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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1999)
Battalion mil ngntit . r IADD honors 'tincllvnk driving victims TON Page 11 • Wednesday, April 28, 1999 MAIL CALL wmaleinfo!! male hostage;; ®gherunliar >ulkey,27,i- l were transit- prisons after; after the due is Departmer: sbury. Castleburr : s entered a fife implied wiii’ the persona: )t indicate wt Inch are kept Ives, with the injuring two; astlebury sa:i rent the day r urrenderan!- ?alth Sciences rpened inM ,vas moving r; cut himf’Cas md the two 0 the nuBe as and Jeffrey ', ion's infima: pital. Castlefe from the ho? ust tour mo: Chancellor Jo: ] Jers commit: j ally sound erJ * _i_vy i i i i 1 of Na ',hts Wc Silent No More is the theme for 119lh nationwide commemora- National Crime Victim’s teek—April 25 to may 1. This theme emphasizes that ) historical silence and shame rrounding victimization are a ngof the past. Drink driving is the nation’s >st frequently committed violent melSummary of Statistics: e Impaired Driving Problem. 396). Irving, TX: Madd National ice) and unfortunately, Texas idslhe nation in drunk driving alities once again. MADL), Brazos Valley’s trained :tim Advocates, honor durnk dri- g victims this week and pledge continue to provide grief sup- rt, a listening ear, books and rchures, support through the me Victims Compensation pro- im Ind court accompaniment thos> persons who are victim- d. This is National Crime Victims’ Jhts Week. Here in the Brazos lleyund across America, com- inities are celebrating the voic- of victims. If you are a victim of a drunk ving crash or know someone o is. please call us at 823- 08 or via email at maddvs@tx- rer.com. We want to help your lie be heard. K/ir/s Thurmond Victim Assistance Coordinator MADD, Brazos Valley t have one ta orps vs. non-reg ill"* abate grows tired haven®* In response to Steve Walkup’s ril 27th mail call. I’m truly amazed that for al- >st half the semester I have able to open up a Battalion dfmd a mail call article ad- issingthe corps/non-reg issue. ; rely I am not the only person 3d of this. It was not exactly an rth shattering revelation the 5ttime that I read it. As a former corps member for f-y a* ven weeks, I can validate both I les. Yes there are some corps ^ pbers that have arrogant atti- ps towards non-regs. Like haz- f, that is just a reality. Yes, there non-regs with less than favor- [ f 1 f i le attitucJes towards the corps. Are these valid reasons to A int fingers and accuse or mount tal assaults? Must we let lall factions of both sides divide J campus? Why not use this col- in to promote positive ideas to ild our aggie community as op- ; sed to promoting reasons to di- le it? Why not have a Corps-for- ly program or a pReg-for-a-day program? It seems clear to me that we ^inization* Jst do something to alleviate 3 misconceptions on both sides d foster a friendly relationship ons fore the campus becomes so ^gregated that I end up applying an officer position in the 5xas A&M White Male-Brown lir-Mazda Car Driving-Non-Reg- in-Frat-Non-Smoking-Off-Campus 29 My school ID does not read axas A&M University (Non-Reg)” >gg*d it did not change when I left 3 corps. We are all Aggies and that is 5 only thing that makes a differ- ' I H(suggestions for change: Cl p4unity@mailcity.com). Gregory Gerik Class of ‘01 tudent hurt by ig/non-reg debate In n \ril 2 esponse to Eric Ferguson’s 6 mail call. 3 For the last three weeks I have d up a Battalion and read people bashing each other; ing why one is better than the ler and why one deserves a po- more than the other. To be fst I am truly hurt. |iad the privilege to run in this r’s election as one of the Ju- 'ell Leader Candidates from orps of Cadets, ay privileged because of the bat it will be one of my most orable times at Texas A&M. 1 Sully, the night final election re- Jlts were announced, my name as not called. But by no means did I lose that ight. Aggies never lose; I was imply outvoted. If all the candi dates gained the friendships and memories that I did during cam paigning, there is no way that any one lost. I am not hurt or upset that I didn’t get elected, but what does hurt is to read about Aggies bash ing other Aggies that they don’t even know because they are part of a certain organization. I wish people would start to re alize that elections are not a non- reg or Corps thing; they are an Ag gie thing. It is up to you to pick the best candidates who are going to rep resent OUR university next year. Some of my best friends got elected this year for Yell Leader, and for that I congratulate them. At the same time I want to wish all you guys the best of luck next year as you embark on one of the greatest experiences of your life. James Leiskau Class of ‘01 Accompanied by 37 signatures Parents say thanks for pleasant weekend My wife and I have just re turned from our first Parents’ Weekend. It was awesome! The singing Cadets were wonderful. The memorial at the Vietnam Wall was inspirational. The band con cert was just plain fantastic. Our son is a “fish” in the award winning B Company of the Aggie band. His freshman year has been a lesson in courage, commitment, and dedication for him, his mom and dad. I thank him, Texas A&M, Corps of Cadets, and The Rightin’ Texas Aggie Band from the bottom of my heart. Mark Perkins Parent Corps vs. non-reg debate grows tired In response to Brendan Guy’s Apr. 26 opinion column. Reading Brendan Guy in the past, I had believed he was one of the clearer-thinking columnists at The Battalion, as well as one of the better researched. But apparently, Guy’s writing has joined the growing tribe of ill-researched expression at A&M’s newspaper. in arguing that government leave child-rearing completely in the hands of parents, Guy etches the name of my beloved, misun derstood continent on his tablet of scorn. And I just won’t have it. Apart from the poor logic of his argu ment, which doesn’t consider that not all children have good parents and that some children have no parents at all, Guy treads the line of ignorance saying, “perhaps in some tribal African society it really does take a village to raise a child, but here in the...States...it is best for individual parents to raise their own children...” Now, the notion of a whole vil lage raising a child is rooted in the idea that family and close friends, not necessarily neighbors, should be on a collective watch (to en sure that the child develop salubri ously) of any child member of that society. If Guy does not understand the meaning of sayings/proverbs/adages, then he should ask. I am sure that he has not even spoken to any knowl edgeable African on the issue be fore. And finally, with all the trou ble the United States is having with child-rearing: children and teenagers killing and abusing each other and themselves, per haps a bit of governmental inter ference, such as ending wide spread firearm possession and severe CIA-led anti-drug initiatives, is needed. Ayokunle Ogunshola Graduate student The Battalion encourages letters to the ed itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in clude the author’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: *1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: batt@unix.tamu.edu too sexy Recent boom in men’s beauty products mirrors objectification of women in media Aaron MEIER I magine sitting in on a board of directors meet ing at Microsoft. Bill Gates walks in wearing a finely tailored Armani suit, hand-made leather shoes and fingernail polish. That’s right, fingernail pol ish. Now imagine Billy boy sits next to you and while listening to his presenta tion on how he plans to make Janet Reno his personal bidet you notice what women call, “a poorly blended base line.” Let’s pause here as the male readership finds a woman to explain what cosmetics have to do with baseball. So why is Bill wearing makeup in the first place? Maybe, he’s insecure about his uneven skin tones, maybe he has a few blemishes after a late night love affair with a container of Thin Mint ice cream, or maybe he’s just jumping on the new trend of male beauty supplies. After centuries of women powdering, diet ing, teasing, spraying, binding, plucking, shav ing and waxing their way to the ideal of beauty, the gurus of fashion have to decided to let men in on the fun. Oh boy. Over the past decade, every major cosmetics manufacturing company has launched a men’s line. Stores such as Bath and Body Works, that were once exclusively the hunting ground of women and men looking for a last minute birthday present, have slowly introduced lines of scents, lotions and masques for the “stronger” sex. There once was a day when the only men’s magazines were Sports Illustrated and the Play boy. Nowadays, GQ, Men’s Health and Details are placed on the coffee tables of America’s bachelors. There once was a day when the lord of the chrome dome, Telly Savalas, was the coolest guy on television, now it is possible for the thinning masses to purchase Rogaine with Mi- noxodil over the counter, listen to the Hair Club for Men on television and read about how new drugs such as Propecia will stop and possibly the reverse the effects of male pattern baldness. When did being a man become almost as much work as being a woman? Why is it that men are going to salons to have their body hair electolyzed and their hair highlighted? Since the early days of feminism, women have pointed to the sado-masochists that work along Madison Avenue. The men that made Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schif- fer some of the richest women in the world are starting to turn on their own kind and present Antonio Sabato Jr, Mark Wahlberg or any one of the Abercrombie and Fitch models as the perfect male. The idea that every man should have a six pack is as absurd as the idea that every woman’s measurement should be 36-24-36. While the health benefits to exercise and fit ness are undisputed, the obsession with perfec tion has become a genderless dillemma. Men are as obsessed with a low body fat percentage as women are concerned with their cup size. The real impact of this obsession with per fection has not been the dangerously large number of weight plates manufactured for the country’s health clubs, nor is it the depletion of our vital natural spandex resources, but the tax this obsession takes on our nation’s collective intelligence. When children, both boys and girls, are ROBERT HYNECEK/The Battalion taught that looking a certain way is the most important goal in life, they by default neglect their minds. While it doesn’t seem likely that Calvin Klein will put Stephen Hawkins in his next un derwear billboard in Times Square or Victoria’s Secret has Madeleine Albright in their Angels 2000 commercial, maybe our obsession with our bodies should at least be comparable to our obsession with our minds. Aaron Meier is a senior political science major. More flexible policies solution to avoiding lawsuits concerning race-based admissions T ucson, Ariz. (u-wire) — Olde Providence Elemen tary school in Charlotte, N.C., is a shining example of what a public school can be. It is also under attack, and what hap pens there could reverse the hard-won victories of the civil rights movement. Olde Providence is a magnet school, one of 45 operating in the Charlotte area. It focuses on teaching elementary-age chil dren communication skills. To this end, it has a function ing television station, modern computers and a well-trained, well-paid staff. Parents are so involved that the PTA raised over $26,000 last year. In every category, the Char lotte Observer ranks it as one of the top schools in the area. For these reasons, lots of par ents want their children to get in. But, as is the case with many of the magnet schools in the area, there is a waiting list. Every year, a lottery is held to determine which children on the waiting list will be able to attend the school. The attack on the school stems from how the lottery is held. Like all schools in the Char- lotte-Macklenburg school dis trict, Olde Providence is exactly 40 percent black students, and 60 percent non-black. Prospective students are grouped according to their race: African-American or non- African-American. In 1996, Bill Capacchione, having just relocated to Char lotte, wanted his 6-year-old daughter, who is half- Guatemalan, to attend the school. She did not get in. What may have rankled him even more was that while 112 students waited to fill seats in the non-African-American cate gory, seven vacancies remained in the African-American seats. This is not an unusual situa tion. At West Charlotte High, lo cated in a predominantly African-American neighborhood, 81 African-Americans were out on a waiting list, as 49 seats re served for non-African-Ameri- cans remained empty. In fact, 25 of the magnet schools in the Charlotte area turned away students of one race while reserving seats for stu dents of another race. Capacchione did what any red-blooded American would. He sued the Charlotte-Macklen- burg Board of Education. The case was joined by six other white families and made its way to a U.S. District Court. The suit was then broadened by Judge Robert Potter into a full examination of Charlotte’s inte gration plan. It is ironic that this case at tacks the integration plan of the district whose previous segrega tion opened the way for the bus ing of students. In 1971, the Supreme Court decided in Swann v. Charlotte- Macklenburg Board of Education that federal courts could order actions to enforce desegregation laws. The federal orders that fol lowed were widely responsible for the level of integration seen today. Unfortunately, Charlotte is not the only example of these sorts of attacks on racial quotas at schools. San Francisco school officials, faced with a federal suit, agreed to end race-based admission to charter schools. In Boston, a magnet school was given a federal order to end racially conscious admission procedures. Capacchione and the other plaintiffs in these cases are not the villains of the piece. They say that their children were denied admission to a school because of their race. They are right. If there is a vil lain, it is the overly rigid racial quotas in these schools. In Charlotte, when one of the magnet schools does not have sufficient students of one race, they advertise in magazines, and on the radio, to try and attract more students of the desired type. They are also reported to have bent the rules in many cases, let ting in students of the correct race, whether they had met the application deadline or not. It is practices like these that so infuriate the Capacchiones of the world. They wish to get their children into a good public school close to their home but are turned away because there are not enough seats. They probably would be will ing to accept this if they did not then see and hear advertise ments asking for applications to fill empty seats. If we want to avoid lawsuits like the one in Charlotte and keep public schools open to chil dren of all races, admission poli cies must be made more flexible. If, one year, there are not enough non-African-American applicants to a school, the seats should be distributed to those students waiting for admission. It is certain that teachers can find another use for the money now spent on advertising. Now, the fight between the schools and the parents is all or nothing. If we wish to preserve the hard-won battles of the last gen eration, we must take the middle road. Dan Cassino is a columnist for the University of Arizona Daily.
