Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday
November 25, 1980
Lo
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“I made this bet on the game where I got thirteen points, at odds of
fourteen to eight provided it didn’t rain. If it rained I got seven points
and odds of twelve to nine, but I don’t remember which team I got!’’
Laxalfs star to rise in
Reagan administration
By STEVE GERSTEL
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Sen. Paul Laxalt, a ge
nial westerner strongly committed to the con
servative cause, is destined to become one of
the most influential men in the Reagan adminis
tration.
And his power in the Senate, where he is just
finishing his first six-year term, could come
close to eclipsing that of the leadership.
Those who question the assumption need
only to look at newspaper photographs and tele
vision clips since the election.
The ramrod straight man with the close-
cropped gray hair standing next to Reagan
almost everywhere is Paul Laxalt.
At his post-election news conference, Reagan
turned to Laxalt to find assurance that Tennes
see’s Howard Baker would, indeed, be elected
majority leader of the Republican Senate.
When Reagan arrived in Washington for his
first visit since winning the presidency, it was
Laxalt taking him in hand at Andrews AFB.
And the front-page picture of the president
elect before a lunch for GOP members of the
Senate and House had Laxalt sitting next to
Reagan.
The ascendancy of Laxalt, the 58-year-old
son of a shepherd from Nevada, should not
come as a surprise. It is based on a very close
personal and philosophical relationship with
Reagan dating from when both were governors
— Reagan in California and Laxalt in neighbor
ing Nevada.
But Laxalt knew better. Sitting next to
Schweiker in the Senate, he discovered the
Pennsylvanian to be a closet conservative.
When Reagan decided to seek the White
House again last year, he again asked Laxalt to
be campaign chairman. This time it paid off.
There was speculation Reagan and Laxalt had
a falling out at the national convention when
Reagan chose George Bush as his running
mate. Laxalt, and other conservatives, were not
happy with the choice.
But if there was a break, it healed in the heat
of the campaign.
The Laxalt role in the Reagan administration
could take many forms and it may turn out to be
unique.
It is not, for instance, the same as the role
Charles Kirbo played for Jimmy Carter — the
wise, elder eminence called to Washington in
crisis situations. Laxalt will be an on-the-scene
presence.
Reagan will undoubtedly work out a good
relationship with Baker — they both want it —
but Laxalt is bound, on the basis of friendship
and philosophy, to emerge as the president
elect’s closest tie to Capitol Hill.
And Laxalt’s private counsel almost certainly
will be welcome in the White House — not on
day-to-day matters but in a broader, more
sweeping sense.
At least as much and possibly more than
other insiders, the Nevada senator is an unwav
ering conservative.
When Reagan decided in 1976 to challenge
President Ford for the Republican nomination,
he picked Laxalt, virtually unknown at the
time, as his national campaign manager. There
was speculation then that nobody wanted the
job.
As Reagan comes under pressure to modify
his positions — as he certainly will — it will be
interesting to witness Laxalt’s actions.
It was Laxalt who suggested Sen. Richard
Schweiker be named as Reagan’s running
mate. The pre-convention designation of
Schweiker infuriated conservatives who con
sidered him an East Coast liberal-moderate.
Will he remain the loyal and steadfast friend,
privately urging Reagan to hold fast to conser
vatives principles?
Or will Laxalt — who has never sought the
limelight — become the eloquent spokesman
for the conservative crusade, holding Reagan to
the line through public forums?
Warped
Big game hunting is A-OK
until someone’s hurt for real
By DILLARD STONE
Battalion Editor
You don’t usually see a picture on the edito
rial page.
But there’s something special about certain
pictures, those which can be used to illustrate a
point, to help make something clear.
The picture at the right is one of those kind of
pictures.
On the front page today, you’ll see pictures
showing the humorous, adventurous activities
which accompany Elephant Walk, the Texas
A&M tradition which marks the “death” of the
senior class. ,
The seniors have a blast getting together and
traipsing around the campus; the juniors get a
kick out of mock-stalking the “elephants” as
they wander on their aimless route.
Juniors who get caught stalking their favorite
elephant quickly become the hunted instead of
the hunters. Seniors, often wielding ax handles
and other assorted weaponry, chase the juniors
down. Sometimes the chase is climaxed by a
brief, friendly tussle on the ground; at other
times, an ax handle makes its way to the post
erior of the caught junior.
At right is another view. Sure, it’s all fun and
games — until someone gets hurt. Injury in the
middle of a carnival atmosphere produces one
of the most somber atmospheres imaginable,
because no one is supposed to get hurt. It’s all
in fun, after all.
But there’s a point where dressing up and
playing army for a day goes too far. That’s when
someone gets hurt.
The cadet pictured here, although hurt dur
ing Elephant Walk, wasn’t injured with an ax
handle. But he could have been.
Really, when you consider the number of ax
handles and sticks carried by members of both
classes, the helmets that many wear, the occa
sional rock tossed into a crowd, and the foot
race sprinting through crowds which accom
pany Elephant Walk, it’s almost a miracle that
there aren’t any more casualties.
1
A cadet injured during Monday’s Elephant Walk receives medical attention
A&M Emergency Care Team member.
from all
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50 cent
General Good Bull is said to be the highest
general on campus. Elephant Walk is “Good
Bull,” and as a tradition is certain to survive for
many years.
But there’s also a time where tradition must
yield to prudence and common sense. Does the
macho feeling of carrying an ax handle outweigh
the potential for injury?
In today’s safety-conscious world, t
tie doubt that one serious injury coi
decades of tradition to he erased.
The injury of one shouldn’t soundtk
knell for a tradition. It should, howevei
as a warning for future participants; I
You’d better police yourselves, or s« I
might do the policing for you.
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It’s your turn
Church of Christ criticizes gay commei
Editor:
Regarding the “Church of Christ” article by
David E. Anderson (UPI) which appeared in
your paper on Nov. 17, I must make sure that
no association is made with the Churches of
Christ in Bryan-College Station.
Said article announced that the Church of
Christ (United) was preparing for ordination of
homosexuals. First of all, the church that Jesus
built would never conceive of even the thought
of such a ridiculous announcement! Jesus died
on the cross to save people from the sin of, and
the condemnation toward, homosexuality!
Homosexuality is the most vile of all sin, the
lowest rung of human degradation! God des
troyed Sodom and Gommarah for the homosex
ual corruption! He made this particular sin pun
ishable by death under the Law of Moses! He
sent the Son of Man to die a most horrible death
to save such sinners found in the abomination of
homosexuality! It is the very “thinking that has
ended in futility” (Romans 1:21) that the apostle
Paul spoke of when pointing to the homosexual-
ly-declined state of the race, when men put
forth such nonsense as in the above mentioned
article. That any “church” should be consider
ing such illogical policy is but the reflection of
how far away from God that even the churches
have fallen!
Let it be known that the Cavitt Church of
Christ, the A&M Church of Christ, the Central
Church of Christ nor the Twin City Church of
Christ are in no way associated with the United
Churches of Christ.
Concerning the particular sin of
ity, the churches of Christ seek to save]
sinners and show them the way unto
forgiven lives through repentenceandhij
by the Holy Spirit and in the power
Christ! The clear distinction beWt
Church of Christ and the United
Christ lies in apparent attitude that the l
church wants to make homosexuals
preachers, while the Lord’s Church s#
save their soul from hell!
John W. L«
By Scott McCullar
WE'VE 5CR0UN&EP TO p|/VD
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WE 'RE TIRED AA/D
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but we got it done
BECAUSE of our DEVOTION,
A/VP HOPE FullY WE’LL
BEAT TEXAS SATURDAY-
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The Battalion
U S P S 045 .)60
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congres
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Editor Dillard Stone
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