The Battalion
Viewpoint
Tuesday
Texas A&M University
October 18, 1977
Voter tells no tales
The right to privacy—does it extend into the voting booth and protect the
voter’s “secret” ballot? A Michigan court case may decide it does not.
Twenty voters in the Ann Arbor, Michigan mayoral election this spring
have been subpoened by the losing candidate in that election, which the
incumbent won by one vote out of 21,000 ballots. Those twenty voters were
technically ineligible to vote in that election and the losing candidate wants
them to reveal how they voted, believing that when their votes are disqual
ified he will be declared the winning candidate.
Two Michigan Supreme Court decisions, both more than 45 years old, give
courts the power to compel persons voting in possibly fraudulent elections
to reveal how they voted.
The first three subpoened voters told the judge how they voted with
argument, leaving the election tied. Then University of Michigan coed Susan
Van Hattum, took the stand.
“I prefer to stand silent on how I voted, ” she told the judge. “I think it is a
violation of my rights. I was given the right to vote and I did vote. Im not going
to feel good about letting my vote out. I’m violating my own personal rights. ”
It would be more than that. It would violate the principle established in the
American Constitution that each citizen’s vote is between only he and his
God. Without the secret ballot democracy becomes a farce.
How can a citizen make an unbiased decision if he knows he may be called
into court to explain how he voted? How can a citizen vote his conscience
knowing that what should never leave the curtains of the voting booth could be
laid out for the whole world to see?
The Ann Arbor judge cited Van Hattum for contempt of court, a charge that
in Michigan carries a sentence of up to one year in jail. The judge in the case
has released Van Hattum to reconsider her decision, but vowed the she will go
to jail if she still refuses. The Michigan Court of Appeals is now considering the
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DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO ME, I’M JUST MAKING SURE THIS
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A reprimand
Van Hattum deserves great praise for her courage and dedication to her
rights. But she does not deserve to go to jail protecting rights that should have
been safe for 200 years. The appeals court should have enough wisdom to see
that she doesn’t. L.R.L.
A committee question
Wednesday night the Student Senate will take action on whether to keep or
rescind a committee it approved last spring, the Committee on Committees.
This committee was passed to evaluate the purposefulness of other Student
Government committees. But proponents of the rescission bill say the Com
mittee on Committees is useless since “there is no need to abolish non
producing committees due to the fact that they die a natural death.”
Dying a natural death is somewhat vague. Does a “non-producing” commit
tee just go away? Are there any formal checks to be sure Student Government
doesn’t have yearly appointments to committees that haven’t functioned in
ages?
*- If there are provisions that would take care of these possible situations in the
absence of a Committee on Committees then obviously there’s no use in
throwing another ineffective committee into Student Government.
But the Senate should seriously consider some form of a committee to check
the effectiveness of other committees that may not totally die out with their
“natural death” if it is found that such committees really do exist. There have
been rumors that there’s still some natural death skulking in the shadows of
'■* Student Government. J■ A.
Late in the fourth quarter of the Texas A&M-Baylor game Saturday, Aggie
place-kicker Tony Franklin attempted a 39-yard field goal. The kick had
plenty of distance, but the ball appeared to sail wide of the right goal post.
The referee signaled that the kick was no good, much to the dismay of
Franklin. After the call was made, the ref was greeted in the endzone by junior
yell leader Joe Wright. Wright expressed his displeasure of the call by
screaming vehemently at the official, while jumping up and down.
The ref, startled by this outburst, told Wright to get off the field. Wright
proceeded to fall upon the ground, pounding his fist upon the artificial turf.
This display of emotion is inexcuseable for a representative of the Texas
A&M student body. A yell leader’s responsibility is to control a crowd, not to
incite it. Wright’s “temper-tantrum” was an embarrassment, not only to Texas
A&M, but to the traditions a yell leader is supposed to uphold.
Wright should be reprimanded for his juvenile action. P.A.
The SST price tag
Take it from a man who should know, the supersonic transport plane has
priced itself out of business; Uncle Same’s decision to drop SST development
is proving to have been sound.
Telling evidence of this was offered last week by Ben R. Rich, director of
Lockheed Aircraft Corp.’s advanced development projects. He compared
some ticket prices.
A flight on the British-French Concorde SST from Washington to Europe
costs $1,300. Compare that to the bargain-basement fare of $103 from New
York to London one of Freddie Laker’s wide-bodied, subsonic transports —
which move right along nonetheless.
San Jose Mercury
Two sides to the Panama Canal treaties
By WAYNE SCHRIER
Imagine you just acquired a section of
[land from your father-in-law after a lengthy
•court battle concerning the title. The land
■ in question measures four miles by one
.mile. Your neighbor, who owns the land
;both to the east and west of yours, needs
'access across your land so he can more eas
ily farm both sections of land.
Reader s Forum
a substantial amount of money by using
your land. As a result he has been able to
live in luxury while you struggle to survive
at poverty levels.
Would you want to renegotiate the terms
of the agreement made with your neighbor
twenty years before? An agreement you
signed under the threat of blackmail.
The story baffles the imagination. But as
bazaar as it may sound this same make-
believe tale has been successfully por
trayed in reality.
About the turn of the century Panama
had just won its freedom from Columbia
following a civil war with the aid of the
United States. At this same time the U.S.
government wanted to build a canal across
Central America and connect the Atlantic
'■ For this purpose he required a strip of
^dand 1/4 mile the entire width of your prop-
Certy. Furthermore he decides the best
. place for this route is through the center of
Lyour newly acquired property. In exchange
*-for the sole use of this section of land your
• neighbor offers to pay you one dollar a year
>,f° r 50 years.
I’ Of course you don’t agree to the terms of
^the contract. Your neighbor threatens to
' disclose the fact that you’ve been cheating
Con your wife, an action which would result
in the loss of your land. You have no choice,
?but to sign the contract,
c Twenty years pass. . . Your father-in-law
;.and you have become close friends and
Cyour wife left you for another man.
Your neighbor has made several capitol
improvements on the leased land and saved
with the Pacific.
The U.S. offered to build the canal across
Panama if it maintained sole control over
the Canal Zone. In exchange for signing the
treaty, the U.S. would give Panama mili
tary protection from Columbia and pay a
normal amount of rent for the zone.
If Panama refused to sign the treaty the
U.S. would pull out all military support and
leave the infant country to defend itself
against its neighbors. Needless to say they
signed.
Today Panama and Columbia are on
friendly terms. Panama’s people live
largely in poverty surrounding a financially
prosperous Canal Zone. Panama is now ask
ing to renegotiate its contract with the U.S.
If you believe you have the right to re
negotiate the contract in the hypothetical
ease then in good conscience you cannot
deny Panama’s right to a new and fair
treaty.
In a country which prides itself on its
standards of justice and equity for everyone
it would be a hypocritical and atrocious act
to deny Panama the treaty now before the
Senate. Support the treaty.
(Wayne Schrier is a graduate student in
biochemistry. This column contains his
opinions and not necessarily those of this
newspaper.)
Fetters to the editor
To get warmer ‘howdy’, give warmer ‘howdy’
Slouch by Jim Earle
^Editor:
Kathryn Goff, your letter in Friday’s Batt
-leaves me with the impression that you
ishould be a senior in the Corps. Just think,
.you have accomplished in one short year as
a non-reg what normally takes most cadets
-three years in the Corps. You have de
veloped the Senior C. T. Syndrome.
But why suffer from the affliction that
jothers should speak to you first or that
‘others somehow owe you a warm friendly
diowdy? Why not be a crusader in the fight
-for happier howdies? Why not say howdy to
someone else first? Perhaps you can
frighten their otherwise “rotten day.”
Who knows, maybe they will return your
Jiowdy with one just as warm.
- You are right about the cold, almost
mechanical howdies uttered by many
jcadets as being irritating and discouraging.
‘Likewise, I would certainly agree that C.
T.s in general need to put a little more
-feeling and warmth in their howdies. How
ever, maybe you could borrow a uniform
Ifom a friendly fish and wander incognito
about the campus as a C. T. Then you could
experience the frustration of speaking in a
friendly manner to a non-reg, only to get a
Blank stare or barely audible reply in re-
lurn. Really though, that is not the norm
]and most non-regs and C. T.s will happily
return a friendly howdy.
As unbelievable as it may seem, some of
us here at A&M (non-regs and C. T.s alike),
do honestly try to put some warmth in our
greetings regardless of whether we wear a
uniform or not. Kathryn, your search for
that warm friendly but seemingly illusive
howdy isn’t as difficult as you might
imagine. Have faith, out there on the paths
of Aggieland someone may just be waiting
for you to make the first move by saying
howdy with a smile.
—Mark Toppert ‘78
‘Changing library
Editor:
While at the library on October 9th, I
saw a little bit of illogical thinking of the
library staff (or should I say “Head Hon
chos). I needed to copy an Organic Chemis
try test from last year. I went in my pocket
for a bill and found one. I proceeded over to
the good old (permanantly broken???) coin
and bill changer. Realizing that the
machine was not going to give me anything
but a blank stare, I then proceeded to the
main desk for change. I was told “I can’t
give any change.”
I realized something that maybe the om-
nicient Head Honchos overlooked: If a stu
dent needs to copy something and he can’t,
then the book, most likely, will be missing
several pages. I guess they need to keep
their change at the expense of a book. It
sounds very illogical and I believe there is a
change needed. Come on. Head Honchos
wise up!
—H. C. Hering, Jr. ‘80
THEY’RE NEVER SATISFIED. THEY COMPLAINED WHEN I
DIDN’T SPEAK, AND NOW THEY COMPLAIN WHEN I DO!
Si
Top of the News
State
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Political office — all in the family
Mark White Jr. resigned as secretary of state Monday in Austin, and
began his campaign for attorney general with accusations that opp 0 .
nent Price Daniel Jr. is attempting to ride his father’s name into the
office. White said Daniel’s political record is one of failure, accused the
former speaker of being arrogant, and said Daniel is tiying to win the
office through voters’ familiarity with the name of his father, a former
governor and now a member of the I exas Supreme Com t. I think the
voters of this state are fed up with cases of mistaken identity and they
want to vote for the best candidate, not the best known name,” White
said.
Dr. Jon
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But I wouldnt want to live then
A global population of 11 billion, “a world none of us would wantto
live in, ”is a possibility unless immediate steps are taken, Roberts.
McNamara, president of the World Bank in Washington D. C., told
the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons Monday in
Dallas. He cited population control and poverty reduction as the major
problems of developing nations, and said although economic growth in
even the poorest countries is feasible, such efforts are dependent on
reduction of fertility rates. He said governments should encourage
couples to desire smaller families and provide parents with methodsof
birth control.
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St. Louis sniper sketches drawn
Authorities in Missouri and Texas are circulating police artists
sketches of two young men in the investigation of a sniping at a
suburban synagogue in St. Louis. The second sketch depicts a man
who paid $2(X) to a man in Irving, Texas, four weeks ago for the hunting
rifle that was used in the shooting Oct. 8 in Richmond Heights, killing
Gerald Gordon of Chesterfield as he stood on the Kneseth Israel
synagogue’s parking lot after a bar mitzvah. William Lee Ash of Akron,
Ohio, was also wounded by the sniper. Lt. Thomas H. Boulch, headof
the Major Case Squad’s investigation of the case, said police are
uncertain whether the man who bought the rifle was the same man
who fired the shots from a grassy knoll near the parking lot.
The or
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Private family services for Bing
American officials said Sunday Bing Crosby’s remains would be
flown to New York Monday from Madrid, Spain, aboard a commercial
jet and from there to Los Angeles where simple Roman Catholic
funeral observances w ill be held today. The 73-year-old “Der Bingle
died of a heart attack Friday after finishing a round of golf in Madrid
with three Spanish friends. Crosby will have a private “family” service
at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Los Angeles and Mrs. Kathy Crosby,
the singer’s second wife, has asked for privacy at the funeral. Crosby,a
Catholic, is to be buried in a family plot at Holy Cross Cemetery near
his mother and father and his first wife, actress Dixie Lee, who died in
1952.
Mrs. Bl;
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NowboardinginN.Y. . . Concorde
Air France and British Airways were given clearance by the U. S.
Supreme Court Monday for the Concorde supersonic jetliner to land
in New' York and said they would begin test flights into Kennedy
Airport Wednesday. I he airlines said they planned to begin full com
mercial service on Nov. 22. The Supreme Court ruling, which re
moved all legal barriers to immediate flights in and out of the airport,
brought immediate denunciations from community groups and local
politicians who have fought the Concorde because of its noise. Only
the weather can stop the flights now,” Gov. Hugh Carey said.
jmmmmmmmrnm
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World
Moscow cites arms progress
The Soviet Union says Moscow and Washington have drawn closer
to curbing the nuclear arms race and are “on the road” to a new
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. “It is possible to say that the two
powers have embarked on the road leading to an agreement, the
Soviet Communist Party newspaper Prauc/a said Sunday. Meanwhile,
the official government daily, Izvestia, charged the Carter adminis
trations reorganization of the U.S. Information Agency was an at
tempt t° widen the ideological and psychological warfare” against the
Soviet bloc.
Hero Day” hails Castro “a giant
Fidel Castro arrived in Kingston, Jamaica, Sunday to a 21-gun salute
and awarm welcome from leftist Prime Minister Michael Manley, who
piaised the Cuban leader as “a giant” of the Communist world. In
celebration of Jamaica’s national holiday, “Hero’s Day, Manley pres-
ented Castro with the “Order of Jamaica” — the nation’s highest award
ailing the sacrifices of the Cuban people in the face of economic
sanctions imposed by the United States in their effort to overthrow the
Castrp regime, while also denouncing the 1961 American-backed Bay
ot Pigs inglorious invasion.” The trip underlined the rift between
Manley s Jamaican Peoples Party and the opposition Jamaican Labor
Party, which branded the Cuban leader “a Communist dictator and
aoycotte his visit as an insult to the Jamaican people.
Weather
Fair and partly cloudy today and tomorrow. Southeasterly
winds today 8-12 mph shifting to northeasterly tomorrow at
• Hi S h toda y ^ ovv 80 s and tomorrow high 70s. Low
tonight low 50s. No rain.
~ The Battalion ~
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-*« ”S
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