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THE BATTALION
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, AUGUST 18, 1944
The Battalion
STUDENT TRI-WEEKLT NEWSPAPER
TEXAS A. & M. COLLEGE
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Teas and the City of College Station is published three times weekly, and issued
Tuesday,, Thursday and Saturday mornings except during the summer semester when
it is published two times weekly and issued on Tuesday and Friday afternoons and
is the official publication of the students of the A. & M. College of Texas and serves
unofficially in the interest of the enlisted personnel of the United States Army and
Navy stationed on the campus.
Entered as tecond class matter at the Post Office at College Station, Texas,
mder the Act of Congress of March 8, 1870.
Subscription rate $3 per school year. Advertising rates upon request.
Represented nationally by National Advertising Service, Inc., at New York City,
jbicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
OPEN
FORUM
Office, Room 5, Administration Bnilding. Telephone 1-1444.
Member
Associated Coltefiiate Press
Calvin Brumley Editor
Dick Goad Managing Editor
Alfx-ed Jefferson Managing Editor
S. L. Inzer Sports Editor
/. W. Bell Sports Writer
Renyard W. Canis Backwash Editor
Robert Gold
Eli Barker
D. V. Hudson
B. J. Blankenship....
Dick Osterbolm
Jimmie Demopulos.
.. Reporter
....Reporter
....Reporter
....Reporter
....Reporter
.Cartoonist
Nourish It Now .
Deep within the heart of every Aggie beats the living
Spirit of Aggieland which pulses through his veins irresist-
ably when the strains of “The Spirit of Aggieland” float
out over the campus or the “Aggie War Hymn” reverberates
across Kyle Field. It is the Aggie Spirit, living, undying,
marching, echoing from the eons of the past into the in
finite future.
Those on the campus now privileged to call themselves
Aggies have had few chances to show that they are in step
with the Spirit. Judgement cannot be passed on them now
but if at the first yell practice they fail to make a favorable
impression they will have only themselves to condemn.
Freshmen traditionally hump at yell practices and al
ways pass the yells back. They pay strict attention to the
yell leaders both when the leaders are talking or when they
are signalling for yells. Freshmen know the yells. They do
not wait until yell practices begin to learn the yells but they
know them when the first yell practice is called. When yell
practice is over freshmen run back to their rooms. They run,
not walk. A freshman never misses a yell practice. There is
not excuse for missing one. A sophomore never misses a yell
practice.
Freshmen hump in the area nearest the yell leaders
and the sophomores stand behind them. Behind the sopho
mores in order of seniority stand the juniors and seniors.
Freshmen “wildcat” after each yell. They obey the instruc
tions of the yell leaders. Freshmen respect and revere the
Aggie Band.
When the first yell practice is announced, then will be
the time when the crops really begins to feel as one united
“Twelfth Man” that will fight to the finish beside the
eleven men on the field. No other school can boast of a
student body that compares with that of A. & M. in unity,
loyalty to school, and spirit. These all come from discipline
and knowing what to do and how to do it at the right time.
Nourish the Spirit until it is a full grown giant when foot
ball season rolls around.
Intramural Sportsmanship . . .
Intramural interest is running higher this semester
than it has for quite some time. Perhaps this may be attri
buted to the lack of intercollegiate sports or it may be the
result of a carefully planned program. Whatever the reason
intramural sports occupy the campus spotlight at the present
time.
Spotlighted as they are intramural athletes are under
close scrutiny by the corps, faculty, and College Station
residents. Competition between the companies for the in
tramural flag is progressing at a flaming pace. Competition
is commendable but in the heat of the games competition
occasionally overshadows sportsmanship. The object of par
ticipation in any game is beating the opponent but if this
competitve spirit suffocates the spirit of fair play the sport
of the play ceases to exist.
Aggies are recognized as hard fighting sportsmanslike
athletes in intercollegiate contests, yet in intramural sports
this is forgotten in the struggle for the winners berth. Hark
ing back to the fundamentals that underlie the American
way of life is the principle of play by the rules and, in
situations not covered by rules, of fair play.
When the time comes that Aggies forget fair play, then
it is the time for the corps to stop and take inventory of
itself. Organizations on the campus are the birthplace of
Aggie sportsmanship. If the intramural teams behave in an
unsportsmanlike manner how can it be expected that the
corps will conduct itself properly at football games this fall?
When rules are broken the sweet cup of victory is cracked
and all of the pleasure of winning gushes out.
Dear Editor:
Since the Open Forum invites
the opinion of all people on the
campus, I should like to offer a
suggestion which I feel merits
consideration.
It seems to me that the Trophy
Case in the Academic Building has
been neglected. I am not sure just
whose responsibility the appearance
of the awards placed there really
is, but I know that a lot of honor
is attached to the various articles
and that each of them deserves be
ing well and properly kept.
If one chances to look into the
Trophy Case now, he will observe
moth-eaten pennants and banners,
tarnished loving cups and troph
ies, dust covered awards of all
types, and deflated footballs and
basketballs. Besides the dust laden
objects, cobwebs abound in num
erous places. The glass upon which
many of the trophies rest is dirty
and unattractive. N
On top of the glass case are
cigarette stubs, pieces of chalk and
paper, and a heavy coat of dust.
The Trophy Case is viewed every
day by visitors on the campus. It
is in a centrally located building
where most people who come to
the campus find their way. The
sight that greets the eye is there
fore not pleasant. The dust, the dirt,
the cobwebs, and the tarnish all
seem to show neglect of something
which should be dear to the hearts
of all Aggies. Many students have
contributed to the collection in that
case; many honors which have
come to the school are represented
therein. It therefore seems espec
ially important that these trophies
be well kept and properly display
ed for the eye of the public.
Respectfully yours,
Sally B. Dansby.
Dean Brooks Makes
Survey of Grades
Dean T. D. Brooks, of the School
of Arts and Sciences, has. made a
survey of the grade record of a
number of Liberal Arts students,
and has found that those pupils
who fail most are those who are
absent from their classes most.
At mid-semester fifteen men
made the required number of
grade points and hours to be put
on the distinguished list if their
grades stay as they are until the
end of this semester, he said. Of
these men none had more than six
or seven cuts. Their cuts averaged
three and two-thirds per man.
In this school fourteen men were
dropped from the college either by
the school or at their own request.
These men had cuts averaging
fourteen each.
There are now thirty-seven men
on the probation list of the School
of Arts and Sciences. These men
are supposed to make a certain
number of hours and grade points
in order to measure up to the ex
pectations of the Dean. Their cuts
averaged a little bit over twelve
per man.
Dean Brooks stated that there is
no artificial penalty for cutting
classes.
By Renyard
W. Canis
Backwash: An agitation resulting from some action or occurrence."—Webster.
Another blank weekend looms.
Or would it be better to say leers.
On those weekends when there are
things happening on the campus,
the opinion is that there is not
enough time to study. Here comes
one of those weekends with plenty
of time for study and what hap
pens. Everybody is planning to
amble off to their favorite off-
campus distraction.
A bit of advice
If a person plans to get more
than one girl on the line he should
have them in different towns, es
pecially if the town is small. It is
rather hard to convince a girl
that it is important to get back to
A. & M. on Saturday. Even if it is
important and there is a valid rea
son she won’t believe it. Well, may
be it would be easier to see only
one girl on each particular week
end. Just remember that a girl will
never believe the truth as readily
as she will believe a falsehood.
Why beat around the bush, say lie.
This in no way constitutes an ad
vocation of a departing from the
ways of truth.
A comparison or contrast
Aggies refer to Mark Francis
Hall as “the hill.” T.C.U. stu
dents refer to Foster Hall on
their campus as “the hill.” A. &
M.’s “hill” is the home of the
vets from whence those howls
of dogs in anguish issue. Foster
Hall is the home of the T.C.U.
lovelies from whence come howls
of the wolf around sunset.
Again a Longhorn
Once again the senior class has
decided to publish the biggest and
most treasured of all A. & M. pub
lications, the Longhorn. Inciden
tally the name Longhorn doesn’t
refer to a cow but to those long
horns that are sometimes tooted.
At least this is the explanation
offered by an ex.
This is one of the largest and
most difficult undertakings of the
(See BACKWASH, Page 3)
Man, Your Manners
By I. Sherwood
“How are honor guests seated
at a dinner table?”
The place of honor for a woman
is at the right of the host; for a
man, at the right of the hostess.
When there are no special guests of
honor ,you give uplaces to guests,
who for one reason or another
might appropriately be honored.
At a banquet table the honor
guests are placed at the speaker’s
table (if there is one) in the order
of their importance. If there is to
be a toastmaster he occupies the
honor, you give places to guests,
central position at the table. Im
portant guests are seated at his
right, those of lesser importance on
his left, alternating man, woman,
man, if possible; the most impor
tant woman on the right of the
most important man, unless he is
her husband, in that case she is
seated at the right of the man
second in importance.
At a banquet you may begin to
eat when those about you have
been served. At a dinner where
there is a hostess you begin to
eat when your hostess does.
A dinner guest should arrive
as near the hour set for the din
ner as possible—not more than
five minutes before the time, and
not later than five minutes after—
if he must be late. A dinner should
not be held up later than fifteen
minutes for tardy guests.
PENNY’S SERENADE
■ i—n.iiii 11—By W. L. Penberthy ■■.■i—
A few days ago I had a very
interesting conversation with a man
whose business it is to select and
train men for a specific task. He
said that in deal
ing with men he
had found there
were two kinds—
those who could
manage them
selves and those
who couldn’t. The
former, when
iey know what
their job is, go
ahead and do it
|without having
to be checked on.
Penberthy The latter must
be supervised.
I have always felt that in com
petitive sports a player must first
win the contest against himself
before he can hope to win from an
adversary. Some men seem to have
natural ability for a particular
sport but in most cases the proper
performance of a particular skill
is not natural to most men, and so
these men must make themselves
perform the skills involved until
the correct performance becomes
natural to them. In addition to
this the successful athlete must
exert a lot of control to be a
steady, consistent performer so
as not to get panicky when things
go wrong. He must often exert
even more control to keep from
getting mad and losing his tem
per when the opponent resorts to
unfair tactics. The kinds of con
trol mentioned are hard to es
tablish as a habit, but I know of
many cases where wonderful pro
gress has been made.
We all admire the person who
can keep his balance and keep
an even keel in the face of adver
sities. That person probably has
the same weaknesses and desires
that we have, but the difference is
in the habit of self-control he has
established. It is a hard row to
hoe, but it pays off