mber24,
Opinion
uesday, September 24, 1991
The Battalion
Page 9
jovernment should not
ponsor individual artists
ublic patrons must judge works as worthwhile
T he National Endowment for
the Arts was created in 1965
to "encourage and support
nerican art and artists." It supplies
jnds every year for shows like "Live
rn Lincoln Center/' "Great Perfor-
lances/' and "Metropolitan
era Presents." These pro-
ams allow people across the
tion to hear or see classical
rformances previously seen
lily in cities like New York
11 Washington, D.C.
I Museums of all kinds are
iMpported by grants from the
lib A. That money allows
Museums to rent shows and
flleces that they would like to
^owcase. Unfortunately, the
A also funds individual
rks. Grants for individual
ejects, whether created by
eor many artists, should
ended.
The idea of govemment-
Iponsored art smacks of propaganda.
I the 1930s the Nazis collected "ap-
loved" artwork that showed good
Iryan people working hard for the
Duth Africa,«lGerman state. Paintings and statues
speare's %pf lews or Jewish themes, communist
, lemes or any "politically incorrect"
iJeas were hung up for ridicule.
,, I Graffiti was painted next to the
but t*\yta,« or k s ex p) a j n i n g w hat was incorrect
rica Jl v |out them. Many observers
on their or| u S hed ' P erha P s because they felt
me. I 6 / t°- Bauhaus, one of the mod-
g for an indiB 11 world's greatest art schools, was
'to ask quftjtut down.
At A&Mvo:l Communists in the Soviet Union
easily raisfejid China were no better. They hired
rand and a; Irtists who believed in communism
lessor to e>M paint their propaganda posters and
iomething. iL-nphlets.
[phimo mm Artists traditionally have survived
in'four vearN' caus - e of the 8 ood W l11 ( and money)
is hard (off supporters and patffons. Lack of re- '
o be so faM urces ' though, is nof censorship. If
: rom home, one speaker has a soapbox and stands
ou should sei |
e said. "lre-| —
David
Nash
biochemistry
major.
HTTThe Battafc'j
capture the eye of a philanthropist
will be able to survive.
Many good bands have died be
cause of lack of local interest. This
doesn't mean they were no good or
had no talent, but rather there was no
appreciative audience for
their art.
Now I am not a
spokesman of the religious
right, but this argument is
also used by them. I want to
distance myself from them.
The American Family As
sociation says that govern
ment should not sponsor art,
but it has for very different
reasons.
Members of the associa
tion do not like the types of
work some NEA grants have
produced, like the Serrano
and Maplethorpe pho
tographs. They say, of course,
everyone has a right to say
anything, but they just don't want to
hear it.
The truth is they would like to re
move anything that they see as un
clean. Homosexuality, anti-J'esus
things, etc., are offensive to these peo
ple, and they want it removed. The
American Family Association would
like to see the National Endowment
for the Arts dissolved.
This would be disastrous for the
museum community. Museums and
art galleries should get money with
no strings attached to showcase the
art and artists they think are worthy.
Money given that way can be offen
sive to no one and there is still no
government control. This plan would
be much better than the current one
which places limits on what can be
created with that money. An artist
should be free to do as he or she
•pleases, and the government should; t
get out of the art patron business alto
gether.
u write ah I "Artists do not define art. Art critics do not define art. The
wublic defines art... Many good bands have died because
IZZotiV l ack of local interest. This doesn’t mean they were no
r who areaii loocf or had no talent, but rather there was no appreciative
I s su l e ^ fudience for their art."
here, but than
jit thing „
led dream toll it to tell his story, people will listen
:s becauseol tjhim. If another speaker stands
5aid. Ibppj-by with a 2,000 watt PA system
t to go ' L-jj man y m ore people come to hear
innes urg. | ^ £- rst man j s not b e j n g cen-
ng way from ¥ ' b
here he is not 501 ea -
icr home, the Th e temporary removal of MTV
ke his colle- ■fy TCA Cable was not censorship. Be-
e plays threepuse we can't hear some great bar
ming Ageieland in Miami play here, that band is
m of Shablot being censored. Don't say it's not
Merchant of p e same thing, because it is. There
las no way to get MTV unless you
■ought a five thousand dollar satellite
|lish, and you cannot see a great band
^ Pa9 e 7 H Miami unless you go there. But
when that great band gets a record la-
lection wasn|Li we a jj re joice. Those artists
..disappointsILyg f ounc } their patron, a record
o bucks,! 0 ^o m pany.
But the mot i -U . i . ,
■ louded I tnf I An artist who cannot 8 et s P on -
lore I likethiT red t ^ ,e NEA is not getting cen-
fans will hart Spred. Artists should not come to ex-
Those o(ycjP ec t government grants to fund their
Use Your III®orks. Artists do not define art. Art
convinceyo[critics do not define art. The public
lefines art. Shows which are largely
successful at one museum will be
■^booked by other museums. If the
1 qq-1 Irtist's work is not popular then it
R'ill die a natural death. Artists that
Now that I have said all that, I am
not recommending to you that you all
skip art. Rather, art is a treasure of
the people.
It just seems that a government or
ganization should not be able to de
cide which artist gets national expo
sure and which does not. Museums
and art galleries book shows that are
successful and pieces that are
provocative to draw crowds. Hope
fully they will make enough money to
rent some different pieces for the next
show.
Go to AnNam Teahouse or your
favorite local club and see some great
local bands. Several, like ARB, left for
Austin because they got very little
support from the local community.
OPAS season tickets are sold out,
but there are still tickets available for
the individual shows.
The Warsaw Philharmonic will be
here Friday.
The University offers art history
and music appreciation classes as
well as drawing and writing classes
for those who show talent.
If the government should not fund
the creation of art, the slack must be
taken up by you.
Davis-Garv. Hie Olde Years
/ ... — ~-V\
by Bingo Barnes
Go Tip 1 TCM T D
ACXEPTANCe LETTER FOR If///,/,, AlreapV s
XT All s iARt^d when \
ONrCANVPUS HOD3\/HG in
PAV\5-GARY / FoR th'E FALL
OF \?8G.
A FEW
FRIFN
attending
FRofx /vw hoaaftowi
.WHAT DoRnn l HAD/
IpPRAWN l IN -THF uctte R v.
sTH EV RE SPONPEP VV u H
=DF
Corps members must not
protect alleged assailants
A recent incident at this University reminded me
of a movie I once watched. The title of the
movie escapes me, but the plot goes something
like this:
The movie was set in a Southern military academy
with a storied history of training young men in
the mental and physical disciplines. A secret or
ganization called the 13 was formed by some of
the cadets at this institution and consisted of 13
elite members of the corps who meted out justice
as they saw fit - justice sometimes of the vigi
lante variety. Their goal was to maintain the eli
tist traditions of the school at any cost.
Much of the plot involved premeditated ac
tions of the 13 in discouraging the school's first
black student from remaining there. This was
done through threats, physical and mental intim
idation, physical abuse and other terroristic ac
tivities. My reaction to the movie was of course
extreme anger at the injustice portrayed.
Last week a female Texas A&M Corps of
Cadets member filed a complaint that she had
been beaten by other Corps members, allegedly
in connection with her application to the Par
sons' Mounted Cavalry. If this allegation is true,
it would mean certain members of the Corps are engag
ing in the same sort of coercive activities that were de
picted in the movie.
' Unfortunately, all the facts have not been ascertained.
This is in part because the cadet has refused to talk
further about the matter. The investigation by Universi
ty officials and police is progressing slowly.
In the spirit of communication that falls somewhat
short of openness, reporters from The Battalion ques
tioned members of the Corps and cavalry who replied
"no comment" to the majority of our questions Thurs
day. Members of the cavalry said all they could tell us
was how to shoot the cannon.
While most responses were merely non-communica-
tive, cavalry members responded rather flippantly about
such a serious matter. The Corps has not released an of
ficial statement on the incident but instead deferred to
the Office of Public Information.
The victim herself also responded with no comment
to our questions. One might presume it was suggested
she do so or the consequences for her violating this "sug
gestion" would be serious indeed.
Cavalier is a
senior
psychology
major.
The implications for the University community are
quite serious. If these allegations are true, it means one
segment of the student population believes it can victim
ize other students with impunity. If this veil of silence
which shrouds the incident continues, it suggests some
officials are quite willing to protect certain stu
dents based on their extra-curricular affiliations
to the detriment of other students and to the
detriment of the truth.
If the female cadet has been instructed to re
main silent about these events to protect the
Corps or its subgroups, it would mean her vic
timization is being perpetuated.
Many serious questions remain unanswered.
And they should be answered. An investiga
tion should be initiated at the highest levels of
University administration. The University can
not and should not tolerate organizations, secret
or otherwise, which smugly violate the law and
trample the rights of other students.
Why won't someone come forward? Surely
out of all the Corps members, someone knows
something - yet he or she stands idly by and
does nothing. Why do members of the Corps,
which is strong on this campus, feel the need to
protect a few who have violated what all Aggies stand
for? "True to each other as Aggies should be..." - maybe.
But who is being true to the cadet who was victimized?
Are these the kind of individuals the Corps covets?
Can the Corps as a whole be view'ed favorably if some of
its members seek blindly to protect alleged criminals?
Would knowingly hiding the truth and subverting justice
not taint the image of the Corps which is pledged to a
code of honor?
How can we rely on these future military members to
protect the Constitution and our liberties when they can
not protect these rights among themselves? How can
anyone in the military feel comfortable under the com
mand of someone who has committed such atrocities
against his own sister member? What would the mili
tary be if its officers went around beating its privates for
such trivial action as applying to a club which goes
against tradition?
Action must be taken. A slap on the wrist will not
prevent this from happening again nor will it justly pun
ish the perpetrators. The matter must be resolved with
utmost severity and swiftness.
Mail Call
Cajuns
Aggies
invite
to feast
♦> Congratulations on your win
against LSU. But don't recline on
your laurels yet. You (once again)
have to face the intimidating Ragin'
Cajuns of USL. And this year
Louisiana is a brimming powerhouse
of football. Consider Sagarin Com
puter ratings in a national newspaper:
6. Texas A&M
7. NE Louisiana (1-AA)
83. LSU
85. Nicholls (1-AA)
86. NW Louisiana (1-AA)
94. Louisiana Tech
99. Ragin' Cajuns of USL
111. Tulane
The four major colleges in
Louisiana now boast a cumulative
record of 1-9-0. So don't make us
mad, and maybe we'll go easy on you.
(I don't suppose you could
send that blasted cannon
out for maintenance dur
ing the game. If not, better
stock up extra shells. We
lost two of our players in
duck-hunting season last
year - the first time some
body fired a shotgun, they
suffered from flashbacks
and had to be carried out
on stretchers.)
Anyway, some of you
may remember that I wrote
you guys after the A&M -
LSU game last year. At the
baseball regionals in Baton
Rouge this Spring, I met
some of your fans who had read my
letter, and we visited awhile.
Well, if I have to drive all the way
to College Station again this year. I'm
going to make sure I enjoy at least
part of it. Since Cajuns don't seem to
be very successful at carrying/ throw
ing a pigskin, we will have to do what
we always do in such situations, we
will cook the damn thing.
Q: How is a Cajun zoo different
from other zoos?
A: At a Cajun zoo, we list the com
mon name, the scientific name and at
least two recipes.)
Although we aren't very entertain
ing playing on a gridiron, we are sec
ond to none at cooking on one.
Therefore, I hereby invite the first 30
A&M fans who call me (or leave a mes
sage on my machine at (318)235-1013, to
a veritable Cajun pre-game feast. (No
collect calls for all of you skinflints.)
This is no prank, there will not be an
Aggie joke when you call. With mas
ter chef Irving Pratt, we are bringing
ice chests, pots, cookers and all the in-
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 Campus Mail Stop 1111 or can be faxed to 845-5408.
gredients to cook crawfish etoufee'
and Alligator Sauce Piquante for 30.
We will play some Cajun music, drink
a little carbonated ethanol and gener
ally pass a good time.
See you at the game.
J. Abraham, M.D.
P.S. If Slocum runs up the score on
us again this year, would somebody
please pour Nair on his head and put
his hairline out of its misery?
Stand in right
place at games
❖ The Aggie student tradition of
standing during football games has,
and is, creating problems for the ush
ers and students.
The ticket holders of these sections
should stand in the order as follows:
Ticket holder for row 1 stand
in front of seat next to rail
ing; ticket holder for row 2
stands in front on row 2;
ticket holder for row 3
stands in front of seat on
row 3 ...
The point is: The student
ticket holder should not stand
on the seat of the row indicated
on their ticket but in front of
the seat. The cooperation of
the students in this matter
will be greatly appreciated
by the ushers of these sec
tions.
Harold O'Niel
student section usher