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The Battalion •. Page 5
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Branches grow from the tree
Family's history provides inspiration and insight
@mA tvb
MICHAEL
LANDAUER
columnist
S ince we have already taken care
of our traditional Thanksgiving
task of beating the hell outta
t.u., we can devote our energies to
less traditional Thanksgiving pas
times. Like being thankful.
Sometimes we wonder what we
have to be thankful for. We’re fail
ing every class, we haven’t had a
date in years and Thanksgiving din
ner only brings the family together for a day of energetic
fighting over everything from cooking methods to how to
set the table. Or even worse — we don’t get to go home for
the big feast
But we don’t have to look far to find things we can be
thankful for. Yes, Thanksgiving is that time of year when
we realize that no matter how crappy things may seem,
they could be worse. If nothing else, be thankful that your
not on O.J. Simpson’s jury. Those poor saps can’t change
the channel, they have to hear about the whole case.
This year I have thought a lot about how thankful I am
for my home. Right now my home is Moses Hall. I remem
ber coming back from Fish Camp after spending only one
night in the old building. But it was home.
I understand how much it must hurt residents of Law,
Fhiryear and Legett be faced with the prospect of leaving
their dorms. When I think of the word “dorm,” I think of a
place where you sleep. But when I think of the people in
Moses, the word “home” comes to mind. Even if they take
it away from us, we can still be thankful that we met the
group of people that made our dorm a home. But we can
also be thankful that we have a real home out there beyond
our four years of college. We all remember home — money,
free food, washing machines that don’t require quarters.
Home is more of a concept than a place. My sister in
Chicago, my brother and his family, my grandmother and
all my family members, some of who have never even been
to my house — that is home.
While growing up we learned to respect our family mem
bers. Maybe it was the lectures we got about our behavior
before relatives came over, or maybe it was the spankings
we got for rubbing eggs into their carpet during visits. But
we always knew to respect these people.
Now that we’re older we hear more stories
about our families that make us respect them
for other reasons. I remember my mother’s
father, who died when I was young, because
he looked and acted like Santa Claus. I re
spected him because of the effect his death
had on my mother. I didn’t know why my
mother cried about her father sometimes
when she fought with me or my siblings. But
I recently read a letter he wrote to my parents at an impor
tant crossroads in their relationship. Now I know.
My middle name is Ehrman, which was my grandmoth
er’s maiden name. I was born on her birthday, and my fa
ther said I was a gift to his parents who I never knew. I
hated the name when I was young. It sounded too much
like “Herman,” and it required too much explaining. But I
have learned enough about my grandmother to make me
realize that I am barely deserving of her name.
Through stories we learn to respect our family members
as individuals. We do not just inherit our grandparents’
DNA, we also inherit their values, their caring ways and
their love. I am thankful for that.
Unfortunately families do not eat together, go out together,
write each other or talk as much as they have in the past.
That’s a shame because we can learn a lot about our family if
we just ask. Our parents will tell us about Uncle Frank’s war
stories or Grandpa’s homemade pizza if we just ask. And these
stories aren’t boring. They often reveal something about our
family tree that we did not know. We find out who the strong
branches belonged to on the family tree.
The best part about hearing all these stories is that we have
our whole life ahead of us to learn from our family’s past. I
have a chance to avoid the family bickering that caused some of
my ancestors to lose a chance to buy the Chicago Hilton. I also
have a chance to learn from Grandpa’s basic kindness and
Grandma’s fighting spirit. We all have a chance to live in ways
that would make our families proud.
Let’s be thankful for our homes. Let’s be thankful for
our chances. And let’s hope we grow to become strong
branches in our family trees.
Michael Landauer is a sophomore journalism major
NEW JEP^Y
“How many times have I asked you JSTOT
to slam on the brakes like that ?! w
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief
Mark Evans, Managing editor
Jenny Magee, Opinion editor
Sterling Hayman, Asst, opinion editor
H
Editorials appearing in The Battalion ;
reflect the views of the editorial board. They '
do not necessarily reflect the opinions oU
other Battalion staff members, the Texas Y
A&M student body, regents, administration,
faculty or staff.
Columns, guest columns, cartoons and
letters express the opinions of the authors.
Contact the opinion editor for information
on submitting guest columns.
Walk by the rules
Absence of set policy creates confusion
College students live for walks.
To have professors anounce that
class will not be meeting on a cer
tain day is often better than if they
offered to buy the class dinner.
However, a set policy should be
made regarding walks on holidays as
well as special traditional events
such as Elephant Walk and Bonfire.
As it stands now, the policy re
garding walks on holidays is quite
inconsistent. The current practice
where some professors choose to give
walks while others don’t, results in
inconvenience and confusion for stu
dents. This procedure for walks pre
vents students from making travel
and holiday plans in advance be
cause they don’t know whether they
will have classes.
Some students like to plan ahead
especially if they have to travel long
distances to get home.
The policy regarding walks should
be an all-or-nothing matter; there
fore eliminating confusion for stu
dents and their families.
However, on days when special
traditions such as Elephant Walk,
Bonfire or Muster take place profes
sors should allow students who are
involved, especially upperclassmen
to participate. Texas A&M is a tra
dition-based school, and events such
as Elephant Walk happen only once
in Aggies’ lives.
Professors should keep such
events in mind when considering
their course outlines and syllabi.
Tests and projects should not be giv
en on these days in consideration of
those who are participating.
At any other university, this may
not be an acceptable policy, but;
A&M is all about tradition. Being
involved in the traditions is one of
the most important aspects of at
tending this University. If students
miss out on the traditions, they miss
out on Aggie spirit.
If professors find it necessary to
hold class, students who are not par
ticipating in these events should at
tend. However, for the others who
are directly involved, all classwork
should be able to be made up and ab
sences should be excused.
Creating a set policy for walks re
garding holidays and special tradi
tional events would get rid of the
current problems. Such a policy
would eliminate confusion and cre
ate more organization.
The current walk policy is not
clear or consistent; therefore, it calls
for new actions and procedures.
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cAP
Plant theft disheartens
horticulture students
Sometime between the evening of
Monday, Nov. 14 and the afternoon of
Wednesday, Nov. 16, a greenhouse op
erated by the undergraduate students
of the Department of Horticultural
Sciences was broken into and about
$400 of plant material was stolen.
The material removed included
mostly large and exotic tropical stock
plants which are used as a source to
propagate more plants.
These crops are sold at public sales
to raise funds for students to make
field trips, sponsor community pro
jects and pay for the maintenance of
our facilities.
Many of the plants removed do not
belong to the student club but were on
loan for use as stock plants.
The members of this organization
devote a great deal of effort and valu
able time in order to learn about the
operation of commercial plant produc
tion, arrange and manage plant sales
and contribute to the local community.
The theft of these plants creates a
considerable set-back. And the real
loss in terms of the crops that could
have been potentially produced from
them is indeterminable.
If you have any information that
could help in the investigation of this
matter, please contact the Texas A&M
University Police.
David M. Hamada
Class of ’95
Greenhouse Manager,
TAMU Floriculture and Horticulture
Society
Dorm residents deserve
right to protect home
Recently a proposal was passed by
the Resident Hall Association stating
that Law and Puryear Halls should
move into Legett Hall next fall. The
reasons given for the proposal were (1)
to rectify an alleged housing discrepan
cy and (2) to preserve their community.
To address the first point, the
Housing Office is paid to rectify dis
crepancies, residents are not.
To address the second, by preserv
ing the community of Law and
F*uryear, that of Legett would be lost
forever. Legett Hall has the highest
retention rate of any female dorm on
campus, as well as having almost one-
third of freshman female students.
Who has the right to decide which
community is worthy of preservation?
I have no animosity toward the men
of Law and Puryear. Their homes are
being destroyed and their community
altered. This makes it all the more
unbelievable that they have chosen to
do this to another dorm.
Finally, a dangerous precedent has
been set. The RHA of Texas A&M
University has shown, in a democratic
fashion, that any residence hall on
campus can arbitrarily choose to take
over another residence hall simply by
claiming to be better Ags. Law and
Puryear are victims of the University’s
failure to maintain its dormitories.
However, Legett stands to be a vic
tim of fellow Aggies.
That is Bad Bull.
Ali Fuller
Class of ’98
4-step plan puts stress in perspective
End-of-the-semester strain ties Aggies in knots of frustration and anxiety
The Battalion encour
ages letters to the editor
and will print as many as
space allows. Letters
must be TOO words or
less and indude the au
thor's name, class, and
phone number.
We reserve the right
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style, and accuracy.
Address letters to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1 111
Fax: (409) 845-2847
I thought that he was going to blow!
His veins were standing out like
blue rivers, and his fists were
balled up into two impossibly tight
knots. Finally, he pointed one stiff
finger at the worker, said a few rude
words and stormed out the door. This
was the scene that I watched with
amusement from my vantage seat in
the Aggie Buck office. I shook my
head, for the scene was familiar. Yes,
I have termed it the stressed-out Ag
dilemma or, S.A.D. for short. This
dilemma is running rampant on this
campus, especially now, since we are
in the home stretch of the semester.
Well, I suppose it is understand
able. Think about how stress enters
each and every one of our lives on a
daily basis...the sleepless nights...the
late night cramming at IHOP...the
harrowing hours of designing a degree
plan. Aaaargh! I am getting S.A.D.
just thinking about it.
Well, this is your lucky day, for I
have come to the rescue. After much
consideration, it is with much pleasure
and pride that I present the following
stress busters for all strained Ags:
1. Beat up your boyfriend or girl
friend, whichever is applicable.
2. Curse out your grandmother.
3. Use up all of your remaining Ag
gies Bucks at the vending machines in
the MSG.
4. Drop all of your classes, and if you
have your roommate’s social security
number, cancel his or her classes, also.
5. If you live in a dorm, go around
to all of the doors and switch every
body’s nametags.
Ha! Ha! Just kidding. I stressed
some of you out, didn’t I? I can just
imagine the folks whose stress level
went through the roof as they reached
for a writing utensil to write a
AJA
HENDERSON
columnist
scathing Mail Call letter. Sheez,
folks. Lighten up a little, will you.
OK — Fm for real now. Here are a
few tips to keep your sanity during
these particularly stressful days:
1. Cry. That’s right, go for it. Let
that wetness flow. This goes for both
guys and girls. By the way, don’t wor-
ry about your roommate laughing at
you, either. I can almost guarantee
that when he or she walks in and
takes one look at you, the whole thing
will become contagious, and you’ll
both break down. But, most impor
tantly, you will both be releasing some
Think about how stress enters our lives
on a daily basis...the sleepless nights...the
late night cramming at I HOP...the har
rowing hours of designing a degree plan.
of that stress and tension that has
built up all week. Oh, to bond!
2. Hit something. Not another per
son, though. Well, we might make an
exception if that person is from t.u...
Anyway, make a large stack of pillows
and just punch, punch, punch away to
your heart’s content. Can’t you feel
the stress just oozing away, already?
3. Engage in some sort of physical
activity. It could be rollerblading,
dancing or...something else. The point
is that all of this exercise will leave
your body and mind feeling looser and
more relaxed.
4. Laugh. Don’t take every little
thing seriously. Save your energy for
the big things, and in doing so you
might cut a significant amount of stress
out of your daily routine. In other
words, don’t sweat the small stuff.
Aja, why ever did you write this col
umn? Hmmm? Well, dear reader, I
will put it to you like this: I am sick
and tired of passing S.A.D. stricken
Aggies, because it increases my S.A.D.
level. I mean, just last week I passed
countless stressed out Ags who gave
me a terse Howdy as they walked by
looking all constipated or something.
Yes, this is a really stressful time for
all of us.
After we finish inhaling turkey to
morrow, we will start to ponder finals
and all the other stressful end-of-the
semester wind-down activities. Still,
that does not mean that we have to
walk around on edge, looking all dried
up and beat. We are
Aggies, daggummit.
So your I.D. is reject
ed in front of the mil
lions of people in line at
Sbisa. So you trip and =•'
fall flat on your face
while walking through
the lobby of the Commons. So you walk
into Blocker with your skirt in your
panties. What are you going to do? Are
you going to stress about it? NO!
You are going to look at this column
(of course, you could post it up for
quick reference), read my stress bust
ing tips once again, breathe out, and
smile.
Go on, with yo’ bad self!
Aja Henderson is a sophomore
finance major
J\