Wednesday, July 3,1991
Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5
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Nothing on TV?
Go for a walk!
W
ell, MTV is no longer
with us here in Aggieland. That's what
I hear, anyway. I don't pay for TV
channels (I don't pay for bottled water
or compressed air, either), so I
wouldn't know.
This development leaves Texas
A&M students with a serious dilem
ma: what are we supposed to do for
entertainment? Consider these unbe
lievable suggestions.
1) GO FOR A RIDE. I realize this
suggestion may sound like a cliche
from the "Leave it to Beaver" era. But
something tells me that Bryan-College
Station is not an island in a sea of
nothingness. There are communities
not too far from here that few of us
know nothing about.
For example, Madisonville is prob
ably known to most students merely
as a town that slows the journey to
school from 1-45. But what lies off the
main thoroughfares? Is there a fabu
lous little kolache shop, an attractive
little urban park or an antique shop in
someone's garage?
2) GO FOR A WALK. I realize this
S estion is more unbelievable than
ist. Believe it or not, after walking
in this city for over a year now, I have
not walked every neighborhood yet.
Just what is there to see here? I
recommend walking downtown Bryan
sometime. Yes, there is more than a
couple of restaurants and a furniture
store. I am finding out that Bryan's
downtown has an incredible history.
But it remains off the beaten path for
most A&M students.
3) TAKE A RIDE ON THE
INTER URBAN TROLLEY SYSTEM.
Did you know there is an interurban
trolley system linking Bryan and
College Station? People are always
entertaining, whether they mean to be
or not. Ana no social science textbook
can tell you more about people than
public transportation can. This also is a
"Believe it or not,
after walking in this
city for over a year
now, I have not
walked every neigh
borhood yet"
Tim Truesdale
Columnist
great way to identify neighborhoods
you'll want to investigate by foot.
4) SIT BY A FOUNTAIN AND
CREATE WATER VIDEOS IN YOUR
MIND. We have a great fountain just
outside the library here on campus.
Watching fountains can actually be
more stimulating to the senses than
watching someone else's videos on a
little black box.
Anyone with half a brain could sit
down and come up with dozens of
other forms of entertainment that
don't depend on artificial gadgetiy.
The idea is pathetic that WE NEED
MTV because there is nothing to do in
Bryan-College Station.
The right to free expression of
ideas in not really an issue in this mat
ter, either. As if I really need some
intellectual stimulation, I always turn
to MTV, truly a marketplace of ideas.
The only "right" TCA has violated
is your "rignt to sit back and be enter
tained by someone else."
Tim Truesdale is a graduate student
in urban planning.
Judge's ability, not race, should matter
Twice in his presidency, George Bush has had the honor of
nominating a justice to the nation's highest court. And twice
now, his selections have raised serious questions about the
motives of the nominator and the qualifications of the nomi
nee.
In announcing his choice of Clarence Thomas, black federal
appeals court judge, to the Supreme Court to replace retiring
Justice Thurgood Marshall, President Bush was brief and
blunt: "He is," the president said, "the best person for this
position."
Perhaps.
At the very least Judge Thomas has a more visible record
than the president's last pick, David Souter. And, although the
president bristled when it was suggested he had appointed
Judge Thomas because of his race, it is significant that a minor
ity was appointed to replace the court's first and only black
justice.
But race alone does not a good justice make. And Judge
Thomas' record, visible though it may be, may not be all that
viable for a position of such stature and importance....
Whether he will eventually be confirmed remains to be
seen. First he must survive the confirmation sessions, which, if
the initial reactions are any indication, could be painfully par
tisan.
Ideally, of course, it should not matter what color Judge
Thomas is, nor should it matter what his political or ideologi
cal persuasions are. What should matter is whether he has the
knowledge and ability to sit as a jurist on our highest court
whether he is indeed the best person for the job.
The Dallas Times Herald
There is too much sex on television!
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 lettersjor style and length. Because of limited space, shorter letters have a better
will i
chance of appearing. There is, however, no guarantee letters
to 216 Reed McDonald or sent to Campus Mail Stop till.
I appear. Letters may be brought
TCA forces rural values on B/CS
EDITOR:
Let's get one thing out in the open: The dropping of
MTV by TCA Cable is not a question of censorship, it IS a
case of the values of other cities and states served by TCA
being thrust upon ALL the citizens of Bryan/College
Station and other cities served by TCA. TCA Cable is
headquartered in Tyler and serves several other small
cities in East Texas, including my hometown of White
Oak. TCA also serves Conroe and cities in Oklahoma,
Arkansas and Louisiana.
East Texas, as quoted by TCA’s Randy Roger, is "more
conservative than your average person from New York."
Granted. It also is more conservative than the citizens of
Bryan/College Station as a whole. As well, there are some
small areas of East Texas that are much more fundamen
tally conservative than all of East Texas as a whole.
Based on this concept, let me throw some numbers out
to prove the point that TCA is responding to the values of
conservative East Texas. Rogers is quoted as saying
"We've received several hundred complaints aoout
MTV." I'll conservatively estimate about 1000 complaints
for arguments sake. TCA has between 400,000 and 420,000
subscribers. Some simple division would tell you that
TCA is responding to one-fourth of one percent of it's
subscribers by pulling MTV off their system.
Through all the bantering and posturing last week
about what TCA wanted and what MTV wanted, never
once did TCA read the owner's manual for their TOCOM
Cable channel selector (the one with the remote). That
channel selector has the ability to assign an access coae
that can be assigned by the parent that would block any
channel on the cable system, including MTV. However,
that was unimportant, oecause TCA had committed itself
to denying the other 99.75 percent of it's subscribers the
opportunity to watch MTV. If TCA feels this way about
Bryan/College Station, why don't they pack up, sell out
to another company and leave town.
Scott Anderson
graduate student
arguments exist for a diet including moderate portions of
lean meat. There must be another point to Mr. Worsham's
article.
He states that animal agriculture causes ecological dev
astation but fails to note that well-managed herds offer a
sustainable production alternative to farmers with land
poorly suitea to crop production. Nor does he address the
environmental costs or modem crop production. For exam
ple, soybean monocultures offer habitat to only a handful
of weed and insect species: Runoff from beah' fjblds tarries
topsoil, pesticides and waste nutrients downstream to
wreak havoc on aquatic ecosystems. Researchers and farm
ers are working to abate these problems, but the point is
that a vegetarian diet will not solve environmental prob
lems.
Mr. Worsham's remaining thoughts, though never clear
ly stated, seem to address the animal rights issue. If his
underlying theme is indeed animal rights, I ask that in the
future, he approach the issue honestly rather than shroud
ing the subject in misinformation about environmental and
human health issues.
Information, or the lack of it, is my point. We must be
suspicious of individuals and groups who are willing to
misinform the public to advance personal opinions or vest
ed interests. In light of Mr. Worsham's statement that
"...diversity is the key to enjoying any cultural endeavor,"
it would seem logical to present factual, to-the-point argu
ments and let each individual decide what to think (and
eat)!
Problems abound in agriculture that must be addressed
by producers, consumers, scientists and lawmakers. But
Mr. Worsham's article, and others like it, are divisive and
offer no real solutions. Unless those of us in agriculture
and natural resource disciplines begin to take a more
active role in providing timely, unbiased information, the
public will increasingly rely on unbridled propaganda
advanced by protesters and profiteers.
Max R. Alleger
Graduate Student
Vegetarianism is no cure-all
What about daytime soaps?
EDITOR:
EDITOR:
Aside from the joys of tofu, the theme of Michael
Worsham's recent column, "Soybeans provide healthy
alternative", appears to be that you are an obese, amoral
eco-villain if you enjoy eating meat. Self-serving articles
like his are usually easy to ignore, but his unfounded
attack on animal agriculture requires rebuttal.
No doubt about it, soybeans are nutritious, and it
seems that yummy tofu can be made to taste just like
many of the foods you now enjoy. Nevertheless, valid
If TCA Cable is going to remove MTV on account of its
inappropriate content for children, I request that they also
remove CBS, NBC and ABC. These networks broadcast
soap operas in the middle of the day for at least three
hours. The content of these soap operas generally revolves
around copulation between two unmarried characters — a
horrible influence on children staying home during sum
mer months, even worse than MTV. I ask all parents who
requested MTV be removed to support me in an endeav
or to remove these networks, also. Perhaps we could also
ut a ban on suntan lotion commercials. After all, we want
CA to decide what's best for us, don't we?
Join Y. Luh '93
?:
Let's bring in another cable service
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NeWji
I am writing first to thank every
one involved in our protest at TCA
Cable on Saturday. The tireless partici
pants who braved the hot sun in order
to express their dictate for censorship,
the hundreds of people who chose to
support us with their honks and
waves, the several people who chose
to politely voice their disapproval, the
Bryan Police Department wno helped
counsel me on the ins and outs of a
legal protest and the polite people at
TCA (who even offered us sodas) were
all part of the group that made a legal
demonstration '
GWynne Ellen Ash
Reader's Opinion
controls and their dials what they do
and do not wish to watch.
There are many things you can
still do to make this idea a reality:
residents of Bryan/uouege station can
do to make TCA Cable allow MTV
back on the air. Thus they are permit
ted to remove it without so much as
consulting all of the other residents
who did not complain.
A TCA worker stated that renting
music videos would be an alternative
to receiving MTV through cable. I
would like to propose another alterna
tive: allowing a second cable company
into Bryan/College Station in order to
break TCA Cable's monopoly. Their
contract with the city does not grant
them an exclusive franchise. Another
company may prefer to allow the cus
tomers to decide with their remote
You can join us Friday night at the
An Nam Teanouse for an anti-censor
ship rally featuring local bands. There
we will distribute petitions, encourage
letter writing and share ideas for the
next steps we should take in the fight
against censorship.
You can write to B/CS Joint
Economic Development Foundation
care of Robert Worley, executive direc
tor. This address is 1306 Memorial
Drive, Suite 210, Bryan, TX 77802. Tell
him that due to poor service you
would welcome a second cable compa
ny in the B/CS area.
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