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Opinion
Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, January 9, 1984
Editorial policy:
accuracy and truth
A few days ago The Battalion re
ceived a letter commenting on a recent
editorial about the end of the boycott
of the Nestle Co. Its author claimed the
editorial’s writer hid behind the ano
nymity of “The Battalion Editorial
Board” because of his reluctance to ac
cept criticism of his opinions.
It’s time to clear up a few misconcep
tions.
The Battalion Editorial Board is
made up of six department heads over
I he Battalion staff. To refute the alle
gations that we are hiding, the Board
members are: Rebeca Zimmermann,
editor; John Wagner, managing edi
tor; Patrice Koranek, city editor; Tra
cey Taylor, news editor; Donn Fried
man, sports editor; and Kathy
Wiesepape, editorial page editor. All
six of us stand behind the Board’s edi
torials.
The Board members meet each day
to discuss news that will appear in The
Battalion and issues that merit editorial
comment. Although individual Board
members write the editorials, they ex
press the opinion of the majority of the
Editorial Board. At least four members
of the board must read the editorials
before they go to press. If the majority
doesn’t agree with the opinion ex
pressed, the editorial isn’t printed.
While the editorials don’t necessarily
express the individual opinions of ev
ery person on the staff, they are the of
ficial stance of the newspaper.
Another common misconception
concerns our policy on letters to the
editor.
Letters to the editor are just that: to
the editor. And we assure you that
both the editor and the editorial page
editor read every single one. We ap
preciate the issues and viewpoints that
are brought to our attention, and we
also appreciate constructive criticism of
The Battalion, its articles and editori
als. But we ask that you please sign
your real name (this is directed at the
author of the letter from God we re
ceived last week). If you aren’t willing
to stand behind your opinion, it’s prob
ably not worth printing.
We regret to say that we can’t print
all of the letters we receive. We’ve had
numerous complaints from disap
pointed readers in the past couple of
weeks because their letters didn’t run,
or didn’t run when they wanted them
to.
Since time and space dictate the
number of letters we’re able to print,
the best we can do is strive to present
an accurate sample of the opinions we
receive. Although we’ve been accused
of being biased toward one side or the
other in the number of letters we run,
we try to be fair.
In the editorials we express the Edi
torial Board’s views; in the rest of The
Battalion we attempt to be as objective
as possible.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
Letters...
Don't 'fix' the Corps
I recently read, with great dismay, the
new regulations issued by Col. Burton.
It is obvious he has never heard the ad
age, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”
It seems that every year some new
crusader is out to “improve” the Corps.
But what irritated me more than this
new crusade were the lame excuses
pressented by both the commander’s of
ficer and The Battalion Editorial Board
to defend the new regulations.
While I agree the taps on combat
boots were useless, the boots provide an
kle support and help build leg muscles
by acting as weights. The hazard is al
ways there, be it boots, tennis shoes, or
bare feet, especially for people who still
haven’t learn to walk as yet. As for what
the services do now, who cares.
The issue of quadding was really
thought out thoroughly. The idea that a
fish loses respect for an upperclassman
because he quads him is absolutely ridic
ulous.
Respect is earned or lost by the per
sonalities involved, not because you
dump a trash can of water on someone.
I know. I was quadded myself, but I
never lost the respect of the fish nor did
I not respect them.
As for quadding seniors daily, that is
an excess and it is the excesses which
must be eliminated. To that I agree.
The same is true of fish details.
Burton’s excuse that they may be de
grading or physically p^mtul sounds
like he’s concentrating only on the ex
cesses. It’s always easier to eliminate
something than to administer it prop
erly.
As for bad publicity - give me a break.
Bad publicity lurks around every cor
ner, not only for the Corps but for
Texas A&M. Anyone can find some
thing wrong if they look hard enough.
Lastly concerning fish bites, the ex
cuse that fish are starving to death as a
result is ludicrous. The “tormenting” of
fish by upperclassmen’s questions is an
excess which can be reduced or elimi
nated. However, like everything, it has
its subtle purpose: to teach fish how to
eat without being pigs and to be able to
speak when spoken to without splatter
ing people with food.
While I deplore excesses, I deplore
even more spineless excuse-making to
justify hasty, ill-conceived decisions. It is
obvious Burton and The Battalion Edi
torial Board gave these matters great
thought.
The solution is simple, eliminate the
excesses and ignore the publicity. The
upperclassmen are the administrators
and it is their responsibility to end the
excesses. So, Burton, put the responsibi
lity where it belongs and put an end to
this hollow crusade. The Corps isn’t
broken, so why fix it?
Keith R. Hairell
Class of’76
by Jim Earle
“Frankly, we’re getting sorta tired of your antigravity experi
ments.”
Republicans get more laughs
than Democratic candidates
By ART BUCHWALD
Columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate
I have been accused by some readers
of always picking on President Reagan.
“Why,” the writers ask, “don’t you make
fun of the Democrats?”
It’s a fair queston. The answer is that
so far the only thing funny about the
Democrats is that there is nothing funny
about them.
Let me give you a humor test.
I’m going to name the Democratic
candidates and you see if you laugh. All
right, now — no cheating.
Mondale, Glenn, Jackson, Hart, Hol-
lings, Cranston, McGovern, Askew and
Dark Horse Candidate.
Now you probably laughed at the
dark horse candidate more than you
laughed at the others. So you can see the
bind I’m in.
Mondale is the front runner accord
ing to the polls. There is nothing funny
there. I know because I have a mole in
the Mondale camp and last Monday
morning I called and said, “Did Mon
dale do anything funny last week like
cry in New Hampshire or something?”
“Nope. He just went around making
speeches about the greatness of Amer
ica and how Reagan doesn’t care about
the poor or the elderly or the disadvan
taged and the unemployed.”
Then I checked in with Glenn Head
quarters. “Any laughs over at your
place?”
“Glenn changed campign managers
again and bombed out in the South talk
ing about the greatness of America and
how Reagan does’nt care about the el
derly or the disadvantaged and the
poor.”
I then talked to my mole in Jesse
Jackson’s office.
“You guys having any chuckles over
there?”
“I don’t know if this is funny or not
but Jesse just gave a speech last night at
a church talking about the greatness of
America and how Reagan has short
changed the elderly, the disadvantaged
and the poor.”
“It’s not a thigh slapper,” I told him.
I won’t go through the rest of the can
didates because the reports were all sim
ilar except for the call I made to McGov-
ern’s headquarters. McGovern
answered the phone himself.
“Hi, this is George McGovern. I’m
out on the campaign trail for a few
hours and can’t answer the phone. At
the sound of the beep please leave your
name and telephone number, and if
you’re thinking of voting for me I’ll get
back to you as soon as I can.”
I’m not copping a plea because a col
umnist should be able to find humor in
a political party, even if there isn’t any.
But it’s always easier to make fun of
someone in power than it is someone
who has none.
I had to explain this to one of Mon
dale’s staff the other day who said, 1 ^
you ever talk about in your columns
Reagan. We should have equal time.’’
“I’m willing to give you equal time
just tell me something Mondale’s don
that is really funny.”
“He attacked the Reagan deficit th
other day in Seattle.”
“That wasn’t half as f unny as Reap
suggesting that Gongress appoint ah
partisan commission to study how to re
duce the deficit without cutting backo
defense or raising taxes.”
“How about the shouting match Moi
dale had with Glenn in the New Hamj
shire debate?”
“It had possibilities, but it was notl
ing compared to Ed Meese being a|
pointed attorney General and all tl
conservatives are now upset that Reag<
will have nobody left in the Whi
House to advise him but left-winge
and pragmatists.”
“Why don’t you admit it? You wan
Reagan in the White House because he 1
funnier that we are.”
“I have to make a living.”
“Well, just wait until after the elec
lions. You’ll be laughing out of tin
other side of your mouth. Democrai
are always funnier then Republican
once they get into the Oval Office.”
“Isn’t everyone?”
...and more letters
Nestle boycott:
Another view
Editor:
In regard to the letter by Leonard J.
Hobbs, Jr., I wish to comment not
merely as a bystander, but as a former
Peace Gorps volunteeer.
I did participate in the Nestle boycott,
and I also saw the results of Nestle’s ag
gressive advertisement campaign in the
Yeman Arab Republic.
First of all Mr. Hobbs, powdered milk
does not automatically lift a group of
people out of the “mire of poverty and
ignorance.” In fact, a mother’s milk con
tains antibodies which help an infant to *
fight off disease. Powdered milk should
only be used in the rare cases in which a
mother cannot produce enough milk
for her child.
The father of a little girl once told me
that he wanted the best for his daughter
and that’s why he was bottle feeding
her. He was bottle feeding her, Mr.
Hobbs, because all of the ads said it was
healthier. That girl had diarrhea, her
ribs were sticking out and her forehead
had a depression in it. Her eyes were
glazed and unattentive. She almost died.
Yes, Mr. Hobbs, Nestle did make
money in the Third World, but it’s pre
tty hard to justify that kind of profit.
Encarnacion Perez, Jr.
Former Peace Corps Volunteer
Yeman 79-81
When I was returning to my apart
ment around midnight on Feb. 6 I
heard a female scream that was loud
enough to get my attention from across
the apartment complex and cause two
other fellows to come out of their apart
ments.
The three of us, along with two po
licemen, searched the swamp next to
our apartments for 20 minutes to find
who was on the other end of the scream.
The land is used as a dumping
ground for trees and dirt. While stand
ing in a hole surrounded by mounds of
dirt and tree clippings I could notseeoi
be seen from the parking lot 100 feel
away.
In this case, I guess, we heard justan
other scream-in-the-night. Having such
a breeding ground for pests of all types
so close to major apartment complexes
shows the poor attitude of the various
apartment management concerns
the City of College Station for the healtf
and security of its residents.
Harvey Bordett
Grad Student
Use of land
dangerous
Editor:
I would like to comment upon the use of
unused land near residential and apart
ment complexes.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
Editor Rebeca Zimmermann
Managing Editor John Wagner
City Editor Patrice Koranek
Assistant City Editors Kathleen Hart,
Stephanie Ross
News Editor Tracey Taylor
Assistant News Editors Susan Talbot,
Brigid Brockman, Kelley Smith
Editorial Page Editor Kathy
Wiesepape
Sports Editor Donn Friedman
At Ease Editor Shelley Hoekstra
Assistant At Ease Editor Angel Stokes
Photo Editor John Makely
Staff writers Ed Alanis, Robin Black,
Bob Caster, Bonnie Langford,
Christine Mallon, Kay Mallet,
Sarah Oates, Michelle Powe, Lauri Reese,
Dave Scott, Karen Wallace
Photographers Michael Davis,
Bill Hughes, Katherine Hurt,
Eric Lee, Dean Saito
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting
newspaper operated as a community service to
Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station. Opin
ions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
Editorial Board or the author, and do not nec
essarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M
administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory news
paper for students in reporting, editing and
photography classes within the Department of
Communications.
Letters Policy
Letters to the Editor should not exceed
words in length. The editorial staff reserves the
right to edit letters for style and length but wiF
make every effort to maintain the author’s in
tent. Each letter must be signed and must in
clude the address and telephone number of the
writer.
Reader’s Forum columns and guest editorials
also are welcome. Address all inquiries to the ed
itorial page editor.
The Battalion is published Monday through Fri
day during Texas A&M regular semesters, ex
cept for holiday and examination periods. Mail
subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25
per school year and $35 per full year. Advertis
ing rates furnished on request.
Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed Mc
Donald Building, Texas A&M University, Col
lege Station, TX 77843.
United Press International is entitled exclu
sively to the use for reproduction of all newsdis-
sivety to tne use tor reproduction ot ail news dis
patches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of
all other matter herein reserved.
Second class postage paid at College Station,
TX 77843.
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