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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1995)
iar,| 'event, 'f anti ■ ivete tzsttl! ;np ie, people} md,t reacti ‘H anu leone j( Hyars hat i[| m shot udi ■he cal whetl stent, conta® r d, ctthe* threat The Battalion Tuesday October 10, 1995 3 Sexism at A&M Students often encounter discrimination based on gender By Amy Uptmor The Battalion I t is easy for people to believe that things they do not see do not exist — like sexism. Although it exists virtually every where, many A&M students said that sex- i ism is strong here and that unless people open their eyes and admit that sexism is a problem, it will never go away. Lara Zuehlke, a junior journalism ma jor, said one of the places at A&M that sexism is particularly obvious is in the "dorms. Offensive t-shirts, grode yells and brainwashed group mentalities have made entire dorms look bad, even though all the residents are not responsible for such actions. “It isn’t that every person on this campus is sexist, but the dorm-group mentality pro motes sexism when in big groups,” Zuehlke repon scutl. Zuehlke said that even worse than the bla- aen j,.j tant sexism seen around campus is the apathy many students, particularly women, show in response to such behavior. “A lot of women here are so passive that they won’t make an issue of it,” she said. “They’re too concerned with getting dates to say anything.” Chad Humphries, a sophomore English ma- Ijor, said sexism bothers him because it is tradi tionally associated with men. He said its pres ence at A&M makes men look bad. “As a male, it upsets me to see other males promoting this sexist behavior,” he said. Humphries, who is a member of the National Organization for Women, said that such gender groups help promote aware ness about the problem of sexism. “I see sexism running rampant across this campus, and no one seems to care,” he said. Many A&M students are aware of sexism be cause it is something that they have had to deal with first-hand, in some cases through faculty and staff. “Julie,” a junior biology major, said she has encountered sexism in several classes. “I was sitting in the front row of my psychology class, wearing a short skirt and patterned hosiery, and my professor made the comment that he wouldn’t be able to lec ture because he would be looking at my legs,” she said. “And he did.” She said that women majoring in male-domi nated departments, such as engineering and sci ences, have an especially hard time. “I was asked by a faculty member if I was here to get an ‘Mrs.’ degree (to find a husband) or to actually get a real degree,” she said. There are many obstacles that women can face in addition to the traditional problems of sexism. Susan Schulz, a freshman international studies major, said she was referred to as “sir” by a professor in front of a large class because she had short hair. Schulz said there is a traditional look that is acceptable for girls at A&M, and those who de viate from that look run into trouble. “Girls just shouldn’t have short hair on this campus,” she said. Steps are taken at A&M to alleviate sexism. Students said that Aggie males are known as some of the most chivalrous men around, but that sometimes, such behavior does as much damage as it does good. Melanie Smith, a junior English major, said women should think about what chivalry can often mean. “Chivalry can be condescending,” she said. “By acknowledging it, women are taking a back seat as far as their potential is concerned.” Sexism can be viewed as a two-way street, and Smith said that women should think about the way they treat men if sexism offends them. “I’m opposed to reverse sexism,” she said. “When women turn around and do to men what they complain about, that’s not right.” DiscniojinaTion ar A&M This article is the first in a series that will run through Friday exploring different kinds of discrimination that affect the students of A&M. j vein ci others atre )pB Assassins narrowly misses the mark By Wes Swift The Battalion Assassins is your typical Sylvester Stallone film — hard-nosed good guy against hard-nosed bad guy with a woman thrown in the middle. It’s like Demolition Man set in modem times. Oddly, though, Assassins works lion ] of solo Antonio Banderas is pitted against Sylvester Stallone in Assassins. well enough to make it enjoyable for the audience. Stallone stars as Robert Rath, a top assassin who cut his teeth on the espionage-filled cold war. Rath is the best in his field, but the years of be ing a hired killer have taken their toll on him. As Rath edges toward retire ment, a new gun invades Rath’s turf. Miguel Bain (Antonio Ban deras) is young, brash and cocky — and he wants to be number one with a bullet. The rivalry reaches a head when Rath gets a $2 million contract to take a new “mark”— a hacker (Julianne Moore) with some expensive secrets to sell to some international clients. Rath begins stalking his target only to realize that Bain has been hired for the same contract. The duel gets intense and Bain and Rath find themselves on different sides of a mysterious battle. Bain wants the mark, a woman called “Electra,” and the informa tion she holds. Rath wants to save Electra and find a way out of his deadly business. The two assassins duke it out try ing to outsmart each other as they approach the final confrontation. Assassins’ plot is decent but pre dictable. It trots from one scene to Hispanic groups aim to educate w ith socia iiy conscious movie and Antonio Banderas Directed by Richard Donster Rated R Playing at Post Oak Mall ★★★ Coat of Reel the next with the reliability of a Timex watch. The storyline goes off on a few tan gents, such as the token romance be tween Rath and Electra, which proba bly should have been thrown out. Screenwriters Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski and Brian Helgo land also grasp at straws when trying to weave in Rath’s history as an as sassin to his struggle with Bain. The acting is the film’s biggest as set and its lone saving grace. The “old dog versus new dog” chemistry between the characters is sincere and real. The film is also a symbolic passing of the baton from Stallone, the long time action star, to Banderas, the up- and-comer. The chemistry between the two ac tors moves Assassins’ aim close to the bulls-eye. Although it misses the mark. Assassins scores some points. By Katharine Deaton The Bat i align T he Hispanic Business Student Associ ation is teaming up with Hispanic service fraternity Omega Delta Phi to present Burning Season as both groups wind down Hispanic Heritage Month. Burning Season will be shown tonight for free in Rudder 601 at 8:30 p.m. The movie, starring the late Raul Julia, is a portrayal of the struggle against the destruction of the rain forests of South America, Adrian Ramirez, se nior food science and technology and poultry science major and Omega Delta Phi vice presi dent, said. “Julia heads the struggle against defor estation by corporations,” Ramirez said. Daniel Bertrand, president of Omega Delta Phi and a senior environmental de sign major, said several factors influenced the groups to show this film. “We thought we’d do something educa tional as well as entertaining,” Bertrand said. “There were not very many Hispan ic films out there. We decided to try to make it educational because we showed Mi Familia earlier, and that was primar ily entertaining.” Jose Rios, HBSA president and a senior marketing major, said Burning Season also relates to one of today’s most pressing issues — the environment. “We’re showing it because it’s a socially- conscious movie,” Rios said. The groups hope to educate the stu dents not only in Hispanic heritage, but also in environmental issues with the showing, Bertrand said. “It’s twofold,” Bertrand said. “Besides educating people about Hispan ic Heritage Month and the cul ture, we hope to make people aware of deforestation in South America as well as other envi ronmental issues.” Ramirez said Julia’s perfor mance also influenced their de cision to show the film. “He’s trying to convey the im portance of the issue,” Ramirez said. “It shows the importance of the subject mat ter for him to be in the film.” Ramirez said he hopes Burning Season will take Hispanic Heritage Month in a new direction. “Hispanic Heritage Month deals with heritage and what got us here,” Ramirez said, “but we also need to look towards the future, and forests are part of our future. Cures for cancer and other diseases could be in the forest, and we need to preserve as much as we can. 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