The Battalion
OPINION
Friday, January 26,1990
Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845-3
Men should see rape from women’s point of view
It is against Battalion policy to print
letters without the name of the author,
but I received the following letter and
felt it had to be published. Here it is, in
its entirety.
“One night in late October or early
November a young Aggie who had been
fighting with her boyfriend took a short
drive to clear her head. She wound up
in the Research Park on University
Drive. She sat in her car with her keys in
her hand and cursed her boyfriend who
had just yelled and screamed at her.
“She had a few drinks earlier in the
night but with all the fighting she and
her boyfriend had done the alcohol’s ef
fect had worn off.
“As she sat staring into space a young
Scot O.
Walker
Editor
man opened her Mustang door and sat
down inside. He pointed a gun at her
and told her to come with him. As she
got out of the car, two other men helped
her to a secluded spot in the park. As
the man with the gun watched, the
Mail Call
U.S. heading for difficulty
EDITOR:
After reading the back-to-back articles criticizing Andrew Matthew’s arti
cle and the concept of capitalism, it became painfully obvious to me that our
nation may have a difficult time preserving prosperity in the years ahead. I’ll
argue that Woodard and Shidore, in an attempt to refute Matthew’s “oversim
plified” view of capitalism, are guilty of an even greater oversimplification:
Their idea that greed and profit is bad for our nation.
Both Woodard and Shidore make the generalized statement that all busi
nessmen are greedy. Even if this is true, what Woodard and Shidore do not
consider is where our nation would be without businessmen. I am not
ashamed of the fact that our nation was founded on the idea of making a
profit and the right to pursue wealth. Apparently neither Woodard or Shi
dore have considered that which would seek maximum profit was restrained.
What would undoubtedly happen is that all the profitable businessmen and
workers in the nation would soon realize that they will no longer reap the full
(or even the after-tax) benefit of their labor. The productivity of the nation
would slow down, and the number of individauls pursuing college educations
would decline. Sure, the gap between the rich and the poor would decrease,
but there would eventually be no rich and all poor. Where would our nation
be then? Who would take care of all of us? The newly-formed governments of
the east perhaps?
Oversimplifying our nations problems and shoving them into a category
for our government to solve will do nothing but restrain productivity.
Whether Shidore and Woodard want to admit it or not, they owe what they
have to the idea of capitalism. The clothes on their backs are made possible by
open and productive markets. The buildings they attend classes in were built
through the generosity of wealthy businessmen (Zachry, Blocker, etc.).
Perhaps Mr. Woodard should re-evaluate what our wealthiest former
President John F. Kennedy meant by, “Ask not what your country can do for
you, but what you can do for your country.” I doubt that he meant for it to be
interpreted as, “Restrain wealth and productivity so that those who will not
work may consume as much as those who work for the good of the nation.”
I join you in your prayers Mr. Woodard, only I ask that there will come a
day when all Americans will appreciate those who work for a living, and con
demn those who can, but will not.
Janell R. Peters ’90
Americans should accept reality
EDITOR:
In response to “Our solutions to racism make it worse” in the opinion sec
tion of the Jan. 22, 1990 Battalion:
Fortunately, thoughts about racism began in advance of celebrating the
birthday of Martin Luther King. Nonetheless, I am relieved that the event
brought the issue to light for a larger group of people.
I strongly disagree with the statements presented concerning “Our solu
tions .”
First of all, television writers are not in the business of solving racism.
Television shows today portray American life and society with a serious or hu
morous tone. And, believe it or not, that includes some whites who curse and
some blacks who have “made it.”
Secondly, affirmative action policies, the majority of which are now de
funct, were our government’s form of reparation for a tragic and complex ep
isode in our nation’s history. These policies did not attempt to or succeed in
solving racism. Presently, a percentage of minority scholarships provide the
opportunity of education to students whose families cannot afford the ex
pense. However, the majority of scholarships and job offers to minority stu
dents are the result of academic performance and the awareness of cultural
diversity by corporate America.
You claim that guilt has been manipulated. Well, it happens to be a fact
that many of the laws that governed our country have oppressed specific
groups. Moreover, I feel compelled to inform you that the ancestors of Afri
can-Americans presented no formal document pronouncing themselves
slaves, they did not lobby for unfair voting requirements, nor did they hold a
caucus to come up with a political action plan to obtain exclusive rear seating
privileges on public transportation. Guilt is being responsible for an offense
or wrong-doing. How can one expect that the oppressed and their descen
dants take a share of the guilt?
Instead of sharing the guilt of our nation’s deplorable mistakes, perhaps
we should accept the reality of our past, commend the accomplishments of the
present and continue to right racial wrongs in our future.
LaTrina M. Williams ’91
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Scot Walker, Editor
Monique Threadgill,
Managing Editor
Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor
Melissa Naumann, City Editor
Cindy McMillian, Lisa Robertson,
News Editors
Richard Tijerina, Sports Editor
Fredrick D. Joe, Art Director
Mary-Lynne Rice, Lifestyles Editor
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other two men raped that young Aggie.
“I am very closely associated with this
incident because it was my girlfriend
who was raped. God, I wish I could take
back all the harsh words that I said to
my girlfriend that night; maybe then
she would not have been raped. I know
they say that boyfriends should not
blame themselves when their girlfriends
get raped; that there is only one person
- or in this case, three - to blame, and
that is the rapist himself.
“Well, in this case, the rape went un
reported and the men will probably
never be caught. Maybe there is hope,
though; maybe one of the rapists will
turn himself in. That is an unrealistic
dream, I know. Why spoil a perfect
crime? It is not the rapist who must stop
rape; it is all of the other people in this
world.
“As for me, I love my girlfriend as
much as I ever did, but I wish I would
have been the only one to ‘love’ my girlf
riend. My heart is broken and spirit is
dim; I am angry at the world and don’t
want to have anything to do with any
body. I have turned bitter and cold be
fore my time. My only hope is that a
rapist will read this and turn himself in.”
The letter was signed, “Boo Boo Ted
dy.”
I read this letter and I reacted as men
do. “This poor guy,” I thought. “He’s
been through so much.”
But then I realized that he and I were
guilty of a really big oversight. We were
completely forgetting the woman who
was raped. Go back and read the letter
again, and notice that the whole second
half mentions only the trauma that he
has been through, and pretty much ig
nores her completely.
He says his heart is broken and his
spirit is dim. My girlfriend has never
been raped, so it’s hard for me to empa
thize, but I think his statement is selfish.
What about her heart, her spirit? All
you guys out therejust try to imagine, as
if we possibly could imagine, how it
would feel for a man to hold you down
and forcibly have intercourse with you.
Most guys can’t imagine that. We say,
“No way. I’d fight. He’d have to kill me
before I’d let him.” But imagine some
body strong enough to hold you down
and do it to you anyway. It’s a horrible
thought, and the pain and humiliation
and anger must be exponential com
pared to that of just knowing someone
who was raped, or even loving someone
who was raped.
The letter writer says, “I love my
girlfriend ... but I wish I would have
been the only one to ‘love’ my girlf
riend.”
I’m not a psychologist, but as I under
stand, rape is not a crime of sex, but one
of violence. The rapist is not ‘loving
victim, but hurting her. I wonderiJ
the boyfriend would have felt if
young woman had been beaten hali
death by a gang of thugs. In themindl
a man, that might be preferable,
cause violence is something which n
are trained to deal with and respond j
while rape is completely outside ofj
experience.
It disgusts me that this guy issov
tied about himself at a time when-
girlfriend needs him so much. ItesJ
dally appalls me because I probail
would have reacted the same way.
My final response to this letter iv
urge women who are raped to go inn:
diately to a hospital, where trainedsiJ
will see to medical care and takebloo
semen or hair samples. If the vie
does decide to press charges, thisei
deuce is often the only way to getacol
viction. If you don’t do this, and deni
to press charges later, it might com
down to your word against the rapisi |
and he could go free to do it again. A
whether or not you report it, at least; ‘
to a counselor. Seeking profession
counseling is not a sign of weakness j
isn’t your fault if you are raped, andjol
shouldn’t have to deal with it alone.
Scot Walker is a senior joumhi
major.
High school football: No pass, no recruit
Recruiting season for top high school
football players is over.
Young men who were offered
scholarships have made their choices as
to which institutions of higher or lower
learning they will attend in the fall.
Due to the heightened academic and
character requirements for incoming
athletes at most universities, however,
some athletes who would have been
eligible for signing under last year’s
requirements were not eligible this year.
I have managed to obtain a list of
some of the high school athletes who
would have been able to sign had they
not been boneheads and social outcasts.
Here are some examples from the
list:
• Marvin Toodler, wide receiver,
Corn Silk, Neb.: Caught 417 touchdown
passes and two known venereal diseases
during his high school career.
Unfortunately, when he took his SAT
exam, that’s all he did. Sat.Now Marvin
plans to work for his father, Mr.
Toodler, in the family worm-farm
business.
• Leon (Neon) Devon, running back,
Corpus Christi, Texas: What made
recruiters suspicious that Leon might be
academically deficient was the
questionnaire he sent back to interested
schools. On each questionnaire, he not
only misspelled his name, he also
doodled in the margins with a yelllow
crayon and listed his home town as
“Korpus Krispy.”
Plans to remain in Texas and seek
work repairing anvils.
• Norman Glovenmeyer III,
quarterback, Pajm Beach, Fla.: Starred
at Palm Beach’s private Ralph Lauren
Academy. Was run over by a polo pony
during the off-season, however, and
suffered head injuries that made him
think he is a cocker spaniel.
His father, a wealthy Eastern
industrialist, plans to buy him his own
Gucci shop as soon as Norman stops
chasing Mercedes 380SLs down Worth
Avenue.
• Arnold (Stumpy) Wordsworth,
linebacker, Why-not, Ga.: 6’3”, 290. Got
the nickname “Stumpy” from his
instructors.Not only did he not answer
any questions correctly on his SAT, he
ate his pencil. Wants to become an air-
traffic controller.
Lewis Grizzard
Syndicated Columnist
• Gunther Dappleman, defensive
tackle, Shade Tree, Mo.: Stands 7’3”
and weighs 416. Ineligible because of
steroid addiction.
• Alfonidius Johnson, defensive
back, Slick Snake, Fla.: Was courtedb|
over 250 schools until it was learnedbtl
was given a frog to dissect in biology i
class and the frog talked him outofit
Plans career wrestling alligators at Craa
Al’s reptile farm and discount
fireworks.
Student, prof cooperation
needed for learning process
Time was when education was based
on a quartet of forces — the student, the
teacher, the parent and the administra
tor. In the transition from high school
to college the parent has relinquished a
certain amount of responsibility.
At the university level the quartet
drops to a trio — student, professor, ad
ministrator. Although the administrator
is still a force to be reckoned with, edu
cation takes on its real meaning in the
classroom between the remaining duo
— the prof and the student.
It’s in the classroom environment that
learning should occur. Too many times
it is seen as a battleground instead of an
incubator. Education is not the pitting
of one force, the student, against an
other, the prof. Jt should be sort of an
area of fertility.
Students expect the prof to be orga
nized, including such mundane things
as being on time for class, housekeeping
preparations such as chalk available, a
projector that works (with a spare bulb),
etc. While these are minor, a presenta
tion that depends upon the blackboard
or slides isn’t effective without them.
The presentation of material is crit
ical. The prof who drones, who speaks
in a monotone, who reads his lecture
notes, who gets disoriented when work
ing problems or presenting an involved
theory reduces the chances that the stu
dent will catch the “flu.”
A good prof develops a sense of inter
est and caring for students. Teaching is
not just another drudge activity; it’s an
opportunity to interact with students be
fore, during and after class to get a
Claude E.
Mounce
Columnist
sense of their goals, aspirations ani|
problems.
Profs ought to be available when stu
dents need to discuss situations. Postk
office hours does no good if the proft
never in his of fice.
The prof who does a lousy job in pre
sentadon shouldn’t be surprised thathii
students sleep in class. On the othe
hand, most profs would rather the stu
dents stay awake, or at least sit in tit
back where the snoring won’t bothei
others.
The student who participates in das
is always appreciated. Asking or an
swering questions is one measure o:
whether the message is getting across
Without some sort of feedback (othtt
than exams) it’s difficult to kno*
whether the “flu bug” is working or not
Like the prof, the student should if
organized. Arriving to take a majif
exam without paper, pencil, scantronot
bluebook is not a profs ideal, bates
signments, excessive absences, lack e
interest — all are sort of inoculatio:
against catching anything.
The final result — learning or thf
lack of it — is shared. If it’s successful
both can claim the honor; if it’s unsui
cessful, both can share the blaffi
Claude E. Mounce is an agricultural
engineering professor.
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