The Rice Thresher, Vol. 90, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, November 22, 2002 Page: 3 of 20
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THE RICE THRESHER OPINION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22,2002
Generic column title
Grown men still insist on 'boys-only' policy
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I wonder what exactly goes on at
the Augusta National Golf Club. It is
one of the most famous golf clubs in
the country and home to The Mas-
ters golf tournament, yet
it still refuses to admit
women in the face of
strenuous opposition.
It's not the only men's
club in the United States.
The other old boys' clubs
are often less formal, less
public and more damag-
ing to the status of women
than the Augusta Na-
tional. Such old boys'
clubs are a major impedi-
ment to the ability of
women to break into se-
nior levels of business, government
and other male-dominated spheres.
The Augusta National Golf Club
of Augusta, Ga., was founded many
years ago by a great golfer, Bobby
Jones, who wanted a place to host
private gold tournaments for him-
self and his friends. Being a private
organization allows it the freedom
to compile whatever type of mem-
bership list it desires.
Today, the Augusta National is
no longer a small organization — it
is a private national institution with
a membership of about 300 men,
many of them heads of industry,
business and commerce, that hosts
one of the most-watched golf tour-
naments of the year.
To the surprise of no one, many
people are upset. Martha Burk, chair
of the National Council for Women's
Organizations, wrote a letter in pro-
test. Today, a lot of people, includ-
ing The New York Times, have joined
her in the fight.
And they should. The club's mem-
bership practices are almost as ab-
surd as its defense of its sexist poli-
cies. I wonder if the events of the
Catherine
Adcock
Augusta National resemble meet-
ings of the Rally Club at Rice, where
some say derogatory things about
women are chanted during beer-
chugging competitions.
It seems the members
of the Augusta National
take comfort in knowing
that their testosterone-
heavy practices are little
different than those of
many other organizations
around the United States.
Old boys' clubs con-
sisting of community
leaders, businessmen,
and even journalists exist
throughout the world.
They constitute a grand
barrier to the entrance of women
into positions of power and respect
throughout the world. At these
places, men network, relax and get
to know and trust each other. Very
few old boys' clubs are public and
few are official clubs with meetings.
An old boys' club can simply consist
of the top three executives from two
companies going out for a drink on
a Wednesday night.
Sounds innocent, doesn't it?
But when women are excluded
from these social outings, they miss
out on the opportunity to strengthen
relationships with their superiors.
Business and organization leaders
turn to those they know, trust and
respect when filling senior positions.
When women aren't invited to the
Wednesday night social outing, they
won't be invited to the interview for
the recently open senior position.
I've witnessed the old boys' club
at one office I recently worked at.
After-work happy hour at the bar
behind the office consisted of a men
only, not a mix of the top men and
women from the office. The women
attempting to spend time with these
men were not respected as friends
and colleagues to share a beer with,
but rather as sexual objects. Not
surprisingly, rumors circulated in
the office about how women were
regularly passed over for promo-
tions, with top-level positions being
filled instead by younger and less
experienced men.
What surprised me more than
these rumors were the many ru-
mors about which women had slept
with the boss. A different kind of
office, one without an old boys' club,
would have likely encouraged a dif-
ferent atmosphere.
In another office where I worked,
I sawfemale and male leaders mingle
with mutual respect. This dynamic
was probably fostered by the fact
that a woman held the top leader-
ship position. Her tenure at the helm
brought many changes regarding
the status of women in that organi-
zation, changes I saw reflected in
the office environment.That the men
of the Augusta National feel the pres-
ence of women would be unaccept-
able, which makes me think these
men have spent too much time in
single-sex organizations.
The outrage many people have
shown towards the Augusta
National's policies is well-deserved.
At the same time, it is also important
to recognize that many other orga-
nizations, less public and sometimes
just as powerful, exclude women at
a great cost to gender equality.
The end to the existence of old
boys' clubs won't come via legisla-
tion or by the action of Tiger Woods.
It's a obligation to of all of us, both
men and women, to level the playing
field and make socializing — in and
out of work — a coed experience.
Catherine Adcock is a Martel College
senior and opinion editor.
Guest column
Getting more from service than warm fuzzies
When I was a boy, I wanted to be a
doctor. I wanted to be a firefighter.
I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to
change things, make them better. I
was not alone. Ask any
child in the United States
what he wants to be when
he grows up and the list
will be filled with profes-
sions that help people and
make the world a better
place. Children value com-
munity because we tell
them they shouid.
So I went to school for
16 years, and I grew up. I
don't want to be a doctor
or a firefighter anymore.
Probably not even a middle school
teacher.
But the one thing that has re-
mained constant is my desire to
change things, to improve the world.
Sometimes I feel alone, especially at
Rice, especially now as my peers are
graduating and looking for jobs.
Someone stopped telling us to value
community.
During my four years at Rice, I
have gotten to know people that feel
as I do through service projects spon-
sored by Rice Student Volunteer Pro-
gram or in the Community Involve-
ment Center, and the one thing I've
noticed is that the number of people
participating in service projects has
declined. Such a decline has come
even with a national increase in com-
munity awareness. What has
changed since grade school?
Community service is the one
thing that most people would argue
is the only truly selfless act. Com-
munity service is also arguably the
most rewarding act one can per-
form. Teaching someone to read.
Planting trees. Feeding people.
Why volunteer? In addition to
the warm and fuzzy feeling you get,
there is also the eternal thanks of
those you have helped, even if they
don't say it The satisfaction of per-
Chad
Chasteen
enough, so what are some tangible
benefits of service? Well, it looks
good on resumes and grad school
applications, and people win Nobel
Prizes for it. There is no
shame in acknowledging
the tangible benefits of
service. People all over
the world make a living
by helping others.
Perhaps the most im-
portant benefit of service
is the education gained
through interaction with
others. Education is such
an important aspect of
service that many univer-
sities have service learn-
ing classes in which students get
course credit by participating in a
service project in conjunction with
going to class.
With all the benefits to service,
why don't you volunteer more in-
stead of saying you have "no time"?
Make time. Rice students are
smart people who spend a lot of time
on academics. I understand that. But
there are groups of people on cam-
pus who work really hard to make it
easy for people to give one or two
hours of their time any day of the
week.
Volunteering during the school
year with classes, clubs and work
can be hard, but the CIC and service
groups like RSVP, Habitat for Hu-
manity and the Rice Pre-Medical
Society work each year to provide
alternative spring break options for
students interested in volunteering.
In addition, there is an annual inter-
national service trip each summer.
Alternative breaks expose students
to the culture, economics and poli-
tics of different regions of the world,
some only a short drive away.
These trips integrate all the rea-
sons to volunteer in a long-term,
group-focused, educational experi-
ence that any week-long trip to South
Padre Island pales in comparison to.
best experiences of my Rice career.
Students can get applications for al-
ternative spring break trips starting
today.
Service is something we all know
is good for others and us. It is one
thing that allows us to improve our-
selves by improving the lives of oth-
ers. As children, we value commu-
nity in such a way that we want to
grow up to help people. Growing up
does not mean that you must devalue
your community. All the apathy that
people at Rice talk about can be fixed
with one small act. Volunteer.
Chad Chasteen is a Jones College
senior and co-chair of RSVP.
Guest column
Neglected student voices
result in bitter Backpages
Reading over this semester's
Backpages, I've noticed they have
been remarkably bitter. Lately,
I've been trying to figure out why
— especially since I
wrote most of them.
Past topics have in-
cluded the "key to the
kitchen" meal plan,
this year's commence-
ment speaker, new
parking gates and
other issues like in-
equalities of the col-
leges, the inefficient
shuttle system and
how the administra-
tion handled head
football coach Ken
Hatfield's homophobic com-
ments.
All of these Backpages have
two things in common: One, lots
of pictures. I like pictures. And
two, obvious bitterness that stu-
dent opinion doesn't matter on
the administrative level.
Don't believe me? Since the
beginning of the year, the stu-
dent body has had success lob-
bying on just one issue. We got
money for our Emergency
Medical Technicians. Eight
grand for a program that the
university promotes in every
single publicity book it puts out.
This doesn't seem like much of
a victory.
Let's compare that success to
the other issues that concern us.
Keep in mind, these are all things
that have happened since the
beginning of the year. Not in the
last 10 years but in the last three
months, and the following are
only three issues out of the many
possibilities.
First, Housing and Dining Di-
rector Mark Ditman told us last
year that our new meal plan would
give us a "key to the kitchen,"
implying access at all hours of
the day. Well, it's Nov. 22, and I
still haven't gotten my key. Stu-
dents mildly protested, and now
H&D is nice enough to give us
animal crackers and cookies four
days a week.
Second, our commencement
speaker is supposed to be taken
from a list approved by the Com-
mencement Speaker Committee,
a group who polls the student
body to see who we want up at
the podium. When President
Malcolm Gillis chose a com-
mencement speaker who wasn't
Jeff
Bishop
on that list without consulting
the speaker committee, he chose
to ignore us and all the work the
committee did.
Finally, Associate
Vice President for Fi-
nance and Adminis-
tration Neill Binford
told us last year that
it would take 10 years
for the parking gates
to be self-sufficient
monetarily, and now
he's increased it up
to 22 years. He came
to a Student Associa-
tion meeting last
year, and rather than
discuss parking, he
told us what he was going to do.
Then he surprised us over
the summer by amending the
plan so freshmen pay consider-
ably more than other students,
a trend that unfortunately will
continue.
Believe me now when I say
that our opinions don't matter?
As a student body, we have a
system to gather student opinion.
The SA senators an d college presi-
dents represent the colleges, un-
dergraduates serve on University
Standing Committees and the SA
president communicates directly
with the administration.
Yet the meal plan had little
student input, Gillis completely
ignored who we wanted for a com-
mencement speaker and the
parking gate committee gave u?
incomplete or false information.
This just doesn't seem right.
Many of us come to this school
with the naive impression that
we can make this university bet-
ter not only for ourselves but also
for each other and all those who
come after us. But today, I don't
think the majority of students
think they can make a difference.
And that creates a vicious cycle,
in which we stop trying to make
a difference because we don't
think we can.
So if anybody in the adminis-
tration is reading this now, start
paying attention to what we want,
and, even better, take our sug-
gestions on how to make this
place better.
Until then, expect some bitter
Backpages.
Jeff Bishop is a Sid Richardson
College junior and Backpage
editor.
forming a good deed may not be Such trips have been among the
the Rice Thresher
Rachel Rustin
Editor in Chief
Olivia Allison
Senior Editor
NEWS
Liora Danan, Senior Editor
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Lindsey Gilbert, Editor
OPINION
Catherine Adcock, Editor
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SPORTS
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Carly Kocurek. Editor
Jennifer Quereau, Page Designer
LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE
Corey E. Devine, Editor
COPY
liana Feld, Editor
Grace Hu, Editor
BACKMM
Jeff Bishop, Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY
Katie Streit, Editor
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Sushi Suzuki. Asst. Editor
CALENDAR
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ONLINE
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Writer 3G. I make people's lives miserable.
O COPYRIGHT 2002.
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Rustin, Rachel. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 90, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, November 22, 2002, newspaper, November 22, 2002; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443153/m1/3/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.