGENTS MAS DECIDED TO SUBCONTRACT THE BUILP/NG OF THIS I/EAR'S BONFIRE TO ONE OF THEIR GOOD OL-BOy ALUMNI FRIENDS... Greeks share spirit, too Lately, there have been many opin ions flying back and forth about the Greeks and the Corps of Cadets. Being a fraternity president, you would proba bly expect me to start in on some “Corps bashing,” but it is beyond me to start slamming an organization that I feel de serves the respect of all Aggies. I like the Corps, and I don’t get into throwing mindless falsities at organizations just to make them look bad. I guess you could call me one of those “manipulative” Creeks. (You know the type.) 1 am one of those Fish Camp di rectors, and 1 have been and am pretty involved in many of the student activ ities here at A&M. And I was picked for each and every position I have ever achieved solely because I am a member of a fraternal organiztion. Right? Surely this is not so! I would like to think I am qualified for every position I aip selected for.’And to think, if this is true, I have actually been able to “retain my own identity” and at the same time been able to support A&M. (Cet this! I’ve even been to Silver Taps, to Muster (every year), been active in Student Gov ernment committees, been involved in Fish Camp, etc ... (DO WONDERS EVER CEASE?) But seriously, I feel it is my duty as an Aggie and a fraternity member to dispel many of the myths about Creeks that abound here at A&M. Contrary to popular belief, many Creeks are interested in Aggie Tradi tions and activities. Creeks actively par ticipate in bonfire, Silver Taps, Muster and many other A&M traditions. The list goes on an on. Just because we don’t always wear our letters, doesn’t mean we’re not there. And how many times are Creeks ostracized just because they do wear their letters to traditional A&M events (like bonfire stack)? It’s not just A&M activities that we are involved in. Creeks participate annually in philanthropic events, charity func tions, social service projects and com munity action programs, to name a few. Many Creeks are active in 111 e i r churches and synagogues, too. To lie honest, being Creek is far from having an excise to hitye parties all the time. (Yes, I do Own clothing other than mixer T-shirts.) Much of the controversy surrounding Creek organizations involves their membership selection. Anyone who wants to join a fraternity can do so if they wish. The selection process is a mu tual one; rushees are encouraged to go where they are most comfortable, while fraternities and sororities look for mem bers who are potential assets to their or ganization. Here at A&M, there is a fra ternal organization for everyone. It seems to me that I have been through a few interviews for many of the A&M committees and activities in which I was interested. Or how about those financial require ments that everyone always points a fin ger at? Guess what? It is not a require ment to drive a BMW, or for your father to make over $80,000 a year or to be handsome or pretty to be a member of a fraternity or sorority. When I went through rush, I was never handed a questionnaire asking any of these things. House maintenance, rush activities, par ties, alumni contact, intramurals, social service projects and many other activ ities cost MONEY. It would be impossi ble for fraternal organizations to func tion without an income. And unlike many student organizations, we receive no monetary support from the Univer sity. To think that Creeks are out to de stroy other student activities or to ma nipulate the campus into being some sort of Creek utopia is absurd. Unlike many non-regs on campus, we do not advertise against our fellow Aggies. We actively support A&M and its traditions, and consider our blood just as maroon as the blood of any other student at A&M. It is wrong to stereotype Creeks, just as it is wrong to stereotype the Corps, minorities, women or any other group. There are those Creeks who are apa thetic two-percenters who live for their Creek organizations, just as there are those Corps members, non-regs and just plain people who are closed-minded to the ideas and interests of others. The 3,000 Creeks here at A&M are just as diverse as the student body itself, so try to be open-minded. Try to accept Aggies for who they are instead of what they are involved in, and maybe we can put an end to this endless controversy that has added itself to the list of Aggie Traditions. Damon Arhos is a senior journalism major and a columnist for The Battal ion. Age of campus trees documented in Many words have been written and many others spoken on campus as well as in the community about trees, some supposedly famous and others not, on the Texas A&M campus. A few of the words have been based on fact, but many of them simply have repeated myths without any basis on truth. This column should help clarify some of these myths. One popular myth is that the large live oak tree between the Academic Building and Bolton Hall is well over a century old. In fact it is quite popularly known as the Century Oak and has been referred to as such since before the A&M Centennial in 1976. Several pieces of irrefutable evidence, as well as one piece of oral testimony, show that the tree is not that old. Early photographs of the Texas A&M campus, one as earlv as 1 883. reveal that 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 Nadja Sabawala. Makeup Editor Charles R. Schultz University Archivist the campus was truly a bare prarie at that time. Other photographs in the 1890s and the early 1900s give evidence of basically the same thing. The March 1, 1923 issue of the Daily Bulletin, which was published each school day by the Publicity Department, contains a lengthy article about Uncle Dan Jackson, a popular Black custodian who assisted in building the first build ings on the campus and then worked continuously for A&M. In the article, Uncle Dan is quoted as saying that the first tree on the campus was the old ce dar tree in front of the Civil Engi neering building that is now named Na gle Hall. We may conclude from this that no tree existed anywhere on the Editorial Policy The Bultulion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Brvan-CCollege Station. Opinions expressed in The Battu/ion are those of the editorial board or the author, and do not ncccssarilv rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fat uity or the Board of Regents. The Buttulion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Batta/ioit is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holidav and examination periods. Mail subscriptions arc S17.-N pet semester. S.‘?4.(>2 per school year and $36.4-1 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The BulUtliun. 230 Reetl 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 B.illnl- ion. 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Universiu . Col lege Station TX 77843-41 1 1. 2,416 acre original campus until after 1876. The December 18, 1918 issue of the Reveille, which has succeeded the Daily Bulletin, has a reference to an 1895 photograph in the 1918 yearbook. The anonymous author of the article com ments that “the most conspicuous fea- true of this picture is the remarkable muddy road leading up to the old build ing. Then, too, the view is impressive in its aspect of loneliness. The College Campus was originally a bald prarie, and the picture referred to above re veals very little change in that respect in the first 20 years of the life of the Colle ge-” Another popular myth is that certain trees in the area in the proposed expan sion of the MSC also are very old. Some have even claimed they are between 150 and 200 years old. The same evidence cited in reference to the so-called Cen tury Oak can be used to help refute the claims of the age of these trees. Other pictures in the Archives, dated into the 1920s that show the area of the MSC and at least part of the proposed expan sion area, are also useful in helping to determine the age of these trees. A close examination of all the avail able appropriate photographs in the Ar chives leads one to conclude that live oak trees were introduced to the Texas A&M campus between 1900 and 1910. One of the trees in the proposed MSC has been given the name Rudder Oak by opponents of their transplanting or removal. Other people refer to several of the trees as Rudder Oaks. From avail The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Thu Howdy! Whoop! Gig ’em! etc. Texas A&M is a university rich in tra dition, yet many think the traditions have pulled the University down from a “world-class” status. This is false. The traditions we hold to in these times of change put us above other schools that are supposedly close to our caliber. Yes, we could take the easy way out and just concentrate on books and re search, leaving tradition to die. But then we would conform to a “regular Joe” university. That’s not the way it is here. Students have in the past, chosen to keep tradition alive, and they will in the future. Because of bonfire, Muster, Par ents’ Weekend, Silver Taps, Fish Camp and T-Camp, Yell Practice, observance of memorials and especially Aggie friendliness, Texas A&M is the students’ University. No other University allows its students as much voice in activities that affect the campus as A&M does. I am writing this to compliment the student body for supporting the tradi tions, the football team and the volley ball team. The participation and atti tude the Twelfth Man displayed atthe LSU and TCU football games was great. LSU didn’t know what hit them after the opening kick-off, and you all didn’t even let them get up. The volume of noise on the field and the enthusiasm with which the Twelfth Man yelled, showed the Tigers the real power of Kyle Field. In Washington, we sure needed the Twelfth Man. You would have made the difference, but that’s the past and we have plenty to look forward to. At TCU, the Frogs must have thought they were in College station, because the Aggies rocked the TCU stadium. That kind of spirit pulls the game our way. Way lan Cain Head Yell Leader I I ust javel the lere v of the re ii studer rowi The attendance and the Twelfth Man at games also has been awesome crowd definitely makes a different! these games. My < neb< Many teams overlook the strengitj emotion. This emotion comes players and the students on hand. ? need to motivate each other. Witti® 11 , 1 " Aggie Band and the Twelfth Man.; ■ 1 ' never be at a loss for motivation. \, ■hen \ fall. Non-Regs, Creeks and theCorpil have a hand in this, and mustworiBstuc gether to keep the Twelfth Man am and working. lollegi This necessary involvement in University is what enables Aggiesit called “boss” four years after grad tion. The leadership needed for si positions may seem to be learnedal price of frustration and maybe ale grade or two, but it is a small pritt pay for the friends made and thei influenced — especially the enhar; ment of your own life. like sto it: Let? hong m BIT Ags, keep tradition alive at get involved, stay motivated, keepi Micl fclumr iform thumbs up, don’t forget to say“H® coin dy,” and let’s deafen Southern sippi and beat the hell outtathem. dore. First [reeks buildin Archives’ photographs able oral testimony it appears that it was an architect named D.D. Matthews who originally proposed that the 1970s ex pansion of the MSC be altered to save several trees. Since the proposed change in the plan put forth by Matthews would provide more square footage of space without any additional cost, President Rudder immediately approved the change. If this is really the case then perhaps the tree or trees should be named for Matthews rather than Rud der, if they should be named for any one. total endorsement of the concept of' full destruction of trees or a totals demnation of oral tradition. Rather, intended as a reminder that all sour of information, all possible documt need to be examined and that old [1 tographs in the Archives can freejuf provide information not available in written form. Another bit of information that can be gleaned from the photographs of the A&M campus between 1883 and the 1920s is that trees have been planted and removed from the early days and will probably continue to be planted and removed. This is probably as it should be. Trees after all are a renewable natu ral resource and were never intended to live or be in the same location perpetu ally. To be truly consistent the opponents to the moving or removal of the oaks in the vicinity of the MSC should be equally opposed to the bonfire for which several thousand trees will be cut down during the next few weeks. Where are their words about the bonfire? For many years historians and oi researchers have considered pb graphs solely as things to includf their books to break up the text?: and more now such scholars arek* ing that photographs are real A ments and can provide good, accm and dependable information. Afef no one made a written record of* particular trees were planted on campus other than that group of rial trees on the perimeter of the Si- son Drill Field. Even there confW records exist as to which tree isamf [ rial to a given individual and ever which are the real memorial trees. No one has come forward with funds to save the Rudder Oak, which some ex perts say is in stress and has been for some time due to the wall built around its trunk and the dirt piled upon its roots some years ago. From looking at the tree it is evident that it is not as healthy as other trees on the campus. This column is not intended to be a Since there is no written record plantings, only oral tradition andpt* graphs exist to document the ages'4 trees, but that does not appear tobfj able option at this point. When oral® dition and photographs agree. : there is no problem with the accurar either source of information. When tradition and photographs presenj ferent information, then there has a question of the accuracy of oral tion. The photographs and other i ments referred to in this columnar exhibit on the second floor of the' 1 ling C. Evans Library. Mac