The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 22, 1988 Page: 4 of 20
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4 Friday, January 22.1988 THRESHER Opinion
Arizona don't take Gov: Evan Mecham at face value
NEWS IN REVIEW
by Jeff Solochek
Arizona Governor Evan Mecham deserves
no forgiveness. He has become a public emba-
rassment to Arizona and to all public officials.
He clearly does not believe in the tenets upon
which the United States is based. Indeed,
Mccham makes a mockery of our beliefs in
equality.
Mecham's first official action as governor
illustrates his concept of equality and civil rights
in America. He cancelled the Martin Luther
King, Jr., holiday for the state of Arizona.
Mecham still calls black people "pickaninnies,"
thinking he is affectionate in using this term.
His offensive comments extend past his first
official actions. He has also told Jewish organi-
zations that the United States is a "Christian
nation" which "worships Jesus Christ the Lord."
If we ignore the First Amendment of the
Constitution, as Mecham has, we might be able
to accept his refusal to rescind his statement. Of
course, we do not.
In addition, Mecham has made derogatory
remarks about Japanese, Latin American, and
other ethnic and social groups. In fact, Mecham
has offended so many people that over 250,000
Arizonans have signed petitions demanding a
rccall vote. He has derided this movement, stat-
ing that all his detractors are discontented "gays
and communists" who do not respect the Ameri-
can system of government.
It appears, however, that Mecham has been
treating the American system with blatant disre-
gard. In addition to his repeated prejudicial
comments which have led to an upcoming recall
election, Mecham has been charged with six
felony counts. He now faces impeachment.
According to special counsel William
French, Mecham deliberately concealed a
$350,000 campaign loan and used public funds
for personal gain. "The loan was to be kept
secret, in violation of the law," French said.
French also stated that Mecham pushed his
director of the Department of Public Safety not
to cooperate with the attorney general's investi-
gation of a death threat allegedly made by a state
official against a top Mecham aide.
On January 17, four members of the Arizona
congress from Mecham's Republican party
called for Mecham's resignation. "The
governor's legal problems, coupled with the
possibility of impeachment, make it virtually
impossible for him to cany out his duties," the
congressmen said in a joint statement. "That is
why we believe that resignation would be the
best thing—for Mecham and for the state."
Meanwhile, Mecham refuses to resign with-
out public hearings. He insists that only "honest
mistakes" were made. "Accept my apologies
and forgive me for my mistakes," he asks.
In this time of renewed public morality,
Mecham does not stand a chance of being for-
given. The question only remains as to how stiff
the punishment he faces will be.
At the very least, Mecham will certainly and
rightly go down in ignomious defeat, fighting to
the bitter end like his ideologue-in-arms Robert
Bork.
Arizona clearly got more than it bargained for
when it elected Evan Mecham as its governor.
Now its citizens are opting out of the mistake
that they made. It is refreshing to know that men
like Mecham will not be tolerated as sanctioned
representatives of public views. But we must all
take note that we cannot take our public officials
at face value.
Perhaps Arizona ought to suffer through the
rest of Mecham's term as penance for its failure
to truly evaluate its political leaders. We should
not condemn the leader while accepting the
apology of the electorate.
This solution, however, would not serve our
nation well. Evan Mecham is the criminal, and
not the people of Arizona. Let's face it. Im-
peached, indicted, recalled, or resigned, an
ousted Evan Mecham is the best kind of Evan
Mecham.
Beer-Bike rules limit grads' participation
continued from page 1
GS A will definitely improve. There will ob-
viously be more parity."
The committee felt that underclassmen, who
can only ride for college teams, should be given
an opportunity to join. Graduate students may
ride either for the GSA or for a college.
Lovett senior Jeff Wheelock stated, "Fresh-
men feel like they can'tride because there are all
these fifth-year grads and seniors who have all
this experience. I mean, no freshmen have rid-
den in anything like this in high school."
Brubaker argued that this common assertion
was untrue. "The average biker is a junior.
Freshmen and sophomores can still help us and
learn from those with more experience".
The case revolved around relatively few
graduate students. "There's one grad rider per
college every third year," said Brubaker.
Graduate students can ride for a residential
college in Beer-Bike if they are members of the
college. A Master's Selection Committee
screens graduate students for each college.
Doonesbury
sal, this is a
critical time
for pr. whoopee
enterprises...
Graduate students may request affiliation with a
preferred college if they have attended as an
undergraduate at that college. Once accepted,
they must pay $40 in college dues.
According to Rice Program Council Presi-
dent Rachel Giesber, "Graduate students don't
pay taxes for Beer-Bike. It is a $1 part of the
current blanket tax for students. They don't sit in
the stands. They field a team and that's about it."
"If there's a person who's a member of the
college, there's no reason why he shouldn't be
allowed to participate. He's paying fees to par-
ticipate. At the same time, there are freshmen
and sophomores who want to participate. There
had to be some balance between students who
can't bike unless for their college and graduate
students who can bike for both," explained
Jones junior Jeff Solochek.
Jones College voted for a compromise pro-
posal which did not pass, gaining support from
only three colleges. The alternative proposal
granted one year of eligibility to graduate stu-
dents, including fifth-year graduate degree can-
BY GARRY TRUDEAU
you have a remarkable
opportunity herb, sal.
pon't 1st it sup
alajay..
L
ujith our f0unp5r out of action,
it's up to us to carry on. we
have to pull together until
hb's well again!
where's
mr. puke
now,
ma'am?
beilevue. its a
hospital that
buiuits reputa-
tion on treating
the criminally in-
50 he's
getting
the best.
/
absolutely."
th&/alreapy
sew mb a
uttle wallet
he mape.
\
\
you'u, be reporting pirbctly
to me on the boutique pro -
ject., i want to pebrjep
you personally every
monpay morning.
one more thing. just because
i'm now running a company
that manufactures unmen-
tionables, pont jump to any
conclusions about mb,
t? \ if you know whati
mean
no, ma'am,
what do
you mean?
/
f
THIS IS CRAZY.
I'M OLP ENOUGH
TO BE YOUR
SU6HTLY OLPER
SISTER i.
lord 5t.
au9tell-
in-the-moor,
please.
speaking.
oh, zonker, it's honey.
i've just gotten how
an uppate on your is he,
uncle puke... honey*
the p0ct0r5 at beilevue
pre very optimistic. they've
got him in group therapy,
anp they expect a break-
through any pay nouj...
\
H00!6£T
0UTAMY
FACE!
i'm going
to hug you
now, puke...
\
didates who remain attached to their colleges.
Intramural sports involve graduate students.
Wheelock said,"The reasoning is they want
them to be more involved in the college system."
The committee agreed that rules would be
changed this year but took no formal action.
Wheelock asserted that this year's resolution
was different. "Nothing was formally stated last
year, but this year we put it down on paper."
"The problem is, every year the captains
decide what the rules are. Each year the rules are
modified, and if the captains really want to
change anything, they can," said Brubaker.
"I will be Chairman next year, and I will try to
see history changed and set a new precedent,"
Crouch commented.
"We voted for Seth Brubaker, and he epito-
mizes Will Rice. We felt it would be hypocriti-
cal to vote against him, since we have had
graduate students recently. Even though he will
ride against us now, we think we voted the right
way," Wheelock declared.
"I don't think; I just ride," said Dean Broz, a
ex-Baker biker whose "riding time was the same
as his GPA," according to Mark Matteson, a
Baker senior.
PLO battles
for Israeli land
continued from page 2
nant stated, "The partitioning ot Palestine in
1947 and the establishment of Israel are funda-
mentally null and void....The Palestinian Arab
people, in expressing itself through the armed
Palestinian revolution, rejects every solution
that is a substitute for a complete liberation of
Palestine."
One solution would be to find more moderate
leaders on the West Bank and Gaza. But few
Palestinians are willing to risk their lives by
suggesting that Israel indeed has a right to exist
and that negotiations must take place.
Another solution would be to make the terri-
tories semi-autonomous, under joint Israeli and
Jordanian supervision. Even "moderate" Jordan
refuses to talk one-on-one with Israel, however.
Only if it can be surrounded by other Arab
nations at the negotiating table will Jordan bar-
gain with Israel.
The Palestinians realize they have the upper
hand. An Israeli injured when a PLO bomb
explodes on a city bus is nowhere near as inter-
esting a television news story as a Palestinian
injured by an Israeli bullet. Arabs live peace-
fully within the pre-1967 boundaries of Israel,
but no one asks Palestinians to extend this cour-
tesy to Jews on the West Bank.
Arab rioting is seen as a justified response to
the Israeli occupation, but the world is outraged
when Israel tries to stop it. Israel is told not to use
live ammunition, not to expel rioters or even
imprison them. Yet riots have reached within a
few blocks of the heart of Jerusalem.
Clearly Israel will have to make giant security
concessions to the Arabs to reach any settle-
ment. No one asks the Palestinians to backoff an
inch from their views.
The question is how drastic are Israel's con-
cessions will be. While the country searches for
a solution to its dilemna, it must face ever-
increasing violence in the territories. It cannot
simply walk away from the West Bank and
Gaza, yet it must maintain order there. The
answer is not so simple.
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Wucker, Michele. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 16, Ed. 1 Friday, January 22, 1988, newspaper, January 22, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245682/m1/4/: accessed July 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.