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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1996)
Page 11 Monday • September 9, 1996 Fishy Policy ew policy changes absolutely nothing A ny concerns you may have had about fast- paced Corps life are now obsolete. In the interest of im proved academics, freshmen in the Corps will no longer be required to run on the quad. This new policy will doubtlessly be adopted en thusiastically by the three people who agree with it. Although requiring fish to up and down the Quad may seem unnecessary devoid of benefits, few critics can find any iible detriment to academics, and no one can vhowthis supposed “change" actually rtges anything. icture this: Upon exiting your dorm, you must for an average of 50 yards. rtioa.Your day is ruined. You can’t possibly centrate in class now; you’re totaled, right? Vrong, unless you’re phenomenally out of pe, in which case you should consider running he way to and from class. tost likely, you’re hardly winded at all. Not to ition, your pulse is up a bit. he blood is pumping, and your awareness is a higher than it was prior to you setting the ird for the world’s shortest jog. tow is this possibly damaging to your academic formance? (wasn’t damaging to mine. lie unholy practice of running hurt my grades so lymy first semester in the Corps that I earned the tGPR I've had in my entire college career. maginewhat I might have done if I’d walked lass. Lost out, most likely, as these freshmen ynow. Previously, fish would run down the quad, intro- :ing themselves to any upperclassmen in their path he age-old manner of "whipping out.” They met a great deal of people this way and built ifidencein their abilities to present themselves. Incidentally, this means that freshmen seldom ifartherthan 20 feet without stopping for a bit meet one or more upperclassmen. I Now that running on the Quad is optional, I am meting far fewer fish. Every one I met Friday was ining. [frunningon the Quad is so damaging to fish des, why hasn’t it been outlawed, rather than de optional? Chis change has merely created two distinct ises of freshmen: Those highly-motivated souls irun, and those who don’t, tow upperclassmen can make generalizations ut any fish on the Quad at a glance. They prefer the ones who run. It is entirely possible that peer pressure among fish Will become so great that most will be running any way, in an effort to avoid being judged negatively. In this case, the new option will be unused and pointless. Then why make it available at all? The greatest problem is that this is a military envi ronment where orders are not supposed to be open to interpretation. A decision abolishing running on the quad would have been met with a greater response, but it would have been decisive. But at least the decision would have been decisive. By allowing freshmen the ability to exercise per sonal decision-making, the system has broken down. And again it must be asked: If walking to class is helpful academically, shouldn’t all freshmen be made to, for their own good? Fortunately, running on the quad doesn’t hurt anyone; believe it or not, it’s sometimes enjoyable. Fish have but one task in life: Being the most red-ass, impressive fish they can be. They will run on the Quad to do so. So here we are, with a quad full of freshmen, zooming up and down it on the way to class. The new policy on the Quad has, thankfully, not changed a thing. irps losing its Id on past Fthe Commandant believes cutting the Quadrangle is imental to a freshman et's time efficiency, why sn’t he abolish the shining of sand shoes, the require- itfor cadets to assemble be- morning and evening meals, rderly upkeep of rooms, fall |ew and those time-consum- aircuts? |laybe those are the reasons young men and women join [Corps. I joined the Corps in 1989 be- eit offered me a challenge an opportunity to hone my management skills. I ac- edthat challenge and would Clave traded it for anything. |nce that time, push-ups all but been abolished, Hell ik is gone, Fish Day (when and sophomores change as) no longer exists and men are neither required to Ithrough the Quad nor exit Ough the arches. [don’t know if a challenge re ps today for young men and pen to accept. It is a sad day |he Corps of Cadets. Ch ris Sanders Graduate Student Mail Call bridled nudity in the media. There is an organization in the United States that is gaining membership at a sickening rate and exists purely to undo all we’ve done in cleaning up our newspapers. This dastardly coalition goes by the name: Nakedness for the Undermining of Decency Every where (N.U.D.E.). They are massing their un clothed forces as we speak, and their plan is to completely elimi nate clothing in all newspaper photos. Our collective modesty is at stake. My fellow garment lovers, the time for action is nigh. For if one Aggie takes her clothes off, we’ll all begin to feel sympathetic tol erance for nudity. It’ll be anarchy. But great care must be taken in order that our newspapers be saved from the clutches of the Great Undressed Hoard. So spread the word, and wait for our signal. But be very careful. Naked people are everywhere. And they can sense fear. Ben Cain Graduate student Earn Aggie ring from real A&M eware of nudity in kwspapers ■would like to extend a laurel |a hardy handshake to Shanna |e (Sept. 6 Mail Call) for clearly |ng what needed to be said, [don’t mean to sound the fcral alarm, but not many Me know the danger of un- As a transfer from West Texas A&M, I totally agree with Gene Medlock’s Mail Call (Sept. 6) concerning Aggie ring delivery to those mighty buffaloes in Canyon, Texas. As Medlock did, I get the same reaction from people in Amarillo that he did when I tell them I at tend Texas A&M. They always ask if I go toWTAMU. From this, I gather that WTAMU students are trying to tell people they attend A&M. I am not in any way trying to demean WTAMU because it is a very good school. The simple point being, WTAMU is not Texas A&M. If these students want an Ag gie ring, do what I did. Transfer to Texas A&M and earn it. Stu dents at WTAMU do not realize the difference in the academic environments of the two schools. At WTAMU, there is less com petition, due to much smaller classes and professors who do not have to worry about attain ing tenure. Along with this, there is much more to the Aggie ring than tak ing classes and ordering it. It says so much about our uni versity and what it means to be an Aggie. These WTAMU students could never comprehend this without attending the university in Col lege Station. I never want to go back to Amarillo and have to explain that my ring is from A&M in Col lege Station, not Canyon. This ring should say one thing — I graduated from Texas A&M University, the best university in the world. Gregory Hall Class of ’96 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or fewer and include the author's name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let ters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1 in Campus Mail: 11.11. Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor. Modern vision for role of First Lady binds candidates’ wives T he role of the first lady has come under incredible public scrutiny over the past few years. The fascination of the glamorous, supportive woman who played a traditional role was transformed after Hillary Rodham-Clinton brought a seemingly un conventional influence over presidential policies and programs into the White House. Bob Dole probably had a good idea when he suggested that Elizabeth debate Hillary. As the title of a Time magazine article from July 1 suggested, either woman would be “just heartbeats away” from the Presidency. And it is this closeness to the Presidency that gives voters reason to scruti nize the lifestyle and beliefs of the potential first ladies. When comparing the two, many may be surprised to find they have much more in com mon than they think. Much has been done to con trast Elizabeth and Hillary, but their similarities are all too canny. Both are lawyers harvested from Ivy League Schools. Both started out in one political party and ended up in another. Both were raised in Methodist homes. And both have made it clear that supporting their husbands will take precedence over their own ambitions. Hillary has been crit icized in the past for crossing the power line in her role as first lady. Yet she has recently likened herself to Eliza beth Dole in one more area by presenting her self as a more palatable image of what the first lady should be. As the article in Time pointed out, there is irony in the fact that with the mountains of ex perience serving in previous Presi dential administrations, Elizabeth Dole has stated that she would not sit in on her husband’s Cabinet meetings. And Hillary, after her rocky be ginnings in the White House, has toned down both her image and her rhetoric to reflect a less fear-in spiring image of how influential she may be in a second term. It doesn’t seem plausible, how ever, that either woman would stay too far away from the decision making center of the White House, regardless of what their exterior images are shaping up to be. They have too much to offer in the form of experience and intellect. If the role of first lady is seen as changing in regards to an increas ing influence on public policy, it should be compared with the role written in the records of history. Eleanor Roosevelt pressured the secretary of war to integrate the of ficer corps and Ellen Wilson lob bied for the Alley Dwelling Bill of 1914, which aimed to demolish slums and use federal money to build new housing. So although Americans are harking (or fearing) a return to the traditional role of first lady, they If the role of First Lady is seen as changing in regards to an increasing in fluence on public policy, it should be compared with the role written in the annals of history. should realize the real role never changes, but rather its public im age changes. If history has anything to say, the first women of the White House will continue to have the ear of the “most powerful man in the free world,” whether they are cloaked in pearls and pastels or ambitions and attitudes. Columnist Jenni Howard Senior international studies and economics major Involvement and integrity are crucial for freshman success I sort of remember my freshman year, back when Eisen hower was President. Since I may be one of the oldest living un dergraduates at this fine institution, I thought I might pass a few words of advice on to the first Aggie class of the 21st century. First and foremost, be yourself. Avery wise friend of mine once said that if you have the courage to be yourself, the respect you gain will be yours forever. Right now you have a clean slate, a chance to start over. Few people at Texas A&M know who you were for the first 18 years of your life. Decide for yourself what kind of person you will be, and don’t ever let anyone else tell you who you are. Be your own person, and not only will you gain the respect of your peers, but the respect of someone very special — you. You will find that many peo ple here are not like you at all. This is a good thing. The various people you will meet in college may have values very different from your own. You can use each person you meet as a mirror of sorts, allow ing you to reflect upon your own beliefs, your own sense of right and wrong. It’s OK for your values to shift and change over time, so don’t be afraid if this starts to happen. Change is a part of life, especially here. Allow yourself some room for it. Whatever you do, though, don’t condemn someone because they don’t believe what you believe. Respecting differ ences and trying to un derstand why others hold different beliefs will make you much more successful in the long run. This leads into something very important, which I call in tegrity. According to the Aggie Code of Honor, we do not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do. It is relatively easy not to lie, cheat, or steal. The real chal lenge is whether or not you tol erate those who do. You can change your values, so long as you do not forget the difference between right and wrong. Refuse to lower your standards, and never, never, ever compromise your values. This is integrity, and it is the foundation of character. The last bit of advice I will give you is to get involved. You have four or more years at this university to make a dif ference on this campus, and it’s time to get started. I hope you had the chance to attend the MSC Open House. If you did, you might have some idea of just how many opportu nities are out there waiting for someone like you. You’re probably a little over whelmed, and that’s normal. Don’t let that keep you from ex ploring your potential. Aggies like to call student activi ties the “other education,” because through involvement, we develop as people, not just intellectuals. Getting involved, if done cor rectly, will push you to your lim its and beyond. There is absolutely no reason that any one of you could not someday become MSC presi dent, student body president or Corps commander. You probably don’t think this applies to you. It does. Never tell yourself you can’t, because “can’t” never got anything done. Don’t be afraid to try. I will stop now before I start to sound like your parents (and believe me, I am almost as old as they are). My point is that you are fac ing the greatest opportunity of your life right now, and with that comes the responsibility to make the most of it. Right now, you are the heart and soul of this school. Enjoy it, before they make you graduate. On behalf of the Classes of 1999, 1998, 1997, and even the old dead Class of 1996, welcome to Aggieland, home of the Twelfth Man. Welcome to the greatest place on earth. Welcome home. Guest Columnist Chris Williams Senior political science and speech communication major
