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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 1998)
[onday • June 2Z, 1998 The Battalion PINION >ses uryk wen| ame frorl ■°de up l-J to warm to closed ■ Nicldausi the 42iic roke befel champ® No’ means 'no of female consumers does not allow room for negotiation ; cl v "V S. Opt.- Palmers IS. Open 2-ovet8i ouble |oles and with onlt braved tout! ht over pi Palmer pr-5 first:.' : in stror;] lof thete |t) i the frd |n the k] lasto: ■ r , shots <e bettt yitha from 8, inclti ben he | one-foe 1 was a! Stew [eloped in alt b.6its« | conte ens. [inti: p.d.feij finjj®} [ ■ high school, there were jocks, preps, nerds and gangstas. Not much has changed. Now there are neck cowboys, frat rats, ps whores and poor white April Towery opinion editor urn by LI [k tol| agaiej bmer if ■atl Itei -abeling and categorizing Me is a sign of immaturity, |people continue to do it. I around Texas A&M, |ues have formed and pop- fhty has once again become gality. •Tien entering a local bar, fst girls would like to turn a ' heads. However, when the heads being turned 1 saying, "Where did she get that outfit — the [gain bin at Weiners?" there exists a problem, viously, these people don't know how to spot a ■ft store special. Seriously, nothing has changed as far as vanity ° Popularity go. The same way the cool people r to have name brand jeans in high school, they | Ve to shop at the trendsetting clothing stores |W. [Trends will come and go, but it is important col- ^ students do not subscribe to the very things y made a mockery of in high school. Plenty of students would say they hated the trendi- | Ss ' c hques and popularity that went hand in j nc | w hh high school. But these same people lit Ptodn't be caught dead in a pair of Guess jeans. And people are still trying to show off their cam- fs involvement. Just like it was cool to be a cheer- a er or football player in high school, college stu- f nts gain popularity by involvement in a sorority stu dent senate. e °ple don't wear T-shirts proclaiming their or- ftozation's logo because it's more comfortable. pT Wear them to let people know they fit in ptoevvhere. Even the local bars have become categorized. [hN, W0U ^d s P ecu late there's a definite frat haven L 1C l the alterna-teens wouldn't be caught dead in Jr ar billed to the brim with cowboy hats and Ind UC ^ es • • ■ it might as well have tumbleweeds er Saw dust on the floor. There's a bar for the up- rc ass wine and ale-drinking grad students and professors, where they can read philosophy and discuss religion and politics. And wherever you go, there always is the low-class dingy bar where everyone is wearing ragged cutoffs and ponytails. There is an unwritten, unspoken dress code in each of these bars, and don't think you won't get a few stares if you don't choose to follow it. It is so difficult for people to be themselves, women especially. They spend hours every day be fore they go out fixing their hair and putting on makeup. Why? To feel good about themselves, to feel adequate and acceptable in the eyes of others? It's not comfortable to have pounds of greasy foundation on one's face. It's not comfortable to have a head full of hairspray. But few women have the courage to shave their heads and leave home completely natural, because that's not "in for '98." I ran into an old friend over the weekend. He was a friend of a friend in high school, and I've probably had about two substantial conversations with this person in my lifetime. In high school, he played football and dated cheerleaders. In college, he plays football and dates sorority girls. In high school, I wrote for the newspaper and had a really good personality. In college, I wrote for the news paper and, well, my mom thinks I'm beautiful. Nothing has changed. But the difference is this: When I saw him, it was like we were best friends. We had a great conversa tion talking and laughing about friends of ours and the good oT days. We had the maturity to see each other for our true character. It didn't matter that he wore a polo and khakis and I wore tennis shoes and baggy jeans. For a moment in time, popularity did not ex ist. This is the way it should be. College students can be whoever they want to be. If it makes someone happy to be a member of the Corps of Cadets or a fraternity, great. But we've got to remember that we're adults now, and acceptance is an important part of grow ing up. The people who belong to a clique of any sort must realize just because someone else is not in the same social circle doesn't mean they have noth ing to offer. April Towery is a senior journalism major. Alison Lackey columnist W ithin the realm of con sumerism, a woman is constantly challenged. Many times a salesperson views a lone woman as an easy target. She is the dar ling prey of "Consumer- land," Little Red Riding Hood walking to Grandma's. She is unsus pecting of Big Bad Wolf lurk ing nearby, ready to sell her beach front property in Arizona. Whether car shopping, car re pair, banking, etc., the myth of the frail and flimsy female consumer exists. This myth arbitrarily catego rizes female consumers as inept. When big bad wolves hear "no," in "Consumerland," various ele ments enter their minds ... A. The female consumer might not know or be aware of what she really needs. B. The female consumer might not have the intelligence to know what she needs. C. The female consumer might be declining something. A through C are not options. "No" means exactly "no," noth ing else. The notorious adage, "she says no but she really means yes," is a bonehead statement that has be come acceptable in society. Women have endured torment in connec tion with this motto, not just so cially or with regards to issues of sex, but within "Consumerland." When a man says no to some thing, it is final, nothing more is said, end of discussion. However, when a woman says no to some thing, it is often seen as negotiable. The word "no" from a woman is seen as a verbal cue that says, "time to negotiate and persuade into affirmation." "No" is implied as a way to alter and twist words into a way that is suitable. There is nothing wrong with fe male pronunciation. The last time I checked, the word "apple" was pronounced the same way by both sexes. When a man says "no," it is tak en as "no." A man has no more of an eloquent language pronuncia tion than a woman. His gender does not allow it. His gender should not be the defining element of his language. Socially and within consumerism, individuals feel men are blessed by linguistic gods that command them to speak with domineering stature. Why must virility be a master over words? Why has our society exhausted virility in this manner? A woman's word is ambushed, where as a man's "no" reverberates louder, longer and with more force? This is absurd. Men and women are equally ca pable of attaining and achieving knowledge. Gender should not de termine a person's language or its value. The quality of the individual is the determinant. A woman is just as dependable and committed to the conviction of her words as a man. Women are not malleable creatures who need the assistance of men in re sisting other individuals and their agendas. When John the car salesman tries to convince Jane that she needs six cylinders instead of her requested four, John uses persua sion and coercion to convince Jane she is very wrong. A woman's thoughts and feel ings should not be altered to coin cide with or suit another. It is im portant to be confident in decision making, Jane must be even more confident than a man, preparing for John's coaxing, "Now are ya sure, darling Jane?" She is expected to smile pretty and allow the male aggressive nature to erode her con viction. Women's decisions do not need to be double checked. Women are not completely inde cisive individuals. This issue of language and the yes-and-no game is a politically crammed issue. It is a smaller is sue engrossed in the larger femi nist frame. This seems like a mi nor issue of women's rights; however, it escalates into some thing enormous. It is part of a larger picture. Women want to be equally heard and respected. Don't relent. Don't "behave" when a car salesman tells you to have your boyfriend or husband come in to the store later to discuss a ' deal. If someone pushes you to re consider your word, don't get intim idated and inhibited. Be firm with them. Cancel their intrusive meth ods with confident action. Repeat * your answer and let them know that " "no" means "no" and nothing else. Alison Lackey is a senior English major. liques and popularity contests ontinue to exist in college VEM, 1 HEy THfeY IMKE. US SLEEP ON m COUCH r Baptists resurface old idea H JOHN Lemons columnist N obody generates more enter taining news than Southern Baptists. Nobody. Remember, this is the church that de cided to take on Disney at its national convention last year. Any group that ac cuses Mickey Mouse of being a sleazy pervert deserves recog nition. After all, according to polls, rodents with high- pitched voices rank some where between O.J. Simpson and Pat Robertson in terms of credi bility. (Last week Robertson warned Orlando, Fla., that it risks hurricanes, earthquakes and terrorist bombings by allowing gay organizations to put up multicolored rainbow flags in support of diversity.) Well, tire Baptists are at it again at this year's national convention. This time they have issued a statement that is bound to be as unpopular as last year's call to boycott the Walt Disney Co. The Baptists believe that wives should (gasp) submit to the au thority of their husbands. The trouble is, they have got a point. It is a point that will irritate a lot of liberated women. A lot of feminists have burned a lot of bras to date only to be told by the Baptists to stand by their men. Much like the "Jerry Springer Show" and good taste, femi nism and submission don't mix. No, the Baptists are not going to make new friends with this procla mation. But what exactly is so offensive about the Baptists' statement? The statement calls on wives to "submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband." Perhaps it is the call to submit gra ciously that is so troublesome. Some might argue that statement means women should not be a doormat, but a gracious doormat. Of course, gracious submission must be examined within the context of the servant leadership required of husbands. Servant leadership means hus bands must strive to serve their wives, not oppress them. The idea be hind the submission statement is not that men are superior to women, but that men and women possess differ ent roles within a marriage. Besides, the idea of 50/50 equal power sharing within in a marriage is a fallacy. Marriage is not a barter sys tem; it is a union between a man and a woman. Somebody must lead, and somebody must follow. To pretend that a life-long relationship can con sist of daily bargaining, like some sort of business deal, is absurd. In even the most submissive mar riages, eventually the power balance will even out. As most husbands quickly learn, when their wives say, "Go mow the lawn," their servant leadership says "Yes ma'am." One thing is for sure, though, the Baptists' marriage statement is the best idea they have had in years for adding members to their churches. After a declaration like this, what man would not want to marry a Bap tist girl? Maybe the Baptists can come up with a slogan or two to encourage people to buy into their marriage phi losophy. Something along the lines of "Marry a Baptist — she'll do the dish es for you." Or perhaps something like, "The Baptist church — where love means never having to say T'm sorry, honey.'" Ah, the slogans could go on and on, but seriously, the Baptists have of fered Americans an approach to mar- 1 riage that they would do well to heed. Americans, after all, don't have a particularly great track record at marrying each other. Currently, four out of every 10 marriages begun to day end up in divorce. This is a rate that has been nearly constant for the past 20 years. We have come a long way when men taking a leadership role in mar riage sounds like a radical idea. For tunately, the Baptists are willing to suggest it, even if it is unpopular. By the way, in related news, Dis ney announced today that in their ♦ next Mickey Mouse cartoon, Minnie - will submit to Mickey's authority and they will start attending a Baptist church. Just kidding. John Lemons is an electrical ; engineering graduate student, f