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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 1983)
opinion Battalion/i March ( I I Slouch By Jim Earle TXAXlkLS TO '‘Have you ever surveyed from a moving truck?' ERA mess nags at Ronald Reagan by Helen Thomas United Press International WASHINGTON — President Reagan is finding that the cloud over the En vironmental Protection Agency “just won’t go away,” as one aide put it. So the investigation will go on, even though the president has tried to cut his losses by some firings and replacing of officials in the middle echelon. His aides say he is fully committed to supporting EPA Administrator Anne Burford even though there are some rumblings at the White House that he should make a clean sweep of the EPA hierarchy. It has been Reagan’s style to remain loyal to beleaguered top aides who have been loyal to him. Burford has gone along with EPA budget cuts and the policies of the admi nistration, which some of the career per sonnel have severely criticized as de trimental. The president has long felt that the questions of'environment were overly ex aggerated by environmentalists. During his campaign, he suggested that trees were the cause of air pollution and that the continuing oil slicks off the Santa Barbara, Calif., coast purified the sea breezes. On his first trip to his California mountaintop ranch, the president looked down from his helicopter window on the oil rigs off Santa Barbara and proclaimed them “a beautiful sight.” Since he has been in the White House environmental issues have not been of prime concern except when a disaster forced recognition of the dangers as in the case of the dioxin scare at Times Beach, Mo. But what the president did not bargain for is the heightened understanding and fear of the dumping of toxic wastes by the public at large. There is no question that what once was viewed as strictly a concern among youth has now reverberated throughout the country and the thres- hhold of protecting the public health against nuclear and toxic wastes and pol lutants has increased with each passing year. Since Burford had voted against anti pollution measures when she was in the Colorado Legislature, there was some question about her appointment. Preoccupied with his economic prog ram, Reagan did not give the EPA top priority consideration in the early days of his administration. Reagan has ordered White House counsel fred Fielding to conduct a re view of contacts between White House aides and EPA officials in view of allega tions that there may have been political considerations in the management of the $ 1.6 billion Superfund to clean up hazar dous waste dumps. I he struggle over turning over docu ments to congressional committees and the invoking of executive privelege by Reagan led to days of conflict and suspi cion. The president has indicated that some of the problem may be with the probing media in dealing with the headline mak ing story. But it is hard for the media to ignore six congressional committees investigat ing the same story. USPS 045 360 Member <>t Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editor Diana Sultenfuss Managing Editor Gary Barker Associate Editor Denise Richter City Editor Hope E. Paasch Assistant City Editor Beverly Hamilton Sports Editor John Wagner Entertainment Editor Colette Hutchings Assistant Entertainment Editor . . . . Diane Yount News Editors Daran Bishop, Brian Boyer, Jennifer Carr, Elaine Engstrom, JohnaJo Maurer, Jan Werner, Rebeca Zimmermann Staff Writers Melissa Adair, Maureen Carmody, Frank Christlieb, Connie Edelmon, Patrice Koranek, John Lopez, Robert McGlohon, Ann Ramsbottom, Kim Schmidt, Patti Schwierzke, Kelley Smith, Angel Stokes, Tracey Taylor, Joe Tindel, Kathy Wiesepape Copyeditors Shelley Hoekstra, Jan Saaner, Chris Thayer Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artists Pam Starasinic Sergio Galvez Thompson Photographers David Fisher, Dena Brown, Jorge Casari, Ronald W. Emerson, Eric Lee, Irene Mees, John Makely, William Schulz Editorial Policy ! hf li;iti;ilinn is a lum-prolil. svll stippni linii new s paper operated as a eonnniinit t sen ire to Tcsas AX.M L'ni\etsit\ and Iir\an-(atllef>e Station. Opinions e\- pressed in The lialtalion are those ol the editor or.the author, and do not neeessarilv represent the opinions ot Texas AX-M L’niversity administrators or laenln iiicin- l>ers. or of the Hoard of Reffenls. 1 he lialtalion also serves as a lahoratot \ newspaper lor students in reporting, editing and photogi aph\ clas ses w ithin the Department ol (.onununit ations. Questions or comments concerning am editorial matter should be directed to the editor. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed .'100 words in length, and are subject to being cut if thev are longer. The editorial staff reserves the l ight to edit letters for style and length, but will make evert effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must also be signed and show the address and phone number of the writer. Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, and are not subject to the same length constraints as letters. Address all inquiries and correspondence to: Editor. I he Battalion. 2 Hi Reed McDonald. Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, EX 77N4.'!. or phone (7 Li) 8-15- 261 1. The Battalion is published daily during Texas Afk-M's fall and spring semesters, except for holiday and exami nation periods. Mail subscriptions are $ 1 (i.75 per semes ter. $5:4.25 per school year and $55 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on request. Out address: The Battalion. 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station. EX 77845. United Press International is entitled exclusiveh to 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. EX 77845. Federal government auditing by Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer WASHINGTON — Several weeks ago, we wrote a column about the electro nics industry’s opposition to a new feder al regulation that prohibits defense con tractors from including lobbying costs in their product price tags. At the lime, we were interested in how big a fuss the arms industry was making about so little a cut. Since then, however, we’ve learned that there’s more to the story. The Reagan administration’s honorable dis- allowal of “advocacy” costs in govern ment contracts only may have been a smokescreen for subsequent regulation which, barring quick congressional ac tion, could neutralize hundreds of non profit philanthropical groups across the United States. A broad spectrum of orga nizations is rightly upset about the rule. For years, U.S. law has prohibited reci pients of federal project grants from us ing such monies to influence lawmakers, the courts or public opinion. Simply put, the notion has been that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to beget more tax payers’ dollars. But on Jan. 24, the Of f ice of Manage ment and Budget suggested a new rule that would bar federally subsidized groups from engaging in politics even if their public monies support non-political activities. It advised that subsidized groups organize separate, independently funded offices for political operations. For the administration, the proposed rule has been a political matter. Right- wing groups repeatedly have denounced direct government assistance to those organizations that advocate or pursue policies in opposition to their own. Under Reagan, the ef fort to “defund the left” has become a matter of policy. The Heritage Foundation’s 1981 “mandate for leadership” suggested dismantling of “Democratic constituencies” and Conser vative Digest has been sounding the attack ever since. Last year the Depart ment of Health and Human Services probed whether Planned Parenthood spends federal dollars on lobbying, but uncovered nothing sinister. Yet, political decisions about housing, jobs and other facts of life historically have depended on the advice of those who deliver the services. Often those who run such agencies are better informed about, say, refugee resettlement than government officials. The experience in the field of such groups as the American Red Cross, the National Council on Alco holism and the Audubon Society “is vital to shaping policy,” saitl Matt Ahmann of the National Conference of Catholic Charities to our reporter Michael Duffy. “The Reagan administration doesn’t understand the role of this sector in in terpreting the needs of people to public servants,” added Brian O’Connell, presi dent of a 450-member coalition of presti gious corporations, charities and volun teer groups known as Independent Sec tor. “It has a total blind spot on this one.” Unfortunately, the OMB rule, written by chief council Michael J. Horowitz, would give non-profit groups a difficult choice between federal funds or loss of political advocacy rights. Harder still, di- by co sor rectors of such social servicepgthi cai whom dealing with governniwyan sa> responsibility, will have to se nsps tl for dispassionately delivering)? ets for getting out of the businessa ** on 15 Either way, a tradition of pulJr, 1 ," partnership is doomed to suIIiMg " One might think that busine|mj ac tion would force the Reaganac-ij^ a rr tion to think again about its Blatcn Representatives of many mammufilm porations with independent ars: sai arms — such as Conoco Inc.,Pinning ris Inc., and General KlecinJ| ts 1 " 1 already are buttonholing coneB-j 1 turning out favorable public for the federal record and pl^P court test. Both Rep. jack Brl Texas) and Sen. David DurenltH Minn.) plan hearings during week of March. And Horowitz little to calm the waters, catt president of the National AssoJ Manufacturers an unpi iiuablnra| recent Exec utive Office Buildup. ^ ing for 40 business leaders, HT ei But even such White Houx*H, ) j )l | as chief of staf f James Baker JLi ( | appointed private-sector initial )r j<! t tor James B. Coyne are resigiuca Rat rule. Apparently, Reagan wfliSlioup flack even from his primancon dean < if only to quiet the noise fronn 1 Adai Oddly enough, there maybtBf * 1; placate both side s. If it chooxB^ Jj them, the federal government the auditing powers needed to of federal dollars. As Rep. Bar Y ‘M e( able (R-N.Y.) has said, thenewrfe r y ’ going after a fly with a sledge I uional -PL SURE. ITS AVIOLENT SPORT, BUT ITS THE ONLY WAY SOM! POOR KIPS CAN SET OUT OF THE GHETTO... Letters: Reader praises art progr; Editor: I would like to commend the College of Architecture and Environmental De sign for offering an informal discussion session with scenic designer/art director Chris Nowak. I was equally pleased to find the session reported in the Feb.24 edition of 1 he Battalion, insofar as my teaching specialty is design and technical theater. During the session, I found my self in general agreement with Mr. Nowak, although I’d like to offer a few observations in counterpoint to his. First, I find that there is an intrinsic value in the study of theater arts within a liberal arts setting, considering the com plexity of theater and its production. For the designer there is, of course, no limit to the need of study of art and architec ture — their history and practice; and there is no limit to the need of study of the complexity of dramatic literature and its expression on the stage. It could be argued that television and film do not require this same training due to their technological nature but that is a moot point. Secondly, I do not find that “to be in this field, you really need to live in a large city like New York.” Confronted with career decisions the last three years, with the Chicago Off-Loop Theater an in teresting option, I found the opportunity of “pure” design (however you define it) to be more often available within univer sity theater. This is only true to those I hat can consider their position to be that of designer and educator. By the same token, a strong self-image as “a designer” and, as indicated by Mr. Nowak, contacts are the keys to success within the profes sional theater. Once again, I offer my gratitude to the College of Architecture and Environ mental Design for presenting Chris Nowak in an open forum. For those that find themselves drawn to this area of de sign I hope that you will avail yourself to the opportunities afforded withn the College of Architecture and Environ mental Design and the Theater Arts Program at f AMU. Alan M. Donahue Designer/Technical Director Theater Arts Section Exam complaints Editor: I would like to make some comments about the last Mechanical Engineering 213 common exam. I think that was not designed to test theexteni students’ knowledge of thecourst rial since the exam consisted ofonl problems each worth 35 Although partial credit would bef is comparable to a hit or miss in) sense, you could blame your hoips you were well prepared in probk cept the kinds that were on thei A more equitable and fairway able in the sense that it wouldernf the subject matter more evenly fair in the sense that die examsi' let you ace it unless you are thoi familiar with the material) would revert to the 10-problem format. If the Department of Mechanif gineering was aiming at bringing! averages to record lows, I thinl been successful. But if it was atteii to test the students’ knowledge son accurately, it is an entirely dil story. I hope the exam coordinator" 1 this point of view into conskk when the time for the second exa« by. I also would like to hear Iron 1 students and others interested 1 matter. Biju Ma P.O. Box < M Roll