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Opinion
Page 2AThe Battalion/Thursday, March 22, 1984
The Constitution
is safe
for now
“The Constitution is safe for one
more day.”
Sen. Lowell Weicker, R-Conn.,
made that statement Tuesday after the
Senate defeated a constitutional
amendment allowing children to pray
aloud in school.
The Battalion Editorial Board adds
a heartfelt “amen” to that statement.
Conservative Sen. Jesse Helms, R-
N.C., has already announced that the
fight will continue.
It’s ironic that moves to tamper with
the Constitution, which already guar
antees freedom of religion in the First
Amendment, are largely being made
by conservatives — the same conserva
tives who support a laissez faire gov
ernment that keeps its hands out of big
business’ business. It’s OK to leave
business alone — but apparently gov
ernment should be involved in religion
in schools.
President Reagan claims the vote
hasn’t killed the issue of free religious
speech.
He’s right. Religious freedom never
died in the first place. It’s guaranteed
in the First Amendment — always has
been.
The fact that all 100 members of the
Senate showed up for the vote, a rarity,
shows how important the issue is.
The vote reaffirms the belief that
the Constitution shouldn’t be amended
haphazardly. Its strength lies in its abil
ity to adapt to our changing society
with a minimum of additions or dele
tions.
Freedom of religion is already
etched into the Constitution. For once,
the government is following the adage:
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
— The Battalion Editorial Board
Letters
Faculty and students
should work together
Editor:
As Texas A&M strives to improve as an
institution of higher learning, there is a
need for greater student influence in
the evaluation of courses offered by the
University.
The two sectors of Texas A&M pop
ulation — the student body and the fac
ulty — are probably in the best position
to determine curriculum needs. It
would greatly improve education at
Texas A&M if students and faculty
worked together to this end.
Perhaps the student and faculty sen
ate would do well to address this need.
M. Brown
Class of’84
Aggies Men's Club
purposes explained
Editor:
On March 8 an article in The Battalion
described a newly formed organization,
the Aggie Men’s Club. As a charter
member of the club I am concerned
with the image the article might have
portrayed and what I consider to be a
nonintentional misrepresentation of the
goals upon which the club was founded.
The Aggie Men’s Club is a social serv
ice organization which is primarily con
cerned with instilling and reinforcing
what we consider to be good values
through our social functions and service
projects.
All of the goals of the organization
are centered around the full devel
opment of each member through group
fellowship and through promoting and
maintaining a strong allegience to our
school. We are a group of students who
have come together for two reasons: our
similar values and our common devo
tion to Texas A&M.
We are in no way attempting to com
pete with any other organizations. We
consider ourselves to be unique in many
ways and we hope that anyone who is at
tracted by what our organization has to
offer will make an attempt to get in
volved with us in the future.
The Aggie Men’s CLub is not a group
of moralists concerned with making a
statement about values. The fact that we
have agreed not to have drinking at our
functions is not to say that drinking is
wrong or that we ourselves disapprove
of it. The decision was made because we
are determined to enhance the
fellowship between our members
through eliminating all possible barriers
to communication.
Sean Royal 1
AMC Treasurer
Slouch
by Jim Earle
“J think the time has come for us to discuss our room. 1
Stuck:
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Regents make dreams
come true at Texas A&M
lave pa
gaily.
Reality, it seems, is what you make of
it.
Alice did fine in Wonderland, King
Kong couldn’t handle New York, and
millions of tourists survive Disney
World each year. Here at Texas A&M,
it’s The World According to the Re
gents.
The Albritton Tower fiasco is a per
fect illustration of the strange twists of
fate one can find in this Aggie Fantasy
Land.
Albritton was generous.enough to do
nate funds for a bell tower. Simple
enough. He has every right to spend his
money the way he sees fit. But the re
gents decided to put the $1-million
tower by the flagpole, facing the Aca
demic Building.
A brilliant idea — except the steam
tunnels were located underneath.
Consequently, more sites were pro
posed for the Albritton Tower — the
monument in architectural limbo —
than the MX missile. None seemed to fit
Regent Plan X. This mind-numbing
plan demanded that the bell tower be
placed in the most implausible location,
with the least amount of warning, with a
minimum amount of thought.
H-Hour came when, without warn
ing, the World War I Memorial was
yanked unceremoniously from its rest
ing place. The proud monument to
fallen warriors was effectively erased in
a matter of hours — progress in action.
How ironic that a memorial to honor
sacrifice is torn down, and before the
grave is cold, a second memorial honor
ing money will be constructed over it.
The sad truth is that our regents do
big things well, the bigger the better.
urvey,
nd reel
First
he sigi
ed
cassavoy
But when it comes to the ordinary
events that touch most of the mere mor
tals at Texas A&M, there is a definite
power vacuum.
Like a bunch of aging super-heroes,
these protectors of Texas A&M huddle
in the Regents’ Room waiting for their
next caper. When the red phone lights
up, their collective pulse quickens. A
new stadium? A USFL franchise for
Texas A&M? Or maybe Texas A&M will
be listed on the New York Stock Ex
change.
The regents have proven that noth
ing is too bizarre if you just keep plug
ging away.
That’s why I’m waiting to be ap
pointed regent in the next once-in-a-
blue-moon selection. I like the job de
scription. As a regent, I would be ac
countable to no one and would get!
cellent parking for the football games
So here are my policy aims:
• Install a dance floor in the libra:
and offer two-for-one kamikazes
Tuesday and Thursday nights. Ma
some of the students might actuaBesigna
check out books while they’re there.
• Make Jackie Sherrill coach of iff 1311011
women’s softball team. That way,
would finally get a winning record,a®ucaii<
the team might get the attention it
serves.
• Demolish the YMCA Building.
• Build the bell tower on top of
Academic Building, so the Univer
has something the Eastern schoolsdt
have.
• Re-build the YMCA Building.
• Re-name Texas A&M the Te
Technical Vocational School and Spot
Center.
• Close down the English depa
ment because business majors
need to be literate.
• Start a new tradition that says)
can’t wear MSC grass on your
while in Kyle Field.
• Make it mandatory for profest
to change their outfits at least oncea
mester.
• Abolish students from the cain|
they’re always getting in the way
things anyway.
Ed Cassavoy is a junior joumh
major.
Julia
fish m;
unaull
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Colle;
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Vote no longer a private matter
By ART BUCHWALD
Columnist tor The Los Angeles Times Syndicate
A person’s vote used to be the most
sacred thing in his life, and the one
thing he was permitted to do in privacy.
Not any more.
When Joe Proctor walked out of the
voting booth the other day he was sur
rounded by six people wth clipboards.
“What’s your religion?” one person
asked.
“How old are you?” another de
manded.
“How much money do you make?”
someone else wanted to know.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Proctor said.
“We’re conducting an exit poll,” one
of the clipboard people replied. “We
want to know who you voted for.”
“I don’t think that’s any of your busi
ness,” Procter said.
“What do you mean it isn’t any of our
business? We have to know so we can re
port it on television.”
“I don’t want my vote shown on tele
vision,” Procter said.
“We’ll report you for interfering with
the electoral process,” someone said.
“Says who?” Procter demanded.
“The public has a right to know. How
else can we tell who won the primary?”
“Why don’t you wait until the ballots
are counted?” Procter asked.
“We can’t do that or the other net
works will scoop us. Americans don’t
have time to sit around until the ballots
are tabulated.”
“Well, they’re going to have to,”
Procter said.
“If you won’t tell us who you voted
for, .will you tell us who you voted
against?” asked one clipboard holder.
“Not on your life.”
“Does that mean you voted against
Mondale?”
“I’ve got to go home to lunch.”
“We’re not going to use your name. If
you didn’t vote for Hart, just tell us
why.”
“I’m going to call a cop.”
“Does that mean you voted for Glenn
because you think he’s stronger for law
and order?”
“Hold it. There are two things in my
life that I can do in privacy — and one
of them is vote secretly for the candidate
of my choice.”
“What’s the other?”
“Go to the bathroom, which is
I’ve got to do right now.”
One of the pollsters shouted, “Y
threatening the sanctity of exit poll
“Well, then you’ll have to poll sc®
body else.”
“If you’re not talking, that means!'|
voted for Jackson.”
“Why don’t you all buzz off?”
“You can hang tough if you wanHl
but Tom Brokaw is going to hearalx
this. If you won’t play the game, d® 1
ever ask Dan Rather for a favor.”
The Battalion
(ISPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conf erence
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, Michelle Powe, Kelley Smith
Editorial Page Editor Kathy Wiesepape
Sports Editor Donn Friedman
Assistant Sports Editor Bill Robinson
Entertainment Editor Shelley Hoekstra
Assistant Entertainment Editor Angel Stokes
Photo Editor . John Makely
Letters Policy
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tent. Each letter must be signed and must>
elude the address and telephone number oft 11
writer.
Reader’s Forum columns and guest editor 111
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itorial Page Editor.
Editorial Policy
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ing newspaper operated as a community service
to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those
of the Editorial Board or the author, and do not
necessarily represent the opinions of Texas
A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Re
gents.
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