The Battalion
riday • August 29, 1997
Where’s the beef ?
hrge in contaminated meat will reduce Americans' carnivorous ways
Opinion Editor
James Francis
junior English major
S
) resumably, almost every
college student could write
a book entitled, “Fast-Food
Or How I Survived My First
arIn College.” But this fascina-
nthat college students have
thfast-food chains may soon
ange. A recent Associated
;ssreport said that following
other E. coli outbreak, Hudson
odslnc. “will sell a Nebraska
mburger plant linked to an E.
i outbreak if it can’t replace Burger King as its
lin ground beef customer.” Furthermore, Burg-
King, the nation's second largest fast-food
ain, said that it would stop buying meat from
dson“even though there was no indication it
eived tainted meat.”
This latest scare of tainted beef in the meat in-
stry is sure to send consumers on the war path
;arding the safety of beef processing. Although
:meat industry is a huge entity within itself, there
ibe no leeway for the rush of processing and
ting meat. American consumers depend on fast-
id restaurants and grocery stores to sell them
lat they believe to be safe enough to eat. As hu-
Ins, we are carnivores by nature, although many
|ople choose to lighten their eating habits by be
ing vegetarians. And with this tale of bad meat
pping, more and more people are likely to switch
ircarnivorous habits, opting for something more
ngthe lines of vegetables and fish,
ut E. coli outbreaks aren’t the only problems
tshould be addressed in the meat industry. It
been reported that the cows, from the cattle
ichers who are in question, have been being
[chicken manure as part of their diet. Clearly,
ssuggests some type of unscrupulous thinking
the part of the cattle ranchers. It can be as-
edthat consumers do not want to imagine
it the beef they eat came from cows that fed on
icken feces.
Furthermore, not too long ago, a televised re
port on the safety of beef processing was aired on
ABC — the activities caught on tape were aston
ishing. Slabs of cows in a meat packing house
were shown being cut up for shipment. What
seemed to be a normal operation turned out to be
a less than optimal work ethic on the part of the
production-line workers. When meat would fall to
the floor, where it was surrounded by cow in
testines, feces and muck from the workers’ shoes,
someone would simply pick it up and place it
back on the conveyor belt. If this represents good
standards of meat production, Americans have a
lot to worry about.
This is not the first time that Burger King has
found itself in trouble with the meat industry. On
Aug. 12, Hudson recalled 20,000 pounds of beef.
The next week, the recall reached close to 25 mil
lion pounds, which was deemed the nation’s
largest recall ever. The incident forced close to
1,650 Burger Kings in 28 states to serve only chick
en, ham and fish. The AP report also said that be
fore being shut down, the Hudson plant was pro
cessing between “2 million and 2.5 million pounds
of ground beef a week.”
Although some people say statistics are just
numbers, sometimes there is reason to worry about
the figures. This is one of those situations. People
must not sit down and accept these low standards
of meat processing and safety precautions. Not
everyone should become vegetarians, but we must
now look more closely at what we are eating and
how we are cooking it. Fast food is exactly what it
claims to be; it is not exactly something that you
would want to risk your life over. So the next time
you get a craving for Taco Bell or Whataburger, you
might want to consider going to your local grocery
store and stocking up on some Lean Cuisine.
Today, on account of new diseases being discov
ered, there can be no ignorance or low work ethic
on how our country's meat is processed and
shipped. Sooner or later, the old commercial adage
will have to change, and its slogan will probably be:
Beef, it’s not what’s for dinner anymore.
ail Call
lealth center
eserves praise
On behalf of the staff and
b294 participants of the 1997
xasA&M National Youth
orts Program, I would like to
ankyou and your staff for the
ne spent giving physical ex-
ainations to our participants
is year.
As you know, every partici-
nt is required to have a physi-
1 examination before partic-
ating, and your assistance for
epast two years has been a
finite contribution to the suc-
ss of our program.
We would not be able to host
is program on campus if not
rthe efforts of you and your
iff in providing over 200 phys-
ils each year.
It may seem as though A.P
iutel Health Center does not
tall of the recognition that
deserves, especially for all
e services that it provides.
I would personally like to
ank and recognize Beutel and
its staff for their unselfish dona
tion of time and effort to the
success of the 1997 Texas A&M
National Youth Sports Program.
Frank B. Ashley HI, Ed. D.
Project Administer
Associate Dean for
Undergraduate Studies, C.O.E.
Reveille situation
has simple solution
I believe I have a solution to
the current controversy over the
Reveille gravesite relocation.
Once the new horseshoe ex
pansion is finished, a group of
drunk rednecks from the Dixie
Chicken should dig up the re
mains of the former Reveilles,
have the remains bronzed and
mount the remains on top of
the luxury boxes that are to be
built in the horseshoe.
This way, each of the dead
Revielles will have a birds-eye-
view of the scoreboard, as the
Aggies run up the score against
their weak non-conference op
ponents they host every year.
Wade Bynum
Class of’97
Field expansion
breaks tradition
As recent graduates of Texas
A&M, we are concerned with what
this action will lead to in the future.
A&M is based on rich traditions
and beliefs. These traditions are
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what sets A&M apart from other
universities. To see these changes
occur only to benefit our athletic
program makes A&M no different
than the University of Nebraska.
When people speak of Nebraska,
all they talk about is their football
team. When outsiders mention
A&M, football is not the main topic.
They talk about yell practices, Bon
fire, Aggie Muster and other tradi
tions that have been as much a part
of Aggieland as Reveille herself.
We are fans of A&M football as
much as any other Aggies. But
when one tradition, such as foot
ball, begins to step on another tra
dition, such as Reveille’s graves,
then something is wrong. We won
der what other traditions will be
changed, or done away with, the
next time A&M tries to “keep up
with the Jones’.”
Brad Barrett
Class of’95
Jana Casada Barrett
Class of’97
Sorority rush exemplifies
conformity among students
Assistant
Opinion Editor
Mandy Cater
Senior psychology major
T hat strange annual phenome
non has returned: the heavy
perfumed air, the blinding
streaks of silver and more shoe pol
ish on automobiles than a Las Ve
gas wedding chapel. That’s right, it
is once again time for sorority rush.
Perhaps this sounds a bit
stereotypical, but sororities are
perhaps the greatest example of
enforcing stereotypes evident on
campus today.
Rush is that time of year when
insecurities are exposed and personalities are ig
nored. Hundreds of women focus their energy on
making themselves attractive to prospective “sisters”
to gain popularity.
Professional portraits are prepared, designer labels
are snatched up by the handful and letters of recom
mendation are written.
Rush is the time when College Station, especially
the Harvey Road area, is transformed into Anytown
High School, U.S.A. There is cheerleader-like chanti
ng, petty backstabbing and selections that resemble
small-town Homecoming Queen elections.
Hundreds of nervous women gussy themselves
up in their best finery and put themselves through
hell for a few days in order to “earn” a spot as a
sorority member.
The question that begs to be asked is why any
woman would knowingly subject herself to such an
archaic practice. Why would
she spent hundreds, even
thousands of dollars just to
“make friends?”
Well, sororities claim
to be a place where
women can gather to
gether as sisters. They
promote themselves
as both social and ser
vice organizations.
Although sorori
ties may contribute
their time to a few
token service pro
jects, that can
hardly be por
trayed as their
main focus. •
Sororities on / §
this campus * f
serve as yet an
other institution
for conformity.
Everything from
requiring the
memorization of
chants and the
Greek alphabet to
surveillance of be
havior become
mechanisms for said
conformity. Even
clothing becomes a
controlled item.
Sorority members
are as easy to pin
point as the
Corps of Cadets
on campus. This
could be attrib
uted to the practice of issuing “fashion demerits,”
popular in many sororities.
More than being social examples concerned about
the common good of society, sororities have become
the most explicit examples of cliques. Many sorority
members look down their tanned noses at just about
anyone who is not a member of their elite Greek
crowd. There are even catty grudges between sorori
ties, aspects of which can be overheard via silver-
tongued whispers on shuttle buses and in classes.
Before the common rebuttal is voiced, yes, I too had
the opportunity to rush a sorority. I had offers of letters
of recommendation. But I also had older friends who
had rushed. I heard their stories and saw the changes
in their personalities, and I was not interested.
Drunken slobberfests, cutthroat backstabbing
and fashion demerits just are not my idea of a good
time. They seem better suited to high school drill
teams or slumber parties. Certainly, these are not
things for which I would be willing to pay my own or
my parents’ money.
As for rush, it is less about sororities getting to
know people they would like to include in their mem
bership than it is about materialism. The parade of
parties and socials and the behind-closed-doors bid
ding seems more like a cattle auction than some
sense of “sisterhood.”
Just a tip: a couple of hours of “mixers” and a pack
et with a picture on top does not a good friendship
make. Anything so shallow does not have much of a
foundation for real relationships.
This is not to say that all
sororities or their members are
bad, but stereotypes do unfor
tunately prove to be true quite
often where sororities are con
cerned. One needs only to walk
through the Wehner Building
without sorority letters or the
“regulation attire” to feel the
ugly sting of sorority snobbery.
College can be a frighten
ing, lonely place. But there
are other ways to make
friends than flashing your
checking account balance and
wearing cute outfits. Join an or
ganization you care about, intro
duce yourself to dorm members
or people in your neighborhood
or even get a job. Just because
rushing is an easy,
guaranteed way to
meet people does
not mean it is
the best way. It
also does not
guarantee
that these
people will
be your
friends.
Don’t
let insecu
rities flaw
your judgment.
Make friends on
merit, not selling
yourself out. To
borrow a
phrase, “Just
Tri it.”