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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1985)
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, February 19, 1985 OPINION Sally's Symposium predictably boring Controversy, the stuff of great debates. Here at Texas A&M, Sully’s Symposium has been one forum for campus leaders and people of campus interest to address the students of A&M. Last semester the student body president, the editor of The Battalion and other important student leaders gave their views on their particular organizations and the philosophies behind those organizations. This year, the honeymoon is over. The Battalion Editorial Board feels too little thought is being taken in the selection of Sully’s Symposium speakers. This fo rum serves a unique and necessary service and should not follow the path of least resistance. This semester the selection of Miss Texas A&M, four A&M basketball players, and the usual crop of student government people show what Sully’s Symposium snouldn’t be — predictable and boring. Lambda Sigma must be commended for creating the sympo sium. But the novelty factor is over. The students of A&M deserve to hear more than public rela tions speeches. They must get the views of the people who do af fect students’ lives. Why not get H.R. “Bum” Bright or one of the other regents to discuss their sizable contribution to University affairs? Why not get President Vandiver to discuss the ever-threat ening budget cuts? Or the president of the MSC Council to dis cuss why the student body is not involved in the council’s elec tions? Or the president of the MSC Black Awareness Committee to discuss A&M’s minority recruitment policy? Sully’s Symposium is supposed to give ordinary students a chance to talk to the true “powers” of Texas A&M who are not readily accessible to ordinary students. So far this semester it has failed to do this. Why not anticipate what the student’s real questions are, rather than give them pat answers? M; r KlI ill Tefas Hansel for (lie mittee. The prog 1 a tee m torv M< “He sense . ‘‘'['his i His phi righ i s i Han mail iei .jof n ,( •Wneei mt a doi n Uni\ el Most A&M students don’t look c past own materialistic desires •avi dent lx itun -Js 1 s Wejdne the st; Many A&M stu dents one day hope to be world leaders. I don’t believe they are receiving the educa- Patti Flint The Battalion Editorial Board tion necessary to lead: students here aren’t encouraged to think, nor do they seem to want to. These things also are necessary for leading a fuller life. There’s so much more out there than most people ever see, even if it’s just noticing the movement of light on the sidewalk as the light through the trees shifts when the sun nears setting. Ross. LETTERS: Everything here is judged by money. If a class teaches you a skill that will make you money, it’s good. If not, it’s worthless. Because of this attitude, I think most students are incapable of making thoughtful, responsible deci- Esoteric garbage? Maybe, but I don’t think so. For me, these things are the very essence of life. You, on the other hand, might enjoy being nebulous. I Any implications in Batt unintentional seen on campus that all of us would like to be able to enjoy. EDITOR: I would like to apologize to Dr. Alvin Prause and Mr. Gary Anderson for statements made in an article entitled “A&M Student Considers Council Seat” in the Feb. 18 Battalion. I would also like to apologize to The Battalion’s writer Jerry Oslin for not making myself more clear. I by no means intended to decide that Anderson and Prause were not running for reelection. What I in tended to say was that rumors had it that they might not run and that they had not made their intentions known yet. If they did not run then I might be considered the closest thing to an in cumbent. Again I apologize to all con cerned and hope this statement clears up some questions. Mike Hachtman Class of ’86 You don’t see the “local” theaters closing their doors to A&M students be cause they have their own Films on cam pus. Just because one has already grad uated doesn’t mean they are any less interested in campus activities. Phillip Sulak, ’83 Students lack an understanding of history, literature, philosophy, the arts, and even the sciences. And what could be more valuable to an employer than someone who can reason and think? — something these disciplines encourage, as well as encouraging sensitivity. For example (and I have no scientic data to support this), students here be lieve in God not because He’s a concept they’ve thought over and accepted, but out of blind obedience for what they’ve been taught. Students raised in families for whom religion is unimportant usually don’t believe in Cod. Not be cause they’ve thought it over and re jected the idea, but because they haven’t thought about it at all. can diety, “the teflon presideni," much power is because he mi^Brhe people want to hear and people:sored bother to put any thought into the! racy of his words. Students suppe Reagan in the election because: parents did, or supported Mondie the same reason, using little of to thought. Intellectual sloth is a steady fora most students’ education. Whaii learn in the classroom or in lextk they leave there when thedassisoie the liooks closed. Students donifi late this know ledge into their live their minds are bound tostagnaie If people could think, interpret derstand, and reason, there wouldt so much t ear and hatred for thent' different — people and ideas. Hi maybe, a college education wouldik something. The reason that other great Ameri- Patti Flint is a senior journalism® and a staff writer for At Ease. Student lost without prescription glasses $600 for toilet seat EDITOR: going a bit too far Aggies working for world peace I need some urgent help! I lost my prescription glasses (gray-colored plas tic-rimmed frames with untinted lenses) on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the G. Rollie White nautilus gym after my 8 o’clock P.E. class. I am in dire need of these specs as my sight is 20/400 (compared to the normal 20/20 vision). If found, please call Kuta at 260-2360 or hand them over at the MSC main desk. By ART BUCHWALD Columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate charge us for a Binuptial cruise digita- ' it. Ifv EDITOR: We were very pleased to read about the influence that the Texas A&M Vil lage of Hope has had on students in La fayette, Louisiana, and in Austin and Lubbock (Battalion, Feb. 8, 1985). It’s wonderful to know that other universi ties are following our lead in this kind of international work. Thanks. K.T. Manyukwi Class of’87 Everyone not happy with Aggie recruiting EDITOR: Now that the University of Texas and Texas Tech have joined us, we can fore see many other universities around the nation reaching out to their neighbors the way Aggies have done. We are a long way from world peace, but this seems to be a very good start in that direction. And it’s nice to know that Texas Aggies have started it all. The Village of Hope project is one more example of the many good things coming out of this school. Let’s continue to work together to keep the Texas A&M Village of Hope an example for the rest of the nation. Well, Jackie, after having shown re peatedly over the past three years that you can’t coach, you now have demon strated your incompetence as a recruiter as well.It’s obvious now that Jerry Petti- bone was the recruiter on the staff and you just stepped in to claim the credit for his work. Louis D. Driver accompanied by 15 signatures Jackie, you’ve set our football pro gram back 10 years both on and off the field. You managed to do this year what hadn’t been done since 1974 — fail to sign a single blue-chipper. Non-A&M students discriminated against It’s obvious that the high school play ers and coaches of Texas now know what Aggies have known for a couple of years; Jackie is a loser. EDITOR: Why are non-A&M students being discriminated against? I am referring to the restriction of MSC movies to students, faculty and staff. There are classic movies being shown that can only be Not only are you a disaster as a coach and recruiter but your lack of personal intergrity is astounding. Anyone who can call this a “very, very good” year in recruiting should be a used car salesman and not a representative of Texas A&M. Richard H. Fosberg, ’78 It’s amazing, but all the cost overrun scandals at the Pentagon have to do with small items, and not big ones. First it was the $400 hammer, then the $7,900 cof- feemaker, followed by the $16,400 re frigerator — and now, the $640 flying toilet seat. That’s what Lockheed Aircraft charged the Navy for each one it in stalled in its P3 Orion submarine-hunt ing airplane. The press instantly dubbed it “Toiletgate,” and the reve lation couldn’t have come at a worse time. When the seat was displayed by Senator Roth of Delaware, all hell broke loose in the Defense Department. Cap Weinberger was having enough trouble defending his budget on the Hill, and he was in no mood to justify the cost of plumbing fixtures on a Navy aircraft. Two minutes after the list price for the seat surfaced, “general quarters” was sounded at the Pentagon, and everyone grabbed a phone. Weinberger called the secretary of the Navy, who called the chief of naval operations, who called the admiral in charge of aircraft procurement, who called the captain who heads up the P3 submarine-hunter program, who called Lockheed Aircraft for an explanation. “What the hell are you guys doing charging us $640 for a toilet seat?” he yelled into the phone. “We made a slight mistake,” the Lock heed commode chief said. “We should have only billed you $554 for each one. We’ll send you a rebate in the morning.” “Do you know what’s going on here in Washington? You’ve jeopardized the entire $313 billion defense budget. You guys must be crazy.” “Now wait a minute. That seat is made of fiberglass and plastic and will withstand any combat situation that the P3 hunter is bound to encounter. We tested it in two crash landings and it didn’t have a crack in it.” “That’s not the point. If you over- tor no one is going to question it. it you bury a few thousand bucks in the Gaf fney flick switch, or a Dalmane synthe sizer, Congress will never Find it. And if you want to up the price on a Flangle Dipthong Upsurge, we’ll look the other way. But the American taxpayer knows what toilet covers cost. Besides, the rea son this whole thing broke is a small contractor claims he could make the same seat for $200.” “They all say that until they try to build one. It’s not just the seat but the research and development that went into it. We had to build a special simula tor to make sure it would hold up at 40,000 feet.” “Why didn’t you add those costs on to the Septum Firth chronometer? We could have absorbed them there.” “Because $640 is peanuts in a multi million dollar airplane. Suppose we re duce the price to $500? We’ll eat the dif ference.” “It’s too late. The Navy is thinking of canceling the order for the rest of the planes. If you don’t come down on those seats, you can start closing the assembly line.” “Okay, give us a figure we can live with.” “We’re not going to pay more than $ 100 a seat.” “You have to be kidding. We gave you the plane at cost, but our under standing was we could charge anything we wanted for the optional equipment.” “Our agreement didn’t include cof fee pots and commodes. One hundred dol lars or we take the whole program over to Grumman Aircraf t.” “You have us over a barrel. We’ll give it to you at that price but it will wipe out our entire proFit margin. We only make $540 on each plane.” The captain said, “That’s your prob lem, I want a telegram on my desk about the price reduction by this afternoon. If it isn’t here, you’re going to get a ‘Dear John’ letter from me in the morning.” The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Confercntt The Battalion Editorial Board Brigid Brockman, Editor Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Ediloi Ed Cassavoy, City Editor Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor Michelle Powe, Editorial PagcEdiloi Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editors Kari Fluegel, RhondaSitf Assistant News Editors Cami Brown, John Hallett, Kay! Assistant Sports Editor Charean Wil Entertainment Editors Shawn Behlen, Leigh-Ellenftl Staff Writers Catnie Ando*', Brandon Berry, DainahBii Ann Cervenka, MichaelCto Kirsten Dietz, Pallid Patrice Koranek, Trail Leo[ Sarah Oates, Jerry Tricia Parker, LynnRaeP 11 Copy Editors Jan Perry, KelleySn Make-up Editors Karen Bl*, Karla ! r - Columnists Kevin Inda, Loren:'-' Editorial Cartoonist Mike Sports Cartoonist Dale Sr Copy Writer CathyBer* 1 Photo Editor KatherineB/ Photographers AnthonyCas/ Wayne Crabein, Bill Hughes, Frankie 1 John Makely, Peter Rocha, DeanSiL Editorial Policy The Bnimlion is ;i non-profit, selPsupponing it operated as a community service to Texas li ryan-Ciollege Station. Opinions expressed in T he Battalion are li Editorial Board or the author, and do not imtsun!' resent the opinions ot I exas A&M at/imnijiraicm- 1 * or the Board of Regents. T he Ba ttalion also serves as a lalxn alurf nenu students in reporting, editing and phoiograpb within the Department of Coniiminkathni. Letters Policy l.ctters to the Editor should not exceed .W «*' J length. T he editorial stall'reserves the right lodi'l' for style and length hut will make every eHomoBe. the author's intent. Each letter must oe signed mi' include the address and telephone numberolthts^ T he Battalion is published Monday through ring T exas A&M regular semesters, exceptlothf. during and examination , except It n periods. Mail subscriptions m I 1 ^ per semester. $33.25 per school year and year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: T he Battalion, 210 Reed 'll 1 ' Building, Texas A&M University, College Sax'. 77843. Editorial staff phone number: vertising: (409) 845-2611. Second class postage paid at College Station, U "