The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 12, 1981 Page: 3 of 28
twenty eight pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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THRESHING-IT-OUT
Clark criticizes
Kolenda's restrictions
To the editor:
Freedom is a fragile thing. Like
any tool, it is worthless unless
used, and will decay through the
ceaseless caresses of entropy unless
attended to. This freedom extends
to many things, not the least of
which is the ability to express
ourselves in print. The letters of
Joynton and Kolenda strike a
serious blow at the ideas behind
free expression, and as a firm
adherent of the value of both free
speech and our Misclass, I feel a
few things must be said.
Note first the words used by
these individuals to characterise
the people who write things they
object to. Mr. Kolenda goes
through a complex bit of
psychoanalysis on the very hearts
and minds of every individual who
ever stopped to scribble a bit of
stuff anywhere. It's been a very
long time since I've seen such an
extensive description based on so
small a quantity of evidence. Mr.
Kolenda is making a moral
judgement, to which I have no
objection, but he wishes to extend
this very personal opinion to those
about him. It is here that I draw the
line. There is no such thing as a
standard of morality independent
of human experience, and since all
humans experience a different
reality due to their unique position
in space and time, no system of
morality could possibly deal with
all aspects and all cases of reality.
By setting himself as an arbiter of
tastes and truth for the rest of the
population, Mr. Kolenda destroys
the very freedom he seems to want.
In asserting that anything he or
some hypothetical editor
disapproves of is automatically
unfit to be seen, he adds an element
of constraint totally outside any
definition of freedom. Censorship
is censorship is censorship, no
matter what it's justification. By
closing ourselves off to any idea
outside our experience, anything
we do not approve of, we create a
sterile mental wasteland, a hollow
echo chamber where a single
thought is endlessly repeated
without contradiction.
Even leaving aside any question
of absolute morality, there are
^ther errors in the position taken
by the two previous letter writers.
Note that the criticism of these
writers is based on a thorough
knowledge of exactly what sort of
material is contained in that
section of the paper. If they find its
contents so objectionable, why do
they continue to peruse it? These
snippets of gall and bile are clearly
labelled as such, and only a person
bent on sell abuse would partake '
of anything that fills him with
repugnance. The point is simple: If
you do not approve of something,
make the judgement, and then
keep that thing out of your life by
exercising your freedom of choice.
However, allow the other person
the exact same right, and let them
exercise their free will. In fact, I
find evangelism much more
offensive than any pornography,
since I have yet to have anyone
come up to me and tell me that I
will go to hell if I don't read
Playboy, though many people
have offered the Bible to me in just
those terms. No idea is repugnant;
it is only another person forcing
that idea upon his fellow that is
wrong.
Finally, there is an economic
argument to be heard. A Misclass
costs nothing, and in the line of
anything being worth what is paid
for it, it doesn't take an HP-41 C
and a major in math to figure out
what it's worth. As such, anyone
who can take such a thing seriously
has a rather warped sense of
values. In any case, there's a me-
thod of reply: the exact same place
the original comment came from
another misclass. If Mr. Kolenda is
so concerned with the intellectual
level of that section, he should take
pen in hand and write something
up. Or could it be that absolute
moralists really don't have
anything witty to say?
Wonder Warthog™
AKA Mark Clark
Wiess '83
P.S. I found "Banana Nut Bread"
extremely funny, and far from
being secretive about it, I would
willingly read it on prime time TV
in the nude. So much for my
secretive thoughts of evil and
disgust.
Klein defends world
of Rice U.
To the editor:
Okay, Mr. Dees, it's time to play
hardball. There are only three
reasons I came to Rice: academics,
the Honor System, and the College
System. I was going to reply to your
comments attacking the Honor
Council, then I saw your editorial
on the College System, so let's talk
about the whole ball of wax.
First, the Honor Council works.
It works well, quietly, and
efficiently. What it needs is a little
space. Right now there are folks all
over this university like little
demons on people's shoulders.
They keep whispering in our ear:
"But is it really okay, really?" On
the other hand there are others
who are screaming. The problem
Rice Canterbury Association Presents:
Catachesis: An Introduction to
Christ and His Church
A series of informal instruction sessions for
candidates for baptism or confirmation or anyone
interested in the Church. The first session will be
held Monday, February 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Autry
House, 6265 Main St. (right across from the Lovett
entrance). After spring break sessions will resume
on Thursday evenings, starting March 5. For more
information call Kathy S. at 526-3902 or Rob at
526-8281.
with our Honor System is that too
many people are finding ways to
circumvent it. The proper way to
solve this problem is not to call for
even stricter procedural regulation
of the council. If you like the
council you'd better put up with its
secrecy also. The plain facts of life
are that it can't function without it.
The cases are too personal as are
the parties involved.
Second, the College System
works. Just compare it to any
Greek system your friends are in.
Consider the problems ot rush,
hazing, racism, and high finance
that arise in Greek systems. The
College System is a working
alternative. It may be Rice's
strongest feature. That it is not the
ideal it was expected to be in 1958
is meaningless. This doesn't mean
it isn't good. It just means that it is
different than expected. In point of
fact, the system is excellent.
Third, although Rice does not
always meet my expectations of it
academically, it generally does
quite well. However, editorials of
yours printed earlier this year
indicate you are not quite so sold.
Well, you're entitled to your
opinion.
I've told you why I'm at Rice and
.what I like about it. You have
printed your disenchantment with
all three of these features. So let me
ask you, Mr. Dees, why are \>ou at
Rice?
Kenneth S. Klein
SRC '81
D00HESBUBT
i.
tomorrow. i
1 can LEAVE-? see no reason
hot pawn! to keep you
when ? any l0n6er ■
i must mm you, though.
your worst orpeal may yet
lie aheap. you have still-
to face the press. \
"5-
tt might be a uttlefmh at first
hostages are reporting feeungsof
paranoia. many have been unable to
60 to the bathroom without being
followed by a CA\meka i r-V\
,o f vW f
• I I ^ 1
only by a
are they few fanatics.
being mis- mostly local-
treated7 anchormen.
well, wav's the
816pay, mr. puke'
houfs tt feelto be
going home a
_ hero? \
fa A
/u
wn
r-55b/ /
puke?..
brenner? wbf
you? aiivfl
10U BETTER BELIEVE IT.
hero? the RETURN OF THE H0S~
1'M A TASES HAS PRODUCED AN
hero ? INCREDIBLE OUTPOURING
n OF GOOP FEELING BACK
m man, i
sorry 70 w5w you'p
DISAPPOINT
m, 8REN n 1 meR
you'u. be invited to the whtte house
given parades, free baseball tick-
ets, free meals, free jeans, you
name it! all you have to 00 is show
your former. hostage i p. carp !
V'CvV
listen, brenner
i'll be home by nr <(/trt7l
tomorrow. if that !'e>, not to
house isntexactly worry, man,
my
what?
its good for.
up to50% dis-
counts tn your.
home toojn
\
actually. i've
sort of im-
proved p.
gave up
is fine.
hope'
hear me?
;
o,ralk
xeepovt
(o0 <uaieru*
brenner
you helped
i j] ! mho? me probate
!,a_.|: l ambassador
not so
6000 man
i've got
some bap
news about
puke.
oh. sure
h01u you
doing,
zeke
1<j0k±>l
live
bannon
this is zeke
brenner.
hts
peap-.
pukes will.
\ remember■
s .Uik_
V
,. and before i leave today for
the states, i just want to thank
the whole world for conpemning
i iran for using me as an innocent
pawn in pursuing their rev0uj-
™*" —?v
■M- t
JUElCOMt HOME,
PUKE! MM
RAH! WAY TO (
60, PUKE/
WHOOP!E1
but weren't you
orjginauy impri-
soned fortrytng
to arrange oil
pay-offs, mr.
/ puke ?
that's a vicious
UB, mister! i
was in iran. as
an orpinary
tourist1
/S
then why what difference does
did you par- THAT make? gimme
achute/nto a break, fellah.'i've
the coun- just spent over 500
try7 days in captivity!
wm
yeah, but i'm not
commenting UNTIL
ive had the chance
totalxtdagoop
literary a6ent.
i
i what's going uh- you
on here7 where didn't tell
i the heles the me you
band, brenner? wantepa
banp, man.
there was supposed hey, you're a
to be a BANDIANP hero to me,
where's the press? puke! i even
what happened to got a green
my HERO'S WELCOME 7 ribbon for
4^ you!
oh. i coulpnt
fts supposed
remember. l m
to be yellow.
not into tony
pinheap
orlando man
The Rice Thresher, February 12, 1981, page A3
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Dees, Richard. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 12, 1981, newspaper, February 12, 1981; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245463/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.