Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday
October 10, 1978
Be hospitable hosts
For those of you who haven’t seen it,
the October issue of “The Saturday Even
ing Post” contains a very interesting article
entitled “Football With a Difference.” The
subject of the article is Texas A&M, its
unique brand of Aggie spirit, and the
groundwork for what may very well de
velop into a football dynasty under Coach
Emory Bellard.
It is both humorously and tactfully writ
ten and would make any Aggie stand an
inch or two taller after having read it. Ob
viously, the writer of the article left our
campus with very good impressions of
Texas A&M.
Unfortunately, many students from
Texas Tech did not leave College Station
with the same impressions this past
weekend. I personally met several Tech
students who were all gracious ambas
sadors as well as spirited supporters of
their team. It’s a shame that some of us
can’t be more hospitable hosts.
Readers’ forum
A few examples of my argument: During
Midnight Yell Practice last Friday night,
our head yell leader continued to direct
accusations toward Texas Tech visitors in
general; remarks which were completely
void of the tact and diplomacy which we as
students should expect from such a leader.
Accusing only Tech students of drinking in
Kyle Field is synonymous to the pot cal
ling the kettle black.
He could have and should have expres
sed himself much more tactfully. Frankly,
I was embarrassed. Let’s be realistic —
you don’t build yourself up by putting the
other fellow down, contrary to popular be
lief.
During the second half of the game,
some members of the Texas Aggie Band
managed to “borrow” the hat of one of the
Texas Tech drum majors in plain sight of
Tech students, cheerleaders, football
players, and coaches alike. They were all
literally shocked that such an esteemed
organization, not only in Texas but
throughout the nation, would stoop to
such measures.
I have no doubt that upperclassmen in
spired such action in the interest of “good
bull.” Fortunately, the hat was returned
when the Tech drum major was forced to
retrieve it himself from the whooping
BQ’s.
Then to top it all off, several A&M stu
dents took it upon themselves to rid some
of the Tech Saddle Tramps of their cow
bells after the game was over. It just so
happened that the chairman of the South
west Conference Sportsmanship Award
Committee is an officer in the Saddle
Tramps. His cow bell was ripped off by a
freshman in uniform who was undoubtedly
offered “senior privileges” for a month
should his “mission” prove successful.
Earlier in the day, I had the opportunity
to eat lunch with that very same gentle
man and later escorted him to the Corps’
march-in before the game where he com
mented on the impressiveness of our uni
formed cadets.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Texas A&M
with all my heart and sincerely believe
that our student body is the greatest in the
world. So why doesn’t our behavior show
it? For the vast majority of Aggies, creat
ing favorable impressions just comes
naturally. It’s really frustrating when
everyone works hard to build an image
such as that described in “The Saturday
Evening Post” and then have a few inci
dents such as these ruin it all. We should
consider ourselves above slashing tires,
having manure fights, and riding our
motorcycles inside the dorm while drunk.
“Good bull” is OK until it infringes upon
the rights of others.
We are now in the national spotlight
Ags, and are constantly on display before
visitors as well as each other. Let’s all try
to remember that fact from now on.
—Andy C. Duffie, ‘78
President, Sr. Class of ‘78
Corps Staff, ‘76-‘78
Letters to the Editor
Get involved with EXTRAmurals
Editor:
How many persons at A&M are in
volved in extramural sports? There are a
wide variety of club sports at TAMU that
offer many different opportunities. These
teams participate in games and tourna
ments throughout Texas and occasionally
in other states.
The clubs offer the opportunity of meet
ing new people and experiencing new
situations. Participation allows you the ad
vantage of expressing yourself in open
competition rather than suppressing any
athletic abilities you possess. There is one
more advantage to these sports, in that
they take no previous experience to play.
Anyone who has a will to play can play.
These sports allow travel and interaction
with other areas of the country. For in
stance: this fall the women’s rugby team
will travel to games and tournaments
throughout Texas and to other tourna
ments in Little Rock, Arkansas and in
Kansas City, Kansas.
For many college students this would
provide an opportunity to see a new area
of the country as well as an opportunity for
social as well as competitive interaction
with other areas of the United States.
Women s rugby is only one example of the
opportunities available to all students.
Other clubs that exist are field hockey,
lacrosse, soccer, and several others that
are available to both men and women.
Get involved with your university, be
come a representative to other areas of the
country. You do not have to be an athlete
to join, just possess a will to play.
The advantages and opportunities avail
able through these activities are only li
mited by yourself. Further information
can be obtained from the Student Prog
rams Office in the Memorial Student
Center.
-Patricia A. Jared, 78
Re-financing
Editoi 4 :
(In response to your article entitled
“Tucker Vetoes Budget” of Oct. 5, 1978,
and Letter to the Editor from William
C. Altman of Oct. 4, 1978, the following:)
I am concerned with the train of thought
that seems to be permeating your paper
concerning the Student Senate allocating
less money to Aggie Muster and Parents’
Day this year from last year.
In the article “Tucker Vetoes Budget,”
your reporter quoted a Muster budget cut
from $1,500 to $1,100 and a Parents’ Day
budget cut from $1,175 to $675, yet he
failed to mention any of the other budget
cuts, of which there were many.
These figures may be correct, but these
figures, like any figures can be very de
ceiving when taken out of context. Both
Muster and Parents’ Day spent hundreds
of dollars under these figures last year.
The Student Senate Finance Committee
asked the people in charge of these prog
rams exactly what they needed all of these
excess funds for, and they were unable (or
unwilling) to release this required infor
mation.
The Finance Committee researched
their budgets intensively and found no jus
tifiable reason to allocate excess money to
Muster and Parents’ Day.
It is true, however, that their budgets
were cut a hundred or so dollars below
what they spent last year, because the Fi
nance Committee and the Student Senate
felt that there were some areas of their
budgets that could be reduced without
materially altering their program.
Through the Finance Committee’s ex
tensive research of both Parents’ Day and
Muster it was discovered that they could
reduce a very sizable sum (as much as
$200-300) from their program brochures
just by doing more of the layout work
themselves and having people within the
University ,<^o the printing.
The Finance Comittee also felt that be-'
cause Muster and Parents’ Day were on
the same day, they could share the same
stage flowers, which usually cost between
$100-$150 per program.
For the students’ information this
budget was unanimously passed by the
Senate Finance Committee after thorough
consideration and some six straight hours
of serious deliberation, and was approved
by the Student Senate by a two to one mar
gin.
The success of Muster and Parents’ Day
is not determineed by how much money
we spend on them, but by the Aggie spirit
in which they are held. In my opinion, this
issue has gone beyond the realm of a ra
tional and responsible budgetary decision
to a misrepresented and emotional con
troversy.
— J. Wayne Morrison, ’79
Student Body V.P. for Finance
Watch the words
Editor:
I enjoy reading The Battalion and feel
that it is an exceptionally good student
publication for the most part; however, as a
freshman journalism student, it saddens
me to think that other fellow journalists
(especially Aggies) have as poor taste as
J. Wagner Tynes shows in his review of the
Jerry Reed concert (Oct. 2).
I do not consider myself overly conserv
ative, but with as many words as there are
in the English language, it seems to me that
the use of four-letter words and references
to the Diety in print reflect not only a very
limited vocabulary but also very poor
journalistic ethics.
To say that Jerry Reed performed “a
pretty damn repsectable” (yes, that’s the
way it was) version of “Stars and Stripes
Forever” is a disgustingly gross smear of
both the spirit of the song and the intent of
the performer.
Overall, the article was more of a satire
than a review — a a very poorly written
one at that.
To alleviate the problem of vocabularius
microscopicus, it may be necessary for The
Battalion to provide dictionaries to some of
its writers so that they may pull their de
scriptions from its pages rather than from
the gutter.
Perhaps this piece slipped by the edit
ing staff unnoticed — if this is the case,
then I suggest that the material submitted
for publication undergo more careful
scrutiny. If this is not the case then I
suggest that The Battalion re-evaluate its
code of ethics (and decency) with regard to
its treatment of such outstanding perfor
mers as Jerry Reed.
— Becky Swanson, ’82
Excuse me
I also failed to devote enough time to
proof reading. I admit that I’m not a jour
nalist and my letter may have seemed
rather incoherent. Howpver, parts of it
made sense to some people and to those
people I thank for aquiring the patience to
understand it, if in fact it was that difficult
to understnad.
Evidently those that understood my let
ter presumed that I was trying to convey
that I like to do crazy things in order to
have a good time.
This is not unlike others that have been
having a good time across campus. I do
not, however, like to be apprehended
when these activities (or various and sun
dry things) involve being punished. But
that, punishment, is the price crazy
people pay for being or acting crazy. Does
this make sense to you so far? Some of us
simply do not follow the rules as well as
others.
In further explanation of my letter I
would like to say that I meant no disre
spect to the Corps as a whole. Obviously I
do not wish to be disrespectful of an in
stitution of which I am a part.
There is something about this Corps
which does in fact appeal to me, unfortu
nately, Corps policy is not that which ap
peals to me (I realize Corps policies are
designed to meet that end).
If I displayed any disrespect let it be
directed at Corps policies. If you’re not
totally responsible for Corps policy then
you should not feel any guilt or disrespect
from yours truly.
This explanation is directed to those of
you who do not like my prose and did not
understand exactly what I said. I hope I
did not lose any friends over that letter, I
was not trying to gain any from it. I was
merely stating my opinion and not that of
the entire Corps.
So please direct insults and telephone
calls to Jim Hime (845-5685) not Corps
staff rats because they (staff rats) are not
responsible for my actions.
— James L. Hime, ’79
Freedom for all
Editor:
To the young man (J. Wagner Tynes),
who so kindly gave us his opinion about
the incident of the guy that sat on the
MSC grass: I would like to make an obser
vation. In your article, Mr. Tynes, you
stated that these war veterans already
have a whole building.
But you, Mr. Tynes, now have a free
country.
-Jeff Hamilton, ’82
Editor:
In response to feedback I received
about my letter to the editor Oct. 5, I
would like to apologize. My language
was rude. I have a much broader voca
bulary than I expressed with the words I
chose.
Correction
In Friday s article about services offered
students by the Educational Psycholog
Services lab The Battalion incorrectly r<
ported the maximum fee charged to sti
dents to be $250. The correct amount
:$25.
The Battalion regrets the error.
Top of the News
campus
Playford to address geologists
Dr Phillip E. Playford, assistant director of the Geological Survey
of Western Australia, will address a meeting of the Texas A&M Stu-
dent Geologic Society this afternoon. The meeting will be held at 3
p m in the Michel T. Halbouty Geosciences Building in Room 105
Playford is sponsored by the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists and will speak on The Devonian Great Barrier Reef 0 [
Canning Basin, Western Australia.” For more information contact
the Department of Geology at 845-2451.
A&M receives $10,000 in grants
Allied Chemical representatives have given checks totaling $10,000
to support various Texas A&M University programs. Roy McClung,
zone agronomist with Allied’s agricultural division in Omaha, and
R.D. Erskine, director of petrolengineering with the Houston-based
Union Texas petroleum division, delivered the grants. Five thousand
dollars is earmarked to support tfie agronomy program at Texas
A&M, while $2,000 each went to the geology and petroleum engi-
neering programs. The remaining $1,000 was given to the College of
Business Administration.
Halliburton contributes $20,000
The Halliburton Education Foundation of Dallas has presented
$20,000 to Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering for fee-
ulty support during 1978-79. This year’s contribution is the 14th an
nual grant to Texas A&M by the foundation. The check was presented
by Walter E. Heftier, Halliburton senior vice president and chief
engineer, and Edward J. Byrne, vice president of engineering design
of Brown and Root Inc. Acting Dean of Engineering Dr. Richard
Thomas accepted the grant.
STATE
Inmates continue sit-down strike
A Texas Department of Corrections official Monday allowed a
group of Huntsville inmates to continue their peaceful sit-down strike
in an exercise yard while fellow convicts relaxed on a Columbus Day
holiday break. “They are just sitting; from time to time they are
talking with one another,” a spokesman said. The strike is in support
ofinmates’ suits against the Texas prison system. Inmates who left the
strikers earlier in the weekend remained in their cells, awaiting
punishment for violation of institutional rules. Taylor said the
TDC planned an investigation into the wounding of three inmates at
the Angleton facility during the first phase of the prisoner strike last
week.
NATION
Newspaper negotiations resume
Negotiations in the 61-day-old pressmen’s strike against the New
York Times and the Daily News resumed Monday with the adviser to
newspaper craft unions once again blaming New York Post publisher
Rupert Murdoch for the length of the walkout. “When Mr. Murdoch
W ui ^ ere was more talk on TV and less at the bargaining
table, said lalror lawyer Theodore Kheel as the talks resumed at the
offices of the federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in New
York. On Sunday, Kheel expressed hope that the negotiations were
entering a critical stage and that an agreement might not be far off.
We re getting to a point of clarification where the dispute will be
ripe for settlement within the next few days," Kheel said.
Automobile workers reject pact
Volkswagen of America Inc. workers Monday set up picket lines
outside the firm s first American assembly plant in New Stanton, Pa.,
after overwhelmingly rejecting an initial wage contract proposal.
Workers failed to report for the 6 a.m. production shift and blocked
the entrances to the Westmoreland County plant, the company said.
The employees, members of Local 2055, United Auto Workers, Sun
day turned down by a 1,235-94 vote a proposed three-year agreement
negotiated last week. Union sources said the proposed contract called
for a $l-an-hour pay increase retroactive to Sept. 1 and an additional
30 cents an hour next April 1, plus a cost-of-living formula calling for
four upward pay adjustments annually.
WORLD
Second test-tube baby doing fine
The world’s second test-tube baby and her mother are “doing very
techarvaJ^ Hr ^me soon. Gynecologist Saroj Bhat-
CalcuRa’ TnT d f e, ^ ered the baby by Caesarian slction Oct. 3 in
formftv”’ii th^fi 4 d re , P i 0rt r rS Sunda y> “There is no evidence of de
nourishment ] C ay - ° C T^fant. He said the infant was taking normal
3 iofteam e t! S ^ 1 ke <* h er babies. Bhattacharya said he and
^nlafn t -7^ delivered the baby will submit a paper
fn Januln^ ^ ^ * ° f heir techni ques to the Indian Science Congress
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letters poucy
Letters to the editin' should not exceed 300 words and are
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n i ationa,1 y ^ National Educational Adver-
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The Battalion
member
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor K* 111
Managing Editor L ' Z pll
Assistant Managing Editor . -K are
' Sports Editor David Bog
City Editor Jam' 6 ^
Campus Editor Andy WilW
News Editors Debbie P a,s0
Beth Calhoun
Editorial Director . .Lee Roy LeschpoJ
Staff Writers Mark Patterson,»
Pendleton, Sean e
Michelle Scudder, M a
Faulkenberry, Diane Bl e
Cartoonist Doug Grd 1
I Photographer Ed Cun'
Focus section editor Gary
| Opinions expressed in The Batt V
Uhose of the editor or of the writer^f ZJ. | Regents. The Battalion is a non-pro)
\ article and are not necessarilu those of th \ su PP°rting enterprise operated by s
\University administration or tho r l j 0 * a university and community new
i or the Board of \ E ditorial policy is determined by the