Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, April 15, 1983
opinion
Slouch By Jim Earle
“Next.”
Search for peace
in modern Israel
Editor's note: l itis is the hist of ;t fbnr-
pnrt iimilysis written by members ol the
Israel Chib in conjunction with Israel
Awareness Week.
by Y. Weitsman
For almost 2()()() years in the diaspora,
Jewish hopes for a renewed Israel were
derived from religious faith and biblical
prophecies. These hopes received a
realistic form in the Zionist movement
during the I 9th century. Spurred on and
encouraged by the ideas of t he American
and French Revolutions, and by the
European “Spring of Nations,” the Zion
ist movement spread through the Jewish
ghettos as a direct counterpart of die
liberation movements of Italy, Poland,
Germany and Hungary. Unlike its sister
movements, Zionism faced the apparent
ly insurmountable obstacles of liberating
a people that were scattered, lacking
common territory and language.
The land of Israel, which most Jews
saw only in their dreams, was controlled
by a decaying and corrupt Turkish
Empire. The country had long ceased
being the proverbial “land of milk and
honey.” Centuries of neglect hared it of
its natural forest and turned its fertile
valleys into malaria infested swamps. Its
population, which dwindled to a small
fraction of its ancient size, retreated to
the now barren mountains and lived at
subsistence level.
Jewish settlement was directed to the
swampy valleys, which took a heavy toll of
death among the early pioneers and their
families, The tomb stones in the valleysof
Sharon, liefer, Hula and Jezreel tell to
this day the story of dedication and sacri
fice of settler families, men, women and
children. This dedication, combined with
the implemints of modern science and
technology, is the* most important single
cause for Israel’s emergence.
On its 35th anniversary, Israel can
point to many important achievements.
Exiles were gathered from over one hun
dred countries around the globe and
shaped into a coherent society, the Heb
rew language was revived and turned to a
daily and cultural tongue (several years
ago, the Hebrew author, S.I. Agnon, re
ceived the Nobel prize in literature), the
land was reclaimed and made fertile once
more, and a political system of Western
Democracy was entrenched into all levels
of government. All these accomplish
ments give good cause for satisfaction
and pride to Israel and its supporters.
There remains, however, one crucial
item of unfinished business on Israel’s
agenda. Their country has yet to achieve
peace and acceptance by its Arab neigh
bors. It is ironic that a people whose
yearning for peace is unsurpassed by any
other nation, has not known peace since
its birth 35 years ago. This accomplish
ment, peace — in the spirit of good will
and compromise — remains Israel’s most
important task for the future.
Yechiel Weitsman is a civil engineering'
professor at Texas A&M.
The Battalion
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Managing Editor Gary Barker
Associate Editor Denise Richter
City Editor I lope E. Paasch
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Sports Editor John Wagner
Assistant Sports Editor John Eopez
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 Svvaner, Jan Werner, Rebeca
Ximmermann
Staff Writers
Melissa Adair, Maureen Carmody,
Erank Christ Iieb, Connie Edelmon,
Scott Griffin, Patrice Koranek, Robert
McGlohon, Ann Ramsbottom, Kim
Schmidt, Karen Schrimsher, Patti
Sc hvvier/ke, Kelley Smith, Angel
Stokes, Joe 1 indcl, Tracey Taylor,
Kathy Wicsepape
Cartoonist Scott McCullar
(Graphic: Artists Pam Starasinic
Sergio Galvez. Thompson, Eernando
Andrade
Photographers David f isher,
Guy Hood, Eric l.ee, Irene Mees,
Barry Papke, William Schulz.
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77843'.
Give us all a sign, Lord
He has finished his peTfoTinance. He
leaves the stage and now D ies to make his
way through the deluge of his fans. You
are there, in the midst of tliem, waiting
for him with your little autograph book.
Tor some reason, he stojis in f ront of you,
smiles, and agrees to sign his name in it
for you. Then he is gone.
The autograph of a celebrity is a
strange item. It is little more than j)hysic-
al evidence of a celebrity’s encounter with
one of his Ians. It is usually the extent of a
celebrity’s dealings with most of his fans
too, yet it seems to carry much more sig
nificance than that.
The autograph is actually many
things. Tor the fan an autograj)h is a goal,
a possession, a gift and almost a form of
proof that some tie exists between the'
celebrity and himself. It can lead to a
feeling ofOvvnershij) that extends almost
beyond the owning of the signature to
include friendshiji. Something seems to
sej)arate the fan with the aulogi aj>h from
those without. The book or record auto
graphed by its creator has a higher re
sale value than those that lack it.
Celebrities communicate their mes
sages to their audience through the mass
media. Whet her through a performance,
a recording or a |)iece of writing, it is a sad
but true fac t that a celebrity's i elationshij)
with his audience is on a one-to-one basis
b y
only for the audience. He cannot know
them the way they know him. However,
the f ans generally do not see this perspec
tive, and when meeting a fan thecelebrily
is forever forced to respond to state
ments like “I just wanted to tell you how
much I liked your book,” or "I have all of
your albums,” or “Where do you get all of
your ideas?” Tor the fan it is a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity; for the celebrity
simj)ly another fan with the same things
to say.
John Denver considers a f an’s desire to
“wring” an autograph out of him to be
terribly selfish. He believes that an auto
graph has nothing to do with a perfor
mer’s relationshij) with his audience, that
it is simply the fan’s desire to ow n a |>iece
of him. Tor him, autographs have no
thing to do with him or his music.
Yet in a way the fan isoni
terms with his favoritecelelpji
familiarity with the star’s w«
many hours a fan sjjetulsMli
tening or reading his idol’snl
make for a very sjjecial, privalel
ship. It’s amazing, though,lI-L, 1
fans at e content with an auln(;i t t || ous
exchanged words and possibfL to
shake from their favoritestariyktnd
ing so many of his thoughts,imULpItalit
they inevitably must come toll Itljanr
are deserving of more fromfeB 16 c
Still, the word “celebrity"
age |)c*i son is equated almosttl{Mf in
“legend.” It is interestinghotnJr 111
risk the disa|)|)oiiilment <>hliJ-hn
their idol is only hitman,jiisi« irei
c ha nee of reinforcing theiriiiuT^ b e
as a legend in some new way. Kpm
We know the celebrities. I:Te
them to know us, a hopelessibpf
celebrity reaches out as anm
with his work and |)reseiitsii
victuals in a group — the a
IVrhaps that’s why we referlo
“stars.” 1 hey are just as easy lint
those lights in the night sky.
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are:its’
lie
Letters: Slave sale called inoffens
Editor:
I his letter is in response to Kevin
Johnson’s letter of Ajoril 13, w hich c riti
cized Crocket Hall’s “Brooster Sale” as
being similar to slavery auctions. I am
sorry that Mr. Johnson is offended by
this event, but I do not quite understand
why he objects.
First of all, the Crocker Cocks who are
sold in this auction are volunteering their
services, not being forced to do anything
against their will. Also, those auctioned
off are giving a few hours of their ser
vices, not a lifetime. And finally, much of
the proceeds from this sale are going to
charity.
Mr. Johnson, slavery is a |>art of this
country’s jxtst and there it will stay, unless
people continually dig it back uj) by find
ing offense where there is none. And f in
ally Mr. Johnson, let me remind you the
men auctioned off are doing it at their
own will, so if you really want to get |)ic:ky,
it’s not slavery — it’s prostitution.
Mark St. Mary
Secretary, Crocker Hall
Editor’s Note: This letter wits accompa
nied by 27 other signatures.
Program criticism
Editor:
Some constructive criticism to OPAS
after the season is over, with the hope
that they will do something about it next
year.
Although you have not realized it, the
program notes that you distribute at the
auditorium entrances prior to each jiter-
formance are very important for us con
cert goers. When we browse through
them, we would like to find some infor
mation about the performer and the
composer besides the description of the
|)ieces of music to be performed. The
glossy paper and the names of the contri
butors are less important to say the least,
no matter if we have contributed or not.
A jierson donates for a good cause and
not for his name to be advertized. A good
place to start in order to find out how to
improve your program notes, would be
to find one that you used to distribute
during your 1977-79 season.
It would be also highly ajqneciated if
you could find a way to inform us well in
advance about the pieces of music to be
performed by the visiting performers.
Nevertheless, I would like to thank you
for a good season and I wish you the best
for your future seasons.
Petro Yuanidis
Graduate Student
Concert thanks
Editor:
I would like to salute the MSC Base
ment Committee for their efforts in
arranging the Lotions Concert which was
held last Friday evening at The Grove.
The featured entertainment was an ex
cellent social and cultural interlude with
the realm of Reggae music.
I was thrilled to find that there was no
admission charge to this session of Re
ggae (a medium which finds it’s roots in
the pursuit of non-pecuniary satisfac
tion.) I’m sure the other 800 in attend
ance join in my anticipation of more f irst
rate activities in the future.
J.D. Currie, ’85
Human rights abuses
Editor:
International Students Week was an
enriching event. However, while we were
enjoying an introduction to different cul-
I
tures, jieople in many of the a
rejn esented are sufferinghiinaB ^
abuses. Men and women areiifB(3
because of their political belitfw
origin, sex, nationality, rate«■
beliefs. These |4eo|)learenollOT.' J ( ^
none has ever used or advoGildW' 5 ’
of violence. They are called
conscience. The fact these peopB'j,
|>rison is an af front to humanil)® a fj
do care; people like the nitnlehtsir
Amnesty International. Itisgdtmor
events like International studeilBmn
but we must not let them a!)® y
forget these abuses that occur,
MllcluS
MargareiJ^! 1 , M
PriBr S
TAMU Amnesty InternationaKl
jr-'i
Editor's Note: fit is letter was# I
ttied by six other signatures.
Crestview apprecr
Editor:
As a resident of Crestview Rei
Community, I would liketollrf
young women ol' Mosher HaW
friends who j>ut on the Seniu^
Celebration Day Ajaril 10atW
I know I speak for all theresiil'
Crestview when I say we all Id 1
time and made new friends.ft
dents went far beyond thecallift
name a few things; their refit'!
would have done justice to an'
function, especially the deliift
and sjn eads retirement citizens'
think about. We enjoyed thei"
games, and learned all the lalesH 1
(To our shock and surprise sal#
knew the latest steps.) It was a*
meat other senior citi/ens t#
Crestview.
Many thanks to the yOimg'rf
men who still care about seiiion'
Sue Sanders Loew