-TUESDAY, FEB. 27, 1940
PAGE 2
THE BATTALION
This Final Review Question
A question that has been the subject of much controversy this year, and an apparently increasing
amount of late, is that of the dates on which the closing exercises of the school year, particularly Final
Review, are to be held this term.
Always before these exercises have been held at the very end of the session. This year, for the
first time, Final Review, Final Ball, and other terminating exercises are scheduled to be held a week early—
that is, a week before those students who have final exams to take, take them.
This change in the date of the traditional closing ceremonies of the school year was adopted by the
authorities of the college during the past summer, in the sincere belief that it was, as a whole, for the
general welfare of the entire student body. Of late, with the approach of that time, the question has been
subject to much debate. A number of students have expressed dissatisfaction with the change in tradition,
and fully as many seem to favor it.
Therefore The Battalion presents herewith a summary of the viewpoints of each side, without itself
taking sides on the question. Judge for yourself between them.
For
Yes, week-early Final Review is a depar
ture from custom—but so what?
Simply because a thing has become fixed or
stagnant does not necessarily make it right.
Consider the positive side of the matter. There
are many arguments to be given both for and
against the change; but throughout, the advantages
of the change for outweigh the disadvantageous
features.
The officials of the college, acting in all sin
cerity for the good of all the classes—not just
the seniors, had a number of important reasons
for this change.
One of them is the fact that from each suc
cessive Final Review of the past few years, more
and more students have been absent—have gone
home and somehow failed to return for this, the
most thrilling and impressive of all the ceremonies
of the school year. It is conservatively estimated
that last year some 1,500 students out of about
5,500 then in attendance were absent from the
review.
Every year at the end of school, every student
is anxious to get away and get home as quickly
as possible—to his family, his job, etc. Parents, too,
get anxious for their sons to return as soon as
possible; many write the college every year want
ing to know if their sons may not leave early, be
fore Final Review. Statistics show that 800 letters
were received one spring from parents making this
request.
Holding Final Review a week early will make
it possible for every student to attend, and yet
leave earlier. This year lines will not be so straggly;
so many holes should not be left unfilled, as before,
After all, it’s supposed to be the largest, finest,
most thrilling review of the entire year, isn’t it?
And isn’t that what so many of our parents and
friends come here to see ? A review that is a
flop would be a fine thing for them to witness!
Every year a large number of the seniors, who
customarily finish up their work a week or more
earlier than the rest of the student body and usual
ly leave the campus for that time, fail to return fdr
Final Review. This year, were the ceremony at
the usual time, a considerable number of seniors
out of the class of 900 would never get back for
the occasion.
And don’t just think of the seniors. There
are plenty of other students who fail to appear—
some who must leave early for various and sundry
authentic reasons, and a large number who have
earned exemptions from their final exams and do
not return just for the review. This year under
the present plan all can and almost certainly all
will take part in it.
It’s only a part of the student body who will
have to stay after the review for exams. There’ll
be about 900 seniors and 25% of the entire student
body exempt from finals and a lot of students will
finish before the end of the exam week. Why
should they have to remain here a week, with noth
ing to do, just because some others are taking
exams ?
That leads up to another benefit of this change.
In past years the seniors and others who finish
earlier than the majority of the students and have
/been on the campus part or all of the last week
-<wifch nothing to do, have indulged in a lot of “hell-
Taising” which disturbs those students who are
^having to study for finals. Why should those taking
.finals be disturbed in their work by idle boys hang-
ang around yelling, playing, carousing, engaging
in “bull-sessions,” coming in at all hours of the
night, etc?
It isn’t fair to them. Such a thing has al
ways been a major factor in the cause of final
exam failures. Why should it be continued, simply
because it has been the custom?
Some may complain against the change in
tradition. That change will not actually make Final
Review any less final, any less the kind of ter
mination it is supposed to be for the school yeai\
After all, the purpose of it is for students to
step up a year in class, and for all the others to
tell the seniors farewell. And the seniors will be
going then, won’t they? What actual difference
does it make whether some of the students take
their exams before or after? Under the new plan,
the ordeal of the review will be behind them, and
those who stay can stay and study in peace.
To many seniors as well as other students, hav
ing Final Review early is important because they
can get to their job sooner. Some must get to
them early.
And another advantage in the change is that
now, following the review, everyone will have plenty
of time to pack his clothes and equipment, dis
pose of things he is going to ship or store, turn
in his military equipment to the college, and wind
up all his business and scholastic affairs much
more conveniently and efficiently than ever before.
He can do these things whenever he wishes, and
leave whenever he wishes. Always before there
has been a concerted rush on the Exchange Store
on the part of all the “fish” and sophomores to
turn in tfieir uniforms immediately after review.
Equipment is turned in carelessly by all the stu
dents; much of it is lost in the shuffle. Thousands
The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OT
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Arricultnral and
Mechanical College of Texas and the city of College Station, is
published three times weekly from September to Jane, issued
Tuesday. Thursday, and Saturday mornings; and is published
weekly from June through August.
Entered as second-class matter at the Post Otclae Colletre
Station, Texas, under the Act of Congress of March 8, 1879.
of items of clothing, of school supplies, etc., are
left in the rooms annually when they are vacated.
And there are hundreds of boys lining the roads
all at one time trying to get rides away from
school. Think how much better it will be with
these conditions eliminated or at least vastly im
proved!
Most of the objections to this change come from
those students who hate to see any CHANGE made
around here in any custom or tradition. But there’s
no reason why a tradition can’t be improved.
It was “traditional” until last spring that no
one but graduating seniors in their last semester
could be exempt from exams. It was “traditional”
until last spring that there were no telephones in
the dormitories. It still is “traditional” that there
are no drinking fountains in the halls, and no pub
lic restrooms in the Academic Building and other
older class buildings. Would you be in favor of
continuance of the those conditions simply because
they have seemed to be customary?
Some traditions are fine things. But there is
no reason why new traditions cannot be adopted,
and old ones renovated from time to time—is
there? Do you want to see A. & M. stand still in
its stride like a cow stuck in the mud? If the
Aggie football team had abided by the “tradition”
that A. & M. bad not won a Southwest Confer
ence championship since 1927, we would have had
no nation’s No. one team this past fall!
Of course, as is true of many changes, they
are not perfect all at once. A. & M.—like Rome—
was not built in a day. There is now one thing
at least we object to about the new Final Review
plan: that is, that some exams are scheduled to
take place the afternoon of the same day the re
view takes place. That leaves for too short a time
for rest and study. We hope and ask that the
authorities will change this so that exams will not
begin until a couple of days later.
It is hard to stir the student body to accept
any sort of change in what it has grown accustomed
to. Wait till the new plan has been put into ef
fect a time or two, and everyone will favor it
when he realizes its practical advantages.
Against
Many students object to the change in' the
date of Final Review because it is a change in a
fine old tradition. Final Review has always been
held at the very end of the school term. To hold
it any sooner is more or less sacreligious. It will
spoil the impressiveness, the thrill of the ceremony
and lessen its psychological effect.
What if a lot of students do choose to miss
Final Review? That doesn’t hurt it! And be
sides, they can’t be made to attend if it is done
any other way, either!
Most of the seniors, even if they are out of
school a week or so, come back for the occasion.
Why should they miss the culminating and most
impressive ceremony of their whole four years?
And another thing: For the seniors, that cus
tomary period of a week or so after they finish
their school work till they return for Final Review
has always been the last grand time of their school
career at A. & M. when they could have one last
occasion for fun in the good old Aggie style. The
new plan will cut out entirely this last grand
fling.
The hundreds of parents and friends who al
ways come down for the end of school don’t come
to see a fine review. They come to bring their
cars, pack their sons off and take them home.
With the review a week early, fewer people and
cars will be coming at that time. And a lot of
students won’t have time to go home, as they
have in the past, to bring their cars back for
the end of the school year. And there won’t be as
many people at the final dances, just as there
won’t be at Final Review.
One of the worst things about the new plan
is the fact that some of the final exams will be
given the afternoon of the same day as the review.
That is not right. It puts too great a strain on
those students who take those exams; it allows them
far too little time for rest and study.
The new plan seems to have been put into ef
fect just for the seniors. Well, most of the seniors
didn’t want it and don’t want it, and didn’t even
ask for it. Why show partiality to the seniors?
Final Review isn’t just for them alone.
The seniors might have to lie around a week
or so and then have to return for the review; but
they don’t mind returning just for that. Very few
if any students have to leave earlier just to get to
some job; and most do not care whether they get
home any earlier or not. Do they?
The psychological effect of having Final Re
view a week early, and over and done with while
a lot of students are taking their finals, will be
very bad on those students. The usual ordeal of
taking finals, plus the natural sorrow at seeing
the school year brought to a close, at saying good-
by to the seniors and all their friends, and the
loneliness and dreariness of that week of only
exams, is liable to cause a considerable increase in
the number of failures. Boys will just get in a rush
to leave after the review, and won’t study, but
will hurry through their exams; and with such a
psychological effect as the week-early Final Re
view is bound to create, they are going to make
lower exam grades than ever before in A. & M.’s
history.
You just can’t ever get the Aggie corps used
to such a radical change.
It’ll never work. It’s too radical, too partial,
too unfair, too impractical a change, and contrary
to all Aggie tradition. It can’t ever go over as
well as the old-style Final Review.
BACKWASH
By
George fuermann
“Backwash: An agitation resultin* from soma action or occurrance.”—Webstar.
Fuermann
“Somewhere” in Aggieland . . .
Paul Shepherd, speaking of a rath
er “cool” letter received from T.
S. C. W.: “I even had to get an
ice pick and chip it out of the box.”
. . . And one of the most ac
curate lines from
S h a k e s p eare’s
pen: “ . . . Since
the affairs of
men rest still in
certain, let’s rea
son with the
worst that may
befall.” ... A
quote from a let
ter postmarked
Denton: “Would-.
st be so kind as to quote price of
The Battalion. We would like to
learn how the ‘masses’ live, and
I believe that reading the ‘Bat’
would give us a fairly good idea.”
... A College Station girl’s reply
to a saleslady who wanted to
know what kind of a dress she
was looking for: “Something I
can wear in the evening when I
haven’t a date and am waiting
around either for someone to drop
in or to telephone.” . . . Consist
ency, anyway: Here’s a quote from
a letter received by an Infantry
junior: “In the spring of the year
a young woman’s thoughts turn
lightly to love—but my love for
you is predominant in all seasons.”
. . . Town Hall manager Walter
Sullivan, George Steurer, and
Buddy Williams had the thrill of
a lifetime Saturday morning when
they drove Gladys Swarthout to
Houston where she boarded an
airplane bound for 1 New York . . .
Miss Swarthout, by the way, fully
intended to be among those pres
ent at Friday night’s A.S.C.E.
dance, but following her concert—
which came after a long train ride
—she was “too tired ... to be
presentable at anything,” as she
expressed it . . . Here’s hoping:
Buster Keeton and Hector Her-
nendez have written to Olivia de
Havilland and Nancy Kelly respec
tively asking them to attend the
Composite Regiment Ball March
29.
•
Justice—Stalin style:
A woman worker in a Leningrad,
Russia, chocolate factory was sen
tenced to death for stealing choco
lates; but a Russian surgeon was
sentenced to a year at hard labor
for leaving a towel, two feet long,
in the body of a man he had operat
ed on and who died because of his
mistake.
A-la-Sing-Sing:
Prison authorities—tongue in
cheek—have barred the pole vault
from track athletics at the famous
U. S. human safe.
•
Notes on the Sophomore Ball:
No less than fifteen hundred Ag
gies greeted the three busloads of
T. S.C.W.-ites imported for the af
fair, and almost an equal num
ber saw them off Sunday after
noon . . . Bill Goodman—somewhat
disgruntled: “They oughta make
a law that a cadet can’t ‘cut in’
until a girl has taken at least ten
steps.” . . . And Gene White is
telling about the dauntless fresh
man attired in civilian clothes who
managed to get in Sbisa shortly
after the dance began. Looking
around, the first-year man did an
immediate about face and started
for the exit, saying “I don’t think
I’d better stay.” . . . “Tiny” Ad-
mire’s date, explaining why she
was enjoying herself so much: “I
attribute my good time at this
dance to plenty of fresh air and
that good College Station water—
sulphur taste and all!” . . . Alden
Cathey: “Never again will I man
age a date bureau.” . . . Willard
Clark: “This thing turned out
even better than we had hoped.”
. . . And, true enough, the sophs
and architects have given other
dances this year something to shoot
at in the way of perfection.
•
It begins March 1:
Thursday’s Battalion will carry
a detailed story relating to the
column’s Ugly Boy championship,
but here’s a few of the facts in
advance. One cadet in each dor
mitory and a project house repre
sentative will be appointed to col
lect the ballots which will appear
in The Battalion. These cadets,
together with an election commit
tee chairmaned by Don Peterson,
will be in charge of the election
and their names will be published
Thursday. Any Aggie is eligible
for the. dubious honor with the ex
ception of the committee, the writ
er, and The Battalion’s editor.
The winner will be crowned “King
of the Uglies” at a special yell
practice and the honorary degree
B. U. (Bachelor of Ugliness) will
be conferred upon him at that
time. His picture will appear in
The Battalion and possibly in the
T.S.C.W. Lass-O.
So think it over—who’s the ugli
est man in the corps? The con
test begins Friday and ends a week
later on March 8.
•
Cat-Astrophe—Phttt, Phttt, and
Phttt:
U. T.’s Herbert Smith recently
penned this gem which is sup
posed to be read aloud for real ef
fect:—but, in the way of a warn
ing, it’s as pointless as some of
the Confucius stories going the
rounds:
Once there were three little kit
tens. One was named Phttt; one
was named Phttt Phttt; and one
was named Phttt Phttt Phttt.
One day Phttt became very ill.
The doctor was immediately sum
moned. The doctor said gravely,
“Phttt is going to die.” Sure nuff,
Phttt kicked the bucket. ’Twas
most sad.
Then, Phttt Phttt became very
ill. The doctor was hurriedly call
ed. “Phttt Phttt,” said the doctor,
“is going to die.” Sure nuff, Phttt
Phttt up and died. ’Twas most
sad, and besides, all these dead
cats were beginning to stink up
the place.
Yep, you guessed it, Phttt Phttt
Phttt became very ill. The doctor’s
diagnosis was consistent; Phttt
Phttt Phttt is going to die,” said
he.
“No, I’m not,” said Phttt Phttt
Phttt. And Phttt Phttt Phttt
didn’t die.
Why?
It was a pure case of the sur
vival of the Phttt-est.
Those of us who have not al
ready tired of remembering our
past glamorous football season will
enjoy seeing pictures of the New
Orleans Sugar Bowl game that
will be shown in connection with
the regular show Tuesday after
noon and night at the Assembly
Hall. It is not the same show the
Athletic Department has been
showing but is one taken by news
reel running some 12 minutes.
At the Palace beginning Wed
nesday is “DESTRY RIDES
AGAIN,” a wild and wooly west
ern made top class entertainment
by some of Hollywood’s best ac
tors. Marlene Dietrich and James
Stewart hold the lead. Since this
will be reviewed in the magazine,
there is no use to waste time here,
except to give the show a three
grade-point rating.
A most disappointing show is
“REMEMBER”; it had the pos
sibilities, big names in the cast
and such, but somehow Greer Car-
son, who gained fame in “Goodby
Mr. Chips,” just didn’t go over as
a semi-vampire after playing such
a sweet role as Mrs. Chipping.
Too, Robert Taylor’s personal pub-
liicty has been neglected lately;
there hasn’t been a great deal of
attention focused in his direction.
The story, another side of the
eternal triangle, is a bit stale but
cleverly done. Lew Ayres returns
from his vacation engaged to Greer
Carson. When he introduces her
to his old college chum, the two
fall in love at first sight. After
several embarrassing scenes,
Taylor, the chum(?), and Greer
get married. Lew takes a phil
osophical attitude toward the affair
and even helps the two make ar
rangements for the honeymoon. At
that point, Taylor’s job delays
their departure, and the two
have a fuss. Then Lew, the
chump(!), discovers a way to make
the two happy again. Rates two
grade-points.
Jackie Cooper is desperately try.
ing a comeback from “box-office
oblivion,” the latest of which is
“WHAT A LIFE.” As far as I
am concerned he can stay in ob
livion. Such silly tripe is an in
sult to the intelligence of the audi
ence. One grade-point, quick be
fore I change my mind and flunk
it.
WHATS SHOWING
AT THE ASSEMBLY HALL
Tuesday 3:30 and 6:30—
“REMEMBER,” with Robert
Taylor and Greer Carson.
AT THE PALACE
Beginning Wednesday —
“DESTRY RIDES AGAIN,”
with James Stewart and
Marlene Dietrich.
AT THE QUEEN
Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday — “WHAT A
LIFE,” with Jackie Cooper
and Betty Field.
Cadet Players To
Cast Third Play
This Afternoon
A tryout for the purpose of se
lecting a cast for the third of
three plays to be presented by A.
& M.’s newest organization, The
Cadet Players, will be held this
afternoon from four until six
o’clock in room 316 in the Aca
demic Building. The cast will be
made for either of the two plays,
“The Stoker” or “Submarine.”
Students interested in dramatics
are invited to attend the tryout.
Previous attendance at the organi
zation meetings is not required to
take part.
MANY FORMER SMOKERS OF
EXPENSIVE PIPES NOW PREFER
MEDICO K * Ar
/^\NLY filter combining 66 baffle
V_y interior and cellophane exte-'
rior, keeps nicotine, juices, flakes
VIEW
After finding a bundle of certi
ficates valued at $6,500, Robert
Sullivan Jr., of Houston, Texas,
refused to accept a reward, ex
plaining, “I’m a Boy Scout.”
GENUINE FILTERS
FOR MEDICO PIPES
PACKED ONLY IN THIS
RED & BLACK BOX
FOR SALE
TUXEDO, Coat and vest 36,
trousers 30, collars and
shirt 14%, shoes 8%D,
All for. $15.00
SUEDE JACKET with shoul
der straps..— $6.00
CAMERA, Eastman Vollenda
Candid F.35 lens, Compur
Rapid 1-500 shutter, 16
expo on 127 film, Eveready
case, K2 and K4 filters,
lens shade and portrait
lense $30.00
WESTON LIGHT METER
(Fast Films) $15.00
PENCIL POINTS, 1932, 1933,
1936 bound stiff—
Back Red Cloth, Each $6.00
All Issues 1938 $3.00
AMERICAN ARCHITECT
Bound Blue Cloth $6.00
S. F. KROGSTAD
F-9 Walton Hall
BIRTHDAY GIFTS!
'clM-
A GIFT THAT WILL WEAR
AND WEAR. ONE THAT
IS USEFUL AND WILL
LONG BE REMEMBERED.
A GIFT THAT OFFERS
STYLE AND CONVEN
IENCE WHEN TRAVEL
ING LONG OR SHORT
DISTANCES.
EVERYONE IS ALWAYS
PROUD OF A HANDKER
CHIEF WITH QUALITY.
ONE THAT STANDS OUT
FROM THE USUAL TYPE.
Also Other Selected Gifts
Shirts
Hosiery
Bill Folds
Jewelry
The Exchange Store
An Aggie Institution
t
ri
T
*
*
*
>
r
)
♦
1»
s
r
t
5
*>
©
1
"5
I
i