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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1996)
► : ish Camp offers voluntary brainwashing ows studei ihips -^Flakes, Aggieland’s ndrew Ban idest crunch, Muster, eering maji nfire, Reveille, break- ;t, dinner, lunch — y at Texas A&M. As 1 moved my e us a chaiiickload of belong- )eople beli jsfrom storage into dorm room, for the st time, I was really cited. The fact that I got e roomraai he trip, was a en d and havt said, good job get involv elingwith elp the fre: :he at A&M. :he trip as edited it as &M. >ngly d. my whole o nvolvement pportunit)' the prograc year. :tive e and A&M e to the pro 'amp Brewer .Kamikaze Corn Columnist David Boldt Senior management and marketing major o parking tickets, backed into some meat- ad parked in the middle of the street and ident lead ;tmy keys all on the same day didn’t even :ethe elation I was feeling. I was proud to an Aggie. So where did this motivation come from? is it from the fact that 1 am about to start in shaping; ^senior year? Maybe. Or perhaps it was from simply having a od summer. I know, it was that 1 just love PTTS and warm and fuzzy inside when I see that low ticket caressing my windshield. Uhh, me see... no. In fact, after thinking, it was pretty easy pin down the source of this happiness, had just returned from the place where >h school grads are turned into Aggies, » lere future campus leaders get motivated d where lasting friendships are made. ^ * It is, of course, Fish Camp. Every year, more than 900 counselors and lectors and more than 5,400 freshmen ivel to Lakeview campground for four tzydays of Aggie indoctrination and fun. r It each year, people criticize Fish Camp. Many campers, and even some former im last yeailunselors, say Fish Camp is just a big mess hysical plan;|false motivation and brainwashing, id taketheirlThey say A&M is nothing like Fish Camp Id not everyone cares about the traditions sity’s facilitieJ A&M. Id not handltllo a large extent, they’re right, but that eceived. lesn’t make it a bad thing, ns for whilfl Texas A&M’s culture is based largely on a set Jges andali f iraditions. These events and actions are no n’t any mortlubt different from anywhere else. But that’s fiat binds Aggies together, igram in 19SI It’s psychological, really. Table mateo l Any group that collectively participates in o recycle 6t iehavior that no outsider understands is going a 10 pero ‘0 bond. Sure, some of the traditions don’t seem to ke sense at first, but who cares? It’s fun. tudents don’t want to participate, that’s ir choice — and other Aggies should pect that. But if they just give it a try, will incliui ley might find themselves having fun and nd the collec iling like part of the “Aggie family.” hange ofpei f thinking o| said, deling cental And that’s what Fish Camp is all about. Call it brainwashing if you want, but at the end of the week, I didn’t see any fresh men having an absolutely terrible time. Sure, there are some weird and over-hyped things that go on at Fish Camp, but these freshmen are 18 years old. They know that a half-naked guy wearing pantyhose filled with balloons on his head is not an everyday occurrence. They should also be smart enough to know there will be many people on campus who won’t care about the traditions. The counselors should, and many times do, tell the freshmen this. Texas A&M is such a unique and phe nomenal place because of its rich history of traditions. And a big reason these traditions are kept alive is the education and motivation instilled in the freshmen at Fish Camp. If the fish don’t care to participate, that’s a personal choice. I never saw any freshmen being forced to do anything. But hopefully, the things taught and the friendships made will last forever. Fish Camp is one of the greatest experi ences I have ever had in my three years at this University. The fun I had, the lives I had the privilege to touch and the friendships I made will be a part of me for many years to come. On the last night of camp, a fish who had been shy all week stood up and said some thing I will never forget. He said, “If I’m being brainwashed, I don’t mind, this is cool.” I don’t mind either. Page 13 Wednesday • September 4, 1996 Athletics, not academics, remain the focus at A&M T wo, four, six, eight — who do we appreciate? The Big Twelve! The Big Twelve! Like everyone else, I’m just tickled pink that those maroon- clad gents on the gridiron are entering the Big Twelve Super Conference of the universe. New teams, new challenges and new fans to beat up on the freshly painted Kyle Field grass should prove to excite even those Aggies out there who aren’t as red-ass as opinion columnists — whoop! This new focus of our University has put itches in the wallets of most of our former students, as well. Donations to the Twelfth Man Association (the group responsible for collecting money for our sporting pro grams) are flowing like tears at a Barbra Streisand concert. The new Reed Arena, future home to the Texas Aggie Basketball Team, the Ice Capades and those fun loving monster truck contests, has sprung up over the summer. Plans for a third deck in Kyle Field over the horseshoe are already underway, anticipating large crowds for future home games against powerhouses like Mizzou and Iowa State. I am giddy with anticipation. However, we must realize that making this progression into the future of academic institutions may bring about some sacrifices. But don’t panic, Ags. The sacri fices have nothing to do with our sporting programs. No, the sacrifices Texas A&M must make relate to an almost irrelevant facet of any institu tion of higher learning —/the ^ / academics. Now I know some of you may be uncomfortable with this idea, but you needn’t worry, it should be an easy transition. You see, we as stu dents have already shouted out against last semester’s pro posed hike in the General Use Fee. This fee would have guaran teed higher pay to the dismal salaries our faculty is receiving. The salary raise would have been a great tool in recruiting high-quality professors, as well as rewarding the hard work of our current faculty. Classroom improvements were being considered in the proposal as well, but the stu dents were not fooled. Students bravely stood up and demanded that the University’s priorities be set straight and that if a student must spend more for attending Texas A&M, then the extra cash better be heading toward athletics. One day, if all Aggies put their best foot forward, we can come together as Aggies who are not burdened with the tedi um of an academic curriculum. I see A&M’s future as a Shangri-la of sporting events; a place where everyone can join as one, root for the team and know that trivial subjects such as math, science, business, English and animal husbandry will be phased out and replaced with more teams, more sports and more of that Fightin’ Texas Aggie Football Program. It’s a goal we can accomplish, Ags, if we all just strive together as one team dedicated to igno rance in the classroom and vic tory on the field. Columnist Chris Miller Junior English major coastaual opportunity should begin orth Carol /vinds of I llions of dl homes, ertfl T, Fran ist of Nassj i mas ng Awest at . A hurrid ling was] t for r t h w e| tmas, wtiij ides Na* Freeport, tarles 4 inistrator Salvador isla| he Baba winds "| tropical sW] Tuesdays i. at, things : ame,” he s| ;h it \v U .-» e, but we | tening to idy to take | ons.” Vt waiting 14 ships tation beef sstra mdition >N ) from 7:00 pt* f Texas A&M arse counts as fulfilling the il electives. isked to perfot 11 hestral excerp 1 kindergarten, not college nee we are able to how that all stu- ents have ceived an equal pportunity to arn, we can judge em on the same of standards. T hank you Cheryl Hopwood. Finally, the reverse discrimination policy that most universities use for admission will no longer be allowed. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a univer sity may not promote one race over another, even if it is trying to adjust inequality in the student body. Affirmative action was based on good intentions. It was supposed to be a proactive measure giving people equal opportu nities, but it became a reactive admission policy that often used quota systems to correct imbalances in the student population. Ever since Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1895, which stat ed that segregation in public facilities was upheld by the constitution, minority chil dren have been forced to attend schools lacking the advantages needed to com pete against students attend ing more affluent schools. In 1954, the Supreme Court overruled Plessy vs. Ferguson with Brown vs. Board of Education on the premise that “separate but equal” facilities were “inherently unequal.” The decision intended to end segre gation in public schools and offer edu cational opportunities to all failed. With many minorities living in lower-income areas, segregation con tinued in schools on the basis of social class. So, to balance past inequalities, the government created affirmative action; in effect, the government tried to right their wrongs at the expense of other college students. And here lies the problem. Past dis crimination should not be the burden of students currently trying to enroll. These students were not the ones who did wrong. Why should they have to pay for what others did? The Flopwood case dealt with uni versity admission policies used to set minority quotas at the college level. The court ruled that reverse dis- Columnist crimination is wrong. However, what the Hopwood decision really proved is that the entire educational system is wrong. The real solution is to offer all students an equal educa tion beginning at the ele mentary level. All children deserve equal David Minor opportunities to develop Graduate student their minds. Don’t punish innocent stu dents who happen to be at a financial disadvantage by taking away their opportunity to go to college. And don’t wait until deprived students apply for college to offer them a help ing hand because of past inequalities. Most recently, equal opportunity in education has been viewed as the means of achieving equality in the larger society, especially between blacks and whites. But how is this possible if you are not allowing all children the same opportunity to learn? If one student has the best teachers, facilities and learning materials, how can that person be judged on the same standards as a student who attends a school without the advantages most take for granted? The educational system will not improve until radical changes are made at the elementary levels. Offer all students an equal education from the first grade up to the 12th grade. It would be expensive, but once we are able to show that all students have received an equal opportunity to learn, we can then judge them on the same set of standards. Although it would initially cost tax payers money, a Robin Hood funding program could be the answer. In the long run, such a plan would reap huge dividends for taxpayers by creating an economically stable, edu cated society less dependent upon the government and welfare. So thank you Cheryl Hopwood for opening our eyes. It is impossible to correct past dis crimination; you can only try to pre vent future discrimination. ^Editorial Roundup (AP) — The following is a sample of editorial opinion from Texas newspapers: Austin American-Statesman on morale of American workforce: If Samuel Gompers were around today, he would be biting his cigar in half with frustration. Another Labor Day and another year of American workers notching more hours and — by some accounts — less job satisfaction than ever. Company loyalty is becoming a memory. Workers wonder when their jobs are going to be shipped off shore and employers wonder how long they can compete in global markets against cheap and plentiful workers. The answer is: Work harder. Work longer. In Texas, workers are putting in 44- and 45-hour work weeks, according to figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the state employ ment commission. We read that labor unions pioneered by Gompers played a role in eliminating sweat shops, brutal hours and low pay. That assertion is greeted with great skepticism by American workers.... The Dallas Morning News on private prisons: When the Texas prison system was bursting at the seams with inmates, the idea of building pri vate correctional facilities to relieve the overload made sense. Now, the reduced crime rate in Texas and a massive prison construction program have left the state with a surplus of cell space. And that has convinced private prisons to fill their vacan cies with inmates from as far away as Oregon. As a result, these private correctional facilities are housing more dangerous prisoners than state officials anticipated. Earlier this month, two convicted sex offend ers from Oregon escaped for 11 days after they scaled a fence at a Houston-area private prison. The flight of two inmates convicted for violent crimes is bad enough. But even more disturbing is the legal debate about whether they can be charged in Texas for escaping. It’s time to enact clear guidelines that ensure the safety of Texas residents — not the financial well-being of private prison operators.
