Viewpoint
The Battalion Tuesday
Texas A&M University November 29, 1977
The other Aggie bonfire
There was more than one bonfire in Aggieland last week. It was 150 miles
away and only half as tall as the stack in College Station, but the spirit there
was the spirit of Aggieland. The place was Moody College of Marine Sci
ences and Maritime Resources on Pelican Island.
The Aggies at Moody College worked around the clock for almost a week,
gathering railroad ties and wood from the island docks to construct a 30-foot
bonfire in a field near campus.
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Yell Leaders Joe Reagan and Rick Bowen went to
Galveston to light Moody College’s first “beat the hell out of t.u.” bonfire.
From the dock of the Texas Clipper, some 200 students marched through
Moody campus to the tune of the Aggie War Hymn, and gathered at the
stack for yell practice before whooping to the torches.
It’s easy for those of us here at the main campus to be caught up in the
spirit of supporting the fightin’ Texas Aggies. After all, almost everything
that constitutes the body of A&M is here. Almost. The dedication and loyalty
of those Aggies at Moody College show that wherever there are Aggies there
is an Aggieland.
The support of the students at Moody, as demonstrated by their numerous
travels between Galveston and College Station to attend the games and yell
practices, is worthy of considerable praise. It says a lot about A&M’s marine
college and the students attending it, so far from the mainstream of central
campus activities and yet so much a part of them.
In the spirit of Moody College there is the definition of Aggieland. y ^
The secret to offending nobody
By WILLIAM RASPBERRY
WASHINGTON — Rayna Green, di
rector of the Project on Native Americans
in Science, poses an interesting question.
I had written about a group of Reston,
Va., residents who object to the proposed
opening of a Sambo’s restaurant there, on
the ground that the name is a racial insult.
Green, who is Cherokee, agrees. But
she puts the question: “Several years ago,
when the American Indian Movement
sued the Atlanta Braves, the Washington
Redskins and several other teams for dis
missal of the names so abhorrent to
American Indians, where was Mr.
Raspberry on the issue?”
Well, I can tell her where I was. I was
sitting here, reading everything I saw on
the controversy and being just as confused
and ambivalent as some readers are with
regard to my Sambo remarks.
Until AIM raised the issue, I had
thought that it was a complimentary thing
to have an athletic team named for you.
Team names, whether from animals or
humans, are chosen, I thought, because
they represent what are thought to be pos
itive qualities, usually speed, cunning and
ferocity. Thus we have tigers, bears, lions,
wildcats and wolfpacks.
In my mind, Indians, braves, warriors
and chiefs were in the same non-insulting
category as Vikings, Trojans, cowboys and
the fightin’ Irish.
I never understood what the noise was
about, and in fact, most of it didn’t last
long. Stanford University changed its team
name from Indians to Cardinals (after giv
ing serious consideration to Thunderchic-
kens), but mostly nothing came of it.
Which struck me as just about right.
I did have some problems with some of
the goofy caricatures of Indians used by
some of the teams (the Cleveland Indians
and Atlanta Braves come to mind) and by
the name of the local pro football team.
“Redskins, ” which the Random House dic
tionary defines as a “usually offensive ap
pellation for North American Indians, isn’t
quite the same thing as braves, warriors,
chiefs or raiders.
And so I was prepared to do a piece
presenting Green’s point of view — her
offense at the team name, her disgust at
the sight of white and black “Redskinet-
tes” doing their phony Indian dances and
her resentment that blacks seem not to
notice anything amiss about any of these
things.
Then came Sunday’s game, with the
Redskins hosting the archrival Dallas
Cowboys. This time, instead of the Red-
skinettes, the halftime was: a marching
band made up of 150 high school and
junior college students who are Indians
representing 80 tribes from 30 states; a
group of Indians from New Mexico doing a
buffalo dance; a 50-girl drill team from the
Institute of American Indian Arts...and on
and on.
So now what is a non-Indian supposed
to think?
Maybe we ought to work out a set of
rules about these things. For instance:
1. Develop a sense of humor.
2. Try to distinguish between the im
portant and the trivial.
3. Avoid the use of any reference that is
intrinsically offensive.
4. Forgo the arrogance of deciding what
should or should not be offensive to a
group of which you are not a member.
5. (a) Discontinue the use of racial or
ethnic characterizations and trademarks
upon notice that the subject group finds
them offensive, (b) When in doubt, wait
for a consensus.
A word of caution: Rule No. 1 should
never be used except in conjunction with
Rule No. 4. That was the mistake some
people made a few years back with the
“Frito Bandito,” the Mexican thief whose
consuming passions were sleeping and
stealing corn chips.
If Mexican-Americans found that car
toon character offensive, the feet that you
and I found him “cute” is beside the point.
Similarly, if Native Americans find insult
in the use of Indian-origin names for ath
letic teams, the fact that we mean no harm
—- and in fact intended a compliment — is
of little importance.
I still don’t know where that leaves me
with the Washington Redskins. Maybe
Rayna Green will forgive me if I invoke
Rule No. 5 (b).
(c) 1977, The Washington Post Com
pany
Losing
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Congress is striving
these days to rescue the Social Security
System from financial quicksand.
Somewhat in the manner of an old dog
worrying a bone, the House and Senate
have been pawing around and sniffing at
all sorts of actuarial formulas, benefit-tax
ratios and the like.
On paper, it looks simple. Merely make
the system take in as much as it pays out.
The Lighter side
But the bottom line in this case appears a
bit zigzaggy.
The House, for example, has voted to
remove all limits on the outside earnings
of persons receiving social security pay
ments. Big deal!
If you can look at Social Security
projections without doddering, look at
these:
Ten years from now the maximum bene
fit for a 65-year-old worker will be almost
double the current ceiling.
Meanwhile, the maximum tax will be
increasing to nearly triple the current rate.
I’m no actuary but it seems evident that
if this trend continues persons who keep
Letters to the editor
Now’s
Editor:
After seeing the complete lack of wait
ing lines for football tickets this Monday
morning, I feel compelled to follow
through with the much-heard oath, “I’m
gonna write a letter to the Batt!, for the
first time in my 3 1/2 years here at A&M.
The Texas Aggies played the Texas Uni
versity Longhorns in front of 8,000 more
spectators than we have permanent places
for. It was a hard-fought contest the entire
sixty minutes, and at the final gun, the
Aggies had been outscored 57-28. That’s
right, outscored. Not beaten, because
beaten means hanging your head, putting
your tail between your legs, and “going to
the house.”
The Aggie football team not only did
none of these things, but played proudly
the entire game. With a couple of breaks
when we were behind by 12 points in the
third quarter, we could have beaten t.u., a
team with (1) the number one ranking in
the country, (2) everyone’s Heisman
Trophy candidate, Earl Campbell, (3) a
gold-medal sprinter for a wide-receiver,
and (4) a first team defense that for ten
games had allowed one rushing
touchdown.
However, we didn’t. Texas is in the Cot
ton Bowl and we are in the Bluebonnet
Bowl, but our regular season is not over.
This Saturday we face the University of
Houston, a grudge match where we have
the chance to get back at Cougar High for
our game last year. This game will (1) be
on television in 90 percent of the United
States, (2) be a chance to see two backs
gain over 1,000 yards a season for the Ag
gies, the eight time in NCAA history, but
working after 65 will wind up paying more
in Social Security taxes than they receive
'in benefits.
Even if that projection is misguided,
uncertainies about the system’s soundness
remain. One large question mark is the
human factor.
You might think the money you have
been paying into the Social Security fund
was being put aside for your retirement.
Wrong, Charlie.
, Social Secuirty taxes now being col
lected are used to support workers who
have already retired. And that situation
will continue as long as anyone can
foresee.
Thus it is that when you and I become
eligible for Social Security it will be up to
the young people just now coming into the
work force to provide the funds from
which we draw our retirement benefits.
And that is where I fear the system may
be on shaky ground.
When I look around at some of the
young workers today, it does not necessar
ily inspire my confidence in the system’s
future solvency.
In fact, I find myself feeling a trifle inse
cure.
Nearly all the young people I am in con
tact with are not what you might call balls
of fire, work-wise. Putting it another way,
they are not exactly burning up the league
with the intensity of their toil.
There is, if one may speak frankly, a cer
tain lack of fervor in their labor. In others
words, they manifest a minimal fondness
for exertion.
The thought that I might be dependent
on the sweat of their brows for my retire
ment income leaves me with visions of
golden years unburnished.
In theory, the figure-juggling by Con
gress may keep the system in the black.
But I fear the biggest old-age worry is
youth.
the time for real 12th Man support
most of all, (3) it’s the Fightin’ Texas Ag
gies playing.
After playing a tough game and facing a
week of remembering its sting, the team
will need some real Twelfth Man support,
I don’t know how much support can be
shown in front of a T.V. screen, but this
Twelfth man will be on his feet in Kyle
Field, hollering for his team that he’s
damn proud off!
Beat the Hell outta Cougar High!
Warren Neeley, '78
‘Cutthroat business’
Editor:
This Thanksgiving season, the All-
American Sport has become the All-
American rip-off on the Texas A&M cam
pus. I had the misfortune of experiencing,
first-hand, a truly cutthroat business when
my roommate tried to obtain a date ticket
to the t.u. game. In the beginning, she
was promised a ticket but when it became
increasingly apparent that people would
pay for those tickets, the favor was revised
to an offer of “the highest bidder ”.
This is understandable if one is having
financial difficulties; however, between
friends and fellow-students this departure
from the traditional enthusiasm directed
toward a football game, to a lust for money
is a gross affrontery to the spirit of friend
ship and of Aggieland.
Unfortunately, I offer no solution to this
type of back-stabbing—only a suggestion.
Perhaps if everyone will take time to think
about the reasons behind their actions we
won’t see such a mass recurrence in the
fight for football tickets next year. Then we
can take the time next Thanksgiving to be
thankful that we have the opportunity to
help a fellow Ag!
—Lyn Hunter, '80
Prayer ‘fantastic
Editor:
I struggled into an early breakfast last
Wednesday morning just in time for the
C.T.s to have their invocation before their
meal. We non-regs that eat at Duncan
have to slip in the back way. Just as I was
to have my I.D. card “beeped, everyone
stopped eating and socializing to take part
in this prayer. Before bowing my own
head I scanned the room with a secure
feeling.
Since then I have been wondering why
some people look down upon prayer in
public places. When I was in elementary
school I can remember praying everyday,
until one day we just could not do it any
more. I was told they had passed some
kind of law.
A person either believes in God or he
does not. If he believes in God and doesn’t
approve of public prayer, then that is his
choice. It seems like a funny choice. If
someone does not believe in God then
why does he disapprove of a bunch of
people closing their eyes and talking to the
floor. What is he afraid of? I want to be
able to talk to anyone I want, visible or
invisible. The more that participate the
merrier.
The public prayer that I have witnessed
at Texas A&M is fantastic. An illustration
of this is when 50,000 Aggies pray before a
football game. I feel that this is another
aspect of Aggie Spirit. Who knows, maybe
God is an Aggie!
—Jeffrey W. Clark
Turkeys have rights
Editor:
A beautiful warm day, gentle sky, the
world in harmony and not too much traffic
on the road made the drive for tea-sipper
and Aggie alike a pleasant prelude to the
biggest sport event of the year, the U.T.-
A&M football game. Good health,
sportsmanship, clean living are the ruling
passions of the day.
Crowds at the gates were jovial and
friendly as they thronged through the
gates to find their way to seats reserved
long in advance.
It was the day many at both schools had
anticipated for a long time, the day of the
big game where right would prevail. But
few had envisioned the added attractions.
The Corps display of love towards God’s
creatures.
Tossing an orange-painted turkey high
in the sky as a sacrifice, and a painted ar
madillo into the midst of the U.T. band
reassures us all that the A&M Corps of
Cadets are a humane group of fine young
men of whom Lt. Galley would be proud.
Gentlemen off the Corps - the spectators
were enthralled.
Nathan Berk
Editor’s note: Things did seem to be
getting out of hand; however, don’t im
mediately decide the entire Corps is a
group of blood-thirsty sadists because
of those incidents.
Top of the News
Campus i
Admissions Office relocated
Texas A&M University’s Admissions and Records Office is moving
from the Coke Building to Heaton Hall, formerly known as the old
Exchange Store and as Registration Headquarters. The office will
open for business at the new location Monday. The offices will be
closed Thursday and Friday for the move. The only external business
to be conducted during that two-day period will be the acceptance of
senior grades in the Coke Building lobby. The telephone numbei for
Admissions and Records, 845-1031, remains the same.
State
Hill rejects land tax based on yield
Attorney General John Hill Monday indicated he will rule taring
agencies in Texas cannot base agricultural land taxes on productive
values unless the state constitution is amended to permit such tax
breaks. Hill said he will formally announce his opinion Tuesday at the
state convention of the Texas Farm Bureau in Houston. He said the
decision is consistent with past opinions requiring a constitutional
amendment for agricultural productivity taxes. The Farm Bureau,
along with House Speaker Bill Clayton and Comptroller Boh Bullock,
contend the agricultural taxes can be implemented without changing
the state constitution.
Nation
Import $ — export $ = trade deficit
The United States registered a $3.1 billion foreign trade deficit in
October, the highest in history, the government said Monday. Oc
tober was the 17th consecutive month that the U.S. trade ledger has
been in deficit, a situation where the value of imports exceeds the
value of exports. Americans exported $9.2 billion goods to foreign
nations last month, the lowest since March 1976. Government offi
cials said the main reason for the deficit record was the longshore
men’s strike on East Coast and Gulf Coast docks. Imports totaled
$12.3 billion in October.
Sen. John McClellan, D-Ark, dies
Sen. John L. McClellan, D-Ark,. the poor country Ixxy who be
came one of the most powerful senators in American history, died in
his sleep Sunday night. He had served in the Senate and the House of
Representatives for 43 years. McClellan, 81, had been in ill health in
recent months and had a pacemaker implanted in his heart earlier
this year. He had announced one week ago Monday that he would
retire at the end of his present term.
Carter considers Cairo meeting
White House press secretary Jody Powell says President Carter is
“trying to be in the position of being supportive” of a Cairo meeting
proposed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Sadat said Saturday he
would invite all those involved in the Middle East conflict, including
the United States and the Soviet Union, to Cairo to prepare for a
Geneva peace conference. Powell said the administration is discuss-
ing the proposal with the other invited nations.
Boycott the Catholic Church?
Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and abortion advocate Bill Baird
Monday called for an economic boycott of the Roman Catholic
Church to protest religious leaders lobbying against federally fi
nanced abortions for welfare recipients. “We are declaring economic
war against the Roman Catholic Church,’ said Baird, director of
abortion clinics in Boston and Hempstead, N. Y., and a key figure in
court fights about women’s right to abortion. Mrs. O’Hair urged
Roman Catholics to turn in blank collection envelopes during
Christmas holidays marked “No money until women have freedom of
choice”.
World I
Israel accepts Cairo invitation
Israel today formally accepted Egypt’s invitation to attend the
Cairo conference on Middle East peace. Prime Minister Menahem
Begin told the Knesset parliament the invitation from Egypt was
conveyed through the Egyptian and Israeli ambassadors to the
United Nations, a move that eliminated the United States as an in
termediary.
“The voice of Aster on”
A male voice that identified itself as “the voice of Asteron,” a
galactic visitor, interrupted the normal program on hundreds of tele
visions Saturday night in southern England and upset plenty of
viewers. Police said they had no idea who, or what, pre-empted the
airwaves to give viewers a warning message for peace on planet
Earth, but said the person behind the voice could wind up in court if
traced. “We can’t imagine how it was done but it appears someone
must have managed to transmit a signal over ours,” a spokesman said.
“The equipment used would need to be fairly sophisticated and ex
pensive.” Police telephones were flooded with calls from panicky
viewers.
Weather
Cloudy and cool today and tomorrow with NNE winds
20 mph. 70 percent chance of rain today decreasing to 40
percent tonight. High both days upper 50s. Low tonight
mid-40s.
The Battalion
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