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Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, February 18, 1987
Opinion
The Battalion
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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
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It takes guts
“The bottom line is that Texans want a balanced budget without
raiding school funds, selling off our lands at a loss and shifting edu
cation funds on to the backs of local taxpayers,” said State Demo
cratic Chairman Bob Slagle.
Though it’s unclear whether Slagle intended his remark to be
taken seriously, it’s probably a quite accurate reflection of the aver
age Texan’s mindset.
Gov. Bill Clements has challenged his critics to publicly admit
they want a $5.8 billion tax hike to patch up the state deficit. Though
his critics are extremely outspoken about Clements’ plan to tap
higher education, health and welfare spending, it’s doubtful they will
respond positively to the challenge.
and they are all
by popi
aside personal political ambitions an<
essary, measures.
Republican or Democrat, they are all politicians,
elected by popular vote. It is a rare politician indeed who will set
id call for unpopular, yet nec-
Preaching morality to kids vm Te
stop impending AIDS epidemic
decide T
the state
other tei
Because taxes are so unpopular, being associated with a tax in
crease is perhaps the greatest fear of politicians. Clements won his
position by adamantly denouncing tax increases during his cam
paign — yet two weeks into his term he did what was necessary and
extended a tax initiated by Mark White.
But Clements was so afraid of the effect of his decision that he
immediately announced at his State of the State address that the tax
was not his, but Mark White’s.
Instead of doing what is necessary for Texas, the Legislature is
following the unknowing orders of the majority, and, rather than
raising taxes or instituting a state income tax, it’s threatening the fu
ture of our state by slashing education even more. Most Texans sim
ply don’t understand that such a quick-fix manuever will effectively
shape Texas’ future into a state of paralysis.
Instead of responding to Clements’ tax challenge, critics will con
tinue to sit on their hands and lend sympathetic ears to the public’s
. cry for a balanced budget, with no cuts in state programs and absolu
tely no tax increases.
If Texas is to patch up its budget problems and sever its oil-well
noose, everyone will have to pay — not just the minorities.
Back when I
was a legislative
reporter and abor
tion was a red-hot
issue, I discovered
something by talk
ing to people on
both sides of the
controversy. For
some of them,
abortion was not
the real issue at all.
Sex was, and abor-
works air commercials for condoms?
Should children have sex education as
early as the third or fourth grade or —
since most states don’t have sex educa
tion at all — should they institute it?
Pichard
Cohen
tion was just another way of arguing
about it. Maybe that is no longer the
case with abortion, but that hardly mat
ters now. AIDS has taken its place.
Despite the threat it poses, AIDS has
become just another vehicle for arguing
about sexual morality. It follows hard
on the debate over teen-age pregnancy,
in which the real problem is treated as if
it were almost besides the point. For
some, the issue is sexual freedom; for
others, it is conventional values. The
plight of teen-age girls becomes almost
incidental.
mission.
pared to the threat posed by Alii Gov. I
kills, and it has f>een doing so w ' t ^
U i ating rate. And yet people a PP°
v alues at women who wanted a® The S
and who have the same refrainl:i6-0 Tue
ually ac tive teen-agers now thirj] on Luna
have the answet foi AIDS. Fk Gubei
values are still the solution. hvo-tfiiu
1 firmed.
Cleat Iv, ii this sex-saturatedT . Clemc
suddenly turns Puritan, theprK«r na s r
rate will fall and the threat o(«PP°^ nl1
would abate. But umil that
comes over the mountain, wcilL wou .
to deal with AIDS. small cc
conferei
Of course, there is no debate about
AIDS itself. It is simply a deadly disease.
But because it is often transmitted sex
ually, the debate has centered around
what to do about it. Should TV net-
Farmers
Financial aid doesn't always come through
Recently,
President Rea
gan, in his State
of the Union ad
dress, noted that
Brian A
Koontz
Guest Columnist
the federal government was going to
tighten the belt on federal student fi
nancial aid over the forthcoming fiscal
year. He claims that these cuts will
have no detrimental effect upon the
collegiate educational system of this
country.
and deform the Texas Constitution
according to their whim? Further
more, how could the secretary of edu
cation justify punishing those students
who choose to remain in school and
receive their degrees by denying them
financial aid?
Gov. Bill Clements, in his state of
the state address, indicated that the
Legislature will, for the first time, at
tempt to offset this state’s deficit by
tapping the Permanent University
Fund, a fund which has been constitu
tionally guaranteed
from such uses.
The nation’s Secre
tary of Education, Wil
liam Bennett, has even
supported financial
aid cuts by claiming
that colleges are un
productive because
nearly one-half of all
college students drop
out of school before
receiving their de
grees.
And, closer to home, our own Di
rector of Student Financial Aid, Taft
E. Benson, made the statement in a re
cent Farmers Write column that “the
purpose of student financial aid and
need-based scholarships is to help stu
dents obtain adequate funds to meet
the cost of higher education, regard
less of family financial circumstances.”
When will the end come to all the
misconceptions, half-truths, and out
right lies which are being perpetrated
by those in a position to control finan
cial aid for the college students of this
country? Surely no person who has
even the slightest comprehension of
the English language could profess a
belief in President Reagan’s contradic
tory remarks. Moreover, what entity
has suddenly given the legislative au
thority of this state the right to twist
Students who have had the oppor
tunity to see (or, God forbid, to com
plete) the financial aid form might
have noticed certain key concepts of
the form which will ensure that the
majority of the students in this coun
try will never be able to receive feder
ally-supported financial aid. For in
stance, a key question of the form asks
if the applicant has spent or will spend
more than six weeks during the sum
mer months of the cur
rent year and the pre-
vious year in their
parents’ residence, re
gardless of whether or
not the applicant paid
room and board. If so,
applicants are required
to submit not only a
copy of their most re
cent tax return, but a
copy of their parents’
form as well.
Even if applicants
have spent their entire college careers
supporting themselves, a shot at fi
nancial aid can be forever ruined by
living with their parents.
higher learning, that is too bad. You
say that you are not claimed as a de
pendent on your parents’ income tax?
Too bad again, since any type of fami
lial contact can make your attempts at
receiving federal financial aid null
and void.
If the federal government is so in
tent on helping the students of this
country, why does it prevent us from
deducting educational expenses from
our gross incomes? Why is it that exec
utives can wine and dine their secre
taries, yet college students cannot
even write off their tuition? To make
matters even more tortuous, schol
arships and grants are due to be taxed
by the government this year; their
claim is that the typical college student
is an irresponsible spendthrift who
splurges his or her financial aid on
cars, stereos and (God forbid again)
rent and food.
With abortion, there was not the
slightest doubt in my mind that it was in
extricably linked to the sexual-freedom
movement. Before the pill and other
contraceptive methods, abortion was
seen by some as a way out of the di
lemma posed by unwanted pregnancies.
To these people, it mattered very much
that the same forces that opposed abor
tion also opposed the selling of contra
ceptive devices and — not incidentally
— were energetic bluenoses. What was
being discussed, then, was not just a mo
mentous theological or moral issue but
rather a way of life. This was a cultural
clash, pure and simple.
There is nothing wrong with el
ing values, but there is somefcp
plain silly about thinking thattkl
ing of morality will deflect anep«
experts say is just over thehoriEi
that, we certainly will need sex®
tion, condom advertisingani
knows what else. The immer! :
lemma, after all, is not howto®'!
lues, but what to do about AIDS
By conviction (and politics), Surgeon
General C. Everett Koop should be on
the conservative side of the AIDS argu
ment. (He is a staunch aboration oppo
nent.) His problem is that his convic
tions are now corrupted by knowledge.
For protection from AIDS, he advocates
condoms and he wants the TV networks
to advertise them. For the same reason,
he advocates early sex education. For
his troubles he has been lectured on
morality and values by, among others,
Secretary of Education William Ben
nett. Having just announced that grad
uation rates fell, Bennett somehow
thinks the schools can do for values
what they cannot do for math and read
ing.
don’t hold your breath — tee:i
abandon “Dallas” for the witi
Secretary Bennett.
As with abortion and teenff
nancy, the debate over AIDS
ducted by people who choose to«
symbolic terms. Those who iniii
word “values” as if the word tf
rhetorical condom are predstl
people least at risk. Bennett,fori
no teenager who feels compelldI
ually experiment or whobelievfi:
activity is in consonance
with trf
The problem is that we can ill-afford
the old debate. Abortion and teen-age
pregnancy are not trivial matters, but
they are almost inconsequential corn-
style of his or her peer
and others seek to hold the popi
most at risk — sexually actiwi
people — to conventional sexui|
and, in effect, punish them forll
sent. With AIDS, the conseu/.
norance is hardly bliss.
Koop, who’s hardly a hippi
agrees. For him, AIDS is nolo®
or not just — a symbolofasoctf
the way of Sodom and GomoT
horrific disease. As surgeongEp
wants to do something imn:c
save lives. With due respecti
who disagree with him
Saving lives is the highest valuer*
Washington
Copyright
Group
1986,
This magical form, which, in effect,
automatically weeds out students
whose parents fit in the middle-in
come bracket, requests a $7 processing
fee, which can be waived if students
demonstrate a financial need. Of
course, the financial aid form is pri
marily designed to determine this.
As long as the only people college
students have to look up to are pup
pets such as Gov. Bill Clements and
Taft E. Benson — who gladly propa
gate the federal government’s view on
financial aid and the education-re
strictive actions and policies of Presi
dent Reagan and Secretary Bennett —
the majority of college students in this
country will continue to struggle for
what should be available equally and
non-prejudicially to all — a quality ed
ucation.
Brian A. Koontz is a safety engi
neering graduate student
Mail Call
Students With Children
All in all, the form is a way to guar
antee that only minorities (through
special federal and state scholarships)
and those below the poverty line re
ceive financial aid. If you are white,
your parents make $30,000 per year,
and if they are currently sending two
of your siblings to institutions of
Columns submitted for Farmers Write should be be
tween 700 and 850 words. The editorial staff reserves
the right to edit for grammar, style and length, but will
make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each
column must be signed and must include the major,
classification, address and telephone number of the
writer. Only the author’s name, major and classifica
tion will be printed.
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to the Feb. 1 1 letter to the editor fromCha^
Bruce Jones. He was wondering if there are any other single parentsoa
campus and, if so, why they haven’t formed an organization.
I’d like to let Charles and the other student-parents on campuskno* l | A
there is an organization forming called Students With Children. The p ’p
organization is for all students raising a family — not just those like Cto ! I
who are single. Students With Children has had an organizationalmeelif| I
the constitution was drafted and officers elected. It is currently in thepi* 1 ] |
of being officially recognized by the University. Some of the purposesof ; |
group are to share interests and concerns and to provide outings fortk j
children and parents. We hope to form a babysitting co-op to gyve memJ
an occasional break from the constant demands of parenting.
If Charles or other students are interested in joining Students With
Children, they should contact the Student Activities Office. It may beat'
time before Students With Children is listed as a recognized organizatiof 1
keep trying! We are here to provide support and share ideas.
Rachel Kennedy
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the ' ^
for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter misthk J
must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer.