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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1985)
/ Page 2AThe Battalion/Friday, April 26, 1985 OPINION SWAMP's charges reflect ignorance SWAMP, Students Working Against Morons in Power, held a mini-rally Thursday in front of Rudder Fountain and offered solutions to A&M’s “problems.” They attacked the campus police, the administration, Stu dent Government and The Battalion. That’s Fine. One of the great things about this country is that its citizens have the right to voice their opinions and the right to try and change policies they think need changing. Recognizing and addressing a problem — if indeed there is a problem — is the First step toward solving it. But was the talk Thursday substantiated or was it just mean ingless banter? If you want to get people to listen to you, you have to give them some facts, some good solid evidence, not just glittering generalities. Among the charges directed against The Battalion were that the newspaper is a “lap-dog” for the administration, that its staff is handpicked by the administration. This charge is commonly made by people ignorant of the facts, and seemingly unwilling to f ind out the truth. The editor of The Battalion is chosen by the Student Publi cation Board, a seven-member board, with a non-voting chair man presiding. The board consists of three faculty members; one administrator, appointed by Frank E. Vandiver; and three students, appointed by the student body president and ap proved by Vandiver. The board’s nomination for editor is ap proved by the Provost Gordon P. Eaton. The editor, in turn, chooses his or her own staff and is com pletely in charge of the paper’s operations. The Battalion is not censored or controlled by faculty or administration in any way. If The Battalion was under the administration’s control, there would never be any articles or editorials critical of the Univer sity, would there? Just last week, the 1985 Summer and Fall staffs were chosen by the editors through applications and interviews, and as usual, the administration had no Finger in the pie, nor did it try. It didn’t even trv to peek into the oven. The Battalion’s Fall staff, including a new editorial board, will take over Monday, April 29. With this being our last edito rial, we want to make the point that every article, every editorial and every column in the paper was there because WE wanted it there. There was no outside pressure of any kind from the admin istration or any other group at the University — not even SWAMP. The Battalion Editorial Board LETTERS: Apartheid policy must be stopped EDITOR: Last year South African ambassador to U.S. was paid a bundle to speak here and this year it is the consul. They come to try to justify an illegal, wicked system that is a disgrace to humanity: Apart heid. Whenever the pressures build up, they talk of reform. But it remains at that: talk. It is disturbing to see a university- sanctioned group sponsor such hated figures every year and provide them a forum to defend their racist actions and bankrupt policies at a time when it is in creasingly difficult for them to do so anywhere on the globe, especially on university campuses in this country. We have yet to see the representatives of the internationally recognized indepen dence movement being sponsored to speak about the real issues and prob lems. For decades, the black people of South Africa have been subjected to rac ist brutality and injustices in their own homeland. For decades they have been struggling under harsh and inhumane conditions. And for decades the world has been crying out against apartheid and has been denouncing the South Af rican racist rulers. But all of this has been falling on deaf ears. The regime’s response has always been more brutality and more oppression. After all these years, the black people are fed up and are rising up en masse to claim what is rightfully theirs: their freedom and the inalienable right to govern themselves. Now that the movement is gaining momentum and the white minority finds its powers and privileges in jeopardy, it has decided to show some carrots along with the deadly sticks it has always been using. But it’s too little, too late. Apartheid and the criminal South African regime are doomed. Of course, those who have “in terests” in rich South African don’t like anyone making waves and rocking the boat! And that’s exactly why much too often we hear the just struggle of the black people labled as “violence,” while the repressive government forces gun down unarmed demonstrators every day! Those who have quietly been sup porting the South African racist regime, including the Reagan administration, are not expected to reverse their policies on their own. It is the responsibility of all the conscientious and freedom-lov ing people to send them a message, loud and clear, that: enough is enough! Saeid Minaei accompanied by 9 signatures Joe Bob’s satire needs no defending EDITOR: This letter concerns a recent editorial in your paper which criticized Joe Bob Briggs’ column rather severely. Al though the esteemed Brigss needs no defending, a few points brought up by your editorial perhaps need clarifying. To begin with, the subject of “We Are The World” is one which is undoubtedly worthy of satire. This is a typically American version of charity: not only do you feel good about helping the poor, starving Ethiopians, but you get an album as well. What more could you ask? The whole U.S. Aid For Africa pro gram smacks of the same kind of taste- lessness that recently made it possible for consumers to buy the official string beans of the 1984 Summer Olympics. In addition, one wonders why these “Black leaders” were so upset about be ing insulted by Joe Bob Briggs. Being insulted by Joe Bob is something akin to being insulted by Adolf Hitler. Ft is kind of an oblique compliment. Obviously, the problem arises because people do not realize that Joe Bob Briggs is merely a “persona” used by an author for a cal culated effect. Sucn a realization, I am sure, would make people wonder if Joe Bob is making fun of black people, or if he is making fun of people who make fun of black people. Naturally, we live in a world where the masses of men sel dom read anything which cannot be bought in the check-out line at Safeway, and it is too much to expect it would be nice if people read things all the way through before they started calling their congressmen. Perhaps if each one of Joe Bob’s columns came with its own set of Cliff Notes .... The only thing that Joe Bob Briggs can be truthfully accused of is that he does hide behind a persona to take his shots at the world. However, this is a fa miliar enough practice. A few journal ists have been hiding behind the impres sive facade of the “Battalion Editorial Board” for quite some time. Howard Cox — Freedom from conformity makes life more enticing This is a study in what it is like to be imperfect, or the quest for per fection. Lately I’ve noticed that per fection is getting a lot of hype. I got to thinking about cutting a perfect figure in the ’80s as I ab sently monitored a car commercial. I’ve never really thought about cars much, except wishing I had one, until I con centrated on the commercial. The brand new car, the pretty girl, the cool guy. Everything in that 30 sec onds looked slicker and glossier than anything I could imagine. And 1 fell for it. I actually thought they looked sort of nice. It actually caught my attention. The advertising had worked. That’s a big step in recognition for me. But David Lettermah came on again so I switched off this line of thinking. Hours later I started to make notes of my world. After seeing the car commer cial there sure appears to be a lot more proported perfection cropping up around me. Take for instance the journalism de partment. Since the beginning of time, the A&M journalism department has been small, composed of people who wanted to be journalists. They, to be general, had a rather tweedy kind of philosophy of life. Just imagine a good tweed jacket and you’ll know what I mean. But now times have changed. Perfec tion has hit the department, and The Battalion. I see a lot more people that look like business majors. They wear nice clothes, and they talk about adver tising a lot. They make me feel more imperfect. And out of step. I never thought my life was that unkempt or confused. Now I’ll have to re-evaluate things. On the other hand, I think you loose something when things are tidied up too much. Use television as an example. Who was the more fun in the Odd Couple? Oscar or Felix? Oscar was. He ate junk food, stored food in the folds of his blankets, wore baggy warm-up out fits and was disorganized. And he was a lot of fun. Neatening things up past a point is just blatant sterilization to me. Mom can ask me to make my bed, but I sure won’t dust my records. The same holds true in this life and my past lives. I sure would have had a ball with the ancient Greeks, and to a lesser degree the Romans. They just opened up the mind. They had orgies, and had a lot of different gods and they liked to be philosophical. I know Plato didn’t shave everyday. And Sophocles probably said a lot of things people didn’t like. The only problem with chaos andar- guments, throughout history, is that a lot of people don’t like the hassle these situations create. People who argue, and bring up ne* or different ideas usually get the shaft from their contemporaries. Galileo, Darwin and Columbus made enemies because they didn’t follow the party line. They scared people. Talking about a round earth, etc.,got people pretty edgy back then. To the vast majority of the ppula tion these “radicals” messed up the world, threw a wrench into a smootli running system. Or played an ace from the bottom of the deck. These thinkers made everyone’s life so complex. People sort of hadtothinf about tilings. That’s a tough thingtodo on a regular basis for some. So that’s why I’m an advocate of fret speech. Most people talk of this right, the it portance of thab- But I say that wed miss out on the most exciting and dy namic parts of life without the freedom to be weird. The freedom to be Tiny Tim, Charlie Chaplin, Adolf Hitler or, Godhelpus, Motley Crue. Only an exquisitely imperfect mind could have created such a masterpiece as the mighty pizza. I can’t argue with success. Ed Cassavoy is a senior journalism ffl jor and a weekly columnist for Tie Battalion. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Associalion Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Brigid Brockman, Editor Shelley Hoekstra, Managing Editor ( Kellie Dworaczyk, News Editor Michelle Powe, Editorial Page Editor Rhonda Snider, City Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editors Dainah Bullard, Kari Fluegel, Assistant News Editors Cami Brown, John Hallett, KayMalleii Assistant Sports Editor Charean William! Entertainment Editors Shawn Behlen, Leigh-Ellen Clark Staff Wl iters Rebecca Adair, Cathie Anderson, Marcy Basile, Tamara Bell, Brandon Berry Jeff Brady, Ann Cervenka, Michael Crawford, Mary Cot, Mike Davis, Kirsten Dieir, Cindy Gay, Pete Herndon, Trent Leopold, Sarah Oates, Jerry Oslin, June Pang, Tricia Parker, Cathy Riel' Marybeth Rohsner, WalterSmitlr Copy Editors Jan Pern Make-up Editors Karen Bloch, Karla Marlin Columnists Ed Cassavoy, Kevin Inda, Loren Steff) Copy Writer Cathy Bennett Editorial Policy 7Tie Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaf# operated as a community service to Texas A&M W Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of (h l Editorial Board or the author, and do not nccessariljrtP' resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, m or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaperfoi students in reporting, editing and photography das# within the Department of Communications. Letters Policy Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words if length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length hut will make every effort to min0 the author’s intent. Each letter must nc signed andniffl'- include the address and telephone number of the writer. 'The Battalion is published Monday through Frith) during Texas A&M regular semesters, except forholty and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are SI6.P per semester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per fu« year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: 'The Battalion, 216 Reed AkDopw Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, D 77H43. Editorial staff phone number: (409) 845-2630 w vertising: (409) 845-26II Second class postage paid at College Station, 7 X M POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The BM ion, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 70 - ^ Network takeovers are the latest trend By ART BUCHWALD Columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate The move by Ted Turner to take over the CBS company has unleashed a series of other attempts by entrepre neurs to go after communications com panies. A week ago P.T. Raider, who owns a FM radio station in Zero Degrees, Wyo., announced he was declaring war on the multibillion-dollar Starfish Broadcast ing Company. At a press conference in New York, P.T. said he always desired to own a net work, and he felt he could do a much better job than Starfish in serving the public. Although he refused to say how he would manage the company, he did vow to Fire the entire news staff and replace them with “American citizens who be lieve in God and Jesse Helms.” Asked how much cash he was willing to put up for Starfish stock, Raider said he was offering something better than money. “I will swap one share of Raider Communications stock for one share of Starfish Broadcasting.” When it was pointed out that Starfish was worth $3 billion dollars and the sole Raider property, FM station YUK, was only worth $1,200, P.T. said, “I might sweeten the pot by throwing in a dead cat with each junk bond.” Asked where he would get the money to pay for the dead cats, Raider said once he got control he would sell off the Starfish publishing company, the Starf ish record division and the Starfish mo tion picture studios. “While all these companies make money, I will not sad dle Starfish with more debt than it can handle.” A Wall Street Journal reporter asked Raider if it wasn’t true that the only rea son Starfish would be in such heavy debt was because of his hostile takeover bid. P.T. told the reporter if he didn’t re tract the question Raider Communica tions would buy the Journal as well. A year ago Raider wodld have been laughed at for trying to pull off such a deal. But with the recent mergers in which takeover barons have been get ting rich by highflying tactics, no one on Wall Street is laughing at anybody any more. An analyst for Strong & Hairy, the brokerage firm, said, “Raider has a good chance of taking over Starfish. The dead cat strategy has been used very successfully in a lot of merger deals this year. As long as there are people out there who would rather have a dead cat than a live company, P.T. is a threat.” Belton Lewish, who follows the enter tainment business for Goose 8c Gander, thought Starfish could fight off Raider. “But,” he warned, “it won’t be cheap. The big boys who invest for the institu tions don’t care what happens to Starf ish as long as they make money out of it. If they can get in and out of the stock before the company goes belly up, they couldn’t care if the Ayatollah Khomeini takes over the company.” Dalton Dunkirk, chairman of Starfish Broadcasting, told Louis Rukeyser on PBS that he didn’t mind Raider’s at tempt to take over Starfish as much as he did having to put P.T. on his network news every night. 8TA City c< rejecti zoninc % By MICH/ a The Collegi Thursday nig for a zone cha permitted the ternity house i The requet would have re 502 Boyett St to medium de request was d and zoning c this month. Before rejt council lister Brian Johnsoi of the prop neighborhooc for a fraterni the lot was to equate parkii traffic would vere parking ] Alter sayir "a unique pa Johnson said fraternity hoi erty values an ing other pai gate. Those cha the brother o Boyett, who s apartments a ested in usin ready purch land. Boyett regulations ii forced and th would be aval But Mayoi zoning in t poorly plan and granting pound the | voted 5-1 to r cilman Jame: dissenting vo In other mayor receiv Southwood the city to cc lite dishes ii Hogg preser petition. “If 1 were and I went( satellite dish said, “I’d tui other way.” < C \ ma ne\ fi u Iran