Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 3, 1987
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
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, De
partment of Journalism, Texas A&M University, College Station
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Bail out of jet vow
Since taking office six weeks ago, Bill Clements has made a habit
of breaking campaign promises: While taxpayers may not appreciate
the governor reneging on his vow not to raise taxes, his determin
ation to sell the gubernatorial jet is one promise that needs breaking.
The jet, a Mitsubishi Diamond 1 A, was purchased by the state for
former Gov. Mark White to replace a 20-year-old Grumman G-l.
While many question the luxuries built into the Diamond 1, its oper
ating costs are less than the Grumman’s.
At the moment, however, the jet is little more than a hangar
filler. Few other state agencies rent the jet because the state has other
aircraft that cost much less and work just as well. So, given Clements’
aversion to the plane, his vow to sell it seems like the best course of
action.
It’s no secret that the plane is a frill that our financially trauma
tized state could do without. After all, if future governors want a
plane, they can settle for one of the less luxurious — but just as effi
cient — Beechcraft King Air 200 propeller-driven planes the state
owns. In a time of budget crises, the governor does not always have
to fly first-class.
Clements decision to purge the state of such overly affluent
transportation is admirable. Unfortunately, the plane that cost the
state $>3.1 million in 1984 is now worth only about $800,000.
Taking into account hangar and maintenance costs, it’s still
cheaper for the state to keep the Diamond 1A. Given the descent of
the Texas ecomony, adhering to Clements campaign promise to sell
it only would make the worst of a bad situation.
As long as the state is stuck with what Texas Republican Party
Chairman George Strake calls “a fully loaded Cadillac with deluxe
accessories,” Clements may as well get our money’s worth out of it.
So far, the governor has paid little heed to his own promises. He
shouldn’t start with the jet.
Opinion :l
Income -contingent loans
are a long-term disaster
While Southern
Methodist Uni
versity is under
going the NCAA-
mandated demise
of its football pro
gram, college stu
dents across the
country are in
danger of suffer
ing a slower and
more painful
death penalty.
In an effort to curb federal spending
on student loans without increasing the
burden placed on the borrowers, the
Reagan Administration has proposed
tying student loan repayments to the
borrowers’ post-graduation incomes.
Students who get lower-income jobs
would have more time to pay off college
debts than those who land higher-pay
ing jobs. The government would no
longer have to subsidize interest rates
and, theoretically, defaults would de
crease if payments were easier to make.
So everybody’s happy, right? Stu
dents can once again afford to be jour
nalists and teachers because they’ll get a
break on paying their debts. And the
government can save money. But, like
most things that sound to good to be
true, so-called Income-Contingent
Loans are.
The idea first was proposed by econ
omist Milton Friedman 40 years ago,
but the same problems that plagued the
plan then still exist today. During the
1970s, Duke and Yale tried programs
similar to the one the administration is
proposing. Both failed.
There are several problems inherent
to fixing loan repayments to income.
First, depending on income, it could
take a lifetime to pay back a loan. As in
terest rates increase, low-income bor
rowers could wind up paying three
times as much as the original amount of
the loan.
Students planning to have children
had better plan on high-paying jobs, lest
they be repaying their own college debts
at the same time they are funding their
children’s college education.
From a student standpoint, the only
way to afford a self-funded college edu
cation under the new loan program is
the same as it is now — get a high-pay
ing job or file for Chapter 11.
At best, the ICLs are a poor trans
action. Students would be expected to
commit to loan agreements with no idea
what payments will have to be made.
The administration seems to feel that
the ICL program is the only way for the
government to continue higher educa
tion assistance, but it doesn’t take a high
school diploma to see that the ICLs are a
bad investment.
The ICLs won’t make it easier on col
leges, either. In fact, in an attempt to
save the government money, the admin
istration simply is shifting the expenses
onto the backs of colleges and universi
ties. Colleges would be required to keep
track of former students’ debts and col
lect the yearly payments. In addition,
salaries would have to be monitored,
and university collection agencies would
have to acquire copies of alumni’s tax
forms.
Under the ICL program, students
would be required to pay between 5.75
percent and 9 percent of their after-tax
income. Under the current Guaranteed
Student Loan Program, students aver
age only about 5 percent.
Secretary of Education William J.
Bennett has lauded the new program as
“the single greatest advancement in stu
dent aid in over a decade.” The admin
istration apparently agrees. It’s asking
Congress to appropriate $600 million
for ICLs in fiscal 1988.
It’s a
ead b
ach ca
yell 1
th^iS
ected
ige Stat
g speci
(ball g;
Tomn
nusmg
The administration justifies the pro
gram’s shortcomings by saying taxpay
ers shouldn’t have “to dig deeper inio
their pockets” and that students should
start paying their own way
school.
Such an appeal to the American worlEgjfjjK
ethic sounds wonderful. But even thtjunklen
most self-centered taxpayer must real®
that a well-educated society is beneficial
to all. Educating America’s youth should
be a societal concern — a capital >nves[b iaron
ment in the future brainstock of thenaJL
tion. ■
The same taxpayers the governmei:
says are tired of paying for college loan|
— the “taxicab driver and the steelwoi
ker” as Deputy Under Secretary of EdiiL
cation Bruce M. Carnes refers to thempN
— pay school taxes in their local commiijlI ■
nities, even if they don’t have childremrU
school, to ensure that all members oftHTT^ T
community are provided with an equal*■
quality education.
For that matter, taxicab drivers and
steelworkers may be relying on studea;
loans to fund their children’s collegeed
ucation. If those children relied ondj
f ares alone, college might not be achicj
vable — even with ICLs.
A Nev
dieted
sault in
it-and-n
T he administration’s motives for ertf 11 ^^
ating the ICL program had the interes j^hitRu
of both the government and the sums motor
dents in mind. But somewhere in allihyftrking
student-loan-revampine furvor, thest.P reet -
* * | Williarr
Iriend, w
dent aspect was
any cost was the
ost. Saving money
only concern that t*^"
mained. Bilure to
By comparison, SMU is lucky. Thpneofth<
“death penalty” levied against its foot Bob Wi
ball program was administered with arH™*, sail
iftng. Will
abrupt press conference. Students ni ^ !' :,i
find it difficult to deal with their loss« u ^ ( j a[ 1 e a
but in the long run it will be far c U t re r,
painful than the financial strangulatii the accide
they have been sentenced to by the Reaieveral da;
gan administration. Bexas Inst
Loren Steffy is a journalism gra(/iut!r‘ i ‘ )l *‘ tat ’ 01
and editor forThe Battalion.
Dancing on the ceiling
Lewis
Grizzard
Each time I visit
lovely Savannah,
Ga., I recall the
spring of 1963
when I was here, a
boy of 16, and the
azaleas were in
bloom. I was a
member of the
Key Club at my
high school. I
don’t recall exactly
what being in the
Key Club involved, but I was a member
of it and felt accepted and that makes
growing up a lot easier. They held a
state Key Club convention in Savannah
that year, and I went. Some of us
bought some beer and drank it in our
hotel rooms.
We also went to one of the convention
meetings out of curiosity and a boy from
Atlanta, who wore thick glasses and
pants that were too short, gave a speech
on the importance of being good rep
resentatives of our schools, commu
nities, and parents while we were out of
town.
I felt a little guilty about the beer, but
the feeling soon passed. Our Key Club
sweetheart also went to the state con
vention that year. Every Key Club chap
ter had a sweetheart. I’m not sure why
that was, either, but it made sense 24
years ago. Our sweetheart had red hair
and I was in love with her. Our princi
pal knew what he was doing when he
made her stay in a different hotel than
the boys in our group. I had tried to get
somewhere with our sweetheart before,
but I always stammered and looked
down at my feet a lot when I tried to talk
to her.
Normally, I never said a lot of “oh’s”
and “ah’s” and “you know’s” in conver
sation, but when I tried to talk to our
redheaded sweetheart, I always
sounded like a baseball player being in
terviewed on TV.
“I, uh, ah, you know, I, you know, I
uh, you know . . .,” I would begin, and
by that time she and her red hair would
be looking for somebody without an ap
parent speech impediment. But there
was that one glorious time in Savannah
at the state Key Club convention. There
was a dance contest, and you don’t have
to talk when you dance.
Members drew straws to see who
would get to dance with our sweetheart
in the contest.
I won.
There were maybe 50 couples en
tered in the contest. The band played
“Stay,” by Maurice Williams and the Zo
diacs.
My partner and I were one of four fi
nalists. And then there was only one
other couple to challenge us.
My feet were winged and I was
rhythm and grace, elegance and style,
and I didn’t sweat nearly as much as I
usually did when I danced.
We won the dance contest, and some
body took a picture of us kissing on the
mouth while holding our trophies. I
may have felt that good two other times.
There isn’t very much more to this
story, I continued to make a fool of my
self when I tried to talk to our sweet
heart later, and she married somebody
else and so did I.
But I still have my trophy and I still
smile gently when I think of her, the
dance contest, and the spring of 1963
when I was in Savannah, a boy of 16,
and the azaleas were in bloom.
P.S.: Our principal passed on several
years ago, so I don’t think I’m going to
get in any trouble for telling the part
about the beer.
Copyright 1986, Cowles Syndicate
V£ KEEP OFF THE
GRASS BECAUSE WE'RE
PROUD OF OUR SCHOOL
Mail Call
Take five
EDITOR:
I finally agree with a Mike Sullivan column,
almost. Obviously, the residents of Walton’s E ramp
were treated unjustly and their eviction will probably
not accomplish Jay Lemons’ stated objective, that
being “to provide a living environment that is
supportive to the academic mission of this
University.” What I quarrel with are Sullivan’s
continuous, unprovoked jabs at the Corps of Cadets.
He says, “There are approximately 2,000 cadets
living in an environment far more threatening to
academics than that of E ramp.” Of course, Sullivan
would have no way of validly supporting this claim.
Sullivan has made it abundantly clear that the Corps
average grade point average fell short of that
attained by the civilian populus last semester.
However, he continues to overlook the fact that
precisely the opposite was true exactly one semester
before. The Corps does have strong academics as
one of its major goals and has proven that it is an
attainable one. Sullivan can also be assured that no
Corps dorm resident advisor is in danger of being
assaulted by fellow residents.
Sullivan, we are all Aggies and we love our school.
Please give us a break.
Jeffrey H. Reeves ’88
Blind Batts
EDITOR:
Once again The Battalion editorial staff has
blindly leaped forward to take up the plight of the
“helpless.” In Wednesday’s column by Mike
Sullivan, Walton Hall’s E-rampers were defended
with a most amazing collection of biased
information. Claiming E-ramp’s behavior to be
typical for college kids, Sullivan forgot to include in
his list of astrocities the physical abuse of a resident
adviser, ripping a water fountain off the wall, the
deliberate flooding of an entire ramp and a number
of broken windows and light bulbs. This is all
reminiscent of my sixth-grade physical education
class.
Investigating the possibility of increased
patrolling of Walton Hall by the campus police, I
was informed by Bob Wiatt that “an effort to spread
our staff any thinner would be preposterous.” Even
if an officer could be provided, would this slow the
vandalism or make the E-ramper’s game more fun?
Further perusal of Sullivan’s column exposes an
apparent contradiction — perhaps the product of
careless writing. Claiming that dorms aren’t
conducive to the success of the academically minded,
he later noted that E ramp had 10 people with grade
point ratios of 3.0 or better. Obviously, somebodyis
doing some good. The academic problem is the
other 22 students with GPR’s of 2.9 or less. Is their
average still respectable enough to be compared to
the rest of A&M’s sub-3.0 students?
Texas A&M’s solution to a Catch-22 situation
separated the real troublemakers while taking care
not to punish the innocent. Of those who chose to
move off campus, rents were happily refunded and
clean bills of conduct were cited for many to aid
them in making the transition to off-campus
housing.
The Battalion has managed to make heroes out of
a group that no Walton resident will be sorry to see
leave. In the words of one ramp’s yell, “Hey, E
ramp! It’s been real.”
Bennie Matusek
Walton Hall vice president
Editor’s Note: The column did not condone the ac
tivities of E-ramp residents. It merely questioned tht
validity of the reasoning behind student affair's solu
tion to the problem.
LeUe^^^hTedito^hould7w^xcee^30Cn!uor3sTr^ength^f!ell
staff reserves the right to edit letters for style and length, but will mkt tv-
ery effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed ant
must include the classification, address and telephone number of lb
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