Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, September 20, 1985 Opinion Ifs about time After years of deliberation, the fatal Luther Street crossing fi nally will be closed. It’s about time. A year ago today Texas A&M student Katherine Hossley died in a train-related accident at the Luther Street crossing in College Sta tion. The following night, Lynn Cash McDonald, another A&M stu dent, was killed in a similar accident at the same intersection. The ac cidents sparked controversy in the community and a lawsuit on behalf of McDonald’s parents. The City of College Station requested, even before the deaths, that the Luther intersection be closed and Holleman Road be ex tended across the tracks. But first they had to have the permission of the railroads. The closing of the crossing wasn’t a priority for the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads. The deaths made the railroads take notice of the deadly situation on Luther Street. Despite the attention, little has been done by the city or the rail roads over the past year to improve the dangerous situation at the intersection. The crossing remains poorly marked and no safety devices have been installed. Although the bushes around the crossing were trimmed right after the accidents, they have not been maintained. By the end of the summer they had returned to their original height. Visibility, even when the bushes are trimmed, is still poor. Finally, action will be taken. Working together, the railroads and the City of College Station plan to close the Luther Street crossing by February and extend Hol leman Road across the tracks. The new crossing is to be properly marked and visibility in the area made much better. It’s good to see measures being taken to make the crossing safer. It is unfortunate that two people had to die to make the problem a prior ity. The Battalion Editorial Board T~£:x'A‘S 3A^kei-B/\LL. T’LA'ieK TLArs/er AMD . . WtfAr ■peyvrrD Coripu-re-g.se ' Tex AS CKcss T^AM TAlumnht their governmental system runs counter to the Western standards. Most likely you don’t hold the news media in the highest esteem, and some times you are downright suspicious. So let’s take a look at what most journalists overlook. South Africa is one of the world’s two self-sufficient countries in mineral de posits. The other country is the Soviet Union. Ninety percent of all strategic minerals come from either racially-dis turbed South Africa or our Cold War contenders. The world’s largest known deposits of chrome, manganese, vanadium and fluorspar andalusite are found within South Africa’s borders. The country ex ports more gem diamonds than any other country, along with 70 percent of the free world’s gold. But the Kruger rand must take a back seat to South Af rica’s treasure of chrome and man ganese, upon which the world depends for 81 percent and 78 percent of those minerals respectively. While digesting these vital statistics, please consider South Africa’s strategic location. The Cape of Good Hope is rounded by pearly 26,000 ships each year, making this ocean pathway the site of the world’s heaviest traffic. Europe looks to this “Lifeline of the West” for 80 percent of its oil, 25 percent of its food supply and 70 percent of NATO nations’ strategically important miner als. One-fourth of America’s oil travels by way of the Cape, which is passed by 32 oil tankers daily. Any nation contemplating world con trol must first subdue South Africa. The headlines of Tuesday’s Battalion read “South Africa strikes rebels across border.” According to the text of the story, Angola’s Marxist government serves as a home base for South-West African guerrillas, who are fighting a 19-year war to dissect the mineral-rich territory known as Namimbia from South Africa. Twenty-five thousand Cu ban troops also share Angola’s hospital ity with the guerrillas of the South-West Africa People’s Organization. When you consider that 10,000 of these guerrillas have been killed in this war, the death toll of 600 requires re-examination. What about this notion of majority rule? On the surface, it seems rea sonably plausible. However, South Af rica is not divided into just blacks and whites. It is a nation of minorities. Com munities with diverse languages, cul tures, religions and economies shoulder one another, causing the Washington Post to describe South Africa as “the most vital and ambitious social labo ratory in the world.” Every group seeks survival and therefore is dependent on its neighbor. Millions of blacks don’t want to line up with other blacks or major tribes. Majority rule holds no benefit 1°^ ? r me them. Only about half of aU AfricajR,?’, ! . . Itudnits hi tions may claim to nave aiajorm* tam b a the\ profess no forrot in nrnnellp now, and tltey pioiess no tom ( In propelle mocracy. As for the United XatiMluction which has repeatedly condemned dures. Africa, merely 20 percent of its rad states have democratic majority rule.L Since 1952, 55 coups detailR^^ stirred up the African continentjR^J. tary dictatorships and civilian onefj states dominate Africa’s governniti| making you wonder if potential dens I g t racy would be followed by disastrous I ^ stability. I South Africa’s interests are ourint| st y ear 1 ests, for the United States c 0 uldl Se ™g s 2 wage a prolonged war without a ■, n j t j ()n c supply line flowing steadily from Sol Af rica. Similar arguments for overwlisplannir ing South Africa’s governmentwertBto reach i fective against Rhodesia in 1980. lization I Zimbabwe now, and it’s Marxist. Well opei Cynthia Gay is a junior journalism |er organi; jor and a staff writer for The Battal —— money as possible. This is a fundamen tally subversive doctrine. ” Milton Friedman, economist and Newsweek columnist, made that statement in 1958. Friedman is saying that the sole purpose of big business is to make tons of money despite the con sequences it may have on others. It seems as if many American corporations practice the Friedman doctrine. There are about 300 American cor porations that have investments in South Africa. These corporations are obviously interested in making money. These corporations obviously don’t care about the effects their investments have on the majority of the people in South Africa. These corporations obviously don’t care that their investments are be ing used by the white minority in South Africa to deny the black majority basic civil rights. Apartheid is a political, social and economic system of segregation and dis crimination against non-white people of South Africa: Apartheid is enforced by a system of laws that prevent blacks and other non-whites, about 70 percent of the population, in South Africa from enjoying basic civil rights. Because of apartheid, blacks cannot vote or run for office. Because of apart heid blacks are not considered legal citi zens of South Africa and are required to carry pass books when traveling from one place to another. Because of apart heid blacks cannot hold meetings or even publically speak out against the government. Because of apartheid blacks cannot own land and are required to live in certain area called “home lands.” These “homelands” are made up out of only 13 percent of the land — the most barren and desolate land in the Country. Because of apartheid blacks don’t get paid as much as whites while the blacks are vital to the industries of South Africa. The reason the South African gov ernment can oppress and subjugate so many of their people is power. The South African government has political power because of 300 years of white rule. The South African government has economic power because South Af rica is one of the world’s richest sources of minerals which are vital to many na- tions’-strategic defense systems. The United States and many Amer- cian corporations trade items that the South African government needs to get these minerals.. Until recently it seemed as if the United States and Amercian corporations didn’t care if blacks were used almost like slaves to get the miner als out of the ground and process them into usable forms. Until recently it seemed as if the United States and American corporations didn’t care about anything as long as they got what they wanted. Last week President Reagan ordered the implementation of most of the anti apartheid provisions in a bill that Con gress probably would have passed over his veto. Reagan’s order will ban com puter exports to the South African mili tary and law enforcement agencies, block the sale of nuclear technology, prohibit U.S. banks from lending money to the South African govern ment unless the funds are used to help blacks and ban the importation of Krug- gerrands. . . . the sole purpose of big busi ness is to make tons of money despite the consequences it may have on others — Milton Fried man Reagan wasn’t doing anything brave or original, he was trying to save face by not having Congress pass sanctions over his veto. But maybe his order will do some good. Maybe this order will show the South African government that they need us as much as we need them. Maybe this order will show the South African government that the American people will not tolerate something as evil as apartheid. After Reagan’s announcement many companies decided to divest their funds in South Africa. Because Reagan has such an influence on big business many corporations have decided to abandon the Friedman doctrine and follow Rea gan’s lead. The money these corpora tions were losing due to the current eco nomic situtation in South Africa may have had a larger influence on their de cision to divest. Reagan’s order has come under fire from many of his old friends who be lieve that imposing sanctions against South Africa is wrong. These critics say that without investments in South Af rica we have no right to tell them what to do and that apartheid can only be stopped by working with their govern ment. We have been “working” to end apartheid with the South African gov ernment for quite a long time now — that was Reagan’s “constructive en gagement” program. Constructive en-. gagement has proven to be ineffectual, so the time has come for stronger meth ods. Some people say that the blacks in South Africa don’t deserve the right to representation. These people claim that the blacks belong to too many different tribes, come from such diverse cultures, hold many different religous and politi cal beliefs and are not unified in their cause. The “majority,” meaning most, of the South African people have no voice in the government that rules over them. Our government is set up to represent the wishes of the majority and to protect the rights of the minority. By the way if you want to see how a group of people that comes from many different tribes, many diverse cultures and holds many different religous and political beliefs can rule themselves, take a look at our nation. Some people say that America will lose the valuable South African minerals to the Soviets if we don’t take care in our polcibs in South Africa. That is true. If we are not careful and if we don’t help the South African people, bla^k and white, get together and work for a mutually beneficial government, the So viets will take advantage of the internal strife and begin to help the subjugated i i i • IA Safew; people overthrow their oppresT^ wro j When that new South African go'ijto a Battalio ment takes power they will renin cf on Saf who helped them and who helped lopping n former oppressors. Bibushed ir Friedman believes the sole purpoR° rrect *j big business is to make tons of^ despite the consequences it may hanL ( ree ( others. Big business and the Ament | Th e arl j c people must realize that if they don’t' with a conscience, they stand toloseJ more than money. lustomers Worth of To Karl Pallmeyer is a senior joi major and a columnist for The Bt!| ion. 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