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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1994)
Opinion Thursday, April 7, 1994 Way at Ial1 of ^ 011 call$ t „ nstian P t [ )€ akerSto; ‘istian Ftl • One Voit> in on Frills informait- 16. •ding St 'kills Get 1 Worltsln Hendersi r mation n md Bb group at; For moif GAYLINti; m nutlet laypoole c ng - "m at 1 p.nu informatic 515 omnim A' for Miit ight Mil's ain, Do«: re inform- torts Gat II at 7 pt aken Pats t 51. Foi ill Chris i; s Assoct md Islam; 30 p.nus aformalios relent As- memorial 1 00 Gwf | natlWl I 513. | fjies: Dll' FoniS BB] r more it- 38. The Battalion Page 13 The Battalion Editorial Board U 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 Graduation: not just a job, an adventure Different types of alumni react to big day differently I 'ofC y Hef?E iT /ts... \SoX"-i &/-RTH CEfTiriCATE, PROO E TRAP A/E/rHBR Xj A/e>,e HiUARy ARE IaII/ADERS FRart RlARi, Chelsea's '7 v S-~ K/HPERC, ARTEN /ff < > - v > ^ A helping hand Community service benefits all Tis the season for community service. With the regular spring cleaning also comes this weekends Big Event and Special Olympics. Al though both projects are great ways to give sometning back to the com munity, they are not the only ways. The Big Event cannot reach everyone who needs help in this community. Students don’t need to look far to find yards that need to be cleaned up or fences that need some repair. The owners of these places may not have filled out the forms for the Big Event and don’t know who to ask for help. If stu dents want to take good care of their community, it wouldn’t hurt to ask these people if they need matow. brother and sis»'®jlved in services such ' as'the Special Olympics say that it is hard work. Helping others isn’t al ways easy or convenient, but it can be very rewarding. In a time when all we hear about is die bad tilings that happen in society, people may feel appre hensive about getting involved. But we shouldn’t sit back and wait for others to organize us; we should take the initiative ourselves. It does n’t take a Big Event to help people (although it certainly helps). All it takes is human kindness and time. While students don’t always have a lot of time on their hands, our lives will only get busier after we graduate. We use this time in our lives to do so many things that we may never get the chance to do when we’re older and settled down into a routine job. We should make community service one of those things we make dme for. This weekend may be the first time some people have taken part in community service. Hopefully, they will gain something from tills experience and want to give more of their time in the future. This weekend is also a time to recognize people who devote their whole year to organizing Special Olympics and the Big Event. To them, we should all be thankful, and we should learn from their ex ample. Whether you do community service all the time or just started this weekend, don’t let it be the last time. This is our community, and although the people we help may not be just like us, they are our neighbors, and helping them can make a difference. I n a month or so, the semiannual mass exo dus of Aggies from campus will occur. Like so many lemmings sprinting for a cliff, grad uates will disperse and make a mad dash for ... for ... something somewhere I presume. As evi dent by the varied plans of soon-to-be graduates I’ve spoken to, there are many, many kinds of things to do after graduation. I figure there are only three kinds of gradu ates, however. The first variety is what I’ll call the Type A alumnus. This labeling — although similar in a few respects to the personality-heart attack scale — refers to the student whose primary motiva tion for college was to get the best job as soon as possible and get the hell outta Dodge. This stu dent not only knows exaedy what area of what field is projected to be the best employment op portunity upon their graduation month, but also is actively searching for job opportunities even as a sophomore. These Type A students are mosdy found in the Business schools or Engineering departments, but are certainly not confined to them. Liberal Arts, however, definitely does not cater to this type of job-seeker for a number of reasons, the most important being the lack of jobs, of course (and lower paying ones at that). Type A graduates, this is what is likely to be in store for you (if you haven’t calculated it out al ready) : • Your first real paycheck accompanied by your first new car and a debt engulfing your first year’s salary. • A raise or promotion in the first couple of years that will make you feel like a “player” in the real world. The real world chuckles, however. • A raise in the amounts of bills you’re and realizing that, “Gee whiz, Dad wasn’t kid- FRANK STANFORD Columnist ding about this ‘life is expensive’ thing.” • Marriage. After a couple of years with a real job — ready or not. Everybody’s doin’ it. You’re now on your way to being “Ozzie and Harriet with a Beemer.” (You just THOUGETT life could be expensive.) The Type B alumnus shares occasional simi larities with the Type A alumni, but mostly in the “ideal” department. These students make up the largest segment of the campus population and are primarily in school because, “It’s the thing to do.” Most Type B students change ma jors drastically at some point and become more interested in their curriculum, having a few beers, chasing dates and staying in school than being overly concerned about some job down the road. Often, getting a job isn’t high on the priority list until a month or two before gradua tion due to the graduating act being somewhat in question up until that point. Type B Alumni can be found most anywhere at A&M, but the highest concentration has got to be in Liberal Arts. (Having been in LBAR forever, I feel justified in making this statement.) To sum up this brand of graduate is to say that they don’t really know for sure what direction they’re go ing, but they’re going. Although this situation for the Type A alum would be maddening, it’s really not so bad. Type B alumni just want to look around a little more before they decide on some-1 thing important. Experiencing some life before ‘ registering for the rat race may have its merits. ; Type B graduates, tills is what’s in store for you: • You’ve got all kinds of time, not to mention a degree. Don’t be afraid. You know you wont 7 starve, and this is important. • Dismay. Your friends you laughed at who got those boring degrees actually DID get good jobs. Accountants will now laugn hard (if their genes permit such action). • Whatever people with immediate jobs can’t do. The ability to go somewhere: Alaska, Peru, India. Work your ass off for one summer, and save every dime. Buy “The Lonely Planet” travel guide and go. No one regrets it. • Yes, graduate school is possible now. A few more years at the grind and you might get your chance to give those accountants the raspberry. - Last, but certainly not least, Type C Alumni knew from the beginning they were clueless ca- 1 reerwise and chose the attitude of, “Oh, I’ll just worry about it when the time comes. Maybe ; grad school, maybe Tibet. This anthropology class is so interesting it’s killing me. Let’s get high or somethin’.” These individuals can be found in any de partment on campus (maybe not Elementary Ed.), and range from barely graduating to graduating with honors. Not being conserva tive, they don’t match the A&M ideal, but are responsible for a great deal of much-needed color around here. In the future you can expect: • To continue your same outlook on life, probably enjoying every minute of it. Frank Stanford is a graduate philosophy student MKTUR1T/ mviT AMPtfS Lm VM KUL. nrijoiOT \m^ plat) VI. % a L_=., fifSIviElMKOlMri,,.. m.. 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 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Fax: (409) 845-2647 litizen >s with VlSeal $179* $159* Warrant) 1 ' ■ Resistant / Prices 'LlNG J le Signed) | e y,lncJ 2 total Corps Commander responds to election controversy I f you read Thursday’s Pulitzer Prize winning swill, “Tampering disrupts stu dent elections,” I’m sure you were dis gusted by reports of ballot tampering and violations of the election codes by that band of Huns known as the Corps of Cadets. As it turns out, this wasn’t the whole story, but that didn’t stop The Battalion from ripping me with a misleading and biased story. Nat urally, I have received criticism from read ers, too, but I don’t blame them consider ing the trash they were presented. Upon learning of ballot tampering by four cadets, I was disgusted to hear that anyone would so flagrantly violate the Ag gie Code of Honor. This weak attempt at in fluencing the outcome of the election was remarkably stupid and ill-conceived. Upon discussing the issue with Student Body President Brian Walker, I learned that the ID numbers of those individuals were in his possession. I can assure you that these indi viduals will be punished to the fullest ex tent. If any cadet offenders are reading this, I urge you to turn yourselves in prior to the Honor Board investigation. Walker was also in possession of the ID WILL HARAWAY Guest columnist gm hot number of a non-reg voter who marked all CTs off the ballot. It seems The Battalion didn’t get this little tidbit in time. It is irri tating that this was not mentioned in the first article. Inclusion of such information would have detracted from our criminaliza tion. Fortunately, this information was pre sented in Monday’s follow-up. On behalf of the Corps, I apologize to the student body for these individuals, and wish to further apologize to any candidates who were marked off the ballots. I hope you realize that this was not an encouraged activity, nor was it part of a sinister conspir acy. It would be neat if The Battalion would be more thorough in its reporting, but it might detract from their delight in drag- the Corps through the mud, so I won’t my breath. It is interesting that the Election Com mission withdrew the fines citing the same flaws in the regulations that I main tained were the source of the problem. I applaud the election commissioner’s courage in admitting that the regulations are so unclear, his case wouldn’t stand. It seems I was within the bounds of the law after all. Even though I could have stated it a little more eloquently, I was right and am glad that I provided the Batt with an “exciting” story. I will assume that the imbecile that au thored Thursday’s editorial, “Corps under fire” can be none other than Beavis of MTV He states drat “the University saw what is fast becoming an annual Aggie tradition — campaign violations by members of the Corps of Cadets.” Last year, the J-Board overturned the commission’s assertion that my memorandum was campaign literature. The Battalion even ran an editorial entitled, “Election appeal: Lifting fines a good idea.” I fail to see how violations could be an “an nual event” if we were exonerated last year, and at the time had not had a hearing on this case. I bet Beavis feels stupid now con sidering the outcome of Monday’s hearing. It would be neat if The Battalion would be more thorough in its reporting, but it might detract from their delight in dragging the Corps through the mud, so I won’t hold my breath. The final sentences of this masterpiece state: “Undoubtedly, the great majority of the cadets in the Corps had nothing to do with the attempt to rig Wednesday s vote. But cadets, particularly the leaders, who continue to corrupt student elections ...” Was Beavis suggesting that I tried to rig the election by promoting ballot tampering? He should know that this is dangerously close to defamation and is a classic example of the Batt’s yellow journalism. Perhaps he was confused by the sensationalist article that mixed the stories of ballot tampering and a regulatory dispute over campaign lit erature together. To add insult to injury, the news article was released on the AP wire and appeared in my home town under the headline, “A&M Corps leaders accused of tampering.” The fact that I had nothing to do with any ballot tampering is irrelevant. I know that I am sarcastic and rough around the edges, but when agitated by a reporter, I get a little testy. If you have ever had the pleasure of being railroaded in the press, you can understand my frustration. Hopefully, the Senate will approve some coherent regulations next year and we won’t have this problem again. If you are concerned about bloc voting, don’t be. Only 839 cadets voted this year. Be assured that I don’t tell people how to vote, because it is unethical and impossible. And Beavis should do his homework. I was never in public relations. Will Haraway is the Corps commander and a senior political science major Preaching in class not Constitutional right On March 30 The Battalion ran both a Faculty Friends ad and a letter from an ac counting professor concerning the protected speech of certain religious fundamentalists under the U.S. Constitution. Apparendy the Faculty Friends have come under attack for disclosing their university affiliation in an ad promoting this religious organization. In deed, it does seem that any reasonable inter pretation of the Constitution would consid er such an ad “protected.” However, what is certainly not protected under our Constitution is active proselytiza- tion or “testifying” during class time at this state supported institution. It is my under standing that certain faculty unfortunately engage in this type of behavior. Our Consti tution also affords protection to religious minorities, and accordingly, no student need be subjected to a particular faculty member’s interpretation of who the son of God is if they do not wish to be. Further, the ad drat ran was offensive, but not because it disclosed university affilia tions. It was an unflattering, cartoon-like depiction of members of the first-century Jewish rabbinate mocking the Resurrection. Such an ad is unlikely to foster the under standing called for in Prof. Smith’s letter, and exposes the Faculty Friends organization for what it really is. Wayne Grossman, CPA Graduate Student Fisher’s campus visit wins student’s support Last Thursday, March 3 1, was indeed a memorable day for me. As a young voter seeking to broaden my views on today’s candidates and issues, I was truly de lighted to personally meet with U. S. Senatorial Candidate Richard Fisher. Without question, he is our best choice for the U.S. Senate. He is firm with his decisions, right on target with the needs of today, and honest in his de sire to serve and empower people rather than entrench and decide for them. In my intention to become more po litically aware, I attended an “Aggies for Mattox” meeting in January. I was imme diately swamped and highly insulted with Mattox’s ‘PC” propaganda attacking Andrews and Fisher, and promoting his “women’s issues” and “minority plat form of support from African-Americans and Hispanics.” Richard Fisher was totally different; he treated me like a human being, not just an ethnic statistic. Not once did he make refer ence to my gender or ethnicity (I am actual ly more Italian-American than Hispanic - American). Fisher is compassionate, under standing, and so down to earth that he even grilled a hamburger for me in the Com mons cafeteria. Whereas, if I understand it correctly, his opponent is too scared to come to Aggieland. Clearly, Mr. Fisher’s presence in the Unites States Senate would indeed be an asset for the citizens of our country and the proud Aggies of Texas. Opinions, however, are irrelevant if we don’t vote. Christina Cedilla Class of ‘95 Silver Taps no time for picture taking The definition of Silver Taps states: “Sil ver Taps is a serious and solemn event and a final tribute to any student that has passed away.” The Ross Volunteer Firing Squad is there to honor the students who have passed away, much like all fellow Aggies attending Silver Taps. Undoubtedly, the Ross Volun teers Firing Squad is an integral part of Sil ver Taps. The opportunity to serve is seen as an honor; however, it is not one intended to bring recognition or glory. Last night as Sil ver Taps came to a close, a camera flashed and our feelings of honor, respect and loss were replaced with feelings of anger and disappointment. The true feelings evoked by- Silver Taps will never be captured on film,I rather they must become a part of your soul.; Amy Reeves Class of ‘94 Accompanied by 14 signature