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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1947)
‘No Basis for Charges’, Committee Reports Charges made against the A&M College Administration by the Vet eran Students Association were without basis, the majority report of the Legislative investigating committee concluded in a written summary presented to members of both houses of the Legislature on Friday, June 6. The report charged that dis appointed, disgruntled and design ing persons took full advantage of student discontent over new hazing rules, to discredit the school ad ministration. According to the report, Dr. T. O. Walton, former President of A&M and presently Postmaster, Travis Bryan, banker in Bryan, and Del bert V. Schultz, Big Spring, have materially contributed to the pres ent student uprising by fomenting, counseling, advising and financing unrest and discontent among the student body. The committee termed Dr. Wal ton ’ s belittling of “constituted authority” as an extremely unfor- t u n a t e, not to say deplorable thing. A&M is not a sectional school and it should not belong to any particular group other than the taxpayers of Texas the committee further pointed out. The committee recommended that the Board of Directors investigate the possibility of a Chancellor for the A&M system. They point out that this is just a recommendation and that the Board has the sole authority to reject or adopt the recommendation. Signing the majority report were Senators Harris, Hardeman, Ram sey, Tynan; Representatives, Gil mer, Storey and Cox. Complete Text of the Report We, the Joint Legislative Com mittee apointed by virtue of S. C. R. 21 to investigate the “contro versy at Texas A. & M. College and to inquire fully into all matters of disagreement between the student body and the administration and any violations of law or of state policy by anyone connected with Texas A. & M. College or the stu dents of said college and the mis use of any authority on the part of anyone on the staff of Texas A. & M. College, or any misconduct or resistance to constituted auth ority on the part of the students and to inquire fully into all alle gations made against the admin istration of the college, touching any of its administrative officers, staff or faculty, by any person,” pursuant thereto beg leave to sub mit the following report: STATEMENT The Committee convened and organized on April 3, 1947, select ing Hon. Fred R. Harris and Hon. Claude H. Gilmer, Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively. An investigator and a reporter were employed. Extensive documentary e v i - dence, statements and records were admitted and considered by the Committee. Approximately 44 hours were consumed in the actual examination of witnesses, comprising approximately 1500 pages, and much more time was spent in studying the evidence, in deliberating thereon, and in preparing the report. Hearings were conducted both in Austin and in College Station and, in the main, were open to the pub lic. Executive sessions were held, however, at the specific request of the officers of the Veterans Stu dents Association for the purpose of hearing testimony of certain des ignated faculty members concern ing their charge of “coercion’ dur ess and intimidation of faculty members and students”. MATTERS INVESTIGATED A. General charges 1. Official corruption of admin istration. 2. Misappropriation of public funds by administration. 3. “Ineptness” of, administra tion^ 4. Coercion and intimidation of faculty members and stu dents. 5. Excessive room rental and dining hall charges. 6. Controlled publicity. 7. C o s t of administration of Dean of Men’s office. B. Specific questions propounded by Veteran Students Association. 1. What happened to a fund es tablished prior to 1943 for a new classroom and laboratory building to augment the Science Hall, and why hasn’t construction started on the building? This fund was in the amount of approximately $200,000. 2. What was the basis of the purchase of a Brazos River Bot tom farm at approximately $78 per acre when adjacent farm land was, and still is, selling at approx imately $60 an acre ? 3. Why should the College Ex change Store, located here on state- owned property be permitted to make a net profit last year of $54,- 000 at the expense of the individ ual student and the Federal Gov ernment ? 4. Why is the $100,000 wind-tun nel located at Easterwood Air Field not in operation? Why was the survey and subsequent recom mendation by Dr. A. A. Potter, of Purdue University, to spend not over $25,000 on a wind tunnel ig nored ? 5. Why did President Gilchrist refuse to accept the outright gift of Bryan Army Air Field from the Federal Government for the use of the Aeronautical Engineering De partment ? 6. Why doesn’t Texas A. & M. have a definite tenure system for right of appeal for its faculty members ? FINDINGS 1. The A. & M. College of Texas is a constitutional, tax-supported institution of the State. (Art. VII Sec. 13, Const. 1876). 2. The sole governing authority of the College is vested in a Board of Directors composed of nine mem bers apointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (Art. IV. Sec. 12; Art. 2610 R.C.S. Texas 1925). 3. The duties of the Board of Directors are fixed by statute. (Art. 2613 R.C.S. Texas, 1925). 4. Seven of the current Board of Directors are ex-students of A. & M. College and 3 therefore have served as President of the Ex-Stu dents Association of A. & M. Col lege. 5. There was no evidence of any official corruption of or by the administration or the Presi dent. 6. There was no evidence of any misapplication or misappro priation of any funds of the Col lege by anyone. 7. There was no evidence of any “ineptness” in the school administration. 8. There was no evidence of any coercion, intimidation or dur ess of either students or faculty or staff members. 9. The rental charged for rooms was reasonable and necessary and in compliance with the law for the retirement of outstanding revenue bonds. (Art. 2613a-l, 2613a-4, R. C. S. Texas, 1925). 10. The food in the dining hall was of good quality, well-prepared, and of sufficient quantity and the cost thereof was not excessive. 11. There was no evidence of “controlled” publicity on the part of the administration. 12. The cost of operation of the office of the Dean of Men was not increased for the performance of the same work done by the Commandant’s office; however, ad ditional duties assigned there to necessitated an overall increase in expenditures. 13. The fund of aproximately $200,000.00 created for the con struction of a Science Hall was properly handled and its dispo sition satisfactorily explained. 14. The Brazos River Bottom Farm was purchased on the recom mendation of Dean E. J. Kyle pri or to the present administration and the current price of land in the vicinity is in excess of $75 per acre and not $60 as charged. 15. The College Exchange Store did a gross business of approxi mately $360,000.00 and made a pro fit of approximately $54,000.00 thereon or about 15%. A faculty- student council, the student mem bers being selected by the students at large, were consulted and sub mitted recommendations thereon and whose recommendations were followed by the management of the Exchange Store and the profit therefrom was disbursed as fol lows: $19,004.64 retained by the store for operating margin; $3,863.21 set up to pay a 10% dividend to students whose sales slips were signed and deposited; $8,036.26 transferred to student recreational fund; $24,108.81 transferred to the Union Building operating fund. 16. (a) The wind tunnel has not been in operation because of un availability of certain electric mo tors and equipment. (b) The administration o f former President T. O. Wal ton sought and obtained an appropriation of $60,000.00 from the Legislature in May 1943 for construction of a wind tunnel. (Acts 1943 Cr. 300, p. 784). (c) The recommendation of Dr. Potter regarding the wind tunnel was substantially that only the sum of $15,000 to $25,00 should be spent for in structional purposes unless it was expected to spend as much as $1,000,000.00 for construction of a wind tun nel. 17. There was no offer or tender of Bryan Army Air Field at any time by the Federal Government to A. & M. College or the State for the use of the Aeronautical Engi neering Department. 18. A. & M. College has a tenure system and right of appeal for any aggrieved faculty members. 19. Former President T. O. Wal ton recommended the appointment of Mr. Gibb Gilchrist as Dean of the School of Engineering in 1937. 20. The Board of Directors unan imously directed the promulgation of a “Basic Policy” for the conduct of all personnel at the A. & M. College in the early part of 1947. 21. The promulgation and en forcement of rules and regulations, including the Articles of the Cadet Corps, pursuant to the Basic Pol icy resulted in a limited student up rising or revolt. 22. There have been recurring student “strikes, uprisings, static or revolts” at A. & M. College at intervals and in varying degrees of intensity, primarily over the mat ter of enforcing the law prohibit ing various hazing practices. 23. The banning of various hazing practices is the prime fac tor contributing to the student unrest because of imagined “in terference” with so-called “tradi tions”. 24. That hazing is condemned and prohibited by the penal stat utes of Texas in A. & M. College, as well as in all other state sup ported schools, and the violation thereof constitutes an offense pun ishable as provided by law. (Art. 1152-1155 P. C. Texas, 1925). 25. It is the duty of the Board of Directors and the school auth orities to enforce the laws of Texas, as well as the rules prescribed by the Board of Directors pursuant to law. (Const. Art. XVI, Sec. 1). 26. Hazing practices indulged in at the college forced some 75 stu dents to retire or withdraw from school and caused others to suffer physical injuries of a more or less permanent nature and subjected the victims to numerous indigni ties in contravention of both law and common decency. 27. It is the duty of the students and other personnel of the College to obey the laws of Texas, as well as the rules prescribed by the Board of Directors and promulga ted by the administration with the Board’s approval. 28. Reasonable rules and regu lations prescribed and promulgated by the Board pursuant to law have all the force and effect of law in sofar as those under their jurisdic tion are concerned. 29. The School of Veterinary Medicine has not been removed from the accredited list of the American Veterinary Association. 30. The School of Chemistry was removed from the list of schools approved by the American Chem istry Society in December, 1946. 31. The Blue Star Award for military efficiency was not earned by the Cadet Corps in 1946. 32. Certain outside influences, namely, Mr. T. O. Walton, form er President of A- & M. and pres ently Postmaster at College Sta tion, Mr. Travis Bryan, banker at Bryan, Texas, and Mr. Delbert V. Schultz, Big Spring, Texas, have materially contributed to the present student uprising by fomenting, counseling, advising and financing unrest and discon tent among the student body. 33. The morale of the vast ma jority of both veteran students and cadets, as well as staff members is the highest in the history of the College, and the academic accom plishments of the vast majority of the students are satisfactory. 34. The activities of the Col lege are being administered in a businesslike and efficient man ner and its fiscal affairs are in excellent condition. 35. The College has the largest enrollment in its history and is at tended by students whose courses were 'interrupted by service in the armed "forces of their country and whose marital status, in many in stances, has changed, and together with crowded conditions and the high cost of living, has thus con tributed, unwittingly, perhaps, to the general unrest of the present period of transition from a great school to a greater school. COMMENTS Careful consideration of the vol uminous record of the investigation clearly supports the foregoing findings. While many of the charges were vague and indefinite, yet some spe cific accusations were made and queries propounded which have been thoroughly studied in the light of the evidence. The complete absence of any testimony worthy of considera tion of official corruption or mis appropriation of any funds by the administration or ineptness of administration is noteworthy. On the contrary, the State audi tor’s official reports, as well as the College Comptroller’s rec ords, indicate the efficient and businesslike conduct of the ad ministrative and fiscal affairs of the main College and its far- flung activities. Testimony of staff and faculty members, who were summoned at the direct instance of the Veteran Students Association, and heard in executive session, also at the re quest of the Veteran Students As sociation, was unequivocally to the effect that there was no coercion or intimidation on the part of the administration toward them or either of them or toward anyone else of whom they knew. This was one of the general charges of which there was not a scintilla of evi dence to support. The room rental of which com plaint was made was shown to have been fixed at a sufficient a- mount, based upon the number of occupants, to discharge the interest and sinking fund requirements of Revenue Bonds out of the proceeds of which the dormitories had been constructed. There was no other source of income available for the retirement of such bonds and it was statutory that there should be none. In order to preserve and maintain the credit of the institu tion it was necessary to make such charges. In this connection it should be borne in mind by the cit izens of Texas that as taxpayers they are under no obligation to furnish board, room and clothing to those availing themselves of the educational facilities afforded by a generous State governement. Likewise, the charges for food in the dining halls should be of suf ficient amount to operate it on a paying basis. The uncontradicted evidence is to the effect that there was no form of censorship or “controlled publicity” maintained by the ad ministration. Two instances were attempted to be cited showing such, namely, that an item in the Dallas News indicated the unanimous se lection of Mr. Gilchrist as Presi dent by the Board and the other to the effect that a radio commen tator in either Dallas or San Anto nio disclosed that a meeting of vet erans was to be held to discuss haz ing and other important matters. Such are rather inconsequential since the newspaper and radio were operating entirely independ ent of the college and owned by private interests and could hardly be calculated to provoke serious consideration. The Director of Publicity and In formation of the College testified that he had never been told by higher authority what to print or when and that he had never under taken to censor any items. The co-editor of “The Battalion”, the College paper, testified of his abso lute freedom in the publishing and preparing of its editorials, thus clearly refuting such charge. The evidence showed that the Board of Directors and the admin istration early began to take steps to eliminate hazing. The matter of discipline was transferred to a new ly-created office of Dean of Men. (See NO BASIS on Page 2) Texas A. & M. College The Battalion HalS ■mm. VOLUME 47 COLLEGE STATION (Aggieland), TEXAS, TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 1947 Number 1 Election of Six YSA Officers Slated Next Week; Filing Deadline Thursday Six veteran officers will be elected the early part of next week, the election committee announced at the end of last semester. Positions will include president, vice-president, secretary, treas urer, sergeant-at-arms, and parliamentarian. Veterans wishing to become candidates for any of the above positions can file in the Student Activities Office until noon, Thursday, June 12. As stated in the constitution of the Veteran Students Asso ciation, officers “shall be elected to serve a term of one regular semester”; two summer sessions are considered as one senester. Recreation Council Announces Program of Summer Activities ^ At the May meeting of the College Station IRecreation Council, a report on summer activitties was madjf. Included on the summer program will be junior and senior softball; rifle marksmanship; swimming for beginning, iiatermediate, and anvanced students; a civic music organization; commun ity picnicking; square dancing and instruction; golf instruc tion; and arts and craft work. Six teams have been formed in4 senior baseball and there will be three games played each week. The first game was played yesterday, and each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday hereafter, games will be played on the College Hills and College Park diamonds. Team managers are W. R. Horsley, Cubs; C. W. “Bill” Manning, Indians; Carl Tishler, Giants; C. O. Spriggs, Yanks; Roy Garrett, Pirates; and Ralph Steen, Tigers. Mrs. R. B. Hickerson, chairman of the rifle marksmanship commit tee, announced that six rifles have been bought and turned over to the rifle marksmanship coach. Boys’ classes will meet Saturday at 1 p.m., and girls’ classes will meet Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. Registration for swimming clas ses began today and will continue through Thursday. At the time of registration each registrant will be charged $2 to pay for the use of the pool, to pay for awards, and to send outstanding students to out- of-tow nmeets. Local residents possessing musi cal ability will be able to partici pate in the civic band under the direction of H. W. Barlow. Tech nical direct© rof musicalaffalrs will be Bill Turner. On June 17, July 16, and Au gust 14, community picnics will be held, Gordon Gay, chairman of this commitee, reported. Every one is invited to come out and bring his family and friends to the Grove fo rthese outings. There will be softball games, skating for both youngsters and adults, and possibly movies and dancing. Square dance committee chair man, Mannings Smith, reports that the classes held on the Slab were (See RECREATION on Page 6) Summer Enrollment Sets New Record There have been 3696 students registered for the first term of summer school to set an all time record in number of enrollments for a Summer Session. On Sat urday, May 31, 2869 students en rolled and yesterday, June 9, 827 more were signed up. Appropriation of $5 Million to A&M Granted Under Bill 246 The main division of A. & M. College will receive an appropria tion of $4,980,182 for the ensuing biennium, under the provisions of House Bill 246 which became a law as Governor Beauford Jester affixed his signature on June 4. The bill, which contained the ap propriations for all state-suppor ted colleges and universities, to talled $45,447,646, and is th^ lar- ' nr ' ' ★ By The Battalion Staff Correspondents gest grant that has been made for higher education in the state’s history. House Bill 246 passed both houses of the legislature on June 2. It gives A. & M. the largest legisla tive appropriation that it has ever received. A. & M. officials were ★ State Schools Ask Support Of Building Plan Amendment Administrators of 16 state-supported colleges and uni versities, including A. & M. and the University of Texas, Saturday urged all friends of education in Texas to vote fav orably next August 23 on the proposed constitutional amend ment which would enable the> schools to launch a thirty-year building program and equipment purchasing program without an in crease in taxes. The constitutional amendment is proposed in Senate Joint Resolu tion Number 4, passed by the Fif tieth Legislature and approved by Governor Beauford Jester last May. College presidents, board mem bers, and representatives of alumni organizations and other meetings who met in Waco Saturday gave the proposed change strong en dorsement. They said it constitu ted “a fair, equitable, co-ordinated plan for financing the building and permanent equipment needs of the several participating schools for the next thirty years.” Overcrowded conditions and the “imperative” nee dto expand their physical facilities made the passage of the amendment “a public neces sity,” they agreed. Provisions of Amendment In brief the provisions of the proposed amendment are: 1. Assigning from the presently authorized 7$ per $100 valuation property tax for Confederate pen sion purposes a 5tf portion for a special fund for the 30-year build ing program for A. & M„ and the University. 2. Reduction from 35^ to 30$ per $100 valuation the maximum prop erty tax that may be levied for state general fund support. 3. A. & M. would be permitted to issue $5,000,000 in bonds and the University $10,000,000 in bonds payable out of income from the in vested portion of the permanent university fund which income these two schools share. 4. The other 14 institutions would share in revenue from the special 5$ tax which would be used to amortize a series of three ten-year bond issues at each institution. The revenue would be distributed proportionately among the other 14 schools on the basis of enroll- (See STATE SCHOOLS on Page 6) jubilant over the passage of the appropriation bill. For them, it meant the end of a hard, uphill fight which had been made more difficult by people who had been counted on for aid. The Battalion correspondents thought that they had lost their eyesight when on the voting board in the House of Representatives, they saw a no-vote flash by the name of Representative W. T. Moore of Brazos County as House Bill 246 (College Appropriation Bill) came up for a vote. To be sure that a mistake had not been made, they rushed from the gallery and talked to a member of the House Appropriations Com mittee. He related how Repre sentative Moore had attempted to cut A. & M.’s appropriation. Ac cording to this representative, Mr. Moore had opposed many research provisions in the appropriation bill; he had, while serving on a sub committee, attempted to cut the salaries of A. & M. professors by name. The Battalion correspondents asked what basis Mr. Moore was using in recommending salary cuts for professors at A. & M. This member said he thought Moore was using some sort of list. Adminis tration members bluntly stated that they had never furnished Moore with a list of professors whose sal aries they wanted cut. Mr. Moore, according to this member, had openly opposed the lump sum appropriation, which had been loudly acclaimed by lead ers of all state schools. It was designed to give governing boards leeway to use funds to the fullest advantage. State College Amounts Following are amounts allocated each of the state’s colleges, for the (See APPROPRIATIONS on Page 6) Summer Battalion Staff Announced; Workers Needed By Charlie Murray This summer The Battalion will be a semi-weekly publication, cir culated every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. In previous years the summer Batt has been published weekly, except during the three- semester-a-year speed-up program. Charlie Murray, veteran student from Eagle Pass, will edit the pa per, with David M. Seligman, navy veteran architect student from Ed na, serving as associate editor. Managing editor for the Tuesday issue will be Richard I. Alterman, Charlie Murray Editor Maurice Howell Advertising Manager Bill Brown Advertising Manager who hails from San Antonio. He is an electrical engineering sopho more. As yet a managing editor for the Friday issue has not been appointed. D. W. Springer Circulation Manager In charge of circulation will be D. W. Springer, an Architectural Education major of Midlothian. Maurice T. Howell, also a veteran Agricultural Education major, and Bill Brown, pre-med. student from Cleburne, will serve as advertising managers. Since a daily Battalion is plan ned for the September term, in terested students are needed to work on the paper. At least five paying offices will be available during the fall term, and this sum mer will be the best time to gain experience. Students with the intellectual curiosity to gain writing experi ence and to learn fundamentals of newspaper editing and make up, are requested to meet at 7 p.m., Wednesday, in The Battal ion office, Room 3, Administra tion Building. In the past co-eds attending A. & M. during the summer terms have participated on The Battalion staff, a practice which will be con tinued. All interested co-eds are also invited to meet Wednesday af ternoon in The Batt office. Married veterans who do not live in dormitories should go by the Student Activities Office to leave their mailing addresses for the summer Battalion.