The Battalion
OPINION
Tuesday, July 17,1990
Beauty pageants
simply harmless
On Saturday, Suzanne Lawrence was
crowned Miss Texas-America. You’ve
got it — another beauty pageant.
And whenever there is a beauty
pageant, there are always those people
who say they are “sexist” or “degrading
to women,” and shouldn’t be allowed to
continue. Many of these people
compare the women who participate to
“meat,” and criticize the entire selection
process.
Just this past semester, there were
protestors present at the Miss Texas
A&M Scholarship Pageant who carried
posters that said, “We’re not cows” and
“We’re all beautiful.” The Battalion
article which covered the protest said,
“Melissa Cuthbert, a junior English and
women’s studies major from Wisconsin,
said the group staged the protest
because the University was promoting
the stereotype that women are useless
unless they are beautiful.”
But what real harm do pageants like
A&M’s do? Is it true that pageants like
Miss U.S.A, Miss America and Miss
Universe are detrimental to society as a
whole? I doubt it.
No one seems to notice that these
women voluntarily enter these
pageants. It isn’t like potential
contestants are taken kicking and
screaming into the wardrobe
department. They spend weeks and
sometimes months working on the
pageants, and most contestants don’t
consider their activities as sexist in the
least.
Yes, the contestants are judged on
their beauty. It wouldn’t be called a
beauty contest if this weren’t the case.
However, many pageants (such as the
one here at A&M) require the
participants to perform and include
talent as part of the competition.
Obviously, pageants the size of Miss
Universe or Miss U.S.A. don’t have the
air time to show all of this talent, and as
o
Damon
Arhos
Opinion Page Editor
- j&|
i :
a result they eliminate it. And even if
they did have the time, we’d be stuck in
front of our TV sets for two days
watching all of it.
Those who are critical of beauty
pageants also belittle the
accomplishments of the women who
participate in them.
Take Suzanne Lawrence, for
example. The newly crowned Miss
Texas battled cervical cancer and had
an ovarian tumor last year. After
recovering from two operations for
these ailments, she created a group
called Smiles Against Cancer, which
provides services for families affected
by the disease.
And in the Houston Chronicle article
that I read, Lawrence was described by
her peers and past teachers as
“focused,” “persistent” and “positive.”
She is hardly a piece of “meat.”
All of those people who downgrade
pageants should take a second look at
the motives behind these events. Beauty
pageants are nothing but harmless
competitions between women — women
who have consented to work for their
titles. If there are many negative aspects
of the pageants, they are definitely
outranked by the positive actions of the
winners themselves.
So if you don’t like the pageant scene
yourself, just change the channel and
don’t spoil things for the rest of us.
Damon Arhos is a senior journalism
major.
Poor not responsible for their situation
EDITOR:
Rudy Cordova Jr. expressed an obviously ignorant view of the cycle of
poverty in his July 13 column. Cordova feels that the poor are “just not taking
advantage of the many opportunities that are out there for them,” and that
“they have no one to blame for their poverty but themselves.”
When an individual is born into poverty, it is poverty that becomes their
teacher. When a child saps all the affection available from a destitute, uncar
ing home life and is rewarded by being a victim of sexual, physical and mental
abuse, they consequently have little motivation to “get up and take advantage
of their freedom.” Maybe this individual will hit the streets at the ripe old age
of 12, forsaking an education for mere survival.
Any successful person will tell you of someone who was their inspiration: a
parent, a teacher or a friend. Someone who is successful at breaking the pov
erty cycle has a mentor. While some of us, probably including Cordova, had
cereal, orange juice and cartoons on Saturday morning, others had stale beer,
a kick in the face, and parents who noticed them only when they wanted
someone to beat up.
Wake up Rudy. Take a drive down the streets of inner city Houston, Dal
las or even Bryan. Look at the pain in the face of a 3-year-old baby whose
mother is on the streets, a child herself and strung out on drugs. Suppose this
child has never known a father. The child is without direction, without a men
tor and without enough food. I guess Cordova thinks this baby is not taking
advantage of the situation.
The solution to the problem of poverty has never been a clear-cut one. If
people like Cordova would open their eyes, they would realize that America is
not the land of equal opportunity that they believe it is.
Molly Drake ’91
Have an opinion ? Express it!
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. There is no guarantee that
letters submitted will be printed. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and
telephone number of the writer. All letters may be brought to 216 Reed McDonald, or sent to Campus Mail
Stop 1111.
A&M’s transportation problems
th
call for more than just rethinking
Here at A&M, there exists a
circumstance which mimics the entire
U.S. system of transportation. The issue
of public transportation calls for more
than just a little rethinking.
Students, faculty, and staff need to
get to their classes and jobs. In their
spare time, they need to run various
errands, go out for some fresh air, or
just have a night on the town.
The parking situation, as it currently
exists, presents many problems, namely
space limitations, cost effectiveness and
convenience. Buses can be thought of as
a step in the right direction.
However, they are inefficient,
inconvenient and overpriced; they are a
prime example of a good concept that is
misdirected in its efforts.
Walking and bike riding offer other
viable alternatives, providing that the
weather cooperates, you take the time to
plan ahead, and you don’t mind
dressing the part of the sweaty voyeur.
The options available for solving this
quandary become much clearer at this
point: (A) build taller and more
expansive parking facilities, (B) ignore
the problem and hope that it goes away,
or (C) encourage busing and public
transportaion.
The leadership of this University
finds itself placed in the awkward
position of having to choose amongst
these options. Which solution will
provide the best long term answer?
Well, who better to address the
burden of a stressful situation than our
celebrated leader, Dr. William Mobley.
In a fit of inspiration, he calls for a
transportation summit amongst the
influential parties.
He summons together the doers and
thinkers of the University and of the
Bryan-College Station community. The
night before the much heralded
summit, Mobley is feeling rather
drained as he drifts off into a fit of
restless sleep.
He awakens, sans the suit and other
cumbersome bureaucratic power
symbols, transported “Back to the
Future” style to discover he is a college
student once again.
Glancing at the calendar, he is
astounded to find that the year is 1995
and the place is his beloved A&M
campus.
off.
ByE
Of II
He wanders, half dazed, toward the
corner to a covered bus stop. A bus pulls
up and a swarm of students begin freely
boarding the vehicle. He wanders
aboard and checks his pocket for a
paltry amount of change. The driver
' tnotions him back toward the seats and
he is aghast to realize that this bus is
absolutely free.
Inside the bus he finds a sign that
clearly delineates the routes. In fact,
these buses are just part of a system that
links the entire community.
This bus route is serviced every 10
minutes. Riding through the campus,
he is amazed at the number of parking
spaces.
Bill sits back to relax and picks up a
copy of The Battalion that is next to him
on the seat. It contains an article about
the environmental benefits of decreased
carbon monoxide emissions.
Sandwiched right next to it is an article
on budget propositions.
It seems the school has saved a
bundle by cancelling plans for parking
expansion. They have reallocated
funding toward building better
technical support in the classroom.
“That’s really fantastic,” he thinks to
himself.
He flips the page and notices an
banner article about the unnecessary
expense of owning and operating a
vehicle. It says that less than 10 percent
of the A&M faculty, staff and students
own automobiles and that fewer than 15
percent of Bryan-College Station
residents do so.
The nation’s vehicle production has
altered dramatically since President
Bush unveiled a plan allotting federal
funding to build and/or refurbish
trains, monorails, trolleys and buses.
Glancing over his right shoulder, he
sees a beautiful new building on the
corner. He is curious and wants a better
look so he signals the driver to drop him
By golly, it’s the (>eorge Herbert
Walker Bush Memorial Library!Onii
side of the building is a shiny gold
plaque personally thanking Mobleyfc:
showing him a better way for the
nation’s future.
Wandering towards the MSC, he
that the renovation has been complete
and it looks exquisite. Some flyers are
tacked to the kiosks encouraging
students to ride the “party train” to
Austin.
This party train is just a special
reserved car for A&M students trying
get to the hot parf^ spots, orjusttoger
home for a visit.
The trains are linked to communkif
throughout Texas. The local busesan;
trolleys also do double duty on Fridav
and Saturday evenings by shuttling
people to and from local pubs, shoppir
malls, theaters and dining
establishments.
A trolley line cuts right through the
center of the four streets bordering
campus. He learns that the studentslo
to ride them in circles while they chat
T hey refer to this as “scoopingand
whooping in the Aggie loop.” Hethinl
that’s it! That’s how I’ll celebrate my
wise and worthy intellect, j
regi
with
SI
He quickly cuts across campus and
leaps aboard the trolley. Passing the
Dixie Ghicken, he lets out a “WHOOP
for joy.
“Bill, wake up ... William!” He
awakens with a start. Still sleepy-eyed,
he glances into the eyes of his lovely
wife. “Gosh, what a dream!” he says.
“No, not a dream,” he thinks to himse!
“a plan ... a plan that we’ll work on
today.”
For you see, dreams do become
reality with the advent and follow-
through of a plan.
I would like to urge the Bryan-
College Station community, as well as
A&M’s administration and parking
officials to take just a minute outofth*
busy schedules to examine the “big
picture.” A big eye, a small world,and
an even smaller city; but every person
makes a difference. The choice isyoi
Janice Squire is a graduate student
visualization sciences.
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Monique Threadgill,
Editor
Melissa Naumann,
Managing Editor
Damon Arhos,
Opinion Page Editor
Holly Becka, City Editor
Meg Reagan,
Lisa Ann Robertson,
News Editors
Clay Rasmussen, Sports Editor
Eric Roalson, Art Director
Todd Stone, Lifestyles Editor
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FAX
by Brett Bridgemat
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