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DYERS-FUR STORAGE HATTERS
Students . . . Use Our Convenient Pick Up Stations
At Taylor’s Variety Store — North Gate
On Campos
with v
MsxStoJman
(Author of “Barefoot Boy With Cheek,” etc.)
THE OPERATOR
On every American campus there are four standard fixtures:
No. 1—ivy; No. 2 —a statue of the founder; No. 3 — Philip Morris
Cigarettes; No. 4 — The Operator.
The ivy is to prevent strangers from mistaking the college for
a warehouse. The statue of the founder provides shade for necking
when the weather is fine. The Philip Morris Cigarettes are an aid
to concentration when you are studious, an aid to sociability when
you are sportive, and a source of smoke rings to impress new girls
. „ . And The Operator is the man you can’t do without.
Well do I remember The Operator on my campus. He was a young
man with a'ready smile, a quick mind, fifteen complete changes of
wardrobe, a six room apartment, a red convertible, and assorted
stocks, bonds, securities, and second mortgages.
The Operator’s origins were a source of lively speculation. Some
said he was left over from the old Capone gang. Some said he was
Judge Crater. Some said he sprang from the brow of Zeus.
But, in fact, he was just an ordinary student — to begin with. In
his first year he studied hard, took copious lecture notes, got good
grades, and made a big reputation as a friend in need. He’d lend
you money; he’d let you copy his lecture notes; he’d write themes
for you; he’d sit up all night to help you cram for an exam. All of
this was done with infinite good nature on his part, and no obligation
on yours . . . The first year, that is.
In the second year The Operator started to operate. He’d still let
you copy his lecture notes — but it cost you a quarter. Sitting up to
help you cram cost 50 cents an hour till midnight, 75 cents an hour
afterwards. His prices for writing themes were based on a sliding
scale — a dollar for a “C”, two for a “B”, three for an “A”. A “D”
cost you nothing, and if you flunked, you got a dollar credit on the
next theme he wrote for you. , ,
His services expanded steadily. He added a line of cribs for
examinations. He booked bets on football games. He did a bit of
bootlegging. He ran a date bureau. He rented cars, tuxedos, non-wilt
ing boutonnieres. ,
But all of these were really sidelines. His main line was lending
money. At any hour of the day or night, for any amount from a dollar
to a hundred, The Operator was always ready with a sympathetic
ear and cash on the barrelhead. And he rarely charged more than
150 percent interest.
Usury and sharp trading are practices not calculated to win
affection. Nobody loved The Operator. But nobody did anything
about it either . . . Because undergraduates live in a perpetual state
of need — need of money, need of lecture notes, need of romance,
need of beer, need of something— and The Operator was the goose
that laid the golden eggs and, therefore, safe.
Nor did The Operator seek affection. He just went his well-
heeled way, serene and carefree . . . No, not quite carefree. One
thing troubled him: a fear that some day he might graduate. Gradu
ation, leaving school, would mean the end of his empire. You can’t
run a business like that from the outside; you must be right in the
midst of things, spotting opportunities, anticipating needs, keeping
your finger on the public pulse.
So he took great pains to stay in school, but never to graduate.
This he accomplished by constantly shifting majors. He would come
within a semester of getting a B.A. in sociology and then transfer
to law. When he had nearly enough law credits, he’d switch to
business administration. Then from business administration to
psychology, from psychology to French, from French to history,
and so on, meanwhile getting cultured as all get-out, rich as Croesus,
and never accumulating quite enough credits for a degree.
Finally, of course, it caught up with him. There came a semester
when no matter what he took, he had to wind up with some kind of
a degree. He looked frantically through the class schedule trying to
find some major he hadn’t tried yet. And he found one — physical
education. So, sleek and pudgy though he was from high living, The
Operator entered the department of physical ed.
It was a mistake. Among the people he had to wrestle and box
with were some great hulking fellows who, like everybody else on
campus, owed him money.
Their tiny foreheads creased with glee as they regarded The
Operator’s trembling little body; their missive biceps swelled joy
ously; their flexors rippled with delight. Rumbling happily, they
fell upon him and covered him with lumps, the smallest of which
would have taken first prize in any lump contest you might name.
Confused and sick at heart, The Operator dragged his battered
members home. He knew he had to get out of physical ed; his life
was forfeit if he did not. So, unhappily, he transferred to some other
course, and the following June, a beaten man in his cap and gown,
received with lifeless hands a diploma and a bachelor of arts degree
and shambled out into the great world.
I don’t know what happened to The Operator after graduation.
It’s not a bad guess that he’s serving time in some pokey somewhere.
Or maybe he was lucky and went into the advertising business. If so,
he is surely a big man on Madison Avenue today.
But, as I say, I don’t know what happened to him. But this I do
know: another Operator appeared on campus as soon as this one
left, and he in turn was replaced by another,*and the process goes
on endlessly.
For as long as boy students like girl students better than going
to class, as long as parents cling to the delusion that the allowance
they had at college is sufficient for their children, as long as blood
runs warm and cash runs short, there will be an Operator operating
on every campus everywhere.
©Max Shulman, 1954
This colwnn is hrdught to you by the makers of PHILIP MORRIS
who think you would enjoy their cigarette.
The Battalion
The Editorial Policy of The Battalion
Represents the Views of the Student Editors
The Battalion, newspaper of the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas and the City of College Station, is published by stu
dents four times a week during the regular school year. During the
summer terms The Battalion is published twice a "week, and during
examination and vacation periods, once a week. Days of publication
are Tuesday through Friday for the regular school year, Tuesday and
Thursday during the summer terms, and Thursday during examination
and vacation periods. The Battalion is not published on the Wednesday
immediately preceding Easter or Thanksgiving. Subscription rates
are $9.00 per year or $.75 per month. Advertising rates furnished on
request.
Entered as second-class
matter at Post Office at
College Station, Texas
under the Act of Con
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.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republi
cation of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in
the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights
of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved.
News contributions may be made by telephone (4-5444 or 4-7604) or
at the editorial office room, 202 Goodwin Hall. Classified ads may be
placed by telephone (4-5324) or at the. Student Publication Office,
Room 207 Goodwin Hall.
BOB BORISKIE, HARRI BAKER Co-Editors
Jon Kinslow Managing Editor
Jerry Wizig Sports Editor
Don Shepard, Bill Fullerton News Editors
Ralph Cole.. ^ City Editor
Jim Neighbors, Welton Jones, Paul Savage Reporters
Mrs. Jo Ann Cocanougher Women’s Editor
Miss Betsy Burchard.
Maurice Olian
Larry Lightfoot
..A&M Consolidated Correspondent
A&M Consolidated Sports Correspondent
Circulation Manager
Battalion Editorials
Page 2
THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1954
Who Banned Football?
This fellow Hutchins—seems to be quite
a difference of opinion about him.
He’s had a long and colorful career as an
educator and in other fields. Every once in
a while he has made the front pages, by ac
tion considered radical—like banning foot
ball and other incollegiate sports from the
University of Chicago.
Some people have agreed with his ideas
on education, and others have fought him
bitterly.
And now the faculty and students- of
A&M are going to get a chance to hear Dr.
Robert M. Hutchins. He will speak here
Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Guion hall on “the
task of education for living in a free society.”
There is no doubt that many faculty and
staff members will go to hear his talk—
education is their business, and Hutchins is
a leading educator.
But the students should attend the talk.
Right now, education is as much their bus
iness as it is the faculty’s. There’s not too
much difference between learning and teach
ing.
Also, some of Hutchins beliefs are part
of the future of education; in other words,
the education of the children of today’s stu
dents.
It’s an awkward time, as far as the stu
dents are concerned—some may be out of
town, others may be just loafing. The time
arrangement was unavoidable; the Great Is
sues series had to suit the time to Hutchins
schedule.
But students can afford to sacrifice
something else to hear this talk.
Education is everybody’s business.
Anyone We Know?
Some kids at the basketball game last
night amused themselves by throwing paper
airplanes on the floor during the halftime.
Couldn’t have been college students doing
it. Of course not.
Cadet Slouch
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Let Little Ones Help
Kids Thinking About Santa
By JO ANN COCANOUGHER
Battalion Woman Editor
. Christmas time is finally ap
proaching- and the smaller children
in the family are becoming Santa
Claus conscious and wondering just
what the jolly gentleman will put
around the tree for them.
Mother, I’m sure, is beginning to
gather last year’s recipes for the
delicious cookies, cakes and Christ
mas puddings, . and planning for
the holidays in a big way. Little
Sister, as usual, wants to help in
the kitchen when Mother is in a
hurry, and, as usual, is asked to
leave and play with her dolls.
It would be a nice idea if Mother
would only take time to help her
daughter bake some simple cookies,
even if they are made from a ready
mix. Children often cause trouble
and get in the way when their
mother is rushing to finish, but if
she would teach them to be helpful
in measuring or fetching the need
ed ingredients, or even just watch
ing the oven to see that the cookies
don’t burn, the children would feel
useful and be useful too.
Christmas is always a rushed
season in the kitchen as well as in
any other part of the house. Clean
ing for the holiday guests, and
making sure the greeting cards are
addressed and mailed, decorating
the tree, wrapping gifts and hiding
them, planning parties and giving
them, are just a few of the many
holiday duties for Mother.
Children like to be included in all
of these activities too, especially at
Christmas time. They feel it 1 is
their own special time of the year,
and to a certain extent they are
right.
Mothers always have ideas for
the childi-en on how to decorate the
tree. Let each ch’ld have one duty,
like putting on the tinsel or plan
ning the snow scene on the table;
stringing popcom and cranberries
for the tree; finding the burned-out
bulbs and replacing them with new
ones; making shiny cut-outs to
put on the tree; placing gifts and
keeping the rest of the family from
peeking or rattling the boxes.
Christmas is a religious time of
the year, too, and it is parents’
responsibility to teach their child
ren the real meaning of the
Christmas spirit. Churches will
have special services that the whole
family may attend. Candles and
Christmas music and the smell of
pine are long remembered by a
small child.
Make sure that the little folks
in the family understand why there
is a Christmas—a time fox’ love,
happiness and sharing.
Telecast Features
College Research
The “Spotlight on Texas” tele
vision program will feature A&M’s
research activities on its telecast
over five Texas stations during
December and January.
The program, sponsored by
Southwestern Bell Telephone com
pany, will have parts on biochem
istry and nutrition, cotton breed
ing, oceanography and meteorolgy,
beef cattle research and scale
model architecture research.
Here are the stations and dates
of the program:
Houston, KPRC, Dec. 5; Dallas,,
WFAA, Jan. 2; Fort Worth,
WBAP, Jan. 15; San Antonio,
KGBS, Jan. 2; and Austin, KTBC,
Jan. 17.
Singing Cadets Set
Saturday Concert
The Singing Cadets will give a
concert at 8 Saturday night in the
high school auditorium at Gon
zales. They will sing in the Lee
college auditorium at Baytown at
2 p. m. Sunday.
A buffet supper has been plan
ned for the group that night, after
which they will return to the col
lege.
The group has postponed its
“Christmas sing” until Dec. 15, said
W. M. (Bill) Turner, director.
Originally scheduled for Monday
night, the glee club is planning to
combine with the caroling of the
music committee of the Memorial
Student Center.
The cadets will sing several
songs in the lobby of the MSC at
8:15 p. m. Dec. 15, and then go
cabling with the group at the
Center.
Film Society Meets
“One Foot in Heaven” will be
shown by the Film society at 7:30/\
p.m. Friday in the Memorial Stu
dent Center ballroom. Students
may purchase tickets at the main
desk in the MSC for 25 cents.
TODAY
THEMAES&
RODE ALONG
THE TRAIL
OF THE..„
■
Kiwanians Erect
The College Station and Bryan
Kiwanis clubs will erect signs Sat
urday bearing their emblem and
meeting dates at city limits on all
highways entering each of the
cities.
Job Calls
• The U. S. navy mine counter
measure station, Panama City,
Fla., will interview at . the place
ment office Monday, Dec. 6,’ for
students in mechanical engineering
and physics.
■ ■ JACK A PEGGIE | AGUE
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The Memorial Student Center
Gift Shop
PRESENTS
Especially Designed Silk-Screened
CHRISTMAS CARDS
66
Greetings From Aggieland”
See these handsome cards today
and choose from the two distinc
tive designs. v
Monogramming
(ONE DAY SERVICE)
Executive Opportunities
For College Men
Mi-. R. E. Cote, Regional Personnel
Manager for Montgomery Ward
and Company, will visit our cam
pus December 6, 1954, for the pur
pose of interviewing male gradu
ates who are interested in the Re
tail Management or Merchandis
ing field as a career.
Montgomery Ward has over 600
Retail Stores and needs young men
to train for Management positions
in these Stores and future execu
tive positions. Applicants will be
given preference as to location in
the Southwestern Gulf ai-ea.
Each man will be carefully select
ed for this management training
and will be given every opportun
ity for rapid advancement. Actual
selling and merchandising experi
ence will be. supplemented by a
training program which includes
Retail operating and merchandis
ing functions.
Primary consideration of those se
lected will be their personal quali
fications — appearance, character,
background and potential to pro
gress rapidly. For those w’ho are
interested, contact:
Mr. W. R. Horsley,-Director
for more complete information and
the wide range of opportunities
offered bv Wards-
(Adv.)
LI’L ABNER
THIS IS CEDRIC
• ODDWICKE,
YOUR VALET
By A1 Capp
AH ONCE SEEN A
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SIR.'!' f-MOIV
UNJUST, FOR A
CULTURED
GENTLEMAN,
L/KE ME, TO BE
' "\rj-/E SERVANT
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LOUT/T-J ,
IT DON'T SEEM RIGHT FO'A WEAK
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MAH SHOES. YO' SET DOWN, ‘
ODDWICKE—AN' LET ME SHINE
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■ 1934 by Unlfd F«otur« Syndic.
P O G O
By Walt Kelly
NOT ALL OF US
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