Page 2
Viewpoint
The Battalion Friday
Texas A&M University April 29, 1977
Opinion
Internationals
valuable asset
Slouch by Jim Earle
CONGRATULATIONS
GRADUATING
SENIORS/
only
By BRIAN L. HOPE
In the April 22 Battalion R. W. Collins
wrote that “our arms” should be equally
opened to our “out-of-state neighbors”
and our “foreign friends,” inferring that
tuition rates should be equally high for
both. The premise behind that statement
of opinion is misleading. With the excep
tion of several specialized fields, what
Texas A&M has to offer is roughly equiva
lent to those of many other state-and-
federally-supported universities. I there
fore think it is fair to say that most of the
out-of-state students attending Texas
state-supported universities probably
could receive an equivalent education in
their respective home-state university sys
tems. This is a valid rationale for their
$40-hour out-of-state tuition.
The majority of students from “Third
World” nations have not had the luxury of
such a Viable home option. They have
They come not hy choice,
hut rather hy necessity
come to American universities not out of
choice, but rather out of necessity.
Moreover, TAMU offers unique and vital
curricula in special fields critically impor
tant for future socio-economic growth and
development in these students’ countries.
So what happens if the R. W. Collinses
in the United States have their way? As
pointed out by Colin Crombie in his Bat
talion editorial of April 20, most of the
international students would face a double
burden of a high out-of-state tuition piled
on top of ever-increasing American cost-
of-living expenses, especially with the job
restrictions that they have to operate
under. It would be a real “Catch-22” situa
tion, since much of this double burden
would often fall on their families back
home in. countries with average real in
come levels only a fraction of the Ameri
can average.
So most of the international students
(except for the minority from relatively
well-to-do families) would probably have
to go home, and their younger peers and
American-trained leaders
people the Third World
relatives would be unable to have the op
portunity to gain the qualitatively ad
vanced level of education and research not
presently attainable through their educa
tional institutions. Not only would the
long-term economic development in their
countries be adversely affected, but also a
lot of whatever good will the United States
still has in the non-Communist world.
Many of the political leaders, educators,
and business managers in Third World na
tions received their advanced academic
degrees from American universities and
took back with them not only knowledge
and training indispensable for the future of
their countries, but also a far greater
understanding of the American system
and its people. In the long run this serves
the interests of the United States far more
than the millions of dollars annually going
out of this country as foreign aid and mili
tary assistance (and sometimes into Swiss
College rings are inexpensive
weapons against Soviets
bank accounts!). The academic invest
ments made by the American people in
the form of lower tuition rates for interna
tional students are only a fraction of what
is poured into the coffers of various politi
cal regimes around the world. Moreover,
the need for these investments will di
minish as the universities in the Third
World nations become more diverse in
their programs and facilities. The future
returns on these investments will help in
fluence the world in ways far more in
keeping with American ideals than most
Americans can presently perceive.
I wonder if the R. W. Collinses can
understand that every Aggie ring, and
every other American college ring, on the
finger of an international student “ex” can
do far more to frustrate the global aims of
the Soviet ideology than any cruise missile
or F-16 — at only a fraction of the cost? I
wonder if they can realize that every
international student attending an Ameri
can college is a living investment in
human freedom and a better world for his
countrymen as well as ourselves? Or
would these red-blooded patriotic Ameri
cans rather see the next generation of
young internationals attending universi
ties in Moscow and Leningrad on schol
arships paid for by the inhabitants of the
Soviet realm? Our grandchildren would
later find the United States isolated in a
different world indeed!
Patriotism, combined with an
enlightened sense of self-interest, serves
the best interests of all peoples. The “pa
triotism” that incorporates short-sighted
economic selfishness and narrow-minded
cultural bigotry not only alienates other
nations from us but also subversively
alienates us from our better selves. There
fore, we Americans have as much at stake
regarding the two bills in the Texas State
Legislature — H.B. 2161 and S.B. 856 —
as do the international students. All this is
why the rationale underlying these two
bills should be strongly opposed and they
should be voted down.
Hope is an M.A. graduate student.
Headers' Forum
Quality is the ft
By CHIP DEMOIS
The Arts and Crafts Fair held April 26 and 27, in my opinion, was more
than the article in Wednesday’s Battalion pointed out. Although we ap
preciate the publicity and accept it graciously, I would like to bring out
my interpretation of the fair: what it was and what its goals were.
The MSC Crafts and Arts Committee, of which I am chairman, spon
sored the fair. Our purpose as an organization is to bring the crafts to
A&M. The Arts and Crafts Fair is usually the culmination of months of
work for many A&M artists and craftsmen who do not have the chances or
the money to participate in fairs throughout Texas. The fair enables these
people to exhibit their work and make back some of the investment in
time and money put into their work throughout the year.
The idea behind moving the location from the MSC fountain area to the
Academic Building area was to reach a broader spectrum of students and
faculty alike who do not ordinarily go by the MSC. I personally feel that
attraction
there were more people observing this fair than in any previous one and
far more than the 500 persons quoted in Wednesday’s Battalion. The fair
has grown from something of a flea market to a show of quality work by
skilled A&M artists and craftsmen at prices that students can afford.
The article in the Battalion was appreciated as I mentioned (except for
a small misprint near the end of the article: “Everything is a lot more
reasonable (than) at home...” The word “than” was left out and I have
received very polite apologies from the Battalion editor for the error).
My purpose in bringing my views of the fair forth is to point out the*
crafts as a creative and cultural field that does not have the monetary
overtones that the article last Wednesday pointed to so frequently.
And to Ms. Cummings who was quoted in the article Wednesday, we
don’t have a lot more time than you or anyone else, we just use it produc
tively! And I invite everyone to do the same by getting involved in the
crafts.
Things go
better with Coke
It’s the quick refresher! At the
game, the beach, among friends
. . . yes, wherever you meet ac
tive people there’s Coca-Cola to
quench that hot, dry thirst.
Why, even blowgun-toting
pygmies go better with Coke!
The Superpowers are spend
ing billions on arms and de
fense. Now rebels of Shaba, a
province of Zaire, in their at
tempt to secede from the
mother country, have flouted
accepted 20th century techno
logical warfare and manned their
forces with spear and blowgun
packing pygmies. Powered by
Coke.
It seems that the enemy is
spooked by pygmies and that
the pygmies have an insatiable
craving for Coke. Little war
riors, high morale...one very
cheap war economically.
Could it be that the Pentagon
and Kremlin have gone techno
crazy and turned simple and ef
fective battle tactics into a
runaway monster of expensive
and unnecessary proliferation
while the primitives of another
continent make as much head
way with subcompact models
fueled by soft drinks?
We’ve often wondered what
these great strategy centers
have been hiding all along. I
think it’s their embarrassment.
Editorial
anonymity
under fire
United Press International
BATON ROUGE, La. — A state
leigslator said Thursday his proposed law
to make unsigned editorials in Louisiana
newspapers a criminal offense would not
violate the First Amendment.
“It doesn’t limit their freedom of
speech,” said Rep. Mike Hogan, D-Lake
Charles. He has introduced a bill that
would fine editors up to $500 and send
them to jail for up to six months for pub
lishing an editorial without the author’s
name.
“It’s no more an infringement of First
Amendment rights than requiring names
be included on letters to the editor,”
Hogan said.
He said newspaper readers have a right
to know who is interpreting the news on
editorial pages and he wants published
opinion pieces signed.
Hogan, a former Lake Charles police
chief, said the idea for such a law occurred
to him when he read an editorial critical of
an action in which he was involved. The
editorial, Hogan said, was based on er
roneous information and he said he had no
way of challenging the statement.
“The average citizen is at the mercy of
the newspaper,” he said.
Hogan said he was willing to soften the
penalties in his bill.
“I don’t think a jail term would really be
necessary for this kind of offense,” he said.
“But no law is effective without some sort
of penalty.”
Hogan said he hasn’t checked with an
attorney on the constitutionality of his bill.
Readers’ forum
Guest viewpoints, in addition to Letters
to the Editor, are welcome. All pieces
submitted to Readers’ forum should be:
• Typed triple space
• Limited to 60 characters per line
• Limited to 100 lines
Submit articles to Reed McDonald 217,
College Station, Texas, 77843. Author’s
name and phone number must accompany
all submissions.
Top of the News
Campus
Announcements on sale in MSC
Several hundred graduation announcements are on sale at the
Student Finance Center, room 217 Memorial Student Center. The
announcements are left over from the sale that began last Thursday.
A limit was set on the original sales so that there would be enough
announcements available. Announcements will be sold on a first-
come, first-served basis.
Library open around-the-clock
For every one student graduating next week from Texas A&M,
there will be nine more studying for semester final exams. To ac
commodate those students, the University Library will be open
around the clock from Sunday, May 8, to midnight Wednesday,
May 11. Dr. Irene Hoadley, director of libraries, noted that the
measure will provide only public-area facilities and materials. Desk
service and other library staff functions will observe normal operat
ing hours.
Texas
Water could be pumped to arid West
Water from Canada and the Pacific Northwest could be pumped
to arid parts of the western United States and Mexico by building
huge aqueducts, according to William G. Dunn, a California civil
engineer. Dunn has developed the $50 billion “Rocky Mountain
Plan” in conjunction with two other engineers and presented it
yesterday to the American Society of Civil Engineers at their na
tional convention in Dallas. The primary sources of water for the
proposal are the Peace, Athabasca and Smoky Rivers in Northern
Alberta, upper tributaries of the Mackenzie River which flows into
the Arctic Ocean. Other sources include the Kootenay and Flathead
Rivers and Clark Fork in Western Montana, tributaries of the Co
lumbia River.
Foul play suspected in church fires
Authorities today in San Antonio searched for two suspected ar
sonists whom one fireman described as “bent on destruction in
connection with fires at two downtown churches. One of the fires
routed four priests from the rectory of St. Mary's Catholic Church
yesterday. The church’s pastor. The Rev. Paul Duffy, alerted by
sounds coming from a first floor storeroom, awakened three other
priests and led them to safety while thick smoke billowed through
the second floor of the rectory. The St. Mary’s fire followed a similar
blaze that heavily damaged two second story rooms of the Grace
Lutheran Church Wednesday night. District Fire Chief J. F. Sal
dana said both church fires were intentionally started. Damage at
St. Mary’s was set at $14,000, and at Grace Lutheran, damage was
estimated at $50,000.
Nation ,
Panel hears Vietnam soldier s case
Teton collapse due to designers
Struggle against bigotry isn't over
Sen. Hubert Humphrey, D-Minn., said
yesterday that despite hard won civil
rights gains in Congress and in the courts
in the past 20 years, the struggle to end
prejudice and bigotry in America is not
over. “It is not enough to allow a man or
woman the right to sit at a lunch counter if
they don’t have the money in their pockets
to pay for a meal, ” the former vice presi
dent said. In remarks at the 14th annual
Brotherhood Citation Dinner of the Ar
kansas Region of the National Conference
of Christians and Jews, Humphrey said the nation’s democratic in
stitutions are threatened by poverty.
HUMPHREY
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A Vietnam veteran, unable to find a full-time job because of his
undesirable discharge, pleaded his case to a videotape camera in St.
Louis yesterday. The young man, who asked not to be identified
publicly, spent a year on combat duty in Vietnam and then was
given a 30-day leave. He went AWOL for 153 days in 1970 after he
received orders to go to Germany. The videotape of the man’s plea
will be reviewed within a couple of weeks by a five-member panel of
the Army Discharge Review Board in Washington. Within six
weeks after the board’s review, the soldier will be notified of the
disposition of his case. His discharge could be upgraded to a general
discharge. Or, his request could be denied. Many young men are
flocking to places where such individual hearings are being held
through the country. Each former soldier is accompanied by a coun
selor, who makes sure the appropriate facts are revealed.
Government investigators say Idaho’s Teton Dam would not have
collapsed last summer if Bureau of Reclamation designers had used
all available precautions rather than depend on a mortar shield to
prevent erosion of the dam. Eleven persons were killed by the
collapse of the 305-foot-high dam and damage to livestock and prop
erty totaled $500 million. The report was released yesterday by the
investigators simultaneously in Washington and Denver. The report
said designers relied only on a shield of thin mortar called a “grout
curtain” to guard against seepage. The report said the grout wasn’t
enough when cracks formed in the dam’s embankment and its ear
then core eroded.
L
8
First Lady Rosalynn Carter is back in the White House and in
“great spirits” today, one day after undergoing surgery to remove a
non-cancerous lump in her breast. Aides said the 49-year-old First
Lady was up and about the White House within three hours of the
40-minute operation performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital yester
day afternoon. Doctors discovered the lump about 2 p.m. EDT
during Mrs. Carter’s routine six-month gynecological checkup, ac
cording to her press secretary, Mary Hoyt. President Carter was
immediately informed of the discovery and was told his wife was
going into surgery. “I think it’s personal, ” Mrs. Hoyt said. “This is
all she wants said about it. Had it been a malignancy it would be
something else.”
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weather
Partly cloudy and mild with a high today in the mid-80s. Low '
tonight in the mid-60s. Continued cloudy and mild tomorrow. Pre
cipitation probability is 20 per cent both today and tomorrow.