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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1982)
opinion — It’s a tall, tall world we live in This will be a short column but it’s going to pack quite a punch. Unfortun ately, it will hit most of you at the kneecaps. In the fight for equality, one group has been consistently overlooked. Although we’ve been shortchanged and blatantly discriminated against for a long time, there has been a shortage of articu late leaders willing to stand up and Fight for equal height rights. We feel especially qualified to com ment on this subject because our com bined heights barely surpass that of Texas A&M’s shortest basketball player. When he’s barefoot. And we’re weaxing heels. But no longer. As members of this small minority, we are determined to speak out against the shortcomings of a tall world. Lest you think this is simply minutia, think how you would feel if you were constantly looked down upon. Or worse, imagine having to use a periscope to look through your peephole. Or never knowing what color eyes your friends have. denise phyllis richter henderson Or having to pole-vault to check your mailbox at the post office. Can you imagine the embarrassment of being offered a child’s ticket for a movie? Granted it would save a few bucks, but when you’re 21 and trying to see “The Seduction” and get offered a ticket to “Bambi,” it can traumatize you. And we aren’t talking about short-term neurosis, either. Even your friends are short-sighted in this area. When they form their co-rec basketball team, you’re not mentioned for forward, guard or — heaven forbid — center. Even if the team is short of players. All you get to do is lead yells. You’ve got to learn not to be short- tempered when friends don’t take you seriously or worse yet, when they lean down from their lofty heights and plant their elbows on your shoulder. Or when they ask the ever-popular “How’s the weather down there?” Or when they repeatedly describe you — a college senior — as “cute.” Not digni fied. Not business-like. Not professional. But “cute.” Being of minuscule height also shor- ■ tens your social life. Imagine a crowded ballroom. The classic boy-meets-girl situation. He asks you to dance. You accept. You float onto the floor, and only then do you realize you’ll be staring at his navel for the duration of the theme to “Giant.” Just because we’re upset about Texas A&M’s short-sighted height discrimina tion doesn’t mean we hold a grudge. We enjoy being part of the Twelf th Man, but there’s a problem: the only time we can see what’s happening at a football game is when Man 1 through 11 humps it. Face it, it’s not easy being an aggie in a world full of AGGIES. illlt OXiJWOG ^ 9<NP»(Ar&- 1 Sred brigade 1 a 88 ———, 0 (civilization 0 Q o Letter: Rights must be considered Editor: Mr. Nabil Al-Khowaiter in his letter to the Battalion Editor (Feb. 2) indicated his distress at his fellow Aggies’ lack of in terest in world affairs. The nub of his displeasure is the veto in the U.N. Secur ity Council by the U.S., of sanctions against Israel. Israel’s crime this time was applying Israili law to the Golan Heights, not annexation as Al-Khowaiter claims. He also states that U.S. forcing policy is controlled by Zionist lobbyists. Permit me to suggest another reason for the present United States action and our policies in the Middle East. I sincere ly believe that my country wishes to estab lish ajust and lasting peace in that part of the world. Our government’s efforts date back to the 1948 war when we attempted to mediate a settlement of the war. On numerous occasions the United States presented plans for compensation and resettlement of the Arabs. All such plans were rejected by the Arabs. For many years our government paid the bulk of the costs of the refugee camps. Time and again we have put forth Middle-East peace initiatives have been met with Arab intransigence and vilified by Arab prop aganda as a tool of the Zionists. Witness the latest Arab peace proposal put forth by Saudi Arabia. In essence this plan requires Israel to withdraw to its 1967 border in exchange for the “possi bility” of recognition. This is no peace plan at all! The Arabs want everything and give nothing. Even under these terms Syria and Libya refused to attend an Arab-sponsored conference to consid er the plan. What then is the United States to do, abet your desire to destroy Israel? Until the Arab leaders come forth with a reasonable compromise, the situa tion in the Middle-East will remain stale mated. There is right and wrong on both sides (witness the 550,000 Jews who were kicked out of Arab countries versus 800,000, not 2.5 million, displaced from Palestine). Only by a suitable comprom ise will peace be established and that is what the United States is working to wards. Finally, let me turn your own logic back upon yourself. I would expect, given the Arab nations’ international sta ture, that one should find a substantial number of people interested in worl dwide developments. Yet, all the Arabs ever harp about is the Palestinian situa tion. What about the one million re fugees in Somalia, the two million dis placed from Afghanistan by the Russian invasion, the slaughter of three million people in Gambodia by the Pol Pol re gime or the one million boat people sent adrift by Vietnam! Does the situation in Poland disturb you? Is nothing to be done to the perpetrators of these crimes? Why don’t the Arabs support U.S. spon sored sanctions against Russia? Perhaps when the Arabs stop being myopic in world affairs and consider the rights of other people, Aggies will take an interest in Middle Eastern affairs. Dr. Abraham Clearfield College Station Honda stolen Editor: Last Thursday after spending a cou ple of hours in the A&A Building where I work and have classes, I returned to where I had parked my 1981 XR500R Honda trailbike only to find it had been stolen. With it, three years of work and savings to pay for it went down the drain. While we would hope that the tradi tional image of a Texas Aggie would hold true in these times of increasing crime, there are apparently those among us who aren’t willing to earn their way. Incidents showing little or no value for the safety or property of others occur all too often on our campus. Our long-standing reputa tion is being marred by some who ride the coattails of A&M’s excellence but show little of what Aggies are made of. Regardless, I am offering a $100 re ward to anyone who contributes to the return of my Honda trailbike. No ques tions asked! If you notice a red Honda with plastic fenders and gas tank, 500R printed on the seat, and license #4EB 74, please call me at 845-5014 or 779-8993 evenings. Thanks to anyone who can or will help me. . the small society by Brickman Ball Snow am not caused Bryan-Colli -but they ha Althoui usually beh 'College Sta (rector Geo bad weath the situati street main hind since rains fore spend mu< ing vegeu areas, he s In addi possible tc # in cold or . Gallaway, ' lessor at T A long- during wii Ithe salt u ■ melt ice said. Sail Ehrlichman Reagan Prc compares dri Nixon h ) By HELEN THOMAS United Press International WASHINGTON — John Ehrlichman was back in town the other day promot ing his new book and looking over the Reagan administration from the side lines. His book, “Witness to Power,” is a personal memoir and a story of his in volvement in the Nixon years in the White House. The shadow of the Water gate scandal is a running theme through out, but like the other Watergate books, it answers none of the still remaining ques tions: Why the break-in at the Democra tic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate? Who was deep throat? As for the 18-minute gap on one of the Nixon tapes, Ehrlichman says, “That happened after I was gone.” While other Watergate figures have seen Nixon from time to time, such as ever-loyal John Mitchell and to a lesser degree H.R. Haldeman, Ehrlichman has not seen Nixon since the spring of 1973 when he was forced to resign from his high White House position. Ehrlichman said he had a sense of “deju vu” listening to President Reagan deliver his state of the union address re cently with its “new federalism” center- piece. He said he found many similarities with Nixon’s original presentation of re venue sharing to the states. Reagan’s proposal calls for turning 43 federal programs, including welfare and food stamps, over to the states along with some funds to finance them. The prog rams would be phased out by 1991 unless the states have the inclination or where withal to keep them going. Erhlichman said “we foresaw that day would come” when the federal social programs would be dropped . that the rug would be pulled. But we didn’t say B Policen Nixon administration. Almost aS« n ^ drivu Reagan aides are in the conservatii% nex t W ee umn while Nixon had some so-calld versity. berals” on his staff, such as Dani Char Moynihan, now a Democatic sets u lining ; from New York. BA&M R< Ehrlicman recalls when heand!M^ ( j rv ^ :e ’. man were summoned to CampDaii • w m 1 ” Sunday, April 20, 1973, knowing^ were to be asked for their resignaii-. c j ev He said that he walked to il|| consum | Lodge where he found Nixon. “Hifflof a gallc were redrimmed and he looked®to see w and drawn,” Ehrlichman wrote. Joptimun “It was impossible for me to ' The p composed as he told me he had b 1 ’; auto par and prayed he might die during ^ night. “It was like cutting off my arniM ^ mi (Nixon) began, and he could not; Ton id tinue. consum As powerful as he and Haldeman were as Nixon’s top ranking staffers, Ehrlichman said the “big three” in the White House today has as much, maybe more power and influence. “We didn’t have anyone like (counselor) Ed Meese looking at all policy,” he said. He said that ideologically, the Reagan administration is also different from the “He began crying uncontrollablw I put my arm on his shoulder to cor)' him. He walked away, out of the im the terrace, to pull himself together,' Camp was in full spring bloomout® I noticed. All the bulbs were up an® “You’ll have to resign,” Nixons last. “I nodded.” “You’ve been my conscience through this mess,” he said. “You right about a lot of things — you right about (Charles) Colson and were right about Mitchell.” Later Ehrlichman, Mitchell son served time in prison. Haldeman, he said, tried uptotfc minute even as Nixon was reachin: decision to resign, to win blanketpat for all those who were being accuit the Watergate cover-up scandalJ- was to no avail. “I don’t miss Richard Nixon much,” he said. “He epitomizes( good and bad interludes in mp alththough surely it is evident thatnd' of my bad times were Richard Ni$ fault. “Each of us who was implicaici Watergate must bear his own blame said. 1 Would he like to be back in the^ Paving House again, Ehrlichman flashes a c ea P { smile anci shakes his head: “No, 1’vetf I • v '’°y e there.” Uni HOU Baylor ( they soc an inex to prev< Dr. 1 time ch epidem breakth it will t before be dev< The nistrati ot a h duced vaccine shots v this sp M- group and pr ttnpor counti Mel The Battalion USPS 045 360 author, and do not necessarily represent theopim * ninistratnrs nr facullff 1 1 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor Angelique Copeland Managing Editor JaneG. Brust City Editor Denise Richter Assistant City Editor Diana Sultenfuss Sports Editor Frank L. Christlieb Focus Editor Cathy Saathoff Assistant Focus Editor Nancy Floeck News Editors Gary Barker, Phyllis Henderson, Mary Jo Rummel, Nancy Weatherley StaffWriters Jennifer Carr, John Bramblett, Gaye Denley, Sandra Gary, Colette Hutchings, Johna Jo Maurer, Daniel Puckett, Bill Robinson, Denise Sechelski, Laura Williams, Rebecca Zimmermann Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr. Photographers Sumanesh Agrawal, David Fisher, Eileen Manton, Eric Mitchell, Peter Rocha, John Ryan, Colin Valentine Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M . University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the Texas-A&M University administrators or ft cull,I® bers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory nm'stf, for students in reporting, editing and photognpbjw ses within the Department of Communications. ’ Questions or comments concerning any l matter should be directed to the editor. Letters Policy | Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 length, and are subject to being cut if they are lot! 1 The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letted j, style and length, but will make every effort to the author's intent. Each letter must also be signed.'J the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, 1 are not subject to the same length constraints as W r t Address all inquiries and correspondence to: MJ The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M G versity. College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713)*J 2611. The Battalion is published daily during Texas .T ■ fall and spring semesters, except for holiday and W' J nation periods. 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