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
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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.
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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
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