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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1985)
i ‘ Mi 1 , '■MtlV- • ■T.Vt.’t l‘: Page 2/The Battalion/Monday September 2,1985 Here we go again Well, here it is, the start of another semester at Texas A&M and it’s time for our ‘Welcome Back Aggies’ editorial. Much has changed during the summer: Henry Cisneros was named to the Board of Regents; the Supreme Court ruled the University must recognize the Gay Student Services; Lt. Gen. Ormond R. Simp son, former assistant vice president for student services, retired and was honored by having the main drill field named after him; and three women havejoined the traditionally all-male Ag gie Band. On a more personal note, The Battalion lost its little known but greatly appreciated unofficial adviser, Bob Rodgers, who started his duties as editor of the Bryan/College Station Eagle yesterday. And most recently, The Battalion made the switch from summer staff to fall staff. The new staff would like to extend a welcome to new and returning Aggies on campus. We would like to encourage open communication between our staff, the students and the faculty. Please take advantage of the Mail Call column and the new guest columnist policy, which exists for your benefit. Or feel free to give us a call. Our phone numbers are: Editor 845-2647 City Editor (for story ideas) 845-3316 Asst. City Editor 845-3314 Opinion Page Editor (for letters and columns) 845-3315 Sports 845-7381 845-2665 Reporters 845-3313 At Ease 845-3312 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. Give Corps a chance EDITOR: As the fall semester begins, the spectre of the unfortunate death of a ca det last year also has returned. There have even been rumors that the Corps of Cadets may be on the way out. If such is indeed the case, then it will be a gross miscarriage of justice. The honorably appropriate solution of test ing the physical endurance of the appli cants prior to their induction into the Corps will not have been allowed to prove itself as a viable means of avoid ing any further accidental deaths of trainees. Would it not be more appropriate, in stead of slandering the Corps off the A&M campus and allow the death of one young man to go unavenged, to use his death via harassment as a means to improve the tradition and experience gained on training officers on a pre dominantly civilian campus? As a former midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy, I can attest to the prov idence of training the leaders of our armed forces in a partly social, rather than a strictly military environment. For that matter, I can recall exhaustion, I believe; a death whose circumstances were not investigated, or even held against the seniors involved therein. Nor do the service academies have as near a rigorous testing program for physical endurance as A&M now does for its incoming cadets. Thus, it would appear as if the Corps of Cadets is on its way to becoming an even better officer training institution- that it has already proven in the past, and I say it would be a great loss to the United States Armed Forces, were it not allowed to continue to exist — and only because of an unfortunate and regretta ble accident; if not because of the other wise healthy competition the Corps es pouses with the other three service academies. William H. Clark II Pallmeyer doesn’t make the grade EDITOR: The Battalion’s Karl Pallmeyer is studying to become an expert on Con temporary Christian Music (CCM). As a project for his study, he wrote an opin ion published here August 16. He asked that we grade it and submit the results to you (he may not remember asking this!). He was to discuss whether CCM sounds like secular rock and, if so, why. Score: 50 percent partial credit. He said it does, but we found his discussion of why incomplete. He failed to mention CCM’s impact on rock (Christian artist Michael Omartian has produced hit re cords for Rod Stewart, Christopher Cross, and others). He also neglected former secular rockers (e.g., Leon “San tana” Patillo, Mylon “Atlanta R.S.” Le- Fevre, Dion “and the Belmonts” Di- Mucci) using their unique talents to show others how to find the “satisfac tion” that eludes their contemporary, Mick Jagger. Pallmeyer accuses CCM of “stealing from secular artists.” Any cursory study of rock history shows spirited gospel music a major influence on the Little Richards and others that pioneered rock. We acknowledge Satan has made great use of what evolved, but we won der if Mr. Pallmeyer would like to re- cbnsider — for bonus points — who stole what from whom. Please encourage Mr. Pallmeyer to do his research before publishing his next opinion. We recommend The Gospel of John, Chapter One, Verse Three, as good place to start. Bill Hough 88 Thanks, fellow Ag EDITOR: After going crazy trying to obtain my shuttle bus pass, etc., I almost gave up hope. The first day I used my new stu dent I.D. I managed to lose it! The past two days I’ve been checking to see if it had been turned in to the MSC Lost and Found or to the Pavillion (Headquarters for student I.D.’s). Much to my dismay, I found that my card was still lurking somewhere on A&M’s vast campus. The sense of loss, helplessness, and embarrassment I ex perienced can only be surpassed by the fury I felt inside. Because of my careles sness, I would be required to pay $8 to have a new I.D. made and would have to fit their hours into my busy schedule. One thought led to another, and I fi nally resigned myself to the fact that my I.D. card must be gone forever. Then this evening — Thursday, Au gust 29 — I came home from work to a pleasant surprise. A fellow Aggie had found my I.D. on campus and mailed it to me along with a simple, friendly note. To my fellow Aggie: I would really like to thank you for saving me a lot of aggravation (and money). Moreover, thank you for going out of your way to mail me my I.D. You really brightened my day — I don’t mind saying that it felt great to be the recipient of such a good deed. Thank you again, and may you and may every Aggie have a fabulous year. Here’s to you, Ags! Margie Lasek Class of’85 Enforcing anti-sodomy law reeks of modern Orwell ism Michael Crawford Guest Columnist The Eyes of Texas are upon you all the live-long day. The Eyes of Texas are upon you, you can • not get away. Do not think you can escape them at night or early in the morn. The Eyes of Texas are upon you ’til Gabriel blows his horn. — The University of Texas alma mater Last week, the state of Texas entered the bedroom of every Texas citizen when the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circut Court of Appeals resurrected the state’s anti-sodomy law. In doing so, the court re-opened a Pandora’s box, blur ring the line between personal freedom and governments’ legitimate right to legislate the activities of their citizens. Put aside for a moment any fear, hos tility or disgust that you may feel toward homosexuals and instead examine the implications of the court’s actions on both the homosexual and heterosexual population. The anti-sodomy law was struck down in 1982 by a U.S. district judge, and that ruling was supported last year by a three-judge Dallas court. The New Orleans court, however, said that the law was in fact constitutional because of Western culture’s historic objection to homosexual conduct. The court went on to say that the state does have the right to support morality and therefore the law does not deprive homosexuals of equal protec tion under the 14th Amendment. In effect, the court has given the state its blessing to punish consenting adults for what goes on in the privacy of their own bedrooms because it has been his torically acceptable. Texas must now .make some important choices. To use the law to its fullest extent would require Orwellian methods — peering into every bedroom as if it were the potential scene of a crime. And the sexual practices of every Texan would come under scrutiny. After all, how does one prove that you are not homo sexual? Observation? Or the state could take a less strin gent, more practical approach and se lectively enforce the law only in certain areas. But the standards of this type of patchwork enforcement would vary widely between counties, law enforce ment agencies and political administra tions. Inconsistently enforcing such a law would result in discrimination charges and ensure expensive lawsuits against local governments. Or lastly, the state could ignore its re newed powers and instead focus on pro viding all of its citizens with better roads, better schools and a healthier economic environment. But if the law is to be ignored, the decision must come from the attorney general’s of fice and be made clear to all law en forcement agencies. Because civil rights and gay groups will doubtlessly seek, and be successful in, overturn ing this latest ruling, the state would then be spared the expense of enforc ing an unenforceable law. After all, the state attorney general refused to appeal the overturning of the sodomy statute, prompting Am arillo District Attorney Danny Hill to leapfrog the attorney general and in dependently pursue the appeal. If politicians need an open door for de ciding to ignore this law, they have one here. Texas’ growth and diversity con trast sharply with outdated, unenfor ceable laws such as this one. Texas needs to get out of the business of leg islating morality and concentrate on “meat and potatoes” issues. Of this ruling, one thing is certain — it will be overturned eventually. But in the meantime remember: The Eyes of Texas are Upon You. Michael Crawford is a senior jour nalism major and a senior staff writer for The Battalion. In search of... guest columnists The Battallion newsroom is a lonely place these days. Sure, the fall staff is set tled in, and the usual rhythm of fingers tapping on computer keyboards echoes through the halls. But what makes the newsroom seem deserted is the lack of correspondence from our readers. Of course, the semester is just getting started, and most returning and new stu dents simply haven’t had time to write us. However, our concern is not merely for lack of letters to the editor — they will un doubtedly begin to trickle in as school gets into full swing. Our concern is for the type of forum we provide for our readers. In the past, the LETTERS column was the only place where readers could express their opin ions in The Batt. So, we would like to officially extend an invitation to all students, faculty, staff and other members of the community to write guest columns. t A guest column is exactly that — a col umn written by someone not associated with The Battalion’s opinion page staff. What we are looking for in our guest columns is more than simply a long letter. A letter responds to issues that have al ready been raised. A column, however, presents new viewpoints on new issues. It could discuss the merits of a campus organization, pro vide insight into local or national events, or react to a new art form or dance craze. So, if you have a new idea you would like to get off your chest, drop off your column at 216 Reed McDonald or send it to: Opinion Page Editor, 216 Reed Mc Donald, Texas A&M University, 77843. We reserve the right to edit your col umn for style and length, but every effort will be made to maintain the author’s in tent. Guest columns should be no longer than four typewritten, double-spaced pages. And if your want to respond to issues that infuriate or enlighten you, please send us a letter to the editor. All we ask is that you keep our Letters Policy in mind (it’s printed in the Mail Call column right under the title). We’d love to hear from you. Loren Steffy Opinion Page Editor The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Rhonda Snider, Editor Michelle Powe, Managing Editor Kay Mallett, News Editor Loren Steffy, Opinion Page Editor Karen Bloch, City Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editors Kirsten Dietz, Jerry Oslin Assistant News Editors Cat hie Anderson, Jan Perry Assistant Editorial Page Editor : John Hallett Assistant Sports Editor Charean Williams Entertainment Editors Cathy Riely, Walter Smith Staff Writers ....Tamara Bell, Meg Cadigan, Ed Cassavoy, Ann Cervenka, Michael Crawford, Cindy Gay, Doug Hall, Paul Herndon, Tammy Kirk, Jens Koepke, Trent Leopold, Mary McWhorter, June Pang, Tricia Parker, Lynn Rae Povec, Marybeth Rohsner, Gigi Shamsy, Kenneth Sury Copy Editors Mike Davis, Rebecca Adair, Wendy Johnson Make-up Editor Ed Cassavoy Columnists Cami Brown, Marcy Basile, Karl Pallmeyer Photo Editor Wayne Grabein Photographers Greg Bailey, Anthony Casper, Frank Hada, Kyle Hawkins, Jaime Lopez Michael Sanchez Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper operated as a community service to T exas 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, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Department of Communications. T he Battalion is published Monday through Friday dur ing Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per se mester, $33.25 per school year and $35 per full year. Ad vertising 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) 845-3316. Ad vertising: (409) 845-2611. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMAST ER: Send address changes to The Battal ion, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843
