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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1991)
Opinion i Friday, March 8, 1991 American The Battalion Opinion Page Editor Jennifer Jeffus 845-3314 TUI HU ■■■■■ -Ml ■■■!■ ■■■ students demand right to lose freedom You've gotta fight For your right To PARTY! V iolence is usually the least efficient tactic for anyone to use to get their way. Just ask any professional soldier like Powell or Schwarzkopf. They'll tell you that peaceful solutions are preferable to violent ones any day. However, they also will tell you that there are some ideals which are so important that they cannot be violated without a fight. That must be how the 1,000 University of Hartford students felt in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 3. According to the Associated Press, a riot broke out there when campus police sought to break up an unauthorized on-campus keg party. Rather than turning over the brew to the police, students began pushing and shoving the officers, who then called in assistance from city police. Apparently, the conflict escalated as Tim Tj Truesdale flff| Columnist Ms the crowd moved into a common outside the housing complex. Students reportedly threw rocks and bottles at officers for about 25 minutes. Before it was over, 12 students were arrested. There also were seven police officers and nine students injured. American students aren't the only ones who have been rioting this past week. Halfway across the world, Egyptian students have been rioting as well. However, they had very different reasons. They were protesting American involvement in what they perceived as an Arab problem. At first glance, these motives appear to be very different. Unauthorized keg parties and American interventionism appear to be different matters. But I think we can say that one principle underlies both actions: Freedom and self-determination. The University of Hartford students obviously wanted to be free from regulations imposed by the campus police. Likewise, the Egyptian students refused to submit themselves to the authority of the "policemen of the world." Is that the end of the story? Is the right to party the only cause worthy of violence in the United States? It's no wonder that the civil rights movement has disappeared. Unable to fight a two-front war with the establishment, we've chosen to fight for the most important ideal we can concieve of: The right to get smashed. Maybe the similarities between the Hartford riot and the Cairo riots aren't so clear after all. The Egyptians were calling for more autonomy over determining the future of the region. O n the other hand, what the Americans wanted was the right to take themselves from under the control of the police and put themselves under the control of alcohol. Let's face it, the guy at the party who is most smashed has the least amount of freedom. He couldn't walk a straight line to save his life. He has no autonomy whatsoever. He's entirely at the mercy of others to make decisions for him. So much for freedom! When we think about the way the Nazis dominated Germany, we are appalled. Hitler walked in and promised people that in return for relinquishing their freedom, he would make their lives better. History teaches us that he certainly collected the payment; but he couldn't deliver the product. People who sold out to Hitler's program ended up doing absolutely unhuman things to other people. We are so quick to criticize, aren't we? The reality is that getting smashed promises a better life. All it requires is for you to give up some of your freedom. Freedom to control your own body and mind. And let's face it, when people buy the line, they can do some pretty inhuman things to other people. Ask me about it. I lost my grandfather to a drunk driver who wanted a little "freedom." In my opinion, the University of Hartford students were rioting not for freedom and self-determination, but for a right to choose; a right to choose under which authoritarian tyrant to place themselves. The school's regulation or the brew. I hear they're singing a new song in Hartford: You gotta fight For your right To give up your freedom to think and act for yourself: In return for the good life. Well, maybe the lyrics don't fit the tune very well. Somehow, that doesn't surprise me ... Tim Truesdale is a graduate student in urban planning. A&M celebrates environmentalism Tell somebody you're from Texas A&M University and inevitably they will think of football, the Corps and, if the trend continues, the ENVIRON MENT! This might come as a surprise to some of you now, but in fact A&M re cently has been getting a lot of atten tion for many exciting ecological devel opments. This is only natural for a school with so much emphasis on engi neering and life sciences. In fact, there is some really notable academic research with environmental implications going on at A&M. The alternative fuel research at the Texas Energy Experiment Station is a great example. What about leaking landfills? We have some nationally known faculty studying at the Depart ment of Soil and Crop Sciences. And the Department of Environmental En gineering is doing groundwater re search, for starters. But the list doesn't stop there; we've got the Sustainable Agriculture pro gram and the Energy Extension Serv- Charles Albert Reader’s Opinion ice, to name two others. On the administrative side, there is of course the new Campus Recycling Program. And thanks to Student Gov ernment's Environmental Issues Com mittee, a record number of clubs are earning extra money by recycling alu minum. A&M also has a lot of clubs with eco logical themes; general issues clubs range from the Texas Environmental Action Coalition and the Natural Re source Conservation Association to Earth First!-Out There and the Medi cine Tribe. But there also are many clubs with specific focuses that are environmen tally related, including the Bicycling Club, the Speleological Society, the Outdoor Rec Club, Oceanography and Entomology Graduate Students, the Wildlife Biology Society and Aggies Against Bonfire. The B-CS community is in on the ac tion too: In addition to TEAC's commu nity events, there are the Wildflower and Native Plant Society, Ducks Un limited, the local Audobon Society and Sierra Club and Brazos Beautiful. The Oklahoma and Texas Environ mental Meeting — March 22 to 24 — is the first of its type in Texas, and it's happening right here at A&M! There will be more than 100 student groups converging here for three days of concerts, special events, lectures, speeches, workshops and an eco/career fair. Green Week, from March 17 to 22, will get the ball rolling with many other A&M clubs holding special environ mentally oriented events. Call TEAC at 847-0341 or 693-3371 for more information. Charles Albert is a physics graduate student and TEAC president. Mail Call The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers and welcomes all letters to the editor. Please include name, classification, address and phone number on all letters. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for style and length. Because of limited space, shorter letters have a better chance of appearing. There is, however, no guarantee letters will appear. Letters may be brought to 216 Reed McDonald or sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111. Keep an eye on Soviets EDITOR: May I commend Larry Cox, graduate student in range science, for his per ceptive column (March 5) reminding us in the midst of our euphoria over knocking out Saddam Hussein that we must keep an eye on our most formi dable opponent, the Soviet Union, the evil empire. Cox reminded us of the Soviet intent to subdue capitalism and the United States by any means, fair or foul. We must pay attenhon to history; we must remember that the Soviet Union never has deviated from its goal of world domination. Never! All this talk of glasnost and perestroika is a smoke screen, designed to l.ull the United States into complacency. So far, it's working. We're being conned. We have fallen for all that nonsense to the extent that we are dismantling our armed forces, reducing our defenses against? ... There's only one enemy: The Soviet Union. It's not impossible for the Soviet Union to have sponsored the Iraqi take over of Kuwait to lure us into another shooting scrape, to test once more our capabilities and our resolve: Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Grenada ... If so, once more, it didn't work; thank God. So far, we still had our guard up. Let's keep it up. Dr. Doug Starr journalism professor Thanks TEAC EDITOR: I just finished reading Katherine Coffey's articles covering the tree plant ing by bonfire. Although I enjoyed the articles, I realized I might have said two or three things in a confusing manner. First, there was some confusion concerning the containerized trees we planted. One hundred fifty trees were purchased by the Bonfire Committee. These trees were in one, five or 15 gallon containers or buckets. The trees and soil around their roots were removed from the buckets and then planted. Bare root seedlings have no soil around their roots. Second, it is the containerized trees that have the best survival rate. Finally, it was Bonfire and the Society of American Foresters that coordi nated the tree planting. Although TEAC is involved in many such worthwhile activities, its role in this particular tree planting was simply to help us plant. With this in mind. Bonfire and the Society of American Foresters would like to extend our thanks to the men and women of TEAC that helped us plant. I apologize for not presenting the information better. Thank you for printing the positive article about an activity that is good for the ecology, the economy and the student body. Darren Gabriel '88 The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Lisa Ann Robertson, Editor Kathy Cox, Managing Editor Jennifer Jeffus, Opinion Page Editor Chris Vaughn, City Editor Keith Sartin, Richard Tijerina, News Editors Alan Lehmann, Sports Editor Fredrick D. Joe, Art Director Kristin North, Life Style Editor Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-sup porting newspaper operated as a commu nity service to Texas A&M and Bryan- College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editorial board or the au thor, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Texas A&M administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is published daily, except Saturday, Sunday, holidays, exam periods and when school is not in session during fall and spring semesters; publication is Tuesday through Friday during the sum mer session. Newsroom: 845-3313. Mail subscriptions are $20 per semes ter, $40 per school year and $50 per full year: 845-2611. Advertising rates fur nished on request: 845-2696. Our address: The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, Col lege Station, TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. 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