Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, November 27, 1985
Opinion
Tension no excuse
for game violence
Tension will be high at The Game Thursday — it’s for the
Cotton Bowl. But this should be no excuse for violence to erupt.
Two recent outbursts of violence among Aggie sports fans
have tainted the hospitable reputation of Texas A&M. Incidents
such as attacking another university’s cheerleaders or people
who wander on to the field are inexcusable.
Harassing people — especially non-Aggies
don’t follow our tradition is ridiculous.
because they
Remember Thursday that we are hosts not harassers.
Even antics like throwing ice or yelling obscenities could
eventually lead to a riot. In the ’20s a riot broke out at a Texas
A&M-Baylor game in Waco. The-result was tragic — one Aggie
died, othei's were injured. We hope Aggies are beyond that now.
When we have to rely on violence to enforce our views we
need to seriously reconsider those views. After all, it’s only a cot
ton pickin’ game.
The Battalion Editorial Board
WUO PROCLAIMED 1 1SUALL RETURN'?
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Steve LuecI
EDITOR'S
ruduuling
Visit with old friend brings B-CS cultural void to mindToom.
1 got to visit an
old friend Friday
night. That friend
was l)i G s.
Friday night Dr.
G s was the scene
for Rock Against
Apartheid, a con
ceit to benefit Stu-
dents A g a i n s t
Apartheid . I he
owner of Dr. G’s
EDITOR:
Karl
Pallmeyer
agreed to let his place be used for the
benefit. The Killer Bees, an Austin-
based reggae band, agreed to play for
reduced cost so that most of the pre
cedes could be used to help end apart
heid.
Over 400 people paid to get into Dr.
G’s Friday night. At least 100 people
hung around outside of the building be
cause it was too crowded to get in. The
size of the crowd shows two things. First,
and most importantly, it shows that
there are a lot of people in the area who
believe that apartheid is wrong and
should be put to end. The second thing
it shows is that this town needs some
quality entertainment.
Going to Dr. G’s Friday was like going
back home, I was filled with memories
of all the great times I used to have.
I refnembered the time 1 saw the Lo
tions. The Lotions were the first band to
play Dr. G’s.
I remembered the time 1 saw Joe
“King” Carrasco. Joe “King” even
jumped up on the table where I was sit
ting.
I refnembered the time I saw the Fab
ulous Thunderbirds. That was right be
fore their original bass player, Keith
Ferguson, left the band.
I remembered the time I saw Bo Did-
dley. Alter the concert l got to shake his
hand and kiss his daughter.
I remembered countless times when I
saw the Dishes, Four Hams on Rye and
various other local or area bands.
I remembered the time I saw John
Sebastian. Sebastian was the leader of
the LoVin Spoonful, one of the best folk-
rock bands of the 1960s.
I remembered the times i performed
on open stage nights.
I remembered the time 1 went to a
anti-nuke rally and met Dr. Red Duke’s
daughter.
1 remembered all the times I drank
and danced til I dropped even though 1
didn’t remember most of those times
the mbrning after they happened.
1 remembered the time Dr. G’s closed
down. It was sad day for fun in the
Bryan-College Station area. Although
there are other places that occasionally
offer live music, none can match the at-
mosphere of Dr. G’s.
1 here are a lot of clubs in the area,
but you can’t go to this one unless you
are wearing a polo shirt, or you can’t go
to that one Unless you are wearing a
cowboy hat, or you can’t the other one
unless you are wearing spandex and
spikes. Now that Dr. L. s is gone, there is
no place for people without an image to
go and have fun.
There needs to be more places like
Dr. G’s. Dr. G’s was a place of love,
friendship, fun, music and peace. If
Reagan and Gorbachev had met at Dr.
G’s instead of Geneva that might have
got something accomplished. If there
were places like Dr. G’s in the world
thru- iniglu not be .tp.iitlieid.wif.H All Nortl
me and hate. Ithing have
* * * * . copy their i
seems the
A spec ial note to all my tans: quired cop;
... are not sure
1 hursday night is the nightotlK..j ua |]y f unct
t ». 1111 ( Ulieihei ue go to theC®Y e pl ace( T
Bov\l will be det idee! at Kyle Fit!? Students ha
lai this semestei 1 have restrained' l 0 ning alie
writing am thing on the football te£ working coj
Jai ku stu 11 ill csiept forasiddiB .
about Ltikie s astionomii a! balaiuii'^ 3 , H
Friday's column. If >„• b tll [il eck 'L ch . e
Thursday, I promise to write an at A aren
sday, i promise i«-> huh mu*,
praising jackie and the footballteail cco^l P an,
We shall see.
Bewor
Karl Pallmeyer is a senior jour# EpppoR-
major and a columnist for The Iti j s j ov jy
, * on ' [class in Hel
Terrorism must be fought with more than empty rhetoric
Sciences Bi
the Analytii
chunk of c<
Biological J
sidewalk di
International ter- :
rorism has baffled
world leaders and
held television view-
e is hostage. The;
Jens B.
Koepke
Guest Columnist
blood bath in Malta Sunday night,
which resulted from a commando raid
of a hijacked Egyptair jetliner, is just an
other barbaric atrocity in a long line of
brutal terrorist attacks that have hypno
tized the public and frozen decision
makers since the mid ’60s.
Worldwide terrorism continues to
grow — from 142 incidents in 1968 to
850 in 1978. The 444-day captivity of
the American hostages in Iran in 1979,
the suicide truck-bombing of the Ma
rine barracks in Beirut and the recent
hijackings of a TWA jetliner and the
ocean liner, the Achille Lauro, are
graphic examples of how terrorists have
mesmerized the world.
Until now, world leaders have of
fered only empty rhetoric to combat the
terrorism problem. President Reagan
welcomed the hostages back from Iran,
saying, “Let terrorists be aware that
when the rules of international behavior
are violated, our policy will be one of
swift and effective retribution.”
Yet countries infrequently have pro
vided “swift and effective retribution.”
More often, they have been humiliated
and embarrassed by terrorists and been
forced into concessions.
It is time that countries develop a
blueprint to combat international ter
rorism. Nations should combine politi
cal pressure, technological advancement
and military power to stem the rising
tide of terrorism.
At the root of most terrorist out
breaks are real grievances, such as un
equal distribution of wealth, inability to
freely participate in the political process
or systematic governmental oppression.
“There is considerable historic eviden
ce,” writes W.T. Mallison, a terrorism
expert, “that no governmental attempt
to suppress terrorism has been success
ful in the absence of a political program
designed to eradicate the causes.”
Of course, all political problems are
not easily solved. The Palestinian ques
tion and the strife in Northern Ireland
are good examples. Because both sides
in those conflicts are battling over the
same piece of land, no matter how one
decides, one group still will be angry.
Along with addressing grievances,
nations should find ways to penalize
countries that assist and harbor terror
ists. A 1978 agreement between the
United States and its allies to suspend
air services to countries that harbor hi
jackers was quite effective. Even hard
line Arab countries that supported ter
rorists were reluctant to continue their
aid, if the price was having their airline
communications disconnected. Such a
boycott is effective because it isolates a
country, both economically and in terms
of international travel and communica
tion.
In addition, legal remedies should be
used. Terrorist acts should be made a vi
olation of international law, punishable
in a world court. This would circumvent
the extradition squabbles and interna
tional wrangling that now occur every
time a terrorist is apprehended. Punish
ment must be sure and harsh. A U.S.
Department of State study said that of
the 146 international terrorists arrested
prior to 1976, 140 of them were re
leased without punishment. Of those,
47 were permitted to escape or released
mm dont
UNDERSTAND
NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
because one country chose not to arrest
them for crimes committed against an
other country.
To catch more terrorists, countries
must make technological improvements
in security and intelligence systems.
Wherever possible, airports should in
stall state-of-the-art security equipment,
including three-dimensional scanners
and detectors that can spot plastic ex
plosives. All passengers, even VIPs and
diplomats who are rarely checked,
should be searched and bags double-
checked. One of the world’s safest air
lines — El A1 — hand searches every
passenger and assigns sky marshals,-
“the 007 Squad,” to all its most sensitive
flights. As a result El A1 has not had a
plane hijacked since the early 1970s.
Good intelligence has always been
one the best ways to beat terrorists. The
Federal Griminal Office in West Ger
many has amassed a computerized col
lection of 10 million bits of information
about radical groups. This data bank
has helped the German police all but
shut down the Baader-Meinhof gang
and the Red Army Faction. Israel main
tains the world’s most effective and
feared intelligence network, the Mos-
sad, with computerized tracking of ter
rorists’ whereabouts and movements
and a long list of informants. This reli
able intelligence network has allowed Is
rael to track down and kill all of the Pal
estine Liberation Organization
architects of the 1972 Munich massacre.
Information in computer intelligence
banks should be shared between coun
tries and supersensitive listening devices
and improved bomb-detecting equip
ment should he added to the arse® , •
the time as
intelligence organizations. , , ,
O ~ With il 110'f* f*
' When terrorists do strike, cop j j viv ” wr
must be able and willing to laundit. /•
. 6 •attention to
mando rescues and executemilittfT . •
prisals, in addition to negotiating■f 5 ’ j '
ibly. Flie 1976 Israeli raid onEMn _ W '
and the 1977 W est German6p«* 0
Mogadishu show how a caretj^jj^- s j
planned and well-executed comiJw
attack can successfully end a host!f^ ura ^°^ rt
sis. Every country should develoff
cial units, trained to carry out the? Select
erations, and station them dose --
hot spots of terrorism. EDITOR:
After a crisis has been resolved,® In respoi
tive military reprisals against theffT'ould like
trators should be considered to Elective Aggi
terrorists from further attacks. Bel* choose to p;
1976-1980, more than 2,000 AraMare fun or c
killed in Israeli retaliatory raids,' Regardir:
during the same period, 143 B’hooing: it’s
were killed by terrorists,
prisals may cause a revolutionarjf
to gain fervor arid become tno
trenched, they will send a dear
that the country deals with let
and their supporters harshly.
The world has had some sutfl’'.
against terrorists, such as theiT
capture of the Achille Lauro hw
but they have been hollow victori%.
make lasting inroads into thepo%
terrorists, nations must begin to*
a comprehensive plan of political®
sure, technological enhancemeni 1
military strength.
it is ex
Jens B. Koepke is a junior jom
major and a senior staff writer(o 1
Battalion.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
South west Journalism .Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Rhonda Snider, Editor
Michelle Powe, Managing Editor
Loren Stef fy, Opinion Page Editor
Karen Bloch, City Editor
John Hallett, Kay Mallett, News Editors
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
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