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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1984)
r Opinion Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, Movember 12, 1984 Americans shouldn't become Veterans in Central America Today is the federal government’s day off for Veterans’ Day. Yesterday was Texas A&M’s day to give thanks to those who.fought for our country. It’s a time to remember those valiant men who fought and died for our government. Though some of America’s warriors may have disagreed with the motives of the wars, they still fought. But on the day President Ronald Reagan offi cially accepted a memorial to Vietnam veterans, American involvement in another dubious conflict looms on the horizon. Administration officials have said surgical air strikes or special forces attacks to destroy aircraft on the ground in Nicaragua are a possibility. “It’s not difficult to speculate as to the most effec tive way to neutralize them,” one senior State Depart ment official said. So as the wounds over the bloody mistake made in Vietnam slowly heal the nation may be faced with another “police action.” How soon people forget the horror of war. How soon misery and pain are forgot ten. One of the reasons for this day of rememberance is to allow people to contemplate the meaning of war. War is death and destruction. The innocent, the young, the old, even the wealthy. They all bleed real blood. So when Reagan administration officials talk of surgical air strikes, it should chill the blood of every American. Those officials have forgotten about the cost in human terms. There is more to weighing the risks of war than counting boxes on a Russian freighter. The administration should count the num ber of coffins we will need as well. The best gift we can give the brave Veterans who fought for our country on this day of rememberance is peace. The Battalion Editorial Board Life behind bars land of candy-coated cattle Visiting the I went to the zoo Wednesday; not the conven tional kind of zoo, but an area for animals kept in cages nonetheless. The “zoo” I visited is the Fer guson Unit of the Texas Department of Correc- lions at Huntsville. 1 he “animals” are human be- Loren in 8 s - Steffy Our tour guide led us into the facility past a lovely Japanese-style fountain bordered with nu merous green plants. In the middle of this tran quil scene was a little turtle, listlessly soaking up the sunshine that il luminated this small taste of paradise. Fen feet away from the oasis was a room containing riot helmets and nightsticks. The contradiction continued. Bill Doyle, our tour guide, started the show off With a traditional bang — Aggie jokes. After the obliga tory chuckles, lie informed us of their hostage policy: If any of us were captured by prisoners trying to escape, the prisoners would not be allowed to leave, hostage or not. Doyle said it would be better to end the situation within the penitentiary than to “find your partially decomposed body 7a() miles from here.” The tour continued and Doyle stated that life was safer within the prison than without. The Ferguson Unit has only had two mur ders since 1962. He pointed out Bryan-College Station couldn’t make that claim. Perhaps not, but after we left Wednesday one prisoner set an other on fire. Doyle’s image of Candyland went up in flames too. Doyle presented a stern image throughout the tour, making several references to his military career. However, I couldn’t help but feel his harsh exterior was a smoke screen. We were supposed to believe the prison officials were these kind-hearted souls doing the best they could with what they had to work with. We were shown the educational facilities for the prison, of which Doyle, being one of the educators, was quite proud. “It was very re warding,” he said to watch the prisoners progress academically. The unit even provided for the “handicapped” which, on second refer ence, were called “dumb asses' . The term “dumb asses” was used several times in reference to in mates and their inability to master such basics as long divison. Doyle then gave us an incorrect example of long division. During the course of the tour, the unrest of the inmates could be felt. They would stare at us as we walked by. I began to feel like I was sticking optical pins through these human butterflies under glass One inmate sat in his classroom and pretended to shoot every mem ber of our group as we went by. Doyle kept stressing the humanity of the inmates and how peo ple on the outside rarely consider it. I got the feeling Doyle rarely considered it either. We were not allowed to talk to the inmates, although no prison official ever said so. When Doyle asked one journalism student ilshe wanted to direct her question to a prisoner, she agreed. Doyle ig nored her agreement anti answered the question himself. Perhaps our tour was supposed to make the prison environment seem harsh, which it did to an extent. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem harsh enough. We were only allowed to see what prison officials wanted us to see. Doyle grumbled about the new laws making prisons more consti tutional. “(The inmates) have more rights now than we do,” hesaid. If they do, or even if they don’t, we never saw it. All we saw was cattle on display, which, it seems, is what the prison officals wanted us to see. Loren Steffy is n sophomorejournulism major. makes you appreciate freedom Confinement Short haircuts. Identical uniforms seven days a week. Behavior scrutinized by superiors. Strict adherence to rules and regulations. This isn’t life behind the arches of the Quad for members of the Corps of Cadets. Daryl I his is life, 24 hours a day, behind the walls of Davidson the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of —————— Corrections. Freedom, a term casually thrown around in the recent political races, takes on a new meaning once you visit the inside of a maximum security prison. I visited the prison Wednesday as part of what you might call an adventure in awareness sponsored by one of my instructors. Our group of 24 was excited and lighthearted as we stood by the gate of the outermost of two 12-foot, barbed-wire-topped fences. However, the group's demeanor quickly changed as we were ad mitted inside the fence by the guard in the nearby tower. As the last one passed through the gate and as the gate was suddenly secured behind us with steel bars, the overwhelming isolation of the institu tion captured us all. No more fun and laughter. Perhaps the fact that we were now inside the fences, within about 25 feet of a group of inmates, made us realize the seriousness of our visit. After we were ushered inside the red brick walls of the prison, our host, an education administrator, carefully explained the unit’s hostage policy: You enter at your own risk. As we passed through a series of mechanically operated gates, we soon found ourselves in the midst of inmate activity. No longer were we on the other side of the fence. We were in the same corridor as the Ferguson Unit’s 17- to 21-year-old population. We saw an inmate cell block with long rows of 4-by-8 cells, three tiers high. We watched as the inmates were .required to walk within three feet of the wall, in single file, to eliminate crowds and traffic in the hallways. We saw a large chapel where, twice a year, the mothers of the in mates can come and visit their sons. We saw the vocational center where various inmates have the chance to learn a skill or trade. The opportunity sounds good, and it is. But consider the fact that at the end of each class each inmate must submit to a thorough strip-search before being allowed to re turn to his cell. You see, if an inmate has the knowledge, using tools in the metal shop, he can conceivably construct an assortment of weapons. We also saw the classrooms where the inmates have a chance'to earn up to a junior college education. One revealing statistic: Aboil! 50 percent of the I DC population has no more than a fifth-grade education. Unfortunately, most of the inmates aren’t able to establish a sta ble educational f oundation. As soon as they become adjusted to the educational department of the unit, they are either transferred to another prison or they are released. This is life in the Ferguson Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections. This is a life where freedom means a great deal nioreto those involved. It means more because it’s been taken away. These men are in prison because they abused their right to free dom. They exercised their freedom at the expense of others. Unfor tunately, they learned the hard way that f reedom has its limits. As we consider our freedom — freedom to question the viewsol others, freedom to hold our own views and act on those views, free dom to go where we choose or not go at all, freedom to have theop portunity to learn — let us be mindful of the life of those whose free dom has been taken away. Think of their lifestyle and appreciate your own. Daryl Davidson is a senior journalism major. LETTERS: It takes more than bread to sustain life EDITOR: I suppose to the uninformed laughter can sometimes be mistaken for crying, music for noise, and contentment for apathy. However, Tm getting tired of people who are uninformed telling me Tm apathetic, because Tm not. I care a great deal about what hap pens around here and the world at large. I care about the Corps, I care about what happened to Goodrich, and right now I care when uninformed peo ple like Bill Sparks is able to BS like, "the almost Soviet-like atmosphere, with the threat of swift retaliation bv the campus police and the Corps against any breakers of tradition or school rules as a backdrop” when talking about the lack of f reedom of speech. Talking about “uninformed on . . . seemingly important issues ...” I won’t even trv to argue all his points, as it ob viously isn't necessary. However, for those that are: One, the reason the Battalion staff is appointed instead of elected is because the student body as a whole is unqua- lifed to make such a decision, mainly be cause they have no way of knowing the candidates well enough. Two, the reason why we spend so much and energy on the bonfire, or the bell tower for that matter, is because those of us who are informed recognize that it takes more than bread and water to sustain life; it takes spirit. Chanted, one can go too far, but as a whole the spirit and traditions of this university instills in it student body is priceless. One needs more from his uni versity than knowledge, his needs wis dom and if he can gain it, a spirit-filled life. For this is the type of person who is able to solve life’s problems most effecti- vely, such problems as caring for the poor, the sick and the hungry. Lastly , where did you ever hear about A&M struggling to attain world-class status?!! We already have, and as for our hickish air, we don't have to be pompous to be good. We have got good conservative moral values, and the con fidence that, despite a few uninformed people, we will continue to have a fine university, and be very, very content. Ken Alger College Station Help our friend who joined a cult EDITOR: In light of recent controversies over politics, women on campus and sexual preference, we would like to relate the following incident: A friend of ours recently joined a horrible cult. They shaved his head, kept him isolated from his family for weeks at some remote location, hun dreds of miles from home, rousted him out of bed at 5:00 a.m., and forced him to listen to bizarre slogans all day. Can't our government do anything about this insidious so-called Aggie Corps? Susan Nickels Chris Young Student Senate exists to represent, act EDITOR: Stated simply, the Student Senate is here for two reasons; to represent our constituency and to act in their best in terest. It is unquestionable that the stu dents of A&M possess the intellectual ability to express their own opinion, and it is this right of accurate expression that is in their own best interest. So, a responsible senator should have no trouble voting accurately when deal ing with resolutions, since resolutions deal with opinion, the opinion of the Texas Aggies students. In this issue, as well as the GSSO is sue, the student opinion does not sup port the resolutions. I welcome all input from students who wish to voice their thoughts. Lewis Frazien Off-campus Ward TV Senator The Battalion CISPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Asso< iation Southwest )oiirnalistn ( oniereme In memoriam Bill Robinson, 1962-1984, Editor The Battalion Editorial Board Stephanie Ross, Editor Patrice Koranek, Managing Editor Shelley I loekstra, City Editor Bright Brockman, News Editor Dunn Eriedman. l-.ditorial Page Editor Bonnie Langford, News Editor Ed Cassavov, Sports Editor Editorial Policy I he Ihiiinlinn is .1 imn-jjiolh. scll-siii)i)nrtini> iicwsfy.ipd npermed us n cnnnmmits set vice m l e\;is AXM :nul II r\mi-(inllcip• Sim inn. Opinions expressed in l he linllnlion ;ue llutsc ol llic I'.dilniinl linurd nr lhe nuihnr. ;md do nut iiecessnril} njf resent the opinions ol Lexus .\X;M ndminisiruKirs. liiailjM or die linurd nl Rei>ents. 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