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1 from Page 7
L TCU, one of the
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ned Frogs’ cheer-
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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