Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, January 28, 1986
Opinion
Not a wasted effort
Greek fraternities on campus are moving toward alcohol-
free rush parties. Ronald Schultz, president of the Texas A&M
Interfraternity Council, says he supports the move, and several
fraternities already are holding “dry rushes.” We are glad to see
fraternities taking responsibility for their guests.
Pledging a fraternity should be more than just adopting
drinking buddies, and rush parties should be more than an ex
cuse to get free alcohol.
Rush parties are intended to get pledges by familiarizing
prospective members with the fraternity and its functions.
Eric Kaysen, a member of the ATO fraternity, which is hold
ing a dry rush this semester, says, “We don’t pledge the ones we
pour out the door at midnight anyway.”
If alcohol is the only attraction the frat has to offer, then it is
not worth pledging. If alcohol is the only thing that attracts
pledges then they are not worth having.'
Fraternities have an obligation to their guests and members,
and it’s good to see them assuming that responsibility. After all,
fraternities should be pledged for their fraternal-ness, not for
their drunkenness.
The Battalion Editorial Board
United Feature Syndicate
M&RGUUES
€>1906 HCVS|WtPP*T
Learning to cope with deviant liberal tendenciej
“I mu
meon
fm
iioso
ring
“Pssst! Hey you.”
I looked
around. A dis-
traught face was
peering at me
from behind a
planter in the
Blocker Building.
“Yeah, you.
C’mere.”
It was my old
buddy Irving
Snodgrass. He
Loren Steffy
looked scared, like he was just caught
selling “Bedtime for Bonzo” tickets to
Mikhail Gorbachev.
“I gotta talk to you — in private. I
think I’m losin’ it. I think I may be a . . .
a liberal!”
“Shhhh! Are you trying to get us both
killed?” I quickly ushered Irving into a
nearby broom closet. “What do you
mean?”
“I swear ... I always tried to be a
good American. I learned the words to
the pledge of allegiance before I was
five. I hung John Wayne pictures on my
wall and I saw “Rambo” seven times.
But lately, I realized I may have . . . you
know .. . deviant tendencies.”
“Like what?”
“Like, on Martin Luther King Jr.
Day. I got to thinking, ‘you know,
maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after
all.’”
“That’s not so bad. Even President
Reagan finally admitted that King was
OK.”
“It gets worse. These feelings come
over me, and I just blurt out things. The
other day I noticed the black smoke ris-
ing from the Firemen’s Training
School. Suddenly, I just shouted, ‘The
government isn’t controlling pollution.’
I don’t know how it happened. I barely
escaped the lynch mob alive.
“Later, I was working on my taxes in
my dorm. My mouth got dry and I be
gan to sweat. My only relief was saying,
‘The wealthy should pay a greater share
of the taxes.Tt was just a murmur, but I
$wear my roommate heard me. He
moved to the other side of the room.
Now every time I come home, he
leaves.”
“Maybe you’re just not bathing
enough.”
“No. This is serious. In political sci
ence the other day we were discussing
Star Wars. I don’t know why, but I said,
‘The government isn’t promoting disar
mament.’ The whole class grew silent.
Our Accuracy in Academia reporter
scribbled my name down.”
“Maybe he just wanted to get your
class notes,” I suggested.
“I don’t think so. I went to the Quack
Shack to see if they could help, and
while I was having things stuffed in ev
ery possible orafice, I said, ‘Wouldn’t it
be nice if we had a national health care
program?’ I didn’t even realize what I
was saying. The nurse, taken by sur
prise, dropped a tray-load of instru
ments. ”
“What did the doctor say?”
“Oh, he was real nice. He told me it
was just stress from clenching my teeth
in my sleep.”
“Well, see, nothing to it.” I tried to
sound positive.
“But my deviations stem from more
than involuntary teeth-gnashing. I’ve
even considered changing my major. At
first I thought maybe sociology or edu
cation. But now I’m even considering
philosophy or, God help me, journa
lism."
“You do need help,” I said. I fished
through my wallet and pulled out a card
with a phone number on it. “Here, call
this number.”
“The Liberal Hotline?”
“There are people there who can
help. They understand. Millions of oth-
8
ers also have problems believing
crayons can stop nuclear missiles."
“Really?”
“Sure, you’re not alone. You'rt
the only one who thinks you're
enough to keep track of yoursungi
without having to tie them aroundu
neck with an $8 piece of string,
guilt that accompanies hidden
tendencies can be devastating, lil
Hotline helps closet liberals feel be!
about themselves.”
“Wow, thanks. I feel better alreii^unci
Irving said. , Bidat
“Don’t mention it. It’s not sobadil^^-
aH, is it?”
“Maybe not. See ya.” Irving optmj. 1 "
the closet door and started to le^^
Suddenly, he stopped and lookedt*p f OI
at me.
“Peace, brother,” he said.
pber
Loren Steffy is a junior joumalm
jor and the Opinion Page Editor
The Battalion.
N
Military aid to the Contras
would end export of terrorism
President Reagan SSS
has mentioned that Mark
he would like to see Ude
military aid resumed Quest Columnist
to the Contras of Ni- ■■ ■
caragua. Military aid from the United
,States to the Central American rebels
was reduced to “humanitarian” aid by an
act of Congress last year. Since then, the
Contras have been relying upon other
governments and organizations to pro
vide the arms and means to fight the
Sandinista government.
A decision by Congress to grant mili
tary aid would be a welcome sign. I was
worried that the act put on by Nicara
guan President Daniel Ortega in New
York, (nice clothes, jogging in Central
Park, speeches, and so on), would per
manently convince Congress that Nica
ragua was a misunderstood and peace-
loving country.
Reinstituting military aid could allow
the Contras to cause enough domestic
problems to prevent Nicaragua from
arming rebels in El Salvador and other
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
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resent the opinions of Texas A&M dftministrators. faculty
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countries in Central America. The
Sandinistas then would be forced to
abandon what has been an exportation
of violence and terrorism to stable na
tions.
Yet there are those who disagree with
the Contras. Tip O’Neill has said that he
prefers to negotiate with Marxist-led Ni
caragua. And that was exactly the posi
tion of the Carter administration — they
were prepared to write off El Salvador
as “lost to communism.” This was due to
their estimation of the high infiltration
of Marxist rebels, and their wanting to
avoid what could be called “another
Vietnam.”
The Reagan administration, on the
other hand, by supporting El Salvador,
training its army and supplying the
Contras with munitions, had effectively
negated the rebel activity in El Salvador.
The definition of an ally is where one
nation helps out another nation in trou
ble and does not abandon its govern
ment to its own devices.
To think that humanitarian aid is
enough to be effective is being naive.
The insurgency in El Salvador has in
creased and the rebels there have just
destroyed the electrical power grid
which distributes power throughout the
country.
With Nicaragua in our own backyard,
we cannot ignore the problem and hope
that other nations will stop the Sandinis
tas on their own. Like it or not, the
United States of America is the sole
leader in the Western Hemisphere, and
we cannot skirt the responsibilities that
follow.
Using Grenada as an example, neigh
boring countries relied on the United
States to restore stability and peace to
that troubled region.
Military aid to the Contras in Nicara
gua, if approved by Congress, would
give the Sandinistas a taste of their own
medicine, a practice which the United
States has not pursued for quite some
time.
Mark Ude is a senior geography major.
Soviet troop withdrowl
from Afghanistan unlikei)
Despite hints :
from Mikhail
Gorbachev at last
November’s su
perpower sum
mit, there is no
Barry
Schweid
AP News Analysis
evidence the Soviet Union intends
to withdraw its 118,000 troops from
Afghanistan, U.S. officials have
concluded.
The outlook is for an extended
military standoff between the So
viet-backed Kabul government and
rebel forces. Both sides are
stronger. Neither appears able to
gain the upper hand.
And while the casualties mount
— an estimated 10,000 Soviet
deaths, another 20,000 wounded or
injured — Gorbachev apparently
has decided not to withdraw from
Afghanistan in order to improve re
lations with Washington.
This could have an impact be
yond South Asia, where the war has
raged on the other side of the Soviet
border for more than six years. It
raises questions about whether Gor
bachev’s leadership will produce
changes in Soviet actions abroad.
Since Gorbachev’s rise to power
last March the Reagan administra
tion has looked for signs of change
in Soviet foreign policy. Gorba
chev’s evolving stand on limiting
nuclear weapons is the main barom
eter U.S. analysts watch. But there
are others, including Afghanistan,
where Gorbachev’s approach is be
ing measured carefully.
Speculation that the Soviets
might be thinking of a pullout be
gan when Gorbachev took a rela
tively mild stand in discussing Af
ghanistan at the summit with
President Reagan.
“We noticed, perhaps, an im
provement in the tone of the Gor
bachev presentation,” said a State
Department official. “He didn’t go
through the whole litany of the So
viet position.”
At the same time, said another
U.S. official, Kremlin propagan
dists and intelligence operatives fu
eled the speculation, whispering to
reporters the Soviets wereju
about fed up with their militaP
venture in Afghanistan and wen
prepared to draw up a timetablefc
withdrawal. The officials spoken!
condition they not be identified.
Within Afghanistan, a dozet
noncommunist figures weri
brought into the Soviet-backed b
bul government.
But American analysts notice!
that Gorbachev recited the stands
Soviet position when he spoken
the Supreme Soviet following til!
summit.
Reports that Afghan Foreigi
Minister Shah MohammedDoS
presented a withdrawal plan
U.N.-sponsored negotiationsb'
month in Geneva proved untrue.
“There was a certain amount o :
sleight-of-hand,” the official
“The bottom line was that there vi
no timetable.”
Adding noncommunists to
Kabul government is considered 1 '
be a cosmetic move, at best.
American analysts reached sou 1
basic conclusions about GorbadK 1
soon after he took over.
The first was that he would co»
centrate on revitalizing the Sovif 1
economy. The second was that I 11
might pursue an arms contn 1 '
agreement or reduce tensions w
the United States in other ways
permit him to focus on his domesii'
priorities.
This analysis has not changed.
But Afghanistan apparently
not where Gorbachev intends
make the effort — at least now.
The Reagan administration !$
given the Soviet leader “appropt 1
ate assurances” that it would note!!
ploit the situation in Afghanistan' 1
Moscow’s detriment, the officii
said. In fact, he said, the admini'
tration is prepared to offer guaf
antees.
Hints to the contrary, Gorbachc 1
apparently is not listening.
Barry Schweid reports on U.S,-S'
viet diplomacy for The
Press.