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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1988)
Page 2/The BattalionATuesday, May 3, 1988 Opinion ‘Potato pig’ contemplates decadent way$N b< M m m m . . . There it stood: a picture-perfect spud — firm, hot, steamy and creamy, waiting for me to wrap my lips around it. I couldn’t wait to dive into the depths of ecstasy. But right before I took the blissful plunge, I had bacon bits and chives. I have to admit they looked luscious, a picture of baked potato perfection. I see your point,” she as sour cream dripped from her Suna Purser “I’m not sure said chin. It was obvious that she was thor oughly enjoying this food orgy. And it was even more obvious that she had not made what was to me a clear connection between decadence and baked potatoes. an alarming thought: ‘Decadent. Mikhail and Raisa are right. Americans are decadent.” Quite concerned, I mentioned this troubling thought to my friend as we sat, forks poised and taste buds primed for our baked potatoes complete with two kinds of cheese, sour cream, butter, As I sat there in shock and watched her shovel it in, I started thinking. I have always considered myself a scream ing liberal. You know, equal rights, pro- choice, freedom of expression. This is the United States of America where ev erything goes and nothing matters. Do your own thing and let it all hang out. But these sinful spuds made me think and I replied, “But we’re indulging. In fact, we’re over-indulging. We could get Mail Call Aggies lend helping hand EDITOR: On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Brazos Food Bank, I would like to commend the student body at Texas A&M for its support of our orga nization. Through efforts by groups such as SCON A and Hands Across A&M, the students have donated close to 7,000 pounds of food over the past few months to the Food Bank. This food has gone a long way toward feeding the hungry in Brazos County. We believe we must all make that extra effort to help those people around us who are not as fortunate as the rest. The concern you have shown on be half of Texas A&M by your efforts not only says a great deal about your char acter, but also goes to show that the students at this University continue to be the greatest in the country. Tim Jones’82 k President, Board of Directors Scare tactics didn’t make her ‘Chicken’ EDITOR: I was recently “snagged” at the Chicken for drinking under age. Now I am the first to admit that yes, this was wrong under Texas law and I deserved to get a minor in possession ticket. But instead of getting a ticket, I was hauled upstairs to see the infamous “Mr. Chicken.” I haven’t quite decided what the purpose of the hour-plus lecture was. Maybe it was meant to scare me? No, I don’t think so. Could it be that he was trying to logically explain to me why it was detri mental to both he and I when I drank in his establishment? No. Was it possibly so he could make fun of my family, attack my religious af filiation, and slander Mothers Against Drunk Driving while making his intox icated cronies in the room cackle with drunken glee? You know, I think it was. This is the most disgusting excuse for “authority” I’ve ever seen. If they want to scare me, why not slap on the handcuffs and plop my into a police car? That would most definitely work. I think I might prefer it. Tracy Suit ’91 Incident insult to A&M’s integrity EDITOR: I commend the swift action by the Director of the University Police, Bob Wiatt, in filing charges of disorderly conduct with the Office of the Brazos County Attorney against students Robert Reed and Kenneth Nelson. Hopefully, the State Game Warden’s office in Bryan will also file charges against these students for killing two doves, the birds of peace, associated with the horrific incident they perpetrated on the Students Against Apart heid shanty April 15. Their acts of sacrificing the two pigeons and hanging them in the shanty with the racist slogan go far beyond disorderly conduct. I have written to Dr. John J. Koldus, the Director of Student Services, suggesting that these two students be permanently expelled from the Univer sity whether any rules were broken. The conscience of Texas A&M Univer sity was fractured. There is no alternative but to expel these students for such despicable behavior. It is hard to believe that two senior students majoring in Biomedical Sciences could carry out such vile deeds. These two student’s actions are an affront to Texas A&M University as they would be to any institution of higher learning. Anything less than to per manently expel these two students would be an insult to the integrity of the University and the values for which it stands. David H. Rosen, M.D. Department of Psychology 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 Lydia Berzsenyi, Editor Becky Weisenfels, Managing Editor Anthony Wilson, Opinion Page Editor Richard Williams, City Editor Deborah Jensen and Tom Eikel, News Editors Hal Hammons, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor by on a half of what we have here. These baked potatoes are the size of a nine-inch dinner plate. Think of all the starving people in the world — even in this country — and here we sit, two po tato pigs.” Then I ran to my dictionary, afraid of confirming my worst fears and consumed with guilt. kinis, television evangelists. What’s our society coming to?” I preached. “Humpf,” I snorted. “Just what I thought. Listen to this: ‘decadence — a process, state, or period of decline or deterioration, as in art or morals. DE CAY.’ ” With dictionary in one hand and fork in the other, I began my tirade. “Think of it! Dial-A-Porn, x-rated movies on the tube. Why, just turn on any daytime or evening soap and get an eyeful of stuff that would make Linda Lovelace’s toes curl. What’s happened to ‘The Brady Bunch,’ ‘Leave it to Beaver,’ and ‘Green Acres?’ Casual sex, string bi- “I’ll tell you what it’s coming to,” I continued. “History repeats itself and this is it. The fall of the Roman Empire all over again. The United States is dec adent and immoral, just like the Gorba chevs say, just like the Romans.” “Things aren’t that bad, you’ve justly watching too many of those sacrosif television evangelicals. People and •. times change. We’re in theageotj eighties and you surely can’t expectl dent F eryone to live a holier-than-thou life! Monda the Puritans. Anyway, I’m not so si J remain believe all that religious rhetoric.” ® leader, “Well, I see your point,” my friend said. “But you better eat your baked po tato before it congeals. Besides, what can we do about it?” “I’m not sure,” I said in a fit of frus tration. “But something needs to be done. We just can’t continue letting our society slide into the abyss of sin and moral decay. We have to uphold decent standards for future generations. Isn’t there any modesty left?” “Hmmm,” I thought. “You’re absolutely right,” 1 saidj with that, I took the plungeintorayii adent spud. “Maybe things areni bad,” I thought, as I sat there watch Motley Crue’s video ‘Girls, Girls,Girt “I guess I believed those sacros:: boob tube evangelicals,” I said. Mikhail and Raisa, eat your het out. coolly. Suna Purser is a senior English jor and a columnist for The Battalic- tion sh< tending Pres< on Am policies cil on leader ] mindec braces I “But summit 1,200 y Hotel. ‘ not a d MARGWJES (P/9S3 HcwoN The last of the red-hot lovers goes up in a blaze of glory Dee and Jimmy, who are my friends, own a rather large black Lab named Deuce, who has become somewhat of a leg end in their home town. The pit bull’s owner built a higher fence to protect his female. Deuce came back a week later and scaled the fence and we’re still waiting to see what you get if you cross a black Lab with a pit bull. In cities and towns, many of theffli picked up by the animal control peo| and subsequently put to death. Nobody is quite certain just how many puppies Deuce has fa- Lewis Grizzard My guess is a pit bull who’d rather read Penthouse than Soldier of For tune. But Dee and Jimmy gave me the news the other day. “There’s something else, too,” k said. “It got to the point where <1 neighborhood wasn’t enoughi Deuce. He began wandering all o'jj town. “There’s a busy highway just a jj miles from us and Deuce would crosl on his way to see some of his girlfriend thered over the years, but the number likely would be astounding. “Deuce’s days as a lover are over,’ Dee said. “And Jimmy’s agreed with this?’ Deuce, put quite frankly, is one of the greatest lovers in the history of dogdom. That’s caused a lot of problems for Dee and Jimmy over the years. “He says he hates to do it because Deuce has a reputation to uphold, but he’s agreed we should have Deuce fixed. He just says he’ll never be able to look him in the eye again.” “We really love that dog and wert him around for a long time. Maybeaff he’s fixed he will stay around closer' home and won’t have as much off chance to get run over.” I had my own dog, Catfish, anotbj black Lab, fixed a couple of years a? for the same reason. Not so long ago, Deuce fell in lust with a female pit bull, of all things. He climbed a high fence to have his way with her and was noticed leaving the scene by the pit bull’s owner. He recognized Deuce and called Dee and Jimmy, and an arrangement was made to have the vet to make certain the pit bull didn’t turn up with pup. We talked a little about the fact that there are a lot of unwanted animals in the world and that there is a movement afoot for pet owners to be aware of this and to take the necessary steps to keep down the number of strays and unwant- eds. I told him I was sending him to tlif vet for a cholesterol check. Still, you hate to see any great career come to an end. First, John Holmes,thf porno film star who claimed to havfl had sex with 14,000 different women up and dies and now of Deuce will n/ longer be on his ever vigilant prowl. It’s a sad thing to see a stray dog or A moment of silence, if you will, for cat terribly undernourished wandering the both of them, a neighborhood in search for food. Copyright 1986, Cowles Syndic^ Editorial Policy The Battalion 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 photography classes within the Department of Journalism. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during Texas A&M regular semesters, except for holiday and examination periods. 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