Viewpoint
The Battalion Friday
Texas A&M University September 15, 1978
Time for hard dealing at Camp David
The Mideast summit meeting.is one confer
ence that must not be permitted to fail.
When ambassadors meet and disagree, there is
recourse to foreign ministers. When foreign
ministers fall into deadlock, a meeting of heads of
state is a safety net. When heads of state fail,
there is no higher court of appeal, and the gener
als start dusting off their contingency plans.
Thus there is high risk in Carter’s diplomatic
rescue mission. Yet he had no other choice. Begin
and Sadat, through inflexibility and error, had
brought the peace process to a halt. Before Carter
proposed a last-ditch effort at Camp David, Egypt
had been studying its military options.
On the surface there is little ground to expect a
settlement.
Carter ought to tell Begin and Sadat the blunt
truth, which comprises the following:
—The American people are sick of seemingly
endless hostilities in the Middle East. They are
willing to contribute financially to the area in the
context of peace, but they are tired of helping to
finance wars between Israel and Egypt.
—If Begin thinks he can achieve peace with the
Arabs while continuing to occupy the territory
overrun in 1967, he is out of his mind. America is
committed to Israel’s security within its old bor
ders, not to Begin s territorial appetites.
—If Sadat thinks Israel will, or should, with
draw from the occupied territories without
ironclad arrangements for its security, he is being
as shortsighted as Begin.
—Any idiot or blunderer can make war in the
Middle East; it is that easy. It is time for Sadat
and Begin to strive for statesmanship, to move
toward the peace their peoples yearn for, but do
not know how to achieve.
And as long as we are delivering unsolicited
advice, we have some for the political set in
Washington that enjoys carving up Jimmy Carter:
lay off him about the Mideast as he tries to avert
another Arab-Israeli war. Criticism of his diplo
macy won’t help at this time. When a man is
trying to defuse a time bomb, don’t jostle him.
Scripps-Howard Newspapers
When ‘only good news’ bad news
By ANDY WILLIAMS
Battalion Campus Editor
There was nothing particularly alarming
about the incident itself. Things like it
happen every day on college campuses,
always have, always will.
After consulting several sources, this is
the story that emerged:
Shortly after midnight Sept. 7, 18 stu
dents broke into another man’s dormitory
room. Angered by a remark he’d made
about an organization they were in, they’d
decided to teach him a lesson.
The man was bound, gagged, and car
ried from the room towards the stairs.
While he was being gagged, he felt fingers
slip into his mouth—he bit them and was
slugged in the face.
As the group got to the staircase, the
man’s neighbors were roused by the racket
and rushed from their rooms. Surprised,
the men dropped him on the stairs and
ran.
The man’s friends took him to the Uni
versity clinic, where he was treated for
what the doctor in charge called “multiple
superficial abrasions and a swollen right
foot. In other words, he wasn’t badly
hurt. There were no deep cuts, no frac
tures, and no concussion.
Discipline was enforced—the man who
hit the victim was placed on “conduct pro
bation by the University, and the other
17 were required to stay in their dorms for
the following three weekends.
Nothing unusual—yet.
Commentary
At most universities, the incident would
have been routinely reported to the local
media by authorities; it would have rated a
small story on an inside page of the news
paper and little or no mention by broad
casters. Probably less than half the people
in the community would have remem
bered the incident the next day.
And, except for one factor, that is doubt
less the sequence of events that would
have followed at Texas A&M University.
But these men were in the Corps of
Cadets, and that made all the difference.
The victim’s name is Kevin Cotton. He’s
a senior. Somehow he was indiscreet
enough to criticize another outfit of the
Corps—the Cavalry—and be overheard.
The Battalion heard of the incident the
same way students did: through rumor,
and with considerable exaggeration. It was
never reported by any official, and we
heard nothing about it until four days after
the fact.
The first, and mistaken, understanding
was that 18 men had gone to Cotton’s
room, hauled him out of bed, punched
him around, and deliberately thrown him
down the stairs.
Actually, Bob Kamensky, the Corps
commander (who was not involved in the
incident but who made his own investiga
tion), says the intent of the Cavalry mem
bers was to take Cotton well away from the
campus, strip him and tie his clothes to a
horse. The practice is called “ hauling off,"
and was outlawed four years ago, though it
still goes on with some regularity,
Kamensky said.
Subsequent attempts by a Battalion re
porter to discover the details of the inci
dent were blocked.
The Guard Room refused to give her
Cotton’s phone number, although that is
one of its normal functions.
Corps Commandant James R. Woodall
told her the incident was a “Corps affair,"
and said it was none of her business.
A cadet named Gotten, contacted by
mistake, claimed that he was Kevin Cotton
and demanded that nothing be written
about the hauling off.
And Kamensky, finally invited Wed
nesday night to a parley with Battalion
editors by the reporter, said he was
“ proud his men had refused to speak to
reporters. While he gave out the informa
tion freely, he asked that the Battalion not
print anything about the incident.
The suppression of information from the
media is ugly. It leads to what it led to
here: rumors. And it balloons—from this
beginning, it would be easy to believe the
Corps, or any other group that fears nega
tive publicity, would be willing to cover
up more serious matters.
It indicates an almost paranoiac fear of
letting anything defamatory, however
slight, get into the public’s view.
And that is alarming.
The early bird
By HELEN THOMAS
UPI White House Reporter
WASHINGTON — All signs indicate
Letters to the editor
Band is for men—only
President Carter is running for re-
election. And the most prominent indica
tion is the way he is transforming his new
White House staff into a mini-campaign
operation.
The hiring of image-maker and advertis
ing expert Gerald Rafshoon was the kick
off. Rafshoon’s changes in the White
House setup already are becoming evident
as he digs in.
AROUND THE TIME that Rafshoon
moved into Richard Nixon’s hideaway of
fice in the Executive Office Building, ap
pointments secretary Tim Kraft took over
a political liaison position.
Washington Window
From his office near the Oval Office,
Kraft has organized a series of White
House sessions with Carter and other ad
ministration aides on a state-by-state basis
for Democratic leaders and rank and file
party members to improve the lines of
communication. On such days, lunch for
all is held at Blair House, the president’s
guest house.
Rafshoon also has become a chief coor
dinator in helping the president to put his
best foot forward.
First to come on board was Anne
Wexler, a Democratic party worker since
the the days of Harry Truman. An early
Carter supporter, it has been her job to
line up support for the president’s prog
rams — and the president —- among vari
ous groups in the country.
TO ENHANCE HIS sagging prestige
with Jewish leaders and the Jewish com
munity, Carter has hired Los Angeles
lawyer Edward Sanders to be his liaison
chief. He has an office in the White House
and an office in the State Department,
keeping tabs on administration policy so
that there is no further alienation from
Jewish voters. The $50,000-a-year job was
created by Carter, but Sanders has been
put on the State Department payroll.
Former Democratic National Commit
tee vice chairman Louis Martin also has
been named to be Carter’s chief link with
black leaders and the black community.
Martin is a political pro and well liked in
black circles.
Carter has a lot of fence-mending to do
with black leaders who were the first to
complain that he was not living up to his
campaign promises.
The president also dropped Midge Cos
tanza, former vice mayor of Rochester,
N.Y., who was on his senior staff and was
of his first political supporters, and re
placed her with Sarah Weddington, first
named as general counsel in the Agricul
ture Department. Weddington, a
former member of the Texas legislature,
has been given her marching orders — to
win ratification of the Equal Rights
Amendment and to be in charge of wo
men’s affairs.
ON ANOTHER FRONT, Carter has
been holding a series of White House din
ners, at the behest of Rafshoon, for the top
executives of newspapers, newspaper
chains and television networks. Since he
took office he also has invited out-of-town
editors and broadcast correspondents to a
Friday interview every two weeks or so.
At the end of such sessions, he poses for a
photograph with each editor.
The president and his wife also have a
heavy campaign travel schedule this fall in
support of Democratic candidates, and
these efforts may pay off in 1980.
At some point, there will be the ques
tion of whether an aide is devoting full
time to politics or to serving the govern
ment. Apparently, that comes later. Car
ter so far has declined to tip his hand. But
it is beginning to look as if he is putting his
political house in order.
Editor:
In reference to the letter written by
Miss Elizabeth Stephens appearing in the
September 13 issue of the Battalion:
Miss Stephens, from the gist of your let
ter, you must not realize the long-held
traditions at this university, one of which
is connected specifically with the Fighting
Texas Aggie Band. The band has always,
and hopefully will always, consist exclu
sively of male members.
Aggies take pride in this unit and its
outstandingly unique style, which in the
opinion of many is beyond compare to any
other band. If you honestly feel that you
are not receiving a fair shake, why not con
sider looking into another university. Be
lieve it or not, honey, Highway 6 runs
both ways.
—Cindy Childress, ‘80
Robin Parker, ‘80
"Because he enjoys if
Editor:
I’d like to give some special recognition
and appreciation to a local businessman.
Mr. J. E. Loupot has proved over and
over, he is on the student’s side.
There is a feeling among some students
that merchants in B-CS are out for their
money.
Mr. Loupot is an honest businessman
who is out to help students, simply be
cause he enjoys doing it.
—Marilyn S. Files
‘Student’ is back
Editor:
This letter is in response to the distribu
tion of Today’s Student at Texas A&M this
fall. I am glad the newspaper is again
being put out on campus. I enjoyed the
paper immensely last year and appreciated
the different articles it contained.
—Anne Tadlock, ‘81
Spirit dying
Editor:
As Aggie Seniors, recent events have
caused us to become concerned about
trends at Aggieland. There is a long stand
ing Aggie tradition that has been nearly
forgotten. That is, “HOWDY!” Doesn’t
anyone around here know what it means?
It’s rare enough that you get a smile from
anyone—much less a “Howdy!’
If you say “Howdy!” to someone around
here these days, a “none of your business”
look usually results. Even c.t.’s (who are
supposed to embody the Spirit of Aggie
land) are guilty of ignoring this tradition in
great numbers. Unless things change
soon, we are convinced the Aggie Spirit is
dying, and this campus is turning into a
t.u.—at College Station.
Another Aggie tradition is being ig
nored, seniority. Now sophomores share
red sticker status with the juniors and
seniors, and seniors are having to park out
where they parked when they were fish
(lot 40). If they’re going to break the park-
ing lots up into freshmen and up
perclassmen, why don’t they go ahead and
break it up completely into the academic
classifications—letting seniors have the
closest spaces to the dorms, letting juniors
have the next closest, etc.
The way things are going, if were lucky,
senior football tickets may actually be in
the stands this year....
—Jim Guerra, ‘79
Frank Dunn, ‘79
David Phillips, ‘79
Bruce P. Cummings, ‘79
Michael A Deck, ‘79
Daryl E. Taraba, ‘79
Bill Ellington, ‘79
Top of the News
Campus
Football highlights for new faculty
New faculty are invited to view films of highlights of the 1977 Aggie
football season. The sceening is set for 8 p.m. Thursday in the lounge
at Wofford Cain Hall. If members of new faculty have made reserva
tions, they are asked to confirm them with the dean of faculties office.
Other new faculty also may make reservations with that office.
Israeli aide to speak at A&M
Arthur Avnon, Israeli vice consul, will speak at Political Forums
first program Tuesday. Avnon will discuss "Israel’s Future—Swords
or Plowshares.” The program will begin at 8 p.m. in Room 601 of |
Rudder Tower.
State
Mob linked to Houston arson
Houston authorities Thursday disclosed suspicion of organized
crime links to a dozen local arson eases. W.M. Rothgeb, local agentin
charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said he sees
an organized crime influence in some of the arsons. Leonard H
Mikeska, Houston’s chief arson investigator, testified Wednesday be
fore a U.S. Senate Subcommittee investigating arsons. Mikeskasaid.
"You can find an arsonist to burn down anything in Houston at any
number of bars in town.” Mikeska blamed insurance companies for
overinsuring clients and prosecutors for putting inexperienced
lawyers on arson cases. He said arson was “out of control” and blamed
organized crime for 30 percent of it.
bu
Houston men linked to oil fraud
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Four Houston businessmen, along with three Florida
busineessmen, were indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on
charges of participating in an illegal scheme to inflate fiiel oil prices to
a Florida-based utility outfit during the 1973-1974 oil crises. The four
men, James B. Clark, president of Larcon Petroleum Corp. Houston
Ronald Pruitt, Houston attorney; John L. Bums, former executive
with charter International Oil Corp. Houston; and Raymond F. Cran-
lund, Houston oil broker, were charged with 12 counts of mail fraud
and fraud by wire. The indictment charges the defendants with rais
ing oil prices that was sold to a Florida power plant.
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Cons may be heading for Texas
Two of the four Tennessee convicts, who shot their way to freedom
during a prison bowling outing in Dickson, Term., Wednesday were
captured near the Missouri border. The two men, George Bonds,24,
and Floyd Brewer, 28, tried to crash their way through a police
roadblock. The other two missing convicts, Ronald Lyons and Larry
Chism, were believed to be headed toward Texas.
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Congressman faces payoff chargt
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The House Ethics Committee filed charges Wednesday against
Democratic representative Joshua Eilberg of Pennsylvania. The
committe filed a three-count “statement of alleged violations’ acefe-
ing Eilberg of improper conduct in receiving more than $100,000as^
payoff for helping guide federal funds to a Philadelphia hospital
Consulates moving to Houston
The closing of New Orleans third largest consulate was announced
Wednesday by Consul General Peter van Resburg during a meeting
of the International House Board of Directors. South African officials
said they will close their consulate in January and move to Houston.
Ecuador also announced their intention of moving to Houston. One
Houston official said the moving of the South African and Ecuador
consulates was a complete surprise.
World
i
Castro meets guerrilla chief
Rhodesian guerrilla leader Joshua Nkomo arrived Thursday in the
Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa for talks with Cuban President Fidel
Castro. The escalating war in Rhodesia was the expected topic of
discussion.
Manila plane crash kills 30
A Philippine presidential plane carrying celebrators from President
Marcos’ birthday party crashed near Manila airport Thursday, killing
30 people. A presidential spokesman said neither Marcos nor any ol
his family were aboard the plane. Witnesses said the plane was trying
to land in a rainstorm when it clipped the tops of four trees and
crashed through 20 homes and exploded a mile short of the runway.
Weather
Mostly cloudy today with showers and thundershowers. High
near 90s and low in the mid-70s. Southerly wind at 10 mph.
Probability of rain 60% today, 20% tonight and 30% tomor
row.
The Battalion
LETTERS POUCY
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.
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
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September through May except during exam and holiday
periods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday
through Thursday.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per
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Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
Editor Kim Tvs)
Managing Editor Liz New
Assistant Managing Editor . .Karen 1
Sports Editor David I
City Editor Jamie Aill*
Campus Editor AndyWillial
News Editors Carolyn I
Debbie Parsons
Editorial Director Lee R<?
Leschper Jr.
Cartoonist Doug Grahai
Staff Writers . . . .Mark Patterson, Andrf
Vails, Scott Pendleton, Sean
Petty, Michelle Scudder,
Marilyn Faulkenberry
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
those of the editor or of the ivriter of the
article and are not necessarily those of the
University administration or the Board of
Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, se
supporting enterprise operated Inj stiidnti
as a university and community rn’ii'i/M/Kt.
Editorial policy is determined by thr ('dHur.