4
opinion
Battalion/Page 2
March 29, 1982
The importance
of being important
: Columbus wswcH-orat vrnc.vwM'Vxm
by Dick West
United Press Internationa]
WASHING TON — Many newspaper
readers profess themselves baffled, if not
completely bewildered, by Central
America’s sudden appearance in a prom
inent role on the world stage.
Mention the turn of events in Hon
duras, Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicar
agua and eyes glaze over, jaws go slack
and there is a nervous shuffling of feet.
Probably the surest way to go about
understanding Central America is to
consider where we w'ould be without it.
For one thing, as you can tell from a
glance at a world map, the North Amer
ican continent would end just south of
the Yucatan Peninsula.
W’ithout Central America, the Pacific
Ocean and the Caribbean Sea would run
together, rendering arguments over the
Panama Canal moot. Nor would there be
a Pan-American highway, unless some
body built a hell of a long bridge. For the
most.part, anyone going to South Amer
ican would go by boat.
Had there been no Central America,
Columbus might have sailed straight on
to India, and there would have been no
need for ships to navigate around Cape
Horn.
All that poking around in search of a
Northwest Passage would have been un
necessary, thus preventing a great deal of
embarrassment to such explorers as Jac
ques Carter, who once tried to reach Chi
na by sailing up the St. Lawarence River.
Geographically, Central America is
considered a part of the North American
land mass. For years, however, there was
a tendency in this country to regard Cen
tral America as a part of the United Fruit
Co.
The main reason for the latter associa
tion lay in the fact that Central America
was largely composed of Banana Repub
lics, so-called because they produced 13
percent of the world’s bananas.
Now, as we know, the banana connec
tion is far less prevalent. To a consider
able extent, the top bananas in Central
America have been replaced by juntas,
which are less nourishing and far more
difficult to peel.
Another notion harbored by many
Yankees is that Central America is back
ward. That is ridiculous.
Central America backward is Acirema
Lartnec.
Indeed, the Maya and Toltec Indians,
who were the original inhabitants of the
region, thought of themselves as rather
progressive, and built many majestic
ruins to demonstrate their advancement.
As you can see, Central America has
long played a prominent part in shaping
the history of the New World. So it is
important that we pay attention to what is
currently happening there.
Last week, in Guatemala, one general
overthrew another general, the stated
purpose of the coup being to strengthen
the fragile threads of democracy there.
Once you get the motivations firmly
fixed in your mind, you are well on your
way to comprehending the occurrences.
WHY PONT YOU TV.
iSUYS EVER SHOW
MY 6000 SIDE?
«• *.'
W.
ERA fight is training
for powerful political
Slouch
By Jim Earle
I M Y\
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“J/s unique, but I think it needs more testing before your
umbrella design is introduced to the market. ”
by Clay F. Richards
United Press International
WASHINGTON — If the Equal Rights
Amendment dies June 30 without the
approval of the three more states needed
for ratification, it could unleash one of
the strongest forces in the nation today.
For a decade since Congress first
approved ERA, the women’s movement
had dedicated much of its ef fort and mil
lions of dollars to the ratification drive.
Supporters of ERA say if it is not ratified
by the deadline, they will start all over
again, but the political clout of women
will be felt in a much different and wider
reaching way the second time around.
The decade-long battle for ERA has
been a political training ground for
women. Even if they lose the war, they
have learned well how to play the game.
T he troops in the National Organiza
tion for Women and sister groups who
have fought for ERA now know how' to
lobby legislators, run candidates for
office, hold news conferences, raise
money, stage rallies, and effectively use
both the news media and paid advertis
ing to get their message across.
But in the coming decade these skills
will not be used toward a single goal such
as ERA ratification, but the whole wide
range of issues facing women ranging
from family, crime, jobs and related eco
nomic issues. Most importantly it will lie
used both to elect women to office and to
defeat those candidates who oppose their
goals.
Women’s groups will take an active
role in the process of influencing political
campaigns alongside long established
groups ranging from the American Civil
Liberties Union to the National Conser
vative Political Action Committee.
But there will be one major difference:
Women represent 51 percent of the
American population.
They pose a serious threat in the vot
ing booth to President Reagan and his
hopes of keeping the nation on a conser
vative course for the next six years.
Recent polls show women uniting
against Reagan and his brand of Republi
canism on three general grounds:
— The perception the administration
is anti-woman based on its opposition to
ERA, its stand against freedom of choice
in abortions and the low number of
women appointed to top posts in govern
ment.
— A combination of the administra
tion’s stand and world and national de
velopments relating to the so called “vio
lence issues” ranging from crime to war
that women as mothers and child raisers
are more sensitive to.
— The economic issues. In a decliing
economy, women who were among the
last to enter the work force are among the
first unemployed, and they make on a
national average 59 cents for every 1
made by a male employee.
Republicans are so worried about!
women’s vote in the 1982 congressiom
elections that their campaign manii
urges candidates to play up their identi
cation with women’s groups vvhereeflj
possible.
Polls bear out the COP concern. Oi
shows that among working women. •
percent identify with the Democrati
Party and 30 percent with the GOP
Another poll by the Los Angelo
Times and Cable News Network
week concluded: “In fact, women mal
up essentialy the whole dif ference I
tween the parties in preference for
upcoming congressional elections."
Most national polls show women i
men by 12 percent to 14 percent inthn
approval rating for Reagan — a mar|
large enough to turn around a preside!
tial election.
When ERA was initially approved I"
Congress a year ago, it saled through I
first 25 or so state legislatures
appeared on its way to ratification
very little effort.
Had it done so, it would have becon*
part of the Constitution without nr
notice. But its failure so far — and
death in June — may well have creaie<l
something much more powerful in d*
long run.
How to tell ‘A’ from ‘B’ students
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Vfrmhcr of
Tcxa.% f*rr4\ Assnrution
SoulhwrM Journalism Conference
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Managing Editor JaneG. Brmt
City Editor Deniv Richter
.Assistant City Editor Diana Sultenfuss
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Focus Editor Clathy Saathoff
Assistant Focus Editor Nano Floeck
News Editors Gary Barker.
Phsliis Henderson. Mary Jo Rummcl.
Nancy Wcatherlcs
Staff Writers Jennifer C^rr,
Cyndy Davis. Gave Denley.
Sandra Gary. Colette Hutchings.
Johna Jo Maurer. Hope E. Paasch
Daniel Puckett. Bill Robinson.
Denise Sechclski. John Wagner.
I.aura Williams. Rcbeca Zimmermann
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artist Richard DeLeon Jr.
Photographers Sumanesh Agrawal.
Dastd Fisher. Eileen Manton.
Eric Mitchell. Peter Rocha.
John Ryan. Colin Valentine
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When mid-terms came this semester
and I was blessed with a slip of computer
paper that told me just how smart I was in
easy Arabic numerals (accurate to three
decimal points), I concluded that we
place far too little emphasis on grades.
Also, I realized that here is an effective
rating system that we have applied only
to education. Why haven’t we applied it
to many more aspects of our lives? Think
how much confusion could be obviated if
with just a glance at a slip of computer
paper, we could completely size up a per
fect stranger. But I’m getting ahead of
myself.
First off, there is a real need to revise
the grade point system. I think we have
the right idea with the A-B-C-D-F (four-
point) method, but it is hardly specific
enough. Why, anybody will admit there’s
an obvious difference between an 83 per
cent student and an 86 percent student.
Yet on a slip of computer paper, they
appear the same with a B grade.
A scale of ten letters should be suff-
cient, Fd think — A.B,C.D,E,F,G,H,I,J.
An A would indicate a perfect 100 per
cent. A be would indicate 95 percent. A
C, 90 percent. All the way down to a J
which would indicate that a pupil is com
petent only 55 percent of the time.
And from now on, none of this
“rounding up” nonsense. The gall of
some students to think that with an 89.9
they deserve a 90!
Another problem area is the manner
in which grades are distributed. Under
current policy, in addition to being sent
to the student who earned the grades,
slips of computer paper are often only
distributed to the student's family. The
student knows what grades he or she is
dave
spence
making. T he family (usually) knows w hat
grades the student is making. So what is
the sense of wasting valuable slips of com
puter papier?
The idea I’m getting at is to make the
grades public. It would make a super bi-
semestral supplement to The Battalion.
Most kids on campus never have the thrill
of seeing their name in print. (I, of
course, always see mine, so there would
be no need to publish my grades.)
My last suggestion (and these are only
suggestions) is to broaden the scop>e of
grading. We all know the logic of evaluat-
the small society
ing our achievements in college with!
letter from the alphabet, but likewi*
could we not evaluate all sorts of aspect;
of ourselves?
for example, I could randomly pick
person at Texas A&M and go straight!
1 he Battalion grade supplement and iff
mediately know everything about th
person. Anybody. Let’s see ... Bu;
Bright. There’s a name from the hat. F
turn to “Administrators,” “Section B’ h
Bright, the “Integrity” column, an
quickly find what kind of integritv th-
stranger has with an A, B, or C. (OranH
I, or J.)
Any and all personal traits could R
reckoned —- handsomeness, taste inck 1 ’
thing, social ease, table manners—allth
important factors. Grades could be d<
termined with that most accurate of eva
luations, the one-hour, lOO-questk#
multiple-choice exam.
I don t believe the grading system
perfect way to judge a person’s worth b'
society's standards, but it is a start. |
by Brickman
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