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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
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