The Battalion
OPINION
Mail Call
Don’t condemn art
EDITOR:
Despite Mr. Salisbury’s talk of the Dixie Chicken as a gallery, women are
not “fine art.” This is a term applied to objects, to things; women just happen
to be people. I hope you can see the difference.
Now, while Mr. Salisbury was right in saying that art appreciation is
something that comes from inside, this doesn’t mean that an “art
appreciation” class could not help you enjoy art more. A class would expose
you to works from many different periods and classes of art, and would give
you a chance to learn what kind of art you like. It would also give you
something to compare other works against.
Just because you, Mr. Salisbury, dislike modern sculpture doesn’t mean
you should condemn fine arts as a whole.
The whole point of fine arts is to expose you to all the aspects of our
diverse world, whether you like it or not. Fine arts tries to give you an open
mind about everything and force you to drop your prejudices.
Despite the fact that you probably thought yourself very clever when you
implied a connection between art and homosexuality, and probably thought
it was a brilliant piece of “guilt by association,” in truth you only proved
you’ve no idea of what art is about and that you live in the everyone-not-like-
me-is-wrong past.
Try to act a little more sophisticated in the futur — meaning you should
hide your ignorance, not display it proudly in The Battalion.
A&M needs a fine arts department if for no other reason than to give
those who want to learn about art a little exposure to it.
At best, a fine arts department could bring all of A&M into the open-
minded ’80s, and could move A&M one step closer to being a “world-class
university.”
Mike Freeman ’91
Give Duke a chance
EDITOR
A few nights ago as I was watching Nightline, I became somewhat dis
turbed. The guest was David Duke, who, as we all know, was a former Ku
Klux Klan member and recently was elected to the Louisiana House of Rep
resentatives.
The very fact that the Klan was a part of his past should have (and has)
raised very serious questions concerning his moral and ethical character.
Some of the things Mr. Duke said sounded quite familiar. He spoke of
how affirmative action has gone too far and how whites are subject to being
skipped over for job promotions and scholarships simply because of the color
of their skin. He also mentioned how there is a tremendous swelling of wel
fare recipients, both black and white, that is bankrupting this nation.
These are all very serious issues that deserve very serious reasoning.
However, the fact that this man possesses such a sordid past has over
shadowed what he is trying to say.
Now, I know I will be lambasted by accusations of bigotry and racism, but
these charges simply aren’t true.
I deploreTacism in all its forms and am as unbigotecTas a man can get. I
simply believe a man’s past is his past. If he proves he truly doesn’t harbor
feelings of hatred anymore, he has a right to be listened to. If this weren’t
true, then such former radicals as Jesse Jackson and Jane Fonda would still be
scowled upon today.
If, however, he still possesses these unjust qualities, then he should be im
peached and removed quickly and with no remorse.
Mr. Duke and his constituents cannot be ignored. This is still a democracy
and it seems the people he represents have spoken. Neither the Republican
party nor those claiming to boycott the House proceedings have the right to
deny the people in this particular Louisiana district their constitutional rights
in the legislative process.
To refuse to work with Mr. Duke would be a travesty against the entire
concept of democracy.
What it boils down to is the dream of a truly equal America where people
are judged on their minds and abilities, not the color of their skin.
The great Martin Luther King wanted it this way and with God’s will,
someday it will be.
Freddy Calhoun ’90
Be grateful for what you have
EDITOR:
Have we lost the sense of pride in our country? At the military review on
Feb. 25, the national anthem was played. From a respectful position of
attention, one could see several groups of people remaining seated or
running around playing.
They should have been able to hear the music because it was played by
the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band which made it both loud and unmistakable.
So, why didn’t they stand quietly and respectfully until the anthem’s finish?
Why is it when the flag is being raised or lowered on the quad or at the
Academic Building, people don’t stop and stand still until the flag is
completely raised or lowered?
Finally, when Taps is played every night in recognition of the soldiers
who have fought and died for this country, why do people continue to walk
and talk as if nothing is going on around them. Try being aware of the little
honors paid to this country.
It might make you a little more grateful for what you’ve been given.
Carmen Goyette ’89
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit letters
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The Battalion
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Member of
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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
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resent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, fac
ulty or the Board of Regents.
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You can call me
Let’s talk about cars — or more spe
cifically, mishaps in cars.
I have a particular interest in this sub
ject right now because I was in a fender-
bender last weekend.
The story starts with a group of nine
Batt-staffers on the road and yucking it
up. We were headed for Louisiana, Cre
ole country, Cajun land.
A journalism conference in Baton
Rouge had our names on it, and we
were excited. Fiona drove the lead car
— a Porsche. I was driving my car in the
middle and Wade was following in his
truck.
We were a caravan and we were hav
ing fun, especially since we got to see ev
ery run-down restroom between here
and Baton Rouge.
Then, in some obscure town in front
of a dilapidated convenience store, IT
happened. I smacked into the back end
of Fiona’s Porsche.
In later conversations, my dad would
ask me WHY oh WHY did I decide to
hit a PORSCHE? Why couldn’t I pick a
Volkswagen or a Chevy or something?
I don’t have an answer — but if I
could go back and do it again, I am sure
I would be more careful and check
sticker prices before I accelerated and
smacked a car.
Anyway, we all piled out of the cars
and gathered around the injured
bumper. By the way, my car was fine —
no bumps, no dents, no scratches. I
Becky
Weisenfels
Editor
know you are glad to hear that. Of
course, my car would have cost less to
fix, but that was a moot point at this
stage of the game.
The Porsche’s bumper, on the other
hand, was broken. And I do mean bro
ken. We are talking about a split in a
metal bumper — like when you take a
straight pipe and bend it.
I had a foreboding feeling about this
trip, and was I ever right. I just don’t get
along with cars that well. Not that I have
had a lot of wrecks —just one (on police
records). That one involved smoke, a
delivery lady and cotton candy.
Off the record, I have backed into my
dad’s car, swiped a bed with my moth
er’s car (don’t ask) and run over every
curb from here to Boston in my broth
er’s truck.
I once banged on my ignition switch
with a hammer (we had to get it re
placed) and jumped a curb to land in
the middle of an open field.
It’s not just the little mishaps, though.
I get tickets — lots of them.
I
‘Crash’
When I first started attending A&M,
I could not make a trip home without
getting a ticket for speeding, passing in
a no-passing zone or spitting out the
window.
When my brother started coming to
A&M, my parents put him in charge of
me on the trips home. If we drove to
gether, he was supposed to keep an eye
on my speedometer. If we drove sepa
rate vehicles, I heard my parents tell
him to “drive in front of her and
DON’T LET HER PASS YOU.”
So I was reduced to a dependent
driver, and it worked. No more tickets.
I began taking the trips on myown.l
went for quite a while without a ticket
(we are, of course, not counting A&M
parking tickets). It had been a few
months and I was feeling lucky.
Until last weekend, until the Porsche
predicament.
Fiona took it all very well. She said
she wasn’t angry (while she gritted her
teeth). 1 was embarrassed and upset (for
10 minutes — but I wasn’t going to let it
totally ruin my weekend).
So we took pictures (journalism ma
jors always have a camera in the car)and
got back on the road.
The best picture is of me, Fiona and
the bumper — it’s hanging on tny office
door. If you care to come up and look,
you can see the crack in the bumper. I’m
laughing and Fiona looks, well ... un
happy.
Becky Weisenfels is a senior journa
lism major and editor of The Battalion.
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If you plan to sue someone,
do it in the United States
Americans sometimes take for
granted how fortunate we are to live in
this country. Despite our many severe
problems — crime, drugs, racial strife
and Morton Downey Jr. — we still have
a good deal.
And just how good a deal we have,
compared with much of the world, was
illustrated by a couple of recent court
cases.
One of them was in India. T he other,
in California.
In India, a financial settlement was fi
nally reached between the Indian gov
ernment and Union Carbide for the
worst industrial disaster in history: the
Bhopal gas leak.
Union Carbide agreed to pay $470
million in damages. The Indian govern
ment will get the money and try to find
a fair way to compensate the families of
the 3,329 people who died as a result of
a gas leak in 1984.
The money will also be used to help
pay the medical expenses of more than
200,000 who were injured, but didn’t
die.
And presumably, some will go to the
families of those who are still dying at
the rate of one person a day from the ef
fects of the leak.
Now, $470 million sounds like a lot of
money, and it is.
But if the entire sum were divided
only among the families of those who
have died — never mind the injured
and those who have yet to die — it
would come to less than $150,000 per
death.
That would make the families
wealthy because % 150,000 in India has
the buying power of about $1 million
here. Yet, even $1 million for the death
of a loved one would be considered pal
try by most American lawyers and ju
ries.
And the fact is, no Indian family will
get that much. As I said, about 200,000
Mike
Royko
Columnist
people are still sick because of the gas
leak. Mush of the $470 million set
tlement will be spent on their medical
expenses.
So by the time the money is spread
around, nobody is going to have much
to show for all the deaths and suffering.
And that’s what I mean about how
fortunate we are to be Americans. Even
better, a California American.
That’s what Marc Christian is. He’s
also an instant millionaire. At least on
paper.
A Los Angeles jury recently awarded
Christian more than $21 million, which
is a lot of money even in California.
Christian, 35, didn’t die in an indus
trial accident. Nor is he ill. If anything,
the trim, handsome, blond young man
appears to be in fine health.
But the jury decided he deserved al
most $22 million because of the anxiety
he suffered after he discovered that ac
tor Rock Hudson was dying of AIDS.
He had reason to be worried, since he
spent several years living with Hudson
as the actor’s sex partner and compan
ion.
(Other publications refer to him as
Hudson’s “lover,” but I’m old-fashioned
enough to believe that word should be
reserved for people who demonstrate
that they are truly in love, rather than
truly in bed.)
Christian had sued Hudson’s estate
and the actor’s personal secretary be
cause the actor and the secretary failed
to warn him that Hudson had AIDS.
They persuaded him that Hudson was
losing weight and looking haggard be
cause of other reasons, including a bad
diet.
So, unaware of the risk, he and Hud
son continued their sexual relationship.
It was only when the facts leaked out
before Hudson died that Christian dis
covered the terrible truth.
This is when he stirfered fear, anxiety
and emotional distress.
Fortunately, Christian tested negati
vely for AIDS. However, his lawyers ar
gued that he could develop the illness in
the future.
So the jury gave him $14.5 million
from Hudson’s estate, and another
$7.25 million in punitive damages from
Hudsons male secretary for helping
keep the nasty secret from him.
The estate and the secretary don’t
have that kind of money, but if the
award holds up under appeal, it will be
paid by insurance companies.
Christian and his lawyers hailed the
verdict as a legal landmark, saying it
could serve as a warning to others that
they should not risk giving someone
AIDS or they could be sued.
They may be right, but I’m not sure.
By now, most homosexuals are in
formed about AIDS and how they can
get it. Most new cases are being trans
mitted by dope addicts using tainted
needles.
So I doubt if anyone will get much
money by suing a fellow junkie.
But the two cases provide a remarka
ble contrast.
In India, thousands are already dead.
Thousands more will die. Yet, when the
medical bills are paid and the money has
been spread around, none of the victims
or their survivors will get more than a
few thousand dollars from the giant
American corporation.
Marc Christian, on the other hand,
will receive almost $22 million for his
anxiety, stress and fear.
As I said, it makes one feel lucky to be
an American. But not particularly
proud.
Copyright 1989, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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