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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 1987)
V Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, May 8, 1987 Opinion The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Gonference The Battalion Editorial Board Sondra Pickard, Editor John Jarvis, Managing Editor Sue Krenek, Opinion Page Editor Rodney Rather, City Editor Robbyn L. Lister, News Editor Loyd Brumfield, Sports Editor Tracy Staton, Photo Editor Editorial Policy The BiUtulion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper ated as a community service to Texas A&M and Brvan-College Sta lk m. Opinions expressed in The BiUlulioii are those of the editorial hoard or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty oi 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 * \dvt ' ‘ ** * * • HOUSTON n^r year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished < quest. Out address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-411 1. Second c lass postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTKR: Send address cYianges to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. Mindless vacillation With his “no-new-taxes” tour less than 18 hours in the past. Gov. Bill Clements Wednesday endorsed a tax increase to balance the state budget. Clements has touted the increase, which would extend the state’s sales tax base while lowering its rate, as a sign of his flexibility in bud get matters. It is actually a sign of his mindless vacillation. During his gubernatorial campaign, Clements courted political advantage by declaring he* would sign no bill that called for a tax in crease. Less than a month ago, he called tax-hike supporters “prairie chickens” who were “thumping” for more money. But austerity is not as fashionable in a state that is realizing that a “no new taxes” policy is a mortgage on the state’s future, especially its educational future. And Clements, as always, is following the tide. Clements is to be commended for changing his tune. A tax in crease, however slight, may help stave off the mediocrity that threat ens to engulf a state concerned only with the bottom line. But at some point Texans will tire of a governor whose policies change di rections as often as a weather vane. Hey, friencLHaven’t you heal'd about Reagan’s call to 1'estore America’s Competitiveness ? uni M S 1 | fejacim [|fi • ■ • f—’ III llllllll • " m it, lllllll I ■ ijiuamm * • 'niTjr JSSSS * Vih Whe fhousa /ill bej huich [will sta Man bus, fc) Sieged tibie K summt The new national pastime Dm i (buses i lute inti throng 145 a s Bus Willian Istuden Isei \ i<c Out of the fishbowl We’ve all seen the commercial: the sleazy I suzu salesman trumpets that his cat costs only $ 9 — a n d buying early will snag you a free house. The cap tion underneath: “He’s lying.” Closer to home, advertising tor Sue Krenek Redstone Apartments boasts, in large Cary Hart’s decision to put his campaign on indefinite hold must have been difficult — but it was the right decision. Hart’s affair, or lack thereof, with Miami saleswoman and part- time actress Donna Rice lias become a political millstone. A week ago, a poll of likely primary voters showed Hart tied with Massachu setts Gov. Michael Dukakis, each with 32 percent. Dukakis now. leads. Hart 27 percent to 17 percent. In a Wednesday press conference, the Democratic candidate called for fairness from the media. But it was Hart himself who in vited reporters to follow him everywhere to dispel earlier rumors of womanizing. The issue is not whether or not Hart slept with Rice, although the couple’s trip to Bimini — on a yacht called Monkey Business — seems damning. The issue is the judgment of a man who wants to be president of the United States. Diplomacy and discretion are re quired for the job. Hart has shown neither. His decision to return home is a sound one, and he emphasizes that his campaign is not over. The lesson, while harsh, has been in valuable. It can only be hoped that he has learned it well. game preserve! print, of the “Exotic Free rent! Helicopter service to class! Indoor 18-hole golf course!” In much smaller print, the reader is told, “Get a grip. Redstone doesn’t have all that.” So what’s going on? Since (on Lovitz" pathological liar from “Saturday Night l ,i\e .implanted itself into the nation's comctoHisness' Jast year, lying has be- coFniy'tTYc fmncTv way to sell. But is all the hoopla the result of one fictional charac ter? No. It’s the result of a lot of real-life characters whose antics put the fictional characters to shame. As Barbara Lip- pert of Adweek magazine has said, the Isuzu ad and its imitators are the sim plest metaphors for the Iran-Contra scandal. A U.S. News & World Report poll shows that more than 25 percent of Americans believe the president lies regularly. For a nation that values hon esty, the idea of a president who lies is Perception of some athletes leads to stereotype for all An opinion pre-' sented in a recent column held that student athletes are not deserving Clark Whiteside Guest Columnist of scholarships. Unfortunately, most of the author’s arguments were inflamma tory hogwash. I would like to present an opposing view. There are more than 350 students at Texas A&M receiving some form of ath letic scholarship, either full or partial. By regulation, only 95 of these may be football players. That leaves quite a few athletes, many of whom are women, who are not 250-pound linebackers. The idea that all of these students are undeserving is preposterous. Granted, like all other students, their goals at graduation differ. However, 1 think it would be safe to assume that the women attending A&M on volleyball schol arships are not anticipating signing lu- crative pro contracts upon graduation. A few athletes are below average in their academic preparation coming in, a few flunk out and still others don’t grad uate. You could say the same about the guys in my dorm when I was in school. Those guys didn’t make the column, but some major misconceptions about Texas A&M’s athletic program did. First, a large majority of our athletes meet the same entrance requirements as the rest of the student body. Why not all? I don’t know; why is a high-school senior in the first quarter of his or her graduating class held to a lower SAT standard for admission than those stu dents ranked lower? Is it perhaps be cause they are considered exceptional? Why not question why every student en tering A&M isn’t held to the same en trance standards? Once they’re enrolled, A&M athletes are treated no differently than other students in the area of academic re quirements. They must choose a course of study available to any other student, take the same courses in their chosen major (including the core curriculum) and maintain the same grade-point min- imums. They are allowed to have the highest GPR in their college (like foot ball player Kip Corrington) and they are allowed to flunk out. Everyone has had athletes in their classes. If, as Ms. Jensen suggests, they are all taking 128 hours of physical education, what are they doing in other classes, auditing for fun? The reported incident of the football player expecting special favors is inex cusable and unfortunate, but to general ize that this attitude is shared by more than 300 other students is to encourage prejudice. People who feel that the rules don’t apply to them are everywhere, perhaps even on The Battalion staff. As to the “preponderance” of people who are more deserving of support, what measure is used to support that opinion? From a financial need stand point, a much better case can be made to support athletes than the general stu dent population. I think a responsible investigation would uncover that the athletic program at A&M contains a higher percentage of minority students and students who otherwise would he unable to attend college than does the non-athlete population. The comment that “intelligent people are losing their opportunity . . . because the money is going somewhere else” is a dangerous inference and a tired stereotype. The article also challenged the method of funding athletic scholarships and the priorities of individual donors. The Aggie Club was formed in 1952 to provide an avenue for contributions to the athletic program. Today the Aggie Club, through donations from its mem- disastrous, and can best he dealt "iih through humor. But Reagan is not die only cause of the spate of 1) ing ads. The Sunday l imes of London i BR recent editorial commenting on ho\' ku the country's mood has fallen fioni the jubilant giddiness of last July's Statue of Liberty celebration. Since then, the American public has been made privy to revelations of lying by the NASA offi cials who launched Challenger, the Wall Street businessmen who used inside in formation to accumulate fortunes lot themselves, and members of the gov ernment who swapped arms lot hos tages in Iran. This is a public already disillusioned by the economic difficulties of the 1970s, a public that sought an csiape from Jimmy Carter’s diagnosis of a "na tional malaise” with a flight to Reaga- ni.sjn., The attempted “return to inno cence” manifested itself throughout popular culture as yuppies listened to the music of the TOs and Hocked to see “The Big Chill.” But the last year has Ix’enaj awakening for those seekingimii Confronted by lies from govm science and business, Americ taken refuge in religion. Butiib iilling the moral vacuum, religiotl through the* escapades of Jiitf l aminv Bakker, shown itself toM pable of lying as any other instill faken as a whole, the lies aid more haimtul because they cau4 A met ican people to lose trusi. come* jaded and cynic al. The Ain public, lied to by every institutionl been taught to hold dear, lias Mil into a never-never land of If salesmen and free helicopter sent class, a plate' where vou iimsti jokes about the* lie's in ordertodol them. It almost makes \ou homtsiil (immy ('.al ter. “In < Ice at a pliers complc ipay us their cc Willi Irules f [Apart i [their h [passes [complc In 1 Isumirn Associ; per sai 13,OOC But meat will pi (summ Will routes mer. 1 Oaks buses pan. b Nin route Sue Krenek is a senior journ* major and the Opinion Page f! :: The Battalion. hers, provides a substantial amount of the athletic scholarships at A&M. No state f unds are used; no money is diver ted from other student programs. At the risk of dispelling a widely held notion, most Aggie Club members are not wild-eyed football fanatics. A major ity, like me, contribute at the lowest giv ing levels. Virtually all heavily support academic scholarships and other stu dent programs through contributions to the Association of Former Students. The criticism that donors to athletic scholarhips should re-channel their sup port elsewhere is unfounded. The Club does not compete for dollars that would flow to other University segments any more than 77ie Battlion competes for readership with the Wall Street Journal. As a group, the people who are funding athletic scholarships at A&M are more concerned with the quality of A&M’s academic programs, with its continued reputation as a leader and its overall success than virtually anyone else. Is the author of that column going to contrib ute to Texas A&M in any way after graduation? I hope so . . . stay tuned . . . T he bottom line is that stereotypes and prejudices exist against athletes just like against journalists. Not all athletes are football players. Not all football players have sub-par intelligence. Not all journalists are as misinformed as I). A Jensen. Seldom does reality follow per ception. T here are many serious prob lems in college athletics, so many that nobody needs to make up any more. There does need to he a serious effort to change things. Responsible criticism based on facts combined with imagina tive solutions would go a long way to ward turning the tide. Clark Whiteside is a 1978 graduate of Texas A&M and an employee of the Aggie Club. Mail Call What a conversationalist 1.1)11 OR: I n your May (> edition, Mr. Jon Watts desci ibed himself as “narrow minded" in his “defense” of A&M. My Webster's delines iiariow-mindeii being “limited in outlook, lacking in scope, bigoted and prejudiced. ' Hu ad mb able character traits probably qualify Mi. Watts as a brilliant conversationalist and an innovative thinker. Sarcasm aside, the narrow-minded (the one-pet i enters, perhaps)are more of a hazard to the reputation of this University than the two-perce® Mr. Watts has chosen to berate. D. Eric Schansberg, grad student Racism a two-way street EDITOR: In response to Wendall Gray’s letter of May 6: You know, Wcndall, _ letter had one meaningful section . . . the quotation from Martin Lutheifo 11 s too had you had to nullify its content wit h your own ignorant remarks. “ I f I referred to you as a “non-informed, ignorant , misguided black bo', would you be offended? ()f course you would. Your use of “white boy isju as off ensive. Wake up! As soon as mindless bigots like yourself stop deluding themselves with quotations from great men and realize that racism is a two- way st reel maybe, just maybe, the fires of ignoi am e will subside ami hyp' like- yours will he seen for what it is . . . pathetic. Daniel Bergey, grad student Affordable education EDI FOR: Recently the state Legislature has been addressing issues that directlv affect the students at all Lexas universities and colleges. On Tuesday the Friends of Education spoke out against the proposed budget that willhuriB schools as a whole. What about the students as individuals? The governor wants to tap into the Permanent University Fund, wink Legislature intends to allow the schools to raise tuition again to covertheif short (alls. Meanwhile. Texas A&M has decided to raise the cost ofimalpl |[ g dorm rent and student services fees, fo top all of this, the federal goverini'® is cutting back the f inancial aid to students so the schools are reducingwortH st wdy, loans and gt airt opportunities. While some of us can't afford to he bowheads oi Greeks, aren’t rhil(lM , jfl Old Ags whose maroon blood has a green tint, aren't recruited minorities,ifS at cu t on athletic sc holarships, 1 hope that “the rich, the powerful, the positioned, and the c oncerned” remembei that their egos.arc secondaryW'y needs ol t he student who must struggle to finance his education. I applai them lor their effort. They’ve been able to afford theii educations- -now I would like to bed to afford mine. ■ La Phillip Anders ’89 accompanied by two signatures l.etti is in tl ie editor should not exceed 3(H) words in length The editorial staff reserves (he right I* edil letters foi style mid length, but will make eveiy effort to maintain the author’s intent. F.ach - lettei must he signed and must include the classification, address and telephone numheir of th/ writer.