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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 1988)
Page 2AThe Battalion/Thursday, July 14, 1988 Opinion 1TVWK m lOSIHGr COMTWX.OFTVE WCEnWGiYEaCR- V/EUL, EXPECT 'WHEN Y00 TELL RVE THOUSAND C(MAUHlSrSVft»'VE EEEKRSPWfiStVHJR SEWEMT/VEARSTHW IHEy’re SUiPPENiy EPEE to EXPKs§WEMsayEsr YEAH, W t 'EM TO INK ABOUT Wf PKXWAM/ l WPN’T MEAMTHEY OOUIP JUST SAY WIB/ER -WEy FEUf/ NOWtfeiVW'QA/ TUE/’RE ACT\Ng UKE A. BU^OFAMEWfiANsr AteUINfr/BICfttRMi JOWNftf HWNilNef Mfr/ -ANPPAWArr,\NWO TAUGHT'EN HOW TO DO <V THE WAVE" T Mail Call Study like a nomad fa EDITOR: We, the fourth floor “Flirts” of McFadden Hall, would like to take this opportunity to thank the housing office for granting us an inconvenience during finals week. On this festive 4th of July, our jubilation was brought to a halt when we were informed that we would have to move to other floors. As if to compensate for this abrupt inconvenience, we were then told that the change was to occur by Wednesday to avoid clashing with finals. Wonderful!! I guess the idea never occurred that we might be busy gearing up for finals at this time. In retrospect, none of us remember being told that such an inconvenience might take place. We were led to believe that the rooms we had chosen would be our humble abodes for the summer duration. In fact, we were recently handed a memo to that effect. I guess we missed something JL^ors We do believe that change is inevitable. Yet, we also believe that we were: ral diet rendered helpless by not being forewarned or given a minute’s say so in this Broke, matter. In essence, we were forced to decide without choice, because the A 191 Jon an< third liv Medical i J ohn I",, 18 id his “We She s nee he shuffling around will take place regardless of whether we are inconveniencec[l n , l j^ e j or not. As good Ags, we will respectfully abide by the rules, and we will learn to adapt to our new environment. For some of us, it will entail going through finals with a stranger for a roommate. For others, it will entail going through] finals without the camaraderie that has developed on our golden fourth floor. But, most importantly, for all of us, it will entail approaching finals with one less day of studying. For this we are thankful!! Leroy Barela accompanied by 12 signatures Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words tn length. The editorial staff reserves the right to editlaeM for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must besigndxsm must include the classification, address and telephone number of the writer. I get no kicks out of World Cup soccer fans A coi B-om PI As a sports fan, I suppose I should be pleased that in 1994 the planet’s most popular sports event — the World Cup soccer championship — will be held in this country for the first time. But all it does is make is nervous. me Mike Royko For years, I’ve watched the highlights of international soccer competition on the TV news. Am? the highlight is usually a riot by the fans. I’m not talking about an American- style sports riot, which comes in several tame varieties. We have the baseball riot. In its mild est form, it’s two or three beer-soaked louts wrestling in the stands until the cops haul them away. At its most fero cious, it’s fans climbing light poles or overturning a few cars to hail a World Series victory. There’s also the football riot. The big gest one in memory occurred last season in San Francisco, when some of the fans yelled “nyah, nyah,” at Mike Ditka and he threw a wad of gum at them, causing mass nausea in northern California. Hockey fans sound nasty, but they al most never brawl. In fact, the closest thing to a riot I’ve ever seen at a hockey game was when the players leaped into the stands to crack the skulls of some rude fans. What I’m saying is that for all the beer they drink, all the noise they make, and all the bets they lose, American sports fans are reasonably well-behaved. You’ll see more punches thrown at a country and western concert than a sporting event. But when you talk about interna tional soccer competition, you’re talking mayhem, mauling, stomping. First they announce the final score, then they give you a body count. They don’t mess around. A few years ago, some British fans got angry at some Italian fans. So they pushed them over a wall, crushing more than a dozen Ital ians to death. The British fans are the most noto rious in Europe, and deservedly so. Their idea of whoopee celebration is to stick someone with a knife or a jagged bottle, toss ball bearings, or pitch some one off the top of the stands or in front of a subway train. But the British aren’t the only ones who take their soccer seriously. Latin a. veti-t-* as Americans, known for their frisky na tures, have had some dandy riots. After a big game in Colombia, some fans in the upper deck expressed their displeasure with the outcome by drop ping fireworks and urinating on the fans in the lower deck. This caused a stampede to the exits that left 24 people very flat and very dead. Sometimes it doesn’t take a riot to get soccer fans killed. A locked door will do it. In Greece, sombody forgot to unlock an exit after a game and 21 fans were squeezed to death. The same thing hap pened in Moscow and dozens died. There have been riots in China and Mexico. And when Austria beat West Germany in a World Cup soccer game, one German fan was so upset that she tried to strangle a cheering Austrian. The man was quite shaken, since the an gry woman was a nun. You don’t even need a soccer game to have a soccer riot. In Hungary, actors performed a play poking fun at soccer. If-the police hadn’t hidden the actors under the stage, a mob of more than 1,000 indignant fans would have dis membered them. I’ve never understood why soccer af fects its followers that way. It’s not as vi olent as hockey, football or boxing, and it doesn’t have the subtle tension of baseball. If anything, it’s always struck me as kind of dull: a bunch of bow- legged guys named Heinz or Jorge but ting the ball with their heads. Maybe it’s because it’s the only game in which the players use their heads to propel the ball. Assuming that the fans of soccer also play the game, all that but ting of a ball with their heads might make their brains squishy. T hat may be why soccer, the ove most popular team sport, has nnBn its Fn caught on in this country. In our fay Ther ite games, we throw, catch and kgS 16 hoy: balls; hit them with bats and raqiiffel 1 l ^ e I dunk them through hoops, and | them into little holes. But wedon'tis them with our heads. “Lon If anything, a ball bouncing odajihe sec head of an outfielder or punt receive: with it considered funny, and we laughdenfl 1310 * 161 vely. So what will happen when all thfi soccer teams and their fans are he and Heinz and Jorge start bounc: balls off their heads, and millions Americans who know nothing abouli game start laughing? This feel th; Do we want British skinheadsrioa in our streets, Colombians urinating the lower deck, or nuns grabbing! throats? We don’t need that. And if anyini nant soccer fans are going to write: nasty letters, I will tell you in advai that I won’t take you seriously unit you enclose a statement from yourpl sician saying that you don’t haveafi spot on your head. Copyright 1988, Tribune Media Services, he Come on you Regents, follow the University’s rules W an ted: At least one Texas A&M Regent who will stand up and announce he will no longer remain silent while the board embarasses A&M with its ac tions. Our Regents are supposed to help set the course I hope that there is at least one Re gent who will send a message to the fac ulty and students of A&M that he be lieves in the right of the public to know and the necessity of following the laws of the state of Texas. Richard Williams for the University. The Board is sup posed to be composed of individuals who can keep this University on a course that is consistent with the out standing goals and standards A&M has set. Surely at least one Regent has the guts to stand up and announce to the rest of the Board that he will no longer remain quiet while A&M refuses to lis ten to messages from the public. The laws of the state of Texas require a governmental body, like A&M, to re spond to a request and, if needed, re quest an opinion from the Texas Attor ney General within 10 days. Wednesday marked the 23rd day since The Battal ion originally requested information re garding the search for president. The Board has refused to listen to this message about open records the public has sent A&M. A Board that will not listen to the rules the public has set is an embarrassment. No one from the Board will inform The Battalion why they have not com plied with the laws of Texas. Bill Presnal; Executive Secretary of the Board, has said he will not comment any further about the matter. James Bond, Deputy Chancellor for Legal and External Affairs, told me that he has not made a decision about our request. Surely A&M’s Deputy Chancellor for Legal and External Affairs is not igno rant about the law. Bond told me he is very informed about open records laws. He pointed out that he argued a case all the way to the Supreme Court. (He said the court refused to hear the case and that the lower court issued “an opinion, a con curring opinion and a very, very, very strong dissenting opinion.” A&M lost the case.) Bond said that he knows all about the 10 day period, but he has not responded to our request. If Bond is so informed why is contin uing to refuse to reply and request an opinion as required by law? The only reason that anyone I have talked to can come up with is that since A&M has dealt with the issue before and knows that by not replying, not request ing an opinion and stalling for time they will not nave to release the information until after the search is over. By doing this they know they can deny the faculty and students of A&M their right to know who is seriously under consider ation for president. However, this is not a legimate reason to refuse to follow the law. The Board, Presnal and Bond would probably like The Battalion to forget our request for this information, but The Battalion has no intention of end ing our quest for information that we feel is open to the public. If there is one Regent willing to break away from A&M’s history fighting the laws the people have set up I hope he will speak during the Board’s meeting this weekend. I hope someone has the guts to take a stand on the side of ^ people of Texas and the students ai faculty of Texas A&M. The Battalion’s search for a listofs rious might not be completed untiltf University has named a new preside This individual could be named asear as this weekend at the Board meeting Lots of rumors are floating aro® about who the next president will In The leading candidate seems to James C. Miller III. Miller is director the Office of Management and B and a member of Reagan’s cabinet, Miller can’t be reached for commfr but he is rumored to be looking f new job since Reagan won’t be in White House much longer. Richard Williams is a senior agricuh 1 ral journalism major and editor off* Battalion. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Richard Williams, Editor Sue Krenek, Managing Editor Mark Nair, Opinion Page Editor Curtis Culberson, City Editor Becky Weisenfels, Cindy Milton, News Editors Anthony Wilson, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director 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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