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Page 2
THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1977
Gays seek social recognition
Quadrangle was informing its readers
Editor:
In the Tuesday editorial — “A call
for student parties” — The Battalion
and Mr. Jerry Needham have im
plied that the Corps of Cadets “bloc
voted.”
The basis for this suspicion, ap
parently, lies in the results of last
week’s elections. Of the 47 executive
and senate positions for which mem
bers of the Corps were eligible to
campaign, Corps members were
elected outright to 26 seats.
It should be pointed out that 87
people (both Corps and civilians) ran
for these 47 places. Of these 87, 44
were Corps members — roughly 50
per cent of those who were in active
contention. Of those 47 seats, 26
Corps members or 55 per cent were
elected — a fairly proportionate ratio
of those who ran for offices.
Anytime an organization which
comprises seven per cent of the stu
dent body furnishes 50 per cent of
the candidates, then one could safely
assume (even before the election)
that the organization will have more
than a proportionate share elected
anyway. The Corps cannot be held to
task if its members were the ones
who were concerned enough about
student government to actively seek
office.
To anyone who knows anything
about human nature, it should not be
surprising that people of similar or
ganizational affiliations and
ideologies should want to be repre
sented by someone who shared their
ideas and viewpoints. However, to
claim that the Corps truly bloc voted
would not be realistic.
Each cadet was encouraged to
vote, but to imply that they voted
under duress is an unfair accusation.
Even if some cadets’ activity cards
were checked to see if they had
voted, there would be no way for the
checker to positively know how the
checkee had voted.
All that is said in the article writ
ten by Ms. Tyson is that “Some
Corps members said they had their
activity cards checked to see if they
had voted.” This statement com
pletely lacks attribution as to who
the Corps members were, and also
neglects to define “some” as any set
number. Perhaps Ms. Tyson could
use a refresher course in basic jour
nalistic techniques.
Concerning the ethics of the
editor of The Quadrangle and the
seniors on Corps staff, it would seem
that they would have been negligent
if they had not informed the readers
about information which they cared
to see and know.
Perhaps this is difficult for mem
bers of The Battalion staff and Stan
Stanfield to understand, but then
again, their concerns are different
than ours. The Battalion is duty-
bound to cover campus-wide ac
tivities while we deal with our con
stituency of the Corps of Cadets.
— John LaBore
Editor, The Quadrangle
Slouch
by Jim Earle
‘THERE MAY BE A LESSON IN HUMAN NATURE TO
BE LEARNED THERE!”
The Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those
of the editor or of the writer of the article and are
not necessarily those of the University administra
tion or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is a
non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by
students as a university and community news
paper. 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 Educa
tional Advertising Services, Inc., New York City,
Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Battalion is published Tuesday through
Friday from September through May except dur
ing exam and holiday periods and the summer,
when it is published weekly.
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 Battal
ion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, Col
lege Station, Texas 77843.
United Press International is entitled exclu
sively to the use for reproduction of all news dis
patches credited 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 Jamie Aitken
Associate Managing Editor Rusty Cawley
Assistant Managing Editor Mary Hesalroad
Features Editor John W. Tynes
News Editor Debby Krenek
News Assistant Carol Meyer
Sports Editor Paul Arnett
Copyeditor Steve Reis
Reporters Paul McGrath, Lynn
Rossi, Lee Roy Leschper Jr., Jan Bailey, Darrell
Lanford, Dave Tewes, Glenna Whitley, Steve
Martaindale
Photographers Kevin Venner,
Tracie Nordheim, Mike Willy
Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers,
Chairman; Joe Arredondo; Tom Dawsey, Dr.
Gary Halter; Dr. John W. Hanna; Dr. Charles
McCandless; Dr. Clinton A. Phillips; Jerri Ward.
Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper.
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Cadet Corps is
very organized
It is entirely within the rights of
any other organization to start its
own newspaper and print articles
about the activities of its members.
The objective of The Quadrangle
in printing the list was to get people
interested in the elections and to get
them to vote, and evidently we were
successful.
Judging from the number of
cadets who voted in the senator races
from the Corps of Cadets living area,
a total of 1136 Corps members
voted. Out of 1750 in the Corps, this
is a 65 per cent turnout. Compared
to the 28 per cent of the University as
a whole, why should people be sur
prised the Corps won 26 seats? As
said before, it is not the fault of the
Corps that 72 per cent of the student
body does not care who are its lead
ers in student government.
Another interesting and final
point is that although the writer of
the article on the front page of Tues
day’s Battalion interviewed people
in the controversy from runoff can
didates for student body president to
a freshman accounting major, the
editor of The Quadrangle, however,
was never contacted in any way by
the writer or any other member of
The Battalion staff. If a person’s
ethics are to be questioned, perhaps
one should get his viewpoint first.
Editor:
After reading Tuesday’s Battalion,
it became very clear that certain per
sons were upset over the Student
Government elections.
Stan Stanfield said he thought the
campaign literature (The Quad
rangle), was unethical, because no
other large group on campus tried to
organize its members to vote for
candidates in their areas. Terry Pyl-
ant said she thought the publication
unfair but similar to national elec
tions. But in actuality nothing illegal
was done!
The Quadrangle is a newspaper,
as is The Battalion, and being so,
may print whatever it so chooses, or
endorse whomever it chooses, in any
election. Because it is the Corps’
newspaper, it seems only natural
that it should represent thevCorps. If
any other large group at A&M had
wanted to organize its members to
vote for their best interest, then I
think they should have gone ahead
and done so.
I will have to agree with Battalion
editor Jerry Needham’s statement in
Tuesday’s editorial, “...the outcry
against the mass vote of the Corps is
a cry of envy of the excellent organi
zation the Corps has exhibited.
— Gib Sawtelle III ’79
Wont vote
in runoffs
Editor’s note: In the editorial, the
editor stated “The vote of the Corps
truthfully cannot be called a bloc
vote,...”
As to the point of including cadets’
names who said their activity cards
were checked to see if they voted,
you, of all people, should know that
Corps members are very reluctant
to have their names associated with
anything that may shed unfavorable
light on the Corps as a whole. Even
Mr. Gontarek, the cadet whose pic
ture appeared with Tuesday’s page
one story, apparently caught
enough flak from his fellow cadets
that he saw fit to write a letter say
ing that he did not endorse the arti
cle with which his picture appeared.
Editor:
I won’t vote for student body
president in the run-off elections.
Scott Gregson, candidate who did
not make the run-off, has been
given a bum deal.
Gregson was forced to stop cam
paigning after 12:30 Wednesday af
ternoon, the first election day, after
complaints of an election violation.
Some dorm residents in the north
area, including Stan Stanfield, a
candidate for student body presi
dent, complained that Gregson clut
tered the hallways with campaign
literature, a violation of election
rules.
Were they more concerned about
the paper in their hallways or in get
ting Stan Stanfield elected?
A picture of the literature and
campaign flyers were used as evi
dence against Gregson. No doubt it
was cold-blooded, huh?
I won’t vote for Robert Harvey
either.
The Quadrangle, the Corps
newspaper, published a list strictly
of Corps candidates running for of
fice.
Robert Harvey, in his position as
Corps commander, has jurisdiction
over such a decision as this, and I
feel he is responsible for it.
It’s high school stuff. The C.T. s
can make their own decisions as to
the best candidate.
Why alienate the Corps and
non-regs even more by pulling a
stunt like this?
It’s too bad that Gregson, who I
feel played the fairest game of the
three, lost because he didn’t lower
himself to the other’s standards.
—Steve Mayer ’78
Corps doesnt
run police state
Editor:
Why those nasty Cadets. Look
what they’ve gone and done. They
voted for other Cadets. How despic
able. How dastardly.
They bloc voted. God knows that
ranks right up there with pistol
whipping your grandmother. Cadets
don’t have the right to vote for other
Cadets simply because they think a
Cadet can best represent their inter
ests. They ought to throw darts at the
ballot or have the administration
choose officers on a quota basis.
All levity aside, what is all the big
fuss? So what if seven per cent of the
student population can get its mem
bers elected to 30 per cent of the
offices including most of the higher
positions. Why get mad at seven per
cent who voted and won and say
nothing about the 75 per cent who
did not vote?
The fact that the Corps is able to
elect Cadets to represent the Corps
only speaks highly of the Corps’ or
ganization and interest in campus ac
tivities.
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If every Cadet voted (something I
doubt), then they made up less than
2,000 of the 7,000 votes cast. That
means that about 35 per cent of the
electorate managed to vote in its
members in 30 per cent of the of
fices. Nothing sinister there.
Don’t bitch at the Corps for elect
ing its own people. We got out and
voted. Some 18,000 students did not
vote. Why doesn’t the Batt show any
interest in that?
The Corps does encourage its
people to vote. We give a damn. Did
anybody see any Cadets forcing
another Cadet to vote a certain way?
Remember, we vote by secret ballot.
Listen y’all, we may be organized,
but we don’t run a police state within
the University.
— Mark Kelley ’77
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third
part of a four-part series on
homosexuals, their lives and their
problems. The Battalion is aware
that the subject is controversial and
that almost everyone has strong
feelings about it. But The Battalion
believes that more is to be gained by
intelligent discussion than by rumor
and invective. We hope that this se
ries will contribute to understand
ing and enlightenment.
‘Work on your
own credibility’
Editor:
I agree wholeheartedly with your
statement Tuesday that “Each can
didate should stand on his own
merits.” But I wonder why you do
not practice what you preach. You
question the ethical standards of the
editor of a small bimonthly newslet
ter for printing a list of candidates
names, while you, as editor of a daily
newspaper which reaches every stu
dent of this University, directly
endorse a slate of candidates only a
few days after your managing editor
specifically told me that The Battal
ion would not endorse candidates. It
seems to me that you should work on
your own credibility before you at
tack a little newsletter which did far
less than you did.
— Harry L. Warren
P.S. You must be joking about the
political parties — what would they
be called — the Free Pizza and Beer
Party and the 24-hour Dorm Visita
tion Party?
By JOHN W. TYNES
Battalion Staff
Homosexuals are presently
encountering strong opposition as
they mount campaigns to promote
their interests. But the opposition
today is slight compared to persecu
tion in earlier times.
Historically, homosexual behavior
has been strictly prohibited in al
most every culture for many cen
turies. Only recently has it even
begun to be accepted in a predomi
nantly heterosexual world.
In his book, “The Homosexual
Matrix,” Dr. C. A. Tripp explained
how the laws that regulate sexual
behavior today were established:
“The religious philosophies which
underlie the sexual mores of our so
ciety were brought together and
elaborated by men who believed
that a life of celibacy, abstinence,
and asceticism was morally superior
to one containing any sexual expres
sion.”
The early Christians proved to be
even more harsh and rigorous in
their sexual edicts than the Jews and
sexual behavior was further re
stricted by them.
“Our mores gained their direction
from Jewish history and their harsh-
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Tripp traced the changing sexual
opinions of society from their early
beginnings in early Jewish codes and
even earlier Hittite, Chaldean and
Egyptian ideas.
He wrote that Jewish law was bas
ically outlined in the Old Testament,
but that it gained most of its highly
restrictive character from moral ar
guments put forward in the Talmud,
the authoritative body of Jewish law
and tradition.
ness from Christian elaborations,”
Tripp wrote.
He explained that standards of
sexual behavior were established by
the Church for several centuries.
During this time, Church and gov
ernment were one and the same.
Even when government was fi
nally wrested from the hands of reli
gious leaders, laws still reflected the
sexual attitudes endorsed by the
churches.
Tripp noted that there are many
people today who are not religious
but still disapprove of homosexual-
ity-
“Evidently,” he wrote, “religious
teachings become implicit in the
customs and attitudes of a society,
eventually regulating both the cen
tral tendency of behavior and the ex
pectancy of what people do sexu
ally.”
Until very recently, the subject of
homosexuality has not been
subject to approach even
In the book, “Human Sei
Bernard Goldstein wrote:
“Our long history of being
to despise and suppress homi
feelings has led us totheconcg
homosexuality is a crime, askl
or sin to be punished severeljl
state — after all, peopled
nasty things with their genital
be punished.”
Goldstein cited a Louis Han
taken in 1969 that showe
cent of the nation consi
homosexuality harmful
American way of life.
He noted, however, a recei
creased communication and
tion about sexuality that has
some of the strain between
and “straights.”
Gay groups throughout the
(See “Gays
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