Texas mesquitechic
will be next to strike
by Dick West
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Mesquite smoke,
according to Gourmet magazine, imparts
epicurean flavor to grilled meat.
Here, if further evidence be needed, is
additional proof that my late father, who
liked to brag that he was “the world’s
most humble Texan,” was born ahead of
his time.
The poor man went to his grave never
knowing he had a potential fortune be
hind his house.
My .father had enough mesquite trees
in his backyard to provide enough coals
to barbeque enough spareribs to satiate a
city the size of Hackensack, N.J., with
easily enough left over for shish kebab all
around.
And he wasn’t even trying to grow
mesquites.
In fact, my father sent a large part of
his life trying not to grow mesquites.
He regarded mesquites as a crying nui
sance, as did everyone else in that part of
Texas, particularly cattlemen who were
trying to keep their pastures clear of the
rank growth.
Mesquites in the area where I grew up
had three distinguishing characteristics:
(1) Rapid growth that choked out
other plant life; (2) thorns guaranteed to
rip the fabric of any type of garment you
might wear and (3) bean-like seeds that
fell in blizzard-like flurries, requiring
constant raking of the yard.
Indeed, when the definitive history of
the struggle to survive in West Texas is
written, it largely will be couched in terms
of the struggle against mesquite trees and
bushes.
Whether the mesquite is a tree or a
bush depends, incidentally, on which re
ference work you consult. Some author
ities say mesquites come in two varieties
— bushy and arboreal. Others say a
young mesquite may end up as either a
tree or a bush, depending on the amount
of water it gets.
Either way, it is futile to try to uproot
one. Mesquites put down roots as far as
60 feet underground. This means there
is more to them than meets the eye. Even
the tallest mesquite rarely tops 50 feet
above ground.
Mesquite foliage has been described as
“lacy and shadeless.” Amen. Particularly
the latter. Anyone who has ever stag
gered under a mesquite seeking refuge
from the Texas sun will know what I
mean.
As for the rest of the treebush, mes
quites have been classified as “commer
cially valueless” with wood fit only for
“unusual furniture and trinkets.”
One redeeming feature is that they will
grow in places “too hot and dry for other
plants. The trouble is, they also grow in
places that aren’t too hot and dry for
other plants.
They simply crowd out the other
plants, meaning that if you turn your
back for a moment, only mesquites will be
growing on your land.
And now Gourmet magazine tells us
mesquite wood is being shipped by the
truckload to New York City and other
culturally deprived areas.
Too bad that taste thrill was discovered
so late. Otherwise, “the world’s most
humble Texan” might have died a mil-
lioniare mesquite magnate.
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“This is my way of keeping the graduating seniors on
their toes.’ 9
...IMS H* „
CUTTING M
SCHOOL U'
Tuition tax credit proposal no help
by Don Phillips
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President
Reagan’s proposed tuition tax credit for
private and parochial schools won’t pass
Congress this year.
In fact, his proposal was so poorly
timed that he might have set back the
whole issue, leaving tuition tax credits
further from enactment than ever.
would have to be funded from borrowed
money, increasing the deficit further.
The greatest problem, of course, is
that there are two distinct sides to this
issue and have been since it was first
brought up many years ago. Both sides
have legitimate concerns, and both have
substantial arguments in their favor.
even when the action is doomed!
lure.
But if he was acting on principi
it is his own principle that is I
suffer.
The first problem with the proposal is
that the 97th Congress is winding down.
That may sound strange on the face of it,
because so little legislation has been pas
sed this year, and the budget and all the
fiscal 1983 appropriations bills lie ahead.
President Reagan must have known
the bill would have no chance when he
proposed it. Its friends on Capitol Hill
certainly knew, because they had decided
long ago that tuition tax credits were an
idea that would have to wait for better
times.
For example, Reagan’s prop
polarized the issue in a way thatitlj
been polarized before. Although!
tainly did not intend to do so,1
injected the race issue morestronfl
the battle.
But mid-April in the second year of a
two-year Congress is a little late to begin
any new legislation. The system simply
does not work that fast on such controv
ersial issues. Hearings must be held,
drafting sessions must be scheduled,
floor action must take place in both
houses.
They were obviously embarrassed by
Reagan’s proposal, partly because it
forced them to tell their constituents — as
gently as possible — not to get their hopes
up. The long-time friends of the tuition
tax credit were made reluctant villains by
a man they consider a “Ronniecome-
lately” in the field.
The question then becomes, why did
Reagan do it?
I n past years, race has beenmenij
in debates over tuition tax cr<
proponents always could point toil
ternal Revenue Service and say,
worry. The IRS won’t let anyt
tionist schools benefit.”
However, the wings of theml
clipped on racial matters in the!
University case when the taxtoS
was told not to deny tax-exemptsl
private schools unless there wasil
order saying the school wasguiliil
crimination.
The session will be shortened because
this is a congressional election year, and
there will be little time for anything but
budget-related matters.
The second problem is that any tuition
tax credit will cost a lot of money at a time
when almost everyone in the country ex
cept the military is being asked to be frug
al and do with less. The deficit also is
soaring, and any tax credit automatically
The obvious answer is that it sounded
good and it scored political points. Even
better, Reagan would not have to deal
with the increased deficit that his idea
would bring because there was no way it
would pass.
Although this battle still is I
ed out, the certainty of IRS protet
no longer there.
All this debate will take placed
the chambers of the House andS
because the issue won’t getthatf
Sometimes, the obvious answer is not
the right one, of course. Reagan has
proved time and again that he will stub
bornly take action based on principle,
Perhaps Reagan has benefited!
his proposal. The issue itselfhasn
whole debate has become a song
out of place, out of time.
Letters: Too many low grades for ‘quality’ teaching
Editor:
Something is wrong with the system.
According to a recent survey in the Hous
ton Chronicle and reprinted in the Texas
Aggie magazine, Texas A&M gets the
highest average SAT scores out of the
public universities in Texas, but is fourth
lowest in average GPA in the freshman
class. I believe this apparent discrepancy
in ability-performance is not only present
in the freshman class, but also is present
in the upper levels as well. The adminis
tration seems to make too many attempts
to equate low grades and quality. In the
infamous words of my history professor:
“It ain’t necessarily so.” A 50 percent to
60 percent “D” and “F” rate in classes
such as ME 212 and 213, such has recent
ly been brought to light, does not neces
sarily make them quality classes.
According to the article in Texas
Aggie, Dr. Charles E. McCandless, Texas
A&M’s interim vice preident for acade
mic affairs, is not supnsed. Dr. McCand
less says: “We make no apology for our
requirement that our students perform
to their ability in keeping with our high
standards. We work with the faculty to
maintain such standards and I suppose
that is related to what some call tough
grading.” Now, the vice president claims
that low grades are a result of high re
quirements, while at the conference with
the engineering deans last week, the gen
eral concensus seemed to be that low
grades were a result of a high student-
teacher ratio; (i.e. too many sudents, and
not enough professors). For instance. Dr.
G.R. Hopkins said: “The requirements
of this course (M.E. 212) have not
changed, but that it is harder to meet
them now because of the increasingly
competitive nature of the engineerig cur
riculum.” At any rate, I believe that low
average grades are not something to be
proud of, but rather something to be
worried about.
I am not at all sure that the reputation
that Texas A&M has can make up for a
0.3-0.4 deficit in average GPA over some
other equally reputable institutions. Low
grades are just low grades, nothing more.
I look at Texas A&M and see an ever
increasingly frustrated student body be
cause of the situation that exists here in
teaching and grading. I work hard and I
believe that I deserve some peace of mind
when it comes to grades. I’m not getting it
here. MIT of the south?
money to spend on booze. On the other
hand, all people with short hair are frats
and everybody knows frats have lots of
money. Astoundingly simple, No?
And some people say business tnen
aren’t shrewd!
raises? Does anyone really know what
Coach Sherrill makes? Does Coach Sher
rill know what he makes?
Now I would like to mention some
thing about the “cattle trails” around
campus. The solution to this problem is
to put a few land mines on these!
After a few people get “blownup,]
trails won’t be used much.
David l 1
Plantation 1 '
Jeff Gabelmann
Cycling Team says thanks
Editor:
John R. Turner ’82
Hart Hall
No long hair allowed
Editor:
To everyone at Texas A&M Univer
sity:
The Texas A&M Cycling Team would
like to thank all of the people who were so
patient with their help in making the
third stage of the Fifth Annual Aggie-
land Bicycle Stage Race a big success this
year. We would also like to thank the
people who put up with the inconveni
ence of our rerouting traffic around
campus.
John Cotton, Race Promoter
Texas A&M Cycling Team
You think you’ve heard it all, Right?
Wrong. Get this: a rock bar that discri
minates against long hair. No kidding!
To get into the Rox-z in the Skaggs center
your hair length may not exceed your
collar. Why, you ask, do they have such a
rule as this. Upon placing yourself in the
club’s management shoes you may be
able to answer the question. Follow this
simple two step procedure: 1) Empty
your head of all thought 2) Repeat step 1.
In this sublime condition it should be ob
vious that longhairs spend all their
money on drugs therefore they have no
Who really knows salary?
Editor:
I hope I am one of the first in a prob
able flurry of responses to Mr. Thomas
M. Rossi’s letter of April 14. Mr. Rossi,
where did you get the values of “$3 mil
lion” for a football coach’s salary? It
seems like Coach Sherrill’s salary started
at “$90,000” then went to “$1.2 million”
then to “$2 million” and now it’s “$3 mil
lion.” What causes this, cost of living
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The tricks
light when
Volunteer fre
by Cynd
Battalio
Reading mir
he future and v
re not as mystic
[professional in
|ents Monday r
Danny Korer
Ion sponsored
ssues, explaine
are done by trick
the psychic p
eem to be.
Korem, auth
Irs,” began his
demonstrating
Jicks, sleight-of
nind reacting rr
Korem used
af the audience
orm number |
^nd disappearir
He then conf
performed any
“Everything
|vening from to
. trick,” he said
Predicting th<
seemingly psyc
Korem explaine
He used the <
|n example. T1
rtoved by specie
nerve impulses
Korem said.
“The origin
prophesies was
Christians that t
Control,” he saic
Atheistic and
today want to c<
lives and this is \
“psychics” and ]
stead of turning
said.
Although Ko
dieve any one p
psychic phenorr
Sieve in superi
Supernatural p
not controlled
father by God,
He cited Th
eing more hisl
tic in its predi
Other book.
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