Page 2
Viewpoint
The Battalion Monday
Texas A&M University October 31, 1977
Purse strings around universities’ throats
How much docs a private corporation buy when it
makes a large grant to a university?
At least one corporation expects some control over
university speakers for their money.
Dow Chemical Co. last week withdrew approxi
mately $73,(XX) in financial aid to Central Michigan
University because the university had paid actress Jane
Fonda for an on-campus speech in which she attacked a
number of corporations, including Dow.
Dow President Paul Oreffice told the university s
president in a private letter that the money was being
withdrawn to make certain our funds are never used
to support people intent upon destruction of our free
dom. In the letter, Oreffice called Fonda "an avowed
Communist sympathizer.'
Fonda had told her campus audience that giant cor
porations, including Dow, were
nipulating the nation s economy.
A Dow spokesman has said the financial aid will be
restored when the corporation is assured none of its
money will be used “to finance the efforts of those who
want to overthrow the country. But the threat of cut
ting off large grants of financial aid is a potent threat for
corporations and other donors to wield against univer
sities.
The fear of enraging private contributors could keep
many universities from permitting controversial speak
ers anywhere near their campuses. It s the old-
fashioned theory of economic control.
Dow has the right to tell people how they want their
gift money spent. But the company should not expect
that grant to give the corporation a say in everything
that happens at the university. Officials at Central
Michigan said none of the Dow funds had been directly
used to pay Fonda.
But the real threat is to the basic role of universities
to act as an open forum for a complete spectrum of
ideologies, views and cultures. Nowhere in today's so
ciety is there a better place for exposing and expressing
every man s own opinions and beliefs — and for learn
ing that “my way isn t the only way — than the
modern university.
If universities must feel corporation purse strings
draw tight around their throats every time someone
says something different on campus, one of the univer
sity s most valuable roles is doomed. L. R.L.
Congress
By DONALD H. MAY
l lliti'd IVc» IiiU i ii:i(i<>n:il
WASHINGTON — It all began with
Otto Von Bismarck.
In 1889, in the western world’s first
state-supported old age pension system,
the chancellor of the German Empire, de
fined "old age” as 65.
Other countries eventually adopted the
same figure in setting up their retirement
programs. So did the United States when
it established Social Security in 1935.
The House Committee on Aging, which
recounts this history, argues that the orig
inal choice of age 65 must have been
somewhat arbitrary. Bismarck, at the
time, was an active 74.
Wilbur Cohen, a former secretary of
Washington window
health, education and welfare and one of
the drafters of the U.S. Social Security
program, has written that there was “no
scientific, social, or gerontological basis”
for the United States picking 65. It was the
general consensus that 65 was the most
accpetable age."
He added that 65 was intended as the
age when benefits would begin, not as a
compulsory retirement age for everyone.
Now, Congress is tinkering with this
traditional concept of “old age. ”
Different bills have passed the House,
(359 to 4) and the Senate (88 to 7) raising
Tetters to the editor
University
feeling force of
‘gray power’
from 65 to 70 the age at which most em
ployers can require workers to retire. A
compromise and final enactment appears
likely by the end of the year.
Support for these measures caught hold
in Congress for several reasons:
Senior citizens have gained political
power. Recession and inflation have cut
retirees’ standard of living.
And it has become evident that Social
Security is becoming increasingly expen
sive. One reason is the number of retired
persons is growing compared to the
number of workers paying into Social Se
curity.
Business groups argue that relaxing
mandatory retirement will make it harder
to run efficient companies — that, with
fewer openings at the top, there will be
fewer promotions below; it will be harder
to keep good workers; vitality and new
ideas will be lost.
Civil rights groups are divided on
whether the legislation would result in
fewer jobs and promotion opportunities
for the young, members of minorities and
women.
The National Organization for Women
said women stand to gain because they
have a particular need to work into old
age: they outlive men; they frequently
enter the job market after children are
grown; they work for lower wages and earn
lower pension benefits.
Sponsors of the bills say the effect on
unemployment will be small because rela
tively few elderly persons will work
longer. Most Americans covered by man
datory retirement now are retiring before
the required age. The trend in the country
is toward earlier retirement.
One study showed that of a typical 1(X)
retired men, 54 were covered by manda
tory retirement, 24 of those remained on
the job until the fixed retirement age, and
10 of those went out to seek other jobs.
Sen. Harrison Williams, D-N.J., chief
sponsor of the Senate bill, said it would
add not more than 200,000 workers to the
job market annually, in an economy which
last year produced 3 million new jobs.
One idea to which Washington appears
opposed, however, is raising the age —
now 65 — at which people are eligible for
full Social Security benefits. They can re
tire earlier on lower benefits.
Commerce Secretary Juanita Kreps
once broached that subject and got a
heated lette; from Rep Claude Pepper,
D-Fla.. head of the C Committee on Aging.
Kreps replied that neither she nor the ad
ministration were proposing such a plan.
protecting students from reality?
Editor:
I am a freshman student taking Psychol
ogy 107 on M WF at 4 p.m. This past week
our class had an “open ” discussion of
homosexuality, and I was appalled by the
exchange of ignorant opinions, of opinions
that gays are crazy or sick. The discussion
reflected what I feel is the general attitude
of 1AMU and its students. By refusing to
accept people different from themselves,
by suppressing those individuals, and,
more specifically, by ignoring the exis
tence of the gay community. Aggies have
managed to set the entire issue of human
rights back a decade. It appears to me
that, with its present efforts to keep
G.S.S.O. off the campus, TAMU (and
most true Aggies) are trying to perpetuate
the existence of a university where con
cerned parents may send their children
(and they are children in the truest sense
of the word) to be protected from inevita
ble realities of the modern world.
In my opinion, TAMU s childishness
has done irrevocable damage to the myth
of Aggie “traditions. Recently, letters
have appeared in this column urging all
Aggies to band together, to be one for all
and all for one, that Aggies stand by one
another. Obviously, in view of the recent
G.S.S.O. controversy, the idea of Aggie
loyalty applies only to those who fit the
traditional Aggie role, and certainly not to
gays. And I submit to you that, when a
tradition applies only to those deemed “fit
ting by the majority, that tradition be
comes hypocrisy. As for Aggies, tradition
is simply a ruse to justify narrow-minded
hangups and camouflage unfair discrimina
tion.
Furthermore, if, as one reader has pro
posed, a 2-percenter is an Aggie who is not
an Aggie with all his heart, I am a self-
admitted 2-percenter, for I feel less pride
in being an Aggie than I do in being gay.
—David Kotara
Impossible dream
Editor:
We would like to know who in the hell is
getting all the good football tickets. It
seems to me that after three years here at
A&M we should be able to get better
seats. We are all juniors and have been
sitting in the horseshoe since we were
freshmen. One would think that by now
we would, have at least moved up to the
20- or 30-yardline.
Slouch
by Jim Earle
During our first two years here, we
Willingly put in our time in the horseshoe.
But we were willing because we expected
to get good seats during our last two years
at A&M, because that is the way our ticket
distribution system is supposed to work.
But by Tuesday morning when juniors are
allowed to get tickets, all that is left are
seats past the goalline.
For this to happen, over half of the stu
dent tickets must be given away on
Monday. With the seniors having a
smaller class than the juniors, sopho
mores, or freshmen, one wonders who
gets all of the tickets. Sure, there are some
graduate students and some seniors who
have legitimate dates with underclassmen.
But this still should not even approach half
of the tickets.
Perhaps a main factor in the situation is
underclassmen who get seniors to get their
tickets. Although this is a “legal” way to
beat the system, it seems unethical to us
who expect the system to work as it was
designed.
We think the distribution according to
seniority is fine, but perhaps A&M could
find a ticket distribution system which
would benefit those who use is correctly
and not those who abuse it.
— Ron Hoelscher ’79
Marcus Schneider ’79
Gary Freytag ’79
Ray Rabroker ’79
George McAnelly H ’79
Michael Wesp ’79
God ‘credible’
Editor:
I must respond to Lamont Hall's letter
printed last week. I address this to him
(and the other Ags):
Obviously there are many who don't be
lieve in God. The “In God We Trust on
currency is an issue of minor importance
to me, hut your statement about credibil
ity is. You said: “How many of us really
consider God to be the driving force in our
lives and can say so with any degree of
credibility?
Well, I can honestly say that God in the
form of the Lord Jesus Christ is the driving
force in my life. There are several hundred
other Aggies who live under the guidance
of Jesus Christ, but I can’t speak for them.
I can only tell you that Jesus Christ is alive
in my life. I would probably be a junkie or
in a car wrapped around a tree if not for
Him.
You ask about credibility. My only way
to respond is to let you decide for yourself
if Christ is a “dominant force" by meeting
me. He is dominant in my life. I believe
that you 11 find that God is not only “credi
ble , but also incredible.
If you, Lamont Hall, or any other Ags
want to see if God is relevant today, call
me. 693-2916. I ll find time to get together
and talk about it. I won t “pressure you,
but I ll let you see a living God, and the
way He affects every day of my life.
—Steve Upham, ‘80
Witch, come home
Editor:
I do not qualify as an Aggie in that I
have never attended classes at the Univer
sity. However, I work on campus and my
husband is a graduate student here. 1 DO
feel that I am an Aggie by adoption and
choice and have been very proud of the
traditions and spirit of friendliness I have
found everywhere here (and which are
lacking so many other places.)
Since I work and my husband is a full
time student and also works, there arose
the question of where to put our two chil
dren during the daytime and Wee Aggie-
land was the happy choice. This brings me
to the point of this letter. In yesterday s
(Oct. 26) Battalion there was the enclosed
ad.
When I saw it I also immediately pic
tured our 5 1/2 year old son coming out to
the car one afternoon a few days ago and
announcing with tears in his eyes that
someone had stolen their “witch”. Every
day it is mentioned when he goes to school
as both he and the 2 1/2 year old look anx
iously to see if she has returned. I would
hope very much that it was not an Aggie
student or students responsible but, if
whoever did take it happens to see this
letter, it would surely be a great gesture if
they would “steal Ms. Witch back to
where she belongs so all the children there
can enjoy her again.
Thank you.
—Mrs. John L. Hamstreet
HELP!
PLEASE BRING OUR
WITCH BACK
We miss our gypsy head
too. Her eyes roll and she
laughs loud when you pull
the string under her chin.
Children of Wee Aggieland
40t3
“IT’S WHAT WE CALL A PERPETUAL FOOTBALL SIGN
THAT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE CHANGED REGARD
LESS OF WHO WE PLAY! NEEDLESS TO SAY, OUR
SHORT-SIGHTED SOPHOMORES DIDN’T LIKE IT!”
Top of the News
State
Klansman denies stunt
Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke denied Saturday in San
Antonio scheduled klan patrols of the Texas-Mexico borders were a
publicity stunt to enlist new members, but offered no evidence to
support his claim the klan was actually patrolling. “We feel the mas
sive flow of illegal aliens is a real threat to the American way of life,”
he said. “They’re taking jobs, creating a crime problem and disrupt
ing the welfare program.” Duke, surrounded by three body guards,
conducted an airport news conference, then left in a private plane
for a five-hour flight along the border. He said 173 klansmen already
were patrolling the 900-mile Texas border and another group,
headed by Texas KKK leader Louis Beam, was coordinating a patrol
at Brownsville along the coast.
Davis’ defense witness to return
Karen Master, 28, who provided an alibi for Fort Worth millionaire
T. Cullen Davis, will return to the witness stand today in the 11th
week of Texas’ longest jury trial. Master told jurors last week that
Davis was asleep in her bed before his estranged wife, wounded by
gunfire, reached a neighbor’s home to report the assaults, presum
ably at the time the gunman was making his escape. Davis, 44, is
being tried for the shooting death of his stepdaughter, Andrea Wil
burn, 12. He also is charged with wounding his wife, Priscilla, .36,
murdering her lover, Stan Farr, 31, and wounding family friend, Gus
Cavrel Jr., 22.
Nation
Shippers/ILA members resume
talks
Shippers and members of the International Longshoreman’s As
sociation resume negotiations today in hopes of ending the 30-day
dockworkers strike against containerized cargo ships in New Or
leans. Meanwhile, containerized vessels loaded with seasonal
Christmas merchandise remained anchored in the harbor Sunday,
with no prospects of moving until the strike is settled. However,
union officials said merchants in the nation’s second largest port
would not be as hard hit by the strike as in the East where there are
more containerized cargo vessels. “New Orleans is not a major con
tainer port to begin with,” Wilfred Daliet, president of’ILA local 1419
said Sunday.
Congress rated left and right
A veiy conservative group rates New York mayoral candidate Ed
ward Koch as the most “radical" member of Congress and Rep. Larry
McDonald of Georgia, the champion of laetrile, as the stanchest con
servative. The ratings compiled by the Committee for the Survival of
a Free Congress are unique because they measure every major vote
in both Houses, amounting to 315 in the House and 249 in the
Senate, on the basis of a “true conservative position.” The CSEC
ratings on votes taken from January through the beginning of August
show 70 percent of the House and 68 per cent of the Senate belonging
to the “left wing," defined as those with 54 percent or less approval
from the group. Overall, the group says, there are 136 “radicals”
Lise ana
the Hou s
26 in the Senate.
Two face second obscenity trial
Facing a second federal obscenity trial today in Kansas City, Kan.
are James Buckley and Al Goldstein, concerning their publication,
Screw magazine. Despite the differences between the 1 two men, Ixith
share a strong belief in absolute freedom of the press, however, the
defense in their trial cannot be based on the First Amendment free
doms, but solely on whether their publications violated the contem
porary moral standards of Kansas. Under current court rulings,
obscene material is not protected under press freedoms. The two
would like to change that and consider themselves pioneers in the
effort to extend First Amendment protection to sexually explicit
publications—in this case Screw and Smut, self-billed as the world’s
dirtiest newspaper.
Toymaker climbs 350-foot ‘rock’
Stewart Leach of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group in Denver,
Colo, says he wishes George Willig, the man who climbed the World
Trade Center in New York City, had not climbed a nearly vertical
350-foot rock formation in Colorado before a television audience es
timated at 20 million. The 27-year-old Willig, a toymaker on leave
from his employer, scaled the rock formation in Eldorado Canyon in
less than 20 minutes Saturday while TV cameras filmed the action.
Willig made the climb without safety ropes or a helmet. Leach fears
that children who saw the program might try similar climbs.
Research support highest ever
Research at Texas A&M University received more than $28 million
in support during September to begin the new fiscal year at the
highest level ever. The first-month figure of $28,118,842 represents
an increase of $610,561 over September 1976 and a starting point ol
$3.18 million ahead of the previous year. The 1975-76 and 1976-77
years were record-setters in themselves, marking the first time that
the volume of research in a single year passed the $40 million and $50
million plateaus respectively. Texas A&M is now ranked 18th na
tionally by the National Science Foundation in terms of research
volume.
Weather
Partly cloudy and mild today and tomorrow. High today mid-
80s. Low tonight low 60s. 20 per cent chance of rain tonight
and tomorrow.
The Battalion
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Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of tin
•ill/
editin' or i>f the writer of the article and are not i
those itf the L'nicer si tij administration or the Board of Be-
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enterprise operated In/ students as a university and com
munity news/taper, editorial policy is determined hy the
editor.
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