A Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, March 18,1985 OPINION Isn't blackmail illegal in the United States? Republican senators are being informed President Reagan will not support their 1986 re-election campaigns unless they support Administration programs, specifically the budget pack age and the building of the MX missile. So they face a dilemma — become a rubber stamp for the president or lose financial support from the Oval Office. When we cast a vote for a congressional candidate, we are supporting his ideals and principles. We are demonstrating our faith that he will act in our best interests — even when those in terests are contrary to the president’s wishes. A healthy democracy allows its leaders to express differing opinions and to act on their beliefs. That’s what the checks and balances system is all about — to prevent any one person from becoming all-powerful. Such open political blackmail as the adminstration is practic ing flies in the face of the democratic system. When Congress is being manipulated by the president, then the congressmen are not doing their jobs. We didn’t elect them to blindly follow or ders. If they’re simply going to rubber stamp all presidential legis lation, then why not just skip the whole process of congressional campaigning and elections and simply allow the president to ap point his own political puppets? The Battalion Editorial Board LETTERS: Battalion columnist right and wrong EDITOR: In his editorial of March 7, Loren Steffy condemns the censorship of liter ature in the public school classroom. I am certainly glad he holds this opinion, as I am sure most of us do. However, it is unfortuante that Steffy did not bother to notice that the “advertisement advo cating . . . the killing of ideas” was in fact advertising the MSC Great Issues Com mittee’s presentation of Mike Hudson, a man who holds the same beliefs con cerning literature’s value as Steffy. Hudson gave an enlightening speech on The Battalion (ISPS 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 1 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 Mallett Assistant Sports Editor Charean Williams Entertainment Editors Shawn Behlen, Leigh-Ellen Clark Staff Writers Cathie Anderson, Brandon Berry, Dainah Bullard, Ann Cervenka, Michael Crawford, Kirsten Dietz, Patti Flint, Patrice Koranek, Trent Leopold, Sarah Oates, Jerry Oslin, Tricia Parker, Lynn Rae Povec 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, Dean Saito Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to, Texas A8cM and Bryan-College Sta tion. 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, faculty 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 to edit letters for st yle and length but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, lexas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Editorial staff phone number: (409) 845-2630. Ad vertising: (409) 845-2611. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, 'Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843 Monday, March 4, on the dangers of al lowing the religious right to take too large a role in the selection of textbooks for public schools. - The content of the advertisement was intended to arouse interest in the issue of censorship, which it apparently did, and to inform the public of the speech. If Steffy bothered to read his own newspaper everyday, he may have no ticed a similar advertisement for the program which depicted a group of classic books being set afire by a flaming copy of the First Amendment. The in tention of this ad was the same; to catch the eye and make people think. MSC Great Issues does not advocate banning books, and Mike Hudson certainly does not. Steffy is to be chastised for his over sight, but commended for addressing the important issue of the censorship of literature in public schools. Chris Smallwood MSC Great Issues Committee Warped creator asked to leave EDITOR: I have enjoyed The Batt for several years but one thing leave me cold every- time I read it —WARPED by Scott Mc- Cullar. Can we impeach the power be hind this piece of moral terpitude? How does someone with so little re gard for everything dear to the heart and soul of A&M —traditions, loyalty, love for A&M, and our fellow Ags — come to such a position within our be loved Aggieland? If we can arrange to pay for his trans fer to t.u., would he accept our gracious offer? I understand different strokes for different folks and t.u. was made for “different folks.” The liberal ideology of t.u. would sure be conducive to his life style, and both schools would be happier if the transfer was made. Larry Fischer, ’81 A&M taking beating for Zentgraf case EDITOR: • Are the regents of Texas A&M Uni versity really such nitwits that they would appeal the Melanie Zentgraf de cision? Don’t they realize how Neanderthal it makes both them and the school look? That a woman’s constitutional rights should be abridged on grounds of “tra dition” is clearly indefensible. Perhaps they hope that by appeal they can put off the inevitable for a year or two. But in a few years women will be common place in the Aggie band, it will still main tain its excellence, and entering classes will wonder what all the fuss was about. Hopefully by then the black eye given to TAMU by this silly litigation will have healed. Les P. Beard Affirmative action program intended for benefit of all jjk KeVin Inda’s Feb. 27 editorial on affirmative ac tion no doubt re flected the views of many people on this campus. The jumbled set of oversimplifica tions presented in the course of this editorial is unfor- Reader’s Forum Reader’s Forum Reader’s Forum mative action. While mo that these programs pro< sirable results, they attack^ which they are achieved will admit some de means by without sug- tunately commonplace in discussions about such controversial issues. Inda’s editorial challenged not only Texas A&M’s recruiting policy but the entire idea of a University spending money to recruit minority faculty and students. This is an honest line of ques tioning, but since it deals with funda mental ideological issues it merits care ful and rigorous considerations. Affirmative action is a policy of the federal government in many areas, in cluding student and faculty recruitment at universities. It is supported by well- educated and well-informed men and women throughout government, from the Supreme Court justices who uphold it in court to the congressmen who regu larly approve funding for it. Much of the controversy surrounding this issue stems from confusion about the inspiration for and purpose of affir- gesting an alternative. Affirmative ac tion programs are designedftto disrupt a cycle created by past anc^mresent dis crimination. Although most forms of explicit discrimination (i.e. denial of the right to work or to be educated) have been removed in the last 20 years, there are still problems. Minoritfjlpjare consis tently overrepresented in' the low in come segments of the population and are consistently underrepresented in the more affluent positions in the social strata. It is obvious that some forms of discrimination still exist. The cycle is perpetuated more by subtle forms of racism than denial of basic rights. Poorer quality schools, lessons being taught in a language not spoken at home, teachers who — because of some personal flaw — expect less of minority students and therefore fail to encourage them, a lack of role models, etc. are all contributors to it. To complain about offering schol arships to minority students and the lowering of standards in the same breath is useless. Offering minority stu dents scholarships is something Texas A&M chooses to do. All the affirmative action programs require is increased mi nority attendance. This University wishes to meet these requirements and therefore must compete with oi schools for the limited pool ofliijj qualified minority students. The its tion of offering scholarships is toi this University more competitiveso| it doesn’t have to lower its standards. The system does not claim perfei Reverse discrimination doesoctj When it does it is wrong both motf and legally. The Supreme Courtupli this view in the Bakke decision.,! this case the Supreme Court did I however, declare all affirmative atl programs illegal. Suggesting that| whole system is fundamentally flai only demonstrates a serious lackofi formation. There is ample opportunity ati University to investigate and uni stand issues such as these. Onecouldl tend the programs of the Black AnJ ness Committee or the Committer! Awareness of Mexican-Americantj ture in the MSC. Part of the purposJ these committees is to educate whitel dents about the culture and perspetl of minorities today. These issuesstiJ be investigated, not as a favor to mini ties, but as a favor to oneself. As Ini column pointed out, these issuesd«I feet us on a very basic level. ItpaystJ informed. Adoi Jerry Rosiek Committee volvement. is the chairman op on Minority Student 1 Byji Texas / universitie a physical students classes wh the semesi cally disab Adaptei an alterna dents who tely disabh “In mos hurt in p have to d an incomp wan, coor physical ec The ch with 100- with 150-5 said. The of the sei students ' cause of it Each s into the ] physical e< an indivit tailored ft said. Wei Strengthei cles, is cc and flexib By tr; adapted dents avo regular P. Gradin instructor section ar section tf she said. English riding spirit catching on in land of the cowboys What follows when I tell folks that I show horses usually is some thing along these lines: “Oh, you mean you rodeo, right? Yeah, I went to the Ft. Worth Fat Stock Show and Rodeo one time. I guess since you’re a girl you ride barrels and poles. What’s your best time? Ever won anything?” I always hate to burst their stereotypi cal balloon. I don’t sit a tall black horse. My saddle isn’t a gaudy conglomerate of leather and silver. I don’t flaunt a ten- gallon Stetson. I don’t wear tight-fittin’ jeans and pointy-toed cockroach killers. I don’t even own spurs that jingle-jan gle. And I’ve never been clocked at pole bending in my life. You see, I ride English style. Now, 10 years ago to ride English in the South west was unheard of. It was unthink able. Only Queen Elizabeth and Prin cess Anne and others from “ up there in the old country” had that privilege. Texans were thought not to possess the finesse, talent, expertise or horses that it took to attempt the sport with any nota ble success. Today, however, what’s good enough for Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne is good enough for Shel ley Hoekstra, and (surprise!) thousands of other Texans — who have traded in their Western saddles and pole bending, barrel racing ways, for the English style of hunting and jumping. About 10 years ago, English show barns began popping up throughout Texas like mushrooms — a whole spread of them seemingly overnight. Brightly painted jumps began to grace many an open field. What Texas horses lacked in training or breeding, imports from Australia, EnglancL^and other countries began to makt^^ for. Nu merous qualified hunter tWmiers began to flock to Texas — English fever had caught, and spread, like wildfire. En glish enthusiasts were crying for knowl edge of the sport, a knowledge that be fore had come only from watching skilled others on television — and at tempting to copy their style. English horseback riding is all the things that Western is not. It is a small Steubin saddle with no saddle horn (nothing holds the rider on but his leg muscles). It is a snaffle bit in the horse’s montth, allowing the rider to feel through his hands the power and inten sity to which the horse responds to his rider’s command. It is a “funny little hat” — a hard-hat with chin strap —that protects the rider from head injury should he “take a fall” over a jump. It is knee-high leather boots that protect the rider from briers and brambles, certain to be encountered on a hunt course. It is skin tight breeches, alleviating excess material that might chafe or rub raw spots in the leg, or interfere with the neccessary body contact between rider and mount. It is thrilling — but also a bit terrify ing. Galloping up to a three, four, five ... foot jump, over the fence, solid contact with the ground on the other side. Falls do occasionally happen, caused by< horse getting to the fence at an awkwaii spot, going over “leap frog” style ani unseating the rider. Sometimes a ride will loose courage, a horse can sensed® and will in turn refuse a jump. Abeauii ful horse is not a neccessity. Whad needed is boldness, good sense, suit feet and conditioning. A little traininf goes a long way, as horses are natuii jumpers. One of the nicest things about this sport is that it accommodates people of ages — from 7 to 70. One need onlyltf limited by his desire to work and learn and the courage it takes to face a jump. Texas now can boast of its many fint trainers, horses and riders. The Texas Hunter and Jumper Association spon sors shows that have drawn riders fro® around the country, even overseas Hunter-jumper programs in Kentucky Tennessee and California have begunto recognize Texas riders as serious com petition for their once monopolized winner’s circle — Texans are walking away with increasingly more blue’s and championships. So, just because you’re on Texas soil doesn’t mean you have to “go Western There’s a bit of English in the wind, and its spirit is contagious. Even those who have thought themselves to be the most immune — Western to the core —have been known to be affected by the fever Jolly good and right nice, wouldn’t you say? Shelley Hoekstra is a senior journalism major and the managing editor for The Battalion. Shelley Hoekstra Univ Obsolete the Gulf ol west coast c< tion for a li dustry, says expert. Rather tl Dr. Robert suggests let lures in the artificial ret offish. “Fifteen were distril: Mexico,” D and gas ind these vertic traded the mereial fisl developmei ery,” Dittoi point of wt happen wh moved off; ample.” Ditton, v Academy c into a varie posing of tl