Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Friday
February 2, 1979
SoM-alion
Talk with Dr. Miller
‘Beasts* on hit list
Dear Dr. Miller:
I realize that you must have quite a few large problems to deal with, but we in
Hughes Hall have a very severe small problem. It’s called ants. They invaded the
dorm BEFORE Christmas, and when we complained, we were told that our
rooms would be exterminated over the holidays.
However, over a month has passed, and the little beasts are still around in
massive quantities, everywhere we turn! Supposedly, our dorm was extermi
nated, but I find that a little hard to believe.
Is there no relief for us? If you break my $334 fee down into 5 months rent, it
comes out to $66.80 a month, which is more than some people I know pay for their
one-quarter of two bedroom apartments, which DO NOT have ants!
I believe that the University is wronging us, and I’d like to know what we can do
about it.
—Susie Slover, ’81
Dear Ms. Slover:
I appreciate your Jan. 15 letter calling the “small” problem in Hughes Hall to
my attention. Please understand that all problems, large or small, involving
students at Texas A&M University, are of concern to me.
Representatives of the Physical Plant Department have indicated that an
intensive effort was made over the semester break to spray all campus dor
mitories for insects. Hughes Hall was scheduled for spraying on Jan. 12. How
ever, with students returning early for spring semester classes, treatment of
Hughes Hall was not completed. Spraying in the dorm was concentrated in the
trash chutes, mechanical rooms, stair wells, custodial closets, and around the
outside parameter of each floor in an effort to minimize disturbing students in
their rooms.
On Jan. 21, housing office personnel furnished the Physical Plant Department
a list of areas in the dorms requiring additional treatment for insects. Hughes
Hall was included in this listing and the work was done on Jan. 23 and 25.
I sincerely hope that your small problem has been exterminated by now. If
not, please contact a Hughes Hall resident adviser so efforts may be coordinated
to accomplish the necessary work.
—Jarvis E. Miller
President, Texas A&M
Jimmy pulls plug
on energy crisis
By DICK WEST
WASHINGTON — “Dear sir,’’ a citizen
writes. “In his State of the Union address
this year. President Carter hardly made
more than a passing reference to energy
conservation, which he had previously
elevated to the ’moral equivalent of war.’
Does this mean the energy crisis is no
longer with us? And if so, what happened
to it?”
Upon receiving that letter, I put in a call
to Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Crises.
If there be any doubt about his bona
fides, it was Mr. Keen who amazed the
world almost 20 years ago by finding out
what happened to the cranberry crisis.
That crisis, older readers may recall,
developed in the fall of 1959. At the very
time people were laying in provisions for
Thanksgiving, the government reported
that possible harmful levels of a cancer-
causing chemical had been found in two
shipments of cranberries.
Talk about your consternation! The
reaction was the hysterogenic equivalent
of a stock market panic. Shoppers wan
dered dazed around supermarket aisles,
not knowing which brand of cranberry
sauce to buy.
Tben, like a little, red, round Judge
Crater, the cranberry crisis vanished.
Called into the case as a consultant, Mr.
Keen was able to trace the crisis’ disap
pearance^ to cranberry growers who had
stopped spraying their bogs with a poten
tially lethal weed killer.
Humor
Could it be that the energy crisis had
gone the way of the cranberry crisis, the
ozone layer crisis and assorted other
causes of national alarm that had dropped
out of the public eye?
Mr. Keen, at my behest, has been try
ing to track tflown the answer. His prelimi
nary findings are both puzzling and
slightly ominous.
r
Writing the editor
The Battalion welcomes letters to
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Strangely, he advises, the disappear
ance has never been officially reported to
the Bureau of Missing Crises. Therefore,
there has been no formal inquiry into its
whereabouts.
Unofficially, Mr. Keen has learned that
the energy crisis was last seen last fall
shortly after passage of legislation freeing
natural gas from federal price controls.
One minute it was there, as big as life.
Or maybe bigger than life — a giant
exingency casting a shadow over the entire
nation and threatening generations as yet
unborn.
The next minute — poof! As if by magic,
the crisis seemed to evaporate into thin
At this point, Mr. Keen is dependent on
theory and speculation. Circumstantially,
there are grounds for suspicion that the
crisis was done away with by persons un
known. But Mr. Keen has not written off
the possibility that it is being held incom
municado and may surface again during
the next fuel price debate.
So what we have here is the mystifica
tion equivalent of a suspense story. If the
butler didn’t do it, it must have been the
CIA.
Slouch
By Jim Earle
NEXT!
Tetters to the Editor
Volunteerettes?
Editor:
As a fellow Ag, I support you in your
outcry for femininity! Women at Texas
A&M must be represented. Don’t follow
the old maxim of “If you can’t beat them —
join them,” instead start your own.
Gather the Waggies together and create
the Ross Volunteerettes! The exclusive
uniforms of the Ross Volunteerettes would
proudly display delicate white lace pet
ticoats underneath a maroon satin mini
skirt coordinating to a smooth white satin
V-neckline vest over white ruffled dickey.
The costume would be complemented
by a maroon top hat and white cane. The
privileged seniors would wear boots of
course. I suggest high heel white patent
leather boots like those of the Dallas Cow
boy Cheerleaders!
—Sally Dennis, 82
W-l unit ‘feared’
Editor:
Anger hardly describes the way I think
of those who would shove W-l and Squad
ron 14 to the rear of the Corps of Cadets.
The words disgust and shame come to
mind. The letters written by those who
oppose women cadets joining the Band,
Parsons’ Mounted Cavalry, or the Ross
Volunteers are clearly stamped with ig
norance, hate, and a fear of upsetting the
status quo.
Those letters and various conversations
I’ve had with male cadets are a symptom of
the dying off of old traditions which have
made Texas A&M strong in the past, but
now serve only to weaken it and keep it
from being a modern university which still
provides a unique learning experience to
all students who enroll.
Female cadets are just that, cadets who
happen to be female. Physically they tend
(not are) to be weaker than male cadets
(I’ve noticed a few handicapped cadets).
They are military trainees and deserve to
be treated with military courtesy, no more
and no less; Aggies should be gentlemen
but cadets must be “officers” first and
males second.
There is no excuse or reason for women
to not have a place in the Band, RVs, or
Cavalry beyond the fact that they’re not
good enough. The Band can accommodate
them as it does its married members. If a
Waggie has a horse and can ride it well
enough to be a pride to A&M, Parson’s
should make her a member. Silver Taps is
said for all students regardless of sex and
RVs should be made up of all cadets who
can earn their place.
As far as I know, the only reason women
shouldn’t (not can’t) work on Bonfire is the
language used at the cutting site. If a
woman has a place at A&M, she has a
place in Bonfire and I don’t mean serving
cookies. I mean on the stack and at the
cut. Traditions are made, not created
through prejudice.
Last, to those who I’ve described: Your
behavior shows that you hold the values
which make America strong in such low
esteem. To have men such as you defend
our country is to make our enemies appear,
more human and compassionate in com
parison. Equal opportunity, equal justice,
and equal treament. “Vis per Unitatem:”
strength through unity, men and women
working together.
—Max Triola, ’81
Correction
An error appeared in an article
about the closing of Exotic Wildlife
Unlimited on the front page of
Wednesday’s Battalion.
Dr. Robert F. Playter, head of
the small animal medicine and
surgery department in the College
of Veterinary Medicine, was incor
rectly identified as Dr. Robert
Play ton.
The Battalion regrets the error.
THOSE HCPD LITTLE
MEXICANS WHDUVE
TOD US IS RON
NINCi UP THE
w&um.
mm\m\
EMERGENCY!
WE JUST STRUCK
OIL, AND I MUST
TALK TO MY
BANKERS!'.
Don’t lump all ‘Waggles’ in one category
By ED RAMOS-ECHANDI
Recently various “pro-Waggie and
anti-Waggie comments have appeared in
The Battalion. I disagree with both
groups. It’s impossible to determine an
organization’s membership requirements
or ^practices by lumping them together in a
“women-yes or women-no” category. In
stead, we should to look at color guards,
the Ross Volunteers, Parsons’ Mounted
Cavalry, and the Aggie Band as a whole in
terms of military effectiveness.
the purpose for which the organization was
formed.
New RVs run several miles 3 times a
week high-porting 10 lb. weapons, are
subjected to high personal abuse from
seniors, and go through a secret initiation
procedure much like a fraternity’s pledge
period.
Reader’s Forum
The critieria for being on color guards
should be drill, discipline, and hard work.
In the past certain women have met these
criteria but unfortunately been turned
down. Other schools and our own armed
services have mixed color guards with no
drop in effectiveness. Therefore, if a Wag
gie applicant can do as well as the best
male applicants, she should be accepted.
Apart from the questionable femininity
of this, the RVs do allow women to apply
— but like fraternities everywhere, mem
bers can deny admittance to applicants
they dislike — men as well as women.
The RVs and Parson’s Mounted Cavalry
are different because they are student or
ganizations in the Corps unconnected with
♦-L . :1 C - ’ ^ T r-ri r> e* t? ‘ tt* 1-\ot-oVi ■»»-%
Parsons’ Mounted Cavalry is similar but
it’s official purpose is to recreate the
horse-unit as it existed in 1942, and as is
well known, women were not a part of
those historical units. However, the way is
always open for an RV-type selection pro-
1 -r'K^rs allowing women
The Aggie Band is also a fraternity with
its own traditions, but is also a major unit
in the Corps controlled by the Trigon. All
new males are accepted who have high
school band experience.
Reasons given for an all-male band in
clude living in their own dormitory as a
regular military unit and coordinating
practices and their schedule in such a way
that any other arrangement is impractical.
Moreover, it is doubtful whether the
men of the Band would want to work with
Waggies or tolerate the physical exemp
tions they’d have to make for females in
“crap-outs” and runs.
The Band’s cohesion in keeping out
women would make them oossiblv resiVn
en masse to form their own private organi
zation with less Trigon control and more
possibility for harrassment and abuse.
Senior boots represent a tradition which
is historically part of the male officer’s uni
form. In recent times women have taken
some of this same pride in their own uni
forms and traditions, while maintaining an
esprit de corps for their service as a whole.
Likewise, five years ago it was expected
that Waggies would have different, yet
“Corps-like” uniforms to wear. They do.
The Corps has a uniform committee
with both men and women to determine
what that uniform is. Consequently, part
of Corps discipline is standard uniform 1
wear by all Corps members as determined
by that committee.
In closing, women should be in the
Texas A&M Corps and allowed in color
guards and other “non-fratemal” organiza
tions. I believe that at Texas A&M they
receive the best possible ROTC training
anywhere. I also like, respect and admire
many of them as friends and future offi
cers.
I hope in the future male members of
the Corps would treat Waggies as indi
viduals with their own merits and faults,
that what one Waggie or CT does should ]
not reflect on all, and that we act in a gen- ;
tlemanly manner consistent with Corps
ideals.
Ed Ramos-Echandi is a graduate stu
dent in business and a junior in the Corps
of Cadets at Texas A&M.
Top of the News'
CAMPUS
Blood pressures to he screened
Since the American Heart Association has declared February Na
tional Heart Month, the Texas A&M University Emergency Care I
Team will sponsor a blood pressure screening Feb. 15-16. Itwillbe
held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the main hall of the Memorial Studenl
Center across from the post office. The screening takes only a few I
minutes and is free.
LOCAL
Rodeo tickets on sale Saturday 1
Tickets for all performances of the Houston Livestock Showani
Rodeo will be on sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in the Manor!
East shopping center parking lot. The shows will run from Feb, 21 to
March 4, with rodeo performances starting Feb. 23. The Astrodome I
scoreboard will recognize Brazos County residents and congratulate I
the winner of the $1,500 Brazos County Houston Livestock Showani I
Rodeo agricultural scholarship during the 2 p.m. performance MardI
4.
STATE
Rober
Clements opposes primary delay
Republican Gov. Bill Clements said Thursday he will veto a move
by Democratic legislators to shorten campaigns and delay party prr
mary elections until July, August or September. Clements said lie
was glad to see work begun on establishing a presidential primary,
but opposed the primary election delay plan.
Divers look for oil spill cause
Divers for Exxon Co. USA and the Army Corps of Engineers
Thursday surveyed the Neches River Channel near Port Arthurfora
possible submerged hazard that could have torn a major holeina
tanker causing a massive oil spill. Coast Guard Cmdr. Merrill Louis
reported “excellent progress ’ Wednesday in cleaning up Sundays
spill of 250,000 gallons.
(eware c
ire and
it scale i
ie like—t
Memor
Warcon \
ames con
es Ref
GirZ, 8, dies as result of beating
leru
An 8-year-old girl, whose mother has been charged with attempted
murder in the slaying of her 11-year-old stepbrother, died early
Thursday of injuries she received in a beating Jan. 12 at her homein |
Dallas. Amy Jean Gray, who had sustained a punctured lung, ffac
tured skull and other broken bones, never regained consciousness
Her mother, Kathleen Gradi, 32, has been charged with two counts)
of attempted murder.
)ke
NATION
Adviser barred from testifying
The White House has invited more adverse reactions from womens
groups by ordering presidential adviser Sarah Weddington not to
testify at a Senate hearing. Weddington was to testify at a Senate
Human Resource Committee hearing on women’s problems at work
The order was based on a White House decision that the presidents
personal staff cannot testify at a hearing.
Leukemia victim ordered home
A Plymouth, Mass., judge gave parents of 3-year-old leukemii
victim Chad Green one week to avoid a contempt of court charged
returning from a Laetrile clinic in Mexico where their son is beinf
treated with the drug. Superior Court Judge Guy Volterra said Ik
will drop the charges if Gerald and Dianne Green voluntarily retun
to Massachusetts within one week. The Greens went to Mexico las!
week after being ordered to discontinue Chad’s Laetrile treatments
WORLD
Plane crash kills 5 Americans
A U.S. Air Force C12 aircraft crashed south of Tehran, Iran, Wed
nesday, killing five of seven Americans on board, an American mili
tary spokesman said Thursday. He said the plane was on a routine
flight from southern Iran to Tehran and crashed near the village of
Nadiz, some 50 miles south of the capital. The names of the victims
and survivors are being withheld pending notification of their next of
kin, the spokesman said.
Pope home from Latin America
Pope John Paul II arrived Thursday in Rome from a one-week trip
to Latin America, his first foray outside Italy since being elected
spiritual leader of the world’s 700 million Roman Catholics. The pope
was met by a crowd of hundreds at the airport.
WEATHER
Thirty percent chance of rain through Saturday. High Frida)
low 50s. Low early Saturday mid 40s.
The Battalion
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