The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, October 3, 1997 Page: 3 of 20
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Mil'iliftijlJlii'iii
OSE THAT
52-1*
,. Jowcut that sup-
jn, and realize
his pledge was
made 50 years ago to
mfcetthe membership
requirements for the
United Nations. Only
a snow job by United
States leaders has sue*
ceeded in hiding the
repulsive nature of the
requirement.
Our leaders have
fooled us by evading
the contradiction between the
ideals of the United Nations and
those of the United States Bill
Clinton recently said. "The United
Chris
Klick
QUEST
COLUMNIST
United!
United Nations.
then signed the Com-
prehensive Test Ban
Treaty, agreeing to
"end all nuclear tests for
all time "
When author and
philosopher Ayn Rand
was askedifthe United
States should withdraw
from the United Na-
tions, she said, "I do not
sanction the grotesque pretense
of an organization allegedly de-
voted to world peace and human
rights, which includes Soviet Rus-
States was a founder of the United sia, the worst aggressor and
Nations... We believe in itside-^ broodiest butcher in history, as
" " ' :-~-J ** one of its members. The notion of
protecting rights, with Soviet Rus-
sia among the protectors, is an
insult to the concept of rights and
to the intelligence of any man who
is asked to endorse or sanction
such an organization. I do not be-
lieve that an individual should co-
operate with criminals, and, for all
the same reasons, I do not believe
that free countries should cooper-
ate with dictatorships."
Rand's evaluation is as valid
for China how as It was for Russia
then. It is not a call-for isolation-
ism. It is a call to isolate and shun
dictatorships. American ideals are
only damaged through trade and
teamwork with China It is time to
renounce the United Nations and
boycott China.
als." He must have missed these
conflicting mission statements:
(1) According to its charter, the
United Nations exists "to ensure
... that armed force shall not be
used, save in the common inter-
est." According to the Constitu-
tion, however, the United States
should use armed force to de-
fend national self-interest, not "in-
ternational common interest." (2)
"All [United Nations] Members
shall refrain... from the threat or
use of force against the territorial
integrity or political indepen-
dence of any state." However, a
dictator's peaceful foreign policy
is not grounds to grant him sac-
rosanct territorial and politicalin-
dependence. [All italics added].
China's veto power in the U.N.
Security Council lays bare the
contradiction between United
Nations and American ideals. Our
pledge to honor communist
whims with regard to our mili-
tary actions is a major moral er-
Chris Klick is a Hansxen College
sophomore, and is writing this col-
umn on behalf of the Rice Objectiv-
ist Club. :
Casual Day has become new
dress code for the nineties
Casual Friday lias lost
its heart and soul. The basic idea
was to allow people to be comfort-
able and thus more efficient at work.
l.ast week, however, Wall
Street and the Gap paired
up to show how far from
that idea we have come.
When the New York
Stock Exchange sus-
pended its dress code, the
national news linked the
story with the Gap's new
clothing line because the
traders wore Gap clothes
on that momentous day.
By providing cjothes for
the traders, the Gap took
advantage of a great advertising op-
portunity and treated the traders
like little kids being told what to
wear to school. Representatives from
the Gap had gone around before-
hand and distributed khakis and
shirts as if the financial minds be-
hind the most powerful stock ex-
change in the world could not dress
themselves in the morning.
Not only was the event a strictly
commercial activity run in a rigid
fashion, but many of the brokers felt
uncomfortable about it. They have
had a dress code since the late 1700s.
The crisp suit and tie look of the
New York Stock Exchange is part of
its image. By eliminating that, even
for one day, some felt that the entire
operation was undermined.
For me, tlfis was the final straw.
Anne
Kimboi
OPINION
EDITOR
Inequality
FROM PAGE 1
ishment strictly adheres to the prin-
ciples of "equal opportunity."
Race and ethnicity make us dif-
ferent people. Those who call for a
color-blind America hope for some-
thing that probably will never exist,
let us not make laws ftw the perfect
man. but, rather, laws that reflect
I HADconsidered writing about
student government and the Man
(who I would guess works for Packy)
again, but then 1 went outside and
realized there was some-
thing more important to
write about
I wore jeans the other
day. ■+
This may sound incon-
sequential, but it's a wel-
come sign. I heard an ad
on the radio saying that
Houston has "300 days of
comfortable climate a
year "Those other65 days
are just about over,
This occasion isn't as
important as it used to be.
Fifty years ago, it meant the end of
an often smothering season. The
towers on the old colleges are there
for a reason; on hot summer eve-
nings, they were the only place
where students could get a bit of a
breeze while studying.
, Back then, houses were built long
and thin, with high ceilings and big
windows, and oriented so the pre-
vailing winds could pass through.
Office buildings had no desks more
than 20 or 25 feet from a window,
which could provide natural ventila-
tion and light (which was important,
since too many hot-burning incan-
Christof
Spieler
DESIGN
r.flNfilll TANT
descent bulbs could make a room
unbearable).
Then came air conditioning and
fluorescent lights, and buildings be-
came climate-indepen-
dent. sealed containers. So
did our cars, and we built
parking garages and un-
derground walkways, We
hardly have to deal with
the weather anymore.
The first rain still
brings a few car wrecks*
and we gripe about the hu-
midity, but we're more or
less isolated from that,
which ispart of the reason
Houston has grown so
much since 1940.
But while I'm thankful for my
apartment air conditioning (when
it's working), I regret ourelimatized
cocoons sometimes. There have
been far too many beautiful days I
have spent in windowless rooms. It
snowed briefly last winter, but 1 have
friends who were so engrossed in
their organic chemistry that they
never noticed. I heard of one guy
who had spent two years living in
the Hanszen tower and never even
saw a sunset.
We need to remind ourselves that
few things in life are as invigorating
as a walk outside on a cool fall day or
as beautiful as the sunset after a cold
front has come through.
Times like those have wonderful
abilities to keep us sane, to put life in
perspective. We need to go outside
sometimes
Few things in life are
as invigorating as a
walk outside on a
cool fall day.
And what's to keep us? There is
no rule that we can't take our home-
work out to a nice lawn somewhere,
eat lunch outside instead of in a
dining hall or take dinner to
Hermann Park instead of sitting at a
Formica table in Subway
Nor is there anyone at Rice who
can't take the time sometimes to
take a half-hour walk before dinner
and watch the bricks of Loveti If all
glow in the sunset.
It's a beautiful day. l-cf> seize it
Christof Spieler (Sid '97) is the
design consultant and a first
year graduate student in civil
engineering
Life a struggle for the vertically challenged
Americans need to take a deep
breath and learn to relax again.
When Casual Friday becomes the
target of rigid regulations, and
people feel pressure to con-
form to its rules, some-
thing has gone incredibly
wrong. Casual Friday is
not; it's a requirement.
Even Rice is not safe
from this Clothes Gestapo.
It seemed that the entire
campus was wearingTuck
Fexas shirts last week.
There was a rule imposed
from up high that seniors
should not wear class
rings untilTuesday's Ring
Night celebration.
' The fashion police need to take a
break. There are more important
issues in the business world than
what people wear, and I know prob-
lems at Rice which should concern
the Student Association more than
what shirt people wear to a game.
Get over it. That's my sugges-
tion. Wear what you want while you
can, whether that means slipping on
your class ring a few days early or
putting on a suit or dress on a Fri-
day. Get done what needs to be done.
If you have extra time to worry about
clothing, look at your own closet.
Let everyone else deal with theirs.
Anne Kimboi is the advertising
manager, an opinion editor and a
Baker College senior.
Being short is not just a
simple physical attribute; it is a way
of life. Those of us on the small end
of the spectrum are condemned to a
lifetime of height cracks
and oversized clothing.
The taunts, which 1
thought J could leave
back in elementary
school, follow me even
today. I'm beginning to
think that "How's the
weather down there?" will
never lose its appeal to
those irritating few who
still think it is funny. I've
been asked that one so
many times, I can almost
see it coming in the grin
of the oh-so-witty person bending
over to ask, and 1 still say, "Ha, ha,
good one!" as if I have not already-
been asked the same thing a hun-
dred times. This particular problem
wouldn't bother me so much if (and
I know I'm really asking for it here)
the insults were a bitjnore creative.
There are also practical problems
that come with being short. I cannot
count the number of times I've got-
ten myself comfortable in a movie
theater only to have my view blocked
by Andre the Giant, lite same prob-
lem arises in class when sitting next
fo somebody much larger, who
SEPH
Blocher
OPINION
EDITOR
seems to think that by right of size
he can rest his elbow on my desk, or
push a book or two over into my
insignificant little lap.
Being small pretty
much stunted my athletic
growth, too. Basketball's
not quite as much fun
when you've constantly
got the taste of leather in
your mouth from being
stuffed. There's a Spud
Webb or two out there,
but there are dozen
Shaquilles for each of
them. And football is ob-
viously out when linemen
have a hard time distin,
guishing you from the
ball. Ill ere are very few sports that
cater to the diminutive portion of
the population.
But, then again, being small is
not always a disadvantage. Until 1
grew a beard, I could still get away
with getting free cookies in super-
markets. 1 have often smiled as the
same football player who blockVd
my view for an entire lecture
struggles to force his massive frame
into a lectufe hall seat, while 1 can
pretty much stretch out and relax.
My size also excuses me from some
of the more unsavory jobs of big
people. When someone next door is
looking for help in putting up a pic-
ture frame or lifting something
heavy. 1 am sure to be overlooked.
Basketball's not quite
as much fun when
you Ve constantly got
the taste of leather in
your mouth from
being stuffed.
There's also a certain bit of cama-
raderie among those ol us who have
to stand on our toes to see over
countertops. 1 always get a knowing
smile or two when 1 ask for help
reaching something off of a high
shelf. i guess that sharing a lifetime
of small-scale struggles can really
create a bond between people.
So the more i think about it, the
less that inevitable question both-
ers me.
Yeah, the v\eather down here is
just fine.
Joseph Blocher is an opinion
editor and a Hanszen College
freshman
the inherent flaws of man. He is
prejudiced; he is self-interested. In
the words of Supreme Court Justice
Harry Blackmun, "In order to get
beyond racism, we must first take
account of race. And in order to
"treat some persons equally, we must
treat them differently."
Jason I Along
Wie « *97
Student, UT School of Law
since me
Joe I Hardi, Angelique Siy
Editor!: in Chief
Summer Durham
Business Manager
NEWS
Maya Balakrishnan, Editor
Michael Schwartz, Asst Editor
OPINION
Joseph Blocher, Editor '
Aline Kimboi, Editor
FEATURES
Susan Egelatsd, Editor
ARTS ft ENTERTAINMENT
Hemmy So, Editor
Erie Muftoz, Editor
SPORTS
Timothy Werner, Editor
BACKPAGE
Terry Carter, Editor
Packy Saunders, Editor
Anne Kimboi
Advertising Manager
PHOTOGRAPHY
Austin While, Editor
CALENDAR
Amy Krivohlavek, Editor
COPY
Rose Wilde. Editor
ONLINE
J ace Frey, Editor
Zach Bonig, Asst. Editor
: • T j.
Christof Spieler, Design Consultant
Carter Brooking, Page Designer
Marsha Vaswani, Page Designer
Brian Stoler, Page Designer
Jill Thompson, Asst. Ads Manager
Packy Saunders. Ad Production Manager !
Eric Muftoz, Macintosh Manager
Brian Stoler, Distribution Manager
The Kia Thresher, the official student
newspaper al Rice University since IMIti, is
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except during examination periods and
holidays, by the students of Rice University
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Thresher is rated an ACP All American
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C COPYRIGHT !<W
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Hardi, Joel & Siy, Angelique. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, October 3, 1997, newspaper, October 3, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246602/m1/3/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.