Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1987)
■BBBBHUH Page 2A'he Battalion/Thursday, January 29, 1987 Opinion The Battalion (USPS 045 360) ’Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Loren Steffy, Editor Marybeth Rohsner, Managing Editor Mike Sullivan, Opinion Page Editor Jens Koepke, City Editor Jeanne Isenberg, Sue Krenek, News Editors Homer Jacobs, Sports Editor Tom Ownbey, Photo 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. Our address: The Battalion, Department of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4 111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, De partment of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. Neighbors? State Rep. Richard Williamson, D-Weatherford, has come up with a creative, inexpensive solution to the problem of overcrowding in state prisons. Forget about repealing the 95-percent capacity limit. Forget about building a new prison. Forget about enlarging county prisons to accommodate state prison inmates. The prisoners can live with college students. Williamson proposed, and anticipates that the Texas Depart ment of Corrections will agree, that the “world” of unused buildings on college campuses around the state be used to house non-violent prisoners. Aside from the obvious fact that Williamson wasn’t considering A&M’s campus when he decided how much extra space was avail able, he failed to take the feelings of students and educators into ac count. How do students, faculty and staff members of various Texas colleges feel about sharing quarters with criminals? Though the pris oners’ “dorms” probably wouldn’t differ much in character from many existing college dorms, the idea of housing students alongside criminals is absurd. Perhaps the prisoners could convince Williamson to arrange for them to enroll in the universities as well. The real crime is that the state is paying Williamson to come up with ideas like this. £ Mail Call Et tu. Brute! EDITOR: I submit the following funeral oration for the funeral of Aggie Tradition which will follow the granting of Mike Sullivan’s request for the abolition of the Corps of Cadets. Friends, Aggies, and Cadets Lend me your ears. For I have come to bury Tradition — not to praise it. Mike Sullivan says that we should abolish the Corps of Cadets. And he is an honorable man. Mike Sullivan says that 95-percent of us “have absolutely nothing to do with the Corps.” We don’t support it. And Mike Sullivan is an honorable man. Mike Sullivan wants no midnight yell practice, no Aggie Muster, no Silver Taps. And Mike Sullivan is an honorable man. Mike Sullivan says that it is the “pursuit of a reputation...” that we want — not Aggie Spirit. And Mike Sullivan is an honorable man. Mike Sullivan says we must be ambitious. And Mike Sullivan is an honorable man. Jim Starcher ’90 Off target EDITOR: Wednesday’s column advocating abolition of the Corps was way off base. I don’t believe most people associate A&M with the military, nor would it be a very good reason for the Corps to abolished. It serves its purpose. The problem with the Corps is that a few bad apples give the impression of a rotten barrel because all the fruits look alike. Cadets need to realize that when they put on their uniforms, their behavior reflects on that of the group. They should strive to create a positive image and an honorable reputation. This does mean they will have to stop beating up women. Margaret Shannon ’87 The last word EDITOR: Many questions have been raised recently concerning the outdoor exhibit behind the Academic Building. While some say the exhibit is a refreshing change, many contend that it is annoying and possibly the furthest thing from art. The question that comes to mind is, “what is art?” According to the American Heritage Dictionary, art is “the activity of creating beautiful things.” Obviously, all people do not share the same taste in beauty — thank God, we might all be wearing Sbisa uniforms. Will Rogers once said, “If a man ain’t nothin’ else, then he is an artist. It’s the only thing he can claim to be that nobody can prove he ain’t.” This is a democracy and the choice to accept or reject the exhibit, or anything for that matter, is every individual’s own. Regardless, the Laguna Gloria Art Museum was very gracious in allowing this campus the opportunity to view its display. Andrew J. Kochevar ’88 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. Football is destroying America The Super Bowl came and went Sunday leav- ing us to face seven football-less months. I can’t say I’m disappointed. It should come as no surprise to anyone that foot ball is no longer a game. It’s a multi million dollar in- KaN Pallmeyer culture teacher, says he changed grades of student-athletes as part of an ar rangement made with the students. The students would be spanked in exchange for a passing grade. Jim Pappas, a math teacher, says he also was asked to change grades of student-athletes. Leonard Schenck, coach and principal of the elementary and junior high schools, denies these accusations but the University Interscholastic League has ordered a probe of the school’s grading policies. It is ridiculous to believe thatal preparation is for a career in pr: sional football. Although someproij ball players get paid unnecessariU amounts, comparatively few atUi make it to the pros. It is sadthai; who don’t make it to the prosdoniL any other skills to fall back on. dustry dedicated to the destruction of the future of our nation. Football is a tool being used by the scuttlefish to cloud the minds of the people so they will become so intoxicated with patriotic jingoism that they fail to notice America is going to hell in a handbasket. From Sunday’s Super Bowl, all the way down to junior high schools’ Thurs day night football games, the worm dis guised in pigskin is eating at the very heart of America’s youth. Football starts its evil work at an early age. The city of Windthorst and its 409 in habitants should have greater concerns than football. Instead of trying to Field a football team, the school should concen trate on teaching children practical skills that will enable them to shake the dust of that crummy little town off their heels and tackle success in the real world. The future of our nation is at3 because so much emphasis is te placed on something that provides: in the way of the advancement oli inanity. Education is being subjup in favor of football. High schoolani nior high schools have their prion backwards when it comes tothefooii education question. Colleges: doomed to a future of Financialnii the alumni forsakes books in law balls. am usr Wet Tin con tin 1 in,i Ah " sin. nu hm lak L_ In junior high school most male chil dren are conditioned to believe that football is a prime element of manhood. Almost every boy tries out for the foot ball team because of pressures from parents and peers. The boys who have the potential are taken, trained and pre pared for high school football. The boys who don’t have the potential are used as tackling dummies for the others. Such social Darwinism is sanctioned by the schools. The problems in the dinky little town of Windthorst become larger in larger cities. Larger high schools are able to of fer a wider variety of courses so student- athletes are able to sign up for a course load that isn’t challenging and won’t in terfere with extracurricular activities. Former governor Mark White tried to remedy the situation with his no-pass, no-play provisions but the legislation has failed mostly from lack of interest among teachers and communities. The most damaging aspect of fa J is that it carries a philosophy destrucl to the psyche of the American wjI Individualism is pushed aside infil of team spirit. Players are requireci follow the set patterns of plays and j| orders of the quaterback insieac| thinking for themselves. Blind founded hatred is the required am towards the opposing team. Violeiwl shown to be the only way to win the ! me.” High school football is much worse. The boys are groomed and primped for college recruiters in much the same fashion as cattle before a livestock show. Nothing is allowed to stand in the way of a promising career in the football indus try, least of all school. In Windthorst, a small, insigniFicant town near Wichita Falls, there have been charges that teachers have been asked to change the grades of students so those students may participate in sports. Ron Rushing, a vocational agri- In college, grades don’t matter as much, and several athletes are allowed to play out their four years of eligibility without receiving a degree. Colleges also offer blow-off courses for their star players and there have been instances of grade changing. Many high schools’ athletic programs, particularly the football program, re ceive a disporportionate amount of the schools’ budget. In college sports, the money problem is way out of hand. Aside from the outrageous budgets for the athletic department, the charges of athletes receiving cars and gifts from alumni show that there is a lot more than sportsmanship involved with the “game.” Vince Lombardi is the man niosil sponsible for the destruction ofthati losophy and the bastardization of j “game.” When Lombardi said: ning isn’t everything, it’s theoi thing,” he added a Machiavellian a to the “game.” Pig farts. Once upon a time there wasasa'i “It doesn’t matter if you winorl how you play the game.” Thatisajj losophy that can be applied to* Sometimes you win, sometimesyoq — the only thing that matters is tlie*| you handle each defeat and victor) how you use those experiences your life and the lives of those art you. Karl Pallmeyer is a journalism p uate and a columnist For The Batt They want only the gory details Was it really necessary that we be given every specific detail re garding President Reagan’s recent surgery? After all, the surgery did in volve a rather pri vate part of the president’s anat omy, and I think Lewis Grizzard most people could have done without the unabashed coverage of the ailment and the procedure that was necessary to get rid of it. I do admit some people have a very inquisitive nature when it comes to other people’s health problems. Family discussions when I was grow ing up routinely regarded the health of others. “Hear about Shirley Spratlin, our third cousin? She had an operation and they had to sew her right side back up. She was eat up. Eat up.” Visualizing that scene always made me terribly uncomfortable. I could see the doctor Finishing the opening of his patient and then turning to his nurse and saying, “Oh my God! This person is eat up. Eat Up! Let’s sew her right back up and get out of here quick!” Cousin Shirley, incidentally, lived an other 30 years, despite whatever it was that had gnawed at her innards. Still, the family continued to refer to her as “poor, old Shirley” and whis pered when she was out of earshot about how she was able to go on when she was in such pitiable condition. Visiting doctors, and having proce dures and surgeries done to one’s self is enough to endure, without having to be subjected to graphic explanations of what is happening to someone else. What I hate most about modern med icine are tubes. Doctors will put a tube in you anytime it appears remotely nec essary that they do so. I’ve had a few bouts with the knife myself, and I consider myself an expert on tubes. When they started talking about where they were going to put tubes in President Reagan, my own nightmare came back to me. I have said many times before that when the Lord was creating humans, if he had wanted doctors to stick tubes in at least a couple of places they stick them, he would have made those open ings a bit larger. And let me tell you something else about tubes. When doctors rune- holes to put them in, they makei holes. You simply cannot escape. I felt sorry for the president J* was embarrassed for him whentlif organizations spared no detail o' predicament. This man is the president United States. Doesn’t he, too.desei little privacy? Why should hisdigi slapped around in the mannerit'Vi We ought to use some restraints news business in such situtions. M tainly should report the illness public Figure, especially one with power and responsibility of the dent, but there are the matters of? taste and respect for their indivkhs volved and his or her family to siclered. Enough on the tubes, f°| stance. President Reagan isn’t the first; dent to have his physical ailnienj tailed in full for the public, oft 1 Remember Jimmy Carter’s) orrhoids and Lyndon Johnson' bladder operation? Johnny Carson was monologi |1 :j President Reagan’s operation the 1 ! night and said, “At least Reagan do what Johnson did — show 11 '! scar.” Let us hope not. Copyright 1986, Cowles Syndicate