Issue date: 3/3/04 Section: Mail Call

It seems that a few Aggies need an obvious lesson in social poise: Not everyone shares the same belief.

As I was sitting on the bus Monday afternoon, three sophomore Corps members came to stand in front of me. Standing behind them was a series of girls, all of whom were standing and ignoring the open seats between two people.

One of these corps members asked me if I would mind standing up, and I replied, "Why?" He retorted with, "So the lady can sit down," referring to a girl standing nearby. I glanced at the girl, then at the open seats nearby, and calmly refused.

Another member of the Corps leaned over to tap my shoulder: "Did you hear what he said?" "Of course I did," I responded. He again questioned why I wouldn't stand up. I explained to him there were plenty of open seats around and that I didn't see the need, nor the reason, I should stand up simply because she was of the opposite sex. The third Corps boy then had the audacity to actually make a scene, yelling out in a loud voice for me to do the right thing.

The right thing?

I explained to him I believed differently and should not have to stand simply to meet their beliefs. Needless to say, the entire bus was staring at this point. Had the girl needed to sit (e.g. on crutches, sick, pregnant, etc.), I would have gladly given up my seat. However, gender alone is not a valid enough basis given the fact that a woman is no less fit to stand than a man, both physically and socially. And until these Corps
members' beliefs become some sort of law, they need to learn to tolerate other beliefs.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools