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
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