—
Backstabbing,
obstruct fair ticket sales
r
■ V ■ . /'■
E D i T O R ’ S
SOTEi An Buch-
wakl's column has
been delayed in
the mail, so Aggie-
land's favorite col
umnist, Karl Pal-
Im e v e r, has
agreed to fill in.
- Karl
Patimeysr
t
Everyone is ex-
tiled about the
Cotton Bowl — maybe too excited.
Since Saturday people have been
camping out to get tickets that didn't go
on sale until this morning. People set up
tents and brought couches, sleeping
bags, radios, televisions, food and va
rious other commodities to make their
wait more comfortable.
Someone decided to be helpful. This
person .or persons started a list so that
peopleapho had to go to class, eat or get
some wep could leave the queue with
out losing their place. Unfortunately the
list was 1 bogus. This person or persons
must have thought that it would be eas
ier for them to save their place if they
could get rid of some of the other peo
ple waiting in line.
When 1 heard about the list I Called
the Athletic Department s ticket office
r
to see if the list is valid. The woman who
answered the phone said there *was no
list and that it was up to the students to
“fight it out for tickets.” She said the
Athletic Department can’t be held re
sponsible for what the students do.
Despite the tremendous support the
student body has given the football team
this year, the Athletic Department
seems intent on stabbing the 12th Man
in the bach. Of the 20.000 tickets alloted
to Texas A&M, only 8.000 went to the
students; the other 12,000 went to sea
son ticket holders.
Students are only allowed to buy up
to six tickets in one block while season
ticket holders can buy up to 25. Stu
dents must have a ticket book for each
ticket purchased and must have one
graduate, senior or junior ticket book
for each two tickets purchased.
By giving only 8,000 tickets to stu
dents, the Athletic Department is telling
the students that they are not as impor
tant as the former students/season ticket
holders. Aggie students don’t even rate
the same consideration as other Aggie
fans and will have to go through alot
more hassle than the Former students-
/season ticket holders to get their tickets.
The $5 discount on student tickets is an
tmpty gesture since the Athletic Depart
ment is. not making any financial loss
and most students won’t get tickets any-
way.
If there is anything worse than the
Athletic Departments ticket policy it’s
the ticket scalpers. These people buy
more tickets than they intend to use and
sell the extra tickets at a huge profit.
Ticket scalpers serve no purpose other
than to destroy ocher peoples’ chances
of getting tickets in a legally and morally
accepted fashion.
1 Overheard some potential ticket
scalpers today who planned to charge
$1 00 per ticket. What right do these
people to make a profit off of a event
that they are not responsible for or par
ticipate in. Ticket scalpers are the sec-
ond lowest form of humanity on this
earth..The lowest form of humanity is
those who aVe too lazy to get tickets on
their own and agree to pay the ticket
scalpers so that the practice of ticket
scalping is financially attractive.
Last week I wrote about how 1 had re
ceived a renewed dose of Aggie Spirit
because of upcoming trip to the Cotton
Bowl. Now after seeing the lack of con
sideration of the Athletic Department
and the pettiness of some of my fellow
students, I have recovered from this re
cent loss of sanity.
Karl Pmllmeyer is a senior journalism
major and a columnist for The Battal
ion.
,, ■
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What to
from Poindexter
Barry
Schweid
M* ,Ynt»
The abrupt depar
ture df Robert Mc-
Farlane as President
Reagan's national se
curity adviser breaks _
up the administra-
tion's foreign policy team and leaves an
unknown, untested adviser in place.
Where Henry Kissinger and Zbig
niew- Brzezinski once exercised enor-
; mou*. influence on the presidents they
advised. Vice Adm. John Poindexter
now sits. And the battle to influence him
— or override him — is about to get un
der way..
Administration hardliners wanted
Jeane Kirkpatrick placed in the job last
winter wh_en she tired of being a
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si^ in
The Battalion
USPS MS 560
Member ol
Tr*a* Pms Aubciation
The Ban ■lion Editorial Board
Rhonda Snider. Editoi
Mkhetle Powe, St muffing Editor
Loren StefTy. Opinion Page Editor
Karen Bloch, Cky Editor
John Hatteti. Jtay Mallett, N’r»*s Editors
Travis Tingle, Sports Editor
* Editorial Policy
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spokesperson for Washington at the
United Nations.
They are likely now to step up their
efforts to fill the vacancy created by Mc-
Farlane's departure and to win new in
fluence over Reagan’s decisions.
Whether they prevail could depend
on Poindexter's world views and on the
force of his personality. About both,
little is known outside the tight little
world of the staff of the National Secu
rity Council, where he served as deputy
to McFarlane.
There, Poindexter concentrated on
regional issues and managing U.S. ac
tions in hijackings and other crises. He
has little experience iiv the broad issues
of foreign policy. He holds a doctorate
in nuclear physics and has a reputation
of being a low-keyed conservative.
McFarlane came into office in Octo
ber 1983 with none of the academic cre
dentials and distinctive personalities of a
Kissinger of a Brzezinski. Many of the
S uestions now being asked about Poin-
exter were asked about him.
But the former Marine combat vet
eran and student of international rela
tions worked hard, steeped himself in
the intricacies of arms control and
gained Reagan’s confidence- \ 1
They met three or four times a day,
sometimes alone. Together writh Secre
tary of State George Shultz, who shared
his conservative outlook as well as his
pragmatic instincts, McFarlane helped
to persuade Reagan to lower his anti-So
viet rhetoric and commit the United
States to nuclear weapons negotiations
with Moscow.
The negotiations have not paid off
yet, but there were strong indications
that McFarlane — unlike Secretary of
inberget, other top
Pentagon officials and possibly the pres
ident himself — did not want the Star
__
Mail Call
r
Wars anti-missile research program to
become a barrier to an agreement to re
duce strategic weapons on both sides.
When Weinberger and Shultz dis
agreed on U.S.-Soviet relations. Mideast
policy, terrorism and other issues, Mc-
Farlane's views often were pivotal, and
he usually came down on the side ot
Shultz and the State Department.
The public reason for McFarlane s
departure was that he wished “to move
on to new personal and professional
challenges.” The persistent speculation
is that he was losing a battle over turf
with Donald Regan, the presidents
chief of staff. At issue was whether he
would keep his easy, unscheduled access
10 the Oval Office.
Regan moved over from Treasury in
February to become the president's
chief of staff. He quickly asserted him
self, and along with Shultz. Weinberger
and McFarlane, became a regular guest
on the Sunday television talk shows that
serve as a barometer of power in Wash
tafliftfe. . ^
McFarlane and Regan took charge of
preparing the president for last month’s
summit meeting with Soviet leader Mik
hail Gorbachev, but apparently it was an
uneasy, makeshift alliance.
A widely distributed photograph
showed the chief of staff leaning over
Reagan and Gorbachev as they sat con
ferring on a couch after dinner. Regan
was in the center of the picture, McFar
lane off in the background.
A White House photographer took
the picture, along writh many others.
The decision to distribute it was made
by the White House under the supervi
sion of Regan and Larry Speakes, the
presidential spokesman. *
Barry Schweid covers diplomacy and
national security for The Associated
Press.
Letter* to the Editor shook! hot exceed 300 worth in length The editorial staff reserve* the
right to edk letters for style and length but will make Every effort to nuunuun the author*
intent. Each letter must be signed and must inshide the address and telephone number of the
writer «, •
Mormons not a cult
EDITOR:
Thank you for providing news, editorial comments and other interest
ing articles for the people of Aagiefamd. I find R informative and at times
ind rebuttals
humorous to read opinions at
Batt.
in the Mail Call section of The
an
On Nov. 20. the letter from Mark Sheppard touched me, and concerns
me a great deal.
1 am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We
are commonly called Mormons because of our belief in a volume of scrip
tures entitled The Book of Mormon (k is also a much shorter name, but b
not derogatory in any way). ^
1 served as a missionary in the Republic of Argentina for two years at
my own expense to teach the Latin American people about Jesus Christ, K
loved every minute of the time I spent in that country and developed
appreciation of many aspects of different lifestyles and life in general.
I do not consider my religion nor any other that teaches of Jesus Christ
as savior and redeemer of all mankind to be a cult tfi the broadest sense of
the word. AU that teach true doctrines of Jesus are good for the spiritual
progression of those people willing to obey those truths.
Sheppard suggests that people interested in seeking the truth read a
book by J. McDowell and D. Stewart, or any other of the “numerous books
on the market’’ that expose cults!
L’nfortunately, some of the books to which the reader was directed
have been written by former members of one or more of the religions they
brand as cults. As one who is seeking truth, 1 would not ask a non-believer
of a particular idea or doctrine to teach me about it.
I cannot speak for others, but if anyone would like to ask me a question
about my choice of a church. I'd be delighted to explain the reasdns that
my search tor complete and total truth have led me to this church. Christ
taught that we not judge others but invite all to come unto him.
To the honest seekers of truth among us, 1 say: continue the search and
don’t settle oh the words of men. Ask God for help to discover for yourlelf
what complete truth is. and where to find it in this world.
Alan D. Simpson *87
Pride in the uniform
‘ editor: ;
First of all, this orange-blooded teasipper would like tb extend his Sin
cere congratulations to the Texas A&rM football team for its impressive vic
tory over my Texas Longhorns on Thanksgiving. The Southwest Confer
ence will indeed be represented by its best team on Jan. 1, as it should be.
The Aggie win will make this great rivalry even more intense in the fu- 1
ture, yet I hope it will always remain a friendly one. I call several A&M stu
dents, including members of the Corps of Cadets, my friends, and 1 can,
based on my own experience, assure them that they will enjoy the Cotton
Bowl celebration. 1 say all this and mean it, because 1 do not wish that what
I have to say now be read as mere sour grapes.
After the game as 1 was preparing to head back to Austin, I witnessed
an incident that gave me a great feeling of outrage and then dismay. 1 had
earlier performed in my fifth consecutive UT-A&M halftime show as a
member of the Longhorn Band, a show in which we paid tribute to the Ag
gie Corps of Cadets as well as members of the U.S. Armed Services.
As my fellow bandsmen and 1 were loading our buses, a small group of
uniformed cadets stole or attempted to steal several of our white, western
hats. Since I have seen this happen before, I am aware that this conduct is
considered some kind of tradition within the Corps, however, like other re
cently unbecoming traditions, this one is ready for retirement.
The fact that upperclassmen give freshman cadets incentive to engage
in public theft of state property, surely threatens the respect that many
Texans hold for that organization. We in the Longhorn Band are aware of
the responsibilities we assume when we wear our uniform, and of the
image we must reflect. I know that the Corps also realizes the importance
of their image, and 1 hope that they will strive to avoid such damaging inci
dents in the future.
Good luck. Ags! Beat the hell out of Auburn!
Scott Hendrix
UT Austin
Class of ’86
Litter not a sin
EDITOR:
1 w as just waiting for the first activist to come along and complain about
the “Colton Bowl Party Weekend So Debbie Maggs was upset about the Ut
ter . . . too bad. Actually, 1 didn’t see anything see anything extrao Unary; *
I had my eyes open that morning — and my schedule does take me all over ’
campus.
I’m not saying that litter is an okay thing, but it is not an evil wicked sin
either. It’s just something that comes along with bag crowds and good times.
— a fact of life. It’s obvious her complaint is irrelevant. (By the way, is she a
freshman? Her sentence structures — and reasoning — sound quite spon
taneous and immature)
Just how does she suggest the University Police should apprehend
70,000 roaring fans . . . these liiterbugs? Keep in mind there were thou
sands of fans of the other team on our campus that day. Maybe every bit of
that trash she saw was distributed by them.
Yes! We should put our trash in a can. But did she see how many were
full and overflowing? AU of this is just simple evidence of a big crowd of
excited fans. WeU, 1 sure didn’t see piles and piles of trash aU about on
Monday morning. Even if she did, she already knew what the campus
looks like — we all do. I’m sure Grounds Maintenance was just around the
comer from her working their hardest to correct the situation.
Ms. “Clean” was complaining about nothing. Her letter was weak and
no one could hear she words. It was a meager attempt at activism. Then I
think, she may be more than just a local activist —perhaps she’s an anar
chist. Is she uying to incite a new student movement? Perhaps it is one to
overthrow the merrymaking and all-round “hoopla" of our festive week
ends! • '
Brad Salinsld
■e- .'v4wr