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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1998)
Pi/LKrom <v jvumam >• «s Qjlay • March 27, 1998 The Battalion PINION tear Arenty-first century demands creativity in job searches Chris Martin columnist ll8o: y the letter of the law, lv. ours is a land of free sire speech. That’s just |p , ful, right? - t while the spirit of 18 w prohibits someone v gelling “fire” in a | ■ led theater, it shame- 'anoermits anyone at - ne to ask you “so are you doing after ation?” tmple turn of this |ini e to the average col- 1 snior is like a turn down one the shadiest illeys of the human psyche, instantly inciting iffs in the most genteel of souls, ny students in their most desperate hour — eing the first day post-graduate rent is due — o the “hot job markets” issue of U.S. News, \ probably extols the virtues of cyber-tele- o-avatar-something or other engineering, e problem with these up-and-coming trades t by the time you read about them, practically third classmate of yours has pasted fake o-avatar intern experience into their resume, tsing the job field competition, and killing off Kp hanpe you had at getting in on the cutting e real challenge is to beat everyone out of ate and find a job just a little off that beat- reet path. 1 ',reat poet once wrote (well, actually they avc; it twice, but the first time was on a cocktail •- in) “so much depends upon / the road not i / beside the white chickens.” : other words, you will never make money 2't poetry. The future, oh denizens of deadbeat f;, lies in the following niches — sleeping now like pupae, waiting to awaken as secure, well-paid and well-dressed butterflies in the 21st century. • Court Sketch Art Dealer While the rest of the art world crumbles under the weight of post-post-post modern baggage, the brave traffickers of court art will be making a killing from those pastel portraits of O.J. and Ted Bundy. Fine art has Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel, court art has Charles Manson and Lorena Bobbitt. Get in now while the prices are low and the body counts are high. •Hybrid Disaster Movie Producer Volcano? Earthquake? Twister? Shipwreck? As teroid? That’s kid stuff in the future. After the gold en era of disaster movies in the late ‘90s, audiences will rise up and demand more action, more terror and even more unbelievably lame plots candy coated in computer graphic smoke and mirrors. The solution? Major studio think tanks that can combine two natural disasters into one. Possibilities include “Fireclone,” about a horri ble Midwest tornado made of pure lava, and “Ele- conda,” about a mad genetically-engineered pachyderm with a poisonous, man-eating snake for a nose just stomping and eating everything in its path. Mad fun for everyone. •Loud, Pompous, Tommy Cologne Wearing, Oversized Truck Driving Texan Whose Life is Per ceived to be Better by the Strict Adherence to One’s Own Kind Oh wait, I think most Aggies are trying this al ready. •Shorn Headed, Gun Toting, America-Way-or- No-Way Police of the World Memorexed Militia Member Oops, did it again. •Library Tower Medieval Torturer For all those puzzled by the bizarre tower being erected between Evans Library and the new library building, rest assured that it will be used to im prison and torture delinquent library book bor- rowers.The 25-cent fine was only the beginning, like slowly turning up the heat on a frog in a kettle. Applications are being accepted at the University Human Relations Office — hunchbacks are a plus. • “Dawson’s Creek” Memorabilia Archivist If collecting spinoff bric-a-brac from network television’s most popular show among female teenagers isn’t a sure bet, I don’t know what is. TV Guide covers, /. Crew catalog layouts, and the ex clusive cast album featuring Pacey’s cover ofVan Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” will garner top dollar at future Dawson-cons. • Texas Avenue Road Construction Worker. Now that’s job security. Not only is it a guaran teed job for decades to come, but it’s also a civil and nurturing work environment. Large groups of co-workers will selflessly sacri fice hours of their own personal work time just to watch you scrape blacktop. The future isn’t so scary once you have the in side track. And for those who fall through the cracks there will always be grad school, the Peace Corps or a life of crime — all good places to work on your poetry. “I think that I shall never see / A job with de cent salary.” Chris Martin is a junior journalism major. ithTik ; Niff* MPUS CONNECTION W-L |W-L I • r acing A&M’s.... iS movement 4$ ^ ' 1 Ipf 'C< . ■ ;-r Jennifer Jones columnist lea. I r ,/f arch is Hi Women’s f'Jt History r th. As univer- *" > across the ; m celebrate len’s contribu- f, to society and struggle for [' ility it seems a 1 opportunity fleet on the 3iy of women is university. ,he history of women on the Texas 4 campus begins in 1893 with Ethel |. f son, the daughter of a faculty member, t> was the first woman to attend classes te school as a “lecture student.” From i point, women were allowed to attend ttversity as “special students.” So- and Mary Hutson, twin daughters of English professor, registered for civil jllineering in 1899 at age 14 and corn ed their degrees at 17. But for all of I I r work, neither was awarded a diplo- n 1925, the first female to receive a loma was Mary Evelyn Crawford. In of that same year, however, the Texas Board of Directors decide that after t. 1, no girls or young women would be wed to attend A&M. This was the first lificant blow for women’s advance- nt at A&M. n 1933, the question of women at M went before the Texas Supreme irt. Judge W.C. Davis ruled in favor of M in January of the next year, allow- the continued exclusion of women m A&M. Finally in 1963, after continuous court battles and significant alumni resistance, women were allowed to attend and teach at Texas A&M, but only under certain con ditions. By 1965, all qualified women were granted admission. Although women were now able to en roll, they still were unable to find equality on campus. The Corps of Cadets, in 1974, grudg ingly opened its doors to females. But it was not until 1978 that women in the Corps were allowed to join their fellow cadets at Bonfire cut. (Civilian women cut at Bonfire for the first time in 1981.) By 1994 the Corps became fully inte grated, and in 1997 women’s enrollment surpassed male enrollment (though as of this spring there is a total enrollment of 21,323 male students and 17, 887 female students). And so goes the phrase, “You’ve come a long way, baby.” Texas A&M (even if while kicking and screaming) has made continuous progress in the advancement of women at the University, and although women have made tremendous strides over the past 100 years, there are unfortunately still ar eas that warrant improvement. BETTER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF FEMALE FACULTY At the end of fiscal year 1995, there were only 253 female faculty members out of 1771 total positions, (check fig ures/dates again) Although A&M is able to attract female faculty initially, they simply are not sticking around. Some are not receiving tenure, others are unsatis fied with the less than friendly atmos phere toward women at A&M and filter off to other universities. MORE FEMALES IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY Currendy there is one female dean and a limited number of women in high-level administration. The lack of females in dis tinguished positions at A&M is not limited to faculty or administration. When Brook Leslie was elected Student Body President in 1993, she was the first (and only so far) female to be elected to the position. Fe male leadership within the Corps is im proving, but still remains low (as of 1997, only 6.5 percent of the Corps is female.) Beneath each of these areas lies the deeper issue of negativity toward women. At each turn, women were discouraged from attending the University as both students and faculty. A bitter administration was forced to allow the admittance of women, and, although this attitude has softened over the years, there is still a potent trickle- down effect from decades of resistance. A&M is a school with a high regard for history and tradition, honoring a past that did not include women. Because women were not included significantly at A&M until a few decades ago, it is not surprising that female students and faculty still are struggling to find a comfortable place at the University in 1998. The bottom line is that there is a pitiful lack of female role models at A&M. Al though, female enrollment continues to climb, there is no one for these new stu dents to look to for advice or guidance. The needs and values of women at A&M are not reflected or validated on this cam pus — not in the administration, not in the faculty, not in the traditions, not in the Corps. A&M flaunts it recent increase in women’s enrollment, but makes little ef fort to contribute to a more female-friend ly environment on campus. This does not mean more flowers planted across campus or pretty pink Corps uniforms. It simply means that it is time to ac knowledge the advancements and contri butions women have made at A&M and to give women a chance to achieve all they are capable of without having to wade through a sea of good ol’ boy bureaucracy and mentality. Jennifer Jones is a senior psychology major. MAIL CALL \tanic subject matter ^serves respect In response to James Francis’s Jticle “ Titanic seeks ultimate hrit with regurgitated storyline,” we need to remember that many people died in a terrible event that has changed the world. The creators of the movie strived for the truth, and to remake even the smallest details. Everything from the recreation of paintings, look-a like rooms, how people died, ru mors that were overheard on the decks, to the White Star Line china. Titanic was a brilliant remake of that cold night. Even though I agree with Fran cis’s view about A Night to Remem ber being a great movie, I disagree with it being “superior” to Titanic. Titanic showed emotions and ex periences that the black and white movie did not. The viewer, for the first time, experiences the excitement, hopes, and faith of the passengers. Also the suicides, greed, and 1500 lifeless bodies. Yet, it’s not about the magnitude of the movie, but that 2 miles down on the cold At lantic floor is a gravesite. Francis also said, “The focus on Titanic begins with the cast...”. While the full cast was admirable with many nomina tions and 11 Oscars, director James Cameron demonstrated what the true focus was. After winning for best picture he asked for a few seconds of silence for the lives lost on April 14,1912. Sometimes the best w&y of say ing something is to say nothing at all. Maybe Francis should have a moment of silence in prayer for the individuals and families that suf fered on that historic night. Kelly McClendon Class of’98 College experience not just study, working In response to April Towel’s March 24 column: Gee, could we not think up a de cent topic that went against the grain, so we had to bash Spring Break? She stated that students need to “grow up” as they will “never again be given the opportunity to take this much time away from the daily grind of school and work.” Of course they won’t, that is the beauty of be ing a college student. College is not all about studies, but rather the all around experi ence of college activities that also include Spring Break. Students should be mature enough to understand the value of time management and plan accord ingly. If that means they have a little more work to complete the week af ter spring break, then that is the price you pay. It is ridiculous to say you could have used the week to “get in some extra hours at work or get ahead on a project that is coming up”. Of course you could have. Or you could have could have removed yourself from school for a week, re laxed with friends in a location that ordinarily wouldn’t go to and go a lit tle nuts. Relax Towery, you will have the rest of your life to be “mature and responsible.” Mike Marketos Class of’95 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