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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1989)
The Battalion OPINION Batta! Wednesday, February 1,1989 Vednesi NCAA’s Prop 42 stresses academics op de, Proposition 42, recently approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, requires high school students to receive an average of 70 in basic high school courses in order to receive ath letic scholarships to Division I colleges. It also requires prospec tive Division I athletes to score a minimum of 700 on the Scholas tic Aptitude Test or a minimum of 15 on the American College Test. Before Proposition 42 was approved by the NCAA, students not meeting these requirements lost one year of eligibility but were still allowed to attend college under athletic scholarships. Proposition 42 is a message from the NCAA. It is a message that says there must be some sort of academic standards for col lege athletes and that these standards must be upheld — even if doing so keeps talented athletes out of college. The NCAA has created controversy by passing this proposition, but they have done what is right. Some critics of Proposition 42 say it will deny a college edu cation to students whose only way of getting to college through athletic scholarships — perhaps it will. is But it also will send a message to high scool students: Get your act together, make good grades and start taking academics seriously if you want to participate in collegiate athletics. And this is precisely the message high school students need to hear. They need to be told that being a good athlete is not enough. They need to be told that school is more than just foot ball, basketball or baseball. They need to be told that academics should be more important than athletics. Proposition 42 is reasonable. It simply requires student ath letes to meet minimum academic standards before they partici pate in college athletics. When one considers that many universi ties require non-athletes to be in the top half of their high school classes and to score in the 1000’s on SAT tests to be admitted, Proposition 42 seems fair indeed. The Battalion Editorial Board Morton Downey Jr. offerpk The Morton Downey Jr. Show is the best program currently on television. The power and excitement of the show are unequalled on any of the “quieter” talk shows. Many of you are probably saying to yourself “This guy’s a lunatic.” But please don’t talk about Mort that way. •Background* Timm Doolen Columnist | AUSTIN 1 slime like you in the White HoustM 1 .^’ "j-'yesd puke on you.” And that’s when* 1 nice. Morton Downey, a man of Irish de scent, reads 17 newspapers and mag azines every day and three books every week. hold extreme might say are field.” views, “out i views i left that one (or right) jssion. In a 28-m ■wmakers s lc » | S) Clement What surprises me most about Mort is that he is one of the most non-racist people I have ever seen on a television talk show. As evidenced on some of his shows, he can not tolerate discrimina tion in any form, even reverse discrimi nation. But by providing discussion of ex treme views (sometimes caricatures) on certain issues, we reassess our own views and see that ours are not necessarily as popular as we thought. Sbmetimes our own ideas border on the extreme. That’s a good example of one thing that makes Mort a cut above the rest — he thinks about things logically. He looks at many sides of a given argument and decides which one is most logical within his frame of mind, free from many of the biases that society puts on us. T his is obvious if one reads his book, “Mort! Mort! Mort!” By providing a diversity of opinion at an extreme level, he effectively polarizes the show. At any one point, two or more people will be ready to break into a fight. Obviously they feel strongly about their beliefs or they wouldn’t have taken the risk of going up against Mort. opment rem; Iged the fj You don’t hear that kind of hoinfc on one of the “wimp” shows. ».j r e-em] never hear Donahue insult any oftmicdevek guests, or call them “pablunrputMopardy by liberals. Downey, speaking about Implements tol val, once said: “Donahue is a wimp. He tries to intellectualizeeven sue. Well, there’s no room for tualizing every issue.” Mort has nt Enerous si been accused of over-intellectuali; Iveral in ci anything. Ihichoverse I He also Morton Downey can teach usallif j,ergers bet a bit. He appeals to our animal insti 'exas and to deride those with whom wedisagi He teaches us that heightening one's, ger brings out one’s true feelings,.! he can teach us how to really ins someone when we’re losing an an ment. •Give Mort a chance* Even if we don’t agree that theII ton Downey Show is a useful forum political and social thought, we must rnit that it is entertaining. It’sfunto exas institi But the on’t seek n andnuing s arsis to le; “The bot iced a tax rust reach ;et that fits maintain ttax increa Some law itional $1 ver the $4: •The show* The show itself makes use of a num ber of speakers on certain topics. Words are rarely minced — the guests say exac tly what they want to say. One staple of the show is seeing Mort, the guests, and the audience all screaming at each other. Morton always wins. Some say the show is all hype, with no real substance involved. Yet if you watch some of the shows, you’ll it is more than just shtick, there are some serious ques tions raised and serious answers pro posed on a variety of topics. him make a fool of somebody om irojected tional television. That’s one reason the show has become the most syndicated late-night decade. program mi ullock th;) ature that ►Not like most other shows* Mail Call Proud to be black EDITOR: An article concerning interracial fraternities, which appeared in The Battalion on Jan. 30, quoted me as saying that “I did not want to bejust another black person.” That was not what I meant. What I meant was that I did not want to be stereotyped as just another black person. I am proud that I am black and I want that to be known. Reggie Parks 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. He’s not kind to some of his guests, and in fact he occasionally throws one off the set, but never without good rea son. Some criticize Morton Downey for being overly biased one way or another about the issues discussed on his pro gram. Sure he’s biased, and he readily shows it. Go ahead and criticize Mortforbe rude and obnoxious — he’ll bethefe to admit it. As he says in his com cials, “I’ll insult everything excepn intelligence.” But please don’t condemn Mon f ore he’s been given a fair chance Some people say that they don’t like the Morton Downey Jr. Show because of all the yelling and screaming. Yet when tensions are high and reflexes mean ev erything, people say what their mind really wants them to say, not a pre viously prepared message that projects them in the best light. The yelling and dramatics involved also help keep view ers interested. But the majority of the program is good intellectual banter. Unlike other talk shows, he doesn’t fool you into believing that his commen tary on a topic is objective. He tells you exactly what he thinks about a subject. many people have unduly criticized! without even watching a whole show Have you ever been watching a nor mal talk show, and after listening to some jerk spill out total nonsense for five minutes wish you could tell him to shut up? Morton Downey has felt this feeling and he puts it into words. He’s told almost everyone on his show to “zip it!” T ry watching him. But please w more than one show, and watch show from the beginning, or the ate later on might seem unfounded honesty, the first time I watched him was repulsed by his actions and wot! But after watching a week of show realized that Morton Downey wasa« sensible man who entertains a varietj opinions — something that many oil critics are unwilling to do with respei him. f ,eriod. Clements lan offere ome state r ial funds ii ral Revenu Clements Stud posit Sure, he has people on the show that Once to an angry woman he said, “Shut up, you old hag!” And to a Liber tarian candidate he yelled, “If I had a Timm Doolen is a sophomore co: puter science major and a column for The Battalion. Old wrestlers just don’t know when to shut up Lewis Grizzard Columnist Freddie Blassie was on a television talk show I was half watching the other day. I hadn’t thought of Freddie Blassie in years. I would have guessed he was dead by now, either by natural causes or at the hand of a wrestling fan. I’m a couple of paragraphs into this thing and I haven’t identified Freddie Blassie yet. The first time I saw Freddie Blassie was on a live wrestling match on tele vision. It had to be in the mid-’50s. Freddie and other “rasslers” were in black and white, I remember that. up his father (who weighed 220 pounds) just because he suspended his allowance for one week. Yes, even as a child Fred die waSjOne tough cookie. But he was even tougher in the ring. He did awful things to Tarzan White and Ray Gunkell, two of my ring heroes. My grandmother, the only person w'ho thought the moon shot was a fake and professional wrestling real, absolu tely hated Freddie Blassie — which is an indication of just what a cad the man was. pointed at the television screen as Fred die rubbed salt in Argentina Rocca’s eyes. I think it was Freddie Blassie who used it first. “Why don’t the referee do something about that. . . that. . .” “Scoundrel,” I suggested to my grandmother. “Scoundrel,” she would add to her ti rade. He didn’t like Southerners. He called us pencil-neck geeks and suggested we were ignorant and unwashed. “God’s going to get you for saying that,” my grandmother admonished the television set one afternoon as Freddie was into his act, throwing chairs and in sults. Freddie Blassie called everybody he didn’t like a “pencil-neck geek.” I’ve heard that phrase used since but Freddie’s in his 70s now, and he still has a full head of hair. He looked fit enough to climb into the ring with some of today’s pretenders (who could: carry Freddie’s tights when it comes putting on a hell of a show). Freddie’s an official with one of professional wrestling organizado now, and before he departed the show’ he threw a couple of chairs called Regis Philbin a pencil-neck geel My grandmother would have tab up for Regis Philbin if she had seen show. That’s how much she despised Frf die Blassie. Copyright 1989, Cowles Syndicate My grandmother always could find something nice to say about everybody, even Cooler Brown, the town drunk. Freddie Blassie was one of wrestling’s pioneer bad guys. He had a thick head of blond hair, and he strutted around the ring and he was a cheat, a braggart and a bully. “Cooler Brown’s back in jail for drinking and fighting and cussing and non-support of his wife and children and for spitting on the sheriff,” I re ported to my grandmother one day. PRESIDENTIAL SPORTS “VVull,” she replied, “nobody’s per fect.” He was a tough guy, that Freddie. He struck terror into the hearts of other wrestlers. Freddie was so tough that when he was just seven years old he beat If my grandmother had known any curse words — and I’m convinced she didn’t — she would have used them on Freddie Blassie. “Look at him!” she’d shout, finger 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 tor Edi- Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspa per operated as a community service to Texas A&M and Bryan-Oollege 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- ultv 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.-}4 per semester. S3 1.62 per school year and $36.44 per full vear. 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 ihc Battal ion. 216 Reed McDonald. Texas A&M Universitv, Col lege Station TX 77843-41 11. A list < scats will mm the secoii Applicant 3 and will : Questit to Micha< Tempore Marches ^ Ml r