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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1986)
Page 2AThe Battalion/Friday, February 21, 1986 Opinion Here today but gone tomorrow President Reagan’s proposed hatchet job on student finan cial aid means that more than 1.3 million college students will lose their loans in fiscal year 1987. Reagan’s repeated attempts to slash financial aid may ease his deficit worries now, but in the name of fiscal expediency Reagan has endangered America’s educational future. In his new budget proposal, released last week, Reagan called for a 17.3 percent cut in student financial aid. The presi dent hopes to reduce the number of students who receive aid — currently 50 percent — to 40 percent of all students attending college. Reagan hopes to implement his budget by lowering the max imum income a student’s parents can earn to get a loan. The president also proposed that students pay interest on their loans while still in school. Most students can’t afford to make interest payments — that’s why they apply for loans in the first place. The proposed deficit-busting budget dumps the national debt on the backs of the nation’s college students. Under the new financial aid plan, many students will not have the chance to attend college. The lower income requirements mean families riding on the poverty will be ineligible for aid. Rep. Augustus F. Hawkins, D-Calif., said “The Reagan Ad ministration’s proposals would dismantle the federal role in higher education to everyone but the richest, the brightest and the poorest in society.” Gary L. Bauer, the Under Secretary of Education, claims states and colleges have “surpluses” which can compensate for the loss of federal aid. Considering Texas’ 13 percent general spending reduction and the $68 million Cut for Texas A&M just issued by Gov. Mark White, Bauer’s surplus theory holds water like a sieve. The most disturbing aspect of Reagan's new budget, how ever, is not the immediate effects but the long-term ones. De prived of vital government aid, many would-be students will be forced to find jobs that don’t require advanced degrees. How does the president hope to keep pace with the rest of the world? The world powers of tomorrow are the countries with strong educational systems today. The Battalion Editorial Board CERTAIN DOR Nil TORIES ON CAMPUS DO NOT HAVE THE AIR CONDITiONlNfi TURNED ONJ. 5IMCE THE UNIVER SITY WON'T TURN IT ON, THIS NEWSPAPER CONTAINS A READY- to-install air conditioner (NO ASSEMBLY REQUIRED) GENUINE AGGIE AIR CoNOIT/oNeR * please: ONLY THOSE students iwHo HAVE PAID FOR SERVICE SHOULD R£Cfz/V£ IT. (SHOW RECEIPT cofjEA/ REMOVING) \\ Whc only By CH jhpplauM [“our filled last night e\ Only sli iple whc Id in re five o Nashville h ■Formed inusic aroi featured l He, Jani and Sylvia minutes on Mail Call Sylvia op food work e P°P 1 ad the an ng along w ey of past Red" and LNext up ith “Lov tong ga and many o liim Cheei per He; A few reasons EDITOR. This letter is in reference to Chuck Gill’s and Russel Fish- beck’s Monday letter. In this letter, they ask why a male would wear an earring. I wear one myself, and while I can’t speak for all the males that practice this fashion, I can give them the reasons why I wear one. As for their third question, if girls think that wean earring is sexy: yep! Many of them do. Comments fret like “You’ve got your ear pierced? How neat!" area common. My ex-girlfriend loved my earring and solid gold cross earring for Christmas. It certainlytiai| no stigma on my social life. ng excepi drum hear Co. As for why one might get an earring, in most cases its a matter of fashion. We’ve all seen our favorite rock stars wear ing them on MTV. Even a few country singers wear them. Of course, in this we can see that old spectre of all young people, the tradition of rebelliousness. This is some people’s way of defying convention. As for what our parents might think: in my case, mine simply don’t care. While they’re not aging flower child types, they are liberal enough to allow 7 me to think and dress in whatever manner I choose. For me, this consists of the ear ring, and normal college dress with a loud Hawaiian shirt thrown in occasionally. In our modern day, hustle-bustlewodd, it’seasytotHjp ^ that our own centu i n wasn’t the first in the historyofHj n g to kind and tli.it mu society isn’t the only one in the worilHs lead: many parts of i lie globe, ng folk both primitiveaidHThurs lized, men still weai earrings. Vnd until sevet ,il (entuneH )er C°- Western men wore them as well. Fhis is simplyoneexaHoca-Co among many, of a style coming back into vogue afterYjHthan ft of a few hundred yeai s. I ^ e P s '‘ l|d-rank< Floyd Largent pi on u , Class of’88 Him to Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. Thti statT reserves the right to edit letters for style and length but mil ml effort to maintain the author's intent. Eac h letter must be signeii include the address and telephone number of the writer. Classroom witch hunts reminiscent of McCarthyisit Accuracy In Aca demia is the ghost of McCarthyism re- incarnated. In February, 1950, Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, claimed 205 Communist agents had infiltrated the state department. In July, 1985, Reed Irvine, founder of AIA, claimed there are 10,000 to ^0,000 Marxist professors working to brainwash college students nationwide. According to AIA figures, students on 150 campuses nationwide are involved in monitoring classes for left-wing bias. Most are drawn from conservatively oriented organizations. Even if this figure of 20,000 is ap plied, AIA’s claim that Marxists have be come such a threat that a new organiza tion is needed to counter their influence has little plausibility. According to the American Association of University Pro fessors there are 600,000 university fac ulty members in this country. The claim that 20,000 (3 percent) of them would be capable of brainwashing a sizable percentage of the college student pop ulation is beyond reason. So far, AIA has not offered a clear definition of w'hat it considers biased. It is unclear if this definition is reserved for those who teach the political philoso phy of Marxism, or whether it is broad enough to encompass a professor who is critical of any U.S. policy. Les Csorba, AIA’s executive director, claims he has a “list of over 1,000 radi cal, comrnie professors.” This statement is similar to the one McCarthy made 36 years ago — and just as ludicrous. Csor- ba’s list of radical professors was drawn from a list of professors who endorsed a rally opposing U.S. policy in Central America — this does not commit them to the doctrines of communism. No one is sure where McCarthy got his list, but he was never able to produce the name of a single communist in any government department. All he did was cause people to lose their jobs because of his accusations. Let’s hope that no professors lose their positions because of AIA’s claims. AIA’s targets are primarily professors of political science, economics, history and sociology. The watchdog organiza tion is on the lookout for “anyone who doesn’t give America a fair shake.” There are already reports of professors being quoted out of context and general harassment due to AIA’s efforts. The group’s first newsletter attacked Mark Reader, a political science profes sor at Arizona State University, whom AIA has accused of teaching “anti-nu clear propaganda” and “fringe econom ics.” Also under attack is a Texas A&M University professor who allegedly stated that he does not believe in the in stitution of marriage, is an atheist and does not claim any political party. When approached by The Battalion to verify the statement the professor declined comment. AIA has taken it upon themselves to decide that this professor’s personal opinions are what he teaches in class. Csorba has gone as far to say, “Lucifer himself could not have framed his credo any better.” Csorba has claimed that Marxism is growing in influence and size, and pro fessors have created a network in the academic community to support one an other as they rise within their depart ments. A blacklisting cousin to AIA is Accu racy in Media. Irvine created this witch hunt organization to uncover what he calls inaccuracies and liberal bias in the national media. In a recent “Washing ton Post” interview Irvine stated, “It seems to be pretty well established that liberal arts colleges are hotbeds of liber alism and turn out little liberals who go knee-jerking their way through life.” According to Irvine, the newsrooms of almost every major media outlet are filled with leftist agents. In an even more astounding statement Irvine said the communist victory in Indochina can be blamed on media coverage of the Watergate scandal. Apparently, Irvine has never studied why we lost the Vietnam conflict. If he had, he would know the reasons for our defeat were a combination of ineffective military strategy, bumbling politicians and an American society, that after 10 years of military involvement, wanted their f ighting boys to come home. AIM publicly questions a reporter’s patriotism when he or she reports on subjects that may be critical of U.S. pol icy. In the January, 1986, AIM Report, Irvine accuses the Public Broadcasting Service of being “a government-fi- Craig Renfro Guest Columnist College not an end, but a means When I’m the most depressed about school, so fed up that I’m seriously consid ering dropping out and joining the Peace Corps, some bozo tells me to enjoy my life now as much as possible be cause everything goes downhill after graduation. I refuse to believe that I am hav ing the time of my life right now. I’m not known for sitting around a campFire with a beer in my hand, saying “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Of course it’s going to get better. Why else would I subject myself to the boredom and frustration I’m feeling after four years of school? Why else would I continue to strug- ? je through a full classload and a ull-time job, unless I believe it’s all going to be worth it in the end — af ter graduation? People reminiscing about the good or days tend to have selective memories. They remember only the good times. They remember the wild parties, drinking entire week ends away, taking off for Florida during spring break. They don’t re member the poverty, the lack of sleep, the endless hours of cram ming for exams, coming home after a day at work and, instead of collaps ing in front of the television, having to start studying (or at least feel guilty about not studying). They complain that now they work all day and pay bills at night. They can’t just take off for the week end anymore because they’d have to find a sitter for the kids. They don’t have the energy anymore to stay up half the night drinking and then go to work in the morning. Kids in school, they say, don’t have any real responsibilities, any worries. Sure, there are a lot of good times in college. Students do live in their own little world, free from many of the mundane responsibilities that come with admittance into the “real world.” And some students like it that way. They manage to stay in school year after year after year be cause they don’t want to face the realities of a dog-eat-dog world. But most of us go to college to help us get ahead) College is a means to an end, not an end itself. I want to go out into the real world and be a productive member of society. I want to test my abilities at the profession I’ve been studying and training for — without being distracted by statistics or accounting. I want to be able to come home at night after a long day of work and NOT have to open, or even look at, a textbook. I want to eat real food — McDonald’s will do; I’m just tired of vending machine junk. I can hear people sighing now, muttering to themselves about ideal istic kids. Please, don’t even waste your time. What is youth for, if not to be idealistic? I’m ready to start learning about life through experience rather than from textbooks. I don’t want to go to class anymore, I want to interact with the real world. I tired of tests. I’ve done my time — and more —■' and I want out. If life is so tough out there, why don’t all those people who think school is so great come back to school? Someone can take my place. Michelle Powe is a senior journa lism major and editor for The Bat talion. Michelle Powe nam ed organization which unate'B airs propaganda that seeks to mine the U.S. and its policiesaiid popular support for foreignCoi nist movements.” The fact that AIA hasalili shows that the group is startingoui preconceived notions of who it mi go after. This also is reminiscent( McCarthy era. Fortunately McCall claims were discredited as a result' sensational, nationally televised.’* hearing on charges he made that* I officers of the U.S. army weresti sives. The charges were proven't and as a result of McCarthy's he was condemned by the Serf conduct “contrary to Senate He never regained power. So far no one has officially pro" vine’s claims to be false —orirue cause his charges seem soridicuta no one really believes him in place. Now it will only bear time before the sensationalism™ claims dies down and his name synonomous with the other com® witch-hunter of the past. Craig Renfro is a junior jo0 major and a staff writer for The" ion. The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member ot Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conferentt I The Battalion Editorial Board | Michelle Powe, Editor Kay Mallett, Managing Editor I Loren Steffy, Opinion PogeEdN I Jerry Oslin, City Editor Cathie Anderson, News Editor I Travis Tingle, Sports Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit. selfsupporiiM ■ I per operated as a community service to Tew ^ | Bryn /) - College St a tion. Opinions expressed in The Battalion arei/x^ j I Editorial Board or the author and do not nflftT ? 1 resent the opinions of I'exas A&Madminisinton I or the Board of Regents. The Battalion also serves as a Intxiniton /if"-? I students in reporting, editing and photognrI within the Department of'Conimimitations. I 1 he Battalion is published .V/ow/.iv t/irmT I during I exas A&M regular semesters, except L ^ I and examination periods. Mail subscriptions m per semester. $33.25 per school year and F ; I year. Advertising rates furnished on request. 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