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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1995)
Wednesday November 29, 1995 ^—-w The Battalion Opinion Working at The Battalion offers many opportunities T—"V arely does a college 1—^ student get the op- L wportunity to chat with Bobby Seale, co founder of the Black Pan thers, shake hands with President Bill Clinton or snap photos 5 feet away from a friendly confronta tion between former Pres ident George Bush and Reveille. In fact, most people don’t get those type of opportunities at any point in their lives. Most people, however, don’t work at The Battalion. ] Well, that time of year has rolled around again when The Battalion is look ing for new faces to become part of our team. And we would like you to apply. For more than 100 years, The Bat talion has provided Texas A&M and the surrounding com munity with coverage of events and opinions of the University and its student body. And throughout those years, it has provided thousands of students the opportunity to not only develop their skills, but also to take an active part in shap ing the University and its students. We would like nothing more than to see that tradition continue. The Battalion provides its employees with the opportunity to meet celebrities, faculty members, student leaders and members of the University administra tion. Furthermore, working for The Batt allows students to learn more about the inner-workings of Texas A&M. In addition, The Battalion provides students with skill that are marketable. Writing, style, design, interaction skills and creativity are all improved through out the semester, and future employers will find each of these attractive. However, the most unique part of working for The Batt is the sense of pride the staff feels knowing that it made a contribution to Texas A&M. Nothing can compare with having 40,000 students take notice of your work on a daily basis. Tonight at 8:00, The Battalion will hold an informational meeting to meet with and answer questions from stu dents who wish to take part in The Bat talion experience. During this time, each of the section editors will explain what they are looking for. All positions are open. The Battalion offers job opportunities for radio broadcasting, photography, sports writing, opinion writing, editorial writing, page designing, copy editing, clerical work, graphic creation, report ing and feature writing. Plus, all positions are paid. No position on The Battalion staff re quires any journalism experience. There are no prerequisites except a willing ness to learn. An informational meeting will be held tonight for stu dents who wish to work for The Battalion. Also very important to The Battalion staff is diversity. In order to produce a newspaper that represents everyone on campus. The Batt desires employees from all backgrounds, races, religions, sexual orientations, political parties, majors and ages. The Battalion can only be as good as the people who produce it. So I encourage anyone who has the slightest interest in working for The Battalion and gaining an experience like no other to drop by 003 Reed Mc Donald tonight to find out more. If you cannot attend the meeting, an application is available on page 9 of to day’s Batt. Applications can also be picked up at The Battalion office at 013 Reed McDonald. So stop by and find out how you can have a great spring semester, learn more about journalism and get paid all at the same time. Sterling Hayman is a senior political science major Sterling Hayman Managing Editor All students should respect E-walk Underclassmen and juniors should stay away from seniors' tradition tfrrv 1: Courtney Lyons Guest Columnist |he worm crawls in and the worm crawls out..” This was the song that began the tradition of Elephant Walk in 1925. Two seniors from the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band played this song as they left their dorms and began to march across campus. Others joined them. Forming a single line, they wandered about cam pus, reliving old memo ries, just like elephants who know they are about to die. This was how the tra dition of Elephant Walk got started. Elephant Walk has become an important tradition in Aggieland, and members of the 12th Man look forward to the day when they can wallp with their class about campus, looking back on their years at A&M. This is one of the things that makes the Aggie expe rience so unique. But it has become an endangered one re cently. Juniors and even underclassmen (who should not have any idea what is going on, if tradition is truly followed) have felt it necessary to “grode out” the seniors as they pass through campus. Seniors in past Elephant Walks have been subjected to raw eggs being thrown at them. Some students chose to soil the seniors with ketchup, mustard, chocolate syrup and mud. Needless to say this resulted in large unde sirable messes. This is not a part of the tradition. It is just bad bull. This day was begun for the seniors by the seniors — not for any other class. There is no reason to show them disrespect by acting childish and taunting them, or throwing rotten food. shaving cream, or anything else at them. Everyone will someday walk with their class, if they are truly Aggies. How will you feel when some under classman ruins your day by throw ing things at you? If you don’t think you should leave the seniors alone for that reason, then think about this: The upcoming weekend, with Bonfire and the t.u. game, is one of the most important weekends for the University all year long. Everyone will be on campus: Old Ags, Aggie Moms, your parents, out-of- town friends and (of course) t-sippers. Why would you want to trash the cam pus and make it look trashed-out just in time for all those longhorns to come over from Austin and see what a mess we made of campus? I hope Aggies have a little more class than that. In the past few years, Elephant Walk has been cleaned up by the efforts of the junior class councils. Last year’s walk was almost like Old Army days. But this year we can’t slack off. The faculty and administration are watching the walk closely, and if we don’t keep it clean, then they will take the tradi tion away from us. They have been on the verge of doing so before. So please, think before you do anything stupid this year. When you mess with E-Walk, you are doing more than just groding out the seniors. You are groding out our campus, and you are destroying a great tradition. If you are a member of the Class of ’97, come out to activities aimed toward juniors, and if you are an underclassman, just stay away as tradi tion dictates. Don’t trash the tradition. Courtney Lyons is a junior English major and Class of ’97 vice president There isn't always time for goodbyes This week changed my life. On Wednesday night I received a call from home (Ecuador) to tell me that a good friend of mine had died in a car crash. It deeply saddened me. I could not believe that he was gone, so soon, so young. The worst thing was that I could not be at his burial to say goodbye. In the middle of all of my sad ness and grief, I was struck by the thought of how short life is. I thought of how many times I have closed my mouth and haven’t told a lot of people who are important to me the way I feel about them: My parents, my friends, my family members. I usually assume they al ready know or that they will al ways be around. I am wrong. So the next time you see an old friend, see your family or say goodbye to someone, don’t forget to say how you feel. It may be your last chance. As for my friend, I never told him how much I appreciated his friendship. Rest in peace Felipe, I love you man, and I will miss you. Jorge Becerra Class of’96 Smokers often use world as an ashtray This morning as I was riding my bike to school, I came upon a car at a stoplight. Both people in the car were having their morning smoke. The passenger rolled down the window and threw out his ciga rette. I asked him to use his ash tray. He ignored me and rolled up his window. The driver did not ignore me: She responded to my re- quest by throwing her cigarette out the window. They seemed to be saying, “Hey, the world is my ashtray, so kiss off.” Where does this logic lead? How about “The world is my trash can.” This allows me to throw my burger wrappers and old term papers anywhere I like. I hear a lot of talk about how Bonfire is destructive. The truth is the trees are doomed anyway, the fuel is contaminat ed and useful organizational skills are developed. Why do we spend so much effort with this event and so little effort trying to change our own behavior? Jim Lee Graduate Student 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 submittea 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: 77843-1111 Batt@tamvm1.tamu.edu The Battal ion 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. Editorials Board Rob Clark Editor in Chief Sterling Hayman Managing Editor Kyle Littlefield Opinion Editor Erin Hill Elizabeth Preston Assistant Opinion Editors House Call A&M students should attend the Board of Regents open house. Given the number of contro versial issues the Board of Re gents will be studying this week, student input at the board’s open house is vital. Scheduled for this Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Regent’s Annex in the MSG, the open house gives stu dents a chance to offer valu able input to the Regents. In Thursday and Friday’s meetings, the board will be dealing with several issues of concern to the students, and the board needs direction from them. For example, the board will be looking at the multicultural- ism course requirements. Be cause the Student Senate and the University president have failed to provide a strong opin ion on the subject, individual students should tell the regents how they feel. The proposed day care cen ter might also be an issue the board studies this week, and students’ opinions are especial ly important on this matter. Also, another general use fee increase is a possible topic for discussion. Since the last increase passed during the summer without a chance for most of the student body to re spond, now is a good opportu nity for the board to hear the students’ opinions. Finally, the board might look at the issue of expanding Kyle Field, an issue of interest to many students. Of course, every issue the board discusses has some im pact on students, so any insight a student can provide to the board is useful. The board is now beginning to recognize the value of the students’ viewpoints. In order for the board to continue thinking the open houses are important, stu dents themselves must show they also think the forums are important. This will be evident only through a good turnout from students at the open house. Students should realize if the board is to serve them, they must ask to be served. Inappropriate flier NAACP sinks low with advertisement T he mud- slinging on this campus is completely out of control. The College Re publicans, the most popular vil lains on this cam pus, stunned us with their ability to insult the in telligence of this entire campus through their offensive posters, fliers and letters. However, up to this point the people being attacked — mainly minorities — have reacted as well as can be expected. There was public outcry, let ters to The Battalion and meet ings designed to stop the rising tide of hatred on campus. But, this week, the Texas A&M chapter of the National As sociation for the Advancement of Colored People tragically sunk to the level the College Republican’s infamous 1994 flier sunk to. There is a meeting the NAACP is holding on campus this Thursday evening titled “Racism on Campus.” Ok, so what’s the problem? Racism is a huge problem at Texas A&M, and one that de serves many discussions and in creased awareness. This meeting will probably be an important and interesting discussion that every A&M student should attend. But, the flier advertising this meeting went way, way too far. It reads: “Feeling the bite of Affirmative Action? Do Sambo and Aunt Jemima got yo job? Reality or fallacy, come find out.” It also features two graph ics — an African-American man with dread locks banging on a drum and a roaring tiger. The fliers grab attention, and they offend. The stereotypes on the flier Eire laughable they are so ridiculous, but repeating them only encour ages stereotypes in general. It has been a long time since anyone thought of African-Ameri cans as drum-beating. Aunt Jemi ma types, but even discussing the stereotypes gives them a respect they don’t deserve. Writing and drawing them on fliers and slapping them up all over campus is ridiculous. Even the grammar on the flier — “yo” for you and “got” for “have” — is supposed to make fun of yet another a reprehensible stereotype of African Americans. Instead, it actually gives life to a stereotype many had dismissed as stupid yeEirs ago. FYoponents of these fliers ar gue that they show how sarcas tic they are by going too far. This simply won’t cut it. On this campus, there are probably a bunch of people walk ing around saying: “Yeah, I bet a drum-playing Aunt Jemima does have my job! It’s not that I can’t find a job because I’m an idiot; it’s because I’m white! I’m glad someone finally noticed!” Furthering stereotypes is never excusable and certainly not by the same group that is tar geted by the most stereotypes. Affirmative ac tion is good. Racism is had. Texas A&M has racism, and the majority of the students are against affirmative action. These Eire clear issues. They need to be addressed and correct ed — sooner rather than later. However, the solution to prob lems is not to join the lowest common denominator in their slimy world. This flier may have been a de layed “reaction” to the College Republican fliers from a few se mesters ago that insulted and offended almost the entire A&M campus. The fliers claimed un qualified minorities were accept ed into A&M and given jobs when they graduated. The NAACP fliers grab attention by exploiting racist stereotypes that should remain buried. The fliers were wrong. The fliers were dumb. The fliers were insulting. But this flier is equally inap propriate, if not worse. The Texas A&M chapter of the NAACP jumped into the mud with no reason at all. It is an immature flier and takes the fight against racism back a few steps — a difficult thing to do on a CEimpus as racist as this one. We’ve seen this game of in sults and hurt feelings recently on a national level, as President Clinton and Speaker Newt Gin grich played a powerful version. It could be appropriately titled “How Low Can We Go?” But the fact that this is a pop ular game does not make it a good one. Everyone who slings mud is dirtied; they all stand around with dirt on their faces. The NAACP is in the right by standing up against racism on campus. Clearly. It isn’t even a debatable is sue, unless one counts the re peated blunders of the public re lations arm of the College Re publicans an issue. But the NAACP was wrong to bring itself down (and it was a long way down) to the level of the same racists it seeks to educate. Attend the meeting, end racism, but end insulting stereo types as well. Even if they are meant to be sarcastic, the fliers simply aren’t funny. Elizabeth Preston is a senior English major Elizabeth Preston Asst. Opinion Editor