Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, February 12, 1987
Opinion
The Battalion
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MciiiIxt <>(
IVxas fu ss Association
Southwest journalism (ionlciviu f
The Battalion Editorial Board
Loren Steffy, Editor
Marybeth Rohsner, Managing Editor
Mike Sullivan, ( )|>iition 1'agc- Editor
Jens Koepke, City Editor
Jeanne Isenberg, Sue Krenek, News Editors
Homer Jacobs, Sports Editor
Tom Ownbey, Photo Editor
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Crime at A&M?
Texas Aggies might not lie or cheat, but they have among them
more thieves than any other Southwest Conference university. With
834 thefts reported for the 1985-86 school year, A&M has stolen the
record.
Sgt. Roy Horner of the University Police Department says for
mer students are responsible for much of the theft on campus. But
that’s not entirely true.
The blame*for A&M’s high theft rate can be placed squarely on
the shoulders of current students, though the University Police De
partment says most of the thieves aren’t current students.
The much-touted motto of Aggieland — “Aggies do not lie,
cheat or steal” — contributes to the misconception that A&M is
somehow immune to the criminal element.
While wholesomeness may be a wonderful ideal, it will never be
reality. Instead, those students who set aside common sense in favor
of uncommon decency will continue to get ripped off, and crime will
continue to flourish in the land of the maroon backpacks.
There is a better way.
When students leave their tables in the library, they might ask a
friend to watch their belongings, or better yet, they might take their
belongings along. It sounds sensible enough, but the University Po
lice Department says many books and backpacks are stolen f rom un
attended tables.
Simple things like locking dorm room doors and bicycles also
might help the university police combat the high theft rate.
Most of all, however, we need to realize that not everybody sub
scribes to the Aggie code of honor.
That Aggieland is not crime f ree and never will be is not such a
harsh reality. After all, most people wouldn’t leave their things unat
tended at Disneyland, either.
First love is always special
F;i
In honor of St.
Valentine’s Day, I
thought 1 would
write a coin in n
about my one lrue
love.
It might shock
some people to
know t hat site and
I have been living
together for the
past live months.
We are not mar-
Karl
Pallmeyer
It’s been the scoop of the year
B.T. Bottomly,
III, the managing
editor of The Da
ily Planet, began
the a f t e r n o o n
news meeting by
wondering aloud
why Americans
are tiring of the
I ra n a r in s deal
story, as indicated
by a recent survey, m
“I low can that
he?” asked Bottomly,
III. “By the way,” he said to Finn, the
wire editor, “what are the l imes and the
Post saying for tomorrow?”
Lewis
Grizzard
“The l imes is carrying a piece quot
ing unnamed sources as saying that
when Catl. North was a child he had a
lemonade stand and used his earnings
to purchase a pump action BB gun and
a dozen rolls of caps for his toy pistol,
indicating a history of financial wheel-
the
Ill. “This is
most fun I’ve had since Watergate.”
“Perhaps we are guilty of overkill on
this one, sir,” offered Hendershot, the
news editor.
“Nonsense,” the M.F. replied. “We
have a duty to inform our readers, even
if it means cramming the news down
their throats, the ungrateful wretches.”
Bottomly, III, felt like he was making
tin important journalistic statement,
much as his great grandfather, who
founded the paper, did when he uttered
'tihe immortal words, “The only good ed
itorial page is a dull editorial page.”
“But sir,” Hendershot continued,
“we’ve got h(> stories on the Iran deal
just for tomorrow morning’s edit ion.”
“We’ve got to he able to compete with
the Times and the Post,” said Bottomly,
\
«flBi
ing and dealing and interest in the pro
curement of arms.”
“And the Post?”
“The Post says it wasn’t a lemonade
stand at all,” Finn continued. “It was a
paper route and the BB gun was coc k-
action, not pump.”
“Sir,” said Marchman, the feature ed
itor, “Peanuts’ has an Iran angle tomor
row, too.”
‘“Peanuts’?” asked Bottomly, III, an
expression of disbelief crossing his face.
Marchman explained, “Snoopy
makes believe he’s a White House corre
spondent and he bites Sam Donaldson
on the nose at a presidential news con
ference when Sam’s follow-up question
takes 15 minutes to ask.
“‘If there’s anything 1 can’t stand,’
says Snoopy, ‘It’s a long-winded muck-
raker.’”
“And the syndicated columnists?”
Bottomly, II I, asked Peterson, the edito
rial page editor.
“Jack Anderson reports George Bush
giving Pat Buchanan the hot foot dur
ing a recent Iran strategy session.”
“'That’s still not overkill,” said Bot
tomly, III. “At least the sports depart
ment isn’t writing about Iran.”
“Guess again,” said Hendershot,
“Sports is carrying a story saying that
some of the funds shifted to the Gontras
may have been used by rebels to bet on
the Super Bowl.”
“Was the president directly invol
ved?” asked Bottomly, 111.
“Sort of,” said Hendershot. “He told
them to take Denver and the points.”
Bottomly, III, grinned a wry grin and
whispered to himself, “Fat your heart
out Ben Bradlee.”
Copyright 1986, Cowles Syndicate
t ied and I doubt that we ever will marry,
hut that doesn’t change the 1 fact that 1
love 1 her very much. She depends on me
for almost everything, and, il it weren't
for her, 1 probably would he pretl)
lonely.
I took her home with me ovet the*
Ghristmas break, and my parents
seemed to approve. They didn’t think
we should he sleeping together, though.
I love the way she wakes me up in (he*
morning. Fach clay about 7:50 a.m. she
starts jumping up and down on the bed
until I get up and make breakfast. On
days when 1 don’t have class, we lie* in
bed and play around for most of the*
morning. In the* mornings, she* has to he*
with me constantly. Sometimes it's hard
to shave and shower because she is ei
ther sitting on the sink or jumping in
the tuh with me. It seems she* always
wants to he close to me.
When I get in late* at night, tired
from a hard day’s work, she is usually
full of energy. She either wants to play
or sit in my lap while I try to watch TV
or study or whatever.
One of the best things about her is
the way she always is willing to listen to
my problems. She never utters a harsh
word or makes a cruel statement.
She will accept nothing more than
my full attention at night when we go to
bed. If I try to read, she will snuggle up
against me or even lay on my hook until
1 give up and turn off the light. We al
ways fool around for awhile before*
going to sleep.
Sometimes she likes to sit on my face.
Sometimes she gets a little rough and
starts to scratch, bite and kick. I don’t
mind because it’s kind of fun. I just
throw her on the floor. She always
comes hack for more.
She has green eyes and a cute little
nose. Her hair is short and black with a
few traces of white and orange that give*
her a kind of punkish look. She’s very
small and slender. She needs to shave
her legs because it tickles when she rubs
up against me.
When I’m feeling affectionate, I call
her Kitty, but most of the time her
name is just Cat. On those occasions
when she has missed her litter box or
to n
has smashed evcixilnn^ in my apH),
mini. I < all her S'<. When she teach
■'> hs to the set lift a.lint' is |),iiic I So
\ 1 11. i \ till gi\ eii I let ,i |i!‘ ■ jpFi
name l>ecausc
he allowed to
l>e called. 11
Ross
I think everyone sit
chiiii
noose what Iheywa | or( .
more people lollowctl scare
philosi )pl i \ 11 k 11 • u ( m il< 1 he I cut 11 E 1 1
entes. Marvins, Gertrudes, IliiwlP’
I tliclx. \ i 11 mas, \l\INS ,|||{| |niv- ^ n|(
wo'U stand
Wl
Cat came into my life hat k in St'iik B" 1 "
hsh a
of my roommates
had Iitrii w na {j n
Ik*i when one
her home one day. We
ing a pel for a while, and my roomrJ
had a friend whose c al had jtul hatlj
lens. We had a iourth roommate.
When I moved out of the luntsel
into my own apartment. Cal canto
me. It was kind ol like a divorce-I
old roommates got the house and If
t he cat.
When you have a cal, you have In
sumc* a whole new set ol rtsponsililiii
Youi lile is Filled with leedittg,fe 1
boxing and putting your apailniq
back together after the cat has been
an extremely curious and playltiliniiv
When you have a cat you haveal
sponsibility to the* rest ol thc*catwoiM
well. That 's why I’m going tolakenijO
to the* vet in a few weeks to have herb
ken. I have never figured out why tit
refer to that operation as “having tliet j
Fixed.” The c at works fine beforeihei
gets ahold of it.
1 exas singer, songwriter, novelisdflR
amateur detective Kinky Kriednianof®
said that c ats are a lot like* women: : 4 a
have no sense of humor and llieyreb. 1|
interested in anything unless it |M#*
them or intrigues them. Friedmansfil
he* prefers c ats to women becauseliclM
never heard a cat use the word“rel;iti»P
ship.” I tend to agree with him. '/
Km I I’ullmeyer is :i journalism gd
niid n columnist lot The Battalion.
J
Mail Call
c
Role of the Corps
FDITOR:
“Is the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M an archaic animal whose
time has passed? To respond positively is to imply that integrity,
leadership, patriotism and discipline no longer are cherished by
our society.” This quote from Garland W. Wilkinson’s Farmers
Write/column is an insult to the student body.
To say that you have to be in the Corps to gain these qualities of
integrity, leadership, patriotism, and discipline is outrageous. With
2,000 cadets out of 5b,000 students, it’s obvious the Corps is on
death row, especially with half the Corps on scholastic probation.
Garland said that America needs leaders. Oh, God, don’t get
rid of the Corps — we won’t know what to do. Wilkinson also said
that what is taught and learned through a four-year Corps
experience is more valuable than what is taught in the classroom.
This is easy to say when the Corps cannot brag about scholastics.
The Corps was far below the University grade point ratio last
semester with half its cadets on Scholastic probation. Redass.
I was in the Corps last semester and when 1 was told by my
upperclassmen that with a 2.5 I had the third highest GPR out of
the 50 freshmen in my outfit, 1 knew I was in the wrong
organization for grades.
Oh yes, Wilkinson, spare us the speech that America enjoys a
luxury known as freedom, and that cadets will he called upon to
serve. Do you not think that most every person on this campus
would not serve if called upon? 1 en joy f reedom just as much as
you do and I would serve in a moment’s notice to protect what is
here. To say that shining brass, polishing shoes, and learning
campusologies will make the difference is outrageous.
We were all touched by the story of a kid from a West Texas
town who was transformed into a man because of the Corps. By
golly, if you need the help, then I guess the Corps does serve a
purpose.
Cary D. Moore ’90
toward us and said “I lowdy.” We echoed his “I lowdy” andliefott
we had passed him he retorted, “You two make a cute couple.'’
I
V
1 was shocked. I could not believe* he had the nerve and the
mentality to say something so stupid and rude. I .aura Ann was
barely touching the back of my elbow.
She had told me that when she walks with girls they’ol'tenget
strange looks, buk that it’s awkward to t ry to walk, talk, and
concentrate on where she is or what her cane is picking npallat
the same time.
i
i
Pity the ignorant
1 am not liberal-minded and I don’t like homosexuality any
more, and maybe less, than most people at A&M. But we need to I
think about what we do and say to people and about what kintli*
conclusions we jump to.
FDITOR:
I would usually never think of writing to /Vie Battalion, but
something happened last night that I can not ignore.
My friend, Laura Ann, and I were walking home from
Charlie’s at about 1 1:50 pan. She was holding on to my elbow,
using me as a guide. Laura Ann is blind.
As we were walking by Schuhmacher I fall, a guy was walking
I think that Laura Ann is lucky because by being blind,sheis
not blinded by her sight .
Sarah Cranberry ’88
l.rttn.s to tin’ 1‘flilor should mil cxccrd TOD words in Irnglh. I'hr rdilwvil sltijl iwn^ 1
ri^hl In rdil li'llrr.s for style and Irnglh. hnl will nadir nirry rf/orl In inaiiiliiiii lliniiillini'
Irnl. liurh Irllrr nui.sl hr .signed and nin.st include llir < la.s.si/icnlion, millir.ss mid Irlf
number o/ the writer.