Page 2
Viewpoint
The Battalion Friday
Texas A&M University October 7, 1977
Time to boycott Amin
While the whole theory of economic boycott of countries whose human
rights policies differ from those of the U. S. won’t stand up, the idea of
boycotting such a flagrant tyrant as Idi Amin of Uganda has a strong appeal.
The House of Representatives will be asked to do that very thing soon in
legislation to be introduced by Rep. Don Pease, D-Ohio.
Pease says the U. S. should quit buying green coffee from Uganda, from
which the government of Idi Amin received nearly $177 million in the first
six months of 1977.
That is a third of Uganda’s total export earnings. Pease contends Amin is
able to stay in power by paying his army well and allowing them freedom to
loot and kill, and that the coffee money from the U. S. helps him do just that.
The idea of trading with only those countries whose policies are agreeable
inevitably breaks down at some point. If pursued to its logical extreme, we
would find ourselves trading with only a handful of highly developed demo
cratic countries, most of whom would not be able to supply the raw materials
needed for U. S. industry.
Yet the U. S.— under pressure from third world nations — boycotts
Rhodesia, refusing to buy Rhodesian chromium because of the policies of the
white minority government of Ian Smith.
But even Smith’s most dedicated enemies have never accused his gov
ernment of the atrocities that most of the world agrees occur daily under the
tyrant Amin in Uganda.
Pease’s agrument for a boycott of Ugandan coffee is powerful and one that
the Congress will find difficult to overlook.
Tulsa World
Aggie fever — is it taking over your mind?
By.-J. WAGNER TYNES
I bet you think you have a lot of prob
lems that don’t ever seem to bother any
one else in the world. Things like too
much homework, bad grades, no date for
the next home game, indigestion from bad
food, sore feet from walking too far to
class, etc.
Well I’ve got news for you. You ain’t
seen nothin’ yet.
Thanks to a tip from one of my anony
mous sources. Shallow Throat, I dis
covered that the Quack Shack contains a
special ward that the public never sees
nor hears about. It’s a ward reserved for
students with personal problems that have
turned them into deranged raving, froth-
ing-at-the-mouth type lunatics.
These poor individuals are the victims of
various traditions and situations around
A&M that consumed their very souls,
leaving but a shattered remnant of the
original student.
One recent afternoon, I equipped my
self with notebook, pen, and copy of my
First Amendment Rights As A Responsi
ble Journalist and headed for the Health
Center to confront the doctors with my
information.
I entered the antiseptic-smelling build
ing and confidently approached the
nurses’ station, where I demanded access
to the secret ward.
“I want in!” I stated in an impressive,
Robert Harvey-type voice.
“In where? replied a small, friendly
looking man.
Don’t give ME that evasive technical
jargon, I shouted, “I know you medical
types! Always claiming we journalists don’t
understand! Always trying to confuse us
with factual garbage!”
About this time, I realized by the fearful
United Press International
WASHINGTON—They’ve done it
again, those Congressmen who are so con
cerned about Congress public image and
complain that the press is always taking
cheap shots at them.
Washington Window
For the first time in slightly more than a
decade this observer has covered the
House, a bill was introduced, called up
minutes later and passed by voice.
No reference to a committee for hear
ings, no debate, no explanation, no
printed copies of the bill or an accompany
ing report, no record vote;
Even the venerable Congressional Rec
ord, in reporting the previous day’s ac
tivities, showed only that Rep. William
Ford, D-Mich., asked and got unanimous
consent “for the immediate consideration
of the bill H.R. 9262...”
It was done that way, with the obvious
planning of the Democratic leadership and
the silent acquiesence of the 70 or 80
members on the floor at the time, because
it gave a One shot increase in Con-
Letters to the editor
look on the doctor’s face that I was taking
the wrong tactic. I decided to calm down
and try a different method:
“I’d like to see where you keep the
crazies, please.”
Sure,” he said, “right this way.”
We entered the elevator and he pressed
a panel in the wall. The car slid downward
past the basement into a secret level deep
below the ground.
We stepped out into a long white cor
ridor broken on either side only by small
metal doors and windows. The doctor ex
plained in a quiet voice that the windows
were one-way mirrors that allowed the
doctors to observe the patients without the
patients’ knowing.
Humor
Slightly apprehensive, I stepped to the
nearest window and peered into the small
room beyond. In the center of the room
was a large table covered with food of the
best kind: fresh fruit, tender meats, steam
ing dishes of mouth-watering vegetables
and plates of scrumptious-looking des
serts. My stomach growled.
Then I noticed an emaciated individual
squatting over in one corner. He was star
ing off in the distance and chewing
methodically on a greasy piece of chicken
with pieces of a greasy hamburger and a
greasy pizza lying on the floor in front of
him.
“This is a sad case,” the doctor said.
“That poor boy was making an honest ef
fort to save money so he told himself he
would never eat except at Sbisa. That
wouldn’t have been so bad if he hadn’t
tried to keep it up for three years. Why,
gressmen’s pensions to encourage the
older members to retire and make room
for younger blood.
It’s the kind of thing that many mem
bers would say “the press would distort
and not report objectively if there had
been public debate.
The bill had merit. Even Common
Cause, the citizen’s lobbying group which
he even sneaked food out on Sunday after
noon so he’d have something for Sunday
night.
“Presently the mere thought of good
food sends him into convulsions. We think
that we may be able to save him if we
keep good food in front of him, but it
hasn’t worked yet.”
Feeling less hungry, I moved to the
next window. Inside was a well-dressed
young man strutting back and forth and
talking to himself in a loud voice, uttering
a rambling, incoherent speech with no rel
evance to anything.
“This man used to be high in the ranks
of student government,” the doctor ex
plained. “But he began to feel pressured
and eventually broke down. He began giv
ing rambling speeches at any time, any
where: to his tennis racket on the court, in
the middle of a movie, or to the speaker at
Jack-in-the-Box. I’m afraid it’s hopeless.”
Feeling less talkative, I moved down
the hall. In the next room was a student
wearing overalls that were embroidered
with many Texas A&M sayings. I was sur
prised to see him humping it and giving a
hearty “Farmers Fight!
The doctor explained, “This fellow went
to one too many yell practices and got just
a little too involved. He took to perform
ing yells in the middle of class or church or
wherever he felt like it. It was really kind
of sad. He never could get anyone to yell
with him. It just tore him up.
“There’s hope left for him, however.
We think that with a little rehabilitation,
he can be trained for a successful career as
a yell leader.”
I was pretty depressed by this time. I
peered into the next window to see a pret
ty young woman clad in soaking clothes
with a crazed look in her eyes. Glancing
fast one on
has little favor among congressmen, sup
ported its objective. It’s doubtful, how
ever, that it supported the method of pas
sage.
What the bill did was allow pensions for
those, retiring next year to be figured from
the current salary base, rather than de
termining the base from the average of the
three highest year’s salaries, which is now
around, I saw a large tank of water. I
noticed that the girl was staring intently at
the water.
“Now this girl really has a problem,” the
doctor stepped in to explain again, “She is
a victim of a terrible act: over-quadding.
She was quadded so many times by so
many people that it took over her mind
and became a part of her lifestyle. It got to
the point that she couldn’t walk past the
Fish Pond or Rudder Fountain without
ripping off her watch and shoes and throw
ing herself into the water on the count of
three.”
At this point, the doctor nudged me on
down the hall to an empty room.
“This next room is being reserved,” he
said. “We expect someone to come along
any day now who will fit into it with ease. ”
Perplexed, I looked into the room. The
sight that greeted my eyes was enough to
chill me to my allegedly journalistic bones.
I broke out in a nervous sweat, stuttered
out a thanks to the doctor and left the ward
as fast as I could press the button on the
elevator.
So if you think you have problems,
you’ve got another thing coming. Be wary
of unexplained traditions and A&M ac
tivities, they may be waiting to take over
your mind. You, too, could be one of the
unfortunate individuals stuck in the secret
dungeon of the Beutel Health Center.
I have a special problem. The memory
of that unoccupied room still haunts me
and gives me nightmares. It was decorated
with precisely the same furnishings as the
Battalion newsroom.
I think maybe I’ll start working at home.
Tijnes is a junior journalism major. This
column contains his own opinions and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions or
policies of this newspaper.
pensions
in law and which will resume in January-
1979.
For any House or Senate member retir
ing with the maximum pension, it means a
one-time $3,426 a year increase in his pen
sion over what he would get under the
regular system.
At last count, six Senators and 11 House
members plant to retire next year.
Another nine are seeking other offices and
could come under the pension if they lose.
Dan Glickman, a freshman Democrat
from Kansas, said he wasn’t aware of what
happened until he read about it the next
day in his hometown newspaper.
“I was absolutely disgusted when I
found out,” said Glickman.
So were Reps. Andy Jaeops, D-Inc., and
Martha Keys, D-Kan.
The three immediately introduced a
resolution to amend the rules of the House
“to require that measures affecting the
salaries, freebies or emoluments of mem
bers or former members of Congress be
adopted by roll call vote.”
Glickman, in his freshman naiveness,
said, “As far as other members agreeing
with this position, I think it would be very
embarrassing if they don’t go along with
it. ”
What they pass so quietly in Congress,
they also kill.
The House pulls a
By GENE BERNHARDT
Students support
speaker’s right to express opinions
Editor:
When I was informed that Dr. Shockley
is to be present at one of this semester’s
debates for Great Issues, and that (know
ing about Shockley’s views) the Black
Awareness Committee is co-sponsoring
the debate, I was pleased at another Aggie
first. Everywhere else Dr. Shockley has
spoken, he has generally been received
with demonstrations and boycotting of his
lectures. Here at A&M, we show that we
will give anyone a chance to express his
opinion, no matter how bizarre, knowing
that more knowledge can only improve us.
Dr. Shockley’s lecture should be attended
as an act of good will and open minded
ness. One should be sure that his opinion
is correct, and certainly having it debated
is a good way, anything else would be
prejudice, by definition.
—Bryan McKenzie ’80
Doctor should speak
Editor:
Ann Castle in her letter to the editor in
the Wednesday, October 5 Battalion pro
posed a mass boycott of an upcoming de
bate between Dr. William Shockley and
Dr. Richard Goldsby. Given as grounds
for the boycott are two arguments:
First, Miss Castle does not agree with
Dr. Shockley’s opinions. To quote her, “In
my opinion Dr. Shockley’s theories are ab
surd.” Well! Who is Miss Castle to make
judgements for me? Dr. Shockley is no
quack (he invented the transistor), and has
a long list of credentials (the Nobel Prize,
for one, as Miss Castle mentioned). Does
Miss Castle have the necessary qualifica
tions to tell me that a renowned Ph.D. is
absurd? And please Miss Castle! Disagree
ing with someone is no reason to close
your ears and shut him out. Remember,
no one would listen to an absurd man
named Charles Darwin either.
The second reason Miss Castle gave for
a boycott was “The debate, being based on
such an emotional and personal topic,
cannot help but become destructive.” Is it
not possible to consider emotional issues
with some objectivity? Should we simply
put such emotional, personal topics as
abortion or genetic engineering in a closet
and hope they will go away? I’m sorry,
Miss Castle, if the subject may be un
pleasant to deal with, but after all, life is
full of unpleasant decisions that must be
made.
Do not get the impression, however,
that I am defending Dr. Shockley’s
viewpoint. I am merely defending his
First Amendment freedom to speak freely,
and this community’s freedom to assemble
and listen to both sides of the story (there
will be someone there from your side.
Miss Castle). I have faith that many people
of Texas A&M have the intellectual curios
ity to attend the debate, and the good
judgement to weigh each side of the issue
and formulate their own opinion.
—James DeBruin
Abortion story fair
Editor:
A TAMU friend sent me a copy of the
September 23 issue of The Battalion.
My thanks to Liz Newlin for what
seemed to me to be fair and equal cover
age of both sides of the abortion debate.
For each quote she took from Miss Gray,
she took one from Miss Mulhauser, and
did not appear to inject her own interpre
tations.
I am also grateful to the Great Issues
Committee for bringing this debate on the
killing of pre-born human beings to our
students at a prestigious Texas university.
—Mrs. Charles W. Plunkett
Houston
Impossible dream?
Editor:
Have you ever tried to find a parking
space in lots reserved for dormitory stu
dents after ten p.m. on any given week-
night? Well, it can’t be done unless, (A)
you’re Irish and extremely lucky, (B) use
one of the three wishes granted by the
magic lamp, or (C) have a great rapport
with “the man upstairs.”
Those of us who don’t fall into the above
groups are forced to park illegally at five
dollars a night or drive across the railroad
tracks to park. Granted, not finding a park
ing space is not a major inconvenience,
provided it only happened from time to
time. However, for those of us who work
evenings past ten o’clock it becomes a
nightly problem.
The walk from the parking lot across the
railroad tracks to the dorm area is not par
ticularly long or unpleasant. Given the
hour, however, it could prove dangerous
for the coeds, and with winter not far off,
the pleasant autumn evening walk will
turn into a hated hike. In addition, some
jobs require quick access to one’s car,
which is impossible when it takes five
minutes just to reach your car.
Surely the powers that be in the Uni
versity Police Department can come up
with a solution for this problem. Perhaps
this situation could be alleviated by reserv
ing a special section for those of us who
work late. —R.H.S. ’78
Top of the News
Local
Campus
Debate Club auditions Oct. 11
The Texas A&M Debate and Forensics Club will hold auditions
Oct. 11 for two Oral Interpretation Festivals to be held next month.
The auditions will begin at 7 p.m. in room 502 of the Rudder Tower.
Dr. Josh Crane, associate professor of speech communication, will
select students to represent A&M at the Baylor Interpretation Festi
val on Nov. 11 and 12 and at the Southwest Texas University tourna
ment on Nov. 18 and 19.
State
Area ml
Bit Texas
Better ind
their bus!
college stl
. CustoiJ
■Garden
■Cream F
■A&M art
finesses tin
The mark
students
Harding appointed treasurer
Dr. Dc|
instructor!
has been "
but that
present hi
Warren G. Harding, 56, Dallas County treasurer since 1951, was
appointed state treasurer by Gov. Dolph Briscoe in Austin Wednes
day to replace Jesse James who died last week. Harding was the only
man who ever came close to defeating James. Harding’s appointment
is effective immediately and he will serve through Dec. 31, 1978.
6 Slave class' in Houston?
Stem
the servi|
quests
When thil
compens!
extra wor!
on an avl
I pay for h{
“This
The Houston school district would spend an estimated $5.3 million
annually to provide free education for the city’s alien children. The
district wants to defray this cost by charging the aliens $90 a month.
However, Peter D. Williamson, attorney for 10 alien children seek
ing admission to Houston schools, said Wednesday the tuition re
quirement would create a slave class. The Houston Legal Foundation
filed a class action lawsuit on the children’s behalf which contends it is
unfair to bar alien children who are unable to pay tuition from public
school.
Bx
Policemen found guilty
Two former Houston policemen, Terry Denson, 27, and Stephen
Orlando, 22, were convicted in Huntsville Thursday of a mis
demeanor in the beating and drowning of Joe Campos Torres Jr. The
criminally negligent homicide carries a maximum sentence of one
year in prison and a $2,000 fine. “Is that all they’re going to get?”
asked Torres’ mother, Margaret Torres. “It wasn’t just a little thing
they did. They should get more. They didn’t kill an animal. They
killed a human being. Defense lawyers in the case continually em
phasized to the jury that the prosecution had not met a basic re
quirement of Texas law for a murder conviction: proof of intent to do
serious harm.
Nation
TV intox defense rests
The defense rested its case in Miami Thursday in the “television
intoxication” murder trial of 15-year-old Ronny Zamora. Zamora is
charged with the June 4 killing of his neighbor Elinor Haggart, 82.
Defense attorney Ellis Rubin has built his defense for the youth
around claims the boy was electronically brainwashed by television
violence. Dr. Michael Gilbert said Zamora was legally sane until the
point he squeezed the trigger of the pistol. Gilbert testified Wednes
day that Zamora “was exposed to thousands and thousands of situa
tions where, when you are threatened, bang! You shoot.” The prose
cution has begun calling rebuttal witnessess and the case is expected
to go to the jury today.
No fatties at Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts University officials in Tulsa, Okla. contend they do
not have to enroll fat students. To Carl H. Hamilton, academic dean
at ORU, this is not discrimination. He said it is all part of a lifestyle
encouraged by the school. “We are a whole person university. We
are just as serious about our physical growth as our intellectual and
spiritual growth. He specified he was talking about the “individual
who is voluntarily overweight simply from eating too much too of
ten.’ Those students are told to lose weight or leave the university,
Hamilton said. Shirley Barry, executive director of the Oklahoma
Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union disagrees. “We think
it s discriminating against individuals with minor health problems,
disabilities and imperfections.”
"Belie'
I than issu
Parsons,
traffic at
The re
that the ]
practice
low slip:
sisted 9
starts,”
dark pai
about Sfi
erty.
The ci
I 'good si
many o
sibilities
“Some
to get th
universit
plaints fi
hide o\v
‘Luther’
have poi
at an av
since Se
cent of
cased, a
Forty-
I investig;
which ir
’The
I bicycle
case the
registers
Other
Ibeen m
i v 'ing 5
stolen
jogt
UAW wont rejoin AFL-CIO
The leadership of the United Auto Workers union in Detroit has
rejected reaffiliation with the AFL-CIO. UAW President Douglas A.
Fraser said 20 members of the board originally favored rejoining the
AFL-CIO but voted against the move after region-by-region review
showed rank-and-file support was lacking. The UAW dropped out of
the AFL-CIO nine years ago in a dispute between AFL-CIO Presi
dent George Meany and his more liberal UAW counterpart, the late
Walter P. Reuther. Although Fraser and others wanted to hury the
hatchet with the AFL-CIO, two union leaders in particular
Secretary-Treasurer Emil Mazey and Vice President Irving Blues-
tone — vehemently opposed the move.
If you
many lap
Kyle Fie
have an
ffind out
Brazos
cials will
with pe:
count la
the circli
hour rui
club’s t
run.”
I. World
Spaniard wins Nobel Prize
Vicente Aleixandre, 79, received the 1977 Nobel Prize for Lr e
ture Thursday in Sweeden. The Sweedish Academy cited the Spa' 11 ^
writer “for a creative poetic writing, which, with roots in the ^
ditions of Spanish lyric and in modern currents, illuminates man
condition in the cosmos and present day society.”
Weather
Partly cloudy and warm today and tomorrow with winds out
of the Southeast 8-12 mph. High today high 80s. Low tonight
high 60s. Increasing cloudiness tomorrow with 20 percent
chance of rain during late afternoon and evening.
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 administration or the Board of Re
gents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting
enterprise operated by students as a university and com
munity 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 tluit 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 Ik-
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 Adver
tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los
Angeles.
Tt»e Battalion is published Monday through Friday from
September through May except during exam and holiday
periods and the summer, when it is published on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per
school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates hir-
nished on request. Address: The Battalion. ^ ()<) ^
Reed McDonald Building, College Station, y eX !jf i v jp
United Press International is entitled exclusiu . «
use for reproduction of all news dispatches crx ^ i
Rights of reproduction of all other matter here ^
Second-Class postage paid at College Station.
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Janm ^l
Managing Editor Mary A lie " l * a
Editorial Director Lee Roy
News Editors Marie Hoineyer, L Iin >
City Editor n T?
Campus Editor "i JWl
Reporters Gleinwi
Liz w
Photographer rm
Cartoonist Pontf
Student Publications Board: Bob G.
Joe Arredondo; Dr. Ganj Halter, Or Mm " |
Robert Harney; Dr. Charles McC'andless; O'
Phillips; Rebel Rice. Director of Student P" l> ' ^
Donald C. Johnson. Production Coordinator
Sherman
Bu
pre