The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 20, Ed. 1 Friday, February 5, 1982 Page: 4 of 24
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THRESHING-IT-OUT
continued from page 2
guards.
Gurkhas are tough, extremely
well disciplined, and obsessed with
fighting. Furthermore, their
simple diet and small size (about a
head shorter and fifty pounds
lighter than the average American)
would make it much cheaper to
feed a Gurkha army than an
American army. Pound for pound,
Gurkhas are the best bargain
around. In addition, Nepal hasn't a
very high standard of living; what
is considered low pay for armed
forces personnel here would be
substancial wealth to a Gurkha,
whose lifestyle is much simpler and
cheaper than that of the average
American. They would need no
training, save for instruction in the
use of the more technologically
advanced weapons.
Some people may see a problem
here in that Nepal, a small country,
may not be able to supply enough
Gurkhas. Two courses of action,
taken in concert, could allay this
problem. First of all, defense
spending should be restricted to
the defense of the United States
alone. Why subsidize the defense
of Germany, Japan, and other
nations strong enough to take
care of themselves? Some of these
nations, Japan for example, spend
very little on their own national
defense because of American
military presence. Because Japan
devotes so little of its GNP to
defense, its government is able to
give lavish subsidies to Japanese
businesses which then should be
the ruling criterion of national
defense. (Of course, those who
subscribe to the philosophy of
altruism would still by entitled to
their views, even to the extent of
implementing them—general
taxpaying public in no way
involved. In other words, they
could hire their own mercenaries
to meddle in the countries of their
choice—or even volunteer
themselves for service in those
couritries' armies. Would we have
had the Vietnam debacle if only
those interested in being involved
there had to foot the bill for the
fighting, or do the actual fighting
themselves?)
Second, contracts could be
made with Indian Sikhs as well as
Nepalese Gurkhas. The Sikhas
have the reputation of being very
fine soldiers, and their standard of
living, while relatively high by
Indian standards, is still low by US
standards. Any additional needs
could probably be met by running
classified ads in Soldier of Fortune
magazine.
There will of course always be
those die-hards who insist that
people be conscripted. It is difficult
to understand why some
individuals view military service as
a sacred rite in which everyone
must participate, rather than
simply a job which needs to be
done, and for which the
appropriate professionals should
be hired. It is hypocrisy at its worst
which asserts that hiring
mercenary soldiers to defend one's
own country is somehow morally
wrong, but that forcing people to
be unwilling cannon fodder for
other counties is a great and noble
moral enterprise. Conscription is a
natural outgrowth of liberal,
altruistic ideology and a direct
violation of one's right to life,
liberty, and property.
George M. Hollenback
Class III Grad Student
Co-ed move by Wiess
attacked as corruption
To the editor:
On January 21 and 22, I paid a
visit to Rice for the purpose of
terminating my leave of absence
come, August. I left very disturbed
about the University's future.
What really upset me the most
were the absolutist tactics being
brought to bear upon my college
Wiess. Is forcing co-ed living upon
us the proper solution to problems
the administration feels it has?
First, does Wiess College pose
that big a threat to anyone, in
proportion to the other colleges? If
the administration is after the
Rally Club, a university
organization based at Wiess, why
don't they come down on Baker-
based Qub 13? Ralliers don't
regularly deface property orattack
people as a club activity. Wiess
does not generate great quantities
of noise and broadcast to the
"College Quad." Nor do we live in
filth and mire; we are basically
clean, and clean up our own
messes. Wiess is not a college of
beer-sucking Huns, nor are we the
Rally Club. It is about time
someone sees what is really there
and learns to differentiate between
groups.
Secondly, is making a college
such as Wiess co-ed really an
appropriate or effective solution to
any problem, imaginary or real? If
there is a discipline problem,,,
would it not be best to punish
offending parties instead of a
college? And if girls were injected
into a supposedly boisterous
college, who is to say that the
females won't be, on the average,
just as rowdy as the guys? Then
there is the misery of the room
jack; the addition of girls would
worsen it. Is that fair? It appears
that co-educationalization would
only serve to exacerbate the
situation, whatever it may be.
Finally, would subjecting men
to a style of life against their
volition be just? It appears that
Wiessmen object to co-ed living,
and forcing it on us is not going to
ameliorate relations with the
administration. If the university
"needs" another co-ed college, why
hasn't Sid Rich been asked to
volunteer? Or is there really an
endowment agreement for Sid to
stay all-male for Rice to get monies
that straps Wiess with the "go co-
ed" burden? Yes or no, all students
should stand by Wiess'wishes; and
if they are violated, we should vow
not to contribute to our alma
mater as alumni. If an
administration of a school has
little regard for the students'
desires, it does not deserve their
support.
A Hiram Walker
Guide to Sees.
Sees on
the rocks
The classic
introduction to Sees.
Just fill a glass with ice
and pour in Hiram Walker
Triple Sec.
'k
Splashy
Sees
Want your Sees
) sparkle?
- ' Add a splash •
of soda to your Hiram Walker =
Triple Sec. And let it wet
your whistle.
t t Mixed-up Sees.
There's nothing like Sees
in mixed company. Just mix
Vz oz. Hiram Walker Triple Sec,
1 Vz oz. Two Fingers Ttequila and
a splash of lime juice. Ole!
Triple Sec
Of all the
different Sees,
only Hiram Walker
Triple Sec is made
with succulent
Spanish and Curagao
oranges. One sip
will convince you.
Hiram Walker is the
greatest name
in Triple Sec.
HIRAM WALKER TBIPLE SEC
For a (ree recipe booklet write Hiram Walker Cordials. PO Bo* 2235 Farminglon Hills Mich 48018 1982 Thple Sec Liqueur 60 proof Hirar. Walker W Sons Int Sa:. Fr*n<\sr< Cali
I just hope Wiess isn't made to
go co-ed because it would only
serve tocausea rift in relations and
years of distrust.
David M. Phillips
Wiess *85
Bush criticized as poor
commencement choice
To the editor
Please do not editorialize in
your reporting. It is simply not true
that a student made a "radical"
commencement speech in 1970.
What is true is that some of our
hyperconservatives in Houston
were offended. Most of the faculty
thought of it as a moderate,
eloquent speech, one of the best
ever given.
The idea of having the Vice-
President raeak at commencement
is not without merit if the SA
wants pickets and demonstrations
against an administration which
certifies that El Salvador is making
progress in human rights just after
it massacres more than 500
peasants, which strongly opposes
racial discrimination by granting
tax exemptions to segregationist
schools, and which helps the poor
by reducing taxes for the rich.
I cannot keep silent when such a
proposal is made, nor could I
participate in a ceremony in which
such a person would speak.
J.-Cl. De Bremaecker
Professor of Geophysics
Hackerman praised for
commencement role
To the editor
This concerns a story that
appeared on page I of the Thresher
on Friday, January 29, 1982. The
article entitled 'Senate Appoints
Webb' contains some gross
inaccuracies which cannot be
ignored.
The entire second paragraph of
the article gives a completely false
representation of my appearance
before the SA Senate. Specific
misstatements include:
1. "...Hackerman took over
the speaker post." There has been
no commencement speaker since
1970.
2. "...Calabrese's proposal
that someone other than
Hackerman speak." That was not
my proposal nor was it the
proposal that was voted on and
approved by the SA. The proposal
was to support an effort to have a
commencement speaker for this
year's commencement.
The official SA minutes as well
as the opinion of those attending
this meeting agree with the above
correction. Not only is it a serious
matter to misreport what the SA
did or did not approve, your
perfect example of journalistic
irresponsibility reflects badly on
President Hackerman who has
been of the most help in our efforts
to invite a speaker. I sincerely hope
the Thresher does not continue to
hamper the Class of 1982 effort to
have a commencement speaker.
Perhaps the Thresher could even
break with tradition and initiate
some positive publicity for Rice,
students, and even President
Hackerman.
A correction of your story is also
in order.
Dennis Calabrese
Will Rice, '82
I Staff Secretary Needed z
E at The THRESHER... =
iHours are very flexible and!
I the pay is generous. i
^Work study students greatly^
- preferred. I
zFor more information, calh
-Brent Wilkey at 526-9925 or-
z 527-4801. z
The Rice Thresher, February 5, 1982, page 4
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Grob, Jay. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 20, Ed. 1 Friday, February 5, 1982, newspaper, February 5, 1982; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245492/m1/4/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.