Wednesday, September 18, 1985AThe Battalion/Page 5
Civic involvement essential
for students, Caperton says
By JENS B. KOEPKE
Staff Writer
Texas A&M Students should get
actively involved and interested in is
sues that affect their University,
community or state, said Sen. Kent
Caperton to a group of Young Dem
ocrats Tuesday night.
Students should participate at the
level of government that interests
them most, Caperton said. Activity
can range from Student Govern
ment or MSC Council to work on lo
cal or statewide campaigns, he said.
State representatives benefit
greatly from the ideas they get f rom
students who have gainea new per
spectives through their participation
in different governmental bodies
and processes, Caperton said.
“I think it’s important that we, as
officeholders, listen to you (stu
dents) for new perspectives,” he
said.
He cited the fall 1984 amendment
to restructure the Permanent Uni
versity fund and establish the
Higher Education Fund as an exam
ple of successful student involve
ment. Students in the Legislative
Study Group did research which
Sen. Kent Caperton
proved helpful to the resolution of
the issue, he said.
Caperton outlined and described
several recent issues that have
sparked a great deal of interest
among students.
Foremost was the recent univer
sity tuition hike. Caperton said that
although he has strongly opposed
any tuition hike in his five years in
the Senate, the present revenue
pinch forced the legislature to make
cuts.
An across-the-board budget cut
was unwise, Caperton said, but con
versely the Legislative Budget
Board’s original plan to cut higher
education by 25 or 30 percent was
equally unfeasible.
A cut of that magnitude would
have forced the university to make
drastic cuts in their budget, possibly
resulting in the cancellation of sum
mer school or in a severe decrease in
faculty salaries, he said.
After discussing it with all Texas
university administrations, the legis
lature felt that a tuition hike would
be the most acceptable solution to
the fiscal crisis, Caperton said. Texas
still ranks 48th in the country in tu
ition costs, he added.
Caperton also discussed the edu
cation reform bill and the highway
funding bill that arose out of the
1984 special session.
’ Democratic students can point
with pride to the way the predomi
nantly Democratic legislature has
handled these issues and state gov
ernment in general, he said. The Re
publican’s label of Democrats as
free-spending liberals is groundless
and not backed up by the historically
balanced budget.
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Group joins hands for world peace
By KATHERINE GOLLEY
Reporter
Aggie students and staff, and
[community members all “Joined
Hands for Peace” Tuesday evening
in the Memorial Student Center
lounge.
The Baha’i College Club of l exas
A&M sponsored the program as
part of a world-wide effort on behalf
of all Baha’is to promote world
peace. At the end of the program,
the master of ceremonies asked for
audience participation in joining
hands to form a human chain, and
passing the phrase "Peace be with
you” around the circle.
The celebration coincided with
the United Nations International
Day of Peace and the opening day of
the U.N.’s General Sessions.
Although the Baha’is have ob
served a World Peace Day since
1959, the National Spiritual Assem
bly, the Baha’i ruling body, chose to
observe the United Nations’ cele
bration date instead.
“The Baha’is have decided to sup
port the United Nations Interna
tional Day of Peace because it is bet
ter established and can better
express the great urgency the Ba
ha'is feel about achieving world
peace,” Mary Greenblack, a local Ba-
lia’i said. “This is the first year they
have changed it to coincide with the
United Nations International Day of
Peace”.
The National Spiritual Assembly
will present a proposal for world
peace to the leaders of all world gov
ernments in late October in the hope
of achieving world peace.
The Baha’is most basic teaching
concerns the concept of peace.
“No issue is more important than
peace,” Tom Fisher, the master of
ceremonies, said. “Unity of mankind
and elimination of prejudice must
first be accomplished before world
peace is possible.”
Baha’is, who have no clergy, fol
low the teachings of Baha’u’llah, the
founder of the faith. He began his
teachings in Iran in 1844, and pre
ached that all religions are progres
sive steps in a continuing pattern of
devine revelation.
Although the Baha’is are the larg
est religious minority in Iran, this
theory, which is considered heretical
to Muslims, has caused the Baha’is to
be the most persecuted religious mi
nority in Iran.
Since 1979, 192 Baha’is have been
executed. Thousands are homeless
and even more have fled Iran. They
are not allowed to hold jobs or at
tend school.
Through world-wide exposure
from such mediums as People mag
azine, the TV show 20/20 and a soon
to be released rock video depicting
the life of a young Baha’i executed
in Iran, they hope to draw attention
to their plight and recognition of
their goal for world peace.
Wenesday’s program included
two entertainment groups and
Lynne Miller, from the League of
Women Voters, who spoke about the
League’s support of the U.N. and its
function as both a peace keeping
and peace building entity.
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★Freshmen and sophomore photos for 1986
Aggieiand Yearbook will be taken at the Year
book Associates studio September 16-20 and
23-27.
★The studio is located at 401-03 West Univer
sity (above campus Photo center at North-
gate).
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