Battalion |<
EDITORIALS
antis Comes Home To Roost
Pag« 2
TUESDAY. JUNE 24. 1947
Living in the Past Is Not Enough...
if
Mr*
on mi arttrlr by H#nry
WrirU.n, frMkWnt, Brown
l| (Unirornlty)
Experiment is the life of science. Is A.
& M. ready for a major experiment in the
science of collegiate living?
The military system of housing has been
in use at this college for seventy-one years.
Sometimes it has worked well. At other
times it hasn't. Right now is one of those
times when it hasn't.
Last year the corps included only one
out of every four Aggies. The proportion
of cadets will undoubtedly increase slowly
during thwnext few years, but it will be some
time before cadets again outnumber veter
ans. It will be quite a while before all vet
erans are gone.
If the corps' own definition is used, every
one not a cadet is, in some measure, an “out
sider.” We have a whopping number of out-
sidders now. This list includes veterans,
transfers from our own junior colleges, trans
fers from other colleges, and the non-vet
eran—non-military group. What about these
"■MAM”?' ji
Most veterans are ex-cadets, and will
readily support the corps in any dispute. A
few veterans have returned to the corps.
Most, however, have taken the position, VWe
approve of the corps, but 1 darned if we’ll go
back in it." The questionable treatment
given transfers from A. A M.'e own junior
. colleges has already been discussed here.
Transfers from outside the A. A M. system
seldom have much to say, but there are quite
a few here. The non*vet«non*reg group is
small.
^ The school, however, still operates many
of Its activities orlmarlly for the Cadet Corps,
The senior and junior classes-—which Is to
say, the seniors and juniors in the corps -
are the final authority of many matters
which are the concern of the entire student
body. The veterans have been “cut In" on
certain activities, such as the co-editorships
of The Battalion apd the Longhorn. But in
• most cases, it is a fifty-fifty cut.
For instance, in the case of the Exchange
Store committee, representatives of the ap
proximate 6,000 veterans had the same vote
as the committeemen representing 1.500 ca
dets—and at the last meeting of the commit
tee, the corps representatives were actually
no longer in the corps!
Does that make sense?
/
The ex-cadet veterans have had no desire
to upset the apple-cart so far a# the corps is
concerned. But the fuaaes of kst semester,
on the part of both corps and veterans, have
made it necessary to review ti>e whole phi
losophy of life on the A. A M. campus. Corps
leaders have said that the corps cannot get
back to normal, cannot enforce military dis
cipline, aa long as the college is crowded with
veterans not subject to the same discipline.
If this is correct, might it not bf wise to sus
pend the military-college rating and change
temporarily to a civilian-college ROTC basis?
That's a big question, and a disturbing
one. It is not answerable by the protest,
“We’ve always been a military college!” If
such a step would improve conditions on the
A. A M. campus, even temporaifly, it should
be taken.
The reply might be made. "If the mili
tary-school system were dropped even tem
porarily, it would never be restored! No
school has ever gone back to military system
^fter dropping it!” If that is true, one must
ask “Why not?” If experiment proves the
civilian school basis to be better, then it
should be kept. If experiment indicates that
the merits of the military' system outweigh
the demerits, then the change*back should
certainly be made.
The protest might also l>e made. “Why,
if the military system were dropped, even
temporarily, next thing you know they would
allow co-eds on the campus!" We have never
been able to understand why ink presence of
co-ed* should be looked upon a| such a dis-
aster Other schools have thejn, and seem
to do alt right, Aggies take off every week
end to visit Austin or Huntsvlllr or Houston
where co-eds are to lie found. The only rea
son A. A M.'e main campus Is pot ro-educa-
tlonal now Is that there was no qlitce for girts
under the military system. (l|>w drab this
campus will look "after the veteran's wives
leave!)
During the years to come, tgany changes
will have to be made at A. AIM. A more
liberal curriculum is necessary| if our grad
uates are to compete successfully with men
Who have had a broader educatmn. To broad
en our educational basis and still not reduce
technical training, it may be necessary to
increase the number of five-ypars courses.
Will the military basis help or hinder these
changes?
Like all other institutions, A. A M. must
constantly improve, or slowly die. We must
not be afraid to break with thq past, if that
is the only way improvement can be made.
Degree Value Goaf Skins Too Odoriferous,
Down, as Mass Says Bedraggled Mountaineer
Education Ups
Future Depends on August 23...
A light vote among the people of Texas
on August 23 may mean the difference be
tween new and old facilities on the A. A M.
campus. Oh that day Texans will have their
say about the $60,000,000 building amend
ment to finance a 30-year building program
for A. A M., the University of Texas, and 14
other state-supported schools.
There is some opposition to the measure,
and a matter of a thousand votes might
mean a downfall of the bill for which 16
Texas colleges are awaiting the “go" signal.
The building program, Senate Joint Reso
lution 4, was passed by the senate during
the past legislature. Neither a new nor an .
additional tax it called for under the amend
ment. It is merely a reallocation of an ex
isting tax, under which the 16 state-sup-
ported schools will continue to progress.
If the vote is unfavorable, the schools
will deteriorate for lack of buHdlng and
InstruHlonal facilities.
A. A M, would tie permitted to issue,
$5,000,000 In bonds, and the University of
Ti’xai $ l n.ooo.ooo In bonds, payable out of
Income from the Invested portion of the per
manent university fund, an Income which
the two school* snare.
Aa for the other 14 iirhool*, the proposed
amendment assigns from the presently *n
thqrlied 7 cents per $100 valuation property
tag for Confederate pension nurposes a 5-
rent portion for a special funo to finance a
50-year building program. They would share
In revenue from the special 5-cent tax which
would be used to amortise a series of three
ten-year bond issues at each institution. The
revenue would be distributed proportionately
among the 14 colleges according to enroll
ment. and it is estimated that at least $45.-
000,000 would become available to these
schools in 30 years. For instance, North
Texas State College, s school of more than
4,500 students, will receive approximately
one-eighth of the $46,000,000 set aside for
the 14 schools.
Voters of Texas students, faculty mem
bers, ex-students, and residents of the com
munity—support this amendment on
gust 23. A. A M. is YOUR echool!
future of A. A M. depends on YOU!
Understatement
The following exchange of letteijk ia self-explan
atory We think the second letter takes the prise
for understatement, i These letters Appeared in the
London, England Express.)
I wrote to the Minister of Fuel Power: “Al
though not a Socialist I must congratulate you ami
C r colleagues on a remarkable achievement. In
than two years you have redua-d this country
to a state of coldness, starvation. aijM misery which
the submarines and armed might of Germany could
not do in aix years. ..."
I received this acknowledgement! “Mr. Shinwell
is very grateful for you kind message of encourage
ment, which ta much appreciated, fie has received
hundreds of similar letters from all (fver the country.
The rriais la severe, hut wv shall win through. Mary
Hughes, Little Ridge, Bilverstone, Ti)wrester, North
ants.''
— ■W 11 ■ « 1 " ■■■ ' wA »■ '■■m
Onr Muir* Creed . • .
The value er the importance at
tached u»tg 4afrn has reached
ridiculous stage in many fields
Thousands of students now attend
school solely
for the pur-
poae of obtain-
ing two or
three letters to
attach to the
end of their
name and
thereby serve
as the magic
past to the
better jobs.
This Is a
threat to real
Brace education
since it tends to convert colleges
into mass production industries
turning out degrees instead of in
stitutions where minds are en
larged, where real thiaking takes
place instead of rote memorisation,
and where desirable qualities of
character are developed.
The qualifications for the suc
cess in a given job cannot be mea
sured by a college degree. It does
n't even indicate that its possessor
has an adequate education. People
with determination and self-disci
pline get better educations than
those who cheat their way through,
or those who graduate and then
fail to follow up their education by
reading or practical work to devel
op their minds there after. The
value sn individual gets out of a
college rduostton is directly pro
portional to tha effort he puts Into
getting it.
Kduoatlousl esperienee means a
definite change In the whole out
look sml mental structure of a
pereon's life, A truly educated
msn lines not took wttn contempt
upon the msmisl laborer Bui the
man who seeks a degree eoiely be-
cause he wants to he a white eo|.
lar worker and" have callouses on
nieces Other than his hands, Is
headed for snobbery rather than
real education. This snobbery may
make a potentially skilled mechanic
into a very poor “engineer", a com
petent Into a had ranch-manager.
A
It la naive to believe that the
Bachelor of Arts degree or the
Bachelor of Science degree stands
for something specific, notwith
standing the specialized type of
work done ia colleges and univer
sities. The prestige of the Bache
lor of Arts degree is so great that
other more specific degrees tend
to disappear, and an A.B. is award
ed in many institutions for work
which has few or none of the ele- |
ments of s liberal art* education.
The situation ia similar for the |
Bachelor of Science degree.
ft is equally foolish to think that
degrees from all institutions are
fairly comparable, in spite of the |
fact that all may be "approved”,
‘certified”, or “accredited". A mul
titude believe that a degree is the I
result of 120 to 160 “semester
hours" of instruction. However,
this criterion only measures the |
number of time* that a student i
physically attended class and in
no way measures what entered |
his head. People of marginal men
tality and people of genius receive |
the same degrees, and the stan
dards of instruction vary so much
from one institution to another I
that, by itself, the degree means
absolutely nothing. The difference |
between the competence of a per
son who graduates at the bottom of I
his class in a poor institution and
that of a man who graduates at
the top of his class in a good in
stitution is so pronounced that the
degree gives no index of capacity.
One might **y with complete safe
ly that as the pursuit of college do- j
frees far the prestige they bring
becomes more general, the number
at degrees representing inferior |
By Ivsa Tsatia
Tourista riding along UB 64 between Tsoa and Raton New Mestea
art startled to see a shaggy, bearded creature clinging to the side of a
mountain. He chews vorariouely on dmimticka carved from living
bears, and when approached, snarls wild
ly and lumbers up the mountain till the
craws block him froi
He was not always thus. Only last
semester he attended A. A M ami lived
a quiet, sober life. For The Bstuhon
he turned out copy that the editors used
when in a pinch.
Then something snapped within hi
Ivan Yantis began winking at Casey's
waitresses. He took to driak and squan
dered his 666 on cards. His grades las
proved remarkably, but his refusal to bathe made him a persona non
grata at social gatherings. • Taking the broad hints offered him, he
rode his bicycle to New Mexico and began scaring the be jabbers out
of todriata
Every fortnight or so Ivan Yantis suffer* a lapse into normalcy
Oh freshly peeled and highly Odoriferous goat skins he scrawls some
more of what he considers deathless prose. The editors have a soft
spot in their hearts for Ivaa, knowing the same can happen to any
budding journalist, so they print the tripe hoping he may see it and
return to the drab, uneventful rut of life of before. The articles he
■ends, you will agree, smell as badly aa the goat skins, but we beg
your indulgence. It’s in a good cause.
In future issues of The Battalion Ivan Yantis’ articles- will
^ „ . lined in order that wives
of nervous caliber may avoid them,
any responsibility for the effect.
Yaatia
tion leng after forma! schooling la
• On* of the curse* of the de-
RMMrts ki that it tends te pat
an end to growt t. If “education"
with schooling, it rapidly
ris cannot supply InteUL
snd are Malted In their #f.
t unless the student ha* ver
bal aptIMM and Mams roatfMr*'
snd practically—/Toss baths. lair,
moos amounts t# expert mentation
dwrtag the war showed that some
MipS) nmh aa M^dMlARmim
Una. do not tofajk In symbols Hh*
words or nsmbsva, but <Mal very
effectively with con. n-te situations
The whole thbig bofla down te
Ate fhet that certain people should
bo training la college and othors
training In different wim. / Those
who are in college will get out of
It what they put in it( they won't
rain much if Qm* are alphabet
■palMg.t
•FH
The Battalion refases to accept
sonal qualifications pertinent to
success. Such qualities as indus
try, integrity, adaptability, and
capacty to get on with people do
not come automatically with a de
gree. Neither do courses in class
rooms offer a cure for laxiness,
slackness, inattention, or careless
ness. The first mentioned quali
ties are frequently more important
than the quantity of knowledge a
person carries in hie head.
Daspita the fact that a degree
can mean much or absolutely noth
ing, the requirement of a collage
degree is becoming so general aa to
stimulate a rush te college ia or
der to aequire the label. This
headlong rush ia not entirely the
fault of the Individual| the Feder-
al Government ia forcing many
through the eduoatlonal mill by
using the degree aa a yardstick by
whlen applicant* for the more tm
nt positions are measured,
re ia no surer way to make
bureaurrary a burden upon the
public than te put aymbola In ptar*
of realitr aa an indication of fit-
ncaa and to aet up formal require
ment* in place of aubotantiv*
achievement Government agen
cies are not unique in their In
sistence upon degrees. Journal
ism and banking are outstanding
examples of fields that make a fet
ish of letters after a man's name.
Teaching is one place where de
grees may be regarded as a proper
requirement, but even in this field
WATCH BAND
SALE
r
50f allowance for your old
metal watch band on a new
Expansion Band.
m
the fetish of degrees has sometimes
been carried to extremes. In many
colleges attainment of a master’s
or doctor’s degree results in an in
crease in pay; the outcome has
been such pressure on these de
grees that they have been virtually
destroyed as meaningful symbols.
★
Some learn more rapidly by «k
perienc* and observation, some
the us* of books, and some
laboratory techniques. Each
od la valid in particular cases, but
a general proscription la like a un
iform dtet for everybody, TH# e*a-
loot advtee to give anyone Is te
toko further tramlng, Though ex
perience ia * hard teuehgr, it M s
very offoctive one, and it has the
advantage of contisuing instrue*
YELLOW
PINK
WHITE
%
y oy ox-
some by
through
ch meta-
SEE OUR WINDOW
SANKEY PARK
JEWELER
111 N. Main
BRYAN
/J
twrtsr
There
Announcing
<■* Jf //
of the opening of
Ray’s Snack Jkr
For Your Summer Refreshments
Soda Fountain^Sandwiches
Swift"s Ice Cream
• fr i .i' • • t j
NEW MODERN EQUIPMENT
PROMPT and COURTEOUS SERVICE
R. A. BROERMAN, Prop.
North Gate
r.
tegrlty snd the culprit who chested
hi* way through
As said before, the possession of ]
a degree Is no indteation of ps
Ming Crosby was guesting on thp Vos I'op pro
gram several weeks ago, hut the ! performer who .
really stele the *how was an *4 y**# <4d gent from —halaillto aeeomplishment will In-
way down Mateo, s t>r roomte Forks Johnson crease,
ami Warren Moll, Interviewing the eountry doctor. Is addition, a degree h no hot
finally asked Mm to espialn hi* i>h|to»ophy of life ter moaaure of the character of the
"Well, M the old-timer started, real sehmaltsy pereon who receive# It then of Mfl
and t hit tie (this is not 100'* verbatim but It's close cumtwlenee the same degree ta
enough), "1 want te live my days I* such a way ao given to the oritolar and the social
that when 1 set the call to join, thq great majority climbs*, to a man of highest in
in the for beyond, t will he able to face my fellow
men and nay te each and all: 'You te Heir "
B. O. or A. A.?
> I
Until last week, life waa a fairhr simple affair. I
All we had te worry about was Pigk Tooth Brush,
the United Nations. Being Talier Than She Is, taxes.
Gingivitis, the recession, Five O'ClOck Shadow, the
Federal Budget. Queasy Stomach, tfie price of but
ter. dandruff, a new car, Halitosis, the new
gress. Clothespin Nose and 1946.
Then, one morning we picked ua the paper and I
there it was—Athletic Aroma. Wenelt a little bet
ter after reading the copy, though, for then we dis
covered that all we have to do to |>ok athletic and)
feel athletic (without smelling athletic) is to
Barbasol'a new Lotion Deordorant
—Printers Ink I
The Battalion
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural aad Mechanical College of T*
College Station. Texas, M published tri-weekly and escalated on Tuesday. Thursday, and'Saturday
noons, except during the summer when It te published eemi-weokly. Subscription rate 64 per school year
Advertising rates furnished oa request.
sad the City of I
after-
Offtoe el Cel Wo* SleUeo, Tesos. m
Set o# Ceeer— W Msreb ». 1STS.
bssockfed Gbfefticfe F*e»
••tad irttw sis te Men—si A4-1
teetem. tm~< et Pew Yerfc C*».
L— A—ta—. a»4 S— r—ttaM.
A D.
Jr..
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The prise light ring inspired
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Tuesday, Wt*dm*ndny,
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