Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, January 28, 1985
inDYIMIflN
Vigilantism doesn't
solve the problem
A Manhattan grand jury Friday indicted subway ‘vigilante’
Bernhard H. Goetz on three charges of criminal weapons pos
session, instead of attempted murder, in the shooting of four
youths on a subway last month.
In effect, Goetz was exonerated of any guilt in the shooting.
The jury decided Goetz used justifiable force in defending him
self against the youths. He was justified, the jury said, in shoot
ing four teenagers — two of them in the back as they tried to run
away. This man who said he had intended to kill the four and
only stopped shooting because he ran out of ammunition was
justified under the law.
The most seriously injured of the four youths — 19-year-old
Darrel Cabey — has been in a coma for 18 days, breathing with
the aid of a respirator. If Cabey does recover from the coma, he
will be paralyzed from the waist down because his spine was sev
ered when Goetz shot him in the back.
There is no question that crime in the New York subways,
and in New York itself, is a very real, very dangerous problem.
The tremendous outpouring of sympathy and support for
Goetz is testimony for that fact.
But allowing people to take the law into their own hands is
not the answer. Allowing people to seek revenge through any
means flies in the face of our committment to live in a country of
law and order.
Obviously the legal system is not working effectively to ]3i
ro-
eir
tect New York’s citizens. And those citizens obviously want
city to be safer.
So where is the outcry for better law enforcement, instead of
praise and applause for needless, unjustified violence? It is a tra
gedy that New Yorkers aren’t pulling together to fight for their
city and their safety with the same force and enthusiasm they
showed for vigilantism.
This subway shooting is a tragedy in all senses. It is a tragedy
that crime is so out of control in New York that people are
frightened and pushed to the point of violence. It is a tragedy
that a young man is lying in a hospital in a coma, his chances of
survival slim.
It is a tragedy that the likelihood of vigilantism and violence
will increase because of the precedent set by this jury’s decision.
The Battalion Editorial Board
LETTERS:
People must live
by their own morals
EDITOR:
When it comes to morals, everybody
is right. People’s opinions on moral is
sues stand as solid as granite and there
are few people that can change their
views. Gay rights are no exception. If
people feel that homesexuality is wrong,
they will continue to believe that. Even if 1
they were the only ones left that did.
That is their right and it would be a sad
day in the country if we lost that free
dom to live by our beliefs. What people
do in private is their own business. Some
people in Houston sounded as though
the world would come to an end if those
sexuality referendoms were passed. The
truth is, the laws would have had no ef
fect whatsoever. There is not a law that
can be made that would stop discrimina
tions. However, if it had passed, it
would certainly serve as a reminder of
what this country is all about. We all
have the right to choose our friends,
place of worship, and how we conduct
our lives, especially in private. The
world would not come to an end if gay
right legislation were passed but it cer
tainly would if we eliminated any seg
ment of our great society.
Senario Two: An officer walking
through campus at 4 a.m. sees a girl be
ing mugged. The suspect flees, the cop
has his gun; make my day — blow him
away.
Kelvin Callaghan
Male cadets are
perfect gentlemen
EDITOR:
In response to Berkowitz’s “twisted”
article regarding Cadets, we have a few
comments of our own. First, how can
anyone pass judgement on the Corps
without ever experiencing it? Issues
shouldn’t be condemned based on hear
say.
John R. Mugg
Class of ’88
Campus cops carry
guns? Yes and no
EDITOR:
Should campus cops carry guns? So
far I have heard either yes or no argu
ments, but what about yes and no. In
otherwords carry guns in their car, but
not on their person, except if the officer
is on a walking patrol. Here are a couple
of senarios to help explain.
Senario One: Last semester the cam
pus police were called to break up a do
mestic disturbance in the the north side
quad. It would seems that dorm X had
more of than their share of dorm spirit.
So they began to spread it around in the
best way that they knew, naturally by
throwing pizza dough at dorm Z. Before
dorm Z was able to show their apprecia
tion the campus cops arrived, billy clubs
in hand and guns in holsters. Children
in dorm X were spanked and let go. Ev
erything okey dokey.
The unity of the Corps has an undy
ing influence on all of those who are ex
posed to it. It is this unity that creates
the aura we are all inspired by. This or
ganization provides A&M with a unique
identity. What would A&M be without
the Corps?
Allison Meyer, Class of ’85
Holly Helt, Class of ’86
At Ease staffers
praised for work
EDITOR:
Dear Battalion At Ease Staff:
WHOOP!!
What could have happened: Redneck
in dorm X gets in a skuffle with the cop
Thanks for a nice and intelligent
whole issue. Keep up the good work.
Agustin Restrep
Regents need to wake up and smell reality
Band battle is a losing one
I believe that this simple solution will
make both conservative (“Happiness is a
warm gun”) types and liberal (afraid of
another Kent State) journalists happy
content citizens.
Although we’re not members of the
Corps, we’re still thankful it exists. Ca
dets are “the mirror of all courtesy.” Not
only do they go out of their way to open
doors for ladies, but they never seem to
break that old Aggie traditions of
“HOWDY.” They also provide the serv
ice of protective escorting which insures
our safety. We’re not alone in our ap
preciation.
No matter how
many times a dead
dog is kicked, it’s
still dead. Inevi
tably, U.S. District
Judge Ross Ster
ling ruled in favor
of Melanie Zent-
graf, approving an
out-of-court
agreement which
will allow women
President Frank E. Vandiver said 500 to
600 faculty members would have to he
laid off and student enrollments cut if
the Legislature slashes appropriations
like it wants to.
Loren Steffy
to enter the Aggie band. Naturally, our
omnipotent Board of Regents will ap
peal the decision.
Constitutional rights aren’t the issue
here. It’s a matter of principle and tradi
tion, which are the same thing in Aggie-
land. Since women have never been al
lowed in the band, the Ross Volunteers,
or the drill team, why should they be
now? Women wormed their way into
the Corps, but we gotta stop them be
fore they take over the whole Univer
sity, right?
In a related incident, Texas A&M
Now, while A&M may lose valuable
faculty and students, essentially the life
blood of this University, the Regents are
sitting on their fat bank rolls fighting a
case which will be lost eventually. No
way will the Supreme Court, if the case
even gets that far, uphold a clearly dis
criminatory restriction such as keeping
women out of a college band.
Instead of fighting frivolous lawsuits,
the Regents could be putting their tens
of thousands of dollars to use in pre
serving the precious jobs of faculty
members, a function that would cer
tainly benefit A&M more than an all
male band.
In all the turmoil surrounding chang
ing traditions, the real purpose of A&M
— education — is often lost. Whether
the University has a coed band is trivial.
Whether professors are available
teach courses and enhance the
don of students is not.
As a student, I’d like to knowtl
tax and tuition dollars A&M receivesu
being spent to better this leamingi
ronment for myself and my fellows
dents, enhance the research and lead!
ing f acilities for professors and presenl
and maintain this institute oi higher«|
ucation. Of course, Tm sure
Bright would rather be able to
down on Kyle Field and say “Yet
there’s not a skirt in that entire I
down there. It was a long, hard!
but I won.” Even if he had toselliul
the University to do it.
The Regents need to wake up;
smell reality. Fighting Sterling’s de
is a hopeless case, and A&M couldf
the money to better use. Bright shoi
follow his own advice and “cutouii
fat.”
By
joura
Loren Steffy is a sophomore
lism major and a weekly columnist
The Battalion.
Budget cutting, tax reforming
more difficult than they sound
Help
nations
[search i
[food si
Agency
jopmen
|in Rud<
“Mei
Itions is
Brady
Ruddei
Brae!
itrator
[with tl
gAid, sa
meet w
countri
lucedI
“We
selves,"
This
three-p
First
ribbon
frost
Irady:
Seen
countri
md tf
jdividu;
“We
researc
sities,"
What we have
here is “High
Noon” played by
the Marx broth
ers. The gunsling-
ers are warily
walking down the
dusty street —
Pennsylvania Ave
nue — but they
are not eager to
George Will
sling guns. The winner may be the one
who draws last.
The President is going to submit a
sort of budget, in a perfunctory sort of
way. The House of Representatives, the
last redoubt of Democrats, must (the law
is picky about this) pass a budget. But it
does not want to do that until Senate Re
publicans write one.
resulting in gun play, and the death of
an innocent surf-punk (me) in dorm Y.
This tragic death of mine could have
been prevented had the police been al
lowed to leave the guns in the cars and
brought pizza dough.
Their leader, Robert Dole, is going to
run for President as a Responsible Re
publican, meaning one who will conun-
tenance some Social Security cuts and
deeper defense cuts than the President
wants. If Dole oversees Senate passage
of a budget like that. House Democrats
will stand back aghast, entrophy will
spread through Congress and there will
be government by continuing resolution
until 1986, which is an election year, so .
So let’s kill time by reforming taxes.
Rub, rub, rub, rub. There. We have
erased every line in the wickedly compli
cated tax code, because Americans say
they crave simplicity. And yet, and yet. .
So parsons and their flocks will put the
fear of God into Congress.
Furthermore, America itself —
meaning, of course, baseball — is en
dangered. Last year, 15 million tickets
— one-third of all tickets sold — were
deductible as business expense. The
government, in one of its sweeter
moods, has declared that a major league
stadium is an “appropriate business set
ting.” For business entertainment, that
is. Change that, and much revenue will
be drained from sports, and Dave Win
field will not be able to live in the man
ner to which he is accustomed. So,
sports fans, let’s keep a little complexity
in the tax code, to protect sports.
Now, about, that \dea vA
ending the deductibility of mortgage-in
terest payments on second homes. That
change would persecute the plutocrats,
right? Well, it will not amuse Aspen,
Colo., Sun Valley, Idaho, and Jackson
Hole, Wyo., for starters. And those
states have as many senators as Califor
nia, New York and Texas — where,
come to think about it, there live many
persons who have second homes.
The end of second-home deductibil
ity would alarm lumbermen — the
horny-handed sons of toil who harvest
the trees that make the beams and shin
gles and floors in second homes. And
the union members who make the
plumbing fixtures may oppose any tax
change that would inhibit construction.
And so on.
cal governments to issue tax-exem
bonds, right? Such bonds finance!
struction of public works (school,
ways, airports, hospitals, brid
There were $83 billion of such bond
sued in 1983. Restrict them and youti
strict the wealt h-amassing byi
wealthy. But you also restrict consrf
tion, so yoy will hear from theconstn
lion unions (Democratic) and thei
tractors (Republican).
So what will happen in this yean
budget cutting and tax reforming?Hi
year will be momentous if muoi hap <
pens, or if nothing happens.
If much happens, that will be mr
mentous. If nothing very much hapi
pens, we will have established the mol
vwewuwvs bwA vVyav vbfc sxvwkwAta&y
grown weak by growing b\g—v\yauu
immobilized by the constituencies it ha
created through the services it hasm
dered. By January 1986, we will eithe
have no enlarged sense of the possible
or we will have the knowledge thatthf
modern state has so woven itself into tht
fabric of society that it cannot raoit
without ripping the fabric, and
cannot move.
George Will is a columnist for (hi
Washington Post.
A few months ago the Reagan admin
istration was said to be bent on establish
ing a theocracy, turning the goverment
over to the nation’s parsons. But lo! The
administrations’s tax-simplification plan
would erase the provision whereby par
sons are not taxed on the value of the
compensation they receive in the form
of their parsonage or housing allow
ance. Taxing that will give the govern
ment $164 million in 1990. But that is
$164 million that, congregations will
have to make up, or take from charities.
Concerning the three-martini lunch,
who will die in the last ditch in defense
of current permissive rules on the de
ductibility of “business” meals? Not fat
cats grown fat on too much gin and not
enough vermouth. They are too fat to
fight. No, the defenders will be the res
taurant and hotel workers’ unions. And
(for starters) the. two senators from
Louisiana: New Orleans is kept afloat by
deductible spending at business conven
tions and meetings.
Well, at least we can agree about radi
cally restricting the right of state and lo-
The Battalion
USPS 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
Mic helle Powe, Editorial Page Editor
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editors
Kari Fluegel, Rhonda Snider
Assistant News Editors
Tammy Bell, Cami Brown, John Hallett
Assistant Sports Editor
Charean Williams
Entertainment Editors
Shawn Behlen, Leigh-Ellen Clark
Staff Writers Cathie Anderson,
Brandon Berry, Dainah Bullard,
Ann Cervenka, Tony Cornett,
Michael Crawford, Kirsten Dietz,
Patti Flint, Patrice Koranck,
Trent Leopold, Sarah Oates,
Jerry Oslin, Tricia Parker,
Lynn Rae Povec
Copy Editor Kay Mailed
Make-up Editors Karen Bloch,
Karla Martin
Columnists Kevin Inda, Loren Steffy
Editorial Cartoonist Mike Lane
Sports Cartoonist Dale Smith
Copy Writer Cathy Bennett
Photo Editor Katherine Hurt
Photographers Anthony Casper,
Wayne Grabein, Frank Irwin,
John Makely, Peter Rocha, Dean Said)
Editorial Policy
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper
operated as a community service to Texas A&M and
nryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in 'The Battalion are those of the
Editorial Board or the author, and do not necessarily rep
resent the opinions of j'exas A&M administrators, lacull)'
or the Board of Regents.
j he Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for
students in reporting, editing and photography classes
within the Department of Communications.
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Letters to the Editor slum Id not exceed 300 words in
length. The editorial stall reserves the right to edit letters
for style and length but will make every effort to maintain
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