Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, January 28,1988
Space safety
It’s been a rough two years for NASA. The explosion of the
space shuttle Challenger two years ago today ended the space
agency’s fairy-tale era of exploration and brought hard ques
tions about how well the program was run and how safe it was.
Morton ThiokoTs redesigned booster rocket has shown signs
of problems, leading the space agency to delay the planned
launch date for Discovery. And the astronaut corps is participat
ing in more decisions that at any time since the space program’s
early days.
Concern for safety needs to be emphasized, as Challenger
tragically pointed out, and no one will argue that the shuttle
should fly before the rocket booster’s design flaws are corrected.
But NASA, prompted by the concerns of Congress and the
nation, is in danger of abandoning what should be the legacy of
the seven who died aboard Challenger. Engineers — and the
rest of us — must realize that designing a perfectly safe shuttle is
an impossibility. So is designing a perfectly safe car.
Space is not a safe place. Those who go there must know and
accept the risk they take. NASA must do all it can to minimize
that risk, but the agency and the country must not become so
paralyzed by fear that they abandon manned space exploration.
Doing so would tarnish the memory of the Challenger crew.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
The Health Center isn’t such a bad place after al
I found out last
week how an ill
ness can knock
your feet out from
under you and
make you realize
how you tend to
take your health
for granted. Now,
you have to un
derstand, I’m the
kind of person
who doesn't have
Amy
Couvillon
time to be sick; I tend to ignore any-
thiug that’s wrong with me for as long as
possible, hoping it will just go away.
So it really threw me for a loop last
Tuesday night, in the emergency room
of the A. P. Beutel Health Center, when
I found out the back pain I had been
trying to ignore for three clays meant
that I had a kidney infection.
“We’ll have to keep you here for a
couple of days and put you on an intra
venous antibiotic,” explained the very
patient night doctor. “We need to watch
you until your fever goes down.”
“Do what ?” I thought, slightly hys
terical because my brain was being
baked by a 102 degree fever. “I can’t be
in the hospital. 1 have classes to go to. I
have things to do, people to see. Aaaack!
I ’m graduating this semester. I can't get
behind. The Battalion won’t come out
without me. I can’t get sick. I won’t get
sick.”
I was sick. I was extremely sic k.
My world — which had once included
Bryan-College Station news coverage,
15 hours of classes, a usually
unsucessful search for permanent em
ployment, a so-called social life, friends,
apartmentrtar, citmptts, city streets The
Battalion, The Battalion and The Bat
talion — had suddenly dwindled to a
hospital bed, a narrow window with an
occasionally interesting view of Puryeai
Hall, a thermometer in my mouth and
. about four feet of plastic tubing which
connected me to my I.V. pole.
“This is ‘Charlene,’ the nurse ex
plained to me, indicating the 6-foot-tall
pole which was to be my constant com
panion for four days. “She needs to go
with you wherever you go.”
I got to be pretty good friends with
Charlene, with her hanging bags of glu
cose solution and her wonderful wheels
that had minds of their own like those
on grocery store shopping carts. 1 took
her everywhere I went — to the bed, to
the bathroom, to the bed. to the bath
room, etc.
During my four days of hospital fun,
I spent time wondering if the whole mis
erable situation was just my bodv's not-
so-subtle way of telling me to slow down
and stop stressing myself so much. (But
how could I slow down? I’m a college
student.)
My biggest concerns were trying to
figure out what time it was (is that a.m.
or p.m.?), and whether or not I had
given the nurses their urine sample de
jour yet.
The inpatient care nurses at the
Health Center are some of the most pa
tient. friendly people I've met in a long
time. Even when 1 was at my most
cranky — “I hate having this stupid nee
dle in my hand” — or when I was bab
bling incoherently or asking stupid
questions like “What day is it?” and
“When can 1 go home?” the nurses were
consistently helpful, and I could tell
they really cared.
1 was also impressed to find but that
my $15-a-semester health center fee
covers up to 10 days of huspiialii
with only small charges for mea!>
medicine. That’s an incredible bar
considering the costs of health can
there in the “real world."
I think the Health Center has as
deserved bad image. It’s hardtoi
ipate and be prepared to treat even
mem that could affect 39,000stud)
but from what Tve seen, the si;
doing an admirable job.
Along with almost even othei
A&M student, I have complained
having to wait a few hours to scea
tot at the' Health Center, and lin
guilts of leferring to it In its pop
nickname (u Inch is also undesenedi
But I’m sure glad it was there nil
needed it.
Amy Couvillon is a seniorjouni
major, city editor and columnist
The* Battalion.
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:ati
Te>
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mai
:hi
Vie
1 (
Apathy is everywhere
President Reagan
recently gave his
annual State of the Todd
Union address, Honeycutt
historically impor- Guest Columnist
tant since it is the
last one he will
give as president.
But what importance does it have if no
one listens and no one cares?
I wanted to watch the president. I am
not a big fan of his but I was, however,
very interested in what the president
had to say. Af ter all, he is my president,
whether I like him or not.
I went down to the Hart Hall lounge
hoping others would be watching the
speech with whom I could discuss it af
terward. Imagine my surprise when I
found two students watching a science
fiction movie.. No one had the least in
terest in watching the president.
1 tric'd to reason w ith them. I pleaded
with them. I became angry and argued
with them, all to no avail. “It’s not. my
problem what goes on, why should I be
concerned?” Though I pay rent, an ac
tivity fee and am entitled to privileges
accorded a resident, I did not feel that I
had the right simply to go up and
change the channel. Instead, I watched
the president as a rather blurred image
on a black and white TV.
Look around. Apathy lurks every
where. Students have no interest, in Rea
gan’s speech, or other important issues.
Texas A&M is traditionally conserva
tive, traditionally placid, traditionally
complacent. Why change the status quo
if every thing is all right?
But is it? Are we aware of what is
really going on? Can we piece together
the whole truth from what is told to us?
Or do we accept blindly what is placed
before us by the media?
When shall we realize that for our
government to work at its best we all
have to participate and take responsibil
ity? We have to involve ourselves with
the issues.
It takes time, and maybe that is the
cause of our apathy. Our time has be
come so valuable and precious. We rush
here and there. Someone else, we think
will take care of the government. But if
everybody’s doing something else, the
government is f ree to roam — to violate
the Constitution, to waste money, to ar
gue over petty differences. If the people
do not care, why should the govern
ment?
Good government takes time from
the citizen, as it should. The goverment
is by the people. But we have the free
dom of choice to do practically any
thing, even the right to do nothing. A
fool knows that is a dire path to follow.
So may citizens of other countries do
not have the opportunity of self-rule.
For Americans to become apolitical and
apathetic is to see the decline of Amer
ica. Our fall is just around the corner,
perhaps to be overcome by communism
or totalitarianism.
We have time now to watch our tele
vision, to listen to our music, to play our
games, to drink our light beer — all in
order to escape from our dreary life.
Ah, what a desolate nation we live in.
Imagine having too much food, so
much leisure time, freedom of speech
and religion. Would it not be better to
be on food rations, to be told what to be?
Why not, as long as we could watch our
movies and play our games?
Todd Honeycutt is a freshman general
studies major.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Member of
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Sue Krenek, Editor
Daniel A. LaBry, Managing Editor
Mark Nair, Opinion Page Editor
Amy Couvillon, City Editor
Robbyn L. Lister and
Becky Weisenfels,
News Editors
Loyd Brumfield, Sports Editor
Sam B. Myers, Photo Editor
Editorial Policy
1 he Ballnlion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa
per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and
Bryan-College Station.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editorial board or the author, and do not necessarily rep
resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac
ulty or the Board of Regents.
The Battalion also serves as a laboratory newspaper
for students in reporting, editing and photograph\
classes within the Department of Journalism.
77ie Battalion is published Monday through Friday
dm ing 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 vear. Advertising
rates furnished on request.
Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald.
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 1 1 1.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX
77843.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal
ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col
lege Station TX 77843-4111.
Mail Call
Suckered
EDITOR:
We are members of the Texas Aggie Credit Union. As
all the other members, we are outraged by its recent
changes in policy.
When we joined we were told we would have to pay a
one-time fee of $25. Since that time, it has started charging
for balances under $500 and for writing more than 25
checks a month. It has put a five-day hold on personal
checks and has cut back drastically on their hours.
It advertised that it was “Aggies helping Aggies. ’ We
fell for it. Either we were suckered bv its advertising, or it
was lying.
For all of you who feel the same way. Homestead of
fers all those good things the credit union used to. We plan
on moving there unless the credit union changes back to its
original way of doing business, and we urge you to do the
same.
Susan M. Dean ’88
Lisa M. Johnson ’88
Respect the buses
EDITOR:
As a passenger of the A&M bus system, f am very con
cerned about the community’s lack of knowledge on exac
tly what these buses can and cannot do mechanically. First,
I have noticed many cars pass the buses on the left because
the buses do not accelerate very quickly. After passing
these buses, they cut in front of them to turn right at traf
fic lights. When this happens the bus driver has to use the
brakes harder to avoid hitting the vehicle causing the pas
sengers to be thrown forward. Buses are not capable of
stopping quickly, especially when fully loaded.
Second, I have observed buses setting up for right
turns so they would not hit any curbs and have seen cars,
motorcycles, and bicycles move in to the right, interfering
BLOOM COUNTY
with this manuever and causing possible hazards. Bu#
are very long and have to make wide turns. By knowin
this information maybe the t est of the community willI)
patient and wait behind the bus. Bus passengers are cot
cerned about theii well-being. Buses can y many passet
get s, and what you may do as a driver affects notoii|
vourself but those people as well. Please have respectful
these and other school buses so there will be a saferdriviif
environment.
When 1 am driving and see a lar ge bus or truck,]
sufficient room for the vehicle to manuever and donolflf
it off. If we all do this, then mans people will not best
riously injured or killed.
Greg Moore
That’s what Ags are for
EDITOR:
Friday I rode my scooter to the MS( to purchase
textbook 1 had ordered on I uedsav. As I readied inidl
pocket, I was immobilized with fear, t ealizing the pi
white envelope containing my scholarship money was
longer there. The last time I had checked my pocket"!
sometime after noon, before entering (he library. I Iff
searching my pack and finding nothing. I went to (lie
brary, and as f entered the- restroom a fellow sittingonoi
of the sinks asked me if I had lost some monev. “Yes, Id
claimed, “about $600!” “It's all here,” he replied, “I f(
it and figger’d someon’d come looking for in” “How
have you been sitting in here?” I inquired “Since a
12:30, I skipped a quiz and a lab, ain’t no big deal,
added. I offered him compensation f or 1m I roubles, bull
refused, replying, “Hey , that's what Ags are for!" Ilefdl
library thinking to myself it’s great to know von’ieatAt
when you’re having a bad day.
Ronald W. Pippin ’88
Letters to the editor should not exceed TOO words in length. The editorials^
serves the right to edit letters for style and length, hut will make even
maintain the author's intent. Each letter must be signed anil must include^ 1
sifieation, address and telephone number of the writer
by Berke BreatW
mwH