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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1986)
Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, December 3, 1986 Opinion Visiting classes lessens tension, increases learning: Senior it is has definitely worked its way through me, and l a m about as burned out on school as one can possibly be. I have only three more days before I leave the undergraduate world of the ivory tower and go into Mark Ude the real working world to push papers. And yet, there is still hope for the en lightened and cultured mind, for a flicker of yearning for the classics still remains. larly attending my friend’s Shakespeare class in the Blocker building. This could be because my ecology class starts at 9 a.m., and the English literature course meets at 2 p.m. I also have found the ba sic ecology course extremely boring, and the lecture is most definitely sur passed by a discussion of Shakespeare. My guest appearance also builds up my fan club, which, after the Iranian arms sales column, could use all the help it can get. But my showing up also in creases the number attending the class and provides the minimum needed to avoid a quiz over the current play being reviewed. While my record of attendance in Fundamentals of Ecology is running about once a week, I find myself regu- I already had received “The Com plete Works of William Shakespeare” in the mail, originally published in two vol umes, for a low $9.95, with illustrations included. This was another landmark in my continuous crusade for culture and the finer points of education. It was also MARGULIK wo No Watergate comparisons Reagan's arms deal to Iran a scandal in its own terms Years ago, the Washington Post published a false and, by now, noto rious story about an 8-year-old her oin addict. Before the story was pro ven to be a phony, it was depressing on many counts, one of them being the realization that consummate shiftiness whose integrity was never above question. Not so Ron ald Reagan. Here, in contrast, is a warm, personable man who is liked even by persons who disagree with both his poli tics and his policies. Nixon should have been so lucky. includes the president — can choose be tween seeming to be incompetent or corrupt. For the moment, they are all playing dumb. Richard Cohen a certain standard had been set. From then on, it would take a 7-year-old ad dict to shock the public. Anyone older simply would not do. Second, Watergate was a crass politi cal crime. It started as a burglary and descended to obstruction of justice. In the end, there may well be obstruction of justice on Contragate, but its genesis — while mind-numbingly dumb — had nothing to do with gaining a partisan advantage. I he same mentality applies to politi cal scandals. The current one involving the diversion of millions of dollars to the Nicaraguan Contras from Iranian arms sales is being compared to Watergate — either as an exercise in nostalgia or a nightmare revisited, depending on your politics. Whatever else it may be, though, it is a comparison that may only trivialize what already has been re vealed. The l inker to Evers to Chance exchange of arms for hostages for Con tra cash stinks on its own terms. If Reagan is taken at his word, he was attempting to establish a relationship with Iran. At worst, he was bargaining for hostages. Either way, neither is a to tally indefensible objective — although the means to that end may well be re pugnant. Even the funding of the Con tras strikes many Americans as a lofty goal, although, once again, one attained by questionable means. What is perhaps most worrisome about the Iran scandal is how, in block buster terms, it exemplifies the ten dency of the president to distrust the good sense of the people who put him in power. Knowing that Americans did not quite share his alarm about Sandinista Nicaragua, Reagan indulged in propa- gandistic bombast. He called the Con tras “freedom fighters” and likened them to our founding fathers. He ex tolled the Contras’ (non-existent) com mitment to democracy. He yelled wolf about Russian arms shipments to Nica ragua, including fighter planes that never materialized and falsely charac terized the Sandinistas as hostile to reli gion, neglecting the presence of priests on the rulingjunta. Some distinctions have to be made. The foremost is that Watergate was a unique historical episode. Never before was a president forced from office and, with luck, never again will that happen. The reasons for that are inherent in the Watergate scandal itself. At its center w Richard Nixon — a politician of 1'he problem with comparing the present scandal to that juicy one of by gone days is that it may ultimately make it seem insignificant. It is nothing of the sort. In the first place, the transfer of funds may well have been illegal and the breaking of laws, especially by the gov ernment, is a serious matter. In that re gard, there are the usual suspects to round up — including high officials like White House Chief of Staff Donald Re gan, CIA Director William Casey and the president himself. They — and that The Iranian caper is the logical ex tension of such a policy. Secret, politi cally unethical and maybe illegal as well, it did by stealth what the American peo ple, through its representatives in Con gress, would not permit. Here is an ad ministration saying not only that it knew better, but that it would, as a result, do what it wanted to do. The wisdom that is supposed to reside in the electorate and that is wise or not — always binding on its leaders, was ignored. 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. Ojainion Page Editor Frank Smith. City Editor Sue Krenek. News Editor Ken Sury, Sports Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion b a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper ated as a coniiuunitv service to Texas A&M and Bi van-College Sta tion. Opinions expressed in /he Battalion are those of the editorial hoard or the author, turd 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 |oiti nulism. I'hc Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M t egulat setnestets. except for holidav and examination periods, Mail subscriptions ate $17.11 net semester. S.i-f.tiU pet school teat and $M(i,-)t pet full teat, Advertising rales furnished on re- c|tiest. Out address: 77te Battalion. UMI) Reed McDonald Building. Texas A&M I'niversily, College Suit ion. TX 778 1:1. Set t it id class postage paid til (lollege Station. TX 7784:1, l’(ISTMAS'IT.R: Send address changes to 7/ie Hiiiuilinn. 'JIB Reed McDonald. Texas A&M Tithersitv, College Station TX 7784:1. T he Iran caper represents not just policy run amok, but contempt for the rules and conventions of democracy. It’s absurd that the same officials who either knew or condoned illegality are now in charge of their own investigation. In the end, none of this may amount to Watergate — neither in character nor consequence — but it doesn’t have to. The secret and possibly illegal funding of war, no matter how lofty the motive, is a serious breach of the contract the president made with the American peo ple and need not be compared to any thing else. It needs only be what it is: a scandal in its own terms. and understand the numerous plays. So I had high expectations when just last month I was hauled into the class to prevent another nasty quiz from being given. I could attend at my leisure and get a decent understanding of Shake speare’s best works. The current play was the rendition of “Measure for Mea sure.” The impromptu attendance made it well worth it, and 1 only regret that I did not attend earlier in such an unorthodox manner. But the other advantage of; a class for kicks and grins isnotbl to worry about being tested overiij is the ultimate advantage, learmij one’s leisure. I’m not quite sure.: think it lessens the tension wh ing the learning environment. “ H am let” foil Measure,” and I examination that certainly would! ruined any Thanksgiving holiday owed “Measurtl blissfully ignoretl V< affordable, a high priority in the realm of limited paychecks. Unfortunately, there were no footnotes to speak of in the book, and other than what my high school English teacher had mentioned on “Hamlet” and “Macbeth” way back when, it was difficult to fully appreciate For a moment, 1 wondered whether I was a fool for rushing in where angels fear to tread. I could just as easily be working, or more importantly, in the sack. In fact, I considered it a mistake that I didn’t sign up for this class instead of studying the competition among va rious populations for resources in a given area that leads to an absolute spe cies supremacy within a certain niche. “Macbeth” is the new subject0(1 cussion, but I am now at a disadva; All my profs are determined totlircRA the last test before finals this week,tp 'i ing a shortage of time. But bt:f 151 leave this fine institution, I would think that I have experienced sod the liberal arts classes. Mark Ude is a senior geography i and a columnist for The Battalion, Mail Call Knee-jerk liberalism EDITOR: It comes as no suprise that, to get an intelligent and objective discussion of the State Republican Executive Committee’s English language resolution The Battalion had to turn to a guest columnist (Bravo! Marco Roberts).In fact, it seems that The Battalion does not understand the difference between making English the official language and a law banning the use of other languages (such as the law in Quebec that prohibits conducting businessin any language other than French). The Battalion rarely exhibits any understanding of the issues beyond the surface and generally gives a predictable, knee-jerk liberal and partisan Democratic response. In a recent editorial condemning President Reagan’s dealings with Iran. The Battalion claimed the Reagan administration had admitted to conducting a “disinformation” campaign. In fact, the administration neiihtr Sdltha admitted to conducting such a campaign, nor did it conduct a disinformatK Jstl campaign per se. The president’s National Security adviser simply used the word, incorrectly, in reference to the Navy’s attempt to cloak its movements and intentions following the raid on Libya. I lypocrisy is alive and well on a campus where this kind of consistently biased editorial stance goes unchallenged by the faculty while the Faculty Senate is investigating MSG Political Forum for one event that got out of hand. He x: |llxtC JllL'T wild psel: Sinn Copyright 1986, Washington Post Writers Group Tom Key Editor’s Note: One more time, everybody. Opinions are supposed to be bi ased, that’s why they’re opinions. 1 he disinformation campaign in(juesiion took the form of false news releases about unrest in Libya’s government, signed to destabilize Moammar Gadhati’s rule. If fabricating inf ortnatitinmifi releasing it to the public isn’t disinformation, what is? Our ■‘biased"edilonail stance goes unchallenged by the faculty because the faculty cannotconirol the editorial policies of The Battalion. But It leiami |tma |l ilu Flvnn tors s Where's the dog? EDITOR: This letter is directed to the girl who, on the night of bonfire, asked to borrow a blanket from me to carry a hurt cocker spaniel to the vet for treatment. At the time of the incident, I had no idea who the dog belonged to and did not think to find out where the girl was taking it. A few minutes after she left, I heard a distinct whistle outside. I wentoui and had to break the news to a neighbor that I had seen his dog get run over He’s quite concerned about the whereabouts of his dog and would appreciat I it if the girl could tell him (or call me at 696-5792). Bill Morris Best food on campus? EDITOR: I went down to have breakfast at the Commons’ cafeteria at 10:20a.m. The posted time for closing is 10:45 a.m., but all the food had been piutawav except for the breakfast cereal. All the milk was sour. I have three thingsio say. 1) I have never eaten at Wayne’s Mobile Kitchen, but I would bet anything that Wayne serves the best food on campus. 2) If the Food Sevices Department didn’t serve lousy food, or if everyort j didn’t know that it serves lousy food or if everyone wasn’t sick of lousy food Food Services might have been invited to serve bonfire. 3) Food Services should worry less about protecting its on-campus monopoly and more about being able to take care of t he business it’s got. Neal McDonald ’90 Don't abuse the name EDITOR: I witnessed the entire bonfire incident as reported in the Nov. 21 Battalion. The account is fairly close to what happened except Weaver faik to mention her liberal use of foul language before, during and after the incident. Also, after she was thrown out she nearly beat up five guys trying I® I get back in. Yes, somebody did come to help her. Myself and a buddy from Davis-Gary ran over to help, but by the time we got there, she was more than holding her own. I think Weaver and Bob Grube, the reporter of the story were wrong to only mention Davis-Gary’s name when pointing fingers.The two pots mentioned were borrowed. Anyone who has worked on bonfire knows how much we share. I was the closest Davis-Gary member and Iwasaj least 30 feet away. I was disappointed when Davis-Gary’s name was mentioned when we weren’t even involved, but when The Battalion let Kevin T homas attack Davis-Gary with insinuations that “we are gay” and “we hate women,”thah too far. Davis-Gary is the most active dorm on campus. We work longhourson bonfire, far longer than many other dorms combined. We don’t want our name and our association with bonfire to be wrongfully abused. David Tully Davis-Gary Social Chairman Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves therin to edit It*! lets Ini Style and length, In it will make every eliort to maintain the author's mic I Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number | the writer.