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Vol. 66 No. 80
College Station, Texas
Thursday, February 18, 1971
845-2226
Nation never perfect,
Perot tells SCONA
By JOHN CURYLO
Battalion Staff Writer
“I can’t create the pearl, but I
can irritate the oyster.”
This is what the keynote speak
er, H. Ross Perot, said yesterday
at the opening session of the Six
teenth Student Council on Na
tional Affairs when asked what
one person could do to change
things in the world today.
He told delegates and visitors
that the generation of today had
many accomplishments, but that
some shortcomings could cause
them to be classified poorly by
historians.
Perot, who flew gifts and sup
plies to Vietnam in 1969, told a
Memorial Student Center ball
room audience that there was
something about going to war
that affected people.
“If the men who created war
had to carry out war, we wouldn’t
have any war,” Perot added.. “If
the North Vietnamese people had
a vote, do you think they’d want
to keep this thing up?”
It was the first day of SCONA,
and the topic is “Student Re
sponsibility in the ’70’s.” Chair
man Davis Mayfield spoke briefly
on the preparations for the event.
A&M President Jack Williams
hailed Mayfield for his work in
planning the annual activity this
year. He extended a welcome to
all the visitors and expressed
hope that their time spent at
Aggieland would be fruitful.
Perot began his speech by not
ing that the building he was in
was dedicated to Aggies who died
for the country in wars. He said
that he loved the country and
could find no better time to be
alive in this nation. He pledged
his readiness to put his effort in
to making the United States even
greater.
“This country is like a child,”
he explained. “Children are nev
er perfect, just like our country,
but since you love them so much,
you do everything you can to
help them fulfill their potential.”
In speaking of past genera
tions, Perot said that we should
all be grateful, since we would
never have to endure the hard
ships of our forefathers. He said
that if people today were depriv
ed of all modem conveniences,
chances are that we could not
accomplish near as much as our
ancestors did.
Perot then went on to list some
unfavorable aspects of this gen
eration.
The first of these, he said, was
the danger of being classified as
a soft generation. Too many peo
ple do not have the hardships of
early days, so they do not have
the toughness, either.
The second problem was that
so many are expert at recogniz
ing problems, but not in doing
anything about them. He added
that the world needs people who
are willing to roll up their sleeves
and sweat.
“On my grading scale, some
body who just talks about what
is wrong only gets 5 points,” he
said.. “I give 95 to somebody who
goes out and does something.”
Perot’s third analysis was re
lated to arsonists. His remark
about posterity’s recollection of
these individuals earned sponta
neous applause from the audi
ence.
“I think that history will re
cord the people who bum down
ROTC buildings and the Bank of
America branches as arsonists:
nothing more and nothing less.”
An uneducated generation was
his next topic of discussion. He
expressed his dislike of idle pro
testors and lack of action among
those who talk the loudest.
He said that he hopes that in
every audience he speaks to, he
likes to think that there is a
young person there who will make
some contribution to benefit all
of mankind.
He added that it is very impor
tant for everyone to want to leave
a better world for the generation
to follow.
“To leave a better world for
your children, you must remember
one thing,” he said. “It’s 99%
hard work. There are no lesser
mortals around to do it. It’s my
job and it’s your job.
Drugs was the next area which
received Perot’s attention. He de
scribed a user of drugs as hurt
ing all those people around him
who could benefit from that in
dividual’s help.
“We can’t be selfish,” he said.
“We need people with the capa
bility to take care of those who
can’t produce. We must not be
afraid to face a challenge. We
have to be a nation of producers.”
Heroes are definitely a short
coming of what Perot described
as possibly being a “duped gen
eration.”
The fact that such a large num
ber of yesterday’s heroes have
turned out to be so undesirable
proves that we were “conned” by
phony leadership, he said.
“If it’s something that has to
be done, then you and I have to
do it,” he said. “If we do this, then
we are the leaders.”
Perot pointed out that the Unit
ed States used to be a nation of
dreamers, in the optimistic and
confident sense. He added that
they built reality and made it
happen. In summary, he set three
goals for the success of the pres
ent generation.
“We’ve got to love this coun
try,” he said. “We need to de
velop leadership capabilities. Al
so, we must recapture the dream-
ings of before.”
In the question and answer pe
riod, Perot, talking about his ex
pedition to Vietnam a little over
a year ago, noted three purposes
in his trip, of which he was suc
cessful in the first two. First was
to create a situation where the
North Vietnamese would have to
talk to him. Next was to attract
the attention of the world. The
final goal was to get the goods
to the prisoners.
Perot pointed out several meas
ures of success and some tangible
results to his trip. He announced
that 80% of all the mail that
has come from prisoners in seven
years came since his journey.
Another victory was better
treatment of prisoners. Guards no
(See Nation never, page 5)
H. Ross Perot arrives at A&M Wednesday prior to
addressing the SCONA conference here. (Photo by Bob
Barker)
Change requires rationality: Thomas
Fish will choose
sweetheart at ball
A formal ball and the crown
ing of the Freshman Class
Sweetheart will highlight the
coming Freshman Weekend.
The action will start Friday at
8:00 p.m. in DeWare Field House
with a sock dance featuring the
"Cornerstone Blues.”
At 11:00 a.m. Saturday there
will be a catered barbeque—all
you can eat—in Hensel Park.
A reception for the five class
sweetheart finalists, their es
corts, class officers and judges
will be held in the Birch Room
of the Memorial Student Center
at 3:30 p.m.
The Formal Ball that evening
will feature the “Heritage” from
Houston and the crowning of the
1970-71 Freshman Sweetheart.
Tickets for the entire weekend
will cost $8.00, and can be ob
tained at each of the three main
events of the weekend, though
there will be no reduction in
price regardless of which event
the tickets are purchased at.
Decorating crews for the For
mal Ball are needed to work the
day of the dance, class president
Randy Maness has announced.
“We need people to start deco
rating at 5 a.m. Saturday,” Man
ess said; “Anyone who can help
in any way.”
To sign up for the work crews,
freshmen should call Maness at
5-6686 or Richard Chaplin at 5-
4540.
Peace Corps area
to open in MSC
Alpha Phi Omega, national
service fraternity, will be co
operating with the Peace Corps
to sponsor a booth in the Memo
rial Student Center.
The booth, which will be open
through Wednesday, is being
sponsored as part of the APO’s
national service project, Bill
Cronrath, president, said.
The Peace Corps is continuing
to look for liberal arts majors
with skills such as farming, con
struction and nursing, Cronrath
added.
Stanley B. Thomas Jr., deputy assistant secretary for
youth and student affairs of the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare addresses SCONA delegates
Wednesday night. (Photo by Loyd Sneed)
Second board installment
due Tuesday to avoid penalty
The second board installment
for the 1971 spring semester is
due on or before Tuesday in the
Fiscal Office, located in the Rich
ard Coke Building.
Payment is $85 for students on
the 7-day board plan and $76 for
those on the 5-day plan. Failure
to pay by Tuesday results in a
$l-per-day fine, up to $10.
If a student has not paid with
in 10 class days after the day the
installment is due, the Fiscal Of
fice will recommend to Dean of
iStudents James P. Hannigan that
the student be dropped from the
rolls of the university for failure
to pay fees.
By FRAN ZUPAN
Battalion Managing Editor
The tactics of violent confron
tation and non-negotiable de
mands used by reactionaries of
the 1960’s to bring about social
change will not work in the
1970’s, Assistant Secretary of
Youth and Student Affairs Stan
ley Thomas told Student Confer
ence on National Affairs dele
gates Wednesday night.
“For now, it will take much
more than slogans of ‘Right On’
and ‘Do Your Own Thing,’ ” the
Department of Health, Educa
tion and Welfare official told a
crowded Memorial Student Cen
ter Ballroom in SCONA XVI’s
second keynote address.
“It will take more than march
es of 100,000 to Washington one
or two days a year, it will take
more than calling cops ‘pigs,’
throwing bombs or holding a
placard and feeling righteous.”
Solutions to deep-rooted, sto
lidly unyielding problems de
mand a sophisticated and ration
al approach, he said.
A large part of the student
role in this sophisticated analy
sis and action should be played
by student governments, he went
on.
“Regrettably, on many cam
puses, the only thing more obso
lete than an ROTC building is
the student government,” Thom
as said.
“The question became in the
1960’s — is student government
designed to perpetuate the exist
ing relationship between the stu
dent body and other elements or
the university community? Or,
will it serve as the mechanism
which can effectively challenge
the status quo ?
“In the end the questions were
answered because more often
than not student governments
worked tirelessly on such ‘prior
ities’ as dress codes and home
coming queen contests.
“Student government was, and
in many instances still is per
ceived as a tool of the college or
university administration or a
popularity contest—or as an an
achronism.
This should no longer be the
case, he said, since today in most
states in national elections the
voting age has been lowered to
18. Now when a presidential
candidate or a congressman or
senator begins to speak on a
campus, he is talking to poten
tial voters and this reality will
affect not only the outcome of
his candidacy, but also the entire
political environment of the uni
versity, he explained.
“Assuming that many states
also revise voting laws to include
18-year-olds as members of the
electorate, what impact will this
have on the many legislators so
anxious to cut off funds to an
institution after one form of a
demonstration or another?” he
continued.
It is in this context of the edu
cational institution as an impor
tant participant in the communi
ty’s problems that student gov
ernment’s new definition and di
rection must evolve, Thomas
said.
In order for these new tactics
to be successful, students must
realize their inadequacies and
that they are victims of their
backgrounds, Thomas said.
“Effectiveness, responsiveness
and productivity are directly
proportional to the intelligence,
political sophistication and the
interest of the people it (gov
ernment) serves,” he said.
Because hopes sometimes ex
ceed capacities, students often
fail to recognize accomplishment,
he continued.
“In assuming failure, which on
any objective basis would be
considered success, the tendency
to reject the strategy employed
is great,” he said.
Compromises and negotiated
settlements will be the only
roads to social progress, he
stressed.
“This is where you must be
in the forefront,” he told the stu
dents, “challenging the status
quo, realizing your limitations,
(See Change requires, page 5)
SCONA XVI
Tonight
Corps of Cadets Review—5-6 p.m.
Student Panel—8:30-10 p.m. MSC Ballroom
Friday
Fourth Roundtable Session—8:30-11 a.m.
Fifth Plenary Session—2-3:30 p.m.;
Dr. Allan B. Mandelstamm
Fifth Roundtable Session—4-6 p.m.
Minority Report—8-10 p.m.; An Alternative Point of View
Whoops, hisses mar ‘Man your Manners’ discussion
By SUE DAVIS
Battalion Women’s Editor
‘‘When you first meet someone,
you should go someplace where
you can talk.”—extreme amounts
of whooping.
“I don’t like smoking because
it is unhealthy, and I like healthy
guys.”—hollering and sustained
applause.
“When you go parking, remem
ber that there are places to go
and places not to go.”—applause
■—“Be sure and go some place
patrolled by police”—hissing—“so
you will be protected from van
dalism.”—laughter.
The first of four “Man Your
Manners” programs was present
ed by the Student “Y” Associa
tion Wednesday. Six girls, three
from A&M and three from Texas
University National Bank
"On the side of Texas A&M.”
—Adv.
Women’s University (TWU),
served as panelists before a ca
pacity crowd of Aggies.
Representatives from A&M
were Mary Hanak, a junior mar
keting major; Debbie Kennedy, a
freshman math major; and Ken
dra Ward, a freshman math ma
jor. This is the first year A&M
coeds have appeared on the panel.
The girls from TWU were Lin
da McGinness, a junior clothing
and textile major; Barbara Rog
ers, a sophomore elementary and
special education major; and
Honi Wahrumnd, a junior occu
pational therapy major.
Each girl chose a topic to dis
cuss in a 10-minute speech. A
question and answer period was
held after all the girls had spok
en.
Miss Wahrumnd spoke on get
ting to know a girl. She told the
boys in the audience to be honest
and not to expect a great response
at first.
“Be yourself,” Miss Wahrmund
advised.
Letter writing was the subject
of Miss Hanak’s speech. She ex
plained how to write an introduc
tory letter to a girl. A boy should
always tell why he is writing and
try to include a snapshot.
“Don’t be too eager,” she con
cluded.
“Phone calls are almost a ne
cessity,” Miss Rogers said. Call
ing through the operator is more
expensive than dialing direct, she
added. Before a long distance call,
a fellow should make a list of
the things he wants to say so he
does not waste his money.
“The most important thing as
far as appearance goes is clean
liness,” Miss Kennedy stated. The
only important thing about hair
is that it’s clean and well-kept,
she added.
(See Whoops, hisses, page 5)
Aggies react to the Man your Manners presentation Wednesday night. (Photo by Loyd Sneed)
till, mm
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