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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1974)
Page 2 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1974 The economic reply MSC fund builds apathy By MIKE PERRIN The Association of College Unions-International (ACU-I) is in town today and tomorrow, so I de cided to discuss methods of making student unions better. First, though, let it be clear that there are no evil people around. There are only bad results because of an inept system. The primary fault of the MSC is that it relies on fees forcibly ex tracted from the student body—if you refuse to pay your student ser vice fee, you cannot attend A&M. The MSC rolls in better than $300,000 per year from you and me whether or not they please us or even attempt to do so in their prog rams and policies. This huge “cushion” of money makes it possible to bring shows which few people like or attend, such as Trapeze last week. The upper sections of G. Rollie White Coliseum were virtually empty. But Town Hall has $32,500 to fall back on, so why should they be con cerned? This subsidy makes for lazy organizations—the C does not have to get out and hustle for student dollars for survival’s sake. Those individual committees which don’t get guaranteed money are generally doing a better job like Aggie Cinema, which starts every year with $400 left over from the previous year. In order to survive, Aggie Cinema must show movies people want to see, and they do. OPAS supports itself with ticket receipts and voluntary donations and has full houses for an outstand ing fine arts series. A guaranteed income base does not key success to attendance; it keys success to political pull; the or ganizations with the most political pull get the most funding. Organiza tions which must support them selves key success to attendance. If no one shows up there are no more programs. Pressure is applied for good programs. But there is more to the explana tion than the presence of a guaran teed income base. There is also the MSC Council. Not only are students forced to support the MSC with student ser vice fees, they must also stand by and let the Council allocate those monies. This might even work if the people on the Council were on the firing line of programming, but they are not. All too often, officers on the Council have no real committee ex perience, much less programming experience. And each Council selects its own successors, so the situation never improves. In fact, it is so institutionalized that future Council members are not former committee chairmen. The Council Assistants, or Direc torate Assistants or Vice- Presidential Assistants (the name changes all the time) are groomed to become the next officers of the MSC. They are assigned to do each present officer’s dirt work. Of course, perseverance and slogging along usually result in the reward of a Council post—the Council which will set budget allo cations, programming guidelines and assistance to the committees. Council members are not affected by their decisions. They do not bear the brunt of the regulations they pass. For example, none of them are involved in film programming di rectly, so why should they care what policy gets passed? So what if it won’t work and if it violates trade practice of the film industry? No one on the Council has to obey the rules. Only the committees must do that, since all the rules cover only programming. The Council tends to perceive it self as restraining, not a promoting device; the people with the power are not doing the work. The Council makes the rules and dispenses the money. It costs them nothing re gardless of their decision. They have no stake in promoting movies or concerts. They do have a stake in proving that they are the bosses. To do this requires acknowledgement and notice. They work more for show than effect, since their product is only the fuel for others’ activities. People doing the work don’t have the power. Committee chairmen know what’s involved in getting the word out, in organizing a committee and they have a stake in promotion. If their programs don’t get out, then they get no satisfaction. This is the difference—the Direc torate is in it to promote program ming; the Council is in it to wield power. This is why impossible demands are often made by the Council on the chairmen, such as poster dis tribution; after the Council officers could not solve the problem they threw it back to the Directorate to do it the way it had been done al ready. Tomorrow: an ideal organiza tional structure for a student union. w GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Listen up ‘Senate is just wasted time’ Editor: I wholeheartedly disagree with many of the points brought out in the letter from a student senator on Oct. 22. It was because of the Senate’s in efficiency and ineffectiveness that I resigned from that body at the last regular meeting. There have been very few meet ings this year or last where anything constructive was accomplished. I will grant that a few minor, yet worthwhile things have been ac complished by our “illustrious stu dent senate.” The purpose of this organization is to serve the needs of the student body, not to waste hours in sense less discussions or in the censoring of people whose mistakes have al ready been effectively pointed out to them. Censoring by many self-righteous individuals who.call themselves senators is an absurd failure to ac complish anything at all. Has cen soring in itself ever contributed one iota towards progress? I doubt it. In meeting after meeting I have seen senators engaging in futile exp loitations of themselves and their constituents. These actions by this senate constitute a nauseating type of political passivity which I no longer wish to participate in. Robin Coppedge Joke returned Editor: In reply to Katherine Beadling’s letter concerning women in the Corps: The biggest Aggie joke in years is the women in the Corps. The Corps has always been respected and taken seriously, and has been the pride of Aggieland. Since women joined the Corps, red-butt is an un heard of word, and an even more unheard of trait. The situation of women in the Corps, “must be treated with extreme care” (HA!) according to the military science department. If the girls in the Corps expect respect and admiration from the student body and the male Corps members they had better take a look at why the male members are re spected and admired. When they were fish they didn’t smile and gig gle when they whipped out or humped it. They spoke and whip ped out to all upperclassmen, not just white-belts. They weren’t able to think, feel, or want. I’ve heard very few male fish say that they “thought Mr. So-and-So was really a nice guy!” When the women in the Corps can do something to earn respect like the rest of the people who have CL£ROU bnad uu poster DMEDEVIL THR UJ- -5HO Ia/ J! £ Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor 0,1 request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of Station, Texas 7784.1. the university administration or the Board of Directors. The The Associated Press isentitied exclusively to the use for reproduction ol all Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local by students as a university and community newspaper. Editor- news of spontaneous origin published herein. Right of reproduction of all ial l )olic y is determined by a majority of the editorial board. 0, s™d-C^ Station. Texas. LETTERS POLICY Editor . . . Greg Moses Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are Assistant Editor Will Anderson subject to beingcut to that length or less if longer. The editorial Managing Editor LaTonya Perrin staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guaran- Sports Editor Mike Bruton tee to publish any letter. Each letter must he signed, show the Photo Editor Alan Killingsworth address of the writer and list a telephone number for verifica- Copy Editors Cynthia Maciel, tion. Carson Campbell. ... . News Editor T.C. Gallucci, Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room Steve Bales 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. c it y Editor ?. . . .Rod Speer Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim Lindsey, chairman; S P ecial Assignment Reporters .Teresa Coslett, Dr.TomAdair, Dr. R.A.Albanese, Dr. H E. Hierth.w.C. Harrison, Steve Mary Russo, Jim Crawley, Paul McGrath, Tony Gallucci, Eberhard, Don Hegi, and John Nash, Jr. Mark Weaver, Gerald Olivier, Joe Matthews, Steve Gray, Jack Hodges, Judy Baggett, Barbara West, Wendy Wetzel Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. „ i . . „ „ . i General Assignment Reporters Dave Johnson, — Kanaya Mahendra, Jim Peters, Chirra Reddi, David White, MEMBER Cindy Taber, LeAnn Roby, Roxie Hearn, Debi Holliday, The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Rose Mary Traverse, Ron Amsler, Robert Cessna, Richard The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published in College Henderson, Daralyn Greene, Scott Reynolds, Sandra Chan- Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods, Cuer September through May, and once a week during summer school. — Photographers Douglas Winship, Mail subscriptions are $5.00 per semester; $9.50 per school year; $10.50 per David Kimmel, Jack Holm, Glen Johnson, Chris Svatek, Gary full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished Baldasari, Rodger Mallison, Steve KraUSS Texas A&M University Town Hall Series presents The Earl Scruggs Revue Friday, November 15, 1974 8:00 pm G. Rollie White Coliseum A&M Student Non A&M Student Date General Public Reserved Seats $4.00 $4.00 $6.00 General Admission Free with General Admission Ticket $3.00 $4.00 Admission will be by ticket only. A&M Students may pick up a maximum of 4 General Admission Tickets at the MSC Box Office, by presenting an ID & Activity Card with each ticket request. The student priority period extends from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. Tickets and Information MSC Box Office. 845-2916 Open 9-4 Mon.-Fri. Interstate's CINEMA I UNIVfRSITT SQUMf SH0PPINC CCHTI* 846-1151 STARTS FRIDAY NITELY 5:00 AND 8:00 P.M. toucan thrill again to the happiest sound in all the world. rmivruTM fFvn rn fox rhfm RODGERS- HAMMERSTEIN'S ROBERT WISE T . PRODUCTION : V Interstate's CINEMA II UNlVntSITY SQUMf SMOMINC CfNTfR 846-1151 STARTS FRIDAY DOUBLE FEATURE *TT IS A JOY!'* —Judith Crist, No** York Magazine 6:10 9:50 Paramount Pictures Presents HAROLD and MAUDE [Qp] Color by Technicolor’' ALSO ON THE SAME BILL IS There’s a little bit of Duddy Krovftz in everyone. A Paramount Release International Cinemedia Centre Lid. Presents A TED KOTCMErr Film THE APPREMTICCSHIPOF DUDDY KRAVITZ ■ in color NITELY 7:45 SEE BOTH FOR ONE PRICE completed a “true fish year in the Corps” they will be accepted and respected. Many women in the Corps seem to treat it as a joke and in turn they can expect to be treated as jokes also. As for women in the Aggie Band, it is obvious that Beadling hasn’t been around Aggieland long enough to feel pride when watching the band. She is also probably looking forward to cheerleaders and pep- rallies at A&M. Katherine Beadling should have stayed in high school or gone to T. U. and taken R.O.T.C. Teri Chamberlain ’76 Right to speak? Editor: In reference to the Oct. 22 letter from Beall, Moss, Walters and Bard, we would question the right of four young women—never in the draft, never forced to leave the country, never forced to shoot at and be shot at by strangers they were told to hate—to say anything at all for or against draft dodgers. How can these young women condone any “duty doing” by MacArthur while condemning the same action on the part of the Chinese? (It’s okay if we burn the babies, huh?) Regarding Beadling’s letter in the same paper, we can wait for the moment that women march on the field as members of the Aggie Band and hope the administrators have the decency to wait until we die be fore allowing it to happen. Bill A. Schwab ’75 Doug Hampton ’77 Sunshine Ags Editor: As I went to G. Rollie White to pick up my tickets two observations made an impression on me. The first was the heapofdebti the steps. It seems that Aggies^ would support their team wot also care for their school audits] pearance. The second impression was| difference in the lines nom those of previous years. 1 wonder where all the fair we Aggies came from. Even if the Aggies get outs 1 hope the enthusiasm willcontal and that these fair weather Ai will become all weather, caring! K«es. Chester AmidoiT Debbie AmidoiT j HOUS ffurnpikt gl975bud rce driv dlway ar. The at |es the id Fort aliens $1,160,5( e 1974 Howar the jlorth T( nape, $ere $2f ame liust has Reilej i collec latisfy 1974 |l98,00( liromise ands cere so The 1 be tollv jee whi |iorma juicers Ihow a 1 THE TEACHES THOUGHT 1 WAS TALKING, SUT .1 jJASNT ANP SHE WOULPN T BELIEVE ME.. rm _, i r Ip ‘-A] i t i i T 1 i=SS ANP I HAP TO UjRlTE ’’ I WILL NOT TALK IN CLASS " A THOUSAND TIMES ANP NOW all my Fingers are falling off MEMBER CAU ON US FOR UNIVERSITY CENTER Your own personal travel agency on campus 84(i-:i77:i TOWNSHIRE SHOPPING CENTER 1907 Texas Ave., Bryan 823-09 (i I at BEVERLEY BRALEY UNIVERSITY TRAVEL Beverley Braley Tours, Travel Traveling Holiday Group Space NEW YORK SICjI” departures December 20 $ 21 ’ MIAMI departure December 20 Includes round trip air fare from Houston. s 137- PLAN NOW!! All Group Airfares Subject to Fare Rules on each Departure Foe ing 4( attrac Coun and S Ha Varioi boot! songs fornn preci area, Th to B Cze< Mexi lot o big! 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