Opinion Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, November 27,1984 Lefs trade Hinckley to the Soviet Union Let’s make the trade. John Hinckley Jr. for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and future draft choices. Hinckley, who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, proposed the exchange this weekend. He said: “I have made no secret of the fact that I’m currently seek ing asylum in any foreign country and yes, I’d be glad to live in the Soviet Union if I’m exchanged for Andrei Sakharov.” Hinckley shot Reagan to win the love and respect of actress Jodie Foster, co-star of the Film Taxi Driver. Sakharov, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, has been forced to live in internal exile since 1980 after criticizing the Soviet Union. It seems like a fair trade on this side. An assassin for a prize winning scientist. It’s a trade America can’t lose. But, it seems, the only way the Soviet Union would agree to such an exchange is if Hinckley is a KGB agent. Even if he is, and that’s doubtful, would the evil empire admit a failed attempt on the life of America’s President? So for now, the United States is stuck with John Hinckley and the Soviet Union is stuck with Andrei Sakharov. Is there any question which nation is the worse for it? The Battalion Editorial Board A mutt better idea for a mascot Rev V needn’t be a purebred By T1 Re- “Howdy Miss veille Ma’am!” Ah, the Quad. Where else would a dog be more at home ___ than with a bunch of college students starved Marcy Basile for ‘puppy love?’ That’s what the cadets who ‘found’ Reveille I must have thought as they brought her home to Aggieland. Too bad the tradition of non-ped igree “Revs” has gone to the dogs. Reveille I served Texas A&M well. Considering she was hit by a car driven by A&M students, “Rev” had every right to just pack up and leave. But no. “Rev” stayed and became ‘the First Lady of Aggieland.’ While sifting through the hundreds of collie and border collie applications, a trip to the animal shelter should be con sidered as a means of finding a suitable successor to the wonderful Reveille IV. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Reveille III the first A&M mascot to be a purebred collie? So far the score is tied: Mutts 2 — Collies 2. Everyone roots for the, if you’ll par don the expression, underdog. I’m no exception. Right now the underdog seems to be the Mutts, which is a shame. Why take a dog that would have a home whether the Aggies took her or not when there are so many animals at the shelter? Does a dog have to die for Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Reveille III the first A&M mascot to be a purebred collie? So far the score is tied: Mutts 2 — Collies 2. made to the animal shelter. I wantedlo take all the dogs home. None of them knew what fate the gods had instorefor them. They still wagged their tails when I walked by. Displays in the library show the ferent Reveilles in their prime. Fot some odd reason. Reveilles I and were as regal as Reveilles III and I Perhaps the reason was love bestowed upon them by the students. Somewhere along the line, A&M students must have decided that only purebred dogs served to be loved. A&M to have a gorgeous, purebred col lie? Sound morbid? Bet it made you stop and think though. When I read about the retiring of Reveille IV and the search for a collie replacement, I saw the little yellow dog bank used by the Brazos Animal Shelter to raise funds. That dog is crying. Then I remembered a trip I once Bull-caacaa. Come on guys. Think about hon good you would feel saving thelifeofa cute, fluffy puppy from the shelter, member, puppy breath is puppy breatl no matter what breed the dog.) At least go to the shelter and look around. Be lieve me, the trip will sober'you up, and show you that love doesn’t need a ped igree to be true. Push cor ■rsary Te lompletion i Scott Sti some wood but if a lot ■fork on th dieted byT “Things I hank really got a night,” Sti went out o »ut quite iunday nij done.” I Strom : ibout 180 jvork on t and tomor “We ha’ mrk on .rours,” Sti Fom 6-12 js from 1-f Mu aft< Marcy Basile is a Battalion Spore writer. LETTERS: Crocker Dorm shouldn’t say ‘mother’ in yell I CAU'r EELI /T, WC WGAU /\AIP> IF W£T efAt- 'TexA’5 and Evr/ev onf else AM? A ~&LACK HOLe: S>\JALLOWS kes-t- of Tug. , VIE CAN GOm THE- CcmoHTsoWL.! EDITOR: Many people receive their first im pression of Texas A&M by word of mouth. Others get it from visiting A&M. We have always had a good reputation and gained the respect of our guests, whether they were family, friends, stu dents from other schools, and yes, maybe a future Aggie. But, could this reputation be ending? Well, Ags, the subject I’m referring to is spread by the word of mouth also. I’m talking about humpits. Although they can be a very motivating thing if used properly, it seems some are turning into BAD BULL! I’m sure more dorms are guilty than the couple I’ll use as examples. Al though I’m not trying to put down these dorms, I hope a message will come from it. First, in the Astrodome during the Cougar High game a few Ags forgot with some girls from Baylor and right above us was a girl (looked like she was in high school) with her parents and younger brothers. Standing to my left was an old Ag and his family. You should have seen the disappointment written on his face. And if that wasn’t bad enough there were no telling how many women students of A&M heard. The dorm was Moses and their hum- pit was similar, but started off differ ently. Needless to say this brought a few negative comments focused at A&M. Come on Ags, grow up! Sure it’s Fine to do your so-called yells in your dorm, at Bonfire Cut, or underneath your pil low, but spare some Ags the embarrass ment of having guests and dates hear the garbage. Well, we’re all Aggies and it’s up to us to show others how good it is to be an Aggie. So, let’s show the true meaning of Aggie pride and spirit in a way that will create positive attitudes about A&M. Let’s work to make people truly understand how much it means to be a student at Texas A&M. who they were representing with their presence. I had a friend sitting with his presence. date from Houston and they received the undistinct honor of hearing Crock er’s humpit. It was somewhere along the line of “Crocker (rhymes with docks), meanest mother (rhymes with suckers) on campus.” The second example I had the em barrassment of hearing. It was embar rassing not because I’ve never heard the words, but because of the image it was reflecting on the guests. I was sitting Zane Russell Class of’87 SWAMP full of fallacies EDITOR: I am a graduating senior now, and I have yet to write a letter to the Batt. I have decided that if I don’t write one now I may never get a chance. The issue I wish to address deals with a group call ing themselves SWAMP. I have had the great misfortune of hearing some of the speeches made by this group and, frankly, they are full of fallacies. SWAMP, you have made statemenu to the effect that any person which chooses to be conservative, and noi agree with other people’s views, is a nar row-minded bigot. You have put people down at your speeches, refusing toliv ten to what they had to say because you have classified them as bigots. In doing this, you have done what you accused us “narrow-minded bigots” of doing, mak ing yourselves hypocrites, as wellasnar row-minded bigots. You have said that traditions at A&M are dying out. From what I see, ever since Jackie Sherrill got here, they’ve gotten stronger. OK, maybe we don’l have a winning team yet, but Jackie has been involved in strengthening our tra ditions since he got here by starting the Twelfth Man team, working on Bonfire, making the team stay for yell practice when they are out-scored, etc. Even your complaint about not being able nave parties in the MSC is wrong. Any organization on campus can reserve the ballrooms upstairs. I almost feel sorry for the GSS; with supporters like you, who needs opposi tion. I submit that if you don’t like our school, there are plenty of other | schools in Texas, where you canwalkon the grass, wear hats to football games, and forget traditions. Of course it be much harder to find something to complain about. I think that your group isn’t trying to solve problems; you’re try ing to make them. Ron Edwards Class of ’84 Old, Complicated Version New. 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