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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1980)
] /Aw /Alice., a, II Ke AoeS is he or\ tke porch all J a. y anYW'a.y. rwS-Co (UR. Viewpoint He The Battalion Texas A&M University THURSDi MSCB UILI July 3, IDi J ul y 6 > 4 i lisc CUES open 4 p. Mew ‘fox test’paves way for whole series [RUDDER 1 Saturday RUDDER II ' Saturday MSC BOOK BOWLING 1 p.m. POST OFFH 10 a.m. Most injuries result from mishandling Tips for fireworks on the Fourth United Press International CHESTERTOWN, Md. —F’amily-type fire works are legal in some form in 35 of the 50 United States and can be enjoyed safely over the Fourth of July holiday by following a few common-sense rules, according to John Con- kling of the American Pyrotechnics Association. In fact, Conkling says, fireworks are safer today than they were before the Consumer Pro duct Safety Commission’s rigid standards reg ulating family fireworks. The CPSC’s 1979 hazards list ranks fireworks as safer than 80 other consumer products, including tables and chairs, cookware, money and jewelry. Association records show injuries due to fire works have decreased about 40 percent in the past three years. Conkling says family-type Class C fireworks account for only a fraction of annual injuries. Most, he adds, are caused by illegally purch ased Class B explosives such as cherry bombs and M-80s. CPSC experts say 75 percent of fireworks- related injuries result from flagrant mishand ling and carelessness, not malfunctioning pro ducts. The association and the CPSC offer these tips on buying and using fireworks: — Look for the words, Class C Fireworks, on products or their packaging. This phrase must be clearly visible on all legal items. — All legal fireworks must also show the name of the item and easy-to-read cautionary labeling and instructions for use. — Look for sturdy construction, bases and fuses securely attached and devices that resist tipping over. — Avoid any that are leaking powder or that appear to be quite old or show signs of mishand ling or that appear to have been wet and dried. — Buy from reliable fireworks stands. Fly- by-night dealers are more likely to handle de fective merchandise. — Always read and follow directions. — Never allow children to play with fire works without adult supervision. — Never light fireworks indoors. — Have water handy. — Light one at a time. — Never reignite malfunctioning fireworks. — Keep a safe distance. — Never give fireworks to small children, not even sparklers. — Ideally, you should buy fireworks just be fore using them. If they must be stored, pick a cool, dry place. — Dispose of them properly. — Don’t try making fireworks at home — that’s an invitation to disaster. by DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — Along with most other segments of American life and endeavor, the newpaper business is becoming progressively more computerized. I confess I am totally mystified by the tech nological aspects of the process. But even a poor benighted soul such as I can tell that basic changes are being wrought. The extent to which computers are trans forming the old ways of doing things was im pressed upon me the other day as I was watch ing a “fox test” being run off on a computer print-out machine. Anyone who has ever worked around electro nic printers is aware that the standard line for checking out defective equipment is: “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’s back. ” But in the test I was watching of a new com puter system the wording had been changed to “The quick brown fox jumps over the crazy cotton cat.” There are two possible explanations for this startling departure from tradition. For years, dog lovers have agitated against the fox test on grounds it libeled their pets. It could be computer technicians finally crumbled under the pounding of this vociferous pressure group and replaced the lazy dog with a crazy cotton cat. I reject that theory, however. Had it been merely a matter of placating affronted dog owners, they could simply have changed the wording to “The quick brown dog jumped over the lazy fox’s back.” Furthermore, had the computer technicians been motivated solely by a desire to avoid MSC — Clo- offending a special interest group they’iposTOFFH never have chosen a crazy cotton cat as thl j oe Route dog’s replacement. I is closed. Cat lovers are, if anything, even j and militant than dog owners. So the™ Monday, explanation seems more valid. Note, if you haven’t already doneso, tkl original fox test contains all 26 letters (i| alphabet. Note also that in the fox I amended three letters are missing —m a ^ “d,” “g” and “1” — and that the letter'V* pnwFR appears only twice in the original, shot four times. iOUPER SA This strongly suggests that modern cc: am ’ ters have individual peculiarities that re: JNDERGRi test lines tailored to specification. Monday, If I am on the right track here, wemaye COMMONS tually see a whole new catalogue of com; I day, 4 p.r tests, viz: RlSC BASE? “The athletically able artist ambled ove ardent atheist’s ankle.” “The bounding bucolic bachelor boi over the biased bison’s bosom.” “The callow charismatic candidate di over the cautious carhop’s clavicle.’’ “The doddering dilapidated dowagenk over the digressing demagogue’s dimples “The eager ebullient elk escaped over TIMC — ( eccentric earthworm’s elbow.” “The facetiously fastidious falcon flew the flaccid ferret’s forehead.” “The gluttonous gilded gerbil glided geometric gamecock’s gallbladder.” And so on down the alphabet. These lines may make some old-timers for a return to the good old days whenai rapid carnivorous mammal of the Canideal ly could test every printer yet invented that’s progress for you. Monday, 1VET SNACK GOLF SNA( EMERGENi and take t AMBULANC emergenc llaim in ass Hii It’s Your Turn ifTer United Pri r$AN FRANC distributior Pro-draft letter showed ‘complete ignorance ’ ofAmerican ideals [lion in Peop !der conside [urt Judge Ir: IBrown lister uments befo o consider Editor: Regarding Tuesday’s letter by Robby Nohrn, Bill Thomas, et. al., I would like to offer the following comments. it or leave it? You’re damn right, if people like those gain control! Kevin D. Higginbotham ’79 While the idea of fighting and dying for our way of life is not a pleasant one, I do believe enough in personal freedom to do so. But this is not the argument the writers chose to present. Rather, they chose to show their asinine men tality and complete ignorance of the American ideals by resorting to name-calling and idiotic threats. More intelligence needed The writers cite “our forefathers” who fought for our freedom, something no reasonable per son can dispute. I’ll take bets, though, that those same forefathers would be rolling over in their graves after reading that letter. To want to deport those who demonstrate against the draft (and therefore the government) is absurd and in direct opposition to what the forefathers fought for. Open criticism of the government is a free dom Americans enjoy because of the fore fathers. The thinking behind Tuesday’s letter is the same type of mentality that produced those gems in history like Adolf Hitler and Joe McCarthy. Blindly following the whims of an ofter short-sighted and inept government is the most serious threat to our way of life. Protecting democracy is admirable, but the solution offered by those writers was something straight out of Stalin’s handbook. America, love Editor: I was here attending college as an undergra duate in 1971 when I had to make one of my most difficult and confusing decisions of my life. Should I comply with the law and go fight in a war (that wasn’t a war), a war that was personal-, ly an act of national insanity? Should I ignore my part of the social contract and refuse military service, could I face jail? Finally, could I leave behind my friends, my family, my country? I made my choice, a choice that is damned hard when you’re just 18. But it was the American way. I find myself occasionally questioning the wisdom of that decision still. So this recollection makes one wonder where Mr. Nohrn, ’81, and his friends got the wisdom and experience to call Vietnam a cop-out? I’ve heard Nam called many things but never a cop- out. I wish to address another point Mr. Nohrn raised in his letter, notably deportation. Just where do you deport American citizens — back to their birthplace? Certainly! Essentially it is a good idea — a bus ride back home to Topeka, St. Louis, New Orleans, or wherever, is cer tainly cheaper than jet fare to some European country. But perhaps I misunderstood — perhaps they should first be stripped of their American citizenship (which provides for de monstrations and other sundry items under the Constitution) and then sent off fishing boats or cruise ships (crowd dependent). No, somehow creating the plight of the American refugee doesn’t seem to be a very viable idea except a TV sitcom. Hopefully these few lines regarding Mr. Nohrn’s published banality will defuse his rather extremist letter. The draft topic requires far more input that the narrow-mindedness his letter demonstrates and an acceptance of the reality the Libertarian party somehow manages to transcend. Jeff Bogert Blood article disputed Battalion solicits letters, opinions The Battalion solicits guest opinions and let ters to the editor for the Viewpoint page. Let ters or guest pieces may be written on anything of campus, local, state, national or world con cern. To be accepted for publication, letters should meet the following criteria: — They should be typed or printed legibly, and double-spaced. — They should bear the author’s campus address and home and/or office phone number. The Battalion reserves the right to edit letters for style and length. Letters will not be edited for content. The Battalion U S P S 045 360 MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Dillard Stone City Editor Becky Swanson Sports Editor Richard Oliver News Editor Lynn Blanco Staff Writers Uschi Michel-Howell, Debbie Nelson, Cathy Saathoff, Scot K. Meyer, Jon Heidtke Kurt Allen Photo Editor Bob Sebree Photographer Marsha Hoehn LETTERS POLICY Letters to the Editor should not exceed300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor. The Battalion. 216 Heed McDonald, Texas A&M University. College Station. TX 77843. EDITORIAL POLICY The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper op erated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-CoHege Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily repre sent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of Regents. Questions or comments concerning any editorial matter should be directed to the editor. The Battalion is published Tuesday through Thursday during Texas A&M's summer school schedule. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 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: Regarding your article of 6/25/80, “Two groups seek student blood.” The impression left by this article is that the Aggie Blood Club is trying to justify Aggie sup port of the Wadley Central Blood Bank by mak ing the Red Cross organization look bad. I feel that this is unnecessary and that certain key points need to be clarified. Wadley Central Blood Bank operates out of Dallas and supplies blood directly to about fif teen hospitals — mostly in the Dallas area. Aggies who donate to Wadley are covered “wherever they go” in the sense that Wadley will pay for the blood that an Aggie receives in any hospital, provided that the recipient noti fies Wadley and the hospital involved verifies the use of blood. This does not mean that the Aggie will get “Wadley” blood, nor that Wadley will replace the blood used. In the case of local hospitals, St. Joseph and Bryan, this means that blood is used without replacement. Since most Texas A&M students are local residents, blood used in local hospitals is for them as well as other local residents. Many A&M students are given blood at local hospitals and it seems that they should support there hospitals. The atti tude of donating blood to get the “best deal” for yourself is contrary to the spirit of voluntarily donating blood. There is also no basis for the impression that Wadley shows superior planning and organiza tion by drawing blood before the July 4 weekend. Blood donated is useable up to 35 days and it makes as much sense to draw after the holiday to restore stock as to draw before to build up stock. Central Red Cross of Waco holds drives in Bryan-College Station at month ly intervals and this is no their only source. They collect blood in the Waco area daily and their mobile units travel continuously through out the area that they serve. There is a need in the Bryan-College Station area for better publicity for the Red Cross drives in order to encourage students and other residents to donate bloos. There should be no need for competition between the Wadley and Red Cross groups. A normal, healthy adult is able to donate blood every eight weeks, there fore it is possible to support both groups. The local hospitals use about 200 pints of blood monthly and it should be no problem for a community like Bryan-College Station, stu dents and permanent residents, to replace this blood. One final point, whether misinformed or misquoted, O-positive is not a universal donor, O-negative is. Anne Dillinger and what kind of Muster would there be? I don’t know about everyone else, but thewoii means a whole lot more to me than a studfl A&M. I don’t even like using the word dishonesl Ag in the same sentence. My question is: Isei ment really a count of Ags? One more thing. 1 happened to ask severalps if they were going to the last Muster. I got anil like, What’s Muster? & No, and I doubt I ever No, being an Ag isn’t just Muster, Silver Taps being honest, but it is a part. Ross Catbei ’oil lich ipointed rec some imise wou imants — ■vivors of tl restown, G More thefts reported About dishonest Ags Editor: I am writing in a response to Timothy W. Purcell’s letter entitled “Behavior shocking.” I completely agree, it is a bad situation. It is getting easier and easier for a person to come to school here and never learn what it means to be an Ag. Go to Silver Taps next time you get a chance and see how many good Ags there really are. If you go to Muster next year, you’ll be going to G. Rollie. G Rollie only holds 7,000 and there were 30,000 here at that time. G. Rollie was almost full at Muster, but take away 2,000 CT’s Editor: This past Friday, after my last class, I went my car and much to my suiprise and thend found that someone deemed it necessary to rei my side mirror. It had been literally ripped off: car and stolen. This event reminded me of earl the week when 1 was walking through the parking lot (the one behind the Commons) and 1 row of cars which had their antennas bent para! the ground. The above events could have been perpetrate high school students, incoming freshmen on' students. I would prefer to believe that it A&M students. The next event that I would like to address to is the theft of books from the Commons cafet' It is related to the previous events because the that tears up people’s cars are the same low-life that would steal somebody’s books. The tinguishing factor is that only a college students be responsible for the book thefts. This single fact upsets me more than the lossol mirror or any of the other occurrences because t were A&M students. I have spent over nine, Austin and while the same things happening tli would upset me just as much, they wouldn’t surf some $1.8 en made a^ by the Re (Fabian’s ide to the ] iv. 17, 19 irder-suici ild shootou iding Rep. Fabian sa ide on the ie before tl [y by the e Peop 5 million ie unsold The ku What the people around this school need tore) is that being registered does not make themAgf Being an Aggie comes from inside a person kind of people that would steal books, tear up and do other just plain criminal acts don’t qu: Aggies by even the broadest definition of the" 1 Michael D. Sisson Warped by Scott McCulh AH.. . bummer! FRIPA7 A/I&HT, NO PATE, NO MVOVIES I WAtfT TO SEE, X PON'T FEEL LIKE READX/i/G... X SOKL A/A LO/VELY FOR A LADY... MONO s Sail; Musi Whip Yoi Oni Roller Cor Cc a?