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Opinion
Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, March 2, 1984
By Jit
Prof with three jobs
a victim of injustice
to
The mystery professor is going
prison for three to five months.
Paul Grafton, a professor of engi
neering at George Washington Univer
sity, was convicted for impersonating a
professor at two colleges in Maryland
and Pennsylvania. Grafton worked un
der various assumed names and had
used dozens of aliases to apply for jobs
at colleges and universities throughout
the Northeast.
Grafton pleaded guilty to four
counts of forgery, and was ordered to
pay restitution and court fees for the
colleges. In addition to his prison sen
tence, he must serve two years proba
tion, pay a $1,000 fine and do at least
500 hours of public service work.
But did Grafton’s “crime” really in
jure anyone?
His students didn’t complain. In
fact, when he was first arrested many
of his students called him one of their
best instructors.
The professor said he was working
at three jobs to raise extra money to
support his handicapped daughter.
Pennslyvania officials argued for a
prison sentence, saying that Grafton
was motivated by a desire for the thrill
of another lifestyle.
Motivation aside, the sentence is not
justified.
Academics from around the coun
try, including professors here, should
complain about this injustice. Grafton,
at worst, was a man with multiple iden
tities.
The 60-year-old professor does not
belong behind bars.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
Medal to be awarded
to Communist-hunter
On March 26, President Reagan will
present the Medal of Freedom, the na
tion’s highest civilian award, to Whit
taker Ghambers.
The Medal of Freedom — awarded to
one of the chief figures from an era
when some of the most cherished Amer
ican freedoms were snatched from
thousands of citizens.
Ghambers, who died in 1961, was the
central witness in the case against Alger
Hiss during the Gommunist witch hunts
of the 1950s.
He was a turncoat communist, a for
mer Soviet spy. He pointed out Hiss as
one of the State Department officials
who had given him classified govern
ment documents in the 1930s.
Hiss was only one of hundreds of cas
ualties in the witch hunts of the late ’40s
and early ’50s. When the anti-Gommu-
nist crusade came to an end, the govern
ment had checked up on the actions of
at least 6V2 million American citizens,
and the FBI had conducted 250,000
full-scale investigations.
At least 15,000 employees were fired
Hiss was a Roosevelt man, and a bril
liant one. He graduated from Harvard
Law School and served as a clerk to Jus
tice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
He played an active part in setting up
the United Nations after World War II
and was president of the Garnegie En
dowment for World Peace.
Ghambers’ accusation was seen as an
indirect slam at the entire Roosevelt ad
ministration. By aligning Hiss with com
munism, he smeared the policies and
ideals of liberal Americans in the late
’30s and early ’40s.
kathy
wiesepape
When Hiss was questioned by the
House Un-American Activities Gommit-
tee, he denied the charges and said he
had never met Ghambers. Later, he re
membered that he had met the man be
fore. More specifically, he said that he
had met Ghambers in 1938.
Ghambers, on the other hand, said he
had met Hiss four years earlier, in 1934.
Before the charges against Hiss could be
dropped for lack of evidence, Ghambers
dramatically led reporters to his back
yard, where he unearthed a pumpkin
containing papers proving that Hiss
had, indeed, known Chambers in 1938.
Hiss had lied — or had he? Dates
aren’t always easy to remember. Hiss
was indicted for perjury — not treason
— and the members of the jury couldn’t
make up their minds. The case was
thrown out.
But Ghambers and HUAC, led by ju
nior congressman Richard Nixon, were
unwilling to let the issue rest. A second
trial was held, and this time Hiss was
convicted — of perjury, not treason.
Whether Hiss was guilty of perjury is
or resigned in protest.
At the height of the Red hysteria, the
First Amendment was virtually mean
ingless, and blacklists of suspected Com
munists abounded. Former members of
the Communist party were tabled ‘dan
gerous,’ and a trace of pink in a person’s
ideology could lead to total ostracism
from society.
Any slight deviation from the status
quo was viewed with suspicion. It wasn’t
a time for a democracy to look back on
with pride.
Strange, then, that Ghambers, who
accused an innocent man of treason,
who took advantage of the publicity he
knew he could generate and who was in
strumental in increasing the red hyste
ria of the era, should be awarded the na
tion’s highest civilian award.
The Medal of Freedom — awarded to
Ghambers, who didn’t seem to under
stand the meaning of the word.
Maybe the Reagan administration
doesn’t understand, either.
Kathy Wiesepape is a senior journalism _
major and editorial page editorfor The Bat
talion.
The Battaiion
USPS 045 360 I I
Member of < ;
Texas Press Association t
Southwest Journalism Conference,
Editor Rebeca Zimmermann Photographers Mike Davis,
Managing Editor John Wagner Bill Hughes, Katherine Hurt,
City Editor Patrice Koranek .I°hn Ryan, Dean Saito
Assistant City Editor Kathleen Hart,
Stephanie Ross Editorial Policy
News Editor Tracey Taylor '
Assistant News Editors Susan Talbot,
Brigid Brockman, Kelley Smith The Battah ° n « 3 non-profit, self-support,ng news-
y* | • - | t"! r-j ” jr i_ xat- paper operated as a community service to Texas A&M
Editorial Page Editor Kathy Wiesepape I j/j vers j y and Bryan-College Station. Opinions ex-
Sports Editor Donn Friedman pressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or the
Assistant Sports Editor Bill Robinson author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of
Entertainment Editor Shelley Hoekstra Texas A&M University administrators or faculty mem-
Assistant Entertainment Editor Angel Stokes bers, or of the Board of Regents.
Photo Editor John Makely The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper
Stall writers Ed Alanis, Robin Black, for students in reporting, editing and photography clas-
Bob Caster, Bonnie Langford, ses within the Department of Communications.
Sarah Oates, Michelle Powe, Questions or comments concerning any editorial mat-
Lauri Reese, Dave Scott, Karen Wallace ter should be directed to the editor.
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immaterial. Ghambers was never able to
prove he was guilty of treason. Never
theless, Hiss’ career in the State Depart
ment — not to mention his life — was
ruined by the taint of communism.
He spent three-and-a-half years in
prison and devoted himself to years of
attempting to clear his name.
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Midterm policy ineffective
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Once again the University is inconve
niencing tens of thousands of students
in order to save some money when there
are other, more convenient ways to save.
For the second time in a row, the Uni
versity is asking students to pick up their
own midterm grade reports but is mail
ing reports to parents. It could just as
easily save the money by not sending the.
grades to parents or by simply disconti
nuing midterms.
The University should either rely on
students to report to their parents them
selves or rely on the parents to drag it
out of their children.
I work and pay some of my college
expenses. While my parents might have
the right to be concerned about my final
grades — since they help with my fi
nances and since I may be forced to
move back with them if I don’t get a job
— they have no reason to be concerned
about midterms.
Thank goodness my parents, after
three-and-a-half years of school, have fi
nally realized that the grades appearing
on my midterm have no correlation
whatsoever with my final grades.
It’s true that not all parents receive
midterms, so the savings on postage
would not be as large as the savings
from not mailing grades to students.
However, when the additional costs
incurred by hiring people to hand out
the grades to students are added in, the
savings would be more substantial.
The University claims that since
many students are constantly changing
addresses, they’re hard to find. But the
University always seems able to find stu
dents when it comes to sending out hills.
If the University wants something im
portant — such as your money — it will
find a way to reach you.
If the University really wants to save
susan
talbot
money it can do away with midterms all
together. Associate Registrar Donald
Garter has said he foresees this happen
ing one day. Why not now? Students
waiting to order their senior rings might
be distraught, but others probably
would get over not having midterms.
Garter says that midterm reports
have not been discontinued yet because
Words, meanings conflict
they serve .is ,i warning flag forstuB I IT I
with Ds or Fs. ' III
His argument for keeping mid'*
is a great argument for mailingriil ByHELE]
ports. How many students who® 1
know they have a I) or F in adasn® The word
be likely to take the time to go totf’ally create
vilion to pick up their grades: friendly reel
many. ■ratapicnii
Teachers don’t seem to like thefr 11 ^ 1 ' 11 ^
work it takes to figure midterm
either. Many don’t bother to con* g ul
the grades or don't give tests ^covered the
midterm and end up giving “blilttisurely sp
As or Bs. Ifisbee.
T his doesn’t do much for theijj
dents except give them a false id* . n
how their grades stand. Saunders ai
Last semester about 50 percenti player on
student body neglected to pick upfnounced as
reports. Either those students aft&M’s ultin
their parents about their gradesorff 1 . 5 a ver y
ply did not care about their midtenJrfp^ an „ re
The best solution would be to d^J uLTAM!
tinue midterms. Maybe then studltheir physic;
who were worried about their gilbee skills aga
would go to class and ask their teadil* 11 a tournam
However, since midterm report: “‘day at 10
be around for a while, at least mailil le yjjh mate j
to the students, who earned thegw Wo teams
first. Then, if there is enough mot Usually, m<
they can he sent to the parents. vomen-play
Susan Talbot is a senior joumalm * earns can be
and assistant news editor for The Battik „ The offici
field is 60 )
rards wide, i
By HELEN THOMAS
It’s 1984, and the era of doublespeak
at the White House is well under way on
several fronts.
The most prominent instances of
words that don’t jibe with the facts con
cern the U.S. easing away from the
problems of Lebanon and generally de
nying all around that it’s actually hap
pening.
When the president accused Speaker
Thomas O’Neill of wanting to “surren
der” because the speaker advocated a
withdrawal of the Marines from Beirut,
Reagan had already decided to redeploy
the forces offshore and out of the risky
airport area.
When Reagan told a news conference
“we’re not bugging out,” the Marines
were preparing to depart lock, stock
and barrel.
To hear it from the insiders, the ad
ministration has just about given up the
prospect of a U.S.-instigated political so
lution to Lebanon’s bitter problems.
But words are used to save face.
Doublespeak is also glaring on the
question of how the administration
plans to deal with the $185 billion defi
cit. The president, who used to attack
the opposition for red ink spending,
now rages against the “born-again bud
get balancers.”
He initiated a bipartisan group of
Democratic and Republican lawmakers
to help solve the issue. “Everything is on
the table,” he and his aides told report
ers on numerous occasions.
But the words had a slightly different
meaning. He meant everything except
raising taxes and cutting defense spend
ing. All suggestions that would slash
Pentagon spending or defer the third
year tax cut are promptly rejected
the White House.
by
Another front for the doublespeakers
is arms control. In a recent interview
with the New York Times, Kenneth L.
Adelman, director of the Arms Gontrol
and Disarmament Agency, said, “I am
very happy with the way the year (1983)
has gone.”
Late last year, the Soviet Unionbm
off nuclear arms control negotiations
two fronts in Geneva and has yettof
any indication of when they will resun
The talks on intermediate range missi
also are in a state of suspension. Ancli
Kremlin has walked out of the negoi
tions on long-range strategic intercot
nental ballistic missiles.
Slouch
by Jim Eat
“I don’t want any wisecracks or jokes, just get me out of this
raincoat!”
P«
Coi
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