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Page 11
Friday • September 1 3, 1996
ad a say, ft
he Aggie
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Cult of Personality
Mao-mania based
>ady
tre
ig safety
1-inch
1976
iment
alias
arce
looking t
nd, jur.
unior I
the posiis
dentifysoi
[looks like that
alternative, revolu
tion-advocating
tnd Rage Against the
achine has finally
on some hearts.
So should we be on
e lookout for people
mbing rocky hills with
iwing red flags and a
ocket full of shells”?
Don’t kid yourself.
However, something
sturbing on campus
Columnist
Michael Heinroth
Teacher certification
student
e other day caught my eye.
lutside the MSC, there were
'Strict am me students wearing T-shirts
ith a picture of Chairman Mao
Hung on them.
Why would somebody want
display an image of the for-
erCommunist dictator that
outsidehilrrorized the People's Republic
/, freshii China?
Do these students realize what
nd of statement they’re making?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But by casually touting such
that posi3|(lespised political despot, one
monly assume they are
idorsingwho this man was,
[hat he stood for and what he
Id to the Chinese people.
For all the misinformed
art usiny
Corbelli!
a key posi
last )
:r Stridi
rt in the s [j^ out ti lere) } iere are the
then we’ll
oes.”
iclli said
long tourr;
the l*
need to st
ids.Don’t worry, it’s not bour-
eoispropaganda — it’s the
old, uncensored truth.
It just so happens that while
the materialistic West
was busy exploiting
its own proletariat in
1949, Mao took power
in China and began
perpetuating his cult
of personality.
Like any commit
ted Communist, he
was sold on the idea
of five-year plans.
And it didn’t take
long for China to go
through the first gru
eling directive to industrialize
the populous, rural country.
Although Mao’s efforts were
met with some success, the
costs — especially in lives —
were immense and inexcusable.
Mao was just getting started,
though. His next undertaking
allowed the brutal Hundred
Flowers campaign to bloom.
But after encouraging intel
lectuals to offer criticism, Mao
denounced them as counter
revolutionaries.
They don’t exactly give out
shiny medals for that in
Communist countries.
In fact, it usually resulted in a
quick trip to one of Mao’s “re
education camps,” better known
as gulags.
Then, Mao ordered the Peo
ple's Liberation Army to brutally
suppress an uprising in occu
pied Tibet in 1959. At the same
on misconceptions
time, he was busy forcing peas
ants into collective farms during
his uncoordinated Great Leap
Forward.
In sharp contrast to the pro
gram’s name, agricultural pro
duction levels plummeted, and
the Chinese people were
brought to their knees.
Although famine ensued and
millions of Chinese starved,
relief groups were not allowed
to enter the country.
Now that’s detestable — not
admirable.
But it wasn’t enough, so Mao
finished his tyrannical career
with the Cultural Revolution.
Because he was displeased
with the expanding bureaucracy
and even some of his personal
advisors, the Chinese dictator
decided to conduct a good ol’
fashioned purge. Millions were
publicly humiliated, detained,
tortured, shot or hanged.
Countless others committed
suicide to escape Mao’s wrath.
Not until his own death in 1976
was it revealed that three million
people were falsely accused.
My Western mind may be
tainted with thoughts of democ
racy, but these are not indica
tions of a compassionate leader.
So why anyone would want
to show off this guy’s picture on
a T-shirt is beyond me.
Despite the First Amend
ment, Mao’s mug is not exactly
an image that should be parad
ed and promoted around cam
pus — or anywhere else.
He was nothing more than a
power-hungry, self-contradict
ing Marxist philosopher whose
miscalculations and raw brutali
ty cost the lives of millions.
Make no mistake — the man
was evil.
Maybe there is a lesson here,
though. Power is best derived
from the vote. Not, as Mao was
fond of saying, from the "barrel
of a gun.”
The merits of limited democ
ratic governments, separation of
powers and constitutional rights
are reaffirmed each time the
histories of dictators such as
Chairman Mao are revisited.
Unfortunately, there will
always be the few that continue
to promote the false benefits of
Communism over individual
freedom.
These bourgeois-bashers
would do themselves a service
by reading Harry Wu’s first-hand
account of the Chinese gulags,
Bitter Winds. It’s a an excellent
alternative to Mao’s Little Red
Book of quotations.
And it just might convince
them to thank God they never
lived under the iron fist with
which Mao Tse-tung punished
so many innocent people.
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etimes rel
ring comp
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1968:
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m
arking problem can be solved
lo say there is a parking problem Columnist
on the Texas A&M campus is an
understatement.
Driving and parking in Houston is
sierthan attempting to do so at our
ilversity during peak commuting
airs.
Have you ever sprayed lighter fluid
i an open flame? The same thing
ppens when you add Parking, Traffic
d Transportation Services into the David Minor
it — the problem magnifies tenfold. Graduate student
TS’ mission seems to be how much
Uch money it can squeeze from the student
'dy, instead of creating a better commuter park-
1 system.
Rather than finding a long-term solution to
old snafus, PTTS is focusing on short-term solu-
ns to parking problems.
PITS claims Texas A&M has more parking spots
an any other school in the country. Since we have
a largest full-time undergraduate population, that
(should not be a surprise.
Students require parking or close transporta-
m because they cannot easily use most modes
pedestrian transportation in College Station for
majority of the year. From spring to fall, the
?h temperatures make a trip from Zachry to
diner by foot impossible without needing a
ower afterwards.
lust think how much worse it would be if you
d to walk or ride your bike to campus from
uthwest Parkway. And when it is not scalding, it is
ning — making the trip even more miserable.
Here’s a clue for PTTS: Just because it stops sell-
§ parking permits after the first week of school
es not mean the over-crowded parking lots are
_ to go away.
Although there are viable solutions to the prob-
B of transportation, none seem to be taken
advantage of.
A&M should close its campus to all
motorized vehicles during school hours
except for University buses. This is com
mon policy on many university campuses
across the country.
With less automotive traffic on cam
pus, the bus transportation system on
campus will rapidly improve, especially if
the University increases the number of
off-campus buses.
With the closed campus, the off-cam-
pus buses could complete a full circle of
campus with various drop-off/pick-up
locations. This would allow students greater
access from the off-campus buses, encouraging
more students to ride the buses to school.
Next, PTTS needs to eliminate many on-campus
shuttle bus routes — go back to the old shuttle sys
tem that had two efficient routes, Rudder and
Howdy. They would move even more quickly with
the no-outside-traffic policy.
Now the toughest step — working with Union-
Pacific to schedule when trains, will cause the
fewest delays on campus. If students were able to
avoid trains between classes, they would have more
time to travel between East and West Campus.
Eventually, the tracks should be moved outside
2818, as the city of Bryan proposed a few years ago.
The final stage would create car pool parking
lots. If it were mandatory for at least two students
to be traveling in a vehicle to park in certain conve
nient lots, students would begin to car pool out of
necessity and convenience.
Many enjoy the freedom to drive their own cars,
but sacrifices must be made. If these changes
occur, Texas A&M students will see an improvement
in traveling to and from school, a more rapid form
of transportation between classes, and a few less
reasons to hate PTTS.
Stamp depicts cold day for track
H ugh Hefner is not running the United
States Postal Service. But according
to a few irate postal customers, he
might as well be.
In the latest example of political correct
ness gone awry, some Americans are com
plaining about an “unnecessary anatomical
detail” on the new female track Olympic
commemorative stamp.
If examined, a nipple-like impression can
be seen in the shirt of the runner.
We’re not talking Victoria’s Secret here.
The nipple on the stamp is difficult to see,
although it is certainly there. Whoever drew
the stamp was simply trying to create a real
istic illustration with life-like dimension.
But it’s enough to make some people complain
that the Postal Service is selling 32 cents worth of
oppression. The offended people should realize
it’s wrong to misinterpret an artist’s faithful con
ception as a work of disrespect.
In a letter published in last Sunday’s Dallas
Morning News, an M.C. Burnham of Highland Village
writes, "... the unnecessary nipple detail distracts
many viewers from noticing what actually goes into
the makings of a great athlete.”
It’s probably true that a nipple is not what
makes an athlete great. I have two nipples and as
far as I can tell they don’t improve my athletic
ability or make me more aerodynamic. And
although there is both a right and a left one, they
probably are not the cause of my cat-like balance.
Do you ever get the feeling that some people are
Columnist
Jeremy Valdez
Senior chemical
engineering major
taking stamp-collecting too seriously?
Rebekah Geistweidt, a high jumper on
the Texas A&M Track and Field Team, said
it is common to see athletes wearing
clothing more revealing than what is
shown in the stamp.
“Athletics is kind of like a job; you have
to have a professional attitude. Like a
doctor in the office, you see what you see,
but it’s just business.” Geistweidt said.
Hopefully, this little controversy will
not serve to stifle stamp artists’ free
dom of expression.
But if just one nipple can cause an
unfavorable reaction, the Postal
Service might be wise to postpone the release of
the new “Dairy Milking in America” stamp.
Nobody who I showed the stamp to seemed
offended. Most people took a lighthearted look at the
topic. Stefani Lefevre, a freshman political science
major, joked that “at least [the artists] gave her some
breasts. A lot of those athletes don’t have any.”
The problem with goofy complaints like
Burnham’s is that every time the mainstream dis
misses a grievance as being ridiculous, it may be
further desensitized to true sources of conflict.
When an extremist group makes such a prudish
argument, it trivializes a real and valid issue, like
our society’s view of males and females or the out-
of-control sexualization of our culture.
People like Burnham should relax a little bit, maybe
take a cold shower and go for a little early-morning jog.
But they better not wear a form-fitting shirt.
CRs use kiosk
space correctly
Regarding Shannon Halbrook’s
Sept. 10 column
Halbrook’s column is a prime
example of what is wrong with
American thinking today.
A campus organization is
doing the best it can to recruit
prospects, and simply because
it has the largest membership of
any student organization on
campus, it is chastised.
It stands to reason that the
largest organization on campus
would have the biggest PR
campaign.
No, I am not a member of the
College Republicans.
I am writing this because
people must realize that simply
because a group is larger or
more powerful does not mean
it should be held to a different
standard.
That is like saying that A&M
should hold off recruiting foot
ball players for the next four
years in order to let Baylor catch
up so that they can be competi
tive with us (after all, they don’t
have the resources, alumni or
traditions we do).
The flier issue has nothing to
do with free speech, but it does
have to do with a desire to get
out and work for your goals.
With a campus as big as ours, I
guarantee that if an organiza
tion is looking for flier space,
they can find it, just as the
College Republicans did.
Curtis Franke
Class of ’99
Other traditions
supercede dunking
Regarding Kendra Rasmussen's
Sept. 12 article
As an “old Ag”, I understand
that if it happens twice at Texas
A&M, it’s a tradition.
However, I’ve seen many com
ments that ring dunking is an
“old Army” tradition. This simply
isn’t true. I’m from the Class of
’81 and there was no dunking
going on when I was here.
Also, the Dixie Chicken has
only been open since 1974.
That year is significant
because Brazos County was a dry
county before then.
Therefore, there couldn’t have
been any “tradition” of dunking
rings prior to that year.
In short, dunk your rings if
you feel you must.
However, don’t do so for the
misguided belief that you are
honoring some alleged long
standing tradition.
There are too many really
fine traditions at this university
that would be missed if lost.
This ain’t one.
Mark Klemm
Class of ’81
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