The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 10, 2002, Image 13

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    Opinion
mam
The Battalion
le, including »i
ncan Green Bsk
njuiing 25 olheis.
Oct 3
eo P | e are inddM
•rtland. Ore, lor
’ging to a tenors
nd trying tojciia.
a to fight U.S.
s. Four were
ted in the Unite)
s and a fifth in
r'sia. Thesrxlhisal
I sought,
Oct. 6
zee ra receives an;
leasts an audo
of Osama bin
n speaking. |f$
ar when it was
Oct. 8
Jdiotapeofbin
n’s top deputy 5
ating. U S oHoas
was made in
st at the earliest,
ore likely n the las
reeks. II makes
inces to seveia
t events and dan
aden is alive,
Oct 8
<uwaiti gunmen
< two separate
ie units in Kuw.
one Marine and
ig another. U.S
ils say they are
icted of ties to a-
campus
Students should take advantage of Corps escorts
SARA FOLEY
'called the num
ber for the first
time, and felt
sitant to do so. 1
ild the voice on the
rone where 1 was,
here I needed to go and in about ten minutes I saw
khaki uniform coming towards me along the
iserted street.
He told me his name, and 1 managed to fabricate a
ary to explain why I was in front of Zachary in the
of the night on a weekend. We made small
Ik,and 1 realized 1 shouldn’t have been so skeptical
loutthe whole process. About halfway along our
alk.ltold him I might have tricked him a bit.
wasn’t in need of an escort. 1 was just testing
emto find out if calling for an escort is as big a
alas I had'thought. I don’t think I’m the only one
ho might feel doubtful or childish about calling a
orps escort, but I can say it was better than what
have happened to me had I been walking
lone that night.
It would be nice if students could safely
ilk anywhere they pleased without worrying
lout being assaulted.
Many women at Texas A&M ignore the pos-
illity of crime, live under a blanket of false
curity and choose to gamble with their safe-
However, crimes occur on campus and will
ontinue to, so it is in the best interest of female
Indents to use the Corps escort service when
tcessary.
Between January and August 2002, there
* ere three rape offenses reported, accord-
Tunisia, a fa ig to the University Police Department,
killed 16peofii here were 39 incidents of harassment and
ocases of aggravated assault.
>een linked loi i&M might be safe when com-
ared to universities of similar size,
t he saw as B udiasthe University of Texas,
he United /hich reported 24 rape offenses and
nst Iraq, to aggravated assaults in 2001.
^ 1ft H ° WeVer ’ i , t is the belief “ nothin g wil1
rad" W^ome' that breeds victims.
he sai4.v|® onalcrimes g° unreported, so
ie supremac^jr. v uenc y ot crim e on campus
Higher than one might suspect,
eescort service helps prevent
tacks by dissuading potential
lackers.
On weekends, there are sometimes up to 200 calls a night
RUBEN DELUNA
o countries;
and its depis
at their crimes
led," he said."
o make a
Palestine, ^nesting escorts, according to Larry Boykin of Company D-
AfghanistanAlthough the guard room receives a number of prank calls
e Muslim st®|iidcalls from women who might think of the service as a way
‘meeting dates instead of assuring safety, the service proba-
contributes to the lower campus crime rates. At any given
3 authorities.
:ampaign refe*
the census,
mes or revealiij
me, six cadets are working in the guard room and are avail-
m to accompany any females walking on campus.
However, something stops many women from using the
THE BATTALION
service. Whether it be confidence that she can make it alone,
reluctance to wait for the escort to arrive, or discomfort at the
thought of actually calling and requesting one, something stops
the usage of the service, and these inhibitions may lead to
tragedy. Students must be willing to place their own safety
above their inhibitions and take advantage of this valuable
service.
Sara Foley is a sophomore
journalism major.
Page 5B • Thursday, October 10, 2002
Musical brings
reality to A&M
P eople don’t usually think of
Texas A&M as a campus
whose members would
associate themselves with the
issues of homosexuality, sexual
diseases and lower-class America,
but Oct. 29 and 30 will bring these issues into the minds of
many Aggies and the College Station community. MSC Opas
has brought the hit Broadway musical “Rent” to the stage at
Rudder Auditorium. Students should take this opportunity to
witness the brutal honesty and sheer beauty in this production.
Many people coincide conservative with close-mindedness.
Yes, A&M is a conservative campus, but this does not translate
to intolerant or oblivious to some issues - at least it shouldn’t.
Being conservative should mean basing views on the accumu
lation of knowledge you have gathered. Bringing “Rent” to the
campus can stand as a movement to project a more tolerable
appearance to the outside world.
“Rent” follows the lives of two roommates, Mark and
Roger. The characters are faced with small issues such as pay
ing the week’s rent and dating woes. But they are also forced to
battle more serious issues — Mark’s girlfriend leaves him for
another woman and Roger has a continuing battle with AIDS.
The musical also includes the character Angel, who is a homo
sexual plagued with AIDS and appears as a woman in a couple
of scenes. This isn’t a raunchy display of taboo topics. “Rent”
closely relates these characters to the audience, immediately
connecting them in the beginning.
Of course, there are serious moments, but the overall atmos
phere of the play is more fun and “true-to-life” than anything.
Christina Nelson, director of publicity and advertising for
MSC Opas, said, “‘Rent’ is something students have wanted to
come to A&M. We’re considered a conservative campus.”
Apparently, students are ready to embrace what is typically
considered liberal views in the form of entertainment, and
maybe some education will be thrown in as well. The play was
previewed by several members, staff and student leaders of
Opas on their trip to New York in January. In the playbills from
previous Opas plays. Nelson said there was positive response
for “Rent” in the surveys that asked for student input.
So far, there has been no negative feedback from anyone on
campus or around town, and MSC Opas doesn’t expect any.
“Everyone seems to be excited on campus, especially since
they get a chance to see ‘Rent’ and ‘La Boheme’ here in the
same season,” Nelson said. “Rent” is the contemporary adapta
tion of “La Boheme.”
Issues like those in “Rent” are problems people in the world
have to deal with every day, and whether or not it seems so,
they are also issues that some Aggies deal with as well. Even if
the audience is not dealing with a life-threatening disease, or
hasn't had to deal with a drug problem or any other issue
“Rent” encounters, this play still hits home in some way to all
its audience. Hopefully Ags will be able to look beyond the
drag costumes and drug talk to see the realistic, touching mas
terpiece “Rent.” Maybe this is not the start of a new liberal
view at A&M. However, it could serve as one way to show the
rest of the world that Aggies may be conservative, but we are
not closed off from the real world.
Lenti Smith is a junior journalism
and political science major.
LENTI SMITH
I second jobs i
icrs break res j ri _ #
,nattheirpiacf|' r, t eorro//on only gives the
C ° r ps negative news coverage
I is to provide!
■ planning p®
sions.Theystfi-
the data will®
res Ponse to Richard Bray's Oct. 9 column:
)ha
Pen
unions
Awareness!! *
unfa ^ or P s certainly has its flaws, it is
na/ f° cus on| y on the mistakes that it has
m the past, especially one that happened
l T ears a 8°- 1 have never seen a positive arti-
K- i out jhe Corps - only things about alleged
l anc * pictures of that hazing, which violate
privac y °f the person being "hazed." Perhaps
l 0(f be 'P the University's image if The
hin ,0 ? an d The Eagle were to publish some-
vA . ut how much money the Corps of
Wiv i r ?L Ses * or tbe March of Dimes every year.
J., t ” at never put in The Battalionl Is it
ometh- 6n R'fhard Bray might be forced to say
ln 8 positive about the Corps of Cadets?
David Kahn
r Class of 2004
^dents have a right to sell
°wn sports passes
Response to an Oct. 9 mail call:
002
iroe,
Texas
N TEXAS
festival-c 0 ” 1
[dokl °' d my sports pass in the past. I did n
cioa ^ exas A&M, nor did 1 do it to buy be
0 i^ ettes ‘ * so ^ 't to help recoup some of tl
ani to huy books this semester.
3football nC ^' ** 1 am not planning on attendii
n't| Se || 8 ame tor whatever reason, why shoul
den on ^ P ass anc l help ease the financial bi
center? ^ ' anr, ily? Does this make me a two p<
''vith°R Sl !i^ 0U * :>t tbat tootball had anything
do | belipv u r s ber °ics on Omaha in 1944. N
ir at Sul| y would care one way or tl
, , V* whether or not 1 sold my
, . .V-. v-AI I ICJl I 3WICJ Illy
tewas Tk^ be would know what a spo
'bought ' le Same holds true for E King Gill.
^ e UDmv my s P° rts P ass - It’s mine. If I choc
<a nt ' C t 0Veted 8 "‘ ncb wide seat to someo
didn't ^ m , ore tb an I do, I see no reason w
fteproces: rna ^ e some much needed money
Chris Dooley
Class of 2005
MAIL CALL
I must say that Tim Brendel sure has a talent
for the dramatic. I'm not sure, however, that
James Earl Rudder, Lawrence Sullivan Ross or E.
King Gill could give a rip about students selling
their sports passes.
What in the world does landing in Normandy
have to do with whether I want to attend a foot
ball game?
1 paid for for my sports pass! I own it! I have
every right to sell it if I'm not going to be in town.
By Mr. Brendel’s reasoning, I'm sure James Earl
Rudder didn't land in Normandy so Texas A&M
could charge me $1.50 to park for an hour on
campus. And I'll bet that Sully didn't fight to keep
this college open so that people could complain
about the football team.
If you own a sports pass, and you're not going
to the game, sell it! Get some of your money back.
You bought that ticket, and you're not using it. If
someone else wants it, they're going to be willing
to pay for it. Welcome to the free market system,
Mr. Brendel. Isn't capitalism great?
Joey Humke
Class of 2002
For those of us who are working to pay our own
way through this university, it is not always possi
ble to go to each and every football game.
Each semester, I spend several thousand dollars
of my money to attend this school, and as hard as
I try, I cannot attend every sporting event. If I am
unable to attend because I am working to pay my
rent, there is nothing stopping me from selling my
sports pass, not to buy "beer and cigarettes," but
to buy groceries.
Don't get me wrong. I'll be the first Aggie to give
my sports pass to any of my friends who need it,
but I'm not one to pass up the opportunity to cap
italize on the fact that some Corps boy wants to
take his high school girlfriend to the game so they
can make out.
Not everyone who attends this university is a
spoiled rich kid whose parents pay for everything
and who has no idea of the worth of a dollar. You
should not be so quick to judge fellow Aggies by
calling those of us who work the hardest to be
here "heaps of trash." We are the 12th Man.
Amanda K. Sexton
Class of 2003
Defining race in terms of ideas
rather than race is idealistic
In response to an Oct. 9 mail call:
While Mark Gorzycki’s points in his letter regarding
diversity in terms of ideas and not race are noble,
they are not very realistic. His arguments are very
idealistic, and it's something that I wish for as well,
but I know that in this world, it would not work out.
The fact that we even have affirmative action poli
cies points out that race is still an issue today and
racism is still prevalent within American society.
In the Corps of Cadets, I had a very good
Vietnamese friend who was in the Corps at A&M-
Galveston. His senior year, he was the Corps exec
utive officer. He was more qualified and had more
accomplishments than that year's corps com
mander. Why didn't he get the job? Many peo
ple, including whites, thought that the only reason
the other guy got the job is because he "looked
the part." It's instances like that which make
minorities call for action.
Even here in College Station, I have a hard
time ignoring comments such as, "What're you
doing here, Chinaman?" or "I didn't know we
were in Chinatown" when I'm walking around
campus or around Northgate. Technically, I'm
not even Chinese!
The only way to defeat racism is through educa
tion and the willingness to open up your minds
and your eyes. Ignorance is not bliss, although
some say otherwise. The quality of education at
A&M is dependent on diversity of thought, but
unfortunately, not everyone is very diverse.
Albert Nguyen
Class of 2001