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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1996)
Pag ( I ovember IS ead- eanor that bet Chicago archdi "vhen he introc"” « U ” iher.’ rtaking wasj und Projeci' an effort to who dissent Lies such as ts and or Harassed again t olics |he Aberdeen Proving eci his tolerw I Ground is a place where the ince, saidMjjpL arm y trains soldiers and rk-based Anir tef ts weapons. However, the re- ghout his reul nl; allegations of rape and sexu- rdin taught iijj coercion at Aberdeen are ntegnty. retesting our national attitude to- duled tor\\e*, r[ i sexual harassment. The out Id parishionei er eight yean rageous bai ample then -ar, untill i. m 3-4 p.m. . For more i 14. Jeremy Valdez Senior chemical engineering major look for the battle with sexual ha rassment is grim. There are too many soci etal forces that help to create an at mosphere of sexual hos tility. Previ ously, it was Bsumed that if America could sex- ;t i a n Fello»iiially integrate its factories and of- udy will be fices, harassment would simply die oom of the out. If only the solution could be so p.m. The fc: simple. The idea was that if there Christian arc were more women in the work er military. : place, men would get used to the II be serve new environment and stop using come. For ext ortion as a sexual tool. 847-1081. Decades ago, similar beliefs Bused the racial integration of rs: There v public schools. It seemed that the i the Rec Cesolution to racism was to breed fa- a 3-4 mile miliarity by forcing black and White Colis wliite children to learn together, rent levels But there’s a lesson to be gained le. For mortffom this experience: Desegrega- it 260-2441 tion cannot end bigotry. M And integration of the workplace nts Associicannot end sexual harassment, challenge; Whether bigotry is sexual or p.m. at St racial in nature, it often exists be- to share arpause of a perceived power gradient . For more between people. Many white bigots 96-8775. iren’t racist solely because they fear rolored skin or don’t understand Club: There )ther cultures. Often, they exploit n from 4-6 heir greater social status, looking . Everyone upon minorities with disdain be- xperienclause stereotypes suggest that non- mation c whites are poorer than whites. 3561. Similarly, the men who harass female subordinates do it by ex iling Sentailoiting authority. The most accu- oup: There rate model of the sexual harass- ;panic studdnent phenomenon would ilevant to threcognize that harassment is not tile well-beirabout men oppressing women; onfidential f it’s about employers oppressing 6:30 p.m. their underlings, nformationd The employer-employee rela- -4427, ext. Itionship is essentially one of de mand and deliverance. Whatever ise: There the supervisor wants, the workers p.m. attheimust produce. In essence, this informatio'Coercive power is why many peo- 396-6330. pie want to be boss, have money, attain social notoriety, etc. Study: Com The products that laborers sur- of praise, wTender to their managers may be tom 6-8 p.iBaterial or intellectual, but the call Sanche/telationship breaks down in dys- ||nction when the employer de- ttlands sex. This is because sex is re will be shot really a product by nature. 3 meeting But who ever accused American :h ec k the Culture of being natural? Here we )m numbe Package sex and sell it by the i call 845-l:Pound, gram and fluid ounce. In the books we write and the stories Food Serv^c tell, we treat sex like a commodi- iplimentary reducing all of us to customers in exchanWio may or may not be satisfied by Ideas.” Lur^hoever our current suppliers are. Tuesdays ai A country where both men and note inform^'men call their sexual relations all Debbie E letting some” should not be sur- grised it has a problem with sexual Harassment. As long as pop culture battalion sr 0| itinues to view the sexual rela- ofit student^tmship as a series of objectified I activities. I' icts rather than a communion be- ted no later ^ ee 11 two people, the line between vance of as special expression and sex as ipplication Merchandise will blur. > are not evr And some misguided people n in What's MM react to this confusion by itions pleaseP 5118 ^ 11 ^ their positions of author- 145-3313. ^ to £> et some ” °f that which ^ould never be demanded or ex- t|rted from their subordinates. I It’s important to note that peo- ■e are able to handle positions of nr sat ifluence responsibly. Not all peo- ®e are racist, and not all authority Rures engage in harassment, are being But the corrupting nature of £ it, lower acts in concert with our tor the improper treatment of sexuality d yearboc 10 make harassment a virtual cer- ' linty in the American workplace, i Without a fundamental change G, In the way we view sexual relation- >grapny ships, the necessary actions that We take to diversify the American gVork force and promote qualified omen will not lessen the occur- nce of sexual harassment, stead, the future “progressive” ork environments will be places here men and women harass ach other in equal numbers. v/enue Habana) ore inforfl 11 ^ The Battalion PINION Page 11 Friday • November 15, 1996 Girls should quit making excuses and tell guys no E 1. J Columnist David Boldt Senior marketing and management major xcuses, excus es, excuses. I Whenever a girl is asked out, for some reason, a simple “no thank you” seems to be absent from the fe male vocabulary. Dating is a ritual that remains (and always will) a wide spread practice among college stu dents. Rejection is simply part of the game, but a little honesty in these practices would make the world a better place. For me it’s either feast or famine. I’m either struggling to decide which girl I am more interested in, or I can’t get a date to save my life. As hard as those times of famine are, however, the absence of lame excuses would make it a little easier to handle. Last year, I experienced a rare occur rence in dating history. I met a girl named Kim playing bas ketball, who was pretty cool — not to mention pretty good-looking. So I decid ed to ask her out. I called. We talked. I asked. What happened next was the most as tounding thing I had ever experienced in my dating career: She simply said “no.” Not “I’d love to, but... not “I have a boyfriend of two days and I don’t want to ruin it,” not “I’m washing my sheets that night,” not even “I can’t because I used to be friends with your ex-girlfriend, even though she’s now engaged.” She just said, “No, I don’t think I want to do that.” “Holy crab cakes,” I said to myself. “That was so cool.” Since I was experiencing the dry spell of my life, rejec tion came as no shock. However, this was incredi ble. I didn’t get the date, but I had finally found a girl who would shoot me straight. Kim and I are still friends to this day. Although I know other girls exist who are willing to be as honest as Kim, they are few and far between. The strange thing is that most girls who give these Rejection is simply part of the dating game, but a little honesty in these practices would make the world a better place. lame-ass excuses aren’t bad girls over all. In general they are pretty honest. However, they just can’t bring them selves to just tell guys they aren’t in terested. It’s as if they are worried simply say ing “no” will hurt a guy’s feelings. Girls, we are not stupid. Guys can smell a bulls--t excuse from 97 miles away. Simply saying, “No, I’m not interest ed,” would not only be appreciated by him, but it would save getting that sec ond call from the geek. Then there are those girls who, when asked out, say “maybe,” or “I’m not sure.” Indecisiveness is a very unattractive trait. These ladies need to make up their freakin’ minds. Even worse are those women who say “yes” with no intention to date the guy, but only to get a free meal. These little girls are a disgrace to their kind and should have their scrunchies and hair clips taken away for a week. Women are amazing and wonderful crea tures. Despite their silly little hang-ups, life would not be nearly as fun without them. They should always be treated with respect. However, the games have got to stop. It is a well-known fact that any good, healthy relationship is based on trust and honesty. So why are these elements lost when someone is searching for the man or woman of their dreams? Ladies, if a guy asks you out and you don’t want to go, be honest. Remember the famous words of the for mer first lady Nancy Reagan: “Just say no.” Rwandans won’t find more aid L ast week, many international aid agencies were forced to pack up and leave hundreds of thousands of refugees behind after fighting resumed on the eastern border of Zaire. And it’s about time. Many of us can recall when the ethnic conflict in Rwanda appeared on televi sion screens across the world two years ago. The images of countless faces of starving refugees with nowhere to go haunted viewers. But consciences were quieted once it became apparent that international aid agencies were providing assistance in the form of refugee camps. However, behind the facade of aid workers provid ing assistance to innocent people laid the grim reality: The Hutu militants, who were largely responsible for the conflict in 1994 comprised a large portion of the refugee population that was being assisted. And not only did they receive assistance from the agencies, they also used the camps as a location for military training exercises and for kangaroo courts — even killing other refugees in front of aid workers. While many aid organizations questioned the ethics of providing assistance to war criminals, it was difficult for workers to look beyond the human itarian issue and realize that their presence was only fueling the conflict. Now that they have been forced out of the area because of attacks on the camps and the offices of the aid agencies, many relief organizations are faced with the question of what they should do once they have the opportunity to return. One choice is to set up refugee camps only in Rwanda to lure the refugees back to their homes. Yet the knowledge that many refugees would remain stranded in Zaire without food or shelter tugs at the humanitarian strings of their hearts. While it may seem cold and heartless to purposely refuse aid to people in need when the opportunity is there, in this case it is almost critical to quenching the flames of ethnic conflict that have already consumed countless lives. Alternatives to completely closing the camps have also been offered, such as sending in U.N. troops to separate the true refugees from the militants or bypassing the militant leaders and giving food directly to refugees. However, these solutions have no teeth. Not only would enforcing them require the commitment of U.N. police troops — which hasn’t been given so far — but it also would be difficult to determine exactly who was a refugee and who was not. Many agencies have already realized this. Doctors Without Borders pulled out its support in December of 1994. And Alison Campbell, spokes woman for Care International, described decisions to operate camps in eastern Zaire as “dumb — dumb for us, dumb for the region ... We would be unwilling to return to the status quo.” It may be heartbreaking for many of those work ers to leave behind people to whom they’ve dedicat ed two years of their lives to saving, but they and the coordinators of the relief operation must realize that it takes more than a big heart to end a war. Columnist Jenni Howard Senior economics and international studies major Sul Ross deserves respect from Ags Regarding Aja Henderson’s Nov. 13 column, “Sullivan Ross rededi cation sullies A&M”: Once again Henderson has done it. I feel it is necessary to come to the defense of one of Texas A&M’s sacred landmarks. There is a statue of Sul Ross be cause of his contributions to this great university. Henderson said it herself. Ross was the president of Texas A&M at one time and “he did big things for Aggieland.” How many Aggies recognize Ross as a slave owner? How many students hold him in high regard because of this? Also, how many former presi dents of the United States owned slaves? Do we discredit what they did for our great nation? If people choose not to smile when passing Sully, that’s fine. But do they also choose to frown using many pieces of currency? Lastly, take a look at the Civil War. It was mainly fought over state rights — slavery was a minor part of the whole picture. How can Henderson or the rest of us dis credit great things people do be cause they disagree with their po litical, religious or any other belief? James Hemenes Class of ’96 Aggies should not excuse prejudice Regarding Darrell Abramowitz's and Matt Lucas’Nov 14 letters: Aggies never cease to amaze me with their close-mindedness. I shouldn’t be surprised since preju diced embodied in tradition and opinion seems to be so popular around here. But a few prejudice comments or jokes never hurt any one, right? Who really believes in stitutionalized racism really exists? And if it does, we’re all just follow ing the norm of our times—just like good old Sully. Just ask Lucas, owning slaves doesn’t really make you a bad person. If it just weren’t for them damn Yankees. I hope Lucas doesn’t forget his German cousin who also did so many great things for Germany. All Hitler did was live out the popular beliefs of his country. I’m sure no one holds a grudge against him. A statue of him wouldn’t offend any one, right Abramowitz? It’s a shame some can’t open their clouded minds. But I guess it’s easier to hate than to take time to understand. I’m sure Sullivan is proud of Lucas and Abramowitz for what they be lieve in. I’m sure he read from the Bible every night, like so many good Ags, and preached love as he practiced hate. If he were here today, who knows, maybe he could help us in stitute another great school down in Vidor? Then we wouldn’t have to worry about people like Hender son, much less trash like the Hop- wood case. African-Americans could all be happy getting served at Texaco and eating at Denny’s. Pete Serafin 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 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 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.