Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, January 22, 1985
OPINION
Normalcy is a state of mind
Characters. Ev
eryone has that
special person
from their home
town or neighbor
hood that every
one knew to be,
well you know, a
little strange.
In a world
where it is easy to
get lost in a maze
of black and white images, it always
come as a relief to me catching a charac
ter in action.
Some cities remain clearer in my
memory not so much for the food, the
good parking or the local baseball team,
as for that wonderful guy yelling at the
top of his lungs in the middle of the
main street.
In Toronto, I marvelled at the un
usual sights experienced in one brief
day of wandering around the downtown
core.
Jump on the subway and enter into a
tiny planet peopled by a smattering of
dreams, experiences and fragments of
life. I would usually ride with my Walk
man headphones on — sans music —
and tune into the subway community.
Sometimes the experience is far from
pleasant. Try sharing an empty car with
one large dangerous looking individual
who is content to sit across from you and
stare. And stare. And stare. I decided
the guy didn’t have eyelids.
Or try and not be touched by the sad
ness of another wandering soul who
shared the seat across from me riding
from Bloor Station to Eglinton Station.
As I let my eyes jump from one adver
tisement to the pile of people jammmed
into the car I happened to see the man.
A very ordinary man. One that on any
other day you might well miss except for
his face. Because placed on the down-
turned face of this very ordinary man
was the most extraordinary thing. His
eyes were mismatched. One eye was half
an inch above the other. Not the pret
tiest sight, or even that extraordinary in
a huge city harboring more than its fair
quota of tragedies.
Nevertheless I found myself fas
cinated by the way he carried himself in
a world where he was an immediate mis
fit. A tin soldier cast without one leg.
Sadness was the immediate feeling
that tugged at my heart. But as the sub
way car jiggled and screeched to the
next stop and I watched this little man
so intensely interested in his shoes, I
couldn’t help feeling proud for this guy
who had the guts the prove his existence
in a hostile world.
I guess it would be naive for me to be
lieve he doesn’t suffer the neverending
battle of being “different.” It is probably
a bittersweet pill to swallow each day.
But there is beauty in his imperfection
— or should I say surface imperfection.
Skirting the usual route to the down
town core, I stumbled upon a woman
having a rather heated argument. Wav
ing a tattered shopping bag at her ad
versary, I couldn’t help but feel sorry
for her victim. A snowcovered Volvo
was the target of this verbal tussle. Car
abuse taken to the extreme.
Or the righteous indignation dis
played by a drunk who missed his stop
on the streetcar and lushly bawled out
the surprised driver, who looked like he
probably could use a beer as well.
The performance ended with the
drunk standing in front of the streetcar
attempting to copy down the car num
ber onto a dirty paper bag. Mumbled
promises of lawsuits and protests flew
into the air before the icy wind whipped
all his alcohol-soaked reasoning down
the street.
And I can’t help but remember
Frank. As a kid, I was the diligent safety
patroller decked out in the standard
orange belt. Keeping my corner safe for
all the students going to the elementary
school.
Everyday I had an extra customer.
His name was Frank. He had a 28-year-
old’s body, but the mind of a small child.
And he was one of us.
Frank would head out to the hand
icap center every morning, decked out
in a purple cap and his Sesame Street
lunch box, and say hi to me. Just that.
And every morning, as I watched his
unique walk-run, I was always happy to
see my friend.
Tolerance and normalcy, I guess, are
a state of mind.
Ed Cassavoy is the city editor and a
weekly columnist for The Battalion.
LETTERS:
All journalists are
biased and left-wing
EDITOR:
I’ve never watched WDAM and I
wouldn’t trust a journalist if my life de
pended on it. With the exception of only
a few, no more than I could count on
one hand , all journalists I’ve been ex
posed to are biased and tend to slant
their material to the left. I wonder why
there are no more unbiased journalists
than there are, then I realize that the
truth wouldn’t sell as many newspapers,
magazines or television shows.
Journalists have been twisting the
truth for a long time and I don’t see how
the situation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
can be any worse, only better. Generally
journalists twist the truth for profit, in
Mississippi it was done to help capture a
would-be killer.
In summation, this incident has not
caused me to lose my confidence in
journalists, they did it to themselves a
long time ago. If they (journalists) were
as true to their causes as they would like
to be, they would add or detract nothing
from the stories they report and report
them only when they are truly most
beneficial to the United States alone.
Bryan D. Jones
Class of’87
Battalion Ed Board
position questioned
EDITOR:
In addressing the opinion presented
by the Battalion Editorial board on Fri
day the eighteenth of January. I first
feel the need to question the ability of
the editorial board to dabble in world
affairs. But obviously the Editorial
board decided to, somewhat lessening
their already low rapport on campus.
I realize that it is only an opinion that
the editorial board expressed, but the
purpose of a published opinion is to
sway one’s views on a subject and there
fore the information contained in said
opinion should be true and correct.
I believe that the Battalion editorial
board fails to remember the philosophy
held by the Russian government (not
the people) to take over the world for
communism. Which the Russians are
proving day after day in Afghanistan
and Nicaragua. Until the Russians
change their basic doctrine, our doc
trine should be one of defense.
One might question the reason to
have a bomber force at all with the
amount of ICBMs that we have. The
bombers offer a recallable strike force
whereas an ICBM cannot be recalled
once launched.
With that in mind I will continue on.
To say that the B-l Bomber is no better
than the B-52 is like saying that a
Porsche is no better than a Ford Gra
nada. If you wanted an effective
bomber which would you take; the B-l
at 1400 mph and a payload of 115,000
pulds or the B-52 at 660 mph and a pay-
load of 28,250 pounds. A plane that has
the most up-to-date Electronic Counter
Measures or a plane built in 1952. A
plane capable of Mach 1.6 at treetop
level or one flying at Mach .85 at 30,000
feet in plain sight of the enemy.
Personally I would want the B-l that is a
smaller target flying under the enemy’s
radar at twice the speed carrying almost
three time the payload with the ability to
jam the enemy’s methods of detection.
“No new technology” indeed.
A reason for the Soviets to discuss the
Salt II Treaty was because they were
scared or the B-l and its Cruise Missile
counterpart. Why were they scared?
They had no way to defend against ei
ther one of them.
Stealth technology has not been pro
ven to foolproof. (Newsweek, October
19, 1982, p. 64). If the Stealth proves to
be ineffective at least we have to B-l to
fall back on.
I personally would much rather see
my tax dollar going to feed a starving
human being than to fully intergrated,
digitized destructive force. The Soviet
government wishes to control the world.
If they are allowed to see their dream
come true then you and I will be too
busy trying to feed ourselves to worry
about helping to feed others. American
arms supplied to rebels in places like Af
ghanistan and Nicaragua kill people just
as dead as the Soviet suplied arms. Is
our way right enough to fight for? I do
not know, but if it is not, then I’ll see you
in the food line, comrade.
I do hope in the future, before you all
start writing with your whimsical stroke
of a pen that the facts that are presented
by you are better researched, prepared
and thought out.
J. Kelly Stader
Business, non-corp
One former student
sides with Jim Mattox
EDITOR:
I browse through the Texas Aggie
with amusement and usually with some
consternation. I try not to let it bother
me much, after all I figure the people
who run the Association of Former Stu
dents are just a bunch of rich old men
who like to do fund raising (whoops, ex
cuse me, I see one of the program vice-
presidents is female).
But the letter from Charlie Seely,
president of the Association, on the in-
Official rhetoric
never changes
GEORGE F. WILL
WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST
Konstantin Chernenko’s strength is
reportedly ebbing, and not suprisingly:
Building the New Soviet Man and a
workers’ paradise worthy of him in
volves long hours and heavy lif ting.
So, just to be ready, here is a generic
news story to be run whenever a Soviet
“leader” (an odd term for the head of a
nation where people have no choice but
to follow) dies:
WASHINGTON — The death of the
Soviet leader is viewed here as a prom
ising “opening” in U.S.-Soviet relations.
His successor, Ivan X, is considered a
“moderate.”
State Department officials warn that
it would be “superficial” to draw “pre
mature” conclusions based on the “mere
facts” of his life, which “on the surface”
follows the traditional career path of the
Soviet elite. “True,” a U.S. official says,
“Mr. X has spent 27 years arresting peo
ple, but he probably has got all that out
of his system.”
As evidence of Mr. X’s moderation,
State Department analysts note that al
though no one has actually seen him
jog, the consensus in the diplomatic
community is that he jogs in New Bal
ance shoes, which are made in Massa
chusetts. Also, he is said to use a Walk
man, on which he listens to Bruce
Springsteen tapes.
“He is a high tech, ‘new ideas,’ Cary
Hart-type appealing to Soviet yuppies,”
said a Yale Kremlinologist. A Harvard
professor of Detente Studies, noting
that Springsteen’s current hit is “Born
in the U.S.A.” infers that Mr. X may
wish to “normalize” relations with Af
ghanistan.
It is common knowledge that Mr. X
snacks on Twinkies delivered by diplo
matic pouch. “Clearly,” says a State De
partment Soviet expert, “he is cosmo
politan, breaking the mold of
insularity.”
The State Department acknowledges
some gaps in its knowledge of Mr. X.
For example, equal numbers of experts
are certain that he does and that he does
not speak English.
Although Mr. X has published many
articles, the State Department says little
is known about what he “really” thinks.
“Did ‘Mein Kampf tell us Hitler’s
mind?” cautions an official.
Mr. X’s writings include attacks on
freedom of expression, a defense of the
“export of socialist fraternity to Afghan
istan,” and “Against Bourgeois Senti
mentalism: A War-Winning Strategy for
Nuclear Weapons.”
A State Department of ficial explains,
“True, a literal reading of his writings
might suggest he is occasionally some
what muted in his enthusiasm for the
Davie Witzel, Class of ’82 or ’83
Asbury Park, NJ.
By (
Althougl
dents are u
“Our ma
lion’s direc
to provide
training on
itizens oft
Bradley:
spirits of detente, Geneva, Helsinki
San Clemente. But sophisticated^
ern observers understand that
sauce to traditional rhetorical mods
required for advancement in a societ
‘conservative’ as the Soviet Union,Kit
is utterly unlike our society.
“Furthermore, Americans must
derstand that in the Soviet system,,
as in ours, the role of personality isp |fj v j t j es are
amount.” Asked how U.S. optic Texas A&N
could rest on the assumption thatfc ucation prc
society is radically unlike andessent;
similar to ours, the official said:“Nei
theless.”
The official notes that “seasoned
servers” believe Mr. X opposed the
viet suppression of East Germany,HtMoffered by
gary, Czechoslovakia and Poland,fc Extension
‘liberalization” of concentration am 1
and is a middle-of-the-roader reeardi s ( l es jg ne T
the psychiatric 4 hospitals.
The State Department conskb
encouraging” that Mr. X has rise
power while privately opposing eilExtension
significant Soviet policy in hislifeti® ' n College
die of the!
. w . , than 90 pe;
At a recent Moscow reception fori 0 ff campus
American peace group, Clergy andii
ulty Mightily Concerned, a Sovietd
cial confided that Mr. X, 69, isa “Ym
■Turk” who wants arms control so
Soviet living standards can rise. The
viet official said Mr. X is “pragmaw
sort of a Soviet Howard Baker
threatened by “hawks” in the PolitkitHsponsible
2,300 classi
State Department officials coo
that Mr. X and other “doves in
Kremlin closets” need a sign from
United States that it “means no harj
U.S. diplomats are formulating ‘
approaches” that will show U.S.“f
lity” in arms-control negotiations
Soviets made a concession by retui
to the talks they had broken off,”
official observes, "so a U.S. cone
would be symmetrical
en
nd trainin
keep up to
nologv, he
Althougl
Bradley
is provide
training dr
Arlington,
and San A
Station.
Througl
tension Se
Cb
The Commerce Department is om
nizing trade delegation committed|
“prophylactic unilateralism,” meam
credits to underwrite Soviet purchas
of U.S. goods.
Uni
Rapid 1
ausing a c
i the well
ildlife sp<
“It’s a
lays wildli
gi An
exas Orn
“If you <
hanges m
“If you
hanges wi
A White House of ficial, paraphr
Churchill, explains that all U.S.
rests on the principle, “Jaw-jaw is betij
than even prime rib.”
At the State Department, a report
recalled that optimism about the “moil
rate” Khrushchev died with the
garian invasion, the Berlin Wallandu
Cuban missile crisis, and optima
about the “moderate” Brezhnev i
Prague, Afghanistan, Yemen, Angi
Ethiopia and Poland. A State Dep
ment official replied: “Yes, but."
side front cover of the January 1985 is
sue got my goat. Charlie claims Texas
Attorney General Jim Mattox has done
Texas A&M a “disservice” by attempt
ing to stop A&M from pursuing a cou
ple of court cases, namely the ref usal of
the school to recognize the GSSO and
the refusal of the school to allow women
into the Aggie Band and other Corps
organizations.
Isn’t it funny how there are good
court cases and bad court cases? I mean,
I didn’t see a letter calling for “our day
in court” after an Aggie died from what
amounted to university-sanctioned
hazing. It was much easier to let a cou
ple of students take the rap. And speak
ing of a day in court, Charlie should
hope the Justice Department doesn’t
start nosing around checking the per
centage of minority students or faculty
at A&M. Now there’s a court case.
Charlie said the letter wasn’t a request
for action, but just to keep people in
formed. When the request does come,
A&M would be much better off if the
action was to recruit gays to attend the
school and encourage women to partici
pate in school organizations of all types.
The benefits of having a diverse, active
student body will far outweigh the du
bious benefits of maintaining A&M’s
redneck image. What I’m trying to say is
— it is going to take more than just
changing the “C” to “U” to make A&M a
university.
I figure they’ll probably take away my
Association of Former Students bumper
sticker and I may never get another cal
endar from them, but I think the Asso
ciation is wrong. I’m glad Jim Mattox re
fused to support the bigotry of A&M’s
rulers. Jim, I’m proud of you.
The Battalion
US PS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Brigid Brockman, Editor
Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor
Ed Cassavoy, City Editor
Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor
Michelle Powe, Editorial Page Editor
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors J
Kari Fluegel, RhondaSnidti
Assistant News Editors a
Tammy Bell, Cami Brown, John Halleii
Assistant Sports Editor J
Charean Williams
Entertainment Editors
Shawn Behlen, Leigh-EllenClarl
Staff Writers Cathie Anderson
Brandon Berry, Dainah Bullard
Tony Cornett, Michael Crawford
Kirsten Dietz, Patti Flim
Patrice Koranek, Trent Leopold
Karla Martin, Sarah Oates
Tricia Parker, Lynn RaePovtt
Copy Editor KayMalW
Make-up Editor Karen Blod
Columnists Kevin Inda, Loren Steft)
Editorial Cartoonist MikeLanr
Sports Cartoonist DaleSmidi
Copy Writer Cathy Benneti
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