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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1977)
Page 2 Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Monday October 3, 1977 I Keeping some green Construction packing more and more buildings into a shrinking Texas ' A&M campus has made grass and open space more and more inaccessible to Z' students. But the University’s board of regents took a step to correct that T problem last week. '• Hensel Park, the University’s open recreation area between College and I Texas Aves., has been something of a neglected stepchild for many years. * The area has been open to anyone wanting to use it, for many years. But * there has been little there for them to use, other than open grassy areas and >' stands of trees. A cabin to house students supervising the park was added * two years ago and restrooms were completed last year. But there wasn t 1 much else. The regents approved the first of four phases in a $265,000 renovation *' program to add more picnic areas, asphalt trails and roads, shelters, land- -, scaping, lighting, earthwork to reduce noise and decorate fencing. It will make Hensel a truly nice place. It’s a relief to know that people still care about grass, and trees and nice U places. C L.R.L. f^Peck Bakke case: A question of rights By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — The Bakke case | which will be argued before the Supreme ' Court later this month provides an impor- ; taut test not only of the legal issues of ra cial discrimination in college admissions, . but also of the current attitude toward government efforts to achieve social jys- ; tice. The case has drawn a great deal of pub licity. And the apparent record number of amicus briefs filed — 58 in all — indicates how many groups in the pluralistic Atncri- , can society feel a strong interest in the outcome. At one level, the Bakke case presents an appealing human story which touches some fundamental American values. Allan Bakke, a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam and an engineer, decided in his late 20s that he really wanted to be a doctor. He made the efforts to take 1 premedical courses even while holding his regular job, and in 1973 and 1974 applied for admission to a number of medical schools, including the University of California at Davis. Both times he was rejected at Davis (along with the other schools), even though Davis was simultaneously admitting minority appli- oafiM,. some with., lower test scores and. gr'a^OVpoitft averages.: Tie- e-barged there vVak' ^feverse-'dis- crimination” against him as a white man. The California Supreme Court agreed that he had been the victim of an unconstitu tional “education quota system.” Calling the Davis plan “a retreat in the struggle to assure that each man and woman shall be judged on the basis of merit alone,’’ the state ordered Bakke admitted. That is the case now before the Su preme Court. The Carter administration had filed a brief arguing, first, that the Davis medical school had a constitutional right to consider applicants’ race in its ad missions policy and, second, that Bakke’s claim to admission cannot be judged fairly on the record of the case as it stands. Because there was a good deal of semi- public pulling and hauling about the ad ministration brief, there has been an understandable tendency to describe the final position as a political compromise. It certainly is that; Its clear goal is to prevent a Supreme Court decision so sweeping that it could undercut dozens of other government and private affirmative action plans. At the same time, it is de signed to avoid putting the adminis tration’s support behind a rigid quota sys tem, which the President has declared personally repugnant and which massive majorities of white voters resent. . ,J3ui,whai...strikys-tkis Tept)rter is that the ad minis tr.ation brief is n.ot mijy politically sKrewd knd •baram.H.^d- buU equitable and reasonable on a commonsense basis. First of all, the record show pretty clearly that there is no clinically objective method of deciding who should get into Davis or the nation’s other medical schools. There are far too many applicants for any precise balancing or competing claims. For its regular admissions program, Davis requires a C-plus grade average and also weighs test scores, recommendations, and the comments of personal inter viewers. But there is no written standard for admission; university officials concede the judgments are to some extent subjec tive. All but 16 of the 100 places in each entering class are filled that way. The other 16 are filled through a special admis sions program for disadvantaged (minority) applicants. There, the criteria are appar ently lower, and the applicants are judged against each other — not against the regu lar applicants. But the dean of the Davis medical school has testified that whether the students come through the regular or special admissions process, all are “fully qualified for admission and will, in the opinion of the admissions commitee, con tribute to the school and profession.” Considering that barely two of every 100 doctors in America are black and that black communities are notoriowsly kbsilck vantaged in their medical services, there is a strong case for encouraging more black and other minority doctors. - / Second, it seems quite tommonsensible for the government to assert that , "race may be pertinent to admissions because it gives information that will be helpful in understanding the meaning of the creden tials that an, applicant presents. A grade- point of 2.6 produced by a minority appli cant may indicate every bit as much poten tial to be a physician as a 3.0 average by a white applicant. That’s because the minor ity applicant has demonstrated not only the ability to succeed in obtaining grades, but also the determination and ability to overcome non-academic hurdles.” That principle is the main point the Char ter administration wants to defend, and it is worth defending. But what about Bakke, w'ho surely overcame some hurdles of his Own? What the government says is that his claim to be a victim of reverse discrimina tion cannot be judged on the record as it now stands. No court has yet determined if Bakke would have admitted to Davis were all applicants, black and white, com peting in a single pool. That question, the government says, ought to be determined when more of the facts are on the record. That is not a satisfactory answer for Bakke or for those who strongly oppose anything that smacks of quotas. But it smidgeS'the cmirt-fn the; right direction on a case that cle||rl^;^E5§[|^irgsf*,pr;baIancing of competing rights', Yathdr than a decla ratory rejection of one side or the other. (c) 1977, The Washington Post Com pany U . • ■ . r v: ..... . . The silent majority discovers T-shirts By DICK WEST United Press International W ASHINGTON — Amos Seersocket and I were walking along Pennsylvania Avenue about a half-block from the White House. Suddenly he grabbed my arm. "Looky there!, he cried. “Can you be lieve that? There’s some kook in front of the W hite House wearing a T-shirt with no lettering or pictures on the chest.” At first I couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t know they made anything like that,” I exclaimed. ‘Where do you sup pose he got it?” “He must have had it custom-made,” Amos speculated. “Let’s stop and ask him.” The guy told us about a trendy little place he had run across in Georgetown. "You buy a conventional T-shirt, see, with a beer can or a rock group or some kind of obscenity stenciled on it. Then you take it to this place and they have a special process that removes the graphics. “It’s expensive, but worth it for the sen- The Lighter Side sation it causes. This is the third time I’ve been stopped this morning.” Seersocket shook his head wonderingly. “Blank T-shirts,” he mused. ‘What will they think of next?” “It’s a novelty all right,” I replied, “but I would think you would have to be sort of an extrovert to wear one on the street. “I mean, I can see getting one to wear to kicky little parties or places where you’re among avant-garde friends. Buf I wouldn’t wanna be out in public with everyone star ing at me.” Later on, I mentioned what we had seen to Mable Upperfloss, a local fashion coor dinator, and she told me blank T-shirts al ready were a big fad on the W est Coast. T understand it originated in England,” she said. “You can order the T-shirts from London without any illustrations what soever. That saves you the trouble of hav ing the graffiti obliterated.” I said, "What’s behind it? What’s the point of wearing a T-shirt that doesn’t ad vertise, promote, praise or protest any thing?” "The point is that there’s a growing ten dency toward non-involvement,” Mable explained. “However, many people feel guilty about not participating in commercial endeavors, political causes, sociological rebellions, religious schisms, ideological struggles, philosophical movements and the like. Blank T-shirts provide them with a way to express non-involvement without hurt ing anyone. It s simply a harmless manifes tation of passivity.” Maybe so, but I fear the drift away from T-shirt activism may lead to other displays of apathy. Can you, for example, picture a world without bumper stickers? Sounds unreal, sure. Yet if the blank T-shirt catches on nationally, who is to say blank bumpers won’t become the next big craze? Letters to the editor Respect for individual is most important tradition Editor: I am a TAMU student who never wanted to come here; not here to College Station and definitely not to Texas. This has pretty much changed. My dislike of the prospect of attending A&M stemmed Slouch from northern stereotypes and a lack of understanding as to what really is/was going on here. I made a few enemies and myself miserable by clinging to these prejudices, never giving A&M or Texas a chance. With bad feelings surfacing now be tween fraternity/non-fraternity, corp/ non-corp/women’s corp, GSSO/straight; I can’t help but think maybe some of my nothem stereotyping has rubbed off on y’all. Regardless of our own personal al liances, we are all Aggies. In Chicago that word is synonymous with “tremendously loyal, disgustingly proud and steeped in tradition.” TAMU’s traditions are dennately part of what makes A&M special, but it’s the pride in each other and the loyalty to the school we are known for crosscountry. If Aggies show so little respect for other Aggies’ philosophies, theologies and or ganizational preferences through ridicule or rejection in the name of preserving tra dition; we have begun to destroy the most basic and well known traditions we have on this campus. Aggie Loyalty and Pride. Only a 2 per cent Aggie would expect another to see things his, way or go to Aus tin and only a 2 per center would call a whole organization “ignorant and ridicul ously conservative.” By maintaining respect for fellow stu dents and putting traditions and what this school is all about in proper perspective, we will continue to have those qualities which put us apart from the rest. We’re the best damn school there is — and that’s tradition. —D. S. Ayers ‘79 . . . Even at Taps Editor: I just finished reading the letter con cerning Silver Taps in the Sept. 29 Battal ion from Misses McDonald and New berry. I felt as if I had just received a slap in the face, as I’m sure many other Ags did. I did not attend the recent Silver Taps ceremony. I had a lot of work that evening and I did not know any of those honored. This is not to say that I do not believe in or respect the idea behind Silver Taps. I have attended the ceremony several times and have left with precious and longlasting memories. Even if I do not attend the ceremony itself, I take a few moments dur ing the day to pay respect in my heart to these loyal Aggies, as I’m sure many others do. But let’s be realistic for a moment. One could not possibly expect to get 30,000 people in the confined area immediately around the courtyard. People would be backed up to the Coke Building and wouldn’t be able to see or hear any of the ceremony. Even if it was possible, who would want that many people? I certainly wouldn’t. It’s much more important to me that the ceremony be attended by those who knew the honoree(s) and wish to pay their respects. The fact that a ceremony is attended by 2,000 or 200 does not make the difference between devotion and thoughtlessness. I certainly agree with the authors in their criticism of those who attend the ceremony without the proper attitude. Their rudeness is magnified thousandfold when contrasted with the hushed respect of others present. This type of behavior is not to be tolerated if the idea behind Silver Taps is revered. I do not feel like a non-Aggie” nor do I like to be criticized because my idea of the proper way to ob serve a fellow Aggie’s death differs from those of Misses McDonald and Newberry. I think the authors could learn a little about respect for fellow students them selves. —Cindy Hornstein ‘80 by Jim Earle I’ll forego th’ letter and deal with him personally instead! r Top of the News Campus Buses to operate Tuesday Shuttle buses will operate Tuesday even though classes will he dismissed to allow students and faculty to attend the inauguration of Dr. Jarvis E. Miller as the 18th president of Texas A&M. Dean Edwin H. Cooper, chairman of the inaugural committee, said the shuttle bus service will be on 30-minute intervals, with inbound runs starting at 7:10 a.m. and the last bus leaving the campus at 6:40 p.m. In another inauguration-related item. Dean Cooper requested that all faculty members who have rented regalia through the Texas A&M Bookstore pick up their orders today to avoid last minute problems Tuesday morning when out-of-town guests will be picking up their orders. The regalia may be obtained any time during the book store’s regular working hours today. Off-campus group to hold elections The Off-Campus Student Association will be holding elections to select representatives from the Bryan-College Station Community to serve on its Representative Council. The candidate may file in Room 216 of the MSC-Student Programs Office between Oct. 13 and 19. State Solution may treat glacoma A solution of one of the major chemical constituents of marijuana dripped into the eyes of laboratory rabbits reduces interoccular pres sure and could prove to be a treatment for glaucoma in humans, said Dr. Keith Green in Dallas Sunday. The Georgia research scientist said he found the substance, Delta-9 THC, reduced pressure within the eye when dropped topically into the eyes of lab rabbits. He hesitated to predict the results of doing the same thing to human beings. NASA shuts down instruments Johnson Space Center scientists shut down instruments that have transmitted scientific data to earth since being left on the moon hy Apollo astronauts as long as eight years ago. Dr. Gary Latham pushed the last buttons in Houston and said to associates watching, "You have seen the end of an era. NASA said the experimental equip ment, placed on the moon during Apollo missions 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17, was shut down because of “dwindling power reserves at the sta tion and budgetary limitations here on Earth. Couple marries in bomber Gilbert Dominquez and Gorki Mac Rose were married in the hold of a refurbished B-17 flying at an altitude of 1,000 feet Saturday. “I m crazy, laughed Dominquez, 48, a maintenance member of the Con federate Air Force. “I spent so much time working on the thing and flying in it it just seemed like the right thing to do.” Miss Rose, 44, said, "I think it s a great idea. My friends couldn't believe it. They just said Yvhaaat? Justice of the Peace Sherwood Brown said it was a first for him but “people always want to get married in strange places. There was an escort of replica Japanese fighters. Nation Byrd sees filibuster end Senatoi s fighting to keep price ceilings on natural gas seemed to be losing giound in their two-week filibuster Saturday and Democratic Leadei Robert Byrd said the Senate might quash the filibuster hy Luesday oi so. I think they wall have had a bellyfull of it by about Tuesday, Byrd told reporters as the Senate, forced into woekend session, droned through a sixth straight day of delaying amendments on the gas issue. By Saturday, indications w ere those favoring dereg ulation of natural gas prices were overhauling the price control side, and it seemed likely they would eventually force — and w'in — a vote on their deregulation bill in the Senate. New Orleans strike criticized An International Longshoreman s Association official Sunday said woikeis in the New' Orleans port, the nation’s second largest, were hurting themselves by expanding a limited ILA strike into a general strike. Members of ILA locals 1418 and 1419, w'hich serve the port of New Orleans, have stopped movement of all cargo into and out of the city since the strike began Saturday. In all other ports around the country, only containerized and certain barge ships are affected. World Rebels occupy radio station Rebel soldiers occupied the government radio station in Bangladesh and reported a revolution in progress, the Japanese Foieign Ministry said Sunday. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said leports from Dacca told of rifle and machine gun fire for two hours in the Bangladesh capital and confused troop movements. The spokesman expressed fears that undisciplined soldiers may come near a hijacked Japan Air Lines jetliner at Dacca airport and complicate negotiations w ith the hijackers. Weather Pi ca Partly cloudy and mild today and tomorrow. Winds will be out of the Northeast 8-14 mph today and out of the East 8-12 mph tomorrow. High both days low 90s and low tonight 61. No rain is in the forecast. The Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the tenter of the article and are not necessarih, those of the University administration or the Board of Re gents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated hy students as a university and com munity newspaper, editorial policy is determined hy the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to heinp cut to I la, I length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the rtf’ll t to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. 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'IX " MEMBER Texas Press Assoeiation Southwest Journalism Congress Fditor Jamie Managing Fditor Man Alice Wissll 1 '* Editorial Director De Hoy l-cschpe'J' Sports Fditor I’:' 1 ' 1 N ews Editors Marie llomcycr. Carol City Fditor Hust> 1 ; '« B (iunpus Fditor Kim b'"' Copy Fditor Beth Call 1 ''"" Heporters < Henna "liil") 1.1*. Vw* Photographer Ken lie"' 0 Cartoonist Dong Cni® liiiii-n 11 " lltisf Student Publications Board: Bob C. Ropers. ( Joe Aircrtondo; Dr. Cam/ Haller. Dr. lohn 1' Robert Haney: Dr Charles McCamiles,. Dr < lii‘l‘"' Phillips: Rebel Rice Director of Student Puhlic"l l <[ Donald C. Johnson. Production Coordinator: " Sherman