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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 1994)
SPORT! [EFS Parents should take more responsibility around children qualifies for Dionships 'verall lackluslei Texas A&M mens s country teams a! VI Championships, tt Priest received his weekend whei lat he had qualified pionships. :venth overall in the 3 team as a whole >f 13 teams. The id up eighth arm inference, I kneu good performance ± "Fortunately, i be able to goto onships. Its been n and it’s a greal t all the hard wort t Etchberger was I on the women's while junior Mary 3th. I placement, AM was pleased with ranee at the meet an great today, auld do and that's :m, " Hinze said, eir personal besl ch, you can’t ask than that. The is that everyone ar and they know ) to get better.” weekend ; two wins vomen’s volleyball kings of the road nning twice on luthwest Missouri ate to run their 11. gainst Iowa State, ifeated the Lady right games, 15-7, was largely due to t held Iowa State id .115 hitting ree games. Dana yers with 11 kills I a .400 hitting etter Suzy Wente and senior Page gs. also made short eeping the three , 15-11. Senior Bronner recorded Smedsrud added te continued her !, recording 4' game, the Lao,i i of their finest 'ear, turning in a : while cruising to 3turn to action on home against e at 7:00 p.m. : ord Hood sition nen’s basketball :xhibition season it, defeating the S5-64 Saturday ite Coliseum in 6. 50 percent from their opposition sent. A&M was loe Wilbert, who on form, hitting racking up 26 s. Senior guard le Aggies cause ounds and four s of play. •e guard Jimmy point position, 3l continued to ;ven points and utes of play. II led Fort Hood n it took him 25 other Tanker ie points. The 3ir exhibition 1 they host the at 7:00 p.m. lates A&M ention. 9 of 21 record age of .905. Football SCREENS! Y- le ials 8-10 I am one of the people who sees a small child in a grocery store and oohs and aahs for sev eral minutes. I can not resist chil dren. I don’t care about their color, age, size or mood. My friends are occasionally even annoyed by my obsession. I am convinced that every child is bom perfect. And that is why I am insanely, overwhelmingly, incredibly furious at some of the events reported in the media recently. Before I begin, I want to say that I realize that the comparisons between these two cases end with the fact that both were parents who murdered their children. One was involuntary and the other was deliberate and evil, but the current trend of murdering children is revolting and infuriating. The thought of Susan Smith pleading insanity makes me weak with anger. I can’t read the sto ries about her watching the children die without tears welling up in my eyes. Over-emotional? Maybe, but I can’t calm my anger because I can’t explain her actions. Children speak to me. Their innocence and purity is all encompassing. No part of any child is evil. Watching children die — your own children, by your own hand — is unimagin able. At least she can claim insanity. Today, I opened my Battalion and read that an other child was murdered by her own father. Robert Crabtree, a man caught in the throes of power that come when you hold a gun, shot and killed his daughter as she played a childish prank on him. For those of you who missed the story, Crabtree is one of the gun-toting Americans who is frantic at the thought of someone invading his “castle.” His 14-year-old daughter hid with one of her friends in a closet, then began making noises to scare her parents as they came home early last Sunday. Granted, their small town had had eight burglaries in the past month, but trigger-happy Crabtree did not even pause to see who it was jumping out of the closet. As his daughter, Matil da, jumped out and yelled “Boo,” he shot and killed her. Not only is this a painful, tragic, needless death, it is additional proof that gun control is sorely needed in the United States. Gee whiz, one of my friends might jump out and scare me. There has been a rash of crimes in the Bryan/College Station area, you know. Maybe I should carry a gun in my backpack. No, now that I think about it, maybe we should all carry guns in our belts. What if someone flips us off, or ap proaches us in a manner that might be construed by our overanxious minds as threatening, and we don’t have our handy .357 in instant reachable dis tance? Maybe we would find out they were just trying to play a prank on us. If Mr. Crabtree hadn’t had a gun in the house, Matilda would be alive and still laughing at the funny trick she had played on her parents. In stead, her father is mourning her death and she and everything she could have been is lost forever. Children should be treasured and loved each and every second they are alive. Anything that en dangers children, from guns lying around the house to mothers who do not appreciate their chil dren, should be removed with haste. I know that it is trite and has been said hun dreds of times before, but I truly need to know: Why on earth do you need a license to drive, to vote and to hunt defenseless animals, but any ordi nary person was created with the organs necessary to produce another living being? Someone should have been able to stop Smith from having children, or at least from keeping them. And anyone who thinks that it is necessary to keep a loaded, easily accessible gun in the house where young kids are playing — I’m not even go ing to touch using it on them — does not deserve to have children in the first place. The next time I see a child, I know that I will still feel warm inside and make goofy faces at him/her, but my re action will have changed. Now I will wonder if their parents hug them and tell them how perfect they are. If they take care of them and encourage them to develop their personalities. If they are secretly planning to drown them, or if they have a gun around that goes off too easily. Why can’t children be kept free from the tragedies that surround adult life? Elizabeth Preston is a junior English major ELIZABETH PRESTON Children should be treasured and loved each and every second they are alive. Anything that endangers children should be removed with haste. Aggie tradition gone awry Historian gives tips for taking care of campus statues CHARLES R. SCHULTZ Guest Columnist F irst there was Lawrence Sulli van Ross; known far and wide as Sully. Then along came the venerated Twelfth Man. Now James Earl Rudder has come. Three wonderful bronze statues for three giants in Aggie history and tradition. Aggies everywhere love, adore and honor all three, more than students anywhere else love the giants of their insti tutions. It is a widely accepted truth that Aggies, whether they are current students or former students, love every aspect of their school more than students from any other college or university. And they demonstrate that love through gifts of money and services. Add to these statues the bronze sculptures of the Cen tennial Eagle, the Victory Eagle, the Arch 602 (the student with his dog), the Silver Taps memorial, the base of the flagpole in front of the Academic Building and the Robert J. Kleberg statue and you quickly realize that A&M proba bly has more bronze sculpture on its campus than just about any other academic institution. Most outdoor sculptures have been largely ignored un less they were the victims of malicious or mischievous van dalism or some natural calamity such as a storm. Howev er, this has not been the case at Aggieland. As early as 1927, Aggies have been showering their love, affection and energy on Sully by polishing him to a high gloss. Recent studies by professional conservators have provid ed convincing evidence that the neglect suffered by many bronze and other outdoor sculptures throughout the United States has caused them to suffer decay. This lead to a na tionwide survey of the condition of outdoor sculpture coor dinated by the Smithsonian Institution and conducted by volunteers in every state and virtually every county. The study in Brazos County shows that the sculptures here, nearly all of which are on the A&M campus, have fared quite well although many of them do need some attention. However, the attention that is needed is different from what they have been receiving. Through a variety of experiments and studies, museum professionals have learned that bronze sculptures need reg ular attention to preserve the original patina that the sculptures give them and to protect them from acts of van dalism as well as from the hazards of occasional bird drop pings and polluted air. The treatment needed to best protect and preserve bronze sculpture includes regular washing with a special soap followed by a thorough rinsing with copious amounts of water. This should be followed by an application of a special paste wax that is applied with brushes. A modest polishing with an old T-shirt or some other soft cloth brings out a nice shine to the sculpture. Treatment of this nature about every six months will assure that each bronze sculp ture will retain the dark, rich patina provided by the origi nal sculptor. It will also assure a shiny but dark appear ance, which bronze is supposed to have. Bronze was never intended to glitter like gold. Thus, I issue this plea. Please Aggies, no brasso on Gen eral Rudder, and no more brasso on Sully, the Twelfth Man, the Silver Taps memorial, the base of the flagpole at the Academic Building or any other piece of bronze on cam pus. Instead, give each one a good scrubbing with appro priate soap and water and then a protective covering of wax. Such action will show true love, devotion, affection, attention, and whatever else you want to show to these gi ants of Aggie lore and will. But at the same time, assure that they retain the appearance that the original sculptor intended and that they will always remain clean and beau tiful for both students and visitors to enjoy. In spite of the copious amounts of brasso and other pol ishes that have been applied to Sully in the past six decades, he can still be restored to his original appearance with the help of a professional bronze conservator. Texas is fortunate have one in Dallas. Since 1994 is the 75th an niversary of the dedication of the statue of Sully, what more fitting birthday gift could Aggies give him than to re store him to the original rich, dark patina he had when he was dedicated. That original hue is readily evident of the photographs taken when the statue was unveiled. Those and many oth er pictures of Sully and all the other outdoor sculptures on campus are available in the collections of the University Archives in the Sterling C. Evans Library. Charles R. Schultz Professor and Clements Archivist and Chair, Brazos County Historical Commission The Battalion Editorial Board Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief Mark Evans, Managing editor Jenny Magee, Opinion editor Sterling Hayman, Asst, opinion editor ''"r : Editorials app the views of the edi necessarily reflect the Battalion staff me mb student body, regents, « or staff. Columns, guest columns, car letters express the opinions of the au Contact the opinion editor for ir on submitting guest columns. Guilty as charged Former A&M VP convicted of soliciting gifts Jurors found Texas former A&M Vice President Robert Smith guilty of asking Barnes & Noble Book stores, Inc. to pay for his wife’s air fare, meals and entertainment dur ing a June 1993 trip to New York City. Smith’s conviction is rightly justified as he sold out Texas A&M and its students, and his actions Should be viewed with the same dis dain West Point students felt about Benedict Arnold. Smith’s conviction sets an exam ple for other A&M administrators and faculty that the community will not tolerate abuse from administra tors, nor will they permit free reign over the school’s financial perks without enforcing punishment. Students should serve as watch dogs for the A&M community and care about administrator’s actions, as it is their money that is being used in illegal ways. These adminis trators invest little if anything fi nancially to this institution, and abuse will not be tolerated. Aggie’s do not lie, cheat or steal, unlike Smith. To rid the University of those administrators who do, Aggie Mom’s and the Former Student Asso ciation should continue to actively serve as watchdogs. Smith’s conviction was triggered by an anonymous letter which was sent to Gov. Ann Richards, leading the Texas Rangers and FBI to con duct investigations. Without such watchdogs and concerns, A&M has the potential to be exploited and abused. All that is required of stu dents is that they keep their eyes and ears open, questioning things that seem unusual. Students should become curious and inquire where their money is sent. They should inquire about the salary of their faculty, and realize that it is their money which helps keep this University functioning. This University is also funded by grants and donations from corpora tions, and that financial source should not be risked by the abuse of administrators. Texas A&M should be investigat ed thoroughly, with the support of the students, to rid the school of all administrative illnesses. By doing so, Texas A&M will be able to move forward into the 21 century competi tively and retain the reputation it has built throughout the years as a fine and outstanding University. A&M cannot continue to bear the burden of greedy administrators. lisp GLBA deserves funding at both A&M and SFA I am proud of the article you ran on the front page about the Gay and Lesbian Stu dent Association at Stephen F. Austin University, and the accompanying editori al on the opinion page in Tuesday’s Batt. I hope it serves to remind people that dis crimination is still occurring all around us. There are a few points, however, which I would like to be perfectly clear. First, when SFA’s student government stripped the GLSA of a mere Si06 which had al ready been allocated while leaving other organizations’ funding untouched, it was obvious that the action was discriminato ry. There is no other explanation. Sec ond, the GLSA president states that 10- percent of SFA’s student body is homosex ual. Finally, at no time during the GLBA meetings here, nor the meetings of the GLBA when I was at the University of Al abama, nor do I imagine at SFA, did any one advocate violating the law. You don’t believe me? But to the student govern ment at SFA, and its sympathizers here, don’t deny us due process. And don’t deny us funding to which we are entitled simply on the basis of our name. To do so only demonstrates the depths of discrimi nation which still exists around us all. Frank Thomas, Jr. Graduate Student Student is fed up with unequal treatment If you are a minority, you could have gone to the Student Counseling Center on Thursday afternoon for “walk-in counseling.” I am a non-minority. I have been on a waiting list in the Stu dent Counseling Center for over a month, with no hopes of getting in any time soon. Not only does having a walk-in time keep non-minorities wait ing, but for some reason, it appears that a minority’s problems are more impor tant than a non-minority’s. Can we say DISCRIMINATION? My money that goes to support the service is just as good as a minority’s, or is it? Chris Bradford Class of ‘95 The Battalion encour ages lettere to the editor and will print as many as space allows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the au thor's name, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Address tetters to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: 8att@tamvm1 .tamu.edu