Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, February 12, 1985 OPINION .■ WWI111 l.W 111111 mu 111111111IIWII in win ii ii ill II \mmm mm ■ www w Cyanide pills won't chase the nuclear blues away For all you de featists out there who feel nuclear war is imminent, Bernard Roth of the University of Texas has the an swer: if the bombs start dropping, simply pop a cy anide capsule sup- . plied by the Uni versity. Roth feels Loren Steffy this enables the individual to “be prepared” in case a nu clear attack occurs. What a wonderful way to deal with the social problems facing this country. If a situation becomes too grim, we’ll just dig into the medicine cabinet and weasel our way out of it. Unfortunately, life is not that simple. If everyone followed Roth’s idea, nu clear warheads would still exist, but only corpses would be around to launch them. Perhaps that’s an effective solu tion, but it doesn’t do a whole lot for the betterment of society. Roth claims that his pill proposal is a metaphor for nuclear arms, and in a way, he’s right. Both the pill and the bomb represent failure. The bomb rep resents the First failure — the inability of two nations to cooperate even when the fate of their entire world is at stake. If a mushroom cloud starts rising on the ho rizon, Reagan’s game of “our arsenal is bigger than yours” will become unim portant. Both countries, no matter which attacks and which retaliates, will already have lost. The cyanide capsule plan proposed by Roth represents a second failure in the event of the First. If we screw up and fail to resolve our differences diplomati cally, then we’ll give up. We won’t keep trying, we’ll just quit, despite the rest of the world. The answer is communication, not cy anide. Only through discussion, not de struction, can the United States and Russia solve the conflicts plaguing the relationship between our nations. The thought of cooperating with the Soviets may leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths, but so does cyanide. The United States and the Soviet Union may start the war, but millions of people in other countries will get caught The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwestjournalism 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 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 Koranek, Trent Leopold, Sarah Oates, Jerry Oslin, Tricia Parker, Lynn Rae Povec Copy Editor Kay Mallett 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 Saito 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 rep resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, facult) or the Board of Regents. ty The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Communications. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the address and telephone number of the writer. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday t /or ‘ during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion. 216 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Editorial staff phone number: (409) 845-2630. Ad vertising: (409) 845-2611. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address^ changes to The Battal ion, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843 LETTERS: ‘Sheltering Arms’ staff express thanks EDITOR: Sheltering Arms is a Twin City Mis sion program that provides emergency shelter for abused and neglected chil dren. On behalf of the children and staff of the shelter, I would like to express our gratitude to Delta Zeta (Lambda Xi Chapter) for their generous contribu tion of $ 1,000 to Sheltering Arms. Our budget is limited and cash funds are always needed to help with the daily operation of the shelter. We have cared for many children in recent months and could not possibly provide for all needs without such caring people. Being close-minded is never admirable Joyce Sparks Administrator, Sheltering Arms ‘Straights’ shouldn’t judge homosexuals EDITOR: It saddens me when “straight” people absolutely declare that homosexuality is wrong. What is wrong to some people may not be wrong to another. These ab solutists tend to view homosexualtiy in terms of their own heterosexualtiy. They do not understand homosexualtiy because they are not gay and to them it is wrong. But to a gay person, hetero sexuality is as much a mystery as homo sexuality is to a straight person. A gay person does not choose to be gay any more than a straight person chooses to be straight. Could it be that heterosex uality is “wrong” for a gay person. So before you condemn homosexual ity from a heterosexual standpoint, put yourself in the position of a gay. What if the majority of the world were homo sexual and you, as a heterosexual, were condemned by gays from a homosexual standpoint and labeled “unnatural?” Af ter all, homosexuality is as completely “natural” for a gay person as heterosex uality is for a straight person. Glenn Murtha Class of’86 Some minorities take advantage of rights EDITOR: Lately there has been a sudden in crease in the number of civil rights vio lations — not in hiring practices or vot ing, but in some very puzzling ways I find hard to understand. Take for in stance the situation last year when a Houston police officer found himself about to be run down by a car. He shot and killed the driver, a minority, and avoided being hit. Consequently, he was accused of violating the man’s civil rights. More recently is the all too familiar case of Bernhard Goetz. His would-be muggers are now charging him with vio lating their civil rights. In order for these men to have vio lated any civil rights, their actions would have to have been racially motivated. Clearly they acted in self-clefense with no disregard for anyone’s civil rights. It appears that in some cases minorities are abusing this tactic by making outlan dish charges. When will this abuse of our legal system end? Mark Browning Class of ’88 Computer jargon MS misused by press By A7 The Mer Student Con There appears to be a recent trend among hack _ . , T - journalists to pon- ^ For um tificate wisely on Readers Forum events using seem- Reader’s Forum ingly high-tech ______ words in an au thoritative fash ion. In short, they use words that in the middle. Since we carry the great est nuclear weapons in the world on our shoulders, we are also the bearers of the greatest responsibility where the use of those weapons is concerned. The threat of a nuclear holocaust may be hard to swallow, but so are cy anide tablets. Popping a pill and turning our backs on society won’t change any thing. Social problems aren’t like a both ersome little brother, we can’t ignore them and hope they go away. We must confront the situation and solve the problem. Loren Steffy is a sophomore journa lism major and a weekly columnist for The Battalion. EDITOR: I disagree with Mr. Bastion: being close-minded is never admirable. Many “established facts” have proven wrong. Spontaneous generation, the sound bar rier, and the inherent inferiority of non white races are only three examples. Two plus two equals four is basic arithmetic, but in more advanced math ematics the answer may not be so sim ple. Similiarly, there may be absolute truth, but you are deluding yourself if you think you have found it, even in the Bible. The revealed word of God is also translated, interpreted, and edited. If you close your mind to the possibil ity that you are wrong, then you have stopped searching for truth. There is nothing admirable about that. Kevin McLeod Bailey Class of ’87 The following definitions of “HACK ER” were published in “the HACKER’S DICTIONARY,” by Guy Steele et ah, copyright 1983, published by Harper & Row, New York. Steele states that the book is a revision of the “jargon file” maintained jointly by hackers in com puter laboratories at Stanford, MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, Yale, Princeton, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The following seven definitions appear on pages 79-80. “HACKER noun. 1. A person who enjoys learning the details of computer systems and how to stretch their capabilities — as opposed to most users of computers, who prefer to learn only the minimum amount nec essary. 2. One who programs enthusiasti cally, or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about pro gramming. 3. A person capable of appreciating HACK VALUE. 4. A person who is good at program ming quickly. (By the way, not every thing that a hacker produces is a hack.) 5. An expert on a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it. Example: “A SAIL hacker.” (This definition and the preceding ones are cor congregate.) related, and people who (ill) “The Em erg Over the 6. An expert <>f am kind. Oner.; SCON A h: be an Astronomy hacker, forexampi Hyde, vice fairs. “As SC 7. A malicious or inquisitive me: we ve taken :ope," he sa Choosing 1980 SCON irst major s they themselves do not understand, and, worse still, attempt to define these words for their “less well-informed” public. In the Texas A&M University Battal ion of 30 January, 1985, in the lower half of the front page, an article was published titled “LIBRARY PAT RONS SUFFER FROM BREAKDOWN.” The second paragraph defined computer hackers in a negative fashion that has become far too prevalent with today’s poorly informed and largely computer- illiterate press corps. It said: “A hacker is a person who illegally invades a com puter system and alters data within the computer’s memory.” who tries to discover in formate poking around. For example, a) sword hacker” is one who tries, ceptive or illegal means, to d other people’s computer passwords! Hyde says “network hacker” is one who ire chosen each learn about the computer networkjJP P rev sibl\ bec ause he wants to improve topic sugges possibly because he wants tointerfercf one can tell the ditterence onlylxj A context and tone of voice). /r/wvi It is truly unfortunate uuu I.h pic-ss ( Iioom s to emphasize negative aspects of hacker as contain in the seventh definition. ThishaslJ a matter of concern in the “ha*. A community, but there is no organa I AUSTIN well-funded lobby that can preventijip Mattox flagrantly negative usage, [hecor: c | lar g es °f versy over the definition of “hacker* I" a ' rn ' n ^.* ie . ness politics This was followed by a paragraph that paraphrased a statement by the Sterling Evans Library Director, Irene Hoadley. I, personally, prefer to assume that this misguided definition was in no way attributable to that person, as I am certain that she would never make that particular error in usage. Editorial re view of the article also failed to elimi nate this grievous characterization of “hackers” as subhuman deviates with questionable ethical values. i | l * sitcaa politics recent!) recciw-d imu h nme, attcntk jnnocemby and editorial comment in thecoinpT^ “I am ext rized electronic media, or the net*! <>t ( omputei i/rd bulletin hoardsvw^uer, the across A met k u. 1 hr I ollowing is are®*’ 2 - to re J sage from a inrmhri of the selifijgfQfp s tate claimed hacker community, which. Thurman, gests a different label for those off illegally invade computer systerast Thurman alter data within the computer’s nations from orv presided ov< bei jury p From: WOODY (Lindsay Wiun.tli< ions .ut of “hackirijjp'’’ saic * ai ought to coin a name for those who5 Monday Wlt liciously penetrate other computer? terns. This would give the pressana: to scream when some nerd has be messing up or otherwise illegal!)us someone else’s system. A suitaBleni from our viewpoint should be ana! which doesn’t have any apparenus nection to legitimate computer use Also, it should have an inherentlyi reputable connotation so that it w« less likely be worn as a badge ofhos by those in our field who think i have accomplished something note* thy by their (puerile) actions. The name 1 propose for this grouf low-life people is “worm.” This tern suitably disreputable and analogous the actions of the group. “Worms'ii ready applied to types of computer'll grams developed by various coin® for the purpose of causing opponet computer systems failures during of international crisis or warfares, this particular case the “worms” are (sub-)human. If you think “worms” is a gooi for these people, then use it bete ourselves and in conversations witbt press. Maybe it will catch on. Woody end of forwarded message— There are also numerous referer* 1 to the use of the word hacker ini early historical documentsofcompuff: (1960-1980). These earlier referem can be found in such relics of the pas! 1 “Dr. Dobbs’Journal of ComputerCi thenics and Orthodontia, or Riinns Light Without Overbyte,” which one of the earliest published journal) computer lore. Study of the fewsifl ing copies of these journals inditf that the term had evolved in a nor.-f- cious and very positive fashion, s' hackers were regarded as high priestii gurus, and sometimes even with at tain degree of reverence. Historians the modern era will no doubt trace etymology of the term and remark the abrupt changes in usage thaU cured in 1983 and later. I suggesti these changes were in large part due the influence of the “War Games”mo' on the misguided hack writers. w We a AH at 1 hope that the use of the tef WORM may replace the negative use 1 the word “hacker” in this univetf community. A proposed bill curreit before the Texas Legislature uses veil different terms for those who gain authorized access to computer system and alter data without the consentoftl ; owner. In the Texas Penal Code, are called criminals, miscreants and b ons. Paul M. Sittler Dept, of Veterinary Public Health