Viewpoint
?.;■;
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Thursday
Ferruary 26, 1981
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“Don’t you think it’s about time to get a haircut?’
Uncommon words,
uncommon speaker
By DAVID S. BRODER
SAN FRANCISCO — “I’m recommend
ing to black folks in this state, ” the speaker
said, “that they abandon the defense of bus
ing. That issue destroyed the career of
Yvonne Burke (the black former U. S. rep
resentative who lost successive races for
state attorney general and Los Angeles su
pervisor) and Jim Gorman (the veteran
white U.S. representative defeated for re-
election last fall by ah anti-busing Republi
can member of the Los Angeles school
board).
Four months after the coup, Brown is still
struggling to regain the unified support of
his own fellow-Democrats and to assert the
kind of authority exercised by his powerful
predecessors in the job. But he has gained a
national audience with his new title, and as
he crisscrosses the country, he is freely
offering advice, not just on the busing issue,
but on a variety of other questions facing
blacks and other Democrats across
America.
‘Tve recommended to Tom Bradley (the
black mayor of Los Angeles) that if he wants
to be elected governor next year, he make it
clear right now that busing is not his issue. ”
The speaker in this case is the Speaker of
California Assembly, the second most im
portant job in the No. 1 state. The speaker is
Willie L. Brown, Jr., the 46-year-old black
firebrand whose views are as surprising as
the title he now holds.
Brown, a San Francisco lawyer with a
taste for fast cars and fancy suits, had a
reputation in the legislature, where he has
served since he was 30, as a political maver
ick and battler for liberal causes. He gained
a bit of national renown in 1972 as the leader
of the challenged California delegation sup
porting George McGovern at the Democra
tic convention, pleading emotionally and
successfully with the delegates not to oust
him and his colleagues in favor of the
Hubert Humphrey slate.
Brown is a one-time McGovern suppor
ter who backed Ted Kennedy’s bid to dump
Jimmy Carter in 1980. Now he says he finds
people like Kennedy and former Vice Presi
dent Fritz Mondale almost “irrelevant” to
the Democratic Party’s future. “They’re
still dealing with the racial minorities, the
new rich and the labor leadership as the
core of the party, ” he said, “and that com
bination has proven to be incapable of
generating a majority of voters.
As for the “McGovern reforms” that
made it possible for mavericks like himself
to play dramatic roles in the nominating
conventions, Willie Brown now says,
“We’ve probably reformed too much ....
The process of all these primaries is very
destructive. ”
But here at home. Brown was always on
the fringes of power, at odds with the
leadership of his party in the Assembly and
thwarted in his own bids to gain a leader
ship post.
Brown says his advice to the racial minor
ities and feminists in the Democratic Party
— who have gained seats and influence at
the nominating conventions —- is to give
back some of those seats to the Democratic
officeholders and traditional power brokers
who, he says, “can help elect a Democratic
President. ”
“Winning is absolutely everything in
politics,” the speaker says. “You have no
impact on policies, you can deliver nothing,
unless you can produce a win. ”
Until this year. When the Assembly
Democratic caucus was bitterly split in 1980
by the effort of Assemblyman Howard Ber
man of Los Angeles to replace Speaker Leo
McCarthy of San Francisco, Brown orga
nized a rump group of Democrats.
With the active help of the Assembly’s
Republican minority, he put together a
coalition victory for the speakership. More
than half his votes came from the GOP side,
and in turn he guaranteed the Republicans
more procedural rights, consultation on
committee appointments, more staff and
facilities than they had previously enjoyed.
That philosophy — or, as his critics would
have it, lack of philosophy—brought Willie
Brown from the outsider role in the Califor
nia Assembly to a position with real power.
He is still groping for the levers of leader
ship in the job he has won, while assuring
those he calls “the idealists” that “you don’t
have to sell to gain power. ”
What Willie Brown is selling is a down-
to-earth and maybe even cynical view of the
realities of political influence. The view is
not new to our politics. But the speaker, in
this case, is not the man from whose lips you
would expect to be hearing this.
Ineptness behind closed doors
“I guess it was just a big mistake .... This is
probably going to make the committee look
bad. ”
— Tracy Cox
Glass houses
Bingo. It was a mistake too big for the
Student Government Finance Committee
to be making with student money. With
anybody’s money, for that matter.
Not only was there a big $500,000 mis
understanding, but it occurred in closed
session, without benefit of comment by
those who might have understood the stu
dent service fee allocation process much
better than Tracy Cox.
If committee members deemed them
selves too good for other students to join
them in the allocation hearing, they could at
least have done their job correctly.
Maybe we gave the vice president for
finance too much credit in hoping he could
cope with seven-digit numbers with just his
committee for help.
Students didn’t seem overly upset by the
closed session. But the result of that closed
session and prior ineptness was a recom
mended 21 percent increase in next
semester’s student service fees.
Surprised? So was the finance com
mittee.
By Venita McCellon
and Dillard Stone
never explained how to generate
needed $500,000 increase from a re®
mended fee increase of a little over f
($1 for each student). Yes, even thecomii
tee was confused.
Who would have known that we a!
needed to turn out in mass numberstoU
their hands while they punched theircah
lator buttons?
The two errors said to have caused the
misunderstanding are easily forgiveable.
Why should the finance committee know
that student service fees are assessed by the
credit hour? Of course, summer students
are also forgettable. They come, they go.
No big deal.
Now we know the real reason for 4f
closed-door hearing. Instead of coverinjif
deliberate misconduct, the session w
a ploy to hide the committee’s incompt
tence and lack of preparation. If you were*
inept, wouldn’t you hide behind
doors too?
Lo<
These trivialities sometimes slip away
from the busy mind. Nine months of plan
ning for this allocation process is not really
sufficient time for committee members to
collect their thoughts.
Yes, the committee does lookki
Almost bad enough to warrant a review
who is minding the bank.
The student body shouldn’t have had to
be upset over the closed session. We should
be able to assume that Finance Committee
members had retained the fundamentals of
arithmetic from the third grade.
Au contraire. Grade school textbooks
Maybe next time students will begr
say in the self-righteous process offee4
cation which the committee holds soda
If this major embarrassment does notit
duce the committee’s ego, its membersi]
have it reduced for them.
2-'
4
se
By PAJ
Batti
Texas A&
ginning a s
every ten ye
by the Sout
Colleges am
The asso
diting boarc
states and p
ica. Accredi
students wi
nized degre
credits wil
other collegi
Dr. Charles
ciate vice pi
mic affairs, <
A steerinj
chosen this s
on a massive
A&M, McC;
The steer
direct and gi
the study, in
ing its own r
of the Unive
McCandl
steering corr
1972 self-stu
Dr. R. W
the 1972 st
(accreditatioi
Good Hous
Approval on
It’s boners like this that provide then
convincing reasons to give their jol
someone who can do it better.
Twelve stan
the self-stuc
committees
standards e:
tion of Colit
The studi
students of r
The twelv
1. The St<
2. Comini
3. Committ
tion
4. Committ
5. Committ
Now back to you, Tass
By GW
Battalii
The hostagt
been pushed t(
U.S. citizens’ i
students are sti
month-old nati
by the Immign
zation Service.
Immigratio
show that betw<
after the take-
Embassy in Te
1981, more thi
students nation 1
Founding Fathers as terrorists?
terviewed to vei
status.
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Because of the
synthetic holiday Feb. 16, there wasn’t
much left to celebrate on the real Washing
ton’s Birthday Feb. 22.
In the absence of another opportunity to
hear a ceremonial reading of the “Farewell
Address, ” I spent most of the day brooding
over a recent commentary by the Soviet
news agency Tass.
If, said Tass, George Washington and his
American Revolution cohorts were judged
by the standards U.S. officials now apply to
the world’s “freedom fighters, ” they would
be called “terrorists.”
To this I cry both “pish!” and “tosh!”
Nobody pays that much attention to what
U.S. officials say about revolutionary
groups. Present-day attitudes are to a large
extent influenced by what is shown on tele
vision.
And since there was no television in
Washington’s time, the Tass commentary
adds up to mere spitballing.
Nevertheless, if you close your eyes real
tight, you can visualize how such events as
the Boston Tea Party might have been re
ported on the nightly news with Walter
Anchorman.
Anchorman: Good evening. A band of
Colonial militants believed to be associated
with the American independence move
ment boarded three British ships in Boston
harbor today and dumped overboard 340
chests of tea.
Here with an on-the-scene report is Bet
sy Roving in Boston.
(Camera picks up Roving standing in
snow outside Old South Church. Her
breath vaporizs as she speaks.)
Roving: Yes, Walter. My sources tell me
the 40 to 50 demonstrators involved in the
raid were disguised as Indians.
Anchorman: Why Indians, Betsy?
Roving: It’s a matter of economics, Wal
ter. It’s cheaper to rent an Indian costume
than it is to rent a pirate outfit or a gorilla
suit.
Anchorman: Do we know who was be
hind the raid, Betsy?
Roving: According to signal lanterns
seen in the church belfry, responsibility
was claimed by a revolutionary group
headed by Samuel Adams.
(Thirty seconds of film showing a crowd
Deportation
proceeding agai
.And 2,887 who ’
* 1 sion have applie
lum — postpoi
of disgruntled colonists shaking
shouting “Fie! Fie!”)
Anchorman: Thanks, Besty. The raidt hire, at least
almost certain to put more strain on I according to a I
tain’s relations with the colonies. Heret g ut j n t }j e r
analyze the explosive situation is Mani (students at Tex
Mellowtone at the international desk. \ [V. having comp
| (views, appear
Mellowtone: Walter, the outlook is
the British government may now s
troops to Boston to keep order. If that W |
pens, it appears that armed conflict willk
inevitable.
(Film clip of British battles being won(J
the playing fields of Eton.)
Anchorman: Thanks, Marvin. There®!;
be an attempt by the colonies to growth
own tea, but unless they achieve immedii
self-sufficiency, war could break out atai!
moment. And that’s the way it was, Dtf
16, 1773.
So there you have it, Tass. If this k|
terrorism, make the most of it.
Warped
Scott McCullar
The Battalion
MEMBER t s p s 045
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Dillard Stone
Managing Editor Angelique Copeland
Asst. Managing Editor Todd Woodard
City Editor Debbie Nelson
Asst. City Editor Marcy Boyce
News Editors Venita McCellon,
Scot K. Meyer
Sports Editor Richard Oliver
Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff
Asst. Focus Editor Susan Hopkins
Staff Writers Carolyn Barnes,
Jane G. Brust, Terry Duran, Bemie Fette,
Cindy pee, Jon Heidtke, Glenn Krampota,
Kate McElroy, Belinda McCoy,
Marjorie McLaughlin, Kathy O’Connell,
Ritchie Priddy, Rick Stolle
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Photo Editor Greg Gammon
Photographers Chuck Chapman
Brian Tate
EDITORIAL POUCY
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper
operated as a community, service to Texas A&M University
and Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Bat
talion are those of the editor or the author, and do not
necessarily represent the opinions ofTexas A&M Universi
ty administrators or faculty members, or of the Board of
Regents.
.Hid
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper fe
students in reporting, editing and photography
within the Department of Communications.
Questions or comments concerning any editorial m* 1
should be directed to the editor.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 350 wort
length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer ft*
editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters forstyM
length, but will make every effort to maintain the autk*
intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the
and phone number of the writer.
Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, andn*
not subject to the same length constraints as lette#
Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, ft*.
Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Univers*!
College Station, TX 77843.
N
The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M
and spring semesters, except for holiday and examinsWJ
periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $ '
per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising
furnished on request. ^
Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald B#
ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX TlW
United Press International is entitled exclusively 10 ^
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited “
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reser*J
Second class postage paid at College Station, nm