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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1997)
The Battalion \ 1 Page 9 Tuesday • April 22, 1997 istorical heresy &M forgets Sul Ross' questionable past, real heroes tom day one, Texas A&M stu dents are bombarded with tbe \ony, and proud history |jhe University, emphasized statues and piaques spread oss campus. This history ispften awe-inspiring, but mmy of the Univer- ^ y’s grandest he rn ?s go unsung. Columnist joshua Hill Sophomore English major mi [History is often dangerously changeable; “The winners write the history 4 |ooks.” A good example of this maxim is Lawrence Sulli- |an Ross. Jlrue, Ross did many admirable things. He was the son jy;: of a superb Indian fighter and superb Indian fighter in his ibwn right. As the head of a group ofTexas Rangers, he put i an end to a period of bloody Comanche attacks. He also was an able administrator, handling the governorship and the presidency of a young TAMC. ■ Ross was not, however, a far-sighted and intrepid thinker in his policies. ■ Like most conservative Texas De- ■ocrats of the time, Ross was op posed to the idea of higher education and voted against Senate Bill 276, [which established A&M. I He also was against any kind of racial integration, making sure ■rairieView A&M and TAMC Itayed apart as dictated by Jim Pi trow laws. '1 Although Lieutenant John Mal- Jo/yorganized the student body iniowhat would become the Corps of Cadets in 1884 (non-regs ■erehere first), Ross strengthened ■tdformally instituted the Corps Bthe image of the University. ■ Ajoint legislative committee in ■arch 1893 reported Ross had di- IBrted the college “in a great mea- ■re from the plain purpose of its Bunding and converted it into a jilitary and literary school.” j Ross ignored them and would ave been glad to continue the ^ plitary and classical education kdition of the school but for the [forts of two deans. Roger Whitlock developed solid ourses of study in both mechani- ! aland civil engineering, while II ieorge Curtis built the agriculture Ingram out of dust. Despite Ross’ lonchalance, these two unknown leroes finally put the Agriculture fid Mechanics in A&M, for which fis now world-renowned. IfSully’s praises are sung too -4- - W' liSP , ■ ilil I :f:g it ■ 1 ^lllx jjjj " / m loudly, Matthew Games’ praises are not sung enough. Gaines truthfully can be called the founder of A&M. Dr. Dale Baum, associate professor of history, laments the “historical amnesia regarding the origins of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col lege ofTexas.” “Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M are today the only two tangible achievements of the biracial democracy that was briefly brought to power in Texas by black political activism in the late 1860s and early 1870s,” he said. Gaines was the leader of 14 black legislators during Reconstruction in Texas who pushed through a Senate bill to meet the deadline for the Federal Morrill Land-Grant College Act. They wanted an institution of higher learning in this area because of its high concentration of freed blacks. Unfortunately, when the Yankee occupation was over, the Ol’ South Democrats took back everything, including rewriting the state constitu tion (signed by Ross) to make TAMC part of the then-nonexistent University ofTexas. Democrats threatened to abolish the older school as late as 1914, when legislators proposed to make it “an asy lum for the Negro insane,” until Gaines lobbied a deal with Ross to ensure A&M’s continued existence, thereby strengthening the educational system that supported Prairie View. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until this decade that A&M students choose to honor Gaines. A movement started by the Aggie Republicans re sulted in the commissioning of a statue of Matthew Gaines, a long-deserved tribute to the state senator who worked so hard for higher education. Another man of foresight was James Earl Rud der, whose role in the history of A&M is celebrated but often little understood. Laura Wimberley, a graduate student in history, sheds some light on the heroes of A&M in her Texas jL history classes. “It depends on what you want to emphasize, how it is now or how it was estab lished,” she said. “(Gen. Rudder] did a lot more to make this University what it is than Ross did.” Rudder, a World War II hero known for his honesty, was brought to the presidency of A&M in a time of crisis. Hazing had become an intoler able problem on campus, and the legislature was thinking of adding the small military school (about 5,000 students) to the University ofTexas. According to Roy Mitchell, a graduate student in history, Rud der saw the hazing as a symp tom of a deeper problem. “[Rudder] understood that the whole world did not revolve around him and what he thought; in order to make this a great University ... he had to go past what he thought,” he said. “Rudder was basically the only man who could pull it off be cause the ‘old Ags’ were so in sistent on keeping A&M the way it was.” As parents come from all over the country and proud students give them tours, telling them stories of “OF Army” days, let the true heroes shine and the unfettered truth be told. Photo illustration by Rogge Heflin and Brad Graeber, The Battalion I - % ■k ■ ■ ‘ ■ m- ■ ■ Tr if III . Hi JL pringtime blues plagues graduating seniors lor four years, maybe more, I graduating seniors have . worked, sweated, pleaded and ibed their way toward a diploma, id now all that work — the long >urs in the library studying biology tts, Shakespeare and ceiling tiles is about to pay off. Soon, they will Jlonger be poor college students ^pendent on loans, lottery tickets id petty theft. Visions of money, luxurious cars id independence are dancing in eir heads. Graduating students are certainly serving of these joys in life, but they need to cus on a few priorities before making that and exit. With only a little more than two weeks left, e of the biggest mistakes seniors make is cel- rating prematurely. Graduation is the time to, as they say in New Orleans, laissez le bon nip rouler (literally, “party until you’ve lost all [eling in the left side of your body”) But grad- tion is also a scary and shaky time. The hi re is uncertain and those dreadful courses ategically left for the last semester are still trging around. Employers may not notice the |ummeting GPR, but professors will report a ding grade. Seniors should be careful. They should rely the same wisdom and judgment obtained |°tn professors and nagging parents over the ars, i.e., the same intuition which carried em through trials and tribulations thus far. mpting as those drink specials may be, the 'timey is not over until the diploma is actually hand. Another common pitfall is losing steam at a finish line. For those who do not land the Columnist Travis Chow Computer science graduate student perfect job or get into the dream medical school, graduation is like going stag to senior prom. These discouraged students must remember all Aggies have what it takes — they just forget sometimes. Making it to graduation is an achievement in itself. A study con ducted by the Texas Comptroller re ports 75 percent of American youths enter the work force with less than a bachelor’s degree. Some students get caught in the competition and forget all the hard work they put in to get here. Seniors forget they have already reached a milestone by climbing to the next level — the business world. The last gauntlet of finals and term papers is nothing more than one of many already-vanquished ob stacles. Everyone worked hard to get here; some worked through adversities, others had the road paved, while still oth ers had a driver who kept the limo well-stocked with Grey Poupon. If you have what it takes, you are supposed to be here — never forget that. The final and perhaps most important step toward the grand exit goes beyond a diploma and self-con trol. Seniors should reflect on the most valu able lesson learned in college: A new perspec tive. Whether it causes a complete personality transformation or a small shift from hometown morals, the college experience inevitably alters one’s morals and ambitions. A recent survey in U.S. News and World Report reveals over 70 percent of college graduates think they Tempting as those drink specials may be, the journey is not over until the diploma is actually in hand. “changed their goals and values significantly after college.” The new perspective helps sort the meaningful from the meaningless. It is a necessity for not only the higher echelon of “real world” corporate competition but also for dealing with the stress caused by new independence. A poll conducted by the National Career Counseling Services re ports over 20 percent of college graduates become dissatisfied with their new transi tion because of “pressures not absent dur ing college” within the first year after col lege graduation. After enduring the undergraduate years of naivete and passion, many fall into society’s cogwheels and eventually become the Al Bundy’s of the world. With out the extra effort to sustain a perspective, life’s troubles soon grind ideologies and dreams into disenchant ment and sour complaints. Linda Myers, a motiva tional speaker for top exec- utives'at corporations such as IBM, emphasizes the im portance of perspective. “What separates people who make it and enjoy life from the rest is a solid ground — a strong perspective on life that pulls them back up when mistakes turn into disasters.” Transition is usually an exciting but po tentially foreboding experience. If graduat ing students manage the change with some thought and caution, they are sure to leave with a sense of fulfillment and readiness to take on what lies ahead. Aggie grads find jobs close to A&M ie end of the semester at Texas A&M brings another gradu ating class, and the stress of trying to find jobs. As graduates prepare to walk across the stage at G. Rollie White, they also fax resumes, ready themselves for inter views and attempt to use the Aggie network to their advantage. However, many of these new graduates are needed jobs on the A&M campus. With a flurry of problems plaguing A&M, the May graduating class should be hired to aid A&M in becoming a more efficient and problem- free university. These Aggies would not only improve the University, but finding them jobs on campus could help be gin their lives in the real world. Instead of beginning ca reers Taco Bell managers trainee program, speech com munications and English ma jors can be hired by the Chem istry department as communications consultants. While most chemistry profes sors and assistants either hold Ph.D.s, or are in the process of earning one, not many minor in English. The new consul tants could be put to good use by the University’s chemists. The Fightin’ Texas Aggie football team is also in need of graduating seniors. Since the NCAA has stopped A&M from paying football players, the football slush fund, known as the 12th Man Asso ciation, can cough up the saved funds to hire genetics and statistics graduates. The new team of geneticists can begin the “Aggie Cloning Project.” Thus, the next time a junior Heisman Trophy candi date decides to leave A&M for five carriers per game on a mediocre NFL team, his ge netic talent can came remain in Aggieland. The statisticians hired can become a personal support staff for R.C. Slocum. Their sole responsibility would be to ex plain to the coach the probabil ity of winning football games when he calls a running play on third and 27. Finance majors looking to become million-dollar stock- market gurus can be persuaded to stay at A&M through an ag gressive hiring program from the Board of Regents. Regents are always in need of extra Columnist Glenn Janik Sophomore political science major money to purchase refreshments and paintings for their Kyle Field luxury boxes, and with a group of talented fi nance graduates, the Board can figure out new fees to raise. Perhaps the gradu ates could even im plement a new “Re gent Luxury Fee.” Despite the small number of theater arts graduates at A&M, each one could be hired by the Stu dent Government Association. These master thespians then could hold work shops to teach Student Senators how to act like representatives of the student body. Biomedical science grads who were not fortunate enough to get into medical school can be employed at Beutel Health Center as doctors. With the four years of college at A&M, the new Beutel doctors would fit perfectly among the already ex perienced and knowledgeable staff at the clinic. Political science majors who fail to make it to law school could be hired by PTTS as tick eting agents. Because political science affords no marketable job skills, graduates could vent their anger of having a useless degree by issuing tickets to every car in sight. Students graduating with a degree in construction sci ence could be made members of the “A&M Planning and Construction Board.” The new employees will be in charge of finding buildings on campus to tear down, and constructing green areas in the newly cleared space. Recreation, parks, and tourism sciences graduates could get jobs with the Office of Academic Advising for General Studies majors. The RPTS grads then could advise general studies students how to graduate without declaring a real major. This new program of Ag gies hiring Aggies could rev olutionize campus and at tract a new generation of students to A&M. The Uni versity can use its new job program as a marketing campaign for the school: “Texas A&M - If you get a de gree, we’ll give you a job.” By using qualified Aggies to address the problems on campus, A&M can take the fi nal step in becoming a world class university. Mail Offense to cartoon reveals sensitivity In response to Recian Hay wood’s Apr. 18 Mail Call letter concerning Mike Luckovich’s editorial cartoon. Haywood’s letter is a perfect example of the pervasive hy persensitivity in this society towards racial issues. If Haywood had taken the time to actually think about the point of the cartoon, she would have realized it was pre cisely in support of the contin uation of affirmative action. The cartoon was attempting to satirize the philosophy that says a few blacks entering and succeeding in a given profes sional field is enough reason to dismantle affirmative action. The satire is further en hanced when the social condi tion of blacks during Jackie Robinson’s era are considered. The dismantling of affirmative action is thought to be premature by individuals such as the cartoon ist Luckovich and Haywood. 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 Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: till 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. As one who does not think the end of affirmative action to be premature, even I can see the point and humor of the cartoon, though I fundamen tally disagree with that point. It is always a good idea to think carefully from every side of an issue before taking offense. It is not a good idea to at tack someone who is on your own side. Mike Spiders Class of ’98
