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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1994)
Ihe Battalion kets snap e-game ig streak PON (AP) - Haket- scored 27 points,!: jight in a row in bird quarter, astl Rockets snapped e losing streak with tory over Denvers; light, ckets were in charji eginning, hitting the; shots of the game the first quarter, never led in the gam; uggets' 81 points wen >w. Their previous' ints in a 94-92 loss!; Nov. 17. >n led 46-36 atth; )roke open the rd quarter during; o start the third pen won’s 8-point surg iockets a 61-42 lea .o go in the period, errera, starting!! e injured Otis Thorp; eason-high 17 point; ous high was eigh! lajuwon had 12re 1 five blocked shots. r Rogers led th; with 17 points, anil ick added 12. The; aly double-figure scor Nuggets, who lostfo ne in six games. s tumble berwolvei S (AP) - Jin )red 26 points, incM ,hree-point play ^itl ling, and Roy Tarple; jints and 12 rebound as Mavericks beat the Timberwolves 84-83 ght. r ent 7-4 in November, nonth since going 741 1990. The Mavericks their seventh gams l until Feb. 10, i’s basket and free ed Dallas’ lead to 43 left, thenJacksor. two foul shots witl give the Mavericks a: itage. Jackson m ast field goal, ita pulled to 84-81 econds left ont« s by Christian Laet Jackson threw the bounds with 18 set y- ner 1 from Page 7 L TCU, one of the 1 championship itchell was in the on almost every t least it seemed from my vantage vas seated with to the left of the 1, in perfect view ned Frogs’ cheer- lut that’s another yway, Mitchell is He is to the de- it Leeland is to e. The two could 1 two in the 1996 »ut for outside r Keith Mitchell , too. The Gar- ict is a perfect fit ash and attack ly employed by ed “Wrecking The tandem of id Mitchell could .mare for oppos- terbacks. Not lays of the origi- Brothers” Aaron nd John Roper, fans have seen icious assault on d generals. 3 and Greer will /ers in line with y coverage tac- j Reggie Brown Driver will make tion take heed, e direction of ’uberville, the Crew” will con- lake the neces- s for attaining a own. explosive of- a torrid defense, ind of schedule, September date ado, that earns lals a legitimate crowti for A&M did I happen to hat should you nd next fall, you ; Aggies in their greatness cour- jvision. Televi- eah, damn those s. J Wednesday • November 30, 1994 Tears often only fall for famous 'Dweeb' teacher's death from AIDS fails to receive empathy A|A HENDERSON Columnist It should not take the death of a celebrity to wet our eyes. Celebrity or not, AIDS does not discriminate. The Battalion • Page 9 E eek! Tabby’s scream came through the phone all too clearly. I was used to my hometown friend’s dramatics — we had been close friends for many years. So, when I heard her vocal cords straining over the phone while I was home in Baton Rouge last week, I didn’t expect the unexpected. I was wrong. It turned out that one of our high school teachers, Mr. Hen drix, had died the previous night. No one would r eve ad the cause of death, but it was known that he had taken a mystery trip to Mexico a few weeks back. The widely held theory for his little excursion was that Mr. Hendrix had AIDS. “Girl, he had to have AIDS! Remember how he used to act? You know that’s probably why his butt was in Mexico ...” I began to tune her voice out as my thoughts drifted to Mr. Hendrix. He had been a history professor at my high school and he was a little, well ... dweeby. He came to school wearing highwater pants and his kinky hair parted smack down the middle. Oh — and who can forget his high- pitched, nasal whine. Good ol’ Mr. Hendrix! Although he never taught any of my classes, he had been an advisor for one of my clubs. At the meetings, as he flitted his hands nervously and squeaked on and on, I felt a little pity towards him. He had to know that his students were giving him no respect! He had to know that they wer*e constructing hypotheticals regarding his life. He had to know that he had been pegged as “gay.” I guess that whether he knew that or not does not mat ter know, for he is dead. Nonetheless, the rumors, the chattering tongues ... these things have not yet ceased for Mr. Hendrix. All I heard when I bumped into people from high school was, “Did you hear about Mr. Hendrix? You know he had AIDS. I bet he went down to Mexico to get horse shots or something!” I watched in fascination as their faces lit up to spread the gossip while the mouths of their audiences formed round little Os. I am confused. I would say that these people have little or no compas sion for people who die of AIDS. But — wait ... weren’t these the same folks who, not weeks ago, sadly announced the death of Pedro Zamora, another AIDS victim? He was one of the guys on this sea son of MTV’s “The Real World.” Upon learning that he had the virus, Pedro became an activist. He went around educating people about AIDS, telling them that he contracted the dis ease from unprotected sex, and that they should exercise caution in that area. Pedro was homosexual, and millions of couch potatoes got to witness everything from his first date to his subsequent marriage to his boyfriend, Sean. During this season, while people were watching the show and their discomfort with Pedro’s gayness began to dissi pate, they started to like* him. They saw that he was a guy with a big cause, and a big heart to match. So, it should come as no surprise that when he died several weeks back, he was honored in most of the major newsmagazines and broadcasts. Pedro was pegged a hero. So! There you have it. Mr. Hendrix, dweeb teacher, dies “of AIDS” and people snicker behind their hands. Pe dro Zamora, new television celebrity, dies and everyone sighs in sadness. What was so different about their deaths such that one was classified as “important,” while the other was “incon sequential?” I would like to believe that it is from the dif ference in their characters, but I have a feeling that this has a lot more to do with homosexuality, AIDS and celebri ty status. You might say that’s simply life. But that does not make it right. It should not take the death of a celebri ty to wet our eyes. I am a heterosexual female, but I realize that not every one is like me. I also realize that anyone can get AIDS, celebrity or not, and that it does not discriminate. Why, then, should we? If you feel compassion for Pedro, isn’t it only right to feel some compassion for the Texans who have HIV? And what about the thousands with AIDS? If you felt a twinge in your heart when you heard about Pedro’s death, you are a hypocrite if you turn up your nose to the other folks who die of AIDS. The bottom line is simple — AIDS does not discriminate, and neither should we. Aja Henderson is a sophomore finance major The Battalion Editorial Board Belinda Blancarte, Editor in chief Mark Evans, Managing editor Jenny Magee, Opinion editor Sterling Hayman, Asst, opinion editor Editorials appearing in The Battalion re flect the views of the editorial board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of oth er 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. Contact the opinion editor for informa tion on submitting guest columns. Growing up doesn’t mean growing apart From playgrounds to the real world friendships continue to influence us Unbalanced Plan Budget amendment creates state problems MICHAEL LANDAUER Columnist A constitutional amendment to re quire a balanced federal budget will be voted on in the House of Representa tives in mid-January. Rep. Gerald B.H. Solomon, a senior Republican from New York, proposed a plan in March which will require spending cuts across the board. Though a bal anced budget amendment is possible in theory, its effects may be irre versible — especially for Texans. The amendment’s supporters claim they can perform such a task without raising federal income taxes. However, by keeping such a claim they will have to make cuts in programs which are essential to this country’s prosperity and responsibilities. These cuts will entail a total of $700 billion in five years and over $1 trillion in seven years. With the amend ment, economic aid to Russia, the con struction of a space station and almost all agriculture price supports will be cut altogether. Cutting aid to Russia would jeopardize newly established relations. We should maintain excellent ties to a country that is so rich in natural resources. Similarly, the proposed space station is beneficial to advance breakthroughs in the areas of ment are understood. science and medicine. Instead of cutting the space station altogether, it should be scaled down to meet both our needs and fit a new budget. However, the cuts do not stop there, but continue into spending on social programs. States may also find that they are responsible for funding programs which were once federally funded. Al though Texas’ Gov.-elect George W. Bush promises not to create a state income tax, politi cians may find that they are without a choice should Texas be come responsible for paying for many more ser vices and duties to citizens. Although this amendment may reduce the size of the federal deficit, Texas cannot afford to pay for more pro grams, especially with the state’s school systems in such disarray. Legislators should consider the possi ble negative effects of such an amend ment. Cuts in federal spending may look promising on paper until we see and feel the results. Politicians should be more selective on the programs which they are planning to cut and continue to debate until all the aspects of such an amend- s %s V' 8$ 8888881 v - s ■ jM ail On Politicians should tackle real issues, not prayer Upon reading the Battalion editorial on Nov. 22 on school prayer, I felt compelled to com ment. I agree with the editors’ view that a con stitutional amendment designating a specific time for school prayer is not right for America. I also agree with the solution that students could be allowed to exercise their religious be liefs by simply letting students pray before class on school grounds or at home. I think, however, that two important points were missed. First of all, students already can pray at home, on school grounds or even in class — if they choose not to pay attention to the teacher. This is really a moot point. Second, the editors seem to have missed the point behind the Republican plan. The Republican politicians’ purpose (besides try ing to get elected and re-elected) is not to pro tect students who want to “exercise their reli gious beliefs.” It is to push “some kind” of re ligion on other children because of their mis taken belief that it will change their behav ior. They actually believe that students, by stopping for a moment to pray, will somehow be less likely to lie, cheat, steal, hurt, maim, kill, use drugs and make babies. I know, from my own parochial school days, that a moment of prayer in school isn’t worth a hill of beans when kids aren’t raised right at home. Heck, having required-religion courses in my high school didn’t help anyone become a better citizen. The trouble makers during my freshman year were the same, if not worse, by my senior year! Politicians should stick to the real issues this country faces. School prayer is certainly not one of them. Keith Volanto Graduate Student Kudos to Aggie who helped prevent serious accident Before you read on, I want you to know this isn’t your typical “Mail Call” letter. You’ll find no real controversy, extreme opinions, racist re marks or sexist posturing in the next 170 or so words. You see, I’m just happy to be alive. My dog “H” and I were literally inches from becom ing the meat in a Mazda sandwich Sunday night on Highway 6 just north of BCS. If it wasn’t for the quick reflexes of a fel low Ag in a late 80’s model Celica, I would have plowed into some bonehead who tried to park a car in my lane. This good Ag gunned it. I swerved. It was a matter of inches. Of course, my cheeks still haven’t unlocked; nonetheless, all my appendages are still in tact. Many thanks to the stunt driver. There’s a pitcher at The Chicken with your name on in it. Get in touch, and I’ll buy. In closing, I just want to say I’d like to read more good bull in the Battalion Mail Call, and not so much petty crap. (Oops, the power of the press made me throw in that opinion). Gig ‘em, and ace the hell outta finals. . Ryan Ford Class of ’95 The Battalion encour ages 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 tor length, style, and accuracy. Address letters to; The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Fax: 409/845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvm1 .tamu.edu M aybe it is because the seasons are fi nally changing. Maybe it’s because I just saw a lot of old friends over Thanksgiving. Maybe it’s just random. But I’ve been thinking about old friends lately. My oldest friend, John, called me recently and we figured out that it has been 15 years since we became friends. We met on a playground at the local pool. My mom used to babysit him after kindergarten. John taught me where his grandpa hid his Playboys, and I taught John to like candy com. We were never in the same class and were only in the same school for only years and have not lived near each other in eight years. But two friends could never have been closer while they were growing up. We all have someone like this in our lives. As we grew up, they knew us as well as we knew ourselves. We could al ways say anything to them because it was almost as though we were talking to ourselves. The strangest thing about old friends is that distance does not matter. A song by Lyle Lovett reminds me of John, and probably reminds a lot of other people about their friends. The song is called “Old Friends” (go figure) and talks about the old times and all the stories Lovett shared with a friend. But he keeps saying, “It might be easy for another man to see.” When I heard this line, it didn’t seem to fit. For another man to see what? It’s our friendship. We are the ones who see each other like no one else does. What could someone on the outside looking in possibly see that we don’t. Lyle’s an swer: “I think you still look a lot like me.” Well, John is about eight inches taller than me, naturally tan and has cool hair. In short, we look nothing alike. I know that is not what Lyle meant, though. But John and I are different in other ways, too. I’ve grown up to be someone who likes politics and arguing. He is someone who gets pissed about an occasional issue, but only argues for a few minutes before saying, “Ah, it doesn’t really matter.” He has always loved music or acting or film-making. I couldn’t care less. But all friends have differ- " " " - - - '' ent interests. Life would be too boring if they didn’t. But sometimes friends have different tem peraments, too. I have been what I like to call “focused.” But John and other friends have said that I am like Alex P. Keaton from “Family Ties.” One Hal loween I walked into class and notice my friend, Sean, wear ing some of my clothes. “Hey that’s my coat. And my Nixon shirt. And my election buttons. Hey! You’re dressed as me!” Other people think I’m not serious enough. I can be a bum. One of my most celebrated attributes is my ability to talk people out of studying for more leisurely pursuits. Hell, I’m a journalist. We’re alcoholic vampires. If my earliest class wasn’t at 11:10 a. m., I’d never see noon. This side of me is the work of my friends. We have all changed since our childhood friendships. We’ve grown up. Sometimes where we zigged, they zagged. We share a lot of common experiences, but we have lived a lot more with out them. In spite of all the time we have had to grow in different di rections, we are still a lot like our friends. We all have a little of our old friends in us. A frat-boy in Arkadelphia, Ark., a t-sip and an Aggie engineer could all make up important parts of who we are. Maybe it does take “another man to see” after all. My old friends probably do not realize how laid back they have made me, but someone who sees us together might understand where I learned to become less uptight. Old friendships are not just sources of memories. Our friends are mirrors of who we have become. We look at our good friends and we see pieces of ourselves. So write them. Call them. Keep in touch with them. And appreciate them for how much they have changed you. Not every friend that comes along affects us in a profound way. Most friends don’t stick around for too long. But when they do, you have something special. It doesn’t have to take someone else to see — if you think about it, you’ll probably re alize how much you look like your friends. I know I look like John. And Sean. And. And... Michael Fandauer is a sophomore journalism major We have all changed since our childhood friendships. We've grown up. Sometimes where we zigged, they zagged