Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, November 4,1983
Letters: Grenada invasion ‘imperialistic’
Editor:
I am writing to express my disapprov
al of the United States’ invasion of Grena
da. Although certainly consistent with
Reagan’s relatively tough stance in fore
ign policy, it reflects a blatant ignorance
of contemporary history.
Doesn’t anyone in the decision
making body own a dictionary with which
to look up the word “sovereign"? Who
are we to directly intervene in another
state’s internal policy, regardless of that
internal policy and regardless of support
generated by “concerned” adjacent
states?
Is there a difference between Amer
ican and Russian aggression in fact? Are
we not protecting our interests in the
southern hemisphere just as the Soviet
Union does along her regional borders,
i.e. Poland and Afghanistan? The fact
that we can, and do, move around within
our hemisphere with impunity illustrates
that perhaps we have not lost our impe
rialism. Further, our imperialism is not
far removed from Russian expansionism.
History has not taught us many les
sons, it would seem. This invasion of Gre
nada is not much more than a successful
Bay of Pigs. And the damage done to the
American world image will, in the long
run, parallel such lines. Aggression is
aggression whether committed by the
“good guys” or the “bad guys“.
Susan Canedy Wyland
Student vote needed
Editor:
It is time the students at Texas A&M
University played a more active part in
Brazos Gounty Politics. For four (or Five,
or six) years this is our home.
The 36,000 students at Texas A&M
are undoubtedly the backbone for the
local economy and policies decided by the
city councils and the county commission
er’s court affect us every day.
This Nov. 8 would be a good time for
the students to become more active. On
that day the voters of Brazos Gounty will
decide the fate if the long debated unit
system of road management for county.
The unit system would allow the coun
ty to hire an engineer and unite the four
individual road maintenance Fiefdoms
that currently exist, thus saving the tax
payer money and providing better roads.
The unit system is a common sense,
money saving, modern approach to road
maintenance that many Texas counties
already uses.
Despite the inuendo and outright un
truths spread by one of the county com
missioners the unit system is not a politic
ally partisan issue. The unit system is a
good idea that would be good for Brazos
County and the election deciding this
issue provides an opportunity for the stu
dents to become more active in Brazos
County government.
Kent Martin
(Editor’s note: This letter was accompa
nied by 28 signatures.)
Blame to be placed
Editor:
To Preston Abbott, Tracey Dieterich
and John Gianotti — he who has no sin,
let him pull the First trigger!
Jackie Fredrick ’84
World condition bad
Editor:
In response to Mr. Westlake’s letter
(Nov. 1)1 have a few things to say.
First of all its probably very easy for
you to say things aren’t all that bad — well
how would you like to pick up a newspap
er and Find a picture of one of your class
mates and Find out that he was killed in
Beirut?
Better yet why don’t you try talking to
some of the families and friends of those
killed in Beirut. I might even stoop to
your level for the occasion.
Secondly, you were probably fortun
ate to make it past your 20th birthday,
some of those guys killed were not. Are
the things still not so bad?
And lastly Mr. Westlake, I’m sure if
you were in hurricane Alicia’s path this
summer then you no doubt thought that
disaster wasn’t “all that bad.”
Carole Taylor ’86
Holidays supported
Editor:
I am writing in response to Marc Ro
gers’ opinion letter on students speaking
out. The first thing I have to say is Bravo
Marc.
I agree with many points that Marc
made throughout the essay. For one, I do
think that national holidays like Memo
rial Day and Veteran’s Day should be rec
ognized.
I am from Virginia Beach, Va. and my
father is an officer in the Navy. Living so
close to the world’s largest military instal
lation, we recognize every military holi
day ever dreamed up by Congress. Like
Marc said, we should hear more about
such occasions in the future instead of
worrying about the next home game.
I was not old enough to be involved in
the highly political campus scene of the
60s but I feel that maybe Texas A&M is a
little too conservative when it comes to
talking and taking a stand on politiccal
and moral issues.
Hopefully, Marc’s letters will spark
some positive reactions and not just a
whole lot of sneer letters.
David D. Driskell ’87
Word misinterpreted
Editor:
Many times we do things with the best
of intentions and Find our actions are
misinterpreted by others. Very often this
' ' ' ‘ Tht
variation in interpretation of the same act
or action is due to the varying back
grounds of the people involved in the
action, which results in different groups
of people.
The word, spook, has a number of
meanings and one of these is associated
with the traditions of Halloween.
Another use of the term, however, is as a
derogatory label for black Americans.
Obviously black Americans at Texas
A&M know this and are sensitive to the
public use if a word that is often used in a
degrading way towards them.
I congratulate the Roadrunners for
having taken the action they did to
change the name of their annual event
once they became aware of the fact that
the label “Spook Event” was offensive to
other Aggies.
Those of you who take pride in being
from the South and signify this by dis
playing the Gonfederate flag need to re
flect on what this symbol is perceived to
szand for by black Americans.
If we are sincere in our proclaimed to
make our neighbors who happen to be
labeled as black Americans welcome here
at Texas A&M, we need to become more
sensitive about their perceptions. The
Roadrunners Glub has set a good exam
ple for the rest of us to follow.
William P. Kuvlesky
Professor of Sociology
Gays want dignity
Editor:
In response to M. Weaver’s letter
(Gays Reconsider), I would like to quote
an anonymous writer here in Aggieland.
These are his words:
“Stop harassing us. Let us live our lives
publically, bothering no one and then we
can attain dignity. Have society outlaw
your sexuality and then see how much
integrity you can proclaim. You think ab
out that before you start denigrating
something you know nothing about. We
don’t exactly love the idea of not being
‘normal,’ and people like you make it
even worse.”
Like any other gay, I was born gay, I’m
comfortable being who I am, and that’s
the way God wanted me to be — a normal
human being.
Ed Filho
Parking spaces small
Editor:
This is in response to the issue of res
triping the parking lots. I am one of many
people who own a large car. As it is right
now, I cannot park in the red area behind
Law Hall without taking up two parking
spaces, which I will not because it would
aggravate other good Ags.
The spaces are too small and there are
many scratches and dents on the doors to
prove it.
In order to get out of a vehicle in this
area, you must hold the door and squeeze
out, which does not always work. Try
doing this with your arms full of grocer
ies. It is very difficult.
If the parking lots do get restriped,
where are people with larger cars going
to park so that theirs won’t get damaged?
As for $400 a space to restripe, are they
kidding? Why don’t they use that money
to build an additional parking lot? Or if
there is not space for an additional park
ing lot, what about a parking garage?
They are expensive; but with all the tick
ets given out, I’m sure it can be afford
able.
Also, if the parking lots do get res
triped, people with larger cars may have
to take up more than one space because
their cars will not fit in one space. This
would only make the parking problem
worse than it already is.
I do not know how the rest of you
fellow Aggies with cars feel, but I do
know that I did not pay a $27 parking fee
to get my car damaged. When I paid that
fee, I was going to be guaranteed a “safe”
place to keep my car.
Let’s be reasonable; something does
need to be done about this parking prob
lem, but restriping is not the answer.
Shelia Pitik ’85
Bike safety scored
Editor:
I’ve read and heard several comments
about the biking problem on campus. I
am aware of the problems and would like
to clear some things up.
Bikers: contrary to popular belief, hit
ting a regular pedestrian on the street is
only worth 100 points in competition bik
ing, not 200. The only time the 200 is
awarded is when the pedestrian sees you
coming prior to impact.
This results in a double score. Stop
ping at a stop sign, of course, subtracts 10
points from your raw score. When travel
ing on sidewalks (the University’s fine
handicap facilities makes all sidewalks
accessible), pedestrians are only worth 50
points base and one point is awarded for
each mile per hour travelled (double that
if done with no hands).
One can see, however, that mph credit
only becomes significant at speeds over
30. Note that the PGA (Preditorial Gyc-
lists Association) considers points earned
by any sport, safety is important, so the
PGA highly recommends that all its mem
bers wear protective gear.
I hope that I’ve cleared up some of the
confusion, and I would like to say that
A&M bikers are some of the highest scor
ing bikers anywhere. Just yesterday I saw
a cyclist barrel through a crosswalk and
take out one “crosser” with each hand
lebar. As he rode on, I could see him
filling out his score card. Keep up the
good work, Ags!
One more note. To those bikers who
think they’re better bikers simply because
they consider the safety of others impor
tant . . . you’re worth 500 points. Thank
you.
Brian Massey ’87
Job hunting difficult
Editor:
A large photograph hangs in the
Placement Genter of a hot, perspiring,
Aggie crowd. Below it, the caption read:
The Way We Were. As 1 anmired this
photograph in a hot, perspiring, Aggie
crowd, it occured to me that die photo
graph was mislabeled.
It should read: The Way We Were,
Are, and Ever Shall Be. Our new sign-up
system with its five page instructions, sec
ret numbers, IDs, and bidding points,
could stand some improvements.
I have the following suggestions. First,
make more copies of the schedule books
available. There must be five Ags for ev
ery one of those five inch thick books; you
waste alot of time waiting for your turn.
Second, the Placement Genter needs
more personnel and larger accommoda
tions; the main desk is understaffed and
the lobby is cramped.
Third, if any department feels it had
the staff, space, and time to handle the
interview process, then the Placement
Genter should be bypassed completely. It
has been my experience that department
supported sign—ups and interviews in
volve less time and paperworkf|
volved.
I hope these suggestions'
the day when a photograph ofalj
piring Aggie crowd at the
Genter will proudly hang on a
this caption: The Way We Wei
William (
y
Bonfire help stror
Editor:
We, the residents of Brig/
would like to express our apprca
all the.guys out at the cut sight,e
Richard and Crocker Halts Ye) 1
and the entire population ofCrd
their support of our efforts fori
Build the hell outta bonhrej
Marcy 1
Patrice
DeeneE
is
SMU game not lo
Pc
Editor:
I would like to applaud the Ac;
their victory in the SMU game i
there was a three point different:
Aggie at Kyle Field was a winnr iTA ^ ^
To those whom the words, 1;
you win or lose, it’s how you
game” are meaningless, they« United
present at Kyle Saturday. ^
Each player put forth a a l ‘ Qns
effort, which was matched by 4^'' w s<
man in the stands. The “neverqa ^ l i: ”! a / '
burst forth from the first yeili a T exas ar
last, when, united, the playem The p
12th man showed that we will con found in tl
struggle forward together, boili one of th
off tne field. occupied N
I had the privilege of bringine /SL,ne V lc : a
to a game. After the game, whe;^ 1 ,mt ' 1
marked that he had been to UuV" olll<) ■ 1
_ . ^ i ii l the site sin
1 ulsa, etc., football games, but Dr -ph
“never seen anything like today," administn
have not been prouder if we had
100 points. Because a merewinb -
is soon forgotten, but a thorougk
is built upon making ourselvess:
for the next obstacles.
So be proud Aggies, wegaine:
from the game than SMU willal
Charlie
Aggieland spirit
Editor:
I he author of this poem wistie
main anonymous, but the signal
the bottom support his view.
When the Greeks start talking,
They say quite a lot.
But in Commander Abbott's 0
They ought to be shot.
They didn’t work bonfire,
Silver Taps was a joke,
They never said "Howdy,”
If ever they spoke.
They asked to be equal,
To not be denied.
But the way I see it,
They’re just along for the ridt
Oh, we can accept them,
But I say if we do,
The Spirit of Aggieland
Will no longer be true.
Stephen C. Tat
Ronald A. Y
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77H43.
Speakes endures
credibility damage
by Helen Thomas
United Press International
WASHINGTON — White House credi
bility has suffered a damaging blow with
the invasion of Grenada, and it may take
time to recover.
There are indications that at least
some aides believe that the way informa
tion concerning the invasion and U.S.
motives was blacked out, then doled out,
much of it misinformation, was a “col
ossal blunder” that may come back to
haunt them.
Deputy press secretary Larry Speakes,
in particular, has had his reputation on
the line. He was not informed of the inva
sion until an hour after it was under way.
It was a big secret for Americans most
ly since there are strong indications that
the Cubans, the Soviets and the Grena
dians were aware of the preparations and
the 20-ship armada in the Garibbean
some 24 hours before the invasion.
Speakes is telling reporters that he has
been assured that in the future he will be
brought in on the takeoffs as well as the
landings.
There are many aspects to the events
of the last week that called into question
the administration’s desire for full
accountability. The civilian powers com
pletely deferred to the military on mak
ing decisions on how and when informa
tion should be transmitted to the public.
In other words, the White House
turned over to the Pentagon its control of
information outlets on the important
matter of keeping the public informed.
For two days, the public was denied an
independent, non-government view of
the war because reporters were barred
from Grenada.
The protests of news organizations
helped force the issue and did resolve in
corespondents finally being permitted to
cover the war as independent observers.
It was a Canadian correspondent who
reported the United States had hit a men
tal hospital, killing some of the patients
and orderlies. Although the hospital was
shelled on the day of the invasion, the
Pentagon did not report it.
The Pentagon also has been slow to
announce any casualties it has inflicted
on the natives and Cubans who resisted
the invasion.
Speakes said that he had been unfairly
singled out since spokesman at the State
Department and Pentagon also were in
volved in passing along false informa
tion.
Speakes told reporters that had be
been given the truth, “I would not have
revealed it, but I would not have lied, nor
would I have misled.”
“Now, was that bomb thrtf-
hoax or not? Was that a I
bomb, or was it not a ft
bomb?”