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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 11 • Friday, December 5, 2(
I EDITORIAL
A STEP FORWARD
But more needs to be done
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This week, the Texas A&M administration finally broke the
suspense that had been building for months after the Supreme
Court’s decision in Grutter v. Bollinger upheld affirmative action
admissions for colleges. University President Robert M. Gates
said A&M will not use race as a factor in admissions any more
than it has since 1996, when the Hopwood v. Texas decision
banned schools in the 5th Circuit from using race in admissions.
Although the University’s admissions policy will be based on a
level playing field, it also plans to make a more determined effort
to recruit minorities.
This is a commendable and necessary step in an area where
A&M has failed in the past and still makes missteps. Even now,
recruiting efforts aimed at minorities are largely abysmal.
There are two primary areas in which the University is lacking:
minority recruitment and enrollment.
First, A&M does not expend enough effort in recruiting areas
such as the Rio Grande Valley, which is predominantly popular
ized by minorities. This is in part because there are few current
students from the area to spur recruiting efforts.
However, recruiting applicants is only half the problem.
The larger problem is the fact that the University fails to keep
track of why students who are accepted to A&M choose not to
enroll. This is an especially pressing problem for minority stu
dents, who even after being accepted choose not to attend. The
University should establish an admissions group to track why
minorities who are accepted decide not to attend. This would
allow the University to operate off more than hunches as to why
so few minorities attend Texas A&M.
Gates’ plan is a step toward making the University more
appealing to minority students, but more needs to be done to
ensure A&M reflects the make up of the state.
THE BATTALION
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor in Chief
Managing Editor
Opinion Editor
Metro Editor
Sommer Hamilton
Elizabeth Webb
Jenelle Wilson
Sarah Szuminski
Metro Asst.
Member
Member
Member
C.E. Walters
Collins Ezeanyim
Matt Rigney
David Shoemaker
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or
iand include the author’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor
leserves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be sub-
pitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may
: mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College
Station, TX 77843-1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebattalion.net
.orean
It's about time
Massachusetts gay marriage decision right step
Tony Piedra • THE BATTALION
O n Nov. 18, the
Massachusetts
Supreme Court
struck down in a 4-3 rul
ing the ban on gay mar
riages included in the
state’s constitution. The
court gave the
Massachusetts Legislation matt
180 days to come up with rigney
a solution that allows
homosexuals to marry.
This groundbreaking ruling has set the
stage for acceptance of gay marriages across
the country, and gay couples in other states
should challenge similar laws so that every
one across the country, regardless of sexual
orientation, will enjoy the domestic rights
that each American deserves.
The ruling takes the 1999 Vermont
finding one step further, according to
The Washington Post. The Vermont rul
ing gave gay couples protections and
benefits that married couples enjoy; how
ever, it did not recognize such unions
with marriage licenses.
By outlawing the union of two people
who genuinely love each other, lawmak
ers are effectively saying that homosexu
als aren’t the same as the average
straight American and do not deserve the
same treatment.
The court made clear that the question
of morality played little part in its deci
sion; it only addressed the validity of a
ban on gay unions based on the
Massachusetts constitution. However, the
majority opinion did find, as Chief Justice
Margaret H. Marshall wrote, that the con
stitution “affirms the dignity and equality
of all individuals,” and “it forbids the cre
ation of second-class citizens.”
This premise is not only true with regard
to the Massachusetts constitution. The idea
of having no second-class citizen is woven
into the fabric of the nation. The conviction
in the Declaration of Independence that “all
men are created equal” should be upheld, as
it is an innate tenet of democracy.
In America’s past, this phrase only
applied to white, land-owning citizens,
but as blacks and women
got the vote and are
finally beginning to be
regarded as equals, it is
obvious that the phrase
has a literal truth.
Proponents of discrim
ination and closed-minded
thinking argue that mar
riage is, as President
George. W. Bush put it, “a
sacred institution between
a man and a woman,” and
the court’s decision “vio
lates that important princi
ple.”
However, Marshall
countered this argument in
the court opinion, saying
that same-sex marriages
“will not diminish the
validity or dignity of oppo
site-sex marriages.”
Arguing that they will,
Marshall insists, is like
arguing that a couple of a
different race devalues the
marriage of a couple of the
same race.
Marriage strengthens society by having
two people committed to each other act as
one in raising children and being active
members of society.
Others who share Bush’s views, such
as Rep. Walter Jones, R-NC, called the
ruling “one more assault on Judeo-
Christian values.”
This is completely untrue. An assault
on Judeo-Christian values would be keep
ing the unalienable rights that every
American deserves from certain people,
thereby making them second-class citi
zens. Judging others by the color of their
skin, their sex or their sexual orientation is
against everything that the abiders of
Judeo-Christian values uphold.
What these men and women do not see
is that the powerful in society write history,
whether it is morally right or not. In the past
250 years, the American powerful have been
white, Christian men. It is these men who
kept slavery alive for nearly 100 years and
kept blacks a segregated, second-class part
of society for 100 years after that. It is these
men who are keeping homosexuals in
America second-class as well.
Keeping this precedent alive is morally
wrong.
Only by challenging laws in the other 37
states that ban same-sex marriages will the
gay population of America end the negative
discrimination that the traditionally power
ful have willed upon the nation. Lawsuits
against these laws will open the eyes of the
states’ and nation’s elite, making them real
ize that all men are created equal. It is time
for these lawmakers to realize that
Americans from all ethnic, sexual and eco
nomic backgrounds will not stand for any
citizen of this country to be second-class.
Matt Rigney is a junior
journalism major.
urch
MAIL CALL
Students should look
at diversity evidence
1 In response to a Nov. 26 mail call:
plan is a fair and balanced way to
achieve diversity at Texas A&M at no
expense to those who qualify in their
own right to be here through individual
merit, academically and otherwise. In
ethnicity except for white males. The
point is that since every group except
Caucasians are targeted by this
University (and society as a whole)
that white males are being discrimi-
this really says is, “Why can’t the rest
of the world stop because Texas A&M
has something going on?” This kind of
arrogance makes our school look eth
nocentric and weak. If anything, the
lead when the chips are down. I’m
sure no one on our team was satis
fied with our season, and 1 applaud
Reggie for not turning that emotional
fire off in the face of a tough season.
i.org
ise
ion
. Apgar contends that there is no
real evidence” supporting the educa-
iional and social benefits of a diverse
camous. Thus he alleges that propo
nents of diversity act on the basis of
Iheir intuitions and gut feelings. There
s, in fact, a large body of research
hich demonstrates that diversity
enriches the educational experience
of all students.
This evidence was presented to the
Supreme Court during the recent
University of Michigan law school
case, in which the court ruled that
ublic higher education “has a com
pelling interest in attaining a diverse
tudent body.” Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor wrote,' “In addition to
expert studies and reports entered
into evidence at trial, numerous stud
ies show that student body diversity
promotes learning outcomes, and
better prepares students for an
increasingly diverse workforce and
society, and better prepares them as
professionals.”
encourage readers to review the
evidence to which Justice O’Connor
refers. Simply go to the Web site
http://www.aera.net/reports/ and you
will find a volume by the American
Educational Research Association
that brings together the wealth of tan
gible, empirical evidence on the ben
efits that diversity brings to the indi
vidual student, the institution, and the
broader society.
Larry Oliver
Department of English
Associate Dean for Liberal Arts
New admissions plan
a good idea
In response to a Dec. 4 article:
President Gates did an outstanding
job in outlining how to achieve “diver
sity” here at Texas A&M in his state
ment on Dec. 3.
The use of quotas and affirmative
action in the college admittance
process is wrong, but this is not what
President Gates outlined. Instead, his
addition, the plan also calls for the
strengthening the required standard
ized test scores for automatic academ
ic admission so to open up “roughly
another 850 places in the freshman
class where applicants can be evaluat
ed on the basis of the whole person.”
Further, the University plans to push
for more minorities to apply for admis
sion. The vice president of diversity, Dr.
James Anderson, helps most here
because when more qualified minori
ties apply, the larger pool of qualified
applicants results, creating a healthier,
more diverse community of learning.
All Aggies, including the Young
Conservatives of Texas, should be
informed before doing something such
as an ‘affirmative action’ bake sale
when the University is not looking for
‘reverse discrimination’ but for a fair
chance for all who are qualified by indi
vidual merits of “academic achieve
ment, extracurricular activities, unusu
al experiences, leadership potential,
and special talents.”
John Book
Class of 2007
Plan an example of
reverse discrimination
Since discrimination seems to be
the issue as of late I feel it is very nec
essary to address the president’s
recent letter to the student body. I
would beg to know exactly why
“where we are is unacceptable” and
why Dr. Gates feels that “the future of
Texas A&M depends on being more
successful in attracting more minority
students to join the Aggie family.” I
am in no way against diversity, how
ever instituting a quota of minority
students that enroll is unacceptable.
Targeting any “group” based on
race or ethnicity is discrimination
against the non-targeted group. In
this case, minorities will be targeted
while Caucasians are being discrimi
nated against. This is exactly what
reverse discrimination is about.
Being an engineering major I see it
even more. You have engineering
societies for every race, gender or
nated against in a very discrete, very
calculated manner. It is ridiculous
and I hope that someday race and
ethnicity will become less of an issue
than it is to this administration.
Stephen Partain
Class of 2004
A train has to sound
its horn at crossings
In response to a Dec. 4 mail call:
Mr. Archer and Ms. Gilliam have
pointed fingers without asking ques
tions first. I have as much respect for
Silver Taps as the next Ag. However,
before you start pointing fingers for the
obvious interruption of this month’s
Silver Taps, consider this: First, did you
stop to think why a train sounds its
horn? Trains give successive blasts of
their horns upon entering highly popu
lated areas. This is to alert motorists
and pedestrians who may be on the
track or at crossings.
Secondly, did it occur to you that
maybe Union Pacific Railroad has no
choice in the matter? Many state and
federal regulations require trains to
“sound off” in order to warn those near
the track. It would be nice to think that
an Student Government Association
organization at A&M has the power to
go above the law and make such a
request a reality. But when it comes
down to it, sadly Traditions Council has
no such power. Next time, don’t get
caught up in the ceremony, get caught
up in the meaning. We were all there to
say goodbye to a member of our Aggie
family.
Ian Pearce
Class of 2006
The world cannot
stop for Silver Taps
I was appalled at the letter complain
ing about the train during Silver Taps.
Archer and Gilliam said, “Why can’t
Traditions Council contact UPRR and
work something out with them?” What
train during Silver Taps can be seen as
a reminder of the roots of College
Station and Texas A&M. Without that
train, this town wouldn’t exist, and nei
ther would this University. So get over
it, and stop expecting the world to
revolve around us.
Kelli Davis
Class of 2006
McNeal should not
be criticized for sign
In response to a Dec. 4 mail call:
I am also not a fan of the “horns
down” sign, but that’s where my agree
ment with Mr. Rasch’s letter stops.
It was a very long season that
brought the worst record in most of
our lifetimes. However, our poor
record is no reason to ask our players
to not celebrate gametime achieve
ments, or more importantly, to ask
them to turn off the emotional juices
of competition and a rivalry game. I
would be much more concerned
about our future if Reggie had just
tossed the ball to the official and
walked away, or worse yet, had he not
made it to the endzone at all.
Anyone can lead a team when the
chips are high, but it takes a special
person to not give up and continue to
Lanny Hayes
Class of 2003
Horns down sign just
like Aggie T-shirts
While I appreciate your attempts to
remind everyone of the class that we
Aggies pride ourselves on, I think call
ing our players “pathetic” is a far worse
act than Mr. McNeal’s horns down act.
I don’t see how what he did is any dif
ferent from the “Saw ‘em off” and de
horned images of the University of
Texas logo that we Aggies display
proudly every day.
Perhaps it was your feelings about
this season that have inspired you to
write such a letter. No one can deny
this hasn’t been our best season, but
keep in mind this is Coach Fran’s first
year, and we did have a very tough
schedule. You can’t expect miracles.
In the meantime, until you slave
away in the hot Texas sun all summer
long for football practice and then step
onto that field and score us some
points against one of the top-ranked
teams in the nation, please keep your
judgements about “pathetic perform
ance” and “dignity” to yourself.
Stacy Reeves
Class of 2006