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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1992)
Friday, October 30,1992 Texas A&MOPINIONThe Battalion ’age? 'to payment »criminal 15 an aeentiil 1 that one "its without oint he tarian,ora ler. lOuld sup- Brians thus t they are By rd is to cause rty must, ft J measureof lit forcea tarianPaiti lard to fault ians, wik : ford,woi tine, AlotJ- tuai impact mal. ley, thelih h attention to attract rats and Re iterestis swasa ical party,™ n Party, the their fatal lican and ago over- idism mjm Hidden meaning of T-shirt message rude A few weeks ago I was sitting in one of my classes and I noticed a person wearing a black T-shirt with the phrase "Bag a Bowhead for Jesus" in neon pink letters on the back. This greatly offended me even though I had no idea what it meant. The meaning of the word "bag" used in this phrase commonly has a sexual meaning which is extremely crude and derogatory toward women. The term "bowhead" usually refers to a female belonging to a sorority. If I wanted to, I could take great of fense since I belong to a sorority. And how "Jesus" fits into this phrase, I have no idea. I realize that here on campus we have Christians (which I am), atheists, and those who are indifferent to the ex istence of a higher being. But for someone to use the name of Jesus or any other word associated with Him in a disrespectful manner is blas phemous. I also realize that it is a con stitutional right for this person to wear this T-shirt, but I still cannot figure out the meaning or the intention of the phrase. And lastly, the ultimate shock for me was to see a female wearing this shirt. I assume she has no respect for God, much less for herself, if she would wear a shirt that so crudely speaks of women in general. Stephanie Grantmer Class of '93 Thought conformity unattractive option I am writing because there is one line so often used in Mail Call that really gets on my nerves. That line is "I can't believe that Aggies would ... " What is it that yoiVcan't believe that Aggies wou^d do? 'their own opinion, maybe? I I understand that we have a very unique culture here at A&M and I am proud to be a part of it. However, outside of the spirit of Ag- gieland we are all unique individuals with our own opinions. I am not going to college to think the same way as 40,000 other people. At activities that have made A&M what it is today, such as football games and Muster, I support A&M 100 per cent, but outside of that I do have my own life. Everyone cannot be Christian and non-Christian, pro-life and pro-choice. Republican and Democrat all at the same time. So, those of you who "can't believe that Aggies would ..." please realize that all Aggies have their own opinion. Brad H. McLean Class of‘93 Column offensive to straight white males I would just like to comment on Julie Holden's guest column. I am absolutely offended at the sexist and racial slur she made by assuming that white, heterosexual, male Republi cans are the "preferred members of this campus." Ags, that is really bad bull. 1 am a white, male heterosexual and I feel wrongly accused. Holden ap pears to suggest that anti-gay messages were produced by me and the other white heterosexual males on campus. That is really nice of her, especially since she is so upset over her "new found tradition ... of intolerance." Personally, I am intolerant of what I feel is wrong and it is perfectly fine when people are intolerant of me. Holden says she doesn't believe in in tolerance, yet she doesn't appear to be too tolerant of white males. As for homosexuality, I believe that it is wrong. In the Garden of Eden, it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Nonetheless, I don't suggest "gay bashing." I have the right to stand on my be lief that homosexuality is amoral; there fore I will not tolerate it. People today are spineless for fear that they may offend someone else. There comes a time when you just have to stand up and say that something is wrong. Did we tolerate Saddam Hussein? No. We said he was wrong and took action to correct him. Holden, you have the right to make your sexist and racist accusations to ward white, heterosexual males, but that makes you no better than those re sponsible for the harassment of your friend. If you say that whoever wrote the messages was wrong, I will stand with you. But when you blame another group for it — well, I don't have to wet- nurse that kind of attitude and neither does the rest of the campus. Adam Smith Class of '96 Top 10 reasons for Feducia's butt column Why Assistant Opinion Editor Stacy Feducia Wrote About Her Butt 10. She enjoys sticking Nikons where they weren't intended. 9. She viewed seeing her gastroen terologist as some sort of field trip. 8. Enjoyment of public humiliation. 7. A fetish, perhaps? 6. Can't get enough of that "doctor- room humor." 5. Her father's witty little remark reveals some sort of Freudian complex that simply must be revealed to the en tire campus. 4. An embedded fantasy to truly help modern science by donating bodi ly fluids. 3. It was good publicity to be actu ally bought at the United Way's Date Auction. 2. To ward off any intentions of ac tual contact between her and whatever poor soul scavenged up enough pen nies for her at the auction. 1. She was bored off her ass... liter ally. Come on. I have plenty of anatomy stories, but I don't think anyone wants to hear about them. In no way meaning to offend a fel low Aggie, or to criticize a newspaper editor no less, please Feducia, come up with some meaningful columns that everyone can appreciate — not just gas troenterologists. Arthur Oakley IV Class of ‘96 Cartoonist paints accurate picture The cartoon in the Oct. 23 issue of The Battalion that proposes a new nick name for the Aggies hits the nail right on the head. The newfound political correctness here at A&M is way out of bounds. If you try to be everything to every one at all times, you will accomplish zilch. That's partially why I was so disap pointed to see the change in the format of the date auction. The original format is not racist or insensitive. It's an absolute tragedy that someone is asinine enough to de mand a change. You cannot limit yourself to what someone else might perceive as offen sive. For example, some religions do not condone the consumption of certain meats. If they shudder at the mere thought of it being served in Sbisa, will they stop serving it? I see a girl from one of my classes wearing a sexy dress. I go up to her and say, "Wow, you look fabulous!" If she considers my callous remark to be sexual harassment, do I deserve to be punished by the university? In America we are allowed to think and say anything we want. Eventually, you will cross paths with someone who says something that you don't like. So what? Just ignore them, and if you can't do that, go somewhere else. In conclusion, I want to thank all of you who have been exercising our most precious right. Even though I agree with almost none of it, it's great to hear the voice of the conservatives bashing the liberals, the homosexuals asking for acceptance, the Christians denouncing the atheists. and all the other crazy things people say. I salute you all, because you make this such an interesting place to be. I love it. Philip Bryant Class of'95 Whites unprotected from racism We need to look at the other side of the racism and 'insensitivity' story, re verse-racism. It's been implemented into all levels of our society without us realizing it. It started with the major acts such as affirmative action. We tried to elimi nate hiring by race by requiring hiring by race with the latter being acceptable since minorities were now receiving better treatment. Also, let's look at the double stan dards in society concerning whites and minorities. Look around and count all of the mi nority centered groups and events that you see. Some examples: NAACP, LU- LAC, organizations on campus like those for black engineers, the Black En tertainment Channel, the Miss Black and Gold competition. Black History Month, etc. Now let's do one little thing. Every where you see a color in those titles, re place it with "white." Now there's a big problem. How is it that one way it is just being proud of or preserving a culture, but the other way it's outright racism? Who decides which way is all right and which way isn't? Well, whoever it is, it's the same peo ple that are now going to the complete ly ridiculous. Now we can't have a date auction because it's too much like the slave auc tions of long ago. Are we going to change the name of the Cotton Bowl because of the associa tion between cotton and the fact that the majority of football players are black? Now, I'm not promoting racism. Racial harmony would be great. Events such as the recent Greek party certainly don't help. However, neither do all of the things mentioned above. While minorities have laws and organizations to protect them from racism, whites have nothing. There's just nothing you ca^ do about it. ' So what does this helpless feeling re sult in? Hate. Jesse Lynch Class of '93 Force-feeding racism classes bad idea Maybe we were wrong, but when we came to A&M, we assumed that we would be able to decide what type of classes and education we would re ceive. Apparently, Joseph Gourrier, 1 ’resi dent of the A&M chapter oi the NAACP, feels otherwise. Gourrier ^Iso feels that his beliefs and opinions \ we the only correct opinions, and the on. ty possibility for progress is through state- • mandated indoctrination. In Nazi Germany, Hitler ordered that all schools teach Aryan, and only Aryan beliefs; homosexuals. Catholics, Jews, blacks and even Asians were to be hated, viewed as non-entities. Gourrier's beliefs that mandatory "multiculturalism" classes are the only means to his goal of promoting toler ance smack of Nazi intolerance and suppression of free thinking and oppos ing viewpoints. It is our belief that mandatory multi cultural classes will only create a back lash on campus. Interaction between minorities and whites would be a more effective method than force-feeding one group's opinion on all. We find it amusing that Gourrier's proposal did not include mandatory classes teaching minorities how to interact with whites, as well. These aren't the views of just a few conservative whites. We ourselves represent both a racial minority (Hispanic) and a political mi nority (Libertarian). Chris Rios Class of '92 James Elam Class of '93 Abortion not the only election issue Regarding Brian Mazzola's pro-sin gle issue (abortion) letter: What about health care and research? Shouldn't the infant mortality rate in the U.S., among the highest in industrialized countries, be an issue for those who want their baby to survive the first year? What about the economy? Shouldn't parents be able to have employment with an adequate income so that their child doesn't go to bed hungry and un comfortable even if it is loved? Shouldn't parents have job security so that their child doesn't live with the underlying stress in the home? Shouldn't the child itself be confident of future job prospects? What about social security? Shouldn't the child be assured of finan cial security for its retirement? What about international relations? Shouldn't the child grow up in a nation secure in peace without the fear of dy ing a war? What about crime? Shouldn't the child grow up without the fear of being victimized or killed in its own neigh borhood? I say there is no one issue that over shadows all others, even abortion. I say there are a multitude of issues that will affect the lives of the already born that should take precedence over any single issue. Tina L. Lundgren Class of '93 ^as mi -aker of yicehadt* ig T people grad at hadaP 1 *' =>d in acf see M -tleey 65 "' naking' r c.Ii:: 'duates 111 ACCIf FILM S 0 C I £ T Y ^ An MSC Student Programs Committee Call 847-8478 for more info OF TEXAS A&M (IN1MA Aggie Cinema - For all your Superhero needs! - an E P IC film - Stop! Supertime! -TONIGHT 7:00 p.m. Admission is $2.00 MICH A i: I DA N N Y MICH I I I I KLIATON Dl VJT0 PFEIFFER H -TONIG HT- 9:45 p.m. & Midnight TOMORROW 7:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m. & Midnight Admission is $2.00 Unless you have bats in your belfry, DON'T miss this movie! BATMAN RETURNS WARNER BROS TIM BURTON MICHAEL KEATON DANNY Dl VITO MICHELLE PFEIFFER "BATMAN RETURNS" ( HRISTOI'HER UAI KIN MICHAEL COUtat PAT HIN(;H MR HALT MURPHY DANNY I LI MAN .. CARRY I RANK) .. JON PETERS. PETER CIIHLR. BENIAMIN MIT NIKLR MR I (AM I SI \N HOH KANE IK (OMRS DAM El WATT Rs SAM HAMM DANIEL WATERS ' DENISI 1)1 NOVI TIM HURTON IIM BURTON (SiB) The Film Society of Texas A&M wishes you a safe and happy Halloween. All films will be presented in Rudder Theatre Complex. JAMES CONEY ISLAND ALL REGULAR CONEYS VW MUSTARD, CHILI AND ONIONS SUNDAY SPECIAL 731 University Drive Phone 846-1887 NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER SPECIAL OFFERS Mon 11/2 Tue 11/3 Wed 11/4 Thr 11/5 CO <D CO CO n 0 co pa PHYS 201 Dr. Ford Chp 9 PHYS 201 Dr. Ford Chp 10 PHYS 201 Dr. Ford Chp 11&13 LT> O') PHYS 201 O PHYS 201 PHYS 201 PHYS 201 Dr. Ford rH Dr. Reading Dr. Reading Chp 8&9 Dr. Reading Practice Exams t'N Chp 7&8 Chp 11&13 For More rH CHEM 102 CHEM 102 CHEM 102 Information on i O rH Chp 20 Chp 21 Practice Exams Arf’s Classes, call 696-2286 £ Math 308 mm $ Sun 11/1 5:00 Mon 11/2 10:00 Sun 11/1 7:00 Mon 11/2 5:00 Tues 11/3 5:00 Mon 11/2 7:00 J^L-h ‘Tutoring 260-2,660 £ Math 152/161 Tickets will be on sale 11/1/92 Sunday at 5:00 p.m.