*
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
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
No choice
The National Federation for Decency already has succeeded in
taking away one of your privileges. You can no longer walk into a 7-
Eleven store and buy an adult magazine.
7-Eleven doesn’t sell the magazines anymore because the feder
ation, a group claiming a social conscience above and beyond that of
the average American, protested their sale. And the convenience-
store chain heeded the complaints.
The group is at it again. Saturday, NFD picketed 1,400 U.S. Flol-
iday Inn Motels because the organization says the hotel chain shows
pornographic (R-rated) movies.
The movies must be paid for at the hotel’s main desk, preventing
children from watching them — movies children can watch on their
own home cable stations. But the federation still objects. Apparently
the NFI) won’t be satisfied until hotel guests have no choice but to
watch movies with no nudity and no profanity.
The protests were organized by Rev. Donald Wildman, head of
the NFD, after the Missionary Baptist churches canceled their reser
vations at the Biloxi Holiday Inn where their national convention
was to be held. The group canceled because it objected to the avail
ability of R-rated movies at the hotel.
Of course, the Missionary Baptist churches have the right to
demonstrate its disapproval by canceling reservations, and the NFD
can expostulate their opinion publicly.
But if the federation once again encounters little or no resistance
f rom an Ameri i public easily censured by a moral dictatorship, we
will lose yet another choice. How many more choices can we afford
to lose?
For some, it just doesn’t add up
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Today t
Nervously, I en
tered the room
and sat down on
one of the folding
chairs arranged in
a circle in the cen
ter of the room. I
thought I’d try to
keep a low profile
since this was the
first time I had at-
tended one of
these meetings.
1 know — I have known since about
Loren
Steffy
Those terrible college criminals — Oct. 3,1928
Hazing, of course, is a barbarous
custom. Especially if one happens to
be the hazer. Six sophomores at A. &
M. have been suspended because they
exercised the time-honored right of
sophomores to chastise freshmen.
The two victims applied for permis
sion to leave college, giving as their
reason the fact that they had been
hazed. Whereupon an investigation
was started.
regulations against hazing, could do
nothing save suspend the hazers.
They had done nothing more outra
geous than participate in a boyish
prank. Nobody was hurt; maybe a
couple of them were helped, for there
are cases wherein hazing has had an
extremely salutary effect upon the
hazee.
Perhaps the college authorities, in
view of the facts and in view of the
But colleges are becoming careful.
Boyish spirits must be held sternly in
check. Hazing must be rigorously pro
hibited — that is, when the hazers are
unlucky enough to get caught.
In this particular case, we can’t re
frain from speculating upon the re
spective characters of the hazers and
the hazees. Six boys winked at a col
lege regulation; two boys “squealed,”
and asked to be allowed to quit so un
couth an institution. If you had to hire
one of the six boys or one of the two
boys, which would you select?
— Taken from “The Corpus Christi
Caller”
Bod English usage here — Oct. 4,1958
The English being used by the stu
dents at A. & M. is getting so faulty
that it is noticeable by the faculty, out
siders, and even among the students
themselves. It is a common occurrence
to hear bad usage in classes, in the
mess hall, at the gym, and at any other
place where students are gathered.
are probably done unconsciously, but
not so unconsciously that we cannot
correct our faults.
cering the form in which the letter was
written.
It is not wholly the freshmen who
are making bad usage of their gram-
mai; in fact, it is practically altogether
the upperclassmen. Surely the atmo
sphere prevailing around and on the
campus is not intended to cause bad
grammar. But all our misused words
The fact that students are using bad
English, not only in their conversa
tions, but in their class papers and re
ports has been brought to the atten
tion of the faculty, which is working to
correct our blunders.
Just being a graduate of A. & M.
will not get the graduate a job. The
English used when he is trying to con
vince the employer of his capability
will be one of the deciding factors in
the graduate’s getting employment.
It is not the slang and Aggie “cus
sing” which is bringing so much atten
tion. A letter written recently to an
employer by an A. & M. student dis
mayed the employer to such an extent
that he sent a letter to the faculty con-
Once upon a time in Aggieland fea
tures old columns and editorials
printed in The Battalion. The
material in the feature is selected by
the Opinion Page Editor and is not ed
ited for style.
the seventh grade — that I have a prob
lem. In the past 1 tried to ignore it, but
I’ve realized you can’t hide from your
troubles forever. It was time to face the
truth — I am mathmatically illiterate.
Actually, my numerical disorders are
limited mostly to higher math. I know
enough about how numbers operate to
balance my checkbook, make change
and, before I graduated, figure out
what I needed to make oh a final to pass
a class.
I don’t like numbers much, but I like
letters that masquerade as numbers
even less. When I add x + y -P 1 get
the title of an obscure movie that Three
Dog Night did the soundtrack for.
I find Greek letters that pretend to be
numbers even more disturbing. II let
ters are going to deceive you, they ought
to do it in English.
But when 1 got a job as a business re
porter, I realized that my fear of math
could inhibit my career. So 1 joined
Mathmatical lllitefates Anonymous —
MIA for short. As I’ve said, my prob
lems lie in higher math, so for me, MIA
means Missing in Algebra.
The meeting began. A man named
Frank Smith started the session.
“Hi. I’m Frank, and I’m mathmati
cally illiterate.”
“Hi, Frank,” everyone responded.
“I used to think 1 could live with my
problem. I took a dead-end job wit h few
numerical responsibilities. I fudged on a
tax return here, an invoice there. But
then the firm I worked for installed
computers, and everything was coded
with identification numbers. I couldn’t
even remember who I was, let alone
what I was supposed to do. First I lost
my job, then my family and finally my
self-respect, all because I lacked society's
lust for math.”
Everyone clapped. I was over
whelmed by Frank’s story and when it
was time for someone else to take the
seat in the center of the circle, I found
myself standing up. So much f or the low
profile.
“I’m Loren. And I’m . . . m-m-math-
matically illiterate.” I felt much better
after getting that out.
“Hi, Loren.”
“I didn’t recognize my problem ’til
my senior year in high school. I se-
ri
\RED(
ush considered abandoningcAi
betause I had to have Algebra Hit J
in. 1 muddled through, and evens ejs, chasn
aged to squeak through Math KiloiTd a bn
Texas A&M. But 1 refused totalerWl"' 1
thing higher, and I didn’t neediB^ 11 ' l * 1,
i i i r ■.■v taxes,
graduate. Even the statistics classI:: (
i arely used actual numbers.” j lv . ,1.,,, t()U
Mv fellow M1 As were ven coE.lred », wlu i
mg, and after the hour-longmeeiiTitli (><>\ |
Be Mcxii a
felt much better. I realized that,i.._
proper determination, I could i (
come my problem. L lxe s s
MIA helps millions nationwidt'ilheday. Bu
are deprived of number sense, In ; B su PP orl
course, a non-profit organization-'!^
could keep track of the boob?Inj®' 1 !I s I" 11
• . r . o Bv House
you don t nave to pay anythingj
since mans of the members can't iw inii sm
ciate the value of money. Ian propos
l nfortiinately, MIA doesnotlraM ^ ’ ^
toll free hotline like most other sef®!' 11 ', 8 !’
groups. I asked MelanieMinussigi.| uln | 1 J"^'^
regional MIA pr esident, why.
“Well, pei haps you and lei
use of such a service, but you intis:
member that not all of our raeinte
figur e out the numbers on atelepls
dial. A hotline would just be
idating for them,”shesaid.
lire local MIA provides a vantt
services for the numerica
including highly specializedconnifi
for func tional dyslectics —thatki*
pie who have no concept of etput
that begin f(x)....
MIA stresses that it is not a tif
service.
“We’re here to help those people
suffer from all forms of mathmiOi
liter acy, not laziness. MI isadiseasb
we provide the treatment
need tutoring as well asn
ing, but we’re not here to help* 1
egghead get a few' more points J
test,” Minussign says.
I’m lucky. My condition is matt’
ble. 1 can function despite my imp
ment. But others are not soforlum?
People who think they ad
through life lay dodging
related courses are only u
selves. Sooner or later, numerical®
sity will catch up with you. I
to get help before it’s too lal
to play life by the numbers.
Loren Steffy is a journalism p
and editor for The Battalion.
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Christian vomit
EDITOR:
I would like to express my most sincere thanks to Bryan Kelly
for enlightening me (April 17 letter) in regard to the Christian
formula for obtaining immortality.
the Judeo-Christian “Mein Kampf?” On one page it advocates the
extermination of homosexuals (Lev. 20:13) while saying “thou
shall not kill” on another. Is there any reasonable person who
believes the Bible’s ridiculous and cruel stories? Is there anyone
criminal enough to follow the teachings of the Old Testament or
insane enough to follow the teachings of the New?
classrooms for example. Pallmeyer’s column points this out in 2
subtle and intelligent manner.
Alex Maloy ’90
Tough luck
When you refer to Jesus, I am assuming you are talking about
the fictional character in the best-selling book of fairy tales known
as the Bible, and whose mere name causes all good Christians to
drool and slobber over themselves (similar to Pavlov’s dog).
So my dear, Kelly, you can take your Christian vomit and shove
it down someone else’s throat.
If I understand you (and the Bible) correctly, I will achieve
immortality if I submit myself to your monarch Mr. J. Christ, and
if 1 choose not to, I will be damned. It seems that bribery and
blackmail are the foundations of Christianity. According to your
formula, one can kill, rob, maim and torture and still receive
eternal life (like your fellow Christian Adolf Hitler) while a non-
Christian who leads a “good” life goes to hell. According to your
formula, every child who dies at birth or who dies before being
sufficiently brainwashed will burn in the Christian hell. According
to your formula, all members of the Jewish “faith” are condemned
(Chhstianity should have more respect toward its parent).
According to your formula, approximately 4 billion people per
generation are damned by your most merciful, loving Cod.
John Spessard
President of the Atheist, Agnostic, and Freethinker Society
Good point
EDITOR:
People tell me I must have faith. Shall I derive my faith from
This letter is in response to Karl Pallmeyer’s column “Creating
the Ultimate Textbook.” Pallmeyer raises a valid point: America
was created so a person could choose to believe in whatever he
desires, and that one belief should not take precedence over
another. This should be true whether one believes in Christianity
or believes that the world was created by a race of hyperintelligent
mice, and that the answer to the Ultimate Question is 42. Too
many Christian people assume their religion is supreme and try to
incorporate it where it does not belong — scientific textbooks and
EDITOR:
As I sit at my desk looking over my agenda for the restort
semester, my roommate, a graduating senior, boasts of alltkf®
and frolic she will enjoy during dead week while I, a junior,
slaving over my books. It is a well-known and much-debated
that we — the class of 1988 — will have to take finals as seniors!I
would like to know why? What ruling or legislation led to tins;
Why was this a decision Vandiver felt so strongly about? Are
universities having to adhere to this same idiotic decision?Wt)®
the class of 1988 singled out as the first class to be burdened^
this new unnecessary policy? We have to take finals fortheeif 1
four years of college! This policy will < a 'se irreversible damajc 1 ' 1
the long awaited traditional events exp«. need only by the#'
graduating class of A&M!
Audrey Henderson ’88
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial sttjf0 f
right to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maiiitmntkdf
tent. Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, addms (iiiM’
number of the writer.
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