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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 1997)
TAM ()< Jay •November 7, 1997 O The Battalion 'PINION I i Sc luse llO! C( La Iwi hazy shade of gray matter nerican universities rely on academic bullying to stifle, terrorize young students |se< •Ik [Texas A&M ‘the word “haz- Jeremy Valdez columnist fwjjng" is almost ' en js associated ^ t ; iaternity Vg-and the b^ofCadets. It res images of ng sprees, ap contests ihermanifesta- of masculinity iorribly wrong, almost students Kognize — and what the administra- Inever admit — is that the most entform of abusive ritualism is acade- nature. This “intellectual hazing” is rated either purposefully or subcon- tybytoo much of the faculty, at is hazing? Universities constant- aigethe definitions in their rule to fit the latest, most scandalous ntorthe changing political cli- but essentially it is the infliction of tessary or excessive work meant to date or ridicule a new member, tmodern American university, iA&M undeniably is, does both ihings to students with the hope mewhere along the way educa- so happens. demic intimidation occurs so of- have terms like “weed-out class” ribe it. fd-outs — introductory classes quire tremendous effort to pass — (necessarily bad; often they allow :to recognize early they did not re rant to be a engineer, accountant or Dpher anyway. rever, the weed-out phenomenon includes classes where the professor’s bark is even worse than the course’s bite. Many students have had a professor hand out a syllabus and say something like, “Every year one-third of the stu dents fail this class. I’m not trying to scare you, that’s just the way it usually happens.” The next day, one third of the class has dropped, denying itself the chance to call the bluff. Even if the statistics back the profes sor’s claim (or boast), presenting grade distributions in such a manner does little to inform but a lot to frighten. Studying is scary enough without knowing the in structor has a grim notion of what the fi nal grades will be. Unfortunately, intellectual hazing does not end with the freshman year. Many students who brave the introduc tory material find subtle forms of acade mic ridicule waiting in later classes. Theory courses in particular are noto rious for forcing students to read count less chapters of predigested esoteric thought and then regurgitate it in neat one-page essay tests. Many instructors are so obsessed with ensuring the reading assignments are actually done they forget to allow for some healthy dissent on exams. Professors who pen test questions like “Which of our five authors do you agree with the most and why?” or “Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Support your argument with examples from the text.” of ten do not realize that they are hazing stu dents by discounting independent intellect. Some students who read the text might believe that all five authors should have got ten real jobs or that God angrily hurled both chickens and eggs, but such innovative ar guments, no matter how well they are de fended, often go unrewarded in classes where the holy scriptures have a little yellow “USED” label on the spine. As the twentieth century comes to a close, America looks around to see that walls of gender, race and class are falling or at least being targeted for demolition. But as old methods of division fall, so ciety actively seeks new ways to create power gradients and stratify itself into upper and lower classes. The latest, most legitimized upper class is made up of educated people, the technological elite who attempt to se cure money, status and power via their aquired knowledge. As students try to get initiated into this learned society they are subjected to many trials that are analogous to the binges and embarassment that cadets and aspiring greeks are supposed to be protected from. The fact that students (and pledges, for that matter) subject themselves to these tortures shouldn’t be overlooked. In order for hazing to occur, someone has to agree to be hazed. Not all ritual ism is inherently evil. In fact, hazing ideally serves to foster a spirit of camaraderie and make the re ward more valuable. But when academic hazing serves only to subjugate students and stifle in dependent thought, the offending coursework ceases to be a tool of educa tion and morphs into an implement of cerebral control, like a paddle used to spank a lesson into your head. Jeremy Valdez is a senior chemical engineering and journalism major. (niversity students get derailed on intellectual voyages Dthe Michelle Voss columnist tat is truth?” Pontious Pilate asked Jesus. What is beer?” saith the demcollege student. Ahh, 20th century University: a -pot of nitwits. Asocial phenomenon oc- ing today is the dumbing of erica. While people point to ig numbers of college grad- tesand the purring economy signs of intelligent life, some mid argue that students are leaving college without ie knowledge. Students are under the delusion that a degree college is an automatic sign of intelligence, iwever, the pieces of paper we receive today are ie illusions of intelligence. This is all a direct result of America’s campaign of i-intellectualism. Americans avoid thinking. If sible Americans avoid brain activity all together, lerica is brain dead. Wedo not care to discuss matters of intellectual im- - we’re watching the football game. We do not care to debate politics—we need more beer. We do not care to understand God—we’re out of queso dip. Sadly, American culture is lost in the superficiality of life. There is little value placed upon cultivating the mind, and no one sees virtue in thinking. The power of thought is not the emphasis of American life, but the seduction, lure, and entice ment of beauty. Squeeze those buns, tuck those tummies, lift that face, suck that fat, inflate those breasts — you’r e nothing, girls, if you don’t have a pretty face and firm butt. The obvious dilemma resulting from a superficial focus is an America that is pretty on the outside, but lacking substance underneath the surface. The institution that is receiving the nastiest case of this superficial bug is the University. Plaguing academia today is the apathy with which students approach knowledge. The Univeristy has become home to droves of beer-guzzling whiners. Students moan and com plain about having to read, write and go to class — how excruciating. Rather than valuing the opportunity to study, the modern college student views their college education in terms of dollar signs — how much will it cost me, and how much will I make afterwards? Rare is the individual who is attending this Uni versity because they have a passion for knowledge. Most students see these four, five or seven years as their glory days of gluttony — beer, sex, more beer — then they’ll get a nice job, in a nice high rise, in a nice suburb, with a nice lawn and a nice home. On the surface, the education pays off. While a University should be about emersing oneself in diverse ideas, students today are slapped into their major, sequestered from the rest of the university, pushed out as quickly as possible, and then shoved into a cubicle to perform astounding math for the benefit of Western Civilization. The val ue of learning is lost. Instead of questioning their place in the universe or maybe reading a bit ’o Plato or Nietzsche, stu dents prefer to give existential status to beer and study Shiner ingredient labels. People are actually afraid of supposed “deep thoughts.” Students run away and hide from any thinking that is different from their own. People are taught to be afraid of delving into their selves for fear of what they might discover. Oh, no, you may not think like everyone else, afterall. This apprehension about questioning their reali ty is not of any wonder. With Pop-culture saying it’s good to be stupid, as long as you’re beautiful, kids are only droves of conformists. Anyone who falls in the category of “non-con formist” must necessarily be a devil worshipper. When in actuality, the “non-conformists” are the only hope our nation has in saving this culture from materialism qua anti-intellectualism. Americans seem oblivious to the fact that the flesh decays, but the intellect is immortal. Narcis sism is squelching intelligence in America. We sim ply are hostile to thinking. The University also needs to realize they are fail ing to create critical thinkers. Students only receive a sterilized version of knowledge. Texas A&M is simply a manufacturer of special ized technocrats. This University is under the delu sion that they are creating leaders. In reality, stu dents at this university are willful servants of materialism, the true American value. Michelle Voss is a sophomore English major. w t I n 6 o €) Q Oi o Mail Call Not cancelling class stands as A&M error I am writing in reference to the George Bush Library dedication. I think it is a great opportunity and honor for the university, but my question lies with the administra tion. Why is it that classes are still be ing held on this monumental day? While history is being made on our campus, and we are the top story on many national news broadcasts, I am forced to leave my TV to go to my classes. In addition to this, it is impos sible to get to class. Many of the buses and parking lots are being used for this event. If we are going to be expected to go to class, don’t take away our means of getting there! Wednesday it took me over an hour to get home on the bus because there were so few buses running on my route. Thursday when I was trying to get to my 8:00 class, all traffic was stopped on University Drive to let some entourage of big wigs through. Someone please let us out of class! Amy E. Pike Mindy L. Kinkier Class of'98 Important threads of history absent The last part of Joey Schlueter’s series offers a curi ously bland account of recent changes at Texas A&M. Women in the band? Yes, but only after a long drawn-out lawsuit she doesn’t mention. Expanded numbers of student organizations? Yes, but an obstinate universi ty administration had to be forced by the courts to recognize Gay and Lesbian Student Services as one of them. Texas A&M has seen progress, but progress has been stubbornly resisted by many. It is slowly being achieved only through the determined struggles of those committed to a truly diverse, open and egalitari an institution. James Rosenheim Associate Professor Department of History Real spirit of season missed by SGA club This is in response to Kendall Kelly’s Nov. 6 “Students fail to recognize contributions, activities that com bine to form SGA’’ column: I find it very disappointing that a student government committee, in this case the Winter Spirit of Ag- gieland committee, can admirably raise $25,000 and then proceed to waste it all on Christmas orna ments, lights and decorations. This very large amount of mon ey would serve a much better pur pose if used for charities such as Phoebe’s Home, or even if used to purchase presents for children that otherwise would not receive any gifts for Christmas. Kelly uses the Winter Spirit of Ag- gieland committee in her column as a positive aspect of the Student Government Assosciation, but this committee obviously shows the poor set of priorities of the SGA in its wasteful “allocation” of money. Couldn’t the “Spirit of Ag- gieland” be better served by giving instead of receiving? So when it “begins to look a lot like Christmas in Aggieland,” as Kelly stated, I will be thinking of the children who couldn’t have toys and gifts this year because the Texas A&M Student Govern ment Association wanted tree or naments instead. Sam Shamburger Jeffrey Whaley Class of’99 The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude the author’s name, class, and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu For more details on letter policy, please call 845-3313 and direct your question to the opinion editor.