O The Battalion
PINION
Wednesday • September 17,19'
v'V-'r:.
Mail Call
Cater’s apathetic
view is pathetic
In response to Mandy Cater’s
September 16 column:
For months, I have read Cater’s
opinions, and I am once again de
pressed by her apathy. I know of
several individuals who frown
upon our traditions, but how
could anybody want to see Aggie
friendliness go?
Howdy is just a popular expres
sion of unity and friendliness. Per
sonally, I don’t care if someone
says hey, hi, hello, what’s up, etc.
All I want to see is a hint of kind
ness from every Aggie.
I encourage all students to visit
Rice, t.u., Tech, TCU or any other
college for that matter and exam
ine how dismal and cold the per
sonality of their student bodies are.
What we have in Aggieland is
so special. It is a shame that some
people want to see Aggie friendli
ness removed.
As for Howdy Ags, I praise you
for making a concentrated effort
to conserve the friendliness on
our campus.
As for Cater, perhaps you will
win the respect of fellow Aggies
and myself if you take a stand for
something, anything!
I’m growing tired of the constant
scrutiny against those that at least
have the courage to take a stand.
Steve Walkup
Class of’98
accompanied by 29 signatures
Nothing backwoods
about ‘Howdy’ use
In response to Mandy Cater’s
September 16 column:
Cater writes, “Howdy is more
like a shout out at some hillbilly
square dance night.” Does any
body else see some over gener
alizing here? Since when did be
ing friendly to a stranger cause
a person to “return to the back-
woods, toothpicking, banjo
strumming roots?”
I see nothing wrong with a
stranger saying “howdy” to an
other stranger. I am perfectly
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happy having somebody smile
at me or greet me in passing. If
a person does not wish to par
ticipate in a tradition, far be it
from me to condemn them for
doing so.
But, if a person does wish to
participate in a tradition, far be
it from me to condemn them
for doing so if it is not harmful
to those involved. It won’t kill
you to hear the word “howdy,”
and if you don’t want to say it,
then don’t.
Cater is correct in saying that
“howdy” is merely a word and
not a university requirement,
but if people like to promote
the word, then don’t denounce
their efforts and ridicule them
with absurd generalizations.
Jennifer Robinson
Class of '98
>4™ YE
Aggie greeting is
a privilege to say
the rest of the day. I knowthert|
have been times when I wash;
ing a bad day and the sound of
howdy "ringing out like sweet
music” has lifted my spirits.
The reason: someone took
time out of their busy schedule
acknowledge my presence in
their life. It didn’t take much eft
and they didn’t even havetosto
()ur society has gotten away fro
a sense of community and fom )g£||(0
the word of self-absorption.
I won’t pretend that I say
“Howdy” to everyone 1 meetl„ ‘
I trek across campus because
that would be impossibletoi
I do attempt to notice those
that look down or upset and
extend them a greeting that
may help their attitude.
Sometimes a “Howdy” is no;
necessary, a simple smilewilld
to let people know that someo:
else notices them and cares
enough to let them knowit.Ca| &,|yi r>«
me a red-ass if you want r Idon
In response to Mandy Cater’s Sep
tember 16 column:
“Howdy” is more than a tradi
tion it is a courtesy. I believe the
Howdy Council has the right
idea, we need to “save the word.”
This situation is about more than
just a word, it is about our society
and the way we treat each other.
People today walk around in
their own little world and many
times have no concept of what is
going on with others around
them. Cater said, “ Some tradi
tions are old, some are tired and
some are just stupid.”
Well, I happen to believe the
“Howdy” tradition may be the
most important tradition at
A&M because it encompasses
everything about the "Aggie
Spirit.” As a psychology major,
Cater should understand the
power of a kind word.
We never know how much of
an effect this one little word may
have on someone’s attitude for
care, but I an always readytoei )n0r6(
tend a full-hearted “Howdy’jir
someone I meet.
1 don’t see it as a responsit
ty or something I have to do,;
me, it’s a privilege. So to^LLv
Ags out there — HOWDYand
Gig’em. Whoop!
Jodie Hok
Class of
aker who i
ak about t
with the di
ladder The
sawyer, a h
:he virus fri
when he'
’ampus Cr
nsoring the
)r. Michael
/I professo
ring, has b
iety of Petr
E) to receh
ring Award
Oct. 5-8 in
be award i
ignition of
tributions t
evaluatior
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biting
essor erne
:d of the Dr
Engineerin
Jors at the -
iety of Petr
Oct. 5-8
Vhiting wil
dstinguish
contributic
the petrol
[I. Also, he
| Legion of
|is 50 con;
nbership t
Miss America pageant
carries superficiality^r
J- V Dallas (Ai
97 F
Ti
I here
she
is,
Miss
America.
And there’s
her naval.
The
77th An
nual Miss
America
pageant
was held
prove they are in shape to hdn
support.
What we <
Its vs. the
Mason
Jackson
columnist
Saturday night in Atlantic City.
It was a year of change for
the pageant as it continues to
struggle with an identity crisis.
Is it an appearance based meat
market or is it a scholarship
competition for America’s best
and brightest 18 to 24 year-old
single women?
This year, to confuse the is
sue further, they have imple
mented more scholarship cate
gories while at the same time
allowing contestants to wear
bikinis in the swimsuit competi
tion for the first time since 1947,
which, if I’m not mistaken, was
during the roaring twenties.
Also this year, the pageant
moved from longtime broad
cast partner NBC to Disney
owned ABC. Disney has been
responsible for such risque
programming as The Little
Mermaid, in which a young
“sea slut” named Ariel comes
of age with nothing more than
two seashells to protect her
modesty. So the switch to biki
nis is hardly surprising.
To see if we can shed light
on the true nature of the
pageant, perhaps we should
look at the judging process.
The preliminary scoring,
which takes place before the
live telecast, narrows the field
down to 10 finalists.
The weighting of scores (af
ter exercise and bulimia) is as
follows: talent - 40 percent; in
terview - 30 percent; on-stage
personality in evening wear -
15 percent; Physical fitness on
swimsuit - 15 percent.
As it states, it isn’t how the
contestant looks in the evening
wear, but rather the personality
as illustrated through careful
consideration of sequins and
shoulder pads.
And it isn’t how attractive a
contestant looks in a swimsuit,
but rather the opportunity to
’97 fund-r
die the physical rigors that car J cele
•*l • • »< et sales a
come with winning the crown
(because standing on a float
and waving for two hours is
nearly as demanding as watch L
ing a marathon.) Ith, progra
During the telecast the field I t0 ^.| 3ast
is narrowed from ten to five.ThtI| nesc | a y
remaining five are interviewed Ration. We
and asked a question related to
their platform. Their platformis
generally a vague stand on a
current issue supported with
volunteer time at the appropri
ate non-profit organization.
Here is a completely fiction
al example of an interview
question and answer —
Question: Miss Vermont,
your state is known for its
Cheddar cheese, how do you
feel about crime?
Answer: Well Bob, I think it
is bad. All people just need to founde
love each other, as Americans, P benefits
one nation, under God. I u ^ in ^ two
And in an endearingly naive s 1 "
way (who, me condescending?) r 1 ^ sai ’
the contestants talk about the )
impact they want to make in
their chosen area, as if our public
policy makers are watching.
Everyone knows that Washington)
D.C. hookers give a 15 percent
discount on Saturday nights.
It is obvious that the Miss
America Pageant is a beauty
contest, even though most of
the suppe
ast year, a
Farm Aid c
|e Stadium
ks ago, Wi
boys owne
need that t
efit family 1
is Stadium
sto include
feil Young, Jol
hews Ban
|es ranged
ince Nels
the finalist seem to have fright-^ | ^
L. J
#i
fj
eningly large teeth and despite
the fact that on any given day
on this very campus you will
see several women more at
tractive than the big-haired
girls that always win (and the
crowd roars at the blatant at
tempt to suck up to the female volley
student population.) Ldsrud (
And as a beauty pageant it is ^ u
based on appearance, not sub- >ord bool
stance. The big ones (pageants,
not, well, you know) are tele
vised because sex does sell.
So if the Miss America
Pageant wants to retain what
viewers they still have, they
should admit that it is, like
most other aspects of our soci- indent sa
ety, extremely superficial.
If people want to watch the
MacNeil/Leher News Hour
they will, unless Jim Leher de
cides he looks good in a bikini. I http://ba
4
irguson:
n campu:
Mason Jackson /so sen/ot r ec ^ ou ^
marketing major Ihe for adi
.—-'iters, act
N past a