Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Perhaps the decade ' s worst crime was commit- ted by American people trying to serve their country and President — fortunately, they failed miserably. The White Hou By Scott Kraft se turns gray Impeach the son of a bitch! Just a big misunderstanding. I don ' t know what to think. Watergate — right or wrong, guilty or not? Between the lines of newsprint vividly describing the bugging, espi- onage, corruption, graft and rob- bery we see several men engrossed in doing something they felt was jus- tifiable — not unlike the parody of the pauper who steals a loaf of bread to support a starving family. Perhaps they did not know right from wrong. According to their standards, they were doing the right thing. According to the standards of society, they were attempting some- thing wrong — something illegal. Should a person answer to him- self or to society? Realistically, we might submit that he can answer to himself only if he wishes to spend a sizeable por- tion of his life making license plates surrounded by men in gray togs. With reckless abandon, howev- er, these conspirators answered only to their own feelings without regard for the laws of society. Were they right or wrong? Guilty or not guilty? The answer depends on one ' s own concepts of right and wrong. If they coincide with those of society, then the conspiratcirs were certainly guilty. In a court of law, one who can- not determine right from wrong can plead insanity. Your honor, the American people plead guilty by reason of insanity to the charge of harboring criminals. They could not come to an agreement on what is right and wrong in the Watergate incident. Nothing is black or white, right or wrong. Most things are shades of gray. A gray that sees both points of view. A gray that sheds tears for both plaintiff and defendent. A gray that has compassion for the bread stealer as well as the rob- bery victim. How can there be guilt in sincerity? The conspirators were sin- cere. The framers of the law were sincere. And finally, the American people are sincere in their judgment and condemnation of the Watergate conspirators. People are finding it harder and harder to cope with a lack of abso- lutes. All things come in shades of uncertainty. Should we compare the Water- gate conspirators to John Dillinger, Al Capone, Butch Cassidy and Adolf Hitler? Or should we compare them to men like Franklin D. Roos evelt, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King and Thomas Paine? These men have in common their sincerity and belief in what they are doing al- though they all accomplished differ- ent things. Perhaps the conspirators have things in common with all of these men. Situations like the Watergate mess cause us to use our minds and evaluate objectively the circum- stances surrounding the event. Rationally, we can see that a single label of right or wrong cannot be pinned on these men. We also see that a decision must be made with respect to their status. The defendants will stand and face the people. The verdict is ... For us, the question still remains — do we incarcerate or pardon them? Watergate — 31

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30— Watergate

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Students pack up possessions, not memories Finals are over. It ' s time to go home. You ' ve made your last rounds in Aggieville for the year. It ' s time to pack all your belongings. You gaze around the dorm room. What has taken a year to collect in one room has to suddenly disap- pear overnight and reappear in your room at home. You toss shirts and pants into a suitcase. There ' s no time to worry about wrinkles now. Now that your suitcases are bulging, it ' s time to roll up your posters and bundle up your souve- nirs in old Collegians, Wait a minute. Now that you ' ve collected all that junk, where are you going to put it? It ' s too late to ask a Manhattan merchant for boxes — he has been hounded all week by students in the same predicament. So you check down the hall and manage to scrounge up just enough boxes for your belongings. All finished? Almost . It ' s time to prepare the room for inspection by the floor staff assistant. The room has to be in the same condition as when you moved in. So you scrub the floor and desks and wipe the marks off the walls. Then you cross your fingers and hope the S.A. doesn ' t notice the faded spot on the floor where you spilled perfume or the holes in the bulletin board from the dart game last January. Now it ' s time to move all that junk into your car for the long trip home. Of course, you can avoid part of this hassle if you live in another state or country. Most of the dorms have free storage space, and returning residents who have signed dorm contracts may use it. Some students — both in-state and out-of-state — leave their sessions with relatives or friends in Manhattan for the summer. Sororities and fraternities have similar storage policies. But you have chosen to drag all of your belongings back home again for three months. After a long wait for an elevator and several trips — three journeys up and down th e stairs if you can ' t catch an elevator — you load the car, which seems to have shrunk in size. You take one last look at your room. Four bare walls stare back at you. Your voice echoes in the desert- ed room. All of your neighbors are mov- ing out, too. You bid them farewell. You thought you couldn ' t stand to live with them for a year, and now you can ' t bear a summer without them. Finals are over. It ' s time to go home. 32 — Moving Ow