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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1944)
TUESDAY AFTERNOON, OCTOBER 3, 1944 THE BATTALION Paee 5 Military Science Provides Way Of Living For Tex.A.&M. Cadets Swimming Training Stressed At A. & M. Coach Art Adamson Topnotch Instructor Swimming instruction is one of the most important phases of the systematic physical training pro grams at the. Texas A. & M. Col lege, which is carried on as an aid in developing sound bodies, self control, good’ sportsmanship and athletic proficiency, and swim ming lessons are required of each student, W. L. Penberthy, longtime head of the Physical Education de partment, said today. Recognized for many decades from a recreational and sports viewpoint, the art of real swim ming has assumed added signifi cance on account of the amphibious aspect of the present war, espec ially as the armed services have found only 20 per cent of their trainees qualified upon induction as proficient in swimming as a means of survival. The other 80 per cent to be classed as unable to swim or as novices. Somewhere in the distant past swimming came into being not as a means of evercise nor as a sport, but as a necessary function of life and living. Unlike animals, man is not a natural swimmer and, therefore, he must be taught how to remain afloat and to propel his body with movements of his arms and legs. Swimming classes at the Texas A. & M. College are conducted with the view of preparing students to meet war time situations which ex perience has shown are most likely to develop, Penberthy said. As each freshman class reports to the Physical Education depart ment its members are given a simple but efective test which en ables the' department to classify them into one of two groups. The students are not asked if they can swim but are tested in groups of approximately 100 and all are told to enter deep water and remain afloat for a period of eight min utes without assistance of any kind. Those who pass this test are classified as swimmers and are placed in the regular conditioning program—those who fail are class ed as non-swimmers and are re quired to take swimming instruc tions until they can pass the eight minute test. All students who have passed the test are given six periods of in struction in functional swimming each semester. This instruction in cludes such practical things as: Learning to float without outside aid and making use of small float able objects to increase ones float- ability, methods of controlling panic, methods of combating and the treatment of cramps, instruc tion in swimming silently, proper methods of swimming on the back for purpose of resting and protec tion against the effects of concus sion from high explosives, best strokes by which to carry weights, use of under water swimming as a method of escaping burning oil and as a protection against small caliber bullets, proper method of swimming through burning oil by means of the splash recovery, sim plified life saving instruction, the correct method of jumping into the water from a height and instruc tion as to the best part of the ves sel from which to jump, method of disrobing, and the use of cloth- \ng in the water including the mak ing of floats from the clothing. “I feel that we are extremely fortunate in our swimming setup here in having Art Adamson to direct this phase of the program”, Penberthy said. “He not only knows swimming from the ground up but knows how to teach it and is an inspiration to all the students with which he comes in contact. He is ably assisted by Nickie Ponthieux, former captain of the A. & M. swimming team and now a member of the Physical Education staff.” Before becoming a professional by taking a coaching position, Adamson had a very successful ca reer as a swimming contestant and water poloist. Born in England, he started swimming as a small boy in Canada, then in New Zealand where he was National Champion for two years, before coming to this country in 1926. Before asso ciating himself with the Texas A. & M. College in 1935, Adamson had been amateur coach for the Hous ton YMCA for five years. Back of that are connections with the Illi nois Atheletic Club in Chicago, Olympic Club in San Francisco, and the Witemata and Pirates clubs in New Zealand. Swimming must run in the Adamson blood, for Van Adamson, 13-year-old son of the coach, is one of the best swimmers in this sec tion and holds several records made in junior competition. Such a program is made possible because of the P. L. Downs, Jr. Natatorium, one of the largest and finest indoor pools in the country, Penberthy declared. This facility has made it possible for a very large number of A. & M. students to learn to swim. The natatorium is equipped with a pool which is 100 feet long by 60 feet wide, with lockers and showers, and a gallery that will seat 600. The pool ranges in depth from 3% feet at one end to 10 feet at the other. Water in •the pool is maintained at a very high standard of purity being per- By Alfred Jefferson Military training is one of the most important courses A. & M. has to offer to students. When this war began, many men who had only three years of training here were called to Officer Candidate Schools and became officers with very lit tle training. At this time, A. & M. has furnished more officers to our armed forces than West Point. About forty Aggie-Exes are now generals. During his first semester, a man learns the fundamental things petually circulated through the pool’s purification system. All the water passes through this system once every twelve hours. about army regulations, such as the times to salute, whom to salute the different branches of the army, and how to do the drill movements. The second semester is spent in learning map reading, and in firing on the rifle range. The next two semesters are spent learning extended order, scouting and patrolling, and other advanced infantry training. Colonel M. D. Welty is the Com mandant of the Corps, and Lieu tenant Colonel A. J. Bennett is the executive officer. George Strick- hausen is the Cadet Colonel, and Corps Commander. Each dormitory is under the di rection of a tactical officer who is in charge of discipline and military training for his dorm. Also, the military department provides a sergeant to assist the tactical of ficer. There are two armories main tained for use of the military de partment. These were originally designed for the Field Artillery and Coast Artillery units, so they are appropriately named. Also, the military department has a motor pool in which the automobiles and trucks belonging to the department are kept. In the Coast Artillery Armory there is a fifty-foot rifle range for use by members of the school rifle team. At this time there is no rifle team, but it is to be started again after the war is over. DO YOUR PART—BUY BONDS Texas Wage Board Will Meet Here Wednesday The Texas W. F. A. Wage Board will meet here Wednesday to ex amine returns from 60 counties to determine whether a wage ceiling for pulling and picking cotton shall be recommended, it was announced by E. R. Alexander, chairman. Hearings were conducted last week at Lubbock, Paducah and at Sweetwater when delegations re ported on a canvass of attitudes of farmers and representatives of the pickers. If it is determined that the sam pling of opinions represents a ma jority of the interests most con cerned, decision will be made by the committee on whether wage ceilings will be recommended. WELCOME TO A. & M. and to GEORGE’S CONFECTIONERY “25 Years of Continuous Service” AGGIELAND STUDIO JOE SOSOLIK, Proprietor PHOTOGRAPHS OF DISTINCTION KODAK FINISHING — PICTURE FRAMES North Gate of Campus COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS for — GOOD HOME COOKED FOOD Hamburgers Thick Malts A Good, Clean Place to Eat CREAMLAND At North Gate \ f Tm going to LOUPOT’S for my K. & E. Draw ing Instruments and Slide Rules. He makes repairs FREE and stamps my name on free. He has slide rules for $12.00.” The K. & E. Instruments Are Leaders in This Field. LOUPOT’S TRADING POST WELCCME to M till AN I NEW AGGIES WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED HATS SHOES SHIRTS INSIGNIAS UNIFORMS WEB BELTS TRENCH COATS BOMBAY SLACKS THE EXCHANGE STORE IS YOUR OFFICIAL COLLEGE STORE QUALITY MERCHANDISE AND THE PRICES ARE RIGHT STETSON REGULATION HATS BOOKS T SQUARES STATIONERY DRAWING BOOKS SCHOOL SUPPLIES BIOLOGY SUPPLIES COLLEGE JEWELRY DRAWING INSTRUMENTS