Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1983)
Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, November 3, 1983 World happenings take toll on Reagan by Helen Thomas United Press International WASHINGTON — President Reagan is being forced to make good on his policy of peace through strength by sending combat troops to many of the world’s troublespots. Reagan had a relatively peaceful first two years, but as with his predecessors in recent times, he is learning that international events inevitably preoccupy the presidency, and take their toll. Since he has drawn a sharp line in the ideological struggle with the communists, the United States is forced to take a strong posi tion against Soviet and Cuban influences wherever they may seek to prevail. As a result, the United States is militarily involved in the Middle East, the Caribbean and Central America. A memo drawn up by the National Security Council more than a year ago called for a “full court press” against the Kremlin, and that is what the United States appears to be under taking. Reagan is a man of decision, and a man of action. He does not choose to retreat in the face of attempts to drive the Marines out of Beirut with snipers and a terrorist attacks. And he does not choose to ignore an appeal from a group of Caribbean island nations to help depose the leftist revolutionary govern ment in Grenada. The Marxist government in Nicaragua is viewed as another target of opportunity to rid the region of Soviet-Cuban influences. Like Harry Truman, Reagan does not anguish over a decision once it is made parti cularly when convinced of the righteousness of his cause. But Truman did not live in the full glare of television, and wars that come into the living room of nearly every home. Combat in Leba non, an invasion of Grenada are vivid realities for every American. And the nation is wary of military involvements they may liken to the Vietnam debacle. Nor does Reagan have a malleable Con gress that can be easily persuaded to support foreign ventures that will entail loss of life, even when told they, are for vital strategic interests. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member ot Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conf erence Editor nope C. Paasch Managing Editor Beverly Hamilton City Editor Kelley Smith Assistant City Editor Karen Schrimsher Sports Editor Melissa Adair Entertainment Editor.... Rebeca Zimmermann Assistant Entertainment Editor Shelley Hoekstra News Editors Brian Boyer, Kathy Breard, Kevin Inda, Tracey Taylor, Chris Thayer, Kathy Wiesepape Photo Editor Eric Evan Lee Staff Writers Robin Black, Brigid Brockman, Bob Caster, Ronnie Crocker, Kari Fluegel, Tracie Holub, Bonnie Langford, John Lopez, Kay Denise Mallett, Christine Mallon, Michelle Powe, Ann Ramsbottom, Stephanie Ross, Angel Stokes, Steve Thomas, John Wagner, Karen Wallace, Wanda Winkler Copy Editors Kathleen Hart, Kristal Mills, Susan Talbot Cartoonists Paul Dirmeyer, Scott McCullar Photographers . Michael Davis, Guy Hood, John Makely, Dean Saito 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- lycrs, or of the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editingand photography clas ses within the Department of Communications. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length, arid 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 telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holi day and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 perschool year and $35 per full year. Advertising 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. Military solutions are becoming less palat- ' ' ' ' ' ibl able to the lawmakers and less acceptable to Americans who are more prone to ask why. Reagan sees the struggle in Lebanon as more than a civil war. He believes the Middle East is a vital area to both Europe and the Western Hemisphere, which must not be lost to Soviet domination. The same is true of the Caribbean where U.S. presidents have refused to do business with Fidel Castro and at the same time taken actions to block the spread of his sphere of influence among dissident factions in that re gion. White House and Pentagon officials insist that the United States is not spreading its forces too thin in the world’s troublespots. But the president is being branded as “trig ger happy” by some of his opponents on Capi tol Hill. Rep. Paul Simon said the “military solution seems to be the automatic reflex” under the president. Sen. Carl Levin questioned the legitimacy of the Grenadan invasion and the “credibility” of Reagan’s explanation for it. Sen. Patrick Moynihan called it an “act of war.” Reagan had powerful defenders, however, such as Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, Sen ate GOP leader Howard Baker, Senate Demo cratic leader Robert Byrd, and Sen. Charles Percy who were let in on the best kept secret of the invasion of Grenada several hours before it took place. Usually the leaders are “consulted” after the fait accompli. But the president realizes as the days go on and the United States becomes more involved abroad, he needs all the help and support he can get from allies in Con gress. Throughout the 1980 campaign, Reagan criticized President Jimmy Carter for not tak ing a stronger stand against the Soviet Union, Iran and other hostile forces. Carter’s oppo nents criticized him as being “wishy washy” and indecisive in critical times. The hostage crisis in Iran particularly evoked harsh judg ments against Carter. Now Reagan is having his day, and showing the flag. It remains to be seen whether the people will decide that this is the right way to go. '//-C.-SS I haven*t seen him since we un loaded the last batch of logs, have you Letters: Get the facts before writing to the Reload the foi Editor: This is in response to the irrational and uninformed Mr. Stephen Weiss who doubted the truthfulness of my state ments concerning the right-of-way reg ulations between motorists and pedes trians as told to me by a campus police officer. Mr. Weiss stated that it was “absolute nonsense” for motor vehicles to have the right-of-way, no matter where they are.” Well, guess what, Mr. Weiss. YOU’RE WROOOOOONGH! If Mr. Weiss had taken the time to at least check out some facts before tossing out his uninformed opinions on the matter, he would have found out that pedestrians DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY UN LESS they are crossing at “controlled in tersections or crosswalks.” Quoting from the Texas Motor Vehi cle Laws, in Section 78 (A) it states: every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked cross walk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, shall yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the highway.” Sgt. R. Flores of the campus police de partment explained the word “highway” to mean all roads. through the streets, technically the fault would belong to the runners, not the driver (sorry, Aggies). Greek letters so people wouldi BUT, because it is common know ledge that the corps has these runs, driv ers (and pedestrians) allow these cadets to run along uninterrupted. Furthermore, Mr. Weiss’ ridiculous suggestions to close off the heart of cam pus to all but pedestrians OR to set strictly enforced 5 mph speed limits would only defeat the purposes of those who purch ased bicycles, mopeds or cars in hopes of utilizing these vehicles to arrive to class on time. Greeks do cut Bonfire, just liktil^ r else. We had to put up withm®- than it was worth. Most of tk • there were considerate and * j cut wood, not antagonize a graJ pie who are doing their du However, this letter is directet degrading group known as D( else?) The constant remarks lift (not yells) you people madei )lac by Although not all pedestrians are to be blamed for the thoughtless behavior of a few, it would be nice if more Aggies would look before darting into a street. Perhaps some of you could take the time to walk the extra 15 feet to the designated crosswalks. They are there for your pro tection. saved for someplace besides Bor Compu.ei Sbisa where you keep vour making more noise than anyot )me yexas and interfering with people j n eerinj trying to eat. Evidently yoursoa;mester. is spreading, because about 10pe; Control Northgate nas your same attitupur oompi are ya’ll going to grow up and is t j aniiar > bitch’n.” You give yourselvesalx re ^ n S inct I excis A Sgt. Flores also said that although jaywalking is not considered an unlawfiil offense in Texas, it is still a safety hazard and a pedestrian can be cited for crossing a street at any point along the street ex cept when crossing at a corner, intersec tion. or marked crosswalk. Mr. Weiss, in his weird version of traf fic solutions is simply trying to regulate the issue to accomodate his own comforts and oversights. It seems he would rather have motorists forget the laws and just look out for him and his type--ill- mannered lunkheads who insist on in festing the “highways” rather than the sidewalks where they belong. ni vers it We chopped several trees delected na day, one too big for us to get 'ata to pari thanks go to the men of Crocker: ve en gi ne ' percent) who helped usgetour: p^ rou g on the road and to everyone ° Data ( something constructive WO) Greeks and Bonfire. Gig ’Em. .uter-base Mike Warner 84 quipment ices to th olleges. Texas J s-x. i x -i i »torece Students need tow th. elected be ecided to ir prograi Toiessort Of course, pedestrians have rights too. In Section 77 of the TMV laws, Sgt. Flores paraphrased the lengthy passage for me and said: “If there’s no traffic signal and someone is in a crosswalk on your side of the street or if someone is so close to your side of the street that you would endanger him by proceeding through the street, you must yield to him.” By the way, Mr. Weiss, with all your ESP abilities (only you seem to believe it was my fault for the accident between my moped and the two pedestrians some time ago) could you possibly work on finding out the identity of the bashful young woman who scooted off without leaving her name with the police for caus ing an accident? Your clairvoyant help would be extremely useful, Swami Weiss. Catherine Campbell Sgt. Flores added that a pedestrian should at least give a driver time to react to a situation and “not just jump out into the road at any time, expecting you to stop. That’s just common courtesy.” Not to mention pretty intelligent too. Editor: $ 1.5 million down the drain! 1 g>| said, dents don’t realize $51.50 ofife Last spi (about 5 to 10 percent) goesthre/f re usc< dent Government - and if ize this, it doesn’t show in thetun i0u t u 9 student elections. Last spring, ^ on percent of the student body turK- vote in the general election anc percent voted in the runoff. Ic; too late to cry about or undo the: I encourage all freshmen to vod upcoming election and 1 chalk! entire student body to help chi starving statistic. Greeks cut for bonfire Editor: In his ludicrous example, Mr. Weiss used the corps runs as an illustration for his views. However, according to Section 78, if an accident were to occur between a motor vehicle and pedestrians running Last Sunday, our fraternity went to cut on the Aggie Bonfire. We got up at 5:30 a.m. just like all other “good Ags” and got to the cutting site at 7:00 a.m. There were ten of us that went and we all wore our How can elected of ficials reprf effectivly and properly when the'? jority of students can’t find the interest to vote. Get involved ew know where your money goes to ing the person who represents) most of all—vote! Vote!! VOTE!: Mark D. P.S. Freshmen runoffs are todaj Airline crisis makes big lines think free air competition is for the birds by Art Buchwald I have this hot line to a “crisis center.” Every Monday morning I call up a guy and ask him, “What’s the crisis of the week?” and for $25 he tells me. This week I called him and he said, “The ‘big G’ is the airline crisis. It could be a Mt. St. Helens.” “What happened?” I asked him. “The thing that started it all was the big boys in aviation wanted the airlines deregulated because they claimed they weren’t making enough money. So the administration deregulated the friendly skies of America and opened them to the marketplace.” “Free competition is what this country thrives on,” I said. “The only problem was that after they got deregulated, all the big boys wanted to fly the same routes. A company that used to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina, decided to fly to London, England, in stead. Every major company put on flights to Hawaii and cancelled flights to middle America. Instead of going to Mis soula, Montana, one airline started a dai ly service to Tokyo. Pretty soon you could fly to Maimi every 15 minutes, but you could only go to Buffalo once a week. “With all the competition for the major cities, the airlines got into a price war. First they cut their fares—then they offered you a free seat for your wife. Then they advertised you could take all your children with you. And finally, dur ing the recession, they let you take all the people that you had met in a bar. There wasn’t an empty seat on the plane, but there was only one paying passenger. “To make things worse, the little guys started taking on the big boys and price- cut the hell out of them. The little guys were nonunion, no-frill companies who offered you nothing but a seat. But for $39 you could fly from New York to Los Angeles with a layover in Newfound land.” “I guess the free market was really working.” “It was for the little guys, but the big boys were going nuts. They came up with new sales gimmicks. If you flew a certain number of miles on their airline, they would upgrade you from tourist to first class. If you flew 15,000 miles they let you sit in the co-pilot’s seat. If you flew 100,000 miles they made you president of the company. Most of the people now running a losing airline came up through the ranks from the frequent flyer plan.” “To make things worse, the big boys guessed wrong on what planes they would need for their companies. Some ordered planes that were too big— others ordered planes that were too small. When they had too many planes in moth balls, they had to sell a lot of them to the little guys who were putting them out of business. Of course it wasn’t their fault. One of the major airline executives was walking through his terminal at Kennedy Airport and it was jammed with people. He immediately ordered six new 747s. What he didn’t realize, until later, was that all the people there were from Cen tral America, waiting for their grand mothers to get off the plane.” “That was an honest mistake,” I said. “To make things worse, the big boys, to protect themselves from theirsn ders, invested their cash flowi businesses, such as hotels, fast-fo* chises and natural gas. Since tltf making money in the businf stockholders started demanding^ noff the airline part of their “Everyone make mistake® Airlines thought it could get he* having Frank Borman do theirT mercials. He was very credible didn’t sell any tickets.” “Why didn’t they scrub thead'i campaign?” “What advertising executive is) tell the chairman of the board of Airlines he can no longer do tl pany’s commercials?” “What a mess,” I said. “1 guess 1 boys are sorry they ever asked fd! ulation for the airlines. Are they? go back and lobby for airline again?” “That’s their only chance.'' them have decided free air comptf for the birds.” Not-