Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, April 4,1983 Read parody in proper spirit Editor: I thought it was about time to reply to a disturbing letter I read since my con troversial letter to Danette Heren. The article I would like to address concerns a piece written byJ.R.C. Robinson. Itbasic- ally assaults the Buttalion, a piece of jour nalism that supplies a much-needed com ic relief to the students of this great campus. Let me first say that I do not agree with everything the Buttalion prints. Af ter a long day of classes, when an issue of the Buttalion is printed and issued, it does offer a more humerous alternative to the newsworthy headlines of The Bat talion. The Buttalion is intended as no thing more than a satirical look at campus life. If there are those who are not ma ture enough to take pride in their Uni versity here at A&M, and at the same time be able to laugh at a satirical joke, then they need to do some developing in their personality. Mr. Robinson addres ses “the mentality†of the Buttalion staff in his opening statement. This must mean he is on the very same level he is about to criticize. He says,“I’m not a con servative redneck-super-patriot type by nature.†This leads us to believe he is probably exactly that; and he is about to prove it in upcoming statements. Here’s where it really gets good. Mr. Robinson says “I have a problem with what I perceive to be your goals.†(he’s addressing the Buttalion staff). Already he’s trying to read too deep into Reader’s Forum a simple piece of satire. The obvious goals, if any, of the publication seem to be the entertainment of the students at whatever costs they deem necessary. It is the general concensus of many students, myself included, that they have done a pretty good job. Mr Robinson then states,“If you (the Buttalion staff) want to poke fun at the abundant supply of narrow-minded, conservative hypocrites in the world, that’s one thing.†Now he’s in trouble! He means either one of two things: He is one of these type people and that’s why he’s getting increasingly irate because he feels insulted; or, since the Buttalion is circu lated only on campus and is for the stu dent audience, he’s claiming that there’s an abundance of these hypocrites on campus. What a slur this is! He continues by saying,“But if you’re trying to make a stand for rational, ma ture and sensible human behavior, then you are missing the boat.†This tends to make me burst with laughter. First of all, he can’t even think of an original phrase so he uses the exact “missing the boat†assertion I used in my last letter. But what is really hilarious is this: Once again he’s trying to take college humor and analyze it like some literary work by Keats or Mil- ton. What do you do in your spare time Mr. Robinson, do short story analysises on bathroom grafitti? Was “Animal House†mature, rational and sensible? No way! But it made mil lions of people laugh. Mr. Robinson adds, “say something constructive if you want to effect any real change around here.†Who said anything about effecting any change? It appears that Mr. Robin son is displeased with Texas A&M, so if he is, I suggest he initiates the change that he is looking for. Mr. Robinson was even so courteous that he encloses a “P.S.†at the bottom of his letter. He makes a giant seven-line sentence using words like psychological, historical, philosophical ... and the list goes on. This gigantic sentence adds up to a “whole-lotta-nothing.†He uses this statement to assault a movie advertise ment in the Buttalion. It advertises Charles Bronson as Jesus, Don Knotts as Pilate and Dom DeLuise as Satan. I’m a devout Catholic and I still laughed it off and considered it very funny. Does this mean I should get upset like Mr. Robin son did and write a letter to the Pope? Come on Mr. Robinson, don’t try to dig into a piece of journalism like the Butta lion to Find some “deep social relevance,†because you won’t. If you don’t like it, DON’T READ IT! Steve Patti Student attitudes questioned Editor: This letter is in response to Dr. Kell ner’s letter of March 30 concerning the graduate student programs and faculty. As a general statement that is not heard on this campus but is well based: “It’s not the school or the faculty that make an education, but rather the stu dent.†If a student does not want to learn or get an education, then he/she won’t and nothing will change that. Furth- Berrys World “Isn’t it OBVIOUS? They’re hamburgers. One's Burger King an' the other's McDonald's. THEY'RE FIGHTING!’’ ermore, if a student goes into a college with a feeling that he/she is not going through a good program and does not make the best of that program; then the student will get a poor education. The only way to change or Fix the graduate program here is to change the attitudes people already have of it. Once the attitudes of students are changed then the programs can be changed. Un fortunately in a limited society, coming from limited backgrounds, most students will maintain their attitudes. Maybe what Dr. Vandiver was trying to say was that the teaching being given is not necessarily bad, but that the way the education is being utilized is not good. Getting a degree from Texas A&M according to most students does not mean getting an education. Instead it means making more money. Perhaps when this attitude is changed towards personal education for the sake of educa tion; a degree from Texas A&M, no mat ter what type of degree, would mean more within and without the state of Texas. Then maybe this school would obtain world class status that it so desper ately seeks. Stephen Weiss ’84 Ray O’Connell ’79 EPA resignations Editor: Re: The recent flurry of resignations at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It seems obvious that the resignations of Dr. John Hernandez, John Todhunter and Robert Perry are a blatant attempt by the Reagan administration to overcome Congressional investigations. The plan is apparently to change the leading charac ters often enough to confuse any attempt at probing wrong-doings by EPA bureaucrats. Fearful that the investiga tions would uncover damaging evidence against the administration, Reagan has made a concerted effort to stonewall the several Congressional committee investi gations. Meanwhile, the EPA flounders rudderless and directionless. Now is the time to remove the EPA from under executive control and make it an independent agency as was original ly intended for it. This move will allow the agency to perform its function of pro tecting the environment instead of pro tecting the despoilers of the environ ment. By ceasing to be a politically moti vated and manipulated body, the EPA could no longer be used to advance the interests of politicians friendly to the administration, nor could it as readily cover up mistreatment of the environ ment by those interests who now seem to have the unqualiFied cooperation of this misdirected agency (e.g.the Dow Che mical Company). The environment of this country, and of the entire world, should be a sacred and public trust, not to be willfully raped by the “private sector.†This does not mean a reversal of all development, but development with an eye towards pre serving the environment for all its inhabi tants. The Environmental Protection Agency should be an agency to do just as its name implies. James Rubarth Graduate student I When tate of ! owerfu' jnight, jscuss o lather, t he most aced by he pro aedium lies ant aated ta (loymen In to Vest Ge jut Sd 'rime N 1 nd For brd vvi conomi The milit ility of 'atrick 1 onsulta The he Wes ponson jecture rated t in Kalb EPA housecleanin tip of the iceberg? by Maxwell Glen and Cody Shearer For many, scandal and housecleaning at the Environmental Protection Agency might seem enough to set an administra tion listing dangerously toward business interests back on an even keel. also cut proposed Fines by VOpercemi the number of workers protectedim ; re ece OSH A standards by half. Perhaps not so suprising to Sewoi addicts, OSH A policy now requireti dore Any number of “Sons of EPA†se quels, however, may soon be released, exposing trails of conflict and malfea sance as unconscionable as those at the traumatized agency. One can only won der if the Democrats are waiting for a “smoking shredder†or a telltale appoint ments calendar before screening other horror stories. ommui iJATO me I VATO. proposed federal safety standards submitted to industry for commentf '8 nec * W. Hernandez, a New Mexico sev specialist, resigned as acting EPAad nistrator March 25 partly as a resulti controversy over his extendingthesi privilege to Dow Chemical Co.) David Obey (D-Wis.) told the Houst cently, “It is the same pattern of ta the area of working health thatEPA demonstrated in the area of pi! health.†So far, the heat has been on William D. Ruckelshaus to convince everyone that past ties with Weyerhauser Co., for whom he recently served as general counsel, won’t influence his stewardship of the EPA. The Weyerhauser connec tion deserves the scrutiny that it’s receiv ing: Despite Ruckelshaus’ record of in tegrity as inaugural EPA administrator and onetime deputy attorney general, his former employer is a major polluter in an industry widely subject to federal en vironmental law. The Anne Burford era at EPA proved, if nothing else, that such connections cannot be ignored in a pro business administration. For miners. Obey’s words ring»i Lme ! K ‘ fWestt nited 5 jeNorl ization The< 949, u lelgiurr 'ortuga Jorway tales ii then in gainst nembei In 1 ral Eas The f NA1 tales p teapon ttack. I ade W [rowing ased, i irttain 1 luclear deeper resonance. Reagan’s manat Mine Health and Safety AdministraiK^ am Ford Barney Ford, once told suboti c un ates shortly after a major mining| as no dent, “We are servants of thepeopld ased i supported us.†Meanwhile, back on the enviroi tal front, U.S. Forest Service chief) Crowell seems a shoo-in to take the Lavelle Memorial Prize. Accordingtt environmental coalition, an Alaska mill owned by Crowell’s former ployer, a major wood products ftrnt; recently allowed to buy timber from! government at a 96 percent discoui I Unfortunately, Ruckelshaus’ cele brated return hasn’t sparked a similarly intense review of the “industrial connec tion†at other agencies. Yet one would Find that such incest has led to a similar pattern of non-enforcement and danger ous non-regulation. It’s imprecise to label such easel manifestations of a Reagan-style ‘toi]| rate-government partnership.’’ lt’s« ter to call them collusive, anddangffi| to think them anomalous. Take the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, for example. Its chief, Thorne C. Auchter, a Florida con struction company scion and former Reagan campaign soldier, has overseen one of the more thorough counterrevo lutions to date. According to a study re leased Monday by nine national environ mental organizations, Auchter’s OSHA has ignored both recommendations and evidence for tighter rules on benzene, asbestos and other carcinogens; it has When and how the Democrats(sfl’j, surely some Republicans) willresp this pattern is uncertain. So far,C one of the few to treat another agflftanned with the scrutiny accorded EPA.Het !1 thro cently requested Auchter’s appointw pocen records, if only to demonstrate f †business bias. For now, however, lawmakersclt( to see only the tip of the iceberg, take a closer look soon, they’ll fit other agencies have become then ized, compromised and demoralized Fit that is Reagan’s EPA. 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 Assistant Sports Editor J°hn Lopez 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, Robert McGlohon, Ann Ramsbottom, Kim Schmidt, Patti Schwierzke, Kelley Smith, Angel Stokes, 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 7 he Battalion is a non-protit, self-supporting news paper operated as a community service It) Univcrsit) and Hi \ an-College Station. 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