Opinion
er 11,1993
■s, Soccer
les
'men's vol-
?ams \
;ame win-
road this
the 14th-
/ Bulldogs
id Sunday,
olina Lady
! and 15-7.
day again
in G. Rollie
ech.
ern Illinois
aight win,
3-2 loss to
.ady A
home
Mary's on
immons
oall game
oon
\ football
11 begin at
md will be
;elevision.
non.
op friend-
fter every
id hugged
•mbination
ents com-
uccessful
i, wuth the
Llif Groce,
ing.
a all of our
cum said.
; is that all
■e different
ss running
nning over
ng people
glides and
an (there's)
who) may
ous of the
Monday, October 11,1993
The Battalion Editorial Board
CHRIS WHITLEY, editor in chief
JULI 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
EDITORIAL
Building lessons
A&M must learn from mistakes
nated run-
tailspin.
u gars' run-
ed for 112
v&M junior
ill had 128
n the game
se hadn't
nsive end
"We just
g out there
rfense and
id zone."
nessage to
est Confer-
idown will
old-fash-
? A&M de-
get lucky.
Texas A&M needs to keep
past lessons in mind as it ini
tiates millions of dollars in
new building projects. Prob
lems with the design and con
struction of many University
facilities should serve to point
out expensive mistakes that
can be avoided.
University buildings have
long suffered from flawed
planning and construction
mistakes. Engineers designed
the foundations for the most
recent addition to Sterling C.
Evans Library without factor
ing the weight of the books
into their calculations.
Rooms on the north side of
[Haas Hall are smaller than
those on the south because
iomeone forgot to leave room
or the hallway.
The University Center
arking Garage and Student
ervices Building has under-
one extensive work in the
year since it opened. Sinking
oundations caused many
Droblems. Last month, the
3oard of Regents approved
hinds to be used for emer-
ency repairs on the building.
Frames
den,
:es.
lenses or stronj
ig D28& Round
;tant treatmenls
ON
J.
olicy
pate
Problems also stem from in
effective projects and unmet
needs. Poor drainage plagues
nearly every area of campus. A
short rainfajl can result in days
of sidewalks and parking lots
covered in inches of water.
Residents of Married Stu
dent Housing have circulated
a petition requesting bike path
improvements. Many on-cam
pus offices face serious space
and storage shortages.
Currently, construction is
under way on the new recre
ational sports center and
natatorium, the west campus
library, and the College of
Business headquarters. Future
projects include the George
Bush Presidential Library and
Museum and the proposed
special events center. These
facilities will be in use well
into the next century.
Blunders in the planning
and building of these projects
hinder their use and reflect
poorly on the University. Offi
cials should ensure that previ
ous errors are not repeated and
devote future plans to remedy
ing constant needs.
Receiving stares in local nightclubs
Subtle attitudes sometimes make blacks feel unwelcome
T opics for columns
come to me in the
strangest ways
sometimes. I can just
be sitting around talk
ing with friends and
extract a subject from
that,
They were talking
quite a bit after I mis
takenly led them to a
gay bar. And one of
the things they were
saying was that there
are really no decent
nightspots for blacks
to go out to. Which is
how we ended up at
the gay bar to begin with.
TRACEY
JONES
Columnist
there are a number of good night
clubs and recreational centers around town,
many blacks, myself included/find them un
welcoming. T don't mean that there are peo
ple standing in the doorway refusing to al
low blacks inside. Often this attitude is very
subtle.
It's so subtle that if you do not differ from
the appearance of the majority in the club,
you probably won't even notice it. But it is
there.
It's the looks that are given to a black per
son who walks in, maybe even just to go to
the bathroom. It's in the hard looks that fol
low a black person who comes in and actual
ly sits down. It is there. And if you are on the
receiving end, you definitely notice it.
I remember going to dunk my ring at the
Dixie Chicken with some friends of mine
who happened to be white. A black girl
friend had also gone with me just for the tun
of it. We were meeting the other girls there,
so we walked in to find them.
As soon as we walked in, I felt self-con
scious. And while I understood perfectly that
I had every right to be there, I felt uncomfort
able. As we walked to the back where you
buy the alcohol I could just feel numerous
eyes on us. One person stared at us like we
were a new life form.
Being the patient person I am, I politely
stood with my head erect and waited for my
friends to show. We even ordered food.
Which is very good, by the way.
But the icing on the cake — and I will nev
er forget this — was when I went to go and
use the telephone. There were two couples
who were standing talking near the pay
phone. As I walked over, they immediately
parted to let me through.
It wasn't a natural scooting over; it was
more like reflexively jerking your hand away
from a burning stove. I even think that if a
white person had been on the phone at the
time, he would have just handed it to me.
All that anyone asks is to be respected as a
person. Respected. Not feared.
Not all people act this way. I have met
nice, friendly people. I met some that same
day as the phone incident, and my girlfriend
and I dunked our rings in peace. However, it
is often the more ignorant ones that you tend
to remember and the nicer ones that seem so
far and few between.
I understand that the whole Northgate
strip has been a tradition of A&M for the
longest time. I'm not suggesting that all the
buildings be tom down and something else
erected. I'm not suggesting that the Chicken
stop playing country music.
However, some things can be done to be a
little more accommodating to minorities. Per
haps having different nights is an option. For
instance/Thursday night could be country
night, Friday night could be alternative
night, Saturday could be hip-hop night. This
way, the mood encompasses a greater variety
of people and tastes.
I hope this doesn't seem a trivial point.
As I stated earlier, if you're not on the receiv
ing end it probably won't phase you. But if
you're curious to see how it feels, go in with
a date of a different race.
Going out and enjoying yourself with
friends seem very natural and not really a big
deal for people who fall into the majority that
happens to be there.
If you are not part of the majority, it is
much more like a chore. It is difficult to just
have fun when people all around you are
staring. Or when that stare tells you that you
do not belong here.
Traditions are "classic" because they sym
bolize ways of doing things that are impor
tant to people. They last because they are
meaningful. Let's start some new traditions
in addition to the old and include as many
people as possible in them.
I have a feeling that these, too will last.
Trace]/ Jones is a senior psycholog]/ major
\*E 7UST vtMtt to
fcVAfHAS12L TKM
YflUft AfAlTH
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, /acuity 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.
:;ivV Address letters to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Mail slop till
Texas A&M -University
Cdiiege station, TX 77843: f
-—.—.———.——
oming Out Day important for straights as well as gays
“Vcture it —
-'Greenwich
. Village, June
27,1969. It's a
steamy night in a
steamy town. You
;o with a few
lends to a local
bar to have a few
irinks and mourn
the sudden death
of a dearly remem
bered film and
stage idol. During
the night the police
decide to stop in,
yell "Raid," and
start swinging
their nightsticks.
You get fairly ticked off, mainly because
this happens far too often, and you decide
to finally fight back. You and several dozen
of your screaming, flaming friends, that is.
That bar was the Stonewall Inn, and that
riot was the birth of the gay rights move-
nent. Those few brave homosexuals decid-
d to come out of the closet, take their fight
)ut into the streets, and wipe out years of
Jppression. Next June marks the 25th an
niversary of the Stonewall Riots.
During the past two decades, many
changes have occurred. The gay culture
has taken a completely new shape. It now
strives toward legitimization and accep
tance from the law and society. To further
this goal, Oct. 11 has been declared Nation
al Coming Out Day. It is the one day a year
that those individuals who are not publicly
"out of the closet" are urged to tell their
relatives, friends, co-workers and neigh
bors about their sexual orientation in hopes
that society will finally realize that we are
not "those" people, but just plain people.
Closeted homosexuals and bisexuals
are individuals who feel it necessary due
to societal pressure to hide their feelings
and their sexual orientation from the rest
of the world. Many deem it necessary to
hide beneath a thin veil of heterosexuali
ty. This lie they feel forced to live de
grades their dignity as human beings
and, furthermore, tends to retard the
movement toward societal acceptance.
Yet, with more and more representation
of homosexuals and bisexuals in the
movies, on television and in popular litera
ture, it is becoming easier for people to be
open about their sexual orientation. Along
with this openness comes the inevitable
breakdown of myths and stereotypes.
When the general public comes to realize
that homosexuals and bisexuals are just
like the people next door — in fact, we are
the people next door — then the need for a
gay rights movement will be gone.
In the latest New York Times/CBS
News Poll, approximately half of the re
spondents said they personally knew
someone who is homosexual. Within that
Every time a homosexual or
bisexual tells someone
about him- or herself, it
helps to destroy the myths
and lies formed by the ig
norant masses.
percentage, a large portion said they were
more accepting and sympathetic toward
homosexuals because of this. Those indi
viduals polled who did not acknowledge
knowing anyone gay were less likely to
approve of the homosexual lifestyle.
So we return to the importance of hav
ing a National Coming Out Day. Every
time a homosexual or bisexual tells some
one about him- or herself, it helps to de
stroy the myths and lies formed by the ig
norant masses. It helps create a more toler
ant society in which people are judged by
what they do, not what they are. With the
increasing number of homosexuals and bi
sexuals out of the closet and demanding
equal considerations under the law, this
once non-traditional and unconventional
lifestyle is now gaining acceptance.
Society has already reached a turning
point in its recognition of the queer
lifestyle. The Hawaii State Supreme Court
is in the middle of hearing arguments
about legalizing homosexual marriages,
and the prospects seem to be favoring ho
mosexuals. Also, New York City has just
joined the ranks of about 25 other cities
that have established a form of domestic
partnerships fully recognized by official
documents giving the partners the same
rights and benefits as a marriage license.
The more homosexuals and bisexuals that
proudly and publicly announce their
union, the more tolerant and accepting
society seems to become.
Yet, one aspect of National Coming Out
Day that appears to be missing is the
"straight ticket." Not only should homo
sexuals and bisexuals be coming out, but
heterosexuals should be also. Straights that
are gay-friendly can face just as much dis
crimination and harassment as non
straights, sometimes even more.
It is just as important to the movement
that society realizes how strong the gay
rights movement is among heterosexuals.
One staunch, upper-class. Republican, het
erosexual male — like Barry Goldwater —
advocating gay rights is just as influential
as an entire brigade of Queer Nation mem
bers. It is very important that gay-friendly
heterosexuals announce to the world that
their are "straight, but not narrow."
So this Oct. 11, let society see not only
homosexuals and bisexuals standing up
for equal rights, but also the straights
who believe in the freedom and equality
of all people. National Coming Out Day
should not be a holiday restricted to one
subculture, rather, it should be celebrated
by all of society.
John Scroggs is a senior English and
philosophy major
roe ST
ATIC
ice
T 11,1993
rector,
5-1410.
Batt should leave the
politics to politicians
The Sept. 29 editorial "Truth in poli
tics" about Sen. Hutchinson's recent trou
ble with the law said she "has an obliga
tion to account for her conduct to her con
stituents." Earlier it is casually mentioned
that she "denies the allegations."
Please forgive my poor, tired brain if
it has misunderstood this, but it appears
to me that she has accounted for her con
duct. Until her trial, we should be gra
cious enough to allow her to be innocent
until proven guilty. And if she is lying,
would it not be suicide to publicly admit
her guilt before the trial? I know editori
als are all about opinion, but how about
leaving party politics to the parties.
Chris Brooks
Class of'97
Another student falls
to A&M bureaucracy
This letter is in reference to the article
about Wade Graham. It continues to
amaze me how this university can con
tinue to tell prospective students and
those students already attending Texas
A&M that this school may be large, but it
has the "feel of a small school."
Texas A&M continues to tout itself as
a school that is in touch with the stu
dents. If this were the case, then officials
would be bending over backwards to
rectify Wade Graham's situation. It ap
pears that poor Wade is yet another vic
tim of the ever present bureaucratic
mumbo-jumbo that has been plaguing
this university.
Texas A&M University is one of the
largest schools in the nation, so things
get mixed up and mistakes happen. It's a
fact of life ... but, it's about time that they
admit their mistakes.
J.M. Brown
Class of‘93
Following traditions
a choice; give it a try
I am writing this letter in response to
the column on Oct. 5 about the growing
idea that following traditions is a require
ment. When students choose to come to
A&M, they choose to come here for vari
ous reasons, among those, the education
they can receive and the history behind
what makes this university something
that students at other universities envy.
The history of A&M revolves around
traditions. Following a tradition is a
choice made by each individual. The tra
ditions here at A&M give this institution
dignity and class. Each tradition here at
A&M began as a voluntary activity at
A&M; Elephant Walk, Bonfire, Howdy,
Muster and many others.
In order for the traditions to live on,
we, as students, must also make a volun
tary choice to participate in them. I was
speaking with an Old Ag recently, and he
said that we, the current students at A&M
are "parasites. We are living off of what
the former students at A&M have built."
I would hate to think that we would
be killing off what this university has
built for us to enjoy, either by not partici
pating or by taking the right of choice
away from the current students. If you
have never been to Midnight Yell, Silver
Taps or other traditions, I strongly en
courage you to give it a try and see what
it's all about.
Susannah Pell
Class of '95