University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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m ' Tfcxas: One Wbrd, Many Meanings Texas is .1 myth, or belter vet. a cliche. Who in America hasn ' t seen the Jolm Wayne movies on the late night show and thought. So. this is Texas. Thoughts of Texas conjure up images of dust, cattle, cactus, ten gallon hats and success. But how much of this holds true toil.iv ' Remnants of the Civil War linger on In an age of women ' s liberation. Southern Belles (cf. Farrah Fawcett. Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, etal.) still have their iK .u v Stereotypes abound. The television series l t!U brought .in image of greed and big bucks into the living rooms of Americans. Was JR fact or fic- tion- Texas . ;, was also popularised by the likes of T .v.i Monthly and New York City ' s Lone Star Cafe. Worse yet, age-old Texas kitsch could be found in roadside truck stops and antique stores: armadillo purses, chairs made out of bull horns, 24-carat steers, cowboy boot lamps, horse shoe mailbox posts and snakes- kin belts. Texas is also the land of iron-gut stomachs, as eviden- ced by the tortuous amounts of chili, jalapenos. nachos with red hot sauce and barbeque consumed within its borders. I ' ve lived here all my life, said Ranelle Bain, a junior in an history from Tyler. Texans are riding on tradition. They ' ve always said that Texas is great, so you ' d be stupid to say anything else.

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More-over, the most common stereotype for the state is big. Big egos, sjrai ions skic-s. gigantic randies. However, three of the lulu m ' s ten largest cities arc within Texas. Houston is equaled with oil, unrestrained growth, wealth and ghettos l allas is a 1 ny of corporations ami high fashion. San Antonio is known for its military bases and Mexican-American heritage. Down by the River Walk, enchiladas and burritos are as common as hamburg- ers. Kasl Texas is the land of cajun cooking ami pine tr rs that reach to the sky. People who survive West Texas and its isola tion are proud of it, or, they arc ' glad to esca|x- In this ck-solaie pan of Texas, 120 miles is .onsidered a hop. skip and a jump However, when it comes time for college, many people find themselves in the core of Texas Austin to attend the state ' s largest university They tome from the urban centers, llast an.l West Texas, The Valley, and even some damn Yankees who want to escape the snow all to converge on one s| oi At the end of tour years, they migrate to Houston or Dallas, return to their native roots (Podunk Town, Mi Mlc of Nowhere, Texas) , decide to slay in Austin. Ix-iaiise it ' s such a nice, comfortable town Some, who have broadened their lion cms of become adventurous, esc ape the boundaries and liead elsewhere Whatc ver, we thought we ' d get to tlie heart of tin matter, and si w y. .u rf d llf r ' I ' '