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.
Eo
Ja<
Ed
Or
Ag
Ar
Ele
M;
Bi,
La
Ve
Jai
Pa
Da
Cc
Je
in
w
lif
FI
Lc