Viewpoint
The Battalion Thursday
Texas 7\&M University September 29, 1977
Kyle Field: ‘Decked out’ for football
By J. WAGNER TYNES
Well, it looks certain that students are
going to have to worry about another deck
of seats in Kyle Field. That figures. Just
when everyone was getting used to fight
ing over upper deck seats, they’re going to
add another one.
Here’s the deal as I understand it. The
present lower deck will also he the future
lower deck but the present upper deck
will become the middle deck, which will
be larger than the new upper deck, which
will be over the present upper deck (or
future middle deck) and slightly smaller in
length than the middle deck (or present
upper deck).
Clear as mud, ain’t it?
Actually, it’s not that bad. After all, it
will provide more seats for loyal fans to
enjoy supporting their team. Imagine
what it will do to the morale of a visiting
team when they find themselves in the bot
tom of a gargantuan canyon of loyal Ags
screaming for their blood.
I can see it now. It’s the last play of the
game. The Aggies have a three point lead
thanks to Thunderfoot Franklin, but the
opposition has the ball and the best pass
receiver in the nation.
The ball is hiked. The receiver breaks
through the defense and hurtles downfield
as the quarterback drops back and fires the
ball toward the goal in a last desperate
bomb.
The receiver is in the clear, having out
run the defense in a burst of speed. The
ball is coming right toward his hands and
he’s only ten yards from the goal.
Then the Aggies scream angrily.
In a flash of unusual mental agility, the
receiver suddenly makes a startling
realization. Towering high in the atmo
sphere above him on two sides is an enor
mous crowd of Aggies, every one of which
is hating him at the moment. As they yell
at him, urging him to drop the ball, he
realizes that it’s no use. There’s no way to
win against such a crowd.
His steps slow, then falter, and he
stumbles. Seconds later, the football
whacks him in the head and he falls to the
ground with a mild concussion.
The Aggies win, thanks to a true exam
ple of student support but even more
thanks to a third deck of seats. (Oh, the
dejected teammates of the poor pass re
ceiver will probably have to carry their
wounded player off the field as he quivers
in fear of the Aggie crowd.)
So the new upper deck might help the
school in a way. But there are certain
problems that the Board of Regents might
consider before they give the project final
approval.
There are, of course, the obvious con
siderations such as providing oxygen
masks to compensate for the thin air up
that high. But I’m sure these are being
taken care of.
However, I wonder if the Board has
thought about the possibility of an in
creased suicide rate once the new struc
ture is completed. As of now, there are
few good places to kill yourself around
campus.
(Who can honestly say they have never
tried to throw themselves out of a top floor
in Rudder Tower on the night before an
impossible final, only to find that none of
the windows can be opened? I know I
have.)
The third deck could also increase the
HufF-and-Puff index (a simple measure of
labored breathing) among students who
have to trudge devotedly up to their seats.
This could raise the likelihood of fatal
heart attacks and block the ramps with
dying bodies.
And there’s another thing. What will
happen when a disgruntled Aggie, how
ever rare he may be, disapproves of a call
on a particular play and hurtles a harmless
piece of ice toward the referee. By the
time it reaches the field, it will have the
velocity high enough to bore a chilly hole
all the way through the official’s head.
And think of the poor cold drink ven
dors who may have to lug those baskets of
cokes all the way up three levels. By the
time they get there, the “drinks” will be
little more than dirty water and the ven
dors little more than exhausted.
Also, the Brazos Valley has notoriously
soft ground. A third deck loaded with
spectators may be just the weight needed
to shove the existing decks deep into the
bowels of the earth.
Lower deck seatholders may find them
selves watching the game one minute and
in an underground classroom the next
minute.
The rationale for a third deck as opposed
to closing the open end of Kyle Field or
building a second deck of end zone seats is
the poor marketibility of end zone seats.
In other words, fans would rather sit up in
the stratosphere than in the end zone.
Actually, it’s six one way and a half a
dozen the other. The poor quality of end
zone seats will probably be equalled by
the extraordinary distance third deck fans
will be from the field. I bet you could get a
closer look by watching it on a TV set with
a 3-inch screen.
And, on top of it all, I bet they 11 still use
those incredibly uncomfortable bleachers
they have now.
Tynes is a junior journalism major. This
column contains his own opinions and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions or
policies of this newspaper.
Carter following in Nixon s footsteps
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON—In the course of his
1976 presidential primary adventures.
Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.) acquired
the same expertise about Jimmy Carter—
and from the same perspective—as all the
other three-year-olds in the country got
this year about Seattle Slew.
Udall learned a lot about what this Pres
ident looks like from behind.
It was his observation a couple weeks
ago that the course of the Carter adminis
tration is beginning to resemble that of the
first Nixon administration. And it strikes
me that developments in the last couple of
weeks make Udall’s notion quite plausible.
He did not suggest—in any way—that
the characters of the two Presidents are
alike or that their careers will end in the
same way. Quite the contrary. His point
was that Garter was very likely in for a
bumpy passage, but that anyone who
thought he was getting into an irremedi
able bind should remember the Nixon re
covery of 1971-72.
The parallels are rather interesting. It is
no longer easy to recall the mood of the
early Nixon years. But in fact, his
inauguration—like Carter’s—was wel
comed as a fresh start after a period of
turmoil. Nixon, like Carter, made an im
pressive diplomatic debut on his first pres
idential trip to Europe. And Nixon, like
Carter, offered some venturesome
legislation—-including a major welfare-
reform proposal.
The first eight months in office for both
Presidents went rather smoothly. Then, in
the autumn of their first year, both men
faced the first serious challenge to their
authority.
For Nixon, it came in the form of the
massive anti-Vietnam war protest
Tetters to the editor
marches. He countered effectively with
his “silent majority” speech, but never
completely regained the confident manner
of the early months.
For Carter, the challenge arrived in the
Lance case. Like Nixon, he appears to
have found an effective strategy to cope
with the problem. He managed last week
both to separate himself from the source of
serious, continuing controversy within his
administration and to suggest that, by his
steadfastness, he had helped a friend walk
out of town with his head held high. But
this President was as shaken by the ex
perience as Nixon had been by the shout
ing demonstrators who surrounded the
White House in his time.
Whether Carter is any more able to re
gain stride after the Lance affair than
Nixon was after the confrontation with the
Vietnam moratorium is hard to say.
It seems quite likely to me that events
will bear out Udall s hunch that the next
12-18 months will be rough for Carter, just
as the comparable period was for Nixon.
Nixon suffered in his second year from
the growing public impatience with the
pace of withdrawal in Vietnam, from the
rising controversy over the caustic tactics
used in Vice President Agnew’s speeches,
and—most of all—froin the severe eco
nomic slump.
Slouch
by Jim Earle
“I CAN SEE WHERE THE RAMPS WILL HELP THE HANDICAP
PED, BUT THEY MAY CAUSE HANDICAPS TOO!”
The upshot was a standoff in Congress in
the mid-term election and a serious set
back for the Republicans in the state
capitols—a net loss of 11 governorships.
By spring of 1971, the polls showed
Nixon in a dead heat with Senator Ed
mund S. Muskie (D-Maine). Columns
were being written about him being a
one-term President.
What is the chance Carter will follow a
similar course? Fairly high, one would
guess. As he acknowledged himself, his
credibility and reputation for strict probity
probably suffered at least temporary dam
age in the Lance affair. And Republicans
like House Minority Leader John J.
Rhodes (R-Ariz.) are no longer reluctant to
accuse him of “uncertainty, ineptitude”
and even “moral blindness.”
Major Carter legislative initiatives are
being scrapped or manhandled by the
Congress; the economy is sending out
some nervous hiccups; and abroad, there
are storm signals flying from Moscow to
the Middle East and on around the globe.
Republicans are in a strong position to
embarrass the Democrats in the 1978 state
house elections, and such a defeat would
surely trigger the same sort of political
prophecies about Carter’s future as Nixon
heard in 1970-71.
But that’s where Udall’s final reminder
becomes pertinent: Never underestimate
the capacity of a President to change
policies, change personnel and change the
political equation. In 1971, Nixon sud
denly produced John Connally as a
Cabinet member, the opening to China
and the New Economic Policy, and, in a
matter of months, he was well on his way
to re-election.
Carter, says Udall, is capable of the
same sort of recovery. The man probably
knows whereof he speaks.
(c) 1977, The Washington Post Company
Buying books becoming true college ‘culture shock’
Editor:
Being a freshman who has learned a
great deal in the last month, I can now
confirm the hypothesis of a college “cul
ture shock” which was expounded by my
musty high school teachers a short time
ago. However, while the hypothesis is cor
rect, the emphasis is misplaced. The shock
I speak of was borne not of academic or
social dilemma, but rather of materialistic
concerns (my money has beein going down
the tubes).
Specifically, the cost of books has made
me recoil in anger and frustration. Yester
day, I bought what I hope to be my last
book for this semester. Total expenditures
for books thus far: $109.70. This is out
rageous!
At first glance, I theorized that all of the
local bookstores were conspiring against
me. Then, I realized that everyone was
paying a comparable amount, or more. In
dignant, I asked several bookstore clerks
why the prices of books were so astronom
ical. Alas, they were only students them
selves and the typical response was “I only
work here. Perhaps I’m just paranoid, but
following these encounters, I started liken
ing book industry retailers to the infamous
“Tammany Hall Machine” of 19th century
notoriety.
I don’t propose any simplistic answers to
the price problem and I would concede
that my criticism of the industry may be
improperly focused on book retailers.
However, considering the existing market
structure and our oft admired free
enterprise system, I am of the opinion that
if SOMEBODY, somewhere isn t receiving
“kickbacks” from SOMEONE. . . .they
ought to be!
Roger D. Follis, Class of ’81
Tech misbehaves
Editor:
A lesson in the importance of good
sportsmanship was offered to all A&M
students at the Tech game in Lubbock,
Texas.
After the football game. Aggies of all
ages were bombarded with obscenities
and Raiders willing to challenge A&M in
other forms not offered on the football
field.
Hand signs, words, and fists were being
handed out to Aggies as they passed
through the crowd to their cars.
The campus newspaper criticized A&M
in an unnecessary and unethical manner.
During the pep rally, Tech students
ridiculed the Aggie tradition of Silver
Taps, which is, of course, a highly re
spected occasion.
The score in every contest determines a
winner and a loser. Nevertheless, good
sportsmanship provides a winning position
for all contestants. There is really no rea
son why a team must be a loser in two
ways.
I hope that A&M students will realize
the importance of good sportsmanship, no
matter what the scoreboard reads.
Texas A&M University is a highly hon
ored university. The behavior of students
reflects upon the school. Therefore, let’s
profit from Tech’s actions and make sure
we uphold the traditions and values upon
which our university was established.
—Paige Beasley
Some profs ‘rotten
Editor:
This is one letter I thought I would
never have to write. But educational
priorities are in order.
The professors at Texas A&M are gener
ally very highly motivated, provacative,
and relatively concerned about their job
of educating little Aggies. However, much
to my dismay there are flagrant
irregularities—namely “rotten profs. That
of course is a subjective evaluation and
needs to be qualified. Definitively de
fined, a “rotten prof’ is a teacher who fails
to communicate verbally or otherwise with
the majority of his students. This may be
caused by blatant inability to teach or sim
ple boredom with his/her job. Many other
factors are of course involved also, but
these are the two I’ve encountered.
Without being vindictive and not know
ing the hiring policies of this university, it
would seem a few professors are hired
simply because they hold a doctorate de
gree. With this justification the university
then seems to feel the particular person in
question is qualified to teach. But a doc
torate degree does not predicate teaching
ability. Many people are intellectually
oriented and highly motivated enough to
secure a doctoral degree, but who are at
the same time exasperating failures in
communication.
This seems to be the problem in my par
ticular case. Although I’ve always felt that
a student’s failure in a particular class usu
ally turned out to be his fault and not the
professor’s. I’m convinced that the particu
lar professor teaching a class Im enrolled
in now is directly responsible for the an
tipathy I hold against the subject. This
professor simply cannot communicate with
the students. One moment he is exceed
ingly redundant and in the next becomes
so complex that even he can’t explain what
he’s talking about. His lectures have no
form of order whatsoever. Everything I’ve
learned in the course so far has been
straight from the text. So I ask: What is the
Professor’s purpose? I’m the first student
who hates complainers, but I’m sure there
are other students who fall into this same
predicament. I only wish the student had
more control over the selection of profes
sors. Or at least some sort of screening
process to evaluate his teaching ability and
not whether he has written one-hundred
books or journal articles, or was past pres
ident of the Brookings Institute with hon
orary degrees from Harvard and Oxford.
Indeed, in the final analysis maybe it
should be the students who hire and fire.
—William L. Irwin ’80
Taps for everyone
Editor:
We would like to express our apprecia
tion to those Aggies who attended Silver
Taps, Tuesday night to honor and respect
their fellow Aggies.
Now we would like to express extreme
displeasure with the majority of the stu
dent body (Note how we refrain from cal
ling them Aggies.) either do not bother to
go, or else they go with the express pur
pose of talking through the ceremony or
gawking at the Firing Squad as if it were
“Parade Day.”
We do not need to name these
people—they know who they are, but we
would like them to consider this thought:
If one of you “non-Aggies” died tomorrow,
the very same Silver Taps ceremony
would be held for you as it would for a
loyal, devoted Aggie. So if you people
can’t attend the beautiful Silver Taps
ceremony with the respect it deserves we
suggest that you take yourselves and your
bad manners to another school.
We are sure you can easily find one that
does not have our tradition of honor and
respect for fellow Aggies.
Ro McDonald ’78
Cyndi Newberry ’79
The blackout plan
Editor:
President Carter would be proud of the
electric companies in this area for their
new energy conservation policy.
The two blackouts held in September
should help keep our electric bills at a
minimum.
However, I think the next blackout
should be announced at least a week in
advance so everyone could stock up on
candles, ice, batteries and beer.
—Cheryl Hickman ’80
Top of the News
State
CSA to help Crystal City
Officials of the U.S. Community Services Administration anil
LoVaca Gathering Co. will meet soon to negotiate an agreed#
restoring gas service to Crystal City, Mayor Francisco Benevidessd
Wednesday. LoVaca spokesman Don Newquist in Houston said the)
haven’t been contacted about a meeting, but the company wouldbt
willing to meet under certain conditions. LoVaca ended service to
Crystal City after a two-and-a-half year legal battle during which the
city accumulated arrears of $800,000. The CSA has agreed to par
$160,000 of the debt and will provide $150,000 in relief aid, Be
nevides said, “to help families by buying necessary things tocwl
their food and heat their water.” Aid came to the city after Sea
Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., arranged a meeting betweenCSt
and local officials.
Sect deadline moved to Saturday
An attorney representing 500 Mexican and Canadian Mennonte
seeking a permanent colony in West Texas said Wednesday tit
Washington office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service has
extended the Sept. 22 deadline to Saturday to prove immediate de
portation would cause a severe hardship. According to immigrate
officials, the Mennonites, who have been in the Seminole area for
eight months, were “victims of schemes” and were apparently misin
formed about immigration laws by the persons who sold them the
6,400 acres. The families said deportation would be a hardship be
cause it meant leaving unharvested crops and they had $2.5 millim
invested in equipment.
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Nation
Antipoverty plan to create j oh
A Carter Administration official says the unemployed would notbe
forced to relocate to find work under President Carter’s anti-poverty
proposal. Labor Secretary Ray Marshall spoke at a session of ana
tional symposium on regional change at the Lyndon B. Johnson Li
brary in Austin Tuesday. Marshall said the program, which would
provide 1.4 million public service jobs for 2.5 million persons, in
cludes incentives for the unemployed to find work in the private
sector. Carter’s anti-poverty welfare reform plan also includes a
strong anti-discrimination policy, an employment opportunity pro
gram for those expected to work and a cash assistance program for
those unable to support themselves, he said.
FBI reports crime moderate
For the first time in four years, seiious crime failed to increase
substantially last year, the FBI says. The FBI said Tuesday 11.3
million serious crimes were reported to the FBI in 1976, a 0.4per
cent increase over 1975. Adjusted figures showed the gainwasno
more than the population increase, it said. The agency hailed tie
leveling off as a reversal of the upward trend in crime that had con
tinued since a 4 per cent overall decrease in 1973. The FBlk
already reported a 9 per cent crime reduction for the first quarterd
1977.
Gem cutter found with diamonds
Shlomo Tal, a gem cutter who has been missing for three days will
$30,000 in diamonds, was found Wednesday unharmed. Tal told
police he had been abducted by two men. Tal said they took $18)
from him, but did not find the diamonds which were under thefroiil
seat of his car. Police are still looking for Tabs business associate, wlo
vanished more than a week ago with $1 million in diamonds. Fob
have no clues to the whereabouts of Pinchos Jaroslawicz, the business
associate.
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Japanese jet hijacked by leftist
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Suspected terrorists of Japan’s ultra-leftist Red Army hijacked a
Japan Air Lines DC-8 on a Paris-to-Tokyo flight with 141 passengers
and 14 crew members aboard shortly after takeoff from Bombas
Wednesday and forced it to land in Dacca. The jet is said to haveal
least one American aboard. The pilot told the Dacca International
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Texas
Airport control tower the hijackers were members of the Red Ami) High'
acting against the “repressive” Japanese government. An airline
spokesman said there apparently were two hijackers and they had as
yet made no demands.
Bodies found in Malaysia crash
c
Rescue workers today recovered the body of an American and 13
other persons killed in the crash of a Japan Air Lines DC-8 jetliner
raising the death toll to 32, officials said. The American Embassy said
of the five Americans aboard the flight from Tokyo to Singapore via
Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, one died, one is missing and three
survived with burns and broken limbs. A police spokesman said ofthe
79 persons aboard the plane, which crashed Tuesday night into a
muddy hillside after having twice circled Kuala Lumpur’s SubaaJ
airport, 43 survived and four are missing. Officials said the plane split
Into three sections and most of the casualties were in the front sec
tion, which exploded upon impact, while many of the survivors were
in the tail section.
Weather
Mostly cloudy and hot today. Southerly winds 12-16 mpti
decreasing to 2-5 mph tonight. High both days mid-90s. Low
tonight mid-70s. No rain expected.
The Battalion
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