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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1986)
Page 2/The Battalion/Monday, January 20, 1986 Opinion Silly syllabus suit A syllabus is designed to give students an idea of a course’s structure, but interpreting it as a binding contract between pro fessors and students is ridiculous. Dorm By MAI A Canadian judge recently ruled that a Ryerson Polytechni- n iudg( ident c cal Institute student can sue the school for breach of contract be cause the professor deviated from the course syllabus. A syllabus is defined as “a summary or outline containing the main points, especially of a course of study.” The key word is “outline.” The syllabus is not a rigid commitment, it’s a guide for students so they can have an idea of what the course will be cov ering. Some professors do seem to make syllabuses just to get in some typing practice, straying so far from the outline that stu dents wish there was some type of legal recourse to get the pro fessors back on track. But a binding legal agreement in the form of a syllabus is ab surd. Such a contract would not allow for such last-minute com plications as illness, films that arrive late, prolonged class dis cussion, postponed lectures or guest speakers who cancel. Students may become frustrated when a course does not fol low the outline given to them on the first day of class — but de viation from the syllabus can be equally frustrating for the pro fessors. Although instructors should make every effort to stick to the syllabus, students should not interpret the syllabus as law. The Battalion Editorial Board Although i ..derstand sitation and g regulatic ifair. The polio have onlv id use their considered adictory by Although be used ints cannoi pot, such a-bag item Texas A& D dorms woi nitationpn sposal ot fo But becau lured dowr lestioning le. Nyla Pton rector, say Adversaries of new holiday ignore King’s achievements Today marks* the first official recognition of the birthday of the Rev. Martin Lu ther King Jr. The establishment of this new national holiday signifies the recognition of King and his ac complishments some King Day adversaries even claim King was not a man of non-violence as he preached, but actually depended on violence to get his message across. Loren Steffy Such opposition ignores the real is sues. It ignores the accomplishments King and his followers made. It ignores the impact that King had on civil rights. It ignores the illogical accusations of communism and violence advocacy. government or change its foundations. He was trying to change discriminatory policies and help fulfill the democratic ideals of equality— ideals which were the basis for our government. If anything. King’s actions made our government by quoting King’s article in the April 1963 Saturday Review, in which King wrote it was necessary to “dramatize the existence of injustice” in four steps: gained the whites who roposed la respect of a nation. Tl) ian tribes i resorted to violence raaci mild perm 1. Non-violent demonstrators go themselves the villains, whose owntat tics turned against them. Perhaps violence was part of the Rik But tr *bal plan, but never violence by his folio* E( l era l j ur >s ers. Such a “use” of violence can hardl LIVINGS oiler Bob akes binge tority of sta and the impact they had on America. Opposition to the holiday was strong, led by such conservative pillars as Jesse Helms. Even President Reagan orig- nally was opposed to creating a national holiday to honor King. Many conservative groups have ral lied against the establishment of the King holiday, labeling it a victory for communism and demanding the FBI files on King be released. King's methods may stir some controversy among his opponents, but his goals are unquestionable. He helped America realize the full significance of the words “all men are created equal. ” . • . . , '■rotect the be considered subversive — smart is ealthande more accurate description. King’s methods may stir somecontrt versy among his opponents, but hi goals are unquestionable. He help America realize the full significance! ion. Opponents of the holiday claim it is unfair to have a Martin Luther King Jr. Day when we don’t even have holidays commemorating the birthdays of great presidents. The creation of Presidents Day means no other American heroes have a day of honor entirely to them selves. King did have ties to the Communist Party USA through friends who aided his movement. But King was hardly a subversive. He attempted to advance the rights of his people within the framework of the establishment. stronger, not weaker. The civil rights movement under King was based on non-violence. Even when his own home was bombed, King refused to advocate violent retaliation. Other opponents argue that King ei ther knowingly or unknowingly was a pawn of the Communist Party, and If communists were using King to gain some sort of victory, they certainly couldn’t have gained much. The last thing communists would want is more freedoms to have to surpress or more civil rights to have to violate. King wasn’t trying to overthrow the existing Opponents of the King holiday claim violence was an integral part of King’s plan. Congressman Larry P. McDonald of Georgia, testifying before the House Census and Population Subcommittee on Feb. 23, 1982 said King “sought and provoked violence against his followers because he believed violence was nec essary to achieve his ends.” McDonald supported his statement into the streets to exercise their constitu tional rights. 2. Racists resist them by unleashing their violence against them. 3. Americans of conscience, in the name of decency, demand federal interven tion and legislation. 4. The administra tion, under mass pressure, initiates mea sures of immediate intervention and remedial legislation.” the words “all men are created equal. The bill, harles Wil: jd Colemar exas’ Alab ua Indian* The bill True, King may not have been feet. Few of the people we honor wiMj/ national holidays were. But it’s not personal shortcomings of these men honor, but their accomplishments what they stood for. is beinj King did not rely on violence, but he used the violent responses of opponents against them. Even if white civil rights adversaries had done nothing, King’s tactics would have raised America’s con sciousness of social injustice. But by re fusing to fight back physically, blacks King is gone, and his personal affil tions and other imperfections aregi with him. What remains is his messaj and his achievements — which areal based in violence or communism, peace and humanism. Loren Steffy is a junior journalism M jor and the Opinion Page Editor!) The Battalion. What does it take to be a great teachernaut? On Jan. 24, or thereabouts, Christa McAuliffe, of Concord, N.H., will be the first public school tea cher to go into space. I say there abouts because shuttle flights are now as depend- Art Buchwald able as the Long 1 Island Railroad. In any case, Mrs. McAuliffe beat out 11,000 applicants for the ride. If you’re like me you will not be thinking of Mrs. McAuliffe at liftoff, but your own schoolteachers, and wonder ing what kind of fliers they would have been had they applied for the trip. As much as I admired her, I don’t think Mrs. Dunlap would have made a good teachernaut. Her subject was ge ography. Although she would have been a great help pointing out the inter esting mountain ranges and rivers on earth to the captain, Mrs. Dunlap was a very tough disciplinarian and I fear she would have made the crew stand in the corner most of the trip for whispering without permission. She also had a prac tice of making students who didn’t do their homework leave the classroom. Since no one ever dared disobey, I’m afraid half the astronauts would wind up hanging on the outside of the shuttle waiting for permission to come back in. Our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Amos, would have been another story. She might have been just the right person for the shuttle ride — except for one thing. Mrs. Amos was very broad in the hips — too broad, I’m afraid, to have squeezed into the cabin — certainly too broad to be weightless in space. You don’t have to take my word for this. Just ask Milton Stevens, who made a sketch once showing how broad Mrs. Amos was. One of the worst threats a seventh- grade student could make to another was, “I hope you get caught in the coat closet with Mrs. Amos.” What of Miss Gomez? She would have been a good choice except she was al ready famous. Her brother was Thomas Gomez, the movie actor. As long as I knew her, Miss Gomez was never intro duced by her own name, but always as “the sister of Thomas Gomez.” So while Miss Gomez might have been excellent, I’m certain NASA would never let a tea cher who had a famous brother lift off from the Cape. The next per son that comes to mind is Miss Ad ams. She would have had a lot going for her as a candidate be cause she taught science. (It doesn’t hurt to have someone on a shuttle trip who knows a little on the subject.) The down side of Miss Adams is that she would insist on taking her ruler with her. 1 don’t be lieve Miss Adams would willingly strike any of the astronauts. But if she hasn’t lost her touch, her ruler would get much closer to their fingers than NASA regulations permit. The next candidate that would have been considered if the shuttle flight had taken place 47 years ago is Mrs. Egor- kin, my English teacher. If she had a fault it was that she always insisted on being in charge. I don’t believe Mrs. Egorkin would go on the space trip un less she was assured in writing that she would be captain of the mission. Mrs. Egorkin’s other weakness was she would never let anybody go to the bathroom unless they raised their hand. My mind drifts to the final nominee — Mrs. Laub, a potential winner. Mrs. Laub would have met all the NASA public relations criteria. First, she was adored by her pupils. Second, she would have looked great in an astro naut’s suit. Sh£ would have had no problem posing upside down for the cover of People magazine, or walking along Cocoa Beach with Barbara Wal ters telling what it’s like to be a wife, mother and teacher — and still have time to orbit the earth. If she had a it was that she would never go ( space mission if it interfered with givin a test. Well, there is my list of candidat® Every child and grown-up hassomeei ucator he or she would like to send into space. What makes America greai that not only you, Mrs. McAuliffe,to every teacher in the country has, call for lack of a better name, Right Stuff.” Art Buchwald is a columnist fori! Los Angeles Times Syndicate. 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, City Editor Cathie Anderson, News Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting per operated as a community service to Texas A&MtN Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those oftlx Editorial Board or the author and do not necessarily Kf resent the opinions of Texas AScM administrators, bm' or the Board of Regents. vspap phy c students in reporting, editing and photography classd within the Department of Communications. 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