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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1997)
lesday • November 18, 1997 >er 18, 1W - - O The Battalion PINION heesy on the eyes en 1 ^Aesthetics of architecture on campus do not live up to rich cultural history lile the eccentric sleep habits of stu- . _ dents are widely cel- 01 ' ts ^jftted, there is no reason to 11 t,s(,n pidate campus with build- so drab that visitors are ilyable to overcome the re boredom the struc- s induce. exas A&M is an old cam- tewith a rich history. The ■er buildings on campus nposed in ale went in he attack a e effects ifeblood ity has bet: litant viol Dave Johnston columnist ■entered ■ Assiut, nen and ly targeted lence ha lost recei nans an m> killed re on a in Musi were cone [’ere sente |. Theyck Islam bi |\ were no up. lack, tiled: is 0 ct an era where designers d attention to aesthetics. dost of the buildings that have been standing ggieland for many decades are unique. All ths Chapel, one of the most attractive build- son campus, resembles an open garden, n the Academic Building, which was built tiindustrial strength concrete walls, is a dis- (v rtive edifice that is nice to look at even ugh it is not practical. Vot all of the older campus buildings are out- it beautiful, but they are still special. The C, close to thirty years old, was heavily criti- edwhen it was first built. Students com ined about the "bunker-style” wall in the main Iway, the bizarre designs on the walls upstairs I the expensive and gaudy cowhide benches, nersintj ough maybe unattractive, these features com- 8,1996,11 leto make a distinctive building that is unique rifles ki: \&M. Unfortunately, recent additions to the campus e the Euii dscape are not distinctive, but are better de- ids in Cain jb ec i as ‘'monuments to the architect’s boredom.” Most residence halls on campus are merely replicas of each other. If not for an occasional Legett or Hart, visitors would think they were wandering in circles as they tour campus. The University has spent plenty of money on new campus buildings. Millions of dollars have gone to landscap ing, maintenance and replacing the flowers near the Academic Building every time the weather changes, but the University skimps when it conies to aesthetic design. Most of the new buildings are heavy on angles and short on ornamentation. There are a few hints of attractive design among the new campus structures. The Rec Cen ter has a few rare components making it resem ble an air traffic control tower. The Reed Arena has a few corners which have been rounded to make them less offensive. The George Bush Li brary, however, falls into both categories. The Bush Museum is certainly striking and photogenic, but the Bush School is biocky and sterile. The school and the conference center are both large buildings. Their intimidating size is only accentuated by the fierce angles and mundane design. Walking down the halls of the Bush School, students won der if they got lost and wound up in a hospital or perhaps a high school from the late sixties. Some Aggies are trying to preserve the cam pus’s great architecture. Old Main Society unsuc cessfully attempted to prevent demolition of De- Ware Field House and Puryear and Law halls. Saving campus treasures is only a partial solu tion. The administration should strive to create Ir-coJ lepublic members personify ivpocrites, not ambassadors A'm k Chris Huffines columnist s Hal loween -has come and iwnaiwp once l n halt tec #1 little [v, butitte Wren pre- : said tods Wing to be [hut denary appari- [hortage-tons and ] When t! “any no- 1 scopes? bodies have [ispoind aken off mthesii heir costumes and resumed a ling pot* tormal life. Except for the fine, jmostsj ipstanding members of the [scopes lepublic of Texas. Once again, blistering tele- livelVim ision coverage has thrust the jn del lepublic into our everyday Ithecoifves. Richard McLaren, archi- : of the now infamous kid- jnVafe lapping and stand-off in the lie Mitt 1 ) av j g Mountains, has gone to trial and come away with a 99- jasonl 1 ear sentence. When released, M‘ ssl1 he older and probably more fAW leceased McLaren will no jilainf | }e considered “a martyr \m br the cause.” lequtf of course, the cause here is ^ lothing more than a sham. The Republic of Texas is lothing more than a smoke- reen wafting quietly in a 0111 ! ireeze in some reality other aSlS jj han the one commonly , I1I vsJ ji hared. The fact that the Re- lublic is not a viable movement Ltai ® re fl ecte d in how its “ambas- ^ ‘ *>ador” acted during his trial. McLaren and his co-defen- iant, Robert Otto, were i brown out of the courtroom too lot once, not twice, but three 'imes before Judge Kenneth ugui DeHart moved them to anoth- ciii 5r room with a closed-circuit jei" so they could listen to the ^vlii^ ~—_ I it" 1 trial. Real ambassadors have i just a little decorum and j enough dignity to wait more i than five minutes before be ing given the heave-ho. It took McLaren and Otto less I than a minute. Another thing real ambas- 1 sadors do is have real lawyers : representing them. McLaren : and Otto pretty much refused ! their court-appointed attor neys. Which is why they were thrown out so often, they kept objecting during jury selec tion, while the judge was in structing the jury. For those of you who are not legal-sawy, jury instruction is pretty diffi cult to object to. As Students’ Attorney Rick Powell said, ob jecting during jury selection is simply dumb. Protesting the fact that the judge is trying to tell the jury to be fair and im partial doesn’t make any sense, either. Finally, real ambassadors realize that when the country they are representing im peaches them, they no longer represent that country. As Chief Am bassador of the Republic of Texas Ray Wanjura said, the Republic impeached and then disowned McLaren. Wanjura further speculated that it was McLaren’s inability to cope with the loss of his po sition that led to his “reckless and distraught behavior.” The humor here is that the Republic of Texas actually is right. Without going into the is sue (which is not the issue here), the absorption of Texas back into the Union after the Civil War wasn’t handled cor rectly, given our status at that point as a separate nation. However, every reasonable in dividual in Texas believes they are a part of the United States, meaning that, regardless of the moth-eaten treaties the Repub lic keeps referring to, the peo ple believe they are citizens of the United States of America. As is spelled out quite clear ly in the Declaration of Inde pendence of the Republic of Texas (1836), “When a govern ment no longer reflects the will of the people, it is no longer that people’s govern ment and the people have every right to dissolve it and seek a new government. Also, in the Constitution of the Re public of Texas, all powers not given to the state are the province of the people.” In English, this means that because the people of Texas want to be a part of the United States of America, the Repub lic has absolutely no right to demand Texas be recognized as a separate country. It’s called popular sovereignty. The people of Texas seem to be quite happy with being a state. The Republic of Texas is hypocritically in violation of it’s own Declaration of Inde pendence and its own consti tution, the two documents that most defined the country. Further, the Republic is refus ing to act like a legal govern ment but more like a group of preschoolers squabbling over the sandbox. They are not our government. Chris Huffines is a sophomore speech communications major. Ml3=llldfc»ilLU Cable Kamv Hews WE 60 LIVE TO B&ISe,wheRE AN M PAIRS IN TRAFFIC COURT.! j/ ;P j A OF TtfE'P MOPE!- NUMB©?: 7*4*7612 more attractive buildings. Campus is growing quickly, and when bud gets are stretched anything “pretty” is expend able. Yet administrators should heavily consider how long A&M will be stuck with these ugly campus structures. A&M has one of the most attractive campuses its size, but serious measures must be taken to make sure it does not soon become one of the largest eyesores in public education. Dave Johnston is a senior mathematics major. Mail Call History skimmed by feminist column In response to Mandy Cater’s Nov. 13 “Contributions of feminist movement continue to remain unrecognized today"column: Cater brought up valid points about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony; her inclu sion of Margaret Sanger brings up some interesting historical points. She is right in saying that Sanger “was a major force in le galizing and raising public awareness about birth control.” She did not, however, cam paign for all women to have ac cess to birth control, only those she and the others like her deemed undesirable. She was the founder and pub lisher of Eugenics Quarterly. The American Heritage Dictionary defines eugenics as “the study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selec tive breeding.” Sanger wished to control the breeding of, among others, blacks, Jews, Italians, Irish and Catholics; in other words, any one who was not a white Anglo- Saxon Protestant. In fact, she was highly sup portive of German efforts to build an Aryan race until the out break of Wo rid War II, when she changed the name of her organi zation to Planned Parenthood. Actions such as holding Mar garet Sanger up as some sort of feminist saint are exactly the rea son why many modern women choose to disassociate them selves with feminism. Yes, I enjoy the right to vote and have a ca reer but I will never view Mar garet Sanger with anything but contempt, and suggesting that she is on the same plane as Stan ton and Anthony is a travesty. Christina Weston Class of’97 Feminists take equal to extreme In response to Mandy Cater’s Nov. 13 “Contributions of feminist movement continue to remain un recognized today” column: I would like to make a few points of clarification. First of all, I agree that the feminist movement is very alive and active in our country. In fact, I was rather sur prised that columnists are under the impression that it has become a dead issue. And yes, I agree that we owe a lot to file women in America’s history who fought for the right to vote, among other “feminist” battles. The problem with this issue (as with many other issues of po litical focus) is that over the course of time, women have tak en their desire for equality to an absolute extreme. Notice, though that Cater states in her column that, “Feminists are women who want to be able to create their own destinies,” when in fact, the statement should read, “Feminists were women...” Instead of promoting the characteristics of female nature, feminism has now become an organized front for male suppression and intolerance. Feminists no longer want to just “create their own destinies.” Instead, they want special priv ileges and specific rights — not equality. It is a complete disgrace to think that women today are so wrapped up in promoting them selves, that we have forgotten to appreciate the individual and unique aspects of each sex. As a woman, I personally ad mire and respect the aggressive ness of the male gen der, and their desire to provide for and protect us — “the weaker sex” (1 Peter 3:7). I sincerely hope and pray that the feminist movement, as it contin ues, does not destroy the minimal amount of dignity and respect that seems to be left in America. Crystal Ridgeway Class of’00 Republican morals smell of hypocrisy In response to John Burton’s Nov. 12 “Campaign funding wires up Re publicans" column: In an environment in which ba nal, paint-by-numbers conser vatism is accepted with little thought or question, Burton’s sharp critique correctly revealed the hypocrisy evident in many high-ranking Republican officials. Many Republicans are making a career of accusing President Clin ton of wrongdoing, despite lacking any evidence to support these claims. But when Republicans are caught funneling money from os tensibly nonprofit organizations, there is no such indignant outcry from within the COR Republicans almost have been fanatical in their drive to oust Presi dent Clinton and Janet Reno from office. Numerous investigations (at great costs to taxpayers) have turned up nothing but crumbs, no evidence of any impropriety at all — but the GOP still howls for blood. Of course, the strict Republican moral standards only apply to De mocrats. After Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich heavily was fined for serious ethical violations, Bob Dole ponied up the money for his friend, and no serious attempt was made to as Gingrich to step down. Sena tor Fred Thompson, a Republican, has suspended hearings on possible Republican improprieties, choosing instead to joust at the windmill of campaign finance reform. And who could forget Senator Drew Nixon, a Republican current ly serving a jail sentence for solicit ing a prostitute? The Republicans would like nothing better than to be the self-appointed custodians of ethics in American government, but their record hardly justifies it. The Romans had a saying: And who will guard us from the guards themselves. Michael Schaub President of Texas Aggie Democrats Class of 99 Puerto Rican Week showcases diversity In response to Kendall Kelly’s Nov. 17 “The more you know ...’’column: I commend Kelly’s column concerning the lack of effort by others to learn about other cul tures. As a member of the Puerto Rican Association, I have wit nessed the dismay of other mem bers wishing to establish a bridge with other cultures. We have tried time and again to promote activities to kindle new friendships and understandings of different backgrounds, be they white, black, Hispanic, Asian or whatever. This is what our organi zation stands for: to create a means in which others can be ex posed to our culture (and hopeful ly have a little fun with it, too.) Is multiculturalism so terrible? Why does it seem people are so afraid to learn about each anoth er? Perhaps if we all learned more about each other and set aside our stereotypes, this world would be a better place (this may sound like some Disney song.) Having planned events wel come to anyone and everyone this week, the Puerto Rican Associa tion has done its part, and hopes others will do theirs. It is wrong to assume I am say ing all of this merely because I am Puerto Rican. I luckily have not been subjected to any discrimina tion or attacks on my race as a student here. I do not ignore racism exists, but I do not see myself as a vic tim. I am, however, saddened by the fact some people are unwill ing or uninterested in the broad ening their horizons. As Aggies attending a “world-class” univer sity, we should realize there is no better time to do so. I hope to see many people par ticipating in our events (schedules are posted in the MSC.) And when we celebrate the end of the week dancing to lively music (in the Ra- mada Inn on Friday night), maybe we can see being colorblind really is not all that bad. Daniel Ramirez 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: mi Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu