Page 11
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
THE BATTALION
NICHOLAS
ROZNOVSKY
'e ((xlay.”
1999 rep
' ; il Peter Vert]
•s weretarsc
t gunshots [:
eled three ;
iffic Stopoi
‘ and sparked r-ipi hanksgiv-
'' n t- |j ing is over
tg to theoi,'IL classes are
and hispred-back in session
more than; and the Christ-
'versonthe: mas season is
pped and. underway.
:s - K As happens at
•reme Conn; the end of every
ce as a fact: November, the
Farmer stud' leaves are starting to change colors,
includedcc the temperature is falling, and chil-
s saidtobei dren are starting to think about
j pipeline,;,- reindeer and elves.
If But wait — Christmas has been
in full swing for nearly a month.
i ' ■ Although Christmas technically
takes up only one calendar
JHHHy, the Christmas season has bal-
Honed into a two-month mon-
siosity that now starts well before
Thanksgiving.
■ What happened to cutting the
turkey before hanging up the
mistletoe?
I Apparently, Christmas is now
too big to be contained within the
month of December.
1 Businesses started playing
[On istmas music for shoppers the
e said Me : day after Halloween.
iisundersii:i| Santa Claus started taking
ers last win, pictures with children at Post
nformmb Qcik Mall in the second week of
to return: November,
itended lotB Moviegoers got to see the
1 peoplett™ r j nc h s teal Christmas on Nov. 17.
oi the strike There can be no question — the
-fi2 days of Christmas are a thing of
the past.
I Although the weekend after
; : Bhanksgiving continues to mark
; the start of the Christmas shopping
MSeason for most people, shopping
HENTI [forChristmas gifts has become a
[year-round process,
i If little Johnny wants
Ho see a PlayStation 2
under the tree
J Christmas morning,
[ Mom and Dad had
better have reserved
; ; One back in October.
E | It is no longer safe to
i wait until Thanksgiving to
||tart shopping; the hottest gifts
tire long gone by then.
I Christmas is now just a celebra
tion of capitalism. The wreaths,
lights and trees that appeared on
street corners and in storefronts
two weeks ago are not spontaneous
(J» C»
[Vc<3l
Appearance of Christmas hype before Thanksgiving ridiculous
r
ip its din;
to the bar;,
uild’s chief
000 Sean!;
uesday, llie
cities andts:
acts of holiday spirit. They are a
marketing tool, encouraging shop
pers to buy Christmas presents be
cause the big day is “only” six
weeks away.
In countless towns and cities
across the nation, Christmas deco
rations are thrown up the week af
ter Halloween.
Spurred on by business owners,
local governments transform their
downtown areas into virtual winter
wonderlands weeks before the
weather turns cold.
Fake snow and part-time San
tas become common sights as
merchants attempt to pull in more
customers.
The only thing stopping mer
chants from starting the Christmas
frenzy even earlier is the gobs of
money they make on Halloween
costumes and candy.
Sooner or later, those profits
will sag and the Christmas season
will be declared in the middle of
October.
At its current rate of ex
pansion, the holiday season
will take up six months of
the year by 2015.
To help preserve at least
a shred of the sanctity of
Christmas, the celebration
of the holiday should be lim
ited to the post-Thanksgiv-
ing period.
From a religious stand
point, the holiday sea
son is a defined
period. Christians celebrate four
weeks of advent. Jews celebrate
eight nights of Hanukkah.
If the major religions are happy
with a holiday period that does not
linger through November and into
December, who has any right to ar
gue otherwise?
From a secular point of view,
the extension of the holiday period
does not create more holiday spirit;
it dilutes holiday cheer and spreads
it over a longer period.
It is hard to be excited about
Christmas every day for two
months. One can watch only
so many badly animated
television specials and
drink only so many
mugs of eggnog.
Like all
good things,
Christmas
should
be enjoyed in moderation.
Most importantly, the children
of America are already overstimu
lated. The last thing they (and their
parents) need is a two-month
Christmas.
Part of the reason Christmas is
so important to children is because
it does not last long — it is one day
every year when all their wishes
can come true.
When children have to wait
only 10 months for the holidays to
roll around, Christmas becomes
less of an event and more of a
common occurrence.
Christmas will never be con
fined to the post-Thanksgiving pe
riod now that businesses have de
cided to start it at the beginning of
November.
Today’s children will go see
Santa Claus at the mall while it is
still 70 degrees outside, and their
parents will buy their gifts in April.
Christmas is no longer an annu
al event — it is a continuous one.
Nicholas Roznovsky is a senior
political science major.
tOPE
lillllflllilBii
■ c ;
ADRIAN CALCANEO/The Battalion
[TENTH?
8-2271)
Mail Call
tonduct of Texas fans
it Friday’s football game
dismays former student
Dear Battalion and Daily Texan,
Please help me. As a product of both
Texas A&M and the University of Texas-
Austin, I thought I had learned a lot.
But i experienced some new things at
the football game this past Friday that my
education had not prepared me for.
No doubt there are Longhorn scholars
who can set me straight.
I watched many joyful Texas fans along
with a few Aggies tailgating and carousing.
Super. Fall football rivalry. Spirits were
literally in abundance. May the better foot
ball team win.
Then I saw things that I cannot really
comprehend. I saw a Longhorn fan with a
T-shirt showing a fallen-over Bonfire.
The caption read, “What’s wrong, Ag
gies? Can’t keep it up?”
Can someone explain that to me? I do
got get it. I assure you, I get the sexual nu
ance, I just do not understand evil.
I saw Longhorn fans mocking and taunt
ing the fans from A&M who were in Corps
of Cadet uniforms.
“Little Hitlers,” they were called. They
were being spat at. Help me to understand
this Longhorn slant on rivalry.
I thought we were all against Hitler —
Longhorns and Aggies.
I saw a Longhorn cheerleader— isn’t
he supposed to represent UT in the finest
possible way? — run in front of the Aggie
Band, turn and face it square on and
salute with the “clicked heels,” arm-above
head, “Hell Hitler” sign.
What don’t I know here? What didn’t I
learn in history class? All these things hap
pened before kickoff.
Aggies, I respect your presentation of a
$50,000 endowed scholarship as a thank
you for UT’s respect and support shown
last year.
That support obviously came from the
finer ‘Horns.
I admired the fortitude and restraint
exercised by the Corps of Cadets under
attack.
Unfortunately, I learned that hundreds
and hundreds of Longhorns have more
than one way to show the Hook ‘em
Horns sign.
They prefer to use their middle finger.
Class. Really intelligent and creative.
That will quickly teach those “Littlest”
Longhorns how to show spirit.
I just pray they get an honest chance to
choose. ^
I am learning. I have attended both
schools. I will choose the higher ground.
Susan Priest
Classes of ’77 and ’81
Bird waste problem
should be addressed
by Vision 2020 plan
Maybe a good addition to the Universi
ty’s esteemed Vision 2020 plan would be
a program to keep the sidewalks free of
bird excrement, particularly by the Rec
Center and Reed Arena.
Such a program could consist of the
procurement of water hoses and spray noz
zles, followed by a vigorous routine of daily
sidewalk hosage.
It is easy to dismiss such dreams as
walking across campus without wading
through mounds of bird feces as “unattain
able” or “too expensive.”
I w^uld argue, however, that this is just
the kind of detail that will buttress us in
our pdTsuit of the magnificent windmill that
is “top 10 public university” status.
Corry Clinton
Class of ’00
goW
jdent
2000
Don-
ecks,
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 right to edit letters for
length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in
person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Let
ters also may be mailed to:
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014 Reed McDonald
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E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
Columns and letters appearing in The Battalion express
the opinion of the authors only. They do not necessarily re
flect the opinions of other Batta//on staff members, the Texas
A&M student body, regents, administrators, faculty, or staff.
Diversity?
Sixth imperative
of Vision 2020
C onsidering
the effects
that a pro
gram of such
magnitude as
Vision 2020
will have on
the students of
Texas A&M, it
is important to
examine the proposal.
While there are excellent
points and goals within Vision
2020, Aggies need to be aware of
how thb school could be changed.
Blurred t'Tsior)
Part- 5 of 6
Administrators should focus [
on preserving the “Aggie” and
the unique culture he or she har
bors while experiencing his four,
five, even six years of under
graduate education.
Continuing the dissection of
Vision 2020, the sixth impexative,
“diversify and globalize the A&M
community,” will be examined.
The precept “lead in diversi
ty” states, “Texas A&M Univer
sity must be a leader in promot
ing diversity in its student body,
faculty, staff and intellectual
viewpoints.”
Diversity promotes under
standing when people from dif
ferent backgrounds come togeth
er to work, study and play. In
order to gain a proper under
standing of the real world, a per
son needs to be familiar with
various populations.
Whenever any person “bleeds
maroon,” regardless of heritage,
he or she should be given a fair
chance to become an Aggie.
However, disagreement arises
when the goals of this precept
are examined; “Achieve student
diversity that reflects college-
bound Texas high school gradu
ates through appropriate recruit
ment and retention activities.”
While it is a significant re
sponsibility of administration to
“reduce to zero the number of stu
dents, faculty or staff who leaves
because of a perception of a less-
than-welcoming environment,”
drastic changes in recruitment
techniques should be questioned.
The goals of this precept
scream affirmative action. Stu- •
dents should not be dragged into
the University based on ethnicity
if their hearts do not belong.
All students across the
state should be equally
exposed to recruiting ef
forts. There is no reason
administration should
seek to recruit certain
students based on race
and ethnicity.
A&M is not the school for
everyone. There are many high
school graduates of all back
grounds — whites included —
who simply do not have the
makeup of a true Aggie.
Race and ethnicity should not
be factors when admission is
considered.
On the application the ethnici
ty question should be replaced
with, “Do you have the strong
desire to be a part of a new cul
ture — the Aggie heritage?”
From the beginning, black,
white, Hispanic and Asian need
to be replaced with “Aggie.”
The administration does not
need to start intense outreach ac
tivities in certain areas.
All students across the state
should be equally exposed to re
cruiting efforts. There is no rea
son administrators should seek to
recruit certain students based on
race and ethnicity.
No matter how it is done or
with what intentions, changing
recruitment techniques is one
more step to changing the defini
tion of an Aggie. This she. id
cause all students of all ethnic
backgrounds to come together
and question the future of their
Aggie heritage.
Jennifer Ramby is a sophomore
journalism major.