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
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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
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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
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