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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1990)
Is*!. iVii The Battalion The Battalion OPINION Friday, September 14,1990 Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845-; Q-drop deadline should be extended to help students^ I don’t like the Q-drop deadline. It’s too early. According to the Fall 1990 Directory of'Classes, the last day f or students to drop classes is Sept. 28, the end of the fifth week of the semester. By the end of the fifth week, students should have at least one grade in each of their classes, right? Wrong. Last spring, I took five three-hour classes. The Q-drop deadline rolled around at the end of the fifth week, and I did not have a grade in any of my classes. Many lower-level classes have four or five tests in a semester, and the deadline is a bit more realistic for them. Upper-level courses, though, often have only a midterm and a final. In a 16-week semester, the midterm is certainly not going to fall before the fifth week. Dropping a class can be a necessity. It Cindy McMillian Editor should not be looked on as just a copout. Students often find themselves in classes for which they’re not prepared —classes requiring math knowledge are a great example. Not all students come from high schools offering calculus, and A&M doesn’t even offer pre-calculus for students wanting a ref resher course. If such students don’t have tests before the fifth week of classes, they may think that by studying hard they can catch up on their own. And they may find themselves in over their heads, staring at an F after the first test, with no option to drop. Other schools offer options to students. At Stanford University (which has, you know, an OK academic reputation), undergraduates may drop individual classes up until 24 hours before the final. The dropped class does not appear on the student’s record, and he doesn’t have to withdraw from the university. Not bad. Rice University has several options for undergraduates. They may drop classes without record until the end of the 10th class w eek. If they decide they’re not doing well in a class by the end of the fourth week, they can change and take it pass/fail. They also can register for a class to be taken pass/fail and decide in the 10th week to take the grade instead (students are limited to one pass/fail class each year and classes within their majors don’t apply). At A&M? If after the fifth week you find yourself in a class you can’t handle, you fail. And if you retake the class, the f ailing grade remains a part of your grade-point ratio. I know, I know. Help is available for students w ho are having trouble, and most professors are cooperative. Also, some students deserve to fail — they’re having grade trouble because of their own laziness. But in many cases, students find themselves in a bind. They may not have the proper background to pass a class, and since many classes grow progressively harder during the semester, the students may not realize their predicament until it’s too late. Others may encounter financial difficulty after classes start. Students paying for school often have to take one or more jobs to make ends meet. Balancing work and school caneasiU become too much to handle, and grj can plummet for these hard workers Should students such as these he penalized? I don’t think so. Extending the Q-drop deadline to d would help students and wouldnotllBy ISSELLE MC^ the academic reputation of A&M. Of The Battalion S Policies at Rice and Stanford arenni| more lenient than ours, and their 1 , lraditlon is at reputations are quite good. But like many 1 like Rice’s 10-week drop deadlintHons must chan; This gives enough time for students B 6 so last predict what type of grade they’re J a( ^ ets implemei o make. If students realize they cant! used b the ol(i handle a class, let them drop it. H Corps Conn 1 think students deserve thatdioi(||hittles devised after Dun cy Cindy McMillian is a senior econct stopped serving Bhere the food ma J Inter of the tabl Frats ending Aggies’ unity Mail Call ■deteria-style m< EDITOR: The most vital and cherished element of Texas A&M Uni versity throughout its history has been its sense of unity within the student body. Being an Aggie meant loyalty and brotherhood to the University! Now our student body is slowly but surely transforming into one that would be found at t.u. with all of it’s Alpha, Kappa, Gamma, Bamma, Sigma, Gubber, Boos! It’s bad enough that social fraternities and sororities insist on victimizing everyone else with their nonsensical greek gibberish but some curriculum oriented fraternities are fol lowing suit with their almost equally annoying bulletins, rush activities, and shoepolished messages on cars. If somebody somewhere would show moderation I personally would not be as hostile towards all of them. I agree with Larry Cox that fraternities could continue their quest for ‘selective’ yet unconditional brotherhood with out university recognition. Maybe this would remind all of the ‘selective’ organizations that: ALPHA GAMMA GAMMA IOTA EPSILON SIGMA’s come first! (Figure it out!) one. I find this right a little more cherished than one’s ‘free dom to spend money freely.’ If you are so confident that the Aggie brotherhood is stronger than any fraternal organiza tion’s bond then you’ve made the right decision. I was not sure of this when I entered school so I made a bond which I am confident will enhance my stay here in school as well as my life. I can say this because I have experienced both, you ob viously have not. You also stated that your Aggie bond is free. Fraternal life is not free and neither is college life, Larry. You just paid your tuition, right. I will end my reply with two questions for you, Larry, please read them. I would enjoy reading answers to these be cause I could not find any in your column. How can you be so positive that the University would ben efit from a lack of fraternity rushing on campus? How can you state that it is unfair to lump all fraternity members together when that is what your article, and you, seem to be all about? only if it is a listing for a meeting, not a party or anything re motely social. Finally, the Battalion should quit wasting paper on the Lifestyles section and print only relevent news such as the previous days’ stock prices. You see, Mr. Gox and 1 believe that a healthy social life is just as important in our college years as a good education,just as long as there is no mixture of the two. While on campus you should speak only of your classes and relevant text not of your weekend plans, and on weekends never speak of your classes. It is our opinion that the two are not related and that the university could save itself a lot of hassale, time, meeting room space, and solve the horrendous problem of billboard blanketing all in one action. The I AMU campus is not a social playground where groups of Aggies can meet to share intrests, socialize and build unity. 1 AMU is a place of study, knowledge and re search where Aggies should dedicate themselves to learning without communicating with other students. The cadets ha •Hf asking for 1 ■orps tradition, ne deal,” means I When Duncan Biodeled two ye A Peter Coman ’91 Justin Whitley, ’91 Courtney Heinrich, ’91 Just more dead horse beating Don’t pick on us Greeks Greeks, non-regs ... we’re all Ags EDITOR: This is the great time of year when you are either a Greek, and boasting of your rush acceptance, or your everyone else, and bashing Greek rush week. When is everyone going to wake up and realize that all together we’re Aggies and one big family? I am an Aggie Bus Driver and drive inner campus only. On a regular work day, I transport anywhere from 200-400 passengers on a single 4-hour shift. To say the least, I have encountered many different kinds of students: old, young, honor, greeks, cowboys, and simply lost souls. I also work with some other 350 drivers, and again, all kinds of people. I am not pretty, or special, or even popular, but I’ve found that all kinds of Aggies make the bus ride enjoyable, all kinds make working at Bus Operations fun, and all kinds make great friends. All of the people that bash Greeks, or call cowboys hicks, or say that corps people are possessed, listen up: Don’t forget what it means to be an Aggie. It means tradi tion, pride, loyalty, and friendship to all Aggies — past and present. EDITOR: Larry Cox gives new meaning to the phrase ‘beating a dead horse’. Every semester Battalion readers must endure the same thing, column after column of the opinions of your columnists who can’t find anything original to say. We the readers are tired of ‘Greek Bashing,’ ‘Corp Bashing,’ and ‘Bonfire Bashing’! It’s old, it’s useless, and it shows laziness on the part of your columnists for not coming up with something new and fun. I’m hesitant to even give Larry Cox the benefit of a reply. To the freshmen of Texas A&M, take this to heart. You have not had to read 3 years worth of worn out opinions yet. Please don’t let these negative columnists lead you astray. We are Aggies first, all of us. The Greeks know this, the Corp knows this, the Non-Regs know this ... you know this. Some Battalion columnists want you to forget. They want to divide the student body. They want you to stereotype people, DON’T. Feel free to be yourself, but always keep an open mind and respect your fellow Ags for who they are. You don’t have to be everyone’s friend, but don’t hold contempt for Ag gies of certain groups or beliefs either. Remember to think positive and feel the Aggie Spirit! Wilhelm Liebmann, ’91 Sheila Lehmann, ’91 A&M is exclusionary, too No frats, football, or fun in general EDITOR: Mr. Cox, thank you for your lesson on hypocrisy. I am ref erring of course to your article on whether or not fraterni ties should be recognized on campus. You stated that by giv ing fraternities access to campus facilities Texas A&M is ‘aid ing and abetting’ groups which are exclusionary and elitist in nature. First, national fraternity members are required to be stu dents at the institution where the chapter is located. Are you saying that we should not be allowed to use what we paid for? Second, does everyone who applies to this school get in, I think not. Texas A&M University is itself exclusionary. I hope you are still reading, Larry, because this is just a beginning. You stated that in your article that fraternities need an excuse for existence. Nothing needs an excuse for existence Larry. Not fraternities, not me, not you, not any- EDITOR: As an Aggie first and a fraternity member second I am in full agreement of Mr. Cox’s arguments in his column on Sept 5. Fraternities are elitist and exclusionary and should be booted off this campus in order to make room for the organi zations that are in no way social and whose purpose is solely for the benefit of the school. I therefore recomend that we do away with social clubs at A&M, except for the African-American ones due to their out standing comaraderie which according to Mr. Cox and myself is above and beyond any other group, even Aggies, and should be allowed to exist. In agreement with Mr. Cox’s initial thought I also believe that Kyle Field should be moved off campus and that the intermural activities should be dis banded seeing that they provide no educational or profes sional fulfillment. I also believe that all campus billboards should be exclusive to educational and professional clubs, and EDITOR: It’s the beginning of the Fall semester. 1 love it. Aggie Football is winning, the weather is great, I actually got the classes I wanted, the girls all look good and the Greeks are getting picked on AGAIN. Everyone seems to think that if your greek all you do is drink beer and party. In his article on Sept. 5 Larry Gox claims that the fraternities survival is ‘at the expense of educational and professional clubs.’ I hat is hard for me to believe. We Greeks are future prof essionals. There are fraternities at over 650 college campuses na tionwide. There are 400,000 men in f raternities in college to day. Seventy-one percent of all Greeks nationwide go on to graduate, compared to fifty percent for the non-Greeks. Larry Cox also claimed that the Greeks monopolize on bul letin board space. Should an organization be ridiculed be cause it is able to organize and mobilize its resources? I don't think so. The main purpose of all fraternities is intellectual awareness, socialresponsibility, integrity and brotherly love. A common misconception of fraternity men is that they are lazy. Seventy-one percent of the men in “Who’s Who” are Greek. Seventy-six percent of the nation’s senators and rep resentatives are greek. All but two U.S. presidents since 1825 were Greek. Eighty-five percent of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1800 have been Greek men or women. The Greek pres ence is also seen in the business world. Eighty-five percent of the Fourtune 500 executives are Greek and of the nation’s 50 largest corporations 43 are headed by a Greek. A lot of people believe that A&M doesn’t want the Greeks. I’m here to tell you that is is too late. Some prominent Greeks on our campus include A&M President William H. Mobley Delta Upsilon, Vice President of Student Services Dr. John J. Koldus Pi Kappa Alpha and the Director of Student Activities Dr. Carolyn Adair Sigma Kappa. Don’t believe the myths about being Greek. We are good Ags and nice people. Scott A. Finfer, ’91 Have an opinion? Express it! Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. I'he 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 classif ication, address and telephone number of the writer. AH letters may be brought to 210 Reed McDonald, or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111. Company K-21 )ining Hall wf The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conf erence The Battalion Editorial Board Cindy McMillian, Editor Timm Doolen, Managing Editor Ellen Hobbs, Opinion Page Editor Holly Becka, City Editor Kathy Cox, Kristin North, News Editors Nadja Sabawala, Sports Editor Eric Roalson, Art Director Lisa Ann Robertson, Lifestyles Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup porting newspaper operated as a commu nity service to Texas A&M and Bryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the au thor, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regu lar semesters, except for holiday and ex amination periods. Newsroom: 845-3313. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semes ter, $40 per school year and $50 per full year: 845-2611. Advertising rates fur nished on request: 845-2696. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station, TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. Adventures In Cartooning by Don Atkinson Jr. '9] ’9] '91 '9] ’9] ’9] '9] ’9] '9] ’9] '9] '9' ’9: '9: , 9: UfTS see MOW..."DON insultod ruo comnm NCPsDS 50 THCV OCT mV AND CNRDLL AIM IN TH6 CORPS OF '—-—^jcadcts." "TWO BURLP OFFICCRS SHOW OP 10 DRAG WN OFF. HIS ACAD IS SHAtfD AND HC MUST WARD OP CVCRAVAA AT 5 AM TO UNDCP&O AN ocHWsme cmcise VWTiNe.