The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, July 09, 1985, Image 2
Page 2fThe BattalionATuesday July 9, 1985 IJIIrinildJnl NASA needs policy for ‘Lust in Space’ Years ago, tele vision brought us the adventures of the Space Family .Robinson with “Lost in Space.” The show chroni cled the exploits of one family, a self- centered lunatic scientist and a boisterous robot. sexual activity, there will be a lot of rule- breaking in orbit. And if they say, “Well you can only do it if you’re married,” then NASA is imposing a moral value on space exploration. Loren Steffy To solve the problem, NASA has a team of psychologists investigating the effects, both pro and con, of sex in space. All seem to agree that a no sex rule would be broken, or, if it wasn’t, the mission would suffer because of tension resulting from lack of coital satisfaction. In those days, no one questioned the “personal” activities of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. No one asked if Judy and Don, the other non-family member of the group, ever stole away into the alien woods. And Dr. Smith never seemed to mind all those years in space without fe male companionship. Later, Gene Roddenberry gave us the now-classic “Star Trek.” But after three seasons, more than a decade of reruns and three motion pictures, we still are left in the dark about the sexual activ ities of the more than 400 men and women of the Starship Enterprise. Sure, Captain Kirk did a lot of smooching and even got one or two women in his cabin, but the rest was left As astronauts' spend more time in space, more personal needs will have to be considered. When one man made a solitary IS^minute space flight, NASA didn’t have to consider privacy for the But with space stations, lunar colonies and years-long trips to Mars warming up in the NASA bullpen, astronauts’ rights to personal privacy and sexual freedom have to be accounted for. But NASA seems to be taking the problem too seriously. The best policy is no policy. Even NASA must learn to turn off the television cameras and al low their astronauts some time for fun and frolic. to our imagination. Now NASA is faced with a similar problem. By 1994 America should have an orbital space station which could sup port a team of astronauts for months. Naturally, with the possibility of men and women being cooped up in a space station for months, the question arises as to what to do when the coital itch occurs. In time, lust in space will be as com mon place as lust in Hollywood B-mov- ies, and no one will give it a second thought. If we’re going to explore brave new worlds and boldly go where no man has gone before, NASA needs to adopt a hands-off policy on deep-space sexual interaction. Nearly all must have good reasons for false claims hol iince 4 irom H :o sleei new pi jervice i That schedul Service i By ART BUCHWALD Columnist for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate If the astronauts are married, there shouldn’t be too much problem other than jealousy from fellow space explor ers. But what if the couple is just casual friends? Can NASA expect consenting adults to float around in a tiny space station for months and never submit to carnal de sire? Obviously if the space agency bans After all, the Federation never told Kirk he couldn’t fool around. But the TV cameras did have enough taste to respect his privacy in the numerous bea utifu 1-sex-star ved-alien-i n-a-se- cluded-place scenes. Loren Steffy is a junior journalism ma jor and the Opinion Page Editor for The Battalion. “It says here in the Wall Street Jour nal that nearly all the nation’s top de fense contractors are u^ider criminal in vestigation by the Pentagon.” My wife was aghast. “Nearly all of them?” “Yup, according to the Inspector General nearly all of them are being checked out for making false claims on costs and labor, kickbacks, and bribing government officials. Of course we have to use caution here.Just because they’re accused of "Wrongdoing doesn’t nec essarily mean they did it.” “I could see one company, possibly two, but nearly all of them? That’s a lot of companies.” “Not really. When it comes to the big boys we’re only talking about possibly two dozen or so contractors that were involved.” rine has to do with whether someone honest or not. If those people car make money the old-fashioned waylil Smith Barney does, they shouldn’t be the business.” Dens the der rause f compel Texas I seum p tertainr The pull vii club ca “Why did it take so long to catch them?” “They haven’t caught them yet,” 1 told her. “And with any luck they never will. But in answer to your question, the Pentagon has gone soft on whistle-blow ers. There was a time when, if anyone blew the whistle on a defense contrac tor, the country would hang him from the flagpole in front of the Secretary of Defense’s office. Now we coddle them, play up to them and even let them talk to congressmen. Is it any wonder there is a scandal in the military establishment when they can’t even keep a lid on their accountants?” “They were making it the old-faM ioned way. That’s why they’re beingiE-l vestigated. It was par in the old days ill pile on extra costs for defense work,anil everyone accepted kickbacks and bribe as part of doing business. 1 he reasoniiil a big deal now is a few guys overdidj and Weinberger is boiling mad becaust he can’t get the money he asked for We’ re making far too much of illegidl mate overruns. Whatever the gumshool come up with will be peanuts comparedl to what the weapons cost us. BesidesJ there’s always one bad apple in even! barrel.” M “Suppose nearly all the apples art! bad?” “I don’t get it. You sound as though you don’t mind if they overcharged us and engaged in kickbacks, bribes and wrongdoing..” “Most of the companies are guilty of nothing more than sloppy bookkeeping. When you’re building billion-dollar weapons some money has to fall through the cracks.” “Whose cracks?” “The ones caused by using cheap ce ment,” I said. “It’s easy for the two of us to sit in this comfortable living room criticizing people who make subma rines. It’s another thing to actually build them.” “I don’t see what building a subma- “Would you rather have lotsofweapl ons and a little hanky-panky —or weapons and honest bookkeeping?” “Are those my only choices?” “If the top defense contractors can’ll have a little fun while they’re building] weapons systems, they just might goi of the business.” “I think you’re putting me in an i possible position. You’re saying just bfj cause they make things that kill people they should get away with murder.” “I’m not saying anything until all the! facts are in. It wouldn’t surprise mei when the Inspector General gets fin ished nearly all of them will have a good] reason for doing what they did.” “Nearly all of them?” Today’s youth can rediscover 1960s’ idealism on Hoffman’s Nicaraguan trip DO IT! That was the call to arms for the youth of the 1960s. Today the youth aren’t doing much calling to arms. To be hon est, today’s youth aren’t doing much. some progress in achieving equal rights, the voting age has been lowered to 18, and youth have some say in what goes on around them. However, the cultural revolution is not over. Once the ball be gins to roll there has to be an effort to keep it moving. It is up to our genera tion to keep that ball moving. We haven’t been doing a good job. tionary ball rolling. But without exercise the country will not stay healthy, and exercise is never comfortable. Despite what some choose to believe, America is still having problems. There are still some things to protest. Karl Pallmeyer During the i 1960s Abbie Hof fman and several others led thousands of young people to do something about the problems America was having. They protested many things: American in volvement in Vietnam, the draft, unfair treatment of blacks, unfair treatment of women, the voting age, governmental policies and, most of all, the way Ameri ca’s youth were being ignored by the es tablishment. 1 he youth of yesterday wanted to change their world so there vyould be a tomorrow. It was the begin ning of a giant cultural revolution. In the 1960’s the youth shouted “Don’t trust anyone over 30,” “Give peace a chance” and “Revolution for the hell of it!” Today the youth shout “Don’t trust anyone under $30,000 a year,” “Give Reaganomics a chance” and “Per rier for the hell of it!” The youth of yes terday listened to great songs like “Blo- win’ In the Wind” and “Eve of Destruction.” The youth of today listen to songs like “Material Girl” and “Mo ney Changes Everything.” The letters LSD meant a lot in the 1960s. The let ters BMW mean a lot in the 1980s. The hippies went to see their favorite heroes at Woodstock. The yuppies watch their favorite heroes on “Richard Dawson’s All-Star Celebrity Family Feud.” Last month, after much prompting and threatening from President Rea gan, Congress approved $14 million in aid for Contra forces in Nicaragua. Rea gan and his ilk say the Contras are “free dom Fighters,” Fighting the Marxist gov ernment set up by the Sandinistas with help from the Soviet Union. Others say the Contras are a group of murderers who are trying to overthrow Nicaragua’s properly elected government, the Sand inistas, and replace it with a facist dictatorship. Many people are afraid to get involved, fearing a situation similar to the one we faced in Vietnam. Many people have not formed an opinion on the situation in Nicaragua because they don’t know who to believe. Vietnam, is leading a group to protest American involvement in Nicaragua. Hoffman has organized Amistad (which means friendship in Spanish) to go and see the effects the war that has been sponsored, in part, by the United States has had on Nicaragua. Armistad is an attempt to make friends with the people of Nicaragua. Once you have made friends with the people you have made friends with the government. Amistad will leave Mexico City for Managua, Nicaragua on August 13. Once in Managua, you will be able to visit marketplaces and museums, attend social events and workshops, inspect the war zone and tour the countryside. You will also be able to speak to government officials, agricultural workers, social workers, military leaders and the citi zens of Nicaragua. Translators will be provided and you will be in no danger. You will have eight days to learn, First hand, the truth about Nicaragua. The American youth of today owe a lot to the youth of yesterday. Today, as a result of the ’60s’ “revolution,” we are no longer at war in Vietnam, there is no draft (however there is draft registra tion), blacks and women have ’made Some may say the youth of today have nothing to worry about so they should try to become more comfortable. The country is strong and healthy so there is no reason to keep the revolu- This summer you have an excellant opportunity to find out for yourself what is going on in Nicaragua. You have an excellent opportunity to do some thing about the situation. You can go to Nicaragua with Abbie Hoffman There is still time to get involved with Amistad. You have until July 19 to make your reservations for the trip. If you are interested in this noble experiment, call me at The Battalion for more details. DOIT! Abbie Hoffman, who led thousands to protest American involvement in Karl Pallmeyer is a senior journalism 1 major and a columnist for The Battal- ‘ ion. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Jt>urnalisni Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Kellie Dworaczyk, Editor Kay Mallett, John Hallett, News Editors Loren Steffy, Editorial Page Editor Sarah Oates, City Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editor ii Katherine Hurt Assistant News Editors Cathie Anderson, Trent Leopold Entertainment Editors Cathy Riely, Walter Smith Staff Writers Karen Bloch, Ed Cassavoy, Jerry Oslin, Brian Pearson Copy Editor !.Trent Leopold Make-up Editor Ed Cassavoy, Columnists Cheryl ClarK, Karl Pallmeyer Photographers ^reg Bailey, Anthony Casper 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, /aim) or the Board of Regents. 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