Battalion Editorials
Page 2
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1953
Drop
Caused
In Enrollment
by Many Factors
A&M’s board of directors is wondering
why there was a drop in the transfer student
enrollment and the number of returning stu
dents from last year’s freshman class.
President David H. Morgan told the
board in its meeting Saturday that he be
lieved transfer students are avoiding A&M
because these students don’t feel they are
acceted in the student body. These words
could easily go down as the understatement
of the year.
Of course transfer students aren’t ac
cepted. They haven’t been since we can re
member, and under the present situation they
never will be.
This is hurting A&M. The school is suf
fering now from the situation; how much
more will it feel the pangs 10 years from now?
More and more julnior colleges are being
established in the state. They are flourish
ing in enrollment, and making great strides
in their educational systems. Four-year col
leges and universities already are depending a
great deal on men who spend their first two
years at an institution closer to home and
Demotion of Senior
Shows Contradiction
The demotion of Cadet Captain C. H.
Sepulveda, for not reporting his roommate’s
absence from drill formation, once again
brings to light one of A&M’s strangest con
tradictions.
Whichever action Sepulveda took would
have broken a strong A&M teaching. If he
had reported his roommate’s absence, he
would have violated the unwritten law of al
ways supporting a fellow class member.
By falsely reporting his roommate as
present, he violated the rule of always obey
ing military orders. Company commanders
are required to report any man in their units
who misses drill information. This law is in
writing.
Because Sepulveda broke the written law
doesn’t make the other any less important.
From the moment a cadet enters A&M,
he is taught to “stick with members of his
class.” He is taught that his class is the
best class. He is instructed that only by
“sticking” with his particular class can he
survive the torments of upperclassmen. A
cadet who violates this law may be ostracized.
Many students soon lose their own identity
to that of the mass.
This false sense of values is instilled by
other members of the student body. But
college officials allow its existence.
When the cadet becomes a senior, he is
suddenly given officers’ rank and told he has
responsibilities. These responsibilities may
cause him to have to violate the class rule
which the college has allowed to be instilled
in him.
A&,M has betrayed C. H. Sepulveda.
The college can not rightly punish him
as long as it supports this contradiction of
its policies.
one which offers an easier jump from high
school to college life.
A&M is on the verge of destroying all in
centive of these junior college graduates. One
recent example of this method of destruction
was the “senior boot episode.”
Another method is making a transfer
spend one semester as a freshman before as
suming his classification according to his ac
ademic record.
Still another is the general attitude in the
corps of cadets concerning these men. They
are considered inferior because they didn’t
enroll when the rest of their class did.
This last is probably one of our most ser
ious problems. Most other complications can
be cleared up by rule changes or resolutions,
but an attitude of the mind which the ma
jority of the corps holds certainly is not eas
ily changed.
Next there is the case of some 41 per
cent of last year’s freshmen who didn’t re
turn this year. Another significant fact is
that many of these students didn’t quit col
lege—they transferred to other schools.
The environment ? Maybe. Hazing ?
Possibly. Whatever the answer is, officials
hope to learn it from letters being written
to men in this group who were eligible to re
turn.
One factor which definitely contributes to
this drop is the fact that A&M has high aca
demic standards as well as a stiff extra-cur
ricular activity program. Yell practices,
drills, sign-making, outfit meetings — each
of these and many, many others, contribute
to the overall consumption of the freshman’s
time.
All-male college? This could be an an
swer, but it is unlikely that too many stu
dents from this group were affected by “no
coeds.” They knew when they enrolled how
A&M stood on this.
Cut in contracts? Most of the returning
students didn’t know too much about this
situation before coming back to school. But
some students could have learned of the pro
posed cut in ROTC contracts and decided it
wasn’t worth it to take four years of mili
tary training and then enter the service as
a private.
Two years as a freshman ? This is a very
commonly offered solution. And it is a good
one. No one wants to spend two years in any
college as the lowest ranking man in the
area.
The full answer probably will never be
found. Part of it is before us now, but the
many contributing factors often form an
entangled mass of facts and figures from
which no general conclusion can be made.
One significant fact which we can work
on has come out of these recent figures.
There was a rise in graduate school and new
student enrollment, but a drop in the others.
This means the drop occurred partially in
a group of men who have been to A&M. They
were here. They know what it is like. But
they didn’t stay.
Answers to these problems can be found
only by close study and observation. And
this must be done or A&M will continue to
suffer from a drop in enrollment.
At Other Colleges
Rice Oirl Knows
Plenty About Sex
By ED HOLDER
Battalion Co-Editor
A reporter on The Rice Thresher, Jonce Johnson, took it
upon herself to interview students on Kinsey’s report, “Sex
ual Behavior in the Human Female.”
The first person she talked to was a “very shy, sweet
looking girl of 18, who said, T have not read the Kinsey re
port, and I do not intend to read it. Why should I wade
through a book of that size when I already know more about
sex than any book could?’ ”—’Nuff said.
★ ★ ★
The University of Texas reports an increase of 1,000 in
their enrollment. The university now has close to 14,000
students. Their record came after the war when well over
17,000 were enrolled there.
But students at Texas aren’t as bothered over the mush
rooming enrollment figure as they are about their student
union building.
The Daily Texan reports an election on the matter coming
up Friday. It seems students will vote on raising the union
fee from $1 to $2. The money from this increase would be
used to improve the present building and hire architects to
make plans for further expansion.
Funds also would go for improving the program which
the union now carries on. The union pays for bands, speak
ers, coffee hours, game tournaments and many other activi
ties much the same as the Memorial Student Center does.
★ ★ ★
TCU has solved their student trees in the “spacious lobbies and
union problem. The TCU Skiff re- dining rooms.” A cafeteria seat-
ports work on their million-dollar ing 600 persons will be part of the
air-conditioned student union build- building, plus game and club
ing will begin in about a week. rooms, a book store, a suite of
Amos Melton, head of the TCU student congress offices, a TV
information services, says it will room and (get this) “bulletproof’
be “the swankiest place you ever windows—one inch thick—extend
saw.” ing the height of the lobby with a
Officials plan to have palm view of the football stadium.
★ ★ ★
The TCU Skiff has another story how to play a guitar. He bought
to tell, this one concerning player one a little while back, and he soon
who specializes in long runs on the will be on the road to competing
football field and singing hillbilly with Gene Autry, Hank Snow and
songs in his room in the athletic Lefty Frizell.
dorm. Students on the same floor of
His name is Danny Hallmark, his dorm just have one request,
but his friends call him “Country The Skiff reports, that “Country
Dan.” It seems Hallmark had an Dan” catches on fast to strumming
ambition since childhood to learn his geeeetar.
★ ★ ★
TSCW is all agog over a young ing on quickly to life in these Unit-
lady who just enrolled. She is the ed States.
wife of a student here at A&M, and The rule which she applies is,
hails from India. Mrs. Popat Tri- “The language and the methods
veni is there working on her MA are different but the same things
in sociology. are expressed. If you look down
j deep we are the same because all
Students at TSCW can t believe , , ,,
. . , , , • j i human nature is the same every-
a girl who has been married only w j lerc »
six months would leave her hus- W Her husband, who is teaching in
band to pursue an education. the chemistry department while
Mr. and Mrs. Triveni are from working on his PhD degree, says
Bombay, India. She was a teach- he “certainly will be very grateful
er there before leaving. for a ride to Denton with some one
Mrs. Triveni seems to be catch- on weekends.”
Board Approves
Ag Appointmenls
The following appointments and
promotions made by the director of
the Agricultural Experiment sta
tion were confirmed by the system
board of directors.
Agricultural engineering: Marc
G. Davenport, assistant professor;
agricultural information office,
Helen B. Scott, editorial assistant;
agronomy, Richard P. Bates, as
sistant agronomist and George A.
Niles, instructor, all replacements.
State chemist: Edward R. Ibert,
assistant chemist, Florence M.
Farr, Joan M. Parker, Louise W.
Stokes, LuJuana Crowell, techni
cal assistants, all replacements,
Christine J. Opersteny, steno
grapher and Glenda R. Merrill,
clerk, replacements.
Animal husbandry: Bessie L.
Smith, stenographer, bookkeeper,
replacement and Harold W.
Franke, beef cattle herdsman and
farm foreman, new position.
Biochemistry and nutrition:
James L. Livermaiq assistant pro
fessor; Bobby L. Reid, Thomas L.
Payne and Earl L. Grant, research
assistants, replacements.
Dairy husbandry. Janet C. Han
ley and Patricia J. McLeod, steno
graphers, replacements.
Entomology: Juanita I. Voyles
and Mary E. Timmerman, steno
graphers, replacements.
Feed Control: Tudye F. Leigh-
man, registration clerk, replace
ment.
Horticulture: Bobby W. Wilson,
technical assistant, Ernest R. Jen
sen, research assistant, replace-'
ments.
Main station farm: Ruth G.
Bankston, department secretary,
replacement.
Plant physiology and pathology:
Samuel P. Johnson, assistant pro
fessor, replacement.
Poultry husbandry: Willie P.
Krueger, assistant professor, Anna
M. Mayo and Betty J. Gossett,
technicians, Henry D. Thucm,
poultry supervisor, Ethel L. Mead,
stenographer - clerk, all replace
ments.
Veterinary medicine, Betty H.
Patterson, secretary, replacement.
Extension service: Patricia A.
Wilkening, Patsy Y. Jones and
Jean B. Kennedy, stenographers,
replacements.
Substation No. 9, Balmorhcad:
Eugene E. Eckols, assistant animal
husbandman, replacement.
Soil conservation investigations:
laboratory, Amarillo, Allen F.
(Sec-APPOINTMENTS, Page 4)
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Next to Campus Theater
A&M Officials
Preside at Meet
A&M college officials will pre
side at sessions of the 10th an
nual Texas Junior college confer
ence in the Memorial Student Cen
ter next Monday and Tuesday.
J, R. Bertrand, dean of the basic
division; J. P. Abbott, dean of the
college; M. T. Harrington, chan-
celor and W. L. Penberthy, dean
of men, will head sessions of the
conference.
James W. Reynolds, consultant
in junior college education, Uni
versity of Texas, will be chairman
of a panel discussion of student
publications.
The dean emeritus of the A&M
graduate school, Dr. T. Brooks,
will be chairman of a discussion on
promotion of the professional
growth of junior college personnel.
J. Anthony Hunt, president of
Howard county junior college, will
head the discussion on improve
ment of reading.
AGGIES!!
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Excellent Service
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Highway 21 West in Bryan City Limits
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The Battalion
Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Founder of Aggie Traditions
“Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman”
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BATTALION
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JERRY BENNETT, ED HOLDER.
Co-Editors
Chuck Neighbors Managing Editor
Harri Baker Campus Editor
Bob Boriskie Sports Editor
Jon Kinslow -——— City Editor
Jerry Estes - r ■ ■ .. ....Basic Division Editor
Bob Hendry Feature Editor
Barbara Rubin Society Editor
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