Battalion Editorials
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1950 Page 5
Welcome to A&M, Class of ’54 . ..
Class of ’54 and transfer students we
are glad you chose to continue your edu
cation at our institution, which is now
your school, too.
We hope that you chose our school be
cause of some outstanding quality from
which you wanted to benefit. And now
that you are here, we hope that you will
discover many another outstanding qual
ity that will make your stay here a most
profitable and pleasant experience.
You may have already heard that you
are the first full Freshman Class since
1946 to be housed on the main campus.
And you may have heard, too, of our new
Basic Division of which you are now a
member. It is an organization dedicated
to help you and guide you into the chan
nels of learning and experience best suited
to your needs and your aptitudes.
We, the old returning students wel
come you, and wish you the best in your
college career.
There is a Great Year Ahead of Us . . .
In its colorful history, A&M has ex
perienced some highly eventful years, but
probably no other has promised so much
color, so many events, and so many prob
lems to solve as the one we are about to
begin.
Returning students are aware that the
year ahead is an important one and those
of you who are with us for the first time
will begin to realize its import before too
many weeks have passed.
Closest to the everyday lives of the
student body will be our new two million
dollar Memorial Student Center, which
opens some of its departments this week.
Someone has said that the MSC will be
like the living room of a house. It will be
interesting to note what the student body
does now that it has a living room added
to its house.
Another stimulant helping to make
this year an unusually active one, will be
the various activities of the seventy-fifth
anniversary celebration. As now planned,
the program will bring dignitaries from
over the nation to visit our campus during
the year.
These highlights added to the prospect
of a winning football team make the social
calendar for the coming year a bright one.
On the more serious side, the school
will be going into a year of new leader
ship, both in the presidential post and in
the office of his assistant^ the dean of the
college.
What Do You Know About
More students on this campus know
the dates various buildings were construc
ted than know how their student govern
ment functions. And each and every one
of these same students will say with con
viction that he is interested in the welfare
of his school.
Student government can do only as
much for the body it governs as that
body will make it do. And they can make
it do very little, if they fail to understand
its operation.
Every year a surprising number of
students, many of them seniors who
should have a thorough working knowl
edge of student governmental affairs,
! waken to find that student government
at A&M includes a great deal more than
i lass organizations. Indeed, class organ-
fzations often weigh least when important
ilecisions are to be made.
With new leadership usually come new
ideas, and with new ideas will come a chal
lenge to both the faculty and student
body to try new ways and means in the
continuous effort for improvement.
Academically, the college has added a
new department, that of the Basic Divis
ion, an organization dedicated to proper
guidance and counselling of the new stu
dent so that he may gain the most from
his college efforts. And directly connec
ted with the Basic Division is the return
of the Freshman student body to the cam
pus.
Of keener interest to the corps stu
dents will be those changes effected in
the cadet corps for this year. A new free
dom and choice never allowed at A&M will
be tried this year when students will get
somewhat of an option on military train
ing. For those who want military full
time the cadet corps will be available, and
for those who don’t care for such an active
program, a choice of living in civilian dor
mitories is being offered.
In almost every phase of activity,
something new will be going on this year.
Every student will be affected and people
even beyond the borders of the state will
hear of our activities.
There is heal promise of a great year
at A&M. We hope that you are as anxious
get into^ and become a part of it, as we
are.
"■ ■ -■ V' " \- | "
Student Government?. . .
On the right half of this page A&M’s
two house system of government and
other lesser governing groups are dis
cussed in detail. Throughout the year,
when it seems appropriate, The Battalion
will discuss these same groups again.
If you are one of those students who
claim an interest in the welfare of the col
lege, you can do a great deal toward mak
ing your ideas heard by getting acquaint
ed with your government.
To those of you who are here for the
first time this year ; we can suggest no
more valuable bit of campusology for you
to begin to learn than the functioning of
your student government
Your newspaper is going to keep itself
informed on student government. If you
can’t find the answers, we may be able to
find them for you.
The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Tradirions
"Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
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News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444) or at the editorial office, Room 201,
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Special Edition Staff
DEAN REED, L. 0. TIEDT Co-Editors
Frank N. Manitzas Sports Editor
Joel Austin City Editor
Frank Davis, Louise Jones, Bill Mebane Special Writers
Autrey Frederick I Advertising Manager
DAVE COSLETT, CLAYTON L. SELPH Co-Editors
John Whitmore, Dean Reed, L. O. Tiedt Managing Editors
Sid Abernathy Campus News Editor
Joel Austin City News Editor
Frank N. Manitzas Sports Editor
Life Committee and Senate . . .
A&M Has Bicameral
Student Government
By CHUCK CABANISS
Student government at A&M
has progressed greatly in the past
few years as increasingly demo
cratic agencies for student expres
sion have been created and streng
thened. The Student Senate was
organized in 1947 and the Con
stitution of the Student Body under
which the organization operates
was approved in the spring of
1948.
Shortly before the emergence of
the Senate the Student Life Com
mittee was re-organized along
broader, more representative lines,
and in the spring of 1949 the com
mittee was granted its first con
stitution by the administration of
the college.
During the 1949-50 school year
still another unit in the student
government came into existence
with the naming of the Memorial
Student Center Council by the
president of the college. The MSC
Council joined the Student Sen
ate, the Student Life Committee,
and the Athletic Council as the
college-wide agencies at A&M on
which the student body is repre
sented.
Functions of the Athletic Coun
cil, which governs the activities of
the Athletic Department, are ex
plained in a separate article in
the sports.
Student Life Committee
The Student Life Committee dur
ing 1949-50 strengthened its posi
tion as the “upper house” of the
A&M student government. Under
its constitution from the president
of the college, the committee is to
govern all matters pertaining to
student life. Current amendments
give the group authority to serve
as liaison unit between all other
student organizations and the col
lege administration and to act on
and forward any matters which
need approval of higher authorities.
The committee is to review and
make recommendations on all Stu
dent Senate business requiring the
action of higher authorities. Under
these amendments and an adopted
“student government channels”
chart, the group also is to act on
and forward matters of class busi
ness not within the jurisdiction of
the Student Senate but still of a
nature requiring the approval of
higher authorities.
Students Form Majority
The committee is composed of
eleven students and nine faculty
and staff members, the latter ap
pointed yearly by the president of
the college. Four student members
are elected by the Student Senate,
three student members are selected
in a general election by the non-
corps students, and the presidents
of the Senior and Junior Classes,
the colonel of the corps, and the co-
editors of The Battalion (who exer
cise only one vote between them)
are automatically members because
of the offices they hold.
The committee chairman is de
signated by the president of the
college, who also designates a non
voting executive secretary, and the
group elects one of its members
as parliamentarian. Among its
many duties, the committee distri
butes the Welfare and Recreation
Fund, selects Who’s Who award
winners, and supervises and grants
contracts for student publications.
Student Senate
The Student Senate is the high
est all-student unit in the A & M
student government. The Consti
tution of the Student Body auth
orizes it to govern in matters of
student affairs. The Senate cor
responds to the “lower house” of
the common legislature as its
members are elected by popular
vote in fall elections except for
the vice-presidents of the four
classes, who are automatically
members.
Of the remainder of its 43 mem
bers in 1949-50, 27 were elected
from a corresponding number of
dormitories and housing areas,
four by the students living in An
nex barracks, two by the day stu
dents, and five “at-large” by all
of the students. A total of 116 can
didates filed for Senate places in
the fall elections.
Officers of the Senate, elected
by the members, are a president,
secretary, and parliamentarian.
Constitutional amendments passed
at the final meeting of the group
add the office of vice-president
this fall. Another amendment pro
vides for nine non-voting, non-de
bating associate seats, three to be
filled by each of the lower classes,
to provide “experience” for addi
tional underclassmen.
TISA Officers
Subject to popular approval in
a special fall election, A&M offi
cers of the TISA (Texas Inter
collegiate Students Association)
will be given seats in the Senate
which would normally be filled
by senators-at-large. If approved,
a TISA committee to include any
current state officers from A&M
will function within the Senate
and will represent A&M in affairs
of the state organization.
Current TISA officers are Joe
Fuller, parliamentarian; Allan Eu
bank, executive vice-president, and
Charles Royalty, executive secre
tary. The latter two offices were
filled by the Senate since A&M
automatically receives them as the
host school for the 1950-51 TISA
convention.
Much of the work of the Senate
is done by its nine standing com
mittees, and a committee at least
makes recommendations concern
ing such matters as concern it.
Most important of the committees
is probably the four senator-group
which is elected to the Student
Life Committee. The four senators
act as a liaison between the two
groups but are not instructed how
to vote by the Senate, rather vot
ing individually on all matters.
Executive Committee Important
Second most important is the
executive committee which deter
mines the agenda items and
“guides” Senate business. The wel
coming committee which handles
relations with other student bodies
and the social committee which
participates in the selection of the
Aggie Sweetheart and designates
A&M representatives to social
functions of other Schools are next
most highly regarded.
Very important is the election
committee which handles all elec
tions except class ballotings. The
Exchange Store committee distri
butes Exchange Store profits
while the hospital and mess com
mittees determine and investigate
problems and make recommenda
tions for improvements in those
fields. The publicity committee
cooperates with regular media of
publicity in different phases of
Senate work.
Special committees include the
Campus Chest committee which di
rects the Campus Chest drive to
provide funds for the Twelfth Man
Scholarship, the WSSF, and a local
contingency fund; the traffic com
mittee which investigates campus
problems and recommends solu
tions to the administration, and
Job Clinic committee which coop
erates with the Placement Office
in work towards a local clinic.
MSC Council
A 16-member council was named
by President Frank C. Bolton in
February, 1950, as the first Mem
orial Student Center Council. The
group, which is to supervise MSC
activities, is responsible to the
Memorial Student Center Board
composed of five faculty and staff
members appointed by the presi
dent. This board is directly re
sponsible to the president.
The initial MSC Council was
appointed by the president and in
cluded eight students, five faculty
ntembers, two former A&M stu
dents, and the MSC director.
In his directive to the council the
president designated two principal
duties for the group:
• organization of all activities
and events concerned with the
MSC.
• drafting and submitting a
sonstitution under which the coun
cil will operate in carrying out its
objectives, including a basis by
which membership of the council
is maintained.
The council is not concerned
with the business operation of the
MSC, this function being carried
out by the director as a represen
tative of the administration.
Objectives of the MSC and its
governing council were listed as
follows:
• to provide a social and edu
cational program for students and
the college staff.
• to foster the social, cultural,
and spiritual phases of student life.
Social Opportunities
• to provide more adequate op
portunities for social and personal
contacts among students, former
students, faculty, and friends of
the college and of its students.
• to provide facilities for
meetings, short courses and con
ferences of citizens of the state and
of farm, business, industrial, cul
tural, and educational courses and
organizations, thus making the
Center a useful and helpful factor
and facility in the educational and
cultural life of Texas.
Current members whose terms
continue until the beginning of the
spring, 1951, semester include sen
iors Joe Fuller and Lavon Mas-
sengale, juniors R, A. Ingels and
Dan Davis, and sophomores J. T.
McNew and J. C. Wallace. Two
freshmen will be named this fall.
Chairman of the council is Dl:. J.
H. Quisenberry of the Poultry Hus
bandry Department.
Nine Get Degrees
Nine students from Bryan re
ceived their degrees at A&M’s
August 25 graduation.
School of Agriculture, bachelor
of science in agricultural admin
istration, Thomas John Arhopulos;
in animal husbandry, James R.
Vernon.
School of Arts and Sciences,
Bachelor of arts in liberal arts,
Joseph Cullen Frazier Jr.; Bach
elor of Science in business, John
Franklin Higgins; in chemistry,
Henry R. Grove.
School of Engineering, in civil
engineering, Walter J. Ware and
Fred E. Grothaus; in mechanical
engineering, James Camille Kouch-
ler Flannagan, Rex L. Hardaway;
in petroleum engineering, Rex L.
Hardaway.
HEY FELLAS - LOOK!
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50c
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Enchilada — Chili Gravy — Tortillas or
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BRING YOUR DATE . . .
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79c per yd.
The Fabric Shoppe
106 Main Street
Bryan, Texas
When You Want
a Real Treat,
Eat Out at the
LA SALLE
LaSalle Coffee Shop
tries to do just one
thing . . . give you good
food at prices you dan
afford. Try it! You’ll
be pleasantly surprised.
LaSalle Coffee Shop
Bryan, Texas
WELCOME AGGIES
WE INSURE EVERYTHING!
Come in and see us about your
insurance problems.
<w5]OI3a>
Burgess - Price
INSURANCE AGENCY
— Agents —
Herschel Burgess, ’29
Cotton Price, ’40
Lipscomb Pharmacy Building
PHONE 4-1232
College Station
New Imported Drawing Instruments:
■
'' ■ ......
p-
By
Grainercy Import Company
New York City
See this beautiful new set of drawing instruments
imported from Germany. On sale today at Shaffer’s
Book Store in a limited supply only. Get yours
right away.
SHAFFER’S
Book Store
North Gate — College Station