The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 06, 1995, Image 9

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 06, 1995, Image 9

Newspaper Page TextT A M U 'g ^ The Battalion Opinion Friday October 6, 1995 me J. And ie time "orey lieve i'peo- Uig is s to an- tip. ger, but .this tup. k every :M ' ied ie Fra- ictive on. one veto do Aggies other chain- ast ore !g id d sophfr 3 in sit- Eric Ho- doubles, al exdl- i consis- i Goacii )$ Torib :’s about ; you an of things : Dingwall I phomore | is No.! | rie other | eahm is or Anna i. 3. as been | :ke said. | 3 where I We also ; ibolledo. I rail well, >out our were go- t h on this ! ed about | ie,” Kent here we eams. r AP Photo He Reta, The Battalion Editorials Board 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. Rob Clark Editor in Chief Sterling Hayman Managing Editor Kyle Littlefield Opinion Editor Elizabeth Preston Assistant Opinion Editor Make Due The plans to expand Kyle Field should be reconsidered. As Bud Adams, owner of the Houston Oilers, could probably attest to, a large number of seats will not nec essarily make fans happier. The Texas A&M athletic de partment is about to learn the same lesson if it goes through with plans to add 10,000 seats to a renovated horseshoe sec tion in Kyle Field. The need for expansion is simply not there; Kyle Field rarely sells out. Although officials at A&M contend the crowds will get bigger with the start of Big 12 action next year, they admit that they do not have facts to back up their assumptions. “By not playing all our games in the state of Texas, more of our fans will come to College Station to see us play,” Wall Groff, athletic di rector, said. “There are no sta tistics to show that, but I think it’s reasonable.” It should take more than a few people’s speculations to spend taxpayers’ money on an expansion project at Kyle Field. Other plans that did not in volve expansion could save money and make attending games more enjoyable for fans. Rather than looking to gain a larger crowd for sellouts, of ficials should spend time thinking of ways to improve the facilities we already have. For example, the decision to replace artificial turf with natural grass is a reasonable plan that will have appeal to both fans and prospective football players alike. The Kyle Field expansion plan is based on an assump tion of future need rather than a proven flaw in the sta dium’s usefulness in hosting a large crowd. When we consider that A&M is not located near a major city, assumptions about an increasing attendance are hopeful at best, unlikely at worst, and unfounded in ei ther case. Female cadets capable of all duties I have always been a staunch supporter of women in the Corps. And in my arrogance I never doubted or questioned this be lief. But something happened that caused me to re-evaluate this conviction. On the Quadrangle Guard- room there is an office in dor mitory two that is occupied by cadets around-the-clock, seven days a week. It serves as a watchful eye on the Quad and provides escorts for students who are caught on campus late at night. Every outfit in the Corps pulls duty in the Guardroom at least once a month. It was here, in the middle of the night, that my know-it-all attitude was recently humbled. It was 2 a.m. when I arrived for duty. The senior in charge of Guardroom was out on the Quad investigating a disturbance. I was the only junior there, and the rest were underclassmen. One of the freshmen was already out on an escort assignment. All was quiet and rou tine until this freshman returned. When she walked in, I knew immediately something wasn’t right. She was visibly upset and desperately trying to hide it. When I asked her what was wrong, tears began streaming down her face. She then told me that she had just been assaulted by a bunch of guys in front of Sbisa. To keep the Corps unified and strong, all cadets, male and fe male, must perform their duties. That includes escort duties. I couldn’t believe it. It was impossible to me to fathom that someone would assault one of my cadets. But they did. For a second there I totally lost it. My instinct was one of pure anger, and I wanted to wake up my outfit, light the torch es and find those sons of bitches. Fortunately for me, one of my feophomores was equally “losing it” and was about to storm out of the door on his way to Sbisa when I came to my senses. I called the police, notified the officers overlooking the Corps at the Military Science Building, and spent the better part of the night filling out incident reports. Like cockroaches, the cowards that as saulted her unfortunately retreated into the shadows and were never found. On the way back to my room later that night, it re- 1 r hit me. What if i d been raped? Or worse, what if she’d oeen killed? I would have felt responsible . She’s a ^reshman, and traditionally freshmen are assigned to escort duty in Guardroom. I didn’t send her on that es cort — she was already gone when I arrived, but had I been there earlier, I would’ve sent her too. That night, 1 questioned the rationality of sending women on escorts. My first thought was that we should just change the policy regarding female escorts and not let them do it any more. An easy way to rectify the situation, right? Wrong. If we change the policy and don’t let fe male cadets do a cadet’s job, then we’re alter ing one of the foundations of the Corps — a foundation where everyone in the Corps do js their duty and pulls their own weight, re gardless of sex. It is a misconception on this campus that the Corps doesn’t like women cadets. That’s a bunch of crap. It doesn’t matter if they are male or fe male, as long as they pull their own weight. And there are plenty of women in the Corps that do just that. There are also plenty that don’t. There are a lot of men that can’t hack it either. These are the people that “fall by the way- side” and never darken the Quad dorms again — which is fine with us. To keep the Corps unified and strong, all cadets, male and female, must perform their respective duties. And that includes escort duties. To do less would be detrimental to the Corps, and to the women cadets. Granted, escorting someone at 2 a.m. can be dangerous — even on this friendly cam pus. But it’s a danger shared by male and fe male cadets alike. It is conceivable in our society that a male could be assaulted, raped or killed. Don’t be lieve it? Our nation’s most notorious serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, killed 33 people. All of the vic tims were males be tween the ages of 10 and 20. It does happen. But even in light of this Guard- room incident and after a couple of weeks thinking about it, I still believe women are capable of conducting escorts and everything else that goes along with being a cadet. A lot of my confidence in this assessment ironically comes from the female freshman who was assaulted. She’s an outstanding cadet, who on that night did exactly what she was supposed to do. She upheld her duty to the Corps of Cadets like any cadet should. And when my outfit has guardroom duty again, she’ll be there, waiting by the phone in the middle of the night, ready to go on nn escort assignment. Unarmed and unafraid. Adam Hill is a junior history major Wanna make a bet? A&M and Tech's student newspapers wager on the game Y es, I picked Colorado to beat A&M in The Batt’s staff picks two weeks ago. And yes, I even picked the Univer sity of Texas to beat Texas A&M last year in Austin. And I’m still being called a 0.2 percenter for my not-so-pop- ular football picks. But my game predictions and my loyalties are com pletely different things. I root 100-percent for the Aggies in all sports events. And now, a most interesting idea has been pro posed to allow me to show my support for A&M football. I received a wager proposi tion from Megan Clark (no rela tion), editor-in-chief of the Texas Tech University newspa per, The University Daily. Now everyone knows just how bad Tech wants to have an official rivalry with us. The University of Texas ig nores them and Baylor, well, Baylor beats them. So the tortilla-throwin’ Red Raiders get riled up about the A&M game every year in hopes of start ing a rivalry. They usually put up an excellent fight against our team. They have barely lost to the Aggies in some tight games in the last few years. So now Megan Clark wants to place a little wager with me, The Batt and A&M. Knowing how we will com pletely dominate the game this Saturday in Lub bock, I eagerly agreed to the wager and to the terms she specified. If Tech pulls the upset of the century and beats Texas A&M, I will appear in The Battalion wearing a Texas Tech shirt and doing that bizarre little gun thing they do. If, as expected, A&M wins, Megan will have to do the oppo site in The University Daily, wearing an A&M shirt and do ing that bizarre little gig’ em thing that we do. The photos will run in the losing school’s paper on Mon day, and will be sent to the winner’s for publication on Wednesday or Thursday. I can honestly say I’m not worried at all about this friendly bet, as I’m sure Leeland McElroy and the Aggies will run all over the Red Raiders. Tech’s Zebbie Lethridge, Byron Hanspard and Zach Thomas will give the Aggies a run for their money, but ul timately, I know the Aggies will prevail. So, for those who label me as a “bad Ag,” I’ll be rooting for the Aggies on Saturday as obnoxiously as possible, be cause I do want A&M to be successful and I really don’t want to wear a Tech shirt. Now, if I can just find someone with the game on pay-per-view. Bob Clark is a senior journalism major n ipi y Pli i ipj l R S Caray represents Cubs admirably As a native of the Chicago area and a die-hard Cubs fan, I wanted to respond to Nick Georgandis’ unfair representa tion of Hall of Fame broadcast er Harry Caray. He said “Caray is a Chicago tradition” as are drugs and crime. That is a totally unfair and irresponsible comparison to a legend and an unnecessary shot at one of the greatest cities in the nation. , Chicago’s crime and drug problems are not much worse than Houston’s or any other ma jor American city. As far as Harry Caray mis- Mail Call pronouncing names, what’s the big deal? Every announcer makes mistakes. Nick Georgandis doesn’t even know that Aggie receiver Albert Connell is a junior. In an article last week, Georgandis called Connell a freshman. He also did n’t catch that Dennis Allen was listed as David Allen in the foot ball preview. Harry Caray is a Cubs an nouncer, not an Astros announc er. Cub fans are more interested about how former Cub Ryne Sandberg is than they are about the Astros playoff chances. Caray is NOT an embarrass ment to the Chicago Cubs or to Major League Baseball. Tim Fricke Class of’95 Bonfire brings all Aggies together Reading Jason Brown’s article on Bonfire infuriated me. If I may quote him, “Bonfire’s origi nal intent of unity and spirit have disappeared.” I don’t know what Bonfire Brown has been working on. He hasn’t been at any Bonfire activi ty I’ve ever attended. I’ve seen CT’s, non-regs and off-campus Aggies all working to gether on Bonfire. In fact I can’t think of a group of Aggies that doesn’t work on Bonfire. Last year while working on the sec ond Bonfire I found myself, a CT, working on a non-reg crew — and enjoying it! What is that if not unity? I’ve seen people from all walks of life, many different countries, races and both sexes working together and enjoying themselves. No unity? No spirit? Try getting out there in the mud a few times and you might be surprised. I’d like to offer a piece of ad vice to you and all of the others out there so “morally” opposed to Bonfire. Don’t go. When you’re 50 years old with your grandson on your lap, telling him old Ag stories, you can explain to him the reasons you skipped cut. David Garred Class of ’97 Poster of racist flier ignorant Yesterday, I saw a flier that caught my eye. The flier read: N.A.A.W.P. ( National Associ ation for the Advancement of White People) Do you feel left out because you are not a minority? Canit join any of these groups? The flier listed all of the mi nority organizations on campus from NAACP to the Muslim Stu dent Council. The flier further stated, “Were no more racist than other groups. Can discrimination cure discrimination? The flier even had a number to call, 1-800-4- whites” that some people proba bly called. "Well, I was appalled by this blatant act of racism, ignorance and false information. Yes, this is true that the dif ferent minority organization cater to minorities but they do not exclude any race, ethnicity or religion from being apart of their organization. NAACP’s founders included white individuals, and many white Americans (even on this campus) are members and sup porters of the organization. The Black Awareness Com mittee is dedicated to the edu cation and the awareness of the African American culture. The Muslim Student Council is a support group for those who are Muslim and those individuals who want to be educated in their religion. The Minority Student Walk- In Services provides the minority student guidance, networking and counseling to those who get lost in the shuffle of this predom inately white University. I could go on about the objec tives of these minority organiza tions but I guarantee that these groups don’t exclude anyone who wants to join. I feel that whom ever is re sponsible for this ignorant, racist, false information should be the main individuals to take a course in racial sensitivity. It’s individuals like this that make the multicultural courses needed on this campus. Not only are they imposing their racism on minorities but they are pro viding unnecessary tension be tween the white and the minori ty community on this campus. As a member of NAACP and also as a proud African Ameri can, I invite all (including whites) to become a part of my organization. I would also like to extend myself to educating those without knowledge of my culture, because I never get tired of educating. Octevia Evangelista Class of’97 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space al lows. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDon ald. A valid student ID is required. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Fax: Texas A&M University (409) 845-2647 College Station, TX E-mail: 77843-1 111 Batt@tamvm1 .tamu.edu

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 06, 1995, Image 9

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