Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, March 7, 1985
Banning books can
discourage thinking
Every morning
I pick up the pa-
per and read
about death and
destruction. Rar
ely does the word
“murder” not ap
pear on the front
page. Monday, I
picked up The
Battalion and saw
an advertisement
Loren Steffy
advocating another type ofhomocide
the killing of ideas.
Can't judge book by its cover
Just about every
one has heard the
old cliche “you can’t
Catherine
judge a book by its Campbell
cover” but, in spite of ■"
itself, its wisdom is all too often ignored.
A few weeks ago, an incredibly pro
sexist column appeared in The Battal
ion with an underlying message that
stressed physical beauty as the only im
portant attribute a woman needs to be
perfect.
1 really couldn’t believe it.
The writer of the chauvinistic col
umn, Kevin Inda, is a senior at Texas
A&M, as am I, but it appears he is going
to be leaving college with the same igno
rant concepts as when he first arrived
(Kevin, haven’t you learned anything
about life these past four years?).
Inda, like too many others, believes
that physical beauty is the key to happi
ness and the sole criteria for choosing a
companion. Men who don’t bother to
look past a woman’s measurements are
in for a rude awakening. Ever heard the
expression “the lights are on but no
body’s home?” (We’re talking intellect
here, Kevie.)
Maybe body measurements should be
ignored, after all there is a popular stan
dard that ideal women measure 36-24-
36 ... but where are the ideal stats for
the men? It’s really something that some
men have the gall to expect physical
perfection in the opposite sex when they
can’t really meet those requirements
themselves.
And how many guys bother to won
der if their ornamental-on-the-arm
girlfriends even have I.Q.s? It’s sad how
priorities can become so twisted.
Although^ women today on average
don’t wear girdles anymore (what were
those things anyway?), anorexia nervosa
is at an all-time high. The pressure is on
to look like the ideal woman, and guys
like Kevin Inda are only adding to the
problem.
Soooooooooo, in response to the very
misguided Kevin Inda, who so gra
ciously allowed The Battalion to print
his ridiculously skewed view of courting,
I have one question: You were kidding
weren’t you, Kevin?
Inda’s editorial concerning the diffi
cult search for the elusive perfect mate
was appalling to several Aggie women.
Even if Inda was joking, his warped
sense of “humor” revealed him to be the
closet sexist he is, not to mention expos
ing his exponential amount of igno
rance concerning women.
At the risk of making a, generaliza
tion, Kevin Inda is like too many other
men who think they know everything
there is to know about women. And, be
cause Inda is incapable of understand
ing the opposite sex’s psyche, he resorts
to categorizing women according to
looks and morals. Boy, what a wonder
ful, generous “MAN!”
Inda’s very insightful analogy of the
“mating game” (did you think of that
term all by yourself, Kevie?) to checkers
— with the sole purpose “of jumping as
many of the opponents as possible” —
was shallow, low-brow and uncouth.
Personally, I’ve always thought the
game of checkers was a bit boring and
have always been partial to the superior
game of chess. Chess requires strategy,
planning and subtle manipulation (ma
nipulation, now there’s a word that
probably scares the hell out of you, Ke
vin). Apparently, females equipped with
intelligence pose a real threat to Inda
(better watch out Kevie, baby, they’re all
around you...but I doubt they’re out to
get you.
Inda also mentions that he resents
women’s usage of cosmetics: NEWS
ALERT, Kevin! When done tastefully,
make-up on a woman can be like the ic
ing on a cake.
It may surprise Inda, but not every
woman wants to look like the perfect
Ivory Girl. Some of us “resort” to wear
ing cosmetics because a) we want to b)
it’s a form of self-expression and c) so
ciety dictates we’d better — it’s ex
pected. (Face facts, Kevie, you wouldn’t
be caught dead with a girl who doesn’t
wear make-up...unless, of course, she
had pristine beauty and great bones.
Maybe you should join an Amish com
munity to find the Plain Jane princess of
your dreams).
And for Inda’s information, in the
game of chess, the queen is the most
powerful, prized piece on the board; we
all know the king doesn’t do much but
hang around waiting to get cornered
due to his lack of foresight. By the way,
Kevin, checkmate.
LETTERS:
LRD doesn’t condone
software copying
EDITOR:
The Battalion article on copyright
and microcomputer software offered
considerable information and opinion
about the nature of the problem. Al
though your article reported an offer to
copy a microcomputer program by an
“LRD employee,” it should be made
clear that the policy of the Sterling C.
Evans Library Learning Resources De
partment does not in any way condone
copying of microcomputer software.
Catherine Campbell is a senior journa
lism major.
The more we know about the
human brain, the less we know
Employees of the LRD are informed
of this policy during training, and in
structed to inform LRD users that copy
ing is illegal whenever the question
arises. Use of any of the many “copy
breaking” software packages is ex
pressly forbidden in the area, and any
user observed using a “copy breaking”
program is asked to stop using the pro
gram immediately.
H.W. Hall
Head, Learning Resources Department
Sterling C. Evans Library
W ASH I NG-
TON — It was a
headline that ar
rested the eye:
Einstein’s Brain
Was Different.
Not news, you
say? Wrong. The
news from neuro
biology is large
enough to subvert
our sense of our
selves.
mud of the planet that Copernicus had
oht ~
George Will
Having obtained bits of Einstein’s
brain from the pathologist who con-
duted the autopsy in 1955, a scientist at
Berkeley has discovered that Einstein’s
brain had 73 percent more “support
cells” for every neuron than are found
in average brains. The Einstein samples
reportedly came from the part of the
brain responsible for “the deepest thin
king” — presumably the part we use to
ponder the infield-fly rule.
We are learning a lot — perhaps an
alarming lot — about what we are. In
creased knowledge of the brain already
has brought a reduction of misery
through pharmacological treatments of
such diseases as depression and schi
zophrenia. But that knowledge seems to
threaten us — that inner something that
makes us individuals. It seems to por
tray us as merely physical, as more com
prehensible and quantifiable than we
want to be.
It was bad enough when Copernicus
evicted us from where we think we be
long: the center of the cosmos. Since
then, many systems of thought have
seemed to imbed us stickily in the world
in ways that compromise our sense of
autonomy.
Darwin embedded mankind in the
penpt
continuum oetween mankind and lesser
(are we sure?) matter. The historicisms
of Marx and others asserted that politi
cal and social change are governed by
iron laws of social evolution, not the
choices of autonomous human beings.
Freud said there are within us un
charted depths with their own turbu
lences.
Now comes neurobiology, suggesting
. . . what? It really does not suggest that
anyone with 73 percent more support
cells per neuron than average could
have said, as Einstein did, “Hey: In
crease the speed of an object and you
contract the passage of its time. Neuros
ciences do not make such extravangant
claims.
In the current issue of the New York
Review of Books, Israel Rosenfield of
the City University of New York offers a
balanced assessment. Suppose partic
ular mental events — feelings, emotions
— can be associated with particular
chemical events. That does not mean
that, say, the feeling of love or patriot
ism or whatever can be expressed as a
chemical formula. Neither does it mean
that when you read “Hamlet” you
should say, “Ah, yes. This is the product
of beautiful brain chemistry.”
What has been learned about brain
functioning has advanced therapy more
than it has understanding. We can im
prove the functioning of the brain with
out really knowing how to explain what
is being done, aside from the correction
of a chemical imbalance. As Rosenfield
writes, “Just as we cannot know the role
an actor is playing by studying the basic
electrical patterns in his brain, no analy
sis of the circuits of a computer can tells
us whether the computer is playing
chess or predicting the weather.” While
it is better to treat certain mental ill
nesses by administering drugs rather
than confining the patient to an immo
bilizing chair, “we should have no illu
sions that we really know what we are
doing when we use many of the thera
pies administered today.”
The chemistry of memory, the chem
istry of sorrow . . . We would feel dimin
ished in dignity by such ways of speak
ing. But certain foods contain amino
acids which pass into the blood and alter
moods. Indeed, simply seeing food evi
dently can trigger physiological mech
anisms that produce weight increase.
Gracious.
Human beings became comfortable
with the thought of themselves as crea
tures composed of flesh and blood and
also ometning grander. Now neurobio
logy makes problematic the idea that we
are both bodies and quite distinct minds
or spirits. The idea of “the ghost in the
macnine” may be yielding to the idea
that we are machines. Are we just the
sum of the chemical reactions bubbling
within us?
Happily, the more we know, the less
we know. The more we know about the
brain, the more we are awed by how
much there is to know, not only about
the brain but about the totality of cre
ation that has culminated (we are the
culmination . . . aren’t we?) in a gadget
as intricate as man. The neuroscience
behind the news that “Einstein’s Brain
Was Different” calls to mind a recent
Chicago Tribune headline. It was a
story about the aftermath of the Israeli
airlift out of Ethopia: “20th Century
Stuns Ethiopian Jews.” I know just how
they feel.
Just what (or who)
is simple-minded?
EDITOR:
I agree with Mr. Inda’s column mi
nority recruitment. Why should we
bother to have these non-white types in
school, let alone try to recruit them?
After all, it’s a proven fact that hard
as they try they’ll never be as good as
white people. Don’t get me wrong —I’m
not a bigot or anything, I just know
these things from experience.
So why waste their time in school
when they could be out picking grape
fruits or something, The only white
thing to do is encourage them early on
to learn a trade and forget about an ex
pensive college education. The solution
is that simple-minded!
B. Mecum
Don’t call us and
we won’t call you
EDITOR:
George Will is a columnist for the
Washington Post.
I would like to extend my gratitude in
behalf of Dunn Hall to Puryear and Da-
vis-Gary Halls for making our dining
experience, Friday, March 1 tremen
dously enjoyable. Your warmth, com
passion, and hospitality was overwhelm
ing. Let’s face it gentlemen, one cannot
say enough nice things about you, as
Batti
bus!
s;
Wit
subjet
“The Agency for Public School Liter
ature Reviews has determined that these
four books are unsuitable to remain in
school libraries and classrooms as they
contain graphic violence.”. Above this
statement were displayed the names of
four great classics: “The Red Badge of
Courage,” “Moby Dick,” “A Tale of Two
Cities,” and “The Plays of Shakespeare.”
The endangered works not only de
onstrate exemplary literature, butil
allow our society a look at the culti
and values of a past civilization,
whale hunts, and treachery may not
the most pleasant choices of
material, but they are socially relev;
The Civil War and the assassination
Julius Caesar could be labelled
sive, but the past cannot bechangedlt
cause a group of people don’t vvantt
read about the world’s unpleasantries
Sure, we can ban the books and pis
tect the innocent children from
tiness of the world, but sooner or
the kids are going to read the front paf
of a newspaper and discover reality!)
themselves.
thems
. said
ta
These works do include scenes of vio
lence, as do many books in the average
school library such as Dante’s “Inferno”,
Homer’s “Odyssey” and Malory’s “La
Morte d’Arthur.” Merely because these
literary landmarks are offensive to an
individual, group or even a majority
doesn’t justify prohibiting their circula
tion from everyone. My columns may be
offensive to some people, but that
doesn’t allow those people to stifle my
right to free expression.
This band of censors is attempting!
place an ban on literature thatwilltm
scend time and cultural bounda
They want to use their social valuesaj
beliefs as a standard by which litei
works must be measured. Notonlyd«
such a restriction inhibit the educaii)
of youth, it surpresses the right tofn
speech for every author, dead, living,
yet to be born.
Books can be burned at Farentx
451, but they can be banned with a
temper, a closed mind, and a littlefai
icism.
Loren Steffy is a sophomore join
lism major and weekly columnist It
The Battalion.
By RIG
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The Battalion
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ollege students,
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Brigid Brocki
onception abou
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Writing for
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how up in the p;
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Brockman saic
nillion dollar-a-y
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No money is i
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The Battalion
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man said.
ay other pa|
re than 96 |
your conduct was above reproach. Yi
table manners are truly outstanding
How some of you can eat like you dot
truly a marvel for modern scientt
Please, we must set a time to do
again. A culinary experience withyoui
one not to be missed.
In all truest sarcasm,
Tom Doss
Ed Wiesner
appe
Associi
HUNTS VI LLi
Death Row inm;
dons to have
dropped and an
executions so th<
the pockets of att<
the leader of the <
day.
“To continue t
ter year, with th<
physical stress, it’
The Battalion
tlSPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Brigid Brockman, Editor
Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor
Ed Cassavoy, City Editor
Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor
Michelle Powe, Editorial Page Editor
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors
Kari Fluegel, Rhonda Snider
Assistant News Editors
Cami Brown, John Hallett, Kay Malleti
Assistant Sports Editor
Charean Williams
Entertainment Editors |
Shawn Behlen, Leigh-Ellen Clark
Staff Writers Cathie Anderson,
Brandon Berry, Dainali Bullard,
Ann Cervenka, Michael Crawford,
Kirsten Dietz, Patti Flint,
Patrice Koranek, Trent Leopold,
Sarah Oates, Jerry Oslin,
Tricia Parker, Lynn RaePovec
Copy Editors .Jan Perry, Kelley Smith
Make-up Editors Karen Bloch,
Karla Martin
Columnists Kevin Inda, Loren Steffy
Editorial Cartoonist Mike Lane
Sports Cartoonist Dale Smith
Copy Writer Cathy Bennett
Photo Editor Katherine Hurt
Photographers Anthony Casper,
Wayne Grabein, Bill Hughes, Frank Irwin,
John Makely, Peter Rocha, DeanSaito
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper
operated as a community service to iexas A&M and
Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessarily rep
resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, facultf
or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for
students in reporting, editing and photography classes
within the Department of Communications.
Letters Policy
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in
length. The editorial staff reserves the right lo edit letters
for style and length hut will make every effort to maima/n
the author's intent. Each letter must he signed and must
include the address and telephone number of the writer.
The Battalion is published Monday through Frida)
during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holidaf
and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are f 16.75
per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full
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Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald
Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
77843. Editorial stall phone number: (409) 845-2630. Ad
vertising: (409) 845-2611.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77840
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal
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