ect p n ays bet '•inched the the movie expa, paters to about, a- ‘t’s a safe bet Ji ly pass $ Battalion O PINION Page 5 • Tuesday, August 3, 1999 A great place to live (for some) U1 teturnt;^ ^ * 1 • _ ^b“Z5§nnancing lives of all Bryan citizens should take priority over plans to build tourism center made, Borys,prE ^attempts to ryan s many recent the indtt: court Caleb lane sney grandeur and that M yarea ( sad case of ^WBting the ahty.lBj before the MCDANIEL Sr horse. » get tutus,r-Mjt ail began, of course, with on • : Bryan’s Cinderella dance through 1 ‘ Ss the All-America City competition movie, St itself as a doa earlier this summer. The pageant ended without Bryan in its court, but nevertheless, loyal residents gt rer fronn:, t j ie j r c b an ce to compete i • i n hlnmiak contest as an opportunity to 111 ’ u ‘ wooi: * s coigratulate themselves. ■At the first meeting of the K " Ltmg h as -Bryan City Council after the com- tockumentary ■iti on , plaques and pats on the une moviegoerseM-r were in abundance, temer oicamiiBi,-, f aC b a t that July 13 meeting, Bryanites were so invigorated by thi excitement of their perfor- mance that they cheerfully lis tened to a proposal for a shiny hew visitors’ center to showcase agined. dependent fil ale is likely - always trolli mas — will best ter the success Bean’s many wonders. Currently, city officials are drafting an appli cation to a reimbursement pro gram through the Texas Depart ment of ’Ihansportation to get funding for the tourist trap. The i see how them.†said she is inijitimillion dollar proposal id to making wduld erect a museum possibly Tientation Coril d organization.« /ear, we’re goisH h at a new ever, irthgate,†to talk to the lilt rtise our :hers can at we do.†what the think about tlifj ason McAlli , , Ar . frpshman T tlie countr y °f South Africa, d that he hasfc||* ere is a and somewhat ■dangerous phenorpeinon at -ht it unsroo# orkwhich should dissuade Ag- dat was cool | s from being elitist. ■Young men and women are undergoing virginity tests in an effort to stop the spread of dis- h “ise, especially HIV/AIDS, enence was J However, there is one tiny ittle bewilaenijmbf ern w j t b -phis testing is never ^en ■ding to an unhealthy, elitist attitude that does more afore, so at iiifcm than good ud of ^ conl T But what can be unhealthy about any practice that said. “But 1 tet only prevents the spread of disease, but also leads featuring an exhibit of classic cars and would spotlight various local attractions like Texas A&M Uni versity and the George Bush Pres idential Library and Museum, which are curiously located out side of Bryan. Now, Bryan pride is nothing new to residents of the Twin City area. After all, drivers entering the city from College Station are greeted with signs dubbing Bryan “a great place to live.†Not that Bryan pride is neces sarily bad. Recognizing the need for im provement is the first step toward making healthy, wealthy commu nities. However, the visitors’ center is a monument to well-intentioned civic pride gone awry. In their rush to wear some well-deserved laurels, the Bryan City Council must be careful not to rest on them. An expensive tourism center would be too much, too soon. First of all, the idea of the visi tors’ center begs the question of what there is to visit in Bryan. The proposal to build the muse um would mainly direct people to tourist attractions in College Sta tion, not in Bryan. One wonders at the logic of building a visitors’ center to direct visitors to another city. All of the economic incentives of cultivating tourism are lost if tourists are told the real sights to see are beyond the city limits. More importantly, though, the proposal begs the question of whether Bryan has more urgent needs. The answer to that ques tion is an emphatic yes. Even the casual participant in Texas A&M’s volunteer extrava ganza, Big Event, knows there are parts of Bryan in desperate need of attention. The Twin City Mission has its hands full ministering to disad vantaged people in Bryan who desperately need assistance: And then there are basic ques tions hanging perpetually in the stratosphere just over Bryan, such as, why are there more frequent electricity blackouts in the city than there are in a lead box? Indeed, it is hard to find any well-developed reason for a multi million dollar tourism center in Bryan (about tourist attractions in College Station) beyond the un tapped zeal of a city enamored with itself. But before expending energy and money on finding money to build a visitors’ center without a significant return on its invest ment, Bryan should continue to direct its attention where atten tion is due — on the many Bryan residents who are still impover ished, on the many areas of the city that are still imperiled and on the many civic issues that more directly impact citizens. It should be granted that Bryan has done an extraordinary amount of improvement in each of these areas. Programs like Pro ject Unity and the Health for All clinic are shining examples of civic projects which are worth something. But to leave these achieve ments in the shadow of a lavish tourist center would grossly ig- Gabriel Ruenes/The Battalion nore the work that must still be done. Before rejoicing in its rags- to-riches story, the city must first rid itself of every last one of its rags. Caleb McDaniel is a junior history major. Virginity testing in Africa echoes li*.« . . . •. j jrAOii/r j j a soutnern wmtes are raci elitist attitude ot AouVL students ft r I MAIL CALL Stereotype unfair, not all Southern whites are racists McAllisters ’ve learned a s.†father said hei 0*% Chris HUFFINES ition Day lour ing to fit i" * t| increased morality? Nothing per se. ound. I reallyli But it is the peripherals, like pork on a congression- ||bill, which are causing the problems. ■The test is, for the female half, a rather private but straightforward physical exam. For the menfolk, however, the exam tests the p.a- |nt’s ability to urinate, without using his hands, over vire stretched three feet off the ground. Those who can are dubbed virgins. Those who nnot are not. Many of these tests are taking place in public build- |s like churches, school, and community centers. I Those who pass the tests are feted and celebrated Jraditional Zulu fashion, although the testing is not itited to Zulus. They are treated like hometown he- ;s. I Girls and women, especially, who pass the test, are I oked on as being special, a status that is signified th decorative marks on their foreheads. Those who do not pass the test are shunned. I Because of this one test, friendships have been bro- Bn, classes have been formed and lines have been drawn. 1 Without debating the scientific validity of the test (especially the guys’ exam), it is painfully obvious that Ps new movement is based on two, completely ||ong, assumptions. The first is that virginity makes a person inherently •aming 1/99 JY. 7840 better and disease-free. The second is that making a certain choice gives one the right to feel better than others. The first assumption is, quite frankly, a morality question and better suited for a midnight-to-dawn dis cussion than an opinion column. However, the second assumption is both very im portant to discuss and very vital to the interests of Texas A&M. A&M, the University that both prides itself on being different than everyone else — and better — is begin ning the exact same slide into elitism that these South Africans have completed. It is something that can and will have extraordinarily bad consequences in the fu ture if it is left unchecked. Aggies are known for believing they are better than every other university in the world, which is entirely true. Why are Aggies better? Aggies will quickly respond they are better because of Texas A&M’s traditions, at mosphere, academics and the 10,000 other things the recruiters make a point of mentioning. There is an attitude at this University that upon go ing to Fish Camp and Midnight Yell, a sort of divine mandate settles upon freshmen, an attitude which leads some Aggies to brag who have not yet earned bragging rights. These Aggies have bought into the general myth that Aggies are better without going to the trouble of actually bettering themselves. Sadly enough, these shams are usually found inhabiting the ranks of the most vocal of A&M’s supporters, alongside real Aggies who have reason to be proud. Fortunately, most Aggies are smart enough to root out the man from the myth. Before long, though, the two will be hopelessly entwined. And then it will be too late to save the University from really becoming just like every other school in the country — and even a bit like certain Zulu tribes in South Africa. Mireles’ column on cyberhate was well-inten tioned, but I was thoroughly annoyed by this com ment: "When you have such a large population of Southern white people, there are going to be racists." This implies a stereotype that Southern whites, or at least a good number of them, are racist. I don’t deny that the South, particularly in the past, has had its share of racial incidents, but it is unfair and wrong to characterize Southern whites as racists. Other regions of the country also suffer from racial troubles. Illinois, for example, where the so- called World Church of the Creator is located, is only in the South if you are from Minnesota. Most Southern whites, such as myself, are not racist and view the Confederate flag as a symbol of regional pride and heritage, not racial oppression. Quit letting a few bad apples spoil the whole bar rel. These kinds of stereotypes that lead to the kind of hatred that is on hate sites. David C. McCaughrin Class of '99 University should inform parents of alcohol violations In response to Aaron Meier’s July 15 column. Most students at A&M are there to learn and make use of the money their parents are spending. However, there are those who go on late-night drinking binges, and they get hurt, kill someone or get killed themselves. Then it is the responsibility of the campus police and the administration to call parents and tell them their beloved son or daughter is either in jail or in the morgue because they went out drinking. How would you prefer for your parents to find out you used drugs or consumed alcohol? From a ticket and a phone call or a visit to the jail? There is a reason the University wants to imple ment a parent-notification rule. It is because students are not there to binge drink; they are there to learn and be a part of soci ety. I would rather have someone be a “tattletale†than a pall bearer. Christianne Mendenhall Mothers Against Drunk Driving Reform Party must transcend conflict between Ventura, Perot Chris Huffines is a senior speech communication major. Marc GRETHER illy licensed 1 ’: ^ detailed** University lectronicq 11 * e to withi' 1 t!l >ar Seiko A s was the case in 1996, the Reform Party is trying to convince the media that it is about more than personali ties. News re ports of the re cent Reform Party convention focused on the conflict between Ross Perot and Jesse Ventura. Meanwhile, the party delegates and grassroots workers are screaming, “We are more then Jesse Ventura and Ross Perot. †But their message is not getting through. If their message does not get through soon, the Reform Party will fall to pieces much like Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party and George Wallace’s American Inde pendent Party did. The media, fairly or not, is cap tivated by the power‘struggle seemingly going on in the upper echelons of the party and has paid little attention to other Reform Par ty issues. Because of this. Reform Party’s call for fiscal responsibility and po litical accountability are not being conveyed to the public. Much of the blame for this lies with the Reform Party itself. In 1996, many Reformers tried to dis tance the group from Ross Perot. They believed in the principles the party was founded on and knew the party needed to shift away from Perot. Perot himself urged Richard Lamm, a former governor of Col orado, to campaign for the party’s presidential nomination. However, Perot eventually decided to run for the nomination and then won it, further giving the impression that the party is nothing but a cult of personality. Had the party delegates elected Lamm or anyone other than Perot, the media might have been more open to the idea that the party had worthwhile goals or interesting ideas and reported them accord ingly. “The Reform Party is ... not a party of two people." As it stands, Perot is still the name most thought of when the Reform Party is mentioned. Al though Jesse Ventura’s surprising win in the Minnesota governor’s race has garnered plenty of atten tion and has kept the party in the news. Because many in the media think the party belongs to Perot, Ventura’s entrance into the spot light caused them to question the Texan’s hold on the party. When the two supported differ ent candidates for chairman of the party, the media reported signs of a rift growing within the party. Those making such reports are completely off base. The Reform Party is made up of thousands of people with the com mon belief that politics in this country are seriously screwed up. It is not a party of two people. But if the Reform Party is going to survive, it must follow the lead of other successful non-main stream parties, such as the Liber tarian Party. Otherwise, the Re form Party will soon cease to exist. The Libertarians have set a good example of how to build grassroots organization. They have slowly built up the party since 1971. More than 200 members cur rently hold office around the coun try, most serving in local offices. The Libertarians have held ballot access in all 50 states for the last two presidential elections — no small feat for a third party. Their membership rolls are growing and party leaders see no end to the growth in sight. The reasons for the Libertarian Party’s success are clear. They have focused their efforts on a lo cal level and their recruitment is always based on their message, not the appeal of a star candidate or two. Unless the Reform Party learns to build this way from the bottom up, it will perish. Both successful computer com panies and wrestling careers can be built using star power, but polit ical parties cannot. Marc Grether is a mathematics graduate student.