The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 7, 1968 Page: 3 of 8
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threshlng-lt-out
Alumnus denounces Johnson as 'professional liar'
To the Editor:
I w^s greatly shocked and
dismayed when it was an-
nounced that Lyndon Johnson
will be teaching at Rice next
year. As a graduate of Rice, I
can only say that the appoint-
ment of such a man is an action
contrary to all the good prin-
ciples for which I remember
the University to stand.
I pass over the question of
his academic qualifications as
really beside the point. As I
look back to my four years at
Rice, I remember with pleasure
and respect such individual fac-
ulty members as professors J.
I. Davies, James S. Fulton,
Konstantin Kolenda, Kather-
ine F. Drew, and Floyd S. Lear
because they exemplified so
well the most important single
qualification of any teacher:
devotion to the truth.
Mr. Johnson, however, is the
epitome of the professional liar.
I condemn him not because of
his policies (some of which are
bad enough) but because of his
ruthless disregard for the truth.
A few examples should suf-
fice.
0 He promised restraint in
Vietnam, but his subsequent
actions indicate that he had nO
intention of keeping that pro-
mise. Those of us who hoped to
see a foreign policy different
from that proposed by Barry
Goldwater were sadly disap-
pointed. We were tricked.
0 He lied to the reasons for
our invasion of the Dominican
Republic, not only in his state-
ments to the public, but also
in his private briefings to mem-
bers of Congress.
0 He lied in his contention
that the attacks on our ship
in the Gulf of Tonkin were
unprovoked. He masterfully
played upon the hysteria he
generated in order to obtain
a kind of "blank check" from
Congress to do as he pleased in
Vietnam.
# He has been a segregation-
ist when expedient, and lately
has been responsible for much
civil rights legislation. What
his real opinions on the subject
of race are no one will ever
know.
Surely a man of this sort can
be of use to Rice University
only as a bad example.
It is my sincere hope that
the students of Rice will do
whatever they legitimately can
do in order to protest the ap-
pointment of this man to the
faculty.. Certainly the presence
of this kind of man on the fac-
ulty of a University can do no
good.
As a teacher in prep school
(until recently, when I have
gone into industry) it worried
me that with such a bad ex-
ample as Mr. Johnson in the
White House I was neverthe-
less supposed to try to build
character in young men. It
seemed futile to speak of high
moral character when the most
powerful man in the country
was such a fine example of
what not to be.
I soon learned, however, that
this generation of high school
and college students has the
sense not to be influenced by
such a man as Lyndon Johnson.
In fact, if there is anything
that stands out about the pres-
ent generation of young peo-
plej,. it is that they are not
easily led by their elders. They
make up their own minds, and
have a way of being right time
and time again where their
elders have been wrong.
For this reason, then, I am
not worried that Mr. Johnson
will be a threat to learning
at Rice. Even if the administra-
tion is foolish enough to think
that he is a decent man, and
worthy of being in a position
of influence at Rice, I am con-
fident that the students will
see him for what he is, and
deny him any significant in-
fluence.
JOEL WILLIAMS
Class of 1958
Geology prof corrects Velikovsky
To the Editor:
I do not wish to abuse the
Thresher's space; on the other
hand, I would like to point out
that, in geology at least, Dr.
Velikovsky is very poorly in-
formed. I will not speculate on
the causes: every scientist knows
how hard it is to venture out-
side his field, and how vast sci-
ence is; I will only give a few
examples of the mixture of
truths and errors in "The Earth
in Upheaval."
On page 218 discussing coal
beds he correctly states: "Coral
does not grow in muddy water,"
but then observes "Clear-water
ocean corals often alternate
with coal beds," which is not
true. From this juxtaposition of
error and truth he finds sup-
port for his theory of coal
formation, i.e., burned forests
repeatedly carried out by tidal
waves.
It should be clear that this
theory cannot explain most
facts, e.g., why was very fine
and very coarse material de-
posited at the same place, how
are such thick accumulations of
Waters says that
Thresher sports
coverage all wet
To the Editor:
I am not one to dictate the
policy of the Thresher in de-
termining what to print, but
I would like to voice a com-
plaint which I am certain is
shared by many other students.
The sports section ^)f the
Thresher (when there is one)
has made its appearance only
in the "Owlook" column, which
concerns itself primarily with
the coming football game. (Ex-
ceptions: one article on soccer
and one of the parachute club.)
There is much more than that
to Rice athletics. The intra-
mural sports program is as
much a part Of Rice as is
Willy's statue, judging from
the number of participants.
Many students — myself in-
cluded — have wanted to know
which intramural football teams
won during the week and who
the stars were. Furthermore,
articles on the freshman foot-
ball team, karate club, scuba
club, frisbee contests, etc.
would help diversify the con-
tents of the sports page. Last
year there was adequate cov-
erage in this department.
. I am aware that there had
been a problem filling the
sports editor position, but now
that this matter is cleared up,
I strongly suggest that Mr.
Norman and his staff get on
the ball and provide better cov-
erage of sports at Rice. And
how about starting with an
account of the Jones-Brown
Powder-Puff game?
I thoroughly enjoy the bridge
column. Please keep it up.
BUFF WATERS
Lovett '69
beds possible. The classical ex-
planation explains most facts
reasonably.
On page 101 he states: "It is
regarded as an accepted truth
in geology that the seas have
not changed their beds with the
exception of encroachment by
shallow water on depressed con-
tinental areas." The remote
past can never be known with
certainty, even last year's ev-
ents are disputed. We can only
try to build a theory which is
consistent with all known facts.
But we can never absolutely
disprove even the most far-
fetched interpretations.
Furthermore, far from being
"an accepted truth," it is a
theory which has long been in
(See APPEAL on page 4)
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the rice thresher, november 7, ,1968—page 3
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Bahler, Dennis. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 7, 1968, newspaper, November 7, 1968; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245040/m1/3/: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.