4
Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, September 9, 1986
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Cathie Anderson, Editor
Kirsten Dietz, Managing Editor
Loren Steffy, Opinion Page Editor-
Frank Smith, City Editor
Sue Krenek, News Editor
Ken Sury, Sports Editor
Editorial Policy
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ment of Journalism.
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Rules to be broken
Should the cockpit crew members of the Pan Am hijacking in Ka
rachi, Pakistan, have left the plane through an escape hatch, or
should they have adhered to the ancient rule that the captain always
goes down with the ship? Well, when it comes to saving lives, ancient
rules were meant to be broken.
In this case, the crew’s secretive departure immobilized the air
craft, making it impossible for the hijackers to transport their hos
tages to another location.
This had been the hijackers’ plan. The four Palestinians had de
manded to be flown to Cyprus where they hoped to free jailed Pales
tinian terrorists. Instead, they were trapped.
The crew was faced with an ethical dilemma: Stay with the air
craft, sticking to the ancient concept of a captain’s duties to the pas
sengers, or abandon ship, crippling the terrorists’ mobility.
An informal survey of pilots, airline officials and hijack victims,
conducted in Europe by The Associated Press, found their opinions
over the morality of the crew’s actions sharply divided.
By abandoning the plane, the crew left the 400 passengers with
out an authority figure to deal with the terrorists.
But its actions also kept the plane on the ground, eliminating the
potential for additional loss of life by allowing the plane to become
airborne with explosives aboard.
Ironically enough, even if the crew acted out of self-interest, its
panic foiled the hijackers’ plans to use their hostage investment to
perpetrate other terrorist activities. The captain made an effective
move, allowing negotiators more control of the proceedings.
The Pan Am crew members acted on airline policy. But never
theless, the choice was clear: Ancient rules can’t be sustained at the
price of human life.
Remember 1984?
The Democrats apparently don't
Remember
1984? Remember
how Gary II art
placed second in
the Iowa caucuses,
won big in New
Hampshire and
then took three of
the next five pri
maries? And re
member how Hart
then went essen
tially nowhere, the
fortunes of Walter Mondale were re
vived, and he eventually wound up with
the Democratic nomination? If you re
member all that, call the Democratic
Party. It apparently forgot.
In 1988, the Democrats will begin the
primary season the way it should end —
with a grand finale. A minimum of 13
Southern states will hold primaries or
caucuses on March 8. At stake will be
about one-third of the national conven
tion delegates and, it goes without say
ing, the political fortunes of the presi
dential hopefuls. By March 9, the
nomination race in both parties might
he over.
The inspiration for the humongous
Southern primary came from Demo
crats who want their party’s nominee to
be more centrist, more conservative.
They wanted their influence felt and
felt early. In control of Southern legis
latures, they had their states fall into
line. Now throughout the South, both
the Democratic and Republican prima
ries will be held on a single day. In the
fiery Southern imagination, this could
be another Bull Run. “If we’d got this
much action in the Civil War, we’d have
won it.” said Texas State Sen. John Tra-
eger.
Alas, Traeger inadvertently put his
finger on something. The South lost the
Civil War, and it will lose this fight, too
— this time not because the South has
seceded from the Union, but is a part of
it. Like all Americans, Southerners will
suffer from a short primary season. The
nominees could turn out to be poli
ticians we hardly know.
Let’s go back to Hart. After New
Hampshire, his campaign was called “a
prairie fire” — and so it was. Hart rolled
out of New Hampshire and into the
South, winning Florida, just missing in
Georgia, losing Alabama but winning
big in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
But by Illinois (March 20) and New
York (April 3), he was in big trouble.
Mondale was back, and one reason was
that the voters were starting to learn
about Hart. He did not seem to be in
control of his campaign. He reversed
himself on whether the United States
should recognize Jerusalem as the capi
tal of Israel. He talked of “new ideas”
but couldn’t say what they were, and no
one, including Hart, was sure of his
birthdate. Voters were wary.
But what if Hart had rolled into a su
perprimary with the head of steam he
had in 1984? He might have won — and
the nomination contest would have been
over.
At the moment, a favorite of some
Southern politicians is former Virginia
Gov. Charles Robb. Certainly, Robb is
an attractive politician, and just as cer
tainly he has handled himself well since
leaving Richmond. But what do we
know of him? Do we know how he
might hold up in a long campaign (the
closest approximation to actually gov
erning that we know of)? Do we know if
he can control his own campaign orga
nization, if he tends to tire easily, if he
really has a grasp of the issues? Whafs
his temper like, and for that matter,
does he have a sense of humor? (Has
anyone ever seen him laugh?)
There is even good reason to question
the conventional wisdom that from out
of the South will emerge a moderate
Democratic nominee. Some of the re
gion’s most conservative voters already
have fled to the GOP, and if given the
chance to vote for Pat Robertson, even
more of them may skedaddle.
And there is even more reason to
question the perception that the Demo
cratic nominee is invariably an ardent
liberal. In 1976, Jimmy Carter van
quished an array of candidates to his left
— Birch Bayh, Edmund (Jerry) Brown
Jr., Frank Church, Sargent Shriver and
Morris Udall. Here was a son of the
South that went on to win both the nom
ination and the presidency without the
advantage of home-base mega-primary.
Look it up.
The conventional wisdom is that the
Southern superprimary will favor the
Republican Pat Robertson and the Dem
ocrat Jesse Jackson since Dixie is where
their bases are. We’ll see. But no matter
who the beneficiaries may be, a regional
base and oodles of money could commit
the nation to a pair of nominees who
can pass every test but the one that
really matters — the test of time.
Copyright 1986, Washington Post Writers Group
Richard
Cohen
Opinion
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The Memor
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■hed busine.'
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Randolph sa:
iad< loans in S
■iiittees, vvl
■emu the i
171,052 for fis
iterw
Fine-toothed comb necessary
to inform public of dirty deeds
IUSTIN (A
Mile Monday
igned the bill
imployees' pay
lay of the mon
iflie following
■he measure
.pet ial legislat
ailed last Tin
Hunt bro
■jew ORLE
totneys for tht
■thers of Te>
Earlier in the
summer, The As
sociated Press ran
a profile of Su
preme Court Jus
tice William Bren-
n a n. At 8 0,
Brennan is the
court’s oldest
member and one
of two remaining
liberals. He works
out daily, pedal-
mittee found has done more to harm its
image than Rehnquist’s.
Rehnquist, meanwhile, remains
unscathed by the committee’s mudsling-
ing attacks. The chief justice-designate
seems to benefit from the same non
stick coating as the president who nomi
nated him.
but the chief justice-designate n
overturn the rulings.
In the North, Rehnquist wai
maintain attendance zones, ba;
geographical boundaries, tha
appeals court
judge's order
Kits' bankru
New Orleans to
■Attorneys f<>
Hunt, Nelson 1
Witness*
Loren Steffy
ing, as the profile put it, to outlive the
Reagan administration.
The senators’ most substantial claim
was the belief that Rehnquist is insensi
tive to racial issues. But even most of
this “insensitivity” centered around al
leged harassment of minority voters in
Arizona in 1962.
hoofs predominately white
These plans, too, were later
encourage segregation andst:K L paso^
quentiv were i uled unconstituti nesses testif ie
1 he memo’s release is 1 ^"Knry Lee L
from R<
Reagan has had little success in “pack-
’ing” the Supreme Court the way many
supporters hoped — and opponents
feared. Although he appointed the first
woman to the court, Sandra Day O’Con
nor has not toed the Reagan line to the
extent that the president intended. This
summer, of course, Reagan got to play
the judicial shuffle once again, nominat
ing one associate justice and elevating
another to chief justice.
Prior to 1964, however, poll-goers
had to be literate to be able to vote. De
spite his questionable tactics, Rehnquist
was just doing his job.
The controversy has centered around
the latter, the notorious William H.
Rehnquist. In a desperate attempt to
find something wrong with the chief
justice-designate, liberal senators have
been rifling through old records. They
even managed to uncover some of
Rehnquist’s dirty deeds, but the chief-to-
be had a defense. After all, who reads
the small type on tenant agreements
anyway?
But Rehnquist’s job changed, as did
the times, although his insensitivity did
not. Memos released by the AP show
that while Rehnquist was working in the
Justice Department in 1970 he pro
posed a constitutional amendment to
hamper the government’s ef fort to elim
inate school segregation.
,, , Bined serial
M'.H.sm horn K. lmqu.s "‘l 1 !’ Eg his eonfess
but everything must be taken inti pea, t0 f or<
sideration. The Senate committa about his allege
RehiK |ii ini m I ‘ m is just diMin;::' An ax x!,i\ mi;.
when It com, N ,o selectingMK ndj hat
justice oi the Supreme Court, (her.
nees need to he gone over withtwl
est-toothed comb the Senate canll
Even Justice Department memos '
jobs past can reveal information m
the justic e’s ideals that the publicd
to know.
What little the Senate Judiciary Com-
Rehnquist advocated permitting par
ents in the South to choose what schools
their children attended, a vital tool in
maintaining segregation after the Su
preme Court struck down “separate hut
equal” facilities in 1954. This enabled
whites to keep their children in white
schools and, through intimidation, keep
blacks out. Freedom of choice plans
were struck down as unconstitutional
two years before the Rehnquist memos,
This country is a nation of minoiit]
and our foremost legal documeni J
signed to preserve the rights oflij
minorities. If the president nomirj
and the Senate later confirms,atij
justice who was in favor of schoold
gation 16 years after it was prohfe]
w e have a right to know. After all.i
man will have a vital role in the ski
of legal precedent for years tocobI
would be nice to know his feeling!
the basic tenets of democracy.
Now, with the Justice Depart®
memos, we have a better idea, ft
pedaling, Mr. Brennan, were
need you.
Mail Call
Tre
What about when we win?
EDITOR:
On Aug. 28, the Dallas Morning News published an
outstanding article on the upcoming Aggie team. In it,
Kevin Sherrington captures the qualities that differentiate
Texas A&M from other schools — namely, pride, spirit
and tradition. At the same time, he posed the following
provocative question: “If the Aggies have supported their
team even when it loses, what will they do when it wins?”
The unique aspect about an Aggie sports event is that
the primary reason for going is not to see the Aggies win.
Rather, it is to show the true Aggie Spirit and one’s pride
in the school and team, as well as to continue the many
traditions that set A&M apart from all the rest. In this
sense, an Aggie game is little different from, say, bonfire,
yell practice or Muster.
Consequently, the paradox Sherrington mentions
concerns me. It’s only natural for Aggies to want their
team to win, but to the extent it does so more frequently,
the pressure builds to maintain the Aggie Spirit even when
we run out of time. (Remember, the Ags are never
defeated.) Alas, it would be sickening were we, upon
building a national football dynasty, to end up like the
University of Texas, where the fans get excited only by the
prospects of a Cotton Bowl victory.
Of course, even as A&M has seen major
transformations, it nevertheless has kept its spirit, pride
and tradition, so Aggies are good at weathering change.
But precisely because the prowess of the football team sets
before us a paradox, it demands of us reflection upon that
which makes an Aggie game unique. We must not forget
that we go to an Aggie game first and f oremost to manifest
and perpetuate our superior spirit, pride and tradition.
Andrew H. Pendleton
History
Class of ’88
Unappreciative attitude
patronizing and unappreciative.
I am on staff at this University, and although I donoi
work in the Pavilion I, too, work very closely withstudeni
registration and am well aware of the long lines and
difficulties encountered by many students.
Some of these difficulties were brought on by studeni! I
themselves by not preregistering, not paying fees on tinif 1
and not paying parking fines promptly.
Some of the difficulties, however, are completely out |
of the hands of staff. I wonder if Pallmeyer is aware of (hi
hiring freeze which has been in effect since Aug. 1?
1 also wonder if he is aware of the ramifications of tin 1
current special session of the Texas Legislature on all
staff? We have already lost our 3 percent pay increasefor
the next year, and are waiting to see how many of us willl)
laid off, in addit ion to a proposed 3 percent cut in salary
which w ill mean the loss of even more staff.
I would like to ask Pallmeyer if he expressed any
appreciation for the long hours and hard work done by
many staff employees to enable him to drop-add, much
less the staff who enabled him to be accepted into this
University and who will also make it possible for him to
graduate?
O # .A
These are not easy times for any of us — faculty, stall
or students. A sense of humor and an adult attitude goa
long way towards solving problems.
Childish attitudes, griping and bellyaching should
have been left in high school. None of us need to blame
each other for our difficulties.
Without the staff, none of the classes could operate,
none of you would be housed, fed and guided through
your collegiate years. We work long hours to make your
time here as pleasant and easy as possible, often under
trying circumstances.
Next time a staff employee serves you with a smile,
cleans up your mess or goes an extra mile for you, justsaj
“thanks.”
That’s all the reward most of us really want —
appreciation for a job well done.
Debbie Waits
Department of Architecture
<?
^nt
GRet
T^or
EDITOR:
In response to Karl Pallmeyer’s Sept. 4 column,
entitled “Registration lines reminiscent of a Kafka Novel’
I found the general attitude towards staff to be
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editor
staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will in**!
every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be sigi |fl
and must include the address and telephone number of the writer.