The Battalion
Tuesday • October 7, 1997
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Dave
Johnston
columnist
M any students think a
leader must be at
tractive, eloquent or
at least intelligent. Actually,
any motivated person can be
a leader. Unfortunately, most
organizations at Texas A&M
have the same mistaken no
tion of a leader.
Very few campus organi
zations actually attempt to
develop leaders. Most groups
try to identify students who
are already leaders, then har
ness their abilities.
A&M needs more organizations that will train
anyone to become a leader. Too many campus
groups are far too exclusive to cultivate leaders.
The Student Government Association has a
large number of committees which could be
prime breeding ground for leaders. Instead, most
committees are exclusive, requiring a lengthy ap
plication and interview process to join.
The new Howdy Committee, for example,
chose 35 members from over 100 applications. It
makes no sense for this type of organization to
prevent more than 60 interested students from
joining its ranks. They can always use more peo
ple to post fliers, distribute stickers and propa
gandize campus.
Most SGA committees are organized similar
ly. This arrangement does not develop new
leaders, but rather exploits students who al
ready are leaders.
It is more effective to open leadership circles
to all motivated students. This benefits the orga
nization in many ways. Members can become
more involved and become more dedicated to
the group. The club has more trained students
who are ready to assume officer positions.
When groups refuse to train new leaders, they
prevent both students and organizations from
reaching their potential.
Almost every campus organization has a
problem with finding lasting leadership. Usually
everything runs smoothly for a few years until
the entire panel of officers graduate, leaving a
huge void.
An effective leader must dedicate a large por
tion of his of her time to expanding the leader
ship of his or her organization. Each officer
should train at least a few students who can take
that officer’s responsibilities later.
Even outstanding presidents do their clubs a
disservice if they do not leave behind people who
can continue to lead the club. Campus is strewn
with the remains of clubs that had one or two
great years before they sunk into oblivion when
their founders earned a diploma and left town.
When most groups select potential leaders,
they examine outward traits like looks, speech
or economic status. Since these are not the
most important characteristics for a leader,
campus organizations end up with a wide range
of problems.
A former member of the Communist Party in
England, Douglas Hyde, was once approached by
a simple, disheveled man with a terrible stutter
who asked Hyde to turn him into a leader. Hyde
accepted the challenge, and through confidence
building and hard work, the man became an offi
cer in his union and recruited dozens of new
workers for the communist cause.
Most A&M organizations would never have
given a person like this a second look, and they
would lose a resource.
Anyone with motivation is an asset. They may
need training and they may not be effective in
certain areas of service, but they can be useful if
someone recognizes their value.
David Johnston is a senior mathematics major.
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2 student;
Solitaire proves
laziness scapegoat
, or
for
nent
Jeremy
Valdez
columnist
I n the
movie
Live
■'and Let
Die, James
Bond
learned
how dan
gerous it
can be to
play Soli
taire. Soli
taire, you
see, was a
tarot-reading mistress of seduc
tion who was jealously guarded
by a couple of pimpin’ New Or
leans crime bosses.
Now, Senators Chuck Hagel
and Lauch Faircloth — who are
just slightly less pimpish —
have introduced legislation
that would make it illegal for
government employees to play
computer solitaire at work,
and would require all federal
offices to remove games from
computers.
The senators are overreact
ing to this newest, imaginary
computer-related plague; soli
taire addiction.
But if congress passes this
bill, it will be prescribing an
ineffective medicine based
upon a false diagnosis. People
who claim to be solitaire-ad
dicted actually suffer from a
much broader, ancient disease
called laziness.
Laziness is just as common
as the cold. It’s a part of the hu
man psychological ambient and
it lurks in our systems waiting
for an opportunity to become
symptomatic.
One acute form of laziness,
for instance, can make the af
flicted feel an undeniable urge
to do six weeks worth of laundry
the night before a big test when
he or she ought to be studying.
Since most office environ
ments lack overflowing clothes
hampers, lazy employees invent
and avail themselves of literally
hundreds of ways to avoid their
responsibilities.
Some make paperclip chains,
others make giant spheres with
rubber bands and some lazy
employees will inevitably turn
to computers.
It is only our society’s fascina
tion with a relatively new infor
mation conduit that fools us
into making an excuse for peo
ple who are both uninspired and
digitally-inclined.
Congress would never try to
outlaw paperclip addiction, rub
ber band dependence or water
cooler syndrome. Those afflic
tions would make for bad politi
cal posturing.
And they would make for
even worse news reporting. NBC
took the initiative to break this
alarmist stoiy on a Nightside re
port. They interviewed several
people who had lost their jobs
because of solitaire addiction,
and in the any-quote-is-a-good-
quote mentality that so per
vades fluff journalism, they ac
tually solicited a response from
Microsoft, since it is the compa
ny that packages the offending
game with the Windows Operat
ing System.
I didn’t actually hear or read
what the NBC reporter asked of
the Microsoft representative,
but it probably was something
like “What can you do help the
suffering people? Have you no
power to stop this wave of muti
lation that you so carelessly put
in motion?”
I did read the Microsoft wr it
ten statement, which said es
sentially “We’re really glad peo
ple like playing games with
Windows. If you don’t like it,
stop. Now excuse us while we
get busy making crazy, booty-
butt-naked kinds of money.”
Business computers should
be used for business, and games
don’t belong on machines in
government offices, but if it
takes a law to coerce managers
into holding employees respon
sible to their jobs, a phantom
epidemic is probably the least of
our worries.
The games may be trivial, but
the law to stop them is not. In
seriousness, if the federal gov
ernment recognizes and vali
dates “computer addiction”
enough to pass a law about it, it
is a very short and easily argued
step to protect the computer-
addicted under the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
The result would be a work
place further choked by
ridiculous political concerns
that make productivity next to
impossible.
What is it that powers today’s
computers? Nothing more than
standard electrical current, al
though some people are deter
mined to believe that the ma
chines are more sinister,
requiring human souls in order
to boot up.
But before we allow victims
and lawmakers to blame com
puters for stealing their drive
and motivation, we better
make sure they had some to
begin with.
Christian musician sent powerful message
John
Lemons
columnist
O ddly, sometimes
it is the people
we have never
met that affect us the
most. They are the
people who change us
through their work —
their books, their po
ems or perhaps even
their songs.
They are the ones
whose insight reveals
to us worlds that we
otherwise would not
have otherwise imagined. Rich Mullins was
one of these people.
Mullins, a Christian musician, died in an
automobile accident two weeks ago. Unfor
tunately, most Aggies haven’t heard of
Mullins.
Throughout his 10-year career, Mullins
created and sang music about what he
called the “reckless, raging, fury that is the
love of God.”
Mullins’ death is a significant loss to the
contemporary Christian music, a genre
that has received some criticism in recent
years. Despite its shortcomings, Mullins
and his music represented what is right
within the genre.
Although he was exceptionally talented,
Mullins received little attention outside of
the contemporary Christian music scene.
His most famous song, “Awesome God,” is
extremely popular in churches across the
country. The song will likely appear in hym
nals through the next century.
In an era where “MmmBop” and “Zig-a-
zig-ah” pass as lyrical genius, Mullins filled
his songs with words that profoundly ex
amined the nature of God and the frailty of
man. He is one of the few Christian artists
to use biblical scripture in the lyrics of
nearly all of his songs. Mullins was well
known throughout the Christian music in
dustry for his writing ability.
Jim Dunning, Mullins’ manager, said,
“In the industry, he was considered by
many to be the greatest writer of our time.
I believe that.”
Mullins had a knack in his music for ask
ing the unconventional questions of faith
that are so easy to miss in life.
He fearlessly explored rarely considered
subjects in songs like “Boy Like Me/Man
Like You,” which explores the question of
whether Jesus had a regular childhood, and
“The Howling,” an examination of justice
and its absence in the removal of Native
Americans from their lands.
Ironically, the song he will best remem
bered by does not do justice to Mullins’
writing talent. While “Awesome God” has
inspired millions, Mullins did not consider
it to be one of his better songs.
In a 1996 interview with The Lighthouse
Magazine, Mullins said, “The thing I like
about Awesome God’ is that it’s one of the
worst songs that I ever, ever wrote; it’s just
poorly crafted.”
While most people’s exposure to Con
temporary Christian Music comes from
artists like Michael W. Smith and Amy
Grant, Mullins danced to the beat of a dif
ferent drum.
His style wasn’t the pop music that tem
pers much of contemporary Christian mu
sic. Instead, Mullins’ music was more folksy
and eclectic. Mullins was an accomplished
player of the hammered dulcimer, one of
the few truly American instruments.
His scripture-based songs and uncon
ventional musical style defied the argument
that contemporary Christian music only ex
ists to make a quick buck off of Jesus.
While some Christian music artists have
been accused of trivializing God by singing
trite songs that are little more than a dance
tune, listening to a Rich Mullins album is
an intellectual experience.
Often, I found I would have to listen to a
Rich Mullins album six or seven times to be
able to think through Mullins’ points. I found
that I learned more from Mullins’ music than
from any sermon. That, however, is not a
criticism of the preachers I have heard, but a
testament to the quality of Mullins’ work. /
Certainly, Mullins was no saint. Mullins’ *-
frank nature frustrated many of his fans. *'
When Mullins held a concert at A&M in the J-
spring of ’96, some people who attended *•'.
were offended by an insensitive comment ’
he made about wife-beating.
But Mullins never claimed to be perfect. I
He was always forthright in both his music *-
and comments about his imperfections
and frailties.
Contemporary Christian music needs K
more musicians like Rich Mullins — artists r
who examine faith intelligently, earnestly *
and humbly. Mullins’ sincerity and ingenu-
ity will be greatly missed.
Fortunately, we have his music and his L
faith to remember him by.
John Lemons is an electrical engineering.
graduate studentr ■
Jeremy Valdez is a senior
journalism major.
Mail Call
Lady Ags deserve
better treatment
Last weekend, I went home to
Katy and watched television with
my dad on Saturday afternoon. We
were talking when he surprised me
by saying, “I bet you’re really proud
of the womens soccer team.”
My response was “huh?”
Dad said, “ You’ve got to be kid
ding. The women’s soccer team is
ranked number 2 behind UNC.”
We played University of North
Carolina and we were unfortu
nately outscored. But, you have
to keep in mind that UNC has
the best record in history and
has been unstoppable for the
past 10 years.
Now, what would happen if our
football team were ranked num
ber 2 in the nation? (Who knows -
maybe we will be. Whoop!) Any
way, we being the red-ass Ags that
we are would let everyone know.
I am really proud of the wreck
ing crew and everyone else that
has made us the great team that
we are. Believe me, I’m not shy
when bragging about our football
team (especially to t-sips), but I do
think we should give more recog
nition to the Lady Aggies (more
than one small column on the 7th
page), especially since they are do
ing such a great job.
Since the women’s soccer team
was formed a few years ago, they
have always been ranked high and
played great. I think they should
receive the respect that they have
worked so hard for.
Way to go, Lady Ags!
Christine Reedy
Class of’99
Religious concepts
skewed in column
In response to Michelle Voss’
“Breaking down the closet door”
Oct. 5 column:
As I read Voss’ column, I was
saddened by her misconceptions
of Jesus Christ (who is the son of
God, and is seated at His right
hand) and his true followers.
He was crucified (literally) be
cause he was perfect, sinless and
he was the ultimate sacrifice to
atone for our sins, not because he
was a “social outcast.”
Sincere Christians agree that
homosexuals should not be
bashed and hated. The Bible does
not teach hatred of people, how
ever, it does teach hatred of im
moral and ungodly-like actions.
These actions include things
such as murder, drunkenness, ly
ing, fornication, adultery, swear
ing and homosexuality.
In the Old Testament, adul
terers, murderers and homosex
ual offenders all were to be put
to death.
The fact is that homosexuality
is not more wrong than fornica
tion, adultery or other sexual
sins, but it is morally wrong, and
it is a choice.
No one is born a bigot. No one
is born a homosexual. God cre
ates people with the ability to
choose.
They can repent and accept Je
sus as their Lord and savior, or
follow the world and its “prince,”
the devil, to Hell.
So for all of you nominal Chris
tians who are sleeping with your
girlfriends, think twice before you
bash a homosexual.
David Grotheim
Class of ’00
Coming Out Week :
reveals personal sins
In response to Michael Schaub 's
"One person’s story” Oct. 5 column:
Schaub was repeatedly inac
curate as he tried to reconcile
Christianity and homosexuality.
Perhaps a little study on his part
would have revealed that in fact
The Bible does preach intoler
ance of homosexuality.
Schaub’s quote of Bobby Grif- <
fith correctly assessed the prob- «
lem. Bobby felt estranged from *
God because he had “chosen sin
over righteousness.” In his
choice to pursue homosexuality,
he chose to separate himself
from God. "
Christianity is a religion of
love. However, part of God’s love I
for us includes his desire that we -
do his will. Bobby’s mother was I
right to pray for the conversion •'
of her son.
As Christians, we should take
the opportunity presented by
Coming Out Week to pray for a
spiritual awakening and conver- '
sion among homosexuals. Com- '
ing Out Week should not be *
about coming out of the closet, *
but coming out of sin.
Aaron Hendrickl
Class of’99'-