opinion
What’s up, Coach?
We want to know
A pizza delivery man was attacked in
Cain Hall last week. And football players
were suspected in the assault.
But Jackie Sherrill won’t discuss the
situation with the media. A reporter
from the Bryan-College Station Eagle
Editorial
was asked to leave Sherrill’s office Mon
day. The same day, a reporter for The
Battalion was told that Sherrill is “booked
until Wednesday.”
Until now, Sherrill has reacted well
under the rigorous pressures that have
been placed on him since he accepted the
coaching position in January. But this is
not the time to crack. When his team is in
hot water, Sherrill needs to be able to
explain the situation and to handle the
pressure.
It’s impossible to give football players
special treatment and then expect therm
to be treated like anyone else. The public
wants to know what happens when the
team has problems.
It’s inconsistent to use public relations
techniques to attract public attention and
then not speak to the media when some
thing goes wrong.
Sherrill has said that he treats the team
members like they’re his own sons. And
he says that his discipline should be pri
vate. This is fine if players are bickering
among themselves. But when the inci
dent involves other students, the matter
becomes public.
Sherrill currently is working with
police and University officials to solve the
problem. But the public should be in
formed of those problems and possible
solutions.
His “we’ll police ourselves” attitude is a
common one at Texas A&M. This is the
attitude that causes worries of cover-ups,
corruption and lack of discipline. And
this is exactly why the public wants to —
and needs to — know what’s going on.
Reagan still thinks
MX has a
by Helen Thomas
United Press International
WASHINGTON — President Reagan feels
he has lost a battle but not the war in the
House defeat of funding for the MX missile.
Having noted that the vote took place on
Dec. 7, the 41st anniversary of the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Reagan has described the 245-
176 vote as “sleepwalking into the future.’
But he believes with an all-out effort he can
salvage the program in the Senate.
No one is betting on that. Sen. Ernest F.
Hollings, D-S.C., is leading the fight against
the MX, saying that for all of the deliberation,
the “dense pack” basing mode for the MX
does not meet “even its basic objective of sur
vivability.”
“Careful, pragmatic and thoughtful deci
sion-making is required if we are to maintain a
strong defense posture,” he said. “Our eco
nomy has no room for a Pentagon wish list.”
Reagan suffered his most serious setback to
date on defense spending. After the vote, he
charged the House had made a “grave mis
take” and called on the Senate “to reverse this
grievous error.”
“In the meantime,” Reagan said, “I plan to
do everything I can to take this case to the
country.”
In a now familiar blitz style, Reagan lobbied
heavily up to the last minute for victory on a
bill that provided $988 million to start pro
duction of the MX. But both he and his aides
knew it was an uphill battle.
Reagan hoped that the congressmen on the
fence would do as they have done most of the
time: bow to an appeal from the commander
in chief, who points out that he is privy to
more secret information than they are about
the eneny.
In the past few days, the administration
also warned that the Soviets had tested a new
light missile. But the arguments that without
MX the nation would be without an adequate
deterrent did not sell.
chance
Reagan also insisted failure to pass the
package would give the Soviets more reason
to stall at the nuclear arms negotiating table in
Geneva.
“I had hoped that most of the members in
the House had awakened to the threat facing
the United States,” Reagan said. “That hope
was apparently unfounded.”
White House aides attribute the defeat to a
misunderstanding about the dense pack bas
ing mode, which would place 100 missiles in
closely spaced silos near Gheyenne, Wyo.
But more telling apparently was the money
involved and the growing apprehension that
Reagan will heavily slash into the budgets of
social programs while leaving intact the prop
osed trillion dollar defense spending over the
next five years.
The issue of funds for more weapons vs.
proposed cuts in health, education and wel
fare is very much in the minds of the lawmak
ers who survived the Nov. 2 elections.
Furthermore, the latest 10.8 percent un
employment figures, or 12 million out of
work in the Christmas holiday season is hav
ing its impact on where the money should be
spent.
To some extent the nuclear freeze prog
ram, led by the U.S. Catholic Bishops, may
also have had an impact on congressional ac
tion and the growing mood in the nation.
White House spokesman Larry Speakes
had said the House vote “is not the last inning
in the ball game.” But Reagan aides admit
chances of reiving MX funding in the Senate
are not promising.
With the new Congress next year, the
Democrats will have 26 more seats in the
House. Up to now, Congress has given
Reagan a blank check on defense spending.
But a new skepticism is arising, and forecasts
of a $200 billion deficit do not help.
Some observers believe it will be back to the
drawing board for the Reagan administration
to determine what is saleable in a recession.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member ot
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Southwest Journalism Conference
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..THE EXECUTlOli OF
THE PIZZA DELIVERY.
ON SHERRILLS HhHDUl
OP THE INCIDENT..
/ INTER
CEPTED?,
y
by Art Buchwald
The Pentagon is seriously considering
the use of lie detectors to test the veracity
of its 3 million employees as well as de
fense contractors, and government
workers in other departments. They say
they want to use the polygraph tests for
security reasons.
I have no objection to Defense resort
ing to lie detectors providing that the top
people take them, too, particularly when
testifying on The Hill concerning the
military budget.
Telling the truth in Congress
70U give us some idea what the B-l hom
ier will cost?”
“Two-hundred million dollars.”
“Hmm, the polygraph seems to indi
cate that is the wrong answer.”
“I’m afraid I wasn’t specific. Yes, I do.”
“To get it in the air it will cost
$234,567,891.50.”
“Good. Now this would only be the
bare plane and not include such items as
radar, communications, bomb racks,
cruise missile launcher and parking
lights?” T
“No, sir. We’re not. But we
plane.”
“We're going to give youtld
General. We just want to knwH i
we’re getting for our money.” Bfh e C
“Every plane has bugs in it." |J a ) ^ our
“Don’t pout. We know that.Br 5 ^' 11 ?
brings to the question of the ’i 1 *
plane. We understand a lot ofci ^ j
showing up in the wings. Howmuiy ' § evt
it cost to put on new wings?” a
It doesn’t seem too much to ask Secret
ary Weinberger, his top assistants and the
high-level brass to put on electrode when
they face a House or Senate Armed Ser
vices Committee. With the help of this
equipment all of us might be better in
formed as to what a weapons system will
really cost.
“That’s correct, sir. We might add on
another $40 million for the equipment,
give or take $5 million.”
“The polygraph is acting up again.
General. How much did you say?”
“Sixty-five million dollars.”
“The congressional committee will
come to order. General, are you comfort
able? Let’s just test the polygraph
machine to see if it is working. What
branch of the service are you in, sir?”
“Nothing can stop the United States
Air Force.”
“The lie detector checks out fine. We’ll
now proceed with the questioning. Could
“Very good, General. Now may I ask
you about the tests the Air Force has
made on the B-l? Are your people satis
fied that the contractor will bring in the
plane at that price without serious over
runs?”
“We’re certain of it, sir. They should
deliver it on schedule without any bugs in
it.”
“The needle seems to be flying all over
the place. Are you sure of this?”
put on new wings: Beady e
“Half a billion dollars.” ba Park ;
“Would you like to try that ay Industrie
“1 meant to say a billion dollars. 2818. Ar
electrodes are giving me a head. s ity soon
“We’re sorry about that, GenerJp St ‘ arc h
actually the idea for introducing®^^,
detector came out of the DefenseDflP” j
ment. Since you people havebeeflilL c j t > s
it so successfully we derided to f rom ^
too.” ■‘The
“We’re only using it to find out* a, hybrid
whistle-blowers are in the
and who is leaking detrimentals
the press. We would never
somone discussing the Defense!
ment budget.”
“Why not, General?”
“Because when it comes to i
spending testimony, we tol
ourselves officers and gentlemen I
Blind dates—beards and cologn
by Dick West
United Press International
WASHINGTON — There are times when
information obtained by public opinion sur
veying points to nothing more significant
than the need for more public opinion sur
veys.
I would place in this category two national
polls conducted by some public opinion sur
veyors calling themselves The Merit Report.
One poll came up with the less-than-
startling information that most single persons
regard blind dating as a poor way to meet
members of the opposite sex.
The other found that most women regard
clean-shaven men as more attractive than
those who grow moustaches or beards.
The results of the first survey were, of
course, predictable. Everybody knows that a
high percentage of blind dates turn out to be
lemons. So the poll merely confirmed truths
that already were self-evident.
The second poll can be more egregiously
faulted. It tends, unjustifiably, to give beard
growing a bad name.
It has been my experience that growing a
beard enhances, rather than subverts, one’s
sex appeal. What is needed, obviously, is a
third survey that would determine the per
centage of male blind dates who are bearded.
The verdict appears to favor the use of
cologne. But does it not stand to reason that
most women find the aroma of ocean spray, a
bosky dell or piney woods more attractive
than ordinary tobacco smoke?
So what does this portend for the f uture of
cigarettes?
And while we are asking pointed questions,
how many of the women met their col-
ognewearing escorts on a blind date?
Back when I was single, 1 perse
it a point of honor never to wear
was part of my code to bachelorhood
the women I dated a chance to n
charms without being olfactorily
I mention this now as a preludeloi
ing to single members of the fairer set!
you have a blind date with a deans)
poll-taker who reeks of cologne, enMl
I suspect, however, that the percentage of
bearded men who resort to blind dating is
extremely small.
Blind dating almost always involves a third
party, who either coerces or cajoles the party
of the first part and the party of the second
part into going out with each Other sight un
seen.
But bearded men as a group aren’t the
types who easily succumb to coercion or cajol
ery. To the contrary.
Most of the bearded men I know are reso
lutely steadfast and unyielding. And that goes
for bearded women, too.
In evaluating surveys, it always helps to
know a bit about the surveyors. The Merit
Report is underwritten by a cigarette com
pany. Which may explain its interest in a poll
on whether the use of cologne makes a man
more appealing to women, or whether artifi
cial scents turn the other half off.
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We’LL 3LL Have CHRiSTMag
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