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Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University ,
Thursday
March 8, 1979
Student athletes still
need to be students
The former chancellor of East Carolina University suggested recently
that collegiate athletes ought not be subjected to competition in the class
room and the athletic arena at the same time because their classmates
have an unfair advantage over them — more study time and regular class
attendance.
Leo Jenkins, who retired from ECU last year, believes athletes should
be allowed to take only one course, or none at all, during an athletic
season unless the individual is an exceptional student clearly capable of
handling the rigors of two disciplines.
“We’re not being honest as it is," the former administrator says.
He’s right, of course, but the way he proposes to deal with truth is
considerably more flawed than the structure that now exists.
Jenkins’ ideas suggest a student wishing to compete in sports and re
ceive a college education might easily spend the better part of a decade as
a full-time undergraduate working to obtain a degree.
Further separation of athletes from scholarship isn’t going to improve
the situation any.
Dallas Times Herald
Balanced budget rebuffed
but no turning back Brown
Domino theory II
WASHINGTON — Although the
Vietnamese appear to have been fairly
well prepared for a Chinese invasion,
many western diplomats and military
analysts were taken by surprise.
That accounts for the wide variety of ex
planations you might have read as to what
China’s intentions were and what was be
hind the attack.
My own conclusions is that the Chinese
incursion was another manifestation of the
domino theory.
It perhaps will enhance your under
standing of the situation to keep in mind
that the game of dominoes originated in
China. Some authorities say Chinese
dominoes are almost as ancient as Chinese
playing cards, which were invented in the
lOthi^or 12th Century* dependingnn .which,
source you trust.
During their long association with the
game, the Chinese undoubtedly became
aware of the phenomenon that occurs
when dominoes are placed on end, one
behind the other, and the last one is
pushed over.
While I could find no specific reference
to dominoes among the quotations of
Chairman Mao, the following passage is
relevant:
“Where do correct ideas come from? Do
they drop from the skies? No. Are they
innate in the mind? No. They come from
social practice, and from it alone.”
Playing dominoes is, of course, a social
practice, as is arranging dominoes so that
all topple over when one is pushed.
A mental picture of falling dominoes
may have flashed in the mind of Teng
Hsiao-peng when he first heard the news
that Vietnam troops were overrunning
China’s ally, Cambodia.
Against that background, we can
perhaps reconstruct the fateful meeting
between Teng and his military advisers.
“Comrades,” says the vice premier, “if
we permit the invasion of Cambodia to go
unpunished, our other friends also will
topple, one after the other, until all have
fallen.”
“What gave you that idea?” asks a gen
eral. “It sounds like something that might
have dropped out of the sky.”
“It’s a theory I derived from social prac-
tjLSf v” Teng expl^ins
“Well, it’s an interesting theory, ’ the
general says, “but let us remember that
limited engagements in Vietnam have a
way of escalating into major conflicts. The
question is whether keeping the other
dominoes from falling is worth running the
risk of becoming bogged down in a no-win
situation. ”
“I appreciate your concern,” Teng re
plies, “but I do not intend to become the
first Chinese vice premier to lose face. We
must show the world that China is more
than a pitiful helpless giant.
“As for your fears of getting involved in
protracted fighting, let me just say that I
can already see the light at the end of the
tunnel. ”
Letters to the Editor
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON —Jerry Brown did not
make many converts to his crusade for a
balanced-budget constitutional amend
ment while he was in Washington last
week. But it would probably be a mistake to
think that his failure in this capital di
minishes the potential of the issue in 1980
presidential politics.
The National Governor’s Association,
after hearing Brown’s arguments, chose to
reiterate its call for the achievement of a
balanced budget in fiscal 1981 by the ordi
nary legislative process — without any re
course to constitutional change.
And the members of Congress Brown
encountered during his three-day stay gave
his proposal the back of their hand. If
Brown wanted economy in Washington,
they said, federal aid to California would be
a good place to start cutting.
But when I saw President Carter’s most
likely challenger in the 1980 Democratic
primaries late in his visit to Washington, he
seemed remarkably unfazed by these re
buffs. He knows that the issue may well
play very differently on the stump than it
does in gatherings of elected officials.
The officeholders examine the proposal
for its substance and see — as I do — a
variety of drawbacks and dangers. But the
voters are more likely to see it as Brown
intends, as a symbol and metaphor for a
change in policy direction which they may
well find appealing.
Brown is operating on the same premise
that President Carter used in his 1976 cam
paign: that issues are important in an elec
tion mainly as cues to the voters of the
candidate’s attitude on underlying ques
tions. Carter’s was a campaign of themes,
not issues, his pollster Patrick Caddell kept
telling literal-minded reporters, who found
the specifics of Carter’s proposals indiges
tible.
Brown seems to be following the same
approach, as he positions himself to chal
lenge the incumbent President. In this re
spect, at least, they are so much alike that
their competition appears foreordained.
Aggie dribblers need taller guards
IM ‘racket’?
Editor:
I would like to start off by congratulating
the Texas A&M’s basketball team on their
NIT bid. After a long hard season they de
serve it. I know it’s not the NCAA post
season tournament, but, it’s better than
nothing.
I have been to every home game this
year and even went to watch the Aggies in
the Summit. Texas A&M has the potential
to go a long way. If they continue to play
like they have been doing in the last part
of the season, then there’s not much likely
they will win their first round game.
The Aggies probably have the best three
big men in the country. What they need is
a shooting guard. I am not trying to take
anything away from our guards, but let’s
face it, they are not a Krivacs or a Sidney
Moncrief. They are very fine dribblers,
sometimes.
Whoever heard of putting a 5-10 guard
on a 6-3 player. The opponents’ guards
Editor:
I am an avid racquet ball player. I
started playing this summer and have con
tinued to play with enthusiasm. I also ap
preciate that the University IM Depart
ment has courts available for student use.
Fortunately, the IM Department also has
racquets that can be checked out (for use
by tho^e who at the present time cannot
afford to buy a racquet).
However, two weeks ago, a friend and I
were playing racquetball and I was return
ing a serve when simply hitting the ball
caused the racquet to break. Con
sequently, I had to pay for the racquet.
Although very disturbed, I must admit
that on the checkout sheet each person
must sign, it specifically states that all bro
ken equipment must be paid for by the
person who has checked it out.
I broke the first racquet, but within a
week, all 20 new racquets purchased by
the IM Department were broken and sub
sequently paid for by students. I don’t
think that racquetball players (myself in
cluded) are notoriously violent or have a
predilection toward vandalism.
I am inclined to believe that these rac
quets were of inferior quality, and did not
merit purchasing by the IM Department.
I do not feel like we should pay for the IM
Department’s mistake.
I would like my money back!
—Wayne B. Nelius
311 N. Stasneyll02
To illustrate: In 1976, many of Carter’s
proposals — a massive reorganization of the
federal bureaucracy, a complete overhaul
of the tax code, a recasting of foreign policy
in moral terms — were pooh-poohed in
Washington as impractical or undesirable.
And so they have proved to be, in many
instances.
But Carter was using those proposals to
tell the voters outside Washington that he
was aware of their deep-seated desire for
what he called “more compassionate and
competent government.” And his words
struck a responsive chord, even if the spe
cific plans were quickly blown out of the
water.
So it may be with Brown and the
balanced-budget amendment. He has per
ceived a genuine, broad disquiet in the
land about the erosion of power, confi
dence and credibility in America. He at
tributes this to over-indulgence and lack of
discipline, and finds a convenient symbol of
this excess in the inability of the federal
government to hold its spending to the
scale of its income.
By linking the inability to balance the
budget to the decline of American saving,
investment and productivity, and the de-
' eline of the American dollar and the Ameri
can influence abroad, Brown is touching on
some of the deeper emotions stirring the
electorate.
As Carter did in his campaign, the gov
ernor is also claiming a position as a moral
critic of American political ideology. Fed
eral deficits, he says, are just a symptom of
the nation’s unwillingness to forgo excess
consumption for needed investment. “I
think we have to put a greater emphasis on
building for the future instead of stealing
from it,” he says. “We cannot have every
thing at once.”
Those who assume that this rhetoric
means Brown will be challenging Carter
“from the right” are likely to be proven
wrong as those who thought Carter had
positioned himself as the “conservative”
candidate in the 1976 Democratic field.
Just as Carter — the born-again Baptist
and nuclear engineer — seemed to synthe
size opposites in his campaign. Brown
tends to encompass in a single verbal for
mulation the goals and values of conflicting
constituencies.
“If we want to protect the environment,
have technological leadership and build for
the future,” he says, “it’s going to mean less
indulgence today and leaner lifestyle than
some are prepared to accept. We need to
save to invest, and we need to invest to
have jobs.” There is something for
everyone in those two sentences.
When Brown was asked on ABC’s “Is
sues and Answers” whether his Democratic
philosophy was that of “Roosevelt, Ken
nedy, Truman, Johnson or ... something
we have not seen before,” he answered: “I
think all of those.”
That kind of candidate is indeed the
“worthy adversary” for this President that
Jimmy Carter said Brown was.
(c) 1979, The Washington Post Company
have been the ones to beat us. Anyone can
see that a taller person will take advantage
of a smaller one. What do you think hap
pened with Texas Tech at the tournament.
I am proud of the Aggies and will always
follow them. I just hate to see a great team
not play up to their potential.
Good luck in the NIT! —Joe Salinas
410 Anderson D4
P.S. I don’t attend Texas A&M but have
always been a fan.
Wondering about
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procedures.
Questions should be addressed to The
Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, and
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will be required on all questions and Dr.
Miller has the option to decline to answer
a question or request others on the staff or
faculty to answer it.
Questions and answers will be pub
lished on the editorial page.
Thotz
By Doug Graham
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Top of the
CAMPUS
20,000 basic grants available
Due to a recent change in the federal law governing the Basic
Educational Opportunity Grant Program, 20,000 Texas A&M Uni
versity undergraduate students may be eligible for these grants, rang
ing from $200 to $1,800, during the academic year 1979-80. More
information is available at a financial aid “rap” session at 7 p.m.
tonight in Room 301 of the Rudder Tower.
By I
LOCAL p
Baptist Union elects Ag to cowncilSrC
Students representing Baptist Student Unions (BSU) from 96 Texas
colleges and universities elected Cindy Brown, a student at Texas)
A&M University, to the 21-member Texas BSU Council this month.
Brown is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Brown, 403
Thamer Lane, Houston. Through BSU, a Christian organization, stu-1
dents participate in Bible study, missions and evangelism. TheBSll]
is part of the Division of Student Work of the Baptist General Con
vention of Texas.
Red Cross classes start in CS
Entries will be taken until March 19 for an American Red Cross
advanced life-saving course and an instructors course which began
Monday. The classes are Mondays and Wednesdays (except March 12
and March 14) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Adamsen Pool at the corner
of Southwest Parkway and Anderson. The course is free, but a $5 fee
for pool use and $2.25 for the book is required. Members must be
able to pass a basic swimming test. For further information, contact
Carol Winslow at 822-2157.
STATE
Crystal City fire causes exodus
An explosion in a chemical plant near the downtown area of Crystal
City Monday triggered a fire which has forced evacuation of the city.
The police dispatcher in Crystal City, which is near the Mexican
border southwest of San Antonio, said the explosion occurred at the
Riverside Chemical Co., and the fire had spread through chemicals
stored in a warehouse, releasing toxic fumes into the downtown area.
A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety in San An
tonio said law enforcement officials from surrounding counties and
DPS officers from the region headquarters in San Antonio were head
ing for the city. Police radio dispatches monitored in San Antonio said
the town was being evacuated.
Smith denies getting illegal funds
Former Gov. Preston Smith has denied ever receiving an envelope
or cash from former Gulf Oil Co. attorney William B. Edwards,
whose role in an alleged slush fund scandal is being probed by a state
Senate committee. Members of the committee said Tuesday they
want to study files on Edwards’ role in the reported slush fund scan
dal before approving his nomination to a 125th District judgeship,
Edwards, a Houston attorney, denies he did anything illegal while
employed by Gulf. “There never was a contribution made to me by
Gulf Oil Co. when I ran for governor,” said Smith, now living in
Lubbock. “Mr. Edwards never made one penny’s contribution to me.
“TTiave no recollection of him ever delivering anything on earth to me.
... It’s just nothing but a pure, black lie.”
NATION
Slow jury selection delays trial
Opening testimony in the bribery and tax evasion trial in Monroe,
La., of former Rep. Otto Passman, D-La., probably will be delayed
until Friday because of meticxdous jury selection, court sources re
port. None of the 12 jurors or six alternates needed for the trial had
been seated going into third day of questioning Wednesday.
Passman, 78, is accused of accepting $213,000 in bribes from South
Korean businessman Tongsun Park for help in improving Park’s posi
tion as exclusive rice dealer for South Korea. Passman also is charged
with evading $77,000 in income taxes. Once the trial begins,
Passman’s attorney, Camille Gravel, is expected to try to impugn
Park’s testimony by referring to a grant of immunity given the South
Korean for all past crimes.
WORLD
Chinese withdrawal threatened
Vietnam agreed Wednesday to allow China to withdraw its
100,000-man invasion army peacefully, if it left quickly, but charged
Peking’s troops had launched new “barbarous acts of war. Both sides
claimed victory in the 19-day war and Peking said its withdrawal
already had begun. But Hanoi’s charge of continued Chinese attacks
threatened chances for peace, with both sides reserving the right to
renew full-scale combat. Radio Hanoi said Chinese troops blew up
two bridges over the Ky Cung River near the provincial capital of
Lang Son, 80 miles northeast of Hanoi. But Chinese attacks also were
reported in the northwestern and northern regions Tuesday and
Wednesday. Vietnam said that “to show our good will for peace,” it
would refrain from attacking the Chinese withdrawal, but added that
“if their units continue acts of war on their withdrawal route, they will
be severely punished.”
WEATHER
Clear and warm today changing to partly cloudy tonight. High
today 81 and the low tonight 57. Winds will be light and
variable at 10-16 mph diminishing to less than 10 tonight.
Chance of rain for the weekend.
The Battalion
member
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