The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 30, Ed. 1, Friday, January 22, 1982 Page: 2 of 15
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Abilene Christian University Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
stfOmtt W filhtofe
A-2
I Costly entertainment
P For hundreds of years maybe since time
g began mankind has trilled to the feats of
people who courted death. Something deep
It within each of us finds entertainment value in
a man dodging the sharp horns of a bull
slinging his car around an impossible turn or
I jumping a motorcycle over 20 buses .
5 The invention of the jet plane brought us a
new team of daredevils the Thunderbirds.
For thirty years this Air Force stunt squad has
thrilled crowds with close precision flying.
Sometimes the four planes are no more than
three feet apart.
Because of the tight formation the pilots are
trained to "fly off the leader" watching only
the plane next to them and not the ground or
instruments.
Last Monday the squad was practicing for
its spring exhibitions when the four T-38
Talons slammed into the Nevada desert
killing all four pilots.
The cause of the crash is unknown. Some
speculate that the commander of the team
Major Norman L. Lowry may simply have
led the team into the ground as they came out
of a loop pattern.
Whatever the reason it was not the first
Thunderbird accident.
Only last October Major Lowry's
predecessor Col. David L. Smith died when
his jet crashed on takeoff following a per-
formance in Cleveland.
Another Thunderbird officer died last year
before 80000 people at an Ogden Utah air
show. Altogether 19 men have died in
Thunderbird accidents.
One of the pilots who died Monday had said
in a recent interview that he and the other men
who fly the Thunderbirds had come to accept
accidents in flying as something they had to
live with.
But should these men be expected to live
with the constant possibility of death simply to
satisfy our desire for entertainment?
300 Optimist
DougMendenhall
EDITOR
Robin Ward
MANAGING EDITOR
Linde Thompson
FEATURES EDITOR
Mark Evje
SPORTS EDITOR
Kent Barnett
ADVERTISING
News Editors : Rachel O'Rear Barbie Shelton
Assistant Sports Editor: J. Scott Russell
Assistant Features Editor: Rene Williams
Chief Photographer: Rodney Goodman
Production Managers: Tammy Fielder Monica Hart
Advertising Design: Cheryl Beard Carmen Scarbrough
Adviser: Dr. Charles Marler
Tfcr OaUml.t HMHWI It aaaMiInd Mm Uy cal during v.c.tiw..
Mul run aad hmr hhw a Ik Mat raanaaiatiaa Divhloa af
AWtoae CMatiaa UaHaraky. Akiteac. Twmm 7MM SaaarriaUaa rate i M arr
Marnier ar ar year. Hrcaad rUtt pastel aaM at AkHra. Tai.
Partawrter. Bead aMrm cfcaagn te la Oatlaiht. AC1' Maltoa. Bo. m.
AaSiai. Tciat 7MM.
Malarial! aaacartai ' Ik Oatiaritl ar Ik vlntt u la OaUahl aad da
M arcruarUy rvfltd Ik afflcial palky la All' admliii.lraliM. Slinrd
eakwa rrartnal Ik atnaaal view af la alfcati.
Ik Oallailil k aHWalrd wkk Ik Auorlalrd ( oHrilalr Pru and lar
Ta. lalircafctlat Prna AuariaMaa.
ggjggfc-
Rules are made to be broken
We're doing a great job at ACU of proving
the rule that rules are made to be broken. A
cursory flipping through the Student Hand-
book brings to light enough unfollowed
regulations to convict and hang every last
member of the student body.
For starters "a quiet studious at-
mosphere" is to be maintained in Brown
Library. Actually if the Wildcats played their
home basketball games in the library instead
of the coliseum a technical foul would quickly
be assessed by the ref for excessive crowd
noise.
Also did you know it's a rule that students
are to "help others fulfill their responsibility"
under the code of conduct and discipline? I
guess this is supposed to work something like
vigilantes. You know "String him up boys.
Ain't nobody gonna eat off another student's
tray in this town and live to tell about it."
(Another rule states that students can't
belong to secret organizations but I don't
want to talk about that one. )
"Making use of university keys for
unauthorized purposes" is another rule. I hope
no one's reported me for scratching my ears
with the key to the Morris Center.
"Use of damaging or dangerous items (e.g.
water balloons)" is another no-no. I've been
drilled since junior high school about how easy
it is to put someone's eye out with a water
balloon sharp edges you know but the
way this regulation is worded makes me
wonder if the Campus Police Department is
trained to safely defuse water balloons if one
is found hidden in a briefcase in some ad-
ministrator's office.
The injunction against "initiation by an
organization which includes any dangerous
the pessimist
Doug Mcndenhall
harmful or degrading act to a student" is
another regulation I don't think is adhered to
but I guess the pledge masters of our social
clubs are better judges than I of what's
degrading and harmful.
Also if you are ill the handbook instructs
you to report it to the head resident of your
dorm or to the student nurse. "Do not
procrastinate nor forget" it says. I wonder
how many students in the past 75 years have
appeared before the Review Board and heard
"You are accused of having the flu and
forgetting to report it. How do you plead? "
Anyone who has lived up to the letter of the
above rules certainly won't survive this one:
"Wearing shorts in public except in athletic
areas" is naughty. That's why whenever I see
someone loitering about in shorts I demand
that they remove them immediately.
Now don't laugh but it's also a regulation
that "students are responsible for keeping
dormitory rooms neat and tidy." You
probably believe that like you believe in the
Great Pumpkin.
OK so who made it through this column
without reading about any of their own
violations? That's what I thought. I'll tell you
what; let's print up a new handbook with just
the regulations people actually follow. It'd
save a lot of trees.
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.
The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 30, Ed. 1, Friday, January 22, 1982, newspaper, January 22, 1982; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth99615/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.