I
the small society
by Briclcman
PAP?
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Wasrunston Star Syndicate, Inc.
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Opinion
The killing season
This is the holiday season, but it’s also the killing season.
We in Aggieland have a head start, though. This semester
11 students died.
Maurice Dennis, director of Safety Education programs
here, says the highway death rate for this semester is higher
than the national rate for the same time period.
In fact, he says it’s three to four times higher.
Dennis attributes this to two factors: our semi-rural en
vironment, and the fact that “Aggies have been known to
drink when they drive. ’’
With all the graduation and end-of-semester parties, the
danger is even higher. And when students start home, many
are tired and not as alert as they should be.
The Texas Department of Public Safety predicts 123 peo
ple will be killed on the streets during the Christmas-New
Year’s Day weekends.
The warnings are old, but they are good: If you’re drunk
or tired, take a little extra time.
A&M wins one
The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the most prestigious and
well known awards in America.
And now an Aggie has one. It’s been a while since another
Aggie won the award.
William Altman, a senior from New Ulm, Texas, will
study in England next year.
He’s thrilled, and the University is also honored. In the
past, nobody expected A&M to produce a Rhodes scholar.
Maybe he’s started a new tradition...
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
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Opinions expressed in The Battalion are Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-
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University administration or the Board of Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
THOTZ
Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Wednesday
December 19, 1979
DickWest
Students in Iran concentrate on cla
hopefully, they ll Hunk the final eia
United Press International
WASHINGTON — In news and film re
ports from Tehran, radicals holding the
U.S. Embassy usually are identified as stu
dents.
For this reason, many Americans have
developed a strong curiosity about the edu
cational system in Iran, particularly with
respect to off-campus activity.
We find ourselves wondering what kind
of school these students attend, what
courses they take and how many classes
they are allowed to cut without getting an
automatic F.
The information I have is rather sketchy,
but I understand most of the young scholars
who took part in the embassy seizure are
undergraduates at Khomeini Tech, an in
stitution of higher learning previously
known as Shah State.
KT goes in big for field trips. Its philoso
phy of education embraces the principle of
having students demonstrate in actual
situations the theoretical concepts they are
taught in classrooms.
Take, for example, Flagburning 120, one
of the freshman Courses offered by KT’s
School of Applied Agitation. After basic in
struction in the rudiments of fabric com
bustion, students perform laboratory tests
to determine the flammability of various
flags; then, in the final phase, they are sent
into the streets to incinerate the banners
under authentic protest conditions.
Among the courses required of sopho
mores is Effigies 213. Here, under the gui
dance of the art department, they pick up
the fine points of designing and construc
tion crude likenesses of various world fi
gures.
They also have a chance to apply the
lessons learned in Flag-burning 120, only
this time, of course, it is the effigies that are
burned.
Gesticulations are a branchofltei
department, with emphasis on‘in
acting. A counterpart in our onn
would he the histrionics thatfoolis
ers perform in attempts to contim
referees they have been forciblyiipj
And poster composition comesiajj
aegis of the language department.
By the time KT students reach their
third year, they are ready for more adv
anced tutelage. Typically, a junior carries
three five-hour courses consisting of Slogan
Chanting 313, Defiant Gesticulations 310
and Poster Composition 311.
These parts of the curriculum£-|
soup, however, compared to (best
KT seniors. Candidates for i
plied agitation must pass such ii
Mob Psychology 420, Cameras
410 and Weapon BrandishmenUlil
Since rhythm is so vital, chanting courses
usually are prepared by the music depart
ment.
Thus we can see why those!
stormed our embassy in tbe !inij|
They were simply doing their li
But,H«y! wanna
talk Economy, friends?
Lets talk Economy...
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Letter
By Doug Graham
Iranian students ask
about U.S. intentions
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Editor:
Due to distorted coverage of the recent
events in Iran by the U.S. mass media, the
Society of Iranian Students at TAMU feels
compelled to present the following facts:
— During his reign of 37 years, the ex
shah committed numerous crimes such as
mass murdering, torturing, deporting, and
imprisoning political' dissidents as well as
plundering billions of dollars of the national
wealth. During last year’s national uprising
alone, the ex-shah massacred more than
60,000 unarmed innocent people. He is
also bitterly remembered as the one who
destroyed Iran’s agricultural economy.
— Since 1953, when the CIA engineered
a coup which put the ex-shah back into
power, the U.S. government has fully sup
ported the ex-shah’s autocratic rule and has
created his secret police from which the
people of Iran have suffered for 25 years.
— The unacceptable social, political, and
economical situations created by the ex-
sh'ah led to the Islamic Revolution under
the great leadership of Imam Khomeini.
Ever since this victory, the western news
media has been busy disseminating dis
torted and false information about the Isla
mic Revolution.
— With the overthrow of theex-i
the Iranian people asked all governi
not to grant the criminal ex-shahsanctis
however, the U.S. government permit
him to come here for the so-called “meil 1
treatment. After his arrival, alldiploui
initiatives for his extradition to Iran* 1
disregarded by the U.S. govemmeiil
was only after two weeks of pleas by
authorities that the frustrated students^
over the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
Having these facts in mind, we ^
like you to address yourselves to theta ’
ing questions:
— Do Americans wish their govern®* \
to support mass murderers?
— Wouldn’t this discredit you asana* 1
to so openly support the greatest fina®
corruption of the history of mankind?
— The Society of Iranian Stud?
1
Editor’s note: The person submittinft
letter wished to remain anonymous ini
of the current situation in Iran. TheS®
ty of Iranian Students, he said, is not a!
ated in anyway with the Iranian Stude
Association.
£