Page 93 - TheGoldBug1969-70

page 7 the gold bug Letters to the editor----- Dissension in the ranks Dear Editor: To The EdUor: To The Editor: I would like to inform you thati wUnessed several WMC From ear-ltest historical evidence, words-the symboliC In the last Issue of the Goldbug, there was an arucre students involved in a drunken rnalay In the CoUege Catn- representative of reality as a culture sees n-swere be- concerning frat initiation. I feel it necessary that every- ap laundry. I was washing my clothes with the aid of my uevec to contain magic powers. To put a name on some- one know that Mike's views are his own and by no means husband and three children when the students entered thing was to understand or control U. Today, words stnt those of the fraternity to which he belongs. My views as carrying boxes of laundry. seem to possess magical powers. For example, som~ all, individual are exactly the opposite of Mike's. There Is nothing unusual in this. but when one of them medical doctors and some physchlatrlsts feel satisfied Before dealing with adver stons to a latent homosex- pulled a fifth of rum from his box, I was shocked! And that they have adequately explained some pathological uaUty I would first like to respond to the remark that when the other students began mixing drinkS In front 01 phenonenon by placing a name on It, by stuffing It Into " •.. pledges can be overloadedwlth busyworktothe extent my small children, I became somewhat angry. Laughing a neat sell-justifying category. Words, themselves hold that considerable neglect of academic responsiblilltes." and shouting, the students proceeded to get drunk; one unique powers. If I began a speech to the League of Wo- In the first place, I think Mike Is being blinded here by a of them even climbed into a dryer and closed the door. men Voters with, "Penis. Penis is the Greek word for specific case. Secondly unlesssomeoneflagrantlywastes Another lady that was there was so shocked when his 'Uttle pencfl;" at least twenty_fivewomenwouldlmmedl- time, sweeping out rooms, polishing shoes, and doing friends kept him in there that she almost fainted. I was ate ly drop Into a faint. This introduction seems ample laundry (not all in the same day, nor every day -- mind going to ca ll the police just before my husband came for fuel to set me off on one of my pet peeves--the vulgar you) is not going tohurtapledge'sstudles. It Is true that me. My children have been talking about the events and (common people concept) of obscenity. most pledges do become a little lax in their studies, but I'm sure they have just about figured out what was going For middle Americans, that Look Magazine would this Is not due to being overburdened with busy work, but on. I do not think they should be exposed to such gcrnga- plaster its glossy pages with gory graphics of two year rather with being caught up in the excitement of joining a on In a pubJicplace,especlallybypersonswho are usually old victims of GI good guys In Viet Nam Is outright ob- fraternity, something they have probably looked forward to looked up to by most of the community. 1 hope this letter scenity. "How dare they violate our fantasy of the Im- for a long time. make the students Involved think about their actions. maculate role of the U.S. In that enigma." War is not The bulk of Mike's discourse was concerned with " ... Signed, obscene; printing pictures about the atrocities our side an atmosphere which is often heavily charged with latent A concerned citizen. commits Is obscene; fraternity Initiation rites are not (bordering on overt) homosexuality or fear of it and with obscene; writing about ttiarnc-expcstng them for what rampant sado-masochistic expressions." He goes on to tney are c-Ia, say that primitive society is homosexually and sade- Moms and Dads are not concerned that their son may masochistically oriented. I don't think so--so why infer Dear Editor: have to eat a raw hot dog that was just removed from his it to fraternity men? To my mind the role of the penis in I am writing in reference to the article written by Mr. rectum. Moms and Dads are angry that the word "rec- rites has nothing whatsoever to do with homosexuality, Mike Rudman in the March 16, issue of the GOLD BUG. tum" appears tntbetr son's college newspaper. The article l~tent or overt. The purpse is to embarass and humiliate It is entitled, "Frat tmtatton-ercr some a living hell." on the fraternltyiniUation rlteswaswrHten--wlth as much the pledge as much as possible and the same effect could I am not In a poslUonto confirm or deny the statements clinical accuracy as possible. I personally challenge any .not possibly be achieved by tieing a string to his wrist of Mr. Rudman. I am, however in a position to render an member of any fraternity to deny that the penis-oriented 01 carrying an egg in his pocket. Of the other opinion on his writing style. I find It repulsive and In bad activities do not occur In his fraternity rites. By the very ceremonies practiced, such as the artificial phallus in taste to say the least. nature of the hysterical responses of some men, by the the mouth or anus, or the faked castration, none are If Mr. Rudman was trying to draw attention by using number of Urnes my name was scrawled on bathroom parttcutar ly pleasant to thinkaboutactuallyexperiencing. "free press" techniques and language in a "conservative walls along with pre-high school wlttielsm, I must have That, however, is the object. Would the pledge feel he school" newspaper then he has succeeded. If his purpose struck uponafew truths. My purpose lnwrltlng that article had gone through any "hell" if he had been told to "like was to compose an informative, creative piece of litera- was not to shock, not to make sensational copy. My pur- this candy bar," or "Eat these cracker-jacks." Ob- ture for a chronicle that represents an institution of higher 'pose was to expose a decadent situation, propose the viously, no! And even though he probably realizes that learning, then he has failed miserably. desirability of changing it, and make concerete sugges- It Is not a real penis he is being subjected to, but a hot There are media available where this kind of literature tions as to how these changes might be effected. dog or bananav-the thought is despciable to him and this would not. have hurt the pride of the school. I repeat for Nearly every year a few pledges Of.Western Mary- Is his hell. Now if thought were pleasant to him, then I what it is worth, in my opinion Mr. Rudman has failed land College frats are hospitalized with severe Injuries would wonder about overtones of nomcsexuautv and not miserably. related to pledging activities. Recently a pledge at Univ- until. As far as trading swats goes, 1 can't see the mas- Paul J. Resignato ersity of Maryland was killed In a not so benign frater- ochism in that no one to my knowledge parttcutar y Ft. oro, California nity prank. Meanwhile our Administration is playing a likes to be hit on the rear. As long as this doesn't game of benign neglect, Ignoring the issue in favor ot amount to mass ass beating sessions and strmne a blow attacking more serious problems like scotch tape on with vengeance, then I don't think Is it particularly bad. Attention: Seniors dormitory walls. The IntraIraternity councll does not Why should there even be pledging? There must be acknowledge that a problem exists. And Moms and Dads pledging as long as belonging to a frat is a prlvlledge. The Undergraduate Record Examinations are upset at wor-ds Uke "penis" and "castration." An eligible should not be able to enter the frat on equal will be administered in Room 100, Baker Mem- Perhaps it's time to stopuslngwordsasa magic smoke footing. Although I agree that the current procedures are screen for avoiding embarrassing issues and start them as not perfect, I don't think drastic change is necessary. orial Chapel, Monday, May 4, 1970 at 1:00 the Instruments of truth and progress that they can be. Change Is Inevitable and in some ways desireable, but P.M. Arter all, what's In a word? the system is by no means "deviant" or "weird." If The following departments will be using Michael Rudman a guy can't take a little hazing, then he doesn't want a fraternity too badly. And furthermore, if the majority the tests: Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Eng· felt strongly enough about changing pledging, then It lish, French, German, History, Music, Physics, would not be self-propogatlng. Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Bill Dayton Spanish. What's S.G.A. for, anyway? Any student planning to take examinations in two majors must make arrangements with was made by a group of students to deal with the problem To The Editor: of the food. The effort however was not an efficient one. Dr. William G. Miller, Psychology Department, AS a new student to Western Maryland College, one who has been out of school for two years, I suppose I have The point is that the effortwas made by the students, out- for a second administration on Sunday, May 3. mucf 'to learn about WMC and the supposed student gov- side of the supposed student government. We all agree ernment association. that the meals are fairly important factors In our every- In the student Handbook, which was given to me upon day existence and that the bitching of the students is part my arrival here, there Is a page set aside to defining the of the student voice. the gold bug supposed student government. On page 13 the following Also in the handbook it Is stated that the supposed stu- is stated, "It expresses student voice In the affairs of dent government " ... brings its influence to bear ... upon the college." matter of concern to tne students." An area that is of con- cern to the students is the problem of pollution and eco- One general concensus of student voice is that of the Student Grille. According to the poll taken by the supposed logy in today's world. April 22 has been declared EARTH Day-a day to be set aside to show concern for the problem SGA and published intheGOLDBUGlssueof Feb. 3,1970, of pollution. Nothing has been done by the supposed student the ,vast majority of students agreed that the Winslow Published by and fo[ the students of western Maryia!,dCollege. government to take initiative for Earth-Day-a day which Student Center: deals with something that will affect our future lives. The opinions in this paper do not necessarilyreflect those of the 1. With Its vending machines does not provide a satis- dministration. factory selection; does not provide tasty food and does The initiative has been taken by other concerned peo- STAFF not provide reasonable prices ple. Using these three things as examples and from talking Michael Shultz 2. expressed a definite dislike of the vending machines with other students, one definitely gets the opinion that Editor In Chief 3. expressed a desire to return to former system. every time an issue arises, one can be sure that the sup- AssociateEditor Richard Anderson 4. expressed an opinion to buyout the machines. What has the supposed student government done to express posed student government will: TIm Smith Oiris80the the student voices to the administration-what have they a. do nothing Greg Barnes Lynn Tarbutton done to help appease the student voice? NOTHINGhas been b. become superficially Involved Susan Baker SardyKearrs done. The vending machines are still there, the food is still c. fail to recognize the problem Keith Thurlow JimSdiers tasteless, the prices are still high and we are still losing d. all of the above. Entered as second class matter at the 'Post Office, our dimes and nickels ... what are you, tr ever , going to do, Continuing In the same vein, every fall and spr-Ing the Westminster, Maryland, 21157. Student Government? supposed student government sponsors what Is known as Second class postage paid at Westminster. Another student voice Is that concerning the dining hall. Homecoming and Spring Weekend. Spring Weekend is There Is constant bitching and keveching from the students three waexs away and we have yet to know when it Is, SUBSCRIPTION--$4.00 PER YEAR about the food In the dining hall, in that it Is not satis- where It is or If it is. There has been much talk as to who Patrons ..............•.........._ $5.00 per year is going to play for Spring Weekend. One has heard that factory. groups from Brooklyn Bridge to Butterfield Blues Band Angel . . ~._.Any amount of over $5.00 However, near the beginning of the semester an effort cont. on page 8