opinions
editorial opinion
The Iranian Crisis and President Reagan
Tell it like it is
President Reagan probably wishes he could
forget most of the last several months. In
October, came the failure of the Iceland
summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorba
chev. In November, Reagan saw the Repub
licans lose control of the Senate in the
elections to the Democrats.
To make matters worse, Reagan faces
the most damaging crisis of his presidency
a crisis that has been compared to the
Nixon Watergate scandal during the 70s.
With each passing day, the American
people hear more details about military
equipment sold to the anti-American Irani
an government, profits from the sales si
phoned off to the Nicaraguan Contras and a
growing list of administration officials who
may be responsible for the dealings..
Clearly, the American people deserve to
know the truth. But it is becoming increas
ingly difficult to determine truth from Rea
gan’s reality.
An in-depth investigation is the only way
to sort fact from fiction, and each branch of
the government is in the process of conduct
ing probes of the situation. The most effec
tive investigation appears to be a special
congressional committee, similar to the one
used during the Watergate scandal.
The special committee will consist of
representatives and senators from the 100th
Congress, which will start its inquiry after
the new session begins in January. This
would be better than appointing a commit
tee from the Republican-controlled Senate
of the 99th Congress which could hold a
Reagan bias.
The advantages of a special committee
are clear: The committee will wield many
powers, such as the right to subpoena infor
mation from White House officials and the
right to hold those who are untruthful in
contempt of Congress. Private counsel can
not reap those benefits.
ost
1
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Further, the committee, unlike indepen
dent or White House investigations, will be
less subject to blatant political pressure
from Reagan.
In the meantime, the House and the
Senate are coordinating panels for indepen
dent investigations. In addition, Reagan is
setting an independent counsel to investi
gate the situation.
It is encouraging to see Reagan taking
action. He is, at the same time, threatening
his credibility by allowing officials to plead
the Fifth Amendment at Senate Intelligence
Committee hearings.
Since news of the arms deal with Iran
broke several weeks ago, the issue has
snowballed into a major international cri
sis. Not only are the members of Reagan’s
cabinet enmeshed in the controversy, but
officials from the National Security Council
and Central Intelligence Agency also. The
United States and Iran are not the only
countries involved in the scam. Nicaragua,
Israel, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia have
also been implicated.
The special congressional committee is
the only way to deal with the issue. Granted,
an in-depth investigation by the committee
may get ugly and expose even more unsavo
ry acts, but it looks to be the only effective
means for the American people to get the
truth entire truth.
America cannot solely rely on the Presi
dent’s good nature' to set the record
straight. It is hoped that Reagan has been
honest about the issue in his public
statements so far, and a full-scale investi
gation will support his claims or prove
otherwise.
If Reagan has been telling the truth, he
has-nothing to lose by fully cooperating with
a congressional committee. If he has been
lying, let the truth be known and let the
proverbial chips fall where they may.
A justified press corps
Ronald Reagan is one of the most popular
presidents the United States has ever had;
or at least was, until a few weeks ago.
With the controversy surrounding the
Iran-Contra connection, the president’s ap
proval rating has slid nearly 20 points since
September to 49 percent the lowest rating
Reagan has received since April 1983,
according to a recent public opinion survey.
Reagan is being challenged from all
fronts congressional officials, the press,
even his wife Nancy, and don’t forget the
American people. What they want is sim
ple: the truth and subsequent punishment of
those responsible for the secret dealings.
The White House controversy is one of
international concern and consequence, as
seen by the involvement of newspapers
around the world in investigations. Al
though this issue did not develop as a result
of national political squabblings like Water
gate, it could affect American foreign poli
cy for years to come.
Reagan continues to lash out at the press
for their interest in the matter. “What is
driving me up the wall is that (the arms
deal) wasn’t a failure until the press got a
tip from that rag in Beirut and began to play
it up,” Reagan said in Time magazine,
referring to the pro-Syrian Lebanese mag
azine that first published accounts of the
arms deals.
However, the press is not satisfied by the
answers Reagan has been dishing out and
rightly so. As the watchdogs of government,
journalists should dig to find the truth. The
American people deserve to know the truth.
Until Reagan plays it straight if he hasn’t
already the press will continue to push
for the cold hard facts.
In the sense of a true leader, Reagan has
hopefully been honest in his public
statements. If he hasn’t, it is time he was,
Hey America:
With Ron, at least we are safe
The year 2004.
Ronald Reagan was a good presi
dent. He knew how to run the econ
omy. With Ron you knew you had a
job, and prices would remain stable.
Ron knew how to get on the TV and
talk; he had personality.
Ron cleaned up the welfare mess in
this country too. He got rid of most of
those welfare programs and made
the free loaders go out and get a job.
Ron made America strong again in
the eyes of the world, and God knows
we were in sorry shape after Carter.
Ron took the hard stand against the
Soviets and fought communism
throughout the world.
Ron was committed to the fight
against that destroyer of American
culture, communism. When Congress
denied military aid to the freedom
fighters in Nicaragua, he stepped
around Congress and made sure they
got their money through the Iranian
arms deal.
YB
?
Like I said before, Ron was com
mitted to fight communism. Ron built
up huge stockpiles of weapons to save
us from the Soviets. In the process he
ran up a huge budget deficit, but at
least we were safe.
The fight in Nicaragua did not go
well. The freedom fighters just didn't
have the technical competence so
Ron sent in American military advis
ers to help them.
One day, the communists killed one
of the advisers. Ron retaliated, and
the war escalated. Fairly soon we had
the American armed forces in Nica
ragua fighting those communists, but
at least we were safe.
Ron’s term as president ended, and
his successor was George Bush.
George continued Ron’s policies be
cause Ron was popular, and George
\yanted to be well-liked too. The gov
ernment had to borrow more to meet
the deficits. More money was printed
to pay the deficits; inflation in
creased. More American soldiers
came home dead from Nicaragua.
Things got worse, and the country
went through a rapid succession of
presidents: Hart, Kemp and Bradley.
Inflation became unbearable. It was
pretty difficult for most Americans to
afford a car, let alone a house.
The number of Americans below
the poverty line was increasing. The,
poor were upset because the govern
ment had few welfare programs to
help them, yet thousands were in the
army and being killed in Nicaragua.
Riots broke out in the big cities. To
aid the war effort the president re
instituted the draft.
One fateful day the government
announced it could not meet its debt
The Daily Collegian
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1986
because the public will not stand for lies.
Nearly half of the people surveyed by ABC
News last week said Reagan should resign
if he is lying about what he learned of the
connection of U.S. arms shipments to Iran.
Let’s suppose that Reagan did not know
about the Contra connection. Then two
important questions arise: Why didn’t he?
And who did?
It’s unsettling to think that Reagan’s staff
is wheeling and dealing behind his back.
While taking tough stands against terror
ism, one wonders whether he is in control of
his own cabinet. It becomes evident that he
is not in control if he wasn’t aware of the
situation.
The Contra-Iran controversy has at least
blemished and perhaps permanently
scarred the Reagan administration, but
if the situation is left to muster, Reagan’s
presidency could very well be toppled.
Is not the role of a president to lead the
country; to put himself last in order to
protect the millions of Americans who en
trusted him with its most prestigious and
powerful office?
Ronald Reagan needs to confront the
situation with candor. America is already
aware of at least some controversy brew
ing; it is unsurmisable that he believes he
could just wash his hands entirely clean of
the situation.
Any federal investigation is going to take
a long time, no matter how simple the facts
are to dissect. This controversy may turn a
president who has been instrumental in
strengthening the economy and introducing
major tax reform legislation into a power
less, ineffective leader.
Reagan’s domestic and foreign policy
initiatives may become stalled until this
controversy is settled. Only Reagan or an
investigation that could expose embarrass
ing wrongdoings can settle the matter. Let’s
hope Reagan knows what to do; if not,
congressional investigators will.
obligations. All government bonds
were redeemable at only half of the
face value. Coupled with the rapid
inflation, this announcement shook
America.
Things became worse. The inflation
had destroyed almost everyone’s sav
ings. Many people were destitute.
The violence protesting the war and
economic conditions heightened.
Something had to be done; things
were pretty desperate.
Now Jimmy Swaggart had run for
the presidency the past three elec
tions. No one had paid much attention
to him, but he did have a lot of money
and a large group of loyal supporters.
For the upcoming election Swag
gart toned down his religiosity. He
simply promised to end the violence
in the streets and the inflation. Amer
icans were desperate. They had given
the Democrats and Republicans nu
merous chances, now they turned to
the one man who gave them hope.
Swaggart was elected president by
the slimmest of margins.
After the election a constitutional
convention was called. Due to the
desperate situation the country was
in, Swaggart asked for and received
special emergency powers.
First he ended the violence in the
streets by military force. Then he
limited economic activity to gain a
grip on inflation. Then he censored
the newspapers and television sta
tions to keep the American people
from panicking.
Trouble was Swaggart never gave
back his emergency powers. He ful
filled the promises he had made
years earlier on his television pro
gram. He rounded up all the homo
sexuals and put them in “camps” in
order to protect the public from
AIDS.
He instituted the literal teaching of
the Bible in public schools. Biblical
law became national law. To publicly
contradict the Bible in public became
a crime punishable by prison. But at
least we are safe.
Brian Metrick is a sophomore ma
joring in history and a columnist for
The Daily Collegian. His columns
appear every other Tuesday.
opinions
What do you think of the Iranian situation?
Linda Tctor
freshman
molecular cell biology
“I think they are uncovering a lot
more of the scandal than they
expected to find. I don’t think the
arms could be sold without his
knowing about it, or at least he
certainly should know about
what’s going on.”
Grades are subject to interpretations varying with each course
By Tammy Spivak
Exams, quizzes, projects ... SAT, MCAT,
LSAT ... pass, fail... grades! Testing plays
an important role in your life from the time you
enter school. In kindergarten, you are given a
reading-readiness test. In second grade you
take an I.Q. test. As you get higher in the
educational system, grades, without consider
ation of other aspects such as personality, and
motivation, become the single most important
educational factor.
forum
Take, for example, the following scenario of
a typical college confrontation:
John grinned at the ‘A’ scrawled at the top of
his Political Science exam. There were no
other comments on the page, just the ever-so
lovely ‘A.’ A seat down from John, interrupting
his celebration, a tear trickled down Katie's
face.
“A ‘JD’, ” she turned to him, her cheek dribled
with black mascara. “I can't believe it. I
thought! was ready for this. I studied so hard. I
just got so confused on those multiple choice
questions.‘A,’ ‘B,’ ‘C,’ ‘D,’ ‘none of the above,’
‘all of the above,’ ‘1 and 4,’ ‘3 and 4’. . . cripes.
If this had been an essay exam, I know I would
have done better." .
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film
“With all the media publicity it’s
getting it seems to be turning into
another issue like Watergate.
What needs to be done is for a
completely independent organi
zation to look into all the accusa
tions and come up with what
really happened. I do not know if
Reagan is guilty, and I will wait
to find out:”
John patted Katie on the shoulder as he side
stepped past her seat. "Ah, don’t let it get to
you, Katie. You’ll do better on the next one.’’
"Easy for you to say. You got an ‘A.’ You
hardly even studied."
John shrugged. "I don't have to. I've mas
tered the art of taking multiple choice exams.”
Grades: this is a touchy subject. Being the
dirtiest word in the college student’s vocabu
lary, perhaps it should be spelled g-r-a-d and
join the ranks of other four-letter words. There
are many reasons why students tend to believe
that grades are of the utmost importance in
deciding their future success. It is useless, if
not ridiculous, for students to develop ulcers
because they worry about making Dean’s List.
Grades are subject to individual interpreta
tions varying from course to course. Students
need not worry so much if they get an ‘A’ or ‘B’
on an assignment or test. The borderline be
tween an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ is smudged. However,
the grade should not be the subject of the
argument. The real argument is how much you
learn.
In most college catalogs, an ‘A’ represents
excellence in achievement while a ‘C’ rep
resents average performance. However these
assessments, are not true if we look at the
performance of the student. It is a given at
Penn State, and probably most other colleges,
that certain courses are labeled “blow-off”
only if you schedule the course with one partic
ular professor, whose name I will not mention.
I would hate to be the person at fault for ruining
Lisa Warren
sophomore
computer science
“I do not think Reagan is guilty. I
don’t think he knew. I just don’t
think he would have done it know
ing what the long-term conse
quences would be.”
other students’ chances to take advantage of
and easy three-credit ‘A.’
It is a known fact that this particular profes
sor gives the same true/false exams every
semester; they are even on file at Pattee
Library. In other words, you never have to go
to class, read any of the material, or study for
the exams.
Some may call me an unfortunate, unin
formed freshman. I took Comparative Litera
ture 108, but I didn’t have that particular
professor. I went to class, read, I studied for
the exams and I got a ‘B.’ But, ask me about
mythology, and I can discuss it intelligently. I
am not disappointed that I got a ‘B.’ I earned it.
It is a shame that students feel forced to
choose a curriculum which does not challenge
their intelligence, to get good grades. It is a
waste. College is a ‘learning’ institution, not a
grading prison. What you should realize is that
it is absolutelty senseless to become obsessed
with grades. I am well aware that there are
many outside forces pressuring you to main
tain high grades: teachers, friends, counselors
and parents. Disregard these influences. Al
though parents are great motivators, you can
not allow them to distort your vision of
schooling. It is a fact that there is no correla
tion between grades and future success. You
have to learn to control your own sanity and
attitudes towards grades.
At this point, some of you may be rapidly
nodding your heads in agreement, while others
are laughing. Those laughing probably have
intentions of applying to a graduate program.
■ .a JjflfehgJ*
Michael Ward
senior
elementary education
“The information found out about
the deal was not supposed to be
disclosed. In his position certain
things have to be carried out
discreetly in order to maintain an
efficient system.”
Margaret Mullins Pratcck Sharma
freshman sophomore
division of undergraduate studies philosophy
“From what I heard it sounded
like Watergate all over again.
And, they should investigate it
more thoroughly to see if he com
mitted a crime. And, I think he
did.
Then you might say, “I know grades aren’t that
important, but tell it to the admissions commit
tee at the law school, or medical, or graduate
school I want to get into.”
This common phobia is quite understand
able; but you must remember that there are
other important factors. Employers and ad
missions committees are looking for well
rounded students, people who can relate to
other people, not books. The person with a 3.4
G.P.A. who was in a business fraternity, the
Outing Club, played soccer and held a job will
probably fare much better in an interview than
the student with a 3.9 who could draw a detalied
diagram of the campus library. Laugh, if you
must, but ponder the reasoning. If a student
does nothing but study, of course he can main
tain higher grades.
The format of the examination, the teacher,
the subject matter, prior preparation for the
course, and the student’s interest in the subject
are all considerations in grade assignments.
What attitude can you adopt to survive the
battle of grades? Just strive for you best. Not
achieving them can only motivate you to work
harder. Do not depend too much on grades to
evaluate your successes and failures. Ap
proach your schoolwork with an eagerness to
learn, not simply pass. Lastly, always remem
ber what William Sarayon, a great writer, once
said, “Good people are good because they’ve
come to success through failure.”
Tammy Spivack is a senior majoring in
English.
BmuaESTone
The Daily Collegian Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1986—9
“I think Reagan, after such harsh
talks about terrorism has no right
to really have any dealing with a
country that has been such a key
influence in terrorism. And by
doing so, he has supported it.”'
daily Collegian
Tuesday, Dec. 9,1986
©1986 Collegian Inc.
Anita C. Huslin
Editor
William G. Landis Jr.
Business Manager
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