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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 1984)
Opinion Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, August 15,1984 Editor's reflections on graduating A&M Rebeca Zimmermann Oh the joys of being editor. After all the controversy my spring Edito rial Board man aged to stir up, I thought I would slip out quietly af ter an uneventful summer and grad uate unnoticed. But no. Just when A&M had reached new levels of boring — bells going up in the bell tower were a major attraction of the summer —con troversies erupted. The 5th U.S. Court of Appeals ordered Texas A&M to recognize the Gay Student Services as a student organization, and a stu dent was “molassesed and feathered” by a group of fellow students. The controversy about the GSS has been a breath of fresh air. Things had been so quiet that apathy — that dread disease that afflicts college students at will — had even set in on me. But the GSS decision — and the disturbing re actions of some students — jarred me out of my apathy. I’ve long suspected that narrow mindedness — or perhaps single- mindedness is a better description — goes hand in hand with the current job orientation of college. Students focus on getting a job and making lots of money rather than discussing world affairs and reading the classics. The Target 2000 study, commis sioned by the Texas A&M Board of Regents to study needs of Texas A&M for the year 2000, also expressed dis may at the lack of intellectual freedom on this campus. Students whose opin ions or lifestyles differ from the status quo often are condemned. The letters we’ve received about the GSS decision — a question of civil lib erties, not sexual preference — illus trate this. (Of course, at an institution that has so few minorities, very few students are aware or worried about civil liberties.) The judgments and condemnations came immediately, as I expected they would. Bible thumpers never let me down when it comes to writing bigoted letters. If they really want to quote the Bible, a more apt verse would be “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” Letters to the editors frequently are amusing. A common misconception continually surfaces. Several writers have commented that The Battalion Editorial Board doesn’t represent stu dent body opinion. They’re right. It doesn’t, it never has, and it probably never will. Elected student leaders are supposed to represent student body opinion. The obligation of The Battal ion Editorial Board is to state opinions on a variety of subjects — the board members’ opinions — and to encour age students to look at issues in a new Letters: Sinners neglect Biblical lessons Editor: First, let me say that I am not sing ling out the homosexuals by any means, but I am speaking to anyone who is “knowingly” involved in a prac tice that is against the will of God as defined throughout the Bible. I am referring to a wide range of people — from those who habitually tell white way. We earn the right to state our opinions because of our hours and years of work at this newspaper. Students have the opportunity to state their views in letters. I’m not denigrating people who write letters to the editor. I enjoy re ceiving letters. Some are rational and quite good, others are extremely en tertaining. I received a letter from God telling us that the world was cre ated in four days. (This was during a letter battle concerning creationism.) I received an anonymous letter threat ening the student who was a pen pal of Ronald O’Bryan, a.k.a. the Gandy- man, who was executed in March. I also occasionally receive satiric letters. It’s quite amusing to read letters from people who think that writer was se rious. I’ve enjoyed my time as editor. Edi torials about evolution, capital punish ment, the bell tower and the GSS deci sion have made life interesting. Endorsing a student body presidential candidate was enlightening. Seeing conditions at Prairie View A&M was shocking. Many people have helped make my term as editor enjoyable and bearable. But special thank yous go to: • Bob Rogers, a journalism profes sor who always gave me hope in man kind when the bigots were at their best. • The members of the Spring Bat talion Editorial Board, co-instigators of daily editorials: John Wagner, Tra cey Taylor, Donn Friedman, Patrice Koranek and Kathy Wiesepape. • Dean Saito, Peter Rocha, Bill Hughes and John Makely, photogra phers who always go above and be yond the call of duty. • Roy Bragg, a Houston Ghronicle reporter who helps me put Texas A&M in its proper perspective. • Pat Wood, who gave me hope about the student leaders at Texas A&M and who always understood the purpose of an Editorial Board (to make people think). • My parents, Lynn and Carra Zim mermann, who put up with all my late hours at The Battalion and under stood the experience was more impor tant than making a 4.0. • And to someone I’ve never met: Kristin Parsons, a regular letter writer whose wisdom and open-mindedness always give me courage. So the letter writers who called me a “Commie, left-wing liberal,” among other things, can rest easy. At last, the “bleeding heart liberal secular human ist” who instigated editorials that don’t reflect student body opinion is leaving. But there’s always someone left be hind who will carry on. (Rebeca Zimmermann has been edi tor of The Battalion since December and will graduate Saturday.) lies to those who lead a life of crime. In other words, I address those who sin and don’t do anything about it. The degree of the sin is not the question here; what is important, however, is the decision to turn away (or not turn away) from that sin. Unfortunately, man is not repent ing of his sins and is consequently dig ging his own eternal grave (Romans 1:32). He has gotten so proud and self-willed that he thinks he doesn’t need God and can live by his own set of standards (II Timothy 3:1-5). What The Battalion (ISPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Rebeca Zimmermann, Editor Bill Robinson, Editorial Page Editor Shelley Hoekstra, City Editor Brigid Brockman, News Editor Kathleen Hart, News Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editor Robin Black Assistant News Editors Dena Brown, Bonnie Langford Staff Writers Ed Alanis, Kari FluegefBob McGlohon, Sarah Oates Copy Writers Karen Bloch, Cyndy Davis Copy Editor Tracie Holub Photographers Peter Rocha, Eric Evan Lee Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting 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 rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Communications. United Piess International is entided exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. 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 be signed and must in clude the address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday dur ing Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examinauon periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per se mester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Adver tising rates furnished on reouest. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald Build ing, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. V V WHW5 WRONG WITH MB.POCf HO WAITER HOW HARD 17RVI JUSTPPNTftRS THATTHEGAUP/StfAVfAIVgW'WCfiRTE^M, Fins in the eyes of beholders ntmij I,*. v- Donn Friedman AMARILLO — Twenty miles south of Amarillo the flat land of the High Plains plum mets 1,200 feet, forming Palo D u r o Cany o n, The canyon “pro vides the opportu nity to view and enjoy one of the nation’s most mag nificent scenic at tractions ... ” says Amarillo — On the Town magazine. But the scenery of the Panhandle is not limited to such natural splendor. On each end ofT-40’s East-West run through Amarillo is a man-made spec tacle, rising above the plains to cele brate the automobile. Out to the east the man-made spectacle is a group of automobiles as varied as the people of the High Plains. Out to the west the automobiles are all Cadillacs: the Ca dillac Ranch, 10 classic cars buried in the prairie nose down, fins up. The metallic ranch is a work of Texan extremism, but its creators in sist it’s a work of art. That’s what the Ant Farm, an ar chitectural design group that con structed the site, claimed in a lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Hard Rock Cafe. The Hard Rock Cafe, you see, has a finned Cadillac perched at an oblique angle atop a canopy. The angle of incline is of the utmost importance. In both cases the fins lean at the same angle as the Egyptian pyr amids. The ranch’s builders have claimed that the LA restaurant is guilty of "i- mage trespass.” “Artists have enough difficulties coming up with images without being vulnerable to blatant commercial ex ploitation,” an Ant Farm associate told the New York Times in June. The Cadillac Ranch was created to be seen in the media; few people have seen it in person, he said. As I drove west of Amarillo on 1-40, I joined the elite group that has expe rienced the ranch in person. Truck drivers, tourists and fellow travelers were stopped on the service road in front of the shrine. A young truck driver, his T-shirt sleeves ex panding at his biceps, climbed out of the cab of his truck. He handed a 35- mm camera to his older companion and posed beside the barbed-wire fence; each of the 10 Cadillacs shim mered in the background as the 8 a.m. sun bounced off their metallic sur faces. The young trucker climbed back into his cab and returned to the con crete trail that runs from California to North Carolina. is overlooked, and sadly so, is the Truth — the importance of knowing Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Sa vior in bridging the gap between sin and God. Unless this relationship is es tablished, we will end up like Satan, who was cast out of heaven for his de sire to be self-righteous. Man is turning further and further away from this basic Truth. He ratio nalizes his actions and asks that others respect him for doing so. Well, you may say, lead your own life according to your so-called “will of God” but let others live their own lives. I’m sorry but I cannot be a neutral Christian. I cannot sit back and watch while I see eyes that are so blinded to what God has in store for each and every one of us. Of course I sin too, we all do. But by the mercy of Jesus who died on the cross so we might have everlasting life, I am free; free from sin that once enslaved me. I write to you today, not to start a debate, but only to present to you what I feel is the most important Truth of all. Lisa C. LaRocca Readers disgusted by GSS ordeal Editor: WHOOP for Steve Thomas! Steve, by the way your article differs from The Battalion Editorial Board, it is obvious that you stand alone. We have good news for you Steve, you are not alone. We feel as disgusted about the whole ordeal as you do. The editorial reaffirms our beliefs that The Battalion, as a whole, does not represent the student body in the way it should. We would like to know who makes up The Battalion Editorial Board. What is the matter with you? Are you too ashamed to put your name(s) on the article? Better yet, do you have something to hide? It amazes us that someone would ac tually want to have an organization that deals with sexual choice. We don’t see any heterosexual organizations ex pressly for heterosexuals. What two consenting adults do behind closed doors is their own business, no one else’s! Why do you have to force it down our throats? We agree with Steve, just because other schools, such as t.u. have a gay organization doesn’t mean we have to form one also. If the editorial board at t.u. jumped off a bridge, Steve, would The Battalion Editorial Board do it also? (Not a bad idea.) Steve, hang in there. We’re pulling for you. Lee Thompson ’84 Scott Boone ’86 (This letter was accompanied by 46 signatures.) (Editor’s note: The purpose of The Battalion Editorial Board is not to agree with a majority of students but to comment on subjects often ne glected by that majority. The names of all editorial board members appear in the staff box every day —just eight inches below the editorial on the day in question.) With the plethora of historial markers across the state of Texas anti a Texas tourist bureau just 20 minute I east on 1-40, you’d think the Cadilkl Ranch would rate a plaque if not J state park. But it doesn’t. No plaque explains its value totlitj history of the region, no restroomil stand ready for the masses. Thereii not even one of those cracked concrettI picnic tables with ants permanently stationed at food-level. Like an unknown soldier’s grave,ill stands unmarked. Is the Cadillac Ranch a workofarj that needs to be protected orjustaraej dia spectacle built so that airplane pi I lots could have a reason to point oui| Amarillo as they fly over the PanWj die. * I What aboitt thafother groupofauj tos on the eastern houndary oh arillo’s stretch of 1-40. There, the cars glisten in thei neatly arranged in a rectangle, stacked| many times higher than the Cadilkl Ranch. They too stand asasymbololl America’s dependence on autoj ' mobiles. To the west is the Cadillac Ranch, work of art to its creators. To theeasil is the B&P Salvage Yard, a workofartj to its creators? (Donn Friedman is a senior journal lism major and The Battalion’s mm columnist covering the High Plains oil Texas this summer.) Homosexuals defying God Editor: Dear Mr. Miller, in reference i your letter in the Battalion on Aug,l| I would like to ask you how you i possibly refer to love in the gay coil munity as “God-given.” Leviti 18:22 states, “You shall not lie wii male as with a woman; it isanabomij nation.” Leviticus 18:29 continues!) saying, “for whoever shall do anyc these abominations, the persons tli< do them shall be cut off from amon£| their people.” But let me guess your next rej sponse. You are going to claim youtj self as a linguist who went all thei back to the Holy Land and found thail everyone in this great nation is interj preting the Bible wrong, except course, the gay community. I’m sorr'l Mr. Miller, but it’s no good, denyii4 the word of God will only bring-yoi 1 | greater turmoil. (Romans 1:26-30) “For this reason I God gave them up to dishonorably passions..., men committingshamelej acts with men and receiving in own persons the due penalty for then I error...” So Mr. Miller, as you can see, lo'f among gays in the gay community! certainly not “God-given!” Althougl'| God’s love is with all of us, in thefoj giveness of our sins, we must not con j strue God’s love to fit our desires. Andrea McCollum'! (This letter was accompanied by 111 signatures eKsSss