Viewpoint
The Battalion Thursday
Texas A&M University February 9, 1978
Lights, camera, action?
The House of Representatives last week took a look at itself; what it found
was unpalatable.
A 90-day test filming of the chambers sessions revealed that balding heads
of the solons reflect television lights, and the deep circles under the eyes of
others — perhaps brought about by overlong sessions at the Rotunda or the
Sans Souci — create what one expert called “the raccoon effect.”
All of this led Speaker Thomas O’Neill to opine that “it’s not as easy as we
thought to put in television” of House proceedings and suggested it will not
be possible to meet the schedule he originally planned, that of putting
television cameras in operation on Capitol Hill this year.
A House subcommittee headed by Congressman Gillis Long, D-La.,
found that the House should control and operate its own broadcast coverage,
rather than turning the televising of its sessions to the networks. “Some
means must be found to control the cameras in such a way as to produce
proper framing of members, whether they are standing still or moving,” the
report said, adding “improper controls of cameras will produce amateurish
pictures unworthy of the dignity of the House.”
What that means is that the members are fearful that the roving eye of a
TV camera might catch them napping at their desks. This is not, it would
seem, unique. Given the quality of rhetoric in the chamber, it is also not
inexcusable. But the remedy, should House sessions ever be televised, is
WELL WELL,YOU GOT IT ALL IN ONELCAD. THAT'S RIGHT ECONOMICAL OF >00, JIMMY. "
simply that the Representatives stay awake while public business is being
conducted. At their pay scale this is not too much to ask.
San Francisco Chronicle
A case against keeping exotic pets
By KATHY NEMEC
The picture and article about the “den
tal work” performed on the lioness in last
week’s Battalion has prompted me to write
about an increasing form of cruelty in our
Readers' forum
society — the sale and purchase of exotic
animals as household pets. The lioness in
the picture was a pet and was having its
claws and the tips of its teeth removed so
that it would be incapable of harming its
owner. Unfortunately, these procedures
also render the animal incapable of de
fending itself so that if the owner should
tire of his unusual pet, it will be unfit even
for a zoo. Wild animals are just that —
wild. They cannot be domesticated. Yet
increasing numbers of exotic animals are
being bought from pet dealers, usually as
nothing but status symbols, curiosities or
victims of the latest fad. They are sub
sequently neutured, defanged, declawed,
de-scented and de-animalized to fit their
owner’s convenience. But that cute baby
ferret, raccoon or monkey soon becomes a
full-grown threat or non-toliet-trained nui
sance.
At the present time there are more than
1,000 species of animals in danger of ex
tinction. One of the chief causes is the exo
tic pet trade. Since 1967, U.S. imports of
wild birds, mammals and reptiles have in
creased six-fold. Only two years ago rec
ords show that more than 3.3 million exo
tics were imported. Few of them went to
zoos. Most were sold by pet shops or
placed on roadside exhibit.
Yet these animals have less than a 50-50
chance of living a full life span; 60 percent
die within a month; 20 percent die in the
first year; at the end of two years only 10
percent are still alive. Wild animals re
quire proper facilities, correct and careful
handling and special diets. The average
exotic-pet owner cannot adequately
provide these requirements, and affection
can’t take their place. The result is usually
death. Other pets are disposed of in a
more efficient manner. Of the 13 million
homeless animals that have to be de
stroyed each year by humane societies, a
growing percentage of them have been
exotic.
And this is not the worst part of the exo
tic pet trade. The majority of those
shipped here never make the trip. Accord
ing to one estimate, every seven or eight
of 10 ocelots shipped north from South
America die on the way. Only one in eight
primates survives capture and transport.
For some birds the rate may be a one in 50
survival rate. During shipping the animals
die from exposure, starvation, thirst,
fightng and suffocation. This mortality rate
is no hindrance to dealers. If a dealer loses
half his order, he still can make a hand
some profit from the sale of the survivors.
The exotic pet trade is responsible for an
incredible amount of suffering and death
and is escalating the rate of extinction for a
number of animals; the popular cockatoo is
being depleted in numbers in its native
environment; hermit crabs may be next. If
you care about animals, DON’T buy an
exotic pet.
Kathy Nemec is a 1977 Texas Ai?M
graduate. Opinions expressed in this col
umn are the author’s only and not neces
sarily those of this paper.
Feminism opening doors in politics
By DAVID S. BRODEB
WASHINGTON — The question that
many of us have had for a long time about
the womens’s movement in America has
been this; At what, point, on what issue,
and in what way will it intersect with the
traditional main concerns of American
politics? That question, I would guess, is
about to be answered.
Since it surfaced in its modern form,
about a decade ago, feminism has forced
open more doors — of consciousness and
of power — than any comparable social
movement of our time.
It has been, in its own terms, an ex
traordinary success. But so long as it fo
cused principally on issues of particular if
not parochial interest to its own adherents
— whether rape law reform, abortion or
custody questions — it was, to a measura
ble degree, fencing itself off from the
mainstream political coalitions rooted in
the economic issues of our society.
But now the intersection is about to oc
cur. Women are focusing on the central
political-economic-social questions of the
cities and the poor, and they are doing so
in a fashion that may well alter the way in
which those issues are met.
That, at least, is one of the strongest
impressions this reporter drew from last
Letters to the editor
week’s White House Conference on Bal
anced National Growth and Economic
Development, the national “town meet
ing” on America’s economic future.
Commentary
In part that impression was created by
the happenstance fact that the two Cabinet
members most intimately involved with
the issues on the conference agenda are
Secretary of Commerce Juanita M. Kreps
and Secretary of Housing and Urban De
velopment Patricia Roberts Harris.
They are feminists of a very special sort
— highly intelligent, highly successful
economist (Kreps) and lawyer (Harris) who
compel attention by the force of their very
different personalities.
While they have been allies in some
past battles inside the Carter administra
tion, they are very much antagonists now
in a rather mean turf-and-policy fight over
the future direction of federal programs for
the cities and their people.
That is a measure of strength, not a
cause for consternation. When, if ever, be
fore in our national history has a major
question of domestic policy (billions of dol
lars and the hopes of many people turn on
the outcome of this argument) depended
so heavily on the skills of two women
politicians?
V But Kreps Arid Harris represent only the
beginning of the women’s surge to pos
itions in the forefront of the urban-and-
welfare debate. The last five years and par
ticularly the last two, have seen a real
breakthrough by women in local leader
ship. It is reflected by the central role of
female city politicians in setting the tone
and shaping the recommendations of the
White House conference.
From Barbara Mikulski of Baltimore to
Carol Bellamy of New York City to Lila
Cockrell of San Antonio to Phyllis Lam-
phere of Seattle, it was the women U.S.
Representatives, mayors and council
members who gave the most pointed defi
nitions to the choices facing this society in
urban policy: Is private investment
enough? Can the federal government
help, or is it too ensnared in its own inflex
ibility? Can community values find ex
pression beyond the level of the neighor-
hood without segmenting the larger soci
ety in the process?
One reason the women can speak more
effectively to these questions is that they
are newly enough arrived in positions of
power not to be defensive about the mis
takes of the past. They can tell it like it is.
But one also begins to sense that they
can also bring a fresh perspective and
suggest new avenues for action, by the
way in which they redefine the prqblems.
One day, Lt. Gov. Mary Ann Krupsak of
New York, Dr. Dorothy Height of the Na
tional Council of Negro Women and Car
men Votaw of the National Conference of
Puerto Rican Women held a joint press
conference on behalf of eight feminist
groups to talk about poverty in America.
Their essential point was very simple. As
they put it, “More and more, poverty is
becoming a female problem. ”
They cited some simple but stunning
statistics in support of that propostion.
“Women are the sole heads of 34 percent
of all minority families and 11 percent of
all white families. In 1972, 52 percent of
the former and 25 percent of the latter
were below the poverty level.”
By contrast, they said, only five percent
of the families with an adult white male in
them were in poverty.
Those simple facts came as a surprise in
my part of the room. And they certainly
suggest a different way of looking at — and
perhaps even dealing with — the poverty
problem in America.
(c) 1978, The Washington Post
University rules & regs
should end GPR conflict
Editor:
Re: Robert Harvey’s letter of Feb. 8,
1978.
Alright, it’s time for the Student Gov
ernment members to pull their heads out.
Last spring Robert Harvey asked a few of
us to keep an eye on him and that he ex
pected us to do so.
Well, it’s time to speak up.
This grade point ratio business has now
tied-up Student Goverment for better
than a month. Through this entire time
only once, in a Battalion article “Con
stitution change suggested” has the Texas
A&M University Regulations 1977-78
been referred to on this matter.
It quite simply states the solution on
page 27 of the “Blue Book“. In Section II
under “Student Organizations,” Part (2)
“Minimum Requirements for students
selected as officers in officially recognized
student organizations. ..shall be as follows:
(a) “Have at least a 2.000 overall grade
point ratio at the time of the elections and
at least a 2.000 grade point ratio for the
preceding summer terms at the time of
election and during the term of office.”
I also might note that nowhere does it
state that the Student Government Con
stitution may override these minimum re
quirements, nor does it say a word about
scholastic probation.
In conclusion I suggest to all concerned
in Student Government to stop this mas
sive waste of their constituents’ time, be
cause as stated above, the Student Gov
ernment cannot override the University
Regulations. And to quote an old cliche’:
“That is that!”
— Owen D. Massey, ‘79
Thanks for aid
Editor:
My wife and I wish to publicly thank the
University for much needed assistance
during our recent crisis. Specifically, Mr.
Ron Blatchley and student financial aid,
Drs. Black and Gooch for coordination and
guidance with academic problems and for
moral support. Thanks also to Col. Juins
and the entire Marine Corps staff and
M.E.C.E.P. students for offerings of time
and other valuable resources, for profes
sional advice and moral support. And spe
cial thanks to Dr. Cleve Want of the
English Department and again Dr. Black
of the History Department for getting to
gether gifts of clothes and toys, making
what we had left of Christmas a very spe
cial Christmas. My wife and sons and I will
hardly remember our house burned be
cause of all the emotional rebuilding by
friends. If we have left out anyone, He
thanks you.
— Sgt. Karl Klicker, ’79
Pam Klicker, ’80
Pull together
Editor:
An open letter to all Aggies:
Come on now, what separates Aggies
from the run-of-the-mill fan? A spirit, a
kinsmanship! I thought that meant
through the good and lean of everything.
What am I getting at? The lack of this
kinsmanship when an athletic team is not
winning — particularly, the lean season
our basketball team is having, but it holds
true for any of the sports. It doesn’t mean
those athletes are not playing as hard nor a
coach doing less. We in the stands are not
coaches nor players. Let us, as true Ag
gies, win or lose gracefully and show your
SUPPORT of the teams by ATTENDING
the games and keep that special spirit
alive.. .“Win, Lose or Draw, the Texas Ag
gies are Our Team!” Quit grousing and
cheer all the louder — Gig ’em Aggies!
—G. M. Brundidge
Road Work
Editor:
I would like to call attention to the in
adequacy of Nagel and College Main to
handle the great amounts of traffic that use
those streets at present. In particular, I am
concerned about pedestrian and bicycle
traffic. Few sidewalks exist on either
street. Those on foot or bicycle are forced
to use streets made narrower by cars
parked on either side. Those people often
find themselves dodging larger traffic. Re
cently, a friend of mine was hit by a car on
College Main while riding home from
class.
Conditions become even less tolerable
during one of the frequent Bryan
rainstorms. As the streets are apparently
designed to serve as sewers also, water
readily collects in them. Those who don’t
drive to class find this inconvenient, to say
the least. And the wet streets make the
cars even more dangerous to them.
The ideal solution, of course, would be
to have sidewalks and underground sewers
installed along College Main and Nagle.
However, as the area in question is be
tween south Bryan and north College Sta
tion, probably neither city will initiate the
action or provide the funds necessary for a
project that ambitious. The best realistic
partial solution would be for the cities to
restrict parking to one side of the street.
This would cost them nothing, and would
create about one-third more space for traf
fic. This wouldn’t keep pedestrians and
cyclists any drier, but it certainly would
keep them safer.
— Scott Pendleton
Slouch
by Jim Earle
THEY TELL ME IT’S AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL
THAT FIGHTS BACK!”
Top of the News
Campus
Honor society taking applicants
Freshmen with at least a 3.0 GPR and 15 or more class hours last
semester may apply for membership in Texas A&M’s chapter of
Lambda Sigma, a sophomore honor and service society, said Lambda
Sigma president Bill Jentsch. Applicants are screened and selected in
the second semester of their freshman year and serve throughout
their sophomore year. Application information will be available at a
meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Room 108 of Harrington
Education Center. Eligible students who cannot attend the meeting
should contact Jentsch at 693-6392 or Karen Switzer at 845-1741.
Voting to start for Aggie Parents
Recommendations for Aggie Parents of the Year will he accepted in
the student government office in Room 216 of the MSC Feb. 17
through Mar. 20.
State
Three convicted in Torres case
Chilly weather across Texas
Nation
Appeals made for foreign aid
World
Viet invasion claimed retaliation
Cambodia charged Wednesday that Vietnam has launched a major
invasion in the Mekong Delta region near Phnom Penh. Official
Radio Phnom Penh said Vietnamese forces backed by 30 tanks, MIG
jet fighters and helicopters, swept across the border Tuesday,
Vietnam’s New Year’s Day. Official Vietnamese radio broadcasts said
fighting in the area began Saturday after Cambodian forces invaded
two Vietnamese frontier villages and Vietnamese troops crossed the
Cambodian border in “hot pursuit” of the Khmer Rouge forces. The
Cambodian broadcast said Vietnamese forces shelled peasants har
vesting rice in the Parrot’s Beak, an arm of Cambodia jutting into
Vietnam west of Saigon. Speaking of the latest fighting, the Cambo
dian radio asked, “Is this what the Vietnamese mean by their daily
incessant clamor about their desire to settle differences through
negotiations?”
Weather
Continued cloudy and cold today. High today 42, low tonight
30. Winds from northeast at less than 10 mph. Sixty percent
chance of rain today with a possibility of thunderstorms. In
creasing cloudiness and cool with a chance of rain through
the weekend.
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A federal court jury Wednesday convicted three former Houston
policemen of civil rights violations in the drowning death of a
Mexican-American prisoner who was in their custody last May. Terry
Denson, Stephen Orlando and Joseph Janish, who were fired after
the incident, face possible life imprisonment in the death of Joe
Campos Torres. Torres was arrested on a charge of drunken brawling
May 7 5, 1977. His body was found in Buffalo Bayou May 8. Testimony
showed he had been beaten before he drowned. The defendants
showed no emotion in the silent courtroom while the all-white jury of
Seven men and five women were polled by U.S. District Judge Ross
N. Sterling. In individual responses the jurors said they believed the
defendants were guilty on two of four indictment counts. Sterling said
he will impose sentence on March 28. Defense lawyers may file
notices of appeal only after sentence is imposed, and prosecutors said
they expect an appeal.
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The season’s most severe and persistent winter storm spread
another layer of ice and snow across the northern half of Texas Wed
nesday, creating isolated power shortages. The Southwestern Public
Service Co. at Amarillo said ice snapped a power distribution line to
Claude, a small Panhandle town, early Wednesday, causing a black
out over parts of the city which lasted past noon. Natural gas and
electric companies throughout the state reported record consumption
and emphasized that the usage followed the coldest January ever for
many Texas cities. The National Weather Service said ice stranded an
estimated 200 vehicles early Wednesday on Interstate 35 near Hills
boro. Travelers’ advisories were issued for the northern half of the
state, with the worst areas located generally north of a line from
Stephenville to Shreveport, La. A side effect of the snow is expected
by the weekend in the form of moderate flooding in creeks and rivers
from the melting snow and from rain in south Texas. Moderately
warmer temperatures are predicted for today and Friday.
The United States must continue helping developing nations for its
own self interest, a high-ranking Treasury official said Tuesday. C.
Fred Bergsten, assistant secretary of the Treasury for International
Affairs, said this aid would help avoid wars and unchecked nuclear
development in these nations. He also pointed out that oil shipments
from developing nations are increasingly vital to American interests.
It is essential that United States policy respond positively to the
legitimate concerns of the developing countries and provide an effec
tive framework for American relations with these nations, he said. In
blunt remarks about Congress, Bergsten urged the lawmakers tore-
store $835 million cut from American contributions to the international
development banks, claiming the cuts hit poor nations hardest.
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The Battalion
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hose of the University administration or the Board of Re-
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munity newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the
editor.
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Jamie Ai
Managing Editor Mary Alice Wixxfc*
Sports Editor PaulAf^
News Editors Marie Homeyer, Carol
Assistant Managing Editor .. GlennaWW
City Editor Karen W
Campus Editor KimT)
Reporters Liz Newlin. IX
Boggan, Mark Patterson. Lee Roy Lesdiptff
Gary Welch, Scott Perkins, Boh A'I’
Photographers Susan \Vel>l>. Ken He
Cartoonist DoujI
Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers. C’/irti^
Joe Arredondo: Dr. Gary Halter. Dr. John W. Ilf
Robert Harvey: Dr. Charles McCandless: Dr. Cliiih ,!
Phillips: Rebel Rice. Director of Student PiihlM f
Donald C. Johnson.