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Page 2/The Battalion/JuesdayJuly 23, 1985
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Where does belief
in God enter in?
An old commercial for the Boy Scouts said: “Be prepared;
lis old
ques-
are you ready to take the lead?” A new answer to th
tion is: Apparently not if you don’t believe in God.
Paul Trout, 15, from Charlottesville, Va., was kicked out of
the Boy Scouts of America because he told a review board last
month he doesn’t believe in a supreme being.
Trout was interviewed concerning his possible promotion to
Life Scout, the organization’s second highest rank.
Chief Scout Executive Bill Love claims that belief in a su
preme being is a membership requirement for the Boy Scouts.
The Scout Oath does make a reference to God, but Trout’s
mother said the boy considered it similar to the one in the
Pledge of Allegiance.
No specific references to God are made in the Boy Scout
Handbook. Nowhere is it stated that children who do not believe
in God are prohibited from joining the organization.
The Boy Scouts teaches leadership, self-confidence and co
operation and thus provide a vital service to the youth of Amer
ica. By forbidding Trout to participate in scouting, the Boy
Scouts is denying him an opportunity to come in contact with
these values. The Boy Scouts presents itself as an organization
which promotes benefical and moral characteristics in boys, not
as a group that advocates certain religious beliefs.
If the Boy Scouts of America feels that children who do not
believe in God do not deserve to be enrolled in its program, it
should state such restrictions plainly prior to initiating new
members.
Pulling out hidden prejudices and toying with boys’ lives is a
rotten way to prepare America’s leaders of tomorrow.
The Battalion Editorial Board
Mail Call
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.
j Grow up, Jackie
EDITOR:
Hey Jackie, GROW UP like the rest of
the Southwest Conference! One ques
tion: Is the university here for football
or football here for the university?
John Litzinger
Class of ’86
_ In memory of an Ag
EDITOR:
An Aggie has died. We knew him be
cause we were privileged to work with
him. His name was Javier Gutierrez,
and he was a senior petroleum engi-
neering major.
Javier had gone home to work for the
summer, but before he left, he had an
opportunity to consider the gift of eter
nal life. He accepted the forgiveness of
sins which comes through faith in Jesus
Christ (John 3:16).
Six weeks later, on July 13, 1985, Jav
ier was killed in an oilfield explosion.
We grieve at our loss, but rejoice that he
is with Jesus, our Lord.
Robert DeOtte
Murray Moore
Carlos Ortiz
Guillermo Munoz
There are many groups and individu
als around the world actively involved in
combatting the evil of apartheid, and
the U.S. is no exception.
The anti-apartheid movement in this
country is quite advanced and active on
many fronts.
In our own community, a new cam
pus group. Students Against Apartheid,
has been meeting since May.
We are planning activities and pro
grams to inform the public and enlist
the widest possible support in the strug
gle to abolish apartheid and establish a
just society where the majority has con
trol over its own destiny.
Our activities range from writing to
our congressional representatives,
urging their support for sanctions that
will put real pressure on the South Afri
can regime, to educating the public on
the plight of black people in South Af
rica.
We want everyone to know that their
involvement can make a difference. We
are organizing protests against those
What’s our excuse?
EDITOR:
Apartheid, the political, social, and
economic system that has left the black
population of South Africa impov-
erished and without basic civil rights,
has achieved growing notoriety in the
United States.
Its opponents grow more outspoken,
while waves of protest sweep the
crowded black townships of South Af
rica. It’s incredible, then, that a South
African vice-consul can come to Texas
A&M and state that, “It (apartheid) no
longer exists in the hearts and minds of
South Africans.” Or that his statement
should be reported without comment in
The Battalion, (April 24,1985).
We need to thank Paul Thorpe for
describing some of the realities of apart-
heid in his guest column on July 1 1. It’s
time that we at A&M take a stand on
apartheid.
As the anti-apartheid movement in
South Africa gains momentum and
more and more black people put their
lives on the line to win freedom and the
right to self-determination, the interna
tional solidarity movement is also grow
ing rapidly as an increasing number of
responsible people join hands in sup
porting the just struggle against racism
and repression in South Africa.
who support apartheid,, whether
through investments in companies
doing business in South Africa or by
selling South African products such as
gold Krugerrand coins in this country.
Texas A&M can not escape its re
sponsibility towards the South African
people. Through its endowment, A&M
is major investor in multinational cor
porations.
Do these investments include compa-
If ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ is true
get a fire extinguisher
H<
Movies often re
flect society. By
watching a movie
you sometimes get
a feeling for the
times in which it
was made. I hope
that “St. Elmo’s Fi
re” is not one of
these movies.
“St. Elmo’s Fi
re” is being called
Karl
Pallmeyer
“The Big Ghill” of our generation. By
our generation I mean those of us who
are in college or have just graduated.
Although most critics hate the movie,
most of the people my age who I’ve
talked to enjoyed it. They all say more
or less the same thing: “It’s a real movie
about real people with real problems.”
These people say they liked “St. Elmo’s
Fire” more than “The Big Chill” be
cause it’s about people they can relate
to, people our age.
In “The Big Chill” you have a group
of seven people who went to college to
gether during the 1960s and are re
united at the funeral of one of their
friends. In “St. Elmo’s Fire” you have a
means to satisfy their selfish wants, re
gardless of the effects on others.
The characters in “St. Elmo’s Fire”
have two main motivations; the first is
money. One character changes political
parties because a Republican senator
pays more than a Democratic congress
man. Another character drops his law
school plans to work for a businessman-
gangster just so he can impress a girl
with the money and power of his em
ployer. Another character borrows off
her paychecks for the next three weeks
just so her apartment will have the suc
cessful “look.”
Their second motivation is sex. One
guy does everything but rape a girl who
is trying to talk to him about her per
sonal problems. The same guy uses the
line, “Why don’t you give me a going
away present,” to get another girl to
have sex with him. By the way, this guy
has also abandoned his wife and child.
One of the girls in the movie is having
an affair, she claims, with her boss for
“job security.”
In the course of the movie we see ev
ery character cast off any morals or
commitments they have to achieve their
own ends. These people do have prob-
on others’ lives. You should tnisj
a positive influence in others'livf!|
But there is some realism ie
movie, and that’s scary. Inmycofi
career I have had the niisfornia
meet several students who d
their major because they can nulf
lot of money with a degree ini
major. I chose journalism, nc
make tnone\ (there isn’t that mud |
this business), but because ]
write and I enjoy finding out win
going on in the world. Isn’t tit
anyone else out there who majt
something just because theyli
do it? I have also met manypeoj
with a very selfish attitude tow
sex. I think sex is the ultimate
pression of love. Isn’t sex i®
than just a way to have funatsos
one else’s expense?
AU
panel
group of seven people who have just
graduated from college and are still ■ lems, but these problems are their own
hanging around together for no appar- fault. These people deny what they have
ent reason. The characters in “The Big
Ghill” realize that their friendship is
what holds them together and they vow
to become closer. The characters in “St.
Elmo’s Fire” use their friendship as the
learned about people in college, and the
results are catastrophic. Money and sex
don’t last forever. What does last for
ever are the friendships you have
formed and the influence you have had
The children of the 1960$ wii
remembered as the generation
questions and peace. Films like I
Graduate,” “Woodstock,” “EasyI
der,” “Five Easy Pieces” and T-
Big Ghill” recall, favorably,their[ji
eration. With “St. Elmo’s Fire,’t
generation will be remembered
nothing but a group of mamiw
worshipping nymphomaniacs, li
work together and provetht
wrong.
Karl Pallmeyer is a senior jowi
lism major and a columnist for
Battalion.
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“T
nies doing business in South Africa?
South Africa used to be a profitable in
vestment, but few new companies are
willing to risk the political uncertainty
and limited returns that South Africa
now offers investors.
It has been argued that divestment of
these holdings ultimately hurts black
South Africans through loss of jobs, but
the fact is that less than 1 percent of all
black South Africans are employed by
American firms.
Most black leaders in South Africa,
notably Bishop Desmond Tutu, recipi
ent of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, argue
that their people are prepared to make
the sacrifices necessary to achieve an
end to apartheid. They have no choice
but to confront apartheid; what excuse
can we have for not acting?
Norman Maraya
President, Students Against Apartheid
accompanied by three signatures
The Battalion
USPS 045 360
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalisni Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Kellie Dworaczyk, Editor
Kay Mallett, John Hallett, NewsEdilors
Loren Steffy, Editorial Page Editor
Karen Bloch, Acting City Editor
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
The Battalion Staff
Assistant City Editor
Katherine Hull
Assistant News Editors -
Cathie Anderson, Trent LeopoM
Entertainment Editors
Cathy Riely, WalterSmill
Staff Writers Ed Cassavoj
Jerry Oslin,Brian Pearsi*
Copy Editor Trent LeopoU
Make-up Editor EdCassavoi
Columnists Cheryl Clark
Karl Pallmeyfl
Photographers Greg Bailcv,
Anthony Casper
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