opinion
Battalion/Page 1
April 16,13
Reagan has image problem
by Helen Thomas
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President
Reagan’s early June trip to Europe may
come just in time to give his falling for
tunes a lift.
In the book of political cliches, it has
been true that when a president travels
abroad and his leadership qualities are
displayed with great fanfare, the country
rallies in support, and his stock rises.
Reagan’s decline in popularity and
performance ratings are viewed by some
aides as a traditional drop as a president
moves into his second year.
The president had warned of sacri
fices that would have to be made to cur
tail the size of government and its ser
vices. But his proposals are hurting more
than expected, and there is a growing
doubt that there will be an economic turn
around by early summer, which he and
his aides have forecast.
The White House way of dealing with
the problem is to isolate the president
more and more. As the days go on, his
public and official activities are being
curtailed.
The perception that his top aides have
extraordinary power remains, although
there are more instances apparent now
that Reagan is running his own show. His
aides, who never hesitate to go on televi
sion to explain what Reagan means or
intends, can be and have been wrong.
Reagan clearly is a man who wants to
keep his campaign promises, and who is
determined to stick to his own ideology
even when it comes under severe attack.
The media coverage of Reagan is now
almost totally managed by his aides —
obviously with the president’s approval
— with stringent new gag rules on repor
ters. All cameramen are welcome.
Meantime, the speeches that Reagan
gives in his radio addresses and to sym
pathetic groups he gathers around him
in the White House now have a notice
ably bitter defensive edge. To religious
leaders he had to repeatedly give assur
ances that his administration was not
abandoning a “commitment to the poor.”
The raft of social programs he has
tried to reduce, or at least to realign, have
aroused public concern, and on that
score Reagan finds himself on the defen
sive. The subject of college student loans
was particularly irritating and he used
the unusual forum of a radio speech
from Barbados to insist that there was no
change in the thrust of the program.
As contacts lessen with the president
— and on many days neither reporters
nor cameramen see him — Reagan
appears more and more to be an isolated
and insulated president.
Even when he goes outside the White
House to speak or travels outside of
town, the security considerations make it
impossible for the old give and take, con
tacts with crowds, and the human story of
a president. If that persists he will be
come even more encapsulated, and more
remote.
But in the coming months there will be
increasing pressure on Reagan to cam
paign for Republican candidates, and his
political strategists are playing hard ball
to keep the troops in line.
White House political adviser Edward
J. Rollins told reporters “the Republicans
have to get back in line” behind the presi
dent. He also made it clear there would
be penalties for Republican politicians
such as Sens. Bob Packwood of Oregon
and Lowell P. Weicker Jr. of Connecticut
who have publicly criticized the presi
dent.
Rollins also chided administration
officials who have done nothing to dis
abuse the public that Reagan makes mis
takes. “We’ve done more damage to
ourselves than anyone else has.”
He stressed no Republican will get
Reagan help unless he falls in line.
Rollins is urging Reagan to step up his
travel schedule and to purchase broad
cast time to broaden his audiences
beyond the weekly Saturday fiveminute
radio programs. The radio speeches
have commanded a wide audience and
assure the president of coverage in the
Sunday newspapers.
Reagan now has an image problem. All
presidents get to that stage. He is trying
to overcome it. The trip to Europe and
the scheduled major nuclear disarma
ment at the United Nations later in June
may help.
Slouch
By Jim Eai
“/ intend to put it in my seat during the last week. I think |Wo^rtl
all graduating seniors should have one!” | work with
irrxumtivrmm
Reader’s Forum: equa
means freedom from fe
by Kelli
Battalion
Editor:
I would like to compliment Phyllis
Henderson on her excellent article which
appeared in the April 7th edition of The
Battalion on page 2. The article was
headlined “Apartment Break-in Causes
Unconcious Fears to Surface.” But I
would like to point out that the title is
somewhat of a misnomer, as Henderson
(correctly) indicates their is nothing “un
conscious” (she uses the word “subcou-
scious'j in a wise woman’s constant
awareness of her vulnerablity to harrass-
ment and assualt, even in the reputedly
conservative, mild-mannered environs
of Texas A&M University.
Henderson’s experience of fear (un
fortunately not unique) corroborates a
contention put forth by Susan Brownmil-
ler in her book “Against Our Will;”
namely, that women in patriarchal cul
tures such as ours are held in subjugation
by men through what may be an uncoun-
scious conspiracy on their part. Women
are presented as the most ready victims
of violence, as they prof fer the least re
sistance in both mental attitude and brute
physical strength. It is the popular orien
tation that it is up to the woman to secure
her own safety and well-being, not up to
society to assure her the same f reedom of
movement (during the day or the night,
to any locale she wishes to frequent), or
freedom of choice in her habiliment or
even the neighborhood of her domicile,
that many men enjoy. In conjunction
with the attitude that it is up to the
woman to protect herself, if a woman
* Battalion
V Wir l^ ‘V * 1
port it is often claimed that she siwW' K a , ’’h ''j
Brut m both u
asked tor it, or was not conscie[* ( | a | )1 . () . l( | s;u
enough. Read: It’s her probbiLL,' t | ie head
ours. Just how much conscientious n int of Model
endured by women in this concert^
fact frequently neglected; it «Elmquist sai
women are encouraged to approaqi ired primaril
state of paranoia in order toeverkettBst. French i
a guard against attack. S ua t? e needed i
'Ehis is not to say that inourp
society all memebers — man, cn
and the elderly, as well as women-
not exposed to smiliar dangers,
women as a sex are indoctrinated
an early age that it is their responsi.
to prevent and not provoke (evem
obscure fashion) invasions to theirp
cy and bodies. This can be psycholoji
ly damaging and burdensome to
female, as she is made to feelcontim
constrained and set against by sooi
instead of society making her feelsft
an equal member with full privilege;
I think a more peaceful and
society would benefit every one,li
think it would radically alter thestaffi
women, as in this reguard itaspfl
problem they confront. Following
vote, birth control, and economicvil
ty, I think the next big step toward
equality in rights, expressed in red
bewteen men and women is the ret
lion of this problem of women
to be where they want, with whonti
want, in what they want, without inf
vant intimidation.
Jude K. Swank'
Philosofl
Letters: Students mean more than quotas for colled
Today I attended a gripe session
where the Deans of the College of En
gineering tried to explain the problems
they faced as the largest engineering
school in the nation. Each administrator
who spoke complained that there were
too few instructors and too few funds to
accomodate the 10,000-plus students in
their jurisdiction. Yet, they continue to
actively recruit more students by promis
ing the use of excellent facilities (which
the administrators admitted are not ade
quate for the number of students cur
rently enrolled in engineering) and won
derful faculty (Texas A&M as a leading
research institute).
According to their own statistics of
competency levels in Mechanical En
gineering 212, the quality of engineering
students entering has risen, while the abi
lities of the students leaving the class has
dropped considerably during the last 10
years. Dr. Page, the dean of engineering,
said, “We are not trying to flunk out stu
dents.” I believe he is telling the truth.
Instead they are trying to meet quotas.
They are not dealing with students,
they are dealing with enrollment num
bers. Failure is recognized as part of any
competitive system, but the false hopes
given to prospective students regarding
Texas A&M Engineering is fraud When
I asked Assistant Dean of Engineering
Stan Lowy about methods the College of
Engineering uses in recruiting, Lowy’s
reply was that they are “old enough to
vote” and they are “old enough to drink,”
they should know that what we tell them
(prospective students) is “PR” (prop
aganda).
Case in Point: Wednesday, I saw a
computing science professor taking a
pair of prospective students through
Zachry. He was expounding on the be
nefits of Texas A&M Computer Science,
showing them the computer facilities on
campus. He failed to mention that the
approximately 30 terminals in the in
dustrial engineering lab (about 12 MV
8000s, 3 Eclipses, 15 Wylburs) were being
used by many of the 10,000 students en
rolled in engineering courses. Nor did he
mention that the waiting time for a ter
minal usually runs between 30 minutes
and an hour at prime time. He even
failed to mention that computing science
majors are not assigned advisers during
their first two years of study.
It is too bad that a glut of engineering
students exists at Texas A&M, too many
for the system to handle at the present
time, but someone needs to warn these
prospective engineers. Even though
some students need to modify their de
gree plans, is it really necessary to banish
students from the University because of
low grades they receive in engineering?
Couldn’t the Engineering Department
develop a program where students are
treated as individuals, rather than parts
of a 43 percent failure quota?
A former CS major turned journalism
by choice rather than failure,
Donn Friedman ’84
Letters policy
'"■4
_ tpffcefL&itfcr JftAtild n& dbcIQl $00-
words in l^agth, and a& subject to being
cut if they are longer. The editorial stj$f
reserves the right to edit letters for style
and length, but will make every effort to
maintain the author’s intent. Each letter
must also be signed, show the address and
phone number of the writer.
Articles for Reader’s Forum are also wel
come, and are not subject to the same
length constraints as letters. Address all in
quiries and correspondence to: Editor, The
Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas J
A&M University, College Station, TX ’
77843.
Write your representative
Editor:
As a concerned citizen, I am writing
this letter to ask you (as a student at Texas
A&M University) to write to your con
gressman to oppose House bill HR 5158.
The legislation is not in the best interests
of either the Bell System or the nation.
There are several important reasons
why this bill must be opposed. First, there
is no reason why Congress has to speed
up this legislation. It is only an attempt to
restructure the Bell System before the
court has time to rule on the divestiture
proposed by the Department of Justice.
The bill disregards the interests of three
million Bell System share owners, most of
whom are individuals with small hold
ings. It is also a threat to the jobs of Bell
System employees.
What is most alarming about this bill is
that it is patently unfair to the Bell Sys
tem, giving its competitors virtually every
bread. The bill would continue to saddle
Bell customers with the burden of sub
sidizing Bell’s competitors. The con- and your hometown congressmanw#
straints placed on AT&T’s ability to com- be most effective. Congressman F
pete would put in question this nation’s Gramm’s address is:
continued leadership in telecommunica- 1721 Longworth House Ofi
tions. In short, this bill will make telecom- Building
munications service in our nation poorer Independence N.J. Avenues, SI |
and ultimately more costly. Washington, D.C. 20515
With this in mind, I urge you to join
me in opposing this ill-conceived bill.
Writing to Congressman Phil Gramm Richard J. Gosselnf
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
Editor Angelique Copeland
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
Staff Writers Jennifer Carr,
Cyndy Davis, Gaye Denley,
Sandra Gary, Colette Hutchings,
Johna Jo Maurer, Hope E. Paasch
Daniel Puckett, Bill Robinson,
Denise Sechelski, John Wagner,
Laura Williams, Rebeca Zimmermann
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artist. Richard DeLeon Jr.
Photographers Sumanesh Agrawal,
David Fisher, Eileen Manton,
Eric Mitchell, Peter Rocha,
John Ryan, Colin Valentine
Texas A&M University administrators or faculty 0
bers, or of the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory nmfif
for students in reporting, editing and photograph) &
ses within the Department of Communications, j
Questions or comments concerning any editoti;.:
matter should be directed to the editor.
Letters Policy
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words*
length, and are subject to being cut if they arelongd;
The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters fo
style and length, but will make every effort to ntaintn
the author’s intent. Each letter must also be signed,sto*
the address and phone number of the writer.
Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, aid
are not subject to the same length constraints as letieM
Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Ediw,
The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni
versity. College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713) SIS'
2611.
The Battalion is published daily during Texas AW !
fall and spring semesters, except for holiday and exanii j
nation periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 persemes-j
ter, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Adver
tising rates furnished on request.
Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald
Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
77843.
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
author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of
United Press International is entitled exclusively to i
the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited
to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein
reserved.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX
77843.