The Skyline Newspaper

Cartoon: Created and Designed by Jonathan Smith, Sul Ross Senior

For Ruth Allbright, 90 is Just a Number

Steve Lang
News and Publications

"Keep on truckin'." -- R. Crumb

I would ask Ruth Allbright about her philosophy of life, but the answer appears merely by watching her live it.

Ruth, one of my favorite West Texas people, turns 90 pretty soon and will be celebrating that milestone with only two gatherings. I say only two because I remember observing my 21st birthday with at least six parties.

At that point, I knew nothing, and suspected less, but was well on my way to amounting to nothing.

Ruth Allbright, though, keeps on keepin' on. Last July, resplendent in a "Branding Together" T-shirt, Sul Ross golf cap, and matching slacks and sneakers, she joined dozens of others hiking the 5K (3.1 miles) run-walk at the first All-Alumni reunion. The photo by Jason Hennington in today's column catches her at the finish line.

Later that day, Ruth was in the stands at Kokernot Field, greeting players from the 1996 conference championship baseball team and snapping a few photos herself.

A month later, I caught up with Ruth -- elegantly attired as always -- at the grand opening of the Museum of the Big Bend and handed her the photo. She smiled with delight, thanked me, then clutched my hand and told me two things:

"You still haven't been down to my place at Terlingua to watch a sunset," and, "please come to one of my birthday parties."

One party will be held this Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Mitre Peak Girl Scout Camp; the second on Nov. 18, at Ruth's R&R near Terlingua.

Over 90 years, Ruth has lived through 16 Presidents, two World Wars, the Great Depression, the first bathing suit regulations and the later emergence of the bikini, the rise of the Baby Boomers, moon landings, Clarence Birdseye's innovations in frozen foods, Elvis, Elvis imitators, approximately 32,872 sunsets, and no Chicago Cubs World Series championships.

She has seen the Iron Curtain rise and fall, the Berlin Wall come tumbling down and London Bridge relocated to Arizona. And if she chose, she could opt for a special birthday gift: a ticket to the 14th Night of 100 Elvises, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, at the Lithuanian Hall in Baltimore, Md.

Changes have abounded locally and globally, some of them as significant as the invention of Fletcher's Castoria, some not. We are now able to contact an associate on the other side of the world via email in less time than it takes to purchase a postage stamp.

Numerous changes occurred at Sul Ross; too, as the university was born the same year as Ruth. Over the years, the university has become a symbol of West Texas and the Big Bend region.

Just like Ruth. It's hard to imagine one without the other.

Steve Lang looks forward to sharing one of those Terlingua sunsets soon.

No One Controls The Future, But Who Controls The Past?

By David Johnson
Skyline Contributor

I watch ESPN a lot. Not obsessively, but a lot.

As a part of the shift from sports coverage (actual competitions and "SportsCenter") to sports entertainment (scripted and "debate" shows) there's also been a shift toward the future. Speculation. "Give us your picks for the week."

"Who do you think is going to perform the best in the game?"

"Who will be meeting in the championship?"

And so on.

This isn't a problem, but with few exceptions, there's no accountability for it. People are free to make guesses--I suppose informed guesses--about the future, and then those predictions are forgotten entirely.

Only a few shows really keep track of what people are predicting, but those demonstrate that even the most knowledgeable sportscaster has absolutely no idea what's going to happen. "Around the Horn" and "Pardon the Interruption" both do a decent job of calling people on their bad predictions after the fact, and Chris Berman has a running tally of his football predictions as part of his Swami segment, but they do well to bat .500 with their predictions. These people aren't idiots, but a person off the street could predict results about as well.

With sports this is pretty inconsequential, but it was a change I was able to witness in my lifetime.

On the other hand, the same thing has been going on in news as long as I can remember. People just talk, talk, talk. They're trying to fill up air time, sure, and with twenty-four hour cable news there's a lot more talking that has to be done, but all of these people talking do so in the present--and about the future--and ignore the past except for the rare occasion where they said something right.

I'd like to see a cable show called "What They Said Then" that keeps track of every prediction and statement political pundits and figures make about how they think things are going to turn out, or really just their past opinions.

Can you guess who made the following statements?

"Every mistake we've made up to this point, there's no stated goal. There's no definition of success. All these important things. There's no exit strategy. One mistake after another. Why would you go in deeper when we have not been successful up to this point? That seems to me to be folly."

And: "Why should one U.S. airman give up his life when our national security is not in imminent danger?"

These statements were made by right wing pundit Sean Hannity, although it was back in 1999 when the war was in Kosovo. Maybe his opinions of U.S. military action genuinely did change, but even so, knowing his quotes wouldn't recede quickly into the past might keep him wary about what comes out of his mouth in the present and future.

Even more importantly, if my proposed television show kept track of Congressmen, it might keep them from unrestrained pandering on important issues.

As Kosovo and Iraq (and Afghanistan and Darfur) have proved, with very few exceptions political figures stand for principle second and the partisan political climate first (Texas representative and Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul is one of those exceptions).

Maybe keeping score of the success rate of the predictions and statements made by media and politicians will be something the internet can do with its legions of people with nothing better to do with their time. Still, I'd like to see it on an actual television network of some kind so it would get the attention it deserves.

"Who controls the past controls the future," but for some reason, the past doesn't seem to exist.

Villages Need Green Space

By MaryAshley P. Gredell
Skyline Assistant Editor

All of the shiny white microwaves and mini-fridges in the world can't make up for an obvious lack of usable outdoor space.

I was one of the last of the Mountainside Residence Hall generation. My freshman year, I was sandwiched in with a few hundred other students in the slightly claustrophobic dormitory on the hill, complete with questionable plumbing, creaky-spring mattresses scrunched right next to each other, and one sketchy microwave (if you were lucky) per floor.

Then, as a sophomore, I moved on up into the comparative luxury of Lobo Village, with nearly everything but a TV right there, waiting for us in tidy little niches of our brand-new rooms on move-in day. The joys of not having to trudge a dozen yards in my pajamas in order to microwave some popcorn were obvious. Life had vastly improved, right?

Not in all ways. What my friends and I found ourselves missing from the stained-carpet drudgery of Mountainside was the strange but permeating sense of community. If a dorm resident was driven nuts by their roommate (And in how many roommate situations does this never happen? Exactly: zero.) he or she would invariably flee downstairs, to the lobby, the shaky pool tables, or the "smoke deck/ patio" which faced westward towards downtown Alpine, and granted anyone who lazed around out there the most incredible sunset view. Sure, the patio itself was a bit smokey at times, and littered nearly always, but it was constantly inhabited by someone: I can't count the number of Sul Ross friends I made on that patio and have kept since. Most of those folks are people who were too off my radar or too shy for me to have met in any other situation.

That serendipitous way of meeting people is what was missing in my Lobo Village experience. Yes, we had nice lounges and study rooms; but they were on each floor. Even if those rooms had been constantly full of people (which they never seemed to be) they would be full of people from the same floor: there was no real means of getting to know the rest of the two lovely dorms' residents without attending planned functions or going door-to-door, which of course would have its drawbacks.

In Lobo Village, there just isn't one communal gathering spot, so there is no way a new student can hope to meet a broad, random spectrum of students without looking like they're trying awfully hard.

That said, what Lobo Village needs is a community garden. I know: sounds hippie, but there is research to back up the theory. In many urban areas where a fairly broad spectrum of cultures are thrown together, community gardens and community green space are found to be an excellent link between neighbors who otherwise don't have much in common. See the connection here? Lobo Village is an assortment of people from all walks of life in all kinds of familial situations: the only common thread is that everyone is a Sul Ross student, which, even for a campus of under two thousand students, is simply not enough to bring people together.

A community garden would afford plots for students wish to cultivate them. It would also be a meeting spot, with benches and picnic tables and a spot to barbecue; an easy and impromptu place for people to just "hang out"; from all throughout Lobo Village, not just groups from one dorm or apartment or another.

Of course, scheduled events could take place there, but it would primarily be a spot to gather without an agenda. In my experience, friends are better made in that unscheduled way.

The good life experienced by Village residents could be that much better if, in addition to nice appliances and private rooms, there was space to share, maintained and beautified by the people who share it.

Domestic Violence

Nurse John Hughes
Guest Columnist

Last Tuesday, the Sul Ross Counseling and Advising Center and the Family Crisis Center of the Big Bend co-hosted an evening gathering in recognition of October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This event highlighted the daily struggle and fear experienced by victims of abusive relationships.

The Texas Council of Family Violence offers warning signs of abusive behavior. Their web site is www.knowtheredflags.com.

Individuals who use bullying tactics against vulnerable people in their lives assume a coward's role while violating inherent obligations. Stable partnerships have their disagreements, but resolution occurs in an environment of respect and trust. Family members are not someone's personal property to do with as they wish.

People who feel a need to control and dominate those around them have options: either recognize and cease their destructive behavior or leave. The latter option does not absolve anyone from their fiscal responsibility to persons dependent upon their earned income.

Sadly, victims who confront their abuser can be subject to attack from an emotionally charged and out-of-control individual. In addition, if victims take steps to remove themselves from an abusive situation, there is the very real likelihood of stalking plus the possibility of serious injury, permanent disability or worse.

Despite these risks, excusing abusive behavior only encourages more of the same. People should never live in fear of those people entrusted with their wellbeing. If you are caught in this difficult or potentially dangerous situation, seek help from a professional. Emergency room personnel, peace officers and victim advocates offer protective services to anyone caught in a web of physical and/or emotional abuse.

The local family crisis hotline may be reached at 1-800-834-0654. Always remember, there is no excuse for domestic abuse.

Letter to Editor

Dear editor,

I want to bring to your attention a few subjects around campus that are in dire need of being covered. I am just as happy for Mike Flynt and his family as many others are, but there are other stories out there that could use focus from a college paper like "The Skyline."

To name a few:

A Mrs. Casias who had a 3rd grade education, is a mother of 10, and who is 63 years old, but who will graduate with a BA in Administration System and Business Technology in December.

The low pay that most staff workers at Sul Ross receive.

The story of how an 18 year-old runs a horse business and is working on her degree out at RAS.

Mike Flynt is important but open your eyes and seek out the stories that make students challenge themselves and think of the world in which they live.

Clarence Russeau