CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle Listen Up
SCOPE raps the Bonfire
“We just got a call from Navasota asking that we turn
down the volume.”
Editor:
What if they gave a bonfire
and no one came ? This is the
only solution left open to those
of us who are opposed to the bon
fire and wish to display that op
position at this late date. We of
SCOPE (Student Council on Pol
lution & Environment) realize
that we can not attack this 30
minutes of pre-town hall activity
on its environmental impact be
cause the trees have already been
cut and are lying dead at the fu
ture sites of cooling lakes for
power plants. But SCOPE wishes
to interject our stand on resource
use. We believe that the resource
should be put to the use which
produces the greatest benefits.
SCOPE feels that the dead logs
could be cut into cords and dis
tributed throughout north Bryan.
There are families living in Bryan
whose main source of fuel for
heating and cooking is wood. Dis
tributing cords of firewood to
these people would be a construc
tive action rather than the de
structive waste of logs on Nov.
24, and all the manpower could
be put to a better end. This con
structive activity could promote
as much, if not more, unity as the
building of the bonfire. What’s
more, the burning firewood in the
homes in north Bryan could dem
onstrate A&M’s continuous desire
to beat TU.
SCOPE would like to ask the
student body, as Dr. Davenport
asked them in a letter last year,
Where are you putting your em
phasis? We are given a day off
to build a manstrosity which will
go up in a cloud of wasted smoke.
Couldn’t our efforts be better
spent? If you think so, then don’t
support this wasteful act with
your presence either at the cut
ting area or at the building area.
Steve Hayes
The international ecology
When I was employed in Gene
va, Switzerland, I was fortunate
enough to be a member of the
United National Planning Com
mittee for the first World Youth
Assembly, which was eventually
held in the United Nations in New
York during the month of July,
1970. Five young persons from
each country in the world were
invited to attend, and participate
in the Assembly. The Assembly
was divided into four commis
sions, one of which was the En
vironment Commission, and to my
knowledge, this was the first time
a world body had even discussed
the environment of the world in
any depth. In a way, it was un
fortunate that is was the young
persons of the world who finally
brought the matter to the atten
tion of the General Assembly, for
our degradation of the environ
ment needed discussing long ago
on the world level, and especially
by the generation most responsi
ble for the despolication.
As a participant in the Assem
bly, I was equally fortunate to
serve as chairman of the Sub
commission on Conservation of
Natural Resources, and, perhaps,
receive, for myself, a better un
derstanding of world youth senti
ment in regard to environment
issues. I would like to use the
rest of this column to share with
you some of the happenings and
impressions of the Assembly, es
pecially the Commission on En
vironment.
There were two primary themes
in the area of the environment:
one was environment in a tech
nological society, and the second,
environment and the developing
countries. The latter was par
ticularly concerned with the ex
ploitation of their natural re
sources by more technologically
advanced countries. It was, as a
delegate of Nigeria noted, “diffi
cult to consider the problems of
any use of natural resources, let
alone conservation, when our re
sources are not being as misused
by our own country, as they are
being removed by foreign coun
tries.” His statement is borne
out by the fact that the United
States alone uses from 30 to 50
per cent of the world’s natural
resources, yet numbers less than
six per cent of the world’s people.
Much of Europe and the Soviet
Union adds further credence to
his statement. A young Philip-
pino woman noted also that a vast
majority of all businesses in her
country were American owned,
and that 90 per cent of her coun
try’s wealth was controlled by
less than five per cent of the
country’s population. Thus, it was
often difficult for developing na
tions to appreciate, in the same
manner, the concern for the en
vironment of those from more
developed nations. Nevertheless,
the Commission was able to gen
erate some very positive proposals
which were eventually sent to the
General Assembly of the United
Nations.
The Commission on Environ
ment called for the nations of
the world to “pursue the trans
fer of resources spent on arma
ments to the needs of development
and international assistance.’ It
also noted that “ . . . since the
continuation of the testing of nu
clear weapons, and the stockpiling
of chemical and biological weap
ons constitute an immediate and
serious threat both to the environ
ment and to the whole mankind,”
an attempt be made to “attain im
mediate cessation of all forms of
nuclear weapon tests.”
The Commission, and ultimately
the World Youth Assembly called
“a review of harmful chemical
substances, radio-active materials,
other noxious agents and waste
which may dangerously affect
man’s health and his economic
and cultural activities in the ma
rine environment and coastal
areas.”
The idealism and altruistic be
havior of the world’s future lead
ers are desperately needed to add
a freshness to the pragmatism
of today’s organizational man.
Beat tu
This year Batt editorials have been distinguished by the fact that
you don’t have to look far to find someone who disagrees with one.
Realizing this, the Batt editor has taken it upon himself to write an
editorial that almost everyone will agree with.
We hope that the Fightin’ Texas Aggie football team beats the
everlivin’, everlovin’, compound, complex, Class of’73 (the editor is a
junior) hell outta tu Thanksgiving Day.
Che Battalion
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EDITOR ' HAYDEN WHITSETT
Managing Editor Doug Dilley
News Editor Sue Davis
Sports Editor John Curylo
Assistant Sports Editor Bill Henry
A tradition can change for the
better and only the student body
can affect this change. You have
the power, demonstrate it!
The officers of SCOPE,
Steve Esmond
Melissa Seminara
John Bane
Fletcher Kelley
Alana Foster
Andy Beck
★ ★ ★
Editor:
Isn’t anyone alarmed when a
professor announces that he’s go
ing to curve test grades ? And
doubly alarmed by the cheer that
goes up from the class? It seems
to me that these are symptoms
of a decline in our educational
standards that we should seek
to reverse.
I’m an older dude, as under
graduates go. Nearly 39, if you
must know. Coming here was a
dream come true for me: At last
a full-time college student with
my degree in sight. But a college
degree has taken on a new mean
ing for me. I hope to be able to
have pride and respect for my
own education, but I shall never
again have automatic admiration
and esteem for college grads.
A major exam I recently took
illustrates my point. I wasn’t well
prepared for it and was frankly
concerned about how well I would
do. I pulled an 80, which was an
accurate indication of how well
I knew the material. Well darned
if it wasn’t the highest mark in
the class (of about 120 students)
and the curve made a real hero
out of me.
At first blush I felt pretty
smug. But it now occurs to me
that this system cheats the stu
dent, the university and the out
side world, including employers,
who look at transcripts with the
impression that A = excellent,
B = good and C = average.
It isn’t awfully ridiculous to
suggest that we present the uni
versity with a lump-sum check
for eight semesters of school ex
penses and. receive our degrees
then and there — thereby saving
everyone four years of grief.
Maybe that’s where academic
evolution is taking us anyway.
I’d like to see curves replaced
by honest, reasonable and faiy
evaluations of how hard a student
tries and how much he has learn
ed from a course. The measuring
stick should be what the profes
sor expects us to know, not how
much we know in relationship to
the rest of the class.
My concern isn’t for the uni
versity, or for other students, or
for employers. I am afraid for
myself, that I might be infected
by this system which corrupts
ambition and promotes medioc
rity. I want my education to mean
something, and it’s hard—damned
hard—to shoot for a 100 when an
80 will get you an A.
L. J. Lawrence ’73
4 C’ Thanksgiving
schedule released
Memorial Student Center serv
ices will be provided Thursday
for patrons of the A&M-Texas
football game, then close the re
mainder of the Thanksgiving holi
day.
However, most MSC services
will continue through Thursday,
according to Garmon F. Tax, fa
cility schedules manager. Only the
post office windows, barber shop
and general offices will close
Thanksgiving Day.
Facilities remaining open until
normal closing hours Thursday
include the Association of Former
Students office, cafeteria, foun
tain room, gift shop, guest rooms,
browsing library and director’s
office.
The entire center will close Fri
day, Saturday and Sunday.
Page 2
THE BATTALION
College Station, Texas Tuesday, November 23J
Read Battalion Classif
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Members of the Commission
were very well prepared to dis
cuss present agricultural prac
tices, and called for an ecologist
to be included in agricultural aid
programs to avoid practices detri
mental to the environment. I
found it particularly comforting
that although most of the dele
gates came from, what are often
called, developing countries, they
nevertheless placed a high value
on environment, and spoke with
exceptional foresight into the
value of such an environment.
Too, the Assembly called for
world family planning and re
search to be undertaken immed
iately, to determine the concept
of ultimate population. The
world body also called on the
Pope to review his encyclical, and
“thus permit the unfettered ex
ercise of the consciences of in
dividual Catholics with regard to
use of contraceptives.” It was
also recommended “that in plan
ning development programs be
sides concentrating on the politi
cal expediency and economic
necessity for development pro
jects, adequate consideration be
given to their social and ecological
implications.
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The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is
published in College Station, Texas, daily except Saturday,
Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods, September through
May, and once a week during summer school.
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