Thursday, March 25,1993
PINION
The Battalion
Page 9
In a futile aifcmpt at survival, Fluffy fries tv
Show fir. Carter that he is no ordinary sheep.
The Battalion
Editorial Board
Steve O'Brien, editor in chief
The Battalion
100 years at
Texas A&M
Jason Loughman, managing editor
Todd Stone, city editor
Stacy Feducia, opinion page editor
Susan Owen, lifestyles editor
Kyle Burnett, news editor
Dave Thomas, news editor
Don Norwood, sports editor
Darrin Hill, photo editor
Corps commander
Major issues confronting Haraway
When the changing of the guard
takes place in May, and Will Har
away replaces Matt Michaels as com
mander of the Corps of Cadets, Har
away will be confronted by some of
the toughest issues ever to face the
Corps and the military.
Haraway has the credentials and
experience needed to fulfill the du
ties of Corps commander. In addi
tion, he has already begun formulat
ing solid policies on how be to deal
with such pressing, issues as public
perception of the corps, gays in the
military, sexual harassment and mi
nority recruitment.
The first issue, and arguably the
most difficult to control, is the per
ception of the Corps. Haraway said
the best way for the Corps to im
prove its image is for cadets to "get
off the quad and join other student
organizations." This extra-corps in
volvement that Haraway speaks of is
a good approach to improving Corps
relations with the student body, but
how is this to be accomplished? Har
away needs to impress upon cadets
how important the image of the
Corps is. Though the Corps compro
mises less than 5 percent of the stu
dent population, it is considered to
be "the heartbeat of Texas A&M."
Gays in the military is a controver
sial topic that Haraway as Corps
commander must confront. Admit
tedly, Haraway has no direct plan of
attack, but said he expects "the poli
cies of the corps to mirror those of
the military." In addition, he quickly
points out that gays will be held to
the same high standards as other
cadets and, in addition, no inappro
priate action against gays by other
cadets will be tolerated. His is clear
ly the most responsible manner in
which this issue can be handled.
The third issue the Haraway faces
is that of sexual harassment. The
Corps has had difficulties in the past
dealing with charges of this nature.
Consequently, the administration es
tablished a hierarchical system de
signed to handle such complaints. In
addition the system was implement
ed to eliminate harassment at the
lowest level — between the cadets.
However, as the most recent sexual
harassment case indicates, the system
does not work. Haraway must take
charge immediately to ensure the
system's effectiveness.
Finally, minority enrollment in the
Corps is low. Similar to the demo
graphics of the University, the Corps'
numbers are improving. In the wake
of recent University-wide racial prob
lems, Haraway must take bold steps
in recruiting and advancing qualified
minorities.
The problems facing Haraway and
the Corps are both large in number
and substance. Haraway has imme
diately taken a strong stance on each
issue and believes the Corps can and
will change for the better under his
leadership. If his qualifications and
personal history are any indication of
his strength, Haraway will serve the
Corps in an excellent manner.
Most importantly, Haraway needs
to remember what he said: "the
Corps has to become up-to-date to
survive." The Corps, like any other
organization, can benefit from
growth while maintaining tradition.
W.A.C.O.: We Ain't Cornin' Out
'Revelations' didn't mention 'Achy Breaky Heart'
T here are wackos in Waco, and I
for one don't know who is cra
zier, the feds or the Branch Da-
vidians. What in heaven, hell or oth
erwise is going on up there?
Let's look at the players: We have
a rock 'n' roll "Jesus" with a ma
chine-gun hand and federal agents
who want to be drive-time disk jock
eys on Radio Waco. At first, the feds
tried the direct approach, but to no
avail. Suddenly the key was to wait
the Branch Davidians out. Now I
think the philosophy is to out crazy
them. The feds are blasting those top
40 Tibetan chants and all-time, fa
vorite Christmas carols at the com
pound from dusk till dawn. Some one even said that the
feds had played "Achy Breaky Heart." Though Billy Ray
"Yes, I have really bad hair and I can't sing either" Cyrus is
bad, I personally would hold out for "Classical Gas" — but
that's just me.
I think we're going about this all wrong with respect to
the Davidians, the agents and the media carnival. There
are three simple approaches that would solve the whole sit
uation and satisfy everyone involved. First of all, we need
to knock politely on the door and ask to speak to Jam Mas
ter Dave. When the "Great-One-with-the-only-air-condi-
tioner-in-the-whole-compound" emerges, the agents can
invite him to play "Double Dare."
"And, here's our next contestant Dave Koresh from love
ly Mt. Carmel, Texas. He likes rock 'n' roll and heavy ar
tillery. Dave is extremely religious — or is that religiously
extremist — and in fact once claimed that he was Jesus
Christ."
So now it's time to play "Double Dare." Dave, if you re
ally are who you say you are, let us shoot you right now. If
you get up in three days, we'll talk. Think of it as a nap.
After all, we're sure you've had some trouble sleeping,
what with top 40 Tibetan chants and chorus after rousing
chorus of "Ranky Stanky Fart."
But, wait, there's more! The media is having a carnival
in Waco. After all, what do you do when you can't really
see what's going up at the Ranch Apocalypse? You play
frisbee. You mountain bike. You fly kites. You go to the
full-frontal-nudity strip bars in Waco — I'm serious; they're
there. One of the news stations even has a huge barbecue
pit parked next to its satellite truck. And what goes better
with barbecue than beer?
Which brings me to plan two. Agents should walk up to
the compound, knock politely on the door and ask to see
the Captain Koresh, whose new breakfast cereal has a forti
fied compound and whole lotta' flakes. When the "Great-
and-Holy-Former-Rock-Vocalist-Tumed-Prophet" comes to
the door, agents should invite him to an exciting round of
"The Price is Right."
"David Koresh, come on down! You're the next contes
tant on 'The Price is Right'!" Mr. Koresh, if you are who
you say you are, we'd like you to take a good, long look at
that lovely lake over there. Now, if you can turn that body
of water into a pond overflowing with beer — bock, mind
you, not clear beer or near beer, but bock beer — we'll
leave you alone. After all, we've been out here for about
three weeks, and the media folks are hankering for some
thing to drink with their barbecue. We've already had a bit
too much to drink, as evidenced by that drinking while dri
ving a tank charge. "Sorry, occifer, I just didn't see that
large sedan there, and I just drove the tank right over it.
But Dave, just think of the possibilities! We hear you really
like women. If you turn that body of water into beer,
maybe you could swing the Swedish bikini team, too! Hey,
it just doesn't get any better than this!"
Which brings me to solution number three. If Dave-a-
reno likes women, how would he like a whole truckload of
women? All the feds would need to do is go up to Baylor,
grab a bunch of sorority girls, give them the t-shirts that
they're selling in the MSC to commemorate the event, tell
them it's a date party and drop them off at Dave's front
door. Then OH-MY-GOD! Dave will be out of there faster
than Billy Ray "Yes, I have bad hair and 1 still can't sing"
Cyrus can shake his ranky stanky butt. And then we can
all go back to our normal lives. And the native Mt.
Carmelites can finally get some sleep.
By the way. I'd like to thank everyone in the Batt office
who helped me last night: Kyle, Satan, Lance, Bill, Mark,
Sue, the academy, my mom and dad. One last thing before
I go, is this Koresh guy any relation to that Elijah the
prophet who rides his bicycle around town?
You heard it here first.
Feducia is a senior English and history major.
When is too close too much?
Backl
Talk
Before spring break, Back Talk asked
readers to offer their opinions concerning
how closely the media should be allowed
to a crisis situation in order to cover the
story accurately.
The media has been criticized for its
role in the current standoff with the
Branch Davidian Cult in Waco. Some say
that news personnel have obstructed the
progress or federal operations. Media pro
ponents, however, argue that the public
has a right to know.
Initially, we received one response. Over
the break, however, other readers replied.
Therefore, beginning today. Back Talk will
appear every other week in order to allow
adequate time for readers to respond.
• This letter is in response to the unwarrant
ed criticism that has been directed by the me
dia toward the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms in reference to the Mt. Carmel inci
dent. Because I have interned with the ATF in
the Firearms Technology Branch in Washington
DC for the past three summers and holidays, I
Write this letter to defend ATF by giving an in
side perspective.
When the standoff in Waco comes to a close,
I am quite positive that many things will be re
leased that will give more insight into the oper
ation than the media has produced. From what
I have experienced in my internship, the ATF is
an efficient and effective bureau that does its
job exceedingly well, usually without any has
sle.
Given the small size of the bureau, they are
able to train each special agent thoroughly,
equip him/her with Hie latest in firearm tech
nology and effectively coordinate all special op
erations. Most people hadn’t even heard of ATF
prior to this incident. The reason being is that
ATF has succeeded through the years in main
taining the safety of all high-risk operations
that it carries out.
Each year ATF arrests over 10,000 of some of
America’s most violent criminals without fan
fare or incident. The last agent to be killed in
the line of duty was approximately 10 years ago.
Also, sometimes the media will credit other
agencies such as the FBI in conducting certain
raids. If one were to follow the news closely, it
was actually ATF that made the first steps in
solving the Trade Tower bombing in New York,
not the FBI.
When one considers the responsibilities of
ATF that include explosives, bombings, arson,
violent gangs and enforcement of all firearms
regulations, one can only wonder why there
have not been as many incidents as this. Many
people say that ATF had been undermined in
this incident. Taking a closer look, there were
more than 40 points of fire from the compound
where some had 50 caliber Barrets and only
four agents were killed. Whereas the numbers
reported through the media have claimed dead
cult members from 8 to as high as 15. It was
evident that the Cult even had the element of
surprise and a fortified compound to shoot
from. Now I ask you, was it reasonable to as
sume that ATF made a mistake in its opera
tions? All that I request is support for the
Agents who have died to enforce the laws of
these United States. With the increasing num
ber of illegal firearms violations, one of these
Agents might save your life someday.
Todd Gamer
Class of ‘92
• My father is an FBI agent in Waco, and I
was as anxious for information regarding the
shootout and consequences as anyone. Howev
er, there is a time for information and there is a
time for prudence on the part of the media.
I do not believe that the media was responsi
ble for any of the deaths, but I do feel that the
media can be a distraction. They have not been
as much of a hindrance in this instance as in
others because they have been pushed back by
law enforcement offreers; this is as it should be.
The agents ought to be allowed to work freely
and not be compromised by prying journalists.
The job of the media should not be to try and
get the “big scoop,” but to report the facts in a
mature manner without endangering the lives
of the people protecting us.
David Seale
Class of'95
What is in a name*?
On Friday, March 5, the Texas A&M
University System Regents voted to
change the names Of Texas A&I Uni
versity, Corpus Christi State Universi
ty and Laredo State University to
Texas A&M University-Kingsville,
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
and Texas A&M International Univer
sity respectively.
Some argue that this move will deval
ue a Texas A&M diploma and claim
that students and alumni at these
universities wanted to keep the origi
nal names. Supporters of the name
changes say that this move demon
strates greater unity within the A&M
system and should strengthen the
system with respect to budget appro
priations. What do you think?
Address letters to Back Talk, The Battalion -
Mail Stop 1111, College Station, TX 77843,
or bring them by the Battalion office at (^13
Reed McDonald. We request that you limit
the length of your letters to 150 words. Let
ters will be printed on Thursday, April 8.