The Battalion
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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
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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
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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