mber 11,15
hursday • September 11, 1997
O The Battalion
'PINION
[,n Welcome to the bathhouse
lestroom watchdog system invades personal privacy, erases common sense
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the dormouse:
Mason
Jackson
columnist
k. Quit playing with it
and wash your hands.
That’s the general
ea behind what most of us
ve been taught about
throom hygiene. Until
■>w.
If the privacy assassins
im Net/Tech International
ive their way, a Hygiene
lard will be installed in
ery employee bathroom in
e United States, taking
ildhood upbringing and
mmon sense completely out of the equation.
It will use a system of computers, tracking
ftware and infrared technology to determine
lether employees choose to wash their hands
go “au natural.”
The system, already in place at the Tropicana
^Jftsino and Resort in Atlantic City, makes em-
oyees wear an electronic badge that blinks and
ishes if the employee doesn’t spend the re
ared amount of time in front of the sink. Better
nitation through humiliation — what a con-
:pt.
Sure, we all want to avoid germs and the hi
sses they can cause, but this is the wrong way
■ go about it for two completely different rea-
The first issue to be concerned with is that of
rsonal privacy— there are just some places
mt led toarok iu should not go. Though some people would
d in "l.ittleOldi insider this an acceptable trade-off between
>n grew with ivacy and public health, it must be looked at as
nd 'StarWap. precedent setter.
iderson’s bia
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lollywood.
It starts with monitors in the John, eventually
have safe sex monitors in the bedroom (talk
about pressure). This may seem unlikely, but sex
is also a public health issue, and what may seem
an unacceptable step now may be achieved with
little fanfare through a series of smaller more ac
ceptable steps.
The second reason to oppose the widespread
adoption of the Hygiene Guard is to preserve the
dignity of the human species.
Imagine, if you will, an alien visitor to our fair
planet. Though at first impressed with our level
of advancement for such a relatively young
species, this visitor becomes perplexed at the
sight of the blinking badges that everyone seems
to be wearing.
Once the alien finds out that the badges are to
remind us to cleanse ourselves after excreting
waste, we’re not going to look all that cool. And
image is everything.
If people really want to do something about
the spread of disease from bacteria, then the
practice of irradiation should be embraced. Irra
diation is the process of sending gamma rays
through food to kill bacteria, mold, etc. It is a
practice that is as harmless, and as potentially
beneficial, as pasteurization, but it has not been
widely adopted because the generation currently
in control was conditioned to be so scared of the
bomb that they think that anything involving ra
diation couldn’t possibly be safe.
Somebody needs to rethink that idea over a
nice undercooked prime rib dinner served to you
at a steak house where the employees are so so
phisticated they not only wash their hands after
going to the bathroom, but they also wear
clothes.
Impressive isn’t it?
Mason Jackson is a senior marketing major.
lelebrated university, small
own feel provide advantages
Anna
Foster
columnist
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don / Bryan
any students on this
campus are from Dal
las, Houston or some
>ther large city or suburb.
Some of these people are
ly friends, and have imparted
teirown personal observa-
ons about this “po-dunk hick
iwn" we live in and how it
ompares to their hometown
etropolis. Most of the com-
arisons are not favorable, and
enter on the lack of tilings
nany large-city dwellers have
tecome accustomed to having close at hand.
The new class of freshmen is no different, and are
brining opinions on their new living environment
very minute. In order to offer a slightly different per-
ipective on the town, I present a short list of why it is a
;ood thing that College Station is a small town, so that
he freshmen can judge fairly.
For starters, College Station is not actually a small
own. Farwell, Tx. (pop. 1,373) is a small town. The
Irazos Valley comprises about 130,000 people, with
ollege Station itself claiming over 55,000 residents.
That is five times the amount of people in all of
farmer County, where Farwell is located. For those
indents from major metropolitan areas that have
rouble adjusting to life in College Station, imagining
town even smaller is almost impossible.
While it is difficult to compare even College Sta-
on and a town like Farwell, one thing that is the
ame is the sense of community. I think it has some-
hing to do with people being nice to each other here.
For one thing, the traffic is many times better than
it is in any city. If the worst thing drivers in this area
lave to contend with is Texas Avenue at 5:05 RM. and
1:00 A.M., they are much better off than the millions
if people trying to navigate the streets and highways
rfTexas’ larger cities.
Most of the time, any destination in College Sta-
ion or Bryan is not more than ten or fifteen minutes
iy car from any other place.
Also, there is not as much crime in this area. While
far from being crime-free, there is a marked difference
in people's fears about crime when they reside in Col
lege Station as compared to when they are in a city
such as Houston or San Antonio.
Another advantage is a majority of the businesses
in town cater to students’ needs. It is a privilege, and
definitely a benefit, to live in a town created entirely
around college students.
The shops, restaurants, clubs and other businesses
depend on the students’ patronage to survive. Many
businesses, therefore, have a vested interest in pleas
ing the students, which usually means good deals for
strapped college budgets.
The biggest complaint heard about College Sta
tion, though, is the supposed lack of entertainment
options. This is nonsense.
Without even listing the extensive choices of tilings
to do on campus, opportunities by the dozens exist in
the community.
The mall has more stores than it knows what to do
with, the movie theater is huge and shows everything
worth seeing and a lot of stuff that’s not, and there are
bars and clubs to fit almost every taste.
Pizza parlors and delivery food stores abound, and
almost every popular chain restaurant has a represen
tative in Bryan or College Station; not to mention sev
eral colorful local places to eat.
The Opera and Performing Arts Society ensures
programs of culture reach the community, and lec
tures and conferences occur frequently on campus to
expose students to intellectual leaders from around
the country.
Fortunately, College Station is centrally located be
tween Houston, Austin and Dallas. Students can easi
ly drive to concerts and other events not occurring in
town.
In a town with over 43,000 college students be
tween the ages of eighteen and twenty-three, if some
one still claims to be unable to find something to do,
that is more a personal problem than the fault of the
town.
Texas A&M University is a first rate school, and
College Station is a pleasant place to live. Stu
dents at A&M have the rare opportunity to attend
a large university while living in what feels like a
small town.
For many students, this will be the only time they
live in a place that doesn’t have suburbs. For them,
this is a remarkable experience they should make the
most of while they are here.
Anna Foster is a junior journalism major.
Sacred traditions must be
preserved by student body
Robby
Ray
columnist
T he
past
year
has been a
trying one
for tradition
at Texas
A&M. Some
traditions
which have
come under
fire have
been rela
tively new
and seemingly minor, such as
the loss to Texas two years ago.
In one day, two traditions were
shattered, that of not losing at
Kyle Field and that of not losing
to t.u.
But more recently, other tra
ditions have been threatened.
In the last year, fraternities and
units of the Corps of Cadets
have been disbanded for hazing
violations. Then this summer,
one of the most widely known
and respected organizations on
campus, the Fish Drill Team,
was disbanded in the midst of a
prolonged legal battle also con
cerning hazing. If we are not
more careful, these things
which make us unique will be
gone forever.
In the past, it has been tradi
tion that has been instrumental
in creating and maintaining
campus unity. Traditions give us
common ground as well as time
and situations that encourage
us to bond as students and as
people. Many Aggies look back
after graduation and fondly re
member the times they spent at
Bonfire or in the Corps, or in
volved in any of the many other
activities on this campus.
Many have criticized tradi
tion at A&M, and rightly so, for
it has often been used as an ex
cuse for hazing and other abus
es of authority. These people of
ten use the defense that abuses
such as these should be accept
able because “we’ve always
done it that way,” and “this is a
tradition.”
This should never be allowed
as an excuse for hazing, and
those who participate in these
practices should be disciplined,
as they consistently have been.
But this should not mean that
all traditions should be dis
missed because of the abuses of
a few.
There should be a balance
struck between beneficial tradi
tions and those which are noth
ing but a front for hazing prac
tices. We should all strive to
uphold the traditions that make
Aggieland unique, while re
maining careful to root out and
eliminate hazing and abuses of
power.
It is not just among Aggies
that traditions are noticed and
remembered. The military her
itage of A&M, along with the
Aggie Band, are all that many
people ever see of our school.
Without these things, A&M
would be just another universi
ty in many peoples’ eyes. We
need to be diligent in our efforts
to preserve our traditions to re
tain our individuality and
uniqueness as a school. With
the disbanding of the Fish Drill
Team, we have lost one of our
most widely-known and re
spected organizations. The long
legal battle and controversy
preceding the actual disband
ing only added to our disgrace.
This is yet another case in
which the stupid and careless
actions of a few have dishon
ored the entire University.
These allegations hurt more
than just those directly in
volved. Imagine what it must be
like to go into an interview and
have to deflect questions about
your possible involvement in a
criminal activity. Merely the
hint of such a scandal might be
enough to cause a prospective
employer to overlook an inno
cent but nonetheless tainted
Aggie in favor of a student from
a less controversial university.
Aggies still have many tradi
tions which are not as yet pol
luted by the stigma of hazing.
Because of A&M’s uniqueness
and individuality as an institu
tion, Aggies have to keep their
noses cleaner than others who
are not so visible.
Aggie traditions and Code of
Honor are widely known and
respected, and as a result, we
have to live up to a higher stan
dard. In the last year, Aggies
have dropped the ball and let
their university, their Aggie pre
decessors and themselves
down. The future needs to be
better, or much of A&M’s hard-
earned reputation as a world-
class university could be in
jeopardy.
Robby Ray is a senior speech
communications major.
Mail Call
ICC deemed a cult
by concerned Aggie
I would like to commend
The Battalion for reporting on
the “planting” of an Interna
tional Churches of Christ (ICC)
congregation here in College
Station. However, as a member
of the mainstream churches of
Christ, I would like to clear up
some possible misconceptions.
First, the mainstream
churches of Christ, or the Ag
gies For Christ (a Christian
group here on campus whose
members predominately
come from the mainstream
churches of Christ), are not in
any way associated with the
ICC. Most members of the
churches of Christ consider
the ICC a cult due to their
practices, especially the prac
tice of “discipling.”
In the past, the Internation
al Churches of Christ have
managed to destroy main
stream churches of Christ
campus ministries (for exam
ple, Georgia Tech). Here at
Texas A&M, members of the
Aggies For Christ and mem
bers of the local churches of
Christ are trying to keep that
from happening.
As a member of both Aggies
For Christ and the churches of
Christ, I would ask that anyone
approached by the ICC keep
their minds open and seek out
all the information on this cult
before making any decisions.
The Campus Ministry Asso
ciation and the ministers at a
local church of Christ should be
able to provide you with infor
mation. Also, www.reveal.org
provides good information on
the Internet about the ICC.
John A. Hejfington
Class of’98
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