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Viewpoint
The Battalion
November 4,1981
L.
Vn
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“Here’s your medal for meritorious service to the bonfire.
Take the day off and be back tomorrow. ”
Poster ‘censorship’ protested
Th<
sider ;
mends
Editor:
tion fo
I would like to ask the students who
attend Texas A&M University if they are
familiar with an organization called the
“ARC.” This stand for the Association for
Retarded Citizens. It is a volunteer organi
zation which helps promote a better exist
ence for the retarded citizens of this com
munity. It is composed of members from all
walks of like and all IQs. This organization
sponsors fundraisers which help to develop
the ARC so that retarded citizens can enjoy
a life that is equal to the “normal” person.
I understand that many students have
not heard of this organization since it is
difficult to have a body of people become
aware of smaller organizations. As a mem
ber of this organization and a student at
Texas A&M, I feel it is part of my duty to
help students become aware of what ser
vices are available in the community if they
need them.
Therefore, I will get to my point. A
couple of days ago, I went to the MSC
Student Organization director to see if I
might hang up a poster in the MSC to prom
ote a fund-raiser given by the ARC in which
interested students might like to be in
volved. He turned me down. The reason
Reader’s Forum
“Student Center!” Is it justified to ass |p re ssfc
Univei
being that the ARC is not affiliated with any
Texas A&M organization. He further told
me, I could not put a poster in this respect
anywhere on campus, the only way being,
to get an organization to sponsor it. Upon
concluding my conversation with this man,
I went to a representative group in the
MSC to see if they were interested in spon
soring this project.
There, I was told a different story — yes,
I could put a poster up, but not in the MSC
and not on certain bulletin boards. They
also slipped in the fact that they would have
to bring the matter up before the “Execu
tive Board,” assuring me that they would
“think” about it.
Personally, I find these tactics absurd!
To allow only a few people to decide
whether or not over 30,0(X) people are
allowed to read something is preposterous!
I know, we have “elected” these people to
those committees, and they are there for
our benefit, but I do not understand why
this small body of people has assumed the
right to censure what can be posted in the
that any student who enters
(MSC) must honor the command^ gents ]
“Thou shalt not use the 1st Amendijthe sit<
here!” According to the StudentOrj
tion Director, this goes for the i
The
si;
I
T1
campus.
The ARC is not a “radical, left-'
“terrorist group! I do not believe a vj
teer organization striving to better thi
istence of retarded citizens will causea)
rorist upheaval on the campus oflft
University.
I could equate this “just” censorsli
the tactics used by many Eastern Euro[j
governments, but I do believe
perhaps a little hasty.
Furthermore, I believe that 1
isolated from happenings in the com®
is an act of ignorance. To help
adjustment from this sheltered and sec nly to
environment, one needs tokeepinh warded
with the real world every once in a^ eedan<
I would also like to add, that I
blowing off steam at “the lieaurocw
Texas A&M.” I am just a concernedstai
who at least questions some of the pm
dures involved within the system.
Sevi
'exas A
adets I
eive It
hips.
The
Indent
jceive
eshma:
Rec
ear:
lobe
An net Klur
cience
John
Pumpkin editorial called cheap shot
jr from
Mich
nginee:
Marl
2 In regard to your article about the “pump-
2kin ritual,” I believe that you wrote an edi-
jtorial about a subject on which you have
* very little knowledge and a great deal of
ijmisinformation. If you did in fact investi-
c gate our Halloween ritual at all, you either
h choose to ignore facts or you did not care to
2publish the whole story. In either case, it
* appears that you used our Halloween activ-
'2 ity as a basis for taking a cheap shot at the
‘Corps of Cadets. I hope that this letter will
2 clarify a few facts for you.
* First of all, when the members of C-2
2 come down the quad, it is the objective of
2 the band freshmen to first put out the tor-
* ches with water. They are then to remove
‘the pumpkin from the person’s head and
' break it once it is on the ground. I’m sorry
«4o disappoint yPur readers, but there are no
« axe handles or great implements of destruc-
- tion.
* It is true that the situation has gotten
' slightly out of hand in the past, but another
< fact which you failed to include is that we
< have uniformed seniors in the area to break
< up any scuffle which might occur. It would
* seem to me that 20 runnings of the pumpkin
J without any serious injuries would stand as
la good record.
I As far as getting the pumpkin into the
! dorm, let me fill you in a little further.
! First, the band is well aware that we are
‘ coming, they are prepared to stop the
“flight” with over 100 freshmen. If you
Reader’s Forum
know of any way that 15 of us could get
through over 100 Fightin’ Texas Aggie
Band freshmen, I would be genuinely in
terested in your secret. My point is that we
are well aware that we won’t make it and we
have no intent of “vandalizing” their dorm
by smearing pumpkin all over the floor.
In an attempt to show you why we parti
cipate in this “assault on reason” (as you call
it), allow me to present a few questions to
you. Why do Aggies fall in behind the band
at midnight yell practice and expose them
selves to the chanc^ of getting hurt by
someone who has had too much to drink?
Why do Aggies subject themselves to possi
ble physical harm by working on bonfire? If
I had no knowledge or understanding of
these traditions, I might question the
reasoning behind these activities. Howev
er, after experiencing these traditions, I
have found that the answers to these ques
tions can be summed up in just a few words:
tradition, excitement, camaraderie, and
rivalry.
The “Flight of the Great Pumpkin” is not
an all-out war between C-2 and the band.
The activity is thoroughly organized and
planned between us. The preparation of the
“flight” gave C-2 and the band the chance to
work together and become better ac
quainted. The “flight” provides much of the
excitement and entertainment on the quad
during the Halloween festivities. We take
no less precautions for the safety of all con
cerned (including observers), than are
taken for midnight yell practice and bon
fire.
meenn
Quim
najor fr
Jeffn
I don’t believe that there are reasons for
many of the things that we do as Aggies and
I don’t believe that we always need reasons.
However, if you insist on a reason for the
“flight,” I offer you tradition, excitement,
camaraderie, and rivalry.
Maybe if you became better informed
and gained a greater knowledge and under
standing of our traditions on the quad, you
would no be so quick to condemn us.
Gerald L. Smith ’82
Commanding Officer
Company C-2
This letter was accompanied by 364 signa
tures.
Editor’s note: The editorial was based on
information from C-2 Commander Gerald
L. Smith and Band Commander James
Hughes as quoted in an article about the
“Flight of the Great Pumpkin,” October
28.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Editor Angelique Copeland
Managing Editor Marcy Boyce
City Editor JaneG. Brust
Asst. City Editor Kathy O’Connell
Photo Editor Dave Einsel
Sports Editor Ritchie Priddy
Focus Editor Cathy Saathofl
Asst. Focus Editor Debbie Nelson
News Editors Phyllis Henderson
Bernie Fette, Belinda McCoy
Diana Sultenfuss
Staff Writers Gary Barker
Frank L. Christlieb, Randy Clements
Gaye Denley, Nancy Floeck, Tim Foarde, Colette
Hutchings
Daniel Puckett, Denise Richter, Mary Jo Hummel,
Rick Stolle
Nancy Weatherley, Barbie Woelfel
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr.
Photographers Brian Tate
Daniel Sanders, Colin Valentine
EDITORIAL POLICY
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It s your turn
Better a football field than a battle field
Editor:
In order for you to understand my feel
ings, I’ll give you a brief background of
myself. This is my first year at Texas A&M
as a sophomore transfer student. I’d always
thought that if I went to college, it would be
at Texas A&M. Not because of the tradi
tions or the Corps, but because of the
academic excellence here.
Before entering college, I served 4 years
in the Marine Corps. I excelled in the
Corps and received an honorable discharge
as a sergeant. I feel that my military back
ground gives me some insight into the
workings of the ROTC program here, even
though I’m not actively involved. I must say
that I admire these young men who have
enough pride in themselves and their coun
try to give 4-6 years of their lives in service
of it. Despite my admiration of these fresh
men and sophomore cadets, I find it hard to
imagine them leading me on a field of bat
tle. But they are young, and have a long way
to go and lot to learn, and I’m sure with
proper guidance they will become good
officers in whatever branch of service they
choose.
They key word here is guidance. Where
do they get this guidance? From the seniors
and the ROTC program staff. The seniors
are supposed to set the example. The
ROTC program is designed to guide and
train tomorrow’s military leaders to realize
what their objective is, and how to achieve
that objective as economically as possible.
Greg Hood made the mistake on Kyle Field
Saturday of not knowing how to achieve his
objective. It is better for this to happen on a
football field than on a field where the price
one pays for such mistakes is much higher.
If there is one Greg Hood, there may be
more. I’m not letting Greg off the hook, but
in the big picture, what the men in the
Corps do after they leave college could be of
far greater importance than what they do
while they are here. With this in mind, my
words to the seniors and officers of the
ROTC program is to shape up or ship out! I
feel I’m correct in saying that my buddies
that are still in the Marine Corps do not
want a Greg Hood to make vital decisions
for them.
Tom Bivens
Scout party
appreciated
Editor:
Congratulations for a job well done to all
the Campus Scouts and friends who hosted
the Halloween party for local Cub and
Brownie Scouts. It’s a great feeling to know
that you students want to be involved in our
community and I want you to know that
your hard work and enthusiasm is really
appreciated — you made a lot of children
happy last Wednesday night. Keep up the
good work and thank you!
The Houston Chronicle is fraught with
numerous national stories, why not borrow
some from them? I would much rather read
day old national news than see a picture of
cows sipping water from a faucet or a grack-
le sitting on a haystack. Many national new-
papers use these “interest” pictures, but I
don’t think you’ll find them in the National
section!
Why not simply ad a new section to your
paper entitled Local Interest Pictures with
Captions, rather than using the National
section which could easily be filled with
pertinent news. If you do have an “interest”
picture when this letter is received, feel
free to insert this letter in its place (in the
National section).
John Abbey ‘84
will continue to be, and is a black marl!
the University.
Bill Brin
Bo Kent
Don Landry®
Traffic must yield
Editor:
‘Warped’ in poor taste
lid'
Editor:
Sally Manthei
Parent, Bryan
Pictures of no interest
Editor:
I normally wouldn’t ponder over such a
frivolity, but since the “problem” appears
to be increasing daily I felt the need to
comment on your newspaper. The Batta
lion.
There seems to be a plethora of inane
“interest” pictures, which in my eye are of
no interest. The main problem is the these
“interest” pictures are blatantly accumu
lated in the National section of The Batta
lion.
In light of the auto related deaths of two
of our students at Texas A&M, the cartoon
“Warped” was a complete denial of respect
for the individuals involved. Respect for
fellow man, a cornerstone in our tradition,
was completely forgotten, destroyed,
thrown out the window, etc. Who is Scott
McCullar? A high school dropout would not
have created such satanically tactless trash.
This newspaper has printed trivia, non
sense, sometimes mudslinging material,
but when something so tragic as the death
of a fellow Ag is paraded in a cartoon strip in
an absurd effort to create humor, my blood
boils a high pitch.
Scream “freedom of speech ” at the top of
your lungs, you’re wrong. This is the
ugliest, most callous display of disreverant
behavior I’ve witnessed, period.
As long as the newspaper continues to
print this type of destructive material, it
I can’t believe what I just witnessed)^
p.m. Tuesday). Several emergency'^
cles were traveling west on Jersey SW
with their lights flashing, their sirens!)-
ing and their horns blasting. Cars !ea«
campus proceeded across the intersect^ ,
as their light turned green, oblivious
the warning signals from the fire trucks
ambulances. Certainly these drivers
the time to wait for the next green lifj
perhaps the people waiting for emergen 1
help had no time to spare. I hope thattk*
drivers never find themselves in nee(
emergency service when that service is
layed (or doesn’t come at all) because afi !
truck or ambulance had to dodge traffic 1
was involved in a collision with an unthi®
ing/uncaring driver too impatient to yi fi
the right-of-way.
Our police and firefighters provide
valuable service protecting lives and prf
erty. Let’s not make their jobs more
cult by being inconsiderate.
Janet A. Nato^ 1
Editor ’s note
Because of the tremendous volume ofk
ters on several controversial campus issue
the Viewpoint section will be expand
Thursday in an effort to help clear aback!’
of more than 100 letters to the editor
T]