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Asa freshman, I remember seeing a
/\ man in Bemie’s with a T-shirt that
JL Ajsaid “Everybody thinks I’m straight.”
The way the people stared at him was
both rude and painfully obvious.
At the time, I idly remarked to my
friend that I would be interested in wear
ing a shirt like that sometime. When I re
alized that October 11 was National Com-
ng Out Day, I was galvanized into action.
I went to Club 202 - the only place in town
that is open-minded enough to sell T-shirts that
support the homosexual community - and
bought one that said “Some of my best
friends are straight.”
I have had one uncle die from AIDS,
and another is presently infected with
the disease. In addition, several people
have told me horror stories about the
cruel treatment inflicted upon them
because of their sexuality. As a result
of these and other reasons, I have al
ways been openly supportive of the homo
sexual community.
I am a member of Allies, a homosexual sup
port group here on campus. This accepting atti
tude is sometimes difficult to maintain in this
bastion of conservatism, so I constantly try to
--vC' 1,7
The Battalion • Page 11
Walking a mile in their shoes wears on your soul
ELIZABETH
PRESTON
think of new ways to pub
licly demonstrate my re
ceptiveness to the A&M
homosexual community.
The night before I wore
the shirt I spoke with sev
eral friends to gauge their
reactions. Three thought
that I was coming out of
the closet. One friend
pointed out that I would
be telling the community I
was gay, and that every
one - gasp - would not
read my column to correct
that impression. I was only a few hours into this
experiment and already feeling uncomfortable.
I then began to worry that the homosexual peo
ple on campus might see me and trust my T-
shirt. If someone came out to me because
they believed I was homosexual and then
discovered that it was an experi
ment, the betrayal would be deep
and uncorrectable. All this oc-
I curred to me before I even
walked out of my house.
I walked to school early and went
to Pie Are Square. A handsome
man sitting at a table stared at my
shirt openly and then pointed me out
to his friends as I waited in line.
As I walked around campus all day, the reac
tions remained constant. In Hullabaloo people
stared as they read my T-shirt, then quickly
looked away without making eye contact.
When I was walking with a friend in the after
noon, a young woman looked at me closely and
then laughed out loud.
She touched my arm and said
“Great T-shirt!” with a kind smile.
In my last class of the day, a
man who always compliments my
style glared as he read the shirt,
rolled his eyes at me and then
scoffed audibly as he turned his
back. This was the worst re
sponse of the day.
The surprise reaction for the
day came from the Quad. I stereotypically
assumed that when I strolled around the Quad
people would stare, point or otherwise show
Homosexuals do not choose to be gay, but
in coming forward with their sexuality
they are choosing to be an example in
honesty that we should all strive to follow.
themselves to be homophobes.
Actually, all of the people I encountered there
that read the T-shirt smiled broadly at me and
practically yelled an enthusiastic “HOWDY!”
I don’t know if I just came across accepting Corps
members, if the stereotypes are overblown or if the
Corps are just so scared of being burned by another
scandal that they are overcompensating.
Whatever the reason, they were the nicest ^
people I came across all day.
The reactions were nowhere near as hateful as~
I had imagined they would be. Speaking with <
friends this weekend, many pointed out
that the reactions would have been sig-
nificantly different had a man worn thev
shirt. For inexplicable reasons men re
act much stronger to gay men than do
women.
I also realize that throwing on a T-
shirt and wearing it around campus all
day does not come close to discovering
how it feels to be homosexual in today’s
homophobic world.
Today is National Coming Out Day, and all T
around the country brave men and --y-
women are stepping out of the closet to -
join the ever growing homosexual popu- Il
lation. Facing the stares and comments £
for one day, even knowing the next day E'- -
would be straight again, was a humiliat
ing and humbling experience.
Having the guts to come out and face v*
those reactions for the rest of your life!
is admirable and must be the most dif- ^
ficult process a person can go through.
Homosexuals do not choose to be gay, but in ■ : .\£
coming forward with their sexuality they are
choosing to be an example in honesty that we '*■
should all strive to follow.
Elizabeth Preston is a junior English major
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief
Mark Evans, Managing editor
Jay Robbins, Opinion editor
jenny Magee, Assistant opinion editor
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 tne opinions of the authors.
Contact the opinion editor for information
on submitting guest columns.
\it & coNHa
SUMCE'EH ur
Toutwni!
Legislating Lobbying
Need for reform remains despite bill's failure
The Lobby Reform and Disclosure
Act passed the U.S. House of Repre-
| sentatives, but Thursday, a filibuster
Allied the bill in the Senate. Although
the bill had flaws and was should not
have passed, reform of the lobbying
industry is still needed.
Lobbyists constitute one of the
most powerful political forces in this
country. The influence they wield
can help determine the fate of al
most any legislation, including
funding for universities like
Texas A&M, determining crim
inal punishments and estab
lishing tax rates.
The failed bill included
several points which
would be beneficial to
the future regulation of
the lobbyists. When a
similar bill come to
Congress’ floor again,
these features need to
be present in it.
Under the Lobby Re
form and Disclosure
Act, small groups who paid out more
than $2,500 for expenses or spent
more than $5000 during a six-month
period, would have had to register
with a director of lobbying. The
same would have been required of
groups who spent 10 percent or more
of their time contacting federal offi
cials over specific issues. Groups
who dedicate such resources should
be considered influential on legisla
tion, and subject to regulations.
The banning ofrfree T TuHebes is also
needed. Such practice is considered
unethical in several professional fields,
and congressmen should be held to the
same standards, if not higher. They
earn enough money to pay for their
own food, and should not be influenced
by “ritzy” dinners at “the club.”
Religious organizations would
have been exempt from such reg
ulations under the proposed bill.
However, these organizations
also have special interests
and spend a great deal of
time trying to attract the
ears of Washington.
They too, should be in
cluded as lobbyists, as
they attempt to influence
public policy.
Many constituents are
members of these lobby
ing organizations and
should have the right to
know how their membership dues
are being spent. Yet, individuals
who are not members of interest
groups should also have the right to
equally access their representative.
With such government regula
tions, both lobbyists and individuals
will still be able to voice their opin
ion and see its effects on the law.
rthir rmticv: otnrtn or. niernot
1RLM That
lAEKE 'S kA -
<we2&}2©
U.S. should have finished Iraq job
American soldiers again may die in defense of oil, money
)OSEF A.
ELCHANAN
Trade school mentality
sacrifices 'education'
I have never read anything so offen
sive to the spirit of education as Amy
Michelle Bench’s whining critique
(Oct. 7) of her professor’s alleged
tantrum.” Bench is upset over her in
structor’s criticism of his students who
had not sufficiently read for the day.”
Now, understandably, the ideal situa
tion where everyone has read and is
prepared to discuss the assignment is
farely, if ever, reached. However, that
is no reason that a professor should
not expect students to strive for that
ideal. That is precisely the value of
ideals - they are goals to be worked
toward. When people fall short of the
ideal, encouragement and sometimes
criticism are called for.
What is most pathetic and offensive
about Bench’s complaint is her charac
terization of what she refers to as “the
i of the college experience,” which
is supposedly to “teach students what
vivfyiHSy 1 : " •pHy" -'U
v immmm&MMm
they need to know to be a part of the
competitive job market.” In other
words, students are not here to experi
ence life, broaden themselves and
their minds, be challenged by new
ideas inside and outside the class
room, grow emotionally, intellectually
and spiritually. Rather we should rec
ognize that students come to our Uni
versity merely to receive job training.
Arguably, this trade school mentality
is the largest problem facing educa
tors today. Bench has given voice to a
common view of the value (or lack of
value) of what used to be referred to
as “an education.” While it is, per
haps, amusing and ironic that she is
studying English — a discipline known
for producing subtle intellects, well
developed souls and articulate waiters
- what is truly frightening is that she
plans to “stand before her own class
room of men and women struggling to
get an education.” All I can say is giv
en her attitude they will no doubt be
struggling!
Ryan Soisson
Department of Philosophy
The Battalion encour
ages tetters to the editor
and wil! print as many as
space allows. Letters
must be 300 words or
Jess and mdude the au
thor's name, class, and
phone number.
We reserve the right
to edit letters for length,
style, and accuracy.
Address letters to:
The Battalion * Mail Call
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Fax:(409)845-2647
E-mail:
Batt@tamvm1 .tanu.edu
W hen we all were in
high school, the
image of Colonel
Oliver North in front of
Congress, explaining U.S.
foreign policy in the new
world order was somewhat
depressing. Finally, many
Americans were forced to
realize that our country’s leaders were doing some pretty
underhanded things, like selling weapons to unscrupulous
countries around the world.
Then, in my freshman year of college, visions of tanks
blasting away across the desert landscapes and terror weapons
unleashed by a backward and vicious country continuing its
petty little struggle for power in the Middle East filled our
television screens. All around America, families were putting-
up yellow ribbons and praying for low casualties.
Unfortunately, many strategists of the time were
calculating thousands of American losses during the Gulf
War. The single reason that our losses were so low is that
instead of striking at the heartland of Iraq, liberating the
Kurds from Iraqi oppression and creating a safe environment
for the Saudis and Kuwaitis, the United States, under the
leadership of President Bush, decided to stop its offensive —
the poorest of military strategies —
and set-up sanctions instead.
Now, four years after the big
parades and with a new president, we
are again preparing for an attack by
Saddam Hussein against Kuwait, or
his possible use of blackmail to force
the world into easing the sanctions
levied against Iraq.
While Americans are in Haiti,
trying to fix a problem we got involved in long ago, we are
now being pulled back into a problem we helped to create in
the Middle East.
While many people hate to admit it, Ross Perot has again
provided a glimpse into the mirror of our foreign policy, and
it is a poor sight to behold. When the Congressmen of this
country ignore many of the discoveries of the Iran-Contra
affair, they also did not allow the American people to realize
how we were supporting people around the world through
unsafe arm sales.
These dictators, who we all despise for their brutal
regimes and aggressive natures, were created by the U.S.
government in some kind of balancing game with the Soviet
Union. Now that we do not need them anymore and they
have become intolerable to our new-found sensibilities, we
are forced to destroy them.
On top of these problems, our military has not received the
kind of support that it truly needs. Tactical needs, like more
troops and training, have fallen by the wayside while base
closings and fancy weapon systems have gotten all our
Congress’s attention.
Everyone also should remember that many soldiers came
home from the Persian Gulf with illnesses as yet unexplained
and uncured. These soldiers have been ignored by the military,
much like their fathers who were poisoned by Agent Orange in
Vietnam. Again, we have asked these same men and women to
protect an ungrateful country so that they can be ignored when
they come back wounded and sick.
Money talks, it seems, and soldiers are expendable.
While former president Bush runs around making
speeches about his wonderful successes, the troops that he
should have allowed to take Iraq last time are now there
again because he did not have the guts.
We were forewarned. Two men, both generals and
presidents, told us of the problems we have now. In their last
moments of office, George Washington advised future
Americans to not get involved in, “foreign entanglements,” and
Dwight Eisenhower warned of the, “military-industrial
complex.” Now, we are both up to our noses in the foreign
affairs of others and are being guided by interests of profit and
greed instead of common sense and morality.
When people around the world are being decimated through
famine, plague and
war, we barely step in;
but when our oil
supply is threatened, ^
we jump through the
hoops like trained
circus animals.
Furthermore, the
countries we are
defending are not
exactly the most democratic people on earth. Both the Saudis
and the Kuwaitis guarantee almost no rights for women, to the
point that our women in uniform had to cover themselves in the
native garb in order to move around in those countries.
Moreover, how many people remember how our soldiers were
ordered to take their American flag patches off their uniforms
and were asked to not discuss their religious values with ~~
anyone? Yet, our men and women may die for these people.
Whether Iraq makes an aggressive move that forces us to f
war is now a totally irrelevant issue. The very fact that we
are being forced to deal with it is the issue.
Instead of the end of the Cold War becoming a time of n \
peace, it has again pushed us onto the brink of war, and all
for a little oil.
Josef A. Elchanan is a senior -
business management major
When people around the world are being dec
imated by famine, plague and war, we barely
step in; but when our oil supply is threatened,
we jump through hoops like trained animals.