Opinion
Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, September 26, 1984
University should
give in to liberty
For over seven years the University has been trying to keep
the Gay Student Services from gaining recognition as a campus
organization. In the last round in the courts, the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals ruled that Texas A&M University must recog
nize the group.
A&M System General Council Ted Hajovsky now says that
A&M will ask State Attorney General Jim Mattox for permission
to carry the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The amount of money wasted on this fight is immeasurable.
The university administration needs to realize that this is not a
question of approving homosexual behavior; it is a matter of ba
sic civil liberties. The University shouldn’t waste any more state
money or time on this matter.
Allow the CSS to be recognized and they will disappear into
the myriad of over 500 recognized campus organizations. Con
tinued oppression of the CSS can only lead to the humiliation of
Texas A&M University in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Regents should act
to move train tracks
The deaths of two Texas A&M students in car-train acci
dents over the past weekend have reminded the Board of Re
gents of the danger of having railroad tracks near a university
campus.
Despite the fact that the crossing where the students were
killed is not on the Texas A&M campus, the Regents have called
a meeting of a special committee of the Board. The committee
will be discussing the possibility of moving the railroad tracks —
including the stretch less than a mile south of campus where the
students were killed.
The tracks must be moved.
The two car-train accidents illustrate the danger inherent in
a poorly marked railroad crossing, but the accidents should also
remind us of the other dangers of having the tracks so near cam
pus.
A few years ago when a train derailed near University Drive
dumping its load of beer, it was funny. It would have been dev
astating if that same train had been carrying toxic chemicals. It
derailed too close to campus and the northside dorms.
It’s time the discussion ended and the Regents acted on the
Target 2000 Project recommendation that says:
“Since the presence of a railroad line and a major highway
running through the campus poses a significant danger to the
health and safety of the university community, the Board and
the administration should act decisively to arrange for removal
of these arteries to site well off the main campus.”
— The Battalion Editorial Board
LETTERS:
Luther railroad
crossing needs gate
EDITOR:
We lost a friend Friday night. He
was killed by a train that he may not
have even seen coming. Some of you
also lost a friend, Katherine Hossley,
in a very similiar accident at the same
site less than 24 hours earlier. We
send our heartfelt sympathies to you.
Two people who were loved and
admired are now dead because of an
unlit railroad crossing. What a waste!
To think that it might have been pre
vented by a flashing light and gate.
This is a plea for you to be careful.
If at all possible avoid this intersec
tion. It is near impossible to see down
the tracks when eastbound on Luther
and because of the incline difficult to
judge distances from either direction.
It may take a few extra minutes to
go around to 2818 or to Jersey Street,
but isn’t your life or that of your pas
senger worth it.
The other plea we have of you is
let it be known that you want some
thing done about this crossing at Lu
ther and Wellborn.
Call the city hall, go to city council
meetings and speak up, or sign a peti
tion to have lights and gate installed.
Just please don’t sit around and wait
for another tragic accident to hap
pen, this time it might be your friend
or even you.
Friends of Lynn McDonald
Michelle Collins
This letter was accompanied by
eight other signatures.
Editorial Board
should comment
on abortion ads
EDITOR:
Since the Battalion editorial staff
feels it is necessary to express its “ou
trage” over the: 1. selling of T-shirts
that advocate killing, 2. Ronald Rea
gan’s joke about bombing Russia and
3. Phil Gramm’s joke about nuclear
waste, why did you crawfish out of
condemning Battalion ads offering
pregnancy terminations?
You said, in response to Allen Do-
bey’s letter questioning your silence,
that you have no control over adver
tising content.
Well, you’ve no control over T-
shirt sales or political jokes either, but
you express your outrage to your
readers anyway.
So tell me . . . express your opin
ion, outrage or whatever about the
ads offering to terminate pregnan
cies. (And they’re no joke!)
Tom Broughton
You’
the be
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Even
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In search of Mr. Right
An open letter to:
The few.
The proud.
The gentlemen of
Aggieland.
HELP!
Two close
friends of ours,
June and Lynn,
have this prob
lem. They need
your advice.
What ever happened to the old fashioned gentlemet
the ones who open doors for ladies or surprise themt
flowers?
ment.
Stun:
the Ag
drives,
hooked
yard tc
next d
caught
for ano
Where are the Prince Charmings we read about in
tales?
Cyndy Davis Karen Bloch
They have lots of “guy friends,” but no dates. Guy friends
are wonderful, but, let’s face it, it’s nice to be romanced.
The problem seems to be June and Lynn have high “who
lesome factors.” They like hugs, roses, and quiet dinners for
two. They like dancingand parties and lunch dates. They like
midnight swims and icecream dates in the Century Tree out
side Bolton Hall.
They’re the kind of girls you take home to Mom.
But with Mom 500 miles away, wholesome is not popular.
A non-scientific survey taken of University men Sunday night
proves our point.
“I like girls who wear ‘Dance ’til you Puke’ t-shirts,” one
student leader said.
A neighbor told us he likes “girls who dye their hair three
shades of green.”
Other men informed us they like girls who wear tattoos,
eat “weird Chinese food” and can swim from sharks.
“I like a girl who can entertain my mind before she enter
tains my body,” onejunior said.
Mom always told our friends if they were patient,sa
day a knight in shining armor would come and sweepth
off their feet.
We found only one knight. Wouldn’t you know? He
girlfriend.
So, gentlemen, we need your help. We know' thereki
to be more Prince Charmings out there, we just can’t
them — for our friends, of course.
Tell us:
What’s wrong with being wholesome?
What’s wrong with the kind of girl who likes hugs,r
and moonlit wine and cheese parties in the park?
A. Nothing.
B. They’re boring.
C. I’d rather suck face with a gorilla.
If your answer is A, we, uh, our friends would liketoB
to you.
We know you’re out there somewhere.
Authors’ note: Names, characters, places and incident!
this column are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual even
locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely intended
v Editor’s note: You may write to either June or
care of The Battalion.
In a<
down p
six out
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needed
Stum
season
redshirl
believes
tremein
“The
and bei
me leai
tern," h
long (a;
Sheri
quite r
starter.
‘ “Stun
said. “H
Bothered by book trash
It was only the
third week of school
and I had most of my
books, I turned on
my reading lamp,
fluffed my pillow
and settled back on
my queen-sized bed.
Reading assign
ment one, week one:
Chapter 1. Introduc
tion to the Study of
World Religions.
I opened the book and started read
ing. It only took eight pages before it
Donn
Friedman
happened. Just a few pages — about the
nature of religion, and studying reli
gion, and scholarly methods — was all
that I had read. I had just passed a Cor
pus Christi, body of Christ in crucifix
form on page 4. In every movie I’ve
ever seen about the devil a good cross is
all you need, and it’s goodbye Mr. Satan.
But it doesn’t seem to work that way in
real life.
I should have expected it. The day
before, over a drugstore basket and an
order of fries, a friend had told me that
he had gone through a religous experi
ence. He said a man had told him that
he was possessed. Demons had invaded
his soul. I looked deeply into his eyes,
but didn’t see a demon, or a devil, or
even an advertisement for a vacation in
Hell. He seemed like another perfectly
nice fellow, a bit overwhelmed by reli-
gion.
Demons, I thought, are just a rem
nant of Christian mysticism. But when I
turned page 7 and it became page 8, the
demon poured out of my textbook.
No, it wasn’t your fire-breathing,
green-vomiting friends of the devil like
the guys from the movies. It was a more
subtle form of evil.
“Save,” it said.
“I don’t desire to be saved, ” I said. “I
only want to catch up on my class read
ings.”
“Your satisfaction is guaranteed,” it
promised as it rose off my bed. I
grabbed the card that folded into three
and tossed it in the direction of the
trash. It fluttered, still promising salva
tion, and landed on the floor.
I returned to my reading. I turned
page 21 and it became page 22; a de
mon poured out of my textbook.
“Your favorite magazines, ” it prom
ised. “At savings up to 50 percent or
more!”
But I didn’t want any magazines, I
tried to explain to this demon that re
fused to go away. I tossed the card in the
trash. I shook with fear. What else
might lurk within my world religions
textbook?
I performed a baptism on the book,
turning it upside down and shaking it
with a religious fervor. It seemed safe.
No demons tumbled out from within
the writings of the Hindus or the Budh-
ists or the Jews.
I dug back into my reading trying to
absorb a chapter on megaliths and the
center of the ancient religous mind.
The demons seemed content ai
with each other over who had the
deals on Playboy and Rolling Stonea
Time.
Hearing a knock at the door,
charged down the stairs. I crackedopf
the door and a boy smiled. The«
roared like an apocalyptic tornad
Magazine inserts — having longagot
caped their keepers — swirled throui
the air in demonic circles around 1
the air in demonic circles around
boy.
“Hey mister. I’m in this contest,
said. “You wanna subscribe toanywai
azines or anything?”
Donn Friedman is a weekly Batd
columnist. His column appears
Wednesdays.
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
In memoriam
Bill Robinson, 1962-1984, Editor
The Battalion Editorial Board
Stephanie Ross, Acting Editor
Patrice Koranek, Managing Editor
Shelley Hoekstra, City Editor
Brigid Brockman, News Editor
Donn Friedman, Editorial Page Editor
Bonnie Langford, News Editor
Ed Cassavoy, Sports Editor
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 represent 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 Depart
ment of Communications.
Letters Policy
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 0
words in length. The editorial staff reserves
the right to edit letters for style and length bul
will make every effort to maintain the au
thor’s intent. Each letter must be signed and
must include the address and telephone num
ber of the writer.
The Battalion is published Monda)
through Friday during Texas A&M regular
semesters, except for holiday and examina
tion periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.13
per semester, $33.25 per school year and
per full year. Advertising rates furnished on
request.
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iff
A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Editorial staff phone
number: (409) 845-2630. Advertising: (409) 845-2611.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
)