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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1994)
i April H, || ; irdinai ^ I <fr "■*’ r 0 liahi 3 percent of lie said, ege of Api- , the Coiejt ge of Arct finance inf eady set tip idowmeit 5,’’ he said g set ttpil Opinion Thursday, April 14, 1994 The Battalion Page 13 J The Battalion Editorial Board JULI PHILLIPS, Editor in chief | MICHAEL PLUMER, Managing editor KYLE BURNETT, Aggielife editor BELINDA BLANCARTE, Night news editor DENA DI2DAR, Aggielife editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor SEAN FRERKING, Sports editor TONI GARRARD CLAY, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Photo editor JENNIFER SMITH, City editor Aggies no more honorable than most Like everywhere else, A&M students lie, cheat and steal H EDITORIA Not Cobain’s way Suicide: the worst solution Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Kurt Cobain, Nirvana’s lead singer, made the choice to take his own life, and there is nothing any of us can do to reverse that decision. Al though several words can describe the musician’s drastic means of finding peace with himself, brave is not one of them. Many people of every race, sex and financial status have thought of ending their own lives, but somehow found the strength to fight through the crisis. These are the people whose courage should be written about in national newspapers and talked about on television shows. Cobain's friends, family and fans must go on living and try to make the best of his absence. He touched millions of lives and brought a voice to many who didn’t feel they could be heard, so it’s a tragic ending that he could not find meaning or rea son in the adoration of those who loved him. Suicide rates are up a frighten ing 200 percent over the last four years, and teenagers are the group most vulnerable. Suicide ranks as the third-leading killer of teenagers and young adults. It is up to everyone to reach out to the next generation and show them the alternative to death — like a productive, fulfilling life. The most important thing for people to understand is that Cobain was wrong. Suicide is an irreversible solution to a prob lem that with the passing of time might seem manageable or even insignificant. It may seem easy to die, but dead people don’t see a sunrise, or their best friends, or ever again do what makes them happy. Living through problems is the best way to overcome them, to look back on them from the perspective of a better day. Maybe none of these things would have meant anything to Kurt Cobain. Maybe all it would have taken was someone to say, “It’s not worth dying over.” In any case, no one will ever know what wonderful things might have happened if he had been around just a little while longer. ooo boy, the Corps and Aggie-ism have really come under fire lately. It . seems like every time I sift through the stack of Mail Call letters sitting on my edi tor’s desk, there’s a new slew of angry notes regarding the integrity of the Cadet Corps and/or the student body’s adherence to the Aggie Code of Honor. Time after time, Aggies are shocked when their backpack, bicycle or calculators are stolen in a class or some other student-popu lated setting. It’s quite understandable they might be upset at a personal belonging being taken in the first place, but the most disturb ing factor is that the perpetrator is probably an Aggie and thereby violating the ethical code of all Aggies. At the most, this Aggie Code makes very little difference in the behavior of A&M stu dents, cadets and non-regs alike. If you’ve ever read “Police Beat,” you’ve noticed an alarming number of Aggie crimes, and those are just the reported ones. It appears we aren’t as special as we thought. Like most Ags, I’m here because I enjoy this place, but considering Aggies to be free from the temptations and illegalities of hu manity because of some honor code, or just the fact that they’re Aggies, is naive and eth nocentric. But many, many Aggies still think A&M and its students are “better” than others. We all know this way of thinking had to emerge from the Corps a long time ago, but with so many other types of students attend ing our school, reeducation camps were con structed to reach everyone. I had fun just like everyone else did at Fish Camp, and under stand that Transfer Camp is similar in purpose. But good grief, is it not a mild brainwashing? FRANK STANFORD Columnist I saw quiet, nervous high school graduates go in and highly charged Aggie-crazed, “Howdy” bellowing zealots come out. And they all know the code of honor. This “reeducation” is hardly malicious as it makes football season that much more excit ing; however, when it clouds an individual’s perception of reality, problems occur. For in stance, Aggies who really believe The Univer sity of Texas and Bevo both suck (and are will ing to get a broken jaw in the argument) have been “over-Aggied” and need to realize t.u. is just a school like A&M, as Bevo is just a steer and Reveille’s just a (gulp) dog. Nice doggie. A couple of weeks ago, the Corps got a black eye over an election ethics scandal and displayed itself as being “over Corps-ed.” Let ters poured in blasting the whole episode, from both sides. I don’t really know or care about the intricacies of the situation, but something smelled like a rat. Obviously, there is at least an attitude amongst some high-rank ing cadets that certain positions are for Corps members, never mind democracy. Is this the same Aggie Code? Although it may be difficult, we can safely assume all CTs don’t feel that way, but they may still have to hide their ideals from the majority. Although they are as individual as the rest of us, why might the majority have “unfair” intentions to proliferate their own ways of thinking? Like no non-reg yell leaders, or females in the band, or females in the Corps. Sociologists call this type of decision making process “group think.” All too often it becomes “no think.” Group think was in part responsible for a number of stupid hazing incidents while I was in the Corps, including a death. When hazing laws became much more strict, many upper classmen conferred with each other over just how far they might stretch the new laws or avoid them completely. Did the Aggie Code in clude this amendment? When a fish buddy of mine stole my mo torcycle and wrecked it, or when another was in a successful car thief ring, or periodically when things got stolen from rooms, I asked, “Is this the Aggie Code?” An officer in the Trigon told me I was communist (among oth er tilings) for not joining the Army Reserves, a choice I had as a cadet. Was that Aggie honor? I use some examples from the Corps be cause I was there and because the rest of the University, and perhaps the Corps itself, sees the organization as more likely to heed a code for the sake of the code. But the point is not to bash the Corps. They are no more guilty than anyone else. Individuals at A&M don’t act because of a school’s code; they have their own by this time. Anyone who doesn’t lie, cheat or steal only because they would be breaking the Aggie Code of Honor is mindless indeed. Frank Stanford is a graduate philosophy student MY-WY'WXASAmw. n'£ Un-Awzw£6£ 1 his week, strap on those horse-blinders, walk around campus in even more of a stupor wan usual, and - lor God s sakes - make no single attempt to broaden your horizons or question authority!! Hey -hey, its just like every other week isn't it?!? ~ ar */ ZZ7...5nor//-- : I zzz.. 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: — SOON TO BE FOLLOWED BY IMP-UNITY FESTH! The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Fax: (409) 845-2647 Sex, porn and feminism here in our own back yard A recent contributor to Mail Call chose to portray three of the most radical and extreme feminists to de fine a movement which, he said, expands the definition of rape and allows abortion to be used as birth control. What is a femi nist? A suffragist who fought for a right to a political agenda? Someone who sees pom as demeaning? A lesbian? Supporters of equal pay for equal work? (Female grads still only make about 66 percent of what men do.) Are you getting the picture? What is an anti-feminist? Someone who believes women should stay home and have babies? What a tired word. To me, it’s a question of economics, morality and respect. I believe that every one has their own brand of feminism, but if you balk at the word, then call yourself an evolving, rational human being who must decide on the best course of action in your life and the situations that involve or affect you. Government will never be able to regu late abortion, because it has been going on ELIZABETH NICOL Guest columnist since this century in back rooms and alley- ways, and since the time of the ancients when women ate herbs to induce abortion. Infanticide occurs everywhere, from wild chimpanzee colonies to the cultural ideolo gies of Southeast Asia to, possibly, our own backyard in Mosher Hall. It all comes down to gene propagation, natural selection and the ability to survive. It would be a rosy picture if we could all be responsible for our sexuality, but that’s not reality. (I’d vote for abstinence, which I practice, although possibly only inadver tently by choice.) The Bible says, “Do not kill,” but an awful lot of killing goes on in the Bible. I think it would be the most beautiful and creative experience in my life to have and raise a child, but it is not my place to dictate my happiness to another. I am a feminist, and personally, I think lesbianism is a short-term goal kind of thing. If you believe it is genetic, and I do, it still doesn’t make evolutionary sense to mate with the same sex. I think the thing that baffles (and fasci nates) men is that women are capable of experiencing pleasure without men. That’s a hard hit to the ego, folks. All those men out there are feverishly trying to propagate, and women turn to one an other ... gasp! I can understand the attrac tion, considering that in my experience, the man was only concerned with receiv ing pleasure, not pleasing me. My point is that a lot of people around here are quick to criticize and label. These are controversial issues generating impas sioned arguments in which people can in still or inflict their values on other people, other lives. Being a feminist got me into trouble once. As a sophomore in the Aggie Band, I protested the circulation of porno by plas tering up a picture of a guy from Playgirl with the biggest schlong I could And, along with a note over the guys’ urinal. The thing that baffles (and fascinates) men is that women are capable of expe riencing pleasure without them. All those men fever ishly trying to propagate, and women turn to one another. It was meant to be funny, and it was to some; but to others, it wasn’t. So, I was charged with sexual harassment, conduct unbecoming a cadet. I lost my position, and I can tell you a few things about ostracism. No one blinked an eye when the boys had a picture of an upperclassman in a cast on the Good Bull board that read: “Limp, but I still get p—y!” Men do not allow themselves to be de meaned, and a lot of women do. The rever sal of the latter is a major goal of feminism. Although I lost my buddies, I kept my self- respect. The only thing I learned from that experience was to know when to keep my mouth shut if I have an opposing view and I want to keep my “friends.” Gee, that gives me warm fuzzies all over. Ostracism results from intolerance, fear or both. Intolerance of what you hate, fear or don’t understand. People should not be called a disgrace whether they protest pornography or vote for a non-reg yell leader. Non-regs aren’t so bad. I have been both a BQ and a non-reg, but one thing I have always remained is an Aggie, a feminist and ultimately re sponsible for my own soul. Elizabeth Nicol is a senior anthropology major Various departments test love of A&M Let me make one thing absolutely dear - I love Texas A&M as a school. I cherish its traditions and despite being a foreign student, I am treated nice wher ever I go. But I wish I could say the same thing about the various depart ments at A&M. Last month I hurt my knee while playing softball. I went to the health center where the doctor on duty told me that it was just a muscle injury and I should go home and take two Tylenol. The next morning I tried to move and passed out. A specialist told me I had se riously injured my knee. I was issued a handicapped parking permit. This is where the PTTS enters the scene. One day I come back from class and find a yellow “Love Letter” on my car. I was ticketed for not displaying the A&M permit. Now, my car — just like every oth er car — has only one rearview mirror, and it is obvious that only one permit can be seen from the outside. I talked to some one at PTTS who was very understanding and asked me to send the ticket back. I went to the PTTS where I met the most rude person in my two years at A&M. She told me that I should have made sure that my A&M permit was visible. On top of that I had another outstanding ticket on my gray truck. My gray truck? Now, I would love to own a truck but the truth is neither I nor anyone I know has a gray truck. Bad reasoning. The PTTS officer somehow saw this ticket on the truck, but did not see it on my car. Well, to make a long story short, I was in severe pain for one whole night just because I was told to take two Tylenol. Now, I have to pay $60 for tick ets so well-deserved. But I shouldn’t complain. I guess it’s just a hidden cost of going to school here. Raja Jawad Akram Class of ‘96 Analysis of Gobain’s suicide sophomoric Rob Clark’s “analysis” of Cobain’s death begs the question: “Hasn’t Cobain been through enough without more sophomoric, pseudopoetic attempts to “analyze” his suicide?” This type of exploitive tripe from am ateur Freuds has become a cottage in dustry. The article on Cobain, the so- called “conscience of Generation X,” is more than tomfoolery; it’s tomfoolery in poor taste. David Lawrence Class of ‘93 Criticism of religious ad full of pot shots I had resigned myself to staying out of the Faculty Friends controversy until a letter by Dr. Hugh Wilson appeared in Mail Call last week. Dr. Wilson, I would first like to point out that although the purpose of your letter seemed to concern Faculty Friends, several of your comments, such as the “fundamentally stupid” traditions and the “inbreeding” of professors at Texas A&M, had nothing whatsoever to do with the issue. Not only do I dis agree with you on both counts, but I do * 1 not understand why you made these comments in the first place. As for your comments that did per- ’ tain to the issue, I would like to offer a ’ rebuttal. You stressed the importance of; separation of church and state, but free- ; dom of speech is a much older “basic; American tradition.” I would also like to point out that the! most recent Faculty Friends advertise-j ment clearly stated that the organization' is in no way affiliated with the views of Texas A&M University. Furthermore,- you criticized the Faculty Friends for! using the ad to praise Jesus. They are; not praising anyone with the ad; they! are providing an opportunity for stu-’ dents to talk with others about their.; faith. Dr. Wilson, I respect your right to share your beliefs with whomever you wish. Please show my fellow Christians: the same respect. Derek Veazey Class of ‘94 (