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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1978)
Viewpoint The Battalion Thursday Texas A&M University March 9, 1978 Maximized benefits I was fortunate enough to take part in a. student editors conference at the White House last weekend which culminated in a half-hour question and answer session with President Carter. The experience was interesting enough, but as expected nothing of earth-shattering importance was re leased. Carter knew better than to give college editors first shot at any hot news — the wrath of the White House press corps is legendary. Strangley enough, it was from an assistant secretary of Health, Education and Welfare that I learned some interesting news. Mary Francis Berry, head of the educational branch of HEW, told the conference that substantial increases in federal student aid for public and private colleges were in the works to help students combat rising educational costs. She said, however, that no move has been made to help institutions battle increasing operating costs. It makes one wonder how much good will result from increasing student aid benefits when at the same time college costs continue to rise. Since most institutional funding comes from the state level, it might be a splendid idea for the Texas Legislature to work along the same lines as the federal govern ment. Perhaps then students could do more than just keep their heads above water. /.A. Affirmative Action overkill By LILLI DOLLINGER Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be told you couldn’t enter a certain school or get a job because of your sex or the color of your skin? Think about it. If you are white, and especially if you are male, it’s more possible than you may think. Our government has decided that past discrimination of minorities warrants “affirmative action.” This action includes forcing businesses and schools to set aside a certain number of openings for minorities: qualified or not-so-qualified. This reverses the situation of whites and minorities. As a matter of fact, this action is like curing a drought with a downpour. This drought is gone, but now we have a flood. Case in point: Allan Bakke is suing the University of California at Davis Medical School for discrimination. He is white and is more qualified than the 16 minority stu dents selected before him. Out of a total of 3,737 applicants, 100 were accepted, but 16 of those positions were set aside for minority students under a “minority ad missions program.” This program is a nice way of establishing a quota. Of course, very few people would support quotas, so the government calls them Affirmative Ac tion Plans. Reader s Forum The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law for all, regardless of color (or sex). Past cases have determined that ra cial classifications and discriminations violate this clause. The advocates of Affirmative Action claim that past racism justifies reverse dis crimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a forerunner of the current quota pro grams. Those who were so vocal in the 1960s about racial discrimination against blacks do not seem to be so worried about unjust discrimination today. Think about the absurdity of ending discrimination by discriminating. Affirmative Action may be a burden to the majority but let’s look at from the minority’s viewpoint, also. First of all, the minority student or employee that is ac cepted or employed merely because of race is at a disadvantage. Why encourage a person falsely about his or her abilities or background preparation? A study of spe cially admitted black and Chicano law school graduates in more than a dozen states indicated that roughly 60 percent or more could not pass the bar exam. What was accomplished by this affirmative ac tion. Let s also think about the qualified minority students, those who would have no trouble gaining admittance to a profes sional school because of their abilities. The stigma attached to them because of these quotas is very damaging. They say all too clearly that the minority member just does not have what it takes to make it and must therefore be given what he hasn t the ability to earn. His talent and hard work will hardly be appreciated. This is a sad commentary on the American way of life. The proponents of Affirmative Action believe that the government should prac tice racial and sexual discrimination in order to make businesses and schools rep resentative of society as a whole. This goal is unfit for a free society and should be re-examined by not only our political lead ers, but by each and every citizen that ex pects to be treated according to his abilities and hard work. This country should keep its ideals high in regard to its dealings with its citizens lives. Each one of us has a stake in the Bakke case and the ideal it represents. Let’s hope the Court rules to establish the right of all young people to he judges on their own merits when attempting to secure employment or higher education. Lilli Dollinger is a freshman math major and is secretary-treasurer of Texas A<bM Young Americans for Freedom. Opinions expressed in this column are the authors only and not necessarily those of this pa per. No halt to ‘bracket creep’ By DON PHILLIPS WASHINGTON — If you pay taxes — and almost everyone above the upper poverty level is supposed to — you are suffering from bracket creep. Bracket creep is not a disease, nor is it a condition associated with underclothing. Bracket creep is a form of tax increase. But it is not brought about by any action of Congress or the Internal Revenue Service. In fact, it is brought about by inaction. It works this way. Every year almost everyone’s salary increases, but part of that increase merely makes up for — or partly makes up for — inflation. The “real increase in income is the amount of salary increase on top of inflation. But the Internal Revenue Code is writ ten as if there were no such thing as infla tion. Under our graduated form of income taxation, the percentage of money with held in taxes rises as income rises, no mat- Letters to the editor ter whether the increase represents a “real” increase in salary or simply keeps one even with the rate of inflation. m,•«K-Tty *■*.**•!*nub''g ir<*ffV!i ■ ■ ■ ii " «■•*« S** Commentary Therefore, year by year, the taxpayer keeps popping into higher tax brackets and pays an increasing amount of income in taxes even though part of that income rise is eaten away by inflation. Taxpayers thus creep up into higher brackets — “bracket creep. When Treasury Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal briefed reporters on President Carter’s $24 billion tax cut bill, he was asked numerous times why the multitude of charts and tables did not include a table taking into full account the effects of ex pected inflation including bracket creep. After giving evasive answers for a period, he appeared to promise such a ' chart within a'fe\v days: It n^vei appeared. Republicans, who favor a -much larger ‘tax cut; wbre’only f'oo hapjiy to do a little of their own calculating. They came up with a chart which seemed to show that a family of four would actually pay higher taxes in 1979 if it made $17,500 a year or more. In 1980, under the 1 GOP chart, every four-member family making $10,000 or more would pay higher taxes, and in 1981 every family of four would pay more. The GOP chart takes into account both the increase in Social Security payroll takes scheduled under current legislation, and the full effects of inflation, which is estimated to be 5.9 percent this year, 6.1 percent in 1979, 5.7 percent in 1980 and 5.2 percent in 1981. Of course, both the Carter White House and the Republicans can use statistics to their best advantage — Carter to make his fa^’cuQook biggejfcqiyd flit' GOP/ to make his tawfeut look j)h(-mrr" ' Bdt fine major fact is clear: inflation is dealing Americans a double whammy, and some people a triple whammy. On the one hand, inflation erodes the value of the dollar and robs us of a part of whatever salary increase we receive. Inflation also pushes us into higher and higher tax brackets. And at the local level, especially if we own property, inflation pushes up local taxes. Add to this the fact that Social Security payroll taxes are scheduled to rise year after year, and one can only wonder how long it will be before some harried soul shows up at the doors of his congressman with documents proving he owes various governments more money than he makes. Dance deserves more budget consideration Editor: Included in the Kyle Field expansion are plans for a dance studio. It’s amazing that an $18 million, four-story complex housing classrooms, a lecture hall, laboratories, 14 racketball courts, and five basketball courts can only manage enough money and space for one dance studio. This addition will bring the number of dance studios at A&M up to two. The dance studio we have now is used to the fullest extent. That one poor room is used from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m. Classes are held continuously from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and other groups, such as Dance Arts So-. ciety and Shorin Karate, work out there until the room is locked at 10 p.m. It also is used on weekends. All the PE classes that need the studio are filled to overflow ing. Believe it or not. Aggies love to dance — anything from ballet to square dancing. And it’s not only girls, boys are there, too. However, I don’t want to be misun derstood and accused of being against the racketball and basketball courts. I love to play racketball and if I were seven inches taller. I’d be seen playing basketball, too. It just seems to me that someone, some where is overlooking or ignoring this de mand area. A&M always manages to ex pand in just enough time to be over crowded. I have enough faith in the staff and administration of A&M to know that it could be managed to plan and pay for more than one dance studio somewhere in $18 million and four stories. — Deborah Wright, ’80 American tradition Editor: I was pleased to see a small group of civilian Ags stop walking and proudly place hands over hearts as the Corps brought down the Stars and Stripes Monday evening. Unfortunately though, it’s a pretty rare oceurance. Often, either alone or with my outfit, I’ve stook at attention as our flag is being lowered and seen Ags surely within sight and sound continue on their way with little or no regard for what is taking place. This is particularly noticable on weekends. It seems rather ironic that Aggies who tire the finest fighters for so many proud tra ditions within our beloved University often refuse to pay due respect to our country’s “traditions by taking a few proud moments to salute Old Glory. I promise you won’t regret it — chances are it 11 make you feel great! Certainly thfe Corps is one of the proudest guardians of traditions at A&M. We don t have a monopoly on it though! On a grander scale, we are staunch defen ders of America s “traditions but we defi- nately don’t have the only hearts that open up to her on display of those “traditions. We re all Ags. We re all Americans! So, c’mon non-regs; we want your help in showing pride and spirit in America! — James E. Edge, ’80 TM again Editor: In Friday’s Batt, George Sofka tried to “clear up” misconceptions regarding TM. Either he is misinformed himself, or is a part of the active deceptive program of TM in this country. Let me clear up some of the misconceptions about the misconcep tions. Fact: TM seeks to hide its true religious nature through deceptive titles. One need only read his book, “Meditations of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi” to see this. On page 168, he states, “not in the name of God-realization can we call a man to medi tate today, but in the name of enjoying the world better.” When Maharishi first came to America, he was very blunt about dec laring the religious nature of TM. The first organization he established to spread TM was called “The Spiritual Regeneration Movement". However, as he became aware of the legal situation here of separa tion between church and state, as well as the technological mentality of Westerners, the name was changed to Transcendental Meditation, to portray a “scientific” im age. Most recently it has been changed again to the “World Plan Executive Coun cil”, promoted as an educational organiza tion, to make the whole deception more platable to Americans and further obscure its religious nature. The state of New Jer sey ruled Oct. 20, 1977, that TM is reli gious in nature and cannot be taught in the public schools. Fact: The basic nature of TM is that of Hinduism. Psychology Today Magazine (April 1974) wrote, “Tbe Science of Crea tive Intelligence (the doctrinal teaching of TM) as it is called, is clearly a revival of ancient Indian Brahmanism and Hin duism. Its origins lie in the ancient texts — Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita, the teachings of Buddha, and the Synthesis of these traditions by Shankara.” Most of all the teaching of maharashi and TM (such as the definition of faith, God, Karma, reality, consciousness) can be found in classical Hinduism and the Eastern Reli gions. Fact: Maharishi admits that it is reli gious. The use of the Matra is a subtle means of communicating with “the gods. ” He speaks of “chanting to produce an ef fect in some other world, to draw the at tention of those higher beings or gods liv ing there” (pp. 17, 18). When asked il meditation were a form of prayer, he re sponded, “A very good form of prayer. A most refined and most powerful form of prayer is this meditation which directly leads us to the field of the Creator, to the sources of Creation, to the field of God. I think it is time TM stops deceiving the students of A&M about its true nature. Its basic thrust is that of Eastern Religion, which I’m sure some involved themselves don t realize, and is not to any degree eompatable with the truth of Christianity. — Willis Hudson Slouch by Jim Earle SPRINtSrWCAT/PN Fit,LG 9-7* Campus Drug study volunteers to report Volunteers for the Influenza Drug Study are reminded to turn in their weekly reports and receive payments at the Texas A&M versify Health Center reception desk today or Friday during normal clinic hours. Local Property owners meet tonight College Station property owners are invited to a meeting at 7:! tonight to discuss how property is rendered for school district taxation and how market value is determined. The meeting will he conducted by Tax Assessor-Collector Jewell Ellis and his staff, and will belieldat the South Knoll Elementary School Cafeteria. an l Legei eated But I •eatest jipturei »11 Rud ght. 7 rts Soc rform He c ell tl: ressed lost of oup t State Violent crime may be on dedim Crime increased steadily in Texas during 1976, but violence mar be on the decline, the Department of Public Safety said Wednesday in Austin. DPS officials said the agency’s Uniform Crime report which will be issued in a few weeks may show an increase in lire number of violent crimes reported in 1977. But officials noted another report released Wednesday is based on a random survey of citizens and includes both reported and unreported crimes. While the Uniform Crime report is based only on crimes reported to police. The survey showed crime increases from 1975 to 1976 involved prop erty crimes such as theft, burglary and motor vehicle theft. But v on, h< press) Ijor movi juld p He b tyle” eryda [arcea i with lis pai 'ell-res need i Ice a st and hoi Marc eated pie Pi pssipii igon; In ar Nation Farmers try to delay food In their quest for higher prices, striking farmers Wednesday tried to persuade truckers from North Dakota to Texas to delay shipments of food. But a veteran market reporter said two days of cajoling had no effect on the movement of fresh fruits and vegetables to grocery stores. Most farmers used a soft-sell approach, inviting truckers to I stop for coffee along interstate highways. Then they explained their 1 plight and asked the truckers to voluntarily park the trucks unlessj they were carrying perishables. The farmers hoped their final push 1 would force Congress into favorable action on the Dole-BentsenBill, an emergency measure which would grant farmers 100 percent parity ifthey would take 50 percent of their land out of production this year. Mud-stranded tribe receives aid Army and National Guard helicopters dropped food and supplies to an estimated 10,000 mud-stranded Navajo reservation residents Wednesday in the f if th day of "Operation Mudhole. After three days of good weather the muddy Arizona ground was beginning to ge/ firm, said Ralph Meek, the tribe s director of public safety. ‘There’s beginning to be some ground movement in some affected areas, and providing that storm coming off the Pacific doesn t get this far, we plan to start winding the operation down tomorrow,” Meek said. X Students demonstrate at capitol Last week more than 100 Langston University students demon strated at the Capitol in Oklahoma City, trapping legislators in the House for more than four hours in an effort to gain more money for the predominantly black school. On Tuesday, a House committee suggested abolishing the school despite warnings from ChancellorE. T. Dunlap that it could cost the state $70 to $80 million in federal funds. House Speaker Bill Willis, D-Tahlequah, predicted the propo sal woidd never pass the House and said it did not represent a major ity view. "It was obviously a reaction to the demonstration," Willis said. Other lawmakers said closing the school would save the state money on an institution with a poor academic reputation. Bell says miners will work Striking miners will heed a federal court order to return to work and end the nation’s longest continuous coal strike. Attorney General Griffin Bell predicted Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo. He expressed confidence that the 160,000 striking members of the United Mine Workers union would comply with a court order to end the three- month-old walkout. Bell told reporters after the ceremony it was too early to comment on the possibility of federal seizure of the mines. He said he assumed the strike would be resolved before such action became necessary. M< ar Flynt shooting suspect freed A young man arrested as a possible suspect in the Monday shooting of Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt in Georgia was in Norfolk at the time and has been released from custody. Teddy Morris, 20, was freed after being questioned by police officers from Lawrence- ville, Ga., who flew to Norfolk. Capt. B. H. Blanott of the Gwinett County, Ga. police department said Morris “admitted it was all a hoax.” Paul Lipkin, an attorney for Morris, said his client had con cocted a false story to collect the reward money in the case and it had gotten him into trouble. Weather Fair and warm today, turning partly cloudy and warmer on Friday. High today mid-60s, low tonight mid-40s. High tomor row mid-70s. Winds light and variable. Cooler Saturday and Sunday with decreasing cloudiness. The Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the i Hi versify administration or the Board of Be- tients. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-support* % r^ enterprise operated by students as a university and com munity newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to beitifi cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor. The Battalion. Boom 216. Beed McDonald Building. College Station, Texas 77643. Rep resented nationally In National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday periods and the summer, when it is published on Monday s, Wednesday s and Friday s. Mail subscriptions are $ 1 (i.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per lull year. Advertising rates fur nished on request. Address: The Battalion. Room 210. Reed McDonald Building. College Station. Tew " l nited Press International is entitled cmIimwM use for reproduction of all news dispiihliex cnnlild' Rights ol reproduction of all other mailer IkTtinrw^ Second-Class postage paid at College Statioii. IX9 MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Fditor J.IIH1I I* Managing Fditnr ■ Man yli<vU,«W Sports Editor I'jiilMf News Editors Marie iloim-xrr. CjrnJirf Assistant Managing Edito ’. Cl,mi Ml* City Editor Kami W* Campus Editor Kim I" 1 Reportei l.iy Mark Pattersoi Uriel. Photographei (airtoonist Newlin. Raul Ik 1 ®* Lee Ros lesdipf. Jim ( i.iwley. link "iM Paige Beasley Wd» k'l*^ Susan Wehh. kenllii* Routed* Stiulent Tuhlicatums Board. Boh C. Huccr*. t h** Jo, Arredondo />» Cary Italia . Ih ( Dr Clinton \ rhillips. Bchcl Hia Ihmlt* »l Tublicalions: Donah! I Johnson.