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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1979)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University , Friday April 13, 1979 Foreign student bill may hurt U.S. trade By R. MUCHONTHAM There is always a possibility for us to legislate ourselves back into the Dark Ages. That is, when legislators are ill- advised. Sen. Oscar Mauzy’s impending bill to reduce the number of foreign stu dents (or, equivalently, to increase their tuition fee by 300-500 percent) in universi ties in Texas is a good example. We have long evolved from the Dark Ages. Since then, through the colonial era and the era of industrialization of the West, western explorers and traders have sacrificed their lives in order to introduce the West to many backward places of the world. They wanted the rest of the world to be familiar with the West and, most im portant of all, its manufactured com modities; so that they may trade with these people who lived in the far comers of Earth. thousands and all are diligently using our computers, machinery and all sorts of other equipments. This is the most pleasant sight to any intelligent executive who manufactures these products, precisely because these students and trainees are people who will, in years to come, generate potential cus tomers for him. This is' a situation which probably have saved us the equivalent of hundreds of trade missions we would otherwise have to send abroad and mil lions of dollars saved in public relations by our corporate subsidiaries overseas. Sen. Mauzy can probably ask any U.S. executive who has been stationed over seas, on how elated he might have been on occasions when he comes across engineers or researchers who can deftly handle U.S.-made equipment instead of equip ment made in Germany, Japan or Russia. International trade and, additionally, the transfer and exchange of knowledge and technology have since become an im- Because the usage of English language is much more prevalent in most parts of the world, in comparison to the German, Japanese or the Russian language, coupled with farsighted U. S. foreign policy, the U.S. has long been the most popular place for foreigners to come pick up needed ad vance technology. “Isn’t it exciting to have this new facility where our students can pursue academic excellence, broaden their horizons, develop scholastically, achieve their aspirations, and be stimulated to the highest level of per formance?” Reader’s Forum portant part of our well-being, it will in creasingly be more vital to our future soci ety. However, in recent years, countries like Germany, Japan, Russia and even China, for instances, have been trying hard to change the situation. Nowadays, one can find trade missions from these countries in even the most remote corners on earth. They will gladly offer scholarships to stu dents who will merely study their lan guages. Carter fights move for constitutional convention More specifically, in view of the need to increase exports of this country in order to offset our huge deficits. Sen. Mauzy (D- Dallas) might want to know that his pro posed bill will certainly harm this coun try’s trading position in the world market in the future ahead. Or, if one purchases their machinery, for instance, they will gladly send him or her off to one of their prestigious language institutes, set up exclusively for foreig ners, and afterwards, have their scientists instruct the client of the product. Consider this: Foreign firms who have substantial numbers of their engineers, and researchers trained in the U.S. will most likely purchase U.S.-made machin ery equipment, since these are the prod ucts which their employees, having been trained in the U.S., are most familiar with. It is a fact that the majority of foreign stu dents in this country are in science and technology. They number in hundreds of We are living in a competitive world market. We are holding an edge against other competitors as long as we are a popu lar place where people, who might gener ate potential clients in distant markets, want to come and learn technology from us. Sen. Mauzy’s proposed bill will defi nitely diminish this competitive edge we possess, if not immediately, in years to come. R. Muchontham is a graduate student in economics at Texas A<LrM. By HELEN THOMAS UPI White House Reporter WASHINGTON — One morning re cently, the White House woke up and found that 28 states have called for a con vention aimed at approving a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. The scare was enough to start the ball rolling, and a special White House panel was created to rally Americans against such a convention, which President Carter sees as “dangerous for the country.” In a letter to Speaker Vern Riffe of the Ohio House of Representatives, Carter said he is committed to a balanced budget and intends to eliminate the deficit through “prudent, responsible and equi table” spending cuts. “I am deeply concerned that the radical and unprecedented action of convening a constitutional convention .might do seri ous, irrevocable damage to the Constitu tion,” Carter wrote. He expressed fears a convention would not be limited to one amendment and might subject the entire Energy mysticism alive in U.S. There is nothing that happens any where in the world that does not require a boost in gasoline prices.” — Old Exxonian proverb. By DICK WEST WASHINGTON — OK, everybody. let’s review the situation. America’s two biggest problems, as identified by President Carter, are infla tion and energy. public opinion polls, is that the majority of the people don’t believe in the energy crisis. They are convinced, surveys show, that fuel shortages are artificially contrived to provide a rationale for price increases and other dirty work at the crossroads. being pumped. One keeps a running tab of the dollar amount. The third records the price changes that occur while the pump is operating. Pretty soon you will become a true be liever. And President Carter will find it easier to restore public trust in the in evitability of havoc. The way to stop inflation is to import less petroleum. The way to cut imports is to reduce consumption. And the way to promote, conservation is to raise prices. Higher fuel prices jack up the inflation rate, which forces poorer people to use less gasoline, which makes the country less dependent on foreign oil, which brings down the inflation rate. Got it? Economics seems so simple once you catch on. There are, however, two powerful forces working against the program that Carter has proposed. First of all, it infringes on the ancient, emotional issue of squanderers’ rights. Although these rights have never been codified, which is to say specifically spel led out by law, they are nevertheless deeply ingrained in our national life. The other major obstacle, as reflected in It is recognized that a certain amount of skepticism is inevitable in an open society. But when more than 50 percent of the population questions the validity of im pending calamity, the country has a real problem on its hands. I would be the first to acknowledge that belief in the energy crisis requires an act of faith. One way to experience it is through our sixth sense panic. First, get comfortable. Loosen tie and belt and slip off your shoes. Elevate feet if desired. Now tilt the head forward and downward so that the blood rushes to the chin. With eyes closed, begin to chant softly the energy crisis mantra: “Saudi, Saudi, hope to the laudy, Saudi, Saudi, don’t get naughty.” Repeat as often as necessary to achieve a state of inner turmoil. Then try to visualize yourself at a gas station. As the hose drains off the precious fuel, three dials on the pump’s instrument panel begin to spin. One dial registers the amount of gas Constitution to “substantial revision.” In the president’s view, it would open a Pandora’s box for tampering with a docu ment which has stood the test of time in a changing society. “That is not a risk that I believe is worth taking, particularly when the expressed purpose of the convention would be to consider an amendment as flawed and harmful as one mandating a balanced fed eral budget,” he wrote Riffe. Deficit spending marches to the fore front in times of national emergencies, de pressions and wars. At those times, a pres ident needs flexibility, says Carter. But with a balanced budget mandate on the books, he says he would be barred from moving freely to restore the economy or to put unemployed back on the job. “If the federal government had been re quired to balance the budget during the 1974-75 recession, the economic conse quences would have been even more se vere — around 12 percent. Our economy’s output would have been more severe and long lasting,” he replied after Riffe sought out the president’s views. Meanwhile, the question of a constitu tional convention has been injected into presidential politics by California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., a likely Carter op ponent for the 1980 Democratic nomina tion. Since the passage of Proposition 13 in Calfornia, Brown has been moving in a more conservative fiscal direction. Brown knows that tight-fisted money policies are appealing to the electorate at the moment and, in fact, is finding a number of admir ers in the Republican party. Deficit spending has become a way of life in the federal government in recent years and even a president who favors balancing the budget would feel tied by a mandate to do so. Carter concedes the possibility of ratifi cation of an amendment which could be tailored to take care of national emergen cies. But he warns it would become “a sham — one which would exist in name only but be repeatedly ignored, much like the prohibition amendment. ” “In short,” he said, “any amendment would either be so filled with loopholes as to be meaningless, or so rigid as to tie the nation’s hands in time of war or depres sion.” Carter has set a goal of a balanced budget by 1981. Whether he meets it or not remains to be seen. But his frugality has been severely criticized by liberal Democrats, blacks and the poor who believe that Carter swung the ax too hard on programs that are aimed at improving the welfare of the disadvan taged while keeping the Pentagon happy with infusions into the nation’s arsenal. Despite such criticism. Carter says the budget can be balanced without a constitu tional amendment. “That is our goal. There is simply no need to amend the Constitution to achieve that purpose,” he told Riffe. “We should not let the latest in political gimmickry interfere with or impede our efforts. A balanced budget amendment would do precisely that.” Fetters to the Editor Missing ballot serious Editor: We would like to congratulate the elec tion committee on a near perfect election. However, we take issue with the ques tionable handling of the stolen ballot. We do not know if this person’s intent was to stuff the ballot box or not. But the issue remains, “Is his conduct becoming to an Aggie leader?” It would seem that a violation of the Texas Open Records Act would be dealt with more sternly than the mere ban on campaigning, however, if this judgment was deemed to be appropriate punishment by the election commissioner. then why was the candidate allowed to continue campaigning in the afternoon (before the J-Board meeting) without dis qualification for direct disobedience of the commissioner’s order? It appears inconsistent that a person guilty of violating both Texas statute and election commission decisions would still be able to hold the highest elected office at Texas A&M. Therefore, we urge the election officials to be more resolute in dealing with infrac tions of this magnitude. —Mark Abbe, ’79 Todd Vanderpool, ’79 Top of the News CAMPUS Math contest to be held at Ai?M A math contest for freshmen and sophomores will be held next Tuesday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in 201 Milner for freshmen and 206 Milner for sophomores. A freshman is eligible to participate if he was not classified above freshman last Sept. 1. Sophomores are eligible if they were classified as sophomores last Sept. 1. The two-hour exam ination may include questions on math as high as the Math 221 and 304 level for sophomores and questions on algebra, trigonometry, analytic geometry and calculus as high as the Math 121 level for freshmen. Prizes will be $50 for first place, $30 for second place and $20 for third place. STATE Nolen, NTSU president, resigns North Texas State University President C.C. Nolen resigned Thursday in the wake of allegations of financial mismanagement at the university. The Board of Regents, meeting in special session at the Capitol, accepted Nolen’s resignation and appointed John Carter as acting president until the board meets in two weeks. Nolen was subpoenaed two days ago by the House Investigations Committee after Rep. Frank Gaston, R-Dallas, reported mismanagement of funds at NTSU and requested the committee investigate. Bill passes, causes argument The Texas House passed a resolution Thursday asking Congress to pass a law calling for election — instead of appointment — of federal judges, but not before the author and another member engaged in a shouting match. Rep. Emmett Whitehead, D-Rusk, said a poll in his district revealed that voters want to select federal judges. But Rep. Luther Jones, D-El Paso, said he was tired of seeing Whitehead waste the Legislature’s time and money by passing worthless reso lutions. “How much will it cost to send that worthless piece of paper to Washington?” Jones asked.“As much as that paper you keep pass ing around, ” Whitehead replied. Jones then asked for Whitehead to pay for the printing and mailing of the resolution, prompting Rep. Al Brown, D-San Antonio, to walk up to the podium and flip Whitehead a $10 bill. White negotiating federal lawsuit Texas Attorney General Mark White has begun negotiations in Austin with the Justice Department to settle a 6-year-old federal lawsuit charging overcrowding and other abuses against inmates in the nation’s largest state prison system, it was disclosed Thursday. A Justice Department spokesman said that Drew Days, assistant attor ney general in charge of the civil rights division, and Texas Attorney General Mark White recently have had discussions about an out-of- court settlement. The lawsuit was filed by inmates demanding an end to overcrowding, use of inmate enforcers to maintain order, in adequate health care, physical abuse of inmates including beatings and toleration of homosexuality and inadequate food services. The suit also alleges inmates were deprived of other constitutional rights by being denied access to the court. NATION U.S. judge stops sale of gasoline WORLD Soviet spaceship linkup fails Pope leads Holy Thursday mass WEATHER < L. I U.S. District Judge Kevin T. Duffy has prohibited the Department of Energy from enforcing its order that Mobil Oil Corp. sell 2.3 million gallons of gasoline below the market price to three Midwest agricultural cooperatives. The ruling temporarily bars the DOE from requiring Mobil to supply the fuel to Midland Cooperatives, Farm land Industries and Land-O-Lakes, Inc. All three cooperative associa tions, in their applications to the DOE for a mandatory allocation order because of “supply imbalances, attributed their problems to crude oil shortages. But, said Judge Duffy, “The facts, as they have developed, support the inescapable conclusion that the applications were made and the orders issued to enable the three cooperatives to purchase gasoline at a price well below the spot market.” A Soviet space capsule carrying a Soviet commander and a Bulga rian engineer returned to Earth Thursday after an aborted linkup with the Salyut 6 space lab, Tass, the official Soviet news agency, reported. The Soyuz capsule, carrying veteran Soviet commander Nikolai Rukavishnikov and Bulgarian Air Force Maj. Georgi Ivanov, made an emergency soft-landing in Soviet Kazakhstan at 11:35 a.m. EST, the Soviet agency said. Rukavishnikov, 46, and Ivanov, 38, roared into space aboard Soyuz 33 Tuesday from the Baikonur space center despite strong winds. The flight of Soyuz 33 was the first of what could be a series of short hops to Salyut 6 to take supplies. Pope John Paul II led more than 2,500 cardinals, bishops and priests Thursday in the largest mass ever held in St. Peter’s Basilica and asked priests to pray to God for “faithfulness and perseverance. Twenty-two cardinals, 40 archbishops and bishops and one half of Rome’s 5,000 priests joined the pope in celebrating the Holy Thursday “Mass of the Chrism” in which priests renew their vows before their bishops. It was the first time in recent history that a pope has personally officiated in St. Peter’s at this mass, which is usually held by his cardinal vicar in Rome’s cathedral of St. John Lateran. Fair skies, clear and cooler this afternoon with a high of 70 and a low in the lower 60’s. Winds will be westerly at 5-10 mph, The Battalion LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. 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Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Krf Managing Editor Liz Up Assistant Managing Editor .Andy Will* I Sports Editor David I City Editor Scott Pei# 1 I Campus Editor Stew® News Editors Beth Calhoun Staff Writers Karen Rogers# Patterson, Sean Petty, m Blake, Dillard Stone, RoylM | Lyle Lovett, Keith Taylor Cartoonist DougGriK | Photo Editor Lee Roy Lesdipti Photographer LynnBl Focus section editor Garyfe 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 is a non-profit, supporting enterprise operated by as a university and community net Editorial policy is determined by the