ilion
L thins catalog exposes
are currenth:, ^ ^ A -■
iadbare moral values
CORRIE
CAULEY
Road trip loir
The Aggie- ltest
Alto, Cali! .’ ofth 1 -'
on the Stanfr Jartei 'v-
leads 1-Othe g for
Stanford. Tht ar
Cardinal 2-! om P?
Sot rer Com; oml ? le
nuch
I he ganir , ,
, , i cloth
olicitcd.
othing ' '
‘ : ' urer is certainly target-
ir , young audience, but
terial is outright dis-
butt. \\ i atest ca talog goes
■ !ll> ^ ei ‘ K elling clothes and plays
|,t;!, '' |s l ' ' ' nt interests.
M igh its name has always
\o\'. dexit ec j an j con of good taste,
MOi inj; -v" was 110 t even worn in
t ' l ’ nsnl ; ' rfold of the latest issue.
in.m.C- . - othing was worn by the
points in tnr~; en parading around with
he Agg:e ar injhand held at just
against me, height to conceal a big
Wednesnjv n g n o no.
Soccer Lomp.-; hen there are the girls,
ssed and running cheer-
ngside the stark-naked
1 this is just a regular ki-
• s /' ' y class. So, what is so
nth a bunch of boys bar-
>st all? After all, sex
: juicknes ht?
ugh many people ai-
?lieve classes, books and
re only secondary to the
experience, the latest edi-
he A&F Quarterly inten-
ve are qu: - e stereotypes of sex-
•Wc also college life.,
docking in 10Se w l 10 do run naked
ontinued i ampus, perhaps this con-
mi even the fhat A&F has strived to
idered a tai as encouraged you
aot in mosr 11 anc * ^ u y undies
e able to pi dangling from the hands
ut up good; ' models. In that case, job
ne for the A&F advertising
- except for the fact that
:got to appeal to those who
/ prefer to wear the clothes
•y-
n there is the handy little
1 is expecting an 8 er that A&F included
nd sophomr lsert in the catalog. One
)kin!' for 1 3( ^ s “B us y»” the other side,
C ase y j S ai - g Busy.” What exactly is
•omise shoe °moting anyway—cloth-
tex?
hose who are more inter-
'' Because
and our spee
are going to
team,” Corbel
urong and w
Page 7
egiatej.
ete in two fa
The Agcies 1 sex ’ A&F has mcluded
the Red Rim o-college” tips devoted to
( -| n | 1 ; students make it through
untry Clubr''• Suchjs " n ' eRllles of
nda-Baylor I
on: It’s okay to start on
the sofa, but don’t stay there.
Briefs conceal your excitement
better than boxers. Negotiate a
special group rate at a local motel.
Sex can work in a single bed. Just
be creative.”
A&F is also devoted to making
sure readers are equipped with
all the necessary “Tools of At
traction.” A checklist is included
for all those nights that “sex-
crazed college students” have
unexpected company.
“Have condoms strategically
placed around the room.” “A
bedside supply of water is a good
idea. A bedside stack of crisp
towels is an even better idea.”
And the one sure to be the fa
vorite of all the girls— “Prepare
an emergency kit—she’ll appreci
ate your thoughtfulness when
you pull out a new toothbrush
for her in the morning.”
And as if all this is not
enough, there’s “Drinking 101.”
The Quarterly suggests, “Rather
than the standard beer binge, in
dulge in some creative drinking
this semester.”
“A&F has concocted a sam
pling of shooters perfect for after
hours.” Ten hard-liquor recipes
follow with names like “Fore
play,” “Hummer” and “Orgasm.”
The pages of the A&F Quarter
ly consistently flaunt stereotypes
and demean the maturity and
character of the college student.
Maybe sex sells, but there is a
point when it is taken too far.
Abercrombie & Fitch might rep
resent an icon of good fashion
taste, but the company’s latest
advertising antics have demon
strated nothing less than a seri
ous lack of style.
As far as the centerfold goes,
when you put it all together, per
haps the ad suggests that if you
follow their recipe for a “Hum
mer,” take your date to the local
motel you got for the negotiated
group rate, you might get to use
the condoms that are strategically
placed around the room for ran
dom company, and maybe you’ll
get lucky enough to run naked
across campus toting your under
wear in hand while she runs
cheerfully along praising you for
your thoughtfulness when you
gave her a brand new toothbrush.
Carrie Cauley is a senior
journalism major.
Ooini
pinion
Page 11 ‘Tuesday, September 15, 1998
Aggie against Aggie
Student rivalries hurt campus unity, dishonor traditions
L ast week the students of
Texas A&M had the sad
opportunity and obliga
tion to gather and pay their
respects to seven fallen mem
bers of the Aggie family
through Silver Taps.
Silver Taps has long been
one of the most revered and
treasured traditions here at
A&M and almost everyone re
alizes and respects its importance. However, last
week several residents of Hart Hall chose to des
ecrate the spirit of the ceremony by heckling
members of the elite Ross Volunteer Honor
Corps organization as the guard made their way
to their staging area shortly before Silver Taps.
As the Ross Volunteers, or RVs, marched to
their staging area in their formal white uni
forms carrying rifles for the ceremony, a
group presumed to be the “Hart Hall
Howdy Committee” or the “Hart
Hall Hecklers” began their extraor
dinarily immature routine of ha
rassing bypassers.
There was shouting, obsceni
ties and foolish questions. It
sounds like the obnoxious
tomfoolery one would expect
to find in a scene from the
movie Animal House.
This is a college campus,
and a certain amount of
jackassery is to be expected
from those deprived of ma
turity. However, using one’s
childish impulses as an ex
cuse to heckle and berate
one of the most elite organi
zations of A&M on their way
to perform a memorial service
for seven dead Aggies is ab
solutely inexcusable.
The RVs were acting in an
official capacity as representa
tives of A&M and one of the
school’s oldest traditions. Their
charge during this and all other official
duties must be protected from this sort of
behavior and they must be allowed to con
duct their affairs without interference.
The behavior of these couch-camping, ra
bid jackals cannot be tolerated by the students
of this University, and if their behavior contin
ues in the future the administration must take
some disciplinary action.
The problem is not that someone dares to
have different views than the RVs or that
someone dare not wholeheartedly agree with
the Corps of Cadets’ lifestyle, the problem is
that these young men were solemnly walking
in formation to a solemn University function,
to honor members of our student body that
passed away over the summer, and they were
actively heckled and interrupted.
One might add that the RVs did not break
ranks or attempt to to retaliate in any way,
shape, form or fashion. They stayed focused
and allowed their behavior to exemplify their
maturity and sense of purpose, thereby adding
more honor to their uniforms.
On the other hand, is there no Aggie spirit
in Hart Hall?
Has Hart Hall become a place of safe haven
for those that stand in opposition to A&M’s
time honored traditions? Will these young
men camp out in front of Aggie Muster and
vocally portray their righteous indignation to
all those that come to mourn there as well?
One would hope for better behavior from fel
low Aggies.
While this type of behavior on such a
solemn occasion is reprehensible, it is also in
dicative of a much larger problem. The Corps
of Cadets is often not afforded the respect that
it and its various manifestations deserve.
This fact is troubling and unacceptable for
several reasons.
First, the Corps of Cadets dates back to just
shortly after A&M’s inception as a university
and has been a tremendous asset over the
years. When one thinks of A&M it is doubtful
they think of Hart Hall, its empty beer cans
and cigarette butts or its hecklers.
They think of tradition, honor and integrity,
all qualities boasted and exemplified by the
Corps of Cadets.
This is not meant to say that tradition, honor
and integrity cannot be found in other student
organizations. It does, however, mean that
shouting threats and obscenities at the Ross Vol
unteer Honor Corps organization on their way
to Silver Taps is an action that wholly lacks tra
dition, honor and integrity.
Second, life in the Corps is not easy and
those that choose to subject themselves to
such a daily regimen of disciplined life de
serve our respect.Many Aggies are not
standing in line to join the Corps only
because they like convenience and
personal freedom—qualities not ex
actly on the top of the Corps of
Cadets amenity list.
The young men and
women of the Corps have
chosen to make their lives
at Texas A&M more diffi
cult because they are a
part of an organization
that many non-regs will
never understand.
They have an air of
camaraderie and deep
personal relationships
that can only come
from times of struggle
and strife.
Third, one would as
sume that Coprs mem
bers are each attempting
to be more pro-active than
the average bear in deter
mining their own destiny
and developing a sense of
true responsibility.
There are many more reasons
for students to, at minimum, re
frain from public disrespect of the
Corps of Cadets as a whole or its indi
vidual units, most of which are historic.
Whether one agrees with the lifestyle of
the Corps or not, the simple fact of the mat-’
ter is the Corps is the organizatioin primari
ly responsible for the mystique that sur
rounds the A&M campus, and any attempt
to interfere with their activities is intolerable
and inexcusable.
The Corps of Cadets and its various mani
festations deserve the respect of all Aggies.
The fact they are often treated like second-
class citizens by people of half their fortitude
is the only aspect of this matter worthy of
jeers and obscenities.
Len Callaway is a senior journalism major.
LEN
CALLAWAY
Graphic by Brad Graeber/The Battalion
II be pari ok
aid he (hint'
)ortion clinic lawsuit shows immaturity, self-centered attitude
?am from our it
Fll | > said. ^ anc j s [jpg a j 0 h n
umamenU' ham novel: Debo-
Gaines, a Boston-
uvel to AIKoman, is suing the
pete in the I. )n c ij n j c w here
ugh Saturday scheduled an
itment, which she
l after the clinic
|e target of a gun-
rampage,
es is suing the
CHRIS
HUFFINES
or the costs of giving birth and
her child, who is learning dis-
All the story needs now is a
idealistic lawyer and a series of
tic courtroom confrontations.
■ill seriousness, Gaines’ lawsuit is
ult to the American judicial system,
nly reason it should be allowed to
proceed is so other potential litigants
have the opportunity to see the case get
shot down in flames.
On the day of the shooting, Gaines,
two-months, pregnant, was smoking on
the clinic steps (in the interests of conti
nuity, the writer refuses to more than al
lude to the benefits of pregnant women
smoking). John Salvi III opened fire in
side the clinic's waiting area, then ran
out of the building. Gaines saw Salvi ap
proaching and leapt out of the way. Suf
fice to say, the abortion she had sched
uled for that day did not take place,
however, did not reschedule either.
Seven months later, Gaines gave birth
to a baby girl. The girl, Vivian, is learn
ing disabled and hyperactive. Gaines had
to quit her job and send her other three
children to day care so she could concen
trate on raising Vivian.
Now Gaines is suing the abortion
clinic. The suit claims the shooting was
the result of poor clinic security. The
suit states that, in light of the rash of
shootings in the early ’90s, the clinic
should have installed such “reasonable
measures” as armed security guards, a
police presence, metal detectors and
locked doors.
Gaines also said she could not
reschedule her abortion appointment due
to post-traumatic stress.
What makes this case an exercise in ju
dicial overtolerance is that the abortion
clinic should not be held liable for a situa
tion that was entirely out of their control.
The clinic had hired multiple security
guards, but wisely kept them unarmed.
Hitting either a pregnant woman, a doc
tor or protesters outside (whose numbers
often included children) with a stray
round is obviously not a good thing. The
clinic had hired what security it realisti
cally could.
Further, if Gaines felt uncomfortable
with the “lax” security at the clinic, why
did she not go to another clinic with all
the “reasonable measures” she desired?
Finally, Gaines could have scheduled
an abortion at any clinic that had ade
quate security, after the shooting. Going
back to the scene of the crime is some
thing no one could have realistically ex
pected of her, but out of every clinic in
Boston, there had to have been one that
Gaines would not irrationally fear.
The only bright light in this case is that
it will go forward, and it will, hopefully,
blow up spectacularly, leaving a better
precedent on the law books. Perhaps this
trial can dissuade future legal antics.
Gaines was a victim, there is no
doubt of that. She was thrust into a
traumatic situation no one should have
to face.
However, with this lawsuit, Gaines is
choosing to remain a victim. Gaines
originally sought the abortion because
she wanted to turn her life around. It is
time she returned to that ideal instead
of continuing her current foolish, de
structive course.
Chris Huffines is a junior speech
communication major.
MAIL CALL
UWyjirh BUKffi (JssTranweri
SEE/CS
y share credit
ecycling project
jonse to Sept. 8 articles:
as A&M has come a long
po//M<jf(> war d to becoming an envi-
O/iviJi-1ntaIly friendly campus and
udent leaders behind cam-
jcycling efforts are due cred-
wever, the name of Student
or Marianne Ibrahim has
been absent from the pro
coverage.
ahim’s involvement began a
:ar ago with the advent of nu-
bills concernin 8 specific
3o//ii70/» j n g [ssues such as buying
ed paper first, recycling all
oard boxes and recycling
attalion.
far as issue-oriented lead-
this campus are con-
d it is not only fair but also
sary to say that recycling is
m’s pet issue. It is difficult
all a student leader on this
•us that has done so much
)mote a single cause.
•jj-iy J^closing I would like to take the
opportunity to laud Ibrahim’s zeal in
dealing with the issue. We could all
take a lesson in persistence and
conviction from her example. I
know she will continue to do a won
derful job with the Student Govern
ment Association on behalf of the
students of Texas A&M.
Those of us “in the know” ap
preciate her efforts and hope that
she continues her activities with
increased success.
Jason R. Fort
Class of '96
Labels not erased
by racial equality
In response to Manisha Parekh’s
Sept. 10 column:
Manisha Parekh’s column about
PC terms for ethnic groups makes
a very good point, but offers no so
lutions. Of course we should “focus
on including all people in under
standing our differences.” This is
the goal of equality.
However, this does not solve
the problem of labels, unless one
is idealistic enough to believe
people will stop distinguishing
between skin colors completely.
No matter how tolerant and ac
cepting we become, people will al
ways distinguish between different
races. Since racial classification is
inevitable, what does Parekh pro
pose we call each other?
Josh Lee
Class of '02
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