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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1983)
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 8, 1983 ' opinion Slouch By Jim Earle “Do you realize what an uproar it would have caused just a few years ago if an Aggie kissed another Aggie?" Acid rain movie gets rating of triple-X by Art Buchwald We had just finished dinner when Winslow said: “I have a surprise for everyone. Come in the living room while I lock the doors and pull down the win dow shades.” , We went in the living room. Winslow had set up a 16mm projector and a movie screen. “What are you going to show us, Wins low?” Someone asked. ‘Deep Throat’ or ‘Debbie Does Dallas’?” “Something much worse. I managed to get an illegal print of a Canadian documentary on acid rain.” A murmur ran through the crowd. “Couldn’t we get in trouble watching a dirty film from Canada?” Winslow smiled. “You’re damn right you could. The Justice Department has declared all Canadian films on acid rain pure propaganda, and they have to be clearly marked as such. They also told the Canadian Film Board it has to turn over to Justice the names of those who asked to see the films. Martha Harrington said: “I’ve never seen a documentary on acid rain. This is going to be exciting.” “How in the devil did you get the film?” I asked Winslow. “I smuggled it in from Toronto,” he* replied. “You really took a chance. What if you had gotten caught?” “I would have been fined and sent to jail. U.S. Customs has strict orders to look for Canadian Film Board movie prints. They’re even training dogs now to sniff for them. The Attorney General has given it top priority.” “Why are they uptight about films on acid rain?” Winslow said: “They’re afraid if Americans see them, without them being clearly marked as propaganda, we would believe that acid rain is an environmental problem.” “You would think the Justice Depart ment would have more to do then worry about Canadian documentaries,” Ed Harrington said. “You don’t know much about the Jus tice Department. They finally found a legal issue they understand. They’ve been so confused about civil rights, EPA and antitrust cases, that they jumped at the chance to sock it to Canada. The Canadians are going to think twice the next time they finance a film about pollu tion,” Winslow told us. “How long is it?” someone a^sked. “It only runs 30 minutes. But it will blow your mind.” Bella Murphy said, “Suppose the FBI breaks in while we’re watching it?” “Don’t worry about it, Bella,” Winslow said. “My kids are outside on the lookout. If they ring the doorbell three times, I’ll dump the print and substitute ‘The Devil In Miss Jones.’ They can’t touch us for watching a porno movie in our own home.” “Well, show it fast,” Bella said. “I’m very nervous.” “Okay lights out. Here we go.” We all sat in rapt attention as we watch ed fish and wildlife dying in the Cana dian north. A few people got sick and had to go to the bathroom. At the end of the picture, Martha Harrington said, “What kind of degenerate mind could make a picture like that?” “That’s what the Justice Department would like to know. If this film is shown throughout the United States it could destroy the American way of life as we know it.” “How could Canada do it?” “There are a lot of dangerous people in the environmental movement up there, and they have control of the film industry. If you think that one was bad wait until you see the other one I smug gled in. It’s about the horror of nuclear war.” “You can’t show a Canadian picture against nuclear war in the United States,” Bella screamed. “It’s illegal.” USPS 045 360 Member ot 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, Shelley Hoekstra, Johna Jo 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 JanSwaner, Chris Thayer Cartoonist Scott McCullar Graphic Artists Pam Starasinic Sergio Galvez Thompson, Fernando Andrade Photographers . David Fisher, Dena Brown, Eric Lee, Irene Mees, John Makely, William Schulz Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M University administrators or faculty mem bers, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Questions or comments concerning any editorial matter should be directed to the editor. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, and are subject to being cut if they are longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every 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, The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M Uni versity, College Station, TX 77843, or phone (713) 845- 2611. The Battalion is published daily during Texas A&M’s fall and spring semesters, except for holiday and exami nation periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semes ter, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. - United Press International is entitled exclusively 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, TX 77843. Rebirth of public interest by Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer Public-interest law is dead in America: right or wrong? At first glance, a eulogy might seem in order. Ronald Reagan has led a fiscal and regulatory attack against those groups that fight for the poor and powerless. Meanwhile, ocean-size salaries seem to have drowned or diluted compassionate tendencies among thousands of Amer ican law school graduates. But, when several local universities staged a “fair” for careers in public- interest law last week, they offered a chance to determine whether things real ly are rotten. After a visit and a subse quent survey of the public-interest com munity, the answer is no. If anything, public-interest advocacy has survived the worst and will probably be better off as a result. Georgetown, George Washington and Catholic Universities, among others here, had invited several dozen “public interest” offices and organizations to make a pitch. A surprisingly large contin gent from Reagan’s non-activist Justice Department and a slew of agents from environmental and civil rights groups had crowded on a rainy day into a down town student union hall. It was a regular jobs baazar for the publicly-minded. To the program had also come more than a hundred undergraduates, law stu dents and unemployed lawyers. Many of the curious went away disappointed. While jobs were available, most were for second- or third-year law students: Non profit groups offered little or nothing in the way of competitive salaries; law gra duates interested in permanent positions seemed out of luck entirely. Of course, Reagan-led cutbacks in two key areas, government jobs and federal grants to public-advocacy organizations, have reduced opportunities for high- minded lawyers and law students. Emas culation of the Legal Services Corp. is symbolic of retrenchment at Justice* the Federal Trade Commission and federal agency civil rights offices. With public funds uncertain, most private groups have been trying to hold on with static numbers of employees. If the turnout on both sides of the dis play tables at last week’s fair provided ample reason for optimism, students, for example, have not entirely given up on public-interest work. At a recent visit by the director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Group attracted a surprising 85 students at the University of North Caro lina law school. The lawyer glut has forced many to expand their career alter natives (across the board, in fact, public- interest groups reported a deluge of re sumes from highly-qualified applicants). Clinical law coruses are thriving, too, points out former representative Robert Drinan, now a law professor at George town University. “There aren’t many bleeding hearts in my classes ... but the interest is no less intense was,” he said. Meanwhile, uublic-interest longer a field for the starry inexperienced. If staffs seem *41C « by C Batti they’re still more sophisticatedT^^ 1 ^^ 1 fore, a helpful development M n did a increasingly complicated natiirtLcoverr lie issues. “At least in the envii jdent Boc area, public-interest lawyers Pearson, powerful and better skilled tyPearson said Jonathan Lasch, leading|P B 3 ' 311 c with the Natural Resources yy{P res ' c * Council. ■ nd ha : Increased technical soph^r^.^'' moreover, has spawned acomr|B. r independent specialists. Fir “The car sprung up simply to litigateo ;e jthis p about nuclear power plant coi use it se or worker compensation issrfse. ’ Pea attention to certain conimoni No one likely to encourage such legale- ECirime in across the U.S. V| to be pCrime, , , ■, wall 1 I his isn t to suggest that a ue ;of the public-interest law is immineiere is lim hesitant to press its advantage,i wei nmen of Management and Budget|itfconcei preparing to reintroduce legisklj 16 probl would limit awards for attompr e< 1 suits brought against federal, .,[. IS<>n s local governments, discouragiiljfl 1 ".^ 1 firms from taking on such tax same time, the jury is still ouiot4b|ems o bar associations wall meet wdlp be probl commitments to increase their|ir Studeni work. Imii that ms. But i by z Jzed ,pe, then ■al problei Keith E. for the ptys enrolh i another idem off Cannich. lead week lldijessed by S Bate Meeting t anagemer id) skills K ; ‘ s 'ho < :nt Conns To mee tinseling o|ne\v pr otivation FELDMAN, WHEN I SAID TO TAKE OUT A CONTRACT ON THE ROLLINS STONES.,,I MEANT FOR A CONCERT, unter gre erage stu< Tl ic care m, head hn >er, is phomore .2 grade dents sc led abort at they w It of sel rough th tn what Letters: Hit-and-run witness wanted portuniti r offers a tjor. The i Editor: Hey Aggies, I need your help. Some one played bumper cars with my brown ’76 Cutlass last Saturday night and de clined to let me know about it before they left. My car was parked in front of Q-hut A while I was attending an APO party in Q-hut B. Between the hours of 12 a.m. and 2 a.m. on March 6, someone con verted the front end of my car into a mod-art form. If anybody, anywhere saw what happened, or knows something ab out it, please give me a call and let me in on it. One note to the person(s) who did it: You know you made a big mistake, but why make a bigger one by not owning up to the error in your ways? had spent days constructing it instead of being built by a group of students in one afternoon. It already is holding its first tenant — a stray Shetland Pony found wandering loose with no apparent home. He seemed to be enjoying having the big place all to himself* It’s amazing what you can do when you have a large group of people working towards the same goal. In one afternoon, rain notwithstanding, this solid structure was erected by the students with the Agri cultural Engineering Society. All over the county, other students were working on equally fulfilling projects, helping those pre : tjie stuc alls and p leii inte Wolff, hfoer sai who needed their help. Joe Nussbaum, Mike Glimp and the others responsl^ , 11() creating the Big Event, as welllj,,,j n th< thousands of students who ga|t s j x to S( time to help others deserve c ill meet Fi and our thanks. ss anothe I believe Texas A&M’s Big Effcanicip destined to become as worthutA 3 hrst-cc meaningful a tradition as Silver stutl a tradition that we can all be pi lan anc a iracuuon mat we can an oe pFig~ r r , one that truly has the right tob'’ 0 er " t ... „ 7 ° ncounterj ‘tradition Chris P, Phil Carter 260-5778 Big Event tradition Editor: The students of Texas A&M deserve a vote of thanks for the wonderful job they did in putting together and successfully pulling off the tremendous undertaking known as the Big Event. My husband and I were down at the Brazos Animal Shel ter, wanting to get a look at the large animal holding pen that the students with the Big Event had built on the land behind the shelter. We were expecting something half-finished and not very big, so it was quite a shock to come upon the masterpiece that was located there. The large sturdy structure — consist ing of two spacious buildings to provide shelter for the animals with a generous, well-constructed corral and chute — looked like a building contracting firm Berry s World |he grot x stude e and bn fany olde ted becau tch as fan: 1 are diff Xmger < reenwcKx orking Titer. “It’s kin d inforn ing wit ageme or st lid. j he stu e tng able d have < starting | the ol< '0d said. The cou j§ by Dr. Ted by Ul in ten 'ts worki (<) 1983 by NE A, Inc “I’ve set up a new high-tech company an' I’m looking for venture capital. ’’