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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 1982)
* opinion Battalion/Page !*"” October 12,1 Slouch By Jim Earle Tylenol victims all pill-poppers c “As an adult, I am not obligated to have my midsemester grades sent home; it’s an invasion of my privacy; it’s an infringement on my indiviual rights! But Mother has made a good point: no grades, no money. Giving Dick Richards the loaded pistol by Arnold Sawislak United PreSs International WASHINGTON — According to folklore, when an officer of the German general staff made ' an Unpardonable mistake, tTis colleagues let him know what he should do next hy leaving a loaded pistol on his desk. In political terms, that is what happened to Richard Richards when he went to see President Reagan Oct. 1. The chairman of the Republican National Committee, who was elected to his post in 1981 at Reagan’s behest, was offered e job in the government. That did not mean Reagan really had a new assignment for Richards; it meant he wanted him out as GOP national chairman. Richards probably wasn’t surprised by the offer, which he declined. He had been the target of steady sniper fire from the White House for most of the 18 months he has served in the chairmanship. But in every other time when rumors were floated that Richards was to be dumped, the president or someone publicly speaking for him had denied it was going to happen. This time, it was Reagan himself who made clear to Richards he wanted a new party chair man. So Richards, like a good soldier, used the Luger. He announced the next Monday that he would not seek another term as chairman. He went to great pains to declare his loyalty to Reagan, but made clear his opinion that he had been laid low by “clerks’’ at the White House. Just what caused all this? To be sure, Richards made his share of goofs while chairman of the national committee, such as hinting that Reagan would not seek re-election in 1984. But his slips were no more embarrassing than others committed by a number of Reaganites, such as Counselor Ed Meese’s public admission that he decided not to awaken Reagan when Once, however, the national chairman pre vailed. During the waning days of the Nixon presidency, the White House staff was sending a constant stream of orders to the national com mittee staff on how to support the president. The breaking point came when the White House sent over a statement with orders to the chairman to issue in his own name. This chair man decided that it was time to separate the party from the sinking presidency and refused. George Bush still talks about that with some pride. Berry’s World by Jim Berry © 1982 by NEA, Inc. ^ “Now, repeat after me, 7 believe that recovery is taking place... I believe that recovery is taking place...” by Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer WASHINGTON — No one will ever know how many Americans took Extra- Strength Tylenol last Thursday evening, only to hear Dan Rather announce that the pain reliever had just killed several Chica goans. Yet the poisoned-Tylenol murders have given many of us pause. They were not only cowardly, but also a reminder of how Amer icans pop pills like candy. Indeed, had some of the Chicago victims not fallen prey to this all-too-common habit, they might have escaped their tragic fate. Take, for example, the case of Stanley Janus, 25, and his 19-year-old wife, There sa. They’d just returned from the deathbed of Stanley’s brother, Adam, 27, another Tylenol victim, when sorrow prompted them to look for an anti-depressant. But did they down a shot of whiskey or sip some tea? No. Both reached for the Extra- Strength Tylenol and later died at the hos pital they’d visited hours before. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Mary Keller- man’s only problem was an itchy throat, for which her father supplied Extra-Strength Tylenol. Even commercially-minded pain killer manufacturers don’t list itchy throats, let alone depression, on product labels. the immune system. Aspirin, tlej might hinder the healing process * In the coming weeks, the deaths of Mary Kellerman, the Januses and three others are likely to spur public demand for factory seals on over-the-counter medicines. Since 1972, child-proof safety caps have helped to cut almost in half the number of deaths due to improperly-ingested pills. Presumably, seals would prevent pre-purchase tamper ing with the product. Yet, packaging changes won’t mean much to the compulsive pill-popper. Such characters will continue to indulge in the powders and potions that promise peaceful sleep or instant relief. In many ways, they are victims of a culture that lowers our threshold for pain. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes ex traordinary tragedies to make us see that weakness in ourselves. Footnote: The October issue of Preven tion Magazine reports that those with slight fevers may not want to take pain killers after all. University of Michigan researchers have found that body temperatures of up to 102 degrees Farenheit may help strengthen Fasten Your Seat Belts. The Mi.. tion Administration has proposed^ ersial changes in safety rules alios;, lines to regulate themselves in 4 J maintenance, equipment and tl While the “regs” won’t necessat. effect for at least three months, Joll pault of the Columbus (Ohio)-basfc^ Safety Institute says new rules courage airlines to forego backups air-conditioning equipment and power supplies — anythingtoligfel and speed gate departures. “If the FAA makes the monitors the airlines, it could bti] change,” said Galipault in ate ( terview. “Historically, however, hasn’t been too good at thatsortoff Pennsylvania has become the late;: , join the computer age. By lOkU t! ■ - graders in the Keystone State w1k quired to take a computer ee::^ ' I U.S. planes went into combat with Libyan air craft, or political director Ed Rollins’ comment that he had “twisted the arm” of Sen. Roger Jepsen, R-Iowa, on the AWACs vote in 1981. There is another explanation for this. It has to do with power. As GOP chairman, Richards had a multimillion dollar budget, a big professional staff and the world’s most sophisticated political computer operation. Although he publicly deferred to the White House staff, in fact he only had to keep Reagan and the members of the national com mittee happy. Meanwhile, in a building across the alley from the White House, political activists like Lyn Nofziger and Rollins sat with very little to do and very little to do it with. True, they had direct input into the presi dent’s political agenda, but they had to go through Richards for a lot of the work and money to carry out specific projects. Being the personal agents of the president, who is the head of the party, it would not be surprising if the White House political staff felt somewhat hobbled by the situation. This has happened before, in Democratic as well as Re publican administrations, and it usually ends up with the departure of the national committee chairman. THIS IS JOE.. HES A CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR. HE WESNf WANT TO SHOOT.. HE POESNtWANTTO KILL., n c HEDOESNt WANT TO PROP BOMBS,, fl SO WE PUT HIM IN JAIL ,] The irsearch •hydroj feeived om t |M iner T1 .suppo •Kockr jrogen Crector " Bo< '.scient -port fi ‘volvec Ejects. WHY? HE'S A THREAT TO SOCIETY, : Th border ■and tl -reseat •Ifull-tii '■‘part-ti 9 Tin - —T Parking in lot PA40 a continuing problem Editor: We address this as an open letter to the Texas A&M Police Department and espe cially to the University Traffic Panel. What the hell is the status of the southern half of parking lot PA40? In the past three years, students with green parking permits have parked in the southern half of PA40 and have been ticketed according to the whim of the Texas A&M Police Department. Flash ahead to the fall of 1981. The signs were up at the beginning of the semester, removed, cars ticketed, and the signs re placed. Sound familiar? Again, there was no warning of any kind. Two comments we heard from the Police Department were, “The signs must have been taken down,” and “Look at the map in the TAMU parking guide.” For the rest of the year, students with green parking permits were allowed to park in that area. For those who are not familiar with these antics, let us give some history on the sub ject. In the spring semester of 1980, it was decided that the back or southern half of PA40 would be allocated for students hav ing green parking permits. This decision process and the final decision merited three straight days of front-page Battalion cover age. As freshmen, then living in the Com mons dorms, we parked in this area for the rest of the spring semester. In the fall of 1980, we returned, and as usual, parked in this same area. After a couple of weeks, we found parking tickets on our cars for parking in an unauthorized area. The signs stating that this area was designated for green permits had been re moved. Since there was no announcement of this change, in The Battalion or other wise, we appealed these tickets and won. Many other students in the same situation, however paid the fines without trying to appeal the tickets, perhaps because they didn’t know they could be appealed or thought it was too much trouble. Flash ahead to the present. The same ridiculous sequence is repeated. We per sonally know of a guy who walked out to his car in the southern half of PA40 where his car had been legally parked, and found 7 tickets on his windshield! His supposed offense was “parking in an unauthorized area”. See the pattern? Now PA40 is sup posedly back to being all red and blue per mits again, but wait, a TAMU police officer says it is okay for students with green per mits to park there again. It seems that no one knows the status of this parking lot. We are asking the University Police De partment and the University Traffic Panel to please clarify this situation as soon as possible, and make your decision known. In other words MAKE UP YOUR MINDS! For those students who received parking tickets that they feel are unfair, we recom mend that you pursue the traffic appeals process. Hopefully, the situation will be clarified soon so we students will know the regulations. After another couple of weeks, the signs were replaced in PA40. Once again, it was legal for cars with green parking permits to be in that area. It stayed that way for the rest of the school year. Rodney Walther ’83 Paul Spencer ’83 Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied by eight other signatures. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference Editor DianaSii Managing Editor PhyllisHeiK Associate Editor Denisefc City Editor Berftjl Assistant City Editor Garyfc Sports Editor FrankL.C? Entertainment Editor Nanqf| Assistant Entertainment Editor News Editors Rachel Bostwicij Capps, Johna Jo Maurer, Daniel f Jan Werner, Todd fr- Staff Writers JenniferCarrij Dittman, Beverly Ha' David Johnson,] Robert McGlohon, Hope E.' Carol Smith, Dana Smet-'J Tindel, John Wagner. 1 Zimm' Copy editors ElaineEni Bill Re- Cartoonist Sc0ltMd| Graphic Artist PamSta Photographers . . . David Fisher, Octavio^ Michael D. Johnson, Rob jot' Irene Mees.J Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-suppori : paper operated as a community service to TtW' University and Bryan-College Station. Opio^ pressed in The Battalion are those of the editx author, and do not necessarily represent theoptf Texas A&M University administrators or hoi 1 hers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a hboraton nc'' | for students in reporting, editing and photopf ses within the Department of Communication Questions or comments concerning any matter should be directed to the editor. The Battalion is published daily duringTeui ' i fall and spring semesters, except for holidayand^ nation periods. Mail subscriptionsare$16.75peti e; ter, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year '*' rising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed Md 1 ; Building, Texas A&M University, College StaO- 77843. United Press International is entitled exdis'' the use for reproduction of all news dispatches to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter^ reserved. Second class postage paid at College Static' 77843.