h
le Battalion
Aggie
Page 3 •Wednesday. October 13, 1999
omosexual students learn to live in the sometimes hostile environment^ of Texas A&M
BY SUSAN OVERCASH
The Battalion
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graduation from high school means many
Lthings to many people — college, freedom and
Ireally good presents. However, to Megan C.
. ^ ght, a junior sociology major, graduation from
1 school marked a change in lifestyle, admitting
it she had been denying since childhood — she
lesbian.
I knew when I was a little kid, but went into de-
because of society,” Wright said. “I came out
ht after high school, a few days after graduation,
boyfriend was a little thrown off.”
dthough some say Texas A&M has a more con-
pn “ n ' ative attitude toward homosexuality, Wright said
was still determined to attend school here,
was very conservative for a long time,” Wright
“1 didn't become liberal until my senior year in
ischool. Being an Aggie is also in my blood; my
thercame here, and so did my grandpa.”
he student and administration attitude toward
tosexuality at A&M is a major issue in the Uni-
ineralsffe % community. From a student’s standpoint,
ght said that the campus’ attitude can be stifling
a gay or lesbian student.
A lot of the problem is that people here haven’t
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been exposed to it,” Wright said. “People aren’t ed
ucated; I think a lot of them are frightened and don’t
know how to react.”
Wright said this lack of education and fear of the
unknown can lead to a negative reaction toward the
gay and lesbian community.
At a pro-gay march last year, Wright said a male
student shouted a derogatory comment directly at her.
“We made eye contact, and he said, ‘Aggies, not
Faggies,”’ she said. “It was really insulting; 1 got re
ally mad. I’m big on being constructive in anger, but
my first reaction was like, ‘This is my campus, too.’”
Adam Mendoza, a senior mechanical engineering
major, said the attitude of many Aggies is negative
toward homosexuals.
“It seems like the general attitude of students here
is that homosexuals belong at that other school in
Austin,” he said.
“That’s not my opinion, but that’s what other stu
dents think. I would say about three-quarters of the
students here are against homosexuality.”
Mendoza said his opinion is derived from direct
personal experience, in talking and listening to oth
er students.
“It’s OK for them to be gay, but students don’t
want homosexuals on campus,’’Mendoza said. “It’s
in the air here.”
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ROBERT HYNENCEK/The Battalion
Wright said many students are bewildered by her
choice of lifestyle.
“They see a girl holding another girl’s hand, and
it throws them off,” she said, “so maybe they’re first
reaction is to throw an insult or stare really hard.”
Mendoza said he thinks the presence of the gay
and lesbian community at A&M adds to the diver
sity of the University.
He said if he discovered a close friend or room
mate was gay, it would not change their friendship.
“From a male perspective, I wouldn’t prance
around in my boxers,” Mendoza said. “But I’d still
hang out with him; it wouldn’t bother me. He could
n’t bring any boyfriends home, though.”
Wright said progress has been made because
there are more students who are out or open about
their sexuality, but a large group remains who are
not comfortable with sexual issues.
Dr. Paul Parrish, an English professor and mem
ber of Aggie ALLIES, the campus’ support group for
the gay and lesbian community, said students who
are uncomfortable with becoming open about their
sexuality should go to environments on campus
where they might feel more comfortable.
“There are certainly contextual environments on
campus that would be more accepting,” Parrish said.
“We all understand the world in which we live,
and this is far too personal an issue to be judgmen
tal about someone else’s decision.”
In August, Dr. Ray Bowen, president of A&M, re
jected an amendment to the Student Handbook that
would have reworded Article II of the Student Rights
and Responsibility Clause to include protection from
sexual orientation discrimination. The amendment
had been approved by the Student, Graduate Student
and Faculty senates in April.
Wright said Bowen’s rejection of the amendment
is a sign of the administration’s attitude towards the
homosexual community on campus.
“As a student observer, I think they recognize that
there is a gay community,” Wright said, “but they
won’t go beyond lip service.
“It bothers me that they won’t recognize the
rights of a group of students on campus; it gets re
ally aggravating sometimes.”
Parrish said the administration wants to present
an open and welcoming environment but can only
do so by acting more publicly and energetically to
eliminate discrimination against gay and lesbian
students.
“There’s no question that the intent of the Uni
versity community is to be open and welcoming, but
sometimes actions fly in the face of that,” Parrish
said. “We must work that much harder to make what
appears true, be true.”
More recently, A&M was ranked the third least
gay-friendly campus by the Princeton Review Guide:
The Best 331 Colleges, 2000 Edition. According to the
Guide, “Alternative lifestyle is not an alternative” on
this campus.
The history of this University’s response to gay
and lesbian students is also suspect; it took an ap
peals court decision and a denial to hear the case by
the Supreme Court to force A&M to allow gay and
lesbian students to have an organization on campus.
Wright said after such an amazing beginning, ho
mosexual students are making a great deal of head
way toward changing homophobic attitudes at A&M.
“From that starting point, anything is progress,”
Wright said. “The next step is getting the amend
ment passed; it’s not a solution, but it’s definitely a
stepping stone.”
Wright said that students’ attitudes change when
they begin to step, out of their comfort zones.
“Students need to learn that different isn’t bad,”
Wright said. “Everybody has sexual issues, whether
it is them coming out, or someone they know.
“Like racism or sexism, it’s a part of society, and
dealing with issues as they come up is the best way
to handle it.”
prykation 5 retailers compile ‘hot list’ of toys for holiday season; Pokemon, professional wrestling and Star Wars top list
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NEW YORK (AP) — Parents
_£> 0/ looking for the hot toys this holiday
Ml ftfeason have a new resource — a
Ql\) It'; list of must-haves compiled by the
“'i jition’s biggest retailers.
But shoppers be warned — this
t was not done as a public ser-
ce. While retailers make it their
isiness to predict the public’s de
es, their choices also reflect what
ey have in their inventories and
mt to push off store shelves.
“The toy business is all about
in, and this is the retailers’ spin
on what will sell,” Eric Johnson, a
professor at the Tuck School of
Business at Dartmouth College
said. “But I have to say that out of
all the people out there picking hot
toys, I’d say the retailers have a
pretty good chance of knowing
best what will be hot.”
Topping the retailers’ list is
Pokemon and anything tied to the
Japanese cartoon character — such
as video games, plush dolls and
trading cards.
While the other toys are not
ranked by number, those also ex
pected to be popular include WWF
and WCW wrestling dolls; Rock &
Roll Elmo; Furby; Millennium Bar
bie; QX-3, an electronic micro
scope; computer-linked Legos and
toys based on the movies Toy Sto
ry 2 and Star Wars Episode I: The
Phantom Menace.
The list represents the latest at
tempt by the toy industry to shape
Americans’.buying habits during
the important holiday season.
Toy manufacturers usually are
blamed for stirring up a buying
frenzy, dumping millions of dollars
into marketing and advertising. In
recent years, the hype over Furby
and Tickle Me Elmo was carefully
orchestrated by their makers.
There are also many would-be
toy experts and toy “tests” run by
magazines and local media that
add to the must-have mentality.
Many accept money from manu
facturers to promote certain prod
ucts, but never reveal that when re
leasing their hot toy lists.
‘Right now, traditional televi
sion advertising isn’t working like
it used to, so manufacturers are us
ing different methods to get their
product out there into the public
eye,” Chris Byrne, a toy consultant
and contributing editor of Toy
Wishes: The Ultimate Toy Buying
Guide, a new magazine that tracks
hot toys, said. “But everyone has
the same goal: To sell something.”
The retailers’ survey may have
more credibility than others. While
the merchants have an obvious
agenda — to encourage people to
spend — the findings are based on
the opinions of more than a dozen
retailers, including giant Toys R Us,
online leader eToys and the spe
cialty chain Noodle Kidoodle.
The retailers were not charged a
fee to participate. Manufacturers
were prohibited from entering
products and had no say in the sur
vey. That gave smaller toymakers
as good a chance to get on the list
as the companies with fatter mar
keting budgets.
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PICITAL UNDERGROUND
LIVE IN CONCERT
OCTOBER 29
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