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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1986)
Wednesday, March 5, 1986AThe Battalion Page 3 '■orgoften hostages" still in Lebanon Former hostage critical of media By KIRSTEN DIETZ Assistant City Editor “A funny thing happened on the a\ to the office — I was kidnap- Jerry Levin, former CNN Bei- t bureau chief, told about 120 peo- Tuesday night at Texas A&M. After the light beginning. Levin feme serious as he first described IMarch 7, 1984 kidnapping by Is- |ic terrorists as be walked to work, 11 months in captivity spent ined to a wall and bis escape by bing down the side of a building a rope made from blankets. Jut, he said, while he is free, five forgotten hostages” remain in Leb- ■On — a fact he said the govern- pem and the American people ■en’t paid enough attention to. ■his problem began when the ■rernment convinced the media ■ todiscuss the reasons behind the ^-^^-.lostages’ kidnappings, he said. government succeeded in ^.■suading editors and, for a long U'-'VBc, the hostages’ families, that y^itess attention might get us killed,” •^C/^Bsaid. “I didn’t think it was true ^ Hen, and I don’t think it is now.” p.evin said the government didn’t 1 obligated to tell the facts because press didn’t push for answers. s Photo by GREG BAILEY Jerry Levin discusses his experience in Lebanon with Mickey Quinones, a sophomore psychology major. He credits his wdfe, Lucille “Sis" Levin, with making the public aware of the hostages by lobbying and con science raising both in the United States* and in the Middle East. She was the first to speak out on the hos tages’ captivity and the government's inaction on ending it, he said. He said her actions helped obtain his release. “It’s possible, very possible, that the captors were convinced by the Syrians or by Sis to look the other way when I escaped,” he said. But, he said he and Sis think news coverage is protection. It helps the hostages get out of trouble, he said, citing the recent Achille Lauro and TWA flight 847 hijackings. “When the attention hasn’t been there, it lets the administration go its own way and do things that are not in our interest,” he said. Also, he said the press only cov ered the kidnappings when they happened, not following the story or focusing on the motivations behind the acts. He said he was told by some journalists that there were too few hostages for the story to merit con tinued coverage. “How many hostages does it take to energize the press ....?” he asked. He said that, after he escaped, he was surprised to find out about the government’s long silence on the Lebanon hostage situation. He said he still thinks the the ad ministration isn’t doing enough to free the hostages. “The administration is not doing all it can, it’s doing all it chooses,” he said. He said he sees peaceful negotia tion, not militant practices, as crucial for the release of the remaining hos tages. The American Pepperoni Roll Association Has Declared MARCH 2-8 NATIONAL PEPPERONI ROLL WEEK V PixzawofksJ In Observance Of This Great Event D0U81EDAVFS PIZZA has announced that anyone purchasing / DOZEN PEPPERONI ROILS® During National Pepperoni Roll® Week Shall Automatically Be Entered In A Drawing For A FREE YEAR'S SUPPLY of PEPPERONI ROLLS”* S WINNERS Will Be Chosen •One Dozen Free Pepperoni Rolls 9 Each Month For One Year No Geeks May Enter 1 Convenient Phone # For All 3 Locations Call 646-DAVE for Great Pizza Northgate 211 University Southside 326 Jersey Texas 2314 Texas l PizxaworksJ Call 696-DAVE *10FF One Dozen Pepperoni Roll® Purchase During National Pepperoni Roll® Week March 2-8, 1986 S/ndicilt I Gramm: Media gave budget law bad name Associated Press ASH1NGTON — Sen. Phil ^1 Plj|amm admits it is politically risky J I J?F a household synonym for bud- cuts, but he told the National ssClubon Tuesday that the news media is responsible for giving the T1 > ‘’^ffificit reduction law he sponsored a ns. Tej bad name. s TheH 1 m aware t ^ iat every time there’s atoroblem, whether a first sergeant ncari A Wp 0 rt Hood didn’t order enough Jalyn Vtoilet paper or whether the potholes locatedll fr° nt °f your house don’t get fixed, there are going to be two ipgic words in the next three or four years that are always going to | in If be uttered that make everything all [exico right — ‘Gramm-Rudman,’ ” Gramm, R-Texas, said during a good-natured appearance punc tuated frequently by laughter. “Gramm-Rudman,” as it is called, was signed into law late last year. It was co-sponsored by New Hamp shire Republican Warren Rudman and North Carolina Democrat Er nest Hollings. It mandates across- the-board federal spending reduc tions if Congress fails to meet spe cific yearly deficit targets. The constitutionality of the mea sure has been challenged and will be argued before the Supreme Court this spring. Gramm said, “I have marveled at all the headlines that I have read around the country about Gramm- Rudman. Every headline has said ‘Gramm-Rudman Cuts,’ ‘Gramm- Rudman Denies,’ ‘Gramm-Rudman Hurts.’ “I have never seen a headline that says ‘Gramm-Rudman Saves Money in Such-and-Such an Area.’ ” After Gramm’s opening remarks, he was asked questions written on cards from the audience. One of the first questions was whether Gramm feared the political implications of the new law. “Well, if you’re on the battlefield you’re going to take some bullets,” Gramm said. “Certainly there’s no doubt about the fact that any time that your name is used over and over with all of these ‘cuts’ and people who are being ‘hurt’ and there are no corresponding headlines saying you’re doing the Lord’s work and producing good things for the coun try, it’s dangerous. “But I have always believed that good policy is good politics. My guess is, if we can stay with this thing and make it work, that it’s going to be good policy.” He was also asked if his home state would be affected by the bud get reductions and if he attempted to exempt Texas from the law. General STUDIES Students and all interested come to Food Science Day DR. NORMAN BORLAUG Nobel Laureate for Peace DR. DAVE CARTER Del Monte Corporation Learn about the opportunities and challenges which the world's largest industry has to offer. Wed. March 5, 7:00 p.m. — Rudder 308 lonsored by hood Science Club St Texas Food Industry Call Battalion Classified 845-2611 Class of '86 Voting for Senior and th Aft /e 1< iciriw iip. M move, jrld wk is. An out ai imarn -midat foreij j bet last,"' 11 ” Ma$ initi i any"? ?atat' tforti P- Class Gift Gift Proposals Please cast one vote for your choice of senior class gift. FLORAL TEST GARDEN ENDOWMENT: An endowment from the Class of '86 would serve three main purposes. It would allow the Floral Test Gardens to endure the recent statewide budget reduction of 13%, pro vide research benefits to our renowned Horticulture and Floriculture departments, and continue providing beauty and serenity to students, former students, and cam pus visitors, as it has since 1968. With our help, the Gardens will gain new promi nence due to their location next to the Clayton Williams, Jr. Former Students Center. HEALTH CENTER ENDOWMENT: This endowment will be used to enhance and upgrade the salaries of the doctors at the A.P. Beutel Health Center. As state employees, the doctors salaries are regulated by the University system. The salaries are not competitive with other job opportuni ties for physcians. In order to entice the best doctors to come to Texas A&M, their salaries will have to be more competitive. This endowment would provide extra money to be used to reward and entice hard working doctors to the Health Center. SILVER TAPS MEMORIAL: A granite block similar to Military Walk placed between the Sully Ross memorial and the flag pole. A plaque attached will tell of the history and tradition associated with Silver Taps. FOUNTAIN OR STATUE IN THE NEW FORMER STUDENTS CENTER ‘clV* 1 holW per ‘ Please bring this ballot and your I.D. to the table located in the MSC or Blocker This Thursday, March 6, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.