Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 4, 1988 Page: 2 of 4
four pages : ill. ; page 14 x 10 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Thursday, February 4, 1988
Page Two
Editorial. ..
First Amendment
where are you?
by Amy Paige Wolf
Guest Editorial
"Congress shall make no hue respect inn an establishment of
religion, or prohibition the free exercise thereof; or abridninn
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the pr’ople
peaceable to assemble, and to iietition the government for a
redress of grievances.”
First Amendment, the U.S. Constitution
Although administrative censorship and SGA pressure has
not been a severe problem on this campus, 1987 prosed to be
the sear that campus publications came under heavy scrutiny
from administrators, student government offices and student
activities committees for the content of the news printed in
their respective newspapers. While sensationalist news has no
place in publications of any kind, this does not give administra-
tors the right to hamper the publication of articles that arc
factual, whether they be positive or negative. True, some articles
can be approached from a more positive standpoint; however,
news can surface that is not pleasant due to its controversy,
yet it must be printed. It should be up to the editors), then, to
decide what news is printable and just, even if it happens to be
negative.
This does not mean student reporters can go bevond the
administration and "dig for dirt" and print sensationalized un-
truths or exaggerated controversies. This would pell student
publications down to the level of tabloid trash newspapers and
provide a platform for “vellow journalism."
In the same sense, this does not afford the administrations
the right to go above the rights that guarantee a free press in
the Constitution. Parents as well as students pay the tuition and
taxes that enable school publications to be printed, whether that
be in high schools or colleges — public or private. We have the
right to know what is happening in the environment that we
must grow up in, especially when our futures are involved.
In four states — Mississippi, California, New York and
Indiana — students were refused access to meetings and records
that involved various controversies within their schools. In con-
tradiction to the respective states’ open meetings and records
laws, the school administrators refused student reporters access
because of the negative publicity that these meetings and
records would generate.
Future journalists just as any American citizen, find the
right to a free press very important and held in high regard.
The freedom to express one’s thoughts is a primary value or the
democracy that built this country. Free and open communica-
tion, unhampered by administrative or government interference,
remains the cornerstone of the United States’ Constitutional sys-
tem. First Amendment rights are being threatened through the
censorship and confiscation of publications much like what has
been occurring in high schools, colleges and universities across
the country.
In turn, many young journalists are being led to believe
that the right to a’free press applies onlv for some of the people
some of the time which will eventually squelch their futures
and keep them from challenging their own abilities and de-
fending their rights to a free press.
From leather flight jackets
to leprechaun deportation
by Jamas $. Drake
Recently on the news, I heard
that the government spent seven
and a half million dollars on
leather jackets, Just like Tom
Cruise wore in the movie "Top
Gun,” for the pilots of the Navy.
The news anchor went on to say
that the Navy hoped this pur
chase would increase morale and
enlistment. Frankly, the thought
of pilots who join the Navy just
to get a leather jacket terrifies
me. I mean, if the Russians of-
fered our pilots eel skin wallets
and cashmere sweaters would
they turn around and bomb us?
Pretty soon Christian Dior will
be the Secretary of Defense,
Ralph Lauren will be Secretary of
the Navy and Bill Blass will be
in charge of NORAD. But I sup-
EDITORIAL BOARD OF
TEXAS WESLEYAN RAMBLER
The Rambler is published weekly during the school year,
except holidays and examination periods by Student Publica-
tions at Texas Wesleyan College.
Editor .................................... Sean M. Wood
Managing Editor..........................Susan Merriman
Advertising Manager ..........................Julie Ashley
Staff........James Drake, Amy Wolf, Jerry Mahle, Ray C.
Brooks, Reggie Woods, Susan Justus, Todd
Obadal, Buff Sellman, Drew Martin
Cartoonists .............-...... Reggie Woods, Aron Head
Sponsor ............................. Dr. Michael Sewell
Someone OuAdt*. te// "the S^ooi Administrators in..
Mississippi f CaJ>fornii~9 NeurVork ttnd In<dis-xt-&-•
Class focussed on
by Draw Martin
“Under the last daylight, the
pls^ns lay clear. To the East
purple was spreading into the
sky, but west of me the trail to
the lots was a lane of dusty gold
light. I saw three crows pass
over the willow thicket behind
the barn and go cawing off into
the blazes of western sky.”
Life in the Texas ranch lands
are seldom represented as beau-
tifully as they are from the pages
of Larry McMurty’s novels. This
descriptive passage from his
novel Horseman Past By is a good
example of the scenes that have
made his works memorable.
These scenes along with charac-
ters that are clearly the result of
their environments compose many
of McMurtry’s books and the
movies that are made from them.
The English department, offer-
ing an experimental class in
Contemporary American Authors
has chosen as its field of study
the works of McMurtry. Dr.
Espinosa explained "We wanted
someone who was a successful
writer, both a successful and a
literary writer, not simply a pop
writer. McMurtry was also chosen
for the benefit of having movies
made from a few of his books. It
will give the students of the
class the opportunity to see the
way film makers work with fic-
tion.
“The class will be expected to
do an analysis comparing the
written work to the film. Mc-
Murtry has written a large body
of novels, all of which will be
read by the class. In addition to
reading all of his books, the
class will see all of the principal
movies which have been pro-
duced from his books. His books
and movies include such popular
works as Hud, (the film adapta-
tion of Horseman Pats By) Tha
Last Picture Show, and Terms of
Endearment.”
The class curriculum will in-
clude an essay on Texas; the
details of which will be left up
(Continued on Page 3)
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor;
In reply to your editorial on
Jan. 28, although I agree
that the Guardians of the Golden
Shears have been delinquent in
presenting the optimum number
of awards, achieving a certain
number is not the primary goal.
The Golden Shears was begun
pose that buying the jackets has
a purpose. As one of the great-
est military powers in the entire
centuries-Iong history of the hu-
man race, how, I ask how, how
would it look if our Navy pilots
were shoddy dressers? We’d be
laughed out of NATO.
In a possibly related news
item, Elsie the Borden spokes-
cow was found brutally murdered
in her Wisconsin barn condomin-
ium. Identification was made dif-
ficult as all of her outer skin
had been removed. To quote her
landlady who found the body,
“She looked so much like . . .
I'm sorry I'll never eat at Mc-
Donalds again.” Police are still
working on the case. She will
be sorely missed.
In other news Snap, Crackle
and Pop, the delightful Kelloggs
commercial stars were discovered
to be leprechauns. The Naturali-
zation and Immigration Service
said they will be deported back
to Ireland.
Also in the news, a group in
New York will be distributing
free needles to intravenous drug
users. It is hoped, by the group,
that the use of these needles will
help stop the spread of AIDS.
Intravenous pin pushers get free
sterile needles, and half the time
there isn’t soap in the dispenser
of a public restroom. I wonder
if the Navy thought this one up
too? Wear a jacket just like Tom
Cruise and use sterile needles
just like the drug addict who ter-
rorized Audrey Hepburn in “Walt
Until Dark.”
in 1938 (as quoted in the edi-
torial) to honor students show-
ing outstanding merit. The goal
is to honor deserving students,
not to see how many awards we
can give in one semester. The
recipients thie semester will be
awarded tb' Golden Shears based
on their individual contributions
to Te .as Wesleyan College, not
be-.ause we are behind in our
quota for the year.
It is true that recipients are
then expected to join as Guar-
dians of the Golden Shears, and
an executive committee is elect-
ed by the recipients of the shears
from the previous year to pre-
sent the awards. Although it is
not specifically stated in the con-
stitution, the shears is tradi-
tionally awarded to upper-class-
men. It is not that unusual for
a large number of recipients to
graduate without ever returning
to serve on the committee. The
committee currently contains one
senior, four juniors, and one
sophomore, which, although It is
not large, is hardly what I would
call a “vanishing breed.”
The article did raise fair ques-
tions about the apparent hiber-
nation of the Golden Shears,
which has already been remedied
for this Spring semester. The
stress of the article, however,
seemed to be placed on the
number of awards presented, not
on the honor and prestige of
actually receiving the Golden
Shears.
Sincerely,
Susan Justus, Chairman
Guardians of the Golden Shears
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 4, 1988, newspaper, February 4, 1988; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth647055/m1/2/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.