Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Wednesday
October 25, 1978
Give ‘howdy’ a try
By ROBERT J. KAMENSKY
Texas A&M has proudly carried itself
through 102 years of a very colorful his
tory. The past accomplishments of Aggies
and the excellence of our university cur
riculum today have set A&M apart from
many other institutions and have brought
much praise and commendations to this
school.
The respect Aggies have gained from
others does not stop here. A&M has long
been revered as a school built on tradition.
Tradition gives life to an institution and
serves as a foundation to build upon by
each succeeding generation.
Headers Forum
There are three traditions dear to the
heart of every Aggie: Muster, Silver Taps,
and, perhaps the greatest tradition, Aggie
friendliness. These traditions can only be
perpetuated through the efforts of the
entire student body. Aggie friendliness is a
tradition that sets A&M apart from any
other school. Visitors to our campus have
often commented on how friendly stu
dents and faculty are to them.
Aggie friendliness is expressed in three
ways — a friendly “howdy, ” a firm hand
shake, and a helping hand when needed.
This is a day-to-day tradition and one
which can easily be overlooked and forgot
ten unless each student makes a conscious
effort to remember that there are 30,000
Aggies around every day, each of whom
should be carrying on the tradition of
Aggie friendliness.
And so I ask of very Aggies as you walk
to class, hold your head up, meet others
with your eyes, smile, and say “Howdy!”
Get to know your classmates by introduc
ing yourself on your way to classes and as
you wait in the hallways or sit down to eat.
Extend your hand in time of need to one
who is looking for help. You are one of the
keepers of a tradition that is a cornerstone
of Texas A&M. Take charge of what has
been handed down through the past 100
years here, and continue to build on the
foundation that has kept A&M unique,
proud, and separate above others — tradi
tion.
Robert J. Kamensky is 78-79 Corps
Commander and a senior nuclear engi
neering major.
The trouble with ethics committees
By CHERYL ARV1DSON
United Press International
WASHINGTON — The House and Se
nate investigations of South Korean influ
ence buying are over, but they have left
serious questions about the ability of
internal ethics committees to objectively
monitor the conduct of their peers.
In the House, the scandal, once ru
mored to engulf some 115 current mem
bers, ended quietly with the vote to rep
rimand three California Democrats —
Reps. John McFall, Charles Wilson and
Edward Roybal.
The House ethics committee unanim
ously urged harsher punishment — a cen
sure — for Roybal because he had lied re
peatedly under oath, but the full House
overrode the recommendation and sof
tened his penalty to a reprimand.
By overruling the ethics committee in
the Roybal case, the House has left grave
doubt about the support that future ethics
panels will enjoy and also raised questions
about how seriously it views offenses such
as perjury.
In the Senate Korea probe, the ethics
committee concluded that no sitting
senator engaged in misconduct serious
enough to warrant a reprimand, censure
or expulsion. Only two outright violations
of law — both involving now-deceased
senators — were found in the probe.
Disciplining one’s own is an awkward
and painful process.
Washington Window
“We have a difficult job. I do not relish
it,” observed Rep. Floyd Spence, R-S.C.,
an ethics member, during House debate
on the Roybal case. “I do not know how
many of you would like to be standing
right here in this place, and I do not know
what you would do if you were. If you
want to do the job, put in for it.”
In the Senate, as soon as the Korea re
port was out, Chairman Sen. Adlai
Stevenson, D-Ill., questioned the ability
of an internal panel to judge member mis
conduct.
Stevenson said he is coming to the con
clusion that a “better way of conducting
exhaustive inquiries” is needed, one that
“leaves no doubt about the thoroughness
and the integrity of the investigation” and
also relieves senators of the “terrible drain
on their time and emotions.”
Victor Kramer, the special lawyer hired
to head the enate Korea probe, was even
more blunt:
“It’s apparently asking too much of
human nature to discipline themselves.”
How then will Congress handle future
scandals and the growing number of mis
conduct cases?
There’s a basic reluctance in Washing
ton for one branch of government to vol
untarily relinquish power to another
branch. So it’s unlikely that Congress
would give the responsibilities of enforc
ing conduct codes to another agency, sch
as the Justice Department, although that
might be the most desirable step.
Neither is the House or Senate likely to
relinquish its control over the final disci
plinary action taken against a member in
any misconduct case. That means any pos
sible reforms would have to come in the
early stages of the probes.
One solution might be increasing the
role of the special lawyers now hired to
handle the evidence-gathering stage of
disciplinary investigations for the ethics
committees.
Those lawyers now submit their findings
to the panels, then step aside as the com
mittee members decide whether the
charges are serious enough to warrant fur
ther action and if so, what charges are ap
propriate.
Then the same committee conducts the
court-like hearings into the alleged mis
conduct and recommends the penalty.
With the charges already laid out, the
ethics committees could sit as “judges,”
hearing the evidence, deciding which al
legations were sustained and setting the
appropriate penalty.
Of course, there is always the possibility
of an over-zealous special prosecutor. But
if he could be removed only by a vote of
the full House or Senate or a unanimous
vote of their ethics committees, the prose
cutor would be given insurance against an
arbitrary or capricious firing, and Con
gress would still have the ability to act if
the prosecutor got out of line.
Letters to the Editor
BellarcTs record deserves pat, not ‘punt’
Editor:
We are writing this letter in regard to
Coach Emory Bellard’s resignation.
It seems sad that a man who has done so
much for the A&M football team since the
firing of Gene Stallings should be spoken
of so cruelly by so many Aggies.
Since coming to A&M in 1972, Emory
Bellard has won more games per year and
his teams have produced more points than
any other Aggie coach. Why is it that when
the team wins everyone seems to love him
and when they lose everyone seems to
hate him?
We, as Aggies, supposedly support our
football team whether we are winning or
losing. Should we not have given Coach
Bellard the same support?
We believe that before passing harsh
judgements on Emory Bellard’s coaching
ability, we should stop and recall all the
great things he has done not only for the
A&M football team, but also for the ath
letic department as a whole.
We commend Coach Bellard for all the
accomplishments he achieved during the
six years he served as head football coach
and athletic director.
— Gay Grundy, ’82
Cyndee Reed, ’82
Lisa Woolston, ’79
Thanks, Bellard
Editor:
After hearing of Emory Bellard’s resign-
tion, we could not believe the jubiliation
expressed by many of our fellow students.
Where the hell have you people been the
past few football seasons? Emory Bellard is
the greatest thing to happen to Aggie foot
ball in recent history.
Compare Coach Bellard’s overall record
to his three predecessors. Under three dif
ferent mentors from ’58 through ’71, Aggie
football teams compiled the glorious rec
ord of 45-92-6. In his six and one half sea
sons as coach, with a mark of 48-27, Bel
lard had already won more games than the
14-year total of the three previous
coaches.
Even more impressive is the record
Aggie teams have compiled in the four and
one half seasons since we arrived in Aggie-
land, 40-11. Bellard’s teams have broken
the .500 mark by a comfortable margin the
past four seasons, and though you can’t tell
it by pending attitudes, we are above the
.500 mark this season.
During that preceeding 14-year period,
the Ags had one season above .500, and
one bowl appearance. A&M has been to a
bowl game the past three years, and would
have seen action in a post-season game in
’74, had it not been for some SWC bungl
ing.
For those of you who insist that it takes a
win over t.u. in order to have a winning
season, Bellard’s teams win out once again
with two victories over the sips in his six-
year tenure as compared to a single win
from ’58-’71. However, you say the Ags
are 1-2 in conference play. As we recall,
the ’76 Ags were 0-2 in conference play,
and finished the season with a 10-2 record
and the Sun Bowl Championship.
This bit of praise seems a bit late though
— “Uncle Emory” is no longer our coach,
but we’d like to thank Coach Bellard for
giving our class four of the best Aggie
footall teams to ever take the field!
— David E. Rutledge, ’78
Mike T. Boyd, ’78
Vote ‘no’ Thursday
Editor:
Recently the student senate passed a
new constitution which will come before
the student body in referendum on Thurs
day, Oct. 26. Although this constitution is
much clearer and more concise than the
current one, there are two aspects to it
that frighten us.
The first aspect is the means for succes
sion to the presidency. Under the new
constitution, should the student body
president leave office for any reason, the
executive vice president would become
president. The problem is that the execu
tive vice president is appointed by the
president, and is not elected by the stu
dent body.
It is frightening to think that we, as stu
dents, might be represented by an indi
vidual into whose selection we had no in
put. The provision of a two-thirds confi
dence vote by the senate is of little com
fort, for we know the dealings of the senate
and see this as merely a formality. This is
just an example of the growing bureau
cracy of student government.
The second problem with the new con
stitution is that it has no provisions for fill
ing senate vacancies. Although the
senators are initially elected by the stu
dents, the turnover rate is high through
out the year. Knowing the politics that go
on in the senate, it is appalling to think
that the senate itself might determine who
fills these positions. Again, this is an exam
ple of the increasing bureaucracy and de
creasing student input into ''student' gov
ernment.
For these reasons, we are opposed to
the new constitution, and urge everyone
to vote against it in the referendum
Thursday.
—Janet E. Golub, graduate student
846-9787
Philip Johnson, ’80
Off Campus Senator
693-6176
Students first
Editor:
I had made plans to go to Arkansas the
weekend of Nov. 18 to see the Ags play the
Hogs. Now I find that I may have prob
lems getting tickets. What’s the deal?
Football being what it is at A&M all stu
dents should have the opportunity to
watch the Aggies play, away or at home.
Surely, the student government is doing
all they can with what tickets they get. But
when you have to wait two days in advance
to get tickets, that’s a little out of hand.
if my figures are correct the students
get 377 out of 4,000 tickets allowed to
A&M by Arkansas, a measley 9.4 percent.
The rest of which goes to the faculty and
alumni. Everyone should be able to go to
the games but the students should always
have priority. We’re going to school here;
it’s our turn.
Granted, not all 30,000 students would
go to Arkansas, but more possibly would if
they thought they could get tickets. This
would benefit both the students and the
school.
Please, give us a chance to enjoy a short
four or five years here.
— Richard McCIaskey, ’82
Not political
Editor:
Marco Espir’s criticism (Battalion,
Thursday, Oct. 19) that an organization
like Amnesty International cannot possibly
be non-political is well taken — but mis
placed.
It is true that we fight for the rights of
political prisoners everywhere — accord
ing to the laws of their own country. In a
sense we are political (even being apathe
tic to politics is a political gesture). But we
are not “political” in the way the word is
normally used — we are non-partisan,
non-ideological and non-governmental. If
we are to be “political” then it is only be
cause we demand respect for basic human
rights everywhere.
If Marco or an other Batt reader has any
questions, please get in touch! My number
is 693-8107. And Marco — thanks!
—Elia Tasca, ’79
Amnesty Int’l co-chairman
ARS crowd ‘inert’
Editor:
I would like to comment on the Atlanta
Rhythm Section concert in G. Rollie
White this past Friday. ARS made a spe
cial effort in coming to A&M for a concert.
They had cancelled several major cities
because of their drummer Robert Nix. But
they come to A&M and the response given
by the crowd was more than embarrassing.
Members of the band even had com
ments about the total “inertness” of the
crowd. I come from Houston and the re
sponse there would not compare with the
graveyard effect here.
I highly commend ARS for a damn good
show and I would not be surprised if they
or for that matter any other band of prom
inence doesn’t come back to A&M!
Town Hall better hurry and sign up the
symphonic orchestra or even a ballet be
cause that is what the audience seemed
like they wanted.
— Tony Stephen, ’82
P.S. If Ags don’t like rock and roll music
don’t go to a rock and roll concert and act
like Ags that haven’t any spirit.
Keep in faith
Editor:
For a change of pace, I’d like to write
something positive in the Editor’s column.
Yesterday, I had an experience which
reinforced my laith in the Good Ags of
Texas A&M!
I lost a gold bracklet and two TAMU
men found it and took the time to look me
up and return it. I really appreciated it!
Nowhere else but Texas A&M Univer
sity!
— Sylvia West, ’82
Top of the News
CAMPUS
Off campus students to elect reps
‘Eat the hell outta Rice!’ contest
STATE
Rrine dumping in sea to continue
The Texas Railroad Commission voted in Austin Monday to con
tinue the dumping of brine from oil and gas wells into the Gulf of
Mexico, and to continue close monitoring of the disposal as it has the
past few years. The commission will continue the agency’s program of
hearings and periodic review of approved points for tidal disposal of
oilfield brines produced along the Texas coast, after determining that
state regulations have effectively reduced the amount of brine being
poured into coastal waters. Chief engineer Bob R. Harris and senior
legal examiner I. Brooks Peden recommended continuation of the
policy, noting adverse ecological conditions investigated in 1970 have
disappeared.
Five cities get transit grants
The State Highway and Public Transportation Commission in Aus
tin Monday approved grants for five Texas cities to improve public
transportation systems. Largest of the projects are a $3 million plan to
purchase 25 new buses with lifts for wheelchair passengers in Fort
Worth, and a $3.3 million Lubbock project to purchase 39 buses and
finance other improvements in mass transportation facilities. The
other cities involved are Amarillo, San Angelo and Wichita Falls. The
projects also involve funding from the Urban Mass Transportation
Administration, and must be approved by that agency.
Uranium mining to begin
Continental Oil Co. was authorized in Austin Monday by the Rail
road Commission to begin uranium surface mining operations in five
South Texas counties. The commission also voted to impose stricter
reclamation standards on the company than examiners had recom
mended, in efforts to make it easier for landowners to maintain vege
tation. At the suggestion of Commissioner Jon Newton, the regu
latory agency voted to require the company to decrease the slope on
spoil piles at the mining sites, and to give public notice of any request
for exemptions from other reclamation regulations. Continental is
authorized to operate 29 pit mining sites in Karnes, Gonzales, Atas
cosa, Live Oak and Duval counties, and since 1972 has recovered
more than 7 million pounds of uranium oxide.
NATION
Ehrlichman granted divorce
John D. Ehrlichman, a former top aide to President Richard M.
Nixon, has been granted a divorce from his wife of 29 years. The final
decree was issued Monday by District Court Judge Thomas Donnelly
in Santa Fe, N.M. Neither Ehrlichman nor his wife, Jeanne, con
tested the divorce. Ehrlichman, 53, returned to his home in Santa Fe
earlier this year after serving an 18-month prison sentence on
Watergate-related charges. “The Whole Truth, ’ a book written by
Ehrlichman focusing on a lobbyist in the White House caught up in
the vortex of power, is to be published next spring. He also wrote a
novel entitled, “The Company,” and has recently been taping radio
commentaries for the Mutual Radio Network titled, “The View from
Here. ”
GOP convention in Superdome?
New Orleans offered the Superdome Monday as the site for what
could be the biggest political gathering in American history, the 1980
Republican National Convention. The Republicans’ site selection
committee was impressed with the facilities of the Superdome and
the housing and entertainment available in New Orleans, but ex
pressed reservations because Louisiana has not ratified the Equal
Rights Amendment. The GOP has no formal rule prohibiting meet
ings in non-ERA states, but would be under strong political pressure
to hold the meeting elsewhere. The committee also was scheduled to
hear presentations from Detroit, Miami Beach, Kansas City,
Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas. Miami Beach and Kansas City are
also in states that have not ratified ERA. The committee will present
its final recommendation to the Republican National Committee
meeting in January.
WEATHER
The Battalion
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.
I
The Off-Campus Student Association will elect representatives in
conjunction with Thursday’s student government fall elections.
Twenty-two representatives will be chosen from four zones, accord
ing to Melissa Pitts, OCSA vice president for information services.
Representation from each zone is determined by the number of stu
dents residing in that zone. The intersection of Texas Avenue and
University Drive divides the area into the four zones. Pitts said that
off-campus residence will be determined by the absence of room and
board charges on a student’s fee slip. A ballot is posted in the Student
Programs Office window, and there will be OCSA members available
for questioning in the OCSA cubicle inside the SPO, Pitts added.
A Rice Krispies eating contest will be held at noon Friday to stimu
late interest in Texas A&M-Rice football game this weekend. The
annual event, sponsored by the Memorial Student Center’s Recrea
tion Committee, will be presented in the Rudder Tower fountain
area. Participants should register in Room 216 of the MSC anytime
before the contest.The winner will receive two reserved seat tickets
ot the Nov. 30 “Bread’concert in G. Rollie White Coliseum. Second
and third place prizes will also be awarded.
Cast =
tilla
cros^
Adm_
T~
Cast*
and •
We’w>
robl> •«
just 1
Th*
alon£2
two 1
San 3
C0F
gratiorx
aliens f
Hon of~
of“opF
Seve
million
similar
practice
After
state di
tional L
Paso, is
a polit
blundei
It as
most e v
human
7
oh
£
By
Cloudy skies and thundershowers with winds 10-15 mph.
60% chance of rain and 40% tonight. A cold front will be
moving in tomorrow morning. High today near 80 and low
tonight near 60.
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 Tuesday
through Thursday.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per
school year; $35.00 per frill year. Advertising rates fur
nished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216,
Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
United Press International is entitled exclusively to the
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it.
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Kim Tys
Managing Editor LizNe
Assistant Managing Editor . Andy Willisu
Sports Editor David T
City Editor Jamie Ailk
Campus Editor Steve 1^1
News Editors Debbie ParsonJ
Beth Calhoun
Staff Writers Karen Rogers, M*’|
Patterson, Scott PendletoJ
Sean Petty, Michelle Scudddl
Marilyn Faulkenberry, Diaii | |
Blake Lee Roy Leschper, Jr
Cartoonist Doug Gralni 1 |
Photographer Ed Cunni
Focus section editor Gary Weld I
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
those of the editor or of the writer of the
article and are not necessarily those of the
University administration or the Board of
Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, s
supporting enterprise operated by studcd
as a university and community m’us/m|X
Editorial policy is determined by the iv/iW I