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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1947)
Minority Group Advocates Director-General A&M Administrative Officials Given ‘Clean Bill of Health’ A Director General of the A&M College System was proposed in the minority report of the joint senate-house legislative investiga ting committee submitted to the legislature on Friday June 7. The minority report was signed by Senator George Moffett, Rep resentative Searcy Bracewell and Representative Edward Hughes, all former A&M students. The report further recommended that the office of the President be concerned with education at the A&M College at College Station only. The report concluded that no facts had been introduced to sub stantiate charges promulgated by the Veteran Students Association. Administrative officials were given a clean bill of health on charges of misappropriation o f funds, malfeasance of office, and intimidation of subordinates. Complete Text of Report June 6, 1947 Sirs: We, members of your committee appointed to investigate the con ditions existing at the Agricultur al and Mechanical College of Texas, pursuant to Senate Concurrent Res olution Number 21, cannot concur with the majority report, and beg leave to report as follows: Preliminary Statement We have attempted a thorough inquiry into all phases of the pres ent situation at the A. & M. Col lege, as far as the time available would permit. It is indeed unfor tunate that this great institution, supported and maintained by the people of Texas, has experienced an atmosphere of unrest, openly evidenced, during the past few months. It is our sincere hope that such unrest may be overcome with the least possible delay, in order that the school may continue to enjoy the esteem and respect of the citizenship of the entire State and Nation. We have been aware of the deep feeling of loyalty to the institution, which is personified by all people connected with A. & M. College, and more especially the Ex-Stu- dents Associations and Mothers Clubs throughout the State, and herein express our appreciation for their interest, which we know springs from a sincere love for the college. We have further been aware of the intangible elements that have made A. & M. College an institution unique, in that on such campus there exists a “Spirit of Aggieland,” which is incompara ble to adequate description, but which has through the years been a source of inspiration in cement ing a spirit of brotherhood among A. & M. men. It has been with an earnest de sire to be of service to the people of Texas, and especially to those most interested in A. & M. College that we have undertaken this task. It is our hope and prayer that our humble efforts may have contrib uted in some small manner to the solution of the problems existing at this great institution, in order that it can continue its great serv ice to the State and Nation. Constitutional and Statutory Existence of A. & M. College The Agricultural and Mechani cal College of Texas is a land grant college created by an Act SUMMER FRESHNESS Cleaning—Pressing Alterations CAMPUS CLEANERS of the Legislature passed April 17, 1871. It was, by the Constitu tion of 1876, made a branch of The University of Texas. It is sup ported by the people of the State of Texas through taxation. The purpose of the school, as declared by Article 2608 of the Revised Civ il Statutes of Texas-1925 and as re quired by the Land Grant Act of Congress-July 2, 1862, is declared to be as follows: “The leading object of this College shall be, without ex cluding other scientific and clas sified studies, and including mil- i t a r y tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are re lated to agriculture and the me chanical arts, in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life.” The government of the A. & M. College is vested in a Board of Directors composed of nine per sons, which is empowered to “ap point the president and professors of the college and such other offi cers as, from time to time, they may think proper to keep the col lege in successful operation, and may from time to time abolish any office that is, in their judg ment, unnecessary” (Article 2613, Section 1, Revised Civil Statutes of 1925). The A. & M. College Board of Directors, and the President and Officers working under its super vision, have the jurisdiction and control of the following institu tions and agencies: 1. The Agricultural and Me chanical College of Texas, located at College Station. 2. The John Tarleton Agricul tural College, located at Ste- phenville. 3. The North Texas Junior Ag ricultural, Mechanical, and Industrial College, located at Arlington. 4. The Prairie View University, located at Prairie View. 5. The State Experiment Sta tion and allied activities. Findings (1) The unrest at A. & M. College is primarily a product of the times, born of post-war unset ^Vti a 10 £pot " HERE’S WHAT YOU DO—Send us a crazy shot featuring Pepsi Cola. We’ll select what we think are the three or four best “shots” every month. If yours is one of these, you get ten bucks. If it isn’t* you get a super-deluxe rejection slip for your files. AND—if you just sort of happen to send in a Pepsi-bottlecap with your “shot,” you get twenty bucks instead of ten, if we think your "shot” U one of the best. Addree#/College Dept*iPspsi'ColaCompar -' ' - * " ty.N.Y* Franchised Pepsi-Cola Bottlers from coast to coast. The Battalion Tuesday, June 10, 1947 Page 3 tlement, and an impatience in reversion to pre-war condi- tions. (2) A minor contributing cause has been the experimental ac tivities of the college authori ties in attempting to properly place disciplinary control. (3) A principal contributing cause (principally within the cadet corps) has been the renewal of an attempt to abolish all forms of hazing at A. & M. (4) A contributing cause has been the encouragement by outside persons, both at College Sta tion and Bryan, of some of the students to resist the consti tuted authority at A. & M. Col lege. (5) A contributing cause has been the lack of opportunity of the ■y Board of Directors of A. & M. College to thoroughly acquaint themselves with current stu dent problems and life on the campus of the college. (6) A contributing cause has been the failure of the President of A. & M. College and his ad ministration to command the full respect to which they should be entitled, when taking into consideration the unique nature of the institution. We wish to emphasize that the foregoing statement is in no sense a reflection upon the suc cessful administrative abilities of the President in other fields of endeavor. Conclusion (1) The present regulation of dis ciplinary control, i.e. admin istered through the office of the Commandant, appears to be the most satisfactory me thod, and we wish to take this opportunity to commend the present Commandant for hav ing definitely improved the discipline and morale of the Cadet Corps. (2) The attempt on the part of the Board of Directors and administrative authorities at the college to abolish all forms of hazing deserves the ap plause of the entire citizenship of the State of Texas. (3) After a thorough investiga tion, we conclude that the six (6) charges against the col lege administration, promul gated by the Veteran’s Stu dent Association, have no fac tual foundation, and the rep resentatives of such organiza tion have wholly failed to sub stantiate them. (4) We conclude that there has been no mis-application or misappropriation of funds nor , any malfeasance of office on the part of administrative of ficials of the college. (5) We conclude that there is no substantial basis for the charge that the members of the faculty of A. & M. Col lege are in any manner intim idated by the Administration, and there is no widespread un rest, anxiety or dissatisfaction among the members of the fac ulty of the college. (6) We conclude that it would be practically impossible for one person to adequately perform the duties, which are expected of the President of A. & M. College, from both an admin istrative and educational standpoint. (7) We conclude that the present members of the Board of Dir ectors are of the highest cal iber and have a sincere and genuine interest in being of service to A. & M. College, and we wish to take this op portunity to commend them for their unselfishness in the full discharge of their respon sibilities. Recommendations (1) That the Board of Directors of the college create the office of Director General of A. & M. College (name immaterial), re sponsible to the Board of Dir ectors and charged with the Administrative Supervision of the entire A. & M. system, divorced from supervision of educational curriculum. That the office of the President be reserved and maintained with its primary consideration, that of education at the A. & M. College at College Station only. This or some similar division of authority, we feel, would re lieve a great burden, which is almost insurmountable, i.e that of providing for the education al curriculum at A. & M. Col lege proper, and at the same time attempting to provide ad ministrative supervision for the other institutions, the ex tension service, and the exper iment station. (See Annex No. 1). (2) That an attempt be made to increase the clinical facili ties of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, by working out within the college system a reciprocal arrange ment for the care and treat ment of animals belonging to the college, by the students un der the supervision of their instructors. That an ambula tory clinic be considered as an additional method of obtain ing clinical material. (3) That the Board of Directors of A. & M. College review the military and faculty panel hearings, which have been heard since January 1, 1947, as the duly authorized appel late authorities with a view to ward determining whether or not constructive adjustments may be made. (4) That the administrative auth orities of A. & M. College en deavor to grant the student of ficers of the Cadet Corps all possible authority and respon sibility of regulating activities within such body, commensur ate and not inconsistent with the general policy of the school and the maintenance of discipline. (5) That the administrative auth orities of the college make ev ery effort to foster and main tain the beneficial traditions of A. & M. College. (6) That the administrative auth orities of A. & M. College con tinue their endeavor to abol ish hazing, with the view of eliminating as far as possible all violations of Article 1152 of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas. (7) That the Board of Directors attempt at all times to main tain officers of the highest type in the Military Depart ment of the College, and wish to take this opportunity to commend the present Com mandant as being an officer of such caliber. Second Group of Officers Arrive For CE Training Sixteen regular army Corps of Engineers officers reported here yesterday for a year of postgrad uate training in civil engineering. The contingent is the second sent here by the army, a pioneer group of 17 officers having received Mas ter of Science degrees from the college May 30. The incoming group of officers, all of field grade, includes the fol lowing: Lt. Cols. Thomas J. Bowen, John B. W. Corey, Lawrence M. Hoover, John H. Livingston, Bruce W. Rea gan, Charles S. Skillman, Parker 0. Stuart, and Francis J. Crown; and Majors Edward C. Bruce, Richard Delaney, Clyde T. Earnest, Herbert Richardson, William J. Talbott, John W. Van Hoy, David H. Woods, and John McClure. Geology Majors to Tour West Texas Twenty geology majors Will spend the first six weeks of this summer studying land and rock formations in the Marble Falls area, S. A. Lynch, head of the de partment of geology, has announ ced. Dr. J. J. Graham and Dr. Carl Lauson, members of the staff, will be in charge of the group. Marble Falls has been selected by the department of geology as the site for the camp because of the abundance of study material in that locality. Geological map ping, aerial photographs, and the structure and stratigraphy of rocks in that region will be studied by the juniors and seniors selected to make the trip. Tours also will be made through other parts of west Texas, includ ing Big Bend National Park, Mari- thon Basin, and the Alpine and Van Horn region. ALWAYS BETTER-BETTER ALL WAYS