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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1993)
r. ve le e Opinion Thursday, September 9,1993 The Battalion Editorial Board CHRIS WHITLEY, editor in chief |Ull PHILLIPS, managing editor MARK EVANS, city editor DAVE THOMAS, night news editor ANAS BEN-MUSA, Aggielife editor BELINDA BLANCARTE, night news editor MICHAEL PLUMER, sports editor MACK HARRISON, opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, sports editor KYLE BURNETT, photo editor The Battalion Page 15 NASA 1 icnrd about my successful jump aver the moon, so ncnv tliry wnnt to send me to Mars... EDITORIAL Pull together Aggies must work past infighting The composition of the Texas A&M student body at (what is now the third-Iargest university in the United States is continuing to change as the school does. Rapid development sur rounding an ever-expanding campus has taken an old, tradi- iional rural campus and turned lit into a modern, diverse, and increasingly urban school. The positive effect of this is that increased development in and around the University of- iers A&M students better per sonal as well as school-related oportunities and resources. The flip-side is that the Uni- Iwsity may be too big for its j»n good. A&M's time-honored tradi- aons are becoming increasing- threatened, as is apparent the recent dorm infighting at All-University night and the police presence at Midnight 11 practice. Tne infighting that has erupted between the dorm, Greek and Corps communities as well as the liberal and con servative ideologies has splin tered the campus and affected the A&M's traditional reputa tion of school unity, casting the school in the image of a subur ban high school: riddled with cliques that isolate themselves from the rest of the campus. It is only reasonable to as sume that as long as infighting continues, it will become an ever-growing threat to both A&M s traditions and its im age. In an age when college stu dents are lumped under the "Generation X h moniker and characterized as cynical, apa thetic and derisive, perhaps some of this recent generation of A&M students are express ing their cynicism, apathy and derision in choosing not to honor the past, but to bury it instead. Even though unintentional, negative reactions and contin ued rivalry only lessen the val ue and purpose of the traditions A&M has upheld over time. The clasning ideas of cele brating diversity versus cele brating traditions do not nec essarily have to fight each oth er, and only when all sides make allowances for others' rights and all sides stop antag onizing each other will the stu dents at A&M be on common ground again. Clarifying a few Texas A&M myths Some words of wisdom from someone who's been there W ell, over a week of the new semester has passed and we're still here — behind al ready, but here. One of the many enormous myths at A&M is that if a stu dent gets behind he can never catch up. Not true. And as most of you 6,300 or so freshmen already know, everyone, espe cially parents and old er siblings, bombards you with advice on survival in college. The problem is that stu dents need to learn how to get through school their own special way and that all the advice in Texas won't solve any academic atrocities. FRANK STANFORD Columnist Corps, non-reg until graduation. In addition, I flunked out one semester, served time at Blinn, withdrew twice from A&M to avoid permanent dismissal and worked to support a nasty sailing habit — not to mention beer. Now, after three years in the "real world," I'm pursuing a master's degree. With this vast experience, it is my prerogative — nay, duty — to clear up some college myths. Grades. They matter. They don't matter. It depends on what you want. Good grades are not necessary to get a good job. In fact, your professor probably made better grades than Ross Perot, Roseanne Barr or Mother Theresa. If you consider money to be somewhat synonymous with success, hard work and determination can be your "grades." However, students who wish to be em ployed by enormous investment, engineer ing, accounting or law firms, not to mention medical or veterinary school acceptance, need excellent grades just to get in the door. Perhaps things have changed, but as fish in the Corps my buddies and I were con stantly told not to worry about our grades because some OF Ag would hire us just be cause we were CTs. Some outfits were more grade conscious than others, but this was still a prevailing notion. After seeing non-reg. Corps and fraternity friends all hit the job market, it seemed most employers were far more interested in hiring the best qualified individuals, rather than be ing influenced by their organizations. Another freshman myth is that if you miss a party or a Saturday night at your favorite hangout, you'll fall a few rungs on the social ladder. Nothing could be more ridiculous. After being at sea for two years, I returned to my favorite watering hole to soak in all the changes and do a little soaking myself. I was certain I would be woefully out of place hav ing not shown my face in so long. Not only had absolutely nothing changed, but there were still some of the same drinkers there. I swear one of them had re mained on the same stool. Professors don't care. Big myth. Most in structors chose their profession because they didn't really want to leave school. In fact, they are still students themselves, turning in papers and worrying about grades (yours), just like in the Stone Age when they were in school. As soon as you start to have a problem with a class, tell your professor. No matter how gruff or aloof they may seem, educators usually get a charge out of helping students who care about the class. This is only a gen eral rule of course, but of the 60 or more pro fessors J've had, only one or two didn't ap pear to care when I approached them. You can always ream those guys on teacher eval uations anyway. Texas A&M doesn't know who you are, or give a damn. Little myth. As most transfer students will tell you, Aggie-style cohesive ness is not the norm among many other uni versities in Texas or elsewhere. Moreover, our campus is certainly one of the more friendly in the country, as told by many a visitor. All of this overwhelming cama raderie and friendliness elicits an aura of be longing and familiarity by the University. However, we must remember A&M is a business, an enormous business which has to be run like one. Money drives this school at least as much, if not more, than many other colleges. Deans and professors can't know everyone in their department like those of a small school can. As much as our university seems to love us, try to stop fee payments, crash your g ades or get caught hazing, and the love ucet will shut off just like anywhere else. Most freshmen will make up their own minds about what I've said. But nonetheless, if any of my "wisdom" from making every mistake possible can help any freshmen gain insight — or even want to shoot me, then I've done my job. Frank Stanford is a graduate philosophy major RUDDER FOUNTAIN NO SM0K1N NO SWEARIN NO SPITTIN NO FISH1N AND NO SWIMM1N Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other Battalion staff members, the Texas A&M student body, regents, administration, faculty or staff. Columns, guest columns, cartoons arid letters express the opinions of the authors. The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters and guest columns tor length, style, and accuracy. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting; : guest columns. Address letters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Mail stop 1111 University College Station, TX 77843 Fax; (409) 845-2647 • Put litter in its place — and watch out for those alligators! GUEST COLUMN Y ou've proba bly been wondering why one of the trash cans in the | Rudder Fountain area is missing a lid. Okay, maybe you haven't, but since there's an in teresting story be- llindit, I'm going :otell you anyway. LastWednes- LYNN jay evening, a I BOOMER riend/ source of 'nine - hereafter , to be referred to as Deep Throat for purposes of concealing tier identity — was walking by Rudder Fountain when she saw two "skater guys" peering intensely into the water. Someone nearby asked what they were looking at, to which one of the guys — we'll call him Joe — replied, "Am alligator." Deep Throat looked in the fountain skeptically and was about to move on when she was persuaded to take a closer look. Sure enough, an alligator about 18 inches long was "floating around the fountain with its little nose sticking out of the water." Joe, our soon-to-be hero, decided that this particular fountain was no place for an alligator and valiantly attempted to fish it out. After being bitten a couple of times, he changed his strategy to attempt ing to scoop up the reptile with his base ball cap. Not surprisingly, a crowd began to fo rm. One resourceful girl took a lid from a nearby trash can (ah-ha!) and began using it in much the same manner as Joe's base ball cap. That too failed, because once the lid was submerged, it was too heavy to lift out. Suddenly, police began showing up, wanting to know what the problem was. By the time Joe had scooped up the gator (yes, with the cap) and put it safely into the trash can lid, there were three or four By the time Joe had scooped up the gator (yes, with the cap) and put it safely into the trash can lid, there were three or four police officers and a PTTS officer on the scene. police officers and a PTTS officer on the scene. They skillfully handled the crisis by calling pest control while members of the crowd argued,"No! Call someone in vet erinary sciences!" Is this beginning to sound like an episode of "Three's Company"? In the midst of the mayhem, one of the police officers actually picked up the alli gator, put it in the car with him and left for some unknown destination. Soon after, the pest control guy showed up. After being appraised of the situation, he left and the crowd dispersed, including Joe, who was obviously upset that no one had congratulated him on his courageous capture of the beast. Deep Throat and friends happened to still be in the fountain vicinity a little while later when two guys showed up and began to casually look into the foun tain. "Did you guys lose something?" asked D.T. "No," they assured her, and continued to peruse the water. "Are you sure you didn't lose some thing?" continued D.T. "Like maybe a shirt, some jewelry ... an alligator?" "How'd you know?!" they demanded. Easy, guys — the guilty looks. Appar ently, they had found this gator in their backyard. They happened to have it on campus when they decided to go to the bookstore and realized Alii — that's her name — couldn't come in with them. So they stored her in the fountain for safe keeping. As one explained, "We didn't think anybody would notice!" Here's my favorite part: the guys de cided they'd better go to the police before the story came out in The Battalion. And they agreed that the true story would look bad: "We'd better say she was stolen." Well, you know what they say — truth is stranger than fiction. Lynn Booher is a sophomore English and psy chology major I OCA, RHA, ISA hold great Welcome Bash As one who has always taken RHA for granted, I must say the collaboration with the International Student Associa tion and Off Campus Aggies was simply outstanding! I could see the hard work put into the Fall '93 Welcome Bash, and my only re gret is that more people (especially freshmen) did not experience this excel lent event! Five dollars was a frugal price for free transportation and buffet-style barbecue from Gideon's. Also, Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater was the only place to hear the live bands. I especially liked Ballet Folklori- co's Saber Dance and the dance Jesusita en Chihuahua. Were I not graduating in May, I would be looking forward to Fall '94 Bash — but to those who will be here: GO!!! Antoinette Duffey Class of '93 Young Conservatives display arrogance For several years now, I have read about the antics of the Young Conserva tives of Texas and the College Republi cans. However, today was the first time I witnessed their self-righteous arrogance in person. I have just returned from the gather ing of the YCT that took place in front of the Academic Building. They met to whine about the multicultural require ment that was passed by the Liberal Arts Council and is being considered by the Faculty Senate. I regret that I added some credibility and excitement to this pathetic "rally" by openly questioning the YCT representa tive on his views. He said that multicul- turalism was defeated at the University of Texas and should be defeated here at A&M. The problem is that there is no comparison between the two issues. At t.u. officials tried to force one indi vidual course on the entire student body. The proposal here calls for students to choose between a number of classes that would satisfy the requirement. The YCT and CR say that required multiculturalism is indoctrination, not education. Wake up people! The purpose of multiculturalism is to expose you to other cultures, not to brainwash you into becoming a part of, or even liking those cultures. Part of the college experience is learning how to take the ideas of other and using those ideas to form your own views. No one likes having additional course requirements of any nature, but with the increasingly diverse society that we live in, cultural diversity in the curriculum can only be beneficial. To those who say that it will foster bigotry and racism, I say take a hard look in the mirror. Patrick M. Wilson Class of '93 Show proper respect during Silver Taps It appears that either some do not know or they do not display the proper etiquette or signs of respect concerning Silver Taps. If you live on campus, please turn off the lights in your rooms before leaving for the ceremony. Please do not hold a conversation or laugh on your way to or when returning from the ceremony. Lastly, please extinguish your smok ing materials until after Silver Taps has ended. Silver Taps is a funeral, please show respect for those that it honors and treat it as one. Wesley Price Bringham Class of'94 Accompanied by 7 signatures