Slouch
By Jim Earle
“Keep this under your hat, but I can give you a valuable
tip. I haven’t taken a final exam for the past two years
because I have always applied as a degree candidate and I
always get listed as a graduating senior.”
Opinion
Definition of news
includes good and bad
News is defined in many ways by many people. Especially
when it comes to campus organizations and what is news and
what is not news.
Generally, someone affiliated with a campus organization
will define news as anything that is neutral or positive to
ward that organization.
Queries into anything else result in the question, “Why is
that The Battalion’s business?”
That question is answered easily enough: Anything that
goes on around this place that might affect a significant
number of people, or that might interest a significant num
ber of people, is news to us. Period. Whether it’s good, bad
or indifferent.
However, leaders of campus organizations, more than
most leaders in the outside world, are reluctant to talk to
reporters about problems within those organizations. That’s
why a lot of good, interesting hard news stories remain
untouched around here.
A lot of information that is common knowledge to people
in certain organizations — information which often comes
out in a friendly conversation — vanishes when reporters
begin asking about it.
You can ask most of the leadership within the Corps about
a cadet who was denied a leadership position simply because
he was not on contract — and you’ll get the information you
want.
You can ask the right people in student government about
appointments made using friendship or college affiliation as
major criteria — and you’ll get plenty of information.
You can ask the right Student Government people about
political “blocs” that might try to block at least two of the
student body president’s new appointments at tonight’s sen
ate meeting — and you can get at least some information.
We can’t. Getting campus leaders to talk about these
stories is a different matter. All these sources and their
information mysteriously disappear, dry up or simply refuse
to discuss these issues when The Battalion asks about them.
Folks, all that is news.
It’s our job to cover that news. It’s our job to make sure the
news gets printed in order to reach the most people pos
sible.
We want to have a good working relationship with campus
organizations — everybody will benefit in the long run. But
that wish carries with it a request for help in covering what
we perceive as the news as well as what members of those
organizations perceive as the news.
Campus leaders can’t ask us to scratch their backs without
expecting to have to scratch ours every now and then.
We can’t afford to live in a society where bad news is no
news.
Dillard Stone
The Battalion
U S P s 045 360
LETTERS POLICY
MEMBER
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are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The
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does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must
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Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The
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through Thursday.
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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
Viewpoint
oc
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Wednesday
April 30, 1980
Window
Priest indica tes n uclear energy part of Gods plan
by DAVID E. ANDERSON
UPI Religion Writer
No issue promises to raise as much controversy within
religious groups in the next decade as the ethical and
moral attitude religious bodies should take on the de
velopment of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The question is already being sharply debated in a
number of Christian denominations and interfaith organi
zations and so far the preponderance of thinking has been
largely antinuclear.
Now, however, a prominent priest-scientist has en
tered a dissent to the discussion.
Dr. G. William Pollard, in a booklet “Let’s Talk About
Theology and Nuclear Energy,” written for the avowedly
pro-nuclear Breeder Reactor Corporation which is seek
ing to build the controversial Clinch River Breeder Reac
tor in Oak Ridge, Tenn., says that nuclear energy is not
only a part of God’s plan for creation but one of the
Creator’s blessing for humankind as well.
Pollard, an Episcopal priest as well as a fellow of the
American Nuclear Society, has long been in the forefront
of efforts to bring a religious and theological perspective
to scientific issues.
Pollard maintains that nuclear energy is essential to
life.
“Our sun is a natural nuclear power plant and there are
over a hundred billion other main sequence stars like it
scattered throughout our galaxy,” he said. A universe
“from which nuclear power has been ‘outlawed’ would be
a dead universe, with no warmth, light or life in it and
devoid of any creative potential. ”
“Nuclear energy is the universal, common and natural
kind of energy in creation as a whole, ” he said. “Indeed,
all the wood, coal, oil and gas man has ever burned came
from our natural nuclear power plant, the sun.
Pollard argues that people cannot reject nuclear energy
as “unnatural or inherently evil” and still retain the Biblic
al doctrine of creation in which God is “maker of heaven
and earth, of all things visible and invisible.”
At the same time, Pollard recognizes that nuclear ener
gy, like other parts of the creation, is both a curse and a
blessing.
It is a blessing because of its uses as an energy resource
at a time other resources are running out but it is a curse
because of its potential for use in nuclear weapons
throughout the world.
“It is essential that we devote our best talentsJ
efforts to finding ways to prevent the misuse of n
energy, to prevent the potential curse from I
ized, but a refusal of the blessing is not one of them,||
said.
He held up the Biblical theme of the conquest ofl
a theological touchstone for developing a conteo
attitude toward nuclear energy and used primitive!
fear of fire as an analogy.
Citing the Biblical account (Exodus 19:16-20)ofM
ascent of Sinai — an active volcano at the time —F
argued that fire then was exclusively a curse witk
blessing in it.
Moses’ enocunter with God on Sinai, at leasts
ally, became a crucial turning point in history in
“man came through to the other side of fear and, in
fleeing from fire, brought it right into his living qui
and thereafter tended and nurtured it.”
Nuclear energy, he said, is God’s energy choicefi
whole of creation. ”
Pollard’s pro-nuclear stance is not the final wordijj
religious community’s debate but it indicates
much more yet to be said on the issue.
‘ '
Letters
Reader uses Bible in defending evangelist's speed
Editor:
This letter is in response to Mr. Boone
and Mr. Parsons’ letter in Monday’s Batta
lion. They expressed their feelings about
evangelist Ron Tewson speaking in public
at Rudder Fountain. I do not want to re
word anything they said, so I’ll just say that'
they would rather not have had to hear Mr.
Tewson.
Mr. Boone and Mr. Parsons and all
others in agreement, please read this open-
heartedly. Jesus Christ become Lord of my
life Feb. 3, 1979. Because of this I am
writing this letter out of love and hurt that
you do not have a personal relationship
with Christ. You see, Mr. Tewson felt “a
compulsion to expound upon” his “person
al religious beliefs in public” because God
commanded this. It is written in Matthew
28:19, 20, “Go therefore and make disci
ples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I commanded you: and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age. ” My
heart is breaking for you right now because
God is showing me how much He wishes
for you to accept His free gift of eternal
life, but your hearts have been so hardened
that you reject this gift. I wish so very much
that you could know my heart. You would
realize that through Jesus Christ only will
you know true peace and joy in this life.
Christianity is not a religion, it is a personal
relationship with Christ. God’s Word best
states it in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish, but have eternal life. For God
did not send the Son into the world to judge
the world, but that the world should be
saved through Him. He who believes in
Him is not judged; he who does not believe
has been judged already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only begot
ten Son of God. ” Because of Christ in my
life I can honestly say I love you, and pray
that you will ask Jesus to be your personal
Lord and Savior.
I wish you Jesus.
Mark Mullin
Mad about Iran
Editor:
I am writing this letter in response to the
most recent events that took place in Iran.
Since the first day of this crisis we have
been frustrated and embarrassed by this
nation of lunatics and I, for one, am mad as
hell. United States of America, the once
proud and mightiest of any nation on this
earth has been forced to listen to a bunch of
militants who have trespassed on our soil,
taken our people hostage, and repeatedly
laughed in our face when given warnings of
the consequences of their actions. The time
has long passed for military action.
Although the U.S. rescue mission was a
failure I was, and am still, 100 percent be
hind any efforts to free the American hos
tages. A naval blockade has some draw
backs, but the mining of Iranian ports
would seem like a feasible method of chok
ing their already floundering economy. If
this has no effect, then a written declaration
of war would seem to be the only alterna
tive now that the hostages are being spread
out over the entire country.
As far as the likelihood of Soviet interven
tion, it is almost inevitable since they seem
to be itching to get involved. There comes a
time when every citizen of this nation has to
remember that the United States was not
built on peaceful negotiations, but rather
on sacrifice and very often brute force. Un
fortunately, we have seen very little of the
latter during the last four months. If recent
news footage of an Iranian mockery of the
eight Americans who courageously, and I
might add voluntarily lost their lives in the
Iranian desert doesn’t incite the anger of
the American people, then I would con
clude that something is very wrong in the
land of the free and the home of the brave.
All Americans, including Ms. Barbara
Timm, need to support the actions^
American government in this very
time. The time has come for the 0
reassert its position as supreme
power in the world. America — letsi
ass!
ml
David Petipsi
Oops!
Two mistakes were made on
1 of Tuesday’s Battalion.
Bryan police sources informed
Battalion reporter that the worn®
who barricaded herself in the
welfare office Monday afternoon"*
Connie Baugh. Brazos County Sb
iff s Office documents reveal tk
woman’s name to be Connie Vaugh
The student senate will meet
tonight, instead of Tuesday, as w*
announced in Tuesday’s Battalion
The Battalion regrets the errors
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