Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, March 28,1983
opinion
Access to information
valuable commodity
Democracy is defined as government
of, by and for the people. But for the
people to know what is going on, they
must have reasonable access to govern
ment proceedings.
Recognizing this right, Congress in
1966 passed the Freedom of Information
Editorial
Act, which opens certain federal records
to public inspection.
The FOIA opens many federal agency
documents to the public, with such major
exceptions as defense and diplomatic sec
rets, Social Security and income tax re
cords, personal financial data and trade
secrets.
But in 1981, two senators backed by
the Reagan administration tried to furth
er limit the type of information that
could be released under the FOIA. For
tunately, most congressmen realized the
importance of open government and the
bill received little support.
Now Reagan has devised a way to
sidestep the legislative process. On
March 11, Reagan issued an executive
order giving federal department and
agency heads the power to force poly
graph tests on employees suspected of
giving classified information to repor
ters.
This recent attack on the public’s abil
ity to monitor government occurred dur
ing the month set aside by national jour
nalism organizations as Freedom of In
formation Month.
Tonight, two Texas A&M student
journalism groups will sponsor a reverse
press conference in observance of FOI
Month. The conference is designed to
foster community understanding and
knowledge of the workings of the press.
That type of understanding is needed
in light of the fact that a recent Gallup
poll showed that three of four Americans
don’t know what the First Amendment is.
That same poll says 37 percent of Amer
icans feel current limits on the press
aren’t harsh enough. That’s frightening.
Freedom of information is not a spe
cial privilege for reporters. It guarantees
all of us the right to know, free of govern
ment interference.
How not to cover up
advertising in France
by Maxwell Glen
and Cody Shearer
For years, sex has been routine fare in
French advertising. But now, Francois
Mitterrand’s government wants to
change the menu.
Yvette Roudy thinks she knows the
best way. Mitterrand’s 53-year-old minis
ter for women’s rights is the central force
behind a legislative proposal to forbid
“degrading and debasing women” in
advertisements and publications. If pas
sed by by the National Assembly, the bill
could affect anyone from J. Walter
Thompson to the publishers of Ernest
Hemingway.
For Roudy, whose French translation
of Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mysti
que” in 1963 launched her own feminist
career, the measure derives its logic from
the egalitarian premises of socialism. It
also reflects both the increased influence
of women’s groups and an intense na
tional debate over the French knack for
fleshy commercialism.
That debate began in earnest last sum
mer, when Avenir, a billboard company,
plastered hundreds of its properties in
Paris and other cities with a photograph
of a bikini-clad woman. “On September
2, I’ll take off the top,” Avenir’s model
promised. Indeed, she not only followed
through on that pledge, but, two adver
tisements later, finished the striptease.
More recently, a conservative mayoral
candidate in Nice employed the image of
a naked woman on a campaign poster.
“As expected, after 21 months of social
ism, I have nothing left,” the caption
read.
Whether or not the latter incident pre
cipitated Roudy’s anti-sexism law (as it
turned out, the Nice conservative won his
race handily), it was only a more extreme
example of what French women’s groups
have long denounced as commercial ex
ploitation.
As they have in America and else
where, women in France rightly fear the
documented parallels between violence
against women and the often not-so-
subtle use of sexual imagery in television,
magazine and newspaper advertising.
When ads leave one wondering whether
the models or the products are for sale,
some men can be expected to treat
women as objects to use or abuse.
Moreover, commercial exploitation
undermines the image that women have
of themselves. Even if Madison Avenue
has often substituted the harried house
wife for a more up-to-date career-type, is
the balance nurtured by a provocatively-
posed model in Calvin Kleins? In France,
where the line between art and life is
fuzzier, the distortion is only more se
vere.
When the abuses of advertiser's and
publishers become excessive, Yvette
Roudy wants “organized citizens” to have
the means to prosecute culprits. “The
government does not wish to put itself in
the role of judge,” she insists. Nor, adds
one of her aides, does it intend to ban
nudity.
Yet, the dubbing of Roudy’s proposal
as the “G-string Law” by the progressive
ly-inclined tabloid “Liberation,” under
scores an obvious problem with Roudy’s
law: It would effectively beg government
censorship. In democratic countries, as
the Moral Majority has discovered, any
attempt at government control over so
cial matters inevitably becomes the issue
itself.
Even if her bill wins the approval of
France’s Socialist-dominated parliament,
Roudy and her supporters would prob
ably accomplish more in encouraging
groups to identify companies and adver
tisers that insult public sensibilities. Such
a private campaign must have a spillover
effect on consumers who fall prey to sex-
ploitive ads. That, in part, has been the
strategy of Women Against Pornogra
phy, which recently issued well-
publicized awards for the “best” and
“worst” in American advertising.
After all, when the palates are as num
erous as the offerings it’s better to stick
with a la carte than to hit them with prix
fixe.
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 HopeE. 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
Copy editor Jan Swaner
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
Graphic Artists Pam Starasinic
Sergio Galvez Thompson, Fernando
Andrade
Photographers David Fisher, Guy Hood,
Eric Lee, Irene Mees,
William Schulz
Editorial Policy
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bers, or of the Board of Regents.
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77843.
Good news from Answer Man
ten
by Arnold Sawislak
United Press International
WASHINGTON — The Washington
Answer Man is with us today and he
appears to have a bundle of newspapers
and broadcasting scripts under his arm.
Question: What is on your mind to
day, sir?
Answer Man: Good news. As you must
be aware, the president has asked you
media folks to devote a week to writing
and broadcasting the good news instead
of all the dreary, frightening, awful tid
ings that you’ve been trumpeting.
Question: Yes, we all read about the
president’s proposal. But some of us
aren’t sure just how it would work.
Answer Man: Precisely why I am here
today, my boy. I have been sent to explain
to you inkstained wretches and syrupy
voices just how to find and report the
good news the president was talking
about.
Question: Well, that’s fine. Go right
ahead.
Answer Man: OK. Now here is a news
paper from early in March. Notice the
headlines: “Killer storms ravage Califor
nia coast.” Now, that is just the kind of
bad news the president sees no reason to
emphasize.
If you just look here on the second
page, you will see that at the very same
time the East Coast was having gorgeous,
almost summer-like weather. Why wasn’t
that the headline? After all, the people in
California knew they were having lousy
weather and the people in the East didn’t
need to know it. So why not play up the
nice weather in the East and maybe make
the folks out West realize that at least
someone was getting sunshine?
Question: Fascinating logic, sir. What
other examples of good news can you
give us?
Answer Man: The unemployment
story is the classic example. Here is a pap
er and a TV script making a big thing of
the fact that 10.4 percent of the work
force is unemployed. For heavens sake,
how can you jump on a statistic like that
when it is obvious that it means 89.6 per
cent has work.
Question: But sir, that 10.4 percent
represents 11 million people. That’s a lot
of folks with no pay checks.
Answer Man: They know it and your
president knows it, young man. And you
people have been ignoring the faci
they are getting help. You report
claims for unemployment compensi
as if they were bad news. If youi
about it, it means all those folks,
would have been without moneyfor
and shelter 50 years ago, will bem
help from their government s
Why don’t you report that?
Question: Well, maybe we are
tuating the negative a bit. What do
suggest in the future?
’
Ian es ,
o,
Answer Man: Start looking on
bright side of things for a change
plane crashes, write something aboi
the airliners that took off and
without mishap that day. If a go
ment official gets caught taking b
report how our system for detecting
ruption has worked again. There’
news everywhere, boy.
Question: But sir, I don’t knowol
place where the media goes to
lengths to report only good things:
the government or the economy ot
society around it.
Answer Man: That’s where jo
wrong, sonny. Take a look at Pravi
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Letters: Vote with confidence
Editor:
Well Aggies, it’s that time of the year
again!
It begins with the big race to get key
locations for campaign signs, colorful
flyers, and of course door-to-door cam
paigning with that oft too familiar,
“Howdy, I’m Joe Ag, running for your
student representative.”
I am unfortunately troubled with
mixed emotions each campaign season.
On the positive side, I see this as an
opportunity to gain new input and ideas
to better our University, not only in a
fresh turnover of representation but also
to gain feedback from each individual
voter.
On the other hand, however, I see a
form of negative politics taking place in
the form of petty games. It is this portion
of the campaign which creates disturbing
factions among the Aggie Family. First,
Corps members and non-regs alike de
clare a small scale war concerning the
right to be a yell leader of the Twelfth
Man. Then candidate supporters cam
paign against the opposing candidate in a
form of mudslinging rather than sticking
to their campaign platform. And of
course there is always that two-percenter
student apathy when it comes to voting.
Much consideration is needed to de
cide who to vote for in each position.
Each vote cast represents the voter’s con
fidence in that candidate to get the job
done in accordance with the voter’s
values and desires.
Granted, the one who works the har
dest on the campaign deserves to win, or
does he? This is merely one factor to con
sider in casting that vote of confidence.
Perhaps the candidate has his own self-
interest in mind. Power and prestige are
great motivators to win an election. What
will this do for you after the election,
though? Your own goals and desires for
that office should be evaluated and
matched to the nearest candidate. If you
have not had personal contact with each
candidate running, ask a friend or cur
rent student leader you respect and
whose opinion you value.
Whether you believe it or not, you and
the administration give major responsi
bility and authority to these student lead
ers. Make sure that your vote is an edu
cated vote of confidence.
R. Scott Staton ’83
Cartoon criticized
Editor:
This is in reference to Scott McCullar’s
cartoon on page 2 of The Battalion
March 23.
The Corps should not be satirized in a
situation like this. These two former
cadets’ actions did not represent the ac
tions of the entire Corps of Cadets. The
Corps does not condone the use of drugs
and will not tolerate them as is evident by
the rapid dismissal of these two indi
viduals.
Tim Stephens
Dorm 2
Editor’s note: This letter was accompa
nied by 250 signatures.
Traditions vs Greeks
Editor:
Lately, there has been much debate on
whether or not to recognize Greeks at
Texas A&M. A few weeks ago, I attended
a debate sponsored by the Aggie Forum
so as to hear what students felt about
Greeks here at Texas A&M. The “Loyal
Ags” — those opposed to Greeks at A&M
— were represented by a female speaker,
Teresa Barr. She had several good points
why they should not be allowed, all with
the same connotation — they are against
tradition. Yes, tradition says that Greeks
should not be allowed at Texas A&M.
I’m totally convinced tradition should
never be broken. Why, we should have
never have allowed females at Texas
A&M. Yes, an all male campus was once a
steadfast tradition. Now look what we
have, a lower-classed university»
students can’t concentrate on devql
of their time to tradition and
“Good Ag“. We males have to putupi
silly females and demeaning things
as dating.
Miss Barr is right. We stucM
A&M should dedicate 100 percem
time to being loyal to our Universil)' 1
not have to participate in somethin!
untraditional as a f raternity or son
on a college campus. Who could
think of breaking tradition atacoli
like Texas A&M. Ever since those
ding fools in the 60’s allowed non-ref
attend A&M, and then those dorr®
the ’70s permitted females, lookatl
degrading this University has b
Why we’re “only” number one in
don.
Brian FrJ>
Kappa At
Berry's World
“I AM THE GHOST OF DEFICITS FUTUtt