Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1985)
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, December 3, 1985 The greater threat Today is the third day since Texas began fining motor ists for not wearing seat belts. Any driver found unres trained is subject to a $25 to $50 fine. The law has its merits, but it is ahead of its time. Bef ore Texas attempts to deal with drivers who are de termined to risk their lives by driving without a seat belt, it should attempt to deal with drivers who are determined to risk the lives of others by driving with an alcoholic beverage in their hand. Not having an open container law presents a greater threat to the safety of Texas motorists than not having a mandatory seat belt law. The seat belt law primarily protects the life of the wearer, but an open container law would protect not only the drink ing driver, but his victims as well. The seat belt law, in theory, is a positive step toward safety on Texas highways, but without an open container law to accompany it, the positive step becomes little more than a stumble. If beer-guzzling drivers are forced to be strapped in before they go for an inebriated spin, it still doesn’t protect the potential victims — even if those victims have their seat belts fastened. The Battalion Editorial Board Little Join set, Andy is out finals am her parents Tnese thr acters have mon: They ; crisis and ne And that is comes in, sa; lot the 24 ; operators fo “At the L [there isn’t si crisis,” sa) psychology A&M. “To 1 | much the en to Carol am I live.” The Cris phone num when they ft turn to. Spo Valley Comr and run by t hotline has f Bryan-ColU nearly sever “Because How do you cross a picket line in zero-gravity ? teers are ps A&M, peoj ■ program sp Iversity, and I Vitro, the he |fact, many c no connect! By JOHN HALLETT NASA has run into a snag in the space station program. It seems that the Inter national Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Astronauts, Spaceworkers, Warehousemen and Helpers of America wants to unionize NASA employees. “It’s a very real problem,” says George Jetson, cartoon spokesman for the Na tional Aeronautics and Space Adminis tration. ” Can you imagine what it will be like if we are forced to go to eight hour workdays with an hour and a half for lunch? And don't forget that the contract that has been presented to us also calls for 15 minute coffee breaks on the hour. That means we’ll only get six hours of work out of each astronaut a day. Right now, the average astronaut puts in 12-16 hours a day.” “Are there any immediate problems?” I asked. “As a matter of fact there are,” Jetson replied. The Atlantis crew voted Sunday morning to start their own local. We re sponded by not honoring the demands they put forth. In turn, Atlantis threatened to abort the mission and bring the shuttle down two days early. After two hours of tense negotiations that didn’t get anywhere, President Reagan named former president Richard Nixon as an arbitrator in the contract dispute.” “How come the press was kept in the dark,” I asked. “Well, this is off the record, mind you, NASA was afraid that a grass roots movement comprised of blue collar workers in support of the Atlantis astro nauts would build momemtum and force us to compromise our position. Anyway, you can print this, Nixon caught the first plane out of Newark early Sunday morn ing and got here three hours after Reagan called him. “Let me tell you that choosing Tricky Dick was a big mistake. He came in here saying that NASA ought to be willing to give a little considering that the average number of mission tasks performed by each astronaut had risen in the past year compared to last year. The rise compen sates for a reduced flight schedule — the result of maintaince problems not co vered by the manufacturer’s limited war ranty on parts and labor.” “I’m curious, what kind of warranty comes with a shuttle?” “One year or 12,000 miles, which ever comes first.” “You’re kidding, the big three auto makers can do better than that.” “The company told us it was a typo in the contract, it should have been 24,000 miles. Before we signed, the General Accounting Office checked the fine print in the purchase agreement but I guess it got past them. We didn’t notice it until the ink was dry on the contract. Anyway we purchased an extended war ranty on the drive chain and the electric al system.” “Hey, I’m no expert but even I know that the shuttle doesn’t have a drive chain, George.” “That’s right, but the company who manufactured the aircraft is in Senator Waste’s state and he was up for re- election when we purchased the warran ty. He pushed the appropriations mea sure through the Senate claiming that it would bolster the local economy which has been sagging for years.” “What was the problem?” The company we had the contract with bought out most of the local industry, automated three-quarters ol the jobs and layed off thousands of workers. Not only does the company monopolize most of the industry and businesses in the area, it owns the only mortgage company in the county. The unemployed have lit tle hope of finding jobs and the company is foreclosing on mortgages left and right. Will you excuse me for a moment, please? “Atlantis, this is Houston, your coffee break was over five minutes ago, what’s up there sloughing off so thatfc. get in some overtime. . ”Ok John, what werewetalU about?” “You just finished tellingmeatat extended wairanty. HoWtome to keep an eye on Atlantis.?" “It’s part of the emergencyaustl program that went into effect as* arbitration was finished withtheAill jsity. All volun 18 years old ittoi By SON On Jan. 2! the problem guys.” “Houston, this is Atlantis. Sorry George, we got wrapped up in ‘All My Children.’ We’re getting back to work right now.” “See that you do Atlantis,” Jetson re plied. “We don’t want any goldbrickers crew. I'm doubling as a mediarebi 1 ' e,1 ? e Cnm specialist and mission controller." <fe c ‘ slon j n ’ “What did t In 11 ru gain fromarti abordoirs * a/ don..' 1 ffihoke of ab “Double overtime — triple on It vidual rathei days, new lockers, a dental plan - Tonight at American Express Gold Card (war crew member and separate I men and women aboard the shuttle s don’t forget the eight-hour “What’s the American Expresitj for?” “Commercials.” major, a columnist and The Battalion R c Ae Mail Call - Scripture for victory EDITOR: A preacher in Hearne who is a graduate student in psychology at Texas A&M cited the following scrip tures to me after the Ags beat the cotton out of that other school. I thought it very appropriate for the occasion: - “I-say-ahh 42:10 And the enemy shall come from the north as a raging bum steer, making vain boasts against die f armer and his house. And it shall come to pass that the enemy shall be humiliated and be sent to graze in the bluebonnets and the farmer shall harvest his cotton and he glad.” Roger Carver ’86 Don’t downplay tradition EDITOR: From the articles in The Battalion last week I think we could be safe in proclaiming it “Anti-Tradition Week.” 1 am a first generation Aggie, neither my parents nor any relatives have attended this great institution. I entered fexas A&M blindly, I knew absolutely no thing about the traditions and little more about the academics. After being here a little over a year I feel I could change schools (even to t.u.) without my academics suffering at all, but you couldn’t pay me to transfer anywhere. I have grown to love this school and all that it stands for. Sure, education is important, even more so than traditions, but it is not enough. People might come to A&M for its academics, but they stay because of its traditions! One great tradition, which unfortunately is no more, was the University’s non-recognition of fraterni ties. They were not recognized in the past because they served no purpose. Now some are recognized and many more will be, but they still serve no purpose and are even detrimental to the unity of A&M. A&M is not like other schools. Here it is not neces sary to spend hundreds of dollars to join a.social orga nization. At A&M the dorms and Off-Campus Aggies serve as very strong social organizations and they cost next to nothing to be a member. I guess that is not such a big deal. If people want to waste their money, that’s their business. The one thing that disturbs me is their lack of re spect for the traditions at A&M. Sure they might go to yell practice and one or two make it out to bonfire, but where were they during the first Silver Taps? At rush parties. Silver Taps is probably the second most mean ingful tradition at A&M, and the fraternities blatantly disregarded it as if it were nothing at all. So come on, Ags, don’t let people downplay tradi tions. They are the backbone of A&M; they are what makes this school different, and better than any other in the w'orld! Ken Ankele ’88 Biblical perspective EDITOR: The controversy about AIDS has finally stirred my writing blood. 1 am a Christian and my stance on the issue is from a biblical perspective. The Bible is Cod’s word. The central theme of which is Cod’s plan to save mankind through His Son, Jesus Christ (See John 3:16). The truths contained in the Bible are logical and self-evident, but there are numerous scholarly books that verify the Bible’s au thenticity including: More Than A Carpenter by J. McDowell and Mere Christianityby C.S. Lewis, among others. Even a brief summary of these is beyond the scope of this letter. Cod’s commands against sin are for a person’s own good. For example, the Bible commands not to get drunk (Ephesians 5:18), not to be sexuallly immoral, including homosexuality (Corinthians 6:9), but the greatest command was as follows: “Love the Lord your Cod with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12: 30- 31). Some of the people I love most have been alcoholics. Some overcame it and some literally destroyed their lives. In the process they brought much pain to them selves and to those they deeply loved. Sin is destructive to self and to others. According to the Bible, homosex uality is a sin, and thus is destructive to self and others. Cod doesn’t want people to die with AIDS (homose xuals or innocent babies), nor does He want alcoholics and their victims (including innocent babies) to die in automobile wrecks. Cod wants us to have joyful, won derful lives; that is why He sent Jesus (John 10:10) and gave us His commands to follow (John 14:21). He wants us to renew our spirits (to be “born again”) and become members of His eternal kingdom (See John, Chapter 3), but it is our choice. He has done all He can. t am commanded by Cod to love all mankind, in cluding homosexuals, but never to accept homosexual ity as an “alternate” lifestyle. I believe if Christ was again on Earth in the flesh, performing miracles. He might well be healing homosexuals from AIDS. However, He would no doubt tell them “Co now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). L.M. Smith Learn, then criticize EDITOR: This letter is in response to Michael Davis’ letter. Davis, w here do you get off prejudging or criticizing groups if you don’t know what you’re talking about? I’m writing in reference to your criticism of the Na tional Society of Black Engineers. For your informa tion, NSBE is open to people of all races and sexes in engineering, science and applied science disciplines. There is also membership for any discipline not men tioned above. It is obvious that you are basing unfounded conclu sions merely on the name of the organization. If every one rationalized in that manner, I guess everyone here would be agricultural or mechanical; SMU would ex clude anyone who wasn’t of the Southern Methodist faith; the YMCA wouldn’t take in anyone who wasn’t a young Christian man, etc. Really, Davis, I’m disappointed that someone who is evidently ready to finish his education still has a lot to learn. You need to learn to find out what things are really like before you try to find something wrong with them and blindly jump to conclusions thereby showing off your ignorance and stupidity. Since it is quite evident that you don’t know what you’re talking about, in the future, before you start criticizing anything, learn about it first. Stanly Goodridge Merry Christmas, Hotard EDITOR: I would like to wish all the students of Hotard a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I offer my thanks and appreciation for their cooperation which helps me to do a better job. I especially thank you for your kindness and friend ship and for the wonderful Thanksgiving goodies you have given to me and my family to enjoy. Also for the Christmas gifts each year. May Cod bless each and every one of you. Linda Martinez Custodial, Hotard Hilton The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member ul 1 ex as I’rcss Association SouilisM->i |oumalisinConlertiw The Battalion Editorial Boird Rhonda Snider, Editor Michele Posve, Managingfdiior Loren Stef f v. Opinion Page Me Karen Bloch, City Editor John Hallett, Ka\ Mallett, iVetvsfM Travis Tingle, Spurts Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant Cit\ Editors KirsienDf- Jtrtji* Assistant Sews Editors Cathie And#' Jji Assistant Sports Editor....ChareanWM Entertainment Editors J Cathy Riely, Waited. StafTWriters ...TamaraBell,MegCad|| Cinds Gay, DoipJ Paul Herndon, Wendyjofc? Tammv Kirk.Jeiisfof 1 Mary McWhorter,juneM Tricia Parker, BrianPe# 1 Craig Renfro, MarybethRoW, Frank Smith, KenneiW Scott Sui Cops Editors Rebecca:! 1 Mike Davis, Sarah BradV Make-up Editor EdCas* Columnists Camille Brown,] Ka: Art Director Wayne Photographers Greg t*-' |qn Carp, AnlhonyOf Frank Hada.Johnfr MicnaelSa* 1 ' Editorial Policy The Btiiinlion is n non-prolh, seIf-supportii)$Wu\ t>jK‘ruled us a cummunit) service to Tcwffli lir\un-C .ulltffc Slut ion. I ' • . • • ’ c A;' Opinions expressed in The bulljlion arc ilv*', tdiioriul Bourd or ihe author, anddunoinccessi^M resent the opinions of Texas A&Madniinisirdioft" ■ or the Board ol Regents. The Buttulion also serves as a lalwraion ncvfrJB students in reporting, editing and plumipr | within the Dcpumneni ol (.omwunications. The Battalion is published Mondas ihroueh mg Texas \\M regulai semesters,except examination periods Mail subscriptions .SL mesiei. 5 '1125 per si hool vear and S-M per lul 1 11 >/x twilit nut; twnishcrl on iiynnr Our .ulclrr,' The Itjiulioii, -Id . liu ltd me I cm,, \S.M limmilt. (■'•**'*0 77M.1 t.dhonal stall phone ninnhci d l ' iH vemsing: High h-fa-ldil I .Set ond t lass fnistage paid at (.olhp' ntSIMASriH Scud Mltlrcii ityi'f 1 , ,, m. I e\.„ U W t/m mm. ^ * i