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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
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America’s obsession
beauty
strange ways — sometimes deadly ways as in the case of Houstonian
Patsy Howell
Seeking to trim down her 5-foot-1-inch, 120-pound frame before
her family vacation, the 39-year-old mother of two decided to un
dergo suction-assisted lipectomy, a surgical procedure to remove fat
deposits by suction.
Unfortunately, the medical world can’t always be relied upon for
sound advice, and the surgery killed Howell. Her death was a tra
gedy, but the events leading up to her death transcend the definition
of tragedy.
The judgmental stares, whistles and comments directed mostly
at the women of our society win more business for companies selling
weight-loss products, tanning services and cosmetics than advertisers
could ever hope to achieve.
There’s a mentality among men and women in our society as is
reflected in our TV programs, advertising and daily conversation
that not only encourages women to strive for Sex-Goddess status, but
condemns tnem for not doing so.
And the mentality is not lost on the Texas A&M campus.
Each semester, The Battalion receives letters from concerned
students — with the bulk of them coming in the spring — about ha
rassment of young women, overweight or not.
Speaking up and defending an individual against the verbal
abuse of others has nothing to do with chivalry, but it has everything
to do with courage and compassion. Hopefully, those values haven’t
been completely replaced rjy the mentality that caused Howell’s
death.
After all, beauty is supposed to be only skin deep, but the callous
ness of others can cut all the way to the bone.
Talk some sense to the boy, Harry... He wants to quit art school
and study medicine instead... ”
Tyler
'erry W
Washi
between
defense,
overage
The m
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ivhich co
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Local
Peer pressure better than law
Almost every
one has gone out
to a bar or club on
a Friday night, es
pecially after a
rough week, and
gotten drunk.
This isn’t a shock
ing statement to
most people. What
is shocking is a
number of people
who drive them
selves home afterward,
public outcry from
the issue and legislative efforts to
toughen DWI laws, people continue to
drink and drive.
And despite
organizations like
MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driv
ers), extensive coverage by the media on
Passing the buck American style
1 guess the most frustrating question
to answer is why do people drink and
drive? It would seem after all the public
ity about the dangers of drinking and
driving, not to mention the legal re
sponsibilities if arrested for DWI, that
people would stop drinking and driv
ing. Apparently, we humans are a little
slower than that. Look at all the public
ity about the dangers of cigarette smok
ing. The commcrical with the late Yul
Brynner who died from lung cancer is
enough to make most smokers put out
the cigarette they’re puffing on. But as
soon as the spot is over, they light up an
other one.
Co
witl
dents can get alcohol, you betterW frT^I
18- to 20-year olds are even iw * *
way
with
i < >
alco
solve
mi a
problems asso:,
high scM
t* identification art!
t or underage
telling young af
Dr. D<
College
A&M, h
late for
sity of M
Cor rig
o be noi
inalist
:er reflec
lecided I
hancellc
If the Reagan
Revolution was
erected on a tri
pod of morality,
ideology and be
nign greed, then
bad news has cer-
tainly come in
threes. First came
the insider-trad
ing scandal, then
the one about sell
ing arms to Iran
Richard
Cohen
ways an all or nothing proposition for
them — sin or virtue. They acknowl
edge only the either/or of life, not its
counfounding relativity. That makes
their plight only worse. For instance,
Bakker attributes his sexual dalliance
not to lust, but to an attempt to make his
wife jealous — an adultery to promote a
better marriage. Believe him if you will,
and then call me for a swell deal on the
Brooklyn Bridge.
and now the admission by the evangelist
Jim Bakker that he had a wee sexual in
terlude with a church worker: Greed-
gate, Irangate and Godgate — as usual,
money is missing.
Of them all, Godgate is certainly the
most alluring if only because it involves
sex. Bakker, a minister with a TV parish
numbering in the millions, has resigned
as the head of the PTL (Praise the Lord)
Club and turned things over to the Rev.
Jerry Falwell. He admits to having paid
$115,000 in blackmail to keep his tryst
quiet and attributes his public shaming
to an attempt by someone to mount a
Hostile takeover of his ministry.
The underlying theme of hypocrisy
in the Bakker scandal is a rich vein that
should be mined to its fullest. It has the
widest application and goes to the heart
of what are often called the social issues
— the soul of the Reagan Revolution.
It’s hard to believe that abortion, which
they want banned, they would have
themselves, if they had to. The homo
sexuality they condemn as a whimsical
perversion they don’t connect to the
urges that drive them to their own
brand of sin. They prescribe traditional
values for families buffeted by eco
nomic and social forces beyond their
control — offering placebos out of the
Reader’s Digest for the real ailments of
contemporary America.
bucks by a bunch of leisure-suited char
latans. But to their flock, this is tragedy,
and one that unfortunately sullies evan
gelists who are beyond reproach. Even
the habitually gullible can catch the
scent of money and power: the need for
funds to erect Potemkin Village theme
parks in which a contrived past is cre
ated in the synthetic present. The world
of the religious hucksters exists only on
TV and in Divinity Lands — places of
constant values and carpentered nostal
gia.
More recent is our nation’s campaign
against drugs, but will the war on drugs
work? How many people do you think
have given up drugs because of warn
ings from Linda Evans, Nancy Reagan
and other celebrities? Even rock stars
who use to be synonymous with wild
times and drug use have appeared on
TV to warn against the dangers of
drugs.
But, as always, the false past has been
vanquished by the all-too-real present.
Headlines announce a hotel-room tryst
and a financial empire goes into spiri
tual receivership. The people hurt by
the scandal are the true believers who
thought they could stave off the trou
bles of modern life. In this, they were
encouraged by the political establish
ment. It babbled its own version of the
old-time religion: Greed is good; anti
communism is always virtuous and so
cial problems can be eradicated by just
saying no.
However, the problem of alcohol
abuse is still paramount because alcohol
is easily accessible and highly acceptable
in our society. Children may never see
their parents take drugs, but you can bet
most children have seen their parents
drink alcohol. These kids may have
even seen their parents drunk. It’s only
natural for children who grow up in an
environment where alcohol is accepta
ble to accept drinking as a normal part
of entertaining. Unfortunately, some
children learn about alcohol use from
an alcoholic parent. In no way am I sug
gesting we eliminate alcohol, but rather
a sincere effort on the part of our so
ciety to change the norms associated
with alcohol use.
sourceful. Fak
commonplace
Instead of
they're not old enough to
we should educate them ataneart
to be responsible. In mam Eurg
countries, children are constant!
rounded bv alcohol, especially di
meals. But instead of beingarayste
talxx), alcohol is treated with ihtt )ost at , a
monness of bread. Children often
drinking alcohol as a decision that
In- met w ith i esp<msiblebehaviodi \&M.
I went to Spain, none of the' 1
Spaniards I meet would even to
ered getting drunk at a barord
they were driving.
Of course, state legislators si
the problem of trying to preventd:
driving. Another open-container
has won approval in the Senateit
currently under review by the Hi
quor Regulations Committee. W
two previous defeats on similar!:
appears this time the open-coi
measure will become law. Thisb
will affect the driver. Passengensli
be allowed to consume alcoholini
tor vehicle.
“So fat
lents at
lore tha
p with t
ny parti(
orrigan
iring it tc
As with the other scandals, this one
begs for the appointment of an investi
gatory commission or a special prosecu
tor. (John Tower, where are you when
we need you?) There are many ques
tions to be answered: How does anyone
launch a hostile takeover of a ministry
in which no shares are traded? Why
didn’t Bakker simply deny his 15-min
ute “sexual interlude” and tell his quar
ter-hour Delilah to go fly a kite? Were
there, possibly, other 15-minute inter
ludes, so many of them that maybe over
the last decade Bakker has spent a total
of three and one-half hours in illicit sex?
For some, the current scandal
amounts to low comedy, a battle for
The present troika of scandals are
rooted in the simplicity of those catch-
phrases. Like all simple truths, they are
too simple to be always true.
Copyright 1986, Washington Post Writers Group
I can remember in high school what a
challenge it was to find and consume al
cohol. It was standard practice for many
students to get drunk before the foot
ball game or any other social occasion.
Getting drunk was something to brag
about. Raising the drinking age isn’t the
Passage of the open-containerEi
logical step in trying to deal wil
drinking and driving pro
some legislators feel the law wilt
enforceable. Others say theb"-
ignored by the public, much like lit
mph-speed-limit law. Whateveriltl
suit, it’s a step in the right direcw
cause many people will probably
voluntarily. Even if they don'tobc
law, it will be another attempt tout 1
clear how our society views diii
and driving. Maybe adults are toot I
their ways or too stubbo mi tocfe!
but children more often thannc
spond positively to values deeim
portant by society. Increased ab
and direct honest messages;
abuse, alcohol abuse and the
cigarette smoking can only
our children safe.
Jo Streit is a senior journalisin' 1
and a columnist for The Battalion
When it comes to Bakker, two emo
tions collide. The first is scorn. His in
cessant fund-raising, his hyper-hypoc
risy and his rigid orthodoxy are hardly
to be admired. He is a salesman of salva
tion, a religious rainmaker who sold the
unattainable to the gullible but attained
a Palm Springs house for himself. He
preached what he himself could not
practice. His wife was addicted to pre
scription drugs, he had succumbed to
lust and yet on countless TV sets he
bubbled a message that was beyond his
own reach.
But the second emotion is compas
sion. Bakker and his flock, indeed many
of the evangelical ministers, are like
rigid buildings in a high wind. They
have no give and so they snap. It is al-
Mail Call
Flat world?
EDITOR:
Are you sure you’re not really the president of the Texas A&M “Rat
Society,” Lawrence?
Bob Breene ’82
This is yet another response to the March 25 column in Farmers Writeby
Frank Lawrence entitled “Creationism is as scientific ^as evolution.” I say this
because I sincerely hope many letters have and will be published to correct the
unequaled gush of nonsense Lawrence unleashed on the Opinion Page.
A cut above
EDITOR:
To outline the torrent, lots of people misinterpret the laws of
thermodynamics. It’s OK Lawrence, you’re not alone. Many folks also know
how to spell DNA and genetics, and that’s about the extent of their knowledge
on the subject. So all right, you didn’t do well in Geology, lots of people find it
very difficult. And, Lawrence, I didn’t expect you to know about the detailed
evolution of horses known from the fossil record, just one example drawn from
many. Nor did I expect you to know anything about the fact that entomologists
and botanists, among others, have witnessed speciation, where one species
becomes two reproductively isolated species, a basic tenet of evolution. Let’s not
even consider what you frothed about astronomy, Lawrence. All this is easily
forgiven. You just need a few more years of reading, learning and thinking. No
problem.
I am tired of having the same justification for just about every project
undertaken at A&M these days. Namely, that we are trying to becomea"v
class” university. What bothers me about the use of this vague, catch-all term 1 '
that it seems to suggest that if we try hard enough and are lucky, maybe
someday Texas A&M will rank right up there with the great universities of tl> (
world.
What’s not so easy to pass over, Lawrence, is your putting two mutually
exclusive words together in the same sentence. Every time someone does this, it’s
the equivalent of their putting on a clown suit and running about in populated
areas waving a huge red flag while shouting “The moon is green cheese. The
moon is green cheese!” into a megaphone. Those words Lawrence, in case you
haven’t guessed, are “scientific” and “creationism.” Greationism is in no way
related to science and vice versa.
Well, I’ve got news for those who (most of whom never attended A&Mas
students) casually throw that term around. No matter how many bell towers" 1
build or how many high-dollar profs we hire (or lose), A&M is and will always
in a class by itself. A cut above the rest. Gig’em Aggies 1
Joseph P. Newton ’81
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to editItW
style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must be signed aid 1
include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer.
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit 10:
style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent. Each letter must besigni
include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer.
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