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Vol. 74 No. 190
32 Pages in 2 Sections
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Wednesday, August 26, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
Today
The Weather
Tomorrow
I
High
95 High
.... 98
Low
75
Low
.... 75
Chance of rain
.... 20%
Chance of rain. . .
. . 40%
m
.SALE
164. 1
195.1
158.1
199 s0 |
241 50
141.|
231.
185.
133.
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Photo by Janet Joyce
Thomas Spruill gets his ‘fish’ haircut during Freshman Orientation Week. The week is designed to teach entering freshman about Corps life.
Freshman settle into Corps life
learn to eat, talk, dress
By KATHY O’CONNELL
p Battalion Staff
Learning how to eat Corps-style,
learning how to address upperclassmen
and learning good study habits is just a
small part of the orientation program
that freshmen in the Corps of Cadets are
experiencing this week.
Gary Branch, freshmen orientation
jweelc commander, said, “We try to get
I the freshmen settled into the routine of
I the Corps before the pressures of scho-
jjlasticsgct to be too much.’
Branch said the new cadets, which
I number approximately 900, will be
Itaught all the ins and outs of the Corps.
One of the first things they’ll learn is
v to whip out, a long-standing tradi-
ition in the Corps and at Texas A&M
1 University.
Whipping out means they approach
1 upperclassmen in the Corps and say,
‘ Howdy, fish so-and-so is my name.”
I After the other cadet replies, the fresh
man continues to state his hometown
and major.
The fish, as freshmen are called in
the Corps, also are taught how to eat
properly in Duncan Dining Hall. i
Branch said they will be taught to sit
upright, to pick up their fork, to eat one
piece at a time (chewing each piece
three times) and to place the fork down
after each bite.
The fish, who are required to eat this
way for the entire year, aren’t allowed to
look at their freshman buddies while
they are eating, he said.
As the freshmen cadets arrived this
week they found out what outfit they
were assigned to. Branch said the fresh
men could specify a preference, but
whether or not they got in a particular
outfit depended on how many cadets
were already in the outfit.
They then met with cadre from the
outfits, who are in charge of all new
cadets and who inform the fish about the
outfit. For instance, each outfit has their
own “hump-it” yell. Humping it is
when the cadets place their hands on
bent knees and shout the outfit yell.
Aside from the information about the
Corps, Branch said the freshmen orien
tation week staff take the fish to get their
mail boxes, take them through add/drop
as needed and take them to their acade
mic advisers.
The freshmen also spend IV2 hours in
a seminar with Dr. Rod O’Connor to
learn good study habits. O’Connor is in
charge of Texas A&M’s freshmen che
mistry program.
The new cadets also attend a seminar
to familiarize themselves with Aggie
traditions. Branch said the fish won’t be
in uniform until Friday but they did get
their military haircuts Monday. He said
each outfit is assigned a particular bar
ber in the area. This way one barber
isn’t burdened with the task of cutting
the hair of 900 cadets.
In the past, fish were required to
wear a white T-shirt turned backwards
during FOW, but Branch said the FOW
staff decided to allow them to wear their
street clothes this year.
“We changed this because I think it
has a psychological effect on them,’’
Branch said. “We want them to feel
good about themselves, so they’ll feel
good about A&M.”
The new cadets also will get a chance
tomorrow evening to socialize with
freshman women at Texas A&M. More
than 450 freshman women have been
invited to attend a party on the plaza in
front of the Corps quadrangle area.
Branch said a beer bash at the Q-huts
was planned originally. But since the
legal drinking age will be raised to 19
Sept. 1, the FOW staff decided against
the bash becau se many of the cadets will
not be able to legally buy alcohol in a
few weeks.
Instead, soft drinks will be served at
the party Thursday, he said.
By DENISE RICHTER
Battalion Staff
Because of an increase in the enroll-
Iment in the Texas A&M Corps of
Cadets, cadets will be housed in a civi
lian dormitory for the first time in sever-
[ al years.
The anticipated Corps enrollment for
1981-82 is 2,400 cadets, an increase of 6
percent over last year’s enrollment of
I 2,258 cadets. Because of this unantici
pated growth, the 75 men in Squadron
12 will be housed in two ramps of Hart
Hall, a ramp-style dorm located near
the Physics Building.
“The Corps ended up being bigger
than anticipated, and we just ran out of
room,” said Corps Area Coordinator
Nolen Mears. “By working out of the
Housing Office and with the other
areas, we were able to free space in
Hart, the next nearest available hall.”
A&M leads southwest
in chemistry research
National Science Foundation tabula
tions show Texas A&M University to
be the top institution in the South and
Southwest in funding for research and
development in chemistry and che
mical engineering.
Texas A&M, which has the nation’s
largest engineering college and one of
the largest chemistry departments,
ranks ninth among 50 leading institu
tions conducting chemical research.
The University of Wisconsin heads
the list. Other top 10 schools, in order,
are; Massachusetts Institute of Tech
nology, California Institute of Tech
nology, Harvard, University of Cali
fornia at San Diego, Stanford, Univer
sity of Illinois and the University of
California at Berkeley.
NSF figures show Texas A&M
spent $3.7 million on chemical re
search in 1979, the most recent period
for which comparable figures are avail
able from all reporting institutions.
Texas A&M’s total research ex
penditures last year totaled more than
$72 million and are expected to exceed
$80 million for the fiscal year ending
Aug. 31. The University’s sponsored
research is funded by a variety of
sources, including state and federal
agencies, private industry and founda
tions.
Arrangements for the civilian stu
dents who will be displaced by the out
fit’s relocation have already been made,
Mears said.
Most of the residents selected to be
moved to other rooms within the hall
and others who chose to move were
given spaces in other halls.
Corps Commandant James R.
Woodall said housing cadets in Hart this
years is a reinstatement of a former
practice. “For many years, Hart was a
Corps dorm,” Woodall said, “Housing
cadets in Hart is not unusual — it just
hasn’t happened in a few years.
The commandant and Mears con
tended the isolation of the squadron
from standard Corps dormitories should
not necessarily create any major prob
lems for its memebers.
“The move to Hart will affect (Squad
ron 12’s participation in the Corps) to
the extent they let it affect them,”
Woodall said.
Mears said, “I don’t think the move
will affect their participation. It may
make things more difficult, but I think
they’re aware of the problems.”
Squadron 12 holds the George P.F.
Jouine Award presented to the outfit
with the highest overall academic re
cord each school year.
Moving cadets into Hart will not tot
ally solve the housing problem, Mears
said. “We still will be very crowded,
we’ll have triples in every hall (in the
Corps area),” he said.
The Corps area coordinator said he
Regents to meet
to appoint new
A&M president
By JANE G. BRUST
Battalion Staff
The president of North Texas State
University today will be appointed to
the Texas A&M presidency, Texas
A&M officials say.
The Texas A&M Board of Regents
today is expected to appoint Dr. Frank
E. Vandiver to the position and thus
end a year-long search for a University
president.
“The search for a Texas A&M presi
dent is all sewn up and Vandiver is the
man,” a University official said. The
appointment of a new president will not
be official, however, until the appoint
ment is confirmed by the board.
The regents will hold a special meet
ing today at 2 p.m. at the University’s
Research and Extension Center in Dal
las. They will receive a recommenda
tion from the four-member interview
ing committee and that recommenda
tion will be subject to approval by the
full board.
Vandiver, 55, was not available for
comment Tuesday. The Bryan-College
Station Eagle Tuesday reported that
Vandiver would not comment Monday
on his candidacy but that he said he
would wait and see what the Board will
do.
Vandiver is a noted historian and
scholar who received a master’s degree
from the University of Texas in 1949 and
a doctoral degree from Tulane Universi
ty in 1951 but who sidestepped an
undergraduate degree.
A writer for NTSU public relations
explained that Vandiver left school in
the seventh grade to pursue indepen
dent study. By the age of 16 he had
published his first scholarly article, she
said, and he resumed his formal educa
tion at the master’s level after receiving
a Rockefeller Fellowship.
Vandiver has taught at Washington
University in St. Louis and at Rice Uni
versity. He became provost at Rice in
1970 and became vice president in
1975. He served as acting president
from 1968 to 1969.
Vandiver has served one year in the
president’s position at North Texas in
Denton. That position has involved his
overseeing both NTSU, with 17,000
students, and that school’s sister school,
the Texas College of Osteopathic Medi
cine in Fort Worth.
Board of Regents Chairman H.R.
“Bum” Bright would not confirm or
deny Vandiver’s candidacy. “I will not
discuss who that candidate (to be
appointed) will be,” he said, “but we
{Corps unit to be housed in Hart Hall
expect the board to take some action.”
System Chancellor Frank W.R.
Hubert said the committee will make
one recommendation and the regents
will discuss that recommendation in
closed session. “If everything goes well,
we should announce a new president,”
Hubert said.
“It’s very likely that the nominee will
be present at the meeting. We ll return
to an open meeting to take action that
the board deems appropriate.”
Hubert has served on the four-
member committee who will make the
presidential recommendation. Hubert,
Bright, Vice Chairman John Blocker
and Regent Clyde Wells have inter
viewed approximately 12 candidates
since January when a 22-member
search committee recommended a list
of at least 20 candidates. Those names
were selected from some 500 nominee?
and applicants.
Acting President Charles Samson,
who is one of the candidates considered
by the selection committee, Tuesday
had no comment on his plans should he
not be the one approved by the board.
But a civil engineering professor at
Texas A&M prior to becoming acting
president, Samson said returning to
teaching is a possibility. He has more
than 20 years of teaching behind him.
Bright said the transition period be
fore the new president takes office “will
depend upon the date the man (accept
ing the position) can make himself avail
able. At the outside time I’d say two to
three weeks or a month.”
Hubert said the transition period will
be worked out with the new president
and with Samson. “A month estimate is
a reasonable period of time, ” he said.
Samson said, “I think we could adjust
to whatever decision is made — we have
a very capable staff.”
Raul Fernandez, former president of
the Association of Former Students,
praised Samson’s service and expressed
relief that the search for a president
could be nearing an end.
“Chuck Samson is a super individual,
he has done a fine job,” Fernandez said.
“I’m glad they’re bringing some per
manency to the position — I still would
like for Texas A&M to have some sortpf
continuity, some stability. We’ve asked
for the finest person they can find. Our
association will work with anybody they
name to serve students and former stu
dents alike.”
The Battalion will publish a special
edition Thursday to report the results of
today’s board meeting.
has not yet been able to determine how
many cadets there will be in each hall
but that every outfit should anticipate
triple occupancy in the rooms.
“We won’t triple the freshmen —
we’ll triple the sophomores and juniors
first,” he said.
Mears said he is looking into alternate
housing possibilities for next year. Sev
eral years ago. Dorms 1 and 3 (Briggs
and Spence halls) were converted into
housing for civilian women. One possi
bility to alleviate overcrowding would
be to use those dorms for Corps hous
ing, he said.
The Corps area isn’t the only crowded
housing area this year—some residents
of other campus dormitories should
anticipate a third roommate also.
Dena Todd, area coordinator in the
Housing Office, said present plans call
for tripling 100 freshmen women in Cle
ments Hall and 85 freshmen men in
Dunn and Aston halls and in the North
and Central area Corps-style dormi
tories.
“We over-assign intentionally to
make up for no-shows, ” Todd said. “We
try to predict the number of no-shows so
we’ll be full and ... to accommodate as
many people in the dorms as possible.”
There are 10,000 spaces on campus
and the Housing Office over-assigns by
about 2 or 3 percent, Todd said.
Last year, the dormitories were over
booked by a record 600 students. At the
beginning of the fall semester, men
were housed in study carrels in Aston
and Dunn halls and in vacant rooms in
the Corps dormitories.
Others were placed three-to-a-room
in the North area male dormitories.
Women were tripled in the four modu
lar dormitories, Haas, McFadden,
Neeley and Hobby halls.
Hours are different
during semester break
During the current period before
fall semester classes begin, most
campus facilities are operating under
different hours. The following sche
dules are in effect.
Sterling C. Evans Library
Monday—Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday
1p.m.-5p.m.
Creamery
Continues regular hours Monday —
Friday 8:15 a.m. — 5 p.m.
MSC Main Desk
Open 24 hours a day
Check cashing: 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
MSC Bowling and Games
Monday—Thursday
8a.m.-11 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 8a.m.-lp.m.
Sunday 1p.m.-11 p.m.
Intramural Department
East Kyle Field and G. Rollie White
Coliseum:
Monday—F riday
8 a.m.-midnight
Saturday and Sunday
8a.m.-10p.m.
Deware Fieldhouse:
Closed until Aug. 28
Wofford Cain Pool:
Monday — Friday 12p.m.-6p.m.
Saturday and Sunday
1 p.m.-6 p.m.
Tennis Courts:
Courts are open all the time on a first
come-first served basis, except for
reservations.
Reservations can be made Mon
day— Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
and Saturday and Sunday from 8
a.m. to 10 p.m.
I.D.s are required to make reser
vations.
The Battalion
This issue of The Battalion is the
second of two Wednesday issues to
be published in the two-week period
before the beginning of fall semester
classes.
A special edition of The Battalion
will be published Thursday to report
the results of Wednesday’s special
meeting of the Board of Regents.
The Battalion will then continue dai
ly publication Monday through
Friday.
New system causes problem
for students who drop/add
Any student who has gone through
the add-drop process and received
courses designated as pass-fail when
these were not requested should wait to
be contacted by the Registrar’s Office
before taking any further action, Associ
ate Registrar Donald D. Carter said.
“A new system was put in this year to
speed up tbe process and some prog
ramming problems occurred that
caused a considerable delay,” Carter
said. “We anticipated these problems
— they’re inherent in the programming
change.”
Students who had problems with
add-drop will be contacted individually
or through The Battalion, Carter said.
“We have to determine what caused the
problems before we can do anything
else,” he said.
Carter said about 8,000 students re
gistered or added and dropped courses
Monday.