attalion
Page 3 • Monday, September 7, 1998
in Reality
?nts at Texas
imbrella orgs;
iites over â– 
ubs. It also s;
anal Camp,i
ace intematk
ggie culture.
Ping-Ya Hsu.
â– ograras for IS-
rnational stu;
livvan, said tbs
â– 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
â–  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