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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.
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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
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