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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1995)
veeli Respite the i just a '• Five ttie -eam from m both a ter pitch- ore, and n. Some- e grass I. grass Michigan their car- few ilifomia, 3rs is sea- ed from ould be Field to d one of stable s what s first ring I knew nd you pen. ing if igh. 3 :ain’t t goin’ ain’t econd- )e isn’t ause >r, and i white 'the ^The Battalion Opinion Fuesday eptember 12,1995 "St :e ing for aid he scopic e San inated wants lov. 12 ng Su- Fran- ae the ed. “I hen I /boys, own I e and want de re- d “he ason, base- with blue i cap, ’rime •owd d he mon ger, lying is. cool ))) ey, A&M evolves: Liberalism sets stage for change M y best friend “Lisa” is a black, bisexual Mormon living and working in Salt jake City. When we graduated [rom high school and left our home of New Orleans (she to attend the Univer sity of Utah and I to study here), our frivolous conversations evolved into something richer and more stimulating. Lisa surrounded herself in an envi ronment suitable to her — sort of. Even though she is bisexual, her reli gion and conservatism dominated her environment. In addition, Salt Lake City possesses a number of cultural and recreational activities. On the other hand ... I surrounded myself with Wran glers, a variety of enormous straw hats and cowboy boots, 6,000 radio stations playing country and western music and people disposing of “snuff’ into makeshift spittoons. However, I did have some things going in my favor. Lisa com plained constantly about her roommate. The stench her room mate created by only showering once a week was unbearable and dis gusting, she groaned. My roommate situation went quite well, however. My roommate, a senior, gave me invaluable study tips and lis tened to a lot of my problems. Perhaps the only problem I encountered with him was whether or not to tell him I was gay. Both Lisa and I could not be open to others about ourselves because of our immediate environments. Since we didn’t feel complete, we both knew change (in some form or an other) was inevitable for the sake of our personal happiness. We realized we had to choose one of two options: Change our environments or wait for our environments to change. Lisa attempted the former. After in tense arguments with her family and friends, she discontinued practicing Mormonism, came to her senses and stopped voting Republican, severed many ties with her family, and has thoroughly accepted her bisexuality. And me? One could say I’m doing a combination of both. In some ways. I’ve changed my immediate environment. Af ter my roommate told me he too was gay, I met a lot of other gay people and devel oped strong friendships. Yet, I have also observed a subtle change in my environment. Texas A&M continues to be a Uni versity with an overwhelming conserv ative student body. However, flashes of liberalism occasionally enlighten our fair campus. Since I began studying at Texas A&M in the fall of 1993, I’ve noticed the University recruits minorities in tensely. I suspect there are a host of reasons as to why A&M chooses to do this, but its efforts, coupled with stu dents attending from different socio economic backgrounds, encourage a more liberal environment. This change in demographics is be coming noticeable in the diversified market around town. New radio stations, art and clothing stores and the ever-changing down town Bryan all bear witness to this slow-paced evolution. This is what I mean when I say the campus is evolving. Homogeneity usually cultivates a conservative attitude. Out of this ho mogeneity, certain traditions develop and are upheld. As the population becomes more heterogeneous, traditions are chal lenged and the virtue of tolerance pro liferates. The scope of cultural and recreational activities in the area re flects that change. Of course, there is some resistance to change. The traditionalists sternly object to any encroachment on their territory, for any loss of tradition is viewed as a loss of self-worth. This is occurring currently at Texas A&M University. One can only speculate what the cultural future holds for the Universi- |( ty. But with each passing year, conser vatives steadily retreat to their corner to preserve what makes Texas A&M unique and liberals press tenaciously for change. This observation may seem quite obvious to some, but others (liberals in particular) cannot see the change. Quite a few of my friends reject the idea that this place is becoming more liberal. Since the blanket of conser vatism so overwhelms A&M, liberal ism is thought invisible. But one does not have to squint to know it is there. Even though Bryan-College Station may not offer the book signings, art museums or dance clubs of the caliber that a Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Houston or any other major city may offer, they do exist. And — to an extent — we have the increasing presence of liberalism to thank for it. H.L. Baxter is a junior geography and political science major M UEL m% ft mwRii Citadel wants best education All-male policy provides unique environment, not sexist schooling wmo - I would like to stand up on be half of the hits the Citadel, South Carolina’s all-male military university, has taken regarding Shannon Faulkner. First, let me quali fy myself as an au thority by saying I have visited the Citadel during this controversy, and one of my extremely close friends was the Citadel regimental commander (equiva lent to our corps commander) last year. We discussed and prayed over the mat ter laboriously. The Citadel’s efforts to keep the school all-male, contrary to what you may have heard, does not result from a male-chauvinistic or a “good-ole boy” mentality. This issue has nothing to do with a so-called antiqued, chauvinistic Southern military school that needs to be pushed into the 21st century, but rather has everything to do with a sincere belief in the benefits of sin gle-sex education. The Citadel simply says this: Men and women are different. They do not claim anything more or less; they just maintain the two sexes are different. Following this assumption (one which most logical and rational Ameri cans believe to be true), the next sensi ble step is to say that since we are dif ferent, then we learn, develop and ma ture differently. Neither sex is better than the other — by any means — but simply different. The Citadel believes this, and their educational system has been proven successful dur ing 153 years of instruction at the Citadel. Harvard sociologist David Riesman said the benefits of such an education are clear. Not only is it an optimal means of character development, but it also eliminates the distraction of the “mat ing-dating” game so prevalent in f &| || |» H our society. Instead, it al lows institutions to focus on values and academics. “In short,” writes Lt. Gen. Watts, president of the Citadel, “the val ue of separate education is, sim ply, the fact that it is separate.” A common argument is that since the Citadel is a tax-supported school, it can not restrict itself to a single gender. This argument, taken to its logical conclusion, would prohibit all tax sup port for single-sex schools, 83 of which are female and three of which are male. Given the fact that these schools — public and private — rely heavily on tax dollars just to keep their doors open, all single-gendered institutions would un justly have to fall on the sword. When one takes a look at the merits of single-sex education, a grave injustice would occur with their elimination. All-female colleges produce only 4.5 percent of all female graduates, but pro duce one-fourth of all women board members of Fortune 500 companies, and one-half of the women in Congress. The benefits of men’s colleges are equally apparent. Obviously, whether you personally agree with it or not, there is something to the single-sex ec cational philosophy. - - believe Faulkn er’s rhetoric of the “evil, mm chauvinistic military men’ of the Citadel keeping out a young woman yearning to be a cadet. The Citadel is not con cerned with the invasion of women into their “man’s world,” but they are con cerned with the protection of their proven system of sin gle-gender education. All the Citadel claims is that men and women are inherently different, and this being the case, dif ferent sexes learn, develop and mature more effectively in different environ ments. There is no anti-women senti ment involved, just devotion to a proven educational principle. Matt Segrest is a senior management major The Battalion Established in 1893 Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the editorials 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 the opinions of the authors. Contact the opinion editor for information on submitting guest columns. Editorial A Promise Kept Clinton honors pledge to support federally funded student loans. Editorials Board Rob Clark Imm qq (HPf W|jif ^ r-;Mn.if Editor in Chief Sterling Hayman Managing Editor * Kyle Littlefield ! Opinion Editor * Elizabeth Preston * Assistant Opinion Editor Yesterday, while speaking at an Illinois campus. President Clinton once again attacked Republicans and the banking industry for attempting to elim inate federally backed student loans. Clinton’s vow to protect the student loan program should be commended. Far too many students in this nation depend on low-in terest federal loans to attend colleges and universities. Through these federally backed loans, students are able to bor row money for tuition and other school expenses at lower inter est rates. If this program were elimi nated by Congress, the conse quences would be devastating for a countless number of stu dents. Attempting to balance the federal budget by cutting un necessary programs is a noble cause; however, Clinton’s col lege loan program should be taken off of the table. Congress should recognize that education is one area where funding should be in creased, not decreased. These federally backed stu dent loans now are even more important to many Texas stu dents. Because the Texas Legisla ture neglected to adequately fund state colleges and univer sities, many of these institu tions were forced to drastically increase fees; thus placing even more of a financial burden on the students. Supporting education should not be a party-line issue. Re publicans and Democrats alike should all place education as one of the nation’s top priori ties. The Republican bill that awaits the approval of the Sen ate threatens to slice the col lege loan program and cut edu cation funding by $36 billion over seven years. Clinton has already threatened to veto the bill if necessary and increase education funding by $40 bil lion. Our elected officials should recognize that if the funding for our nation’s education is de stroyed, our future could be next. Mail Assigning dorms difficult job This is in response to Chris Stidvent’s column in the Sept. 11 Battalion. I sympathize with the many students that are overassigned. I know some of them and I see how hard this situation is. However, managing the housing at this University is not an easy task. Dr. Southerland is a highly in telligent and level-headed man who has served this University as an administrator for years. I guarantee that Southerland and Director of the Department of Residence Life and Housing Ron Sasse know what they are doing and are trying to solve this prob lem as quickly as possible. If you want to camp out on the lawn of these two fine gen tlemen’s homes like a beatnik nose-ringed freak from Austin, then go ahead. There is another solution. There’s an easy way to get guar anteed housing on this campus: Join the Corps. David Boldt Class of’97 More football ticket problems The A&M ticket office has fig ured out another way to drain money from football fans. I read last week that a couple was forced to buy a ticket for their baby to sit in its mother’s lap for the game. Well, I found out another non-publicized rule change for this year. The new rule is students that do not have season passes cannot buy a ticket or have a ticket bought for them until Friday, after everybody (in cluding their friends) has pulled their tickets. However, guest passes are still available whenever you want them. The reason given for this new policy was they want to ensure that all season ticket holders have a ticket. In other words, they don’t want to sell student tickets to students, because they are afraid of running out of stu dent tickets and the best way to prevent this is to sell stu dent tickets to non-students. They could just be honest and say they realized that students would want to go with their friends, and thus be forced to fork over money for a guest label. Jeff Maca Graduate Student Columnist does not speak for Catholics I am writing to inform Jim Pawlikowski that I do not ap preciate him acting as “spokesman” for the Catholic Students at TAMU regarding the movie Priest. As a fellow Catholic, I feel that no Catholic with a sense of decency and judgement would promote the viewing of a film that attacks the very core of the Catholic Church — the priest hood. This film is an insult to the countless holy and devout priests who have given their entire lives in service to the Church. I suggest that people who support the showing of Priest find a copy of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church and read Chapter 3, Article 6. Lastly, research the life of priest and martyr of Auschwitz, St. Maximillion Kolbe, if you tru ly want to “ ... grow spiritually.” Ann M. Miksch Class of’86 Concealed guns: asking for trouble This is a response to Lydia Percival’s column concerning concealed weapons. My brother worked in the emergency room during his stay at Texas A&M’s School of Medi cine. An overwhelming majority of the gunshot wounds that he witnessed were from the victim’s own gun, turned against him in the heat of battle. Some things are easier said than done. Most honest, law-abiding citi zens have something inside them that prevents them from killing another human being. It is easy to say you could kill a criminal if you were endangered. But in the time that one hesi tates with a gun, a criminal has enough time to take the gun and use it. Murderous criminals don’t usually have a conscience that stops them. Maybe the new handgun law will make some criminals think twice. However, the ones that have nothing to lose (like the looney at Luby’s) are going to make Texans pay big for defend ing themselves with a handgun. Randall Smith Class of‘96 • This letter is in reference to Lydia Percival’s article on con cealed weapons, and to address the prolific negative use of the word liberal in the Opinion Page. Has the Opinion staff undergone some sort of anti-liberal electro shock treatment? Many recent articles have used the word “liberal” negative ly, from the one on the women’s conference in Beijing to the con cealed handgun piece. When Percival cites instances of violence in her article, she uses the same technique anti gun control groups use: fear. Carrying a handgun is not a must for stopping a criminal. The individual that stopped the man who opened fire on the White House was unarmed. Instances of mass violence like at the Luby’s in Killeen are horrific and terrible, but they are not as common as robbery, car jacking, rape and assault. It is in these situations that everyday people, feeling empow ered by their handgun end up having their gun used on them. A two-week training course is not sufficient enough to prepare people for the intense stress of using a handgun. The military and police are trained for months before they are expected to use a gun properly. There is always a chance that a person having problems at home and work, uses a shiny new handgun he is carrying to express anger. Arguments once settled with fists may now be settled with guns. Welcome to the old west. Jeff Lisle Class of‘97 t r X Tt ,, r a s a t e