opinion
Battalion/Pf
Sherrill
Criticism and praise
Editor:
This letter is referring to that letter
written by Richard H. Fosberg ’78 who
legitimately blamed Jackie Sherrill for a
poor football season.
That’s right, Jackie Sherrill did inherit
a team that won the 1981 Independence
Bowl and a team that was expected to
contend for this years SWC title, but
when you put on a new pair of boots, you
have to wear them a while to break them
in first!
Sherrill is a human being just like the
rest of us Aggies and the best thing that
we can do to help him out right now and
in the future, is to have faith in him. As
for you, Richard Fosberg, how can you
blame a good Christian man for trying so
hard to make good things happen for
Texas A&M.
You are a former Aggie; have you lost
the Twelfth-Man spirit for your school?
You were wrong in cutting down the
coach. If you seem to know so much ab
out football, then get yourself in a posi
tion to change the things you want to
change; if not, then quit taking cheap
shots at someone who is trying very hard
to please us all.
Look where Jackie Sherrill has come
from and what he has done in the past.
He does know his stuff, I’m telling you.
Good things just don’t happen, you have
to make them happen. Any real success
story started from the bottom and work
ed its way up to the top.
We have to support him all the way,
through thick and thin. And in a couple
of years the rest of the nation will be
looking to see where this University is
located on the map, because the Texas
Aggie Football Team is going to be “Hell
on Wheels!”
I don’t know of any other person that
has tried so hard not only to keep the
Aggie Spirit going, but to improve it! So
let’s be supportive in any way we can,
because Jackie Sherrill is one cool man!
Matthew Coale ’85
Editor:
rill.
This is an open letter to Coach Sher-
Jackie:
The purpose of this letter is not to
criticize your bringing to life the tradition
of the Twelfth Man.
We recognize the fact that the Corps
of Cadets is one of the strongholds of
tradition at this university. We also
understand the impracticality of trying to
pick a kick-off team from the entire
Twelfth Man. Therefore, we wish the
Corp kick-off team the best and support
it as the Twelfth Man’s representative on
the field.
What we do take exception to is the
credit and praise given the Corps for the
building of bonfire without mention of
the major role played by the non-regs.
The entire Twelf th Man, cadets and civi
lians, earned those spots on the kick-off
team for the Corps.
We don’t want to get into a numbers
war over who had more folks at bonfire.
We just want everyone to know that the
civilians worked at least as hard on bon
fire as the cadets. Most of the “cadets”
you were wiring stack with that Wednes
day night/Thursday morning were civi
lians and two of those redpots getting
busted were civilians. Remember Jackie,
the Twelfth Man is 36,000 strong, not
2,500.
Now let’s pick cotton in '83!
Andy Slavin ’85
Steve Nordstrom ’86
Editors Note: This letter was accompa
nied by 106 other signatures.
Editor:
First off, we’d like to start by saying
that we think Jackie Sherrill’s arrival at
Texas A&M is the best thing to happen to
this University since they allowed women
on campus.
Like everyone else, we were surprised
and delighted to hear of his planned
“Twelfth Man” kickoff team. However,
we were stunned and disappointed to
hear that it is to be composed exclusively
of members of the Corps of Cadets.
Contrary to the popular myth seem
ingly widely held by the news media (and
now by Jackie), the Corps does not have a
monopoly on Aggie Spirit. While they
MAY be the “backbone of Aggie Spirit,”
they certainly aren’t the muscle.
This is particularly true when it comes
to what obviously so impressed Jackie;
the building of Bonfire. Thousands of
non-regs, ourselves included, give of
their time and energy to show their
Twelfth-Man Spirit and desire to beat the
HELL outta t.u.
It is not our purpose, in this letter, to
demean the Corps or to widen the rift
between non-regs and the Corps. After
all, WE are the Aggies, the Aggies are
WE. But Jackie said he was, “impressed
with their attitude and devotion to the
school. It’s what the Twelfth Man is all
about.” Well, look around, Jackie, and
give the non-regs some credit!
Gig ’em
Bill Holt ’85
Steve Killam ’85
Gregory Coleman ’85
Editor:
I address this letter to Jackie Sherrill
in reference to his proposed Twelfth
Man kickoff team.
Coach Sherrill, I have supported you
whole-heartedly throughout a less than
perfect football season. Yet, when you
restrict tryouts for the Twelfth Man kick
off team to members of the Corps of
Cadets, I have to disagree. Perhaps you
need a bit of coaching in what it means to
be a member of the Twelfth Man.
The Aggie Twelfth Man is composed
of all students, Corps and non-reg. While
it is true that cadets in the Corps show
outstanding spirit, I can think of more
than a few non-regs who are as equally as
dedicated.
Then why deny them of this very spe
cial opportunity? One of your reasons for
limiting the kickoff team to cadets was
that the original Twelfth Man, E. King
Gill, was a cadet. If our administrators
used this sort of precedent in determin
ing admissions, Texas A&M would still
be a male military college and not one of
the fastest growing universities in the
country.
Your other reason was that the Corps’
support for the University impressed
you. Coach Sherrill, I am deeply sorry
that the non-regs support of this Univer
sity has not impressed you, because it has
succeeded in impressing others for many
years. Perhaps next fall you should visit
Sbisa on a Friday night before a home
game and hear and feel the Aggie spirit.
I hope you will consider opening
membership to the kickoff team to all
members of the Twelfth Man and give
some of these great guys an equal
chance to demonstrate the spirit of Ag-
gieland.
Mary Gately ’85
Vickie Ormsby ’85
Editor:
I suppose that having a losing season
; in a transition year proves that Jackie
* Sherrill is a deficient coach. Take no
; account of his excellent record at Pitt.
Of course, we will discard the fact that
Tom Landry had losing seasons in his
first years coaching the Cowboys (Amer-
~ ica’s Team).
Also discard the fact that we played
- teams at their best. Boston College tied
Clemson the week after they beat us.
Texas Tech narrowly lost to number-
one-ranked Washington after they beat
us. Houston barely got by us. SMU,
Texas, and Arkansas (all in the top ten)
had the hometown advantage and are
simply very good teams.
I don’t think it was complacency over a
fat contract that led Sherrill to work on
bonfire or go for the Twelfth Man Kick
off Team. In addition, his innovative
thinking and boldness in calling plays has
added excitement to a previously boring
Aggie football game of run, run and run.
Sherrill was under a lot of pressure and I,
for one, think that he has responded well.
Go get ’em Jackie.
Kirk Barker ’85
Editors Note: This letter was accompa
nied by 11 other signatures.
Editor:
Dear Jackie Sherrill:
On behalf of those of us who’ve sup
ported you this season. I’d like to thank
you for kicking 33,000 members of the
Twelfth Man in the face. I’m referring to
your “precedent-setting decision” to
form a Twelfth Man kickoff team, and
permitting only Corps members to be a
part of it. You referred to “their dedica
tion ... their attitude and devotion to the
school,” and how it impressed you, while
you worked Bonfire.
Mr. Sherrill, a good many non-regs
also worked Bonfire (voluntarily). Many
of us non-regs have as much “dedication”
and “devotion” to Texas A&M as cadets.
I respect the Corps, but non-regs out
number the Corps. We arejust as much a
part of the Twelfth Man as the Corps of
Cadets.
Granted, the original Twelfth Man, E.
King Gill, was a cadet, but that was when
Texas A&M was synonymous with Corps
of Cadets. Give non-regs a chance —
we’re part of this University.
Frank Reister ’84
Editors Note: This letter was accompa
nied by four other signatures.
WSPLAV1K
photos of Russia per-
UNNATURAL
ACTS
ZWWA
National or corporate securit
by Maxwell Glen
and Cody Shearer
For most of this century, the lines
separating corporate America and the
federal government have been rather
murky. More often than not, little has
divided the two worlds.
After all, in 1924 the Democratic Party
— not the GOP — took a man right out of
Wall Street, lawyer John W. Davis, to be
its standard-bearer. Eight years later, the
Democrats even contemplated drafting
Owen D. Young, chairman of the board
of General Electric, as their nominee.
While not-so-blatant a scion of corpo
rate America presides in the White
House today, the interests of Big Busi
ness continue to command attention at
the highest levels of government. In the
past year the Reagan administration has
not only tried to preserve corporate tax
giveaways but has also weakened numer
ous regulations and enforcement proce
dures that were designed to help con
sumers. America’s ambassador in Dacca
even pressured the Bangladesh govern
ment to reverse its threat to ban Amer
ican-made prescription drugs that are
already outlawed in the U.S.
Indeed, the delicate question of
whether government’s primary role is to
serve the interests of business remains
valid and troublesome.
President Reagan is sure to beg the old
question when he embarks this Tuesday
(Nov. 30) on a five-day, four-nation tour
of Latin America. Reagan will remind
debt-ridden Latin neighbors — Brazil
and Costa Rica among them — that pur
suit of the free-enterprise ethic will make
their dreams come true. By implication,
however, he’ll also advise that free enter
prise is a game to be dominated by U.S.
interests; those who challenge that
assumption can’t be allowed to play.
To what lengths an American presi
dent will go to satisfy the corporate con
stituency is the subject of an article by
investigative reporter Seymour M. Hersh
in the December issue of The Atlantic
Monthly. In excerpts from his forthcom
ing book on Henry Kissinger and the
Nixon White House, Hersh describes for
the first time what steps our government
pursued in 1970 to keep “Marxist” Salva
dor Allende Gossens from becoming
president of Chile.
Though Kissinger has written in his
memoirs that “the Nixon administration
did not view our foreign policy interests
through the prism of the financial con
cerns of American companies,” the
Atlantic article suggests something else.
As early as 1963, of course, then Chase
Manhattan chief David Rockefeller had
organized a group of prominent U.S.
corporate executives — at President John
F. Kennedy’s request — to help promote
democratic institutions in Latin America.
In Chile, the Business Group for Latin
America (as the organization was known)
joined the Central Intelligence Agency in
supporting anti-communist media,
church groups and politicians, who in
cluded Christian Democratic President
Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964-1970).
When it became clear in 1970, howev
er, that Chileans might select Allende as
Frei’s successor, several U.S. corporate
heads worried that their fears of socialist-
inspired nationalization would come
true. As a consequence, they augmented
their efforts with extraordinary pressure
on Nixon to take whatever action neces
sary to defeat Allende. As Hersh’s four
years of research have led him to con
tend, the president obliged.
“There is compelling evil
Hersh writes, “that Nixon’s toi
against Allende in 1970 was
nantly shaped by his concern for
lure of the American corporations!
assets, he believed, would beseizedi
Allende government.” Dane Jc
After a Sept. 14 meeting that yet ienginee
Pepsi Cola president Donald ff (above
who had strong business and pc freshma
ties to Chile, Nixon put pressure
CIA to “get rid of Allende." For
gence director Richard Helms,
contends, the presidential dictunn V 4- -«
order to assassinate if necessary.)!! I
U.S. efforts, Allende was even
elected that fall. He later died dm
1973 military coup, but there is
deuce that the U.S. administrate
directly involved in his death
Since 1970 some multinationakt
ations seem to have learned thatfn
nations generally place self-in
ahead of ideology. To sense tl
need only consider the Cuban
who guard Gulf Oil’s refineries in
ist” Angola.
ile, whicl
(as only a
Anyor
jhe file, h
“Large multinationals have Id ? dn Unh
that they can t predict or contrail
come of a social revolution," saidft
Barnet, coauthor of “Global Rem
prominent critique of their activity
our government seems to still misi Contril
stand them ” t e mac ^ e ;
Indeed, how well this and future K
nistrations respond to nationalistic ‘ ( u
U.S. movements may always beof
question. Whether the Regan
House can distinguish, however,B
tween a legitimate national sd
threat and what merely annoysU
ness interests remains to be seen.
B
Studeni
'ou — or
ampus-v\
Quiz
Slouch
By Jim Earle
“Frankly, I think he takes this neatness thing too se
riously! 9 ’
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