Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1992)
Page 6 Texas A&MOPINIONThe Battalion Friday, October 16,1 E prejudice and stereotypes. Without re- S uired anti-racism classes, Texas A&M iniversity is failing in its mission to ed ucate the student body and prepare them for the future. Joseph Gourrier Class of'93 President, A&M Chapter, NAACP NAACP denounces fraternity for racism Fraternity's excuses don't hold water The Texas A&M Chapter of the Na tional Association for the Advancement of Colored People, pending further in like to officially de- vestigation, would nounce Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity for their extremely racist and insensi tive "jungle" party of Oct. 2. To have members simulate the hunt ing of human beings is in poor taste; to have those members simulating the hunting of African slaves is reprehensi ble. If SAE president Michael Hebert did not want anyone to perceive that they were "singling out any particular race or specific jungle," why were the pledges dressed in black face? Whether they intended to be racist or not, the theme and the message of the party is clear. While I am sure the Interfraternity Council will take appropriate discipli nary action in this matter, I hope the student body and the administration are not too quick in dismissing this as an isolated incident of racism. First, SAE admits they held the same party last year and no one complained. Without the courageous letter from band member Joe Salem, no one would have known about this party. This shows the IFC would have been remiss in its duty to monitor the fraternities here at Texas A&M. In the future, I hope there is some type of review process installed so the IFC is aware of what activities take place at fraternity parties. Second, SAE does not have a monop oly on racial insensitivity. Racial inci dents occur every day on the A&M campus, whether it be in classrooms, dorms, or the fish lot. I hope Texas A&M will develop a system by which knowledge of these incidents will reach upper administration officials so we can stop pretending racism does not ex ist at this University. Finally, all racial incidents are not due to hatred. A large majority can be attributed to ignorance of other cultures and races. A lot of students are not aware that someone might find their ac tions offensive. Education and infor mation are the only cures for ignorance. Band member Joe Salem, in all prob ability, has nothing whatsoever to gain in writing the letter in which he told of the antics at a recent Sigma Alpha Ep silon gathering on October 3, 1992. I, and several other students with whom I have spoken, am convinced that he would nave no logical reason to exag gerate and that his story is valid. "There are a lot of jungles besides Africa, and we weren't singling out any particular race or specific jungle," is the statement so eloquently employed by Sigma Alpha Epsilon president Michael A. Hebert in defense of himself and fel low members of the fraternity. Racism, however, is a societal disease that in fests the roots of humanity, and no branch of any shade of color is immune. The president of this group than wrote a letter that appeared in the edi torial section, the majority of which was a list of good deeds the fraternity has accomplished. His reason for the elabo ration of these actions is a mystery when one attempts to draw a parallel between their significance and the issue at hand. In listing these deeds, it would appear as if Hebert is attempting to de clare they, as a fraternity, had earned their right to chase the "pledges dressed in black faces, grass skirts and carrying spears" around at the gather ing. As far as the lone individual is con cerned who was referred to as "a black guy in our chapter," it is a tragedy when a human oeing would sacrifice his or her own identity in order to gain the right to don "three letters." day in the Battalion I have sat back and watched yet another fraternity receive unfair abuse. The entire basis for the allegations placed on the SAE chapter is from a sin- f le source, Joe Salem. What about the 00 plus people that attended the par ty? Sure, these people might have a chance to defend their chapter later, but for right now it seems to me the dam age is done. The word is out; Wednes day, Oct. 14, Texas A&M and the Greek community have once again become front page news because one person de cided to write to The Battalion. I think everyone should reflect upon last year's incidents involving sexual harassment within the Corps. I think the person making the allegations re scinded them later, only after Texas A&M, a school I'm terribly proud of, was slandered throughout the media of the entire United States. The point I'm trying to make here is: Please don't unfairly judge the Greek system, and in particular the Sigma Al pha Epsilon chapter before all tne facts nave been brought out. In America it's innocent until proven guilty. I hope everyone remembers that for now. bus party tactics to the jungle party: The jungle party was a celebration of the meeting of two races; a meeting which over the centuries has evolved into a dynamic society of differnet cul tures. The races contribute aspects of their respective cultures such that the whole society benefits from the integra tion. We have much to appreciate from the meeting of negroes ana whites. If it weren't for the African encounter, we wouldn't have rap music today; the ne groes contribute their inborn talents of rhythm and rhyme, and the whites make their contribution. Who do vou think buys all those rap records? The whites, of course. See how well this re lationship has developed? Sometimes one side might get carried away, as with the song "Cop Killer." But the harmony between the races will always bring extremes back into line, which is what happened when distribution of the record was stopped. The fraternity should be praisea for enlightened ef forts to celebrate the theme in this 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery — the fruitful encounter of races. So let's not get side-tracked by tnt also went on to say that physical ri:- lence was about the only method used to "stifle" protests on campus would like to say that no one at University is happier than I that physical protesting (yelling, carryic; non- e fra- Peter O. Barnhart Class of'93 issues like racism. The guys at ternity (and their friends) simply haven t learned how to conduct public Maybe it's a public relations problem ° y c lass of'95 SAE's are innocent until proven guilty I am not a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, yet I am an active member of the Greek community and specifically a member of Beta Theta Pi. Since Joe Salem's letter was published on Mon- Those leftist-liberals have done it again! They have managed to turn an apolitical issue into another disussion of political correctness. Their outcry over the fraternity "jungle party" is simply an act of desperation; we've heard enough about race relations. Af ter all, the fraternity does have its ne gro, a full member no less; doesn't that show that the fraternity shuns racism? Public relations is the only real issue in this case; the apologetics simply weren't up to par. Considering that fra ternity members will no doubt be the next leaders in our society, we should make sure that they learn how to deal with the public when liberals try to make something out of events like the jungle party. Professionals are well versed in foiling liberalist attacks. Let's consider the case of the 500th anniver sary of Columbus' discovery of Ameri ca. Millions of dollars have gone into the celebration of this glorious event, and just like clockwork, the leftist-liber al front has tried to ruin all our fun. But professional public relations men have done a good job in preventing these party crashers from making much headway. Let's apply the professional Colum- relations. Should we fault them for this? Certainly not! The University is at fault for not providing enough edu cation in this area; we don't need to know any more about racism. Let's get on with the more important problems; public relations skills are lacking in the graduates of this University. If Clayton Williams had an extra course in public relations, he might be governor now. But instead, the liberals clobbered him on a harmless statement about rape. He could have turned that around, out the University just didn't provide the right course work. Let's credit the fraternity for a good job. They have helped us better appre ciate the harmony between whites and negroes and the great events that initi ated this relationship. Good work, guys! I have an excellent theme for# next year's party: Buchenwald, 1943 — The Phoenix Scenario. signs, etc.) occurs on this campus to great extent. I have a friend that attended t.u. one semester whom I went tovisitoi or twice. People were yellingatr : from both sides of the walkway tosi^ their stupid petitions protesting^ blah blan. It makes mesicktoh anti-abortionists protest on campus, makes me sick to hear pro-choicei tivists rallying on campus. It is sicks ing to me to near or see any activfe on campus not condoned by theUj. versity. School is not the place; it'sfe simple. I can also tell you, Ralston, I am not the slightest bit "unsure"® fearful of your so-called "freeexpres sion." If you would like to call me® discuss this issue, my number is inti student locator. However, I must gw you credit for using a column fora pressing your thoughts rathertk protesting on campus. And you even got your little lidsir, on Bonfire at the same time! Now'r only we could get rid of the Houster Chronicle peddlers that bug the hell oil of you to subscribe to their paper, ' would be a better place. /. David Prim Class oj 1 ^ Gays have no 'right' to convert people David Krieivaldt Graduate Student Aggieland's lack of protest a good thing This letter is in response to a Shawn Ralston column in The Battalion's Oct. 13 issue. The column was entitled "No Dissent Allowed in Aggieland," and portrayed her opinion tnat not enough protesting goes on at Texas A&M. She I have four friends who had privats "encounters" with a homosexual. After these one-time meetings they actual questioned their sexual orientation,^ spite not having given it a singk thought their whole lives thus far. How many people out there sue cumbed to homosexuality duringdt- pression or rejection, when they wert weakest? Until we can separate the fe« that might be biologically abnormal from these who (almost like my friendij are merely psychologically deceive! then I can never agree to givine thei minority rights status. If Treeaonui expression^ allows gay counselors® public schools and gay leaders in Bot Scouts with the sole purpose of "com verting" our youth and our children, then I think we need to re-examine on new definition of freedom. We would be giving rights to a people based not on who they are, but on wnattheydo. Frida I 1 i Th recer River marij do-lik and s Natio Rec homa fiscat plants Sin stroye some WT forts units. time, raidin lords terror caine drugs deadl still be F< Afh perks Unitec gladly organ! luctani Inst or fee Christopher Kocmoti.j C/asso/'ll When Everyone Wants Something Different To Eat, Let Them Have It There’s something for everyone at Wyatt’s — including money-saving coupons. *7 m FTP77r7 m 7*T7777rT71// J/ s / y )// /7 s y ///// s f FRESHMEN ^ DON T GET CAUGHT WITHOUT YOUR Y PICTURE IN THE 1993 AGGIELAND! a % BARGAIN MATINEE SAT. & SOk TUESDAY IS FAMILY NIGHT SPONSORED BY KTSR RADIO BE A T THE HELL OUTTA RICH AGGIE OWNED & OPERATED 1st TWO TIMES FOR SAT. & SUN.ONLY 1492 O •PG13 $5.00/$3.00 2:00 5:008® Singles *PG13 $5.00/$3.00 2:10 4:407:10§:*! Mr. Baseball 'PG13 $5.00/$3.00 2:15 4:45 7:15950 o SCHULMANSIX 2000 E. 29th Street 7752150 Candyman 'R $5.00/$3.00 2:05 4:457:059:50 The Mighty Ducks ‘PG $5.50/$3.50 2:05 4:407:059:« $1.25 MOVIES $1.25 © MAKE YOUR WAY TO AR PHOTOGRAPHY 707 TEXAS AVE. NEXT TO TACO CABANA YOUR LAST CHANCE IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 GO MONDAY-FRIDAY 9:00am-5:00pni H QUESTIONS? CALL: 693-8183 sy//yy s y///// s s v////r / r////7 / r Sister Act -PG 2:10 4:30 7:109:30 Honey I Blew Up the Kid 'K 2:20 4:35 7:20 9:35 Boomerang 'R 2:15 4:40 7:15 9:40 Death Becomes Her 'PG13 2:00 4:25 7:00 9:45 $299 Baked Chicken Meal Enjoy baked chicken and your choice of any 2 vegetables. Not valid with ainy other offer or discount. Limit one per coupon. Offer good through 11/15/92. Valid at Post Oak Mall only. Wfyatt's FREE Entree Buy one entree, get a second of equal or lesser value, free. Entree does not include vegetables. Not valid with Daily Specials, Wyatt Plate or other offers or discounts. Limit one free entree per coupon. Offer good through 11/15/92. Valid at Post Oak Mall only. A-4 Wyatts 49* Dessert Enjoy any delicious dessert for only 49$. Not valid with any other offer or discount. Limit one per coupon. Valid on individual servings only. Offer good through 11/15/92. Valid at Post Oak Mall only. A-5 Wfyatt's A-6 Post Oak Mall 1992 Wyatt's DOUGLAS «nSWEUERS Texas A&M University Watch by SEIKO A Seiko Quartz timepiece officially licensed by the University. Featuring a richly detailed three-dimensional recreation ofthe University Seal on the I4kt. gold finished dials. Electronic, quartz movement guaranteed accurate to within fifteen seconds per month. Full three year Seiko warranty. Class of’75 1667-B Texas Ave. Culpepper Plaza 693-0677 All gold $285.00 2-tone 8265.00 with leather strap $200.00 pocket watch 0245.00 FREE ENGRAVING givers donati for the Conco: The ty exp and bl from p of Am where covere Way ol its wa branch The to one the Ur level. United commi The Carl to d I am toon th Oct. 9, pense holdi: plied those door c I a: birth crutch leg, a wheel My me to wheel those doors the af a wh( maybi ate thi more se icappec conside cessible wastefu