Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1993)
'ensiefic & 2702 Texas Ave. S. College Station, Texas 77802 (409) 693-0054 Fax: 696-0901 For your convenience, '?esn&u'<i offers private dining for parties, rehearsal dinners, and business meetings for lunch or dinner. We have private seating for up to 100. We serve steaks, seafood, chicken, and Italian food. Call us when planning your next party. DEADLINE APPROACHING RAPIDLY! THE BRITISH MARSHALL SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDES US CITIZENS WITH A 3.7 GPR THE CHANCE TO EARN A MASTER'S DEGREE IN BRITAIN. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE IN 251 BIZZELL HALL WEST BY SEPTEMBER 27. STUDYABROADFROGRAMS; 161BTZZELLHALL WESrT;84&0544 Professional Computing 505 Church Street College Station (409)846-5332 ^ . $2-99 HP DeskJet 500 * Affordable 300-dpi laser-quality printing * Wide variety of built-in fonts * Supports leading software applications including Windows 3.1 * 3-year limited warranty Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sat. 10:00 a.m.-3:00p.m. m HEWLETT PACKARD Authorized Dealer earn to C/Peate A irst and I 1 inq Impressioni Attend the Dress For Success Seminar Wednesday, September 22, 7:00 p.m. Room 601 Rudder Free interview suit giveaway 1 male andl female! To win - you must attend this seminar and be registered wtth Placement Services. Page 10 The Battalion Tuesday, September 21,1® Western civilization not 'greatest known' I was very surprised on Wednesday morning when I read in The Battalion that "Western civilization is the greatest culture ever known 1 ’" If that is the argument that Mr. Irvine and the conservatives and Repub licans of TAMU are using against multicul tural courses, they are absolutely wrong. One cannot compare one culture to anoth er. Each culture is unique, and it is the out come of the way a group of intelligent hu man beings have dealt with their environ ment. If some cultural groups are facing problems now, it is only because "Western civilization" disrupted their ways of life by introducing cultural elements that those cul tures neither needed nor wanted. I do not think that a culture that has de stroyed so much of the earth's environment, killed so many people, and that has high rates of crimes, suicides, unemployment , disease, etc. can be considered to be "the greatest culture ever known." Multicultural courses are a good way to teach Aggies that people from different groups behave in different ways because they understand their environment in differ ent ways. People are different. That is a fact. But it does not mean that we cannot under stand each other. Multiculturalism is not only about foreign countries. There is multiculturalism even in the same country. People from different racial, ethnic, historical, geographical, and even gen der groups behave in different ways as they were taught by their cultures. Western civi lization is the result of many different cultures. I sincerely applaud TAMU for taking the initiative in multiculturalism and hope that it ends the bigotry displayed by some Aggies. Julio Toro Class of ‘96 Let students pick their classes for themselves ty Senate's intentions here. In a rapidly shrinking and increasingly diverse society, it only makes sense to acquire a certain back ground about other cultures. Knowledge, af ter all, is not just power but opportunity, and I can certainly see how learning about, for in stance, Asian or European culture and histo ry might well aid A&M graduates who will be competing with Asians and Europeans for jobs in the future. That's a practical view of this proposal. Of course ,there's also an abstract view. Some of the proponents of enforced multicul turalism have thrown around lofty phrases like,"We are charged with the responsibility of providing the finest, most well-rounded education possible to our students, the future leaders of America and the world. Not in cluding a multicultural requirement in the core curriculum would be an injustice to them, who would then enter the world, in complete, unaware, and noncompetitive. Not only would this proposal create more competent graduates — it would also create better human beings." Get off the soaplxix, people. I personally find one of A&M's strengths to be its diversity of education. But I would prefer to be the per son choosing which fields to be educated in. The same argument could be made that the environment will probably become more and more important to all of us in the next century, that we all should have an interest in learning about it. Does that mean we should all be re quired to study flora and fauna? You can't mass-produce education, pack age it, slap a nifty-sounding label on it and call it good for everybody. Fact is, although I personally wouldn't mind learning a little about African-American literature or Middle Eastern society, it's my right to decide whether I want to learn about it and to deter mine how much. What sounds great, sensible and maybe even necessary to you might just sound triv ial and off-the-wall to me. Some people just don't care about Native-American History, and guess what? That's their right. Let us choose what we wish to be educat ed in. Isn't that the point of going to college? made by Dane Ray and Mark McElwain. Mr. Ray's concern for a "hidden political agenda" in the multicultural courses pro posed by the Faculty Senate is ridiculous. 0( course there's a political agenda involved; there always has been. What, Mr. Ray, would you consider was involved in the se lection of classes prior to this proposal? Couldn't we say, for example, that the his tory of this country, a history predominantly written by white males and taught by white males reflects a political agenda? Why, for example, can't women or blacks level the same accusations against an agenda that has forced upon them a particular history for over 200 hundred years and with far less subtlety? What is the difference, Mr. Ray? There are a host of legitimate arguments that can be raised against the Faculty Sen ate's proposal, though the possible under representation of white males in the Univer sity's curricula isn't one of them. Mr. Ray's and Mr. McElwain's points, instead, in exem plifying cultural ignorance (their own in fact) and insensitivity do much to show a need for them. James MacDougall Class of‘94 Standard classes sweep minorities under rug Rick Cromack Class of‘97 I'm the first to admit that I'm not exactly an expert on multiculturalism, education or the benefits of forcibly slamming them to gether. But after all the posturing pontificat ing and windy rhetoric this whole issue has generated in the last few weeks, I for one think it's about time we cut through the 50- cent words and spoke plainly. Don't get me wrong — I respect the Facul- White males already covered in textbooks It was hard to take Reed Irvine's speech on multiculturalism seriously. Many of A&M's courses already contain materials which a Re publican would classify as multi-cultural. A&M students who take Spanish language and literature or history are already exposed to works which Irvine and his Republican supporters consider to be of no value. He said quite explicitly that this included Latin American culture. As a native Texan and a fan of Latin American writers such as Octavio Paz, this came as quite a surprise to me. I consider Octavio Paz' work "The Labyrinth of Solitude" to be one of the best works of literary anthropology in our time. The argument about multiculturalism seems to me to miss the point. The aim of this curriculum is to acquaint students with the problems of those who have been op pressed by American society. It is certainly the case that black folks, who were not even allowed to attend TAMU until recently, be long to that class. If the standard academic courses were do ing their job, then there would be no need for multiculturalism. But, my experience is that history, economics and political science are all taught from a consensus point of view. That is, the history of blacks and other mi norities is just swept under the rug. Finally, the Republicans by opposing mul ticulturalism have once again shown that they are the party of George Wallace, David Duke and all the other racists in the U.S.A. I would like to respond to your recent arti cle, "Students air opinions at multicultural ism forum" and particularly to the comments Michael Kraft Bryan IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING.... Delta Tau Delta invites you to experience the social atmosphere x ^ of Greek Life centered dtound Aggie Tradition. mm®, INFORMATIONAL MEETI 8:30 p.m. Rudder 510 Any Questions call the Delt House at 846'7646 Dernnarh Studies'Classes />0A D if}* Tuesday Sept. 21, 3:00-4:00 251 Bizzell Hall W esff ABROAD PUIS 161 Bizzell Hall Blest 8M>1 "FASCINATING" Voted in 1993 by B/CS public, the. "BEST TANNING SALON" Wolff System Free Towel Service Walk-Ins Welcome Appointments Recommended Australian Gold 2551 Texas Ave. S. (Next to Winn Dixie), College Station 696-8700 -|S°/o OFF i ANY HAIR CARE PRODUCTS Aveda hair & skin care, Paul Mitchell, Redken, Biolage, Sebastian and Jioco. MONDAY & TUESDAY SPECIALS - David Denby, NEW YORK MAGADNE. "ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF 1993... A FEAT OF STORYTELLING VIRTUOSITY' - Andrew Sarrfa, NEW YORK oestHVEfl From the director of ’Europa Europa' and ’The Secret Garden’ OLIVIER OLIVIER SONY FUTURES CLASSICS Thursday @ 7:00 & 9:30 “■ riu-: Swketkst. Wisest. Wittiest Am> IT mmest Film Since...Who•Kinows What! A St itE-EiKK Comedy Sensation." "Think Summer! Think Funny! Think Hit! Think ‘DAVE’! ,, - Pat Colufv*. H'WOR-TV DAVE All showings of 'Dave' will be accompanied by a Warner Bros, cartoon. Friday / Saturday @ 7:00, 9:30 & Midnight Presented in Rudder Theater Complex ADMISSION: $2.50 Advance tickets available at MSC Box Offki 20% Any Hair Service I I Expires: 12-15-93 Expires: 11-02-93 MSC FILM SOCIETY Questions? Call... MSC Box Office 845-1234 MSC Student Programs Office 845-1515 A Memorial Student Center Student Programs Committee ^Tr Persons with disabilities please call us 3 working days prior to the film to enable us to assist you to OF TEXAS A&M the best of our ability. Tuesd; |ULI P DAVE BELIN MACK A& The Sept. 1 Univei would for acc< 12th M for woi suspen rate wi fering 1 ticipath Dur NCAA lete inc work 1 Some v while e where. rpabng This resultir on the vestig; Univei A&M ■ Swiftly issue. ommer would cient in forcem resenta This barras A< E ve se< fee nifer. It first sen J tcolleg joined a groups e sted he a lo and vva< Parties i guys we 'ug and Was free kerned fy intere nifer. Davi, tad talk Jes. Jer friends, "He': got thes got the ( fes hirr That dose att • Heh and he 1 It' „ Ic ' Hatioi is the Whati Th damn a seas-