The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1992 Page: 2 of 8
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Page 2/Thursday, January 23, 1992/theJ-TAC
OVTNIOW
"I don't got to show you no
stinking cats..."
Feline foes
Jordan Cannady
Around
the Bend
My friend Donna is an intelli-
gent, sophisticated woman who is, in
all areas 'ceptin one, a fine human
being. Most people, given a choice,
would prefer to read something tod
about another person than read
something good. If you are better
than most than I suggest you stop
here and turn to see what Dear Abby
has to say. For the rest of you, let me
tell you about Donna's serious char-
acter flaw.
Donna likes cats. I don't like
cats. I don't even like people who
like cats. In over thirty-seven years
I've only liked two people who liked
cats: Donna being one and my
mother-in-law Sally the other.
Cats have the social manners of -
West End Party People on the week-
end of the Cotton Bowl. They shed
long hair that clings to everything
like Christmas tree tinsel, relieve
themselves anywhere, will yowl -n-
howl to be let out and to be let in,
claw up your furniture, eat your
goldfish and have no sense of the
word "loyalty". A sheep is smarter
than a cat and a snail is smarter than
a sheep. The only trick that a cat can
perform successfully every time is to
land on the same side whenever you
drop it from a height, and I can make
a piece of toast do the same thing if
I put butter on it. - - - - - -. .
People who like cats will tell
you that their cat isn't disloyal when
it vanishes out the door and returns
only when it's injured enough to
require a couple of hundred dollars
attention at the vet Instead, they say
he's independent and that's what they
love about him. I love to listen to
cat'o'philes as they talk about the
mystic qualities of their cats.
Donna said the following to me
the other day. "Look at my Ozyman-
das, he just loves to lie on top of lhe
Lv. and watch me. He reads minds
you know. He always when I'm
depressed. Why just the other day I
found out that Phil Donahue is really
bald as an egg, and that Mario is
thinking of leaving him for Kiefer
Sutherland, now that Julia Roberts is
out of the picture. I went in to the
kitchen to eat some chocolate and do
you know what Ozzy did? He
brought in a baby mouse he'd caught
in the cellar earlier and dropped it at
my feet When he looked up at me
with those deep eyes I could see him
thinking.. Here is my best mouse, all
for you (except for the tail which
he'd already eaten). So don't try to
tell me that cats don't read minds.
After all, the Egyptians worshipped
cats."
I never try to respond to people
who believe what they read in super-
market tabloids and get warm and
rupny inside when they are given
road kill. As to the much touted
Egyptian connection, that is quite an
endorsement coming from people
who stuffed their dearly departed,
practiced slavery, invented mascara
and fell for the old "Red Sea" trick.
They argue that their cat really is
intelligent and merely chooses not to
do tricks. I'm sorry, but I find this
argument a little hard to accept about
an animal who can't find something
better to wash with than its tongue.
I realize there are a large num-
ber of misguided cat lovers out there
_ who don't like what I've had to say
about cats. If you will air your house
out for a week and will find me a
glass of tea that doesn't have any cat
hair floating in it (no, I didn't read
this in the Exorcist), I would be more
than happy to come over to your
house and show you some pictures
of what a worthwhile animal looks
like, if my Austrialian Sheepdog will
just sit still long enough to pose for
them.
Jordan Cannady is the Editorial
Cartoonist for the J-TAC.
ADVISOR - Charlie Reynolds The J-TAC
MANAGING EDITOR - Julie Grider
FEATURES EDITOR - Tina Horton
PHOTO EDITOR - Marc Parks
STAFF WRITERS - Kelly Boren,
Brig Lopez III, Eric Lang, Roderick Richardson
AD SALES - Scott Rone
EDITOR - Christy Moore
SPORTS EDITOR - Angela Spradley
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR - Meredith Foster
CIRCULATION MANAGER - Justin Boswell
EDITORIAL CARTOONIST - Jordan Cannady
1y*; /y/ '.7\ ■.} ■.}*. t
Violence: a
problem within
ourselves
Roderick
Richardson
Cultural events need support from students
Tarleton welcomed Mark Twain to a full house last
night—apparently a rare occurrance for cultural events
sponsored by the University. Students and community
members alike packed the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center
to see the re-creation of one of America's most loved literary
and comic figures.
The tragic thing is the reason why the hall was so packed.
Extra credit. Numerous people were turned away at the box
office with a regretful "Sorry, we're sold out" while at least
half of those holding tickets complained about having attend.
People who geniunely wanted to see the production
were shut out while students lined the corridors and discussed
how many extra points they would receive for "sitting through
this stupid thing" and how they planned to "sleep through the
whole thing".
However, Ken Richter did an excellent job of
disappointing them. Not a single person slept or even let their
eyes leave the stage during the entire two-hour performance.
Riveted to their seats, students laughed and got a small
glimpse of the man they had only read about in dull textbooks.
Marie Twain came to life. ,
In addition to this lecture, Tarleton brings many other
interesting cultural events to this University, including
concerts, recitals and speakers, at no cost to students. Yet
many of these events play to a small audience. Is it not "cool"
to attend cultural events unless you get something extra for it
in return? Does culture scare people? ,
Many don't realize that they do receive something extra
when they attend a play or a recital-an education, whether it
be in music, art or some other field. Isn't that what you come
to college for?
Around the Bend
© 1991 by
J. Jordan Cannady
TACKY writs, supply mr@@
Penboy Majazine
I $ SI I
E3 E3
Letters to the Editor
TSU an equal
opportunity?
To the editor,
I would like to make one point
before I continue this letter. I am
not a racist. I have many Negro
and Hispanic friends. However, I
am also a proud TSU student and
proud of Tarleton traditions.
This university was founded as
an institution for higher education
in agricultural science. Times
have changed and this institution
changed to allow more majors to
flourish here. But I do not see
why Tarleton's administration
feels it must go out of its way to
give minorities all the benefits
such as jobs, scholarships and
financial aid.
Anybody who has not figured
out what is going on at all student
competitions such as talent
shows, yell contests, and the DZ
step sing is either blind or just
stupid. How can you choose
people dancing over natural talent
including people writing music
and performing with their own
instruments.
For the past four years I have
watched as friends had to go home
because they lost financial aid
money while more and more
minorities have appeared in their
place. This past year we were
informed that the Agricultural
Judging teams were not going to
be allowed as many out of town
practices and possibly even be cut
from the program all together.
But the school's athletic
programs grow every year, which
primarily caters to the minorities.
If a black athlete needs a job they
will get it. But if a nationally
ranked judging team needs to go
to Abilene for a practice meet,
there are no funds.
This school was founded on
agriculture and yet Tarleton just
keeps going further and further
from its origin.
In conclusion, TSU must find a
way to solve this problem. Equal
opportunity is used all over this
country to imply that there is no
preference given to any cplor or
creed. However, it is getting
creed. However, it is getting
harder and harder to believe at
Tarleton Slate University.
Concerned Student
J. C. Mohr
McCabe sends
welcome and
encouragement
to students
To the students of TSU,
I am happy to welcome new, as
well as returning, students to the
Tarleton campus for the 1992
spring semester.
The new year brings new
resolutions, new hopes, and new
dreams. I want you to know that
Tarleton is here to help you fulfill
as many, of your goals and dreams
as possible. As you all know,
TSU is a growing university. But
in a time when most universities,
like most of our institutions, have
become faceless and impersonal,
Tarleton works to retain the
special qualities of friendliness and
caring that make us refer so often
to the "Tarleton family." We are
committed to providing each of
you with an. excellent education
and high quality services.
Last week, members of the
faculty, staff, administration, and
student body met together for a
strategic planning retreat and
reaffirmed our commitment to
those, values. We agreed that an
emphasis on teaching and a
personal concern for students are
the things that, above all, are
Tarleton special. We agreed to
continue our efforts to improve
and to take the action necessary to
accomplish our goals. I hope that
you will all involve yourselves in
the process of improving your
university. Get involved.
Finally, I challenge each of you
to set your semester goals high
and work hard to achieve them. I
urge you to increase the chances
of your success by making full
use of the many services and
opportunities that Tarleton
provides.
Have a wonderful semester!
Best wishes,
Dennis P. McCabe
President
On my first return to my home-
town since school started, I witnessed
a killing.
No one should be subjected to
this experience. Unfortunately, kill-
ing is now a sad reality in today's
changing world. It started as a rou-
tine night on the town with friends
and relatives gathered together at the
only hangout in town, but no one
imagined the night would end like
this.
Just before closing time, two
men got in an argument. The crowd
did not feel like it was. "serious".
These two men knew each other and
they just had one too many beers.
The atmosphere changed dramati-
cally when one man took a knife out
of his car. Both men struck blows,
but only one was armed.
In a matter of seconds, blood
stained the sand and ended the once
innocent night. As the suspect fled,
the victim was still standing; pacing
back and forth looking down at his
body as if he was wondering what
had happened to him. Then he saw
his blood and he realized that the
cuts were not flesh wounds. He
stopped and whispered , "I'm bleed-
ing," and fell, never to rise again.
Though the people saw the re-
sults of the physical conflict between
the two men, it was why it started
that remained a question.
As I was looking down at the
body, I was not only trying to figure
out an answer to his crime, but also a
reason for the violence America has
in general. Because as qf that moment
miin fell, he 110 longer had an
^^iUdqnti.ty. v; He's just a&jnere statistic
joining hundreds of others in this
country who were killed violently
that same night.
So I thought of all the excuses of
violence that the public and the media
create I could think of in order to find
an answer
Was he killed because of a song
the killer had heard on a cassette?
Was he killed because of a movie
or television show the killer saw?
Is he dead because of racism?
Or were drugs and alcohol the
reason for his death?
The first three have nothing to
do with this particular crime or any
violent act. Anything that was done
was their decision only. Anyone
who blames someone or something
else to be the cause of their mistake
is, in my opinion, a very weak per-
son. And though racism is the cause
of a high fraction of America's vio-
lence, it has nothing to do with
America's problem of black-on-black
crimes such as this one. And though
alcohol and other drugs can alter the
mind, drugs can not tell anyone to
destroy human life.
After all the public reasoning
and complex sociological theories
that I've learned, neither of them dis-
cussed the simple fact of human
nature. Two people were having a
disagreement - neither of them had
the sense or courage to back off and
walk away.
Their pride and ego prevents
them from walking away because of
a childhood learning theory - if they
back down then they've lost their
respect and dignity. So they con-
tinue to taunt each other until it gets
out of hand. A man's life is gone
because of psychological game of
"chicken".
That's my view of violence. If
we continue to look outside ourselvs
for a reason, then our hope for peace
is lost.
Roderick Richardson is a
Sports Writer for the J-TAC.
The J-TAC is published on Thursdays during the regular semester, with the exception of university holidays and
examination periods. The printer is the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.
Only articles in the Opinion section of this newspaper express the opinion of the J-TAC staff. Columns and/or news
articles do not necessarily express the opinion of this university or this newspaper.
Inquiries regarding deadlines may be made by telephone to: Newsroom: 968-9057; or the Faculty Advisor: 968-9058.
The offices of the J-TAC are located on the third floor of Davis Hall, rooms 303 and 304.
iV iV '' ■',l .'J.' I .
What's your view?
Share your views with the
J-TAC. Letters to the
editor should be sent to the
J-TAC, P.O. Box T-98,
Stephenville TX, 76402
or delivered to the third
floor of Davis Hall.
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The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1992, newspaper, January 23, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141767/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.