Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, November 7, 1986
Opinion
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
The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper
ated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-College Sta
tion.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial
board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions
of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper for students
in reporting, editing and photography classes within the Depart
ment of Journalism.
The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during
Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination
periods.
Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school
year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on re
quest.
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Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216
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77843.
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Is there a conflict?
Texas A&M has requested the attorney general’s opinion on
whether a transaction between the University and Granada Devel
opment Co., partly owned by Board of Regents Chairman David El
ler, constitutes a conflict of interest. Although Eller’s involvement
with both the company and the proposed research deal is minimal, a
potential conflict does exist. Such an apparent conflict can be just as
damaging as an actual one and could harm A&M’s image and integ
rity.
Under the proposed agreement, the Texas Agricultural Experi
ment Station would work with GDC on research and development
projects. Under the proposal, GDC would fund the projects and in
return receive exclusive marketing and sales licenses of the products.
The University would receive royalties, which haven’t been agreed
upon.
The University engaged in other such agreements with GDC be
fore Eller became a board member.
But going through with the transaction now would show bad
ethical judgment on the University’s part. Despite the prospective
benefits of the deal, the ends do not justify the means.
To those unfamiliar with the University, GDC or the details of
the transaction — particularly other companies and the general pub
lic — Eller could appear to be using his influence as a regent to win
the contract for his company.
As ridiculous as it may seem to those directly involved, the Uni
versity should not put itself in a position where interests could be
perceived as conflicting.
While the agreement may seem too good to pass up now, the
University later may have to sacrifice more than it’s bargaining for.
If the GDC-A&M transaction appears to be the result of Eller’s dual
interests, other corporations may question the University’s integrity
in the future and be leery of making contracts.
In short, while Eller’s relationship with the University probably
had nothing to do with GDC’s involvement in the deal, it still makes
the University look bad.
That A&M sought the attorney general’s opinion shows it’s treat
ing the matter with due concern. But while the attorney general may
find no actual conflict, the University should not overlook the poten
tial ones, either.
A school the size of A&M can’t afford to risk effects on its image
because it ignored the ethical backlash from an apparent interest
conflict. It is best to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Back to the USSR
The Soviet Union’s much-ballyhooed withdrawal of 8,000 troops
from Afghanistan ended last Friday. The Kremlin keeps drawing at
tention to the removal, as if the Free World is supposed to be im
pressed by this sudden facade of compassion for the Afghan people.
But the best response Moscow can hope for is, “So what?”
The troop withdrawal is meaningless. An estimated 115,000 So
viet soldiers still remain in Afghanistan to help the communist re
gime oppress Moslem rebels. And the troops that left still are sta
tioned within easy marching distance of the Afghan border.
A few drops siphoned from the red tidal wave that has washed
over Afghanistan will go unnoticed by the remaining troops and the
rebels fighting them. Despite the Kremlin’s hype over the miniscule
maneuver, the Free World justifiably is unimpressed.
If the Soviets want to clean up their image, it will take a lot more
than shuffling a few troops across a border. Even freedom for Af
ghanistan wouldn’t begin to polish the Soviets’ hopelessly tarnished
human rights record.
If the Kremlin wants to impress the Free World, it could start
with a rea/withdrawal from Afghanistan. We know better than to fall
for its public relations decoys..
KARU SPENCE
THE BATTALION
Phone registration trial run
overcomes initial skepticisi
tial
el to
When Willis
Ritchey, assistant
registrar, called
The Battalion
Thursday and
Mike
Sullivan
Guest Columnist
asked if one of the writers would be in
terested in testing the new phone regis
tration system, I was happy to take ad
vantage of the opportunity to register
early.
I also was interested in testing the
theories posed by some of my skeptical
friends and professors about possible
flaws in the system.
When I went to the Pavilion, Ritchey
and John Hennessey, an A&M systems
analyst, told me to read the registration
manual provided in the spring class
schedule and figure out exactly which
classes I wanted.
I spent a few minutes whipping
through the pages of the schedule, se
lecting my courses and times. When I
was finished, Hennessey opened one of
the 32 phone lines to the system and left
me, phone in hand, to fend for myself.
I dialed the number in the manual
and a man’s deep voice greeted me.
Ritchey says the man’s voice was selected
over a softer woman’s voice because
studies have shown that people are
more willing to follow instructions given
by an authoritative man’s voice.
“Welcome to the Texas A&M infor
mation system,” the voice said. “Enter
an action code.” I obeyed.
The voice then asked for my student
I.D. number (social security number)
and my personal identification number
(my birthday). When I entered the
wrong numbers, the voice told me to try
again.
After entering the correct numbers,
the voice asked me for my class selec
tions. To enter class numbers, I had to
know the code for the subject of the
class I wanted to take.
The subject code is listed in parenthe
sis next to all the course subjects as they
appear alphabetically in the class sched
ule.
I made mistakes, punching the wrong
numbers on a few course selections.
“The course number you entered is
invalid,” the voice said. “Please check,
and enter your request now.”
When I entered my last course selec
tion, I got another message.
“You already have a class scheduled
at the same time,” the voice said. “Please
enter your next request now.
Of course, it took me about five min
utes to look up a class that didn’t conflict
with my schedule, and after about 30
seconds the voice warned me that the
computer would hang up if I didn’t en
ter a code soon. About 15 seconds later,
the computer hung up on me.
I redialed the system, entered the
code to list my classes, and the voice re
assured me that my schedule still was in
tact.
I had to drop a class to work out my
time conflict, a simple task considering I
was the first student enrolled in all of
my classes.
When I finished arranging my sched
ule, I pressed the fee options code and
added a bus pass to my bill. 1 was
looking forward to adding the diploma
fee option to my bill, but it wasn’t work
ing at the time. Hennessey assured me
that it would be ready for seniors by
Monday.
After I had selected my fee optic
entered the code requesting thevoK
read them back to me, and the
pressed the exit code.
The voice told me that
statement and a bill would be m
and then the computer hung up. M'
took alxiut eight minutes, but I was
ing notes about the process during
call.
Hennessey says he expects thecalil
average around six to seven minutes
Bills will be generated by the
puter every Saturday evening and
will be mailed the following Mondav
Students can call during theirdi
nated registration week and cl
their schedules as many times asi
want, but after their registration w
the computer will not let students
into the system until Dec. 8 when
registration begins.
There won’t be any registration
minals in the Pavilion until theft-
week of open registration, begini
Jan. 7, but students can enteral
code during their calls, and an open
will help them with any problems!!
might be having with the system.
I have to admit that I approached
phone system with a bit of skeptid
but like anything new, once 1 go!
hang of the process it was really sin
Granted, I was the only person m
the system at the time. The realtesi'
come next week, and Hennesseys
he’s looking forward to it.
Mike Sullivan is a senior Journals
major and a staff writer for The Bait
ion.
T
Mail Call
Credit for food processors
Winner.” This last massacre was aimed then to scare the
Arab civilians out of their homes.
EDITOR:
I would like to compliment Anthony S. Casper on a
well written and researched article “They don’t taste bad
but. . .” (Oct. 29).
Food processors deserve some credit though for the
high degree of concern they have demonstrated for
consumer satisfaction and product safety. For example,
H.J. Heinz lobbied heavily in favor of the Food and Drug
Act in 1906. Also, the canning industry developed
stringent process requirements that were later adopted by
the Food and Drug Administration as regulatory law.
U.S. companies now employ scientific staffs often
numbering hundreds of people to ensure that they are
bringing the public agricultural goods at the peak of
harvest freshness and quality. Agribusiness contrubutes 20
percent to the American gross national product and helps
form the base of our economy along with manufacturing
and transportation. As consumers, we can all depend on a
stable, wholesome and nutritious food supply because of
the efforts of an American industry still unmatched by the
rest of the world.
Finally, I advise Luxemburg that the Arabs cannot be
“anti-Semitic”, because, as he might well know, the Arab
race itself is ethnically Semitic.
Ahmad Jarrah
Lacking usual flair
EDITOR:
We were disappointed with Karl Pallmeyer’s reviewol
the Festival of India Tuesday. The quality of the writing i
was not up to his usual standard and some of his
observations were inaccurate.
Randy K. Hobert ’87
Orissi dance is the classical dance of India, more
rigorous even than ballet. The hands do tell the story, bit
there are also prescribed positions of the eyes and
eyebrows that convey meaning. Also, not all dances are
narrative; many are prayers, with the hands and eyes
supplying the petitions. Finally, Pallmeyer’s statementth
the audience grew bored was not true of the students
seated around us.
Overlooked atrocities
EDITOR:
This is in response to Leon Luxemburg’s letter to the
editor (Nov. 4).
Although I do not approve of the killing of innocent
people of any nationality or religion, I think it would have
been more objective on Luxemburg’s side also to mention
the atrocities that have been committed by Israel this
century. To give just a few examples (for the list is really
endless): the continuous Israeli air raids in Lebanon on the
Palestinian refugee camps, with the resulting killing of
hundreds of people (men, women and children);
occupation in Gaza and the West Bank; and, yes, the well
documented 1948 massacre of Deir Yassien, in Palestine,
led then by Menachem Begin, the “Nobel Peace Prize
Nor did the music sound “monotonous” to our
Western ears. We noticed especially that the background |
singer’s nonsense syllables matched the dancers’ feet,
creating a complex counterpoint to the melody. Certainl)' !
the raga limits Indian musicians in their improvisations.
But the chord structure of a Western piece equally limitsaj
jazz musician. Furthermore, a 4/4 measure is much more;
constricting than a 15-beat tala.
Let’s hope that in the future Pallmeyer will do more
reseach before he writes a review.
Anne Gwin ’90
Joseph Galewsky ’90
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. TheeditoflV
staff reserves the right to edit letters for style anti length, but will nw*|
every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be sig^
and must include the classification, address and telephone numberof^
writer.