Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1980)
Viewpoint The Battalion Wednesday Texas A&M University October 8, 1980 Lc Of ur Slouch By Jim Earle Even if it worked, Ed rather have the peace and quiet than the rain. Congressional races display campaign skill By DAVIE) S. BRODEK WASHINGTON — There are rather good election campaigns going on our there — once you get past Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and John B. Anderson. In the contests for Senate and House seats and the relatively few gov ernorships that are up this year, r there are genuine debates between vigorous advocates of opposing views and contenders with creden tials for the office they are seeking. Because the presidency so totally — and in appropriately — dominates the political dia logue, even in a year when the major conten ders are saying almost nothing, these other campigns tend to be overshadowed. But there are some things happening at other levels of the ballot that are worthy of note. The passage of power from the older to the younger generation — still stymied in the White House — is proceeding apace at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Time is a capricious master. While many voters seem ready to start a novice 69-year-old in the pres idency, those in New York have turned wise and experinced 76-year-old Sen. Jacob Javits (R) from a favorite for re-election into a third- place contender on a minor-party line. Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D), the person likely to replace him, is 39. At the other end of the country. Sen. Warren G. Magnuson (D), 75, who has represented Washington in Congress since 1937, faces his toughest challenge in decades from Atty. Gen. Slade Gorton (R), a comparative stripling of 52. Sen. Milton R. Young (R) of North Dakota, 82, is at last yielding his seat to his intra-party rival. Rep. Mark Andrews (R), 54, and Andrews in turn may be replaced in the House by Tax Commissioner Byron Dorgan (D), 38, a one time anti-war activist who is part of the national network of populists and neighborhood orga nizers. North Dakota is not the only state where retirements have created opportunities for younger politicians who have been eager to take on greater responsibilities. The same thing has happened with Senate seats in Connecticut, Illinois, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania — though skeptics can properly wonder whether the re placement in any of those states will match the quality of the retirees. In the House, the probable pattern is one of stability — not change — and that is welcome. There are only 43 open seats, where the incum bents are retiring, running for other office or were defeated in primaries. The 10 percent vacancy rate is the lowest in recent years. While several senior House Democrats like Many of the best of the new candidates this year are women, and some of them — like Lynn Martin (R) in Illinois’ 16th District and Lynn Cutler (D) in Iowa’s 3rd District, are waging their contests with a vigor and skill you wish could be transfused into the lackluster pres idential race. Warped Disruption of Silver Taps defeats ceremony’s purpose Off-ci Uni vers Bouse, ' Boust history ; Aggies i “It’s t bonfire, bonfire otherwi Befor The stillness in the air was a reflection of the somberness of the occasion. Just as it should be for a Silver Taps. The Ross Volunteer firing squad marched in to their funeral cadence, a haunting sound in the quiet surroundings. “First order ... ready ... aim ...” “WHOOP!! WAY TO GO JIM!!” “Fire!” It doesn’t take much to disturb the quietude of a solemn ceremony ... even from a mile away. And those who attended Silver Taps last night certainly had their quiet reflection inter rupted from the direction of the Penberthy in tramural complex. Shouts of exuberance and desperation from the intramural football games were severely out of place with the atmosphere of a Silver Taps ceremony. Many of us look upon Silver Taps as a private, very special ceremony — something we are rather honored to participate in. It’s our privelege as Aggies to pay homage to a fellow student. In keeping with this personalized feeling we have about the ceremony, I really couldn’t care whether each and every other student thinks Silver Taps is worth his while. It would be nice if we had more than 3,000 students at a Silver Sidebars By Dillard Stone Taps, but the intimacy of the ceremony is not diminished by the number attending, be it large pr small. What’s upsetting is the scheduling of Univer sity events at the same time as a Silver Taps. Having an intramural game scheduled at the same time forces some to make a choice be tween an obligation to a group and a memorial to a comrade. It also distracts those of us who can hear the whistles, yells, and cheers of those involved in the athletic events. But the Intramural Department isn’t the only University-related organization which conflicts with Taps. On at least one occasion last year, one of the student programming groups started a three- hour movie at 8 p.m. Those who wanted to see the movie and attend Taps were confronted with the dilemma of which to attend. Petty complaint? I think not — considj the relative infrequency with which Silver] occurs. Silver Taps was formerly held as soont sible on a Tuesday after a student’s dealt cause of the frequency of student dealt year, the student senate recommended! Taps be changed to the first Tuesday oil month — when necessary. So everyone knows when a Silver Tapra be held — no more than four times thissg ter, and no more than three times nextsa ter. There’s no more hit-and-miss invota not scheduling University activities atthes time as a Silver Taps — conflicts canei* avoided by not scheduling any events e p.m. on the first Tuesday each month. Fraternity parties and off-campus danre things we can’t do anything about on the of Taps; but off-campus activities don’t ds intrude on the solemnity of the ceremony campus intramurals and programmed ev do. University-sponsored events shouldnl flict with University-sponsored memorial vices. Such conflicts put University offices ins sition at a time when harmony and singlene purpose are truly called for. a cutting is neede 'held to< The fi more ei: 'dents w I should i Trucks ' | The v. to camp lunch ti< delivere T The s Granad; | “You a towel ■ecomrr I Stude John Brademas of Indiana, Morris K. Udall of Arizona and Bob Eckhardt of Texas face un usually stiff challenges, in general the re- election prospects for both Democrats and Re publicans who were first elected in the 1970s appear excellent in this first election of the 1980s. That stability is welcome, because the high turnover-rate in the house' in the elections of the 1970s — and the prospect of another wholesale reshuffling following redistricting in 1982 — have made the House quirky, nervous and un predictable. The political security that junior members will gain from having one more election safely under their belts should make it somewhat easier for them to accept the discipline and responsiblity of facing up to the hard legislative choices many of them have been inclined to finesse in their first few sessions. Meantime, the congressional and senatorial candidates in many districts and states are pro viding the kind of stimulating debate that has been so conspicuously missing in the presiden tial contest. The other week, I heard Rep. Chris Dodd (D) and ex-Sen. Jim Buckley (R) present an 1 exceptionally skillful and civil definition of their contrasting energy and economic policies in Connecticut. lowans have had a slam-bang series of de bates between Sen. John Culver (D) and his challenger. Rep. Charles Grassley (R). In Col orado, Sen. Gary(D) has agreed to several de bates with his opponent. Secretary of State Mary Estill Buchanan (R). And in Oregon, Sen. Bob Packwood (R) is doing the same thing with state Sen. Ted Kulongoski (D). In almost all these races, the choice for voters is not between the lesser of two evils but be tween rivals who seem fully qualified by tem perament, age and experience for the job. The same is true in some of the House dis tricts I have visited. Voters around New Haven, for example, have the luxury of choosing be tween two men who made exceptional records in the state Senate — Democrat Joe Liebean and Republican Larry DeNardis — to succeed retiring House Budget Committee Chairman Robert Giaimo (D). cutting, cutting ij Worm men, B< First- white ta workers others, Interi tor, at tl 693-453 Here Saturda |0ct. 19 Oct. 24 Oct. 26 Nov. 8- Nov. T Nov. 21 Also at I councils appeale< apart me night. Dianr out a coi lege Sta They campaig Activi quiz file Other ing, but Those Old Coll Park ant OCA behind ] “It ha danger c for speci Pr ha By J1 It’s your turn “Inst and hopi somethi A&M At of the rei ‘The System ’shatters Aggie expectation athletic Tate t< i ciation thought Editor: More than two years ago I decided to enter the college of tradition, Texas A&M University. I had a great deal of dreams and desires of what I thought attending A&M would be like. My expectations of A&M were high. However, when I came to A&M, some of my expectations were shattered. Housing was one of them. The first thing I ever did to enroll at A&M was to register for housing. I and my other fellow freshman Aggies had to do this at the end of our junior year in high school. Most juniors at that time had not even started to think about college, yet we were already filling out the forms; therefore, I ex pected to receive an on-campus dorm. Howev er, a year and two months later, I received a letter which stated that I was in one of the brand-new married student’s apartments. I was to have three roommates, a kitchen and a bathroom, which did not sound bad at all. Until I had my first look! I went in the door expecting at least two rooms, but I found a cold, dismal square room with a stove, sink and refrigerator built into the wall. The only furniture in the apartment was four old, smelly mattresses and six portable room dividers. I had expected to have only one roommate in an on-campus dorm, but I was rewarded with three; therefore, concentrating on my studies was very difficult because some one was usually talking. Also, I did not expect to have to buy any kitchen supplies or second hand furniture, which put a big hole in my bank account. This apartment complex did not have the dorm-life that I expected either. Unlike most colleges, the dorms at A&M are the fraternities in which each dorm has its own songs, traditions and social activities. Tha halls have a lot of group activities which create a dorm spirit with in the whole Aggie spirit. Housing and brotherhood are not the only expectations that have been mismanaged. The system in general is not what I expected. I registered in June, months before classes started, and I anticipated that my schedule JBetory would be correct. However, I had two i Was j n( jj scheduled at the same time and six classfybeen ha one day. So I was sent to the BiomedicalSof Three ces building to correct this error. I was told dismisse person, who is supposedly my advisor, toff the ir range my schedule by myself. I had todecip' , It s a my classes from a computer sheet whiohij^™ hard to read. I also expected my tuitiontCKT.?.^ 1 correct, but it was not. I found that I nee h ave ^ some refunds; therefore, I went from oneeift ^ ^ campus to the other and back again onl' out the obtain an answer which was to come bao A&M-U three weeks to get my refund. I had expect?* game d get refunded in one specifice office, suchai' ment to Fiscal Department, instead of having to different offices for different refunds. Altho* 111 I" 6 A Texas A&M has a great number of peoplf mind, I feel they could provide better hou® and reorganize the system. Bradford N. Cl* ■ By Scott McCullar THIS IS TUST A REMINDER THATA FOREIGN STUDENT CAN ALSO BE DEFINED AS WHAT yOO WOULD BE CALLED, ATTENDING SCHOOL \N A FOREIGN COUNTRY. The Battalion U S P S 045 360 m MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Dillard Stone Managing Editor Rhonda Watters Asst. Managing Editor Scott Haring City Editor Becky Swanson Sports Editor Richard Oliver Asst. Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy Focus Editor Scot K. Meyer News Editors Lynn Blanco, Gwen Ham, Todd Woodard Staff Writers Jennifer Afflerbach, Kurt Allen, Nancy Andersen, Marcy Boyce, Mike Burrichter, Pat Davidson, Jon Heidtke, Uschi Michel-Howell, Debbie Nelson, Liz Newlin, Cathy Saathoff, Rick Stolle Cartoonist Scott McCullar Photo Editor Pat O’Malley Questions or comments concerning any editorial i should be directed to the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in fetf 1 . and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each must also be signed, show the address and phone numberoft writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and art 1 subject to the same length constraints as letters. Addretf' inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Battalion, ? Reed McDonald, Texas A&cM University, College Station," 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-College 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. The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’sfl spring semesters, except for holiday and examination pei Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per sd** year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on^ quest. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build |r ‘ Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to thf 11 ' for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. RiltM 1 reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843 Thi is in Cent< Th< oppoi Thi have slide: becor Th, corpo farm Th, grade classr to 5 p Welcc re pre At Cent, lives Tic whiel Of uient