Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 1993)
Press 3° cHnchtil West ibleheadei bit his 141 e won hi >t missed it. P °ne run n g s / struck / e. Robert uts for his °) gave up in 61-3 i n . 1-1 in the ■ond game, double off and scored nder. ') won the i scoreless 20 innings, vo innings save. ?rs McNeal's ig one in 's blitz for lie Ander- great job ch Chuck e able to p their de- satisfying 19 of 28 ris biggest w'hen he in a 31-27 s which msed to h an or- :an help nimuni- it repre- M Uni- :hes. st story coaches ryers to- Barone en with " Ham- seemed as a dis- ue of the i down, ho real- Opinion Monday, September 27,1993 The Battalion Editorial Board CHRIS WHITLEY, editor in chief )ULI 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 7 Slow £>*B THAT..! TH6SC C.UVS WEffe PI EHTiME ooa COOHTHY— AMO tJovY y THEA Amo ahei-teES them f HDU5iNG PRQJEtr GULF WAR KfZauti t. PoL',t-/cai_ /K^yLubX Leri* pbclabb WAA om THE- OMlrwo AMO THEM 2»>«RE M [>CK ... r EDITORIAL Events center Mistake to renovate G. Rollie The proposal to build a new campus special events center is now threatened by an alterna tive project that would focus on renovating G. Rollie White Coliseum. The new center is a practical solution to the university's problems with accommodating major events. The G. Rollie plan would scrap recommen dations for a modern multi purpose facility, and continue the use of an outmoded 39 year-old building. The need for a special events center was first recognized in 1982. The project has since moved through several stages of development. The current plan calls for the construction of 0 million facility suitable for many events, including athlet ics, commencement ceremonies, conventions, and concerts. The proposal for G. Rollie White would cost $29 million, over half of the expense of the new center. The plan includes the construction of new build ing for offices and practice facil ities on the site of DeWare Field- house and Downs Natatorium. The G. Rollie White pro gram points out the deficien cies and shortcomings of the structure. Renovation require ments involve widening hall ways, expanding seating, adaing rest rooms, and im proving access for the dis abled. These needs persist even after a $550,000 renova tion in 1992. After renovation, G. Rollie White Coliseum would still have limited versatility and lit tle appeal for non-athletic events. The millions spent on its rejuvenation could be di rected toward a new center with a wide scope of uses. The special events center would meet student, athletic, and community needs for the foreseeable future. The center could also act as a recruiting tool for athletic programs. If the Board of Regents pass es the proposal for renovating G. Rollie White, it will be ig noring the university's long standing need for a special events facility. The special events center would provide A&M with extensive oenefits that far outweigh ineffective attempts to avoid the neces sary expenses of a major uni versity. Keep foot on floor, not in your mouth Remember etiquette and you won't embarrass yourself TRACEY JONES Columnist T he face of eti quette is not al ways worn. But it should be — always. Or it can get mighty embarrassing. My friends and T learned that the hard way. Last weekend, we went to a party that wasn't exactly jump ing. So, for a few min utes, we sat outside watching people and seeing who was going in. The girls didn't see anyone they thought was interesting, and I suggested that we go to a club instead. Before we left, "Taffy" specifically asked what kind of crowd hung out there. Confi dently and without hesitation, I told her that the club was hip-hop, dance and college- aged. They all believed me. After we arrived and got out, we heard the music. It was not hip-hop music. We were discouraged, but we moved closer to the door to hear better. It was definitely not hip-hop-dance music. I couldn't even classify what it was. I think I know alternative music when I hear it. So, my friends were looking at me like, "What is this?" I had no answer. I was afraid to say the wrong thing. After all, there were three of them to one of me. While I was filibustering, these four peo ple — two girls and two boys — initiated a conversation with us. After they informed us that the music was trash disco (...?), they told us that most of the people inside were gay. Feeling stupid and out of place, I looked around. Sure enough, I started noticing "cou ples" coming out of the club. And they were couples of men. So... "Donna's" voice is usually medium toned, but it became extremely high-pitched when she said, "Uh-uh! Let's get outta here!" She was a tad uncomfortable. "Taffy" put me in a choke hold for bring ing her to this club where she can only hope to meet tall, dark and pretty. We continued talking to this group of people that we still assumed were boy-girl couples. Finally, "Lil ly" asked what I'd been at least a little curi ous about. "Are y'all gay?" she asked. "Yes." So I asked, "All of you?" "Yes." And then everyone was silent, because there we were speaking to gay people that we didn't know were gay about other gay people. And they were so patient. The joke was on us for a very long time. Two of them did not look gay. I know this is an ignorant or general statement, but that "look" is what we more or less expected. We just expected to know when a person was gay and when he wasn't. But we found out firsthand about a con cept we have been taught or at least the way we want others to view us: people come in all different sizes, forms, shapes and atti tudes — everything and anything you can think of. We had no way of knowing that they were gay and no way of controlling their behavior, but we did have control over ours. After we found out that it was in fact a gay bar, we could have just said something to the effect of "Oh, well, thank you, but we were looking for something a little different." Instead, we all but panicked and worried that someone would see us there. I wish we had returned the courtesy at the beginning that they gave us. There were four of us. Giv en the situation. I'm sure for a few moments they thought we were two couples also. They might have even gone so far as to label us the Dancing Lesbian Quartet. Yet, they did not make fun of us or slight us in any way. They were very cordial and polite, no matter what they assumed us to be or not to be. I thought about that when 1 got home that night. We began respecting them as people rather than as objects of discussion when they divulged to us that they were of the same sexual orientation as the people we saw coming out of the club. But this respect should have been the first thing we showed them — not only after we'd been "caught." Now, we are much more sensitive to how we react to others. We've even adopted a good, livable motto: Try to keep your feet on the floor, not in your mouth. And that's good etiquette. Tracey Jones is a senior psychology major Well a's tdhf 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 and 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 for length, style, and accuracy. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns,. : Address letters to: The Battalion - Mall Call 013 Reed McDonald Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University $mum, TX 77043 39)045-2047 Too much focus on 'cultural diversity' leads to cultural strife T exas A&M University has lost its identi ty. Last Wednesday night the Student Senate passed a bill requiring every stu dent to take at least three hours worth of classes dealing with cultural diver sity in order to graduate. A&M's reign as the nation's most tree thinking uni versity has ended. By establishing a mandatory "cultural diversity" require ment, A&M has kowtowed to the liberal agenda of class strife and ethnic division. "Tonight we made the first step for the whole University," said Ben Dale, the Student Senate academic affairs commit tee chairman. Speak for yourself, Ben. Many of your constituents have decided to remain be hind while you make that first step. The ELIOT WILLIAMS Columnist Senate has lurched carelessly into the abyss of diversity, and is taking us with them. Aggies beware. As justification for the bill, the Senate claims that a mandatory diversity class will allow Texas A&M to become a "world class university." Apparently, the Senate thinks that the student body will agree to further limit their ever dwindling choice of classes at the drop of a trendy buzzword. If Texas A&M University is renowned for anything, it's for the ability to resist the popular liberal trends that sweep through every other university in America. Currently, as if you couldn't guess, diversity is the rage. As if passing the bill wasn't enough to annoy the student body. Senate Speaker Russell Langely, claimed, "The Student Senate represents their constituents well and this is what they want." First of all, I don't know about you, but I certainly don't enjoy the speaker of the Student Senate relegating me to some sort of obsequious serf by telling me what I want. Second, and most importantly, if the student body truly wanted a mandatory cultural diversity class, this bill would not be necessary at all — everyone would al ready be enrolled in those classes which emphasize a "United States minority" — whatever that is — or an "international culture." Clearly the student body doesn't "want" this bill — nor, for that matter, do we need it. Supposedly, the objective of the bill is to expose students to some sort of culture A&M has chosen to em phasize the differences be tween American cultures. This is clearly in violation of the principals our coun try was founded upon. besides their own. More specifically, it re quires students to take a class focusing on some sort of American minority. Will someone please explain what this means? As far as I can recall, there is no such thing as an "American minority." All Americans except Native Americans were immigrants at some point in their fami lies' history. We all belong to different cultures originally. Why do we need to focus on one of these? The bill will do one thing only: rekindle the strife between what Daniel Boorstin, the esteemed author of over 20 history books and former Librarian of Congress, calls the "hyphenated Americans." "The greatest danger our nation faces is the present emphasis on what separates us rather than what pulls us together," Boorstin explained. "I think the whole notion of hyphenated Americans is un- American. Polish-Americans, Italian- Americans, African-Americans empha size diversity when what built our coun try was community." Educational doctrine is moving away from the melting pot and is adopting the stir-fry theory of cultural integration. Everywhere, societies have tried this. It has failed miserably. If we begin to polar ize based on cultural heritage, how long will it be before confrontation develops? This is exactly what is happening in Bosnia where the differing cultures have become so hostile they have resorted to "ethnic cleansing." The painful fragmen tation of the Soviet Union is another ex ample of cultural diversity leading to con flict rather than confluence. A&M has chosen to emphasize the dif ferences between American cultures. This is clearly in violation of the principals our country was founded upon. We have be come a great country by coalescing many different cultures. Why change that policy? The Student Senate said the bill will not be that big of a burden because at least 100 classes will satisfy the requirement. Grant ed, this "cultural diversity" class can apply to both the cultural requirement and anoth er area of the core curriculum, nevertheless it limits our choices. The Student Senate truly believes that the student body wants this proposal. This being the case, it would be very in teresting to have a referendum on the is sue. Most likely, the overwhelming sup port Russell Langely alludes to is fiction al. Everyone who believes they are better off in America than they would be if their ancestors had stayed in their country of origin should show their opposition to the bill. Eliot Williams is a sophomore electrical engineering major s! s > Steak, ads eat 'Tradition Police' say stand or get kicked I would really like to thank two of my fellow Aggies for making the game Satur day so enjoyable for me. About every 20 minutes or so, or whenever I would feel lightheaded (which I often do in the heat, and am prone to pass out), I sat down for a minute to avoid fainting. I was then told by the fine fellow behind me, "You can sit down at home, now stand up." And his sweet little girlfriend kept pushing me off the bench with her feet. After a while of this, my husband asked her to quit kicking me because I wasn't feeling well and needed to sit down. She refused and told me to go sit somewhere else, and continued to stand in the seat that I paid for. Now, I really am for all the traditions at this school that help make it so great, but I am not for forcing everyone to abide by these traditions (and the last time I checked they were still traditions and not federal law), ESPECIALLY when the surrounding circumstances are un known to the "Tradition Police." Whenever a few people left the game early, people yelled, "Sit down, two-per centers!" at them. Now how do we know that they weren't sick or they had to be at work or something? The couple be hind me really made me not want to at tend anymore of our games to support our football team if I'm going to get grief about not wanting to have a heat stroke. T would like to think that we Ags are all adults (with the exception of my friends, the "Tradition Police") and are capable of making our own decisions. Be cool, people, and don't jump all over those who aren't doing what you think they should be. Shiloh Green Class of'95 Of course athletics is driving force at A&M I am in complete agreement with Joel L. Dunn's letter in the Sept. 23 Mail Call. Athletes should not be judged by the same standards as the other students. These are future millionaire professional athletes, for God's sake! More emphasis should be put on getting these athletes into the NFL and NBA than on having them complete the meaningless core cur riculum. After all, athletics is the driving force of Texas A&M University. When it was time for me to choose a college to attend, I sure as hell didn't look at academic standings; I went straight to the AP college football rank ings in the Sunday paper. I am not say ing that academia does not have its place here, though. But then again, how much money does the College of Engineering rake in on fall weekends? All Texas A&M athletes have worked hard to get where they are now, and they deserve more than a few whoops at a ball game. If this means paying them a few extra dollars, then so be it. And for those of you who came here solely for an education and do not appreciate excel lent Aggie athleticism, you know the way to Austin. Screw everyone. Gig 'em. Keith Stubbs Class of '96