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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1946)
Texas AaM Volume 45 College Station, Texas, Monday Afternoon, May 20, 1946 Number 62 Case of the Missing Profs... Putting a blunt, but necessary question, bluntly, “Why do professors siiy away from teaching positions at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas?” It’s a ques tion that everyone thinks about, and talks about, but sel dom does anything to help. By means of this editorial, the Battalion hopes that certain things will be brought into the open. The answer to the question is as clear as a well cut dia mond, but has as many facets, all of which need the proper attention to get the most out of the well-known gem. It would be impossible to present an accurate account of each part of the answer in one article, or even in several articles, so this today will be a summing up of the parts, with a sketchy explanation of each of them. Chief among the reasons given in most instances is the lack of time, place, opportunity and encouragement for re search by the teaching staff, Research lifts an institution to greater heights in the national education outlook. When a school sponsors no research projects, its status falls ac cordingly. A&M has an outstanding experiment station in both engineering and agriculture with several nationally known investigators, yet the average professor has to let his research go to grade his many papers, or vice versa. A second major reason must be, of necessity, the wages. Wage scales of teachers in the State of Texas are known to be extremely low as compared to other states. A recent survey shows that salaries here are much under the Uni versity of Texas and other comparable institutions of higher learning. Connected with the low wages paid to A. & M. professors are the heavy teaching loads that are ex pected. The same survey shows that in many cases an in structor here is carrying the load normally carried by two or three men in other colleges and universities, the size of the classes of some numbering over two hundred students. The wage scale and the teaching load should be relative here just as in any other state institution. ^ The crowded office and laboratory space, the lack of large technical libraries, both for the benefit of teacher and pupil, have been considered as factors affecting the reluc tance of men to come here to teach or to take advanced de crees. Little attention, both in and out of the classroom affect the standards of a school in that poorly trained tech nicians are graduated. The question of adequate housing space for the instruc tors to live in has figured in many of their opinions. When one realizes that A. & M. profs are hired on a yearly basis with no definite assurance of continued employment, and that this is coupled with a lack of living space, it is not difficult to realize why many seek employment elsewhere. Texas A&M is faced with the problem of finding an adequate instructing staff to carrying on the next few years. What should we as students of this college promote so ihat the education of the men who come after us will mean much more than ours does now? These are the main needs of professors: increased salaries, reasonable teaching loads, opportunity for research and writing of books, an increased budget for college research, security of employment, acad emic freedom for all instructors, procurement of a limited number of outstanding men with nationwide reputations in different fields, adequate advanced and graduate students to assist in the laboratories and in the grading of daily and minor quizzes, educational leaves for the instructors, and support of the administration in the improvement of our scholastic standing. What should we as intellectuals do? We should explain the situation to our families, friends and members of the ^Legislature. We should ask the ex-students clubs through out the state to aid in obtaining the increased appropria tions asked for by the administration, and for the bond is sue to provide for new buildings. We should also insist that ‘the school and college system be improved throughout the state. Just keep these questions in mind as you go along, and when you find out the answers to them, you’ll also have the solution to the Case of the Missing Professors. Singing Cadets End Season With Trip To Beaumont Sat. - The Singing Cadets of Aggie- land completed their last official road trip Sunday with an en gagement at Beaumont where they sang at the First Methodist Church. The program was broad- (See SINGING CADETS, Page 2) Consolidated High Symphony Plays Tonight at Seven The Symphony orchestra of A. & M. Consolidated high school will be presented to the members of the Mothers and Dads club of the school at 7:30 o’clock Monday night at the school gymnasium, it (See CONSOLIDATED, Page 2) Campus Politics Shaping Up for Student Elections Campus politics definitely took an upturn over the weekend with filings for office coming in fast at the office of Student Activities. Filings include the following from the Corps: Paul Wells, Bill Evans, Phil Moses and Jasper Jones for Junior Yell Leaders; Tommy John of F Infantry for Longhorn Edi tor; Allen Self of D Battery for Battalion Editor. Servicemen candidates include Vick Lindley for Co-Editor of the Battalion and Jay Cowan for Co- Editor of the Longhorn. Lindley is present a managing editor of the Batt while Cowan did the art work on the 1946, Vol. II, Long horn. Candidates must file in the Stu dent Activities Office by 12 noon Wednesday after which they will be checked for eligibility by the Student Elections Committee. Balloting will be on Tuesday, May 28 from 8 to 5 in the Acad emic Building. Considerable inter est is being manifested in the elec tion, the first in which Ex-Service men have participated and the first in which co-editors of the two major student publications will be named. A&M Press Club to Receive Awards at Annual Banquet The Texas A. & IVT. Press Club will hold its annual banquet Wed nesday evening, May 22, in Sbisa Hall. This affair honors the staffs of student publications and is the occasion for presentation of awards to members of the staffs. The principal address will be given by George Fuermann of the Houston Post. Fuermann was for several years a member of the Battalion newspaper and magazine staffs. Allen Self, Managing Editor of the Battalion, will be toastmaster. Invocation will be by George B. Wilcox, Chairman of the Education and Psychology Department, and J. W. Rollins, Dean of Men, will make the presentation of awards to the Battalion and Longhorn staffs. Dr. Potter Receives Honorary D. Sc. Degree from Ottawa Dr. George E. Potter of the Biology Department at A&M Col lege has been selected for receiv ing the honorary Doctor of Science degree from his Alma Mater, Ot tawa University, Ottawa, Kansas at the forthcoming commencement exercises. Dr. Potter is professor of zoology and premedical advisor at Texas A&M College. He received •‘his Bachelor Science degree in 1921 at Ottawa Univer sity at Ottawa, Kansas, majoring* in Biology, his Master of Science in 1923 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1927, both at the University of Iowa and majoring in Zoology in both instances. LIBRARY NOTICE All faculty members and students are asked to please return all books to the library which are charged on two weeks loan. Lightnin’ Strikes But Once but That’s Enuff Something new in a Sunday summons to Sunday School hit with Atomic fury on the top stoop of No. 15 yesterday at 8:30 A. M. A bolt of lightning with force enough to break off a con crete block one foot in diameter crashed against Room No. 432 oc cupied by P. E. Godfrey and Bill Huddleston, both fortunately ab sent for the week-end. The force of the bolt, in addition to loosen ing the large block of concrete, split the wall a distance of sev eral inches, exposing the steel supporting beams. Residents of Number 15 made haste to hurry along to the churches of their respective, if not suddenly elected choice, firmly convinced that while lightning never strikes the same place twice it might move down a floor next time. As one resident said following the crash, “Nothing like a good bolt of lightning to refresh a man’s religion.” As for Godfrey and Huddleston both have signed the pledge and are happy about the “hole” affair. Budget For Next Biennium Will Be Discussed Tomorrow The finance committee of the Board of Directors will meet in Beaumont tomorrow for a discus sion of the Texas A&M budget for the next biennium and to make plans for the general budget meet ing of the entire board to be held on May 30. Administrative officials attend ing the meeting include President Gilchrist, Dean F. C. Bolton, Bus iness Manager W. H. Holzmann and E. L. Angell. Graduating Seniors Meet Again Tonight Graduating seniors will meet to- nigh tat 7:00 in the YMCA for the purpose of naming a valedictorian from the 10 highest scholastics in the class, it has been announced. Two previous meetings that were dismissed of small attendance fail ed to name the traditional gradua tion day speaker and the meeting tonight will be the last attempt, it was stated. New Vet Group to Be Discussed at Ex- Servicemens Club The Board of Representatives of the A&M Ex-Servicemens club has announced that Mr. Fred Schmidt, Field Secretary of the Texas chapter of the American Veterans Committee will be pre sented at the clubs meeting Mon day night, May 20, 1946, at 7:00 PM in the Assembly hall. Mr. Schmidt, who was a Master Ser geant in the Ordinance Dept, and served in the Phillipines, will dis cuss the organization of the A VC, how it started, what it offers the World War II veteran and will take part in a free for all discus sion on veteran’s organizations. At present the A VC is organ ized on the A&M campus and has drive to begin with Mr. Schmidts’ address. Due to the consolidation of veterans on the A&M campus, (See VET GROUP Page 4) Grove Dance Area To Be Tripled Soon Bids have been asked for a pro posed $15,000 improvement in The Grove, popular out-of-doors dance spot on the campus and construc tion is expected to get underway soon, it has been, announced. The proposed improvements in clude enlarging the dancing area of the park by at least three-fold, constructing a new band shell large enough to accommodate large mus ical groups, building rest rooms and the erection of a new fence. The present facilities were con structed in 1942 with funds made available by the college. It was ap parent from the first that the area was entirely too small but war time restrictions have prevented any increase in the park until now. It is expected that constructon work will be completed in mid summer at which time a full pro gram for the utilization of The Grove will be launched. The new dancing area will be treated with a special finish to in sure smooth surface for dancing. If rubberized skate wheels can be obtained, it is expected that skat ing will be introduced on a wide scale at the new park. It is hoped that a projection booth can be in stalled to permit out-of-doors mo tion ^pictures. The improvements are being financed from the special funds made available by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation President Gibb Gilchrist for the improvement of campus receational facilities. Vets Own Books i If Course Grades Are Satisfactory May Sell Texts to Book Stores Under Certain Conditions, Birdwell Finds Who owns books used by veter ans this semester? According to Carl Birdwell, manager of The Ex change Store, a student who has satisfactorily completed a course becomes the owner of books and equipment used in that course. A recent clarification of conflicting directives from the Veterans Ad ministration clearly establishes the conditions of ownership. According to Mr. Birdwell’s in terpretation of the new directive, any book or piece of equipment is sued to a veteran student becomes the personal property of the stu dent when he has satisfactorily completed the course in which the book or piece of equipment was used. On this basis, the Exchange Store and the privately owned book stores in this community will, ef fective at once, offer to buy such books and equipment from veter ans, subject of course to the re spective stock needs of the stores. However, before a veteran of fers books or equipment for sale he should be sure of the follow ing: 1. That he has satisfactorily completed the course. 2. That the book or equipmeint will not be needed or required in any subsequent course he may take. No replacement order will be is sued by the office of Veterans Ad visor for any article sold and later needed in another course. One of our soldier-boy friends tells us he likes the shy, demure type of girl—the kind you have to whistle at twice.