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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1989)
i The Battalion The Bat OPINION Thursday, January 26,1989 S' Thursd Mail Call No racism at KANM EDITOR: In J.Frank Hernandez’ column on Jan. 18, KANM was named as one of the many facets of racism of Texas A&M University. This is a very unjust accusation. Mr. Hernandez obviously does not know much about the format of the radio station. If he had done the slightest bit of homework, he would discover: 1. Student DJ.s decide what music to play on their shows (free format programming). 2. Few “black music” shows are available because rap music is often either too popular or too vulgar to play. 3. There are are three reggae shows and one African music program already on the air every week. 4. There are no Hispanic music shows because there have been no volunteers to do one. How does this make KANM racist? I strongly recommend Mr. Hernandez listen to the station or read the program guide before making such pat judgments. Karen Ellington ’91 Program Director, KANM We really w/V/miss you, Ron EDITOR: There it was. A column with the headline “Goodbye Ron, we’ll miss you.” Could it be that The Battalion actually printed an opinion that I might like or agree with? Could it be that I was wrong all the time? Is The Battalion not an en tirely liberally biased paper? No way! In fact, our great school newspaper used its hysterical sarcasm in its attempt to rip apart a president who did a lot for his country. Dean Sueltenfuss can have the old days back, but the simple fact is that Ronald Reagan led the United States back from the depths of unemployment and inflation, and he revived American pride and patriotism. (To Dean’s dismay, I’m sure President Bush will carry on Reagan’s eight-year tradition.) So to The Battalion and Dean, I say with respect and sincerity that America will miss Ronald Reagan. Chris Samsury ’90 MAftSOUfcS Hcpspn post AI Coir Rr Rrr Ro ? r Rr> x> By Meli REPORTE Texas neering 1 $50,000 retain m dents. Jeanne dean of e tor of Mf used in a ] "This i: coming ft summer s All ho; SAN D1 alleged gai der threat taken froi Reversal of Roe vs. Wade stretcher officials de ill. Reagan was great leader EDITOR: In reference to Dean Sueltenfuss’ sarcastic column “Goodbye Ron, we’ll miss you,” I’d just like to ask Mr. Sueltenfuss why a “journalist” such as himself has to resort to cheap shot remarks such as “Big Ron realized that all those laws protecting the environment were silly.” Surely this article could not reflect your true opinion of Ronald Reagan. It is my opinion that the reason you wrote this article is to create a controversy. And maybe somehow, to you, in some grotesquely distorted way, that’s you definition of journalism. If Reagan was such a poor leader of our country, why has a president not had this much popularity leaving office since the 1940s? Could it be his youthful good looks? I think not. Mr. Sueltenfuss, If “Big Ron” was such a horrible leader of our country, why are respected journalists, not only in our own country, but around the globe, ranking him among the best presidents we have ever had? Since you are the opinion page editor, I would like to tell you that it is my opinion that your opinion is not the opinion shared by many others. Of course, that’s just my opinion. Russell Griffin ’91 v;:■■; 7. • ■■ Dry up, Ag! EDITOR: This letter is in response to that selfish Ag who got wet. Who said that this was our parking place? Your sticker is nothing more than a license to hunt for a spot to park! And what about those who don’t even have a car? Those who must wait in the rain until the next shuttle bus comes or must ride a bicycle to school, huh? You make me sick! Many of those “visitors” are former students returning to gain more expertise from others who are the best in their fields. Many of those “visitors” who you are so mad at pay three times what your sticker is worth to attend two-day conferences. C’mon Ag, show a little respect and courtesy! So you had to walk 200 more yards. I suppose in a downpour you’d be drier if you parked where you normally do? You want a guaranteed spot? Then pay the $100 faculty parking fee. Or perhaps we should dome the A&M campus so that next time it rains, you won’t get wet. Wah! Mario Perches Graduate student Letters to the editor should not exceed BOO 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. would return states’ right Meanwl who admit trist the al! it” testifie cried and t sexually as kBofacar Ma I An amb This past Sunday marked the 16th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Su preme Court ruling in Roe vs. Wade, the decision legalizing abortion across the country. Pro-life groups mobilized in an attempt to sway the high court into reversing the decision in the case, while pro-phoice activists showed their strong support for the ruling. Setting aside all the emotional rhe toric and hype, let’s look at the underly ing implications of the court decision and possible outcomes if the case were overturned. Perhaps the pro-choice movema afraid that the American people n she was to move against abortion. Right no# doesn’t matter what tl abortion. Right no# ( he people thii daces a sep; the case. The wor condition. the Supreme Court doesn’t have tot swer to them. But if state legislatti; had to write the laws concerning alt pe* r 7onnei lion, the people could express 4 said the w views and affect the outcome of tin state legislatures. Our political system was not meant to have an activist judicial branch; that is, judges making laws from the bench. to release f laws. Clearly, those opposed to o« , ^. tcI , r. j ,, , i l hospnal, D turning Roe vs. Wade will choke the fluence the American people have the legislative process. The 1973 Supreme Court case was initiated by a lawsuit filed by a Dallas woman, Jane Roe (not her real name). It challenged a state law that prohibited abortion except in cases where the mother’s life was endangered. Because the Supreme Court is the “law of the land,” their ruling against this Texas law mandated that all states were to lift re strictions on abortions and allow women access to abortions. Allowing the states to pass their own abortion legislation would give the peo ple their right to influence the process and the laws that they must live under. Legislators, who represent and are an swerable to their local constituencies, would be making the laws instead of ap pointed, life-term judges in Washing ton, D.C. I believe this is known as de mocracy. Alice Phys pital at 9:3 nojosa exp fallen 111" As a point of interest, part of) Roe’s case against the state law restit ing abortion on demand was that was pregnant because she had raped and had no control over thesitu tion. About a year and a half ago) Roe announced that she really hai been raped; she had lied to 1 emotional appeal to the court. So now, if the decision were to be re versed, the abortion issue would be han dled by each state individually. A rever sal does not mean that abortion would simply be made illegal, as some people have wrongly implied. Overturning the Roe vs. Wade ruling would take the law-making out of the U.S. Supreme Court and give it back to The states may lift the few restrictions there are on abortion, or they may com pletely ban abortion. Chances are that there will be different legislative pack ages passed in each state. This is the problem that pro-choice activists have with overturning Roe vs. Wade. An un certainty develops about future laws and they feel more comfortable know ing the present Supreme Court decision limits flexibilities in state laws. State governments, the governraet close to the people, write other dealing with peoples’ rights in install 5 such as rape, murder, robbery, andci' suits. Overturning Roe vs. Wade giving legislative authority back to; islative body would correct the 16-yei I old mistake. James Cecil is a senior econo® major and a columnist for The Balti Traditions don’t excuse foolishness and apathy “Aggie protests simply aren’t a tradi tion.” Or so read the column headline in the Jan. 17 issue of The Battalion. It made me want to crawl. I’m sick of traditions and conservatism being used as an excuse for apathy and blindness. Traditions have their time and their place and their season. They can be good and well founded, or destructive. I have mine, you have yours. Traditions cannot be avoided, for they are integral parts of our lives. Traditions are found in the family, in the church, in govern ment and friends and school. What annoys me, drives me to dis gust, is the placing of faith and trust into a tradition simply because it has always been. Blindness is not a virtue. There is a line from Joseph Byrnes, originally concerning religion, but it is applicable to every aspect of our lives. “Somehow people have to pay rational attention to their tradition in order to have it enter more fully into their lives.” I am reminded of a play. The setting was a small rural town. At the beginning the townspeople are talking about a lot tery — a lottery which happened every year to make the crops grow. An eighty- year-old man was discussing how the lottery wasn’t what it used to be back when he was an old man. One woman was laughing because she thought the lottery was a farce, and she was waiting for her brother to win. A mother was afraid that her child would get the lot. The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Becky Weisenfels, Editor Leslie Guy, Managing Editor Dean Sueltenfuss, Opinion Page Editor Anthony Wilson, City Editor Scot Walker, Wire Editor Drew Leder, News Editor Doug Walker, Sports Editor Jay Janner, Art Director Mary-Lynne Rice, Entertainment Edi tor 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. Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62 per school year and $36.44 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1 111. 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 TX77843-4111. The townspeople gathered around a metal box, a box that had always been used for the lottery. A man stood up and called each of the families one by one to draw. One by one they came. A family picked the luck of the draw, and each of the members of the family drew. The mother of the child won, and she was stoned to death. Everyone had a hand in it — after all, it had always been that way. We come to a university — at least in the ideal sense — to explore concepts and attitudes, to interact with thoughts and ideas, to stimulate ourselves, to learn. What is going on at A&M is not accu rate with that view. I see students afraid of different views, of awareness about key issues, of change. Maybe it isn’t fear; maybe it’s apathy. Could it be that stu dents at A&M are apathetic? Last Saturday, an anti-abortion rally was staged at Rudder Fountain to pro test the 16th anniversary of the Su preme Court decision to legalize abor tion. In addition to the anti-abortioners, a group of students decided to voice their opinion concerning pro-choice. Less than twenty students were there advocating pro-choice. It was not their rally; it was suprising that they were even there. Around 50 people were at tending the rally against abortion. The funny thing was that the majority of those people were professors and fami lies, not students whose lives would be affected by a change in the court ruling. Todd Honeycutt Columnist The number of students showing up to the rally tells one of two things. The first is that students at A&M are for abortion and do not feel that the anti- abortioners posed any kind of threat (which they do). The second is more plausable: that students at A&M are ap athetic and do not care about their rights, either pro-choice or anti-abor tion. Perhaps we should ask ourselves the following questions: Why are we so apa thetic, so complacent with the way our lives are or the way our lives may be in the future? Why are we so afraid of pro tests and change and people asking us to examine our beliefs? Much has been said of the Medicine Tribe and Students Against Apartheid and other so called liberal groups. Some people perceive them as being a bunch of homosexual, atheistic pinko-commu nists trying to incite a revolution of sorts. Fear — fear of difference and of change — plays a big part of perception in anything. Groups such as those men tioned see something about the woil that isn’t quite right, and they presa the evidence to the students. The si dents t hen can question their beliefs® morals and thoughts to determine! themselves if they are truly correct their thinking or if they simply are lie ing with the grain, blindly followingDi ditions. In an article last week concerning® dents’ reactions about the new c(K : dorms, one student said, “What tools long? We finally broke the conservati cloud that has lingered above A&M ft a long time.” While the imagery is goo: the irony in this quote is found in at other article concerning co-ed housing “Even though A&M is a conservati' school and we’re trying to maintain ik image, the surveys (concerning studfl interest in co-ed housing) showeda(W nite interest,” said David McDowj 1987-88 RITA President. A&M is changing. It has to changi You can see it in the new co-ed housii'i in the rise in social awareness, in then crease in the amount of protests. A$ is evolving, and it can evolve witho 1 - abolishing its traditions which ha* made A&M famous. All it takes is area 1 sessment of those traditions, those v/a 1 of thinking, which inhibit us. But, then again, maybe blindnessi> virtue at A&M. Todd Honeycutt is a sophomorep chology major and a columnist fort Battalion. J Noi Acc Riel Mei Riel Eco Jan He; Dai He; Gei Bio Mic Ecc Sue He Jan Ma Ch Edi Jor Em Wa Me Ma Ed Jar Oc See Ve Ca He Jo. 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