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| Title | Houstonian, 1989 |
| Contributor (LCNAF) |
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| Date | 1989 |
| Description | This edition of the Houstonian, published by the students of the university in 1989, is the official yearbook of the University of Houston. |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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| Subject.Name (LCNAF) |
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| Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
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| Genre (AAT) |
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| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
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| Original Item Location | LD2281.H745 H6 v. 55 1989 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b1158762~S11 |
| Digital Collection | Houstonian Yearbook Collection |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb |
| Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://info.lib.uh.edu/about/campus-libraries-collections/special-collections |
| Use and Reproduction | In Copyright |
| File Name | index.cpd |
| Title | Issues |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | yearb_1989_263.jpg |
| Transcript | Marriage: Why wait? I often find my Indian background intriguing, and enjoy sharing it with those who are curious. I wasn't always at peace with the customs and they were not always interesting — sometimes actually — more like strange — to others. Along with otherwise great childhood memories, I remember the troubles I had in eating my own Inidan food in front of ^^^^ the children I went to elementary school with. Because in my religion — Jainism — we do not believe in eating any meat, I could only eat purely vegetarian food, which was extremely difficult to get in the prepared school lunches. I would either have to bring Indian food to school, or walk home for lunch. The other children teased me often about what I was eating, to the point where I would rather walk home alone, eat, and return to school alone, rather "I felt I had to tell guys who wanted to call me 'just to talk/ that they shouldn't, unless it was school-related.'' than try to explain the foods to closed ears. This was ten years ago, and I admit there wasn't as much international awareness as there is today. Nowadays, it is with PRIDE that I tell people I am vegetarian and describe the Indian foods that I eat on campus almost everyday. Another aspect of Indian customs which I had trouble explaining to others, as well as understanding myself, was the traditional views on dating and marriage. The Indian belief is that youths should not be burdened with looking for a life-long partner, until they're ready, and not totally without the help of their parents. Many Westerners, who start "going out" at earlier and earlier ages, could not believe that my Indian friends and I, did not have and were not looking for "boyfriends." The typical response was "why don't your parents let you date?" Despite my own wish not to get invovled in dating, I often doubted whether anyone would even be interested in me, anyway, since that's all I ever recall other girls worrying about. Looking back now, I shouldn't have worried, think I was very happy not to have to worry about dating, etc., when many others that I knew would go through "break-up's, bad dates, and periods without dates, especially for a school-related function. I did feel silly sometimes, because I felt I had to tell guys who wanted to call me at home "just to talk" that they shouldn't unless it was school-related. Everyday friendships with guys would definitely raise eyebrows. But because I was very active in organizations, I had to communicate with many people, so it wasn't that I was devoid of communication with the opposite sex." The custom of "Arranged Marriages" has been the most difficult topic for me to explain. But, discussions with my parents have help me better understand and detail this time-honored process to others. Many have this preconceived notion of some fifteen-year-old girl married off to a twenty-year-olc guy whom she has never seen until the wedding night. Unbelievingly, this previous sentence has come out word-for-word from a middle school social science text as a discussion point about Indian culture. Though this scenario may have been common in my great-grandmother's time, things have evolved somewhat. 312 ■ Issues |