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Diversity appears in any A&M neighborhood—if
you look
Although Texas A&M is often referred to as a small city, I have
always taken the simile a step further. Even as a freshman, the
campus seemed clearly divided into “neighborhoods” to
me.
As a member of the Corps, my subdivision was extremely defined –
either as an overtly oppressive prison compound (with time off for
class) or a glorious kingdom of earned power and reverence, depending
on my rank at the time. I always considered the adjoining Commons
to be sort of a Miami-esque retirement community for college students.
I could just picture them playing canasta on the patio, bitching
about arthritis and having to live on the same street as the Quad
and those nutty CTs.
However, friends of mine residing on the north side of “town”
appeared to be enjoying one long, non-stop dorm party the entire
year. Davis-Gary – a male dorm at the time – was always
chock full of drunks, creative vandals, and drop-out cadets. They
were constantly in trouble with the university and frequently in
the news. It was so unfair. Girls’ dorms up north had their
own distinct personalities as well, particularly those with balconies.
They appeared to promote wildness in women. Balconies facilitate
dumping water and hurling blunt objects at would-be panty raiders
(I still have a knot on my head).
Cain Hall on the other hand, is something of a live-in country club.
If it’s not on the A&M guided tour, it certainly should
be. Large paintings, nice furniture and a fireplace in the living
room reiterate the notion that these residents are the university’s
bread and butter (rumor has it the butlers and valets hide when
visitors are around). I find it difficult to begrudge those guys
such luxuries however, as I’ve never risked my knees or pulled
a hamstring for Aggieland. Although I did untie a hamstring for
Easter dinner once.
Awareness of conduct-specific segregation doesn’t just end
with student residences though; our burg breeds scholastic separateness
also. I realize, of course, that most students are concentrating
on academic concerns while cruising campus between classes, but
have you ever noticed that semester after semester you walk the
same paths – that classes tend to be in the same buildings
– in the same departmental districts? After five years as
an undergraduate, the one class I had on the west side was in a
building I never knew existed. “How recently was construction
completed on this place?” I asked my professor, assuming it
must have been within the last month.
“1978 I think,” he said.
My point is that we rarely – if ever – have the opportunity
or desire to wander outside of our academic arena and experience
the other “cultures” on campus. Just the other day I
entered one of the buildings in the techno-engineering sector (home
of x-acto knives, autocad, calculators and all that other math stuff),
and being a liberal arts type, I felt like a tourist in another
country. Not just because of a large number of non-native students,
but I was also aware of a scarcity of male purses, male pony-tails,
male earrings, and sadly, non-males. The architecture building was
even more interesting, displaying fascinating drawings, intricate
models and planar sculptures. As long as you’re not into architecture,
every project looks like a masterpiece. Take your lunch sometime.
Inter-departmental vacations aren’t limited to right-brained
students only however, I encourage trips for “foreigners”
over to Liberal Arts Land as well. After all, the zoo in San Antonio
is so very far away. Speaking of zoos, how many of you in Elementary
Education have actually stuck your entire arm up a cow’s tail-end
and tickled it’s tonsils? Pack a bag, grab some sunscreen
and slide film, and head on over across the tracks to Animal Science
World. Uh…don’t take your lunch this time.
Even with many on-campus Spring Break possibilities, Texas A&M
is always taking criticism for not being multicultural or diverse
enough, even from me. And that may well be true, depending upon
who defines “enough.” But with campus housing paralleling
that of a small city, academics ranging from understanding Descartes
to advertising a golf cart, and students from many countries of
the world, I’d say that a great deal of diversity and multiculturalism
is right in front of our eyes. Just take off your sunglasses.
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