Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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TT DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES JACK REYNOLDS The People ' s Republic of China does not want a military confrontation with the Soviet Union, NBC News Hong Kong correspondent Jack Reynolds said at Northwestern State University. For years the Chinese have had fears and resent- ments about Russia, stated Reynolds, who added that 48 to 52 armored divisions of the Russian military have been placed along the China border to discourage the thought of such a confrontation. Appearing in the Distinguished Lecture Series, Reynolds expressed the opinion that the Chinese are not equipped to win a war with the Soviet Union For the Chinese, he said, their army is of the 1950s, not well equipped. And to make matters worse, they have been cutting the military back the last two years. They wouldn ' t stand a chance in a con- frontation with armored tanks. On the sea, the situation for the Chinese is not much better, Reynolds said, Their ships are also from the 1950 ' s, not much above the Korean War, stated Reynolds, who has covered China for NBC for more than a decade. According to Reynolds, the horrible cultural revolution which prevailed under Chairman Mao Tse-Tung is over, and the Chinese are trying to recover from the experience through the leadership of Deng Xiao-Ping, vice-chairman of the Communist Party since 1977. The revolution came unglued under Mao, and the Chinese are now trying to get it back together again. said Reynolds.

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T DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES JONATHAN KOZOL Controversial education writer Jonathan Kozol told a Northwestern State University audience that public school teachers are ' pimping tor the textbook authors when they use guidebooks which instruct them in the way students should react to such material as stories and poems These guidebooks teach manipulation, but will never admit said Kozol, who has been highly critical of the teacher ' s guide accompanying the Basal Reader . Both teacher and stu- dent are denied any chance of intellectual surprises with this type of manipulation, he stated. As Kozol discussed the fake discovery method of educa- tional indoctrination, he said, Children are led to discover what we have already decided upon. The child who breaks the pattern becomes an adversary of the teacher. Kozol, who won the National Book Award for Death at an Early Age and recently published Alternative Schools: A Guide for Educators and Parents, said children in public schools are being pointed toward nationalistic conclusions and directed to learn the superior value of the lives of American citizens. ART LAFFER Dr Art Laffer, supply-side economics theorist was recognized nationally as the economist whose supply-side theory for cutting taxes to increase government revenues was adopted by President Ronald Reagan. Currently a member of the Los Angeles Times Board of Economists, he was one of the President ' s top ad- viser ' s during the 1980 presidential campaign and later served as a member of Reagan ' s Economic Policy Advisory Board. Laffer, famous for develo ping the Laffer curve , previously worked for a brief period in the Richard Nix- on administration ' s Office of Management and Budget. The economist is a professor of business economics at the University of Southern California and has his own consulting firm.

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I CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL For the 15th consecutive year, the large windows in the front of the Stu- dent Union Building at NSU were transformed into huge, colorful murals depicting an unusual variety of Christmas scenes. More than 100 students representing 17 campus organiza- tions paint post-card like pictures on the windows of the Student Union and for the first time, the four glass panels of Ibberville Dining Hall. A popular tradition at NSU, the Christmas window decorations pro- gram has been conducted since 1968 by the SUGB. Along with the windows on the Student Union Building, students were able to enjoy the many other activities during the 56th annual Christmas Festival.