Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Friday
November 17, 1978
Reagan: Stars in western skies, Aggie eyes
By DOUG GRAHAM
The old western actor-former California
Governor, Ronald Reagan rode into town
Thursday night to speak to Aggies crowded
in Rudder Auditorium.
And he couldn’t have picked a better
house to play in. The crowd was his from
the beginning.
Were Reagan to act for a thousand
years, it is doubtful he would have re
ceived as many standing ovations as he did
that night. There were more whoops than
stars in the western skies of his movies.
The question is why.
It has to be that Reagan — a bright star
on the conservative scene — speaks out
eloquently for something elemental in
conservative middle class America. He
C ommentary
speaks for less government interference,
stronger defense, and a return to basic
American principles.
That is what so many Americans are
clinging to, much as do many Aggies who
fear the loss of their traditions.
Reagan may speak out in over-simplistic
terms, at times, but he touches a resonant
chord in Americans tired of federal obfus
cation.
He said, during a morning interview,
that he believed that American schools
needed to teach some virtue as was done
when America was founded. “Not teaching
morals,” he said, “is like teaching im
morality because without morals, there is
only immorality.”
He said crime and juvenile crime were
outgrowths of this moral vaccuum.
When asked, Reagan said he is a Chris
tian, having been raised that way. He also
said he went on record in California
against Proposition 6, a referendum ban
ning homosexuals from speaking out in
public schools.
A hero to much of middle America, Re
agan is also characterized as a reactionary
by some.
“Let ‘em take a look at my eight years as
governor in California. I introduced the
conjugal visit to state prisons. I appointed
more minority administration members
Fantastic, says reader
Editor:
Ronald Reagan’s speech Wednesday
night on campus was fantastic! Reagan was
refreshing to listen to and expressed his
views with a sincerity scarce in today’s
politicians. He gave the overwhelming
image of a strong, confident and intelligent
leader. It was unfortunate that he was not
allowed to speak any longer than the hour
alloted.
Answering questions from the audience,
the inevitable question of his seeking the
office of the presidency was raised. From
his answer (“The door is certainly not
closed”), I sensed a twinge of excitement in
his voice and a sparkle in his eyes which
brought a standing ovation in counter
response. Reagan, in my opinion, will run
on the Republican ticket in 1980! The only
misfortune is that he is not serving as our
president at present!
The committee setting up the Political
Forum should be commended for obtain
ing such an intelligent political figure and
I m looking forward to other presentations!
—R. Scott Cardwell
Class of ’82
than all previous governors. We spent
more on mental retardation programs than
had been spent in the previous 100 years, ”
he said.
“If that’s right wing extremism, then I’m
guilty.”
That sums up Reagan. At 67, he may or
may not be too old to seek the presidency
and his solutions may seem a bit simplistic
for today’s problems.
Some fear “Reactionary Ronnie” might
lead the United States into nuclear
holocaust, but that is not likely.
Reagan is no moron. What he says
makes sense. Be strong enough as a na
tion, and others won’t push you around.
Some of what he says borders so much on
common sense that it seems suspect.
Bqt so it goes. Reagan, still in excellent
health, carries that Hollywood aura with
him. He carries himself like the good guy
in pictures and appeals to those same
vague gut American feelings.
He was like the white hat who came to
town, cleaned up the world and then rode
off into the sunset. Too bad Reagan did not
have his horse with him in Rudder Au
ditorium Thursday night. If he had the ef
fect would have been complete. When he
left the silver screen, and slowly rode off
into the western horizon, he would have
left nary a dry eye in the house.
False rising on Capitol Hill
By DICK WEST
WASHINGTON — In addition to the
payoff, kickback and Korean bribery scan
dals that marred the now departed 95th
Congress, there also was a heavy outbreak
of false rising.
(That’s a term used by congressmen to
refer to material placed in the Congres
sional Record which makes it look as if the
lawmaker was on the floor to present
it—but he wasn’t.)
Humor
r
Congressional reformers pushed
through new rules earlier in the year spe
cifically designed to expose false risers.
Yet a spot check of the Congressional
Record suggests the lawgivers are having
great difficulty breaking themselves of the
nasty habit.
You can tell that by the number of “bul
lets” sprinkled through the pages of the
Record, which is supposed to be a ver
batim report of what is said on the House
and Senate floor.
Last Aug. 2, to cite just one of many
recent examples, the record attributed to
Rep. Joshua Eilberg, D-Pa., a statement
that began as follows:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposi
tion to any attempt to lift the embargo on
the sale of arms to Turkey.”
The congressman did not, in truth and
in fact, “rise” in the sense of springing,
scrambling or otherwise elevating himself
to his feet to speak against the embargo
lifting. What he did was send a text of the
speech to the Congressional Record.
The Record makes that clear by placing
at the start and finish of Eilberg’s state-
Letters to the Editor
Filibuster
Mail
—"Ijli'f
How can anybody go on vacations with oJT
these durn bullets?*
ment little black dots known to the print
ing trade as “bullets.”
The bulleting rule was adopted some
months ago as a means of stamping out
congressional ubiquity — the ability to be,
or appear to be, in two or more places
simultaneously.
Under previous rules, a senator or
House member could, according to the
Record, be delivering a fiery oration on
some great national issue when he was, in
actuality, back in his office nuzzling a
summer intern. Or something of the sort.
Omnipresence, it should be pointed
out, has never been a crime on Capitol *
Hill. For years, to the contrary, the
privilege of making undelivered speeches
was generally regarded as a harmless de
ception that enabled congressmen to use
scarce time to better advantage.
And for those who didn’t have to listen
to the speeches, the rule was a godsend.
Nevertheless, in the post-Watergate re
form wave that swept the government,
congressional leaders adopted a truth-in-
vocalization policy.
Now each issue of the Record includes a
notation that “Statements or insertions
which are not spoken by the Member on
the floor will be identified by the use of a
‘bullet’ symbol.”
Despite that stricture, false rising has
proceeded apace.
During the first nine days of August, a
period chosen at random, the Record con
tained at least 10 bulleted entries that
began with the words “Mr. Speaker, I
rise.”
Reps. “Sonny” Montgomery, D-Miss.,
Lester Wolff, D-N.Y., and Margaret
Heckler, R-Mass., rose ^in support of
something; Reps. Charles Rangel,
D-N.Y., and Eilberg rose in opposition to
something; Rep. Mark Hannaford,
D-Calif., rose to express disappointment,
Rep. Romano Mazzoli, D-N.Y., rose to
express sadness. Rep. Max Baucus,
D-Mont., rose to express concern and
Rep. Thomas Luken, R-Ohio, rose “with
great pride and admiration to commend.”
All that was just in the Appendix of the
Record, which is customarily reserved for
extraneous remarks, the poetry of con
stituent’s children, assorted trivia and af
terthoughts.
False rising in the main body of the
Record may have been even more preva
lent.
Why, knowing full well they can no
longer get away with it, do congressmen
continue to feign utterance of what is
clearly written discourse?
Habit, some say. The “I rise” opening is
as ingrained in congressional parlance as
the adjective “distinguished.”
Inadvertence, others say. A statement
prepared for oral delivery may for some
reason be submitted for printing in the
Record instead.
Either way, it is evident that the bullet
has by no means stopped false rising. Not
by a long shot.
How old tradition? Women worked on ’73 bonfire
Editor:
Regarding the viewpoint article "‘Tradi
tion’ shouldn’t divide A&M students” pub
lished last Tuesday:
In the fall of 1973, 10 women freshmen
talked about wanting to work, really work,
on Bonfire. When we questioned the
people in charge we were told there was no
written rule that said women could not
work, and that if we could get a crew we
could work in the cutting area.
We got a crew up and at 5:30 the follow
ing Saturday morning we were at the cut
ting area. We were to help clear out brush,
so the trucks could get into the area to load,
and then we were to carry felled logs out of
the woods to the trucks.
Our shift went quickly and uneventfully.
We did our work seriously and received a
lot of encouragement from the other crews
of men. Later we found out, after we had
gone home, the head of safety came out to
the cutting area with the intention of “run
ning those women off.”
The following night we volunteered for
and were put to work on a pulley crew in
the stack area. Once again we did our job
realizing we were participating in and con
tributing to one of the greatest Aggie tra
ditions.
It was after that year that the stack area
was closed to women, and women crews
were not allowed in the cutting areas, ex
cept to bring in food and first aid.
My point is that women can and should
work and contribute to Bonfire more ways
6 Student 9 shocker
Editor:
After laughing off the “Today’s
Student” as a total joke, I must admit
that I was shocked to see some stu
dents actually lack the intelligence to
reconize this so called newspaper as
a piece of misleading Christian prop
aganda. By cleverly distorting the
facts, the “Today’s Student” has
caused many readers to become mis
informed on some very pertinent is
sues.
—Paul Schertz
Bryan, Tx;
than they are allowed to now. However,
they should work under the guidance of an
experienced upperclassman, as men work
ing for the first time are, and irresponsibil
ity and improper conduct should not be
tolerated under any circumstances.
Granted, one letter and one opinion will
not change tradition, but that was not my
intent. It was my intent to ask you Ags to
think about this.
As for me. I’ll never forget what I felt
inside when I saw that Bonfire burn and I
was able to say:
“That’s my Bonfire!”
—Winnie Jackson, ’77
1213 Holik
College Station
Know the difference
Editor:
In reference to the “tradition”
viewpoint column in Tuesday’s Battalion,
may I say that you screwed up royally.
The statement that “The Battalion
didn’t know it would make any difference”
if a woman was sent into the perimeter of
the stack (centerpole) to take pictures,
shows a lack of journalistic proficiency.
I have worked on the bonfire for one
week, and I know why women aren’t al
lowed inside the perimeter. Have the
editors of the Battalion been at A&M for
three or four years and never cogitated the
whys and wherefores of one of the Univer
sity’s most adhered-to traditions?
The perimeter of the bonfire is a
dangerous place. People not working,
especially those with no prior knowledge
of the bonfire, are discouraged from enter
ing the perimeter at all times.
Once the centerpole goes up, safety is
utmost in the worker’s minds. Headgear is
required and anyone inside the perimeter
without a safety helmet is in the wrong and
everyone I have seen has been asked to
leave.
Women in general (including the Wag-
gies) are disallowed from cutting or work
ing the stack beecause the heavy work
done by the men at bonfire is hard, and
much of the time it’s not much fun. After
having seen how crapped out the Waggies
got after the last Corps run, I know they
couldn’t stand up to a weekend of 1,000-
pound logs. True, a small minority of the
women could hold their own end of the
stick, but if you let one woman in, you’re
stuck with them all.
Another reason for the no-women policy
is that it is considered bad luck for women
to be in the perimeter. This also is one of
the last holdouts of what once was an all
male University.
I can also express my feelings in most
any terminology that I care to while I am
at the stack. Oftentimes the slang used is
of the type not approved of in mixed com
pany.
Therefore, I care to keep the “tradition”
so blatantly slandered by Miss Tyson as do
many others. Be it tradition for tradition’s
sake or be it tradition for a reason, often if
one only looks, the two are one and the
same. —Reid M. Scott
Scouts praise Aggies
Editor:
Believe it — credibility is most ques
tioned when one blows his own horn about
achievements. In this case students from
Texas A&M University have earned
plaudits from the Scouters of Arrowmoon
District, Boy Scouts of America.
This past Saturday, Arrowmoon District
conducted its 1978 Camporee at Camp Ar
rowmoon. Two student organizations were
asked to help by providing judges for sev
eral of the field tests that were conducted.
When asked, the Orienteering Club, spon
sored by the U.S. Army Instructor Unit
(ROTC)-, and Xi Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi
Omega volunteered their services and it
might be added in grand style with a bang.
From the Orienteering Club, cadets David
Neeley, Company B-l, John Trankovich,
Company D-2 and Clay Delaney, Com
pany D-2, conducted an orienteering test
that examined the skills of the scouts in
compass and map reading, and in heights
and distances. These cadets kindled a fire of
interest in orienteering that will certainly
result in an orienteering post.
From Xi Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi
Omega, 17 young men and women showed
up to offer their services in first aid, knot
tieing, and nature studies. Then, at the end
of the day, when one would have expected
their spirits and energy to flag, they created
an excitement, a renewed energy and a
second wind in fun for the young scouts
during the last test of the day — the
pioneering chariot race.
Their names are Tony Fels, Rick Allen,
Hank Baker, Duane Smith, Robby De
nton, Steve Yeary, Jay Ball, Mark Ed
mund, John Muth, Clay Alverson,
Michelle Marti, Julie Cane, Russell Kirk,
Roger Lind, Carry Wilkins, Jack Baker and
James Miller.
The great Aggies brought along with
them to the Camporee the most important
ingredient necessary to achieve success, a
spirit — and in this instance, it was the true
Spirit of Aggieland. Rest assured that this
world of ours can’t lose with young adults
like this preparing to take the reins.
—F. Ken Nicolas
Beat the Hogs!
Editor:
Call it superstitution, or whatever you
will. But this year I am again feeling the
same excitement and anticipation I felt the
week before we played Arkansas in 1976.
And everybody remembers that we wiped
out the Hogs 31-10 that time.
I feel deep down that we’re going to do it
again. Aggies all over Houston are buzzing
at the intensity and desire with which the
team played at SMU. Their effort offen
sively and defensively was superb. They
played with excitement. They were re
warded with a big win.
I don’t know about the 12th Man at Col
lege Station, but I hope they feel the same
excited anticipation we down here are
generating. It’s going to be “Revenge at the
Rock” a la 1976 in return for 1977’s last-
minute Hog win! I can hardly wait to get
there!!!
BEAT THE HELL OUTTA ARKAN
SAS!!!
--H.O. “Hank” Wahrmund, III ’74
Houston, Tx.
Top of the News
STATE
FDA announces recall of goofa
The Food and Drug Administration has announced the recall f
assortment of American-manufactured items from the consum 0 311
ket. Shreveport Macaroni Manufacturing Co., Shreveport La" 13 '
conducting the recall of 450 cases of egg noodles which were d rk
uted in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas b ^
they may be contaminated with insects. Also recalled were somT*
plastic earrings, called the "Acu Ring, " marketed in Pennsylvania^
Maryland as an aid to weight control, because they were fraudul I
promoted. And 30,000 balloon wedge pressure catheters madeh^!
American Catheter Corp., Vincetown, N.J., were recalled he ^
parts of them could become dislodged, enter the bloodstream
to a possible blood clot. ‘""andid
NATION
Energy spokesman appointed
Oklahoma Attorney General Dan Rambo is the newly-appointed
federal energy spokesman for Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas
and New Mexico, Energy Secretary James Schlesinger has an
nounced. Rambo will assume duties in Dallas next Tuesday as Reeion
VI representative for the U.S. Department of Energy. In his new
position, which pays a minimum of $42,000, the 50-year-old Rambo
will coordinate energy dealings among the department, the public
and state and local governments. He also will administer the depart
ment’s regional grant programs and coordinate regional planning ac
tivities. Rambo, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and its law
school, was chief legal aide for former Oklahoma Gov. David Hall
Gas heater controversy settled
The Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington voted
Thursday to require manufacturers to equip unvented gas space heat
ers with automatic switches. The heaters have been linked to at least73
air-poisoning deaths in recent years. The now-mandatory switches will
operate by shutting off power when the oxygen content of a room
reaches a certain level and signals an accompanying build-up of carbon
monoxide which in small, unvented spaces can cause illness and death.
The ruling substitutes for a ban on the heaters which was criticized
because it would deprive low-income families of a relatively cheap
source of heat. The heaters are used largely in southern and south
western states in houses or mobile homes where no central heatingis
necessary. The agency said the ruling is likely to hike the retail priceof
the heaters by about $10 and does not affect the estimated 7 million to
10 million heaters already in use.
Carter‘Mondale ticket in 80
President Carter said Thursday Vice President Walter F. Mondale
will be his running mate again, if he seeks re-election. Carter rephed
“yes when asked at White House a breakfast session whether press
secretary Jody Powell had accurately reflected his views when Powel
said Mondale would be in the No. 2 spot if Carter decides to run in
1980. Mondale has kept a low profile since the Democrats in Min
nesota went down to defeat in last week’s election, and there has been
some specidation that the Republican sweep in his home state and in
the Midwest might make former Minnesota senator Mondale a liabil
ity. But Carter is very high on Mondale and, like no other president,
sees his vice president for lunch once a week, as well as at all high
policy meetings.
WORLD
Former Spanish judge killed
Two terrorists shot and killed the former chief justice of Spains
once-feared political court in a downtown Madrid street Thursday.
Police said two youths shot Jose Francisco Mateu Canova in the headat
nearly point blank range and escaped on motorbikes. Canova headed
the political tribunal under the late Gen. Francisco Franco. Mateu was
walking near his home when the two youths approached on motorbikes
and opened fire, police said. The doorman of a nearby building was bit
by a stray bullet and wounded. Since Oct. 1 the Basque separatist
group ET A has unleashed a wave of 20 assassinations, but it was not
immediately clear who was responsible for killing the judge. The
Spanish police said that the killing was done by terrorists.
200 Moslems killed in air crash
A chartered Icelandic airliner flying 246 Indonesian Moslems home
from a pilgrimage to Mecca crashed into a coconut grove near o
ombo, Sri Lanka, just before midnight Wednesday and explodedintos
ball of fire, killing 200 persons. A Civil Aviation spokesman said t e
,crash occurred as it was coming in for a landing on the island naW
formerly known as Ceylon, off the southern tip of India. Thelndo^
sian Embassy, which announced the casualty figures, said59oftne‘
persons aboard survived this worst chartered jevur disaster in
but that many of them were in critical condition and not expecte
live. Twenty were treated at Colombo hospitals and released, ft w
unclear what caused the crash, but recent newspaper reports hav
charged that the instrument system at the Colombo airport wasdeec
tive and that aircraft were finding it difficult to land at night.
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WEATHER
Partly sunny with a high of 61 and the low tonight
Warmer tomorrow with a high of 68.
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The Battalion
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Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
Editor . .
member
Texas Press
Southwest Journalism ^
City Editor
Campus Editor
News Editors
Managing Editor . -
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_ ..SB*
" ' . Debbie ^
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Staff Writers K , a „ p»l]
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Jr., Dillard Stone^
Cartoonist gj ft 1
Photographers
Lynn Blanco -«
Focus section editor . • •
. .GsO’
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
supporting enterprise I ,|
as a university and co "" / bn tl«
Editorial policy is determ
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