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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION Friday, November 17,1989 Opinion Page Editor Juliette Rizzo 845-33li Maturity needed on bonfire issue A few nights ago I was walking through my friend’s dorm and noticed a sign that was hung in the hallway. The sign was for people who wanted to be a part of “Aggies Against Aggies Against Bonfire (AAAAB).” This is only my second year here at A&M, but through my extracurricular activities I’ve been able to see many dif ferent parts and many different people of A&M. Nearly 100 percent of the groups and organizations at A&M are simply positive, creative people getting together to better themselves and our school. Then once in a while, a group like “Aggies Against Aggies Against Bonfire” comes along. I have no problem with a group that is for bonfire, or against the possibility of losing this tradition. There are many positive things about bonfire that need to be looked at. I do have a problem with a group that calls themselves Aggies, saying they’re against other Aggies. With what I think an Aggie is, to say “Aggies Against Aggies” is hypocritical. This group is not helping A&M or even bonfire itself. They are only creating negative feelinngs between different parts of the student body. Why can’t people who are for bon fire understand that Aggies who are against it are not evil people who want to ruin everyone’s fun. They are simply a collection of students concerned with the negative side of this long-standing tradition. They aren’t “party poopers,” they’re concerned students. Personally, I’m proud to say that students at the university I attend are open enough to consider both the positive and negative aspects of an action. When I read the Battalion article last month that showed Aggies Against Bonfire coming together and meeting, Steve O’ Brien Guest Columnist I was happy. I thought that we had risen to a new level on this issue. We had come to gether in a mature, positive manner to try and come to a compromise. I believe that most of us are on this higher lever of maturity, but we must make sure that groups like “Aggies Against Aggies Against Bonfire” need to understand what being a student here at A&M is all about. An Aggie is someone who loves working on and watching bonfire burn, but who realizes the size of bon fire might actually need to be scaled- down one day in the future. An Aggie is someone who is a member of “Aggies Against Bonfire,” but who realizes that the sacred traditions and bonds of friendship that surround bonfire may override the negative side of this tradi tion. Finally, my guess is that the person or persons who conjured up the idea of starting up this new group is a new stu dent. No offense to freshmen or first- year transfer students, but I feel it takes time to consume and understand the true meaning of being a student at A&M. If this person is not a first-year student, then they’ve been going to school here without really thinking what an Aggie actually is. Seeing that sign in the hallway of my friend’s dorm made me only want to be against bonfire. I’ve always been for the keeping of traditions, but to think of the mentality that was put into the organization of a group with the name “Aggies Against Aggies Against Bonfi re” makes me wonder. Steve O’Brien is a sophomore busi ness major. Mail Call MAfi6W.ieS HCV£TCN Editors are a bunch of «rp» Editors are the biggest xxxxxx in the world because they won’t leave writers alone, are insensitive to their needs and don’t appreciate how hard they work. Editors always want to have the last word. Editors are picky, picky, picky, al ways sending stuff back with notes that say, generally: “I don’t understand this” or “This is not suitable for a fam ily newspaper.” Editors have no sense of humor, es pecially about anything concerning sex. Not long ago, an editor axed this out of a column: Three men xxxxx xxx xxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx XXX X xxxxxxx. Here’s another example of their non-humor: Several months ago, &n Dave Bryant Fort Worth Star-Telegram Shanty: symbol of injustice EDITOR: The much publicized shanty erected by the Students Against Apartheid indeed may not be necessary. What effect will a worthless pile of boards in the middle of Texas have on the lives of millions of oppressed South Africans? Yes, the shanty may be an unnecessary eyesore to some. Aesthetically speaking, it certainly does not fit in with the surroundings. However, to others, the shanty is a symbol of the ugliness, brutality and dehumanization which characterizes the apart heid system. The injustices committed by the South African government may be too remote to concern many of us. But it is good to see that some of us recognize our status as citizens of a global community who seem to understand that “Injus tice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Myron F. Floyd Graduate Student Wake up, Righter EDITOR: John Righter showed his ignorance of country music when he unduly criticized Asleep At The Wheel in his review of the Restless Heart concert. A little background on the band might shed some light. Nearly 20 years ago, Ray Benson (lead singer) assembled some of the country’s greatest musi cal artists with the intention of preserving a form of music from the past, western swing, and the band has not failed in its endeavor. The band has successfully combined styles from Hank Thompson, Alvin Crow and the late great Bob Wills, with its own, to produce a sound that is unlike any other. And believe me, western swing isn’t dead, it’s just Asleep At The Wheel. Asleep At The Wheel is unique in that it is not overly con cerned with major recording deals, popularity contests or sold-out coliseums. In fact, Asleep At The'Wheel probably would have been happier playing in front of a small apprecia tive audience at the Chicken. It is this attitude that has led the band to be one of the most respected acts in country music. John, you might not relate to the band but it’s hard not to appreciate it, and remember, what smells like “country pas ture” to some is sweet roses to others. Jeff Johnson Graduate Student editor balked at printing an item about a young woman convicted of showing too much xxxxxx while on a beach. Her attorney said he intended to xxx XX XX. Yet another example: Not long ago a radio guy said he wouldn’t xxxx xxxx until the Cowboys won a game. The suggestion made here was that lie should have sworn he would xxxx xxxxxxx xx until the Cowboys lost! (Editor’s note: This is not radio.) And editors are cheap! They had a chance to send a columnist to Ireland for a week to report on a long-sepa- yited family reuniting. But n-o-o-o-o- o! “We need you here,” they said. (Editor’s note: What the editor calls cheap is merely a fiduciary responsibil ity not to squander resources on jun kets he wants to take.) Editors also are always s-o-o-o-o busy. Right! Like we’re not? Just the other day a matter of the utmost im portance arose that required checking with one of the “suits” in the big of fices. Fat chance! His secretary ran bet ter interference for him than the whole Dallas line ever did for Herschel Walker. (Editor’s note: The editor tried to crash a news meeting.) Editors also look at you funny. (Edi tor’s note: We call it exasperation.) Well, fairness dictates that the other side is presented. Meet the big cheese managing editor: It is the responsibility of editors to ensure that what appears in this news paper is accurate, timely and in good taste. We would like to be able to tell you that those we manage are nut cert with us, but, alas, that is notal> the case. We have many talented and creai 1 people working here, but sometk- they go beyond the bounds of legai and, frankly, acceptable commua standards. VV'hen that happens, we must fa the line. Naturally, some creativer ers become petulant, and tend top and mope around the office for days These writers don’t realize thateifl tors don’t always agree with whaitklj write, but editors are usually theii called upon to deal with irate readerfe We field the telephone calls midr swer the letters after some outrage committed bv a writer. Many ol us can t even escapetk problems writers cadfate when we.j home. Our spouses often fly into: about something they disliked itu newspaper. As editors, we must have thepf tience of Job when we deal with sod of our more testy talents. Wetryhal not to make unilateral changes in the work. To do so can lead to nasty sc prises to them. Try to imagine howitl to call yet another writer about alterin' a bit of “golden prose,” and being*] cused of being everything from butcher to a humorless fiend. We of ten must make decisions bast; on money: Do we spend thousandstj dollars to send a news team to cove:. hurricane, or one columnist to jura the “Miss Wet T-shirt Contest” inH:| waii? But we think the grief and aggraj tion we put up with is worth it. Becaui when we get fed up with some of thel writers, we get to do something aboil it. Like have the last laugh. Heelis hee! Dave Bryant is a writer for the Fo: Worth Star-Telegram. Howdy Exxon, our new corporate conscience leader Texas hospitality requires that we show Exxon, the newest corporate citi zen of Dallas, some hometown kind ness. Sometimes Texas hospitality asks too much. There’s no way to be kind about Exxon’s latest move, although in fairness we can legitimately note that it deserves the hearty chutzpah award for the year, that it’s the clear winner in the brass-faced gall catagory. Exxon is now suing the state of Alaska, charging that the cleanup of the nation’s worst oil spill was hindered because the state opposed the use of oil-dispersing chemicals. In a suit filed late last month, Exxon said it would seek re imbursement from the state for cleanup costs and damage the com pany believes was made worse by the state’s conduct. Reminds me about the fellow who killed his parents and then pleaded with the court for mercy on grounds that he was an orphan. Alaska’s envi ronmental commissioner, Dennis Kelso, says the state never opposed the use of oil-dispersing chemicals, that permission to use them had been Ivins Syndicated Columnist granted before the spill and that the oil industry had not stockpiled enough chemicals in south-central Alaska to do any good. You might think a lawsuit like this is a most singular occurrence, but in fact, it’s rather a habit of Exxon’s to do environmental damage and then sue the injured. I spent a few years in the lat,e 70s watching the company’s performance in connection with oil shale in Colorado. A bad case of cor porate arrogance is a mild way to de scribe the problem. On other fronts, the state of Texas had once more been found to be oper ating unconstitutionally, this time in the way we elect state district judges. Gov. Clements, wrong again (what an unblemished record this man is com piling), wants Attorney General Mattox to appeal the ruling. Since U.S. District Judge Lucius Bunton III is no one’s idea of a bomb-thrower, any appeal will be born to lose and will cost the state a lot of money, in the tradition of our inglorious, six-year, multi-million dollar losing defense of the indefen sible in the Ruiz/TDC case. Next point, no this is not a wonder ful opportunity to go to a system of ap pointed judges. Let me repeat the basic argument with this and similar cases — you do not solve the problems of de mocracy by ending democracy: You solve the problems attendant on the democratic process by solving the problems. That’s what Judge Bunion’s decision is about. There are 98 appel late court judges in Texas: 94 of them are white, four are Hispanic, none black. There are 375 district court judges in the state; 33 are white, 35 Hispanic, seven black. That’s the same system that kept the state Legislature, the state congressional delegation and the state’s everything else all-white for years: It’s illegal, it’s unconstitutional, we all know it, we always lose when we get taken to court about it, because we are wrong. So we do with the judges what we’ve had to do with everything else, we go to single-member districts. Since we already have too many dif ferent districts for many different lev els of government, the smart thing to do would be to piggy-back judicialtfr tricts onto state rep districts: We^ ready know these districts will muster under the Voting Rights AO Furthermore, since one of the pr^ lems with elect ing judges is that pr# cally nobody can remember,by theti® 1 we get that far down the ballot, these people are, it seems to me golden opportunity to switch to asp! cial election for judges. Sure, tbj means voter participation will go» down, but it also means the voters dj do go vote will be doing it becauj they’re interested enough to ha'I learned who’s running. This will c 1 ! down on our tendency to elect judg f | with cute names, leading to natioftj embarrassments like the wrong D 1 j Yarbrough and other memorable ol naments we have put on the bench, [ And even if all these splendid rJ forms are enacted, we will continueij have a sprinkling of dorks, dweebsaoj yobs wearing black robes in the stated democracy is not a perfect system. It 1 ! however, better to have the mista^l made by the people than by onepersi' 1 or by some self-selecting elite. Then®'; thing about elections is you always ha'I a chance to throw the scoundrels ol the next time. The Battalion (USPS045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Scot O.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 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. 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