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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1998)
attalion Page 3 • Monday, September 7, 1998 in Reality ?nts at Texas imbrella orgs; iites over ■ ubs. It also s; anal Camp,i ace intematk ggie culture. Ping-Ya Hsu. ■ograras for IS- rnational stu; livvan, said tbs ■ograms offerer "We will bets, g trip and an e spring, wev mmI Week,' - Break" by Hie ISA' -,3 white, a ,1oor traphy t in the Yates t School of unication in KUSH n, is just one " . hotoqraphs Contw .Ey e on ' \/ard" exhibit Houston m of Art. s one of 1 2 t r nu ts whose with nd-white sodal: jraphs will At display h Oct. 25. Aggielife e fit hosted at Hi which as well >or Aggie tv to t ?tic Mlt- ca- for al- ni- ike for hat life rusn car ternitie; terestec Sarnia; member Phi frar industm jor. saic student about the "Rush get invol; system a; Aggie,"?.: This ye is making of thelar Greek h:.- mated I registere; Photo courtesy of Houston Museum of Fine Art idents photographs tell story inner-city life in Houston Ipi nitie ? all BY DAVE JOHNSTON The Battalion t is said a picture is worth a thousand words. If this adage holds true, then a group of in ner-city Houston youths are speaking of hope and opportu nity in Houston’s Third Ward through a series of black-and- white photos. Houston Museum of Fine Arts is ng its fourth annual “Eye on Third ' exhibit — a display of 45 black- hite photos taken by high-school its at the Yates Magnet School of mnications in Houston, i? students develop their portfolios in pnior and senior years at Yates High I, taking photos of subjects that com ate life in Houston’s inner city. :ructors and museum officials select it photos to include in the exhibit, ;ult being a collection of positive im- f life in Houston’s Third Ward, er Marzio, director of the museum, e hopes the exhibit will encourage Deople to get involved with the mu- —both on the creative side and the end. rzio said he continually is surprised ■ high level of talent from the stu- at Yates High School, lere is more energy and creativity han we could ever hope for in any stitution,” he said. ' Carrington III, Yates High School graphy instructor, said he has taught at Yates for six years, and each year is still enjoyable. “It’s fun,” he said. “As a teacher, if you can have fun with students, that’s very important.” This year one student, Shamika Woods, has eight photos in the collec tion of 45, even though she entered Car rington’s class with no knowledge of photography. Carrington said his students’ success is because of the high demands he places on them. “I give standards and settle for no less,” Carrington says. “When they bring junk, I just throw it in the trash.” Although their instructor may be strict, the students say they love Carrington. Khaliah Davis, one of this year’s ex hibitors, said she did not have any real in terest in photography when she started high school, but after working with Car rington for a year, she is considering mi- noring in photography in college. Like Davis, many students entered Yates High School with interests other than photography, but decided to join Carrington’s class after they met him. Students at Yates High School spend their first two years rotating through four different courses of study — jour nalism, photography, graphic design and media technology—which teach stu dents the behind-the-scenes mechanics of communication. see Photographs on Page 4. Labor Day honors past struggles of unions, American workers BY MARIUM MOHIUDDIN The Battalion “Heck no, we won’t go! Heck no, we won’t go!” These words were spoken re cently by people assembling outside Northwest Airlines offices, but these sen timents have weighed heavy on the minds of management since the 1800s. Unions have fought for many changes in the American labor practices. In recog nition for all their work, every year offers Labor Day, a day to remember what was fought for and what was achieved in American labor practices. Labor Day originated in the late 19th century when Peter J. McGuire, leader of the Knights of Labor union in New York, suggested the union should sponsor a holiday honoring labor. He decided for the day to occur during the end of August and the beginning of Sep tember because it fell halfway between In dependence Day and Thanksgiving. In its early days, groups of union work ers would parade around the city and would have picnics with fireworks. Thus, Labor Day was born. At first it was a New York holiday be fore it became a national holiday. However, other cities soon realized it was important and began to adopt it. It then became a na tional holiday. Dr. James Bradford, associate professor of his tory at Texas A&M, said Labor Day has evolved since its beginning and has taken on new mean ing for the American pub lic. “It has become the mark of the end of sum mer,” he said. “The last day for picnics, family out ings and staying at summer homes.” James Branson, an organizer for the Texas State Employees Union, said he can remember past Labor Day activities. “I was part of the Mining Union in Virginia,” he said. “When Labor Day came around we would all get to gether and have picnics and speeches. We would remember what this day was for and what it meant.” Beginning in the late 19th cen tury, those celebrating the holi day began to use it for other matters. The society mavens of the day may have decided that what people wore and how they entertained should revolve around the arrival of Easter and the departure of Labor Day. Labor Day and Easter evolved to mark the beginning and endings of fashion. Bradford said Easter time in proper so ciety meant all the summer clothes and activities would start. When Labor Day arrived, people would stop their summer fun. “People would put away their white clothes,” Bradford said. “It went as far as men did not wear white dinner jackets af ter Labor Day and could only wear the dark colors of the winter. Drinking white drinks was not allowed, either, because white was a summer color. Some even did not eat cold meat in the winter because cold meats were reserved for the summer. “Even the entertainment for the upper crust would revolve around this. Operas and symphonies would begin to perform after Labor Day.” Labor Day evolved to signify another important aspect of the American past as well. It was the official start of the political season. After the conventions in the summer, politicians would spend the next month building up support and networking. When Labor Day arrived, it was a day for political speech making. Campaigning would start after Labor Day. Bradford said during the 1930 presi dential campaign, Franklin Roosevelt would start campaigning in Detroit be cause the city housed so many large unions—from autoworkers to Teamsters. Like many holidays the significance of Labor Day is slowly lost to each gen eration. Very few states observe the hol iday today. Branson said the holiday is supposed to celebrate the accomplishments of the labor force. “The labor union has fought for many of the benefits that workers experience to day,” he said. “The safety net that pro tects us now did not exist in the past. It is a luxury people take for granted. When the unions first began we had to fight just to have a union because it was illegal just to have workers organize together. ” Branson said people need to remem ber the sacrifices made by the unions because many of the laws they fought for are being changed. “The gains we made are being turned around on us,” he said. “The labor re form laws are anti-union. People just don’t feel that workers have the right, and that they should not be able to or ganize themselves and discuss their jobs. To some people, this is still a radi cal idea.” The work the labor unions accom plished can still be seen in many aspects of life. They not only have added to the safe ty and benefit of employees but have brought about change for man agement. Bradford said the unions have caused a wide spread ripple effect. “Since this led the-way to factory workers having 40- hour work weeks, the of fice workers followed,” he said. “As the factory workers’ wages went up, then the managers’ wages would increase, too. Also, the job se curity gained, such as fire exits, lead to the school system gain ing them.” Branson said the importance of celebrating and remembering this day should be on the minds of everyone. The jobs people hold today, the mon ey they earn and the respect they are given were affected by the labor unions. Bradford said because Labor Day is a federal hol iday, all federal employ ees will have the day off. However, just be cause A&M is not giving the time to students, faculty and staff does not mean A&M disregards the holiday. “A&M’s attitude has been that they have to have an “X” number of days that have to be for instruction,” he said. “If they were to give every holiday off, then we would be starting school earlier. There were many times we would not get certain holidays be cause of days needed for teaching. I re member a time that we did not get July 4th off because of school scheduling, so A&M is not singling this day out.” Brad Graeber/Tiik Battauon VS 1-9pm S' vus Post Ofik m aim & Lab 18/1 11/202 & Labr Leadership opportunities New Friendships A Place to do Service ALPHA PHI OMEGA National Co-Ed Service Fraternity For more information come to: Harrington 108 @ 7:30 p.m. on Monday 9/7 Harrington 108 @ 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday 9/9 or call Jennifer & Nicole at 696-2405 ATT SPRING 1999 ION WHAT: MANDATORY- Pre-' WHEN: Tuesday, September 2 TIME: 7:00 P.M. WHERE: Rudder Tower Room 601 TEACHERS Teaching sting 2, 1998 Phi Beta Lambda Professional Business Fraternity Fall 1998 Rush Schedule Tuesday. September 8, 1998, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Informational Meeting. Room 203 Reed Arena. Professional Attire Required. Wednesday, September 9, 1998, 7-9 p.m. Social at Yesterday’s at 4421 S. Texas Ave. Thursday, September 10, 1998, 7>9 p.m. Professional Speaker: State Representative Elect and local entrepreneur Fred Brown Wehner 113 7-9pm. Professional Attire Required. Monday, September 14, 1998, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Paintball Playday at Rowdy’s. Meet at Olsen Field Parking Lot at 5:30 p.m. to depart in groups. Maps available if needed. Wednesday, September 16, 1998, 7-9 p.m, Potluck Dinner at George Bush Conference Center on George Bush Drive. J' II MSC Barber Shop Serving All Aggies! Cuts and Styles All Corp Cuts $7. Regular cuts start at .1 846-0629 Open: Mon. - Fri. 8-5 Located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center Came warsftip mitfr im! Cavitt Church of Christ 3200 Cavitt Ave. Bryan 822-4844 2 blocks south of Villa Maria Sunday AM Sunday PM Wednesday Bible Study Worship Worship Devotional/ Bible Study 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Services in Spanish at the same times .6 REEF WORLD m YOUR LOW PRICE STORE FOR SALTWATER FISH, LIVE ROCK, CORALS AND SUPPLIES y* T jjjN 'y! ^ Buy one fish, get second fish at 50% off Second fish must be of equal or lesser value. 900 4C Harvey Rd., Post Oak Village 695-0889 NOT VALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFER OR SPECIAL. EXPIRES 10/1/98. Live Rock Supplies Saltwater Fish Coral
