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BATTALION
Page 9
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proud tradition returns to Aggieland
As Bonfire fades. Fish Drill Team a welcome addition
A ggies have endured several losses this semester,
including the possibility that Bonfire will not
burn in 2002 and a home loss to their biggest
rival. However, Or Army is not dead.
The nationally famous Corps of
Cadets Fish Drill Team, a tradition that
students can take pride in, is set to
return, and unfortunately, its return has
been overshadowed by other events.
As Bonfire’s future hangs in the
balance, students should begin to turn
their attention to other, more posi
tive traditions that make Texas A&M
unique. While many in the Aggie community
have been focusing on the future of Bonfire,
the administration provided a welcome sur
prise by announcing the return of Fish Drill
Team.
The Fish Drill Team, created in 1946 by a
group of freshman cadets, was famous for
winning national championships in precision
drill competitions. The team was disbanded
in 1997 after one of the team’s members
complained of physical assaults from the
upperclassmen advisers. No time was set for
reinstatement.
Although many students have
expressed their appreciation for having
an A&M tradition return, some former
members of the Fish Drill Team have
not displayed the same excitement.
Concerns have been expressed that the
new Fish Drill Team will be a
watered-down, more user-friendly ver
sion of the original without the rigor
ous physical training that made the
Fish Drill Team famous in years past.
The new Fish Drill Team, which bears
the same name as the original, will be
vastly different and Aggies should be proud
of the changes it is making. Changes were made appar
ent when Michelle Peters, a junior interdisciplinary
studies major, was named one of two senior cadets
on the new squad. In the history of the Fish
Drill Team, no female has ever held the
position.
Old members of the team have expressed their fear
that these changes will make the new Fish Drill Team
little more than a mockery of the original. They have
pointed to the rigorous drills and exercises that
made the Fish Drill Team respected nationwide as
proof that their toughness cannot be matched by the
new version. The team will also not have the advan
tage of traditions passed down by previous Fish
Drill Team members.
The fact is, however, that while the Fish Drill
Team of the past may have won numerous national
championships and made appearances in “A Few
Good Men” and “Courage Under Fire,” they embar
rassed themselves when they were caught hazing
members of their team. There is no excuse for such
behavior. Old members of the Fish Drill Team can
speak of honor, commitment and discipline, but the
bottom line is that their past behavior is to blame for
the current state of the Fish Drill Team.
Some former members of the Fish Drill Team
have said Peters and Jerry Aymond, the other senior
adviser and a junior history major, have not earned
their positions and know nothing about the Fish Drill
Team. Their argument circumvents a very important
point: there would not be a need for a reinvented Fish
Drill Team if the original had not made a stupid mis
take by physically abusing members of their team.
Peters and Aymond have never been members of the
Fish Drill Team, but not through any fault of their
own. As a result, they cannot be held responsible for
the lack of Fish Drill Team experience.
Aggies who hold A&M’s traditions near to their
heart should be excited about the reinstatement of the
Fish Drill Team. A Fish Drill Team without hazing is
something Texas A&M can be proud of, regardless of
whether it wins any national championships. Peters and
Aymond have been placed in a difficult position in being
asked to take the reins of an organization with an unsur
passed tradition of competitive excellence. Hopefully
they can also mold the Fish Drill Team into an organiza
tion with an unsurpassed tradition of moral excellence
and respect.
Richard Bray is a junior
journalism major.
Teach the younger students
lechase
about Bonfire
ate sublest tee*® b
aufeath* ' ^ [This goes out to all the upperclassmen. You
-'7 fcthat the fate of Bonfire is up to the Classes
12004 and 2005, but you will not tell us
eded asap f
jse in Biyan. $
-1141 iwto keep the tradition alive. I am a fresh-
aeded for sifts? an and I know more than you think I know
$285/mo., onbut Bonfire. I have been to three Bonfires
^ the past and listened to good bull stories
(or spring sere;:> | y ears f rom m y brother and his friends
| 1 caiiaeo-s':; ^ were members of the Corps of Cadets.
needed start™ ;
^Every time I think, read, or talk about
sterling Univer,-rffire, I cry because I know what it means
tOAggies and to me. However, many of my
needed, no « Wlow freshmen cannot really grasp the con
ns, for springser: cept behind Bonfire. They do not truly under-
'uttle ^ose r'= i nd that is the s ' n g ,e largest event that
ated the family ties and bonding of fellow
ies. Now I am seeing the lack of dorm
|ity, lack of respect between non-regs and
rps members and an overall lack of true
;ie spirit. So, I am calling on upperclass-
n to stop telling the underclassmen that it
for spring seMjp to us you are still here and this is still
December g®
j/mo. Call Roiy y0Lr University.
^l,Take us under your wing and show us the
id. spring, 2Mrin %$ of Bonfire and all that goes with it and
to campus, on: show us what we can do to keep this tradition
s. Call Ben 2f“
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
injured or killed in the collapse have already
received financial compensation, and more
money will not undo the tragedy.
For those students who are named as
defendants, these lawsuits are grossly
unfair. They made Bonfire as safe as they
possibly could. No one could foresee what
would happen. Not only that, but those stu
dents who were injured or killed were partic
ipating in the same way as those being sued.
Will the families also sue themselves
because their children knew they were tak
ing part in a dangerous, if not lethal, student
activity, and did nothing to correct it? I truly
wish that those families suing would realize
that sometimes accidents happen and find a
more constructive way to heal.
Georgia school board ruling on
cheerleader routines senseless
luttle, close
34
jeded. Duplexed-
Call TinaTTW©
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8611 alive, forever.
d at Sterling llf»-
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imate wanted for j
m/2bth, Arbors j
+1/2bills. Coirj
bed. 694-2283 \
Erin Stock
Class of 2005
lawsuits not the way to heal
and move on
^VlCES
In response to the Nov. 26 editorial “Wrong
isive Driving. •»
Ticket dismiss: "f|
M-T(6pm-9piT |i
i.&Sat.- Fri(6pf;J believe these lawsuits filed by the fami-
1), Sat(8am-2 |jj s w hose children were injured or killed
lowest priceai: !are unnecessary. I understand the pain
ste.217. 84t pd grief those families have in their
any. (CP-00171 hearts from the 1999 Aggie Bonfire col-
pse, and I know that even after two years
iat pain still has not subsided. However,
Fest; Hope Prsi;
tation 695-9193 :
O ' tlon Peeu ' suing A&M administrators and students
isava Yoga-Tofr monetary compensation is not the
(979)268-3838 pit way to go about the healing process.
^Iplany of the families have said that the
■““^/lawsuits are not about the money, but an
tr over low ... , , ^ 7
"* RRFAlr mp * t0 ma ' <e T* 16 next Bonfire and
J other student activities safer. If this were
/jjlily the case, then the families should
r»„ Dot be seeking financial rewards, espe-
to avoid
747 mvssL
cially suing individual persons
BMCml 11,6 liability cap -
MAIIBUVBPW^ and administrators have already
- Acknowledged the need for changes, and
we gone through the necessary measures
ens u re the safety of students for the next
oo-23z?M® 0n fire. Students and families of those
ybeachcluj#
Jessica Riggs
Class of 2003
Moving moments of Bonfire
reflection
At 2:32 a.m. on Nov. 18, I, among many
other Aggies, stood together as we honored
12 fallen Aggies. There have been only a
few times in my life in which I have been
overcome by different emotions, many I
cannot describe. However, I am going to
try. I am writing this at 4:08 a.m because
I am completely overwhelmed. I felt sad
ness as I watched the families and
friends mourn over the loss of their loved
ones.
I felt anger because many have forgot
ten what happened just a few years ago.
Yet, I am hopeful that we soon will
become united and yet again realize what
the true meaning of Bonfire is. It is more
than a stack of logs. Bonfire is a repre
sentation of the Aggie spirit, our burning
desire and love for our University and for
fellow Aggies. It angers me that people will
condemn others for the lack of action,
instead of taking action themselves.
It is so much easier to blame others and
so much harder to take an initiative. I feel
that we as Aggies must realize if we want
Bonfire to come back, then we must stand
united, not divided and take action togeth
er. The basis of the Aggie spirit is the unity
among all Aggies. It is the pure foundation
on which this University is built. Without
this foundation, nothing can be built; noth
ing can be created or passed on.
I believe that this morning demonstrated
the beginning of that unity that we need. I
have never been to Bonfire, but I look for
ward to the Bonfire in 2002, where I hope
that we, as Aggies, will stand as one.
Julie Rowe
Class of 2003
GEORGE
DEUTSCH
G eorgia recently reaffirmed its position as one of
the country’s most conservative states when
Chatham County school officials banned vague
behavior like “suggestive movements” and “lewd ges
tures” from all school performances. The ruling comes
in response to parental complaints
that some of the area cheerleaders’
dance routines were too sexually
suggestive for high school students.
The Savannah. Ga., school board
unanimously agreed on the ban.
It is unfortunate that something
as harmless as dancing is criticized
and dissected by well-meaning
parents in an effort to keep their
children from growing up. No amount of cheering
and dancing, suggestive or not, has ever hurt a
young person’s performance at school or eaten
away at his or her mind and morals.
According to The Associated Press, Lori Brady,
one of the Chatham County School Board members,
was offended by such things as “hip thrusts” and
“shaking ... rear ends.” Maybe Brady can instruct
some of these cheerleaders on how to dance and
cheer without moving their hips and rear ends. It
cannot be done. The Georgia school board members
have drawn the line of vulgarity at standard dance
movements used by other schools across the country.
How are school officials going to rule on such
arbitrary things? What one over-sensitive parent
may consider too suggestive of a movement or an
inappropriate rear-end shake, another more rational
person may not. It is not any one parent’s duty to be
the morality police for an entire school district,
especially not when that parent is offended by his or
her own shadow.
It is okay to want decent, moral children and it is
good that these parents and school board members
want to keep vulgarity and indecency out of schools.
But a two-minute dance routine is not going to cor-
rupt a yOung person’s mind and thrust them into a
life of sin and promiscuity. The very idea is absurd.
If these parents truly want to help their children,
they should spend more time with them at home and
otherwise offer their guidance and support.
Even the most vulgar and explicit high school
cheerleading routine is not as bad as some of what
can be seen on late-night cable television by children
of any age. Besides, there are already adults in place,
usually cheerleading sponsors, who know their
squad’s dance steps before they are performed. These
sponsors would not intentionally encourage sexually
vulgar cheers, so a district-wide ban is unnecessary.
This policy is not just a pacifier stuck in the mouths
of some whining parents. Its effects are farther reach
ing. This ruling places needless scrutiny and bad pub
licity on an entire county of young people who have
more important things to be concerned with. Schools
should gain recognition for academic and athletic
achievements, not media-hyped dance routines.
Not everyone supports the board’s decision. Some
parents have been very vocal about their distaste for
the ban, likening it to the controversy over Elvis’
hip-shaking of the 1950s. Yvonne Holmes, mother
of a 16-year-old cheerleader, accurately accused the
school board members of “forget[ting] they were
kids, too, and not everything they did their parents
agreed with.” Well said.
Congratulations, Georgia, for having this coun
try’s most uninspired, politically correct cheerlead
ers. America salutes you.
George Deutsch is a junior
journalism major.
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CARTOON OF THE DAY
f Dinner at Duncan
-T-— -i
£>C
HAZING: Any action taken or situation created
whether on or off university premises, to produce
mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment,
harassment or ridicule.
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