The Battalion
OPINION
Xhe Battalioi
Monday, September 17,1990
Opinion Page Editor Ellen Hobbs 845-331
Mail Call
Film has no educational merit
EDITOR:
The film, “Birth Of A Nation,” has no educational merit.
Although D. W. Griffith’s approach to making this film was
sheer innovation, it continues to portray negative stereotypes
of Af rican Americans. The film portrayed African Americans
as Uncle Toms, self-gratifying drunkards, and rapists, and it
attempts to divide the race by placing mulattos on a higher
plain than their darker counterparts.
It was evident that many students marveled in the sup
pression and degradation of African Americans that were
perpetrated in the film by many of the comments that I over
heard. Comments ranged from “things haven’t changed
much” when slaves danced for the pleasure of the slave mas
ter to “he’s going to rape her” whenever an African American
male and a Caucasian female were alone.
In one particular scene, African Americans who were in
power (fictitiously) passed a law that allowed interracial mar
riage. I could not count the number of females w ho gasped
for air throughout the room.
If you would take the time to shed some light on your ig
norance and interact with African American males you would
find out that sex, particularly that from Caucasian women, is
not our driving force.
Please don’t underestimate my intelligence by assuming
that I perceived this to be the intent of the instructor. I genui
nely feel that her basis for showing this film was purely educa
tional, but the negative aspects outweigh the positive.
This entire film was not an ‘historical facsimile’ but a mul
titude of historical falsehoods.
stand the professor and know what he or she wanted or didn’t
want.
I know I’m not the first person to discuss this, nor will I be
the last. It is a shame that I will probably have to pay $100.00
to $150.00 to an individual tutor in order to pass this class,
not to mention the enrollment fee for the class. Because of
this controversy, I feel that the credibility of the statistics de
partment has been compromised.
Branden Cornelius, ’91
Capitalists benefit from agression
Mark Lambert, ’91
Foreign profs make STAT harder
EDITOR:
I would like to call your attention to something that has
been bothering me since the beginning of the semester. I am
very disappointed in the statistics class I am currently en
rolled in. My professor makes a very poor attempt at speaking
English. I understand that this is no eye opening revelation,
but I feel attention needs to be brought to this subject.
It is to my understanding that before foreign professors
teach a course that they must take several hours of an English
competency course, but seriously, does one course in English
qualify a foreign professor to teach an upper level course al
an American university. After my professor has finished the
lecture, I leave the class understanding no more than when I
had entered.
Statistics is a very difficult course to begin with, only made
worse by the fact that the instructor speaks English on a fifth
or sixth grade level. I know the instructors are very knowl
edgeable in the field of statistics, but are greatly lacking in the
verbal skills necessary to relay this information to the class.
To make this situation seem better, the statistics depart
ment has “help” desks for students free of charge. With K.
Choi, T.H. Lung, S.T. Ou, and S. Yi being the first four
names on the statistics ‘help’ sheet, I found myself right back
where I had started. Are we supposed to seek the aid of these
people because we can’t understand our own professor?
I have nothing at all against these people individually, but
during my four years at this university, one of the first things
I found helpf ul in passing any course was to be able to under-
EDITOR:
Dr. George Edward’s analysis of the opposition to the de
ployment of U.S. troops in the Middle East (New York Times,
Sept. 8, 1990) is way off the mark. For it is not education that
determines class; it is class that determines education. His
analysis is largely an attempt to paint those who oppose the
troop deployment as ignorant.
The truth of the matter is that those who support the
troop deployment are those that buy into the capitalist sys
tem. For it is only capitalists who will benefit from this latest
example of U.S. aggression. Lenin indeed spoke correctly
when he characterized imperialism as the highest stage of
capitalism.
The troop deployment is at the behest of the oil compa
nies who are seeking higher profits at the expense of the
working class.
If one adds in the cost of the military operation to the
price of oil, one comes up with a figure much higher than $30
a barrel, but who makes up the difference between the price
of oil on the market and the price with the military action
added in? Not the oil companies. It is the working class which
pays the majority of the taxes in this country.
But there is even more at play here. It is no coincidence
that this operation has taken place just before the fall cam
paign. No one talks about the savings and loan boondoggle
anymore. Ditto on homelessness, unemployment and pov
erty. And there is no more talk about a peace dividend.
It gives everyone seeking election to preserve the status
quo, Democrats and Republicans alike, a chance to wrap
themselves in the flag.
Paul Kennedy
Graduate Student
No more flat, thanks to Ags
EDITOR:
This past weekend, I was driving on South Wellborn Rd.
and got a flat tire. As I was struggling to change it, five very
kind Aggie men from the Les Appelt dorm offered their
help. If it wasn’t for them, I would probably still, be, sitting.
there today. Thanks again, guys!
Ann Madison ’93
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.
Sorority member
speaks up for rush
The past few articles on the evils of
sorority rush have prompted me to
write in def ense of sororities.
Mrs. Johnson’s August article about
the humiliations of rush had some
validity, but she was sadly misinformed
about some aspects of rush. For Mrs.
Johnson and other people who feel
wronged by the Creek system, I would
like to clarify some things.
Acceptance is desired by everyone
and going through rush can make a
Katie
Carlson
Reader's Opinion
whatever, as long as somehow she meet!
the same financial obligation as every
other girl in the sorority she pledged.
Activities can be important because
sororities want girls to be active — that’s
how we get things done. So, yes, it can
person feel as if they somehow are being help you to have activities listed
examined too closely. But the girls in
the sororities face similar feelings
during rush. It is a mutual selection
process.
This was my first year to experience
rush from the sorority’s side and it’s just
as hard. Sometimes girls you really like
choose not to return and it’s very
difficult not to take it personally.
For the rushees, there are minimum
grade standards for each sorority. Our
minimum grade standard is based on
the national grade standard for
initiation into our sorority. It doesn’t
make sense to pledge a girl who cannot
be initiated.
This minimum grade standard is not
unreasonably high; and since our
primary role here is as students, I think
emphasizing grades is rather positive.
I was surprised to hear a parent
dispute the importance of grades.
Maybe Mrs. Johnson and my father
should have a chat.
The financial criteria of sororities is
very simple. Each rushee is told, during
rush, about dues. This is a Panhellenic
rule and every house displays this
information during rush.
It does not matter if you are on
financial aid and can barely scrape up
the money to pay your dues or if your
parents give you so much money that
you could probably pay everyone’s, as
long as you can fulfill your own
.obligation. The sorority .does not benefit
from pledging a more wealthy girl. It’s
not as if dues are scaled to income.
Dues serve a purpose, by the way.
Without that money, we wouldn’t have
our houses or our social calendars or
even our national charters.
The point I’m trying to make is that
Mrs. Johnson’s anguish over the
importance of her husband’s career to
her daughter during rush was
unnecessary.
Nobody cares if a girl’s f ather is a
welder or a doctor or a ditch-digger or
on vow
rush application. But I can't imagine
why it would matter what the activity
was, and the range of possibilities is
great. Mrs. Johnson, your daughter
must have been interested in something
— work, church, school or community
organizations.
Rush is a very emotional experience
for rushees and sorority members, but
most find that the results make it
The financial criteria of
sororities is very simple.
Each rushee is told, during
rush, about dues. It does
not matter if you can barely
scrape up the money to pay
your dues or if you can pa)
everyone’s, as long as you
can fulfill your own
obligation. The sorority
does not benefit from
pledging a more wealthy
girl. It’s not as if dues are
scaled to income.
worthwhile. More than 400 girls
pledged sororities this fall.
For all of you who wonder why
tell you that — as cheesy as it maysoi
— the bonds of sisterhood f ormed in
every house make sorority life very
rewarding. 1 have never regretted nn
decision to pledge and am now very
active in my sorority.
I find it ironic to hear people rank
sorority girls for being judgmental. Ar
you not judging us? Being in a sororin
may not be for everyone, but rushing
isn’t mandatory.
For those of us who take pride inoi
Creek affiliation, who are you tojudgi
us so unfairly?
Katie Carlson is a senior political
science major.
Consumers pay
money for mediocre service
It certainly is a rarity to get good
service today.
When we find a good service
company whose employees are nice, and
who provides the service ef ficiently and
at a price we think is realistic, we ar e
more likely to be surprised than if we
discover we are dealing with a service
company whose service we rate
mediocre or poor.
It’s part of a plague that affects most
consumers in the United States —
paying good money for poor service.
One of the best examples of a practice
that has become accepted not only by
the companies but also by the
consumers is that of making incredibly
vague service call appointments.
Too many companies that provide
services at consumers’ homes, especially
services we consider necessary, have
policies that narrow down the time of
the arrival of delivery or service
representative only to between 8 a.m.
and 5 p.m.
inclination to sit at home for nine hours
and wait for some service representative
to get there?
Those are the of fice hours of the
company, of course, and it is easier for
the company to keep up with their
appointments if they are not very
specific about when they are going to
arrive at your home.
It can even be argued that the eight-
to-five appointment policy may make
service better: Without keeping strict
appointments they are able to make as
many service calls as possible in one day,
since some appointments take less time
than others.
But who has the time or the
Once, while l was sitting at home
complaining while I waited for my gas
to be turned on, a neighbor told me
that, really, it was to be expected. We
were in college, and since we had to go
to class every day it made it difficult for
the service people to find somebody at
home. They are usually dealing with
families in which there is always
someone able to stay home and wait.
Oh, come on. The days of the “Leave-
it-to-Beaver” family are coming to an
end. More and more wives are working
outside the home, and not just because
they’re liberated, but because they need
the money. There are more and more
single-parent families.
their houses. There are fewer and fewer
homemakers able (or willing) to wait all
day for the service companies to send
somebody out at their leisure to do their
job.
And what happens when they don’t
make it to your house between eight and
five? Or if you just have to leave for a
minute and they come while you’re not
there? More than likely, the company is
more than willing to re-schedule your
service call between eight and five the
next day.
few people who would rather hear that
the service representative will be attha
home “tomorrow between eight and
five” than in two days at 3:45 p.m.
Not all service companies base their
appointments on a “somewhere-
between-eight-and-five” basis, but
enough do to add to the plague of
service we are beginning to expect froi
many of the companies we depend
Just because people are homemakers
doesn’t mean their responsiblities are
totally contained within the walls of
We pay for better service than we get.
After the service charges and startup
fees and delivery charges, must we lose
time at work and school too?
The “between eight and five” service
schedule is silly and outdated, and not
what consumers want to pay for. We
want the convenience of being able to
make an appointment, even if it means
taking a little more time for the service
representative to get there. I know of
It’s time that we quit just puttingup
with it. If we have a problem with a
service, we need to complain. Andifw
don’t think our comments are taken
heart by the person we make them to,
then we should take them higher
We must challenge the service
providers to make their services wortl
the money we pay for them. We’ve
to remember that the customer isalwi
right, and remind them if they forget
Ellen Hobbs is a senior journalism
major.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
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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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