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The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Friday
April 7, 1978
Free press threatened in Canada
On Feb. 13, 16 and 22, the Soviet Union engaged in at least 16 acts of
espionage against Canada. And yet, amazingly, the Canadian government did
not react.
But a Canadian newspaper did react, cataloging the espionage and criticiz
ing the Trudeau Administration for its timidity.
For its reporting, the Toronto Sun and its editor, Peter Worthing, are to be
prosecuted by the Canadian government under what amounts to a seditions
law.
Obviously the Canadian government gives little credence to the maxim that
the people have the right to know.
In this instance, it would appear that the government is trying to silence
those who criticize its actions — and Worthing has been emphatic in taking
the Trudeau Administration to task.
The issue of a free press — one without fear of barbaric seditious laws — is a
vital concern to anyone concerned with rule by the people. The matter is all
the more shocking coming from one of our close allies.
Woonsocket R.I. Call
Oil and clout battle it out
By JIM CRAWLEY
At Mama’s Pizza Parlor, Bill Clements
received the yell of Aggies to the tune of
“Beat the hell outta Dolph Briscoe.” It
could have been “Beat the hell outta Ray
Hutchison.” Clements will be hard
pressed to do that on a Saturday four
weeks from now.
time was right to take on the likes of the
governor’s office by running for it. This is
where Hutchison stands today. Running
against Clements for the chance to break
the 100-year tradition of a Democrat in the
governor’s mansion.
Bill Clements is living on OIL. That
black gold that has changed the face of
Texas since Spindletop. He’s not a ILL.
Hunt or an Ash Robinson but he does have
connections in the oil companies of the
state. His SEDCO company is a major
drilling contractor within the state and
around the world.
Ray Hutchison is prima facie evidence
of Dallas CLOUT. The former state
senator and Texas Republican Party
chairman is the wonderboy from Dallas.
During his tenure in Austin he pushed the
Republican legislators into a never-before
prominence within the chambers of the
state House and Senate. He then grabbed
the reigns of the state GOP to guide it
through its civil war between the Reaga-
nites and the Fordians. With that suc
cessfully calmed down, he decided the
Politics
Clements is well-known in the political
and bureaucratic circles of Washington.
He was a deputy Secretary of Defense
from 1973 to 1977 under the Nixon-Ford
administrations. For Texans this experi
ence may be wasted. The Texas voter is
very anti-Washington and Clements may
be unfavorably associated with the capital.
His opponent, the present forerunner in
the race, is known to every faithful Texas
Republican. He is handsome, composed,
articulate and groomed for the governor
ship. His rise to political stature in Texas
was quick and structured to last for years.
He is a politician.
Being a politician is not worse than
being a Washingtonian, as far as the Texas
voter is concerned. Being a politician
means that you are capable of coalescence.
You can bring together groups of people,
some with different viewpoints for the
purpose of getting elected to an office.
Politics is like a game, where the winner is
the guy who can put together more groups
of dissimilar voters than his opponnets.
And after football and oil the biggest game
in Texas is politics.
Hutchison has proved himself to be a
politician. Clements hasn’t done that yet.
To prove himself as a politician, Cle
ments must be able to please voters from
all segments of Texas society. While he has
received a lot of money from the oilmen of
Texas, support from the reactionary
Reaganites and possesses a large-scale PR
staff with brains, he doesn’t have John Q.
Republican voting for him. Not yet. He
could easily be discribed as “lackluster” in
comparison to the “flamboyant” Hutchi
son.
Clements is a calculating sort of guy.
He’ll sit and think over the problem and
quietly solve it in a business-like manner.
No fanfare or finesse involved. His cam
paign paper (a PR extravaganza) tries to
place him as a candidate that is a “people’s
man. ” But, he is one of the first candidates
Letters to the editor
Battalion endorsement policy criticized
Editor:
I would like to express my opposition to
the practice of candidate endorsement in
The Battalion. (April 4, 1978). These
endorsements were in the editorial section
of The Battalion, indicating that they were
opinion. According to a member of The
Battalion staff, these opinions were can
vassed during a meeting of staff members.
The ommission of credit to the people who
held the expressed opinions suggests to
some readers that the endorsements carry
some official weight rather than the simple
opinion of a group of some people.
Unless these opinions were expressed
by the specific reporters who covered the
activities of the student government on a
regular basis, they carry no more weight
than the opinion of any other student in
formed by The Battalion. The description
of each candidate found elsewhere in the
April 4, 1978 issue was helpful information
for student voters. The editorial
endorsements added no information that
could be considered as “voting criteria ”,
since they were opinions justified with
what seems to be very vague reasons.
Since other persons in past years have
objected to the practice of Battalion
endorsements, my opinion is not new.
Private newspapers regularly endorse
candidates for political office. The
endorsed candidates favor the practice,
while persons not endorsed object. The
Battalion, the student newspaper of Texas
A&M University, however, is in a differ
ent position than a private newspaper.
Texas A&M students must rely on only
one campuswide newspaper for informa
tion. There is no other publication to
which most of them can turn for opinions
on candidates.
The practice of endorsing student can
didates should be discontinued in the fu
ture, because voters tend to take the
endorsements as official statements rather
than simple opinion. If the practice is not
discontinued, the persons making the
endorsements should at least be identified
at the time the endorsements are pub
lished.
— Nancy Bunch, ’80
ment as well, and it is clearly the
editor’s or a staff member’s opinion.
Readers’ comments are likewise printed
in the Readers’ Forum section. Just as we
find it important to express views on is
sues, for or against, that are pertinent to
our readership, so we also feel it neces
sary and completely within our preroga
tive to let our readership know how we
view the candidates — those we feel will
serve the students’ needs and those we
feel will not. The notion of endorsements
is found universally in the newspaper
field. The Battalion being no exception.
To all papers it is a right, many consider it
a duty to the readership. If we have an
opinion to express, we will express it. As
for our student election endorsements,
those members of The Battalion staff with
experience covering the contested offices
chose those candidates whom The Battal
ion endorsed. No credit line was given to
these individuals since their decisions
were the official stands of The Battalion.
enjoy living? If so, may the Lord spare us
His righteous justice and have mercy on us
all.
If you, Ms. Taylor, would like to discuss
any of your points or mine, I would be
delighted to do so, for this letter is not
intended as a grudge letter, but only to
present another point of view.
— Terry Aycock, ’78
Abortion ads wrong
Abortion wrong
No endorsements
Editor:
I am writing in response to the “student
election endorsements” that appeared in
the Battalion April 4. My first question, is
who did the endorsing? The editor? The
entire Batt staff? Or perhaps the student
body? The latter is the only way I can see
the Batt making such endorsements. And
if this IS the case why have elections? The
Batt should represent the entire student
body equally. Whoever wrote the article
(it was unsigned) placed value and qualifi
cation judgment on each candidate. This
amounted to free advertising for some and
adverse advertising for others. I feel the
Batt has no place for such bias judgments
on fellow Ags. The timing of such an arti
cle left no time for candidates to defend
themselves from such attacks. The Batt
had already served its function when it ran
the pre-election interviews. I hope the
Batt will get its BULL together next year
and do equal justice for ALL of the candi
dates.
— Sidney A. Neff, ’79
Editor’s note: The leading section of
this page is and has been for the last year
The Battalion editorial space. It is a sec
tion newspapers reserve to express the
paper’s opinion on various issues. We at
The Batt alion reserve this right to com-
Editor:
Upon reading Ms. Taylor’s “Pro
abortion” letter (April 4), I am reminded
once again of the problems a culture or
society faces once it turns, deliberately,
from any belief in moral absolutes.
In the past years, we have read articles,
letters, and comments in the Batt on every
issue from homosexuality to abortion to
capital punishment and it is amazingly
clear that the pendulum swings strongly in
favor of cultural relativity.
With every action, there is a conse
quence. Apparently, Ms. Taylor and those
of her persuasion in their thinking are not
willing to be responsible for their actions.
I truly weep for them.
But, what do I mean by not being re
sponsible?
It is not responsible to gratify
momentary physical drives through sex,
and then when becoming pregnant be
cause of doing it because it “felt” good,
terminating potential life. What if your
mother or mine had made such a decision?
It is not responsible to rationalize abor
tion so that a person’s own selfish desires
(“right to pursue ‘Happiness’) may be
gratified.
It is not responsible to rationalize abor
tion by stating the possibility of child
abusement as being unfair to the child.
For up to “20 weeks ”, this future child
“has no rights”, Ms. Taylor states, but
then, suddenly, she says it does have
rights — the right to not be abused by
destroying he/she/it before birth. I am
not advocating child abusement, only
pointing out faulty logic. She blatantly
contradicts herself within two paragraphs.
Does the unborn child have rights or
not? (Compare Paragraphs 3 and 4,
sentences 1 and 2 in said letter. It
is impossible to answer my question
from such comparison.)
Finally, I find it interesting that in a cul
ture which is so caught up in depending on
subjective truth or experience for validity
that there is something in people which
strives for objectivity. Thus, we turn to
such wonderful measures as “abortion
laws” which officially and “objectively”
rule that “20 weeks” is the magic number,
and thus abortion is made “legal.”
As I have read back over her letter, I am
struck with a sense of remorse. For it is
permeated with a “Do your own thing” or
“If it feels good, do it” philosophy which is
aware of nothing but personal, immediate
gratification. Is that the way we may truly
Editor:
Just because abortion is a legal opera
tion does not mean it should be adver
tised. Hysterectomies and vasectomies are
legal operations, but do you see adver
tisements on them? I have yet to see a city
newspaper carry an ad of this nature, that
includes the Houston Chronicle and Post.
Why the Batt? Is this suggesting females
here are more prone to pregnancy than
females elsewhere?
A most-needed ad, do you think girls
flocked to Houston for abortions or clipped
out the ad to save “just in case. ” I just can’t
see a girl shopping through the daily
newspaper for an abortionist. Abortion
should not be advertised. A girl who finds
herself pregnant needs counseling and
guidance, not the temptation to make a
hasty decision that she may regret.
Ignorance is no excuse at this age. The
attitude of “it won’t happen to me” is more
appropriate. I would like to believe A&M
students are mature, sensible adults with
self-respect and dignity. Aren’t we old
enough to know the risk of pregnancy and
precautions that can be taken so that we
don’t have to result to such an immoral,
murderous act as abortion? Aren’t we ma
ture enough to be responsible for our ac
tions? If we aren’t, all I can say is “Grow
up, kids. ” If you make your bed and lie in
it, you should be ready to handle the con
sequences. Abortion is no way to handle
it, it is a scapegoat for irresponsibility and
immaturity.
— Sharon Sherpinskas, ’79
fectly healthy individuals who simply want
to sit at the games.
It is unfortunate that the truly disabled
Aggies must lose their upper deck seats.
The 2 percenters who filled the section
will now be moved to a place that will
allow more spirited Aggies to have better
seats. Some may doubt the section is filled
with 2 percenters. Well, after our loss to
Arkansas last fall, all of the student sec
tions of Kyle Field remained for a yell
practice to show our continued support for
the team. A quick glance and you would
have noticed that the first five rows, the
consideration section, were completely
empty. That to me is a bunch of 2 per
centers.
— Steve Taylor, ’79
No 2 percenters
Closed mind wrong
Editor:
I am writing in response to the anti
abortion advertisment in the April 3 Batt.
I was disappointed in the closed
mindedness of the authors of those letters.
Not everyone is against abortions, proba
bly not even a majority of the Batt readers.
And those people reserve the right to read
advertisements concerning abortions. I’m
sure that any reader could find an adver
tisement about a subject that they ob
jected to and every reader has the
privilege of ignoring the ad. Should any
legal organization be deprived of its right
to advertise? Should the singular opinions
of possibly only a few be the reason to dep
rive others?
I am pleased that the Batt displayed
open-mindedness and does not cater to
minority opinions in a country where
majority rules.
— Darrel Bell, ’77
Editor:
Any junior who has been sitting in the
horseshoe will tell you that our present
system of distributing student football
tickets is abused.
The problem is that upperclassmen may
legitimately and rightly so bring a date
who is an underclassman; however, the
abuse comes in when, for example, four
seniors go together and four non-date
underclassmen use their books to get
senior tickets also.
One method that could help prevent
this abuse would be to color code or put a
meal pass-like sticker on the student I.D.
to denote their classification. This way,
transfer students wouldn’t be penalized.
Since there are people already at each
ramp, they could quickly check the color
of I.D.’s while checking the ticket holder’s
section, and not allow any underclassmen
in who weren’t with upperclassmen.
A less favorable method would be to
limit the number of tickets one person
could get if they had over a certain
number of underclassmen I.D.’s. Exam
ple: If five seniors were also getting five
freshmen tickets, they could only get four
seats together. This would then break up
the senior group and make it unlikely they
would help the freshmen. Of course, this
woidd penalize any senior who legiti
mately wanted to sit as a group with five
freshmen dates. I feel that this is less an
evil than juniors sitting in the horseshoe
and other seniors sitting on the goal line
because some underclassmen were abus
ing the system.
— Mark Metyko, ’80
Eyewitness
Change system
Editor:
There has been some criticism of the
student senate’s action to move the seats
for disabled persons to the horseshoe. I am
in full support of their action. I have seen
this consideration section filled with per-
Editor:
I seek not, in this letter, to comment on
the inner nature of man nor to pass judg
ment on my fellow students. I do not in
tend to express my opinions regarding the
definition of the “Good Ag, ” and neither is
it my intent to voice complaints concern
ing the infringements that have been
made on my personal rights. I only want to
enlighten.
That is to say, if the owner of the brown
Pinto cares to know what kind of low-life it
is that puts a crease a foot long in some
one’s passenger side car door and then
drives off laughing and joking about it from
the parking lot of Olsen Field after an
A&M-Astro ball game, just call me. I’ll
give you the license plate number. You
can call the Department of Public Safety in
Austin to find out to whom that vehicle is
registered. Then you’ll know the thought
ful soul that I and about 40 others watched
batter your car.
— Gene Fisseler, 845-7071
that doesn’t seem to possess a single cam
paign picture with a smile. A policitican
without a smile is usually a politician with
out an elective office. Voters like smiling
politicians. They feel more secure.
Hutchison is beaming. Not because he
is guaranteed of winning the GOP nomina
tion. He’s smiling because he knows that is
his job as a politician. He smiles for the
cameras, for the babies, and for the Re
publicans. He’s also a newlywed. Last
month, he married the outgoing Vice
Chairman of the National Transportation
Safety Board, Kay Bailey. This union
can only help to sway some voters.
While Clements has money, Hutchison
has people. His organization is from the
grassroots up and he knows where and
how to use them. His personal manner of
campaigning makes him a hard man to
beat. Clements will have become a per
sonable campaigner without showing his
money.
The necessity for being personable
comes from the political fact that most of
the voters aren’t oilmen or high-class soci
ety. They are middle-class. To win you
have to appear middle-class. Not too rich
and not too poor. Just average.
Top of the News
Campus
Debaters participate in Chicago
Two Texas A&M University students won five out of eight rounds
at the 13th Annual Novice National Debate Tournament in Chicago
last weekend, ranking the A&M team 33rd in the nation. Becky
Parks, a sophomore electrical engineering major, and Michael
Shelby, a freshman political science major were among 198 novice
debaters across the nation to receive invitations to the event. Shelby
was ranked the 28th best novice speaker. The Southwest conference
Debate Tournament is Saturday at 10 a.m. in Rudder Tower.
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Briscoe pushes for superport
Gov. Dolph Briscoe met with federal officials Wednesday in Wash
ington to discuss plans for a state-owned offshore oil superport as an
alternative to an unsuccessful private bid towards the project. Briscoe
and former Rep. Bob Casey, chairman of the new Texas Deep Water
Port Authority, discussed with the U.S. Transportation Department
officials “the most expeditious approach to the $700 million proposal
which requires federal licensing. The new authority was created fol
lowing the failure of Seadock Inc., a private houston-based consor
tium that was unable to hold its financing after federal licensing re
striction became known last year. After Exxon, Gulf and Mobil with
drew their majority support for the proposed 2.5 million barrel-per-
day superport 26 miles from Freeport, Texas, Seadock announced it
would dissolve. Texas supporters of the idea have expressed fear that
a similar Louisiana project may beat them to available business.
Nation
Inflation rate to stay high
Unless corrective actions are taken, the nation’s inflation rate will
remain “hopelessly stuck” at current high levels, the Council on
Wage and Price Stability warned Thursday. “The risks of higher fu
ture inflation are far greater than the possibility of deceleration,” the
White House inflation monitoring agency concluded in a special re
port. The study also criticized President Carter’s insufficient anti
inflation strategy announced in January. Carter and his economic
aides are currently working on a new anti-inflation program which
will be announced next week. It will be aimed at stepping up the fight
against the inflation spiral. Thursday’s report was released shortly
after the labor department reported wholesale prices rose 0.6 percent
in March. That was down from 1.1 percent in February.
Wayne recovers after surgery
Actor John Wayne, 70, the rugged hero of western and war movies
managed to eat his first bite of food and climb out of bed for a minute
Wednesday, 48 hours after open heart surgery in Boston. “Waynes
convalescence continues on schedule,” said Massachusetts General
Hospital spokesman Martin Bander. “He sat up for a few minutes and
stood briefly by his bedside for the first time. He took liquids and ate
a small amount of soft food by mouth since the operation.” Doctors
are working to keep Wayne’s lung clear of secretion, apparently
caused by bronchitis, through a series of respiratory exercises. Doc
tors reported Wayne’s heart — with the aid of a new valve taken from
a pig’s heart — was functioning well.
World
Soldiers killed in shootout
Palestine Liberation Organization officials Thursday said three Is
raeli soldiers had been killed by guerrillas and their bodies would be
exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. Military sources in Tel Aviv con
firmed that the soldiers were killed in a shootout. A PLO military
communique said the three were killed and their vehicle captured
Wednesday when they attempted to advance toward a guerrilla posi
tion at Ras Al Ain, about three miles south of the Palestinian-
controlled port city of Tyre. The incident was seen as the most serious
breach to date of the 16-day calm that has prevailed in the south while
United Nations troops and Lebanese police units attempted to estab
lish themselves between Israeli and Palestinian positions. Such an
exchange would call for indirect negotiations between Israel and the
PLO, although Israeli leaders have vowed never to negotiate with
what they regard as a band of “murderers. ”
Bomb kills two in police office
A bomb exploded in a police station early Thursday in Buenos
Aires, killing two persons and injuring two others, police sources
said. The explosions at 2 a.m. demolished the office of police inspec
tor Carlos Washington Carvalho, killing him and another person in
his office who has not yet been identified. Two other federal police
officers at the 47th precinct station house were wounded by the
explosion. The bomb may have been in the briefcase of someone who
had been arrested in the area of the station house, the news agency
Noticias Argentinas said. Police Chief Edmundo Ojeda and army
officers rushed to the scene of the explosion to start the investigation.
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Princess ignores press criticism
Princess Margaret made it clear Thursday she has no intentions of
retiring from public life in the face of mounting criticism that her
friendship with a younger man has impaired the image of the royal
family. The relationship of the 47-year-old Princess and a 30-year-old
budding pop singer, Roddy Llewellyn, has drawn “crisis” headlines
in British newspapers. The stories suggested the princess was so
engrossed with Roddy she was neglecting the royal duties. The prin
cess is known to be unhappy about her expected divorce from the
Earl of Snowdon but expects to resume official engagements as soon
as possible.
Weather
Mostly cloudy, mild and humid today, tonight and Saturday
with a chance of showers Saturday afternoon. High today
upper 70s, low tonight mid-60s. High tomorrow upper 70s.
Winds from the southeast at 8-16 mph. 30% chance of rain
tomorrow afternoon.
The Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor
or of the writer of the ariicle and are not necessarily those of
the University administration or the Board of Regents. The
Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise oper
ated by students as a university and community newspaper.
Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are
subject to being 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, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College
Station, Texas 77843.
Represented nationally by 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 Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per
school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates furnished
on request. Address; The Battalion, Room 216, Reed
McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 778411
United Press International is entitled exclusively•’’l
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credMS
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein res fl Tj
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor :... Jamie ^
Managing Editor Mary Alice Wiki
Sports Editor Paul A
News Editors Marie Homeyer, Carol jB
Assistant Managing Editor GlennaWjL
City Editor Karen Wj
Campus Editor
Reporters Liz Newlin, David B'tf j
Mark Patterson, Lee Roy Lesehperjr J
Welch, Jim Crawley, AnclyWiJjl
Paige Beasley. Boh S'fi
Photographers Susan Webb, David
Cartoonist Doug f ,r,l,l| |
Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers,
Joe Arredondo, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. Charles McCtftM
Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, RcIh I Rice. Direetor
Publications: Donald C. Johnson.