Page 2
THE BATTALION
Wednesday, May 20, 1953
The AGGIE-Nizer Writes ‘Thirty’
Peaceful Consideration and Thought Get Results
By JOEL AUSTIN
Battalion Co-Editor Emeritus
A FEW WEEKS ago an angry letter-writer charg
ed the Goodwin Hall “vultures” would have the
last say, regardless of what he wrote.
If such is our privilege, then I
lam taking it. For with this column, I
[end my tenure as co-manager of a
j thought factory.
I I call it that because thought is
something the co-editors have strived
to promote on this campus during the
1 Ischool year. It wasn’t the contemp-
itible letter-writer or student who
wised off when I met him on the
campus that found the end of the as-
(sembly line in this plant.
Austin As usual, it was the man who
listened to an idea with respect, although he may
have disagreed. This man further investigated the
matter and reasoned the question instead of fol
lowing ideas voiced by buddies and acting as they
acted. If he still disagreed, he presented his object
ions in a sensible manner and sought to iron out the
differences, for fear he might have made a mistake.
It takes a terrible jolt for us to see how im
mature we can be at times, but certainly I am not
beyond the volatile, letter-writing class.
I became deeply angered about somthing I saw
in a large city newspaper concerning the Aggie foot
ball team last fall. Burning with anger, I typed out
a letter that made my head swim with pride. I show
ed it to everyone and bragged, “That should tell him
a thing or two.”
Another Letter
At the same time another person sat down to
his typewriter and peacefully composed a short, but
pleasant letter to the reporter of this same newspa
per. In it he mentioned certain points which he be
lieved were not completely correct and nicely ex
plained why the statements were wrong. He closed
his letter in a friendly manner saying he realized it
was an oversight and just wanted to call it to the
reporter’s attention.
I suffered because of the letter I wrote, but the
other fellow made a friend, one that should mean
much to him in their mutual profession.
I suffered not only mental humiliation, but I
knew others had an opportunity to read my letter
and to see some hastily prepared words written with
out the slightest consideration about circumstances
involved.
I learned a lesson in another big way, because I
had been receiving the same kind of letters and judg
ing most of them the same as he probably looked
upon mine.
A little thought and consideration can go a long
way. When people tackle their problems peacefully
they get results. When there is an air of comtempt
and bad feeling, they get results also, but usually
negative.
Many Opportunities To Think
Students at A&M have had many opportunities
to think this year. Not just in classes, however. Take
for instance the crucial Grievance Committee situa
tion. There were threats of “If they don’t give us
what we ask, then let’s see if they can run a icorps
without officers.” I heard a cadet lieutenant (who
wears the rank of two buttons) stand before the
Senior Class and say: “If they don’t grant our re
quests, then let’s ALL turn in OUR DIAMONDS.”
Yes, it’s usually those who have the least that
ask the most. And it’s usually those that do the least
amount of thinking that talk the longest.
The students pulled out of that situation. I think
it blew over mainly because they realized constituted
authority means something. And in many cases “per
sonal rights” mean nothing if there is a source of
.authority which instructs us to act differently.
Evidently someone was thinking.
The co-ed situation came about and many stu
dent talked of leaving the college if girls were al
lowed to attend classes here. Co-education may be
something of the future, I can’t predict that. But it
was rather evident at the time a great amount of
money would be required for A&M to become co
educational. And the economy-wise legislature isn’t
ready to appropriate thousands of dollars for an
overnight scheme by a Senator, who was really aim
ing his statements in a manner which would hurt
the college and possibly some of its administrators
who don’t see eye to eye with him on certain issues.
Eyes Finally Opened
It’s a shame students at A&M finally had their
eyes opened in such a costly manner as the Ross
Hall flooding. Without thinking, I’m sure, a few Ag
gies did thousands of dollars damage to furniture
and records. They were lucky the building was due
to be torn down, or there would have been many
more thousands of dollars needed to pay for repairs.
Someone did some thinking and realized such
stunts were foolish and in so doing they really hurt
no one but themselves.
The year is about over, and I know there are
many Aggies who will leave school much wiser and
much more capable of meeting the business world
because they have acquired a certain amount of rea
soning ability. But there will always be those who
like to let others do the thinking for them and act
spontaneously at the suggestion of another.
But here’s a word of advice I received from
someone long ago that’s helped a lot. “There’s no -
friend who is a true friend that cannot remain a
friend even if you differ in opinions.”
Not Always Correct
I certainly don’t begin to believe that comments
in The Battalion editorial column have always been
absolutely correct. Probably some of our editorials
and columns have been written without the proper
amount of thought. But it doesn’t take long for
someone to call our attention to a misspelled name or
the fact we 'Called the old Assembly Hall the old Main
Building.
I hope that if students at A&M get nothing
more out of their readership of The Battalion, they
will at least learn the lesson I did. It is always pos
sible for a person to make a mistake. A newspaper
man displays his thoughts so everyone may review
them. Most people keep theirs to themselves.
Remember to always look at the situation be
fore voicing your disapproval or approval. Why not
go to the source and talk to the writer personally if
if you disagree. He welcomes your viewpoint, and
you can both profit by the visit.
Hasty action gets little results. A kind word, a
smile, and you can go a long way—plus gain friends.
I have saved a clipping for quite sometime to
run in this column, which I knew I would eventually
write. I think it very applicable to this discussion.
Don’t Fear Criticism
The life of a newspaper editor is never dull nor boring-.
With each issue there is something new. After each issue
there are critics and admirers who have their say. And
that is as it should be for a free press.
And so we got a kick out of a clipping which is headed,
“Don’t Fear Criticism,” it says:
“The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball.
They fight no fights. They make no mistakes, because they
attempt nothing. Down in the arena are the doers. They
make mistakes because they attempt to try many things.
“Ford forgot to put a reverse gear in his first automo
bile. Edison once spent $2,000,000 on an invention which
proved of little value.
“The man who makes no mistakes lacks boldness and
the spirit of adventure. He is the one who tries anything.
He is the brake on the wheel of progress.
—THE MASONIC NEWS
Remembering Bishop Sheen’s statement
“You’re always the one who is out front when some
one kicks you in the rear,” I put the final “Thirty”
to a Battalion article after four school years and two
summer sessions of reporting.
The main thing that I believe will always keep
The Battalion alive isn’t the story on Page 1, or the
East Texas A&M Club on page 4, but is that in
tangible spirit and feeling that goes with expression
of thought on the editorial page. It is here that the
true worth of a newspaper can be determined.
Life at An American University
English Have Casual Approach to Study
MSC Council
PE
(This article is reprinted from
The Manchester Guardian. The
author, Kenneth H. Dawson, is a
graduate of the London School of
Economics who is doing a course
on American foreign policy at
Princeton. He finds American uni-
veristy life much more than “just
Oxford with an American accent,”
the differences go deeper, and re
flect national differences in the ap
proach to university education.—
The Editors.)
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY.
Dollarless Britons need only
glance through the passenger lists
of our transatlantic liners to dis
cover that one of the most impecu
nious sections of the population
is managing to beat the dollar
problem. Every year hundreds
of students from our leading uni
versities pack their bags for a
year’s study in the United States
under some international fund,
foundation or scholarship.
As they disembark at Manhat
tan, with suitcases conspicuously
labelled for Harvard, Yale, or
places farther ahead, one wonders
what impact they make upon
Americans, and what impact is
made upon them by the American
pattern of life. I can only speak
of the latter.
Getting Acclimated
Few things can be more enter
taining and yet baffling than the
process of adjustment to living at
an American university. Getting
“acclimated,” they call it here, with
the accent on the second syllable,
and if any strong impression re
mains at the end of the first six
months it is that “acclimatisation”
is a never-ending process.
Of course, we know that the
United States and Britain are
divided by a common language.
But one might have supposed that
after the first few weeks of get
ting used to crewcuts and cars, of
having afternoon “cokes” and
“cookies” instead of'tea and bis
cuits, and of mastering the college
“dating” system, one’s social ad
justments would be more or less
complete.
Oxford Gothic
“Princeton,” I was told by some
American friends before leaving
England, “is just Oxford with an
American accent.” The campus, to
be sure, is liberally spattered with
Oxford Gothic, and several monu
ments and seats have been given
by Oxford colleges. But in place of
gowns and bicycles are cars and
sweaters. And, when I thought of
the perils of crossing an English
College lawn, I was horrified to
see a car crossing the campus
grass in defiance of a notice say
ing “Give the grass a chance”.
No; the differences are deeper.
The inkling that this might be so
did not begin to dawn, curiously,
until the end of one of our politics
classes on Soviet Russia. “Here,
gentlemen,” said the professor, “is
a shoid super-basic minimum read
ing list. It contains two hundred
books, and if you wish to remain in
this institution you are strongly
recommended to read them!”
no one, to my knowledge, ever
tried. How should one treat this
book-list then ? Obviously as a
kind of guide, or even as a rather
clever kind of joke. That was it!
The second breath of disenchant
ment struck one September after
noon when a friend and I decided
to sacrifice a lecture to the ex
hilaration of a game of tennis.
“Smithy”, said a young man from
Wisconsin, pulling me aside after
wards, “Look here, let me give you
a tip. The professor wanted you
to answer a question on nationali
zation this afternoon, and if he
finds out that you were just play
ing tennis, you’ll flunk’ (fail) for
sure.” “Cutting” lectures is the
supreme sin, and for the visiting
Briton the first temptation is to
ask whether he is back at school.
Hi gh Pressure
Complete disenchantment set in Seniors May Obtain
when I discovered that there act- y.
ually were students ploughing Rank Certificates Now
Fortunately, the American pen
chant for going “all out” is car
ried over into activities other than
studying. The glee club, the news
paper and radio station, the co
operative store and the debating
society are features of nearly every
campus.
Alarming Zeal
The zeal displayed in their ver
sion of football is alarming. The
ball carrier is seized and thrown to
the gi-ound, as in Rugby. But while
Rugby football leaves several
members of the team with noth
ing to do. American football pro
vides occupation for all by pro
viding that every player is permit
ted to knock down any other play
er, whether he has the ball or not.
Twickenham must seem very tame
to the American!
Movies Regime
Having been brought up under a
regime of American movies which
distinctly showed American stu
dents spending the major part of
their time either “dating” or train
ing for the next Olympics, this
pronunciamento was shattering.
Not that I was unacquainted with
book-lists. At the London School of
Economics we were recommend
ed to read the whole library, but
this was so patently absured that
The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
“Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
The Battalion, official newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechan
ical College of Texas, is published by students four times a week, during
the regular school year. During the summer terms, and examination
and vacation periods, The Battalion is published twice a week. Days of
publications are Tuesday through Friday for the regular school year,
and Tuesday and Thursday during examination and vacation periods
and the summer terms. Subscription rates $6.00 per year or $.50 per
month. Advertising rates furnished on request.
Entered as second-class
matter at Post Office at
College Station. Texas
under the Act of Cbn-
gress of March 3, 1870.
Member of
The Associated Press
| Represented nationally by
National Advertising
Services, Inc., at New
York City, Chicago, Los
Angeles, and San Fran
cisco.
systematically through that book
list and sacrificing an occasional
night’s sleep to do it. My admir
ing conclusion is that American
students work twice as hard as
their English contemporaries.
The system is such that they
have to work intensively and con
tinually. There are reports to give,
weekly quizzes to answer, “crises”
and “deadlines” to meet, and mid
term and final examinations to
wade through. The student must
have a thousand streamlined facts
at his finger tips, and be able to
retail everything in answer to a
question like a bookie dispensing
the latest odds. He must scan the
scurrying fashions in ideas like
Paris dress designers watching
London.
How does the foreign student
react? He usually resists the stam
pede to work for a few weeks, but
sooner or later breaks down and
begins to go “all out.” Where does
It get one ?
Different Pattern
Now nothing is easier than for |
the Briton full of ideas of the
superiority of his own system to
set up the American university as
a glorious Aunt Sally to be shot to
pieces. But, firstly, there are enor
mous variations between the 1,800
or so colleges scattered around this
country. Secondly, we tend to ap
ply to the American university j
■deas of our own which have no
ielavance at all to the pattern of
American education.
For instance, one of the most
striking features about either Ox-
Cadet officers may receive their
Certificates of Cadet Commission
at the School of Military Science
Building.
(Continued from Page 1)
Gifts Committee and Awards
Committee members were approv
ed by the group upon the recom
mendation of Council President
Johnny Samuels.
Members of the Awards commit
tee are Samuels, Don Friend, vice
president of the council; Dr. Dial
Martin, faculty representative;
Ken Hall, student representative;
and J. Wayne Stark, MSC Direc-
to-r.—
Gift Committee
Gifts Committee members are
Jerry Moseley, chairman, Charles
Crawford, faculty, and J. B. (Dick)
Hervey, secretary of the Former
Students Association.
Members of the Nominating
Committee were approved. They
are Samuels, Friend, Charlie Park
er, student representative, and
Sam B. Southwell, faculty repre
sentative.
By-Laws Amended
An amendment to the By-Laws
concerning the Nominating Com
mittee made possible the appoint
ment of Friend. Previously there
was only one student on the com
mittee other than the president of
the Council, but the Council ap
proved the addition of another stu
dent.
Parker and Jules Vieaux were
appointed chairman, and vice chair
man for the summer program of
the MSC.
For First Time
“This is th® first time this has
been done, but with these men
available as leaders for this sum
mer, I think it is a wise move,”
said Samuels.
Appointments to the Executive
Committee were announced by the
president. They are Samuels,
Friend, C. A. Roeber, faculty rep
resentative, and Ken Hall, faculty
representative.
Constitution and By-Laws Com
mittee members also were an
nounced. They are Carroll Phil
lips, chairman, Hall, Dr. Alvin
Price, and a representative from
the Student Senate.
(Continued from Page 1)
ing, handball and officiating; find
Paul Andrews, baseball, softball,
volleyball and handball.
Assistant Professors Luke Har-
• rison, golf and tennis; Emil Mam-
aliga, weight training, diving and
golf; Instructors Jim Griffith,
wrestling; Larry Hayes, tenni'r
and golf; and Les Palmer, bowling.
The department offers a four-
year curriculum to PE majors and
it is approved by the Texas Edu
cation Agency.
Tishler, a native of Cleveland,
Ohio, became head of the depart
ment in 1047, received a BS de
gree in education from Ohio State
in 1926.
He spent two years at Berkley,
W. Va., in the public schools’ PE
department and served 14 years at
Western Reserve university in
Cleveland.
While at Western Reserve, he
received an MA in educational ad
ministration in 1935. He came to
A&M from WR in 1941.
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News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444 or 4-7604) or tries to make it a i^So,—
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JERRY BENNET, ED HOLDER
Harri Baker
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Co-Editors
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Today's Issue
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ea f y u during term time and to i
( a ch up on his reading during the
'acation. Nonchalance is the key
note. I
The American, on the other
hand, usually takes a job during
ouf .„' aca * l . on ’ an d has to go “all
on his academic work during
‘I"’ The P hilo s°Pher at Ox ,
-ord- who does bar-tending during
menon Catl ° n ** a le8endar5r pheno-