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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
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-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