Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, March 13, 1987
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Opinion
Life’s not a beach if you’re stuck in this towi
It’s the Friday
before Spring
Break and you’re
reading The Bat
talion. I guess that
means y o u’r e
stuck in beautiful
Bryan-College
Station over the
holiday, just like
me. Aren’t you
sick of hearing
about all your
we’re going to have a productive and
fun week. If you’re in the same situa
tion, here are a few suggestions for what
to do over break.
Jo
Streit
friends plans to go to South Padre Is
land or to go skiing? Me too.
I was here in town over break about
two years ago and it was BORING. I
took a walk on campus and I didn’t see
one person. It was like someone had
dropped one of those bombs that kill ev
erybody but leave the buildings. Well,
this year it’s gonna be different. One of
my best friends is staying in town and
The most important thing to do is get
a tan, especially if all your friends are
going to the beach. Don’t forget that
even your friends who go skiing are
bound to get some sun on their face, so
don’t stay indoors and eat the whole
week. It’s bad enough you have to stay
in town, just make sure you don’t adver
tise it afterwards with a gleaming white
complexion.
While you’re tanning, whether it’s at
the pool or in a tanning salon, pray for
rain. If it rains not only will your friends
come back white, but they won’t have
any great beach stories to tell you.
There’s nothing worse than hearing
what a great time everybody else had
while you stayed home with your ham
ster.
Who’s running this show?
In 1976, I went
to California and,
with a colleague,
wrote an article
for Esquire on
Ronald Reagan.
For lots of reasons
— his antipathy
towards civil
rights, his hostility
to the poor and his
support of the
Vietnam War — I
Russian language of its word for free
dom by claiming its nonexistence, sub
mitted unbalanced budgets while saying
otherwise and, just recently, seemed to
be the last person in Washington to
learn that the Israelis were instrumental
in the Iran arms deal.
Richard
Cohen
was hardly a Reagan fan. But I was still
surprised by what I learned in Sacra
mento: Reagan had been something of a
figurehead governor.
“He’s a guy who will sit at his desk
and look like a president, and act like a
president, but he would not be a presi
dent and would not think like a presi
dent,” a Reagan political ally said back
then “He’s incapable of making a phone
call on his own. He makes calls at the re
quest of his staff. My questions under
those circumstances would be, ‘Who’s
running the country? Who’s the presi
dent or presidents?”’
Until the Iran-Contraaffair, thought,
no reports of Reagan’s lack of attention
or his penchant for whacky anecdotes
seemed to matter. Congress passed a
Reagan fiscal program that then Senate
Majority Leader Howard Baker called a
“riverboat gamble.” He threw the dice
anyway and it’s been snake-eye deficits
ever since. Earlier, George Bush vetted
Reagan’s economic proposals, and
called them “voodoo economics.” El
evated to the vice presidency, he tai
lored his math to fit Reagan’s assertions.
It is convenient now for some to la
ment the Reagan described in the
Tower commission report and say that’s
not the Reagan of old. And they have a
bit of a case. Surely, the president has
aged and at 76 can not have the energy
he once had. But in general, the Reagan
of today is not substantially different
from the one who governed California
for two terms and the United States for
one. He is intellectually lazy.
Where Bush and Baker led, much of
Washington followed. With little faith in
Reagan’s intellectual abilities, the politi
cal community nevertheless pro
nounced as sound programs that were
merely popular. The budget deficit, the
trade deficit, the debacle in Lebanon
and, indeed, in all the Middle East, got
measured only by Gallup. As long as the
president remained popular, Washing
ton went to his party.
That is a harsh assessment, to be sure.
But there is plenty of evidence to back it
up — and it has been there all along.
From his early days as president, almost
every Reagan press conference has been
followed by a press briefing in which his
statements have been clarified or cor
rected. Some of them were whoppers,
but we were assured they hardly mat
tered. Inexplicably, this president did
not need to know his facts — everything
from what exactly was in his tax pro
gram (he said Don Regan would ex
plain) to the essence of his arms nego
tiating position (he said George Shultz
would explain.)
Fake “Star Wars.” The use of that pe
jorative makes conservatives scream, but
it’s a useful way of ridiculing Reagan’s
inflated idea of what is possible. No one
argues that the Strategic Defense Initia
tive could be of limited use. But almost
no one thinks it can do what the presi
dent says it can; render nuclear weap
ons obsolete. Vet Republicans and Dem
ocrats who know better support the
program for their own reasons, not car
ing that they lend support to Reagan’s
fantastic and unreal concept.
Reagan has consistently concocted
figures and facts to suit himself. In
1976, he asserted that baseball was in
terpreted through the efforts of base
ball announcers. As president, he deseg
regated by rhetoric a racially segregated
South African society, deprived the
For Reagan, movies are the ultimate
reality. So let me cite one — “Singing In
the Rain,” a classic about the early days
of talking-pictures. The last scene of the
movie takes place at a film premiere
where the star, a former silent-screen
actess with a screechy voice, is asked to
sing before a live audience. She agrees
only when the person who had always
dubbed her movie voice, Debbie Rey
nolds, is placed behind the curtain to do
the actual singing. The actress mouths
the words, Reynolds sings and then, to
the shock and delight of the audience,
the curtain is pulled. The actress is un
masked.
Because several members of the
The Battalion editorial board will
lx* attending the Columbia Schol
astic Press Association Conference
in New York City from March 11 -
14, some of the columns this week
will not appear on their regular
days.
The Tower commission pulled the
curtain on Reagan. But no one is enti
tled to feel surprised, nor is there any
cause for glee. A popular president is
what he has always been — more popu
lar than presidential — and not substan
tially different from the man who once
governed California. Back then, even
his friends wondered who would be
running the country. A decade later, the
Tower commission supplied the answer:
a lieutenant colonel named North.
Copyright 1986, Washington Post Writers Group
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&rM 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&rM administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents.
J'he 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&rM 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
guest.
Our address: 1'he Battalion, Department of Journalism, Texas
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, De
partment of Journalism. Texas A&rM University, College Station
TX 77843-4111.
Another thing you might think about
doing while your in town is studying. I
know what you’re thinking, “Study! I
deserve this break and I refuse to pick
up a book, much less read it.” Believe
me I see your point, but just think of the
satisfaction you’ll get out of making
your friends feel guilty for having fun
without you. You can tell them that
you’ve finished all your reading for the
rest of the semester and leave them the
number of the bar where you can be
reached.
hours as possible. You’ll be getting a
paycheck the week everyone else gets
back in town. While they complain
about how much money they spent
drinking beer, you can go shopping at
the mall. If you’re stuck in town because
you were too broke to go anywhere, you
might think about trying to make a few
dollars this week.
can be on Late Night with David
ii n
• Call your parents and tell thenj ■ m
don’t remember getting this montliij 1
lowance. If President Reagan can JI
as an excuse, maybe you can too.
• Leave parking tickets on UniitJ
Police cars.
It’s also a good thing to tell your par
ents. “Hi mom, I just called to say hello.
“I’ve been at the library all week while
my roommates were in Miami. “No
mom, I’m having a great time. Sigh.”
Look for a check or care package in the
mail the following week.
Another good thing to accomplish
over break is to clean your room. Of
course, cleaning is never fun, but it’s
one of those things that you have to do
each semester. Who knows what you’ll
find — lost keys, money, your room
mate. And if you get the urge, wash
your car. Remember, it hasn’t rained
this month.
Of course if you finish this lis
can’t think of anything else to do,
yourself to a night out on the town
ter all, you won’t have any problem
ting a parking space. You can prok vlt | K j (
jount
est in
If you’re in town over break because
you have to work, try to get as many
If you accomplish all this, here are a
few more things to do:
• Write your congressman.
• Teach your pet stupid tricks so you
have the table of your choice atam
taurant and there won’t be long line
local clubs to get in or get a drink ■ ier of
even if you don’t get anything act: ie’s PI
plished this next week, just relax
have fun. You’ll have plenty of thini
do once school starts back up.
Jo Streit is a senior journalism mi
and a columnist forThe Battalion
PRE5IDENT/AL QUIZ *
1. WHICH PRESIDENT BROKE THE LAW?
!/
Z. WHICH PRESIDENT MADE A "MISTAKE ?
I
B.
cb
NIXON
REAGAN
^ MORE TAN
ONE ANSWER
MAY BE
correct
Wa<
Mail Call
We're not Geeks!
EDITOR:
Jo Streit, and the rest of the Battalion Editorial Board for
giving journalism honor and prestige at Texas A&M.
Dale Poage ’88
Once again, The Battalion has lived up to its
reputation as a liberal rag, resorting to cheap shots and
bias reporting in order to achieve some unclear objective. I
am referring to the recent wave on negativism printed here
toward Greek Organizations on campus. (Notice that I
spelled Greek correctly, not forgetting the “r”) Two
examples painfully stand out.
Bad Ag
EDITOR:
In the At Ease edition focusing on Greeks, the staff
tried to present an unbiased report on Greeks. The social
aspects and financial responsibilities were well reported.
However, the community activities of the “social”
fraternities were not cited. We offer much more to the
community than empty beer cans. What was more
appalling was the uncalled for, juvenile jab in the Mar. 4
Battalion. In the IFC advertisment, the word “Greek” was
printed “Geek.” One of two things happened: It was
simply a misprint, proving the incompetence of your
proofreaders or it was a sophomoric attempt by the
advertising staff to get a laugh. I suggest from now on you
leave the snide, unappreciated comments to Mike Sullivan,
of and-Corps fame.
Fon Avant ’89
If I recall correctly, the Aggie Code of Honor is based
on a doctrine which has been an unwritten law of
Aggieland fqr many years. It states: an Aggie doesn't lie,
cheat or steal and will not tolerate those who do.
Recently, I was studying in the study lounge by Dorm8
on the Quadrangle when I decided to take a study break,
When I returned, much to my dismay, my two most
expensive books had been stolen. In no way am I blaming
the Corps of Cadets, (because civilians study there, too),or
anyone for that matter, but it really upsets me that this
happened. Whoever took my books had the chance to take
my checkbook, credit cards, cash, two pairs of silk sweats,
softball equipment, not to mention all my notes to
accompany the stolen books.
Whoever and wherever you are, I hope you enjoy
them because I did. Besides, it cost me a fortune to replace
them.
Good job
EDITOR:
Moreover, a good friend of mine recently had his
books stolen from a LOCKED locker in the Commons.
Bravo, Jo Streit, and, indeed, the entire Battalion
Editorial Board for a splendid commentary on the object
narrow-mindedness of “so many people at this
University.” As scruplulous, reputable journalists you have
again proved your integrity to be above question by
printing the utterly deplorable and “meritless complaints”
of so many mean letters written to Mail Call.
I often wonder what has happened to this campus —
the friendliness, honesty, and the conduct of the students
I hope those of you who have taken these books enjoy
yourselves, because it’s BAD BULL and in my book you’re
a BAD AG!
Terri Hester
The misled people who believe the sun rises and sets
on the A&M campus would have to be blind not to see the
burning importance of cultural tolerance at Texas A&M,
which you and your sensational cohorts have so inessantly
fanned over the years. As long as mule-headed Mail Call
ers keep bragging about bad condiment advice and
offensive air traffic, all of us tolerant Aggies deeply hope
you keep kickin’ ’em in the mouth to shut ’em up and open
their minds.
No tooth fairy
EDITOR:
Last September, I went to a dental office advertised in
The Battalion. The dentist informed me that I had a cavity
and because it was on a surface with another tooth facing
it, the cost would be higher than normal — $50.
If not for your controversial spur to prick fightin’
Aggie opinions about fightin’ Aggie traditions and fightin’
Aggie lifestyles and fightin’ Aggie foods and the Fightin’
Aggie Band, “restless” Ags might give to condescend to
write Mail Call about irrelevant world and national events
or the clouded future of our generation. Indeed, our
reputation as a world-class university would be threatened
by such degradable ideas because in the eyes of the world
Aggies are above such quibling profundities. Thank you,
I did not get it filled last semester, so this semester 1
went for another cleaning before having my cavity filled. 1
went to a friend’s dentist this time and was amazed to
discover that I had no cavity.
So, whenever you go to a dentist, look at X-rays and ask
questions to make sure you are being treated honestly.
Carmen Currie ’87
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial s/f
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 ih
classif ica tion, address and telephone n umber of the writer.
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