Page 2
Viewpoint
The Battalion Tuesday
Texas A&M University November 8, 1977
Fools rush in...
The House Ways and Means Committee has proposed to congress a
three-times increase in the Social Security tax over the next ten years. The
current maximum payment of $965 a year would rise to $2,732 by the year
1987.
The average family trying to make a go of things unquestionably will find
these figures shocking, as will employers who match each employee s con
tribution dollar for dollar. It is small comfort that the lawmakers may have to
give serious consideration to the committee s proposal unless they can find
some better way of keeping the Social Security from going broke.
Nor is that prospect far-fetched. Without new income, the main trust fund
is expected at the present rate of depletion to be exhausted by 1983.
Because Social Security is one of the most binding commitments which
our government has entered into with its citizens, it is inconceivable that it
be allowed to fail. The impact upon both the social and economic fabric of the
nation would bring with it the severest of tests.
With this in mind, one wonders where the voices of prudence were when
congress voted the generous new benefits without pausing to reflect upon
the nation’s ability to pay.
The Sharon Pa. Herald
HERE, VOTE ON THIS!
MSC decision no solution to problems
By WES CULWELL
Last Thursday, Nov. 3, 1977, Lynn Gib
son, president of the MSC Council, had an
article in the Battalion concerning the
MSC grass issue. He asked us to sit back
and think of how many people we have
seen walk on the MSC grass and how
many times we have seen some Aggie
rudely tell someone to get off of it.
I understand what he was saying, and I
have witnessed some of these rude oc
currences. I can also see where this hurts
our reputation of being the friendliest cam
pus in the nation. This is really too bad
that an Aggie would treat a visitor, who
knows nothing of this tradition, this way.
He told us that the policy adopted by
the MSC Council reads: “as the MSC
grounds are a living part of a living campus
and at times are used as a teaching aid, the
use of the MSC grounds will not be dis
couraged. Right before this lie, said:
Readers ’ forum
“some of us are going to politely continue
to ask people not to walk on the grass. We
are going to do it politely. I plan to
apologize to anyone rudely treated by a
fellow Ag and then turn the tide and give
him a taste of his own medicine.
Well this is well and good, but what is
going to happen when he tells this person
not to walk on the grass and then he turns
around and there is a whole class of Aggies
sitting on the grass. Now this person is not
going to think of Aggies as being rude, but
he is going to think of us as being hypo
crites.
I understand that the MSC Council has
a problem with complaint letters concern
ing people being rudely confronted about
the MSC grass and also people wanting to
use it even though it is a memorial. They
definitely have a problem; however, I do
not think that they came up with a good
solution.
I can understand people wanting to use
the grass, but it has kind of become a tradi
tion not to lounge on or walk on the grass.
It’s going to cause a lot of uproar by trying
to change a tradition that has become very
sacred to many Aggies. The tradition of
not walking on the grass is not written
down anywhere that I know of, but I can
not think of too many traditions that are
written down. If it was written down it
would be a rule and not a tradition.
By ALICIA LE ROY
The monstrous suffering that laboratory
animals undergo to satisfy obtuse re
searchers and ambitious Ph.D. candidates
is outrageous. I feel that both time and
money are being wasted on experiments
which have little if any scientific impor
tance, and only tends to disturb the rights
of the animal.
When I mention the animal’s rights, 1
mean at minimum that they should have
the right not to suffer. For a while labora
tory rat, the right not to suffer shoidd pro
tect it against such scientists as the ones at
Temple University who starved rats for
seven days and then offered them live
mice and infant rats. (The scientists found
that the starved rats ate infants rats as
often as they ate mice.)
Or there was one experiment in which
rats were forced to choose between elec
trical shock and starvation; I can find no
significance in experiments, such as these,
Wouldn’t it be much simpler to try to
resolve the problem some other way than
the MSC Council has? There are many
grassy areas just as close to classrooms
other than the MSC grass.
Mr. Gibson said that he didn’t think that
the signs would work. They work in the
MSC building. Of course the only way
they are going to work is if they are placed
where people might walk on the grass and
this is most of the time at the corners of
the grass. I admit that some people won’t
obey the signs, but there are a lot of
which result in trivial matter commensu-
rated at the enormous cost of pain. If
an i mals had rights, such experiments
wmdd be outlawed.
It’s important also to distinguish be
tween those who promote the death of the
animal and those who study its life. In
cases of overriding human need, where no
alternative exists and human lives are at
Readers’ forum
stake, painful experiments (as in some
cancer research) mu$t continue. Would
you end cancer studies on laboratory rats?
Unless you want to deprive all humans of
their chances of avoiding this horror, you
had better allow some experimentation
with animals.
H owever, it is important to remember
that most tests—such as the coating of
rabbit’s eyeballs with cosmetics—are
people who would obey solely because
they know that Aggies have many sacred
traditions and they will respect it on that
basis.
It’s a shame that Aggies are becoming
less friendly toward each other and to vis
itors, but I can see no way that the MSC
Council can solve that problem. However,
the council needs to take another look at
their new policy because their present de
cision is only causing them more prob
lems.
Culwell is a senior floriculture major.
needless because the product being tested
is completely unnecessary. Should rab
bits, which lack tear ducts to wash away
poisons, be forced to die in agony so that
women can wear mascara?
For a moment lower yourself to the
animal level. If scientists perform experi
ments on feeling, helpless animals, then
why not on severely retarded infant or
phans, who have no parents to mourn
them, no potential to develop as thinking
beings? If you believe that the baby should
be protected, then why not equal rights
for animals?
Granting laboratory animals rights
would not require releasing therm (as in
the case of white rats, they were bred for
the laboratory and could not survive in the
wild), it would simply protect them against
atrocities.
Le Roy is a freshman biomedical science
major.
Animals have rights too
Tetters to the editor
President Carter trying to rewrite Texas history
Share the road
Editor:
Speaking last week to an audience in
Denver about the Panama Canal, Carter
said:
“We have never bought it, it has not
been ours. We are not giving it away.
There is no semblance between the status
of, say, the Panama Canal Zone and Texas
or Alaska that were bought and paid for
and over which we have always had
sovereignty. ”
The following is one of the many replies
which should be received by the president
shortly from concerned Texans every
where:
■Dear MR. PRESIDENT:
! I want you to know that I have sup-
1 ported you from the onset of your cam
paign for the presidency. I campaigned for
you in Houston for over a year, testifying
about your expertise in the fields of ad
ministration and financing.
It was just brought to my attention,
however, that you are also a historian. I
want to be one of the first to congratulate
you on your startling revelation about
Texas history. I d always thought that the
history books had been about Texas’ his
tory for the past 132 years. I guess it takes
the PRESIDENT of the UNITED
STATES to make the truth known. There
wasn’t really a Texas revolution, and Texas
didn t really win independence from
Mexico in 1836 either. We also weren t
annexed by the United States of our own
free will. We were, as stated in your bril
liant speech in Denver, bought from
Mexico in 1845, right?
I was also amazed at the other revelation
you made in your Denver speech that the
executive branch of government is
sovereign over the states. I didn’t think we
still needed the Constitution (you know,
that old document written by our
the American people are sovereign is an
old fashioned idea anyway. I guess you
took care of that that with an executive
order? .
P.S. Do you know how many electoral
votes Texas has and how many you proba
bly just lost if you decide to run for reelec-
t ' on ' —Craig Shelton, ’81
Editor:
Once again we are witnessing a well-
intended attempt to demote bicyclists to
second-class citizens. College Station city
councilwoman Anne Hazen was reported
in the Battalion as saying that College Sta
tion will try to “prohibit all bike ridng on
Texas Avenue among other roads, be
cause “they really have not been con
structed for this type of use.
The city evidently proposes to take away
and give nothing in return: the article re
ports that a bike path plan was cancelled.
As for bike lanes painted on the road. Col
lege Station’s latest move was a giant step
backwards. The two lanes painted on Jer
sey were reduced to one, on the
eastbound side.
A local misinterpretation of the Texas
Vehicle Code requires cyclists going both
ways to use this narrow lane. A federal
study on bicycle facilities identifies this
practice as “a major causal factor in
bicycle-motor vehicle accidents.” These
misguided efforts to make the world safe
for cyclists by making them extinct are not
new.
Increasingly, the literature of traffic
safety is documented with incidents where
poorly-designed bike lanes and paths have
proved more dangerous than no special
facilities at all. The correct answer is sim
ple: Bicycles are vehicles, and vehicles be
long on the road, not on « glorified
sidewalk. When these paths intersect a
road, accident rates often climb higher
than they were before the “improve
ment.
There is no “quick fix for the bicycle
situation in the form of a strip of pavement
or paint. The solution lies in education of
bikers and motorists about the rules of the
road, and respect by motorists for the
rights of cyclists.
With these, we can all share the road.
—Daniel F. Harrison
What’s the problem?
Editor:
This is in regard to the dating situation
at Texas A&M (or lack of it).
At last week’s football game the number
of dateless men compared to the number
of men with dates was a sad situation
(especially C.T.’s) What’s the problem?
Many use the excuse of lack of funds, but
this is just an excuse!
A date to a football game, an Aggie tra
dition, doesn’t mean a meal, corsage, etc.
We understand the money situation, we
have them ourselves (or more so)- But,
having someone to score with when our
team scores means more than the extras
you supposedly think a necessity.
Come on guys! There are lots of eligible
girls out here that are waiting to be asked.
But it’s your choice—you have to do the
asking.
All we can do is wait and hope. So don’t
make us sit with our roommates. We do
prefer guys!!
—M.H. ‘79, S.F. ‘81, F.F. ‘80,
C.L. ‘78, P.W. ‘80, T.S. ‘81,
.M. ‘81, C.B. ‘79, C.U. ‘81,
etc.
Tequila, come home
Editor:
Because of an absence on Hallo ween ,
our suite was unable to pass out goodies to
the trick or treaters that passed though our
dorm.
Since we didn’t want the goblins, ghosts
and gorillas to be denied candy fr° m our
suite, we put a display outside our door.
Our good friend. Ole’ Tequila (a cactus)
.had two bags of candy in his crooked cac
tus arms. When we returned, not only was
the candy gone, but so was Ole ! That s
right, our six-foot inflatable green cactus
was stolen.
We are underclassmen and, untn now,
were under the impression that all Aggies
are honest. It’s sad to think we may never
see Ole’ again. If Ole’ is returned to us » H
will surely brighten our day.
—01e”s mourning friends,
Mary Hog^ n »
Rhonda ReeS e » 81
Pat ColH? s > |80
Missy Mulvihm, 81
Top of the News
Campus
Special yell practice scheduled
asi
A special yell practice has been scheduled for Wednesday at 5:15
p.m. in Kyle Field. The yell practice is in addition to the regular
midnight yell practice to be held at Kyle Field Friday.
State
Few votes will cost many dollars
Texas will spend $1.4 to $1.5 million today to allow voters to decide
on seven constitutional amendments that state officials predict will
attract only 700,000 voters. Officials in the secretary of state’s office in
Austin predicted only 12 percent of the state’s 5.8 million registered
voters will bother to go to the polls between 7 a. m. and 7 p.m. Unless
turnout exceeds the predicted 200,000 total, the election will cost
more than $2 for each vote cast. “It is high,” acknowledged Gov.
Dolph Briscoe. “But the problem is more people not coming out to
vote. The cost would be lower if more than 700,000 people voted—
that’s not near enough.”
Jaworski supports immunity
Leon Jaworski said Sunday in Houston he supported a Justice De
partment proposal to grant Tongsun Park immunity in exchange for
testimony about congressmen accepting bribes as long as it did not
hamper further investigation. Jaworski, heading the Congressional
investigation into the South Korean influence-buying scandal, said,
“The whole program was one launched by the Korean government. I
think Park has a relative minor function.”
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Amin’s pilots training in U.S.
Twelve members of Idi Amin’s Ugandan police airwing currently
are being trained in helicopter piloting and maintenance at Bell
Helicopter’s Textron plant in Fort Worth, Bell officials confirmed
Monday. Bell spokesman Marty Reisch said, “Our company’s posi
tion really is that the people (Ugandans) arrived just like any other
student from any other place and will be treated accordingly. He
said the Ugandans arrived Oct. 10 and will remain in training until
mid-December.
Nation
Deaths from heart disease lower
Since 1950, the rate of deaths from heart disease in the U.S. has
dropped 30 percent, and one-third of that reduction has taken place
in the last five years. Dr. Harriet Dustan, president of the American
Heart Association said in an interview in U.S. News and World Re
port. "Modifications in lifestyle may play a role— keeping your
weight down, giving up smoking and getting exercise. Control ofhigh
blood pressure is very important,” she said. Improvements in care
and diagnosis also have helped, she said.
Two convicted in bombing death
Plumber James Robison and contractor Max Dunlap were con
victed Sunday of murdejr and conspiracy in the car-bomb killing of
investigative reporter Don Bolles. Bolles was fatally injured June 2,
1976, when a bomb exploded under his car in the parking lot of a
Phoenix hotel. He died 11 days later at St. Joseph’s Hospital. State
Attorney General Bruce Babbitt indicated other arrests might be
forthcoming. “It is our view that there were other people involved,
he said. “The file is still open, and the case will continue under
investigation by the Phoenix police and ourselves.”
Four more flood victims found
Workers found the bodies of four more people Monday, including
three teen-agers, raising to nine the number of victims in flash flood
ing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Damage to roads
and bridges was estimated alone at $40 million by Gov. James B.
Hunt Jr. after a helicopter tour of the mountain area. Hunt said he
would try to obtain federal assistance for individuals and local gov
ernments hit by Sunday’s flooding.
Court to judge privacy of tapes
A Supreme Court decision could bring a selection of Richard Nix
on s famous tapes into any home at small cost in the form of records
or cassettes. Arguments were scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. today.
Nixon contends that to place the tapes in private hands “to be played
at cocktail parties and satiric productions” invades his privacy. Broad
casting networks and others say their right to copy the material is
guaranteed by the First Amendment and any privacy protection
Nixon might have had was lost when the tapes were played in open
court in a criminal trial.
World
New Russian tanks paraded
Weather
Mostly cloudy and cool today and tomorrow. High both days
mid-60s. Low tonight upper 40s. 30 percent chance of rain
for the afternoon and evening. Winds will be north westerly
12-20 mph.
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The Soviet Union celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Bolshevik
Revolution Monday in Moscow with a Red Square parade of military
might twice as big as any in recent years and highlighted by a new
laser-equipped battle tank. Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and
other members of the Politburo reviewed the troops from their tra
ditional post atop Lenin’s marble mausoleum. Thousands of specially
selected viewers watched the parade from the sides of Red Square as
two squadrons of T-72 tanks—the new battle tanks never before seen
in public — were featured in the parade. The new tanks were
equipped with laser rangefinders and were part of the first con
tingent of Soviet army tanks to take part in the parade since 1974.
TO
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.
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Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Editor Jamie Aid**
Managing Editor Mary Alice Woodb""
Editorial Director Lee Roy Leschp'”'
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City Editor Rusty
Campus Editor Kimfy*”” I
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The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from
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