The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 17, 1998, Image 11

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    iday • April 17, 1998
The Battalion
Kill!
marks the spot
sic scene thrives on heels of Nor thgate festival success
Indents come to
iexasA&M Uni-
iedoJ ,ers * t y f° r one
—education...
id parties... and
Hfood... the as-
of living a col-
ge lie are endless.
Bit there seems
( I: ibe one element
he;. jCoilege Station
at Individuals al-
bridB are complain-
B)out — the
(tisjc scene.
People seem to think the only music available to
[d^nts and members of the Bryan-College Station
lunity resides in Northgate venues.
[id although many of the weekend shows per-
irmed around Northgate represent styles from
aes to rock to country to Celtic, these musical
^liipies seem to always leave the “big concert” out
ft game.
!% i Ornately, thanks to the success of North by
orthgate and the people behind its creation, mu-
■ alive and well in College Station (contrary to
pat people believe is a dying music scene.)
In Saturday, yet another musical gathering
lake place at The Grove on the A&M cam-
Slt has been named XFest.
lie concert will feature local bands, such
linus, Blue Earth and Spencer’s Rocket,
ith additional appearances and performances by
■amation, Peeping Tom, Throwaway People,
istFree Exit and Native Strut. Put on by the Aggie
gs usician’s Society, XFest should be considered yet
ea ' nbtherdoor opener to the floodgates of music in
this area.
With a variety of sponsors helping the promote
the show, KHLR 103.9 the X stands out as one radio
station whose name only brings more prominence
to the event.
Mark McKenzie, assistant program director at
KHLR, said it is not the fact that there seems to be
more music concerts springing up around town
that is helping to open the doors; it is due to people
in the community taking note of the live format
music is branching into.
“I think that they are becoming more aware that
live music is a viable attraction for people who live
here, which is why there have been more festivals
and gatherings of musicians,” McKenzie said.
Another aspect of the “music festival” is the na
ture of pairing music with fund raising.
McKenzie said many organizations benefit from
these types of events, thereby enhancing exposure
of the charity.
“It’s neat that they are using them (festivals) as
fund-raisers,” McKenzie said. “Live music is a good
thing for fund raisers — they attract a lot of people,
have a small overhead and raise lots of money.”
Even though charities gain exposure and
recognition through live concerts, McKenzie said
people should still consider being careful about
over-promoting.
“There is the danger of overexposing
the live music scene, but for the time be
ing, it’s an excellent idea,” he said. “Final
ly, the street culture is beginning to have
a life force.”
With the upcoming 12 hours of constant
music on Saturday, it looks like College Sta
tion and the live music scene have come
together to make a successful pairing.
XFest begins Saturday at noon and wraps up at mid
night. There will be free food, tons o’ fun and all donat
ed proceeds will benefit the Brazos County Girls Club.
It seems like College Station is shaping up to be a
musically enhanced and diverse environment. And
as the title of the event seems to be a play on a cer
tain popular Fox television series, let’s just say:
XFest, the music is out there.
James Francis is a junior English major.
AMPUS CONNECTION
foreign language courses lack effectiveness
i today’s business world,
[the ability to interact
vith people of other cul
ts is vitally important,
lerican businessmen
mot know that showing
■bottom of your shoe is a
'SMlnous insul t to Arabs (you
mild be saying they are
per than the dirt and
hel dung you stepped in
■ting there), or that the
ter sign for two, with
lur index and middle fin-
J(like the “V” for victory), is actually an invita-
jon for sex in many European countries. So be
eful when you order those bagels,
b receive a Bachelor of Arts degree, students
isttake 14 hours of the same foreign language,
hat translates to four semesters of Spanish, or
sian or Japanese. This requirement would not be
roblem, except that this requirement does not
ly teach the language and shortchanges students
o would like a broad cultural overview, to learn
flout other people and avoid interesting cultural
xpas.
[Studies show that bilingual students achieve more
jd do better. Great, hooray, back-pattihg all around.
[However, these studies cover students who are
]eady fluent in two languages, not just those
ning a language.
Also, the portion of the brain that learns lan
guage begins working much less effectively at about
age 11 or 12.
As most college students are at least a half
decade older than this, it is a little hard to imag
ine students are learning the language effectively.
Also, while I have never personally seen these
studies, no one has ever pointed out whether or not
the subjects were primarily bilingual from an early
age (which I suspect) or were students who had
learned their foreign language after that 11-year-old
barrier.
This means that we honestly do not know
whether or not learning a foreign language in col
lege will help a college-aged student.
To add insult to injury, language classes, due to
their size and the nature of learning a foreign lan
guage, do not adequately teach the language.
The embattled professors do their best — more
than could be expected of them — but it is difficult
to cram a semester’s worth of espanol or deutsch or
francais or any other language into the unreceptive
skulls of students who are just in a class to graduate.
However, there is a solution.
Many students take a language class simply be
cause it is required and do not learn, and the other
students who truly wish to learn the language are
lost in the shuffle.
The Department of Modern and Classical Lan
guages should offer two language tracks. The first
would be the current 14-hour, single-language
track. The other would be a broad-based, multiple-
language, multicultural track.
The multicultural track would allow students
who appreciate culture, and their own limitations,
to experience a wide range of cultural systems,
courtesy of taking a wide range of 101-level lan
guage classes.
They would pick up the basics of the language,
enough to get directions or find the nearest bath
room. This track, however, would not force these
students to pound their heads against the language
barrier imposed by their own age.
This track would dramatically increase the size or
number, or both, of first-semester language classes,
but it would lower the size of all subsequent, sec
ond-, third- and fourth-semester classes, which
would help those students on the single-language
track.
They would not have to deal with slackers taking
up space and holding up the learning process.
The problem is apparent, and with a little jug
gling of schedules, the solution is not only apparent
but easy to implement.
T he Department of Modern and Classical lan
guages simply has to ask itself the question of which
is of more use to a graduating Aggie: the ability to
speak one language well, and probably never again;
or the ability to interact with a variety of cultures.
Chris Hujfines is a sophomore
speech communications major.
VOICE FROM THE CROWD
lorps class requirement treats cadets unfairly
Jesse
Spivey
guest
columnist
[Ihe Corps
of Cadets
is full of
lie. Many
ps of the
bs are
ememo-
eand ben-
al to its
nbers. The
'S placed
icademics
anendous,
[bond He
len friends
ted in the Corps is powerful and
leadership skills built are immea-
ible. The list of attributes could go
ind on.
Tie Corps does have its downfalls,
ctifl 'ever. One particular aspect of the
ps is... well, let’s just say, down-
it ridiculous.
-etme explain. In a cadet’s career,
ISl 1 irshe is required to take a series of
ses, 16 hours of classes to be exact,
freshman and sophomore year re-
|re ROTC classes corresponding to
the cadet’s outfit affiliation: Air Force,
Army, etc.... The next two years are
followed by continuation of ROTC
classes or D&C (Drill & Ceremonies)
classes for those not seeking a career in
the military upon graduation.
It is these D&C classes that fall into
the ridiculous category.
To be in the Corps as a junior or se
nior, if you are not under military con
tract, you must take these classes,
which would lead one to assume that
the classes are full of necessary knowl
edge and wisdom to deal with the real
world after graduation. That assump
tion would be completely wrong.
The class may attempt to offer
some type of help but at such an ele
mentary level as to almost be offen
sive to a senior in college.
During tire course of these two
years, cadets are forced to not only at
tend these not-so-helpful classes,
spend time on likewise not-so-helpful
projects, but also pay for these classes.
The classes contribute no benefit to a
cadet’s degree progress, help not at all
in tire pursuit of academics, and basi
cally become a nuisance to a cadet.
So, why, you ask, are these classes
mandatory, and why do you have to
pay for them.
In the words of Colonel James Mc-
Clesky, director of Training and Op
erations for the Corps, “It is a rule in
the Standard, and I’m sorry, that’s the
way it is.”
D&C cadets are forced to take and
pay for a class that offers them no
“real” benefit because it is a rule and
that is the way it is. No matter how
long a cadet has spent in the Corps or
how much time a cadet needs to put
into his “real” classes, he or she cannot
be in the Corps without it, and is
forced out of the Corps if it is dropped.
Recently a cadet found himself in
just such a predicament. Cadet S.,
we’ll call him, has spent the last 3
some odd years in the Corps, has over
130 credit hours, and is very close to
graduation. However, because he
found his grade was suffering in his
D&C class due to his neglect of the
not-so-helpful class dealing with his
“real” studies, he dropped the one
hour class and was removed from the
Corps last week.
Cadet S. will miss his last Parents
Weekend, his last March to the Brazos
and his last Final Review due to the
fact that it is rule to take this class and
that is the way it is.
Cadet S. was also told his situation
was too bad because no exceptions were
ever made. When, in fact, there have
been exceptions in the past. Why just
last semester another senior cadet
found himself in Cadet S.’s predicament,
and he too dropped the class. He will be
marching in his last Final Review.
Cadet S. will miss all of his senior
Corps events due to sporadic enforce
ment of a rule forcing him to take a
non-beneficial one hour class be
cause that’s the way it is.
It is sad that Cadet S.’s memories of
the Corps will leave such a bitterness,
and his respect for its leaders be so di
minished because of this situation,
but hey, I guess that’s the way it is.
Jesse Spivey is a senior
journalism major.
GENDERSCOPE
Both sexes must
act out against
sexual assault
I t’s 2 a.m. After a long Satur
day night hanging out with
friends on Southside, you
decide it is time to go back to
your Northside dorm. Waving
goodbye to your friends, you
head for home. On your way,
you pass by the Commons
and the Quad and listen to the
last sounds of late-nigh t revel
ry. Smiling to yourself, you
start thinking about the night,
remembering that great per
son you met at the party, the
funny joke your friend told, the old acquaintance
you ran into.
Before you know it, you’ve weaved your way past
Heldenfelds and the Psychology building, and sud
denly you realize there is not another soul around. No
laughing friends, no cuddling couples — no one but
you and Lawrence Sullivan Ross on the Academic
plaza.
Quickening your steps, you start thinking about
other things, like how dark it is, how quiet it is, how
absolutely alone you are. By the time you reach Fish
Pond, you are already fumbling for your keys and ID
card. The quiet noises of night combine to empha
size your vulnerability.
No one would hear you if you yelled. No one
would see you if you were attacked. Why hadn’t you
thought about this before you left your friends’ room?
Why hadn’t you crashed at their place for the rest of
the night? What had you been thinking?
You were probably thinking the same thing
most Aggies think when they head off across cam
pus in the middle of the night — absolutely noth
ing.
Having been indoctrinated into Texas A&M with
multiple recitations of the Aggie Code of Honor and
tales of knightly gentlemen, it does not occur to
most people to be afraid on campus.
That is, until they are walking across it alone
through poorly-lit grounds. And when they arrive at
their dorms or cars unscathed, they breath a sigh of
relief and chastise themselves for worrying so much.
Aggies don’t lie, cheat or steal, they remember. They
certainly don’t rape.
Take Back the Night, sponsored by the National
Organization for Women chapter on campus, is an
event designed to encourage women to take back
the right all individuals should have — to feel safe
walking across campus alone at night.
Traditionally, events such as this do not in
clude male participation.
It was not until a few years ago that men were
even allowed to march with the women across
campus as a symbol of unity in the fight against
sexual violence.
Sexual assault tends to be viewed as a strictly
female issue — women have to worry about it,
deal with it and fix it. People forget, however, that
sexual assault is not limited to women.
Men are also victims.
And even though a high percentage of sexual
assault is committed against women by men,
somehow men are never thought to be included
in strategies of prevention.
We think women must bear solely the responsi
bility when the truth is that sexual assault doesn’t
happen alone. It takes two.
Thinking about the history of the women’s
movement, it is obvious why men have been ex
cluded. Women were fought at every turn in their
battle for equality and came to rely primarily on
themselves if they hoped to advance in society.
Men were tossed aside as means to achieving a
desired end. Women’s liberation meant a woman
no longer required a man to create better life for
herself.
Modern-day “girl power” leaves little room for
male influence.
Events such as Take Back the Night focus on
this empowerment of women, helping to give
women the confidence, skills and tools to walk
through the world with strength and dignity.
Great.
Now we’ve got confidence. We’ve got skills.
We've got mace.
Big deal.
Sexual assault is still going to happen.
Why?
Because people won’t start talking about the
roots of aggressive sexual behavior. People don’t
want to start tackling the larger gender issues that
start at birth and are never addressed until it is
too late. People don’t want to believe men are
raped, too.
Why do we insist on Band-Aid cures for the
gaping wounds in our society?
All of the self-defense classes and all of the
marches sponsored by well-meaning organizations
help to empower women and increase their aware
ness but, unfortunately, do little to solve the prob
lem because they fail to include all the pieces of the
puzzle.
Although women can achieve greatness by
themselves, they alone cannot solve a problem that
involves both sexes as both victims and assailants.
Only by actively encouraging both sexes to talk
openly about sexual assault on campus will the
problem of sexual violence ever find a permanent
solution.
Jennifer Jones is a senior psychology major.