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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1955)
T Plans Complete For Student Conference Here By HARRI BAKER Battalion Editor Plans are now complete for the Student Conference on Na tional Affairs to be held here next year — the only thing lacking is the $12,000 the 50- school conference will cost. The conference, called SCO NA and set up to be held an nually would cover all fields of national affairs, and would involve colleges in the West ern part of the United States. It would be held here some time in December. The SCONA planning com mittee, a part of the Memorial Student Center ^organization, plans to ask an educational foundation to provide the mon ey, said John Jenkins, chair man of the SCONA committee. “We’re confident that we can get the money,” Jenkins said. “A project of this type would appeal to the founda tions, and there is a need for such a conference in this part of the country.” The SCONA program is bas ed on a similiar conference held at West Point each year. The West Point conference is primarily for Eastern colleges. Here is who would be invi ted to the SCONA conference: • All Texas senior colleges with an enrollment of 1,500 or more. • All senior colleges with an enrollment of 3,000 or more in states within a 600-mile radius of College Station. • All land-grant Colleges and universities within the 600- mile radius, regardless of size. • West Point, the new Air Academy, the University of Mexico, Mexico City college, and Monterey Institute of Technology. This adds up to 21 Texas schools and 29 others. Outstanding national and woi’ld leaders such as state de partment officials, Congress men, industrial leaders, and educators would be invited to be speakers and panel leaders at the conference.* Discussion groups would be (See SCONA on Page 2) The Battalion Number 107: Volume 54 COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1955 Price Five Cents •R. T. Miller Is Valedictorian For May Graduation Exercises Grade Ratio Is 2.96 Through Fall Robert Thomas Miller, fifth year petroleum-geology engi neering student, has been named valedictorian for the May, 1955, graduating class. He has a grade point ratio of 2.96 through the fall semetser and did all of his work at A&M. Miller, who is from Bishop, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Mil ler of Honolulu. His father is an FBI agent. He is a graduate of Lamar high school of Houston and was bom in San Antonio. The 1955 valedictorian finished his ROTC work in 1954, being a member of the cadet corps for four years, and he plans to do graduate work here after graduation. Throughout his college work, Miller worked in the summer months in his profession—petrole um-geological engineering. Miller was a technical editor of the Engineer, a member of the Memorial Student Center Browsing Library committee and was chair man for one year. He also was a member of the MSC directorate. He was on the freshman drill team and a winner in the slide rule con test, and was the outstanding freshman in his squadron. His activities at the college in clude membership in the Petroleum and Geology club and in three na tional honor societies—Tau Beta Pi, engineering honor society, Phi Kappa Phi, college-wide, and Phi Eta Sigma, freshman honor so ciety. Miller is the holder of the George • P. Mitchell award in geology, given tach year to an outstanding junior in geology, and in his senior year Won an award in petroleum, a hand level and handbook, both from Mitchell. He also is the holder of the Socony Vacuum and Standard of Texas, awards, given to students for outstanding achievement in pe troleum engineering. Recently he was awarded the General Electric fellowship, worth $1,750, to do advanced work in en- gineei’ing. “The valedictorian,” the qualifi cation i-ules state, “shall be the candidate for his first baccalau reate degree who has the highest grade point ratio on all of his work through the fall semester of > his final year. All woi'k for the degi'ee must have been done at this college except that a maximum of 12 semester hours may have been completed in summer sessions else where. He must be a candidate for the degree at the spring commence ment.” Opportunity Awards Tests To Be May 7, 14 More than 500 Texas high school boys will compete May 7 and May 14 at A&M for a chance at a col lege education. At stake are 100 Opportunity Award scholarships, available at A&M, beginning in September and good for the next four yeai’s. The scholarships pay an average of $250 a year—about a third of the total cost of a year’s schooling at the college. Winners are also eligible for part-time employment to supplement the $250 awards. Ring Dance Tickets Now on Sale Ticket salesmen for the Sen ior Ring dance and banquet May 21 have been named by the class officers. Dance tickets will be $5 stag or date, and the banquet will be $1.50 per person. Tickets for the banquet will go off sale May 16, and advance ticket sales for the dance will end May 20. Dance tickets, how ever, will be sold at the door. Those selling tickets and the dormitories they represent are as follows: Bobby Williams, 1 and 2; Dale Stice, 4 and 6; Don Ditt- mar, 8 and 10; Howai’d Chil ders, 12; Harry Tilley, 3; Wal lace Eversberg, 5; Bill Bass, 7; Paul Genti'y, 11; James Bucha nan, 14 and 17; Dave Williams, 15; Alan May, 16; Sam Row land, Hart; Louis De Haes, Law and Puryear; Farrell Hu bei’, Walton. Day students may purchase tickets at the student activi ties office. First of the two groups of schol arship contestants will be about 300 high school seniors who will take four and a half hour exam inations on May 7. The following Saturday, more than 200 boys are expected for competition in simi lar examinations at the college. The tests are similar to those giv en entering A&M freshmen. Applicants for the awards are chosen after a study of their past school records, woi’k experience, character reputation, financial needs, and competitive tests. Moi’e than 90 per cent of all Opportun ity Award winners have made good in college since the stai’t of the program nine years ago, according to college officials. Aggie Receives Mr. Splash Title Gene Shuey, architecture major from Dallas, was named Mr. Splash by a panel of five physical culture experts last weekend in Galveston. The contest was pax-t of the city’s annual Splash day activities. Shuey finished in a tie for first, but a second demonstx-ation caused the judges to Vote 3-2 in favor of Shuey. He was awarded a two foot-high trophy. Shuey was also the winner of the odd meet weight lifting contest held Satui’day. He was one of 14 entrants, and won the meet with a one-arm lateral snatch and a for ward curl. He was also awarded a first place trophy for this event. The awai’ds were first given in 1946, with 16 winners. At present 305 students at the college are at tending on Opportunity Awards, and 206 former winners have gi’ad- uated. Elam To Head Stacy Elam is the new president of the Horticulture society. Other new officei’s are Harold Jones, vice-president, and Albert Ferdan- dez, seci’etary-treasurer. Experiment Station Receives Grants The Agricultural Expexnment station has received recently more than $8,000 in grants. Twenty-five individuals, compa nies, associations, and banks in the Lower Rio Grande valley together gave a gx-ant of $2,816.19 for cot ton improvement research. The Squibb Institute for Medical Research has made available $2,500 for poultxy growth research under the supervision of Dr. J. R. Couch, head of the poultx-y husbandry de partment. The American Dehydrators asso ciation renewed their $2,000 grant for research on turkey feed, a proj ect also being supervised by Couch. Top Students In Agriculture Named At AZ L. E. Sheppard jr from Crockett, and Konrad Peter Losen from Lima, Peru, were named outstanding sophomore and freshman in the School of Agriculture at the annual Alpha Zeta banquet Monday night in the Memoi’ial Student Center. Sheppard has maintained a grade point ratio of 2.54. This was a repeat pei-fox-mance for Sheppard, since he was named outstanding freshman last year. Losen has a grade point ratio of 3.0 The names of these two men will be engraved on a plaque which will be placed in the Agricultui’e Building. Dean E. J. Kyle, fonner dean of agriculture who established a rec- oi’d by serving in that capacity for 33 years, delivered the principal address of the evening. Kyle’s top ic was, “Maximum Exploitation of One’s Abilities.” WOMAN DRIVER—Sure, she’s a woman driver, but one that is learning driving proper ly. Miss Fay Simms, junior at A&M Consolidated high school, sits in the driver’s seat as Miss Ann Fleming, also a junior, and Jack Shaney, industrial arts teacher at the school, look on. Miss Simms, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Simms of College Sta tion, and Miss Fleming,, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Fleming of the city, are stu dents in the drivers training course at the school. Chaney is instructor for the course. A&M Consolidated Drivers Course Offered By BILL FULLERTON Battalion City Editor A&M Consolidated students 14 years old and older have an oppor tunity to benefit themselves and their families by taking the drivers training coui'se at the school. After a three-year lapse, this course is now being given at the school to 11 students, with Jack Chaney, industrial arts teacher, as instructor. The one-semester course is divided info two six week per iods, the first being 30 houi’s of theory and the remainder actual driving training. In the course the students leanx to drive properly, and they learn the traffic laws of the county, state and nation. Also, basic rales about Arts and Sciences Presents Awards More than 30 awards, including scholarships, cash, and other prizes were bestowed by the School of Arts and Sciences Wednesday. Jimmy Clay Burns, James Ergle Cook jr., Terrell Hunter Hamilton, George Peter Knipple and William Darrell Willis jr. won the Julia Ball Lee Memoi’ial scholarships in Biology. The business administra tion department's R. L. Elkins award went to James M. Parrack jr. The Lumbermen’s Association of Texas Scholarship awaxd was presented to Thomas C. Dye, John C. Niemeyer, Paul Rathbun, Rudy Rodriquez and Hugh Wharton. Also in the business administra tion department, Vernon D. Ander- VALEDICTORIAN—R. T. Miller, a petroleum-geology en gineering student from Bishop, has been named valedic torian for the May graduation exercises. (See story above.) Fuchs Elected Club President Monroe Fuchs was elected presi dent of the Poultry Science club Tuesday. Other officers named were Earl Geddes, vice-president; Dane Kim- mel, show manager; Jim Bi’ooks, secretary; Gene Larey, treasurer; Ax’thur Herzo, reporter; and E. D. Parnell, C. B. Ryan, and W. F. Kx-ueger, club sponsor. son, William L. Broaddus and John W. Jones won the T. W. Mohle awards, and the P. T. Pearce Schol- arships-Houston Sales Executives club awai’d went to David A. Bow ers and William A. McCai’ty. The Wall Sti’eet Joui’nal Student Achievement award was pi’esented to Edmund Edwin Dusek, and Wil liam Joe Smith won the Lulie Hughey Lane scholai’ship. In the Chemisti-y department, James L. Guyton and Harold G Jacobson won the Merck awai’d, and Allen D. Nelson was awarded the Chemical Rubber Handbook award. The English depaxtment gave its Debater awai’ds to David A. Bow ers, Ray N. Finch, William H.« Heard, and John T. Wilson, and the Journalism department pi’esented Joe Dan Boyd and Franklin D Waddell with its Clayton Fund Ag ricultural Journalism awards. The Schlumberger Foundation Collegiate award of $500 in the physics department went to Rich ard E. Gentry. Weather Today PARTLY CLOUDY The weather outlook for today is partly cloudy. Yesterday’s high was 88, low 62 The temperature at 10 this morn ing was 76. maintenance of an automobile are taught. A $15 fee for expenses was assessed this year. The course uses as a text the American Automobile Association Sportsmanship Driving book. The standards for the class are those of the AAA. The handbook put out by the Texas Department of Public Safety also is used for study. Any student who successfully completes the course will receive a 10 per cent discount in automo bile insurance rates, Chaney said. This reduction applies to any fam ily who has a son or daughter in the 14-to-25-year-old classification complete the course and get the AAA certificate. If the family has another child who drives but has not had the drivers course, the re duction will not be given, he said. Students who have already fin ished the course this year are John Way, Tom Ivy, Richard Richardson and Dali NcCannon. New students in the class are Faye Simms, Ann Fleming, Bill Little and George McKa^. Those who will take it next are Dick McCannon, David Smyth and John Price. the theory and are taking their driving four at a time. The auto mobile used irl the course is a 1955 Chevrolet, furnished through the courtesy of the Culpepper Chevro let company of Heame. A “brake gun” is used to test re action time. When Chaney pulls a string, a blank .22 calibre shot is fired from a “gun” on the brake. The student depresses the brake, which automatically fires another shot, and the time between the shots is the reaction time. Glass Filings End At 5 p.m. Today Filings for class offices and the election commission will close to day at 5 p.m. Students may file in the student activities office, sec ond floor of Goodwin hall. The class of ’56 and ’57 will elect class officers and all classes will elect five members to the election commission. There have been only 20 students file for the election commission positions, according to W. D. (Pete) Hardesty, business mana- All of the students have finished 1 ger for student activities. New Senators Asked To Attend All newly-elected student sen ators are invited to attend to night’s Student Senate meeting as visitors, said Jerry Ramsey, senate president. The meeting will be at 7:30 in the Memorial Student Center as sembly room, with a new Kyle field seating plan heading the agenda. mm g wffijjfchi ^ —. .. JSS£ . Jsk —>.....^ '' ' .' J...-.<• * .4 IT’S HOT HERE—For those of you who thought yester day was an unusually hot day, here is proof that it defin itely was. Campus Security Officer M. A. Maddox in spects a line of flame in the street next to the White col iseum. The fire was caused by an underground leak in a natural gas pipe. Actually, yesterday wasn’t too hot—it was 85 when this picture was taken.