Mail Call
Baff did act in ethical way
EDITOR:
I thought your article on the Rice Marching Owl Band in the Oct. 24 Battalion
was informative. However, it seems to me that a portion of the article violated the
supposed trust between sources and reporters.
As sources of information, the article quoted anonymous members of the
Aggie Band. Yet in the same sentence it stated the reason the sources wished to
retain anonymity was to avoid having their opinions “taken as representative of the
band as a whole.” By associating the sources with the Aggie Band, the article
blatantly shows its disregard toward the confidentiality concerns of those sources.
Members of the Aggie Band have been cautioned, counseled and warned
aobut disclosing their personal viewpoints to any publication. That is undoubtedly
the reason these men requested confidentiality. If the article wished to obtain the
Aggie Band’s opinion, the writer could have contacted the commanding officer of
the band. The c.o. could have easily furnished a statement. If he chose not to, then
the article should have taken a different slant toward the subject or noted publicly
that the Aggie Band refused to comment on the situation. The writer could have
even used the sources’ names without associating them with the band.
But by introducing the sources as members of the band following their explicit
request to the contrary, The Battalion has violated the trust between its sources
and the paper. I was under the impression that a publication was held under a
code of ethics which dictates that sources retain their specified level of
confidentiality. Perhaps I was wrong.
I realize The Battalion is trying to provide informed, accurate articles. In most
cases you do an outstanding job. In the future I wish you would keep your sources
as confidential as requested. In doing so, you will maintain good information
sources and your credibility and I will not be inadvertently denied the enlightment
of another person’s opinions.
David C. Procter ’88
Editor’s note: Members of the Aggie Band agreed to be interviewed with the un
derstanding that their quotes would be identified as those of band members, but
that individuals’ names would be witheld.
Royalty’s back
EDITOR:
Due to the fact that some students here either cannot read or are possessed
with poor comprehension skills, I'll teach a little music history in response to Matt
McBurnett.
“What does James Brown have to do with popular music?” When I previously
stated that only Elvis Presley and the Beatles placed more songs in the Billboard
Top 100 than James, I was speaking of the popcharts. Although his music is
classically soul, it is also influential and popular.
Another thing, please, no more purple comparisons! How can you compare
Purple Haze to Purple Rain? They are two totally different styles of songs with
totally different themes and meanings. You cannot compare these songs
satisfactorily. Your comments only serve to show that there is a totally biased and
immature sickness to your nature.
You justmight be using your musical opinions to state principles and beliefs of
your own that you are much too embarrassed to state. I never said that neither
your statement nor Doolen’s was of racist context. Nevertheless, the fact that you
feel there is a decline in the quality of black musicians was totally out of place in
Doolen’s article.
That, “my friends,” is called amateur writing. The comment added nothing to
Doolen’s opinion article. I have studied virtually all forms of music from baroque
to rock and I am a musician and a poet. Your comment on rap was unfounded.
Rap is raw musical emotion which portrays a lot of the inner drives of my
brothers and sisters. It is a reflection of the struggles of my ancestors, much like
the negro spiritual is. Each culture had a form of expression and rap, gospel, soul
and rock are some of the ways we express ourselves. Jive talking to you is freedom
of speech to me.
In the legendary words of Aesop: “An ass is not known to be one until he opens
his mouth.” You slipped when you opened your pen.
Roy “Royalty” Davis ’91
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters for style
and length, hut 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.
rAPBRF THOSE REPUBLICANS want ouah chillun
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Worrying about dying
Maybe all of us should band together
and say “Enough is enough. Please don’t
tell us what else will kill us.”
Where is all this going to end? First it
was cigarettes. We are still being warned
cigarettes will cause lung cancer or em
physema, not to mention turn our fin
gers and teeth yellow.
A lot of Americans have quit smok
ing. They want the ones who haven’t to
do so immediately. Non-smokers and
smokers, I predict, will have a civil war
eventually and kill off great numbers of
both sides all in the name of health.
Lewis
Grizzard
Columnist
But you’re still not safebecauq
is here and it’s coming after jo
It’s down there in thegroun
your house. You can’t see ml
vou < an’t smell it, but it’s there.
fo
misses there are in commerc ial aviation.
You’re sitting there in 23A and sud
denly there’s a 727 coming down the
aisle.
It sneaks up through vourbs
It comes up pipes and througk
and you breathe it, and you ns
well have kept sucking on tk
rettes. because radon can givew
cancer, too.
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ovir
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fcatic
thi
ernn
And cholesterol. Eat stuff that really
tastes good and cholesterol will clog
your arteries, and one day you’ll be sit
ting there eating a couple of fried eggs
and you’ll drop dead of a heart attack.
“He should have watched his diet,”
they’ll say at your funeral.
You can get cancer from just about
everything, it seems. We mentioned
smoking. But there’s asbestos, eating
smoked foods, or drinking too much
coffee.
And speaking of drinking, go right
ahead and have another scotch, but you
know your liver is rotting with every sip.
to
Then there’s AIDS. I don’t want
talk about AIDS anymore.
And let’s don’t forget how many near
Also, w'e can’t forget that the ozone
layer is disappearing from our atmo
sphere and one day w f e’ll all be fried be
cause there won’t he anything left to
protect us from the sun.
So, let’s say none of that gets you.
Cireat, except now there’s something
new to worry about — RADON!
You quit smoking, drinking, and eat
ing fatty foods. You exercise every day,
brush regularly with tartar-control
toothpaste and have annual checkups
from your doctor.
You’ve eaten cereal until it’s coming
out of your ears, you take all sorts of vi
tamins — and speaking of cereal, you
even eat yours with prunes on top.
You’re the best friend your colon
ever had.
If you want to be safe from di
est killer, you’ve got tobuyagadj
measures radon in your house,
you've got it, then you have to p
guy to come over and make an
ment of repairs, and that’s going
you.
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Wouldn’t we be better off if e
told us about things like radon:l
might pick ,i tew uf us off,!
wouldn’t have to lie in our bedsil
wondering how much rad
nium under our condos isprodicl
and was that noise you just hearff
st ait s t he Radon Monster commit
vou?
Worry kills, too. Would
please mention that to thesurgeuj
eral.
Copyright I9S8, Cowles Syndinlt
Forget He-Man cartoons, I want my Brady Bund
What happened to the good of days
when kids w'ould sit around the tele
vision set and watch “Happy Days” and
“The Brady Bunch”? Back then, tele
vision was educational. Most “family”
shows were fables, with lessons to be
learned. Sure, the characters and story
lines were a bit corny and idealistic, but
at least they didn’t put any immoral or
misleading ideas into the minds of the
young viewers.
men, and Beaver taught that we should
always tell the truth. Even Fonzie at his
coolest taught that people should just be
themselves.
Kids didn’t necesarily learn academic
lessons like the alphabet or their num
bers in these shows, but they did learn
some character traits which weren’t
taught on traditionally educational pro
grams such as “The Electric Company”
or “Sesame Street.”
Lydia
Berzsenyi
Columnist
were once fascinated by “The Partrige
Family,” or that they raced home every
day to catch an episode of “Gilligan’s Is
land.”
Back then, we didn’t really think of
those shows as educational. I leaven for
bid us learning something voluntarily!
Today’s shows are a different matter
altogether. Afternoon time slots are
filled with shows like “Masters of the
Universe” starring He-Man. Children
watch stories about worlds being de
stroyed and superhumans killing each
other. What kind of morals can be
learned from such storylines? That war
is imminent and that everyone should
know how to detect and shoot a bad
Let’s face it. When kids get to be a
certain age, they are no longer enth
ralled with “Mr. Roger’s Neighbor
hood” and “Captain Kangaroo.” They
don’t think it’s “cool” to watch dumb
shows with dancing flowers and a man
named Mr. Greenjeans.
Today, they aren’t really either. OK,
maybe that’s just my opinion. A lot of
children (and even some 20-year-old
youngsters) find blowing up worlds ex
tremely entertaining. I just must be
missing something.
But when we watch these shows now,
the educational quality is quite obvious,
with Wally Cleaver saying, “Gee, Dad, I
guess that means that it’s not right to he
mean to someone just because they were
mean to you.” Ward, of course, answers,
“You’re right, Wally, I’m glad you’ve
learned your lesson.”
But kids of past generation!|
really cared that the Bradv bovsi]
looked like geeks in their hijl
pants and buttoned-to-the-coUaiiJ
1 hey never questioned why
brought their luggage wit
what if Richie Cunninghamnewfl
ied and still (supposedly)
grades? And what does it n
that June CHeaver alwaysworeifc
dress and apron?
guy:
So when they get home from school,
they turn to the Big Kids’ shows. And
this is where the program problem be
comes evident.
But I know I’m not missing any edu
cational value in these shows because it
simply doesn’t exist.
That’s when you expect Ward to turn
to the camera and give the viewers a
knowing look and a smile that means,
“And that goes for you, too.”
In the old days, Marsha Brady taught
us that we must not judge our fellow
Ten years ago, these afternoon shows
were entertaining and educational.
Now that the “good old shows” are in
sydication, the generation at which they
were originally aimed pokes fun at these
programs. People can’t believe that they
I guess we really can’t bring these ex
act shows hack today because they do
seem a bit unrealistic and more than a
little out of date.
Perhaps bringing back “TIT
Bunch” is not the solution toilf
lem of non-educational
But maybe these shows
sected to see w hat made
tertaining and educational.
afternoon television would
waste it is today.
Lydia Berzsenyi is a senior^'
jor and editor o/The Battalion.
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
D AJensen,
Denise Thompson, News Editors
Hal Hammons, Sports Editor
Jay Janner, Art Director
Leslie Guy, Entertainment Editor
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BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breatt