The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, November 20, 1987 Page: 4 of 20
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4 Friday, November 20,1987 THRESHER Opinion
Awareness key to elimination of cultural myopia
I knew the panel discussionon minority affairs
would be an experience worth remembering. In
fact, it was one of the most emotional and eye-
opening debates that I've ever witnessed at
Rice. I expected the interest in minority affairs
to outlast the debate. And, thank God, it has.
But I'm not an expert on policy issues. Statis-
tics on the results of affirmative action, minor-
ity affairs offices, and student retention are not
my specialties. However, I am an expert on my
own experiences, and I can say with great con-
fidence that mine are similar to most black stu-
dents here at Rice.
Furthermore, as president of the Black Student
Union, my knowledge of certain racial or cul-
tural problems may even be heightened,
whether a black student asks me to assist him
with a racial problem, or a white student ap-
proaches me simply because he wants to know
more about "the Black experience."
In the past several weeks, quite a few students
have come to me, with that kind of question.
"Can I come to a BSU meeting?" "What kinds
of activities do you do?" Usually the person
asking the question does so in a rather appre-
hensive, uncomfortable manner.
Similar statements are often heard about, say,
BSU parties. Too frequently I hear someone ask
me if only black students are welcome at BSU
parties. Often enough, someone tells me that he
wanted to attend the BSU party because he liked
the music, but when he arrived at the door, he
"chickened out" after seeing an overwhelming
number of black students.
I want my fellow Rice students to know that
these concerns are understandable. And, de-
spite the guilt or uneasiness that many profess to
feel, by no means do these feelings make one a
racist, a bigot, or a "bad person," as one fresh-
man put it.
However, if you do have cultural curiosities or
concerns yet fail to act upon them, or if you
Doonesbury
GUEST COLUMN
by Steve McVea
choose not to take steps to be rid of your uneasi-
ness, ignorance will affect your thoughts and
opinion. A slight uneasiness, unless overcome
through knowledge and experience, will lead to
a cultural myopia.
In the case of cultural awareness, ignorance is
not bliss. The more knowledge, the better. Col-
lege is one of our only opportunities to meet as
many different kinds of people as possible.
Rice has a decent modey crew of students. I
hope that we, as a student body, can learn to
share our cultural identities with one another
without losing them in the "mixing" process.
I really admire any non-black student who
attends a BSU meeting, party, cultural func-
tion, or fundraiser with true grit and sincerity
(and for that matter, anyone who attempts to
cross the cultural line). For you BSU party fre-
quenters, hats off to you, you add to the party
scene!
For those curious about anything concerning
minority groups, don't be shy. You'll find
there's more to it than simply an overwhelming
number of minorities present You'll find an ap-
preciation of a common culture, an explosive,
exciting energy that, ironically, is very inviting
to you.
Hanszen junior Steve McVea is president of the
Black Student Union.
Senator urges support for outdoor pool
To the editor:
Last week's meeting of the student associa-
tion senate re-adressed the issue of building an
outdoor swimming pool on the Rice campus. S A
President Kevin Gass and I will be making a
special pitch for the idea before the next meeting
of the Board of Governors. Unfortunately, the
topic was deferred from this body's latest
agenda. At this time we do not understand the
justification for the delay, but the senate feels
that it may be unwarranted.
Gass, Parliamentarian George Webb and I
watched this idea be shot down in its infancy for
financial reasons more than a year ago. It is our
understanding that most, if not all, of those
financial obstacles have been hurdled in the time
since. If this is not the case, and problems still
exist with initiating this project, die senate and
the Rice community at large should be informed
of the alleged complications.
There are few who can find adequate grounds
to reject (or indefinitely suspend) the construc-
tion of an outdoor swimming facility. I have
been approached by several members of the
swim team that assure me of the need and praise
the benefits of such a facility and an overwhelm-
ing majority of students would enjoy this cam-
pus addition throughout Houston's nine-month
THRESHING IT OUT
letters to the editor
summer. Additionally, Rice will benefit from
the emerging sense of community brought for-
ward by donors to the project.
In the next few weeks, we will be writing
letters to members of the Board of Governors,
passing legislation, and trying to heighten to
student awareness in this cause. Please make
your opinions known through the many repre-
sentative offices and forums across the campus,
and of course through the Thresher. Together,
it's time to swim forward.
Andy Karsner
WRC Senator
Rail necessary to satisfy
city's transportation needs
continued from page 2
Greenway Plaza, a distance of about five miles,
takes about twenty minutes for a bus on city
streets. A train could cut that time in half.
Rail would appeal to a wider variety of
people than do buses. Buses, inconvenient as
they are, appeal only to the transit-dependent,
those who do not own cars. Rail, on die other
hand, can be faster than cars on busy streets and
would find customers among commuters.
Unlike bus lines, rail provides a focus for
development. Other cities that have built rapid
transit systems have found that stations often
BY GARRY TRUDEAU
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sir! it's
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thank goop-
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authorities! puke mas caught
up in the em's sweep of the
mentally incompetent! he's
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become neighborhood centers., spurring con-
struction of shops and offices.
Trains offer the additional advantage of being
easily understood. Which line to take is much
clearer, and while one can be unsure if one is at
the right coiner to catch the bus, it is always
obvious if one is at a subway station.
METRO is not required to put the plan to a
vote. They have the authority to begin construc-
tion today. Nevertheless, the METRO board is
planning a referendum for January 16 to avoid
angering the voters. The board has much to fear.
In 1983, a proposal for a much larger scale rail
system was rejected by a wide margin. METRO
has learned from their mistakes, however. The
current proposal requires no new taxes, no fare
hikes, not even a bond issue. Hence, voters
should not consider the vote to be an economic
issue. Yet there are Houstonians who not only op-
pose construction of a rail system, considering it
to be too cosdy, but they also want to slash
METRO'S funding, the one percent sales tax.
Such a view is shortsighted. A recent study
predicted Houston to soon have the most con-
gested highways in the nation. Houston cannot
grow any further without a mass transit system.
Cutting transit funding will make such a system
impossible. It will mean a halt to construction of
transit lanes, and a return to the days when
Houston had one of the worst, rather than one of
the best, bus networks in the country.
Workers who commuted on Park and Ride
buses will return to their cars, increasing conges-
tion and pollution. Poor inner-city residents will
find it much more difficult to get around the city.
And Houston will have proven that it is unwilling
to face the challenges of future growth.
Data first aim
of drug survey
continued from page 2
best be accomplished by first gathering system-
atic data on the extent of drug use at Rice. One
survey respondent sent us a card saying, "If it
ain't broke, don't fix it!" The Task force agrees
wholeheartedly. But how can we tell whether "it"
is broken—and if so, how seriously—without the
systematic collection of information anony-
mously supplied?
We therefore strongly request students who
have received questionnaires and have not yet
returned them to complete them honesdy and
return them soon.
The Task force is eager to meet with inter-
ested students, staff, and faculty who have ideas,
questions or criticism on this issue. We will have
an open forum Monday, October 23, at 4 p.m. in
the Hanszen College commons. We anticipate
having further open forums to stimulate thinldng
about drug and alcohol use.
Chandler Davidson
Professor of Sociology
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Raphael, Michael J. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, November 20, 1987, newspaper, November 20, 1987; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245679/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.