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Wednesday, January 27,1993
The Battalion
Page 9
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Five years ago, the speech com
munication department decided
against renewing funding for the de
bate team. According to Professor
Kurt Ritter, the primary objection of
administrators centered around what
they considered a lack of educational
enhancement. Instead, the depart
ment threw its support behind the
Texas A&M Debate Society, a cam
pus organization.
The official debate team was a
traveling squad that competed at
campuses around the country. The
A&M Debate Society differs from the
University-sponsored debate team in
that A&M students constitute the so
ciety's audience in a public forum.
The speech communication de
partment found that the traveling
squad spent a lot of money on a few
members. In addition, the depart
ment thought that the team debated
in a manner that was illogical and
lacking in persuasive skills —
though this style of debate was pop
ular among other competitive colle
giate debaters.
Unfortunately, officials went no
further in their study; instead, they
simply cut the team and opted for
the on-campus group.
Though reasons for an on-campus
group exist, the two organizations
are not mutually exclusive.
While open to the public, the
Texas A&M Debate Society forums
are attended primarily by Speech
Communication 203 students, who
are required to do so. By contrast,
official debate team participation
would be voluntary and not compul
sory.
In the wake of the current budget
crunch, officials might argue against
the rebuilding of a team. However,
Texas Southern University, a smaller
school with a smaller budget, has
gained international acclaim with its
high-profile debate team.
Surely, our University could com
pete with a smaller budget than that
of TSU.
Texas A&M should renew fund
ing for the debate team. Instead of
cutting the entire team's funding
when the team does not compete in a
manner that administrators favor or
when the team is not fiscally respon
sible, the speech communication de
partment snould exercise more com
trol over their debate team.
Officials here must realize that a
world-class University without a
functioning debate team is no world-
class University at all.
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Save the planet
Take part in campus recycling
As a community, we all know that
recycling is good. It saves space in
landfills and dumps, decreases the
amount of pollution in the environ
ment and limits the amount of non
renewable resources we consume.
As individuals, we know that re
cycling can be inconvenient. We de
pend tar too much on ease and acces
sibility.
Texas A&M has begun to realize
these problems and has undertaken
steps to implement a solution.
Several residence halls have start
ed hall-by-hall aluminum can recy
cling programs, as organized by each
hall council. The University also
provides aluminum can recycling at
various locations around campus.
Now it is up to the A&M commu
nity to prove to the administration
that these efforts are not in vain. The
students, faculty and staff must
make that tiny sacrifice to walk a few
more feet to those blue recycling
trash cans. If some campus locations
lack recycling areas, contact the Uni
versity Recycling Hotline and re
quest that one be provided.
If the campus community can
prove how great an idea recycling is,
possibly the University will expand
the programs to include paper, plas
tic and other reusable goods.
A world-class University should
care for the world in which it func
tions.
For more information about recy
cling programs, call the University
Recycling Hotline at 845-7777.
Give your attitude some latitude
New semester offers students chance for new outlook
A ttitudes. The word "attitude" of
ten gets a bad rap. It seems most
people use the term in a negative
sense. For example, when was the last
time you heard a person say something
like, "Well, 'so-and-so' just has a bad at
titude."
Unfortunately, it was probably pretty
recent.
But how many of us really know
what the word "attitude" means. Philo
sophically speaking, there are as many
definitions as there are individuals.
Fortunately, we have Webster and his
good ol' dictionary to keep us all on the
same track: "attitude - one's disposi
tion, opinion, mental set."
Pretty powerful, personal stuff if you think about it.
Truth is, attitudes affect just about every aspect of our lives.
Everything from the family and dating relationships we are in
volved in, ro the organizations and clubs we are members of,
to our relationships at school and work, and especially in the
way we treat people we don't even know.
Think about it for a minute. When was the last time you ig
nored people because they weren't, in your opinion, "good
enough" for you? We do it all the time.
For whatever reason we did not talk to them or sit by them.
Maybe we didn't even like them. And yet, we did not even
know them.
Was it because these people were too fat or too ugly for us?
Is it possible that we do not like them simply because of the
Greek letters they are wearing, or the Corps uniform they have
on? Maybe its their religion? Or maybe they have the
"wrong" color hair or skin? No, wait, it's the kind of car they
drive — or don't drive as the case may be. Or maybe . . .
Attitudes.
Attitudes are either beneficial or detrimental to our rela
tionships with others. The tricky part about attitudes is know
ing when your attitude — your opinion, your mental set, your
disposition — is hindering your ability to relate to people.
All people.
Our mind-set is a powerful tool. But when it is uninformed
or misinformed it becomes a dangerous weapon; and this is
one weapon we do not need in today's society. There is a sim
ple solution, however: Educate yourself in order to open your
mind before you open your mouth.
Hmmm . . . Sounds logical.
Perhaps there is nothing more irritating than an unin
formed opinion. Think back to the last time you had a dis
agreement with someone who had no knowledge or experi
ence on the topic whatsoever.
It probably wasn't too long ago; people do it all the time.
More than likely, you were pretty frustrated and probably
wanted to ring the person's neck. But wait. Think back to the
last time you made somebody want to ring your neck for the
very same reason. And we do it all the time.
Humbling, huh?
You see, the danger with uneducated opinions is that they
begin to dictate what we say and do, and the result is resent
ment.
As you and I both know, this world has far too many prob
lems already, and we don't need to add resentment to the list.
Ironically, some of those problems — especially "people prob
lems" — could be solved simply by a change in attitudes.
Changing one's attitude can be a scary thing. People gener
ally don't enjoy admitting that they need to change something
about themselves — especially something as personal as their
attitudes.
We don't like to admit that we are wrong, or at least, misin
formed. Fortunately for us, there's nothing wrong with being
wrong as long as you learn from your mistakes.
Besides, this whole idea of "being wrong and needing to
change" is one of those life-long processes, so we might as
well get used to it.
Changing an attitude will probably involve becoming more
open-minded. For most people, this is really difficult because
nobody wants to admit that they are close-minded in the first
place.
Fortunately, there is hope — we can educate ourselves.
And what better time and place to educate ourselves than here
and now at Texas A&M University.
There are over 40,000 students walking around this cam
pus, and you will only have the privilege of running into a
handful of them today.
Students from small towns and big cities all across the
country and halfway around the world are sitting next to you
right now. Do you even notice them?
Many of these students are different from you. They bring
with them different religions, languages, hobbies, majors, sex
ual preferences, skin colors and so on.
The fact is, there are as many differences as there are peo
ple. But that's all they are — differences. Believe it or not,
these differences don't make anybody better or worse than
anybody else, just different.
Do you have the courage -- the wisdom -- to take advantage
of this "educational" opportunity before you?
The answer is in your attitude.
Polston is a senior journalism and political science major.
JULIE
POLSTON
Assistant Editor
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Poet dares generation to cross imaginary lines in life
Universal message of equality appeals to unlocked potential in all college students
Imaginary Lines.
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Most times it seems we
are crossing imaginary lines.
I remember standing with
my son, when he was about
four, at the equator in Kenya.
It was freezing. The people
at the inn were wearing coats
and hats. Snow was on the
ground. I, like many people,
had thought the equator
Would be hot and sultry.
But there we stood, smil-
i) ing at the camera ... in the
cold.
The first time I flew across
the country I braced myself for the Continental Di
vide. I just knew the plane would bounce around
as we reached that all-important halfway point.
Last year I took a train out to see my mother.
Who lives in San Francisco. Knowing that the
plane didn't bounce had no effect upon my
"knowing" that something would happen to the
train. I was asleep when we crossed the divide
and felt not a thing.
You, the generation in college now, face an all
important imaginary line: You will live most of
your lives in the next century. Human beings have
gone into space. There is a revolution in how we
look at and communicate with our planet.
All too many of you are selfish; all too many of
you are disappointed to think that you have to
give something back to this world. And more than
this world, your own history.
Many of you would like to think the struggle
for equality should be over. You would like some
one to blame that you still have battles to fight,
pain to experience, sacrifices to make. You must,
in my opinion, make a decision to dedicate your
lives to something more than chasing a buck. We
have come too far for you to be discouraged and
give up.
The history of our people is an honorable histo
ry. It is not new; it did not start in the 1950s, and it
was not made by men alone. All of us have done
our share.
The college students of today are potentially a
great resource for this planet. You have scientific
and social knowledge that can change the world.
I hope you do.
We, black Americans, have erased one imagi
nary line, the Mason-Dixon. We have changed the
way America looks at itself and the world. There
is still work to be done.
When you cross the rubicon, in a few short
years, I hope you have used your time in school to
be ready to face any challenge.
Sometimes a challenge is to sit down; some
times to stand up. I hope you are using your edu
cation to learn to think for yourself.
You are the dream of a future. You, as a group,
represent our best hope.
I know you can rise to the occasion.
Nikki Giovanni is an award-winning poet, recording
artist and lecturer. Currently, she is a professor of En
glish at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni
versity in Blacksburg, VA.
Giovanni visited Texas A&M University Jan. 22 in
conjunction with the fifth annual Southwestern Black
Student Leadership Conference where she gave the
keynote address.
The opinon page is honored to have Nikki Giovanni
as its first celebrity guest columnist. Future celebrity
guest columns will run on Wednesdays throughout the
semester.
Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opinion
page staff and editor-in-chief only. They do not represent, in any
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