Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday
November 7, 1978
Carter warms up for ’80
By HELEN THOMAS
UPI White House Reporter
WASHINGTON — Judging from re
cent campaign appearances. President
Carter is becoming a more confident and
traditional politician.
In campaigning for congressional candi
dates, Carter appears to be warming up for
his own 1980 re-election campaign. In the
aftermath of the Camp David Middle East
summit — which apparently will climax
with a separate Israeli-Egyptian peace
treaty — he has encountered more re
sponsive and enthusiastic audiences.
As a president accused of lacking leader
ship, Carter has found it important to toot
his own horn. Somewhere in the back
ground hovers former television advertis
ing man Jerry Rafshoon, his image maker,
who appears to be masterminding the new
Carter.
Now, in the tradition of Lyndon
Johnson, Carter is more apt to say, “As the
President of the United States,” or, “As
your president.”
The imperial trappings are back.
“Hail to the Chief,” played on a phonog
raph, sets off the crowd. Carter bestows
his favors by inviting certain politicians —
and not others — to ride with him from
the airport to the rally.
And he uses the politician’s perogative
of boasting.
“When I was elected President, we had
10 million Americans, 10 million Ameri
cans who could not get a fulltime job,” he
told the party faithful in Nashville, Tenn.
“We had 7 million Americans who couldn’t
get a job at all. But we have put America
back to work. We have had, since I have
been in office, an increase of 6 million net
new jobs for America ”
He makes the most of his accom
plishments toward Middle East peace.
Since his modest reference to the
Mideast in Wichita, Kan., recently
triggered a standing ovation, he has
poured it on, using the political stage to
announce each new rosy development in
the peace talks between Egypt and Israel.
He also made the most of his decision to
sign the tax bill, asking a crowd of Miami
supporters if they wanted their taxes cut.
When they roared their approval, he said
for the first time that he would sign the
bill.
He also holds out the promise that his
programs will solve the nation’s energy
problems, end corruption in government,
and, with the cooperation of labor and
business, control inflation. More and more
he is stressing his frugality and budget cut
ting.
Carter is trying to create a constituency
stronger than the loose following of his
1976 election. The goal is to transform
many of the original perceptions of Carter
— not the least of which he created him
self -— with jeans in the Cabinet room and
a cardigan sweater for his “fireside chat.’
Even his once ultracasual staff is chang
ing, wearing vested suits for White House
duty.
“The presidency of the United States is
not an easy job,” Carter said in a recent
campaign speech. “But I feel at ease with
it, in spite of the difficulties, in spite of the
challenges, in spite of the promises that
need to be kept, in spite of the problems
that face me every day, because I cast my
lot with you when I ran for president. I
also stood on street corners, in factory shift
lines, went through city halls and court
houses, met you on the street, shook
hands, asked for your advice and your
support.”
So it is easy to see that “in spite of all”
Carter is running again, and the congres
sional campaign is only a practice run.
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Death education in the school is debated
By PATRICIA McCORMACK
UPI Education Editor
Do schools have any business teaching the
facts of death in the lower grades?
The question is controversial — putting
it in a class with sex education, facts-of-life
instruction.
Reports in “Phi Delta Kappan,” pre
stigious journal of the national education
honorary society, focus on two sides of
death education.
“I Taught About Death and Dying” de
tails experiences of James, M. Mueller Jr.,
a fifth grade teacher at Buchanan Elemen
tary School, Lancaster,'Ta.
“Death and Dying in Three Days?” is a
report from Jayne Freeman, teacher at
Seth Lewelling Elementary School, Mil-
waukie. Ore. Freeman, mother of seven
who has taught all elementary grades
except second, opposes unvarnished facts
of death for elementary school youngsters
; — a la Mueller’s course.
Mueller saturated the curriculum with
death and dying topics for three days. In
math students measured themselves for a
coffin, using metrics. A language exercise
required them to write their obituaries or
compose wording for their tombstones.
In music, songs integrated into the
course included “You and Me Against the
World” by Helen Reddy. This is a song
about a mother and her daughter enjoying
life but knowing that someday one will die
and the other will remain behind.
Another song was “That’s Life’’ by
Frank Sinatra. “The song explains the
need to continue living and what this per
son would do if life were not worthwhile, ”
Mueller noted.
Education
A discussion exercise followed the read
ing of “The Man Who Gave Himself
Away,” “This beautiful story tells about an
old man who gives himself back to nature
when he finds out that he is near death,”
Mueller said.
Other happenings during the cram
course on death and dying:
—Reports on a choice of topics: mum
mies, pyres, cryonics, embalming, crema
tion and stone for graves.
—A spelling test used such terms as un
dertaker, corpse, morgue, dying, tomb,
wake, cemetery, bury, mourn, mortician,
life, grief.
—In social studies there was talk about
how humans begin to die when they are
born, about pacemakers and modern sci
ence. “Students decided that we should
enjoy each day we are alive.”
—Children listed ways to die: disease,
suffocation, suicide, murder, old age,
drowning, earthquake and 40 other ways.
“They voted that the best way to die is of
old age in bed. The worst way to die is by
beating or whipping, a choice probably in
fluenced by viewing ‘Roots’.”
—A 75-word story on “How. I Died.”
“Many of the stories told of.yiolent deaths,
heroic deaths, and experiences after
death.”
—Students were asked what they would
die for? Live for? They would die for par
ents, families, friends, to protect someone
special and for their country. They would
live for enjoyment, to continue the family
and to leam about life.
Students also told how death education
struck them. Two said it was worthwhile
but too short. Two said it wasn’t worth
while “because the subject shouldn’t be
studied now.”
Two others wrote “yes and no” because”
it made us feel sad.”
Others said it was worthwhile. Reasons
included:
—“Makes it easier to understand about
a death in the family.”
—“We should learn how to take death. ”
—“We can understand life to enjoy life
while we can.”
—“Now we’re not afraid of dying as
much as we were.”
Freeman questions Mueller’s treatment
of the subject, describing it as “a shotgun
approach” and doubting that children can
acquire mature insights into death and
dying in three days.
“The mental picture of 10 year olds
measuring themselves or each other for
coffins frightens even me and I have wit
nessed several deaths,” she said.
“Many of the subjects Mueller offers for
discussion seem beyond the knowledge
and maturity level of the students.
“Which is better — cremation or burial?
That is a question with both religious and
sociological implications and it is pretty
heavy for fifth graders.
“Research on mummies, pyres, cryonics
sems more grisly than enlightening.
“When one is only 10, school should
focus more directly on acceptance of the
loss of loved ones than on one’s certain
mortality.
“Let’s introduce the concepts at this age
— 10 — and develop them more fully
later, perhaps in high school.”
Letters to the Editor
Newspaper shouldn’t be ‘oppressive’
Editor:
Last Friday, Carol Austin berated The
Battalion for printing an ad that SMU stu
dents bought to advertise the game. Carol,
let me make a few repulsive statements of
my own:
1. Razorbacks are number one.
2. Orange is a nice color.
3. The Corps is a farce.
4. The non-regs are worse.
5. Beer doesn’t really taste that good.
6. Football should be replaced with
cockfighting.
If the SMU ad repulsed you, I imagine
you are now rolling on the floor with
nausea. But when you recover, think for a
moment what it would be like if there was
a policy that barred any possibly con
troversial statements from the paper.
Not only would it be a boring paper, it
would be an oppressive one. We might
never know that there actually are people
in existence that maintain one or more of
the above opinions.
You know the standard retorts to the
statements above by heart. But when you
get older. Miss Austin, you’ll find it get
ting more and more difficult to surround
yourself with a nice, secure blanket of
majority opinion.
Contrary to what you implied in your
letter, a community doesn’t think, indi
viduals do. You can’t avoid everyone who
doesn’t think that Texas A&M is some sort
of informal religion.
I suggest (with apologies to the staff)
that you quit reading the Batt and devote
your reading time to the TAMU brochures
found in your dean’s office. Highway 6
does run both ways, but so ooes the
sidewalk down to the newsstand.
— Kyle Scarborough, ’78
A matter of rights
Editor:
Hopefully, I will be allowed to speak my
views, as have many others, on a subject
that transcends its circumstances.
I have a specific “bone to pick” with
Greg Coulter and others like him (Battal
ion, Monday Oct. 30). Mr. Coulter, you
asserted in your discourse that the ques
tion about sitting on the MSC grass was
not one of tradition but rather one of fun
damental democratic principles.
Mr. Scoggins, “in open violation” of the
desires of the multitude around him was
asked in a variety of ways to get off the
grass, to which he understandably ob
jected.
Your argument, however, undermines
the most basic of principles upon which
this country was established. The right to
dissent, or better said, to disagree with the
status quo. Mr. Scoggin’s actions certainly
did not violate the rights of any of the
other persons involved, so your argument
is without foundation. I rest my case.
— Steve Tennyson, ’81
Well-ivorn Hivy. 6
Editor:
In Friday’s Batt (Nov. 3, 1978), Carol
Austin repeated an “oft quoted ‘Highway 6
runs both way.’”
Well, concerning this fine phrase,
which truly represents the Aggie way of
life, I have a few comments.
First, after making an empirical study of
all the highways in the great state of Texas,
I’ve found that each and every one does, in
fact, “run” both ways.
Second, an even more in-depth study
which tested concrete surface hardness,
durability, and concrete speed and ve
locity, a few associates and I discovered
three amazing things: 1. All highways are
stationary, non-moving surfaces. 2. All
highways rest in a somewhat parallel line
to the ground surface it lies on. 3. NO
highway, not a single one, has ever risen
from its stationary position to run “both
ways” or any way.
Third, and probably most crucial, using
the phrase “Highway 6 runs both ways” is
simply unkind, unjust, and unreal. It is
unkind in that Highway 6 leads into Waco
and Houston, the two cities which pride
themselves in being the homes of football
teams which beat A&M this year.
It is unjust in that the phrase makes the
user “lord and guardian” over all Aggies,
to determine the fate of their future at this
institution, and it allows the user to be
momentarily cruel by “stickin’ it” to a fel
low Ag.
Finally, it is unreal because the phrase
means absolutely nothing; it is logically fal
lible, grammatically incorrect, and defi
nitely representative of the famed Aggie
ignorance.
All in all, “Highway 6 runs both ways” is
tawdry, banal, and pithecoid, it is an out
dated term, an ignorant phrase, and a bad
reflection on Aggie character. To all of you
who disagree, all I can say is, “The River
Styx flows both ways.”
— George R. Gagnon, ’80
Editor’s note: this letter was accom
panied by 47 other signatures.
Readers’ Forum
Guest viewpoints, in addi
tion to Letters to the Editor,
are welcome. All pieces sub
mitted to Readers forum
should be:
• Typed triple space
• Limited to 60 characters per
line
• Limited to 100 lines
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Top of the News
CAMPUS
Bridge tournament scheduled
The Bridge Committee, a division of the MSC Recreation Commit
tee, will hold their ACU-I Championship preliminary game on Wed
nesday at 7:15 p.m. in Room 212 of the Memorial Student Center.
The top eligible finishers will advance to the regional games which
will be held at North Texas State University in Denton. To be eligi
ble, both mem tiers of a partnership must be full-time students noton
scholastic probation with fewer than 900 ACBL master points. For
more information, call Stuart Walker at 846-3849 or Scott Haring at
845-6466.
Pre-registration begins Monday
Pre-registration for spring semester classes begins next Monday,
but most of the University — some 77 departments — have
scheduled specific days for registration of their students. Class
schedules are available at Heaton Hall on Ross Street across from
Sbisa Dining Hall. Students should see their academic advisers this
week to avoid the rush.
Firemen avert butane explosion
High winds blew a large butane tank off its foundation at the J.H.
Stockton residence on Texas A&M University property off F&B Road
at 2:45 p.m. Monday, according to the College Station Fire Depart
ment. No injuries were reported, but Lt. Tim Fickey, spokesman for
the fire department, said the overturned tank was a potential danger
because of the highly flammable butane gas. The main feeder line of the
overturned tank broke and firemen evacuated one family due to excap-
ing gas, Fickey said.The tank belonged to Cal-Gas Co. and was uprigh-
ted by fireman and gas company employees, he said.
STATE
LULAC decries ‘Tortilla Curtain
The state executive board of the League of United Latin American
Citizens in Houston approved a resolution Monday demanding that
the Immigrat on and Naturalization Service abandon plans to build
the so-called “Tortilla Curtain along the U.S.-Mexico border.
LULAC leaders termed the proposed steel and wire-mesh fences at
El Paso, San Diego, Calif., and San Luis, Ariz., "a symbolic fortress
of oppression which must be dismantled. ’
Influential philanthropist dies
Charles David Tandy started with an interest in selling leather
goods and ended up as the head of a multi-million international con
glomerate, a strong financial supporter of conservative politicians and
one of the most influential men in Fort Worth. The 60-year-old mil
lionaire philanthropist and civic leader died Saturday at his home,
apparently suffering a heart attack. Tandy’s financial empire, Tandy
Corp., grew to include Radio Shack, Tandycrafts Inc., Leonards
Department Stores, Wolfe Nurseries and Color Tile stores. Annual
retail sales from the stores totaled more than $1 billion. Funeral
services were Monday.
NATION
Eire toll blamed on buildings
Fire officials blame unsafe buildings for the high death toll in blazes
that swept through a department store in Des Moines, Iowa, and a
hotel in Honesdale, Pa., killing at least 19 people Sunday. Des
Moines district fire chief Tony Defino said a sprinkler system in the
Younkers Department Store would have helped contain the flash fire
that destroyed the store. Ten bodies were found in the rubble and
firemen were searching for other possible victims today. “The build
ing was constructed before the code required sprinkler systems,''
Defino said. “It would have kept the fire from getting away from fire
fighters.”
WORLD
Facility rejected after completion
Chancellor Bruno Kreisky of Vienna Monday shouldered full re
sponsibility for Sunday’s referendum defeat of a controversial nuclear
power station and promised to announce whether he will make good
his vow to resign. “It was my idea to stage the referendum and the
defeat is my exclusive responsibility, Kreisky told a hastily sum
moned news conference. Sunday, 50.5 percent of the Austrian elec
torate voted to scrap the nation’s first nuclear power facility, com
pleted recently in Zwentendorf, 18 miles northwest of Vienna.
Tanzanian head threatens Amin
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerefe said Monday in Dar Es Salaam
that after the territory captured by Ugandan troops last week is reco
vered, Idi Amin would be toppled from power thus ending the “sad
story” of his dictatorship in Uganda. The Tanzanian government also
began reactivating former soldiers as the first step toward a general
mobilization of its population in the week-old fighting With its north
ern neighbor.
WEATHER
Mostly cloudy this morning changing from clear and cool this
afternoon. High today 60, low tonight near 40. Winds will be
northerly at 12-20 mph.
The Battalion
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Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Kim Tyson
Managing Editor Lij Newlin
Assistant Managing Editor .Andy Williams
Sports Editor David Bo
City Editor Jamie Aitken
Campus Editor Steve Let
News Editors Debbie Parsons
Beth Calhoun
Staff Writers Karen Rogers, Marl
Patterson, Scott Pendleton,
Sean Petty, Michelle Scudder,
Marilyn Faulkenberry, Diane
Blake jLee Roy Leschper, Jr.
Cartoonist Doug Graham
Photographer .....’ Ed Cunnius
Focus section editor Gary Welch
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