Our Class 0i-ft +'0 TAIiU
should be. to re.MOVfi- <3l(
pre.\;ioos ones.
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Opinion
Texas has a chance
to control agencies
Texas legislators are asking voters Nov. 6 for a good
power — a control over the bureaucracy.
Known as the “legislative veto,” it permits House and
Senate committees to oversee, and perhaps override, the
rulemaking authority of state agencies while the Legisla
ture is not in session.
Now the Legislature has power to change rules by law
during the session, but the proposed amendment would
allow the lawmakers to delegate that authority to commit
tees during the interims.
The Legislature meets in regular session 140 days every
other year.
Rep. Stan Schlueter, D-Salado, one of the sponsors of
the proposal, explains: “The thinking behind it was to head
off the possibility of our state being run by bureaucrats as
opposed to being run by people who are elected.”
Schlueter said there has been no particular problem with
state agencies adopting far-reaching regulations the Legis
lature disagrees with, but the precedent set by federal
bureaucrats is sufficient to cause the state to take precau
tions.
“Congress passed about 850 laws during one session, and
federal agencies enacted more than 22,000 new rules and
regulations,” Schlueter said.
Following the precedent, 34 states currently have some
form of legislative review of agency rules, and it seems to
be working well.
Use of the legislative veto is a new trend in controlling
bureaucracy, and Texas would do well to follow the trend.
the small society
by Brickman
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Washington Star Syndicate. Inc.
The Battalion
U S P S 045 360
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Editor Liz Newlin
Managing Editor Andy Williams
Asst. Managing Editor Dillard Stone
News Editors Karen Cornelison
and Michelle Burrowes
Sports Editor Sean Petty
City Editor Roy Bragg
Campus Editor Keith Taylor
Focus Editors Beth Calhoun and
Doug Graham
StaflF Writers Meril Edwards, Nancy
Andersen, Louie Arthur, Richard Oliver,
Mark Patterson, Carolyn Blosser, Kurt
Allen, Debbie Nelson
Photo Editor Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
Photographers Lynn Blanco, Sam '
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Cartoonist Doug Graham
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are
those of the editor or of the writer of the
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Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-
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as a university and community newspaper.
Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
Viewpoint
ca
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Wednesday
October 24, 1979
READER’S FORUM
PLO: an organization
both social and militant
By OUSSAMA QAWASMI
In view of the recent developments in
the Middle East, I found it necessary to
explain to the American public certain
facts about the Palestinians and the PLO.
It is now clear that there will be no
peace in the Middle East without full rec
ognition of the inalienable national rights
of 4 million Palestinians.
The Palestinians (1.2 million in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip, 0.6 million in
the Galillee district and 2.4 million in the
neighboring Arab countries) have told the
world that the Palestine Liberation Or
ganization (PLO) is their sole legitimate
representative and negotiating body and
the framework of the Palestinian national
identity.
The United Nations resolution 3236 es
tablished this right of representation for
the PLO, and the UN resolution 3235 rec
ognizes the Palestinian rights of repatria
tion, self-determination and independent
statehood. The PLO, since 1974, achieved
the observer status at the UN and full
membership in several international or
ganizations and agencies. It is recognized
by 107 members of the world community,
much more than the number that recog
nized Israel.
How does the PLO funtion?
The Palestine Liberation Movement has
a National Council (PNC) consisting of 293
representatives of different political par
ties; trade, labor and professional organi
zations; women; teachers; student unions
and refugee camps. The council deter
mines and reviews all policies affecting the
socio-economic and political affairs of all
Palestinians. The majority of its members
are educated and democratic in principle.
The Council elects by secret ballot an
executive committee of 17 members that
head the different departments such as
education, social, medical, welfare, polici-
cal and military. These deal with the day-
to-day affairs of the Palestinian people in
exile or who are suffering under the brutal
Israeli occupation.
Hundreds of schools, several cultural
and media projects emphasizing Palesti
nian heritage and culture, orphanages, fac
tories, clinics, welfare and other institu
tions are operated by the PLO.
Over 100 political offices in the world
help Palestinian communities and repre
sent the PLO in the host countries. The
Palestine Red Crescent operates over 50
hospitals and 120 clinics in different Arab
countries and occupied territories.
“SAMED” is a PLO scientific, social, in
dustrial, vocational and employment es
tablishment that has vast exporting
capabilities and employs and rehabilitates
Palestinian and Arab youth. The Palestine
Theatre and Folke Society operates sev
eral theatres and troupes that have par
ticipated in International Youth festivals.
The Palestine Writers Union includes sev
eral hundreds of Palestinian writers,
scholars and poets who have participated
in International Liberary and professional
conferences. Some members head re
search and educational academies and
publish important journals and periodi
cals.
All the above exhibits the social and
governmental face of the PLO. All these
are democractic aspects of peoplehood and
they form a sound basis for a people’s
statehood and self-determination.
The other face of the PLO is military. It
is essential for any liberation movement
including the PLO to be involved in vio
lence and military activities. Now, they
have to resist the military occupation of
their land and protect their civilians in
their camps and towns against continuous
Israeli air raids and shelling. It is unrealis
tic to expect justice from an institution
based on racist ideology; it even denies
our physical existance and continued at
tempts to liquidate this heroic people for
the last 30 years. Thus violence is an es
sential evil to eliminate oppression and ex
terminate racist institutions. But when the
Palestinians have their rights restored,
they will be fully occupied in setting up
their democratic state.
Those who are concerned about vio
lence must call for an end to supplying
Israel with cluster bombs, fragmentation
Itsi
Marvi
feels i
shell, napalm, F-15 war planes
sophisticated instruments of
has been used against innocent
In the past 7 months, over
Lebonese civilians and 70,
were displaced and made I
villages were leveled; civiliansweitl
burnt or disabled for life.
Finally, one last remark on
PLO condemned the CampDd
Intiative, which supposedly woiii
the Palestinian problem. The Ti
tor autonomy for the Pal
West Bank and the Gaza strip
towards the establishment of a
State and disregards those Pale;
exile. The term “autonomy”is
for Mr. Begin declares that there
no withdrawal from the West
Gaza strip, there will never be
nian State and no withdrawal te|
Jerusalem.
Based on this interpretation, tie
tinians of the West Bank andGis
will be living on reservations, j-Ihe rights
same way the Indians live in thisi gives them
So what is offered under the terpidler to
tonomy” can never be interpreted.S! 0111111 ' ue
determination. ■Kindler,
No wonder the PLO and themed® > n H<> us
the free world condemned the S >ress an< ^ I
since it can Irest be described asleaF j a P ro 8 r:
ing occupation and liquidateLsiu
Palestinian people in the name ofpfljfe sa ’ ( ‘
conferenci
Media,” ar
ideas exprt
porters pre
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Rose,\
Letters
Freshman finds candidate semina
disorganized and disillusioning
Rights C
tion in If
lived in
Jvity at
fence.
J“Wefe
tpe high
Editor:
Upon this occasion of the upcoming
freshmen class elctions, I find it appropri
ate to comment on some of the observa
tions I have made.
Being a very concerned member of the
freshman class and valuing my voting
privileges beyond description, I took the
initiative to attend the “Meet the Candi
date Night” seminar Monday so that I
might indeed make the best selections in
my voting. I attended this meeting with
high hopes of talking with the many qual
ified candidates so that I might discuss
fully the issues I had taken note of (from
their platforms) and thus decide on the
most qualified person.
Unfortunately this was not the case. In
stead I entered a very disorganized room
filled to the brim with candidates running
for one office or another. Understandably,
the number of candidates makes it impos
sible to get to know everyone; still, the
impersonal atmosphere was none the less
disillusioning. Perhaps this could be taken
note of in future elections.
Aside from this problem I feel the fol
lowing comment is warranted. The
number of “concerned voters” like myself
present at this Meet the Candidates ses
sion was surprising. That is, surprising in
the sense that very few showed up! Is it
too much to ask that we come greet the
candidates who are seriously trying to rep
resent us for the entire year? After all,
these people are going to hear for us, see
for us, and speak for us during all of 1979-
1980.
Also, of the supposed 600 or so mem
bers of our class who will in fact take the
“trouble” to vote, it will be interesting to
know on what grounds they made their
decisions. Certainly they did not take ad
vantage of the opportunity to meet per
sonally the candidates when the opportu
nity arose.!
Come on freshmen Ags, and all Ags for
that matter, take a little initiative and
VOTE!
— Miles Ouren
An analogy
Editor:
My letter to you today is written on the
nine-hundred eighty first anniversary of
the tumultuous upheaval of values and
tradition at the Technical Albanian Map-
road University (T.A. M.U.). TAMU was
the first and foremost place to get a quality
education in road-building.
The students at TAMU were quite
tradition-oriented until a wave of leftism
swept .03 percent of the campus. This
minority became incensed that male Alba
nian Rockhounds (which carried rocks for
road-building classes) were provided with
fireplugs to use after they have carried
rocks for three years. The minority, led by
Mona Zonkerhouse, called for fireplugs for
female rockhounds also. This was in spite
of the fact that the female rockhounds car
ried only a small proportion of rocks per
capita compared to the male rockhounds.
Well, Mona and her cohorts enlisted the
help of the Albanian Canine Lovers and
Users (A.C.L.U.) to get the fireplugs that
were ultimately granted. The female roc
khounds spent their time looking ridicul
ous trying to make correct use of their
fireplugs.
Then, to further their aims, the minor
ity called for female rockhounds to be al
lowed to participate in the annual erection
of a huge roadmarker which symbolized
the burning desire to build better roads
than their arch-rivals, teasippus univer-
sidadus (t.u.). The roadmarker erection
was traditionally reserved for the male
rockhounds because they could work
longer and carry more rock than the
female rockhounds.
Due again to pressures exerted by the
leftist factions, the female rockhounds
were allowed to work. Unfortunately, dur
ing a critical maneuver with a piece of the
roadmaker, the female rockhounds
couldn’t hold enough weight causing the
roadsign to fall and kill all the rockhounds,
ruining the future of TAMU.
If you can’t wade through all the B.S.,
here’s my point:
t.u.: Where girls are girls, And the boys
are too.
Texas A&M: Where the men are men,
And a few girls want to be.
BEAT THE HELL OUTTA t.u.!
— Scott M. Reid, ’81
Editor’s note: This letter was accom
panied by 16 other signatures.
A&M’s gone mek I
Editor:
In the past, the Battalion letters
was cluttered with letters takingtlfS
on this issue or that issue eveni
thor clearly did not understand
sition, or the position she/he was i
ing. Aggies were very easily upset
Now the days of reactionary-ism i»l
left or the right) are gone. Aside froml
shots at Teddy and complaints about']
ball, mellowness has come to A&M
Even Today’s Student, which fcit
sought controversy with such zeal?
make up issues which might not
existed otherwise, has become son
that it isn’t even fun to read anymofi
Such mellow attitudes certainly®
tense situations, and I’m sure A&M?
lective blood pressure has gone way:"
as a result. I was very nearly inspire
all this, and thus have decided tofctT
UNofficial COaLition of Apathetic*■'
(UNCOLA). I would tell you when
where we meet, but I’m sure nob
1
Scott K. Mt!
THOTZ
by Doug Grahav
NO BABES. LISTEN, SUPPOSE |/CfcP!ids* ONTWcV"
X OO GET MY BEST
COZMIK KCMpY IXfi>s
UH OH. \
FJNSTER B
RELIC
FULL m
SENIOR
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