The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 26, 1983 Page: 2 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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A free press isn't cheap
A new academic year has begun, with a new Thresher editor, a
new typesetting machine and a new editorial staff. Nevertheless,
little of import has changed. Former Editor Tom Morgan quoted
Camus in last year's first issue: A free press can of course be good
or bad, hut, most certainly, without freedom it will never be
anything but bad. The Thresher this year will remain free.
As a wholly student-run paper, the quality of the Thresher is a
reflection of the effort you, the student body, put into it. The
opportunities for contribution are many. The Thresher is always
looking for staffers. Next Sunday, September 4, at 8 p. m. the
Thresher will hold an open house for anyone interested in working
on the paper this year.
The Thresher will continue the policy of printing any signed
letter from any member of the Rice community on the editorial
page. Letters will not be edited unless space restrictions force us to
do so.
The misclassified section on the back page will also remain an
open forum for expression. Sometimes the forms of expression on
the back page are less than polite - the administration is eager to
remind me of this fact. The back page reflects the Rice
community. I intend to continue to print racist and sexist jokes in
the misclassifieds if that is what the Rice commuqjty submits. The
ultimate disposition of any misclass submission rs the province of
the back page editor.
The Thresher editorial policy will remain eclectic and open.
Those who violently disagree with my personal political
perspective will be comforted to know that Tom Morgan and
Mark Mitchell will share a column. The Thresher has the freedom
to publish a newspaper of high quality. It needs your help.
Thank you, Dr. Akers
It is rare to find the Thresher staff happy, let alone moderately
contented, with the Rice Administration. Consequently,
moments such as the present need to be savored. Our Manna, our
salvation, has appeared: the new typesetter has been delivered.
Not that the machinery situated on the second floor of the
RMC is "new" in any conceivable technological sense of the word.
The design of our "new" system is fifteen years old. What is new is
the fact that the typesetter actually works...consistently.
Along with Vice President for Administration William Akers,
Dr. Fred Wierum (acting proctor during E. C. Holt's sickness)
was of invaluable assistance in finding the money to pay for the
Thresher's continued existence. Dr. Wierum guided the
Thresher's funding proposal to the Rice Pub Control Board (yes,
your beers pay for this paper) and ensured that it would be
successful.
Once the Thresher had a promise of some money from the Pub,
Dr. Akers's assistant Neill Binford provided generous assistance
in arranging for a matching loan. The funding for this loan was
"found" by President Hackerman and his assistant, Carl
MacDoweil.
The Thresher can be very critical at times about administration
decisions. Before the tirades begin, however, it is important to
note that, by and large, the people "up there" do care and are
doing a great job.
...and Thresher staff
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who
worked on the two summer issues. In particular, Jay Grob was of
invaluable assistance on the first one, Jeanne Cooper on the
second. Paul Havlak and Dave Collins showed up and remained
glued to a terminal for two days; John Krueger returned from
retirement. Only space limits this incestuous back patting.
Christopher Ekren
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SMOKING THE HEDGES/by Mark Mitchell
Last May 25 at West Point
Defense Secretary Caspar
Weinberger spoke to the
graduating class of the United
States Military Academy about a
new national feeling which would
permit the cadets to graduate with
the "respect and .envy of all
Americans." Implying a renewed
pride in serving one's country
through military service, he stated
"when you walk out of those gates,
you will know that times have
changed and that America's mood
has changed."
I must question Mr. Wein-
bergers ability to sense and
summarize such a'new mood.'
Perhaps fye is referring to the trend
towards militarism the Reagan
administration has imposed on the
nation, or the recent tendency to
forget the expensive lessons of
Vietnam, or the paranoid
American fear of red, yellow,
psychedelic, and other hordes. In
any case, Mr. Weinberger's
membership in the Reagan cabinet
disqualify him as a reliable social
critic.
While the national mood may
have shifted to the right in the last
four years, we must not lose sight
of what this mood has always been
centered on — a sense of morality
inherent in us as human beings.
With this as a foundation the
national mood can never allow
military service to be deemed
popular or acceptable, but only
occasionally less unacceptable. To
do otherwise, to applaud an
education with courses centered on
the techniques for most efficiently
exterminating people, or even
condone the recruitment of
soldiers and spies from students on
campus goes against the very fiber
of humanity
As university students, we must
be a vanguard of the foundation of
morality around which the
national mood revolves. What we
permit on our campuses today
should reflect our committment to
the future and an acknowledgment
of our increasing roles as shapers
of the national mood once outside
the hedges.
Rising ROTC enrollments on
campuses across the country do
make the military seem popular of
late , but it is important to properly
interpret this trend and identify its
causes.
The majority of the upsurge can
be linked to economics, both
personal and national. As college
costs rise, some students
compromise their values and cash
in their consciences too easily.
Their return, despite what the slick
brochures promise, is rarely more
than a pawn's role in a global game
which can have no winners.
Joining the military forces is
merely considered a matter of
expediency by too many students;
whereas once a student would start
a community project in blighted
Harlem or register voters in rural
Mississippi, today they have the
option of island-hopping in the
Caribbean on a refurbished yacht
(as the Rice NROTC unit did this
past summer). You need only leave
a small, non-refundable deposit of
conscience and you can see the
world from inside a tank.
Unfortunately, the challenging
question of where to draw the line
between a potentially delayed or
second-rate education and an
education tainted by military
service faces many students. The
Reagan administration has just
recently made it more difficult to
assert one's nonviolent nature by
requiring males with financial need
to certify that they have registered
with the Selective Service Act
before receiving federal financial
aid. (The constitutionality of this
requirement is presently in
question.)
The Defense Secretary also
warned the„cadets that they might
not be accepted universally in their
new careers as Army officers.
"Every decision you make must be
based on principle rather than
expediency, though this may incur
the ridicule or derision of your
countrymen."
My purpose is not to deride or
ridicule members or prospective
members of the military; I could
hardly improve on past critics'
efforts in those categories given the
military's sterling quality and
flawless performance in the past
two decades. Rather, I am trying to
make it clear that it is never too late
to uphold your convictions and
that the rewards for refusing to
compromise your values are
immeasurable.
m
TKESHSt
Christopher Ekren
Editor
Todd A. Cornett
Business Manager
Dave Collins, Paul Havlak News Editors
Ian Hersey Fine Arts Editor
A1 Mathieowitz, Tony Soltero.... Sports Editors
Jeanne Cooper Senior Editor
Mark Mitchell Associate Editor
John Krueger Back Page Editor
Jason Binford Advertising Manager
Chip Clay Photography Editor
Jay Grob Copy Editor
Contributing Staff
Assistant Editor Stephen Bene (Fine Arts)
Contributing Editor • Tom Morgan
Graphics Ian Hersey
News Staff.... Patty Cleary, Larry Lesser, Mark Rome
Todd Giorgio, Derek Smith, Scott Flukinger
Fine Arts Staff Vincent Uher, Gwen Richard
Karin Murphy, M. Christopher Boyer, Jennifer Juday,
Devorah Knaff, Harry Wade, Michael Manson,
Kathryn Tomasek, Ray Isle
Sports Staff Steve Mollenkamp, Art Rabeau
Production Staff .. Jeanne Cooper, Spike Dishart, staff
Business Staff
Assistant Business Manager Susan Brown Snook
Assistant Advertising Manager David Koralek
Circulation • Jay Grob
Tht Rice Thresher, me oliicial student newspaper at Rice University since 1916, is pubnsned
each Friday during the school year, except during examination periods and holidays, by the
students of Rice University. Editorial and business offices are located on the second floor ofthe
Rice Memorial Center, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251. Telephone (713 ) 527-4801 or
527-4802 Advertising information available upon request. Mail subscription rate: $20.00
domestic, $40.00 international, (via firsf.class mail). The opinions expressed herein are not
necessarily those of anyone except the writer. Obviously.
erved.
The Rice Thresher, August 26, 1983, page 2
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Ekren, Christopher. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 26, 1983, newspaper, August 26, 1983; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245534/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.