Maybe after the
(pnstitutional
reiererdun
Maybe after the
^rliamentary
elections.
Opinion
U. S. needed a boost
instead of the botch
The rescue of the 53 American hostages in Tehran could
have been the biggest boost for U.S. prestige in years.
Instead, it was the biggest bust.
President Carter certainly was right in deciding such an
attempt should be made. After almost six months of futile
attempts to “talk” the hostages away from their captors, it
was high time for a carefully planned and executed mission
to attempt the rescue.
However, modern warfare is like every other area of
modern society when it comes to machines: soldiers are just
as dependent on technology as computer technicians. The
plan was good — but some doubt remains as to whether men
and machines were in the condition that such a mission
required them to be in.
It’s astounding that three of the eight helicopters sent on
the mission had mechanical problems. One failure would be
understandable; two failures was the maximum number
deemed allowable for the mission’s success. Whatever the
cause, there can be no excuse for the failure of almost half of
the vitally important helicopter task force, and the subse
quent loss of eight American servicemen.
Let’s hope the Iranian “rescue” isn’t indicative of the
overall combat capability of America’s fighting men — or
machines.
— Dillard Stone
'■■•I •iV
urt
CIA director’s quote
Admiral Stansfield Turner stirred a hornet’s nest when he said he
intends to enlist journalists in secret missions abroad when he thinks it
necessary.
We regret that a man of the educational background of Admiral
Turner should be so deficient in his understanding of the role of a free
press in a free society that he fails to see the damage he has done with his
remark. The admiral has done serious damage to the reputation of the
American press, even if he never tries to recruit a single newsman or if
no one succumbs to his blandishments.
America is having trouble enough now being respected in many
places on this earth. But even the Ayatollah Khomeini has sufficient
respect for the freedom of the American press to permit our reporters
and television people to operate in relative freedom. Khomeini also
realizes that an untrammeled press will give him a fair shake.
All the hypothetical spies in the world that Admiral Turner hopes to
recruit from the journalistic profession wouldn’t make up for one closed
door.
Newport, R.I., Daily News
the small society
by Brickman
MV WIPERS MAPATM&
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© 1980 King Features Syndicate. Inc World rights reserved
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The Battalion
U S P S 045 360
LETTERS POLICY
MEMBER
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and
are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The
editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and
does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must
be signed, show the address of the writer and list a
telephone number for verification.
Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The
Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College
Station, Texas 77843.
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Represented nationally by National Educational Adver
tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los
Angeles.
The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from
September through May except during exam and holiday
periods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday
through Thursday.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per
school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates
furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216,
Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
United Press International is entitled exclusively to the
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it.
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved.
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
Editor Dillard Stone
Managing Editor Rhonda Watters
Asst. Managing Editor .... Becky Swanson
City Editor Rusty Cawley,
Sports Editor Richard Oliver
News Editor Lynn Blanco
Focus Editor . Rhonda Watters
Staff Writers Nancy Andersen,
Uschi Michel-Howell, Debbie Nelson.
Cathy Saathoff, Jana Sims,
Todd Woodard
Photo Editor Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
PhotographersLynn Blanco, Steve Clark, Ed
Cunnius
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, self-
supporting enterprise operated by students
as a university and community newspaper.
Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Monday
April 28, 1980
Staff N otebook
Throi
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Changes — they are a-comin ’at The Battalio
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By DILLARD STONE
Battalion Editor
This is it. A new era in Texas A&M
journalism has begun.
I now have my turn to show the students
of Texas A&M — not to mention my profs
in the communications department — what
I can do with their newspaper.
Most people thought I was crazy to run
for editor of The Battalion.
My reasons are something akin to the
McDonald’s slogan: We re doing it all for
you. The Battalion hasn’t been as good as it
could be recently. We’re going to change
that.
This is your newspaper — I and my staff
are only entrusted with its care.
The Battalion should be much more than
a thorn in the side, or a laughingstock of the
University. We are more than a mechanics
lab for students interested in learning ab
out newspaper production.
Students shouldn’t have to make phone
calls when they want to know something —
we should have that information.
But we’re going to need help.
That’s where the student body comes in.
The Battalion should be the prime
source of information on this campus. I
think that says a lot about what I want to do
with this newspaper.
Big talk? Perhaps, but it’s backed up with
big plans. And it’s going to take big plans to
meet an even bigger challenge — making
The Battalion an accurate source of infor
mation for the students and a source of
pride to the staff.
We’ve been delinquent in both roles in
the past.
For the rest of the semester, throughout
the summer and on into next year, we
would like a greater amount of interaction
with the student body.
We want your opinions, your criticisms,
your witticisms, your insight.
We want you to think of The Battalion as
your newspaper, and we want you to use it
as such.
We ll be providing news that you can
use, opinions that will provoke some
thought and coverage that will make you
want to pick up The Battalion each day.
We re determined to increase the quality
and quantity of campus coverage.
And that revolves back on you, the read
er. You’ve got to keep us informed when
something of interest happens,
to us, by keeping us informed about,
going on, you’ll help make thepape
you want it to be — informativea»|
rate.
We’ll try to cover everything u
We’ll make no promises aboutwiia‘
— but nothing ever stands anyclu —...
going in the paper ifu cri not tnld i jy i
Although we’re fallible, given:
chance we ll correct our mistakes,
student newspaper — a group ofla
— charged with performing a proles
sai
Over
Fc
service. We’re supposed to be la worr
how to be perfect journalists by worl:
this newspaper
That’s always a challenge; somete:
scary.
Guest Column
Using m alappropria te words som e tim es funn)
By BILL ROBERSON
Editor’s note: The Battalion invites read
ers to make their contributions to the edi
torial page. Guest columns appearing on
this page allow readers to relate their
views of the world to Texas A&M students.
Columns may be on anything the writer
wishes, but they are printed at the discre
tion of the editor.
Just as the Sabbath was created to serve
man and not vice-versa, language should
serve mankind, rather than the converse.
Language does indeed serve man, in that it
functions as a means of communicating
information^ inquiries, and, yes, even
humor.
Ironical twists of word usage, puns, well-
timed jokes and other word applications are
sources of refreshing amusement and have
brightened the centuries of mankind. Un
intended word usage often provides the
most enjoyable conversation. A slip of the
tongue brings color to any conversation,
and on occasion, to the face of the speaker.
A cousin to the slip of the tongue is the
malapropism. A malapropism is a humor
ous misapplication of a word: specifically,
the use of a word sounding somewhat like
the one intended but ludicrously wrong in
context, (i.e. The allegory sat on the bank of
the nile.) Malapropisms are surely as old as
language itself. Shakespeare often made
use of the malapropism in his plays, as did
R. B. Sheridan. In Sheridan’s comedy,
“The Rivals” (1775), one of the characters,
Mrs. Malaprop, was noted for her misuse of
words.
Malapropisms live on today. Yes, the no
ble usage is alive and well on the campus of
Texas A&M.
A couple of years ago, my roommate fell
victim to this. He stood in our kitchen ex
amining a ham which had been a long
standing member of our refrigerated com
munity.
Having sniffed the aged meat, he
announced, “I’m a little eerie about eating
this ham.”
In another instance, a friend of mine and
I were sitting in the Memorial Student
Center Cafeteria, conversing over a cup of
coffee. He also became entangled in the
use of the word “leery.” Having weighed
the alternative solutions to a problem, he
leaned back in his chair and said, “I’m a bit
weary about trying to take such a big risk. ”
Later he told me that he was considering
“weaning-out” some of the apathetic parti
cipants in a study of his. Of course he was
actually planning to weed them out, being
incapable of “weaning” anything.
This same fellow again fell prey to the
notorious malapropism when he told me
that he was planning to “emerge” his three
separate studies. I was tempted to ask him
into what he planned to emerge the poor
chaps, having already threatened to wean
them.
I cannot speculate as to what makes hu
man language susceptible to malaprop
isms. Perhaps the brain stores its vocabul
ary categorically according to wonli| ji
similarities and occasionally choos
neighbor of the proper word
wean, merge-emerge). Perhaps tk ;
conscious chooses the malapropism
ter representing the intended ities
the message. For example, my root '
may have experienced an “eerie 1 ‘
when he smelled the rancid meat
my other friend felt that he was bat
the apathetic students and therefo:
that he was “weaning” them.
Th
every
Th
open
past,
Texas
Fn
of Ra
they
Ro
simil:
band
the 1<
Th
parti:
too b
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playe
than
Fa
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De
lives.
Th
In either case, the malapropisn
interesting and delightful partofsp
When spoken, they invariably del 1
abstract message which produces
ous imagery when considered in
text of the sentence. Malapropisms
color to an ordinary conversation'
may otherwise be somewhat
leary.
Bill Roberson is a graduating l
major.
Letters
Evangelist’s speech brings critics, plaudit
Preacher appreciated
Editor:
I would like to express my thanks to the
administration for allowing Ron Tewson to
speak publicly at the MSC fountain these
past few days on the topic “Is God Relevant
to the 20th Century?” I am glad Texas
A&M University is respecting and protect
ing our rights of freedom of speech and
freedom of religion. Many universities
across the nation have not allowed similar
speaking to be done in public. It is shocking
that these basic liberties are being checked
by governmental administrative regula
tions. I feel that the evidence shows that
our selfish, affluent, “do whatever you
want” concept of freedom has led to the loss
of some of the real freedoms for which the
founding fathers fought. So many people
today are willing to give up these true liber
ties just to be left alone to pursue wealth.
But it is great to know that God and his
principles, as laid down in the Bible, are
relevant to the 20th century. Let’s face it,
without His principles we are left only with
the arbitrary decisions of man. As one looks
around today it is easy to see that this leads
only to differing opinions, and in general,
chaos.
In a world where Christianity is attacked
and discredited on every side, especially in
the academic world, I appreciate the Uni
versity allowing Mr. Tewson to speak and
thus giving the students the opportunity to
choose intellectually between Christianity
or the humanistic thought of the day.
Mark Schulz, ’82
Kent Welkener, ’82
Trampling on rights
Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to
express my feelings concerning the young
man who took it upon himself Wednesday
afternoon to “enlighten” and sermonize to
the people gathered around Rudder foun
tain. Why do people like this feel a compul
sion to expound upon their personal reli
gious beliefs in public? Now, I realize that
this is a free country, and a university is a
place where new ideas should be freely and
openly discussed, and I’ve got nothing
against free speech and all, but there’s a
time and a place for everything. And I fail to
see the necessity of junior evangelists ser
monizing in public, when they could do so
in private and thus speak only to those who
want to listen, rather than speak to anyone
who is within broadcasting range of their
loudspeakers. That way we who do not wish
to listen would not have to, and everyone
would be happy. If these part-time
preachers feel a calling to relay their reli
gious messages to the multitudes in an un
solicited attempt to save us — please, don’t
do me any favors; if I want to listen, I’ll call
you.
Daniel Boone
Donald Parsons
Sbisa’s food...
THOTZ
SCHOOLS
TOO
r\ocvL
VJ^
n
'I GOT MO STV^V
b'RlNJL LEFT. X M
LIKL A SHIP \a1\TH
Editor:
I am writing to express my total agree
ment with Ron Burchi’s April 24 Letter to
the Editor. My response to Sbisa’s service
of what they call “food” was for me to get off
the board plan this semester. I have been
doing very well, thank you, because of it,
too!
WELL
1 V\EKl
Mm