The Battalion
xecutive education
irst daughter makes college admissions look easy
jest Columnist
s sad as it is, the best way to get ahead in this world is to become fa
mous. Brains are not necessary anymore, just some important factor
that sets one aside from the common, everyday fool,
he world is astonished with politics these days and when the serious is-
s are ignored, the media shoots for scapegoats.
)ne of those scapegoats lives in the White House. No, not Hilary or Socks
Cat. Chelsea Clinton. And yes, my friends, she is leaving the White House
that wonderful place where a lot of high school graduates go - college.
Chelsea attended a private school and did not take an SAT or even gradu-
with the required courses. Why? Be
cause she is the presi
dent’s daughter.
The president’s
daughter was just ac
cepted to Harvard, Yale,
Wellesley (Hilary’s alma
mater), Brown, North
western, Stanford and
Princeton colleges.
The funny, really fun
ny thing about this is the
media made a notion
that Chelsea’s higher ,
education would
hurt the president in
Texas A&M’s admission application requires the student to fill out informa
tion such as one’s high school rank, grade-point average, extracurricular ac
tivities and future goals.
It makes one wonder what Chelsea’s application says, assuming there is
an application, and how it would be treated if her name and address were
left out.
Many students know how tough it is to get through school when there
aren’t big bucks carving out the road in front of them.
Some work through school; others rely on financial aid to get through
school. And there are those who have help by mom and dad. But
getting into college should be up to the student.
As my dad always says, learning is a reward within itself. And
for Chelsea’s sake, whatever college she chooses, let’s hope she
gets some Republican professor who will treat her like one of us.
ley Schlueter
Sophomore
loan nil ism major
pocketbook.
Ifeah, Harvard costs $30,000 a year to
tend, and the other colleges Chelsea
accepted to range from $25,000 to
,000 a year.
NN Headline News quoted Clin-
on saying, “It’s pretty expensive,”
when the Clintons reportedly have
aved $100,000 in a college fund
(ft Chelsea. Money magazine’s
ihalysis said the Clintons in-
ested in savings bonds and
tnoney market accounts for
ler education.
ut the fact that she
Id go to just about any
illege she wanted to says a
at deal about the
|ight she carries for
ngthe first daughter,
helsea isn’t alone,
owever. Others carry
same weight - like
letes who are famous
I stealing America’s fool-
heart.
erri Strug, an
lympic gymnast
|ro,” did not
n apply to half
the colleges that
Me red her admis-
|n immediately
:r that famous
It she so bravely
ided with a bro-
'On ankle. Strug,
^iowas excepted at
I LA put off college
| a year after the
Olympics, for an
[ard with higher
ue than a free edu-
[ion — endorse-
nts.
|The real question
s unanswered,
ugh. Why does
erica weigh fame
d fortune on a differ-
ttscale than intellect
i truth?
e- ■< m
n
li
HARVAR
OR BUST!
idt,,
o bin son sacrificed for freedom. Woods serves himself
tis hard to mention Jackie
[Robinson without recognizing
pis sports accomplishments
Veil as his contributions to the
[il Rights movement. However,
pnpts to mold Tiger Woods
) the next African-American
[olack authority because of
{superficiality of the sports-
[Irtainment industry and
|ods’ reluctance to recognize
1 exhibit pride in his African-
j'erican heritage.
Robinson was a hero to
[toy because of his determina-
and perseverance to attain greatness
baseball despite major obstacles of
ism and inequality prevalent in base-
1 and society.
Remarkably, Robinson was able to achieve
atness in two ways. He motivated others
ispire to play baseball with as much digni-
ce and strength as he did during his ca-
r. Robinson’s patience and tolerance also
forced the passive resistance of the im
ping Civil Rights movement as he with-
od years of mental and physical torment at
1 bands of racist white players.
Make no mistake that underneath the pa
le exterior raged a ferocious tempest. He
Winded this negative aggression into re-
frkable skills on the diamond as he became
quintessential competitor.
r 1 addition to his personal attributes,
mson bucked the trend of complacency
lv dent among successful African-Ameri-
Columnist
General Franklin
Sophomore
English major
cans by making overt objections
to the inequality and discrimina
tion of the ’50s and ’60s. When
other influential African-Ameri
cans remained silent, Robinson
took a stand by crusading for civil
rights before it was fashionable or
popular. In fact, he demonstrated
as much initiative and fortitude in
these endeavors as he did when
he first stepped in the batter’s box
on a spring day in April 1947.
Ever since Robinson’s triumph,
many searched for an heir-appar
ent who not only personified
strength, agility and determination, but also
great wisdom and intelligence.
With the emergence ofTiger Woods as the
premiere golfer on the PGA tour, many are
heralding tliis 21 year old as the next Robin
son. Gentleman’s Quarterly magazine says
Woods will become the messiah of modem
sports. In short, the legitimacy of such
sweeping platitudes ring hollow because
while Woods is a exemplary athlete, he does
not possess the moral strength, character and
self-awareness to deserve the title.
Woods’ being considered a hero, mentor
and inspiration is faulty because he is simply
a deceptive manifestation of clever marketing
by Nike. Indeed, Nike has made subtle and
effective comparisons to an athlete of Robin
son’s dimensions. Nike suggested that Woods’
presence in golf will inspire African-American
youth with chants of unison, “I am Tiger
Woods.” The involvement of Nike makes the
aura of Tiger Woods seem artificial, contrived
and suspect. The machinations of Nike may
propel Woods to great wealth and fame, but it
cannot catapult him to the height of adula
tion and reverence that Robinson still enjoys
— decades after his death.
Specifically, Woods lacks the moral fiber
and self-awareness to be someone other than
a cardboard hero to African-Americans. Fur
thermore, Woods has demonstrated this lack
of character and self-awareness by denying
his own African-American heritage. In sever
al interviews, particu
larly one with Ebony
magazine, Woods made
outright denials of his
black identity by solely
emphasizing his moth
er’s Taiwanese ancestry.
Such blatant repudia
tion of African-Ameri
can culture is an affront
to all African-Ameri
cans. It identifies both
the stigma of black
fame as well as Woods’ inability or unwilling
ness to reconcile his identity with his percep
tion or shame about African-Americans.
How can black youth respect, admire or
emulate a man so willing to shirk his heritage
in face of his success? Furthermore, this de
nial devalues African-American heritage with
the implicit idea that race is an encumbrance
to success and prosperity for African-Ameri
cans. In a way, Woods’ statements reinforce
the old racist ideology of inferiority by imply-
How can black youth
respect, admire or
emulate a man so
willing to shirk his
heritage in face of
his success?
ing only blacks of mixed, particularly white,
heritage can overcome the inferiority of their
condition and succeed.
In contrast, Robinson not only defied the
stereotype of inferiority, but catalyzed
greater racial pride through the advocacy of
the Civil Rights movement. In fact, he tri
umphed over these stereotypes by gaining
the reluctant respect of colleagues even as
he expressed discontent for a system and a
society, which stripped away dignity from
African-Americans.
Only a man secure in
his identity and immense
ly proud of his heritage
can withstand societal
pressures to bolster his
convictions and to do it
with honor.
Furthermore, Woods
revealed low pride in his
African-American her
itage by presenting
rather demeaning views
about blacks in com
ments he made during a Gentleman’s
Quarterly interview.
In spite of his virtues as an athlete, Woods
cannot surmount the obstacles of his own ig
norance, immaturity, confusion and superfi
ciality to achieve the cultural significance of
Jackie Robinson. Robinson’s greatest achieve
ment was the preservation of dignity and
grace in the pursuit to assert progress and
change the stubborn institutions of baseball
and American society.
Page 13
Thursday • April 24, 1997
Summer school
sizzles away
time for work
t’s springtime, the birds are
singing, the flowers are bloom
ing and the thoughts of college
students everywhere turn to regis
tration for summer school classes
and next semester.
Summer school, that wonderful
time when students try to catch up
to where their degree plans say they
should be and work in pursuit of the
rare achievement
— to graduate
in four years. In
addition, they
often have to
work full time to
make the mon
ey they need to
live during the
school year;
these students
don’t have time
to work while
class is in ses
sion. But once
again, the University does not want
to make it too easy on students.
Classes are scheduled so that those
who have to work full time in typical
“8 to 5” jobs are unable to take their
courses from A&M.
The courses causing the most se
vere problems are typically foreign
languages and sciences. At least one
course is required for a degree in lib
eral arts curricula, and any other
major for graduation with a BA de
gree. This creates an enormous stu
dent demand. But the University
doesn’t do enough to ensure stu
dents are able to get the classes they
need. Instead, they seem to rely on
junior colleges to take up the slack.
Employees at the A&M modern
and classical languages department
say about 450 students take Span
ish classes during summer school
at A&M. Of these, about 200 are in
Spanish 101 or 102, which requires
labs. Because of the language de
partment’s teaching philosophy
and lack of room availability, these
classes are scheduled with part of
the class in the morning and part in
the afternoon. This makes it practi
cally impossible to take these class
es and still work full time, unless
working evenings is an option.
There is the option of attending a
different lab time, but the labs all
take place in the afternoon.
The problem is not limited to just
foreign language courses. Chem
istry, biology and speech communi
cations are offered under the same
circumstances. Granted, with the
sciences, it is not vital to take labs at
the same time as lectures, but much
of the reason for taking them in the
summer is to not have that awkward
lab section messing up your sched
ule during the regular semester.
In addition, the labs are sched
uled so it is not possible to take an
other class in between the lecture
and the lab, creating several hours of
wasted time in the middle of the day.
This situation is especially hard
on those students who are married
with a family to support, and those
who are trying to pay their way
through school.
The summer is when money is
made and saved. When students are
unable to make enough money to
survive the coming year, they are
forced to choose between working
full time or taking summer school
and graduating to get out into the
real job market.
The coming of summer should
not be dreaded because of these dif
ficult decisions. Instead, it should be
anticipated eagerly as an opportuni
ty to relax, take a break catch or even
get ahead.
It wouldn’t take much effort to
schedule courses in solid blocks, or
at least to set them up so it would be
easier for those who work full time.
An acceptable solution could be to
arrange for the classes to be either
completely in the morning or in the
afternoon. This would make it possi
ble for students to work the other
half of the day. Now that might
mean classes would have to start
earlier in the morning, but that is a
sacrifice some students are willing
to make.
It seems A&M doesn’t care much
about serving its students and meet
ing their needs. After all, Blinn is
right across town, and more than ea
ger to take those A&M is unable or
unwilling to accommodate. Once
again, the University is putting its
own priorities above the needs of
the students.
Columnist
Robby Ray
Junior speech
communication major