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Opinion
Thursday, August 6,1992
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E'S
ON
SES
End of summer leaves
some things left unsaid
Barbara
Gastel
S ummer term is
about to end, and
so (some readers
may note with relief) is
this weekly column.
I note this column's
passing with mixed re
lief and regret. Expect
ing a light workload
this summer, I em
barked on several pro
jects such as this one —
and found myself at
least as busy as during
the school year. 1 admit
I'm relieved to have some summer left
without weekly deadlines.
But I also regret that this column is
ending. Writing the column has been ed
ucational and fun. And I haven't yet ad
dressed all the topics I've had in mind.
Columns Not Written
So what have you missed, dear read
ers of this column? Mercifully, I've
spared you my (mostly happy) reflections
on pushing age 40. I've also refrained
from spending a column complaining that
readers who like a column tell the author
but those who dislike it write to the edi
tor.
In the spirit of the summer. I've kept
most of my columns light. But, with au
tumn approaching. I'll mention some
more serious items that I considered ad
dressing.
I thought several times of writing a
column about my college friend Garry,
who lived through the fire door. Garry
and I both liked to write, and we often
commented on drafts of each other's pa
pers.
Garry even took seriously my com
ments on his writing. One night, upset
that a professor had criticized his latest
essay, Garry started talking loudly in his
sleep. "It was a good paper," I heard him
declaim through the fire door. "I know it!
Barb told me so!"
I would have liked to show Garry
some of this summer's columns. But Gar
ry died a few years ago.. Aware of his
personal history, I think I know the cause.
I'm sorry my initial (and not-so-initial)
naivete about his lifestyle kept me from
understanding him better — and I'm sor
rier yet about the intolerance with which
people like Garry still must contend.
I also thought of writing columns on
various other themes. One theme: how
the current emphasis on "family values"
tends to exclude those of us whose daily
lives, though constructive, are (by choice
or chance) not very family-focused.
Raising a family can be great, but so
can devoting attention and resources to
young people in other ways. Attitudes
and policies should, I believe, increase
their support of the latter contributions.
How about, for example, letting faculty
members without dependents carry a
needy student or two on their group
health insurance?
With autumn approaching, I also
thought of writing about the prospect of a
new school year. But the ideas were run
ning too soppily sentimental. And since
this week's column marks an end rather
than a beginning, looking back seems
more suitable.
Looking Back
Looking back, I realize I've gained
much from writing this column. I've ex
plored — and, I hope, developed some
skill at — a form of writing relatively new
to me. I've also learned about a 1990s
newsroom and become acquainted with
its computers.
As also hoped, the prospect each week
of a column to write made me more ob
servant and thoughtful. And preparing
the column let me happily transform
some frustrations into humor.
A further benefit (from my stand
point, at least) has been the chance to
work with the Batt staff. Until last year,
the Batt newsroom adjoined my office,
and I often conversed informally with the
staff. Then the newsroom moved down
stairs, and interaction almost ceased.
Spending some time in the newsroom
this summer let me reestablish acquain
tance. I appreciate the help the staff has
given me, and I've enjoyed the staff's
good humor and good cheer. I've also
welcomed the chance to teach in a way I
especially value: by helping students
work through problems as they arise.
I hope the staff will continue to call on
me. And I'll remember the lessons this
summer taught about literally meeting
students more than halfway.
Thank You
Writing this column has also, as
hoped, been tremendous fun. In fact, it's
been the next best thing (well, not quite;
I'm not getting that old) to a summer ro
mance. Leaving this fling. I'm exhausted,
exhilarated, and wistful. And I muse
about eventual possibilities.
Meanwhile, I hope readers have en
joyed my columns and found them
thought-provoking. I thank the Batt for
its hospitality, and I thank various col
leagues and others for kind words about
my writing.
Enjoy the break before fall term, and
have a wonderful school year. A&M is a
special community indeed, and I'm glad
that this column has made me more a part
of it.
Gastel is an associate professor of journal
ism and of humanities in medicine.
]Vtail
Call
Could it be . . . Narrow-minded
SATAN?!?!?
Yesterday, I read the inane editorial of
Mr. Anas Ben-Musa offering us "new in
sight" into Christianity and raising diffi
cult questions concerning the Dead Sea
Scrolls. While, I concede that the scrolls
may be so fragmented as to disallow easy
interpretation, nevertheless, it seems
rather ludicrous to base our entire judg
ment of the veracity of Christianity upon
one interpretation of the scrolls, as pre
sented in the book by Baigent and Leigh,
"The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception." As
you may have already deducted for your
self if you read it, there are some serious
problems with Mr. Ben-Musa's editorial,
for the following reasons:
1) Mr. Ben-Musa seems mistakenly to
believe that the power of Christianity
rests entirely upon the validity of the
Dead Sea Scrolls. He does not realize that
archeology has in numerous times past
proven the Bible true. Many ancient cities
of the Middle East, mentioned by the
Bible, were thought by modern historians
to be fictitious until a few archeologists
decided to believe the Bible and rediscov
ered ancient cities and ruins of Bible
times. Ephesus is one that was totally
covered with sand and silt until rediscov
ered by archeology. Many other exam
ples exist as well.
2) He also does not realize that the va
lidity of Biblical Christianity does not
ever, at all, depend upon the approbation
of archeology (or any other type) "schol
ars" for its success.
3) It seems that the question should be
raised as to Mr. Ben-Musa's intent in writ
ing his editorial, which amounts to a sub
tle, but obvious attack upon the founda
tions and the founder Himself of Chris
tianity. Could it be that Mr. Anas Ben-
Musa is a proponent of a competitive reli
gion, and is attempting to subvert our
confidence? If so, he should be reminded
that the Bible promises that one day," ev
ery knee shall bow and every tongue shall
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" and "the
nations of this world shall be become the
nations of our God and his Christ."
Don Avirett
Graduate Student
Monday, Aug. 3, I was browsing
through The Battalion (a publication I sel
dom if ever read) and came across one of
the most opinionated and unprofessional
columns I have ever read: "Found: The
Ultimate Sorority Babe."
I am a junior biochemistry major, and
am about to apply to medical school. I am
not "breaking" my parents by attending
college because I am on complete scholar
ship including a Presidential Endowed
and University Scholar. Believe it or not,
Mr. LoBaido, I am in a sorority.
I do not carry a Dooney purse, nor
drive a BMW. I live in a house in the
countryside outside of a small town
named Lufkin — not a "cardboard box be
hind Bennigan's." I don't bronze my skin
in a tanning bed, and I've never seen
"90210." I've never altered the color of
my hair, and I wear very little makeup. I
don't sleep in until 11:00 either — in fact
I'm up before 7 a.m. because I'm working
20 hours a week, taking a physics course,
and studying my ass off for the MCAT.
Furthermore, I am a Christian, and I re
sent the comment you made about Jesus.
Finally, my days don't consist of random
"sex with some fraternity dude and/or
stray dog!"
I think you need to reevaluate your
immature and narrow-minded views, not
to mention polish your writing style. It is
because of people like you and columns
like yours that I and many others give
The Batt so little credit.
Wendy Goodwin '94
Have an opinion?
Express it!
The Battalion is interested in hearing
from its readers. All letters are welcome.
Letters must be signed and must
include classification, address and daytime
phone number for verification purposes.
They should be 250 words or less.
Anonymous letters will not be published.
The Battalion reserves the right to edit
all letters for length, style and accuracy.
There is no guarantee a letter will appear.
Letters may be brought to The Battalion at
013 Reed McDonald, sent to Campus Mail
Stop 1111 or faxed to 845-2647.
Editor bids farewell, offers thanks
Todd
Stone
o this is good-
|bye.
As I finish my
term as editor of The
Battalion, I am
stunned by the
progress our staff has
We started June 1
as a green, very
green, group - 25
new staff members
and a few Batt veter-
H ans. And quite
frankly, I did little to
make our jobs easier.
My philosophy has been that jour
nalism is journalism, whether it's The
New York Times or a newspaper with a
circulation of five. And, journalists are
journalists, whether one is a Pulitzer
Prize winner or a cub reporter on a first
assignment.
Experience is irrelevant — anyone
practicing journalism should hold them
selves to the highest professional and
ethical standards, and I demanded this
from ourselves from day one.
Unfortunately, the staff can only
work part-time because they are stu
dents too, and they have to handle tests
and papers just like everyone else.
So for the new troops, this was in
deed trial by fire, and they exceeded my
expectations by demonstrating a relent
less pursuit to improve.
A few examples:
• Opinion editor Mack Harrison and
his staff took on the load of publishing
an opinion page for each issue instead
of just three a week. They performed
well despite being short-handed.
* Reporter Juli Phillips worked for
three weeks to get to the bottom of ru
mors of murder and cover-up at Blocker
Building.
With the thoughtfulness and con
cern for the truth of a seasoned pro, Juli
worked with sources who were afraid to
come forward and refused to be dis
couraged when others were uncoopera
tive.
Thankfully, the rumors were un
founded. But the paranoia that Juli en
countered around campus shows that
A&M needs to develop an environment
of openness.
♦ Photographer Darrin Hill provid
ed more photos by himself than some
past Batt photo staffs put together. One
week he took 12 photos. That's a lot of
work when considering the time it takes
to shoot and develop a photo.
• News editors Heidi Sauer and
Meredith Harrison trained a group of
eager but green copy editors while
learning the Batt computer system a* the
same time.
• Associate professor Dr. Barbara
Gastel took time out of her busy sched
ule (she teaches in two different col
leges) to provide witty columns
throughout the summer.
• Sports editor Doug Foster and his
staff (Michael Plummer and Don Nor
wood) provided better A&M sports re
porting than any other media in town.
♦ City editor Gary Carroll applied to
be news editor only to be told, "Con-
E atulations you are the new city editor
r the summer and fall" — not what he
had in mind, but Gary and the city
desk's performance has been exemplary.
• Also, I owe thanks to Battalion ad
viser Bob Wegener and the journalism
faculty for advice and encouragement.
Still, we have not reached our poten
tial. The city staff is just now establish
ing its beats because it takes to time to
develop a rapport with sources.
We also are not immuned from
blunders such as a vague headline,
wrong information in an article or cre
ative grammar. But, we are learning.
Despite our best efforts, we cannot
avoid criticism, and that's the way it
should be. Our responsibility is to the
A&M community, and we rely on feed
back from our readers to tell us how we
are doing.
Well, judging by the letters on the
opinion page, many readers are making
sure we put forth our best effort.
We always appreciate the public's
section a diverse forum for new per
spectives and ideas.
But now, it is time for me to step
aside as fall editor Atlantis Tillman
takes over. The Battalion should only
improve under her guidance.
I will stay with The Battalion this fall
and work on the city desk as a reporter.
I'm looking forward to meeting many of
our readers as I cover stories.
And once again, thank you Battalion
staff for your hard work. You made this
summer very special for me.
Stone is a graduate student of business
and editor of The Battalion.
-pCIC TO£KL
6000 IUCK, TEXAS AW !
Let the (Republican) Games begin!
Stacy
Feducia
four more days un
til the Olympics
end, with a brief
pre-empting hiatus be
fore the Republican
convention convenes
upon the screens of our
TV sets. Then our fa
vorite summer reruns
will be overrun with the
drama, the tragedy, the
joy, the sorrow, the
thrill of victory and
possibly, the agony of
defeat of the Republi
can National Convention — that would
be August 17 for those of you who want
to set your VCRs.
And the convention promises to be a
real treat, what with a million commer
cial-filled hours of speeches and roll-calls
when the majority of Americans already
know how it's going to end. Hate to spoil
it for you kids, but guess what? Bush
wins the nomination — or didn't you fol
low the primaries last spring? Watching
the convention is rather like watching a
mini-series backwards, after the hype and
hoopla of the primaries, we get to watch
Bush accept the nomination. Big surprise!
Like the Republicans will pull anything
• exciting out of the bag and nominate, say,
Ted Kennedy. No mystery. No drama.
No intrigue.
And what Bush needs right now is a
little bit o' drama. According to the polls
of my comrades in the liberal media, not
many Americans really want to watch a
million hours of President Bush and his
band of merry men (and women). What
Bush needs right now is a little bit o' mass
appeal. What Bush needs right now is a
little bit o' Olympic spirit.
In order to spark the mass appeal that
has proven so successful for the Olympic
broadcast, the Republican National Con
vention owes it to their poster children
(Bush and Quayle) to give them Olympic
coverage — to boldly go where no con
vention has gone before and seek out
those non-politics-watching TV-viewers.
That's what the Olympics did for sports.
You didn't actually think NBC started do
ing those Olympic videos for fun, did
you? They did that and the dramatic in
terludes about the athletes in order to en
tice non-traditional sports watchers, such
as women, into the viewing audience.
Now imagine what would happen if
the Republicans did that for the conven
tion? Imagine the pageantry! The glory!
The splendor! The fun, if we got to see
the convention delegates in the traditional
attire of their home states sprinting up to
the platform torches in hand! Here in
their native uniforms of Brooks Brothers
suits and Laura Ashley praternity wear is
the delegation from Connecticut. Follow
ing in their native attire of bare feet and
unwashed underwear comes the Okla
homa team.
Imagine how neat it would be if, in
stead of losing more market shares and
Nielsen households to Fox's fare of "Bev-
Hills 8675309" and "Primrose Place/' the
Republicans took a tip from the Olympics
and sponsored videos by major rock and
country performers featuring personal
moments of the "Bush and Quayles."
George and Barbara playing golf to
"Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton? It
could happen.
And what if the commentators of the
convention adopted the limited vocabu
laries of the Olympic sportscasters?
"Wow! Bush really nailed that speech!
He just stuck it! It was tightl I mean
TIGHT]"
"Did you see the way Quayle ripped
that photo-opportunity! He is just on fire
tonight! That was a 10! A definite 10!"
Wouldn't it be great if, as with the
Olympics, the convention featured little
dramatic bubbles about the convention
eers, and the crushing obstacles they
overcame to get to the convention?
"They came from all corners of the
country, from small midwestern farm
houses tucked in fields of golden grain,
from shimmering skyscrapers planted
like steel trees in the concrete jungles of
our giant metropolises. They came to the
convention! The convention! It seemed
no more than a dream for Euline Walker
Thornton Wilder Quackenbush of
Chastewick, Rhode Island. Through vig
orous months of electioneering, she made
it to the primaries, struggling violently
with the reigning champion, the incum
bent from her district, but little Euline,
shining and triumphant, overcame these
odds, garnering a record 52,000 votes, to
attend the Republican National Conven
tion!"
Of course, the high point of the con
vention, comparable to the culmination of
the Summer Olympic Games, could only
be better if President Bush, like his
Olympic counterparts, refused to accept
the nomination unless he could wear his
Air Jordans on the podium. . . . And what
a deft stroke of foreshadowing that would
be for the big November match up of the
Republican Dream Team versus the
Democratic Wonder Twins!
Sure beats reruns of 90264321!
I can hardly wait.
You heard it here first.
Feducia is a senior English and history
major and a columnist for The Battalion.