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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 1991)
5rl9,i! Opinion Thursday, September 19,1991 The Battalion Page 11 > (AP). Rob in so; r a bi e upco®. 'ammate: f need t( t tenders, > try tobt said rkout. sense and los( the play, s." ring wot tive ^ith a 5), knocked >ffs in the Goldec alentbui /ou don'i ison tolc Express ay's edi. he Spurs attitudes her sta® om eact all court, d a series -court in. tricklanc in a fight no night eason fit' in decern v but tht ly was Wingati in Texas aissed tht le seasor 1 his legal gate ate >f contro. urs' play. Goldei seen atj 2 a.m. ,at startec ed to dis- e playof : "Wher on time, o the shows a t of disre- > 1/2 n the a first (4-6). th re- s and /e, ice in 2ased > fifth ■came i story Ernie ■ns. hit a Pitts- leficit s 6-5 nagic ando ngled cored ? fifth .. East , Any lardi- ?cond inings in the ; hit a in the ionds' omer. he m EDITORIAL Editorials expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. Get involved in University activities The writine on the wall is clear to see. Campus organizations constantly call students with common interests together. The cry to get involved is heard as early as our high school days and continues now that we are in college. Early enrollment estimates reach 40,965, with approximately 7,700 freshmen. The experience of walking into a classroom of 300 can be numbing - it's easy to feel isolated. Remember, college is only a temporary means to a life-long end - a career, and college is what you make it. Every day in The Battalion at least three dozen groups advertise meeting places and times in What's Up. Students also can see numerous fliers posted around campus. Don't let these easy opportunities to get involved pass you by. Chances are, you share common interests with others on campus. By getting involved, you can take advantage of everything this University has to offer. The Battalion Editorial Board Cruel Tricks for Freshmen No.10 by Binso Barnes GLSS officers speak out Gays, lesbians 'come out'to offer help to one another If a bullet ever enters my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door. —Harvey Milk (1930-1978) As the semester begins, there has been comment on the opinion page of The Battalion concerning Gay an Lesbian Student Services. In the interest of providing the student body with further in formation and responding to some of the comments, the present leadership of GLSS would like to respond. GLSS has been active on campus for 15 years. We have been a recognized student organiza tion since 1986, and have had regular meetings on campus since that time. Last year we had 35 members and an average attendance of between 30 and 50 at our meetings and programs. Someone has asked, "What does GLSS do besides complain about be ing discriminated against?" Well, quite a lot. We have a meeting on campus every other Thursday with programs involving speakers, films or discussions to provide education and support. We sponsor two other infor mal groups (i.e., a rap group and a women's issues group) that meet reg ularly off campus. We provide, through our Speak er's Bureau program, a panel of stu dents to go into a class (at the invita tion of the professor) to answer ques tions about issues relevant to lesbian and gay students. We offer a room mate referral service. We bring speakers to campus from the local Readers Opinion Officers of Goy and Lesbian Student Services spect;" we simply wanted to allow students to know we are here and to find out about programs we offer. If some students are surprised by our presence or existence, it may be be cause they have come here from a school system which has deliberately removed all references to ho mosexuality from art, litera ture, science and history. For such students, our presence may serve as an important el ement in their education. Invisibility is a significant part of social oppression. Ethnic minorities find them selves economically, geographically and socially marginalized (Who ever bothers to talk to custodial workers? Who ever drives through the predom inantly African-American areas of Bryan-College Station?). Women find themselves oppressed by language that assumes their in significance. For lesbians and gays, this invisibility is quite real and has been severely enforced in our culture in the past. The penalties for actually »ay are not nearly as severe as for appearing to be gay. Society says: "Don't be gay, but if you are, at least let us pretend you aren't." We find that the people who harass les bians and gay men the most often are the very same ones who will deny anyone harasses us! This problem of invisibility is why we empnasize the importance of "coming out." Not everyone is able or willing to come out, but those who do invariably find they are able to live "Problems we have had seem to He not so much with this administration per se as with some individuals and groups who either wish the administration to discriminate against gay or lesbian people, or who wish to be free to harass or discriminate against us themselves." community and around the state. We sponsor several dances each semester, and pass on information to our members about events in the local gay and lesbian community. We sometimes act as a liaison between lesbian and gay students and the Uni versity community, and maintain dia logue with the University about les bian and gay issues. Concerning that dialogue, we would like to say that in the past six months representatives of GLSS have met with officials of the present University administration at every level, and we have always been treated with the utmost respect. Problems we have had seem to lie not so much with this administration per se as with some individuals and groups who either wish the adminis tration to discriminate against gay or lesbian people, or who wish to be free to harass or discriminate against us themselves. If we have spoken loudly at times, it is because we know many gay and lesbian students, faculty and staff here do not feel free to speak out and we want their (and our) concerns to be aired. As for our presence at MSC Open House, we were there for the same reasons every other recognized stu dent organization was there: because we registered for a table and showed up. We were making no attempt ei ther to offend anyone or to "gain re- their lives with greater freedom, in tegrity and personal power. GLSS is committed to helping all members of the lesbian and gay community move forward in their own coming out pro cess. This is why GLSS is "out" on campus and will continue to be. To those who feel the existence of homosexuality is somehow "unac ceptable" or "offensive" we can say only this: we are not asking you to lie about who you date, who you love, or to be anyone other than who you are. We are asking you to extend this same courtesy to the gay and lesbian peo ple you know (and you do know some, whether you are aware of it or not). If you do, we can live together and learn from one another. But if not, don't expect us to go back into the closet. GLSS is out, and we're out to stay. All of our programs are open to all people regardless of sexual orientation, and anyone who wishes to join us may. We look for ward to a day when our services will not be needed, a day when people's sexual orientation will matter about as much as whether or not they are right handed. But until that day comes, we'll be around. And out. Brian M. Reinhardt President, GLSS Brian J. Enright Vice President, GLSS You WANT TO pOPUUAR WITH Yht &IRX.S, pur a -e; Potato in Yook •VOTER e O. imp ,.U^/Yo\j PUT \ ‘ n ,, Write in Tim Truesdale for A&M student regent L ast week the Batt reported the most disappointing news I've seen in the year I've been at Texas A&M. Apparently, the state legislature has decided not to allow a student regent represent our University. I have no idea how this decision will affect higher learning. But I was all set to run for the position, and I'm sure I would have won. Rather than giving up on the idea, I have a suggestion. Read over my platform. And when you all vote on November 5, write me in as A&M student regent. We'll send those out-of touch congressmen in Austin a message they'll never forget! (I realize there won't be a place to write this on your ballots. So adding it yourself will make the message all the more dramatic.) This platform was meant to be presented as a speech, not as a written column. As you read over this column, just imagine it being delivered by a speaker whose style encompasses a cross between Lyndon Johnson, Jesse Jackson and Boris Yeltsin. (Tm not sure why these three, but Tim just try to imagine it.) Here goes: TfUQSdala Texas has done some great things over the years. Now we are no longer just going to do the wonderful, but the impossible! We are going to put a moratorium on all tuition and fee increases. No, we're going to do better. Because we are in the country, we will clobber big city prices. We will not only stop inflation from raising its ugly head, we will slash prices on your college education bill. All goods and services sold on campus will match discount prices payed in any other part of sprawling Bryan/College Station. If you find it anywhere else for less, you just bring us a receipt, and we will triple the difference. That's only half of the good news. The real kicker is you will no longer be required to buy your goods and services on campus. That's right, it's now legal to shop at Wal-Mart, Kroger's, the Post Oak Mall or wherever your little heart desires. Listen closely, because this will really startle the administration: I propose that everyone be allowed to bring her or his lunch onto campus. Yes, you'll no longer have to sneak your Alf lunch box onto campus, dreading the lynching you'll receive if the lunch detecting dogs sniff food you're trying to bring in. We will slash funds from the athletic program in order to add onto the library. In case you haven't noticed lately, A&M's athletic programs bring in far more money than most other programs. This is why some people want a new improved athletic facility. But we realize most Aggies don't really care about sports. So instead, we will put more money into the library. How can we justify this? Well, I propose a way to "have our cake and eat it too." I will personally talk with ESPN. They could televise the sport of the 90s: NOTIS wrestling. You know, fighting for that space at our Truesdale is a graduate student in urban planning. computerized card catalog at noon. It's really a complete sport: speed, strength, endurance, quickness and even a bit of intelligence. After playing many rounds of this high-intensity, high- impact sport, I am sure there is a huge market for viewing this stuff. I think we could even pre-empt American Gladiators. So, we spend more on the library, bring in millions of dollars through the contract and get great exposure for A&M on national television. Who could be opposed? We will not introduce a state income tax to help pay for education. Those "good old boys" in Austin have been claiming that in order to balance the budget, they must cut educational spending or institute state income taxes. They act as if this were a difficult problem or something. But there's one principal which will solve this whole IMAGINED fiscal problem: "one good turn deserves another." That's right. Once we've slashed college costs, and brought on-campus prices into line, let's just push on and ada an amendment to the Texas Constitution that makes state income taxes illegal. Finally, let's improve the quality of education offered at this University. I definitely couldn't agree more with our state representative Steve Ogden. Ogden is usually a very sensible legislator. But we won't hold that against him because he has j some utopian ideas himself. For example, this past week, he announced he wants more tenure-track professors teaching undergraduate courses. Austin is slashing our budget, we're holding the line on educational and extra-curricular fees, and somebody's calling for more experienced professors in the classroom. Of course, I love this idea. Some professors will have to relinquish research projects which bring millions of dollars and much prestige into the University. Or we will have to hire more teaching professors. But I say, go above and beyond. Do both! Well, as I said before, the goal of my tenure as student regent would not be to accomplish the difficult, but the impossible. I realize I certainly couldn't exhaust the impossibilities in such a short amount of time. So, if you think of any more, be sure to call me on my cellular phone, or drop me a line at my graduate student penthouse. I realize the perspective expressed in this speech differs from what other candidates would have offered if indeed the legislature had approved the position of student regent. At least, I think so... Mail Call Where does bowling fee go? Clevenger's Top 40 A&M ques tionable fees: Here's my favorite obscure fee. Before MSC renovations forced the bowling alley to close, I took several bowling classes for physical educa tion there. Whenever I registered for the class, an additional $15 fee was added to the billing statement as a PE fee. But once in class there was an up-front charge for bowling ex penses. The bowling lanes were privately operated, and therefore everyone had to pay at the beginning of the semester for lane and shoe rentals. The $15 registra tion fee went somewhere else. Consider this. Each bowling class has 40 peo ple, each person pays a $15 registration fee, and maybe 24 sections of the class are offered in a year. A little math tells us this equals al most $15,000. For what? The bowling alley operators evi dently didn't get it. According to students who worked there while it was still open, there is no plan for re placing any of the hardware once the alley is relocated to a different area of the renovated MSC basement, in spite of the fact that it might not sur vive the relocation. You tell me. Robert Dickens graduate student P.S. It would be interesting to know if they are still charging an ad ditional fee even though classes are Have an opinion? Express iti The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers. All letters to the editor are welcome. Written letters must be signed and include classification, address and daytime phone number for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be published. . The Battalion reserves the right to edit all letters for length, style and accuracy. There is no guarantee letters will appear. Letters may be brought to 013 Reed McDonald, sent to Stop Till or presently held off campus. Towing cars helps customers Mr. George is wrong to place the blame for his misfortune on the Dix ie Chicken. Furthermore, he is way out of line by stating that the Dixie Chicken does not "try to please the customers." Just the opposite is true—Don Ganter's towing policy is a result of his trying to please customers. If the Chicken did not tow cars, students would park there all day while they are on campus, knowing there wouldn't be any repercus sions. Fortunately, because the Dixie Chicken enforces the towing policy of their parking lot, customers like myself don't have to walk a mile to get to the Dixie Chicken. Campus Mail Stop can be faxed to 845-5408. Gloria Brock '90