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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 1973)
Pa^e 2 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1973 Listen Up Intolerance, Bigotry Cited as Unnecessary Elements By DAVIDS In 1947, A1 nother 19-y< iiture. Editor: In a discussion of whether A&M should have a gay liberation soci ety or not, Biblical quotations are irrelevant. By the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, we have sepa ration of church and state in our country. TAMU is a state-sup- ported school, and policies con cerning the school should not be considered in the light of religious convictions. In the quotation re ferenced by Messz-s. Williamson and Use, I Corinthians 6:9-10, drunkards are mentioned as well as homosexuals. I wonder if Messrs. Williamson and Use openly condemn drinking by Corps members and other TAMU stu dents. If something such as gay libera tion is not to be allowed some val id reason must be given for this exclusion. What grounds other than religion can be used for this exclusion? Abnormality? I think not. As a psychology graduate student, I think I can safely say that there is virtually no behavior that is in and of itself abnoz'mal. As a believer in liberty, I think it must be demonstrated that a be havior is directly harmful to oth ers before it can justifiably be deemed undesirable and hence ex cluded from society. Homosexual ity directly harms no one. In fact, more often than not it is society that hurts the homosexual. Just as homosexuality is not in and of itself undesirable, neither are conservatism or libebralism. Unfortunately for conservatism it all too often stagnates and when it stagnates, intolerance and big otry are bred. Mr. Williamson and Mr. Use, do we really need more intolerance and bigotry? Isn’t there enough in the world al ready? Shouldn’t the Corps be an example of tolerance of the free dom of choice, that freedom our armed services are bound to de fend ? Douglas E.E Mould ★ ★ ★ Editor: Hopefully, the students at this university have been reading this paper lately. Several very perti nent points have been brought to light by Battalion Editor Mike Rice and N. Medina. We are, first and foremost, an educational institution. This does not, however, appear to be the case with those who are staunch traditionalists. Preservation of tradition seems to be the main purpose for being here for many, and the word “change” seems to hold certain treasonable qualities which are not to be tolerated. Granted, change for change’s sake is totally unacceptable, but ac cepting tradition for tradition’s sake is equally wrong. Certainly, there is a place for honorable and revered traditions, but when violent action is asserted to perpetuate their existence, their necessity becomes questionable. It is also regrettble that stu dents at TAMU cannot take a joke. The Rice band’s halftime show was meant only in jest; however, some of the Aggies present chose to take themselves, and theirtra- ditions, too seriously. We are not a holy institution, nor are our traditions religiously sacred, and nothing is too sacred, or hallowed, to have fun poked at it, (especially Texas A&M, already the butt of hundreds of “Aggie jokes”). The Rice band has every right to perform any halftime show they please, as long as they do not infringe upon anyone’s rights. Needless to say, our rights were not encroached upon, and the at tack on the band was totally un called for, while the behavior of irate Aggies, and former Aggies, was quite poor. What seems to have aggravated the situation even more is the fact that A&M was losing. This, unfortunately, is very little justification for our at tack on the “Mob”. It would have been best to sim ply laugh it off as a joke; and it might be good to remember at the Texas A&M-Rice basketball games that “might does not make right”-and neither does tradition. John R. Temperilli ’76 ★ ★ ★ Editor: Re: Robert W. Daily’s in “Listen Up” Dec. 11 Mr. Dally, I am ap palled by your narrow thinking. You seem to have forgotten that we live in a society that supposed ly allows a free exchange of ideas. We also live in rapidly changing 'ALL DRESSED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO! Bait Commentary True Men While many students having- been debating the pros and cons of the ingredients that make a “True Ag,” we have found about five people that truly fit into this category. Through the efforts of these people, the lives of two construction workers were probably saved Thursday and thanks should be heaped upon these fine humanitarians. The Harris County men received severe burns that morning when a welding spark caused an explosion and fire in a fuel line being installed on campus. They were taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan before being transferred to a burns hospital in the Houston area. We have only found out the names of two individuals who helped put out the blazes on the bodies of the two men. These two life-savers are Edmund Feldman and Charles Blackwell, both workers in the dining facility. They were aided by three students in their efforts, which included knocking the men down on the ground to smother the fire risking burning themselves. Blackwell gives credit to the student who was thought ful enough to run to Sbisa and grab a fire extinguisher which was emptied by the first-aiders in their efforts on one of the men. Feldman used his own coat to smother the blaze on the other man. For one burned man, 45 per cent of his skin was burned, while the other had about 75 per cent of his body burned. In either case, the pain was excrutiating. We know that the burned men will be eternally grate ful for the efforts and life-saving attempts by all involved. Additionally, we are proud to know that there are people at TAMU who will help. They may or may not have been students here, but all involved should be labeled “True Ags,” if there are such people. All of us should have a lesson to learn from this, too: actions always speak louder than words. Cbe Battalion opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is <A* «■ «t ‘I* of rtf «*rtr and are not KEg? necessarily those of the University administration or May, and once a week during summer school. the Board of Directors. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a MEMBER University and Community newspaper. The Associated Press, Texas Press Association LETTERS POLICY Mail subscriptions are $3.50 per semester; $6 per school Leuers to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building; College Station, longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit Texas 77843. such letters and does not guarantee to publish any r- i i si si - j j; si jj The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for letter. Each letter must be signed and show the address reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it or not of the writer. otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, ^tuer ° f reproduction of aI1 other Room 217, Services Building, College station, Texas Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. 77843. " EDITOR MIKE RICE Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim 4 aciatant to +Vio ElHitnn T?orl Sooor Lindsey, chairman; Dr. Tom Adair, Dr. R. A. Albanese, Dr. Assistant to tne JMllLOr ItOQ opeer H. E. Hierth, W. C. Harrison, Randy Ross, T. Chet Edwards, Managing- Editor Greg MOSeS and Jan Faber. News Editor T. C. Gallucci Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising ^P° P ^®^^ r ‘'' Services. Inc, New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. A.SS t. Sports iiiClltor led Jt>OriSKie times. Criticism of the “system” is necessary to facilitate reason able change, and if the university does not change as society changes, it will become an ob solete institution. You have said you have matured since being in the Corps, but if you cannot tolerate change or criticism of the status quo, you still have a long way to go. I personally support tradit ions where they contribute to the friendly spirit of A&M. One of the main things that impressed me about A&M was that it was a friendly school with rich, meaningful tradit ions. However, some students seem to have used traditions as an excuse to vent hostile feelings. I hate to think that violence, hostility, intolerance, and coercion should be included among the traditions of A&M. Your letter indicates as much to me. Friendliness and a tolerant attitude toward differences of opinion is much more becoming to a great university like A&M. Ricci Wilson ’76 ★ ★ ★ Editor: The Texas Aggies have play ed Houston Baptist College and South West Texas State Univer sity at G. Rollie White in two good basketball games. The first game had an attendance of 5,000 plus while second game had only 3,000 plus spectators. The Coli seum should be packed full of Ag gies supporting their team. The basketball team needs your sup port. Come to the next game and yell for the Aggies. Kathy McGowan ★ ★ ★ Editor: In reference to your comments quoted in the Daily Texan and the Battalion, thanks for your valiant efforts to make Texas A&M first among progressive, liberal univer sities in all ways. Our campus is growing, our academic stature is constantly improving, and now your crusading, like a cancerous growth which eventually kills it self through its own rampant pro gression, will bring us charging out of the “dark ages”, strong and ever growing, devouring everything in sight, stopping for nothing, with no regard for those in its path. However, if cancer is detected early enough it can be cut out and discarded, possibly allowing the body to become strong and alive once again. For the sake of TAMU, I hope someone finds a keen-edged scalpel quick. Dave Fette ’74 ★ ★ ★ Editor: Recent figures released by the Environmental Protection Agency indicate the general trend for mil eage of 1974 automobiles as a function of vehicle weight. For ex ample, a 2,250 lb. vehicle can ex pect 22mpg, a 3,000 lib. vehicle 15 mpg, a 4,000 lb. vehicle 10.5 mpg, and a 5,000 lb. vehicle 9 mpg. Any serious fuel conservation legislat- Holiday Parking Lot Announced Private automobiles that will be left on campus over the Christ mas break should be placed in Parking Lot 9 asked University Police Chief O. L. Luther. Motor cycles should be parked in this area also. By concentrating vehicles in the same area Luther said his depart ment can offer a greater degree of security and protection to the vehicles. Luther recommended that stu dents who plan to leave their bi cycles on campus during the holi days place them in their dormitory rooms. He added that all University- owned vehicles should be parked in Parking Lot 9 when not in use between Friday and January 2. ion should penalize the driver of a low mileage vehicle. I for one look forward with glee to the day when my motorcycle and I re- cieve the same gasoline ration as the driver of a decadent, gasoline guzzling, Cadillac land yacht. Mark Lenz ’73 ★ ★ ★ Editor: I would like to express my sin cere regards concerning a recent addition to the administration of your university. I am referring to newly ap pointed Vice President of Student Services, Dr. John J. Koldus, III. I am a doctoral student at East Texas State University and have known Dr. Koldus since 1966. My contact with him in many capa cities and on numerous occasions qualify me to make an adequate assessment of his qualities. I have known Dr. Koldus in his official capacity as an administrator. I have also known him as the super visor of my practicum experience. I have sat with him often as a member of the student leadership group which he sponsored. I have also had the privilege of a person al contact with him that tran- sended our official relationships. I have come to appreciate the virtues of this man. Dr. Koldus combines the qualities of an effi cient administrator with those of a warm humanitarian. While at ETSU he formulated and super vised complicated programs, but he never lost sight of the i of the individual student. “1 had a jol the food Jidn’t finish hi I have been assisted greatlyt,| t about the this man. As an international stt. dent, I have found him sensitki to my culture and eager to sent as a cultural translator. At timi he has advised me, at other time he has interpreted me to ott and others to me, and often has understood me when ofcrs found it too difficult. To this I own much of the progress I hi been able to make and muck what I hope to accomplish in tli future. Men such as Dr. Koldus are rare, but they are desperately needed especially in the education. Texas A&M University is extremely fortunate to h this man in its administration, Bah ram Nouyan Commerce Boyett Fire Destroys House Refrigerators Due Refrigerator distributor Larry Dooley announced that students wishing to return units may do so Thursday between 7:30 and 9 p. m. at the basement of the old hospital. Dooley noted that there will be a charge for machines not re turned on time or if he has to pick them up. A dog was the only casultyoi a general alarm fire at 402 Boy ett Tuesday afternoon. The fire was extinguished at about 6:45 p. m. by the College Station Fire Department Chief Douglas Landua said that three fire trucks were used and that the house was totally de stroyed. No one was injured in the fire that began in a locked apart ment. Ali Chowdhury was one of the ten tenants of the house present when the fire broke out. He man aged to get a few of his clothes out but everything else was lost, Dr. Bardin H. Nelson, a profes sor in the Sociology Department is the owner of the house. He was called away from his home where he was having a party to witness the fire. Bent Y ras right at tl nd there were 11 decided t He joined ay of $78 etired, a mast large of food "When 1 gc i8 a montl ombined pay Wymola m I time. For continues heck equivale inal base pa :ost-of-living ;etting close t< In view iconomy, the leginning to 1 oday’s youth. A survey ntes in the I magazine four nents in som graduating set porate recruit ;one.” Untraii must often i weeks to obt the present i tilings worse. In 1973, Get Exj Looking GIVE For A Christmas Gift For The Man Of The House? HIM A GOLF COURSE.... ■riii !** • ipniB-wssn fHH* «** Semester memberships to the newly reopened TAMU Golf Course are now available. Play now through May for: TAMU Faculty, Staff and Former Students $40.00 TAMU Students $21.50 Guests $53.50 Equipment to improve your golfer’s game is available at the TAMU Golf Clubhouse. Major lines include — Wilson, Spalding, MacGregor, First Flight, Titleist — sold only through pro shops. Also windbreakers, shag bags, um brellas, gloves, carts and balls. By CAROL It was 3 meeting was :oom of the chased by Mi One by one t old firef from outside the cracks be Mr. and Houston dur house is a \ 1 in 19 Brazos. The 1 a number o an to run “We deck weekend hor Houston, esp said Paschtag own 130 acn )0 an acre. “We bou| ment investm when we can Mrs. J< salesman. Th their 64 acre community neighbor. 1 in 1970. The Mi and veget neighbors t Like tl Mikulka h< disrepair tl to return t Accord director c Research tepresenta lor urban rural areas, “A lot country. 1 tecreatioi too fa there involved Weekdays 10-5 Closed Wednesdays ANTIQUES Open Sunday 1 708 South Bryan Street 713-823-7031 \