| Owning Up Leaders should not have spoken for all
In the early morning hours of Aug. 29, it is believed that several TCU football players were involved in an altercation at an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority party on the campus of Southern Methodist University. Witnesses said a fight broke out and police ended the party. According to the SMU police log, several SMU students, mostly female, were followed by about 12 to 16 men who were believed to be TCU football players. Witnesses said the group of SMU students was approaching a parking lot when the same group of men drove up in their cars and harassed the SMU students. SMU police were called, but the group of men had left by the time police arrived. In a letter to the editor of the Daily Campus, TCU student leaders apologized on behalf of the student body, saying "Those events do not reflect the TCU student body's respect for you or your university. Frankly, our students are better than our behavior showed over the weekend." Why should the entire student body apologize for the actions of a few? Would it not have been more appropriate for Student Government Association President Ben Alexander and company to urge the TCU athletic department to write a letter of apology on behalf of the athletes involved? And it would be easy to see why some TCU students - those who had nothing to do with the incident - may feel offended. The letter of apology - if one was indeed necessary - should have been from the students involved, and no one else. We understand how student leaders would feel responsible for cleaning up the messes of other students. But we would like to see those students own up to the consequences of their actions.
Forget guidebooks, freshmen All that needs to be known can be picked up in three weeks There is an abundance of those "What I Wish I Knew Before I was a Freshman" books out today. This is logical, of course. They are easy to write, require little or no study other than personal experience and are sure to be best-sellers. Nervous parents of high school graduates buy them up like snow cones in the Sahara. But they all have one tactical flaw. Most of the authors are so far removed from the freshman experience that the books are little more than the sweet reminiscing of seniors about to leave and so-called "experts" who wish they were back in college. "If I were a freshman again, I would be nice to everyone in my hall, study all the time and be nice to everyone in my hall. I wish I were a freshman again." Liar, liar, pants on fire. No one ever wishes they could be a freshman again. This is why these books always fall short of their intended helpfulness. We need a guide written by someone who understands the freshman experience, who realizes the peril of having a freshman standing and can speak with wisdom and concern about the three-week experience. In short, me. So here is my guide, a little list of things everyone should know when they come to college. (Upperclassmen, pay attention. You are never too old to learn.) I am thinking of calling it "Things I Never Knew Until I Came to College and Wish I Still Didn't." 1. In logical time, an 8 a.m. college class should feel like an 8 a.m. high school class. Well, we are not on logical time. We're on I-only-got-two-hours-of-sleep-last-night-because-the-guy-next-door-plays-that-one-Nirvana-song time. In this new time frame, an 8 a.m. college class seems to occur somewhere around 4:15 a.m. logical time. 2. If your suitemate cuts his hair in the sink, no one is going to clean it up. Trust me on this one, I know. 3. Along those same lines, the floor does not vacuum itself. At home we had this thing that would sweep in and eliminate all messes. I called it Mom. They forgot to put one of those in my room. 4. Senior sorority girls really don't go for freshman guys. Sad but true. 5. If there was something you were good at in high school, at least 20 people are majoring in it and are much better at it than you are. 6. Being nine hours from home does not seem that long until you watch your parents leave to make the trip back without you. 7. A $600 food budget lasts approximately a week in The Main. 8. In Missouri, 100-degree weather meant the world is coming to an end. In Texas, 100-degree weather means it's fall. 9. On weekends, the campus empties out, leaving those of us stuck here without cars, stuck here without cars. That is enough for now. That's another problem with those books - so much focusing on the negative aspects of college life. There are a lot of great things about college, especially (Warning! School Spirit Alert) here at TCU. So here for your reading enjoyment is my sequel to the college guide: "Reasons Why College Isn't So Bad If You're a Horned Frog." 10. No matter how hot it gets, there is always a sprinkler going somewhere. 11. Senior sorority girls (hey, a guy can dream). 12. Rif Ram Bah Zoo. You know you love it. 13. Purple doesn't match anything, so you really don't have to worry about it. There are always free T-shirts. Lots of them. At this rate, I won't have to wash clothes until Thanksgiving. 14. At very few places can you sum up the entire student body in one word: y'all. 15. Orientation student assistants, Frog Camp facilitators, residential assistants and several other upperclassmen actually have time to waste by hanging around us freshmen. They even remember your name. So welcome to college, or welcome back. There are more positive things about TCU I have picked up through my vast half-a-month experience, but I won't mention them here. You'll have to buy the book.
John-Mark Day is a freshman religion major from St. Joseph, Mo. School prayer not necessary at games The Friday night lights have always had a kind of ethereal glow about them. So when people say that high school football is a kind of religion in Texas, I'm inclined to agree. Some people, like those in Santa Fe, Texas, have literally tried to make the gridiron a place of worship. Marian Lynn Ward, 17, went ahead with her plans for an official pre-game prayer despite the prospect of being punished by her school. Eventually U.S. District Judge Sim Lake issued a restraining order barring the school district from penalizing Ward. Having been selected by her classmates to deliver inspirational remarks before the game, Ward decided to make it an occasion to pray. In theory, there is nothing wrong with this. But if Ward had been so moved to pray, she should have organized a group of students, players, parents, officials, whomever, in a separate gathering. Or she could transfer to a private school. I have a problem with people who want to bludgeon others with their religious beliefs. While I can only respect Ward for her convictions, it would seem that there are many other important battles for her to fight. Santa Fe recently settled a lawsuit after the parent of one the students sued to stop Santa Fe schools from favoring a religion. The lawsuit came after a seventh-grade history teacher referred to Mormonism as "evil." Santa Fe paid $70,000 to settle the lawsuit. I've been to Santa Fe twice to play high school football games. I know that they could have used that chunk of change more effectively, perhaps on diversity classes, or even paint for the locker room and concession area, which was covered with pro-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan graffiti. A Friendswood, Texas, school superintendent said in their local newspaper that his schools would continue to defy a recent court ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which states that sporting events aren't solemn enough to warrant organized prayer. He said, "The student body wants to do it. They have faith in God." Does that mean that all those who oppose the superintendent don't have faith in God? I would hope his faith in God is strong enough, that he wouldn't feel threatened by others who have different beliefs. You can see the intolerance in others, like the Southern Baptists, who have produced a "Jewish prayer guide" which urges members to pray that Jews convert to Christianity during the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Don't they know Jesus was Jewish? Oops. Wouldn't want to be too informed around here. But the point is, these acts of arrogance tend to make devout Christians look intolerant and bigoted. Can't people do anything these days without drawing the wrath of the Southern Baptists or the religious right? How about we just play ball, and leave the pre-game prayers to private schools?
Joel Anderson is a senior news-editorial journalism major from Missouri City, Texas. Eerie similarities exist between Clinton, Bush This summer, Episode I of the Star Wars saga premiered. In order to see it on opening day, my friend and I sat in the wretched Texas heat during finals week, listening to three fat guys who smelled of cheese and ear wax prattle on about the price and rarity of particular action figures. After three hours of geek-speak, we had our tickets. Fast forward to the following Wednesday. We came, we saw, we had our minds blown away. About a week later, I started thinking. Maybe that movie wasn't so great. Yeah, everybody hated Jar Jar, but there were other crappy things about The Phantom Menace, such as how it eschewed a good story and likable characters for a gazillion dollars-worth of eye candy. Enter another super-hyped and super-bankrolled media juggernaut: the presidential campaign of George W. Bush. I was really excited about him, until Rolling Stone #818 arrived in my mailbox. As if issue #818 wasn't disheartening enough - what with Ricky Martin's insipid grin on the cover and all - there was a special report on George Bush Jr. entitled, "All Hat, No Cattle." I read with great concern as Paul Alexander dumped shovelfuls of manure on Bush. I finished the article, drew a Village People mustache on Ricky Martin and tried to digest what I had read. Alexander faults Bush on several counts. According to him, Bush is bad because he did drugs and won't give a straight answer about it. He is bad because he was a fun-loving frat boy. He is bad because he had some shady, if ill-fated business deals. He is bad because he skirted the draft. In addition, Alexander accused Bush of being wishy-washy on hot-button issues. What irritates me is the obvious correlation between a presidential hopeful and a hopeful President. Clinton did drugs. He wasn't a frat boy, but everyone has a good idea about how much fun he's had. He had his share of shady business deals, he skirted the draft and he is still wishy-washy on hot-button issues. Naturally, I didn't fret about some liberal hack fulminating against everyone's favorite governor. So what if his favorite scratch 'n sniff sticker smells like Otto's jacket. Dodged the draft? He confused Slovakia with Slovenia? Except that Clinton probably wouldn't have mixed them up, and therein lies the rub. Bush is currently the great GOP hope. We mean-spirited Republicans have had eight years of a lying good ol' boy who smoked dope and felt our pain, but now we can take it back. Bush has the hype, he has the money and he's charming the pants off anyone who doesn't write for Rolling Stone. But is there substance behind the smile? No one seems to care that Bush has a spotted record, or that he may not know a whole lot about presidential things. Everyone seems to be fixated on his popularity as a governor, never minding the fact the governor of Texas is a relatively weak position, save for having the power to make school shopping cheaper. But maybe, just maybe, someone with an objective worldview should start asking some important questions. Cut through the smoke and the mirrors - I want to see how the trick works.
Steve Steward is a senior political science major from Lodi, Calif. Letter to the editor Beatty's quest for presidential spot justified While I found some of Josh Moenning's column (from the Daily Nebraskan) to be slightly entertaining, he seems to be confused on a couple of issues. His initial reaction to Warren Beatty's possible presidential run may be correct in that Beatty does not have the experience to preside over a nuclear power. However, he goes on to cite Beatty's political beliefs as proof that Beatty should not run! Beatty has been part of the political scene in Hollywood since the Kennedy administration, and indeed, he is a liberal Democrat. Criticizing an establishment that regards fame and money above issues is a just statement. However, criticizing Beatty's political ambitions based on his ideology is ridiculous. That is what elections are all about. I do not understand why the Skiff would go out of its way to print a poor editorial that was not even written by a TCU student. I believe that this paper has some fine columnists. In my opinion, Josh Moenning's column isn't that worthy.
Brad Freedman, junior history major |
The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |