The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 155, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 30, 1998 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : b&w ; page 23 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 2
Texan Commentary
J-TAC
April 30,1998
Wade says...faculty and traditions make for a nice home at
Yada, yada, yada
Looks
like it's
time to
call it
quits. For
some stu-
dents,
their life
will just
begin as
they grad-
uate and
move on,
and for
others, their life will be over when
their parents see this semester's
grades. As for me, I have to wait
; until summer to graduate. Quit
; jumping up and down; I know
you're happy that I won't be here
anymore, but you could at least
wait until I'm gone.
I could use this space to write
about all my accomplishments, like
learning to flush the toilet without
using my hands. I developed an
intricate procedure where I balance
on the edge of the toilet seat with
one foot, making sure I do not
touch any part of the bathroom
with my hands. Next, I jump up
and while I'm in the
air, I flush the
toilet with
my other
foot. Believe
me this took
time, but it was
well worth the
effort because sometimes
Tarleton's toilets squirt you. When
you flush, the water pressure is so
great that the water squirts out. But
since I'm in the air when I flush, I
no longer get squirted.
Yes, I could write about my
achievements, but I don't want to
make you feel inadequate, so
instead, I want to praise Tarleton
State University. I believe this
University deserves praise, but
before I start, let me give you some
background about myself.
Many years ago, I attended the
University of Texas at Austin, but
unfortunately, I was a very poor
student — a great staying-up-late,
drinking-too-much, wasting-my-
life-away guy — but a lousy stu-
dent. To get to the point, I was
forced to leave UT. For many years
I still held UT as the best universi-
ty in the state. After working a
crummy job for four years, I decid-
ed to go back to school. I picked
Tarleton State because my mom
lives in Brownwood and I figured I
could drive back and forth to
school. But the whole time I was
filling out the application and
attending the first semester of
Tarleton, I was dreaming of UT,
wishing I was there instead.
That was over two years ago,
and today, I love Tarleton State. I
believe Tarleton is a better
school than UT. Oh sure,
I still think about UT because it
was my first love, but if your sec-
ond love cares more about you,
does more for you and offers more
help and support, you will cherish
that second love more. Just like I
do Tarleton.
Tarleton has a better faculty
than UT. If you have a problem or
if you want to just talk, Tarleton's
faculty are in their offices. Their
doors are always open. At UT, I
barely knew the teachers' names,
much less where their offices were
located.
You should feel lucky; here at
Tarleton, you're more than just a
number. You're actually a face and
a name. Faculty members smile at
you and ask how your day is
going. They give you their home
phone numbers so that you can call
them at night if you have a home-
work problem. You can carry on
conversations between classes. You
are considered a person. Hell,
teachers here even recognize you
for years after you have been in
their classes just one time.
Oh yeah, you don't like the fact
that they take attendance. I wish
UT had; maybe I wouldn't have
missed all those classes if I thought
my instructors cared. I know a lot
of students go to class because
attendance matters here. Your
instructors aren't doing this to
bother you. They take atten-
dance because they want you
to learn about the world you live
in. Again, they care about you; tak-
ing attendance is actually more
work for the teachers.
And if you disagree with every
thing above, you have to agree that
Tarleton's traditions are cool. I
challenge anyone to find a tradition
cooler than the Poo. They might
scare you the first time you meet
them walking across campus, but
once you've had a chance to be at
a function where the Poo are, you
will find them fascinating. For me,
I'll probably always remember the
Poo and Tarleton. Granted, the
memories might be manifested in
nightmares of them chasing me.
I could fill this whole paper
with all the good qualities about
Tarleton, but I won't. And I guess
the only thing I find wrong with
Tarleton is the student body. I still
believe you are apathetic, and if
that makes you angry, I'm glad. If
you are just coming here for the
education and choose to do nothing
else, then I am calling you a zom-
bie. I never wrote that you had to
be in an organization or club; all I
wrote was that I wanted you to
care.
I got one letter from a mad
smoker. Go read it. At least she
cared enough to write in. Where
are the rest of y'all?r I, walked past
the men's dorms a week ago and
saw about three or four guys taking
pictures of themselves vomiting.
They were making
themselves throw up
and then picking
through the vomit
while taking pictures.
I guess Tarleton
needs to raise
its standards.
When the Poo
evoke the spir-
it of Oscar P., do
you just follow
along because
everyone else is
doing it, or do you
do it because you
care about
Tarleton? If you
just follow along, I
don't want you
doing it at all. You
can call me ignorant,
arrogant, cry-baby or
whatever you want to,
but I'm not ever going
to shut up. I care too
much about this
University, which I
now will call home for-
ever. I'm glad I came
to Tarleton.
And yes, Tim
Harris, the so-called
major universities
carry more weight to
some people, but they
just don't know the
real Tarleton State
yet...
Editor-in-Chief says farewell to J-TAC
Editor's Note
The twenty-sixth issue of
the 1997-98 J-TAC. All through
this year I have had deadlines run-
ning through my mind. My week
has been centered around
Wednesday, when we put the
newspaper together, and my
semesters have been measured
by the number of the latest
issue. Well, that you are read-
ing volume 155, number 13
means that my job is now
done, and summer will
soon be here. I will
not-return as^ editor-
in-chief next year
because a friend I
have had since
the first day I
came to
Tarleton
deserves her
chance to
prove her
skill before
we graduate in
May of next year. As this is my last editor's note, I would
like to make some observations about this newspaper, this
school and what I have learned in the past year and in my time
at the J-TAC.
I want to thank Charles Crittenden for his aid this year.
Some of you will remember that he was editor last year, but
stepped down so that I could try my hand at the job. Charles
has a family now, and his time is limited, but he has always
been around when I needed someone to talk to this year, and
one thing he told me will always stick in my mind. Charles
told me that you cannot know what this job is like until
you have done it. That is an idea which I think I can apply to
any endeavor I attempt in life. I know now that it is definitely
true about this job. It is something that you have to be devoted
to. Sometimes I failed at my attempts, but I would like to think
that overall, I did well. This I owe to the staff, for without
them, there is no paper. I want to thank the staff for their time
and effort this year. Melissa, Robert, Angela, Amy, Brian,
Shadoe, Kathryn, Doty, Daskam, Randy, Sonya, Cathryne and
Kerby. I also want to thank the editors, Kisty, Wade, Joe and
Chris. When you read the J-TAC, you are reading these people.
And especially, I need to thank our adviser Rachel Cruthirds,
She came to the J-TAC last fall and has had to adjust to us, as
we have had to her. With her, this newspaper has begun to
shine, and soon.it will be running like a sleek new car.
Now, about this school, I have been at Tarleton for three
years, and the one thing I have noticed is that most students
don't seem to care. I am not going to make accusations; I just
ask you to try to change this. I have another year here, and
already I have joined other organizations where I can make a
difference, but just like this newspaper, I cannot do it alone. I
love this school, and I think that many of you do, too. Let's
show it.
The Student Government Association has made vast
improvements this year. Troy and Michelle, don't slow down
this trend. A majority of students have put their trust in you,
and I think you will do what needs to be done. Parts of the new
constitution are good; don't throw those out because others are
foolish. Instead, keep working with it. Also, keep working on
getting more students into the SGA so that there will be people
to fill all those empty positions the new constitution would open
up.
Also, I urge everyone to support our university's language
program. I know that it is foolish to throw money away on a
bad thing, but is the language program really a bad thing? No,
of course not, it merely needs more support. But only if we, the
students, give it that support will it survive. Otherwise it will
fade away, and in a few years, everyone who cared will have
graduated, and the new students will
' not even know it existed.
It all comes back to a point I try to
make in the majority of my commen-
taries; students need to care. Only if
we let people know that this is our uni-
versity will they believe it. Sometimes
the administrators, though they do a
good job, forget that fact. Tarleton is a
university for students, not a bureaucra-
cy for administrators. The root of
some of our main issues, like the lan-
guage program and students' concerns over parking, fall back to
this. Basically someone forgot that this is our university and !
began making rules we don't agree with. Only if we unite
behind something like the SGA will they realize that our voices
do count. Only if they hear our voices or read our thoughts in
the J-TAC will they know what we want. I've heard that a year
or two before I came to Tarleton someone tried to change the ;
wording of the school song. Students poured out in record num-
ber to protest this, and the song was saved. If only those stu-
dents had kept that fire and instilled it in us when we came here,
I wonder what Tarleton would be like today?
Well, I'm coming to a point where I should end. If you have
followed this far, I thank you. The one main problem I've had i
is that I don't know when people are listening, really listening,!
to what I say. This year has been one of the proudest points of <
my life, because I have had the chance to edit your paper, and '
I've seen so many of you reading it. Every now and then, stu-
dents stop me and say they like what I wrote or tell me about a
point I should have included or that they disagreed with.
In the time I've worked at the J-TAC, not just as editor-in-
chief, but also as staff writer and managing editor, I've gained
my voice. I've learned how to make people listen to me.
College is supposed to be a place where you can learn. I know
now that it is also a place to grow.
-30-
Wade has his arrogant head up his butt Editorial
Dear Wade Miller,
You asked for a response to
your terrible article when you
included all Tarleton students in
your greatly misinformed general-
izations. I have had it with your
holier than thou attitude. You claim
that you want the students of this
University to stop whining about
our problems with TSU and do
something about it. The only dif-
ference between you and me is that
you have your own little corner in
our school newspaper to WHINE
to all Tarleton students at once
instead of individually. The rea-
sons of which are unknown to me.
I think you are an arrogant, igno-
rant man. If anyone needs to get
their head out of their buttocks it is
YOU. I suppose that, according to
your categorization of all Tarleton
students (other than yourself of
course) I would fall into your
"zombie" title. From what I under-
stood from your commentary, the
only requirement in order to be in
this category is not to be involved
in extra-curricular activities.
Therefore, I am a Tarleton zombie.
No, I am not involved in a sorority
or SGA or SPA or any other orga-
nization. I think they are all fine
groups, but I CHOOSE not to be
involved in them. This does not
make me a zombie. It is my right
not to be involved, and who are
you to tell me that I don't care
about my school just because I am
not in the "right" groups? That
seems to me to be awfully juve-
nile: I think I remember that from
junior high or high school. I am
here to earn a degree... an educa-
tion. Hmmm... isn't that what
everyone is doing here??? That is
my main focus here. Isn't it yours?
How long have you been voicing
your opinion anyway? Too long, I
think. In your commentary you
continuously state "You
don't care," referring to
all Tarleton students
except yourself. That is
not fair, and I resent you
placing me in a category
with out even knowing
me. Your article is seldom
ever positive so how are
YOU helping with campus
issues that I see in you com-
mentaries every week? I may
not be involved in the organi-
zations that you think I should
be in order to care, but I take
great pride in my school; I choose
to come here you know. Oh, one
more thing. I am a smoker and as
most of us 'smokers, I use the ash-
trays on campus. A bigger problem
than cigarette butts on the ground
is the wads of dip and bubble gum
that people spit out all over the
sidewalks. But I guess bubble gum
just isn't as much fun for you to
complain about as cigarettes. You
would rather blame smokers for
everything. I guess, according to
you, El Nino is our fault too. But
that's OK. I just wanted to be the
first, this week, to tell you that it is
not Tarleton students that have
Journalism is dying at Tarleton, and no one can do
anything about it except you. Enrollment in journal-
ism classes at Tarleton is at an all-time low. There are
( only about five people enrolled in each class offered
for next fall. Without student interest, journalism can
not survive.
According to Mallory Young, head of the
Department of English and Languages, journalism
could be moved from the English department to the
Department of Fine Arts and Speech.This might draw
more students to speech/communications and jour-
nalism; however, there is the possibility that the writ-;
ing aspect of media could be pushed under the rug.
This would be an absolute shame because writing is
a major part of all media. Even in radio and televi- ;
sum production, someone has to write the news !
before it is broadcasted. ;
The only way to salvage print media at Tarleton is4
for students to show interest. If more students ' *"
eurolled in the journalism courses, then maybe
administration would realize that we need to keep ;
journalism at Tarleton.
XT
TAC
Managing Editor
Kisty Hoffman
Sports Editor
Chris McBride
Photographer
Sonya Whisenant
Editor-in-Chief
Justin Wayne Beam
Commentary Editor
Wade Miller
Photography Editor
Joe Prado
Web Editor
John Kerby
Advertising Manager
Cathryne Zacharias
Production Managers
Charles Crittenden, Jr.
Melissa Marshall
heads up their
butts... IT IS YOU!
A smoking Tarleton
zombie who loves
her school,
Allison Shunds
Staff Writers
Robert Vaughan, Angela Brewer, Amy McDonald, Brian Botch, Jeff Doty,
Jeff Daskam, Kathryn Forst and Randy Jackson
Adviser
Rachel Cruthirds
Web Address
http://www.tarleton.edu/organizations/j-tac/
E-mail Address
jtac@tarleton.edu
Letters to the Editor:
If you have any suggestions, comments or
responses about the J-TAC, Tarleton or world
events, you can either e-mail us at our e-mail
address or mail a letter to:
The J-TAC
Box T-0440
Stcphenville, Texas 76402
Letters should contain a name, phone number
and student I.D. number. However, the name
may be withheld by request if the previous
information is given.
Letters must be received by 5 p.m. Monday.
The J-TAC reserves the right to edit letters for
content, style, length and grammar. The J-TAC
also reserves the right to refuse to print any
letter in poor taste.
The J-TAC is published on Thursdays during
the fall and spring semester with the exception
of university holidays and examination periods.
The editorials express the opinions of the
J-TAC staff. Other articles in the opinion
section do not necessarily express the views of
this university or this newspaper.
Content is copyrighted material of the J-TAC.
Written permission must be granted for article
reprints.
Non-profit organization, Bulk Rate
USPS No. 133, Stephenville, TX 76401.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The J-TAC (Stephenville, Tex.), Vol. 155, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 30, 1998, newspaper, April 30, 1998; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth141927/m1/2/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.