<>-9 jiii, William •till Mil LIBRARY aiipug 15 QQ?im Che Battalion ^NTEST|^ VOLUME 64 Number 84 mum. ngton,i COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 1969 Telephone 845-2226 Black Affairs Committee | Sets Recruiting Goals By TONY HUDDLESTON Finding better solutions to iegro problems and demands at i&M is the goal of the recently- ppointed Committee on Black tudent Affairs, Ken Lewallen, committee chairman, said Wed- lesday. The committee, composed of seven Negroes, is working to ward recruiting more students and athletes, adding courses in Negro culture, obtaining more Negro history books for the li brary and securing Negro pro fessors and instructors, Lewallen said. The committee hopes to have informal discussions of matters of interest to black students en rolled at A&M, Lewallen said. The adviser of the group is Ed win Cooper, director of civilian student activities. Lower requirements for en trance into A&M was a key goal that Lewallen has stressed. “A&M needs to lower its en trance requirements for Negro students because they haven’t had the advantages of other stu dents in high schools,” Lewallen explained. He noted that this is essential as long as the stand ards of Negro high schools are inferior to those of whites. HE ADDED that there should be as many Negroes at A&M as there are foreign students. He pointed out that there are only approximately 40 Negro students at A&M, in comparison with 400 foreign students. “Negro culture courses are es sential if colleges and universi ties are to teach the true history of the United States,” he said. “I believe that more colleges will begin teaching these courses in the future.” He added that a black studies and cultural department will \ew Coastal Engineering Lab To Duplicate 8 Gulf Locations A&M officials; have selected eight major Gulf Coast areas for duplication at the university’s coastal engineering laboratory, with the models used for various studies. Dr. John B. Herbich, head of A&M’s Coastal and Ocean Engi neering Division, said models will be constructed at Galveston, Cor pus Christi, Matagorda, San An tonio, Aransas and Baffin Bays, Sabine Lake and Laguna Madre. The models, with dimensions ranging from 150 to 300 feet, will cover 80 per cent of the Texas coast and the major estuarine areas. Herbich said the models will be reproduced with tidal ac tion and currents, using sand taken from the areas being dupli cated. HE SAID the lab, first of its type for a state, will cost about million. The main facility and first model, which university offi cials hope to have in service by summer 1970, will cost approxi mately $400,000. A&M will seek financial assist ance for the project from the federal government, state and local authorities and private industry. ‘When completed, we will have the finest facilities in the coun try for coastal study,” Dr. Her bich remarked. The lab will be used to study a variety of coastal problems, in cluding flooding due to hurricane surges, dispersion of waste dis charged in bays and estuaries, erosion and improvement of de signs of navigational channels and other inlets. HERBICH noted the Commis sion on Marine Science, Engineer ing and Resources has recom mended establishment of coastal zone laboratories in cooperation with appropriate academic insti tutions. A&M officials hope their facility will be one of the desig nated laboratories. THE UNIVERSITY’S new lab oratory will include installations on the main campus and at the Texas A&M Research Annex, for merly Bryan Air Force Base. Herbich said the models, along with a large wave basin, will be constructed at the annex, utiliz ing a former aircraft hangar and several hundred feet of runway apron. The wave basin will be eight feet deep. A smaller wave basin and a 150-foot three-dimensional wave channel will be added to the Hy dromechanics Laboratory on the main campus. University facili ties currently include a 120-foot two-dimensional wave channel. make blacks “politically, socially, economically and culturally aware,” and that it would bridge the gap of misunderstanding be tween whites and blacks. “WITH AS many top black athletes in Texas, A&M should be trying to recruit more for as well-rounded an athletic program as other U. S. colleges and uni versities have,” Lewallen said. He pointed out that every other college and university in the Southwest Conference has signed at least two athletes to football scholarships and noted that A&M has only signed black athletes to track scholarships. The committee met last week with Dr. O. D. Butler, chairman of the athletic council at A&M, who said A&M “is looking for black athletes who can fulfill both athletic and scholastic re quirements. “The committee also plans to meet with Athletic Di rector and Head Football Coach Gene Stallings next week. “I THINK that the A&M Li brary should put more Negro Literature on the shelves,” Lewal len remarked. “At the present time, only the Negro magazine Ebony, is kept in the library. Books and magazines such as the Journal of American Negro His tory, should be kept in the li brary because they are essential for students who are interested in studying black history,” he pointed out. “The hiring of Negro profes sors and instructors is also essen tial if A&M is to become a well- rounded university,” Lewallen said. He added that nearly every college in Texas has Negroes on their staffs and A&M has none. “The problem of the recent racial riots at other colleges was caused by a lack of communica tion between the administration and the students,” Lewallen said. “As long as A&M tries to solve the black problem I can foresee no violent action; but, if it chooses to ignore the problem as other colleges have, I don’t know what will happen.” HE SAID his group is in no way connected with any groups such as the Students for Demo cratic Society. We feel that only a black organization can success fully represent Negroes, because only blacks know the feeling of being black.” Lewallen said the committee differs from the Afro-American (See Black Affairs, Page 3) Perfect Splashdown Climaxes Apollo 9 Astronauts’ Mission SPACE CENTER, Houston (TP) — The Apollo 9 space pilots splashed down “right on target” into calm Bahaman waters near Grand Turk Island today, their 10-day test flight in space a com plete success. Splashdown came at 12:01 p.m. EST. Astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott and Russell L. Schweickart heard Mission Con trol confirm the rapid-fire se quence of events during re-entry, and said, “it looks like we’re about a mile off.” The aircraft carrier Guadal canal, price removery ship, head ing north under partly cloudy skies, was in voice contact with the Apollo 9 astronauts some three minutes before splashdown. Splashdown came just 10 sec onds after it was scheduled, some three miles from the carrier, cruising just off the target zone. Splashdown came half an hour after the astronauts fired their rocket engine into their own path for a shade less than 12 seconds to brake their speed and their orbit, and bring them home to earth. That occurred at 11:30 a.m. “Burn looks good up here,” re ported astronaut Scott. “Felt good,” Scott said calmly. “A good burn — mighty fine,” confirmed Mission Control. Poll Monday On Vote Age A student referendum on the proposed lowering of the voting age in Texas will be held Mon day from 8 aim, to 5 f. n., an nounced Tommy Henderson, Elec tion Commission vice president. The poll, approved by the Sen ate last week, is to determine the opinion of the A&M student body before Senate President Bill Car ter goes before the State Legis lature next Tuesday. Henderson noted that polling places will be the Academic Build ing, the Library, and the Me morial Student Center. “I think this would be a good chance to show the Legislature that we aren’t apathetic,” Hen derson commented. “A good turnout might even help lower the voting age.” At Saturday’s Ball Juniors To Choose Sweetheart By JANIE WALLACE The selection of the Junior Class Sweetheart from five final ists highlights the Junior Ball at Sbisa Dining Hall Saturday, Jim my Dunham, class president, said Wednesday. The sweetheart will be chosen from these finalists: Brown-eyed brunette Suzanne Covington is a University of Texas at Austin sophomore maj oring in fashion design. She is from Houston and her escort is Glenn Draper. Sherry Doolittle, a receptionist for a Houston oil company, is a blue-eyed blonde. She is from Houston and her escort is Frank D. McDuff. A Southwest Texas State Col lege senior majoring in elemen tary education, April Gayle Douglass is from Houston. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Her escort is Thomas Jones. An elementary education maj or, Cindy Purcell is a junior at TU. She has blue eyes and brown hair. She is from Fort Worth and her escort is John Drewien. Martha Walters, a brown-eyed brunette, is a senior at Orange- field High School. She is from Orange and her escort is Dickie Hicks. The sweetheart selection com mittee members, who will choose the sweetheart the night of the dance, are Dan Swords, chairman and class secretary-treasurer; Ronald Smith, social secretary; Bob Nesmith, vice president; Jun ior Council representatives, How ard Griffin, Neal Jackson, David Hoelscher, John Ward, and David Kellam; Annella Wright, Aggie Sweetheart and Dunham. Featuring the “Countdown Five” from Galveston, the Junior Ball begins at 8 p.m. and lasts until midnight. Dress for dates is semi-formal or party dresses. Dress for civilians is coat and tie; Corps, midnight shirt with ascot. The theme of the ball is “Mardi Gras.” With street lamps and a plaza fountain as part of the decorations, Sbisa will come alive as Bourbon Street in New Or leans, Dan Swords, Ball chairman, said. “In one room, a Dixieland jazz band will play ‘mood’ music,” he added. “Tickets may be purchased from any Junior Council repre sentatives; at the Student Fi nance office or, at the door,” Dunham said. Admission is $3.50 per couple. Minutes later, the astronauts rolled their spacecraft around to a heads-down position to give them a better view of the horizon, their orientation line during the half hour to splashdown. A large recovery force of planes and helicopters, headed by the helicopter carrier Guadal canal, was stationed in the plan ned touchdown area to await the return of the bearded astronauts. McDivitt, Scott and Schweikart were in good humor and eager to return as they neared the end of their mission. When Scott was told Wednes day that his wife, Ann, and two children were in the Mission Con trol center, he sent a “Hello” and said “I’ll be home for chow in a couple days.” Most of Apollo 9’s action was packed into the first five days after their March 3 launching from Cape Kennedy. Their main assignment was to prove the flight readiness of the lunar module, or LEM, the un gainly-looking vehicle designed to land two men on the moon. Apollo 9 linked up with the LEM soon after launching and in three rigorous days of test ing, the astronauts proved that it was spaceworthy, ready for a trip to the moon. THE KEY test came when Mc Divitt and Schweickart separat ed the LEM from the command ship, flew 113 miles away and then returned, maneuvers astro nauts must make in launching themselves from the moon. Schweickart became nauseat ed and vomited twice on the third day, forcing Mission Control to cancel a two-hour space walk planned the next day. By morn ing, McDivitt decided Schweikart was well enough to step outside for 45 minutes on the abbreviated stroll. Standing on a platform outside the LEM, Schweikart wore the suit that will protect astronauts on the moon. For the first time, an American astronaut received life-giving oxygen from a pack on his back. After kicking the LEM free in space, the spacemen spent the final five days demonstrating the durability of the command ship for 10 days, the maximum time presently planned for man-to- the-moon trips. Plans already are under way for launching Apollo 10 into lu nar orbit with another LEM. The Saturn 5 rocket was rolled to a Cape Kennedy launch pad Tuesday, aiming for a May 17 launching. ASTRONAUTS Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan are to ride the LEM to within 10 miles of the moon’s surface while John W. Young circles 60 miles above them. Their lunar module could land on the moon but it is too heavy to lift off. Success would clear the way for the Apollo 11 crew to blast off July 15 on the historic lunar landing journey. Neil A. Arm strong and Edwin A. Aldrin are to descend to the surface while Michael Collins orbits, awaiting their return. Some confident National Aero nautics and Space Administra tion officials have considered skipping Apollo 10 and moving directly to the Apollo 11 landing mission, with a June launching possible. A decision is expected in late March after a thorough review of the Apollo 9 flight. Astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott and Russell L. Schweickart trigger their re entry rocket at 11:31 a.m. EST 280 miles above the Pacific to start a 30-minute plunge to a parachute landing northeast of Grand Turk Island in the Baha- SUZANNE COVINGTON APRIL GAYLE DOUGLASS CINDY PURCELL MARTHA WALTERS WEATHER Friday — Partly cloudy. Wind Southerly 10 to 15 mph. High 73, low 48. Saturday — Partly cloudy to cloudy. Wind Southerly 10 to 20 mph. High 75, low 58. University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M. —Adv. IN ‘THE BASEMENT’ Basement Committee chairman Linda Nobles entertains in the “Basement,” a coffeehouse on the lower level of the Memorial Student Center. Students will have a chance to try their own talents in the Basement’s hootenanny from 8 to 12 tonig-ht. (Photo by Mike Welsh) A&M Computer Has ‘Largest Memory’ Texas A&M has modified its IBM 360/65 computer to provide storage for almost 400,000 words, giving the university the largest memory unit of any educational institution in the Southwest. Robert Bower Jr., acting direc tor of the Data Processing Cen ter, said installation of the new million-character “bulk memory” unit significantly increases the computer’s efficiency. “The new core storage allows us to run more jobs concurrently and support additional remote terminals,” Bower noted. He said 13 remote terminals are currently connected to the computer from various campus locations. BEFORE installation of the new equipment, Bower said A&M computer was processing about 1,000 jobs per day. The powerful third-generation machine is now running 1,200 to 1,400 jobs daily, with the total expected to in crease to more than 2,000 by summer. He said the bulk of the jobs are student projects, most of which can each be processed in a half second or less. The DPC Finance Fraternity Elects B-CS Pros Bryan-College Station business men Brookman Peters and Bob Allen have recently been elected the first professional members of A&M’s newly-formed finance fra ternity, Zeta Iota Nu. According to Russ Ricou, public relations, director, the criterion for selection is outstanding serv ice to the community, working within a financial field for at least five years. Peters, president of the City National Bank, Bryan, was re cently named by the B-CS Junior Chamber of Commerce as the 1968 Outstanding Young Man in Brazos County. Allen, an account executive at AG Edwards & Sons, Inc., is conducting a stock market course at A&M. He is also on the B-CS Jaycees board of directors. head noted, however, many of the university’s research and admin istrative. jobs require consider ably more time. Another advantage of the ex panded capacity is that A&M re searchers can now use the com puter to solve more complex problems than previously possi ble. BOWER pointed out the infor mation stored in the bulk mem ory requires slightly longer to retrieve than data retained in the computer’s main memory. “Infrequently used components of the operating system have been moved into the bulk mem ory,” he explained, “freeing ad ditional main memory for user jobs.” A&M installed its IBM 360/65 slightly more than a year ago. The unit replaced a second-gen eration IBM 7094, which was transferred to the university’s Cyclotron Institute. Commandant Soon To Be Released From Hospital Col. Jim H. McCoy, Corps Commandant, continues “in satis factory condition” at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bryan and will be re leased soon, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday. McCoy suffered a cracked ver tebra March 2 w h e n he fell through the ceiling of his den while working in the attic. Since then, he has been resting and giving the bone time to mend. “He’s doing just fine,” his wife said Wednesday. “He’ll get his brace tomorrow, and he may be out Monday. It was fortunate that he missed the hearth of the fireplace when he fell. We’re all happy that he is recovering so rapidly.” Bryan Building & Loan Association, Your Sav ings Center, since 1919. B B & L —Adv.