The Battalion
Page 11
Tuesday • April 8, 1997
aby on board
hildren add challenges to student life
Insensitivity improves campus
ome students at Texas A&M are
more than just students —
they’re parents, too. However, in
[the bustle of being students, trying
[get papers written and preparing
:exams, they should not forget to
lerish early moments in their son or
lughter’s life.
On Dec. 19, 1996, at 2:56 a.m., at
['“j ^age of 22,1 became the father of
8 pound, 11 ounce son, Benjamin
vicr. As a student, I run into a lot of
Columnist
^ ople my age who are thinking
* out having children in the future.
^ eyask many questions and I am always sur-
55 ised at what they ask and how they think
to ngs are supposed to be (I know I certainly
iTO d misconceptions). Now, it’s different for
Id's eryone, but this is how things are for me.
Feb. 19, 1997 — Since becoming a parent I’ve
ized progress is a fickle and fragile thing,
at seems like progress often slips into
lission — end of progress.
Benjamin, being only two
nths old, typically sleeps for
|oto three hours at a time
ring the night. However,
Ispast Friday he slept
six hours straight. My
band I thought it was a
ke. We joked he would
[mpensate the next night
waking up every hour.
But on Saturday he slept
seven hours straight,
uld it be true? Our lives would
radically changed — no more
ing to reason a way out of
ding him; no more stumbling
t of bed in the dark to warm his
ttle; no more spilling milk; no
[ore going to bed at midnight, waking
at9 a.m., and only sleeping six
urs; no more feeling tired all
[etime. We had blissful
minterrupted sleep,
ike we used to get.
■mJ 1 But Monday night
'he was back to
deeping in three-
fur shifts — total
tission. End of
logress.
[Acouple of
feks ago 1 shared
[thmy wife the
Jlization that I had
It been peed
Ion in three weeks,
[dnot pooped on in
tost a month.
[There were only two
bping incidents: once
my favorite flannel
„ J ;|rtand another time
my Nine Inch Nails t-
F ,s lirt. The poop on my
■ rea |nnel shirt was disheart-
Ing but was nothing in
mparison to the blood
^ m Benjamin’s heelsticks.
I e poop on my NIN shirt was
•around less tragic, blending
Shtin with the other poop-like
tins that are part of the design.
Uhe other hand, I’ve been peed on
Chad White
Senior
English major
I
I
Ineli
19/2
Custodial, food service workers ensure smooth day-to-day operation at A&M
f resp
lout
is.
countless times.
His timing always struck me as high
ly ironic. Almost invariably he would
pee when we were changing his diaper
and giving him a bath, thereby thwart
ing our efforts to keep him clean.
I remember on one occasion while I
was changing him that he peed and I
blocked, deflecting his pee back onto
him. This, of course, resulted in a bath
for him. During the bath, I lowered my
defenses thinking that he was out of
ammo, and he fired again. This, of
course, resulted in a bath for me.
Anyway, after weeks of not peeing on anyone
while I was changing his diaper, he misfired and
sprayed himself in the face. He was immediate
ly incensed, no doubt because the pee was
burning his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh,
thinking that justice had been served. Mean
while, my wife rushed over and started wiping
him off and stripping him for a bath.
During the bath, Benjamin peed on his
mother. Again, end of progress.
This past week Benjamin went
through a period of constipation
where he would strain most of
the day to have only a couple of
bowel movements — a couple of
atomic bowel movements. Yester
day was no different, except that
after straining all day, he explod
ed three times within two hours,
dirtying three outfits. This morn
ing, my wife woke up wet; she
sleeps with
Benjamin lying
on her chest
and somehow
he had man
aged to mysti
cally pee
through his di
aper all over him
self and her.
My wife read
in Dr. Spock’s
Baby and Child
Care that momen
tous changes frequent
ly are preceded by a
loss of bodily con-
• trol. She’s sure
that he’s on the
verge of some
thing, but I’m
not excited yet.
I’m sure that
whatever it is
will come and
then go. I’ll wait for it
to come around again,
and even then I’ll be
skeptical about this
thing called “progress”
— perhaps preferring
him without it.
So, those of you who
s are in my shoes, and
those who might al
ready wear them, re
member to not be pre
occupied with your
studies or work, and to
stop and smell the poop.
Y outh is a time to
experiment and
make mistakes
— mistakes that prove
to be valuable learn
ing experiences.
In a university set
ting, students and ad
ministrators should
tolerate mistakes,
even when some stu
dents fail to be politi
cally correct or to
show proper sensitivi
ty to a certain person
or group.
While many college campuses
might accept unconventional
ideas from socialism to drug le
galization, others tend to have
no patience for political incor
rectness. Students and profes
sors across the nation have been
disciplined or forced to take sen
sitivity classes because someone
was offended by their words or
actions. Texas A&M’s diversity
task force announced last year it
would not tolerate intolerance.
Matters of insensitivity fre
quently cause pain or alien
ation, but so do other problems
which Aggies accept every day.
When any mistake is made, it
affects people across this cam
pus. Even a matter as simple as
printing the wrong meeting time
on a flier can cause problems for
hundreds of students.
While a politically incorrect
act might offend a large group on
campus, a personal attack can
cause more pain than a general
ized attack against a group. Be
cause of the impact of a person
alized attack, the pain runs
deeper than a miscommunicated
meeting time or an angry mes
sage on the answering machine.
Columnist
David Johnston
Junior
mathematics major
The University
seems to reserve its
largest punishments
for political incorrect
ness. When insensitive
flyers are posted or a
fraternity performs a
racist skit in black
face, administrators
consider removal of
the campus organiza
tion and expulsion of
its members. The Uni
versity’s actions and
the students’ reac
tions to the incident are usually
excessive and unwarranted.
College is the one place stu
dents can afford to be insensi
tive. In school, a flippant remark
directed to
ward a super
visor will not
damage ca
reer advance
ment or have
any other
lasting impact
- that is, un
less the ad
ministration
takes drastic
measures.
It is proper to explain to of
fenders why their actions might
have been inappropriate or ill-re
ceived, since someday students
will have to fit in to a society con
cerned about insensitivity. Any
real punishment, however, does
not show consistency on the part
of the University.
Even requiring students to
attend cultural awareness
classes shows the University is
more concerned with political
incorrectness than other prob
lems the school faces. No one
has requested religion aware-
Matters of insensitivity
frequently cause pain
or alienation, but so
do other problems
which Aggies accept
everyday
Ajxicaficln
Now ihyre
bein^ too
honest...
ness classes for professors or
speakers who offend other
people’s faith. No one asked for
accounting classes for A&M of
ficials who came up several
million dollars short on the
Reed Arena. These priorities
seem skewed.
Even when students offend
others repeatedly or intention
ally, there seems little cause for
disciplinary action. For one
thing, their actions are likely
protected as free speech. But
even if punishment is legal,
these offenders basically have
a character flaw which no one
approves. It hardly seems
proper to punish someone for
being offensive. This type of
path could lead
to punishing
people who are
just annoying.
Universities
are an environ
ment for push
ing the enve
lope and
developing new
ideas. They
should not be
in the business
of punishing students who
legally and safely act outside
social norms.
Students who are insensitive
to others eventually will suffer
for their behavior. They will
have a hard time communicat
ing or getting their ideas ac
cepted, and people will have a
hard time getting along with
them. This type of problem
punishes itself. There is no rea
son for a university which tries
to encourage free thought to
punish the insensitive. It’s time
to show a little tolerance.
i - :
.
ooks, professors, courses and
parking tickets are what
shape this institution and
finteractions within it, but it is
Earnest dedication and dili-
iceof custodial and food service
enters who transform the iron
ttaucracy of college into a hos-
able environment for over 9,000
Upas dwellers.
Ike typical first impression of
Sschool may seem daunting, cold
1 impersonal to the newcomer,
to is* lo probably feels like a tiny part of
uge monolith. But beneath die
Columnist
General Franklin
Sophomore
English major
tion and procedure lies the stabi
lizing influence of the other facul
ty— the hundreds of custodial
workers who toil at the most me
nial of tasks to make Texas A&M
more livable.
This corps of diligent people in
cludes janitors, groundskeepers,
trash collectors, cleaning people,
cooks and repairmen. Theirs is the
important and often unheralded
task of keeping the University
functioning, not only as an institu
tion of higher learning, but also as
a home with running water, elec-
stro;- ricate layers of bureaucracies, administra- tricity, immaculate bathrooms, dust-free car
pets and plenty of food.
Lost in all tire muttering of students about
this service is the understanding and apprecia
tion of how essential these duties are to the
comfort of living on campus. While the work
ers’ tasks may seem trivial, they provide the
backbone of worry-free living which con
tributes to a sanitary, positive and energetic at
mosphere conducive to learning. After all, tasks
such as toilet cleaning, vacuuming and food
preparation are very tedious and would detract
time from the social and intellectual growth of
college if not for those who give honor to such
tedium through their patience and strength.
Indeed, many of the custodians recognize
the cohesion they add to campus by maintain
ing the facilities with expert care. For this rea
son, they are extremely proud and committed
to their jobs and go to great lengths to accom
modate the problems and unique situations of
the students.
Because of the importance of service work
ers in the homeostasis of A&M, students should
make more overt gestures of appreciation and
gratitude towards the service workers of this
campus. At the very least, be polite to them
greet them—lest you find yourself responsible
for a backed-up toilet or mildew-covered show
er stalls. In these matters, the smallness of the
tasks serve only to amplify the people behind
the mops, brooms, spatulas, and wrenches
who bring their hearts and minds to the task of
providing a more human touch to the some
times robotic function of the University.
Since it is obvious how the role of these
workers enrich the lives of students in
some fundamental way, it is imperative
the University and the students grant more
than token appreciation and respect by
paying them more. The woefully low salary
of the service personnel is a huge factor in
determining College Station’s terrible
rankings in average income. If we are to
truly maintain the highest standards of
sanitation and comfortable living afforded
us by these dedicated workers, we must
back up their multitudes with much de
served respect and gratitude.
y
fits
team
jrthe
s unf
nefits
Mail
volution, creation
ibate continues
|th * eference to Joshua Hill’s Apr. 4 col-
com? \n on evolution.
ring 1 -' While the idea of evolution vs. cre-
he c* inism has plagued our society for
ades, Hill’s false impressions on
|resp c ilution taint the very idea of life
par/ Existence.
An open-minded person, one
who has thoroughly listened to both
sides of the argument could clearly
draw certain conclusions, such as the
fact that creationism and evolution
can coincide.
While evolution may not effec
tively explain the origin of all life on
this planet, creationism accomplish
es this task perfectly. Evolution does,
however, explain the reasons for such
diverse species in the same class. Ac
cording to creationism, a dog is a dog
no matter what kind or breed, but
evolution explains that one breed
survived in one region, while differ
ent breeds had characteristics to sur
vive in a different region. Darwin did
not develop “the theory as an at
tempt to explain the world without
God.” He was a theologist, which all
scientists were at that time. It was
when he traveled to the Galapagos
Islands that he noticed several birds,
finches, that looked similar but were
also different. It was then he devel
oped the ideas of evolution and nat
ural selection. This debate will con
tinue, but one should listen to the
arguments of both sides and realize
both have merit.
As an institution built to further
the knowledge and ideas of students,
it is Texas A&M’s responsibility to
teach students the scientific theory of
evolution and natural selection.
However, it is the student’s responsi
bility to keep an open mind.
Shalon Smith
Class of’00
Like most creationist essays criti
cal of evolutionary thought, Joshua
Hill’s recent editorial resorts to out-
of-context quotations and the same
stale, inaccurate arguments such as
the “lack” of transitional fossils and
how evolution apparently “violates”
the laws of thermodynamics.
Hill ignored the compelling evi
dence for evolution and has per
sisted in perpetuating the canned
creationist party line; only some
one with a weak case would resort
to such a fallacious approach. This
is a disservice to evolutionary bi
ology, religion and to the student
body at Texas A&M University.
Despite the creationist claim to
the contrary, the fossil record is not
indicative of “intelligent design.” This
claim is based upon the well-known
fact that the fossil record is incom
plete; transitional forms between dif
ferent groups are often unavailable.
This is not surprising when
one considers the nature of fos
sil formation, preservation and
discovery. Also, the “punctuated
equilibrium” model can account
for some of the apparent incom
pleteness of the fossil record.
According to this model, long
periods of no change (evolution
ary stasis) in species are “punc
tuated" by periods of relatively
rapid morphological change
during speciation. Thus, the
“lack” of transitional fossils may
simply reflect the relatively short
period of time in which transi
tional forms exist.
David W. Hale, Ph.D.
Lecturer in Biology
Editor’s Note:
In yesterday’s Mail Call, Mike
Spiller’s letter dealing with an
apparent lack of dedication on
the part of non-regs was incor
rectly edited. The edited version
of the letter implied Spiller is a
member of the Corps of Cadets,
therefore angering non-regs.
Spiller is a non-reg who re
sides off campus.
We apologize for any misun
derstanding.