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'Brain tax' designed to stop emigration of Russian Jews
A growing fear of adverse
publicity has caused the Soviet
Union to reassess the release of
more than a thin trickle of the
hundred thousand Russian-Jews
waiting to emigrate to Israel.
The image of their social Utopia
shown to the world may fade if
exposed to too much light.
Taking advantage of the fact
that a majority of the Jews are
highly educated, they recently
devised a new method of controlling-
Jewish emigration from
the Soviet Union. The ruling
compels each degree-holder who
wishes to leav«e Russia to pay
exorbitant fees, ostensibly to l'eimburse
the state for his education
according to this scale:
Graduates of Teachers
Colleges
4,500 Rubles ($5,000)
Graduates of Technical
Institutes
9,000 Rubles ($10,650)
University Graduates
12,(200 Rubles ($*13,550)
Ph.D's
19,400 Rubles ($21,530)
M.D.'s
20,600 Rubles (22,870)
Claiming a "brain drain/' the
Soviet ambassador to France,
Pyotr Abrassimov, defended his
country's new policy by saying,
"It is not only the U.S.S.R. but
other countries, which also face
and respond to the problems of
a brain drain. The new law applies
absolutely to all Soviet
citizens, regardles of their nationality."
Reaction from Jews all over
the world was sharp. A group
of 47 Moscow Jews were de-
the rice thresher
editorial
Space City! is 5ead.
To Houston newcomers, that doesn't mean much.
But if you were here last year, you remember Space City!
as Houston's one legitimate "underground" newspaper.
Anyway, it's gone now. After a run of slightly longer
than three years, Space City! has stopped publication.
Neither the midnight terrorism of the radical right nor
the intramural squabblings of the far left did it in,
though. Space City! finally succumbed to the oldest prosaic
capitalist maladies: lack of money. The staff lost
its business manager and started spending capital it
never recovered. R.I.P.
When Space City News (its original name) started,
it was a typical underground paper badly written, foulmouthed
purely for shock value, and looking for trouble.
However, early in 1971, the staff rethought its position,
coming up with a cleaner, saner, more credible (if not
more "respectable") paper.
That's why I'm sorry to see it go. For a year and a
half, Space City! was a reasonable, responsible exponent
of the New Left philosophy, the "alternative lifestyle",
and the youth culture in general. And that was all right.
You can disagree completely with someone and still respect
his ability to state his position well. And good
theatre or music reviews aren't political, they're good.
It doesn't matter where they're printed, or whose the
talent that produces them—except that with Space City!
gone, a lot of that talent is-out of circulation.
There are still "underground" papers in town; Space
City! spun off Mockingbird before it died, and half of
Mockingbird broke away to become Abraxas. They looked
like Space City! but read like old grocery lists. Apparently
they're both still going; we don't know why.
No doubt a lot of people were happy to see Space
City! go. But that's wrong. Journalism, like the world,
needs all the views it can get, and if something's going
to be said, it ought to be said well. That's what Houston
has lost.
•hraJif
H. DavitI Dunj-rlo Assistant Editor
Morty Rich Assistant Editor
Doan Ornish Head Photographer
liill Jones . Sports Editor
Greg Norris Sports Editor
STEVE JACKSON
Editor
MALCOLM WADDELL
Business Manager
Lew Hancock Advertising Manager
Virginia Jee Assistant Business
Manager
Kevin Phelan .... Circulation Manage!
Ralph Umbarger Calendar Editor
Staff: Andy Hurley, Chip Lansdell, Charles Pau, Frank Presler, Mike
Ross, Lee Silverthorn, Gary Brewton, Jim Lawler, Mark Onak, Charles Clubb,
Cathe Krause, Michael Peek, Craig Stafford, Randy Guehprt, Forrest Johnson,
Wendy Nordstrom, James Wilhoit.
The Rice Thresher, official student newspaper of Rice University, is published
weekly on Thursday except during holidays and examination periods by
students of Rice University, Houston, Texas 77001, telephone 528-4141 X221 or
045. The opinions herein are not necessarily those of anyone except the writers.
Obviously.
the rice thresher, September 14, 1972—page 2
tained by the K.G.B. after a
rare public protest in front of
the Kremlin, according to the
Associated Press. They delivered
a letter to foreign newsmen
which decried the new rulings
as a double payment for education
provided, as official statistics
they produced showed that
three years of work after graduation
repays educational investment
by the state.
Golda Meir called a special
session of the Knesset, the Israeli
parliament, when the new
head tax was revealed. In a
voice quaking with anger, she
addi'essed the Knesset:
"This cruel and shameful decree
enacted by the rulers of
the great Soviet Union, which
has rightly prided itself on pro-
viding a chance for education to
all its citizens, is anti-Jewish in
spirit and inhuman in content.
This is a decree aimed against
the Jewish community in the
Soviet Union, but its immoral
significance is universal inasmuch
as it contains elements of
brutality against man's human
spirit and liberty, and man's
right to live in affinity with his
people. This policy actually tells
every educated Jew in the Soviet
Union: 'Your brains and
whatever you have studied and
thought don't actually belong to
you. Since you are a Jew, it is
doubtful whether you are entitled
to study and gain an education
at all. And if you are
bound for Israel to join your
people, it is your duty to suf-
fer. As for us, we will do our
best to find clever means to
prevent your emigration in all
ways possible without choosing
our means.'"
The Knesset immediately
passed a resolution demanding
the Soviet Union repeal the
law, which they said was "appropriate
to the dark period of
the history of the Soviet Union,
which we all had hoped had
passed, never to return." The
resolution "calls upon scientists
of all nations to raise to the defense
of the human and national
rights of their colleagues in
the Soviet Union . . . The people
in Israel, as well as the
Jewish nation the whole world
over, will not rest until the head
tax is abolished."
u Whatever you want to do
An Open Letter from TexPIRG
During the past few weeks
the TexPIRG Local Board members
have often been asked the
question: "What is TexPIRG
going* to do this year?" The
answer is simply "whatever you
want to do with it."
The Texas Public Interest Research
Group is your resource.
Its purpose is to encourage and
facilitate student-originated research
into public interest fields
on. the local to state level Tex-
PIRG stands resolved to convert
the results of this research
into positive change of public
policy. This- is done initially by
publicizing the results through
the mess media and, on a higher
level, by testifying before
regulatory agencies, lobbying in
the Texas legislature or other
legislative bodies, and ultimately,
by seeking change through
the courts. These efforts are
possible because TexPIRG has
money and, as of October 1, a
professional staff. *
Brilliant insight is not required
to bring to mind myriad
rip-offs and injustices perpetrated
by unresponsive government,
quasi-monopolistic industries,
and unethical business
practices. If there is a particular
problem area you would
like to investigate, but are not
sure how to begin, talk to Tex-
PIRG. TexPIRG will help you
find a faculty advisor and possibly
arrange course credit for
your research, provide you with
technical and legal assistance,
money to insure the quality and
success of your project, and
publish and disseminate the
results of your research when
it has tbeen completed. If you
don't wish to take a long-term
project, but would simply like
to help, TexPIRG will be conducting
a number of consumer
price surveys this fall which
will not require a large time
commitment. Whatever your
particular public-interest goals
are, come to the TexPIRG meeting
Monday at 8:30 pm in Bio
Lab 123 and discuss them with
the local %oard.
Rice students have supported
TexPIRG by signing a petition
in its support and by voluntary
donations. Now TexPIRG asks
that you come and get your
money's worth.
Paul Sanner
WRC '73
Rice has help for job-seekers
The Rice Placement Office
is a service supplied to students
by Rice University. Recently
relocated in 301 Lovett Hall,
its purpose is to aid students
in finding a job after graduation.
According to Placement Director
Mary Leatherwood: "We
do not 'get you a job'. Only you
can do that. We help you make
contacts, and we are ready to
assist you during your search
for your contacts, and we are
ready to assist you during your
search for .your place in the
business or academic worlds."
Employment opportunities
available through the Placement
Office range from parttime
and summer jobs to recruitment
by representatives of
government, industry and education
for professionally trained
people in many fields.
For part-time work the regular
session, students should
register with the Placement Office
early in the first semester.
For summer work, early spring
registration is helpful.
Job study should not be postponed
until the last year before
graduation. The job interview
is not the first step towards
employment, but nearly
the last step. To use the Placement
Office services fully, you
should:
As a Freshman and Sophomore,
visit the Placement Office
and read the cal'eer opportunity
literature. Seek information
from those .already employed
in fields which interest
you. As soon as possible, try
to s&lect and apply for summer
jobs in one of your fields of interest.
Extra-curricular activities
as well,as grades are important
to educational, business
and industry representatives.
When you are a Junior, your
fields of interest will become
clearer. This is the time to set
up your Placement Office file
and begin interviewing with
companies in which you are interested.
When you are a Senior or a
Candidate for an Advanced Degree:
(a) In September, update
your file to be sure it is
current and correct as to address,
phone numiber and •references;
(b) If you plan to go to
graduate school or to the military
service, interviews with
company representatives will
be "good insurance" for the
future; (c) Do not limit your
contacts to companies interviewing
on campus. Prepare
and send a resume to companies
not interviewing. Sample resumes
are available ih the
Placement Office.
Job interviews will begin
September »20; lists of companies
interviewing will be
available on Sept. 15.
Jee hits Jones Security lack
To the editor:
As a female, living on-campus,
I am required by the University
to pay a room and board
charge $71 higher than the male
student. This additional amount
is supposed to be necessary to
provide security (ie a night
man) in my college after the
college closes. However, the
security provided is inadequate.
I am talking specifically
about tthe situation in Jones
.College where I live. Jones has
two wings but only one night
man. Presently this man is located
in the South wing. This
poses a problem in that it is the
North wing which is next to the
parking lot and the street.
If one considered the matter
of security only, the man should
be stationed in Jones North. As
it is now, any student returning
late at night via the parking
lot (no matter if she lives Jn
North or South) must traverse
the insecurely lighted area of
the parkiftg lot and walk by the
commons to get to South before
she can get into the college.
Before, she could go directly
into North and be escorted by
the night man to South. Granted,
there have been additional
lights, placed in the parking lot
but there are still a great many
areas in which trouble could occur.
Moving the man back to
North, however, would be unfair
to the girls in South who
are also paying for "security."
Because the college is built in
two separate wings it is totally
inadequate to have only
one night watchman. It is inconvenient
and also pointless,
especially since his main function
is just to let the girls in at
night.
The same could be accomplished
by giving the girls their
own keys. This, however, is not
practical because there are no
locks on the doors in Jones.
(That's worth another letter.)
It would seem that hiring another
man is the dnly reasonable
alternative. And since I
am being charged extra for
"security," I feel it unfair not
to be getting it.
Virginia Jee
Jones '73
Oft
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