Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, December 13,1985 ai'lff-WMii Opinion Lip service, SG style Throughout the semester, Student Government has claimed to advocate open communication with the student body. But in its Dec. 4 meeting, the Student Senate made a mockery of its much-lauded policy. I he Senate approved an increase of the student service fee for the fiscal year 1986-87. The bill raises the fee from $54.50 to $61, an increase of almost 12 percent. The increase itself is not as disturbing as the manner in which it was passed. The bill was placed on emergency — mean ing it was voted on immediately rather than being sent to com mittee for fine tuning. The Senate passed it without giving the student body an ad equate opportunity lor input. No senators debated the emer gency status or the increase. f he Senate should have better informed its constituents that the student service fee would be raised. 1 he bill has a significant effect on every A&M student. Though the increase is only $6.50, any bill concerning students’ pocket books should not be taken as lightly as this obviously was. No justification was offered for the hurried treatment of the bill. Urgency can’t be used as an excuse. Last year the stu dent sei vice fee recommendations were passed in the spring. If Student Government is going to reach out to the student body, it must do more than merely pay lip service to its goal of better communication. mec By JENS B Senior St The Battalion Editorial Board The Texas A& search Center, fo by the Board of 1 27 meeting, is con on perfecting bett hydrogen, the cei tist said Thursday MfcRGUUES if/ “We solve the t will allow the pro Kalized,” Dr. Be said. Scharifker said oping two metho drogen: • One process captured in a pi split water mole and hydrogen. T no electricity anc cent solar-power sis system in the a • The second f city to split hydro drogen and suit sulfide is obtaine and from the crude oil and coa ken down becau United Feature Syndlcste the atmosphere rain. Currently Why is the Corps different from other minorities? A A Anti -Corps senti-' merit exists on this campus. Many stu- dents dunk of the Corps of Cadets as a; Glenn Murtha Columnist group of egotistical, self-righteous, in tolerant, neo-Nazi types who consider themselves as the only “true” Ags. 1 used to accept most anti-Corps senti ment without much question until 1 thought, what makes the Corps differ ent from other minorities on campus? How is the stereotype of the Corps dif ferent from, for example, the gay, fra ternity and sorority or black stereo types? ' ; To begin to answer this question, I must first describe one of my most neg ative encounters with the Corps. While walking by Rudder Tower near the au ditorium entrance, I spotted a horde of cadets stampeding my way. Before 1 could humbly smile and scream “How dy,” I was forcibly coerced off of the sidewalk and into the grass. If this were not enough, they preceded to lambast me for walking on the grass. This incident did little to improve my impression of the Corps. Is the grass around Rudder part of the MSC Memorial? Please tell me if it is so if I am ever in the same situation, I will dutifully let myself trampled. So what makes the Corps different from other minority stereotypes? I can’t say that the gays I know wear dresses and high heels on weekends, speak more softly than Teddy Roosevelt or need slings to hold up their limp wrists. 1 can t say that the fraternity mem hers I know wear deck shoes without socks, mousse in their hair and a half of a bottle of Polo cologne everyday. Nor can I say that the sorority mem bers I know have unnaturally blonde hair, wear more layers of make-up than a television has channels or have obnox ious personalities. I have, not found any of these stereo types to be true. So what about the egotistical, self- righteous, intolerant, neo-Nazi Corps stereotype? On an individual basis, 1 have not met many cadets who 1 did not like Main seem to he subject t<> d ■ same subtle misunderstanding and dislilu that l T ex^ts, A&M, like it or not. . Puqudj'es die hard I still have a tendriic v to think that the cadets who I know are the ex ception to the rule, the stereotype. But until proven otherwise, 1 retusetoptej 1 udge anyone bec ause of a stereotype We must pi c judices aside vb C v\c ncouiiua 1 omeone with ashittd■ head and unitoim and i t-alize that lb jl stereotypical cadet is a person,anind » Mclnal wlniM \ .ilut \ .md opinionsimfiP be discovered before a judgmentis | made. So the next time you are alxiuttoiT trampled l>\ a horde of stereotypicalo ■ dels, think again, you are about to Ik ♦r;mq*ltd b\ a horde oi-individuals.— Glenn Murthu is a senior political s(C ence major and a columnist for ft Battalion. Mail Call Stealing Xmas spirit 1 What would be the political ramifications? EDITOR: 1 am writing to yon in hopes that the people, who have had the need to steal and destroy the Christmas decora tions outside my doorway, will read this. I live in Krueger and for the second time in less than a week, someone has stolen decorations and ruined a display in the hallway out side my door. T he people in my suite and the suite across the hall have invested a considerable amount of time, ef fort and money to get our wing ready for Christmas. I al ways thought that people “catch” the Christmas spirit not “steal” it! • Are there other countries with poor human rights policies which should be singled out for economic sanc tions? If so, which countries? What types of sanctions? The Faculty Senate, I believe, wisely recognized that it could not possibly do justice to considering these questions adequately, even if that were its role. We just do not have the thousands of hours to do the job. We would, however, endorse a thorough study of human rights violations throughout the world by groups with the resources to do so effectively. Amy Moore 453 Krueger Where to draw the line I hope these comments have helped demonstrate that what is “obvious” is not quite so obvious when more thought is given to the matter. Jaan Laane » Speaker, Faculty Senate EDITOR. The Battalion in its Dec. 11 editorial admonished the Faculty Senate on its vote not to examine the question of whether it should recommend that the University divest it self of investments in South Africa. The editorial assumes what seems to he obvious. Namely, “each responsible orga nization should do its duty and help get rid of apartheid by supporting divestiture,” It accused the Faculty Senate, an elected body representing all of the Texas A&M Univer sity f aculty, of apathy for not doing the “obvious.” For the record, it is important to note the following: • At the October 1985 Faculty Senate meeting the Committee of the Whole, which comprises all Senators, unanimously approved a motion condemning apartheid. • The Faculty Senate has on several occasions during its 32 month existence reiterated its opposition to racial discrimination and its support of affirmative action in Uni versity matters. • The Faculty Senate Constitution dictates that the Senate's role is to advise the University President on 12 specific topics and on other matters of vital concern to the University. T he question debated at the Senate meeting this past Monday (following several extensive discussions at individ ual college caucuses) was not whether we like apartheid (clearly we do not), but whether the scope of topics appro priate for Senate action includes the question of divesti ture. Copy machine explained EDITOR: In reference to our previous letter concerning the non functioning copy machine in the A-l lounge, Ron Sasse, Associate Director of Student Affairs arranged a meeting with us on Dec. 10. He informed us that the copy machine in the A-l lounge is the only one on campus owned and operated by Student Affairs. All other copy machines, including the one in the Commons are owned and operated by the Uni versity. The old copy machine that was in this location sim ply wore out after five years of use. Student Affairs was trying to accomodate the North Area residents by leasing what appeared to be a more up dated higher quality machine, to replace the old one. Un fortunately, the particular machine chosen quite frankly turned out to be a lemon. Student Affairs since that time has broken the contract and is presently researching a suitable replacement for next semester. To those concerned about the television in the same lounge, the problem can be addressed to your resident advisor, the North Area Office or the Department of Student Affairs in that order. Special thanks to Ron Sasse for his concern and active effort in solving the prob lem. Where do wtj draw the line? Should we as a body ex press our views on trade sanctions, abortion and the fed eral deficit? It must be realized that a responsible body can not look superficially at a question, but must study it in de tail if it is to make a meaningful recommendation. If dives titure were to be considered, the following questions would have to be researched and answered: Katrina Miesch ’86 Becki Achee ’88 Karen Majors ’88 • W r hat would be the economic ramifications to the populace, both black and white, of South Africa? Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The edito rial 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 he signed and must include the address and telephone number of the writer. Student pleads guilty to accepting free ‘gifts It had to hap pen sooner or later. The Dallas Times Herald, af ter their expose on the Texas A&M football team, has decided to attack the Texas A&M journalism depart ment. By Karl Pallmeyer now every- ■ i one should know that the Times Herald has printed a story which said certain former T exas A&M football players had been getting money and gifts from cer tain former students. But only a few of us know that the Times Herald has also discovered that certain Texas A&M journalism students have been getting money from certain former students. Because I am one of those students, I have decided to confess my sins in hope that I will be forgiven by my peers and that I will scoop the Times Herald. It all started during the spring of 1982. 1 was about to graduate from high school and had choosen to go to Texas A&M. I wanted to live on campus, but the University required a $100 deposit to reserve a dorm room. out about this he gave me a checkf« the amount. Thanks to that certttink met student I was assured of a space campus. When it came time to pay (eesioru 1 first semester, that rcruiin formerf dent was readv with his checkbookari took care of my fees. He* also took tart of expenses of Freshman Oriental and Fish Camp. During the summer before I stand college I wrecked my car in a fit of poll high school immaturity. I needed a & for college, so a certain former studei purchased one for me to use duringB] college career. For the past four years, that ceriaif former student has paid formytuitioT fees, rent, hooks, food, bills and varioul other entertainment expenses. W certain I'oi met student has stood bywil his trusty checkbook to take careofuij financ ial needs. 1 feel that it's time to reveal thenawi : of that certain former student beM the Times I lei aid gets a hold of the id formation. That certain formerstudiC is William C. Pallmeyer, my father. When a certain former student f ound Karl Pallmeyer is a senior journalise major and a columnist for The Bad ion. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Michelle Powe, Editor Kay Mallett, Managing Editor Loren Steffy, Opinion Page Editor Jerry Oslin, ('ity Editor .Cathie Anderson, News Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Beit ml ion is ;i. Station. Editorial Policy n-profit. seH-supportinf> newspaper operated as a c , \ScM and BrfthjifBm Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Editorial Board t opinions of Texas AScXf administrators, faculty or the Board of Rcffepts. the ant hot and do not necessarily represent tl* The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students in reporting, editing and photography dusses vithintl* Department of Communications. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during l exas A&M tion periods. Mail subscriptions arc $l(i.7. r ) per semester. $33.25 per school yea nished on request. ■gulm semesters, except for Mkhy nuitmiF H„cJ S:<-> per lull pear. Adyenmg" ml * Our address: The Battalion, 21b Reed McDonald Building. I ex as A&M I v , College' Station. IX 77843. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.