Listen up
Bike rider wants equipment back
Editor:
Until today, I had great faith
in the idea that “An Aggie does
not lie, cheat, or steal, nor does
he tolerate those that do.” How
ever, today the pump on my bi
cycle was stolen either during
class or during lunch. Not only
that, but the lens on the rear
light was stolen, also. Due to the
nature of their attachment to the
bike, they could not have fallen
off, so they must have been stolen.
If whoever took the pump (I’m
not worried about the lens) has
any common decency, I would like
the pump returned to me.
Brian Ehni ’74
★ ★ ★
Editor:
In the last week or so, the
Batt has been filled with articles
concerning the dismissal of ex
coach Gene Stallings. They have
ranged from several columns by
a pro-Stallings sports editor to
letters-to-the-editor by alumni
and students.
The majority of these people
have said that the firing of Stall
ings was untastefully handled by
the Board of Directors, which is
probably true. However, to say
that by firing Stallings we have
“moved toward an impersonal
mediocre status from which we
may never recover” (Listen Up,
Dec. 7th) just because Gene Stall
ings is a loyal Aggie is being
totally unrealistic. Granted, hav
ing an Aggie as A&M’s football
coach is nice to have, but when
Prisoners return from China
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. <A>) _
An energetic young woman, show
ing few signs of her ordeal, and
an Army civilian employe express
ed wonderment Tuesday at U.S.
technological advances during
their imprisonment by the Chi
nese Communists.
“Have you put any men on
the moon yet?” Mary Ann Har-
bert asked during the 27-hour,
10,000-mile flight that brought
her and Richard G. Fecteau to
the United States following their
release Monday in Hong Kong
by the Chinese Reds.
“I told her yes, we had put
six men on the moon,” said Col.
Leonard W. Johnson Jr., com
mander of the 9th Aeromedical
Evacuation Group at Clark Air
Base in the Philippines.
Johnson, who accompanied
them half-way around the world,
said Miss Harbert told him “I
really don’t know, I hadn’t heard
about it. Many people in China
don’t know that. The last thing we
knew about space was that Rus
sia had something circling the
moon.
The two Americans checked in
to the Valley Forge Military Hos
pital, about 20 miles northwest
of here, then fell exhausted into
their first sleep in freedom.
“I feel great,” said Miss Har
bert, 25, who came home in time
for a Christmastime birthday cel
ebration. She had been held nearly
four years following capture on
a yacht off the mainland in 1968.
“It was a fine trip and I’m
glad to be home,” she said.
Fecteau, of Lynn, Mass., said
he was “very happy” after alight
ing from a helicopter on the
grounds of the hospital. Then he
remained silent over his long or
deal.
Fecteau spent 19 years in
prison, mostly in solitary.
Doctors delayed a physical ex
amination until Wednesday. They
said the two were tired but were
“in good physical condition.”
Over the Pacific, after leaving
Honolulu where the plane crew
bought her an orchid, Miss Har
bert placed a telephone call to
her parents.
Until the Chinese announce
ment of her release, her par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Gene Har
bert of Palo Alto, Calif., had
thought she was dead.
Johnson said it was not known
how long the pair would remain
at the hospital but that “Miss
Harbert probably would be re
leased first.”
“Fecteau will stay some time,”
Johnson said of the 43-year-old
Army civilian employe who along
with John T. Downey, 41, of New
Britain, Conn., were aboard a
plane shot down on a flight from
Japan to Korea in 1952, during
the Korean War.
The Chinese said the two were
on a mission for the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency. The United
States denied the accusations.
Fecteau’s divorced wife, Mar
garet Fecteau, however, said at
her home in Lynn that “the Chi
nese haven’t been lying.”
Miss Harbert, a slight, attrac
tive woman who celebrates her
26th birthday two days after
Christmas, was captured while
sailing in Chinese waters north
of Hong Kong on April 21, 1968.
The Chinese announced in re
leasing Miss Harbert that her
yachting companion, Gerald Ross
McLaughlin, committed suicide on
March 7, 1969.
this same person can only man
age one winning season in seven
years, I think we must begin to
look forward instead of dwelling
in the past.
Gene Stallings is gone, and with
him the hearts of many alumni
who have felt that A&M will
never lose a game if an Aggie
is at the helm. We haven’t “turned
pur backs on a part of A&M” but
instead we have moved forward
in realizing that A&M can and
does occasionally lose football
games. Let’s get behind the new
coach, whether he be an Aggie
or not, and give him the support
that he and the football team
fully deserve.
James Peters
★ ★ ★
Editor:
We wish to express our sincere
gratitude to the young ladies of
Omega Phi Alpha for their ren
ditions of Christmas merriment
Sunday night, Dec. 12. It was a
pleasure to find that they could
set aside time in their schedule
of studies to carol our dorm. We
sincerely wish Omega Phi Alpha,
as well as all Aggies, a merry
Christmas and the happiest of
New Year.
Faron W. Evans ’75
THE BATTALION
Page 2 College Station, Texas Wednesday, December 15,197i
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Peace
CADET SLOUCH
by Jim Earle
In East Pakistan there is a war raging. The nation that has
suffered hurricanes, oppression, starvation and disease is now going
through the throes of a civil war and a war with a neighboring country.
In the morning’s mail there came a letter from Captain Jack E.
Danel. It was a Christmas card saying on the outside of “Season’s
Greetings from South Vietnam.” The inside said “We’re still here, what
are you doing about it?” There was also a newspaper photo of a many
bandoliered man sitting on some olive-drab machine and staring at the
camera.
Somewhere in the highlands of New Guinea a nude black man
climbs a watch tower. He watches for his neighbors, the enemy. If they
and the weather decree it, he and they will meet on the crest of a small
hill and fight. They will launch spears and arrows until either the rain
starts or somebody dies.
And thus it is in the world Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1971.
And thus it has been and seemingly always will be. Thus it is that
nobody seems to care anymore.
It little matters that Christmas is only ten days away, Hannuka
only slightly farther, and other days and celebrations too numerous to
mention. It little matters because the affairs of the world must go on.
It little matters that in a moist and green jungle a man falls
screaming to the ground. The world does not note to any great extent
that thousands died today in Pakistan and that thousands more will die.
Nor does anybody^ except the villagers and perhaps a curious and
saddened anthropologist, note that a child was killed in the highlands of
New Guinea because a death was demanded for revenge.
Since no one seems to care anymore, it might mean that this all
means nothing. It might mean that the dying, the pain and the suffering
are all just happening and must be accepted as the way of things. It
might mean that.
Then, again, it might mean that mankind has taken leave of what
little reason he has left and has seen fit to ignore it all. That he will not
let anything such as another person dying affect him. After all, it is all
far away.
The latter, if there is any truth in this mess, is probably correct. It
is far away.
But what of it? A man is dead, but nobody cares. A thousand are
dead, but nobody cares. A million are dead but nobody cares.
There is little to say about it. But to borrow from Christian
tradition, and those of all other religions, we must say one thing,
thousands of years old but still needed to be known and worked for by
man, including you.
Peace on earth, good will toward men.
Hey kids .... Santa is coming with free gifts for everyone 10 years old
and under. Santa heard that there was going to be a big special
Christmas dinner, December 19, 11:00 - 2 00, at the MSC Cafeteria.
Santa didn’t want to miss it and neither will you. Why not tell Mom
and Dad to bring the whole family for a real Christmas treat.
Now listen, tell Mom to give Santa’s helpers a call and let them know
that you are coming, so that they can tell Santa to load plenty of gifts
on his sleigh when he leaves the North Pole. His special number is
845-2941.
FOR
BEST
RESULTS
‘Remember that big push you were going to make to
bring grades up? It’s about time to start it!”
TRY
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d once a week during summer school.
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EDITOR HAYDEN WHITSETT
Managing Editor Doug Dilley
News Editor Sue Davis
Sports Editor John Curylo
Assistant Sports Editor Bill Henry
STUDENT WRAP
A&M students get your Christmas packages wrapped FREE in Room
102, YMCA Bldg. But hurry, wrapping only lasts till December 17. Buy
your gifts early and wrap with us.
STUDENT Y ASSOCIATION
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