Page 2/The Battaiion/Thursday, September 6, 1984
Opinion
A&M campus
mourns Zachary
Another death shocked the Texas A&M community
Wednesday afternoon. H.B. “Pat” Zachry, a longtime Texas
A&M supporter who embodied the success of Aggies more
than any other former student, died Wednesday. He was 82
years old.
During his lifetime Zachry supported Texas A&M Uni
versity through donations of money, equipment and time.
His company, the H.B. Zachry Engineering Firm of San
Antonio, donates the use of a crane — the largest single ex
pense — to help construct the bonfire built before the Texas
A&M University, University of Texas football game each
year. He also pays the salaries of the operaters — a sizeable
expense in itself .
T hough Zachry gave thousands of dollars to the Univer
sity each year, there is no endowed chair in his name.
“Zachry was a very private person,” Robert Walker, the
Vice President for Development, told the Battalion Wednes
day.
“Zachry once told me T want Texas A&M to have the
credit not Pat Zachry.’ “Zachary helped students by the hun
dreds for years. It was never a matter of if he would give; it
was just a matter of how much.”
Texas A&M will surely miss H.B. “Pat” Zachry. Though
a part of Old Army has died, his memory will live on
through his generosity.
Porkbarreling: Gramm's
hogs in wrong pen
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Phil Gramm promised
that he would make Texas A&M University “the No. 1 re
search institution in America,” in a Brazos valley campaign
speech Tuesday.
On the surface this remark seems to be a good goal — a
rallying point for Aggies to gather around the former Texas
A&M University economics professor. But delving a bit
deeper into the matter, it’s easy to find flaws in this promise.
Gramm says he supports reducing govenment spending
and the federal deficit.
So where is Gramm going to get the dollars to fulfill his
promises?
These goals seem to conflict. Research money will not
grow from tissue culture in test tubes. New funds for re
search must be raised or stripped from programs at other
institutions.
Universities should be rewarded research dollars based
on the research done and the capability to perform in the fu
ture, rather than who’s sitting on the Congressional commi-
tees doling out the federal dollars. Porkbarreling should
have no place in Texas politics.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
Traveling with a mobile home suitcase
Tower of London or bust
On the way to the airport, my par
ents worried.
“Now, how much money do you
have?” my dad asked for the hun
dredth time.
“Four hundred pounds.” I hoped
finding my way around London was
easier than finding the American Ex
press office in downtown Dallas.
None of the suburban of fices will ex
change foreign currency.
“Do you have your purse?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?” asked my mother,
who never takes anything for"
granted. “Now remember to hang on
to it. Where did you put your travel- Wiesepape
er’s checks?”
“Carry-on bag, inside pocket, ft’s locked.”
“Are you sure you left us the addresses and phone
numbers where you’ll be?” she asked.
“On your desk.” The itinerary, put together by an invi
sible secretary in the College of Liberal Arts, had a detailed
list of the cities we’d be traveling through, hotels where
we’d be staying, and possible side trips on the route.
But at that point, they were nothing but words on a
piece of paper. Imperial College of Science and Technol
ogy, London. T he Royal York Hotel, York, England.
Stirling University, Stirling, Scotland. Possible side trip to
Lindisfarne Island. Daytrips to Canterbury Cathedral and
Hadrian’s Wall.
On the other side was a list of names and phone num
bers of my fellow travelers. Four A&M professors. Twenty-
four students. All but one of them complete strangers to
me.
The only thing I knew about overseas travel was that
you needed a passport and were only allowed to check two
suitcases. T he only thing I knew about the courses I’d be
taking was that the ten books I had crammed in my over-
stuffed suitcase were somehow supposed to be read during
our six weeks on the road.
We pulled up at the airport. I was flying from Dallas to
Houston, where I’d meet the rest of the group and board
the British Caledonian for my first overseas flight.
1 started to worry.
What if I didn’t like the people in the group? I’d be
stuck with them for six weeks. Six miserable weeks
other side of the world.
Pulling two duffle bags and a mobile home suit
rollers out of the trunk, we headed for baggagedai»
What if I can’t manage my luggage by mvselfi
leave two bags out on the street while I struggles
other one.
We checked'the mobile home and found thep
my flight. 1 checked again to make sure 1 had mypu$
What if I lose all my money? Or worse, ruin
money? Somehow I doubt they would cash a pc
check.
“Call us when you get there.”
“Coodbye, I love you.”
What if I never see my parents again?
Okay, get a grip. Cel on the plane. Carry-on lug
the overhead rack. Seat belt on. Ciet out Ls
guidebook.
I studied the map. More words on paper. Fj
names I'd heard and read atxmt, but never dreait
see. Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey, Buclt;
Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London. AI?
hours away.
Six weeks later. I was on a flight heading theop
direction. The seats around me were filled with*?
travelers and friends, already making plans foroir
“reunion.”
Even though I left a great deal of money behindi
United Kingdom, 1 never lost my traveler’s chei
American Express card. I managed my luggage wnii!
few minor mishaps, including five flights of stairs,it
terious disappearance of one suitcase wheel and is
key.
Yes, I got lost in London. Several limes, in fac
never seriously, and never permanently.
I brought back a map with my travels highligta
yellow. The names that were once mere words if
three-dimensional memories, fleshed out with ha
details and first-hand experiences.
I learned that travel is a matter of survival. I sup
Cheat Britain.
Knthy Wiesepape is a weekIv columnist for Thek
ion, who spent the summer in Great Britain withi
Study Abroad. Wiesepape’s column w ill appear on Ti
days.
Kathy
Sunday: Expectant Mother's Day
By DICK WEST
Columnist for United Press International
WASHINGTON — Sept. 9, which is
Sunday in case you have been looking in
another direction and hadn’t noticed it
creeping up, is Expectant Mother’s Day
in America.
There may be something symbolic in
the scheduling of such an observance on
the ninth day of the ninth month, but
the significance is utterly lost on me.
What I do find meaningful is the fact
that the Juvenile Products Manufactur
ers Association is sponsoring Expectant
Mother’s Day to point up “the need for
safety alertness with new babies inside
the home, outside the home and while
traveling.”
It also might he noted that some of
the 25 tips the association has prepared
to help new parents avoid accidents are
valid regardless of whether you have a
baby in your arms.
Rule 21, for example, admonishes:
“Don’t carry a baby up or down stairs
without first checking for loose objects
... that could throw you off balance.”
That is a good rule to follow even
when empty-handed. es|K.*cialtyI
is old enough to leave roller sU
other wheeled toys on the stairs.
My main concern is the enacta
laws requiring new parents toote
erators’ licenses before venturingii
the sidewalk at the helm of an fail:
riage.
All too of ten, new parents it
only cursory instructions beforei
baby for a spin, including a stop;
tavern around the corner. TheyE
told how to raise the plastic hoodi
of rain, but that’s usually about it.
LETTERS
Broken copiers
plague users
EDITOR:
Is there a power in heaven or within
A&M administrative bureaucracy that
can provide users of the Sterling Evans
Library with working photocopy ma
chines? Surely these perennially inoper
able cubes are not meant to be part of
some new tradition — a special appeal
here to the director of the Library, Dr.
Hoadley.
Charles Burandt
Biology
Car vandalized
during Yell practice
EDITOR:
Having been a long time admirer of
TAMU I was honored to be accepted as
a transfer student. Having familiarized
myself with Aggie traditions I was ready
for my first Aggie event: Midnight Yell
Practice. Returning to my car in the
Texas A&M parking lot afterwards, I
found some inconsiderate, self-centered
person had literally backed their auto
mobile (probably a tall truck) over my
small car hood. Evidence from shoe-
prints on my bumper shows the autos
locked and had to be “bounced” apart. I
was left with no admission of guilt, just a
severely damaged hood. Even with in
surance, a $250 deductible is a chunk I
cannot afford, so my well pampered
family car will for now, remain wrecked.
Where is this “Aggie Code of Honor”
about not lying, cheating or stealing or
tolerating those who do? Whoever is
guilty of this atrocity doesn’t deserve to
be an Aggie.
Tony Riggs
Class of ’87
Mental distress
part of Corps flavor
EDITOR:
The Texas A&M Cadet Corps is a
body deep-seated in tradition and pride.
Hazing, at least to some degree, has
been an integral part of the Corps since
the establishment of the college. With
out a certain amount of mental distress,
the Corps would lose the flavor which
gives many cadets an sense of satisfac
tion. This satisfaction comes from sacri
ficing four years of the most valuable
part of their youth to be in the Corps.
As unbelievable as it may seem to some
“non-regs,” these young men would
trade nothing in the world for the grow
ing experience and camaraderie which
stems from these “years of endurance.”
No cadet should be denied the privilege
to spend his or her college life in this
manner.
However, no student should be den
ied his right to attend Texas A&M Uni
versity strictly as a student. If one wants
to try the Corps and doesn’t care for it
for any reason, they should feel no res
ervation about exiting from the ranks.
They should also face no affliction or
defamatory statements about “dropping
out” from other students — Corps
members or otherwise. T hus, a person
leaving the Corps should face no more
resentment from students than one who
joins an Memorial Student Center club
and doesn’t care for it. Rather, fellow
cadets should admire the individual to a
certain degree because they gave the or
ganization a chance.
T he recent incident was a true tra
gedy. Goodrich was a cadet reportedly
enthusiastic about the Corps and about
his life at A&M in general. This would
lead most to believe that Goodrich truly
wanted to be in the Corps. However, let
us consider his prototype. An engi
neering student from another region of
our nation comes to our university. This
student joins the largest f raternal orga
nization of its type in the country which
is the “bloodlife and backbone” of the
university. This atmosphere is also very
Corps oriented. This, in itself, is inno
cent and has often caused our Univer
sity to stand out in a positive manner.
However, this same atmosphere also
tends to give the “cold shoulder” to the
student who found the the Corps wasn’t
for him. It is this “cold shoulder” often
given which would cause the student to
stay in the Corps for the wrong reasons.
His subsequent lack of maturation for
exercise stringently induced by his peers
could lead to physical complication.
I have no specific suggestions other
than that the Regents in authority at this
university and the student body try to
make the environment a bit more un
derstanding towards the ex-cadet who
found that the organization wasn’t for
him. This would make students less
likely to stay in the Corps for the wrong
reasons, while at the same time allowing
the elements of the Corps to remain ba
sically unchanged.
Joe A. Maids IV
Corps: leadership
training ground
EDITOR:
I doubt that anyone would argue that
what happened to Bruce Goodrich is
justified by tradition and not many
would condone such activities as those
v/hich caused his death. I certainly do
not. I, therefore, would like to address
an issue that often gets brought up and
then pushed to the side in the attacks on
the Corps.
Does the Corps actually try to help its
members to become well-trained and re
sponsible officers and American citi
zens? YES, it does! In the overwhelming
and often ignored majority of cases, the
Corps does serve to prepare its mem
bers for the military or civilian life. I feel
I benefited greatly from the Corps and
don’t regret for a moment having been
a member. Regarding the caliber of offi
cer produced, overall I’d say that A&M
produces many of the finest officers in
the armed services. I have many friends
who have entered the service and I
know first hand that they are all highly
respected by their superiors and subor
dinates. This respect comes not merely
from the label of being a former Corps
member, but because of the high stan
dards they set for themselves as a result
of their Corps training.
Most of the so called “futile and irra
tional” activities of the Corps serve a
subtle but vital purpose in accomplish
ing the above mentioned goals. In fact,
as a fish, I made it a game to come up
with some benefit that I might gain
from every activity required of me. I
was, indeed, able to find some possible
benefit however small or remote for ev
ery activity.
For me, and many others, the Corps
broke down the cocky confidence of
youth and replaced it with a stronger,
hardship proven confidence and ability
to survive under pressure. This may
sound corney, but for those with an
open mind and right attitude the Corps
can and will provide the opportunity to
find oneself and grow.
Linda J. Carney ’85
former member Sq. 14
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Pres* Association
Southwest Journalism Oonfcrcntr
The Battalion Editorial Board
In memorial*
Bill Robinson, 1962-1984, Editot
Stephanie Ross, Acting Editor
Patrice Koranek. Managing Edita
Shelley Hoekstra, City Editor
Brigkl Brockman. News Editor
Donn Friedman, Editorial PageEdw
Kelley Smith, News Editor
Ed Cassavoy, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors =
Melissa Adair, Michelle!
Assistant News Editors -Y
Bonnie Langford, Kellie Dworaczyk, f
I
Assistant Sports Editor -
Travis Ti
Entertainment Editor J?
Bill Hut
Assistant Entertainment F.ditor ^
Angel Sc
Senior Reporters -ji
Robin!
Stall Writers Tammy Bell, Shawn Be!
Cami Brown, Dena Brown, DainahBu!
Leigh-Eilen Clark, TonyCof 1
Suzy Fisk, Patriciaf
Kari Fluegel, Kathy Wiesepi
Bob McGlohon, Karla Mi
Sarah 0
Jan Perry, Lynn Rae Povec, fames R.W
Make-up Editor .JohnHi
Copy Writer KarenBl’
Copy Editors Kathy Breard, KayePahr.
Photographers Frank Irwin, Peter Rtf
John Ryan, DcanS*
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