Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Wednesday
March 4, 1981
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“Now that you've taken up tobacco-chewing, what do you use
for a spittoon?"
WillDems utilize
decision in best way?
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON — If the Democrats
were doing as well in the country as they are
in the courts, they would be in great shape.
And if the voters of the country understood
the importance of the political parties as
well as the justices of the Supreme Court
do, then some of us could quit worrying
about the condition of the two-party
system. '
For the second time in six years, the
learned justices have handed the Democra
tic National Committee a clear verdict on a
vital question testing the authority of the
party to control its own nominating proce
dures — even in conflict with state laws.
Last week’s 6-3 decision on Democratic
Party of U.S. v. La Follette following the
unanimous 1975 decision on Cousins v.
Wigoda ought to convince even the skeptics
that party rules will be enforced against
those who wish to challenge them.
The issue in the 1975 case was the right of
the 1972 Democratic convention to unseat
the duly-elected Daley delegation from
Chicago and substitute delegates who met
the party’s own rules for representation of
women and minorities. The issue this week
was the party’s right to reject delegates in
structed by the results qf the Wisconsin
“open primary.” Wisconsin has a long tradi
tion of allowing Republicans and indepen
dents to crossover into the Democratic
primary — and vice versa — while the
Democratic national convention rules re
quire delegates to be picked only by bona
fide Democrats.
In the earlier case. Justice William J.
Brennan, Jr., upheld the convention deci
sion against state law because, he said, “the
convention serves the pervasive national in
terest in the selection of candidates for na
tional office, and this national interest is
greater than any interest of an individual
state.”
Because “delegates perform a task of sup
reme importance to every citizen of the
nation,” Brennan said no single state may
be permitted to dictate terms for its dele
gates that “could seriously undercut or in
deed destroy the effectiveness of the na
tional party convention as a concerted en
terprise engaged in the vital process of
choosing presidential and vice presidential
candidates.”
In last week’s ruling. Justice Potter Ste
wart applied and reinforced the same doc
trine. “The state argues,” he said, “that its
law places only a minor burden on the na
tional party. The national party argues that
the burden is substantial, because it pre
vents the party from ‘screening out those
whose affiliation is ... slight, tenuous or
fleeting,’ and that such screening is essen
tial to build a more effective and responsi
ble party.”
“But,” said Stewart,“it is not for the
courts to mediate the merits of this dispute.
For even if the state were correct, a state or
a court may not constitutionally substitute
its own judgement for that of the party.”
The latest ruling came just as the Demo
cratic were choosing Charles T. Manatt Jr.,
of California as their new chairman and fac
ing the task of rebuilding from their latest
and worst electoral defeat.
The justices clearly signaled the Demo
crats that the way is open for them to begin
the repair of their own distorted nominating
process by curbing the number of delegates
chosen primaries. States may hold primar
ies according to their own laws, the court
said, but the party is obliged to seat dele
gates only in the manner and number its
own rules prescribe.
The task of changing those rules to re
duce the percentage of delegates picked in
primaries will not be easy, but it is vital.
Women and minorities may well object to
any reduction in the “participatory” politics
of the last 12 years. They are entitled to
consideration, because they have been the
most loyal of all the Democratic constituen
cies.
But the Democrats face one overwhelm
ing fact. Since they rewrote their nominat
ing procedures in 1969 and thereby un
leashed the flood of primaries, they have
nominated two candidates — George
McGovern and Jimmy Carter. In the last
three presidential elections, their scorecard
shows one narrow victory over an appointed
President carrying the banner of victory
that had just gone through the worst politic
al scandal of modern times — and two land
slide defeats.
The country will rightly judge the politic
al wisdom of the Democrats by their ability
to make the necessary connection between
the distortions of their nominating process
and disasters of their presidential candi
dates.
The Supreme Court has ended any
doubts about the Democrats’ right to recon
struct their own convention and nominating
system by changing their own party rules.
The political imperative for changes that
would reduce the number of “grassroots”
delegates and increase the influence ol
officeholders and party professionals is
clear.
If the Democrats fail to act in the next two
years, it can only mean they have less re
spect for the importance of their political
convention than those nine men on the
Supreme Court display.
Warped
Give Greeks at A&M a chance
By EILEEN WALL
Hey, you know me, don’t you? Come on,
I know you’ve seen me and my kind walking
around campus. We’re the ones with the
alligator shirts, khaki pants and those little
brown shoes with the white soles. Yeah,
you know, the Fat Rats, the SBs, the
Greeks.
What’s that? Know all about us, you say?
Seen Animal House three times? Hey, you
should be an expert then, right?
Wrong.
Believing that all there is to Greeks is
parties and alligator shirts is as absurd as
believing that all Texas A&M students are
living embodiments of those ridiculous
Aggie jokes. And I don’t know about you,
but I’m perfectly capable of changing the
light bulbs in my room without the help of
2,999 of my Good Ag friends.
Maybe the reason people are so slow in
their acceptance of Greeks as humans is
they know so little about them, and in light
of this I’d like to enlighten you a little, and
maybe even dispel the toga party image by
explaining some aspects of Greek life.
Greeks, please pardon me while I sound
like a pledge test.
First, the basics. Who is a Greek? Be
sides an inhabitant of the island of Greece,
or a descendant thereof, a Greek is a mem
ber of a social sorority or fraternity having a
name composed of Greek letters. Most are
nationwide. Currently, there are 13 nation
al fraternities and 10 national sororities at
A&M.
Now onto what the Greeks do:
Rush — Not the kind on the Houston
freeways. Rush refers to the process
Reader’s Forum
the governing body of sororities. Its mat
task is overseeing rush and promoting lit
Greek system, but it also controls tkiiip
like how many mixers the sororities«
allowed to have each semester,
through which new Greeks are sought by
sororities and fraternities. It usually con
sists of a series of get-togethers to which
prospective members are invited to meet
the group.
Philanthropy — Although social in na
ture, sororities and fraternities do other
things besides party. Each group has a char
ity or community service project for which
they raise money. These philanthropies
range from cardiac aid to multiple sclerosis.
Scholarship — Yep, we’re here to get an
education, too. All groups have scholastic
requirements for membership, as well as
programs that include such things as study
hours or tutors. Panhellenic gives a scholar
ship award to the sorority with the highest
GPR.
Interfraternity Council (IFC) - In
guessed it, IFC is the governing body fa
the fraternities. While IFC is not dim|
related to Panhellenic, the two groupsolk
work together on all-Greek projects, sudij
last year’s All Greek-United Way Kidei
Currently, they are working on a proposl
for recognition by the University.
So now you’ve had a crash course inlis
Greek system.
So what? Big deal, right? Whatdoesit!
mean to the average Ag anyway?
The point is, the Greeks have an imp#
tant contribution to make to the studenlsi!
this University; we re not, as some
out to overthrow the school.
We simply offer a niche in a school J
30,000-plus students, leadership trail®
scholastic guidance, and something Gres
call brotherhood (or sisterhood). That’sil
no revolutions, no communist doctrim
Housing — Yes, Virginia, there are
fraternity and sorority houses at Texas
A&M. While not all groups have houses,
most plan to build or acquire houses in the
future. The existing fraternity houses are
scattered throughout Bryan and College
Station, while existing sorority houses and
planned sites are concentrated in the
Athens Drive area, off of Dominik in Col
lege Station.
Panhellenic—Pan who? Pan-hel-lin-ic is
Our growing numbers indicate a i
these things.
This isn’t to say we’re not proud toh
Aggies, on the contrary, we’re
proud — we’re Aggie greeks. My soron;
pin does not make me any less proud ok'
Aggie ring; it makes it that much mores[u|
cial.
We’re not asking for anything ;i|
wouldn’t give to any fellow Ag, justlchm
to make our contribution.
BLR
Eileen Wall is a senior journalism
Texas
ter d<
radioa
to be
It’s your turn
Poor spirits leave bad taste in mouth
Editor:
I’ve been at A&M a long time, and have
seen and appreciated many of our fine
athletic teams. I have never seen any team
with as much class and effort as our 1980-
81 basketball team. I only wish I could say
as much for our crowds. The poor attend
ance and the rude conduct of our crowd
this year leaves me with a bad taste in my
mouth and the fear that we may be head
ing towards the pits of sportsmanship
where the likes of Arkansas and Cougar
High now reside.
It used to be said that Aggies don’t boo,
but now we boo and shout obscenities with
the best (or worst) of them. I can only re
member one time, before Monday night,
that someone sitting in the student body
threw ice on the court, and he was bodily
assisted from the coliseum by those seated
around him and asked not to return. I only
wish that would have happened Monday
night.
The spirit that we like to brag about is a
spirit of mature and sportsmanlike con
duct, even under the greatest duress. I
only have this to say: If you don’t have the
maturity to control yourself at a mere
game, especially one in which your actions
cannot affect the outcome, then how will
you manage to cope with the unfairness of
the “real world” that awaits you? I shudder
to think, and I suggest you learn, and soon.
P. S. My vote for Vernon and Rynn for the
Aggie Hall of Fame.
Matthew N. Belden
the term 2 percenter should be changed to
90 percenter. Gig ’em 10 percenters!
Does anyone know what an Olsen Field
is?
Stephen E. Langsdorf ’83
were delighted last week to have receive
several copies of The Battalion. It is
feeling to hear news of events happeniii
around the campus. We would
thank B. Keith Williams, the
Fun
ter Ma]
Texas j
tion of
Aggie (
'uesda
May
83, was
of Cadi
was ins
nize tl
Studen
grew c
organic
The
fteiped
which
and lif
1 con Mb
to the
ram las
For
induct*
of Hon
At t
Mayfie
Summer jobs
Turnout disappointing
Editor:
I would like to express my strong dis
appointment at the meager turnout for the
Aggie basketball team’s biggest game of the
year. It is a pretty poor argument for a new
coliseum when only 4,300 people can make
it to the first game of the Southwest Confer
ence playoffs. I bet if the football team was
involved in any post-season play Kyle Field
would be filled over capacity. Unfortunate
ly G. Rollie White was only filled to half
capacity. For all of you who couldn’t make
it, you missed a fantastic game, but the
4,300 fans who were there more than made
up for the lack of Ags by showing immense
spirit and sportsmanship. Since there were
only about 3,000 students present which is
about 10 percent of the students, I figure
Editor:
I would like to correct an error that
appeared in Friday’s Battalion article about
the Student Government “Summer Jobs
Program.” It was stated that the campus
Placement Center is not very active in find
ing summer work for students. This is not
true. An estimated 500 students found sum
mer work through the center last year. Dur
ing the past semester alone, over 200 com
panies were interested in interviewing
prospective summer employees.
Student Government wishes to comple
ment this Placement Center’s service by
attracting jobs in companies that normally
do not conduct interviews here (i.e. the
firms of former students.) Through coopera
tion between Student Government and the
Placement Center, we hope to provide
Aggies with the best possible service.
Students interested in summer work
should check these areas:
1. The “Summer Jobs” binder in the
Placement Center’s library.
2. The “Pink Sheets” in the Placement
Center (for regular employers who also
need summer help.)
3. The “Summer Jobs Program” file in
the Student Government office, beginning
April 13.
Roger McConnell ’81
of Landscape Architecture, and The Btj Mayfie
talion for their efforts in helping us fe[
that we are still a close part of Texas AM
Daryl Benkendorfer!
Editors note: This letter was accompai
by 44 other signatures.
Tribute to Scott
Aggies abroad
Editor:
As 45 Aggies who are studying abroad,
we can truly say that being away from
Aggieland can be a trying experience. We
Editor:
I’d like to take this chance to pay IjS
respects to a great man, a great professitt
al, and a great friend of Texas A&M. tflj
liam J. Scott, executive chef at the MSI
Food Services facility, who passed awaylaf
week.
He was a highly regarded profess®
who will be sorely missed from students
the administration of A&M on out throi
the the residents of the Bryan-CollegeStt
tion area. Anyone who was fortunate t
have made contact with this man knows(k
professionalism that I’ve mentioned, f
I was most lucky to take on the roleii
protege to this man for the final year a
half of his life. During this time he was
able to convey a small portion ofhislu#
ledge. Hopefully I will use that as a basefo
learning in the future. I wish to GodlcoiH
give my mentor one more “thank you is
person.
I am just one of the many people who^
miss Mr. Scott. Those of us in the Fodl
Service Dept, certainly hope he willbefl'
membered in everyone’s prayers.
Peter O’Connor $
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanid
by 39 signatures.
By Scott McCullar
HER£'5 rAOURNJA/G THE
PASSING OF THE "pUSH-lH
TAP ON BEER+S0PA CANS.
m
unuke the'‘pull-tab*
CANS, THE "^PUSH-IN" TYPE
LEAVE NO TABS LYING
ALL OVER THE ENVIM/VtfENT.
and the PUSH-IN TYPE
CONTAIN THEIR OWN
INTELLIGENCE TEST...
CAUSE ANYONE TOO DRUNK
TO GET ONE OPEN HAS
NO BUSINESS HAVING
ANOTHER BEER.
YEAH,
TIME for
ANOTHtH
BeefC-"
The Battalion
MEMBER
ISPS 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 Gee, Kathleen McElroy, Belinda McCoy,
Marjorie McLaughlin, Kathy O’Connell,
Ritchie Priddy, Rick Stolle
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Photo Editor Greg Gammon
Photographers Chuck Chapman
Brian Tate
460
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper W
students in reporting, editing and photography class*'
within the Department of Communications.
Questions or comments concerning any editorial martf
should be directed to the editor.
LETTERS POUCY
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 350 words 1
length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer, ft*
editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for styled
length, but will make every effort to maintain the autk*
intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the adcW
and phone number of the writer.
Columns and guest editorials we also welcome, a
not subject to the same length constraints as letw*
Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, lY
Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Univefifr
College Station, TX 77843.
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.
The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M '^
and spring semesters, except for holiday and exaniinatx’ 1
periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33^
per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising ^
furnished on request.
Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Bi#
ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77811;:
United Press International is entitled exclusively to•!:
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to f
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reset 1 * 4
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 778*1