Viewpoint
The Battalion Monday
Texas A&M University February 5, 1979
erdp Outward
The ^reat L.
Reflections
Teng a friend—now
‘Public servant’ had
no better spokesman
.
He should have been President. To say that of Nelson A. Rockefeller is
not to s^y definitively that he would have been a great President, cer
tainly not that he would not have made mistakes of judgment. It is rather
to say that more than most public men of his time he was equipped by
experience, character and outlook to hold the office he so energetically
went after, but which his own party firmly and at times vindictively
denied him the chance for.
He was out of phase with the Republican Party of his day, as indeed by
the time of his death his approach to public policy seemed out of tune
with the currently fashionable political mood. “Era of limits,” “lowered
expectations” were phrases without meaning for Nelson Rockefeller; he
seemed to have been born with a temperament of boundless optimism
(and why shouldn’t a Rockefeller be optimistic?); for him there were no
problems without solutions, no obstacles that could not be overcome by
hard work and good will. His evident belief in the inevitability and right
ness of progress was in a way more of his grandfather’s century than of his
own.
His death will not go unmarked by controversy about this judgment,
that decision — but his views were consistent. From the beginning of his
service in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, he was an interna
tionalist. The beneficiary of democratic capitalism himself, he saw both its
uses and its limitations, and he believed in employing government both to
promote enterprise and assertively to provide for the common good.
From his public posts and his private philanthropies he encouraged
improvements in education, medicine and science with the same gusto he
applied to government, but it was art that enthralled him.He was one of
those collectors who do not follow public taste but lead it; he did more
than any person in America to bring primitive art into the public eye.
No stranger to private trouble and great grief, he was cheerful, even
jaunty, in the face of public disappointment and when you heard that
gravelly New York voice you knew he thought that things — however
they looked at the moment — were going to get better.
Vastly ambitious for himself, denied the prize he wanted most, Nelson
Rockefeller nevertheless was what the phrase public servant is all about.
Eos Angeles Times
By Dick West
Disco dancers
chic a leg
Few Americans knew and fewer
cared about Teng Hsiao-ping a year
ago.
That was before the establish
ment of Chinese-American relations
Dec. 15. Time magazine had not yet
made the readily mispronounced
name a household one.
As Teng winds up his week-long
American tour today, his promi
nence can’t be overstated.
Hundreds of journalists from the
world over tagged along with the
Chinese vice premier, scrambled to
photograph every facial gesture, and
worried that some unforseen event
might happen out of their presence.
U.S. government officials who ac
companied Teng’s entourage were
so numerous and so varied, ranging
from secret service agents to State
Department personnel, that they
wore coded metal pins to help rec
ognize each other.
A thousand Houston policemen
carrying plexiglass shields and
yard-long billy clubs ringed the
Hyatt-Regency Hotel Friday and
Saturday to discourage protestors.
These lavish attentions assure
that Teng will become the symbol of
both a more pragmatic and outgoing
China and of the new China-U.S.
friendship. Already th^ virtual
leader of China, Teng can only in
crease in power and prestige.
Whether that will benefit
America remains to be seen.
America denied diplomatic rec
ognition to the People’s Republic of
China for 30 years because that
country answered “communism” to
the questions of government. Now
that they are trying a new answer —-
the so-called Great Leap Outward
sponsored by Teng — that is still
communistic, but at least pragmatic,
Editor:
The intended message of this letter is
one of enlightenment. I am, as are many of
you, an unassuming, rock n’ roll carnivore
with muscial tastes that run the spectrum
from the slow, melodious sounds of
Aerosmith to the go, commodious bounds
of Ted Nugent.
For 19 years this basically well-adjusted
individual has contented himself with
what he realizes now has been a restrictive
rut. Yes, it was not until the night of Feb.
2 that this creature of raucous rhythm dis
covered his first real groove.
Folks, I is talking to you about (hold
your noses) square dancing. True, I did
experience a noticeable drain of my intel
lectual capabilities, but it was the most fun
I’ve had since dumping pig manure on the
Dunn biters.
Officiating this soul-soothing affair was
the honorable Mr. Manning Smith, who
can only be described as an artist and the
best caller north of the border. And all the
girls you meet are really sweet, as was evi
denced in the meeting of the kinds, which
juxtaposed the chic “sophisticaterers” of
Mosher (their kind) with the wayward
wards of Walton (our kind).
So for all you disco-a-go-go Joes, rock on
and roll over to an easier beat — and fi
nally — we’ll all get squared away.
—Jason Doughty, ’81
Real Mastermind
Editor:
Having just read the “letter to the
editor” stating that the “creationist’s
theory” should be taught in the classroom,
I wondered if some of us are still living in
the Dark Ages?
The creationists base their theory on
faith, not fact. However, Darwin s theory
is based on scientific fact. Every day an
thropologists like Louis B. Leakey are
finding new evidence showing that Dar
win’s theory is basically correct.
In 1633 Galileo was forced by the
church to retract his statement saying that
Copernicus’ work (which said that the
relations have been established.
Ample evidence of the Great
Leap Outward isn’t wanting. The
agreement to exchange scientific in
formation that Teng and President
Carter signed last week is only the
most recent example.
What really interests the West is
how great a leap outward the
Chinese people are allowed to make
outside of Maoist dogma. Exciting
news to foreign observers is the
trend toward free self-expression
that takes forms such as wall post
ers, dancing and Western-style
clothes.
It sounds so democratic. Teng has
even said that “in our country, as
counterrevolution weakens, dic
tatorship will have to be pared away
and democracy broadened. It is
very good news to hear that 900
million people, one-quarter of the
earth’s population, is moving to
wards democracy.
But it’s just as possible that China
reverse itself — have a Great Leap
Inward. Teng is 74. If he dies, Pre
mier Hua Kuo-feng, a Mao dog
matist and opponent of Teng in the
past, could halt the democratic
trends.
Or Teng might do so himself. He
survives political purges because
he can bend with the wind. The
wind is presently out of the West
only because China needs technol
ogy and fears Russia. Love of
America didn’t prompt the Great
Leap Outward.
America must always be alert for
the change of the wind. Future deal
ings with China and Teng need to
be based on actions instead of
words, especially where Taiwan is
concerned. As Teng says, “Practice
is the only norm for verifying truth. ”
have been so unwilling to accept scientific
fact. When we look back a hundred years
from now, we will wonder how the
creationists ARE SO UNWILLING TO
ACCEPT SCIENTIFIC FACT.
If we teach the creationist’s ideas, then
every group on the face of the earth will
want their “theories” to be given equal
time. Can you imagine reincarnation
being taught in the classroom?
Remember that there are many reli
gious scientists who are aware that the
book of Genesis was passed along by word
of mouth for 2,000 years, and so it’s origi
nal version is completely different than to
day’s.
—Michael Confoy, ’81
Reincarnation class?
Editor:
When I think of special creation, I think
of God and that the creation of the world
was just another “little” miracle that God
did. Whether it was six days, six months or
six thousand years, I feel that God did it
all.
Creation versus evolution is as old as
man himself. But the answer is still being
sought by many people.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “I can see
how it might be possible for a man to look
down upon the earth and be an atheist,
but I cannot conceive how he could look
into the heavens and say there is no God.”
I feel that Lincoln knew what he was
talking about when he made that state
ment, for who else but an almighty creator
could have made the mountains so magni
ficent and the birds in the sky so beautiful.
Dr. A. Cressy Morrison, former presi
dent of the New York Academy of Sci
ences, once said, “So many exact condi
tions are necessary for life that they could
not possibly exist in proper relationship by
chance.” From the air that we breathe to
the food we eat, who else but God could
be so precise and so careful in completing
creation for us?
What about the gaps in the fossil record
that many scientists have trouble explain
ing? How are those explained? It had to be
'faster mind that developed all the differ-
, - .:u the species of
WASHINGTON — “Legs Are Back,”
says the February issue of Forum
Magazine.
That shows how out of it I am. I didn’t
even know legs had gone away.
Apparently, I have been living in a
dream world. Apparently, legs have been
languishing for quite a while.
Anyway, Forum says “the leg has been
making a comeback. ” Which must be wel
come news for people who had invested
heavily in legs and then found themselves
out on a limb, so to speak.
We are talking female legs, of course.
The masculine leg has never counted for
much. For men, the chin is about the only
thing that matters.
Year in, year out, male chins are always
highly rated. “Steadfast” is the word that
comes to mind when you think of male
chins.
animals.
Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general,
once said, “All things proclaim the exis
tence of a God.” I couldn’t agree more
with Napoleon, for I praise God every
morning for the world I live in and all the
beautiful surroundings the world has to of
fer.
Take a walk around campus and look at
the different plants. Each plant is different
in its own way. Humans are a lot like
plants, for they, too , are different in their
own ways. They didn’t come out of the
same mold and neither did man. I strongly
feel that we couldn’t have evolved and still
had come out so uniquely different.
I feel that God has his hand in every
birth of every infant. Whether it be a birth
of a child or a mother cat giving birth to
her kitten, God is in making sure His work
is done.
When spring is here and the birds are
singing and the butterflies are flying I
think of God and praise Him for his crea
tion and thank him that I can live in His
world.
Sure, special creation or evolution is a
decision we all have to face, but it is be
yond my comprehension to think that any
thing but God could have masterminded
the marvelous creation.
—Brenda Novotny, ’81
This is not to say that chin fashions don’t
vary somewhat. One season it may be the
jutting chin that enjoys the greatest vogue.
The next season receding chins might be
all the rage.
At the moment, the cleft chin is red hot,
that being the fad that John Travolta
started in the movie “Saturday Night
Fever.”
Humor
Despite such fluctuations, the male
chin, unlike the female leg, never com
pletely falls from favor. Even in times
when it is bearded, the chin remains very
much admired and respected.
If, as Forum reports, legs are now being
rehabilitated, the question arises “At
whose expense?”
This sort of thing seldom strikes an even
balance. Whenever you find one part of
the body on a rising popularity curve, you
find some other section on the wane.
If, say, shoulders move to the forefront,
hips, backs or some other component will
be relegated to the rear.
Forum does not indicate what legs are
displacing. From other sources, however,
I have ascertained that waists are on the
way out.
During the coming months, if I have the
right dope, waists will be universally ne
glected and ignored. You’ll go for weeks
without hearing the waist mentioned. For
all practical purposes, waists will become a
wasteland.
Forum attributes the resurgence of legs
to a “rebirth of romance and femininity” in
clothing. That is a nebulous explanation at
best. It’s like saying the cleft chin craze
was brought on by the revival of three
piece suits.
Deeper exploration of the leg renais
sance probably will show that disco danc
ing did it.
Disco is the first dance style in two dec
ades that requires women to move their
legs. Previously, they stood in one place
and moved other sections of the anatomy.
The re-emergence of legs on the dance |
floor necessarily makes people more leg- I
conscious generally, thus providing the
impetus for their revivification.
As already noted, however, the phe
nomenon is limited to female legs. Male
disco dancers, ala John Travolta, still lead
with their chins.
NWB’f
ii i
GOVT. SPENDING
Letters to the Editor
Swing your partner rock n’ rollers
Top of the News
CAMPUS
Women report indecent exposure
Three female Texas A&M University students reported two sepa
rate incidents of indecent exposure on the north side of the campus
Thursday, police said. Two women said they were flashed near
Milner Hall at 10:35 p.m. Police said the women could only describe
the man as six feet tall and white. Another woman reported that she
was patted on the rear and flashed near Legett Hall, across the street
from Milner, about five minutes later. Police questioned and released
one suspect.
MSC Council to pick president
The new president of the Memorial Student Center Council will be
announced Tuesday night. Three people were interviewed for the
office Thursday by an 11-member nominating committee, which will
recommend one of them to the MSC Council. The three were Teresa
Beshara, director of projects for the MSC Council; Brooks W. Her
ring, chairman of Town Hall; and Rebecca Taulman, director of oper
ations of the council. The group will meet to accept or reject the
candidate Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the council’s conference room in
the MSC.
A&M willed cash, share of ranch
Texas A&M University has received securities valued at $100,000
and a one-fourth interest in a 4,444-acre ranch in Hood and Erath
counties under the provisions of the will of the late C.J. “Red” David
son. Davidson, an independent oilman from Fort Worth who died
last October at the age of 81, graduated from Texas A&M in 1917.
The ranch is equally owned by Texas A&M, Tarleton State Univer
sity, Angelo State University and Mary-Hardin Baylor College. The
property will be sold and the proceeds divided among the four
schools.
NATION
Robert Kennedy's son marries
Joseph P. Kennedy III, 26, eldest son of the late Robert F. Ken
nedy, and Sheila Brewster Rauch, whose father is head of the nation s
largest savings bank, were married Saturday in a simple ceremony
attended by members of the Kennedy clan and close friends. About
500 spectators, some wearing fur coats, many wearing bluejeans and
some wearing both, gathered outside outside St. John the Baptist
Vianney Roman Catholic Church in Gladwyne, a wealthy “Main
Line” suburb of Philadelphia.
Ford may be liable in Pinto crash
Ford Motor Co. executives indicated Friday they would try more
legal maneuvers to escape criminal charges resulting from a fiery
accident that killed three teen-age girls riding in a Ford Pinto. More
appeals appeared likely after an Indiana superior court judge refused
to dismiss criminal charges against the automaker. He denied a mo
tion by Ford to dismiss a grand jury indictment for reckless homicide
brought last year. The three girls were in a 1973 Ford Pinto that
exploded in flames when struck in the rear by a van. The driver of the
van was not indicted in the case.
Coin to replace dollar bill?
The U.S. Mint has unveiled a new smaller dollar coin — but it isn’t
silver. The coin, honoring suffragette Susan B. Anthony, will he put
in circulation in July, when enough are produced so they won t be
come collectors’ items. The cupro-nickel coin is just a little bigger
than a quarter and weighs 8.1 grams. Secretary of the Treasury
Michael Blumenthal pressed the first new smaller dollar at the San
Francisco Assay Office and conceded its size symbolized the shrink
ing value of American money. He said the Anthony dollar will fight
inflation because it costs only three cents to produce and won’t wear
out as fast as dollar bills. The government has no intention of signifi
cantly reducing the number of dollar bills printed right away. How
ever, it hopes the new coin will become popular enough that produc
tion of the greenback can be cut back.
Quake hits northwest California
An earthquake rumbled through northwest California early Sun
day, shattering glass windows and causing items to fall off shelves. “I
think it woke up the entire county,” said Lynn Turnbull of the Hum
boldt County Sheriffs Department. She said one man reported
$2,000 worth of stereo equipment was crushed against a wall. She
said some store windows were broken in Humboldt County, center of
the temblor, which also was felt in parts of Siskiyou and Trinity
Counties. The University of California at Berkeley said that the
temblor registered 4.8 on the Richter Scale and struck at 1:57 a.m.
Eureka residents reported that it lasted for perhaps 30 seconds.
WORLD
Teng ends dazzling U.S. visit
Chinese Vice Premier Teng Hsiao-ping flies home to Peking today,
leaving behind a dazzling trail of publicity from coast to coast. On his
final full day in the United States Sunday, he had lunch with a group
of Seattle businessmen and toured a Boeing jumbo jet factory. In
addition, he is reported to have offered a more liberal emigration
policy for Chinese citizens to win most favored nation trading status
with the United States. Teng was scheduled to depart for China this
morning after a breakfast meeting with newspaper editors.
WEATHER
Chance of rain with drizzle throughout the day. High Monday
in the high 40’s and a low in the low 30’s.
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