The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 08, 1977, Image 2

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 08, 1977, Image 2

Newspaper Page Textage Page 2 THE BATTALION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1977 •T- 5vS Via) ^ab o s Cex OC Til . jipl ind ip-'t squ is.i cbfi tal: A.& tio sit m< E> to) be pl ic A: ei 'tl -n it k T -1 1 .1 Opinion/Commentary/Letters 51 Bullish politics on the Brazos •fTi JL Senator William Moore’s (D- Bryan) uproar about some guber natorial appointments to the Texas A&M University Board of Regents was apparently a political move hav- a column by the editor mg little to do with his opinion about the legality of the selections. Moore's motives, at first, seemed to have maybe been genuine con cern that subtle political ploys were being foisted on the innocent people of this state by the governor. But more recent political de velopments lead one to believe that M oore knows where the power lies, and that he was busy carrying out his own political ploys all the while. The following seemingly discon nected points shed a little light on; the matter when considered to gether. Point: The three-member State Banking Board last September voted to allow the First State Bank of Hearne to move to Bryan. Point: James L. Lindsey of Col lege Station was one of the two banking board members who voted for the move. Lindsey, an appointee of Gov. Preston Smith, has served for the last four years even though his term expired on Jan. 31, 1973. Point: Moore’s financial and bank ing friends in Bryan/College Station were unhappy with the move of the Hearne bank to Bryan. Point: Governor Dolph Briscoe appointed two Houston men to the Texas A&M Board of Regents on Jan. 11. One of them was Dr. John Coleman, a black man. Point: Moore, also on Jan. 11, said Coleman would have trouble in Senate confirmation hearings if a report that he had heard was true. Moore said he had heard that Col eman was appointed as a political favor to blacks who had supported State Democratic Chairman Calvin Guest of Bryan in his bid for reelec tion to that post last September. Guest was Briscoe’s choice for the position. Point: Moore’s showdown with the governor continued when in mid-January he teamed with Senator Peyton McKnight (D-Tyler and a former Texas A&M regent) in contending that Briscoe ignored a 1913 state law requiring University regents to be selected from different areas of the state, and that the gov ernor’s latest appointments left three men on the Board from Hous ton. McKnight asked for an attorney general’s opinion on the legality of the selections. Point: On Jan. 26, Briscoe ap pointed a man to serve out the re maining six days of Lindsey’s term and an additional two-year term of his own on the State Banking Board. Point: Lindsey has been elimi nated (assuming the Senate con firms the new man). It will be interesting to see if op position by Moore to either of the Houston men’s appointments to the A&M board will materialize during Senate confirmation hearings or if Moore’s motives in raising the ques tions have already been fulfilled. Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not neces sarily those of the University administration or the Board oj Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a uni versity and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. 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, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rates furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches cred ited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Jerry Needham Managing Editor James Aitken Assignments Editor Rusty Cawley Features Editor Lisa Junod News Editor Debby Krenek News Assistant Carol Meyer Photography Director Kevin Venner Sports Editor Paul Arnett Copy Editor Steve Reis Reporters George Maselli, Paul McGrath, Lynn Rossi, John Tynes, Lee Roy Leschper Jr., Mary Hesalroad, Jan Bailey Asst. Photo Editors Tracie Nordheim, Mike Willy Sp^ \ SPRING CUSTOM PORTRAIT SALE ✓ The Entire Month Of February BUY THE FIRST PRINT AT THE REGULAR PRICE AND GET A SECOND PRINT THE SAME SIZE FREE Must Be Photographed in February & Ordered by March 15 APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY 846-8019 university studio 115 college main NORTHGATE Ml!!! Men’s Corduroy Vested Suits 25% OFF Reg. $80.00 All Jackets 25% OFF Denim, Corduroy & more, Short lengths & long lengths ALL SALES FINAL! TOP DRAWER 1705 Texas Ave. S. Culpepper Plaza Hours 9-6 Daily Capital punishment on Pro By JOLESLEY BURKE and MARK ELAM “If I feel like murder, it doesn’t necessarily matter who gets mur dered.’’ Gary Gilmore Recent controversy over the sub ject of capital punishment is said to have arisen directly as a result of the case of Gary Gilmore. Some people would have us believe that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute a man who fired a bullet into the head of a 24-year-old father as he was forced to kneel with his back turned. Or when the same man only days later forced a 25-year-old motel clerk to lie face down on the floor and then shot hin in the head. It seems as though too many people are losing sense of what cruelty ac tually is. These same people would also have us believe that the criminal is not actually responsible for his ac tions and that “harsh” punishment only serves to increase the problem. Instead of punishing a criminal with a penalty equivalent to his crime, we are told that he should be treated with compassion so as to re habilitate him. We are told that the true cause of criminal actions is not a result of his moral depravity or criminal nature, but rather, in most cases, a result of an impoverished environment. Therefore if poverty is the true cause of the criminal’s actions, it would follow that to re duce crime one would only have to end poverty. Unfortunately, the facts do not bear this theory out. One of the least crime-prone periods in Ameri can history was during the Great Depression. In 1933, crimes against the person stood at 150 per 100,000. As prosperity shot upward after the war, crime rose by 70 per cent. During the 1960’s, government wel fare spending increased from 50 bil lion to 171 billion and the median family income rose from $5600 to $9900. According to the theory of fered, crime should have been greatly reduced, yet the actual re sults are just the opposite. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the number of major crimes almost tripled. In short, crime rate in America de creased in times of poverty and rose dramatically during periods of es calating prosperity. During recent years we have seen a tremendous expansion of defen dants’, or murders’, rights. But as one prosecuting attorney stated. crime; neither lesser nor greater. Only when a criminal receives punishment greater than his crime can it truly be considered cruel and unusual. Many people base their argument that capital punishment is wrong upon the pretext of the sixth com mandment — which, in the King James version reads, “Though shall not kill.” They construe this to mean that nobody has a right to kill at all. But even with this interpretation they immediately have to turn around and make certain allowances such as in the case of war, self de fense, etc. This is a misinterpreta tion of a command that literally reads, “Thou shall do no murder.” (Matthew 19:18). Anyone who bases their argument against capital punishment on the Bible will find numerous verses in the Old and New Testaments that “demand” the death penalty for murder. “Whoso shed- deth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” Genesis 9-6. Despite any argument to the op posite, evidence shows that the de crease in the number of executions has been directly proportional to the increase in both the number of murders and crimes in the last four decades. In the 1930’s, more than 1,600 prisoners were executed in America. Almost 1,300 were exe cuted in the 1940’s and only 717 in the 1950’s. At this time the cam paign against capital punishment began to reach its peak and by 1968 the number fell to 15. Since 1968 there has been one execution. The facts show that there was a downward trend in the number of murders during the period between the 1930’s and 1950’s when execu tions were being carried out with some regularity. For example, from 1935 to 1940 the number of homicides fell from 10,587 to 8,329 and continued to declime to 7,418 in 1955. As the 1960’s came and the death penalty was phased out, mur ders began to rise quickly. In 1968, the last year someone was executed there were 12,000 murders — by 1971, 16,183 murders and by 1972, 18,500. Thus, since capital punish ment was abolished, we have seen the number of homicides more than double. The answer to this tremendous increase in murder is not the crea tion of new laws or “reforms,” but rather the actual administration of justice. Since 1960 there have been 150,000 new laws created in the United States and crime has dou bled. The reinstatement of the death penalty is a necessity if the Con ‘Who is there to speak for that poor inpoyent American is to be victim lying six feet under.” When a safeguarded. We must reaffirm the first degree murderer in New York state can get off with as little as an eighteen-month sentence as punishment for taking the life of another, there is obviously a defi ciency in our administration of “true” justice. The fact that two-thirds of all crimes committed in our country today are by repeat offenders tells us that both our methods of punishment and our enforcement of law-and-order leave much to be de sired. A person who commits a crime, whether it is be murder or a lesser crime, should be punished with a penalty equivalent to his basic moral truth that no man will be permitted to violate what is in violable; that being an innocent human life. In the words of Ernest Van de Haag, “If we believe in the sanctity of life we can keep it sacred by making it clear to anyone who deprives someone else of life that his own life will be forsaken.” Jolesley Burke is a sophomore for estry major and is president of Texas Aip-M Young Americans for Free dom. Mark Elam is a sophomore political science major and is vice- president of Texas A<b-M Young Americans for Freedom. OPEN 10 "7 .04 “SAT. Reg. 6.98 List LPs Reg. 7.98 List Tapes 4" 5" BUDGET PINK FLOYD SPECIALS These Pink Floyd LPs (Reg. 4.99) This Week -- — $399 “Wish You Were Here” “Dark Side of the Moon” “Meddle” Import LPs T-Shirts PINK FLOYD SUPER SPECIAL The New “Animals” LP Reg. 7 98 List LP This Week Only $459 Blank Tapes & Accessories PARAPHERNALIA February issue of “Rolling Stone” now in stock. Small Ads... Big Results! CLASSIFIED ADS! and By PHILLIP ROBINSON PAUL MUELLER In recent months, capital punishment has become the object of increasing national concern — and controversy. The debate has been intensified by the execution of Gary Gilmore in Utah a few weeks ago. We are opposed to the present system of capital punishment in the United States, not only for moral reasons, which will not be dealt with here, but on legal and ethical grounds as well. Possibly the strongest objection to capital punishment today is a Constitutional one. The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitu tion prohibits the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishments” on crim inals. This clause, like much of the Constitution, is subject to interpre tation of its precise meaning; how ever, since death is the most ir reversible sanction that society can use against an offender, it seems clear that the state-ordained taking of life is both cruel and unusual. As yet, no conclusive evidence has been produced to suggest that the death penalty deters crime of any kind. On the other hand, it has not been shown to be ineffective. The lack of definitive support for either side of the controversy stems from the lack of sufficient informa tion concerning the dissuasive effect of this penalty. A measure as drastic as execution should not be em ployed in the absence of reliable facts. Murder, whether committed by one citizen against another or by the state against a citizen, is still mur der. As a consequence, all persons involved in the process of capital punishment must also become par ties to murder, a fact that many Unit people will be unwilling to« The death penalty shoii! abolished, at least in its pi form, because of the glaringi sistency with which it is al KANSAS tered. Before the recent exet nericans in Utah, more than nine passed since the last execuBi this country, despite the fad criminals were, and still are,| jod press sion, cai acks and recent sentenced to death. There definite policy stating who! he sentenced to death, anil once sentenced, should acta! un, cond executed. Without such a pi msas Me these questions are decided!)) maneuvering and judicial rather than by an equally-enl law. Rather than continuing wij day’s unfair use of capital pi ment, we suggest a differed proach — that of rehabiliti! istonein Americas prison system is grace — rather than servingto punish offenders and makefile! sponsible citizens, it most of the opposite effect, serving ther their criminal educatim make them even more bitt rebellious toward society way must be found to breal cycle and turn the prisons places where offenders can be into useful citizens. Author’s note: This editoriJ -h blood] If unfoiw nt of Coi ed the e) Doctors ■own Cen and c re of peop rsons wh ;h blood ery 10 w re knew: The exhi gh blood ] middle ex design, contains no quotes fri Bible. Being the large andcoi work that it is, the Biblecanbt has been) used to support pi cally any position imaginable eluding such practices as slavery, and witch-burning,! Idustrial also that no statistics were these too can be improperly ulated when dealing with anil this nature. Phillip Robinson is a jum ogy major from Port Arthur. Mueller is a junior hioloi from Houston and a feature TO More tl ichers an frge on ib. 24-21 :eting an Featurec be Dr :iate dii iiversity’ Id past pi for The Battalion Slouch iustrial flj.s pub by Jim Earl|l' Feb ' consu art-Willc own just mt of tb dustrial d was t ucation stinguisl Brown’s udent Yell leaders criticized Loans fo le to gr fore gra inn of tl Pice. The loa ill have aduatior ite form ess of th on and g The ap wed by Editor: I am writing for a number of Aggie Exes who attended the A&M-TCU basketball game in Fort Worth. We were shocked at the lack of leadership displayed by our yell leaders. They led us in only one yell throughout the entire game. Even when our team was down, and the momentum was shifting to the TCU team, they still refused to have a yell. I then noticed some former students approach the head yell leader and consult with him about the situation. The yell leaders finally conceded, and we had our one and only yell. And as we did the yell, I noticed a few of our players turned and looked in our direction. They wanted us to support them but wondered, as we did, why more yells weren’t carried out. A brief discussion with two of the yell leaders after the game shocked us again. They said yells were not carried out during games on the road because of the lack of students present. What kind of rationaliza tion is this? Former students look forward to doing yells and, it or not, we haven’t forgottti |] ^ words. Of tho: g* One, in particular, was t example of a yell leader. Hels against the wall with his hands pockets during the majority game. We directed this to his tion after the game and his| must have been hurt, as I taliated with a few choice letter’ words. Is this anyway! to former students who send contributions to their school year? During the last ten years I' tended the A&M-TCU game!) Worth and this was the first fe few yells were given. There large turnout of Aggies, as tis : the spirit was in the stands, b« evident in our yell leaders future yell leaders will real) Exes still know how to “hu id. The sh -Richard K. Fenog —C. H. —Clay H, THE DIAMOND ROOM’S STANDARD OF EXCELLENC And now one-day setting service. Plus a special price on Aggie diamond rings. Carl Bussells ~iamond Room 3731 E. 29th Town & Country C^' 846-4708

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 08, 1977, Image 2

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