The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 1975 Page: 2 of 12
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(he rice thresher
editorial
threshlng-if-i
Ring sparks graduation debate
This week's issue of Newsweek begins a feature story on U.S.
defense policy by saying, "James Rodney Schlesinger may be the
best and brightest Secretary of Defense in the nation's history."
Perhaps the "best and brightest" pun was unintended, but judging
from the patronizing profile afforded the Secretary and his views, I
suspect the reporters had somehow neglected to read David Halber-
stam.
He certainly has all the "best and brightest" credentials one could
ask for: a summa cum laude B.A. and Ph.D. in economics from
Harvard, authorship of a little ditty called "The Political Economy
of National Security", and six years as director of strategic studies
for the Rand Corp. "think tank" (also Daniel Ellsberg's former
employer). If, after all that, one could still doubt his intelligence, he
was director of the Central Intelligence Agency for a time under
Nixon. Such credentials would put a Dean Rusk, McGeorge Bundy,
or Bob McNamara to shame.
But apart from his consummate expertise, Schlesinger enjoys the
extremely close confidence of President Ford, because, as Newsweek
quotes a senior White House staffer, "they are both basically cold
warriors." The effect of his closeness to Ford on our nation's
defense policy may be similar to Kissinger's profound (exclusive?)
influence on Nixon's foreign policy; if your advisor is an authority
of such stature, then you should certainly agree with or defer to his
superior judgment, right?
Although the salesmanship involved in convincing a very suspect
Congress to spend over a hundred billion dollars on weaponry has
caused Schlesinger to mitigate his erudite aloofness, he still makes
"little attempt to conceal his disdain for the dimmer bulbs on the
Hill." Presumably these dimmer bulbs are the ones who can only
comprehend that our current arsenal of nuclear weapons gives us the
"overkill" capability to kill every human being on earth 50 times
over, but are struggling with such Newspeak atrocities as Mutual
Assured Destruction (even the Pentagon calls it "MAD") and the
need to develop a "war-and-a-half capability".
Refuting the idea that the much-heralded detente (initiated by
the man who gave him his current job) and increased economic
world interdependence would allow for a reduction in arms
spending, Schlesinger argues that the billions are justified on three
grounds. First, more strategic nuclear weapons are needed as "bar-
gaining chips" in future "arms-reduction" talks (like Vladivostok?).
Secondly, more money is needed to greatly improve our "conven-
tional" war-making ability, lest we be limited to only the increased
nuclear force he is asking for. Third, and a particularly sticky point
with both Congress and public, is the need to continue to offer
military aid to various military dictators in danger of being over-
thrown, thus making their nations "safe for democracy" while
simultaneously indulging an atavistic imperial tendency.
But 105 billion is a lot to ask for, and in considering the possibil-
ity (!) that the Pentagon may have "cried wolf" in past demands for
excessive appropriations, Schlesinger declares,
"The underlying point is an improved willingness on Capitol Hill
and in the society at large to approach the questions of American
security and its defense capabilities with a greater degree of intel-
lectual discipline than wa§. characteristic of the Vietnam period
when the prevailing mood was simply one of dyspepsia."
Humbly begging the Secretary's pardon and without sounding con-
trastingly melodramatic or mawkish, I don't think it was a lack of
"intellectual discipline" that sent many people reaching for the
Maalox at the sight of Vietnamese children being scorched by Amer-
ican napalm.
Some proponents of this exorbitant defense budget are already
saying its passage will be a "courageous but unpopular decision".
Unfortunately, "courageous but unpopular" decisions also have a
remarkable propensity for being consistently wrong, as it was just
such "courageous and unpopular" decisions that got us involved in
Vietnam, Cambodia, etc.
Whether or not one feels that privileged status the military estab-
lishment holds over our national priorities is wrong, and that our
money should instead be redirected toward things like housing,
schools, medical care, etc. isn't important. We are in the grips of one
of the worst inflationary spirals in our history as a result of main-
taining an all-out war economy for the last 35 years, and as any good
Republican knows, the way to fight inflation is reduce federal
spending. While telling the American people to "bite the bullet" in
order to "whip inflation now", President Ford proposes this 105
billion dollar defense budget as part of an overall budget with a 50+
billion deficit. Perhaps it's time for some budgetary bullet-biting by
the Administration, and I can't think of a better bullet to bite than
the real thing.
—joel rennie
the rice thresher, thursday, march 20, 1975 — page 2
To the editor:
I had expected to graduate
this May. My plans were made
with this in mind, and I had a
'75 Rice ring. Well, I'm not
going to finish until December,
as I found it necessary to with-
draw this semester. Needless to
say, this doesn't sit too well, as
I've devoted a lot of time and
effort in getting through. Now
I'm told that the ring has to be
returned before May or my
records get frozen here; making
it impossible to get transcripts,
register, or anything else. So, in
essence, I cannot finish until I
cough up the ring. When you
buy the ring you must sign an
agreement to this. Fine, in
theory it prevents people from
passing themselves off as Rice
graduates when they aren't. I'm
not arguing with this intent; I'm
concerned about a more basic
issue of how the university deals
with those who finish at the end
of the Fall semester. As you
know, the practice is to place
these people in the class fin-
ishing next May. This can get a
little awkward:
"I see you're graduating in
December?"
"No, but I'm finishing up
then; graduation* in May."
"Oh...."
Apparently this practice arose
when most fall terms carried on
into January. Rather than hold
two graduations per calendar
year, it v (as decided to have just
the single date in May or June.
Full-year courses were much
more common then as well and
the Mid-term finisher was a rare
case indeed. This is no longer-
true. Since the inception of the
semester course plan and the
shift to the Fall semester start in
late August, it is now possible to
complete the degree require-
ments in December of the same
calendar year of the previous
scholastic year. Since the
majority o f the mid-year fin-
ishers had originally intended to
graduate the previous May, and
had probably made plans along
those lines, wouldn't it seem rea-
sonable to consider some
changes? Now please note care-
fully that I am not going to sug-
gest that these students be given
diplomas in December that read
the same as those who got theirs
the past May, nor am I sug-
gesting that two graduations be
held as per large state school
practice. What I am asking is
that you consider a plan that
would allow students to be
graduated in the same calendar
year as scholastic year, be it
either May or December. This
can be accomplished with only
minimal changes in the present
practice.
First, continue the practice of
only one ceremony of
graduation per year. Instead of
having the diplomas read May
1976 say, change the dates of
the December finishers to read
as so. This could be done by
changing one line of the master
plate to read December rather
than May. If cost is a factor,
then charge accordingly. This
keeps the present system of one
graduation per year, yet accu-
rately reflects actual completion
of degree requirements.
<Seco$lly, allow December
finishers to retain or order rings
that reflect the calendar date of
completion rather than that of
the scholastic term. December
1975 is still 1975, just as much
as May 1975 is.
My proposal would yield the
following benefits:
1. Elimination of the red tape
course DGRE 489b, the atten-
dant paperwork of maintaining
this fictional registration and the
possible $50.00 "course" fee
that goes along with these con-
tortions.
2. Clarification of the exact date
on record of the completion of
degree requirements rather than
the present confusion of fin-
ishing courses in a different
calendar year than that which
your degree is awarded in.
3. Elimination of wasted money
in lost deposits and the embar-
rassment of having to turn in a
ring or face the consequences. It
is already hard enough to face a
longer time to graduate than
expected, why add more? En-
force the ring rules effective the
December of the same year
rather than May to insure that
not only is the symbolic value
maintained, but that the student
has until the end of the calendar
year to fulfill the requirements
that entitle them to the ring
bearing that year.
The changes I propose would
help make completion a more
tangibly visible goal just when it
is most needed as a morale
booster. I know.
I am completing my degree
requirements this December. I've
had my ring some six months
now. It's finally starting to seem
like mine now; something
symbolic of all the time I've
spent and will spend for the de-
gree. I don't feel that those of us
who finish in December shftuld
be penalized the extra year on
the record because of rules that
are no longer relevant to present
situations. Certainly it could not
in any way harm the credibility
and prestige of the Rice degree
and ring to make the changes I
propose. Nor am I asking to
eliminate traditional practices.
When changes have been neces-
sary in the past, Rice has made
them with careful attention
towards maintaining the high
standards that attracted us here
in the first place. What I propose
seeks to follow the same view.
The changes I seek would instill
greater accuracy in the academic
and symbolic records of the
students, eliminate the fictional
course enrollment red tape, and
save both students and staff
time, money, and embar-
rassment; all without damage to
prestige. Please consider. Thank
you.
Richard Bruce Hibbard
Baker Dec. '75
copies to:
*Dr. Norman Hackerman
Office of Student Advising
Rice students get NSF funds
Seven Rice students have
been awarded graduate fellow-
ships by the National Science
Foundation. The seven fellow-
ship winners and their fields of
study are: Thomas H. Colle,
organic chemistry; Edmund Y.
Eickenroht, theoretical physics;
Thomas W. Hartquist, astro-
nomy; Robert Q. Kluttz, organic
chemistry; Michael R. Kump,
electrical engineering; Shelley
Marshall Payne, microbiology;
and Dwight L. Raulston, bio-
chemistry.
"Each fellowship carries a
stipend of $3,600 per year for
thre
M
three years of full-time study,"
said John L. Margrave, Dean of
Advanced Studies and Research.
"The fellowships may be used
over a five-year period to permit
students to fit into their educa-
tion other valuable experience
such as teaching or research
while not drawing their sti-
pend."
Close to 6,000 students
across the nation competed for
these NSF fellowships which
were awarded on the basis of
merit to a total of 550 applic-
ants.
GARY BREWTON
Editor
DALE PAYTON-ENGLE
Business Manager
Tom Anderson Advertising
Manager
Cathy Egan Assistant
Business Manager
Rosine Wilson Ad Production
Manager
Dana Blankenhorn Circulation
Nancy Taubenslag . .Associate Editor
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Doug Peck Head Photographer
Forest Davenport . Back Page Editor
Wiley Sanders Assistant
Head Photographer
Editorial Staff: Linda Eichblatt, Shannon Vale, Jim Asker, Fritz Morsches,
Carla McFarland, John Anderson, Tricia Regan, Lorel Dowden.
News Staff: David Walker, Brian Buchanan, Shannon Vale, Ron Miller, Danna
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Production Staff: Ruthie Melton,-Bonnie Gershon, Gary Preuss, David White,
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Austin Bureau: Steve Jackson.
The Rice Thresher, the official student newspaper of Rice University since
1916, is published semi-weekly on Mondays and Thursdays during the school
year except during examination periods and holidays by the students of Rice
University, 528—4141 ext 221. Advertising information is avaUpble on
request, 528—4141 ext 356. Mail subscription rate, $15 per year. The opinions
expressed herein are not necessarily those of anyone except the writer.
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Brewton, Gary. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 1975, newspaper, March 20, 1975; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245231/m1/2/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.