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AGGIELIFE
I Friday. February 11.2(XK)
THE BATTALION
Page 3
Testing the waters of faith
Religious minorities have trouble finding acceptance at Texas A&M
BY JULIA RECINDUS
The Battalion
T he stereotypical Aggie is assumed to be a conserva
tive Republican, have Southern pride, have the desire
to “beat the hell outta t.u.” and are Christian.
However, not all Aggies lit this description, as evidenced
by the fact that out of the 52 religious organizations on cam
pus (not including religious fraternities and sororities), six
are non-Christian.
“I’m white and I’m male, so I've never felt like a minor
ity until I came to Texas A&M. 1 don't want to come across
as someone who’s complaining about being a
religious minority, that’s my choice,"
said Nathaniel Rich, president of the Texas A&M Universi
ty Buddhist Association and a senior philosophy major.
Some members of these groups say they have had flyers
torn down and thrown in the trash or found their flyers cov
ered up. Members of these religious minorities’ organiza
tions say this is a common occurrence.
Rich said the acts of tearing down flyers and the some
times aggressive efforts used in attempting to convert reli
gious minorities to Christianity can give the impression that
Aggies are insensitive and have no desire to learn more
about those minorities.
Buddhists learn about the teachings of Buddha. They do
not worship him, but rather pay reverence to him and show
respect. The goal of Buddhists is to achieve enlightenment—
a state of spiritual, moral, emotion
al and intellectual perfection. In
Buddhist teachings, the pur
pose of enlightenment is to
help others and to free the
individual of all igno
rance and negative
emotions.
“So that
in itself is
offensive,
not so much
that [Chris
tians] believe
it’s their God-
ordained right to convert
people to Christianity.
“If that's what you believe, I respect that, but the
way the\ r approach that, the really aggressive'way
they want to push it on you other than saying,
f you’re interested, come talk to me.' The
whole approach implies a lot of disrespect,"
Rich said.
Penny Appleton, president of the A&M
Christian Fellowship and a senior animal sci
ence major, said the destruction of flyers is obvious
ly not “Biblical” and the organization does not condone it.
“As Christians, we are commanded to go
around and talk to people because we do
have the truth and we want to share that
with other people. I’m sure we do
come off as offensive, but we try not
to,” she said.
“I could see them doing it [tearing
down flyers] out of anger and frustration.
Frustration because they don’t understand
how [non-Christians] can't see the truth. It's
a high possibility that they have a fear of
these groups and what these groups are in
volved with doing, whether it’s rumors or
not,” Appleton said.
Amy Moore, a co-chair for the Pagan Stu
dent Organization (PSO) and a junior history major,
said the PSO has not experienced verbal or physi
cal confrontations, but had its organization’s fly
ers tom down.
“Many think we are anti-Christian, which is
not true; we’re just non-Christian. We don't per
vert Christian symbols and use them to worshipthe
devil. We don't believe in the devil; we don’t be
lieve in Hell," Moore said.
Moore said she converted to Wicca, one of
the most common of the pagan religions, when
she was 13. Jennifer Evans, a co-chair of the PSO
and a senior biology major said paganism includes
many beliefs that are not encompassed by the three major reli
gions: Christianity, Judaism or Islam.
She said pagans revere life and nature, and to them, divinity
is found in everything, from trees to grass as well as in people.
They do not specifically worship or believe in a god, but they do
believe there is a higher power.
“The thing [people] need to keep in mind is, just like Chris
tians, pagans are normal people," said Carissa Brown, a co-chair
of the PSO and a senior animal science major. "They have nor
mal lives, they go to school, they have jobs, they have friends and
family. They don't do anything really weird. The only tiling that's
different about them is how they worship and who they worship.”
Jason Romero, president of die Agnostic and Atheist Student
Group (AASG) and a senior psychology major, said he has been
approached by those who disagree with the organization’s point
of view.
Romero said when he spoke in front of the Memorial Student
Center on one occasion to make students aware of the organiza
tion and to let other atheists know of their presence a fellow A&M
student walking by shouted out the words “Jesus loves you!” dur
ing Romero’s discussion.
“You really have to listen to their tone and the situation. Even
though it’s a statement of love on a superficial level, in certain sit
uations, it can be an in
sult to a certain extent.
It’s a very underhanded
way of saying you're
wrong—nothing more,”
Romero said.
He added that misun
derstandings can be the
source of insults, and that
these misunderstandings
stem from misconcep
tions people have
about atheism. He said
atheism is not a belief
system; they do not be
lieve in God.
Atheism does not tell one how to lead one’s life and there is
no definition of right or wrong. Agnostics believe that God, if he
exists, is unknown and probably unknowable.
“Atheism is not anti-God or anti-religion. An atheist is not an
atheist just to piss people off. It’s just an aspect of us as individ
uals that fits into all the other things that we believe or don’t be
lieve in,” Romero said.
Deborah Benisch, vice president of the Hillel Student Asso
ciation (HSA) and a senior poultry science major, said she does
not feel like a minority nor does she feel threatened because HSA
has a large number of members and is close-knit.
“If [the members] ever had a problem, the Rabbi is the per
son to go to,” Benisch said.
Charles Greenwald, president of the HSA and a senior genet
ics major, said, “It doesn’t matter what goes on outside [of the
group], but what goes on on the inside.”
“It w'ould be wrong for people who are Christian to as
sume that the lives of those of us who are not are somehow
without meaning.
“I live a life that is filled with meaning and joy because of
the teachings of the Buddha. It is definitely possible to live a
very meaningful and happy life without believing in Jesus; you
don’t have to,” Rich said.
EMILY HARRELL/1 in BATTALION
s camp
d skills it
^/outdoor
cation
Stagecenter presents Albee’s ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf ?’
BY JEFF WOLFSHOHL
The Battalion
G eorge and Martha are a married couple
whose relationship is on the brink of disas
ter. This situation, ripe with tension, is the
focus of StageCenter’s production “Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?,” which explores the relationship
between two couples whose unions are in trouble.
The younger couple, Nick and Honey, are new-
y weds and are visiting George and Martha at their
tome. During the course of the play, the characters
entangle eachother in a web of lies and deceit.
Amy McLaughlin, who plays Honey, said her
haracter is the “plain Jane,” mousy-type wife who
s financially secure but has a sinister side.
“She is deceiving her husband because of the
fact that she lied about being pregnant to get mar
led,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin added that Martha is a more
evolved version of Honey, who says what she
wants when wants.
Cathy McWhorter, who plays Martha, said this
is has been her most difficult role.
“It is complicated because of the huge range of
emotions,” she said.
Though Martha is a character who can tend to
carry a heavy load of emotions to the stage,
McWhorter said she wants to construct her own in
terpretation.
“1 tried to not make her so heavy,” she said. “I
want the audience to know why Martha does what
she does.”
McWhorter said she has a great appreciation for
the author of the play, Edward Albee.
“‘Who’s Afraid ofVirginia Woolf?' is not just a
story, but a study of human nature,” she said.
Charles Pitman, who plays Martha’s husband
George, said he believes Martha’s character is cru
cial to the full understanding of the play.
“[Martha] is the central figure, and Cathy has
the most important role,” he said.
“'Who's Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?' is not
just a story, but a study
of human nature”
— Cathy McWhorter
StageCenter actress
Pitman said his character would provide the
comic relief if “Virgiiiia Woolf” were a comedy.
“[George] bears the brunt of her [Martha’s] crit
icism and her disappointment in both of their lives,”
Pitman said.
George is an associate history professor at a col
lege, but is constantly berated by his wife because
of his lack of advancement in the department.
“He views his life as a failure and his marriage
as a failure,” Pitman said.
Kurt Swick, who plays Nick, sees the character
as a snob.
“He is a young husband who got his master’s at
19 and now is a biology professor,” Swick said.
“This is a hard character to play because I am noth
ing like him.
Leah Fletcher, vice president of StageCenter
Board of Governors, said much of the cast has
known each other for a while.
“Cathy and Charlie have been doing shows a
long time and have been around each other for a
long time which makes them believable [as a cou
ple],” Fletcher said.
She said George and Martha’s relationship
is not unlike the relationships that occur in the
real world.
“You have a relationship, you have an ideal of
what it is, then reality sets in,” Fletcher said.
Sometimes, as in George and Martha’s case,
people in the relationship are blinded by fantasy and
memories of the past.
“If you have something you want to achieve in
life and you put it on the other person you are in the
relationship and expect that person to follow
through, you are not being honest [with yourself],”
Fletcher said.
Pitman said the meeting with George and
Martha is a catharsis and purging of the souls for the
younger couple.
“Edward Albee is an incredible playwright, he
put [the play] together like clockwork,” he said.
Perfonnances run Thursday through Saturday
for the next three weeks at 7:30 p.m. at The The
atre. Tickets are $5 for students and seniors, $6
for adults and $4 for children. Call 823-4297 for
more information.
Hendrix. Van Halen. Fisk.
A born risk taker, Eliot Fisk has revolutionized the classical guitar world
with his youth and innovative play. Don't miss your chance to find out
why Eliot Fisk is recognized around the world as one of the
most brilliant and gifted young musical artists of our time.
Eliot Fisk, Guitarist
Sunday, February 13 at 2 PM
Rudder Theatre
Immediately following the performance, please join
moderator Penny Zent for a discussion with Eliot Fisk.
Tickets? Call 845-1234.
Or, place your order at
opas.tamu.edu.
Season Media Partners:
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7999'
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MAC Hospitality presents...
(Student Etiquette
Dinner
Tuesday, Feb. 15 &
Thursday Feb. 17
Faculty Club
5:30-8:00 p.m.
An expert in the field of etiquette will provide information and helpful
hints to use in a formal setting. The meal will consist of seven courses and
the cost is $8.00. Tickets may be purchased at the Box Office.
Please call 845-1515 with any questions.
~ Dress is business casual ~