The Battalion
he Battal
OPINION
Mail Call
Foreign profs not difficult to understand
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to the Jan. 24 article “Teachers’ English discussed by
Board.”
Since my first semester here, this topic has been a concern of mine. Granted,
there are a few professors and teaching assistants who are difficult if not
impossible to understand. But I feel the communications problems lie not with the
instructors, but with the students.
Often, before the instructor completes his or her first sentence, a chorus of “I
can’t understand a word they’re saying” can be heard. If A&M is to become the
world class” University it once strove to be, foreign professors, teaching assistants
and students are an integral part. Otherwise, the greatest accomplishment of this
institution can be “American class” University.
I encourage and challenge all students to be patient and maybe a little more
attentive to all visiting instructors. But be careful, you might learn something.
Kenneth M. Beishir ’90
Christian beliefs are ‘facts’
EDITOR.
In regard to Mr. Freeman’s letter of Jan. 25,1 believe that there is nothing
wrong with the attitudes of Christians who openly discuss their Christian (not
religious) beliefs.
Mr. Freeman is disgruntled that Christians do not label our expression as a
“theory” or “opinion.”
We convey our beliefs as facts because we have experienced the reality of ,
Christ within our lives. True, it is each individual’s inherent right to accept or
reject the reality of Christ, for He himself taught this principle.
We do not expect everyone to accept the reality of Christ (although this is our
ambition) for one does not accept fact without its support by proof. Just as a child
does not accept the fact that a fire will burn him until he touches the flame, a
person does not truly accept Christ until he experiences the reality. Those who
adhere to the adage “seeing is believing” will believe someday. “For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for
his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
It is not a question of IF a person believes in Christ but WHEN a person accepts
the reality. I just hope that those who do not believe now come to the realization in
this life before it is too late. For this reason, Christians do not express their belief as
an opinion or theory; this would be a misrepresentation of fact.
Drew Popelka ’92
.et’s practice religion in church
EDITOR:
I am writing in response to Brian Butler’s Jan. 23 letter.
In it, he tried to make some arguments against Hope Warren’s Jan. 17 letter
that said religious beliefs should be kept out of the classroom.
Brian, I bet you were one of the people who gave half your life savings to Oral
Roberts a couple of years ago.
What you and obsessed people like you have got to understand is that there is a
time and a place for everything. The time for religious talk is church on Sunday or
Wednesday or whenever you go. If you have a theQlpgy class, bilk about it then,
not in economics. , rr j
Brian, the point is that if I pay to take a class, I don’t need Dr. X telling me
about his religious belefs instead of whaf s going to be on the next exam. He’s
taking up my time with something I didn’t ask for.
What if the next time you went to the bank, the teller gave you a 20 minute
lecture on Buddhism before giving you your money. I bet you’d be pretty irate,
now wouldn’t you?
When you say it’s a professor’s right to “spread the word” in the classroom,
you’re wrong. That is not his job and that is not what he is asked to do.
Let him preach any other place, but please, not on my time.
Kevin G. McGeagh ’91
Religion: The final letter
EDITOR:
In the Jan. 24 issue of The -Bafta/ion, Jeffrey Zimring proposes several things
concerning a professor’s right to express his or her religious beliefs in the
classroom. I do not agree with what he proposes.
First, Mr. Zimring states that “the professor’s views are of interest only to those
who share the beliefs of Christianity,” and are therefore “inappropriate.” Well, are
we then to allow only those views of which the class unanimously approves? If so,
we will end up as ideological clones or will be sucked into a scholastic vacuum.
Secondly, Mr. Zimring states that “it is not fair ... to expect non-Christians to
endure Christian ideas in the classroom.” Is it then absurd to suggest that it is also
“not fair” to expect creationists to endure evolutionist ideas, or Democrats to
endure Republican ideas, or even a Christian to endure the discussion of “Godless”
ideas?
I believe that Jesus Christ offers a personal relationship to those who only ask.
However, I also believe the decision to accept or reject His offer is an individual’s
own choice, and not a decision someone can force a person to make. People must
make up their own minds, for each is responsible for their own decision.
As Mr. Zimring pointed out, there are a great number of beliefs represented at
Texas A&M. In view of this, we must decide what we believe for ourselves, so that
we are not threatened by the presentation of ideas in the classroom which are not
our own.
Scott Seidel ’90
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.
EDIT OR’S NO FE: Fliers of a mock Battalion article were distributed around cam-
pus Thursday — and if you didn’t look closely, you might have thought they were
real.
The mock article was a personal joke among friends that simply was misunder
stood by someone who reproduced and distributed it.
Our main concern is that some people may have been led to believe it was a real
article, which it wasn’t. We take our work at The Battalion seriously and apologize
if anyone was misled.
Becky Weisenfels
Editor
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
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Mail subscriptions are $17.44 per semester, $34.62
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Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald,
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-H 11.
Second class postage paid at College Station, TX
77843.
AUSTIN
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ust think th
Ol’ Barb is one of the girl
So Ronnie got the gold watch, George
took the oath and we all got a new presi
dent.
I watched as much of the inaugura
tion as I could, between classes and
work. I even saw the Aggie Band, after
searching desperately when every chan
nel went to a commercial right as it came
into sight. But I did get to see it.
I saw the cavalry marching in front of
a giant hat (I guess was a float) and be
hind the UT band. Good spot.
I did miss, however, the Ross Volun
teers marching by the reviewing stand,
turning to look at the new president of
the United States — and see him
looking down and putting Sweet ’n Low
in his coffee. What a thrill.
And then I watched “20/20” to see
Barbara Walters talk to the new big man
and his wife. As I sat watching, I real
ized something. Through the entire
day, I kept hearing the same phrase
over and over again. Can you guess
what it was?
A. I thought Michael Dukakis won
the election.
. B. Can we turn the channel and see if
“Rawhide” is on?
C. Oh, so Dan Quayle is still alive.
D. I really like Barbara Bush.
E. Are they still delivering mail to
day?
If you guessed D., you guessed abso
lutely right. For some reason, Barbara
Bush has really hit it off big with a lot of
people. George isn’t the only one who
Finds her to be a neat lady.
I think this is going to be an asset for
George in the White House.
On the “20/20” interview, Walters
asked President Bush (doesn’t that
sound odd?) about his wife’s popularity.
He said that he thinks the American
people sense a “genuineness” about his
wife. I think that’s pretty close to the
mark.
Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush are
the Lady Di and Princess Fergie of
America (though they are just a few
years older).
First there was Nancy, who is compa
rable to Lady Di. They both have fa
mous husbands who put them in the
limelight. They both dress well (usually
— at least better than me) and project a
distinguished, classy air (again, better
than me). They know their etiquette and
carry off their public roles well. They’re
the type of people who get their homes
in “Better Homes and Gardens.” They
never get a run in their hose or have
their hair go flat.
Then there is Barbara (let’s call her
Barb just for kicks) and Fergie. They
both came after the glamour girls. They
both have a more relaxed and lively atti
tude. T hey’re the type of people
read “Better Homes and Gardens
cookie recipes. They would rathe:
comfortable than glamorous,
them. T hey seem human.
Barbara Bush will tell you allt
things about herself and then ti
that she doesn’t care what people sai
she’s not changing. People admiretk
We spend our entire life looking
magazines and television shows v
these wonderful, beautiful, ii
people who we are supposed toemuli
We, too, are supposed to wearasiii
(have I got news for you) and lookgi
even after exercising (my hair sticks
and my face turns red). Let’s faceii
it’s US against THEM.
And Barbara Bush seems an awful
like US.
I have the funny feeling that,
exercising, her hair sticks up andl
face turns red, too. I like that.
Barb also has a good attitude at)
the White House. She has keptitinp
spective. She knows that she was
elected, and doesn’t expect to be a
in policy decisions. That doesn’t mi
she will never give her opinion, but
realizes that is all it is — her opinion
She said that the only change
plans on making is that when she
up to walk the dog in the morning,
will put on her jogging suit instead
her bathrobe. Good deal. Nancy pro!
bly would wear a chiffon dress wiil|
corsage and pearl earrings.
Becky Weisenfels is a seniorjoi
lism major and editor of The Battalii
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of it.”
Drugs need to be legalized
The “War on Drugs” is headed north.
The Alaska State Legislature is consid
ering a number of different bills that
are intended to tax, fine, or criminalize
private marijuana use. That’s right, I
k said criminalize. In Alaska it is still legal
to grow and keep small quantities of pot.
It is also legal to use pot in your own
home.
armer
Guest columnist
The reason for this is that Alaskans
value their independence from govern
ment interference. They have a privacy
provision in their state constitution, and
state courts have ruled that it is uncon
stitutional for the state to prohibit pri
vate activities that are not a threat to
others (such as marijuana use). This
provision was put there by the people of
Alaska in a referendum.
But the war on drugs is the political
fad of the year, and it is finally getting
up to the Arctic Circle. Different legis
lators have proposed 'different means
for getting around the unconstitutional
ity of intruding on the privacy of their
citizens; the ideas range from a steep tax
to submitting another referendum to
the voters.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battal
ion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col-
lege Station TX 77843-4111.
T he various proponents of the
changes are using the same arguments
that are always used to justify a paterna
listic government protecting its citizens
from themselves. Think about the chil
dren. We’ve got to control this or it will
get out of hand. Other silly things. One
state legislator said that when police an
swer domestic violence calls and find a
husband beating his wife, they find that
he’s on pot “every time.”
I hope these legislators don’t succeed.
In fact, I think the rest of the states
would do better to move in the direction
of Alaska and institute a rational, moral
and workable drug policy — and not
just for pot, but for all of the popular,
illegal drugs. By this I mean that drugs
should be decriminalized, taxed, and
made available to adults (perhaps by
prescription) at reasonable prices. Pu
rity should be controlled, and the tax
revenues should go to hospitals and
treatment centers to pay for the care
and rehabilitation of addicts.
I know this isn’t a popular stand. If
you’re already uspet, try to calm down a
bit before reading further.
This policy is rational. I resent having
my tax dolars go to support police-state
tactics and suppression of people’s civil
liberties. I also resent having to foot the
bill for the treatments provided to ad
dicts by various government agencies.
After all, I’m not the one who made the
choice to use some dangerous drug.
The ones who take the risk are the ones
who should pay the consequences. Un
der this proposal, they will. If more peo
ple begin using drugs, tax revenues will
increase to pay for the increase in health
problems that may be associated with
the drugs. The level of the tax can re
flect the danger of the drug. (In fact, if
this strategy were followed there would
be less tax on pot than on booze.)
This policy is moral. The abuse of
government power and the intrusion of
government into the private lives of its
citizens is a great evil. It is just as
the majority to force its will upon
minority with no consideration fortl*
rights. The morality of the pro|
comes straight from the golden ru
You don’t send your police in to
house to shoot at me and steal myp
and I won’t shoot my way into f
house and steal your booze. It’s
foundation of the civilized world.
The policy is workable. We ha«
Food and Drug Administration to
drugs and affix warning labels. Welti
doctors and pharmacies. Furthering
the organized criminals who presec
make so much money from the i
trade (not to mention the elected ol
cials on the take) would be put on)
business; when the prices drop, they
no longer be able to afford those fat
smuggling operations.
I can hear the arguments now:
children. The domestic Violence.
Well.
As for the children, youths tod
have freer access to pot than to pent
lin. Which one is illegal?
As for domestic violence, its lx 1
around for a while and probably vi®
go away easily. If we can’t blame dn
then we’ll blame cholesterol.
And when the National Food Po
break down your door looking fori 1
meat (or the National Sex Police col
looking for pornography), don’t say'
weren’t warned, because I’m warn!
you. Right now.
Jeffrey Farmer is a graduate stub
of mathematics and a guest colufli
for The Battalion.
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