University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 46, Ed. 1 Friday, April 6, 1984 Page: 3 of 8
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UNIVERSITY PRESS April 6,1984*3
Comment
Problems/Revival/Democra ts
Viewpoint
Small problems shouldn’t matter
The old saying that encourages
people to refrain from making
mountains out of molehills is
perhaps one of the wisest and yet
one of the least acknowledged pro-
verbs.
The development of small pro-
blems into seemingly large
catastrophes creates values that
are based on distorted perspec-
tives.
A society that puts so much em-
phasis on the Super Bowl, for in-
stance, can hardly expect to ra-
tionally decide on the value of
something as emotional and
significant as the death penalty.
Decisions of the caliber equal to
that of the death penalty pave the
way for the values of tomorrow’s
leaders. Yet, people choose in-
stead to focus on decisions con-
cerning the type of new car to buy
or the vices of one employer ver-
sus those of another.
In today’s society, the tendency
is toward a concern only for those
things that most directly affect the
individual. That is to say—in the
words of many a fellow society
member—“It doesn’t concern me;
I don’t care.”
This disillusionment is
dangerous. This has been said
about Vietnam, the national deficit
and murders with no apparent
motives.
How can this be so when we still
face the effects of mental strain on
some Vietnam veterans?
How can this be so when statiti-
cians tell us it would take more
than 100 years to pay off the na-
tional debt if each tax payer added
a dollar to each year’s income tax
return?
How can this be so when the
murderers are striking closer to
home, as in the still-unsolved case
of Lamar nursing student Terry
Diane Walden, every day?
This ideology allows no room for
the concern that leads to the
knowledge that prevents repeated
mistakes.
What really matters is Danylo
Shumuk’s imprisonment in Russia
for expressing his opinions and
beliefs in his published memoirs.
What really matters is the ab-
duction and torture of families in
years past in Argentina.
What really matters are the men-
tally ill, the socially deprived, the
outcast, the frightened, the poor
and the unwanted elderly.
And yet, these are the very
things that we put aside as if they
did not matter.
Day after day, in office to office,
people are bickering and scream-
ing about having to revamp
something because of someone
else’s negligence. Changing the
dress codes and smoking or-
dinances in the office and dealing
with fellow employees who don’t
take showers are insignificant
when compared to the human suf-
fering that exists in our world to-
day.
This civilized society surely
recognizes this, but little is done to
change this nonchalant, apathetic
attitude.
It is time to count our blessings
and re-evaluate our problems in
light of the truly consequential
matters of today.
Now is the time to encourage
others to examine their priorities
and take the necessary steps
toward rebuilding a society that
focuses on scaling the mountains
and makes the molehills look more
like conquerable, insignificant
grains of sand.
Whose $196 million is it, anyway?
By DICK WEST
WASHINGTON (UPI)-A federal
bureaucrat has been taken to task by In-
dustry Week magazine for describing the
cost of administering the national debt as
“insignificant.”
It turns out the Bureau of Public Debt
has an annual budget of $196 million. That
sum is insignificant only in comparison to
the $149.8 billion in interest payments it
takes to finance $1.6 trillion in red ink, In-
dustry Week avers.
Maybe the publication has a point there.
As the late Sen. Everett Dirksen once
pointed out, “a billion here and a billion
there and the next thing you know you’re
talking about real money.”
It is, nevertheless, difficult to attach
much importance to any figure in the nine-
digit range. As often has been noted, a
billion, which requires 10 digits to
numerate, is the standard unit of currency
in Washington.
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Asking Around
By ELAINE J. BUTLER
Question: What book or books that you’ve read
have made the most impression on you?
“ ‘Tale of Two Cities’ has impressed
me the most. I mainly remember
Sidney Carlton because he was a good,
intuitive thinker and because of the
sacrifice he made. Even though the
story is complex it is so well interwoven
that one gets caught up in the tale.”
D. Kenneth Hoff
Groves auditing student
“Any biography of John Wayne is
reading material that I enjoy because
he was such a strong person. I see a lot
of John Wayne in my father. John
Wayne fought death with life. Wayne
was never a quitter and neither is my
father.”
Danny Wenzel
Lumberton freshman
“Really, about the only book that
stands out in my mind is Leon Uris’
‘Exodus.’ I’ve read it three or four
times in the past 20 years.”
Carol Van BosMrk
Nederland junior
“Mitchner’s ‘Centennial.’ It gives an
interesting perspective on a small part
of American history and gives us a good
idea of where we might be going.”
Hilary Weiner
Assistant professor of psychology
“To me it’s the ‘Autobiography of
Malcolm X’ by Alex Haley. It’s a
wonderful biography that details
religious development and is a fine
book.”
Tony Dnbitsky
Assistant professor of psychology
“I’ve read ‘Roots’ and ‘Lace’ and
have enjoyed both tremendously. I like
the exciting theme of ‘Lace,’ and
‘Roots’ impressed me with heritage.”
LaShawn Singleton
Galveston sophomore
“I like Stephen King’s books because
they’re adventurous and adult
thrillers.”
Barbara Watson
Beaumont senior
“I like Edgar Allen Poe books and
whenever I have time they are the ones
I read.”
Terry Roy
Sflsbee sophomore
“I feel that ‘Black Boy’ by Richard
Wright has left a great impression on
me because it was a true-to-life story of
a young black boy growing up in the
South and he showed, through the strug-
gle, that he grew up to be a productive
individual. My social work and
psychology books also impress me.”
Bridget York
Houston sophomore
“The book I have read and am
reading again is ‘The Bride of Fortune.’
It tells the story of Varina Howell and
Jefferson Davis and their life together
as man and wife. I’m a Civil War
fanatic and the book impresses me
because of the way the two lived
through those troubled times."
Regina Williams
Lumberton freshman
“I’ve read many books and it’s hard
to say which one has made the most im-
pression on me. I have enjoyed Thomas
Hardy’s ‘Far From the Madding
Crowd’ and also D. H. Lawrence’s
‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover,’
Syed Imam
Karachi, Pakistan, senior
“Stephen King’s novels are my
favorite because of the unnatural
suspense he creates.”
Tommy Deaver
Port Arthur senior
Reading finds revival as architectural gem
By MAXWELL GLEN
and CODY SHEARER
Field Newspaper Syndicate
READING, Pa.—Travelers who pass by
this city on the way to points elsewhere
may well think it is just another dirty ur-
ban dive waiting to die. But a quick stop
and look behind this town’s gritty surface
reveals an historically rich community
that’s proudly fighting to rediscover its
past.
Indeed, many young professionals who a
decade ago left small cities like Reading
(pop. 70,000) for the better jobs and fast
life of big-city America have learned that
they can go home again.
Reading, like many small in-
dustrial/manufacturing cities in the Nor-
theast and Midwest, was once a thriving
metropolis. At the turn of the century, it
boasted 30 iron-based factories manufac-
turing locomotive engines, plows, nails
and rifle barrels for the world. Its railroad
company owned more than 500
locomotives and 22,000 cars, making its
yards second only to Altoona’s in impor-
tance to the nation.
Meanwhile, William Luden, of cough
drop fame, and Charles Duryea, the
automobile manufacturer, had set up shop
WASHINGTON (UPI)-The investiga-
tion of Edwin Meese has united Democrats
of all stripes in an attack on an administra-
tion so “riddled with scandal” that one
party leader says it may be matched only
by Watergate and Teapot Dome.
Without a label to hang on the collection
of dozens of cases of questionable ethics
among Reagan administration appointees,
Democrats are referring to “Hie sleaze
factor,” and to the “Teflon-coated
presidency,” to which nothing sticks.
“Our prime job is providing the glue,”
says Rep. Tony Coelho, D-Calif., who as
head of the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee showed a television
commercial to reporters Wednesday at-
tacking an administration that “worships
greed.”
“In all, more than 50 Reagan appointees
have been charged with official miscon-
duct, abuse of privilege, financial im-
proprieties or some other type of unethical
and—in some cases—illegal conduct,” he
said.
The 30-second spot to be shown in the
Washington area and then in low-cost
here. The rich fold of New York and
Philadelphia flocked to the 10 resort hotels
in Reading’s surrounding hills, showing
minimal concern that the town had a
socialist mayor.
But the Depression and demise of rail
transportation were hard on Reading. The
city’s heavy industrial base shrank.
Building maintenance and new construc-
tion declined and the city’s physical condi-
tion deteriorated as a result.
Today, Reading’s population of 70,000 is
almost 50,000 below its peak in 1928.
“We’ve been losing about 10,000 residents
a decade,” said Frank McGough, the local
planning department expert. “But we
think those projections may be
stabilizing.”
McGough’s comment may turn out to be
the understatement of the decade. In our
discussions with residents here, we
discovered that some of Reading’s best
and brightest, many in their late 20s and
early 30s, were returning home after living
in such places as Philadelphia, New York,
Paris and Rome.
While these Yuppies—Young Urban Pro-
fessionals—are returning for varied
reasons, they all seem to have a similar
theme in their stories: Life in big-city
markets around the country is a paragon
of simplicity—and negative advertising.
It opens with a color picture of President
Reagan. The narrator says: “Ronald
Reagan. He said he’d bring a new morality
to government. But look at the list of
charges.”
Reagan’s picture is replaced by a series
of black-and-white “mug shots” of eight
top officials, accompanied by the sound of
an automatic camera shutter.
As their faces appear, the voice con-
tinues: “Sweetheart loans. Hidden finan-
cial deals. Abuse of privilege. Secret gifts.
Insider stock trading. Mineral rights
giveaways. Blacklists. Perjury. More
scandal-tainted officials than we’ve seen
since Richard Nixon and Watergate. This
is moral leadership?”
If the commercial didn’t make the
Democrats’ point hard enough, Coelho
said at a news conference: “A president
who rarely misses a chance to condemn
welfare cheats and food-stamp cheats now
finds himself in the position of presiding
over a government riddled with scandal.”
Accusing Reagan’s aides of “a consis-
tent pattern of wrong-doing,” Coelho said,
“It doesn’t begin to compare with previous
America is too expensive, too impersonal
and too competitive.
What many of them have also
discovered is that towns like Reading are
fast becoming a visual treasure. Thanks in
large part to the Federal Reform Tax Act
of 1976, which established incentives for
private investment in historic preserva-
tion, older cities like Reading have been
able to restore many of their once majestic
buildings.
Approximately 90 percent of this city’s
buildings were constructed more than 30
years ago, and most were built between
1870 and 1910. At least 30 different styles of
architecture are represented. A majority
of the residences consists of two- and
three-story row houses; gables, turrets
and stained-glass transoms are almost
standard features.
Moreover, it takes less than $40,000 to
purchase a three-story row hosue with six
bedrooms and two baths here, according to
Bob Hospidor, an administrator with
Neighborhood Housing Services of
Reading Inc. “Friends who pay $200,000
for an efficiency apartment in New York
can’t believe that there are such bargains
here,” Hospidor said. “We’re living with
one of the best-kept secrets of the region.”
administrations, with the possible excep-
tion of Watergate and the Teapot Dome
scandals.”
White House spokesperson Larry
Speakes said he did not know whether the
charges of improper conduct would hurt
the Republicans. “It depends on what the
Democrats want to do with it,” said
Speakes, who last week said the number of
cases is not “inordinate.” .
House Speaker Thomas O’Neill said,
however, “I would say it’s going to be an
issue. We’re not trying to make it an issue.
The American people make the issues.”
The announcement of the new ads coin-
cided with similar attacks on the ad-
ministraiton from two of the three
Democratic presidential candidates.
Gary Hart, campaigning in New York,
said: “We have had for 36 months a
systematic message come out of
Washington from the highest levels of
public office and that message is personal
greed: ‘Take what you can, however you
can, in whatever way you can.’ ” He also
said the administration has been “one of
the worst in this nation’s history” in the
area of ethical conduct.
Adds Michel Lefevre, a Parisian who
ended up here in 1972: “I couldn’t believe I
was in America when I reached Reading.
I’d never seen an American city with so
much European flavor. ...Many people
here are falling in love with the city again.
It’s almost like a husband rediscovering
his wife’s beauty after taking it for granted
for so long.”
Transplants are learning that, in
Reading, they can have the most attrac-
tive qualities of big-city living—a sense of
neighborhood, convenience to local stores
and cultural spots without the hassles,
crime and filth. Though some of the town’s
returnees may hunger for a wider selec-
tion of entertainment, New York,
Philadelphia and Washington are still only
a few hours away by car.
To be sure, Reading is. more fortunate
than many other small cities in America in
that its industrial base has always been
diversified. As a result, the economy has
been able to support a relatively healthy
service sector.
But Reading is telling all listeners that
America can’t afford to throw away its old
communities and the considerable public
investment therm. As many Americans
are finding here, the walls are still strong
in America’s once-famous hubs.
UNIVERSITY PRESS
......................Richard Bonnin
Sport* Editor....................Joe Rutland
Editorial/Entertainment Editor..............
Linda Eckols
Photo Editor ..................Jan CouvUlon
Wirt Editor....................Stacye Steele
Advertising Manager..........Lisa Hoffpauir
Advertising Representatives................
Elaine J. Butler, Margene Lenamon
Staff Writers.... Donna Foster, Clyde Hughes,
Dawn Inman, Sue Wright
Sports Assistant ............Rhonda Omberg
Photographers .... David Crux, Anita Porche
Advertising Assistant........Diane Dolhonde
Graphics........Erin Cabra, Mike Karnaugh,
Avril Williams
Typesetters......Karen Dwyer, Ingrid Faulk
circulation ..................Cynthia Brown
Office Assistant ................Sonja Butler
Production Manager
Gloria Post
Assistant Director ot Student Publications
Jill Scoggins
Director of Student Publications
Howard Perkins
Publisher
Student Publications Board
George McLaughlin, Chairman
The'iniversity Press is the official student
newspaper of Lamar University, and
publishes every Wednesday and Fridhy during
long semesters, excluding holidays and
Wednesdays Immediately following holidays.
Offices are located at P.O. Box 10065, 200
Setter Student Center, University Station,
Beaumont, Texas 77710.
Opinions expressed in editorials and col-
umns are those of the student management of
the newspaper. These opinions are not
necessarily those of the university administra-
tion.
Democrats attack administration
said to be ‘riddled with scandal’
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Bonnin, Richard. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 46, Ed. 1 Friday, April 6, 1984, newspaper, April 6, 1984; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500195/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.