Opinion
|e5
said,
yhig
retty
'8 the
as in (t
h her
must
% up
e;
ary loi,
ill be;
startin;
t/'Hi{
'ightj
'namer
tome!]
Monday, February 7,1994
; us Bii
he
play)
i24ptj
fori;
ee sb
ve to-
kills;
rsity'si
t thera
our-yiJ
’reaty
1 majc:
iid for:
?ueaw
for ad
he rest]
/ineiv
at dot-
dumtl
with pi
efinitii
The Battalion Editorial Board
JULI PHILLIPS, Editor in chief
MICHAEL PLUMER, Managing editor KYLE BURNETT, Aggielife editor
BELINDA BLANCARTE, Night news editor DENA DIZDAR, Aggielife editor
HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor SEAN FRERKING, Sports editor
TONI GARRARD CLAY, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Photo editor
JENNIFER SMITH, City editor
EDITORIAL
Basketball bash
Tech's lack of security a warning
When athletes finish their
competition, they shouldn't be
expected to step in the ring and
fight a few rounds. But, partly
because of inadequate security,
that's just what happened
when the Aggie men's basket-
I ball team beat Texas Tech in
| Lubbock Saturday night.
In a game where the lead
changed three times in the final
10 seconds of the game — and
where both teams criticized the
the officiating — the fans were
bound to get caught up in emo
tion.
While a few bad fans are re
sponsible for instigating the
light, it's hard to deny the fact
that.a higher level of security
could have prevented it.
After one of the most excit
ing finishes in recent Southwest
Conference history, some fans
from Tech insulted and
charged Coach Tony Barone
and Tony Barone, Jr. After a
punch missed Coach Barone,
chaos broke lose as the Aggies
tried to force their way through
a student section to the safety
of their locker room.
Texas Tech apologized to
Coach Barone after he criticized
the Tech athletic department
for not having enough security
to control the 7,000 fans who
attended the game.
A&M should learn from
Tech's mistake. At a time when
both the men's and the wom
en's basketball teams are in
first place in the Southwest
Conference, the crowds for
games at G. Rollie White Colos
seum are getting bigger than
usual.
Aggies should be expected
to show class when they come
out to support their teams, but
officials need to prepare for the
worst to avoid such embarrass
ing incidents.
Increased security is also
needed in other sports, and not
just in case a losing team's fans
are angry. There was a severe
lack of control at the Wisconsin
football game last year when
they unexpectedly defeated
Michigan. The school had sold
more tickets than the number
of seats, and did not have
enough security when the cele
bration got out of control.
Although individuals should
be more responsible at such
emotional sporting events, it is
the schools which must do more
to prevent any violence.
The Battalion
Page 7
Disability simulation an eye opener
Support Services offers brief access to others' challenges
MELISSA
MEGLIOLA
Columnist
I f asked about the
Americans With
Disabilities Act,
most of us would say
that it sounds like a
pretty good idea. We'd
say nobody should be
denied access to places
like our university —
and then continue
walking to class, un
able to relate.
Last Wednesday,
Networks —• a student
group based out of
Support Services —
hosted "Access Chal
lenge," an opportunity
for students to try to understand disabilities.
For over three hours, anyone could stop by
the Rudder Exhibit Hall and participate in
any one of six disability simulations.
With a little over an hour between classes,
I decided to stop by and quickly learn what it
feels like to have a disability. I signed in at
the starting booth and received a certificate of
participation. The registration process was
simple. I was ready to go.
I moved first to the speech impairments
simulation to my right. An attractive young
woman, whose name tag identified her as
Sherry Green, sat behind the table holding a
bag of marshmallows. Immediately/1
thought about the game played at Fish Camp
to see which campers can stuff the most
marshmallows in their mouths. My cheeks
started to hurt.
Luckily, Sherry instructed me to put just
one marshmallow on each side of my mouth.
The difficult part came when she asked me to
read aloud the paragraph on the table in front
of me. As I read, I tried to control my drool
and attempted to read with presence. It did
n't work. 1 shook my head and chewed up
the marshmallows. While I waited to move to
the next booth. Sherry began talking casually.
"I started to use Support Services a few
years ago," said Sherry, who didn't seem any
different from those of us who were partici
pating in the simulation.
In January 1987, Sherry's car was broad
sided by a drunk driver and she was hospi
talized for four months. She had to relearn
how to walk and perform the basic tasks she
had always taken for granted. She made up
missed high school classes at a local junior
college and graduated on time. Now "98 to
99 percent" back to the way she was before
the accident. Sherry has her senior ring.
With about 45 minutes left until class, I ap
proached the manual dexterity simulation. A
volunteer limited the use of my thumbs with
tape and cheerfully handed me a list of tasks.
I was to tie my shoe, button one shirt button,
practice using a knife and fork and then take
a short quiz. I immediately started on my
shoe. After three or four minutes, I had a
loosely tied bow that would unravel into two
stray laces after any movement at all.
"I did itf" burst the guy sitting next to me.
I looked down at his shoe. His bow
looked just like mine. After slowly complet
ing the other chores, I had only 15 minutes
before I needed to leave.
Before going to class, I wanted to try using
a manual wheelchair. 1 took off and headed
for the MSC. Moving around the slick, pol
ished wooden floors of the Rudder lobby was
relatively easy. Exiting the building was not. I
approached the door from seemingly every
angle with no luck. The doors were heavy
and just narrow enough to need both doors
open at once. Finally, 1 used the foot rests of
the wheelchair to keep one door open and
somehow held the other door open long
enough to get through. The rest of my 10
minute experiment was very tiring but not
catastrophic.
Embarrassed that I had assumed I could
gain understanding of different disabilities in
an hour, I returned the wheelchair and left
for class.
Eric Howell, a junior industrial engineer
ing major, traveled around campus in one of
the wheelchairs.
"At first it was kind of fun," he said. "But
pretty soon the novelty wore off. I couldn't
even drink from the water fountain."
Eric said that he not only learned about
the physical demands of using a wheelchair
but also noticed that people treated him dif
ferently while he used it.
"Some went out of their way to say
'Howdy' to me. Others just darted their eyes.
I gained a whole new perspective."
Access Challenge happens only one day
each year. But its lesson is meaningful every
day.
"I hope that through things like this, peo
ple will develop a greater understanding of
people with disabilities and become more
compassionate," said Sherry.
I hope so, too.
Melissa Megliola is a senior industrial
engineering major
es,
d fill
es.
;s are:;
freste
season-:
•meter ij
ird.
tftfOM! LtM
(\HTrit tAUMfel
UUttKAM
T<oMy!!
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 - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Mail stop till
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843
Fax: (409) 845-2647
Allies offer understanding to homosexual, bisexual Aggies
g m
surgef
h M
rn, pl J ;
.purs.?
> of bat
last to-';
becaif
o not run
screaming
from the
Woom. This is rude.
■ So begins a
pamphlet about
meeting gay and
lesbian people enti
tled "Hints for the
Heterosexual."
’ Though it may
sound silly, the
program that dis
tributes this pam
phlet is not. "Al
lies" is a new pro
gram at Texas
A&M that is de
signed to provide a support community
for gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
I Last spring, Zack Coapland, a student
development specialist in Student Activi
ties, North Area Hall Director Scott Lewis
and two others started the program after
learning about a similar one at the Univer
sity of Georgia.
I Sheri Schmidt, a student development
specialist in the Department of Multicul
LYNN
BOOMER
Columnist
tural Services who was one of the original
members of Allies explained, "It's a way
of showing your support... and to spread
awareness that [homosexuality] is not a
disease."
The program originally was aimed at
resident advisors, faculty and staff, but is
now open to other students as well. Al
though the Allies program at a university
in Michigan limits its membership to het
erosexual faculty and students, people of
any sexual orientation can join the A&M
group.
To become an Ally, one must first go
through a series of workshops and then
attend a retreat held on campus. The re
treat is known as an "Advance," which
signifies the direction toward which the
program aims itself.
At the Advance, candidates talk about
gay, lesbian and bisexual issues and learn
how to deal either with students who
come to them to discuss their personal
struggles with understanding their own
sexuality or with students whose room
mates, friends or relatives have come out
to them.
Once they sign the contract required to
join the program. Allies members receive
a placard which they display on their
doors so that others will know they are
safe to talk to. The placard says "ALLY"
in blue letters and has a pink triangle nes
tled in the letter "Y".
Knowing a person, especially a resi
dent advisor, is an Ally can be a comfort
for homosexual students — even if they
aren't interested in discussing their sexu-
Candidates talk about gay,
lesbian and bisexual is
sues and learn how to deal
with students who come to
them to discuss their per
sonal struggles.
ality. They can go to an R.A. about some
thing like getting a light bulb changed
without having to worry that the R. A. will
reject them if something slips about their
loved one or lifestyle, Lewis said.
Currently, there are 61 Allies, including
12 resident advisors and resident direc
tors. People interested in becoming an
Ally should be aware that sometimes oth
ers will choose to discriminate against
them. Lewis warns that the program may
not be for you "if you're afraid of being la
beled."
Even so, students can still go through
the workshops and the Advance without
having to become an Ally. Lewis ex
plained that the contracts are designed to
be turned in after the Advance so that can
didates can decide without being pres
sured by peers whether they really want
to commit to the program.
Craig Blessing, a sophomore Ally said,
"Even if you don't decide to be an Ally, go
through training. It's really eye-opening."
The program has helped him to "be
more sensitive to others."
"It is an awesome feeling to be in a
room with so many people who are open-
minded and don't care if you're gay or
lesbian, black, white. Catholic, Muslim or
Baptist — you're still a human being and
deserve respect," Blessing said.
People who don't want to commit to
the program but still want to show sup
port can just be "gay positive" and "take a
stand" when others tell derogatory jokes
or engage in other types of gay-bashing.
The ultimate goal of the program is to
create a campus "where placards are not
needed," said Lewis.
The Allies program hopefully will help
heterosexuals understand that homosexu
ality is not a choice. As one anonymous
homosexual said, "Being gay, lesbian or
bisexual is to awaken every morning, to
live every day, and to go to sleep at night
fearing discovery and rejection by your
friends, family, and colleagues ... [It is]
hating yourself for what you are and
knowing you couldn't change your sexual
orientation, even if you wanted to."
As more people become Allies and dis
play their placards so that others can see
the strength in their number, more hetero
sexuals will realize that gays, lesbians and
bisexuals are people, too. More homosexu
als will realize that A&M is a place where
they can feel welcome and not persecuted.
Lynn Booher is a sophomore psychology
and English major
pe COl;
irougli :
eview
Aggie basketball
slams without dunks
After reading the letter by Darren
Siefer, I have to guess that his collegiate
athletic days were not spent as a basket
ball player. Like any sport, the goal of
the Aggie basketball team is not to ap
pease Siefer with Harlem Globetrotter-
esque performances, but to play their
best and try to win. Which they have
been able to do this year. They lead the
SWC with a 6-0 record, and have an im
pressive non-conference record at 12-9.
I find it discouraging that with 43,000
students, only 4,000 are able to come see
their team play; but even more sadden
ing that those who do come cannot give
them the support they deserve. Siefer
states that the slam dunk is the spark the
the Aggies need and that it gets the
crowd all pumped up.
I have always had the belief that it is
the fans who spark the team with their
support, and it is the fans' job to get
their team pumped up. I have been a
basketball supporter all my life and
have seen some of the most exciting
games this season. If you cannot get ex
cited about simply seeing your team
play a great game and be victorious,
then stay home.
Deana Davalos
Class of '95
It's our time to shine
Thank God the football season isn't
over yet! Here I was watching the A&M
vs. Tech games, and all I have to say is,
"It's gotta be the pasta."
It's about time that our basketball
programs got some respect, and no bet
ter time than on HSE.
OK, granted that in the final seconds
of the men's game, there were two
questionable calls on both teams, but as
I understand, that's part of any sport.
What I don't understand is where the
security was on the court. Better yet,
where was the class from the Tech
fans?
I am proud of Tony Barone defend
ing our team from those irate fans.
And Damon Johnson, my hat's off to
you as well.
I don't think I know of anyone who
would have reacted any differently if
somebody was attacking their coach,
throwing garbage on them, or kicking
them in the head. The ESPN highlight
speaks for itself.
Yes, Aggs, I must say of this year's
basketball team ... they're brass.
As for the Lady Aggs, they deserve
additional applause for their win over
the Lady Raiders. I think that if you
keep playing on that level, you will be
an unstoppable force in the tourna
ment. See you there.
Jason Estridge
Class of '93
Cloning a sure cure
I read Tim Deithloff's letter about
Beutel. Maybe they could clone Dr.
Shelton.
Jennifer Jones
Class of '95