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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1987)
Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, September 30, 1987 Opinion It’s a shoot-em-up at the Aggie corral MIAMI (AP) — Boosters hail it as a triumph of the right to bear arms, but police here fear that when Florida’s new gun law goes into effect, routine fender-benders could turn into Dodge City-style shootouts. As of applicants are from the Miami/Dade County area, which has 15 percent of the state’s population. Miami police reported five people were killed during the celebration. Police attributed the deaths to frayed tempers caused by the high temperature and large crowds at the celebration site. Sue Krenek Oct. 1, all Floridians can strap on a sidearm in plain view without any kind of permit. . . “This could set us back 100 years to the time of the Wild West, ” a gloomy Broward County Sheriff Nick Navarro said last week. . . MIAMI, Oct. 8 — Police say violent crime increased during the first week of the state’s new gun law, but citizens polled continue to favor the law. “There’s bad guys everywhere out there,” said a grocery clerk who asked not to be named. “Knowing you have a gun around just makes you feel more secure somehow.” Gun ranges in the Miami area, meanwhile, are jammed. MIAMI, Oct. 1 — Floridians celebrated today as a law allowing them to openly carry sidearms without a permit took effect. On hand for the celebration in Miami were National Rifle Association officials, along with Carmel, Calif., Mayor Clint Eastwood, who officially welcomed the new era by firing a .357 Magnum and telling Florida legislators they had “made his day.” Meanwhile, the Florida secretary of state’s office announced that the number of applications for permits to carry concealed weapons has skyrocketed. About 35 percent of the Gun stores and shooting ranges both report that business has been booming ever since the law, which allows Floridians openly to carry sidearms without a permit, took effect. “We ain’t sold this much since the race riots,” said Jimmy Don Shootout, owner of a Miami gun store. “Folks know other folks might have guns, and they ain’t gonna get caught flat-footed on this one.” WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — President Reagan today endorsed Florida’s new gun law despite protests from law enforcement groups. National Rifle Association officials, in a prepared statement, said, “The president’s endorsement of this vital law supports our longtime belief in the right Mail Call Come out of your haven EDITOR: Regarding Mark Nair’s column in The Battalion, I find it disappointing that Mark chooses to attack student government, namely the Student Senate, from the confines of the Reed McDonald building. It is also disappointing that he is taking cheap shots based on biases from limited experience with the organization, and the consistently generic criticism that student government doesn’t do anything for students. If he is going to slam an organization, he should at least take time to find an original complaint against it. It appears that he took a pointless plot for a column and then looked in his file of standard institutions to ridicule and picked good old student government as the focal point for his delusionary tale. 1 am also disappointed that once again in the tradition of Battalion columns, the only solution arrived at is abolition. Come on! Is the creative mentality so stagnant that rehashing this issue is the best he can do? I close not with a parting shot but rather with a standing invitation to any Battalion columnist to speak, gripe, ridicule, or offer a suggestion for improvement during an open forum of an_y Student Senate meeting. Please, leave the confines of your haven and at least let us “frighten” you in person. Jay Hays ’88 Speaker of the Student Senate Editor’s Note: Mark Nair has extensive experience with the Student Senate. As a freshman, he participated in Student Government’s now-defunct Fresh man Horizons program. As a sophomore, he was the sophomore liberal arts senator in the Student Senate. As a junior, he was a member of the Student Government Judicial Board. He also conducted the swearing-in for student body President Mason Hogan — and for Jay Hays, speaker of the Student Senate. Radio chaos EDITOR: This letter is an attempt to call attention to, and vent our frustrations caused by, the extremely minimal selection of radio stations in Bryan-College Station. What will it take for a station to be formed in this area that is truly a radio station “of the people.”? KORA excluded — we’re not concerned with country music — 92K and KKYS 105 are vastly lacking in what students should be provided with in a city where there is a world class University. It is not uncommon to turn to one station and hear some lame ’70s love song, then locate the other station and hear some “candy rock” that can be heard every hour on the hour. Why can’t we be provided with a radio station with a format such as that of 101 KLOL in Houston or even 94 KLBJ in Austin? We’re sure that a station that would implement these types of formats would reap the benefits of a large listening audience. Yeah, sure, the two existing stations on each end of the FM dial do serve some of the population in this area, but wouldn’t it be nice to turn on your radio and hear something other than repetitous top 40 or golden oldies? Bryan Sealy ’89 J.L. Geist ’88 Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff 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 the classification, address and telephone number of the writer, The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Sondra Pickard, Editor John Jarvis, Managing Editor Sue Krenek, Opinion Page Editor Rodney Rather, City Editor Robbyn Lister, News Editor Loyd Brumfield.-Sports Editor Tracy Staton, 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 year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on re quest. Our address: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-4111. of every American to blow any other American off the face of the earth if he or she so chooses. We believe the president’s support will prompt other states to enact legislation allowing weapons to be carried in the open without a permit.” In Florida, state officials said the death toll from violent crime since the law took effect now stands at 1,280. J335-RN - BC Urgent Advisory FLORIDA EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: Oct. 20 Florida death count. 3 p.m.: 42 ap-dn-10-20-87 1345 edt associatedpress AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 10 — The Texas Legislature, following the lead of Florida and an inreasing number of other states, today enacted legislation allowing Texans to openly carry sidearms without a permit. Gov. Bill Clements hailed the bill as “a triumph of law and order” and said he will sign it immediately. COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 15 — Wildcat whoops resounded on the Texas A&M University campus today as the Corps of Cadets received state-issue sidearms. Campus officials said they returned to live ammunition, long banned on the A&M campus, because the state’s new weapons laws allowed other students to carry guns openly. Some University officials, however, predicted the return of weapons to campus would result in a rash of violence over such traditional concern! as the complete lack of parking spaces on campus . . . COLLEGE STATION, T exas, Sepi 3 — In an unprecedented display of violence at a sporting event, the entire Texas A&M student body was killed today in a shootout that erupted after the Aggies lost their season football opener to LSU, 42-12. Officials blamed fanatical LSU students for the incident but said the ready availability of weapons turneda heated situation into a bloodbath.The deaths of the 39,000 students raise the count of Texans killed with guns to 59,132 thus far for 1988 ... Sue Krenek is a senior journalism major and opinion page editor forlk Battalion. sA*oteac*jNON coko new s™*** THIS IS THE AVERAGE NFL PLAYER. HE EARNS 5230,000 PER YEAR. IF HE GOES ON STRIKE, WHAT SHOULD HE BE GIVEN? 10 fr< KANN: run radio casting o' five year? ger Huds But cc from cab! tial, Huds KANM cable subs To br waves, th cense fro nications 1 The st; equipmer FM signa transmits and a pro said. She est will cost $20,000. KANM which bro nal to Co son said. This ai times caus station mil Cooke to equipmen But if i FM, the K A. MOtS MONEY B. FREE AGENCY 0. A DRUG TEST Shii DALLAS is down in 1 tracking a r downs that heated econ firm’s survey Fewer bu sued in the 1 year than in according t< study release With her of f category during tl OK, I’m just like, so bugged at how teenagers talk today Have you listened closely to the way young people talk today? There are some drastic differences between the way they talk and the rest of us talk. If you have children, you certainly will recognize my first Lewis Gr izzard example: Many young people today insist upon using the verb “goes” for verbs like “says,” “remarks,” “suggests” and “interrupts.” A 16-year-old girl in a discussion regarding what happened at school today: “. . . And Poopsie goes, T’ve got tickets to the Nasty Navels concert’ and Tami goes, ‘I don’t care,’ and Poopsie goes, ‘You’re just mad cause you don’t have any,’ and Tami goes T’ve got ballet that night, anyway,’ and Poopsie goes, ‘Shawn is taking me to the concert,’ and Tami goes, ‘You’ll make a lovely couple, you both wear the same kind of earrings.’ ” I suppose this is derived from usage of the word “went” to indicate an utterance or making a sound, as in “ding-ding-ding went the trolley.” Kids never use “went,” however, and throw tense to the wind with their “goes.” A 16-year-old girl discussing what happened several days later at school: “Poopsie goes, ‘Shawn and I had a great time at the Nasty Navels concert,’ and I go, T don’t care,’ and Poopsie goes, ‘You’re just jealous cause you didn’t get to go,’ and I go, ‘The Nasty Navels and Shawn both make me want to puke,’ and Poopsie goes, ‘Your mother certainly dresses you funny,’ and I go, ‘Do your zits glow in the dark?’ ” “OK” is another word kids use a lot today, and they primarily use it as professional athletes use the phrase “you know” — as a stalling tactic while they think of what it is they want to say next. There is also the phrase “Fm like” which, if I have listened correctly, translates roughly as “I reacted thusly, or I was in the following state of mind.” A 16-year-old girl talking about what happened several weeks after the Nasty Navels concert: “Tami goes, ‘Did you hear about Poopsie?’. . . OK, and I’m like, T can’t stand it,’. . . OK, and Tami goes,‘She's pregnant,’ ... OK, and Fm likeT don’t believe it,’. . . OK, and then Tamigoes, T think it was Shawn,’... OK, and I'm like ‘Give me a break,’. .. OK. “And Tami goes, ‘Her parents are sending her to a home,’. .. OK, andln like, ‘Ohhhhhh, God!’. . . OK, and Tami goes, ‘Remember how Poopsie didn’t pay attention and always painteii her nails in sex ed class?’ ” I’m not saying the way young peoplf talk today is necessarily wrong. Lest"? forget, each generation has its own eccentricities when it comes to languagt Our parents said things like “23skidoo and used “swell” to mean “terrific.” My generation was always “into” disco, yoga or open marriages. As it turned out, incidentally, Poopsi f wasn’t pregnant after all. And Shawn turned out to be gay and is currentlya drummer with the Nasty Navels. Both Poopsie and Shawn wear a spandex and are into watching “Geraldo.” OK? Copyright 1987, Cowles Syndicate BLOOM COUNTY OH HAPPY PAY/ oeRve up one "jmeo oonzo outf' OF p/6r PEPSI, mreR cieRKR by Berke Breathe £3 ~2TJ He poesNr 5FEAK ENGLISH. id. ' 1 1