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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1973)
Student Idea Killed If there ever was an exercise in futility, it was one trip by T. Mark Blakemore and Tom Locke to Austin Wednesday to lobby for a bill that would allow students on college regent boards. , The bill was killed in the Senate State Affairs Committee, by none other than Bryan Democrat Bill Moore, our senator who seems bent on not taking into consideration the thoughts and ideas of students or his constituency. Chairman Moore told the pair that he didn’t think students should be on the A&M Board of Directors until “you get to be good friends of the governor’s,” at which time he noted he would graciously vote for their appointment. Moore continued, saying that students should have but one basic objective in attending a college, that being to get an education and get out. In the same breath he said a student might be concerned with who “he’s going to have a date with this weekend.” As a footnote to his authoritative oratory, Moore said his son has attended three colleges and still doesn’t think he would be quahfied to serve on any one of the boards. Backing quarterback Moore on the stand is former A&M Board member and now Senator Peyton McKnight. McKnight feels students have no business running the University since only one or two issues a year concern students. He added to his determined opinion, quipping that students aren’t qualified for a position of the sort and that he sometimes thinks board members themselves aren’t qualified. So there you have it, on one side students are in a political vacuum while on the other, they don’t know enough to scratch their heads. Either way, students have come out on the short end of the stick. To some degree we agree with statements made by McKnight about being here not to run the University. After all, it did exist before we arrived here and will probably continue to do so without our help after we leave. But we do believe that some sort of ex-officio arrangement should be worked out under which a student representative would have direct input to the Board on matters that concern students directly, not every facet of the University’s operations. We salute Bill Moore’s “courageous” stand on this issue which resulted in its being killed by sending it to a sub-committee chaired by McKnight and the membership of three others who oppose the matter. It won’t do any good to write or be concerned, because Moore has insulated himself from his constituency, doing what he wants without thinking of others. Good luck with the students at Prairie View and Sam Houston, Mr. Mar i j liana (Pot Or N' The Texas House is now considering a retroactive bill that would make first offense marijuana possession a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of six months in jail and $1,000 fine. Meanwhile the Senate Jurisprudence Committee will debate a bill punishing possession of up to four ounces of marijuana with a maximum seven day jail term and $200 fine. We feel that state legislators should take a step back and consider what reasons justify marijuana’s criminalization before deciding possession penalties. In the 1930s marijuana use was largely confined to urban ghettos and the drug became associated with violent crimes and other social deviances. It was in this “Reefer Madness” era that the federal government imposed the Marijuana Tax Act and states enacted anti-marijuana laws. Since that time medical research has determined that marijuana tends to inhibit, rather than stimulate, aggressive behavior. Marijuana’s effects on the body are temporary and small compared to its legal counterpart, alcohol. It does not kill brain cells, lead to sclerosis of the liver, or cause agonizing hangovers. Unlike tobacco, it is completely non-narcotic. The President’s National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse reported that there is no evidence the experimental or intermittent use of marijuana causes physical or psychological harm. The commission also threw water on the “pot leads to heroin” theory. It reported that “an overwhelming number” of marijuana users do not move on to harder drugs. In light of medical research, the social effects of pot smoking on the American way of life must be a major argument of anti-marijuana legislators. Understandably, a coin operated marijuana machine next to the Academic Building bell or in City Hall could detract from a scholastic or working atmosphere. However, it can’t be said that marijuana, legalized the way alcohol is, will lead to a race of apathetic, degenerate flower children who spend their lives walking about flashing the two-fingered peace sign. The question then arises: Are the marijuana laws a feeble attempt at legislating personal morality (feeble in that 24 million Americans have reportedly tried marijuana and 8.3 million are classified as users), or do they stand against the stereotyped lifestyle of the marijuana sub-culture? Or, as some claim, is this an attempt of a hypocritical majority to defend its own drug use? In any event, the criminalization of marijuana has not been adequately justified. Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of tne article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Directors. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a University and Community 7iewspaper. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed and shoiv the address of the writer. Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is blished in College Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, nday, Monday, and holiday periods, September through May, and once a week during summer school. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. MEMBER The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Mail subscriptions are $3.50 per semester; $6 per school year; $6.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatchs credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim Lindsey, chairman ; Dr. Tom Adair, Dr. R. A. Albanese, Dr. H. E. Hierth, W. C. Harrison, J. W. Griffith, L. E. Kruse and B. B. Sears EDITOR - MIKE RICE News Editor Rod Speer Sports Editor Bill Henry Assistant Sports Editor Kevin Coffey Coeds Can Now Save Money On Beauty Needs Shop At • Coiffures & Wigs Manor East Mall 822-1539 • Lady Fair 1921 Texas 822-1711 Discounts Up To 15'; (Student Purchase Program) Ponderosa Specials • Friday Evening Fish Fry — $2.00 • Sunday Noon Lunch $2.00 • Special Weekend Rates for Parents & Students Call 846-5794 Ponderosa Motor Inn Page 2 THE BATTALION College Station, Texas Thursday, April 26, 1973 CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle ft' mmi m irtsit! sidp & IT’S A MIRACLE TO SNATCH LIFE FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH! BUT THAT’S PRECISELY WHAT THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST DID. AND THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE ARE ATTACHED TO HIM BY FAITH! NEW LIFE! WE GLORY IN IT! LIFE IN THE FACE OF DEATH! LIFE DEFYING DEATH! A PERSON LIVES LIKE THAT! Glory in the new life in Christ with us Sunday at 10:45 a. m. and/or 6:00 p. m. lus Bui UNIVERSITY LUTHERAN CHAPEL 315 N. 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