ne Battalion
O
PINION
Page 11 ‘Thursday, September 2, 1999
No rest for the weary
^Student athletes deserve praise for balancing schoolwork with rigorous sports schedules
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ELIZABETH
KOHL
C ollege
sports
can
tllrust athletes
iilto the spot
light both in and
out of season,
Baking it hard
fir players to
blend into a
crowd.
I When a student who played in
last weekend’s televised game
Balks into class, it is difficult not
t<| drop the mental thought,
iiere goes an athlete.”
Conversations can be found all
oler campus when new football
or baseball gossip surfaces.
I Despite their notoriety, athletes
are students, just like anyone
else. To maintain eligibility, an
athlete must have a passing
grade-point ratio (GPR) and be a
full-time student.
I During their seasons, many
coaches require players to enroll
in at least 15 hours.
I In addition to what seems like
a normal course load, athletes
dedicate as much time to their
sports as students working part-
ti le jobs.
I In-season practices can last up
to four hours a day, 20 hours a
week. The National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA) re
quires that all collegiate athletes
get one day off, and with some
teams playing two games a week,
one day is all coaches can spare.
I When considering athletes’
academic privileges, it may seem
as though they have a smoother
academic ride.
Athletes have access to tutors,
register before most other stu
dents and have their own advis
ers to attend to their needs.
However, because of restrictive
practice schedules, athletes are
limited when it comes to schedul
ing the classes they need during
time they have available.
Michelle Royal, sophomore
business major said, “With soccer
in the afternoon, sometimes the
only time I can take a course is 8
o’clock in the morning.”
Some athletes find it difficult
to schedule their labs and studio
hours around the time con
straints of their sports.
And away games always add
to academic complication.
While the football
team may play only
on Saturdays, most
other sports play
twice a week,
presenting de
manding travel
schedules.
For instance,
the volleyball
team will be play
ing on Wednes
days and Satur
days this season.
Midweek away
games may cause
these athletes to
miss classes on
Wednesday and
return late that night.
Traveling can cause athletes to
miss not only classes but exams
as well. Away-game absences al
low athletes to take their exams
early or make them up, but either
option further clutters what little
time athletes have during the
week. Every sport at Texas A&M
has some type of study-hall pro
gram to help its players acclimate
to academic demands. Coach G.
Guerrieri requires the soccer play
ers to attend study hall until they
have a 2.5 or higher GPR. Even
programs designed to help athletes
can add to their busy schedules.
“My freshman year, by the
Reuben Deluna/Thk Battalion
time we got out of practice and
ate dinner we had to go straight
to study hall,” junior soccer play
er Nicky Thrasher said. “When
we finally got home, we were ex
hausted.”
Collegiate sports provide enter
tainment for alumni as well as
students, are a source of revenue
and stimulate national interest in
schools.
A winning football, baseball or
basketball season can hardly tar
nish a university’s image.
Projected budgeted revenue for
the Baylor vs. A&M football game
this year is $1.3 million. Without
the talent and skill the players
bring to the field, that figure
would be a figment of the A&M
accounting department’s imagina
tion. Visualize approximately
80,000 fans staring at the grass in
Kyle Field for three hours.
Athletic scholarships allow uni
versities to better their sports pro
grams and give many students the
opportunity to pursue an educa
tion they otherwise would not be
able to afford.
However, unlike need or merit-
based scholarships, athletic schol
arships are based on the ability of
each player. Since scholarships are
put together as yearly contracts, it
benefits athletes to stay physically
healthy and keep performing well.
Athletes are similar to any oth
er student on campus. They go to
classes, hang out with friends and
worry about their career plans,
even if everyone else expects
them to play professional sports.
The biggest difference is that
they always face being part of yes
terday’s news. Compared to pre
season workouts, that might not
be so bad.
Elizabeth Kohl is a junior
accounting major.
MAIL CALL
Conformity
makes groups
more tight-knit
In response to Eric Dickens
Sept. 1 column.
How convenient is it for a
_ Battalion writer to throw
down an article with anti-
Greek sentiments prior to
rush kicking off?
!’ This year the battle cry
for Eric Dickens is conformi
ty. He makes me laugh.
I What can you find at this
great school that does not
have a thin hint of conformi-
■ty in it?
He points out Greeks
■ dress alike. So does the
BCorps and they are a great
■ component to this campus.
He points out Greek as-
Kn^^Hsociations have a cost asso-
^Hciated with them. Well, so
L ^do most student organiza
tions, whether as dues or
jst ident fees.
1 We all operate in our
^■Iwn way, but within any stu-
^^Bdent organization, one con-
^^Hforms to certain beliefs or
^^^Bacts in the name of the bet
■tei ment of the group.
We are all told to get in-
■volved in the residence
^halls, stand at games and
bow to the Corps.
;v That is all great.
| But understand that while
some might call it tradition,
others just see it as confor
mity in itself. It is what
pQ* starts us all on our path to
believing in the institution
we attend.
Dickens should,not rip on
a'student organization by
criticizing conformity, for by
doing so, he tugs at the
main thread that binds us
Afflerias recipe for tragedy
ME I9f?
all and makes us Aggies.
Tom Sullivan
Graduate Student
WILL BECl
IAZ0S CE,\
HESECLASJ
I The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 300 words
or less and include the author's
name, class and phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the
,ht to edit letters for length, style,
d accuracy. Letters may be submit
ted in person at 013 Reed McDonald
with a valid student ID. Letters may
also be mailed to:
The Battalion - IVIail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus IVIail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
(D Add nuts.
Freshmen should take advantage
of extracurricular opportunities
MARIANO
CASTILLO
S ince arriving at Texas A&M,
incoming freshmen have
constantly been bombarded
with “howdy,” Aggie tradition
and advice from upperclassmen.
“Howdy” is an easy enough
greeting to figure out. Getting ex
cited about traditions is not too
difficult either. However, many
fish find themselves drowning in
supposed words of wisdom from
upperclassmen.
If a freshman scheduled a class in Wehner, fol
lowed by one at Zachry because someone said the
buildings on campus are located in alphabetical or
der, by now he or she has surely realized this was
sour advice.
As a freshman, having trouble distinguishing be
tween the good and bad bull advice is normal.
Here’s a hint: Do as upperclassmen do, not neces
sarily as they say. And at A&M, what students do is
take advantage of the “other education.”
A&M has over 700 organizations. Surely, one of
the 700 organizations at the MSG Open House has
appeal for almost every student.
The organizations at this University are varied
and offer plenty of leadership opportunities and ex
periences to appreciate.
The MSG Film Society, Corps of Cadets, OPAS,
Students for a Free Tibet and Muster Committee
are examples of the diverse and high-caliber pro
grams offered at A&M. If the point of going to a
university is to stay holed up in a dorm room
studying, why not go to t.u.?
Taking part in the “other education” is a valu
able part of being an Aggie. In fact, most students
rank extracurricular activities as a priority between
academics and finding a date for Midnight Yell. Or
ganizations serve as welcome breaks from the mo
notony of lectures and assigned reading.
Cameron Franklin, fish camp counselor and junior
business major, said if schoolwork is not balanced
with other activities, a student can burn out soon.
“There’s a lot more than an education to be got
ten out of here,” he said. “Student organizations al
low students to take an active role in Texas A&M.
Whatever it is you decide to go for, give it your all,
that is what makes your effort worth it. What I find
most rewarding is helping other Aggies.”
Students who are involved gain benefits such as
experience, opportunities to hear important speak
ers and a chance to make an impact not just on
those around them, but on themselves as well.
Involvement is not limited to freshmen. Anyone
can find something they already enjoy or try some
thing new. College is supposed to be a life-chang
ing experience, but changes can only occur if there
is exposure to new and different environments.
Weilun Lin, a sophomore computer engineering
major, decided to test his courage by signing up to
take skydiving lessons from Aggies Over Texas.
“It sounded interesting, and then one day I just
decided to stop thinking about it and just do it,”
Lin said. “After the first time I knew I had found
something I liked.”
What started out as a one-time thrill-seek for Lin
has turned into a hobby he wants to continue in
the future. He now packs parachutes to help fund
his quest for free fall certification.
Students who do not get actively involved often
cite lack of time or insecurity about how they will
fare in a certain group, but laziness should not be
an excuse. This is college — sleep is overrated. The
people who insist eight hours of sleep every night
is a minimum are the same people who will be los
ing key job positions to those who were involved.
It will also open a chance to be exposed to meet
ing people out of an immediate circle of friends.
The things learned from getting involved in col
lege will be remembered always. The diverse stu
dent body, the endless resources, the sports fields
and buildings that attract students to this campus
are out of reach to those who just sit on their duff.
Mariano Castillo is a sophomore
journalism major.
Watch Neo-Nazis warily
J
f-a
MARK
PASSWATERS
T here is an
old saying
that “those
who do not learn
from history are
doomed to repeat
it.” It is also true
that people who
do not study the
past tend to lean
toward actions
that defy comprehension, no matter
how many times they are repeated.
The actions of many white su
premacists, culminating in the hor
rific shooting of innocent children
outside of a Jewish daycare center in
Los Angeles, is grisly proof of this.
This action, as contemptible as it
was, may simply be the tip of the
iceberg. Many of these racists, ei
ther at home or in their “Aryan
Churches,” have brought back an
old symbol of hatred.
The Swastika is making a come
back, and these racial terrorists
want to bring
back Adolf Hitler
with it.
An increase
in Neo-Nazi ac
tivity should
concern all
Americans, no
matter what
their creed, color
or political affili
ation. Using
Hitler’s dement
ed logic as a basis, these people in
tend to cleanse America of those
wh’o do not fit their mold, just as
Hitler tried to do in Germany a half
century ago.
While this alone is obviously a
frightening thought, it also points
toward two reasons why Americans
must stop their influence.
First of all, these people are actu
ally misconstruing who Adolf Hitler
really was and what he actually
stood for even as they try to resur
rect his views.
Secondly, this nation owes it to
hundreds of thousands of men who
died fighting the Nazis in World
War II to stand up against these
broadcasters of ignorance.
If Hitler saw what these people
in Oregon, Montana, Ohio and New
Jersey were doing, he and his
henchman would probably laugh
until they cried.
As these Aryan supremacists go
around attempting to “purify” the
nation of blacks and Jews as Hitler
would have wanted, they are ignor
ing the words of Hitler himself.
In 1938, Hitler said in a speech
to the Nazi Party Congress that the
United States was “too judified and
"An increase in Neo-
Nazi activity should
concern all Americans,
no matter what their
creed, color or
political affiliation.^
negrified” to be considered an
Aryan state.
In fact, he added that this prob
lem, coupled with America’s capi
talist system, made them no match
for Nazi Germany. These same be
liefs led Hitler to declare war on the
United States.
Over a half century ago, Adolf
Hitler said the United States was al
ready too far from the Aryan ideal
to be saved.
Now, saying they are doing what
Hitler would have wanted, these ig
norant racists are targeting minori
ty-member Americans, sometimes
with violence.
So not only are these people us
ing the dogma of a dictator and a
mass murderer as justification, they
are doing so incorrectly.
If this were not so serious a mat
ter, it would be hilarious.
But it is indeed a serious situa
tion, and fewer and fewer people
understand what Hitler was truly
like. That is be
cause the gener
ation that sacri
ficed so much to
keep the tyranny
of Hitler from
these shores is
fading into obliv
ion.
Americans
who lived
through the sec
ond World War
put all that was important to them
on the line to repel the greatest
threat to freedom the world has
ever seen.
Now, in their declining years,
they are forced to see their fellow
countrymen embracing a symbol
they fought so hard to annihilate.
They deserve better.
The people of the younger gener
ation have so many possibilities ly
ing before them.
In order to reach their full poten
tial, they must always be vigilant to
remember the sacrifices of their pre
decessors.
These racists are not only horri
bly wrong, but they are a tragic in
sult to those men that fought in Eu
rope in World War II.
As a nation, we owe it to these
old warriors to be outraged by these
misguided racists.
These individuals and the entire
nation need to be reminded of why
we fought Hitler in the first place so
we can quiet these voices of pro-Nazi
sentiment and truly honor those who
put that menace away so long ago.
Mark Passwaters is an electrical
engineering graduate student.