Viewpoint
The Battalion Friday
Texas A&M University March 13, 1981
By Jim Earle
Slouch
“Before we begin, are you absolutely sure your ride doesn’t
leave early?”
‘Outs' fail to reach
voters with message
By STEVE GERSTEL
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Despite their finest
efforts, neither the Democrats nor the Re
publicans have solved a vexing problem
that plagues them whenever the other is
ensconced in the White House — how to
get the out-party message out to the Amer
ican people.
It just cannot be done well.
The Democrats gave it still another whirl
recently — a response to President
Reagan’s economic message — and the re
sult was predictable. It was pretty much of a
flop.
In no way could the Democrats’ response
be compared to Reagan’s message — not in
staging, not in drama, not in performance
and certainly not in coverage.
Don’t blame the Democrats. They were
up against a set of circumstances that would
have thwarted the magic of the most bril
liant television producer.
The Republican administration had as
the star of its show not only Ronald Reagan
the president, but also Ronald Reagan the
master at communicating.
The Democrats fielded three virtually
unknown members of Congress: Rep. Jim
Wright of Texas and Sens. Gary Hart of
Colorado and Lawton Chiles of Florida.
Wright, a grizzled veteran, is the House
Democratic leader. Outside the House, the
party and his district, he is hardly known.
In choosing Hart and Chiles, Senate
Democrats — trying something a little new
— put on two, younger fresher senators,
instead of the leaders or the veterans. But
Hart and Chiles are also unknowns.
Reagan delivered his message to a joint
session of the Senate and House before a
crowded audience that included many
members of Congress, the Supreme Court,
the Cabinet and the diplomatic corps.
Wright, Hart and Chiles were taped.
the small society
by Brickman
IT l£K'T
OCX
411981 King Feature! Syndicate. Inc. World rignts reserved
/-/6 r^ , i<si<MAr 0
Warped
Two out of three ain’t bad
As that time for deliverance from the
more demanding aspects of university life,
more commonly referred to as spring break,
draws near, most students are no doubt
saving a heavy sigh for this afternoon.
And soon, many will join the annual mass
exodus to the Texas college student’s Mecca
— the Gulf of Mexico — to experience the
healing properties of warm sunshine, liquid
refreshment and laziness.
For some, the trip will be a chance to
release built-up energy and thereby elimin
ate some of the “spring fever” infection. But
for others, a few days beneath the sun and
stars will do nothing more than compound
the illness.
Without a doubt, we deserve next week’s
rest. A lot of students may be looking to the
break as a temporary rescue or maybe a
chance to catch up. But to those of us with
suffering GPRs, it’s really no more than a
stay of execution.
We deserve it for what we’ve had to put
up with for the last few weeks. The unsea
sonably fair weather we’ve had recently
tries the patience of even the most diligent
student.
Staff notebook
By Bemie Fette
Such weather has caused books, term
papers, and in some cases, class attendance
to drop to an all-time low on a student’s list
of priorities.
Finance has been replaced by Frisbee,
Sociology by Sunning and Zoology by
Zzzzzzz.
the profits from sales of alchoholic be
ages in the southern part of the state
surely skyrocket. In fact, why not Ik
the trip by spending ten minutes adayf
ing up empty beer cans on the bead:
When they return, you’ll find it ei;
pick out of a crowd those whohavespe
week at one of the seaside resorts. Ik
be the ones whose complexions reset
those of Hawaiian natives ... orinst
cases, boiled lobsters.
But then our profs should understand
such a change in priorities ... shouldn’t
they?
After all, we need a chance to regain all
the energy we’ve expended by fighting off
the bag monster on one side and fending
away the spring fever bug on the other.
And so, as several friends andlprt
for a three-day stay at Port Aransasi
cheapest condo we could find, theiy
promises to be not only recreational
medicinal as well. Maybe just whattlf:
tor ordered. I trust that ours will notk
only marroon and white T-shirts adoc
the South Texas beaches next week
Crowded beaches and no-vacancy signs
will likely be routine sights next week and
So if the doctor prescribed sunshiit
freshments, and laziness andiffbn:
reason the sunshine is in short supply
compensate with increased dosagesd
other two. After all, two out of threcif
bad.
Reagan was televised live at 9 p.m. over
all three networks. The Democrats' tape
played on two networks the following Fri
day at 10:30 p.m. The third network had
“Dallas” in that time slot.
The Democrats’ response — sometimes
called the congressional reply, although it is
always partisan — fared no better in the
newspapers. In contrast to the play given
Reagan’s message, it was generally kissed
off.
But the Democrats’ failure is by no means
novel. The outparty in Congress has tried in
vain for years and years to get it’s viepoint
seen and heard.
During Lyndon Johnson’s presidency.
Senate GOP leader Everett Dirksen and
the House Republican leaders teamed for
periodic news conferences and responses.
That led to the creation of the “Ev and
Charlie (Halleck) show” and later the “Ev
and Jerry (Ford) show.”
Neither Halleck nor Ford were much in
the way of entertainment, but Dirksen, an
oratorical spellbinder and master show
man, at least made the “shows” good enter
tainment. Still, they proved weak as GOP
responses.
Then Senate Democratic leader Mike
Mansfield, during the Nixon years, tried
almost every conceivable combination with
little success.
The best effort came in the closing days of
the off-year election campaign in 1970 after
Nixon had made a widely rebroadcast
speech dealing with crime and the streets.
The Democrats picked Sen. Edmund
Muskie of Maine, a Lincolnesque figure
with a rich and resonant voice, and showed
him responding live from his home in
Maine. It was a marked success, not yet
repeated.
The Democrats — and somewhere down
the line the Republicans — will keep on
trying. They also will keep on failing.
It’s your turn
Handicapped deserve modification.
Editor:
In reply to Roberto Dillow Castaneda’s
letter of February 23rd:
Well, Mr. Castaneda, you certainly
seem to have covered all of the bases. No
matter who replies or how he or she replies,
you have a classification for him. I guess by
your standards I am a “Jesus Freak” and a
“Good Samaritan,” or even. Heaven forbid,
a “Polly Anna. ” Now that that’s all cleared
us, you needn’t read any further.
Mr. Castaneda, suppose you were to be
involved in a serious auto accident; and as a
result became a paraplegic. From the tone
of your letter it is clear that you would
decide to quietly row out to sea so you
wouldn’t be a “burden to society.”
Every living soul on this earth has value
and needs to feel wanted and accepted. By
designing buildings, sidewalks, classrooms
and other facilities with the handicapped in
mind we simply send out the message,
“You’re O.K.; you’re welcome here.” De
signing these facilities by ignoring their
needs is simply selfish and unsympathetic.
Why should we burden the physically im
paired by ignorantly constructing every
thing well out of their reach? These design
modifications do not significantly add to the
cost of any given structure if included from
the beginning. The modifications to ex
isting facilities is simply a way to correct our
past oversights.
The number of handicapped students on
campus is of no consequence. If this school
were to have only one disabled applicant I
would say the modifications are worth it,
because we didn’t scare him away with the
futility of any individual effort. When we
cease to think about our fellow human
beings, we cease to be human ourselves.
While the sidewalk ramps should be
used by anyone on wheels who can be consi
dered a pedestrian, we mustn’t forget their
original intent. Wheelchair students have
first priority. The question did not involve a
willingness to share but an abuse of the
ramps. You strike me as one who would
park in a handicapped parking place when
you have a little trouble finding another
nearby spot, without regard to the intent of
the reserved space. This practice has
reached epidemic proportions at A&M, to
the extent that the disabled student is often
forced to park either illegally or far from the
building which is his destination. This be
havior is what renders such efforts a “waste
of time, manpower, and money.” I’m sorry
that such facilities for the handicapped in
convenience you. Sit down sometime and
calculate the exact cost to yourself to pro
vide these services. It is less than you prob
ably think. If you feel that you are required
to shoulder more of the burden than is fair, I
would welcome a personal conversation on
the matter.
Many of my friends are physically hand
icapped in one way or another. They are
good friends and some of the best students I
have known. In my mind they have proved
their worth infinitely farther than you have
proved your own (you don’t seem to have
anything important to say; you merely com
plain.) In the true sense of the word, these
people are not handicapped. You, Mr. Cas
taneda, are handicapped. You are short
sighted, close-minded, selfish, and I won
der whether you have the capacity forIfi
compassion, or charity. I don’t meantoi.
names or sling mud; you truly have:
sympathy.
Jim Roger!
Rifle team good, too (
By Scott McCullar
WELL, GOOD /FORMING, HOW'S
STUDYING FOR THE "KILLER
test" going?
/
YEP, YOU LEFT YOUR /AIN D
ON ALL NIGHT DIDN'T
YOU? YEA, IT'S STILL i |
WAR /A ...
Editor:
In response to a recent column
Richard Oliver concerning successfulti
at Texas A&M, we the members
Fightin’ Texas Aggie rifle team wouldlik
point out that another successful team
exist. The team is recognized as a NO
varsity sport and has been ranked in lL “
20 nationally for the past two years,
ally ranked teams that we have deli#
thus far this year include: FloridaInstitiif
Technology, University of Alaska,
United States Air Force Academy.
In regional standings, we are the ck
pions of the Southwest Rifle Associat
(our equivalent of the SWC), andhavek
for four of the last five years. In
three years we have been undefeatc
Furthermore, we have not lost a matcl
t.u. since 1975.
In light of the above accomplishme:'
we feel that we should be included in'
ranks of successful teams at Texas A&M
Michael B. Winzeler'
Editor’s note: This letter was accompany
by four other signatures.
l
The Battalion
MEMBER
ISPS <M5
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
ifiO
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory
students in reporting, editing and photography
within the Department of Communications.
Questions or comments concerning any
should be directed to the editor.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 350 woi
length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer
editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style*-
length, but will make every effort to maintain the
intent. Each letter must also be signed, show the
and phone number of the writer.
Columns and guest editorials are also welcome,
not subject to the same length constraints as
Address all inquiries and correspondence to:
Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M I'ni'f 15
College Station, TX 77843.
EDITORIAL POLICY
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 A4.
and spring semesters, except for holiday and eam '^
periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester,
per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising
furnished on request. y j
Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDom
ing, Texas A&M University, College Station
■nr>»
United Press International is entitled exc ^ us )) e J ^:
use for reproduction of all news dispatches cr ^
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein re ^
Second class postage paid at College Station,
sh
CO
re
m
us
pe
sh
C £
mi
th.
ch
tio
sin
si g
sul