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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 1994)
Op inion mmm is itions •th Thursday, March 24, 1994 The Battalion Page 15 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 No French fries in this restaurant Eating experience nearly destroys cool time in California ly beciui ort Wortl for sevei g situttic; now.Ii B g Bradlf, ; the aid who areri s for tb t the bain- veen sob nas Wind Ty Counr.' Ve wanit: council 1 ! ier, andi r no on n iark on it 'o-ahead, ang cards he Dallas- t sharplf zhak Ra- ehrew to dr terra nst civil- HHKsJaiMaSAdAEuSV Separate worlds Self-segregation is self-defeating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. Imagine what he must be thinking today about the newest :rend on college campuses around :he country: ‘self-segregation.” quite and Students have the choice to live in the card< dormitories comprised of students officers, i the same religion, sexual orien- :ation or color. Now, the work to ward reaching a common ground :hat has been underway for decades is being destroyed with the effortless stroke of a pencil on peace in housing application. n Students today are in the posi tion to meet students from all ever the world and every cultural background as well. Instead, this jtrend allows students to isolate themselves, rather than face ideas nd cultures different from their Of course everyone wants to be able to go someplace where they feel at home, but if this self- gregation continues, then it will become easier and easier not to confront anything that falls outside of preset comfort zones. Students attend college to be exposed to new ideas, new peo ple and new cultures. What’s the reason for attending a multicul tural institution if you don’t take full advantage of the opportuni- ty? r ; , , , If students think they would be more comfortable living with people exactly like themselves, then they can make those deci sions; but no university should promote widespread self-segre gation. In a global economy, the most successful businesses are the ones that have expanded to meet the needs of several differ ent cultures. When students don’t learn to communicate with cultures other than their own, the chances of succeeding out side one’s own little world drop substantially. Our parents and grandparents fought — and sometimes died — to ensure a chance for equality for all of their children. As a so ciety, we are capable of accom plishing more than anyone ever thought possible, but it must be gin with each of us. If we can’t learn to live to gether, and appreciate the differ ences that make us individuals, then the people who fought for the right for us to live together will have wasted their time. Dr. King had a dream. This wasn’t it. LYNN BOOMER Columnist A ll the leaves are brown ... and the sky is gray. I went for a walk ... on a winter day.” My sister and I repeatedly sang the words to this old Mamas and Papas song in awful har mony on our first trip to California. We visited sunny San Diego expecting beach bums and beautiful sunsets. We got more than that. We got “Petit Louis.” Our parents rented a motel room (if you can call something with two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and a living room a “motel room”) in La Jolla for our stay. The first night there, after watching the sun set over the Pacif ic, we decided to eat somewhere within walk ing distance. This meant our choice of restaurants with pretentious names and overinflated prices. We chose one that looked like it had pretty good ambience — the aforementioned Petit Louis. As we walked in, the maitre d’ snidely glanced at us and then proceeded to ignore us for as long as it was covertly possible to do so. We looked around the mostly empty restaurant and decided a table by the window would pro vide a nice view for the meal. He seated us near the kitchen. The young Californian waiter who finally came to serve us obviously had been instructed to speak with a French accent. It was more than obvious that he didn’t know a word of the language. He didn’t bother to hand us menus until someone pointed out that there was only one on the table and it looked silly to have four people sharing it. After perusing the small selection of en trees, I chose the one called “poulet au champignons” because it said something in the English translation about having half a chicken in it. Since my parents were paying, I was hungry. My dad decided to go with the special, perhaps because of its low, low price of $ 14. When the waiter brought out the wine my parents had ordered, some 30 minutes before we got our food, he had my dad taste it and inspect the label. I found this event highly amusing because of the combination of the guy with the bad French accent saying in a snooty voice, “Is it to your liking, sir?” and my not-always-suave dad acting like this was what happened every time we drank wine. The best part was when our waiter tried to make conversation. The sound of his speech changed from French to British to American so often that we had to wonder if he was multi national. He tried to make it sound like normal conversation when he asked my dad if we were on “holiday.” I had to suppress a snort. Soon after, we were brought a basket full of bread in the shape of large pretzels. Old crumbs and flour on the cloth in the basket in dicated that we were not its first users. We as sumed this was not a hint to leave because we couldn’t have possibly scared anyone away as there were no other customers in the restau rant. When our food finally arrived, it was just as I had suspected it would be: virtually nonexis tent. The chicken I had ordered obviously had not lived to adulthood. My dad’s seafood spe cial could have fit in a saucer. Fortunately, I had ignored my parents’ pleas to avoid eating the bread as it would surely spoil my appetite. Trust me, that didn’t hap pen. As our waiter set the paltry amount of food on the table, I envisioned someone along the lines of Boss Hogg from “The Dukes of Haz- zard” sitting where my dad sat. “Son,” he would have said in his thick Southern twang, “son, you and I both know that you’re not French. So why don’t you stop talkin’ in that silly accent. And bring me some fries with that.” It could have happened. We would have been a lot less hungry after $ 1 00. Thanks to Petit Louis and its friendly wait- staff, my first impression of California was not a pretty one. It took some effort to shake off the image of all Californians as snobby, preten tious and self-absorbed, especially since to amuse ourselves during the drive, my sister and I noted that every third car was a BMW, Mercedes or Porsche. And almost all of their li cense plates were personalized. After three days of touring beautiful San Diego, however, I changed my mind about it. I think I’d like to visit California again. I’ll just avoid French restaurants. Lynn Booher is a sophomore English and journalism major Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflea 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 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Fax: (409) 845-2647 rural institution if you don’t take King had a dream. This wasn’t it. .1 I ^ aX: 045-2647 1 I —rcr— \ V Our government: of the people, by the people, for the peopl I went there as a student representative to sonnel and civilian analysts on how to main- The United States is il COlin- Things will only get better if I get involvec the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee tain security in a world filled with nuclear ‘ ^ After the conference, I made it a point i jOSEF ELCHANAN Guest columnist W hile the sun was blazing and the young people of America were frol icking as far south as their cars and credit cards would take them, I took more of a north-eastern route to a place where one can fed the world flow around him and history energizes the imagination. Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital, has come under fire for 200 years for being a place where our representatives sneak about, dodging cameras and reporters. The city has made headlines recently as a place where drug dealers whip around the curves of dark alleys, spraying deadly bullets at their economic ri vals. I went there as a student representative to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and I knew that I would come back to Aggieland feeling worse for having proven that all my impressions of the Capitol were true. Within moments of entering the hotel, it occurred to me that I might have been wrong, and severely so. Racing from room to room came streams of Jewish adults and students, 2,000 strong, whose sole purpose was to as sist a small country far away to retam its secu rity, while bringing peace to that vital region. I joined in enthusiastically, and found my feel ings toward the world forever altered. For two days, our total focus centered around the discussion groups who presented a variety of topics on the problems of peace in the bloodied lands of the Middle East and how tire Jewish community might be able to assist in this process. We also looked at the world wide rise of anti-semitism and racism. We lis tened to impassioned speeches from U.S. rep resentatives John Lewis and Major Owens on the importance of black - Jewisn relations. There were discussions amongst military per sonnel and civilian analysts on how to main tain security in a world filled with nuclear weapons and unstable politics. I met Knesset members and U. S. Senators. Vice President Al Gore and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, two of the most respected and powerful men on earth, each separately called on AIPAC members to make some sort of difference in a world filled with dangers and hatred — and we listened. The last day was reserved to meet our own senators and representatives and to relay what we had learned. I stood in awe of the great buildings that hold die leaders of the free world, leaders who are responsible to all of us. We Americans are the final check on a gov ernment — our government — that leads the free world, and we are righdy distrustful of many aspects of government. Yet I have to say being in a room with the same people who make laws to govern and better our country was an exciting experience. I have not always agreed with those indi viduals’ policies, and I have not always be lieved that they were morally correct. But they are our government servants, and the large try controlled by its people, but only the people who are willing to go out on a limb for their beliefs. We are the final check on our government. majority are well-educated and articulate. They told us of their grand schemes to im prove the world and asked us, their awed em ployers, what we felt was the best course to take. I was amazed at how any concerned citi zens could simply walk into any of their rep resentatives’ offices and make an appointment to see these people to discuss important topics. The United States is a country controlled by its people, but only the people who are willing to go out on a limb for their beliefs. I did not get everything I wanted, and I realize that our government has many problems which need to be addressed, but it is my government. Things will only get better if I get involved. After the conference, I made it a point to see some of the monuments that have been placed around Washington to make us re member who we are and where we have been. I finally found my way to the Jefferson Memorial. I have often wondered what Jeffer son would think of what we have done with his grand ideas. Would he still look out proudly to the West, seeing a future filled with equality and peace for all Americans and the world? Or would he sit down and shake his head, taking with him the Constitution so that he could give it to a more deserving peo ple, a stronger breed? The AIPAC conference not only served America and Israel by building better relations and promoting peace, but it also helped to give me a renewed sense of awe at our coun try’s potential. While I can only hope that I made some difference at the conference, I know it made an impact on me and all my fel low Jews and Americans who attended. Josef Elchonon is a senior business management major College Republicans present truth as it is As a member of the College Republicans, I feel obligated to respond to die letter from Matt M. Murphy. College Republicans, are “rational Americans” and we spread the truth whether it is good or bad. The truth can be interpreted as an attack on one’s diaracter. However, the truth stands on its own merit, ind we, as College Republicans, do not fabri cate it, nor do we create it. It is the result of one’s own actions, and we merely put it to he public for their judgement. We don’t, as a group, subscribe to views which are merely popular in diis age of “political correctness.” We represent a segmen t of our population which is changing America for the better with beliefs in the American work ethic, fam ily values and the moral constituency to which this country was founded, and it is these values which we base our daily lives on and not the latest fad to which many people associate themselves with because it is * politi cally correct.” We are not only fighting for a change in today; we are fighting tor a change in tommorrow as well. Richard Holt Class of ‘97 In defense of Barbara Can Katherine McCalmon and Kingsley Ross find anything of substance to whine about besides Barbara Bush? Every account I’ve ever read of Barbara Bush by anyone who knows or works with her is that she is a first- class individual. That sentiment is even shared by the majority of observers from the Demo cratic party. When the Republican party (justifiably) criticized Hillary Rodham Clinton at their na tional convention in 1992, Mrs. Bush quickly came to her defense demanding that the cam paign focus on Bill Clinton and not Hillary. Mrs. Bush’s primary sentiment is that choosing to be a homemaker is every bit as honorable as choosing to be a lawyer. That thought is repugnant to feminists, which indicates a certain intolerance on their part. Just because Mrs. Rodham Clinton has had an apparently successful career as a lawyer does not make her any more valuable a per son than Mrs. Bush. Familiar liberal arro gance implies that Mrs. Bush cannot think for herself because she is not a career woman. Publicly, the first lady should be a supporter of her husband, even though she may disagree privately. They also criticize Mrs. Bush’s motivation in adopting illitera cy as her personal philanthropy “as a cam paign vehicle” to get her husband elected. What was Mrs. Rodham Clinton’s motiva tion for suddenly assuming her married name to help get her husband elected? She had gone by her maiden name for years. Colin Killian Information Rep II Those funny Regents There should be a weekly column or maybe a cartoon in The Battahon called “The Regents were drunk when ...” This could be a regular litany on idiotic decisions made around this campus. Surely you can find enough good ideas to last 10 or 12 years. Also, Tubmarman should be ap pointed to the Board of Regents as special car toon representative. He seems very well-qual ified to sit on that board. William Godwin Graduate student Question, don’t ignore student candidates It is that time of year again. Texas A&M has gained a reputation for having some of the finest student leaders in Texas and the nation. In an‘attempt to continue this tradition of excellence in student leader ship, I feel compelled to offer you all a lit tle friendly advice. During the next couple of days you may be approached by an individual seek ing to represent you in campus decision making, and representing our fine institu tion as an ambassador. Rather than taking their flier and tossing it after they have disappeared from sight, take a minute to stop and speak with that person to see if they are really willing to represent your best interests. Furthermore, do not hesi tate to question them. After all, they ap proached you first, right? I have found that there are two sure fire questions that tend to provoke extreme thought for the aspiring candidate: “How do you plan on representing my interests?” and “What makes you any better than the next guy?” These are sure to get them thinking, and for you candidates, now is the time to brusn up on these kinds of questions. A single undertaking such as the afore mentioned only shows that you have a genuine interest in who represents you — and you should have an interest. Tell these perspective candidates that you will per sonally hold them accountable for their actions when it comes to representing their constituency. I encourage you not to just vote, but to vote for the most quali fied candidate. Don’t forget that elections are March 30 and 3 1. Raymond Boney Class of ‘96